Introduction
One of the glorious facts about living in God’s world is that He likes it messy. He likes it complicated, complex, and hard to understand. God thinks that’s a good idea. And we know this because He invented the Church. Knowing how different we all are, knowing how weird we all are, and knowing that we are sinners and fools on top of that, He called us all together into the body of Christ. And He thought that was a good idea. But how do we begin to live faithfully in such challenging circumstances?
Loyalty & Thankfulness
First, you must know what kind of weirdo you are. What kind of weirdos do you come from? The difference between pride and double-mindedness is thankfulness. Pride and arrogance pretends to be a self-made god. The double-minded man is unstable in all his ways. He is so humble it comes out the other side with a strange self-abasing pride. And this is why the difference is thankfulness. Thankfulness receives gifts without losing sight of the Giver. But thankfulness also instills loyalty. Friends and family give gifts. Pride (of both variations) can produce rivalry and envy, but thankfulness and love pours out. But thankfulness also protects the gifts and the relationship with the Giver. That thankfulness which protects is called loyalty, and it should be fierce. So who are you? What are the great gifts that God has poured on your head, through your family, your church family, your friends, your people?
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
CRF Talk: Dealing with Weirdos Or Unity and Diversity in the Body
Monday, August 30, 2010
Driscoll, Chan, and Harris
Here's an interesting conversation between Mark Driscoll, Francis Chan, and Joshua Harris.
I think Mark Driscoll's questions are on the money, particularly his question at about the 8:50 mark, and the conversation that follows is the sort of conversation that many of us are having in various contexts.
HT: Justin Taylor
NSA Disputatio Exhortation: Proving Your Liberty: Just How Free Are You?
What is liberty? What is freedom?
First, we begin with the assertion that God is perfect freedom. Whatever freedom is, God is most supremely free. Now the Lord is Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty (2 Cor. 3:17).
We might be tempted to condense this talk into a sentence and just say be like God, be free. But what does it mean for God to be free? Was God ever enslaved? Is God’s freedom, merely His prerogative to do whatever He wants?
We frequently describe freedom in relative terms, greater or lesser degrees of freedom. But while this might seem sensible for describing humans, does that really makes sense when it comes to God?
We confess that God is infinite and eternal, and His wisdom and being is oceans deeper than our biggest and brightest thought about Him. Nevertheless, we have the Word of God, the Scriptures which tell us true information about our God. The Bible does not exhaust God’s pursuits, but it describes God truly. And what we find is a God who is strangely preoccupied with us.
Doesn’t God have something better to do? Doesn’t He get tired of our stupidity? Our shallowness? Our sin? Isn’t it annoying to hang out with finite, mortal beings?
But somehow it isn’t, and this is tied to the notion of freedom.
This Meal Means You Are Needed
One of the glorious transitions from the Old to New Covenant is the pouring out of the Spirit on all of God’s people, anointing all of God’s people as priests and kings and prophets in Jesus Christ. While access to the presence of God was strictly guarded in the Old Covenant and only certain people had limited access on various occasions, in the New Covenant, all those who have been anointed in the waters of baptism and walk in obedience to the call of Jesus, all of you are called into the presence of God. And here you are welcome to sit in His presence to hear His Word to you, to respond in thankful hymns as well as petitions and prayers, and finally to sit here to share a meal in His presence.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
No Salvation Apart from Others
Love your neighbor as yourself. Bless those who persecute you. Do good to all men. Be hospitable. Be kind and compassionate. These are all well known commands that describe our duty toward others, all applications of the command to love our neighbors. But what we sometimes miss is how tightly God considers our love and treatment of others with our love and treatment of Him. “If you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea.” “If someone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God who he has not seen?” In other words, our salvation is not reducible to a mere snap shot of “me and God.” Of course, there must be a “me and God,” but that salvation necessarily always includes others. But these Scriptures require us to say this stronger. It is not merely that as a Christian you must be nice to other people, as though salvation were a float in a parade on its way to heaven, and loving your neighbor meant waving and smiling all the way down the street. No, Jesus says that He is bound so closely to His own people and to all those who suffer injustice and oppression, that when we neglect them, we have neglected Him. When Saul is confronted on the road to Damascus, Jesus demands to know why Saul is persecuting Him. True religion, James says, is caring for orphans and widows in their distress. In other words, God has determined not to be God without us. God has determined to be God with us and God for us. And if we have joined this God and His mission for this world, this means that there is no salvation for us apart from the salvation of those around us. Of course some will reject the gospel, but Jesus requires us to live as though our own salvation depended on the salvation of everyone around us. It is terrifyingly easy to turn this into some kind of merit mongering, like inviting friends to sign up for some service so that you can get kickbacks and rewards on your membership. But that’s not the only option. The other option is the way of love. You have been loved, you have been forgiven, you have been shown mercy, and when that reality pours down over us, how can we not overflow in grateful love, forgiveness, and mercy.
