Today's reading.
"But God remembered Noah." These are beautiful words. God didn't leave Noah and everyone/thing else on the ark to waste away. Oblivion covered creation, but God remembered. All those on the ark were completely exposed, completely dependent upon God's mercy. The story of this world could have ended there. Humanity could have been left to fend for itself on a water-soaked planet, left to make due as best we can without dry land like some Kevin Costner movie.
But God remembered Noah.
What did God do when he remembered Noah? He (literally) moved earth and ocean for him! God's love and compassion on seasick Noah and his family is incredible in this passage. Noah and his family deserved nothing, but because God is merciful and gracious, the flood waters receded and man was given the earth once again.
Why would God be so gracious to these people? God says again, after Noah offers the sacrifices of all those clean animals (why there were 7 clean animals and only 2 of all the other kinds), that "the intention of man’s heart is evil from his youth" (8:21; cf. 6:5). Why would God give the earth back to these evil creatures?
And why would he promise never to curse the earth again, in spite of humanity's sin? Why would God promise that, "While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease" (8:22)?
Because God is a creative, redeeming God. He is not only just, though he is just. He is not merely concerned with holiness, though he is jealous for his law. If these were God's only concerns, it'd be a lot cleaner and neater to wipe the earth of all life and dwell eternally as trinitarian community. But that is not God's intention. God will not be content until he brings redemption. He will not be satisfied until he himself enters into the mess of our fallenness and saves us from ourselves.
We often feel as though God does not remember. But he does. He did remember us at our time of greatest need when he sent Christ for us. And because we know he did remember, we can have hope that now and in the future he will remember us. If we are in Christ, we are his children. He moved earth and sea for the sake of Noah; he'll do no less for you and me.
Do not let your circumstances overwhelm you. Whatever you face, it can never be worse than a flood of God's judgment. But in light of 8:22—and especially in light of Calvary—you and I will never face that wrath. Christ took it all for us. Trust your Father, cling to your Savior, and walk today in the power of the present Holy Spirit to do what God has called you to do. That is the Christian life.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Sunday, February 27, 2011
February 27: Genesis 7
Today's reading.
Things only continue to get worse for God's world. The people he put in charge of it rebelled against him and set the world spinning off its intended axis. Evil and sin have continued to affect every aspect of human action and culture until now, finally, God is undoing nearly all of what he has done in the world. He lets loose his judgment on the world, letting the flood waters wash over it, destroying everything that has the breath of life.
In the Ancient Near East, the waters (especially the sea) represented the forces of evil and chaos. When we hear in Genesis 1:2 that the Spirit of the Lord hovered over the face of the waters, we are meant to understand that God is setting order to his creation, that God's creative work will prevail over chaos and destruction. Yet, because humanity fell and continue to rebel up to this point, the waters of chaos and destruction prevail over the created order. God's providential hand stayed the forces of chaos; in judgment, he has now lowered his protective care over the earth and letting chaos have its way over the world.
God only preserves Noah and his household and those living creatures that make their way onto the ark. Many times, I've heard people argue against the existence of God by saying that a good, all-powerful God would remove evil from the world. In Genesis 7, that is exactly what God did. He removed evil from the world by removing human beings whose hearts were always only evil. He removed all of them, except one family whose head he counted righteous (Gen. 7:1). But removing evil from the world doesn't ultimately solve the problem, as we will see. It merely points to the need for evil to be, not removed, but conquered. The world didn't need judgment, but redemption.
Starting creation over again doesn't redeem it. Letting the cleansing waters of judgment wash over it doesn't provide redemption. Finding one righteous person among the many isn't what is needed to redeem the fallen world.
Where do you seek redemption? What situation in your life, what circumstances do you wish could be fixed, changed, redeemed? Where do you seek to have the evil of this world removed from you and your life? Where do you believe that redemption will come from?
Only Christ could do the work of redemption that this fallen world required. The flood couldn't redeem the world; it could merely put evil at bay for a time. Only Christ could enter into the mess of this fallen world, redeem it, and provide hope that one day it would be fully restored to what it was meant to be. The flood could only turn back the clock. The cross gives hope that the future will be wholly unlike the past. The cross assures us that our Lord is renewing and restoring the mess and chaos of this world to the glory of its Creator.
