He Learned Trusting-Obedience

Hebrews 5

Who was Jesus? It seems that Jesus had several key identities. His title of Christ was a challenge to Caesar.  It is the Greek word for Messiah, which means "anointed one" in the Hebrew language. An "anointed one" referred to either a prophet, priest, or king. As Messiah to the Hebrew people, Jesus came as all three.

In this letter to the Hebrews, the author is connecting the dots between Jesus the Messiah and Israel's True High Priest. Jesus was the ideal High Priest for the people of Israel. He was compassionate with sinners. He was set apart by God, he didn't seek the position out for himself. Jesus cried out in pain and wept in sorrow before God as he offered up his priestly prayers on behalf of the people. What a gift this kind of High Priest would be to the masses. 

I imagine that this kind of generous and kind behavior from Jesus would have irritated and enraged the reigning and former High Priests of Israel. They had been politically appointed, had amassed great power and wealth, and sought to stabilize Israel's future with Rome. And then Jesus comes along, anointed as a High Priest of Israel, mediating between God and the people with beautiful results. No wonder they wanted to kill him!

What's interesting is that the one writing this letter to the Hebrews makes a point to remind us that Jesus had to learn "trusting-obedience by what he suffered, just as we do." We are often closest to Jesus when we suffer. Though we might even be suffering because of our own sins, even that has been fueled by those that have sinned against us - and it is there that we suffer like Jesus. And it is there, like Jesus, that we can learn trusting-obedience in God.

Jesus lived out a picture of what a True High Priest of Israel out to be. As this gracious High Priest, full of lovingkindness, Jesus laid down his life as if he were the unblemished lamb on the Day of Atonement. He's the High Priest that laid down his own life for the people of Israel. He's also the High Priest that becomes the scape-goat that wanders into the wilderness bearing on his backs all the sins of the people, carrying them away to be remembered no more.

Jesus is the Holy High Priest of Israel, through whom the world can be rescued from their sins as well. Anyone who believingly obeys Jesus, following his example, keeping his instructions, trusting his way, will find eternal salvation. Salvation from our sins that begins in this life and continues into the next. 

A salvation that changes us into priests for God like Jesus in our world - ones who mediate between YHWH and the people in our life. We treat sinners graciously, we learn trusting-obedience through our suffering when sinned against, we weep as we pray on behalf of the people in our life.

Jesus learned trusting-obedience, and so should we until our last breath, until "It is finished."

God Has Given The Skill

Exodus 36-40

God has given men the skill to create the works of art he has given them. Put another way, God has given men and women the wisdom to keep his commands. Or: God has given humanity the capacity to participate in the flourishing of the Earth. 

Israel is discovering their identity at Mt. Sinai. God has given them a second round of Ten Words (or Commandments), plus a lot more words and commands to live by. Keeping these commands will lead to them becoming a unique nation in the Ancient Near East. If everything goes according to plan, unique so that they can be a blessing. 

At Mt. Sinai they get detailed instructions on how to worship YHWH. Of course they would, how would they know to honor and praise him, they've been steeped in Egyptian idolatry for hundreds of years. They also were given detailed instructions on how to craft the objects to be used in this worship. We read these details with glazed over eyes. But if we read between the lines, what will we see?

God has given the detailed instructions on what he wants, and then he gives the skill to people to do it.

Think about that.

God is creating a new people, giving them a new way to worship him, to become a blessing to their neighboring tribes, to become a nation of their own having been delivered from an impressive and oppressive empire. And to do this, he not only gives them his presence - as cloud and fire - but words to follow, and then skills to accomplish it. That is good news for Israel. And us.

Alas, the rebellious instincts that lurk deep within us are powerful enough to derail us from the details God lovingly spells out for us. When Israel kept the commands, when the craftsmen hammered out the objects of worship, when the people participated in the worship of a holy God, they were blessed. But when they rebelled, grumbled, turned to idols, and rejected Moses, they became cursed. Despite all God did for them.

When we look around our community, our neighbors, our home, our church - God has details for us on how to get involved and join him in on the work he is doing. And the giving of the details often includes the capacity to do it with skill. Because God works through a community of people, he will place people in relationship to you so that together you can accomplish what he is doing in the world. Good news indeed!

You're Such A Stubborn, Hard-Headed People!

Exodus 31-35

We like to think that if we had been the ex-slaves traversing through the Desert of Sin, milling around the lonely Mt. Sinai, that we would have been much more obedient to God. It's easy to assume that we would have chosen different had we been in those difficult and trying circumstances. Us stubborn? Me, hard-headed? Ha!

Several million Hebrews have been herded along by their shepherd Moses to meet the God who delivered them. There at the mountain God will sign a covenant, much like a king would create for his people, outlining the terms and conditions of his kingdom. The language and elements of this treaty between God and the Israelites is very similar to that of other treaties found in the Ancient Near East. What an unruly crew God was seeking to tame!

It's interesting to note that God grants special wisdom and skill to craftsmen so that they can create the buildings and ritual objects for worship. That encourages me: whatever God is asking his people and church to do today, he will give us the wisdom and skills to accomplish it.

But it's also interesting to note that following the tragic and disgusting episode of the Golden Calf, Moses has to talk God out of destroying the Twelve Tribes of Israel. God is so angry and offended by the blatant disregard for his commands and covenant and commitment to them that he wants to wipe the rescued slaves off the face of the earth. And Moses has to wrestle to get God to change his mind.

This becomes a helpful picture for what Jesus accomplished on the cross when he bore the penalties of our sins. When you think about how angry you get when you hear about sins committed against others, imagine how God reacts.

It's his creation, it's the people he loves, its the world that he is always at work in - and when people sin against Him and one another and creation in all the flagrant ways that we do, it angers him. On the cross Jesus bore the wrath of God for all the sins ever committed, and ever to be committed. Though we would still sin, we live as if already forgiven. 