Faith, Dads, and Children
Some thoughts on parenting over at Credenda (and hopefully some encouragement):
Faith, Dads, and Children
Monday, August 23, 2010
Gold receiving Gold
Guroian citing Chrysostom again:
"How do they become one flesh? As if she were gold receiving purest gold, the woman receives the man's seed with rich pleasure, and within her it is nourished, cherished, and refined. It is mingled with her own substance and she then returns it as a child!"
Portraits of the King
Vigen Guroian cites John Chrysostom on parenting:
"Let us bring them [our children] up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. Great will be the reward in store for us, for if artists who make statues and paint portraits of kings are held in high esteem, will not God bless ten thousand times more those who reveal and beautify His royal image (for man is the image of God)? When we teach our children to be good, to be gentle, to be forgiving (all these are attributes of God), to be generous, to love their fellow men, to regard this present age as nothing, we instill virtue in their souls, and reveal the image of God within them."
Mark 3: From the House of Bondage to the House of God
Introduction
Jesus ministry is focused on rebuilding the house of Israel. And this project is bringing the history of Israel to a radical head. Faithful Israel must follow Jesus as their Bridegroom (2:19) or else be swept away like the temple so many years before.
A Withered Hand
1 Kings 13 records the story of King Jereboam’s withered hand. If the stories are parallels, the presence of a man with a withered hand is an indication of not only uncleanness and deformity in Israel but also of grave liturgical error and compromise (cf. Jeroboam). The synagogue has become a house of demons (1:23, 39) and therefore the rulers of the synagogues are inviting them by their actions. This is proven by their hypocrisy: Jesus asks whether it is right to do good or evil, save life or kill (3:4). And their responses (silence and plotting to destroy Him) indicate that they prefer the latter options (3:6). In this sense, they are far worse than Jeroboam. Given this answer and what follows we can liken this old Israel to Pharaoh and Egypt; it has become a “house of bondage.”
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Proverbs 29:11-13
29:11
“A fool vents all his feelings, but a wise man holds them back.”
This proverb can be illustrated by its six word structure:
All of his wind
Goes out
A fool
A wise one
Behind
Stills it
The “it” suffix of the final word is feminine singular and refers back to “wind.” Thus, the proverb begins with wind blowing – a storm. And the proverb ends with the storm being stilled.
All of the wind goes out of a fool. Like the “scoffer” who blows on his city (29:8), the fool blows wind as well. This is one of the ways a wise man turns away wrath (29:8): he holds back his temper. Actually, it is all of his “spirit” that goes out in the case of a fool.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Real Humanity in Deepest Hell
Algis Valiunas writes in an article entitled "Starlight in Hell" in First Things:
"In the Gulag archipelago, souls are made or saved, as well as broken or lost. Solzhenitsyn remembers a group of intellectuals at the Samarka camp in 1946, dying of hunger, cold, and exhaustion from relentless labor:
Foreseeing the approach of death in days rather than weeks, here is how they spent their last sleepless leisure, sitting up against the wall: Timofeyev-Ressovsky gathered them into a 'seminar,' and they hastened to share with one another what one of them knew and the others did not - they delivered their last lectures to each other. Father Savely - spoke of 'unshameful death,' a priest academician - about patristics, one of the Uniate fathers - about something in the area of dogmatics and canonical writings, an electrical engineer - on the principles of the energetics of the future, and a Leningrad economist - on how the effort to create principles of Soviet economics had failed for lack of new ideas.