Don't seek redemption from within this world. Whether work or family trouble, whether financial or emotional hardship, don't seek redemption in a change of circumstance. Instead, put your hope in the One who has redeemed you. You have the redemption your heart yearns for. Walk through whatever circumstances you face in confident faith that the Lord who redeemed you will only take you through that which will serve to restore you to the person he is calling you to be.
Things only continue to get worse for God's world. The people he put in charge of it rebelled against him and set the world spinning off its intended axis. Evil and sin have continued to affect every aspect of human action and culture until now, finally, God is undoing nearly all of what he has done in the world. He lets loose his judgment on the world, letting the flood waters wash over it, destroying everything that has the breath of life.
In the Ancient Near East, the waters (especially the sea) represented the forces of evil and chaos. When we hear in Genesis 1:2 that the Spirit of the Lord hovered over the face of the waters, we are meant to understand that God is setting order to his creation, that God's creative work will prevail over chaos and destruction. Yet, because humanity fell and continue to rebel up to this point, the waters of chaos and destruction prevail over the created order. God's providential hand stayed the forces of chaos; in judgment, he has now lowered his protective care over the earth and letting chaos have its way over the world.
God only preserves Noah and his household and those living creatures that make their way onto the ark. Many times, I've heard people argue against the existence of God by saying that a good, all-powerful God would remove evil from the world. In Genesis 7, that is exactly what God did. He removed evil from the world by removing human beings whose hearts were always only evil. He removed all of them, except one family whose head he counted righteous (Gen. 7:1). But removing evil from the world doesn't ultimately solve the problem, as we will see. It merely points to the need for evil to be, not removed, but conquered. The world didn't need judgment, but redemption.
Starting creation over again doesn't redeem it. Letting the cleansing waters of judgment wash over it doesn't provide redemption. Finding one righteous person among the many isn't what is needed to redeem the fallen world.
Where do you seek redemption? What situation in your life, what circumstances do you wish could be fixed, changed, redeemed? Where do you seek to have the evil of this world removed from you and your life? Where do you believe that redemption will come from?
Only Christ could do the work of redemption that this fallen world required. The flood couldn't redeem the world; it could merely put evil at bay for a time. Only Christ could enter into the mess of this fallen world, redeem it, and provide hope that one day it would be fully restored to what it was meant to be. The flood could only turn back the clock. The cross gives hope that the future will be wholly unlike the past. The cross assures us that our Lord is renewing and restoring the mess and chaos of this world to the glory of its Creator.
Don't seek redemption from within this world. Whether work or family trouble, whether financial or emotional hardship, don't seek redemption in a change of circumstance. Instead, put your hope in the One who has redeemed you. You have the redemption your heart yearns for. Walk through whatever circumstances you face in confident faith that the Lord who redeemed you will only take you through that which will serve to restore you to the person he is calling you to be.
Saturday, February 26, 2011
February 26: Psalm 23
Today's reading.*
Allen commented the other day that this psalm was such a part of his Christian experience growing up, while Psalm 22 was largely left off the map. I imagine this psalm is so familiar to many of us that we are tempted to take its truth for granted. I know I am.
But as I gave it a fresh reading this morning, I realized that if I'm going to read this psalm out loud, if I'm going to speak its words and make them true of me and my own life, I have to call myself a sheep. "The Lord is my shepherd," necessarily implies, "and I am his sheep." The images of green pastures and still waters reinforce this idea. Still, I don't think I typically let the full weight of that hit me.
I am a sheep. The word has such a negative connotation in our culture. Sheep are followers. They don't have original ideas. They don't make their own way or pull themselves up by their boot straps. They bleat. They graze. They let themselves be driven and herded wherever their shepherd leads. But they aren't the most ingenious or resourceful or animals.
When it comes to the paths of righteousness, I am a sheep in desperate need of the leading of my Shepherd. When I pass through the valley of the shadow of death, I have nothing with which to defend myself, but rely on the strength, justice and care of my Shepherd. And when I want to enjoy the blessings of this world, I have nothing on my own strength with which to gain them, but rely on my Shepherd to prepare a banquet for me.