We're such a stubborn and hard-headed people yet today. God has impressive patience with us still. There are still consequences for our sins though, there are still missed opportunities from our fears and mistakes.

But God is still at work in us and through us to accomplish his work in the world - a work begun with Exodus, continued through Israel, climaxed with the crucifixion of Jesus, and now enlarged through the lives of the church. Jesus is now our shepherd, leading us though we resist and still rebel. But he still leads, he never leaves or forsakes us, rescuing us, and then reforming us. 

Oh, how we still need to be reformed! The work God has for us to do - he makes us capable of accomplishing it. Though we might look at our past and grimace, or our life now and frown, God sees what he can do through us and smiles!

In letting God reform and renew us, in our being honest with God about our stubbornness and pride, we become more humble and useful to him. And to others.

And God Just Stands There

Job 15-16

When you suffer, is it a direct result of your sins?

Yes and no. 

For many of us, our complicated situations flow from our pride, anger, lust, gluttony, greed, envy, or apathy. So in these cases, there is a connection between our hardships and our transgressions.

But what about when someone sins against us? When we are innocent? When they trespass against us and produce hurt and anxiety and fear and woundedness into our life? What then? Are we too blame for the tsunami of difficulties that flow out of that?

For Job, he was convinced that he was innocent, and that God was to blame for his horrors. And to a degree, he was right - since we get to know the backstory, the conversation God had with Satan. For Job's friends, who like Job don't know the backstory, they are convinced that Job is guilty of sin, and this explains his terrible suffering.

Despite Job's protests to his innocence, the friends are sure that deep inside, despite the great reputation Job had for being blameless and upright, despite his life of righteousness, somewhere deep inside was lurking sin that has produced this terrible affliction of suffering.

Here is how Eliphaz puts it:

If you were truly wise, would you sound so much like a windbag, belching hot air?
Would you talk nonsense in the middle of a serious argument, babbling baloney?
Look at you! You trivialize religion, turn spiritual conversation into empty gossip.
It's your sin that taught you to walk this way.
You chose an education in fraud.

But Job resists their simplistic and unfeeling accounting of the situation:

I've had all I can take of your talk.
What a bunch of miserable comforters!
Is there no end to your windbag speeches?
What's your problem that you go on and on like this?
If you were in my shoes, I could talk just like you.
I could put together a terrific harangue and really let you have it.
But I'd never do that. I'd console and comfort, make things better, not worse!

And then Job speaks directly and forcefully to God about his dire situation:

People take one look at me and gasp.
Contemptuous, the slap me around and gang up on me.
And God just stands there and lets them do it,
let's wicked people do what they want with me.
I was contentedly minding my own business when God beat me up.
He grabbed me by the neck and threw me around.

Do you ever feel this way towards God? That the hard times you're going through are undeserved? We'd be wise to contemplate the thoughts of both Eliphaz and Job. There are times when our sins produce chaos in our life, and thus our repentance and return to God put us on the path to healing and restoration.

But sometimes, when we get sinned against, and life turns upside down, we have a choice: of either retaliating, of sinning in response, or crying out to God for intervention and rescue.

Job is caught in deep tension: he's convinced that the hard times are undeserved, and yet from God. He's also sure that God is the one that can rescue him. Job must wrestle with relying on a God who has seemingly been so unfair to him. Job is forced to reach out to a God who just seems to stand there.

Job is being tested. And in his rage against the injustice of his situation, he still trusts God for resolution. Even though he sees God as the cause of the storm, he's willing to believe that God will bring it to pass. And that God will have a good reason for all of this. But in the meantime, it's as if God just stands there.

Believe Without Seeing

John 19-21

Is it more difficult to believe in Jesus now then it used to be?

Does the lapsing of time between the resurrection and our life today make it increasingly harder to have faith in Jesus? If we had been there to see the crucifixion of Jesus, would it be more likely we would have stronger faith? Probably not.

Here's how Jesus perceives the situation - it gets phrased through his discourse with Thomas the Twin: "So, you believe because you've seen with your own eyes. Even better blessings are in store for those who believe without seeing." 


Meaning: Jesus had a hard enough time getting people to believe in him while he did walk and speak and heal and celebrate with sinners. Imagine how hard it will be to get the next generation of Israelites and Gentiles to believe in a Jesus that is gone!

And yet... here we are two thousand years later and Jesus still has quite a following of believers. Impressive! Jesus pronounced a blessing upon those that would someday believe without seeing. Of course, this doesn't imply that you turn off your brain, become a robotic in your obedience, and cease to ask questions. It's about engaging your mind and not just your eyeballs.

The Gospel of John is a great example of how the disciples attempted to help people believe in a Jesus they had never seen, maybe never even heard of, possibly who don't like Jews. John blatantly admits his purpose in writing this gospel:

Jesus provided far more God-revealing signs than are written down in this book. These are written down so you will believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and in the act of believing, have real and eternal life in the way he personally revealed it.

Believe without seeing came to mean: believe through hearing and reading and listening. This taps into Jesus' own ministry - his preaching and teaching required hearing and listening. Seeing Jesus - his life, even his death and resurrection - did not provoke belief, but rather denials, abandonment, and fear.

But the story of Jesus still needs to be told, and people need to be able to have the events unfolded so that we can see them in our mind.

Why was Jesus killed? That's kind of the point of the gospels that John and the others wrote. What did Jesus do that led to his crucifixion? But not just the why or how, but: what did it mean? What was the significance of the King of Israel being crucified by the elite rulers and mobs of fellow Israelites? What was the significance that King Jesus also claimed to be the Son of Man, but also understood to be the Son of God?