Death took some of the participants from one session to the next, but the vocation for learning could not be extinguished - and enforced suffering made better men of those whom it did not ravage utterly: 'Formerly you never forgave anyone. You judged people without mercy. And you praised people with equal lack of moderation. And now an understanding mildness has become the basis of your uncategorical judgments. You have come to realize your own weakness - and you can therefore understand the weakness of others. And be astonished at another's strength. And wish to possess it yourself. The stones rustle beneath our feet. We are ascending.' Humanity - real, individual humanity - glimmers in the deepest hell."
A Prayer for Russia
By Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
Our Father All-Merciful!
Don't abandon your own long-suffering Russia
In her present daze,
In her woundedness,
Impoverishment,
And confusion of spirit.
Lord Omnipotent!
Don't let, don't let her be cut short,
To no longer be.
So many forthright hearts
And so many talents
You have lodged among Russians.
Do not let them perish or sink into darkness
Without having served in Your name.
Out of the depths of Calamity
Save your disordered people.
Free Spirited Levites and the Conquest
In the book of Judges, the overwhelming unfaithfulness of Israel is on display along with the long suffering mercy and faithfulness of God. Israel's unfaithfulness is evidenced by the blatant idolatries and anarchic behavior (e.g. "there was no king in Israel and every man did what was right in his own eyes"). But this is also evidenced in clues that suggest Israel's rebellion and disobedience are like a reverse conquest.
In the conquest, Israel was commanded to tear down the shrines to the baals and asherahs and to utterly destroy those cities that refused to repent and submit to Israel and her God. By the time of the Judges, instead of tearing down the shrines, we have the story of Micah who is hiring a free spirited Levite to lead the praise band at his personal shrine (Judges 18). Not only is this a bad deal, but the times are so bad that an armed band of Danites shows up later and steals the Levite, the shrine, and on their way to build a new city come upon Laish, strike its inhabitants with the edge of the sword and burn it to the ground. Instead of destroying idolatrous cities and establishing faithful worship of the true God, Israel is establishing syncretistic worship and destroying cities of their people (apparently) to make room for their cult. This was the Old Testament reading for morning prayer this morning.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Solzhenitsyn on Conservatism
"Western thinking as become conservative: the world situation should stay as it is at any cost, there should be no changes. This debilitating dream of a status quo is the symptom of a society which has come to the end of its development. But one must be blind in order not to see that oceans no longer belong to the West, while land under its domination keeps shrinking. The two so-called world wars (they were by far not on a world scale, not yet) have meant internal self-destruction of the small, progressive West which has thus prepared its own end. The next war (which does not have to be an atomic one and I do not believe it will) may well bury Western civilization forever."
Sozhenitsyn's Criticisms of the West
Also from his 1978 Harvard address:
Solzhenitsyn criticizes the West's blindness to its own weaknesses: "But the blindness of superiority continues in spite of all and upholds the belief that vast regions everywhere on our planet should develop and mature to the level of present day Western systems which in theory are the best and in practice the most attractive. There is this belief that all those other worlds are only being temporarily prevented by wicked governments or by heavy crises or by their own barbarity or incomprehension from taking the way of Western pluralistic democracy and from adopting the Western way of life. Countries are judged on the merit of their progress in this direction... The real picture of our planets development is quite different."