When I forget I am a sheep, I look to defend myself and seek justice on my own strength. But it never satisfies. When I forget I'm a sheep, I seek the riches of this world but forget the One from whom comes every good gift (James 1:17). When I forget I'm a sheep, I stray from the path of righteousness on which my Shepherd leads me.
I am a sheep, called to rest in the care, love and protection of my Good Shepherd (John 10:11). Christ is my shepherd. He leads me in righteousness, conquers my foes, does all that he does for my good. He laid down his life for me! He makes me dwell in the house of the Lord forever! What have I to fear? Why would I doubt? Why do I so often have little faith? Christ is my shepherd. I am a sheep. The sooner I accept that, the sooner I will find peace.
*I apologize for the late post today! We were stuck on the road to Tahoe yesterday until late in the evening, and I think I spent all my brain power on making sure our car remained on the road throughout the 10 hour trek. I forgot last night. Sorry!
Allen commented the other day that this psalm was such a part of his Christian experience growing up, while Psalm 22 was largely left off the map. I imagine this psalm is so familiar to many of us that we are tempted to take its truth for granted. I know I am.
But as I gave it a fresh reading this morning, I realized that if I'm going to read this psalm out loud, if I'm going to speak its words and make them true of me and my own life, I have to call myself a sheep. "The Lord is my shepherd," necessarily implies, "and I am his sheep." The images of green pastures and still waters reinforce this idea. Still, I don't think I typically let the full weight of that hit me.
I am a sheep. The word has such a negative connotation in our culture. Sheep are followers. They don't have original ideas. They don't make their own way or pull themselves up by their boot straps. They bleat. They graze. They let themselves be driven and herded wherever their shepherd leads. But they aren't the most ingenious or resourceful or animals.
When it comes to the paths of righteousness, I am a sheep in desperate need of the leading of my Shepherd. When I pass through the valley of the shadow of death, I have nothing with which to defend myself, but rely on the strength, justice and care of my Shepherd. And when I want to enjoy the blessings of this world, I have nothing on my own strength with which to gain them, but rely on my Shepherd to prepare a banquet for me.
When I forget I am a sheep, I look to defend myself and seek justice on my own strength. But it never satisfies. When I forget I'm a sheep, I seek the riches of this world but forget the One from whom comes every good gift (James 1:17). When I forget I'm a sheep, I stray from the path of righteousness on which my Shepherd leads me.
I am a sheep, called to rest in the care, love and protection of my Good Shepherd (John 10:11). Christ is my shepherd. He leads me in righteousness, conquers my foes, does all that he does for my good. He laid down his life for me! He makes me dwell in the house of the Lord forever! What have I to fear? Why would I doubt? Why do I so often have little faith? Christ is my shepherd. I am a sheep. The sooner I accept that, the sooner I will find peace.
*I apologize for the late post today! We were stuck on the road to Tahoe yesterday until late in the evening, and I think I spent all my brain power on making sure our car remained on the road throughout the 10 hour trek. I forgot last night. Sorry!
Friday, February 25, 2011
February 25: Genesis 6
Today's reading.
In this chapter, the Fall of humanity is going deeper and deeper into the depths. Though there was a family line—the descendants of Seth—who "called upon the name of the Lord" (4:26), death's persistent beat and the sinfulness of the human heart has led to more and more decay in God's good world. The place that once was "very good" is now filled with fallen man, and "every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually" (6:5). Always only evil. So much for walking with God in the Garden.
God went from singing with joy over his creation to regretting he had even made it (6:7). There was one lone man who "found favor in the eyes of the Lord," a man named Noah. In contrast to the rest of his generation, "Noah walked with God" (6:9). God reveals to Noah that he will destroy the earth by flood, but promises to deliver Noah by having him build an ark in which he and his family and many other living things will survive God's judgment. And it says that Noah obeyed the Lord; "he did all that God commanded him" (6:22).
Oftentimes, when I read third party accounts of the flood, Noah is shown to be an upstanding man who kept all God's ways and so deserved salvation. How else could he find favor in the eyes of the Lord? How else could he be righteous?