Be thankful that the Gospel writers gave us stories and not volumes of theological reflection. The stories of Jesus keep alive in us the powerful truths that change our life. Every generation must again, anew, go back to the stories and figure out what they mean for our day.

Seeing Jesus does not lead to believing. Reading and hearing and listening to the stories - and processing them, wrestling with them. understanding them - that leads to belief.

You must figure out the implications of what Jesus claimed, of what he taught and did. You must wrestle with it. Belief must be born out of struggle. Belief without seeing is difficult for sure. But belief born out of listening and contemplating and striving to understand - that is a gift, rare and precious.

Take The Mercy, Accept The Help

Hebrews 3-4

This letter was possibly written by Priscilla, a well-regarded Christian woman who collaborated with the Apostle Paul. Since no author has been attributed to this thoughtful and rich letter, lots of theories have emerged. Some say Paul wrote it, but the style is much different then his other letters.

We know it was written by a Hebrew to Hebrews, hence the title it was given. It was written by someone with a deep love for Israel, a mastery of the First Testament, a deep understanding of their history, and unwavering loyalty to Jesus the Messiah.

The Hebrew Christians who received this letter needed assurance of their faith. They also needed more thorough explanations of how Jesus is connected to Israel as the High Priest, to God as the Son, and to the world as fully human. The author of this letter will draw extensively from Torah, but also the Poetry, the History, and the Prophets of the First Testament. This is an excellent letter to read with a Reference Bible - and then follow the "links" it provides, connecting the letter to the Hebrews with the hundreds of references in the First Testament.

It is vital that these Hebrews and Hebrew Christians that are reading the Bible don't make the same mistake as that first generation of Israelites who followed Moses out of Egypt. The Exodus was God's intervention for his people to deliver them to the Promised Land. And along the way, the people gave up on God, they turned a deaf ear to him, they quit trusting him. And so it is with this first generation of Christians - don't repeat the same mistake of our ancestors, don't turn a deaf ear to Jesus. 

So, my dear Christian friends, companions in following this call to the heights, take a good hard look at Jesus. He's the centerpiece of everything we believe, faithful in everything God gave him to do. 

In our life, it's too easy to take our eyes off of Jesus. We can make other issues too important, too distracting. When it comes to our life as Christians, Christ is the focus. Christ the person, Christ the one who lived and died, the one who was resurrected and ascended. Christ the one who rescued us from sin and restores us to new life, reconciled with God and ready for life in the age to come. It's important that we not just focus on what Jesus does for us, but what Jesus was like and what he did for others. 

Now that we know what we have - Jesus, this great High Priest with ready access to God - let's not let it slip through our fingers. We don't have a priest who is out of touch with our reality. He's been through weakness and testing, experienced it all - all but the sin. So let's walk right up to him and get what he is so ready to give. Take the mercy, accept the help.

Isn't that a great image of Jesus? He's eager for us to meet, to talk, to be present in the same place. At times he tracks us down, he follows us to our dark places, he stays with us despite our defiance and doubts. And then, when we're ready to turn around, he's right there, ready for us to receive what he has to offer. Are you ready to take the mercy and accept the help Jesus has to give?

Don't Boil A Kid In Its Mother's Milk

Exodus 21-30

In reading through the whole First Testament and New Testament, the most difficult sections is the pieces that go on and on and on about arcane laws, tedious construction details, and disgusting sacrificial instructions. According to historians, the Exodus would have happened around 1400BC. Our society and culture is so different from then, which helps explain our slogging through some of these chapters.

Some of the commands we understand: Don't kill or beat people, don't steal or kidnap, don't be irresponsible or immoral, don't sacrifice to idols. Okay, we can appreciate those kinds of laws - in fact we seek to keep them yet today. But there there are other statutes that seem to baffle us, the most famous one being: don't boil a kid in its mother's milk. 

As I read through the lists of do's and don'ts, it helps to remember the practicality of this book and the situation of the people. They are listing stuff that has been experienced, stuff that has been a problem requires a solution, hence the commands. Obviously there had been problems with abuse, robbery, idolatry, sexual immorality, and so on. What we get is a snapshot of what the complicated problems were facing the people, and the solutions they proposed.

I was put off by how many times death is proscribed as punishment for so many of the laws. It seems rather harsh. I suppose it helps to remember that we are dealing with document over three-thousand years old. Culture was different then. But it's interesting to note that when the death penalty was put in force, an option of redemption was possible. "If a ransom is agreed upon instead of death, he must pay it in full as a redemption for his life." 

Admittedly, I skimmed through some of the details on how to construct the Tabernacle and other related items, including the vestments for the priests. I tried to read every single word, but I jumped ahead sometimes. I'm sure there is a good reason for including this information in the Bible, but it seems to have little practical application to my life. However, it does teach me that God cares about details, about creating fine art, about letting us know what he wants us to do, about practicality and beauty and functionality and holiness.

One last thing: the idea of holy is connected mostly to the idea that something is different, set apart. The priests are holy because they are not like the common person. The Tabernacle and related items are holy because they are set apart from common use, only to be handled by priests for worship.

Holy does not mean pure or unblemished, it just means different. However, the point of making the item holy is so that it won't be made impure or mishandled. In our lives, we don't become holy by becoming pure - we become holy by a decision of God. In making us holy, he sets us apart for a special task he enables us to accomplish. 

But You're Special

Exodus 16-20

In this story of freedom from slavery, we also find a story of covenant to God. Israel was freed by God - not so that they could do whatever they wanted. They were freed in order to become God's own people on the Earth. God rescued Israel, saved them that they might be his special treasure, a kingdom of priests, a holy nation. 