Solzhenitsyn: the Great Split and the Real Disease
From Alexander Solzhenitsyn's 1978 Harvard address:
"The split in today's world is perceptible even to a hasty glance. Any of our contemporaries readily identifies two world powers, each of them already capable of entirely destroying the other. However, understanding of the split often is limited to this political conception... The truth is that the split is a much profounder and more alienating one, that the rifts a are more than one can see at first glance. This deep manifold split bears the danger of manifold disaster for all of us, in accordance with the ancient truth that a Kingdom -- in this case, our Earth -- divided against itself cannot stand."
Solzhenitsyn goes on to show that the fundamental divide is between humanistic materialism found in both East and West and virtuous self government in submission to God. In this sense, communism, socialism, and humanism are all near relatives and tend to feed off one another. Solzhenitsyn quotes Marx who said: 'communism is naturalized humanism.'
He concludes: "The interrelationship is such, too, that the current of materialism which is most to the left always ends up by being stronger, more attractive and victorious, because it is more consistent. Humanism without its Christian heritage cannot resist such competition... I am referring to the calamity of a despiritualized and irreligious humanistic consciousness. To such consciousness, man is the touchstone in judging and evaluating everything on earth. Imperfect man, who is never free of pride, self-interest, envy, vanity, and dozens of other defects... We have placed too much hope in political and social reforms, only to find out that we were being deprived of our most precious possession our spiritual life. In the East, it is destroyed by the dealings and machinations of the ruling party. In the West, commercial interests tend to suffocate it. This is the real crisis. The split in the world is less terrible than the similarity of the disease plaguing its main sections."
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Twelfth Sunday in Trinity: Exodus 8:1-32
Introduction
Exodus is the story of God coming for His son, Israel and remaking a world for him (4:22-23), but God created the universe for Adam His first son, and ever after, God recreates the world for His sons to rule and glorify.
Creation and De-creation
Genesis 1
Day 1: Light/Darkness
Day 2: Heaven/Firmament
Day 3: Dry land
Day 4: Sun, Moon, and Stars
Day 5: Birds/Fish
Day 6: Animals/Man
Plague 1: Nile to Blood (in the morning, 7:15)
Plague 2: Frogs (command &
confrontation, 8:1)
Plague 3: Lice (no confrontation, 8:16)
Plague 4: Flies (in the morning, 8:20)
Plague 5: Livestock diseased (command &
confrontation, 9:1)
Plague 6: Boils (no confrontation, 9:8)
Plague 7: Hail (in the morning, 9:13)
Plague 8: Locusts (command &
confrontation, 10:1-3)
Plague 9: Darkness (no confrontation,
10:21)
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Collecting Stamps and Drinking Hot Chocolate as Spiritual Warfare
Screwtape exhorts his nephew:
I would make it a rule to eradicate from my patient any strong personal taste which is not actually a sin, even if it is something quite trivial such as a fondness for country cricket or collecting stamps or drinking cocoa. Such things, I grant you, have nothing of virtue in them; but there is a sort of innocence and humility and self-forgetfulness about them which I distrust. The man who truly and disinterestedly enjoys any one thing in the world, for its own sake, and without caring twopence what other people say about it, is by that very fact forearmed against some of our subtlest modes of attack. You should always try to make the patient abandon the people or food or books he really likes in favour of the "best" people, the "right" food, the "important" books. I have known a human defended from strong temptations to social ambition by a still stronger taste for tripe and onions.
Monday, August 09, 2010
Defending Orphans as Christian Nurture
While I've been known to criticize Walter Brueggemann's exegesis in some cases, in his essay "Vulnerable Children, Divine Passion, and Human Obligation" in The Child in the Bible, he helpfully traces two Biblical mandates: the nurture and training of children in covenant homes and the defense and care of orphans.
And rather than pitting these responsibilities off one another, he concludes that these "are elements of the same agenda."
Specifically, "The ultimate content of family nurture in this tradition is in order that our own children in faith have front and center in their vision the protection of orphans, a concern that is defining for faith. Family nurture in this tradition cannot be a narrow little enterprise about purity and safety; rather, it concerns inculcation into the peculiar ethical patterns of our faith." And by "ethical patterns of our faith," Brueggemann means taking active steps in the defense of the fatherless.