The thing about that is that the opening verses of the chapter reveal that the heart of man was always only evil (6:5). So, how can you reconcile one statement that says everyone is evil, and then say there was one man who was not evil? Is Scripture self-contradictory?
Genesis doesn't say that Noah wasn't evil. And we'll see in a few chapters that Noah's heart is far from perfect. The story says that Noah "found favor in the eyes of the Lord" (6:8). Favor isn't something that you earn. It's something that is granted.
Proverbs 3:34 says, "Toward the scorners he [God] is scornful, but to the humble he gives favor." Humble people aren't people who beat their chest and prove their righteousness through works! Humble people get on their knees before the Lord and ask his forgiveness. They plead God's mercies because they recognize that there is nothing in themselves that deserves God's favor. They admit their fallenness, their always-only-evilness, and fall at the feet of the Lord, begging for what they cannot earn, pleading for what only God can give.
James, in his New Testament letter, quotes Proverbs 3:34, but changes it slightly in the Hebrew to Greek translation. James 4:6 reads: "he gives more grace. Therefore it says, 'God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.'"
Noah didn't earn salvation on the ark through all his good works that he stored up across his lifetime. In many ways, Noah was decidedly irreligious (just wait till Gen. 9). No, Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Noah was humble, repentant. He understood that he desperately needed what he could not earn and put himself at God's mercy. And, when we do that—even we who are always only evil on our own strength—God is all too willing to pour out his grace to us. In fact, God already has poured out his grace at the cross. In Christ, at calvary, sufficient grace was given for all the world. Taking hold of grace requires that we recognize our own fallenness and humble ourselves before the Lord. When you do that "he will exalt you" (James 4:10).
*There is a lot of mystery around the first four verses of chapter 6. "Nephilim" is a word that means giants, but does that mean 9-foot-tall men? I don't know. A lot of conjecture centers on the "sons of God" and "daughters of man" in 6:2. Though some have proposed that these are angels mating with humans, I do not believe that this could be the case; Jesus himself says that the reason we will not be married in heaven is that we will be "like angels in heaven" (Mark 12:25). Rather, I think the "sons of God" are those who are descendants of Seth who had a tradition of walking with God in the wake of the fall, but who had rejected his ways and taken wives who were not believers. There are clear prohibitions against inter-marriage with those who are not of the faith elsewhere in Scripture (Deut. 7:3; Ex. 34:16; 2 Cor. 6:14). This opening paragraph seems to explain why there was no one but Noah who found favor in God's eyes; everyone else had been carried away to worship other gods, to rebellion against Yahweh, their Creator.
In this chapter, the Fall of humanity is going deeper and deeper into the depths. Though there was a family line—the descendants of Seth—who "called upon the name of the Lord" (4:26), death's persistent beat and the sinfulness of the human heart has led to more and more decay in God's good world. The place that once was "very good" is now filled with fallen man, and "every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually" (6:5). Always only evil. So much for walking with God in the Garden.
God went from singing with joy over his creation to regretting he had even made it (6:7). There was one lone man who "found favor in the eyes of the Lord," a man named Noah. In contrast to the rest of his generation, "Noah walked with God" (6:9). God reveals to Noah that he will destroy the earth by flood, but promises to deliver Noah by having him build an ark in which he and his family and many other living things will survive God's judgment. And it says that Noah obeyed the Lord; "he did all that God commanded him" (6:22).
Oftentimes, when I read third party accounts of the flood, Noah is shown to be an upstanding man who kept all God's ways and so deserved salvation. How else could he find favor in the eyes of the Lord? How else could he be righteous?
The thing about that is that the opening verses of the chapter reveal that the heart of man was always only evil (6:5). So, how can you reconcile one statement that says everyone is evil, and then say there was one man who was not evil? Is Scripture self-contradictory?
Genesis doesn't say that Noah wasn't evil. And we'll see in a few chapters that Noah's heart is far from perfect. The story says that Noah "found favor in the eyes of the Lord" (6:8). Favor isn't something that you earn. It's something that is granted.