We don't know what kind of work God was doing in the whole world during the times of the Exodus. We do know that there were tribes of peoples all over the Earth, kingdoms, empires, cities and societies. There is scant if any word of what God was doing in those peoples. But God does make it clear through his words to Moses that God intended for Israel to have a role to play when it came to the peoples of the world.

For Israel to be a kingdom of priests, it implies that they were to be mediators between God and all the peoples and tribes of Earth. As a holy nation, they were set apart, unlike the other nations, called for a special duty and task. Recall God's word to Abraham: I will make you into a great nation, I will bless you, I will make you a blessing, and through you I will bless the whole world. It was this kind of vision that God had for the Israel that he delivered from slavery in Egypt.

The stories we read in this section are fascinating - snippets of what life was like on the way to the Promised Land. This part of the journey includes episodes of their travel to Mt. Sinai where the covenant will be made between God and Israel. Along the way the people complain bitterly about lack of food and water. They are attacked by the Amalekites. Moses is overwhelmed by his role as judge for this mass of sojourners. There are good nuggets in here for reflection on leadership and faith.

As Christians, we understand ourselves to be children of Abraham - those who put their faith in Christ. With our allegiance to Jesus as Messiah and King of Israel, we belong to the New Israel that God has brought up in the world to be his special treasure for blessing the world. Christians are the next kingdom of priests, mediators between God and the people of the world. We are the holy nation, unlike everyone else in order that we might serve them and bless them and connect them with God.

To think of ourselves as special does not give us permission to become proud and haughty towards others. We've been chosen to follow in the steps of Jesus, the way of love and sacrifice, service and compassion, wisdom and healing. Just as Israel failed to uphold the covenant, so have Christians. And yet just as God worked through Israel, so he can work through us. Jesus is the one redeeming factor of both Israel and Christians - it is he to whom we should always point. And follow.

Do You Finally Believe?

John 16-18

For whatever reason, the disciples were having a difficult time understanding Jesus. His explanations about his life, his work, his upcoming death - well it just made everything more confusing. It was difficult to grasp back then, and so it still is today.

Patiently Jesus answers their questions about his identity, his mission, his future. Jesus explains to them about the coming Holy Spirit, the upcoming crucifixion, and God's will for everything. Finally, the disciples cry out that they get it, the grasp what Jesus is saying. Jesus shocks them with this question: Do you finally believe?

At this point Jesus goes on to tell the disciples how they will abandon him. But then Jesus prays for them. And so it is with us today - we struggle to understand who Jesus is and what he has done and is doing in the world. When we get close to grasping it, we still get challenged by Jesus himself: do you finally believe? 

Jesus challenges us like he did his disciples then - reminding us that we can't believe in Him apart from His Spirit. We need Jesus to pray for us, to help us keep believing - and obeying. And that's what Jesus' prayer is all about - spelling out the relationship between the Father and the Son, the Son and the Disciples, the Disciple and Disciples, and the Disciples and the Father. Love. Unity. Mission.

It was one thing for the disciples to declare their faith and trust in Jesus while praying in the Garden. It was severely tested there in Gethsemane when the soldiers and priests showed up with clubs and swords.  The light had seemed to dawn for the disciples earlier, only to have it chased away in the dark of night. And so it goes for us still - we have moments where we finally get it... and then it's overwhelmed by the forces at work in the world.

The religious leaders did not believe Jesus. Some did, and more would after the resurrection. The Roman bureaucrats and soldiers did not believe Jesus. A few did, but not enough to intervene and stop the condemnation to torture. Crowds of people had been fed by Jesus, healed by Jesus, loved by Jesus, taught by Jesus - but they did not believe Jesus. They were willing to let him be silenced.

Where are you at with Jesus? Do you struggle to hear and obey his words? Do you have a hard time making sense of his life and teachings? Is it difficult for you to believe? Can you see in your own life where you've denied or even betrayed Jesus? When we come to Jesus and let him know that we finally believe, he's probably going to push back a bit. Not to be mean, but but because he wants to give us the truth in love.

Jesus wants us to believe him. He prays for the Spirit to help us believe him. But we should be aware that our declarations of belief may get challenged by Jesus himself. That's his gift to us. Belief shouldn't be easy. Which is why faith is a gift of God to us. And we must rely on Jesus' Spirit to help us keep trusting him. We don't have to do it all by ourselves.


Do you finally believe?

But We Don't See It Yet

Hebrews 1-2

We want to see what is right prevail. What want to see good overcome evil. We want there to be a connection between justice and mercy. More than karma, we want grace to have the last word on our lives.

For Christians, our story includes the command of God to have dominion over the Earth, to steward it for his glory and our joy. Unfortunately, in the past few hundred years, with the advent of the Industrial Revolution, we've increased our pollution of the land and famines for the poorest of the world. Christians are struggling with how to exert power and authority such that everyone on earth gets enough to eat and drink. We strive for a solution, but we don't see it yet.

The author of the letter to the Hebrews was a witness to the life and way of Jesus. For him, in the midst of the mighty Roman Empire, he still didn't see yet the blessed dominion of man over the earth. Instead, he saw crucifixion beams and besieged, bloodied cities. But he did see Jesus. And he was compelled to come to terms with the words and works of Jesus. How to make sense of them - either Jesus was a liar, a lunatic, or Lord.

We want Jesus to return soon, to make things right on the earth. We want Jesus to lead us so that the righteous prosper and the wicked are disciplined. We want Jesus to bring healing and restoration to broken peoples and polluted lands. But we don't see it yet. Not completed, at least. But the work has begun, if you have eyes to see it.

Where does wickedness come from? Where does the desire to hurt people and desecrate the land come from? The religious term for it is sin. Evil. And if only someone could break the corruptible power of sin, it's expressions of lust and greed, pride and envy.