And these two strains come together in the passover instructions for the Israelites which might be paraphrased as Brueggemann has it, When our children ask "in time to come what lentils and doorposts and stones all mean; the adult answer might properly be: 'We know, directly from God, that protection of vulnerable children outside our own family is a central requirement of faith.'"
Jesus and the Women
It's commonly noted that women are the faithful disciples in the gospels. Where the male disciples flee, deny, and abandon Jesus, the women continue to follow Him, even to the cross, and they are the first to go to His tomb on that first Easter.
Judith Gundry-Volf, in her essay "The Least and the Greatest" in The Child in Christian Thought, points out that given traditional roles of men and women in society, the prominence of women ministering to Jesus underlines Jesus' humility in the incarnation as childlike. Jesus Himself likens receiving the kingdom as receiving a child and says that those who receive children in His name receive Him and the One who sent Him. Thus, Jesus is a child, and perhaps predictably, He is abandoned by men and only the women continue to follow Him and care for Him in His greatest need.
Eleventh Sunday in Trinity: Exodus 7:8-25
Introduction
Last week we saw that Yahweh’s name is who He is and what He does, and therefore He is able to use the feebleness of normal human beings and glorify it into Godlike power and authority and grace. Not only are human beings “gods” in the world, it is also clear that there are other powers at work as well.
Yahweh and the Gods
This showdown in Egypt is not only between Moses and Pharaoh and not merely Yahweh and Pharaoh either but also between Yahweh and all the gods of Egypt (Ex. 12:12). And neither do we “wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” (Eph. 6:12, cf. Rom. 8:38-39, Col. 2:15, Dan. 10:12-13, 20) We know for a fact that Israel was afflicted with evil spirits by the time of Christ, and these demons have some power and authority in this world (e.g. Mk. 3:22, 5:7). At the same time we know that the prophets call the gods of the nations nothing, gods of stone and wood and precious metals (cf. 1 Cor. 8:4-6). Yahweh is not merely doing battle with clever men and their card tricks (7:11, 22, 8:7). He is doing battle with the demons of Egypt, but before Him they are nothing.
Proverbs 29:8-10
29:8 “Scoffers set a city aflame, but wise men turn away wrath.”
The word translated “set aflame” ordinarily means “blow/breath” and is used a number of times in the proverbs to describe liars who “breathe lies” (Pr. 6:19, 14:5, 25, 19:5, 9). In one place it seems to refer to the opposite: breathing out the truth (Pr. 12:17) which is what God does. Likewise, at least once it describes the poor and needy longing for safety (Ps. 12:6).
The verb is causative suggesting that the scoffer is himself a small storm/coal that drives breath (maybe smoke) up out of a city, and it is used sometimes to describe judgment (Ps. 10:5, Ez. 21:36). The meaning here seems to be similar to Pr. 22:10 where the scoffer causes strife, quarreling, and abuse. In Ps. 10:5, the word seems to describe a kind of righteous derision/scoffing that Yahweh does toward his enemies. Given the parallel line “turn away wrath,” the “set aflame” in the first half seems consistent.
Paul Tripp on Marriage
A number of good thoughts on marriage and love over at Justin Taylor's blog from Paul Tripp's new book on Marriage. There are also several helpful video clips.
Thursday, August 05, 2010
Playing with Dragons like Dad
I've suggested elsewhere that part of Yahweh's answer to Job regarding the Leviathan is an invitation to learn to play with Leviathan (Job 41:4). Yahweh plays with dragons, and growing up into the glory and wisdom of the sons of God means growing up to play with dragons: Like Father, like son.
The first "wonder" that Moses performs for Pharaoh is essentially the same thing. The point of the sign of Moses' staff is not primarily turning the staff into a serpent (though that is of course part of it). The real point is that Moses is able to take hold of that dragon by the tail and it submits to him (Ex. 4:4). The sign of the staff is Moses playing with/taming a dragon which is significant because Pharaoh is a dragon (cf. Ez. 29:3, 32:2), and Yahweh rules over him and can play with him. And Moses is a son who is learning to play with dragons (demons/human tyrants) like his Dad.