Proverbs 3:34 says, "Toward the scorners he [God] is scornful, but to the humble he gives favor." Humble people aren't people who beat their chest and prove their righteousness through works! Humble people get on their knees before the Lord and ask his forgiveness. They plead God's mercies because they recognize that there is nothing in themselves that deserves God's favor. They admit their fallenness, their always-only-evilness, and fall at the feet of the Lord, begging for what they cannot earn, pleading for what only God can give.
James, in his New Testament letter, quotes Proverbs 3:34, but changes it slightly in the Hebrew to Greek translation. James 4:6 reads: "he gives more grace. Therefore it says, 'God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.'"
Noah didn't earn salvation on the ark through all his good works that he stored up across his lifetime. In many ways, Noah was decidedly irreligious (just wait till Gen. 9). No, Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Noah was humble, repentant. He understood that he desperately needed what he could not earn and put himself at God's mercy. And, when we do that—even we who are always only evil on our own strength—God is all too willing to pour out his grace to us. In fact, God already has poured out his grace at the cross. In Christ, at calvary, sufficient grace was given for all the world. Taking hold of grace requires that we recognize our own fallenness and humble ourselves before the Lord. When you do that "he will exalt you" (James 4:10).
*There is a lot of mystery around the first four verses of chapter 6. "Nephilim" is a word that means giants, but does that mean 9-foot-tall men? I don't know. A lot of conjecture centers on the "sons of God" and "daughters of man" in 6:2. Though some have proposed that these are angels mating with humans, I do not believe that this could be the case; Jesus himself says that the reason we will not be married in heaven is that we will be "like angels in heaven" (Mark 12:25). Rather, I think the "sons of God" are those who are descendants of Seth who had a tradition of walking with God in the wake of the fall, but who had rejected his ways and taken wives who were not believers. There are clear prohibitions against inter-marriage with those who are not of the faith elsewhere in Scripture (Deut. 7:3; Ex. 34:16; 2 Cor. 6:14). This opening paragraph seems to explain why there was no one but Noah who found favor in God's eyes; everyone else had been carried away to worship other gods, to rebellion against Yahweh, their Creator.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
February 24: Genesis 5
Today's reading.
I realize it is hard to believe, but sometimes, genealogies communicate gripping truth. Personally, I think this is one of the most exciting genealogies in Scripture.
Did you notice a pattern in this chapter? There is a constant refrain in it, tapping a steady beat, pointing to the crushing reality of the world as it is after the Fall.
And he died. And he died. And he died. (Gen. 5:5, 8, 11, 14, 17, 20, 27, 31)
Remember where we are in the story at this point. Just two chapters ago, humanity was exiled from God's presence for their rebellion, sent out of Eden, bearing the weight of the curse of their sin. The people God had created to live forever had broken his law and were now suffering the consequences. Now, they would surely die (2:17).
And the curse didn't just remain with Adam and Eve, but is quickly spreading across the entire race. It cropped up at Abel's murder (4:8), it reared it's ugly head when Lamech perverted justice and killed a man who wounded him (4:23-24). Now, it is affecting every single one of God's image bearers.
And he died. And he died. And he died.
This is a tragic chapter in the history of mankind. Death is now the enemy that comes for every last one of us, beating its funeral drum across the ages. No matter how many hundreds of years these ancient men lived, death came for them. Lamech wanted relief from this curse when he named his son, Noah: "Out of the ground that the LORD has cursed this one shall bring us relief from our work and from the painful toil of our hands" (5:29). And Noah would certainly play prominently in God's plans. But he could offer no such rest.
Oddly enough, it was Lamech's great-great-grandfather*, Enoch, who pointed to true relief. For, in spite of the ever-spreading curse, Enoch was able to avoid death because he "walked with God" (5:24).
The Holy Spirit whispered hope to his people even in the midst of the constant clanging of death's bell. Enoch walked with God, and there is life, not death, for those who walk with him. Enoch ever so lightly foreshadows the hope of the resurrection, the hope that there is life for those who put their trust in the Lord. Enoch's God-given evasion of death reaffirms the divine promise of Genesis 3:15, that the serpent who brought about the curse in creation would be crushed by the Seed of the woman. Though the future of the human race looks grim, the Lord does not let us forget the coming Christ who would reverse the effects of the curse and make all things new (Rev. 21:5).