Ah - but there is someone who claimed to overcome the reign of evil. It's what Jesus did on the cross and through the resurrection. And the rewards of that sacrifice are available to us. To those that believe it is possible. Even if we don't see it completed yet.

Unlike the author of Hebrews, we did not witness the life of Jesus, his crucifixion and resurrection. We did not hear his words, did not watch him at work. But the influence of Jesus is still here. Jesus is still at work, breaking the power of sin in our lives, subverting the power of evil in society. 

He knows what it is like to be one of us, to be crushed by opposition, to be hated for being right and truth-full. Jesus is our example for how to live in this darkened world. But he is also our Savior - the one who rescued us from the power of darkness and grants us light to see and love and follow Him.

Why Are We Doing This?

Exodus 11-15

If you were God, and about three thousand years ago you wanted to free some two million people from a powerful empire, how would you do it? Let's call that empire Egypt, and the enslaved people Israel. Egypt is militarily powerful, the Israelites weakened from decades of forced labor. Everyone is religious, believing in dozens of gods and goddesses. And God has not talked to anyone in over four-hundred years.

God has decided to work in and through people. He works through Pharaoh - who has been raised to believe in his own divinity, exceedingly cruel and violent. He works through Moses who is an Israelite, raised as an Egyptian prince, exiled to the desert, existed as a scraggly shepherd, and now returns with a stutter. If the Israelites are released to the desert, the economy grinds to a halt for a few days. Or, as the Pharaoh fears, forever. God of Israel or Pharaoh-god of Egypt - who's will shall prevail?

All of this apparently got confusing for the children. When God gives the instructions to Moses on how to be prepared to be rescued, it assumes that the kids will have questions. God has words for the parents on what to say when asked: why are we doing this?

As the wheels of freedom began to grind, the noise of wailing from the Egyptians and scared bleating of the sheep and goats rang throughout the night. It would have been scary for a child to sit through the turmoil of the Passover.

When God brought about the final plague, the Death of the Firstborn, instructions were given on how to survive the night. Those that believed God through Moses obeyed. They took a lamb, slaughtered it, spread the blood over the doorposts of their home, and then roasted the meat over a flickering fire.

 The family was to eat in haste, sandals on, staff in hand, belongings packed up. This was a meal unlike any other - it even had a name: the Pass-over meal. Of course the children are going to wonder: why are we doing this?

Screams of terrified mothers and rage-full fathers tore through the darkness when they discovered their firstborn son breathless. Trembling Israelite parents clung to their kids, thankful for life, ready for the morning to arrive.

When notice was given to flee the land, they found their grieving Egyptian neighbors flinging gold and jewelry and other valuables out the window at them - a departing gift. The confusion prompted the kids to whisper: why are we doing this?

When the Israelites arrived at the shore of the Red Sea, the fresh breeze was a blessing. But when they heard the thundering approach of Pharaoh's deadly chariots, they felt cursed and betrayed.

Suddenly the crowd starts moving, you get swept up in the shuffle forward, and amidst the roars of fear and the wild neighing of war-horses you find yourself in water. Well, not in the water, but on dry ground with walls of water to your left and right. What child wouldn't ask: why are we doing this?

God wanted the Israelites to be able to tell the story of their deliverance. God wanted the children of Israel to know who they are, where they came from, and why they feast and worship as they do. God understood the inquisitive nature of children, the mystery of worship, and the complexity of historical remembrance.

When we observe Passover, the Lord's Supper, fasting, praying, giving alms, caring for the least of these - they prompt questions: why are we doing this? What would you tell your kids? 

Parents fail their children when there are shallow answers to normal questions. Especially when it comes to our faith and life with God. If parents don't know what they are doing - why do we go to church, etc - or if they don't give a good answer, they'll lose the interest of their kids.

Thoughtlessness and lack of appreciation from parents will get passed on to their kids. But so will reflection, intentionality, understanding, patient explanation in response to curiosity.

Israel would fail in future generations - like within two or three - because parents didn't give good enough answers when the kids asked: why are we doing this? It's been the curse of Israel and Christianity - parents often fail to pass on faith in God to their kids.

Why? Because the parents often fail to invest enough honest reflection into their own life to answer their own questions: why are we doing this? Many times the question of a child is God's prompt for you to do some contemplation.

Why are we doing this?

Have It Your Way

Exodus 6-10

Why do we get so stubborn? What makes us dig in our heels at the wrong time, for the wrong reasons? How do you get through to someone who is unable to break free from their enslaving desires?

Moses pleads with Pharaoh to let the Israelites venture into the desert for a few days to worship YHWH. Pharaoh's denial of their request prompts plagues from God. Each plague prompts Pharaoh to relent - but then as the calamity subsides, the stubbornness returns in force. The increasing destructiveness of the curses  increases the tension of the story - how can Pharaoh keep changing his mind and allow another day of disaster to come upon himself and his people?

Pharaoh's empire-economy was expanding in glory and might on the back of Israelite slaves. To let the men and their families enjoy a few days off would bring the "shovel-ready" projects to a halt. Worse, it would give the enslaved people a few days rest to talk amongst themselves and possibly plot insurrection. The idea that they would find respite in the desert to worship a "foreign" god was also an unwelcome thought to the Pharaoh. It's not just that Pharaoh is stubborn, he's also afraid of what will happen. 

There is often a link between our stubbornness and our fears. We get into a situation that is harming others, even ourselves - and when the opportunity is given us to change, we get stubborn and afraid. We're afraid of the future, afraid of uncertainty, afraid of being shamed, afraid of losing what we have - even if it is rotten and filthy. Stubbornness is less about wisdom then it is about power and control, familiarity and advantage. Pharaoh faces a great disadvantage in letting the Israelites go worship in the desert. What's in it for him?