And ultimately this goes back to Adam in the garden. Adam failed to tame/play with the dragon and allowed it to seduce his wife. But God is a gracious Father, and He trains His sons to tame and conquer the dragons: sin, death, and every form of wickedness and evil.
Tuesday, August 03, 2010
Funerals, Feasting, and Little Ones
In Exodus 10, urged by his servants, Pharaoh offers to let Moses and Aaron and the men of Israel go worship Yahweh in the wilderness. However Moses says that old and young alike, sons and daughters, flocks and herds must go and keep the feast (10:9). Pharaoh insists that only the men go, but Moses goes out from the presence of Pharaoh and the Lord orders him to strike the land with the eighth plague of locusts.
There are a couple interesting points to make. First, the feast to Yahweh must include the children. Later in the law, the requirement specifically stipulates that it is all the males who must present themselves before the Lord three times a year (Ex. 23:17, Dt. 16:16), but it seems (based on this) like it was nevertheless the norm (or ideal) for their families and children to attend with them.
Monday, August 02, 2010
Exile as Promised Land
"Signs and wonders" come to a nation when it is being judged and destroyed. Egypt is the great example of this. Yahweh multiplies His signs and wonders in the land of Egypt in order to destroy Egypt and bring His armies out of the land. And throughout much of the rest of the law "signs and wonders" repeatedly refer back to what God did in Egypt. However this changes under the prophets, Isaiah and Ezekiel in particular, who become "signs and wonders" in Israel (Is. 8:18, 20:3, Ez. 12:6, 12:11, 24:24, 27).
This implies that by the time of the prophets Israel has become an Egypt, and Yahweh is once again on the move to free His enslaved people. This is why obedience to Yahweh eventually means defecting to Babylon. "Staying in Israel" when the prophets call the people to submit to Nebuchadnezzar is equivalent to "staying in Egypt." The kings and priests of Israel are no better than pharoah and his magicians. Following the prophets and going with the Spirit of God into exile is the historical equivalent of going into the Promised Land. Where the Spirit of the Lord is; there is freedom.
Tight Fists or Open Hands?
Trinity's Men's Forum study resumes this Sunday evening beginning a study of Old Testament economic laws with the book Tight Fists or Open Hands? by David L. Baker. The book is available apparently in its entirety from Google books or you can order a copy from Amazon. We'll discuss the first two chapters.
The God Who Remembers
Why do we celebrate this meal week after week? First of all, we celebrate this meal in obedience to Jesus who told us to celebrate this meal. But Jesus also told us why we are to celebrate this meal. Jesus said that this meal is the new covenant in His blood, and we are to celebrate this meal as a memorial. What is frequently translated, “Do this in remembrance of Me” is really better translated, “Do this as My Memorial.” A memorial is something bigger than merely a reminder for us. It is a reminder for us, but this meal is a reminder also to the world around us and most importantly, a reminder to God Himself. Of course God does not forget like we do, but God loves to be reminded of His promises. The rainbow was placed in the sky to remind God never to flood the earth again. The blood of the Passover was a reminder to the Angel of Death not to strike the firstborn of that particular Hebrew house. The sacrifices of Israel served as memorials ascending to God, reminding of His promises of fellowship, forgiveness, and blessing.
Some of the most glorious words in Scripture, are the words that God remembered His people. When God remembers His people wonderful things happen. When God remembers His people, sins are forgiven, slaves go free, battles are won, the sick are healed, the barren give birth, leaders are born, the proud and haughty are cast down, and the humble and meek inherit the earth. When God remembers us, we have no reason to fear. When God remembers us, the only fitting response is something like glad and relieved laughter and tears. It’s all going to be alright. And that’s what this meal is. It is a reminder, a memorial, that God Himself has sworn He will never miss. He will never overlook this. When we celebrate this meal in faith and joy, God remembers. And as you eat and drink in faith and serve your neighbor with a glad heart, God remembers you. So come in faith, believing and giving thanks.