*We should not think that Gen. 5 is a comprehensive genealogy, accounting for every single generation. 4:18 reveals that Enoch was Methuselah's great-grandfather rather than his father. "Father" is used loosely in Hebrew and can be used to refer to ancestors further removed than one generation.
I realize it is hard to believe, but sometimes, genealogies communicate gripping truth. Personally, I think this is one of the most exciting genealogies in Scripture.
Did you notice a pattern in this chapter? There is a constant refrain in it, tapping a steady beat, pointing to the crushing reality of the world as it is after the Fall.
And he died. And he died. And he died. (Gen. 5:5, 8, 11, 14, 17, 20, 27, 31)
Remember where we are in the story at this point. Just two chapters ago, humanity was exiled from God's presence for their rebellion, sent out of Eden, bearing the weight of the curse of their sin. The people God had created to live forever had broken his law and were now suffering the consequences. Now, they would surely die (2:17).
And the curse didn't just remain with Adam and Eve, but is quickly spreading across the entire race. It cropped up at Abel's murder (4:8), it reared it's ugly head when Lamech perverted justice and killed a man who wounded him (4:23-24). Now, it is affecting every single one of God's image bearers.
And he died. And he died. And he died.
This is a tragic chapter in the history of mankind. Death is now the enemy that comes for every last one of us, beating its funeral drum across the ages. No matter how many hundreds of years these ancient men lived, death came for them. Lamech wanted relief from this curse when he named his son, Noah: "Out of the ground that the LORD has cursed this one shall bring us relief from our work and from the painful toil of our hands" (5:29). And Noah would certainly play prominently in God's plans. But he could offer no such rest.
Oddly enough, it was Lamech's great-great-grandfather*, Enoch, who pointed to true relief. For, in spite of the ever-spreading curse, Enoch was able to avoid death because he "walked with God" (5:24).
The Holy Spirit whispered hope to his people even in the midst of the constant clanging of death's bell. Enoch walked with God, and there is life, not death, for those who walk with him. Enoch ever so lightly foreshadows the hope of the resurrection, the hope that there is life for those who put their trust in the Lord. Enoch's God-given evasion of death reaffirms the divine promise of Genesis 3:15, that the serpent who brought about the curse in creation would be crushed by the Seed of the woman. Though the future of the human race looks grim, the Lord does not let us forget the coming Christ who would reverse the effects of the curse and make all things new (Rev. 21:5).
*We should not think that Gen. 5 is a comprehensive genealogy, accounting for every single generation. 4:18 reveals that Enoch was Methuselah's great-grandfather rather than his father. "Father" is used loosely in Hebrew and can be used to refer to ancestors further removed than one generation.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
February 23: Psalm 22
Today's reading.
Verse 1 of this psalm should sound familiar. The first line of this psalm is one of the seven things Jesus said as he hung, dying on the cross. Maybe you read this psalm in light of the crucifixion the first time through; maybe you didn't make the connection right away. If you did not have the cross in mind when you read this the first time, let me encourage you to read it again in light of the crucifixion.
This prophetic psalm shows what Christ experienced on the cross. The agony (22:14-15); the loneliness (22:1-2, 6); and especially the humiliation (22:7-8, 16-18). One can picture the Lord himself mouthing these words in painful prayer as the life slowly left his beaten, bloodied body. At the cross, our Lord was more like a worm than a man, deprived of all dignity, exposed before all the world like an earthworm after the rain, stuck on the sidewalk with no place to go. Jesus, the Son of God, the Second Person of the Trinity, was subject to the whims of his creatures, left to be toyed with before death like a school boy dangling that sidewalk worm before his eyes before stomping the life out of it.
If you have ever been despised or afflicted in life, if there has ever been a gross injustice committed against you, you can take comfort in the words of this psalm: "For he has not despised or abhorred the affliction of the afflicted, and he has not hidden his face from him, but has heard, when he cried to him" (22:24). You can know that this verse is true because it's in Scripture. But you can especially know it's true because Jesus himself has gone through the worst kind of affliction, was made more despicable than you or I could ever imagine. The Lord does not despise our affliction, but entered into the worst mess of the sin of this fallen world to deliver us from evil and restore us to relationship with God. Christ was forsaken so we could be rescued.