What Pharaoh didn't fully comprehend was that his slave-labor would be leaving him soon no matter what. He was given the opportunity to act honorably and in obedience to YHWH. After any one of the plagues, Pharaoh could have had a change of heart, fully repented and granted freedom to Israel. But he didn't, and he wouldn't. And thus he lost his honor and his empire. And his life.

God will come to us at times, giving us an opportunity to change, to break away from addictions, from bondage to ideas and beliefs, to be freed from dangerous relationships and circumstances. He comes to help us change, that we might cease from harming others.

And when God comes to initiate those changes, we can know that the change will come - either with our cooperation and honorable participation, or without it. If we stubbornly resist God's work, we will experience ongoing disaster and destruction. God doesn't get involved in trifle matters - what he does is of grand importance.

When we are given the opportunity to change, God will speak to us through a myriad of people. We may not always recognize God in it, but we will hear the word of change that is being presented to us.

We can have it our way, or we can do it God's way. God was going to free Israel with or without Pharaoh's participation. And God will free others under your influence that you are harming, with or without your participation. 

You can have it your way,
and face a series of curses and separation from God.
Or you can have it God's way, 
where you face loss, but also a new beginning. 

Does This Look Like Rescue To You?

Exodus 1-5

This is the story of God and Moses and the rescue of Israel from Egypt. God is the main character, Moses is his supporting actor, and Pharaoh is the antagonist. Exodus is the primary story of Israel - its the story that Genesis was pointing to, preparing for. And in the story of Exodus is the clash of God and gods, Deliverance and Empire, Freedom and Slavery, Worship and Work. 

Moses was born during a ban, he was to be immediately executed for being a boy. His mother defied the Pharaoh. Ironically, the Pharaoh's daughter discovers the baby Moses floating in the Nile and takes him home! We learn that Moses grows up in a royal household, the best of education and opportunity. One thing, however, that persisted was a speech impediment. Despite forty years of Egyptian privilege, Moses still stuttered. 

As Moses discovers his true heritage, he flails in executing justice. His flight to the wilderness, however, becomes preparation for survival. He has been trained in royal leadership, now he's being trained in desert shepherding. God will meet up with Moses for the first time at just the right time. Almost eighty years of preparation, of no interaction with God, of only living one day at a time on his own. God works on his own timetable, in his own way.

When God begins to reveal his plans to Moses, things get worse for almost everyone. Jethro loses his daughter and best shepherd, and grandkids. On the way there, Zipporah saves Moses from being killed by God! Upon arrival in Egypt, the request from Aaron and Moses to Pharaoh results in more violent oppression, beatings, and cruel injustice. Moses cries out to God: Does this look like rescue to you?

What do we think rescue ought to look like in our world? When God moves us toward some kind of intervention, service, sacrifice, mission - should everything turn out roses immediately? Should we be able to see how every hardship and downturn contributes to the future victory? For Moses, it didn't. And for us, it often doesn't. We often cannot see how God's plan is going to work out. Sometimes God's involvement makes things worse. 

God is fine with Moses' questions. He is fine with your bewilderment. Will we be fine with what God wants us to do next? 
Or will we give up?

Moses: "Does this look like rescue?"
God: "No, actually it doesn't. But it is."

Scorn on the Strugglers

Job 9-12

The tension continues to rise in this poem between Job and his grieving companions. Job unrelentingly insists on his innocence, on the disconnect between his behavior and these consequences. Any wrongdoing Job may have done still didn't deserve this kind of punishment, this kind of hardship, this kind of disaster.

Those who observe and hear Job, though, continue to push-back. They cast doubt on Job's assertions. The more that Job lays out his lack of wrongdoing and contrasts it with God's extreme dosage of suffering - the tension only increases. His friends side with God and insist that Job is in the wrong. Ironically, much of what they have to say lacks knowledge of the true situation, and it lacks compassion.

We ought to avoid saying too much to those that struggle. If we find ourselves scorning those who are suffering, we need to look around at our own situation. Are we scorning from a position of health, security, advantage, blessing?

Are we fully informed as to why the others are struggling? Is the best we can do marked by scorn and putting people in their place? Is there value in listening - really listening? Is their value in letting their struggle stir up uncertainty and introspection in your own life?

Beware those who scorn the strugglers.

Love One Another

John 13-15

The story that's being retold in the Gospel of John has shifted its focus - it's moving toward the betrayal and arrest, the crucifixion of the main character: Jesus. This section begins with the Passover Meal - an event rich in stories, theology, culture and history. Jesus takes this event and adds even richer significance to it - he will be come the lamb that is slain by his own people, atoning for their sins and delivering them from death. It will come through betrayal. And yet Jesus will insist that the disciples love one another. 

To demonstrate Jesus' love for his disciples, he washes their smelly, dirty, crusty feet before dinner. And then Jesus insists that they must do this for others. It's one of the ways that the disciples as leaders can express love to their community and family.

I wonder: what would be the equivalent of washing feet today? What would be something that pastors and leaders could do that equates with the humility and gentleness, the tenderness and love of washing the feet of others?

Following dinner Jesus talks for awhile - making sure his disciples understand what is going on. To underscore his main message, he goes over the basics again: love one another. The command is: love one another. Obeying the commands that Jesus gives us reveals our love for Jesus.

How do we know if we love Jesus? When we are working to love one another. How do we love one another? In the same ways that Jesus loved us. This will require meditation on the way of Jesus. And it will require courage when it comes to those in our life who are difficult to love. Even when you have a Judas in your life. Or a Peter.

It's a daunting challenge that Jesus gives his disciples. Maybe he can see the shock in their eyes. To comfort them he promises that the Holy Spirit will always be with them to help them. Where will the power and insight come from to love others as Jesus loved us? 