Tenth Sunday in Trinity Season: Exodus VI: Knowing Yahweh: Exodus 6:1-7:7
Introduction
It is not enough to know about God. We must strive to know God, and the central means to that knowledge is in the priestly ministry of the people of God. And this ministry flows into and out of worship.
My Name Yahweh
Moses has just gotten in hot water with the elders of Israel and has brought his case before the Lord (5:20-23). God’s response is initially to remind Moses of his name (6:2-5). God is not talking about mere knowledge of his name; the patriarchs use the name “Yahweh” throughout their narratives. God means that there is some knowledge of Yahweh that will be new: the fact that He is a God who delivers his people and keeps His promises (6:1, 6-8). Yahweh is the God who redeems with “an outstretched arm.” Yahweh is the God of Exodus. God’s word does not seem to affect Israel’s view of Moses because of “shortness of breath” and “hard labor” (6:9). And Moses asks God how his words will have any effect on Pharaoh if his own countrymen aren’t moved (6:10-13).
A World Where Faith is Blessed
In today’s sermon text, Moses recalls the genealogy of his family. And it’s easy for this snap shot of the history of the family of Levi from a helicopter to look overly pristine. We hear these names, these generations and they arrive at Moses and Aaron, and people can sometimes think that God just randomly picks people to serve Him. And of course, it is always God’s grace and mercy pouring over our lives, but God’s sovereign grace is not random or arbitrary. It is deep and unfathomable, but if the genealogies teach us anything, it’s that God loves the stories of generations. He loves the time it takes for little kids to grow up, he loves the story of young families growing up into older families. And he loves for his people to trust him, to rejoice in him, and to cry out to him as they walk before him. The evolutionary worldview that permeates our culture wants faithfulness and success to seem random and unexplainable. If chimpanzees sometimes turn into people then sometimes faithfulness sprouts out of hard hearts. But that’s not the way God made the world to work. God made the world such that children thrive when their fathers love them and spend lots of time with them. And He made the world such that children droop and struggle when their dads check out. He made a world in which a woman that is loved and cherished grows in beauty and glory and is the crown of her husband, and in this same world, a woman who is neglected or mistreated is a garden overgrown with weeds. God made the world such that homes are glorious and beautiful when wives and mothers rejoice in their callings to be the glory of their husbands and love the gift of little ones, and that same glory can be turn into terrible ruin when bitterness and complaining and fear and worry are served up for dinner night after night. God is sovereign and rules over all the details of every life, every story, but faith looks to the cross and empty tomb of Jesus. Don’t compare your family to the family next to you. Don’t resent what God has given you. Begin by giving thanks for your people, for your parents, for your spouse, for your children, and then look to Jesus in faith. We live in a world where faith is blessed.
The God Who Saves Us So That We Might Know Him
In our sermon text Yahweh emphasizes His name to Moses. And we noted that God’s name is all bound up with who God is and what He does. And when God makes His name known to the people of Israel, He will simultaneously rescue them from their slavery in Egypt and redeem them with His mighty outstretched arm and great judgments. And when Yahweh does this, He will take Israel as His own people and be their God, and then they will know that Yahweh their God is the one who brings them out from the bondage of Egypt.
Notice several things about this passage. First, notice that God is determined to save His people despite what they think. When Moses goes and tells the people again what God has promised to do, they do not listen to Moses. Yahweh is content to save His people despite what they think or believe. But this really isn’t surprising since the act of salvation is itself a manifestation, a display of who God is. After He rescues them, after He redeems them, then they will know that He is Yahweh their God.
Beloved Sons for Battle
It's not an accident that in the gospels when God the Father declares that Jesus is His beloved Son, Jesus is immediately led into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil (Mt. 3:17-4:1). When God loves His people, He sends them into battle.
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