"Posterity shall serve him; it shall be told of the Lord to the coming generation; they shall come and proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn, that he has done it." Because Christ has come, because the Lord "has done it," our generation and those who come after us will proclaim his righteousness to all the world. Christ accomplished what he came to earth to do. You and I now live in light of that other pronouncement of our Lord's from the cross: "it is finished."
Our salvation is finished, what we most desperately needed in the world has been achieved for us. Proclaiming God's goodness, proclaiming the gospel to our children and their children should be a natural outflow of our redeemed hearts. Let's not be timid or shy from telling our children, nieces and nephews, grandchildren and all the coming generation of God's goodness to us in the gospel. Let's liberally, openly, freely, from the rooftops shout of all that God has done for us in Christ! Not because we feel bad or guilty or cheesy, but because we really have been saved and we really are grateful.
Verse 1 of this psalm should sound familiar. The first line of this psalm is one of the seven things Jesus said as he hung, dying on the cross. Maybe you read this psalm in light of the crucifixion the first time through; maybe you didn't make the connection right away. If you did not have the cross in mind when you read this the first time, let me encourage you to read it again in light of the crucifixion.
This prophetic psalm shows what Christ experienced on the cross. The agony (22:14-15); the loneliness (22:1-2, 6); and especially the humiliation (22:7-8, 16-18). One can picture the Lord himself mouthing these words in painful prayer as the life slowly left his beaten, bloodied body. At the cross, our Lord was more like a worm than a man, deprived of all dignity, exposed before all the world like an earthworm after the rain, stuck on the sidewalk with no place to go. Jesus, the Son of God, the Second Person of the Trinity, was subject to the whims of his creatures, left to be toyed with before death like a school boy dangling that sidewalk worm before his eyes before stomping the life out of it.
If you have ever been despised or afflicted in life, if there has ever been a gross injustice committed against you, you can take comfort in the words of this psalm: "For he has not despised or abhorred the affliction of the afflicted, and he has not hidden his face from him, but has heard, when he cried to him" (22:24). You can know that this verse is true because it's in Scripture. But you can especially know it's true because Jesus himself has gone through the worst kind of affliction, was made more despicable than you or I could ever imagine. The Lord does not despise our affliction, but entered into the worst mess of the sin of this fallen world to deliver us from evil and restore us to relationship with God. Christ was forsaken so we could be rescued.
"Posterity shall serve him; it shall be told of the Lord to the coming generation; they shall come and proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn, that he has done it." Because Christ has come, because the Lord "has done it," our generation and those who come after us will proclaim his righteousness to all the world. Christ accomplished what he came to earth to do. You and I now live in light of that other pronouncement of our Lord's from the cross: "it is finished."
Our salvation is finished, what we most desperately needed in the world has been achieved for us. Proclaiming God's goodness, proclaiming the gospel to our children and their children should be a natural outflow of our redeemed hearts. Let's not be timid or shy from telling our children, nieces and nephews, grandchildren and all the coming generation of God's goodness to us in the gospel. Let's liberally, openly, freely, from the rooftops shout of all that God has done for us in Christ! Not because we feel bad or guilty or cheesy, but because we really have been saved and we really are grateful.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
February 22: Genesis 4
Today's reading.
Why did God accept Abel's offering and not Cain's? Does God really like a good cut of meat? Are vegetarians less holy in the sight of the Lord?
The difference between their sacrifices does not seem to be in their substance. It isn't what Genesis says about the sacrifices (meat vs. vegetables), but about what it doesn't say. It says that Abel brought the Lord "the firstborn of his flock and their fat portions" (4:4), while the text says nothing more than that Cain brought "an offering of the fruit of the ground" (4:3). The text doesn't say that Cain brought the Lord, "his largest carrot, fattest turnips and juiciest watermelon." It simply says he brought "an offering." Cain offered some stuff. Gave God a tomato here, a kumquat there. Abel, on the other hand, brought prime rib and filet mignon, the best, the richest, the finest of what he could offer.