It will come from the Spirit of God in us. Our love for God opens us up to His Spirit, which empowers us to love others. He can't make us choose to love, but he can influence us in that direction - and once we make the choice, he gives us the capability.

So often we find that our hearts are too small or too tired for all the love that seems to be required of us. We will always need the help of God to love others like Jesus loved us. And the more we yield to the influence of God, the more people he will bring in our path to love.

This is the challenge, 
but this is also a gift 
- to love and be loved, 
this is the greatest thing 
in all the world!

Bring Judgment Against Them

Jude & Obadiah

Jude is a brother both to James the Bishop of Jerusalem and Jesus the King of Israel. We're not sure what his role was in the early church. By the letter he wrote it would seem that maybe he was an overseer of some churches.

He also seemed to be a busy man, but when he heard about what was going on in some of the congregations, he felt compelled to write a emotional and vivid letter. It's a real short one - compact, full of Old Testament stories and allusions - very impactful to that first audience.

It seems that this group of believers were known for their love of God, exuding the grace of Jesus, praying in the Spirit. But for whatever reason there were people joining their group who were more interested in challenging the norms, insisting on self-serving practices, and bringing in filthy attitudes and actions. Rather then being people who wanted to change and grow in the faith, they were wanting the benefit of the church while staying rooted in the ways of the world.

Jude insists that God will bring judgment against them. Not because God is a big mean old man up in the sky waiting to smite sinners. Evil is like cancer, sin is like a virus, selfishness and greed spread and infect and wreck and distract and ruin and taint and suck the life out of a community.


Judgment is God's gift to a community - to point out the obvious, the truth, the reality of the situation and intervene. God will let things go for awhile, giving the people opportunities to repent and change their ways. But if it goes on for too long, then God will bring an end to it.

This is what we find in the prophecy from Obadiah in the Old Testament. He is writing to the Edomites, descendants of Esau who was the twin brother of Jacob (also known as Israel, the father of the Twelve Tribes). Esau and Jacob had a difficult, competitive, edgy relationship - and so did their descendants.

There would be much tension and many skirmishes between them in the centuries to follow. When the Northern Tribes and Southern Tribes of Israel were conquered by the Assyrian and Babylonian Empires, Edom gloated and harrassed. And God was not happy about it.

There is so much in the world that is not right - between tribes and nations, empires and superpowers. God lets so much go on and on and on. Finally, after one too many times, God spoke a word of judgment to Edom through Obadiah. You reap what you sow. What goes around comes around. God promised to bring justice to Edom for their sins against their brother Israel, for mocking and abandoning him.

But at the very end of Obadiah's letter, he notes that someday Israel will return and bring justice to Edom. Another way to look at it: Israel will break the cycle of violence and revenge and hatred. When God brings Israel back, they will be part of God's plan to bring shalom - even to their enemies. 

It's this same attitude that Jude wants Christians to take towards those that are infecting their community with sin: "Go easy on those who hesitate in the faith. Go after those who take the wrong way. Be tender with sinners, but not soft on sin. The sin itself stinks to high heaven." God is the one who brings judgment on sinners. And he is also the one who initiates grace. We do no favors when we overlook sin, but we also ought not to overlook sinners.

Just as God brought justice to Edom, so God will bring it to each sinner. But God also promised a new life on the other side of judgment. Judgment is a gift - it brings an end to wickedness, abuse, hate.


Judgment is often hard and harsh - since it often comes at the hands of other humans, and it is often the real consequences from the long culmination of our choices and desires. If we are willing to see our fall as a gift from God, we'll be ready for Him when he picks us up and stands us on our feet.

And now to him who can keep you on your feet, standing tall in his bright presence, fresh and celebrating - to our one God, our only Savior, through Jesus Christ, our Master, be glory, majesty, strength, and rule before all time, and now, to the end of all time. Yes.

To You Arrogant Rich

James 5

If you're going to write a short letter, and instruct about only the most important issues, what would those be? For the Christians reading the letter of their Bishop James the Just, they get a clear message about the abuse of wealth. Back then, and now, the abuse of wealth is still a cancer on our society. 

Whether it is a bartering system, agricultural system, an empire economy, a socialist society, a communist dictatorship, or a free-market system - wealthy people will emerge, and too many of them will add to the corruption of the system for their own gain. And it will be at the expense of the workers. And the Earth.

It is evident that wealth is NOT a sign of God's blessing. God's blessing comes from what you do with your money - whether much or meager. God will be harsher on the wealthy who exploit people and places, who loot and live it up, who destroy lives and livelihoods. 


"All the workers you've exploited and cheated cry out for judgment. The groans of the workers you used and abused are a roar in the ears of the Master Avenger." Whether it is America or Malaysia, China or Mexico, whatever the economic system, God is against those who build wealth for themselves.

So James has a few words for the workers though: life is hard - be patient for the return of Jesus without complaining about your neighbor or your life. Don't let oppression provide an excuse for you to dishonor God with your words and ways.

Act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with your God even in the midst of gross inequality, corporate injustices, and financial mismanagement. If you're going to help make things right, do not become like the ones who made it wrong. 

For the hard life of the workers, continue to pray for one another, and for justice. When you get sinned against: forgive. When you sin against others: confess and work for reconciliation and healing. Don't let the hard times that have been inflicted on you result in drifting away from God and community. 


When your friends fall away from God - go after them! Don't let the corporate empires and billionaire tyrants corrupt your church community. Resist the evil. Rescue the wandering. Restore the broken. Reach out and care for those who have been left behind or trampled.

God Was Behind It

Genesis 41-45

What can one person accomplish? A lot, actually. God sets Joseph up for the deliverance of Egypt and the surrounding nations from a terrible and prolonged famine. Pharaoh of Egypt appoints Joseph to oversee the collection of crops in the seven years of plenty so that there will be enough sustenance in the seven years of blight. God prepared Joseph over many years, through many difficulties. God was behind what Joseph accomplished.

We are reading about Israel's story, of how they ended up in Egypt. The Exodus story defines their identity - so the backstory is compelling and crucial. Joseph is the reason the tribe of Israel came to live in Egypt, in the region of Goshen. A famine forced Jacob and his family to trek out of southern Canaan to set up tents in the northeastern Nile region. Even though Canaan was the promised land, God had already told Abraham that his people would be in Egypt for a few hundred years. The promise would come true, but there were lots of preparations that God had to work on yet.

If we were in Joseph's shoes, wouldn't we have given up a lot sooner in the journey? Would we have despaired when thrown in the pit? Would we have sulked when sold to Potiphar? Would we have become embittered when thrown in jail? Would we have seeped hatred when we were forgotten in that dungeon? Would we have railed against the unfairness of God? Would we have perceived that God was behind it? And would we have raged against him? 

When it comes to God working in our world, he is bound by time and us. In order for God to work in us and through us, as brilliant and capable as he is, there are still the limitations that come with humanity. But oh the possibilities? We wonder why God doesn't accomplish more in the world? Maybe he is trying, but all the men and women he chooses to prepare (without their consent and without indication that it is for a really really big problem in the future) keep bailing on him. Maybe God is at work, but he takes hundreds of years to get things where they need to be, so the person he has prepared is ready.

Maybe we can't always tell whether God is behind what is going on in our life? How will we know if he was? The best evidence is when we keep on trusting, continue to do the next right thing in his eyes, and focus on overcoming. Joseph just didn't give up. And once he found himself prepared to help solve a really big problem, then he realized that God was behind it all. And that maybe when we realize it too.

Bitter, But Honest

Job 5-8

The tension in the story continues to increase. We, the reader, know the backstory between God and Satan. Job, the one "covered with maggots and scabs" continues rage and question God. His friends are appalled. They ask: "Does God mess up?" Implying that Job is getting what he deserves. But that's not the case. And without them knowing why this is happening, we get to read their struggle with a new reality.

Not only is Job bitter towards God, he's bitter towards his friends. Not only does it seem that God has abandoned him, his friends have as well. Though they sit with him in his misery, they accuse him and attack him. Rather then believe Job in his protest of innocence, they question him. "How can you keep on talking like this? You're talking nonsense, and noisy nonsense at that." But Job had already said: "When desperate people give up on God Almighty, their friends, at least, should stick with them."

We learn from Job that there are times when you or your friends may give up on God. Your words to him may be bitter, but honest. And in those dark nights of the soul, you'll want friends who will sit and listen.

God doesn't need you to defend him or speak for him. But he does want you to be loyal to your friends while they walk through the valley of the shadow of death. To be honest with God in bitterness is better then protect God's reputation out of fear.

And God does know what is going on, and his next move might make us miserable. And he'll understand if we don't like it.

Now Jesus Wept

John 10-12

When a good friend dies, you cry. That's what we do, and that's what Jesus did. It's an interesting story about him and Lazarus and his sisters. He has been working to convince his fellow Israelites to believe him and to believe in him. He's been performing miracles, teaching wisdom with authority, and pouring out compassion on the poor and outcasts.

Jesus is working to save Israel from coming destruction at the hands of Rome. He's got a few people who are understanding him and trusting him. But not enough of the leaders are willing to have faith in him and his words.

When it comes to the Lazarus story, Jesus delays coming to his friends side. By waiting, he lets his friend die. Mary and Martha know that Jesus took longer then is normal to come when they requested. They know that had he come earlier, Lazarus would still be alive. But they don't expect Jesus raise Lazarus from the dead. That is what Jesus is planning on doing, but nobody is hoping for it. 

So why does Jesus cry? If he knows that he can raise Lazarus from the dead, why the emotional outburst? Is it because Jesus is against death just as much as us? Is it the sobbing of his friends that gets to him? Is it connected to his coming execution?

Mary and Martha come across as brilliantly observant, tender-hearted, trusting, and wise. They believe Jesus, they believe in him, and they love him. Yet they are really frustrated with him. Jesus is patient with them, for he knows more about what is going on then they do. And so it is with us. We get frustrated with Jesus. But he's working his plan, which is bigger then us - but includes us.

Jesus wanted another sign for Israel about who he is, what God is doing, and what they need to do. Lazarus' death and resurrection became a catalyst for salvation. People chose to put their faith in Jesus, to listen to his words of warning and instruction.

Just as Jesus was facing the threat of death from the Pharisees, so Lazarus became a target of their hate. But Jesus wouldn't back down from his work, and Lazarus bravely went a long in support. In the midst of the strife and controversy, Jesus enters Jerusalem on a donkey, hailed as its king. This raised the tension in the air up - not only religiously, but politically, economically, and militarily.

Jesus is provoking the ones with power, goading them to try to kill him. He knows that if he speaks the truth, calls Israel to love their neighbor and enemy, and insists on wisdom and integrity from its leaders, he'll get crucified. His call to righteousness was too provocative, too dangerous, too revolutionary. But rejection of Jesus and his teachings would result in destruction from Rome. Within a generation, Jerusalem was ravaged.

Jesus wept for Lazarus. Jesus wept for Mary and Martha. Jesus wept for his own death. Jesus wept for all the men, women and children who have died. Jesus wept for those that rebel against their Father in Heaven. Jesus wept for those that oppress and crush humanity. Jesus wept for those with lonely, broken homes and hearts. 

Jesus wept for sinners. Jesus wept for his followers. Jesus wept for the dying and sick. Jesus wept for the powerful and wealthy. Jesus wept for those who don't know what they are doing. Jesus wept out of compassion. 

Now Jesus wept out of loving-kindness.