Abel's sacrifice revealed a heart of faith and a desire to bless the Lord. If you live off of the food you can raise and you take the first and the best of what you are able to produce to God, you are expressing a faith and dependence upon the Lord. You're saying that he has given you everything, and so giving him the best of what you have is no big deal. And as his child, you can fully expect to receive abundantly more than you offered, because you know that your Father loves you. If, on the other hand, you offer some of what you've got to show that you know you're supposed to, but not because your heart is truly worshiping and truly thankful, will it be surprising when God calls you out on it?
God has been infinitely generous to us in Christ! He has not only given us everything in the world that we have, but even when we rejected his ways of ruling the world he gave us, he still gave us his Son to cover that sin and reconcile us to himself. God's generosity goes so far as to give up his greatest treasure, his most prized possession, the firstborn, not of his flock, but of all creation! And, if we really understand God's generosity to us, our hearts will not be able to help but overflow into love and worship and generosity back to God with all that he has given us. We will give our best, just as he has given his best for us.
How is God calling you to be generous with what you have? How can you use what you have been given by God to serve and love your neighbor? Christ himself gave everything for complete strangers who lived on the other side of the universe. What does it look like for us to show a glimpse of that love to those around us?
What can you offer back to God? You can't make up for your sins through sacrifice—Christ's sacrifice is the only and all sufficient sacrifice that covers sin. But in gratitude, in love to the Lord who gave himself for you, what will you offer back to him? How will your worship look? Will you offer God "an offering?" Or will you take the fattest portions of the fruit of your labor and give them back to God in obedience and a desire to honor him? Will you express the kind of faith and worship that the Lord seeks?
Why did God accept Abel's offering and not Cain's? Does God really like a good cut of meat? Are vegetarians less holy in the sight of the Lord?
The difference between their sacrifices does not seem to be in their substance. It isn't what Genesis says about the sacrifices (meat vs. vegetables), but about what it doesn't say. It says that Abel brought the Lord "the firstborn of his flock and their fat portions" (4:4), while the text says nothing more than that Cain brought "an offering of the fruit of the ground" (4:3). The text doesn't say that Cain brought the Lord, "his largest carrot, fattest turnips and juiciest watermelon." It simply says he brought "an offering." Cain offered some stuff. Gave God a tomato here, a kumquat there. Abel, on the other hand, brought prime rib and filet mignon, the best, the richest, the finest of what he could offer.
Abel's sacrifice revealed a heart of faith and a desire to bless the Lord. If you live off of the food you can raise and you take the first and the best of what you are able to produce to God, you are expressing a faith and dependence upon the Lord. You're saying that he has given you everything, and so giving him the best of what you have is no big deal. And as his child, you can fully expect to receive abundantly more than you offered, because you know that your Father loves you. If, on the other hand, you offer some of what you've got to show that you know you're supposed to, but not because your heart is truly worshiping and truly thankful, will it be surprising when God calls you out on it?
God has been infinitely generous to us in Christ! He has not only given us everything in the world that we have, but even when we rejected his ways of ruling the world he gave us, he still gave us his Son to cover that sin and reconcile us to himself. God's generosity goes so far as to give up his greatest treasure, his most prized possession, the firstborn, not of his flock, but of all creation! And, if we really understand God's generosity to us, our hearts will not be able to help but overflow into love and worship and generosity back to God with all that he has given us. We will give our best, just as he has given his best for us.
How is God calling you to be generous with what you have? How can you use what you have been given by God to serve and love your neighbor? Christ himself gave everything for complete strangers who lived on the other side of the universe. What does it look like for us to show a glimpse of that love to those around us?
What can you offer back to God? You can't make up for your sins through sacrifice—Christ's sacrifice is the only and all sufficient sacrifice that covers sin. But in gratitude, in love to the Lord who gave himself for you, what will you offer back to him? How will your worship look? Will you offer God "an offering?" Or will you take the fattest portions of the fruit of your labor and give them back to God in obedience and a desire to honor him? Will you express the kind of faith and worship that the Lord seeks?
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