Tawa Baptist

Arrival

Scripture: Psalm 122

 

Title: Arrival

 

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Arriving
  • Gathering for worship
  • Asking for peace (within)
  • Conclusion

 

Introduction:

Today we continue our series on the Songs of Ascents – which we know as Psalms 120 to 134

–         In ancient Israel people went on road trips each year to the temple in Jerusalem to celebrate the three main religious festivals

–         To help them prepare for the festivals pilgrims might sing these 15 songs on their journey

 

The word ‘Ascent’ has to do with moving upward

–         The temple in Jerusalem was on a hill – so the pilgrims were physically ascending (or moving upwards) as they made their way to the temple

–         And, at the same time, they were drawing closer to God

 

In April this year we will celebrate Easter

–         Easter is the main festival for Christians, alongside Christmas and Pentecost

–         The plan, over the next couple of months, is to explore these Songs of Ascents as we journey toward Easter

–         This morning we take a closer look at psalm 122

–         In this song the psalmist arrives in Jerusalem – his destination

–         Jerusalem is where he finds security

–         And, it is where the people of God gather for worship & justice

–         From the New Revised Standard Version we read…

 

1 I was glad when they said to me,     “Let us go to the house of the Lord!” 2 Our feet are standing     within your gates, O Jerusalem.

 

3 Jerusalem—built as a city     that is bound firmly together. 4 To it the tribes go up,     the tribes of the Lord, as was decreed for Israel,     to give thanks to the name of the Lord. 5 For there the thrones for judgment were set up,     the thrones of the house of David.

 

6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:     “May they prosper who love you. 7 Peace be within your walls,     and security within your towers.” 8 For the sake of my relatives and friends     I will say, “Peace be within you.”

9 For the sake of the house of the Lord our God,     I will seek your good.

 

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate this song for us

 

Arriving:

On the wall here we have a diagram of the water cycle process:

–         Precipitation, evaporation and condensation

–         Precipitation is rain or snow – basically water falling out of the sky because it has become too heavy to stay in the clouds

–         After precipitation the water collects on the ground for a while until it evaporates

–         Evaporation is when the liquid on the ground turns into water vapour which is transported up into the sky by the power (or heat) of the sun

–         And condensation is basically the formation of clouds, when the water vapour condenses before eventually turning into liquid precipitation (or rain) again

 

This water cycle process (precipitation, evaporation and condensation) has the effect of purifying the water

–         When the water gathered on the ground evaporates it leaves behind the impurities

 

Psalm 122 describes the Jewish pilgrim happily arriving at the gates of the holy city, Jerusalem

–         Arrival is both an end and a new beginning

–         It is a change from being on the move to being still

–         Verse 2 touches on this stillness with the psalmist saying…

–         “Our feet are standing within your gates O Jerusalem”

–         In other words, we have arrived, we are here, we are safe & secure

 

As I mentioned before there are 15 songs of Ascents and we’ve only got to the third song – yet already the psalmist has reached his destination

–         We might not have expected him to reach his journey’s end until perhaps the 14th or 15th psalm

–         Maybe we are not meant to think of these 15 songs in a linear way – travelling from point A to point B

–         After all, arrival is both an end and a new beginning

–         Perhaps our spiritual journey is more like the water cycle process, involving both movement and stillness, transformation and purification

 

Alec Motyer notes: “The 15 songs seem to form five sets of three. For the most part the keynotes of the psalms in each set are distress in the first, power in the second, and security in the third” [1]

 

So there is a repeating cycle or movement from distress to empowerment to security (not unlike precipitation, evaporation and condensation)

–         This seems to fit what we’ve come across so far in this series

–         Psalm 120 describes the distress the Jewish ex-pat felt as he was surrounded by liars, a long way from home

–         While Psalm 121 describes the power (or grace) of God to protect the pilgrim as he makes his journey through the wilderness

–         And Psalm 122 talks about the security or safety embodied by Jerusalem.

–         Looking ahead to psalm 123 we pick up notes of distress again

–         Followed by power (or deliverance) in psalm 124 & security in psalm 125

 

In a general sense we could apply this pattern to our own spiritual life

–         By his power (or grace) the Lord transports us from distress to security

 

For example…

–         The power of God’s judgment transports us from the distress of our anger (at injustice) to the security of peace

–         Likewise, the power of Jesus’ forgiveness transports us from the distress of our sin & guilt to the security of acceptance by God

–         So too, the power of Christ’s resurrection transports us from the distress of death to the security of eternal life

–         And, in the meantime, the power of the Holy Spirit transports us from the distress of fear and anxiety to the security of trust and assurance

 

It seems to me that God takes us through this cycle of distress, power & security many times in this life – and in the process we are purified, sanctified

 

Okay then, Jerusalem is a place of security

–         It is also a centre for worship and justice

 

Gathering for worship:

In physics the mass of an object is the amount of matter (or stuff) it contains

–         The more matter an object contains the greater its mass

–         So, an elephant has a greater mass than a mouse because an elephant contains more matter

 

Mass is what causes gravity

–         The greater the mass of something (the more stuff it contains) the stronger its gravitational pull

–         So the elephant here has more gravitational pull than the mouse

–         Just like the sun has more gravity than the earth and the earth has more gravity than the moon

 

Now just because something appears bigger (just because it takes up more area) it doesn’t automatically follow that it has more mass

–         Mass is measured in kilograms, not square metres

–         Take this balloon for example. If I blow it up like this [blow up balloon] it appears larger than this chocolate bar

–         But which of these two things do you think has the greatest mass – the balloon or the chocolate bar?  [Wait]

–         I reckon it is the chocolate bar because there is more matter (more stuff) compacted together in the chocolate bar than there is in the balloon

–         The chocolate bar has a mass of 25 grams – whereas the balloon would be less than a gram

–         The chocolate bar has more gravitational pull than the balloon, especially if you are hungry. The balloon is just full of air

 

In verse 3 the psalmist describes Jerusalem saying it is built like a city that is bound firmly together

–         Or as the NIV puts it: built like a city that is closely compacted together

–         The image here is one of strength, wholeness and substance

–         In other words, Jerusalem is not full of air

–         It may not look as large as other cities but it contains a lot – it has significant mass, real gravitational pull – enough gravitational pull in fact to draw the tribes of Israel together in worship

 

Verse 4 makes this explicit

–         Jerusalem is the place that the Lord chose (or decreed) for the Israelites to gather to give thanks and offer sacrifices

–         According to Deuteronomy 12, verses 13-14, the Israelites were not to offer their burnt offerings at any [old] place they happened to see. But only at the place that the Lord will choose…

–         Jerusalem was the place the Lord chose

 

What we notice here is the contrast between the Jewish idea of worship and the pagan idea of worship

–         Pagans made sacrifices to try and win the favour of the gods

–         They thought, if the gods are happy with my sacrifice they might make me rich and successful

–         These days we might call this ‘cargo cult’ or ‘prosperity doctrine’

 

But Israel had a different approach to worship

–         They didn’t make sacrifices to keep God happy or try to win his favour

–         God had already shown them his favour

–         They could no more control God than they could the weather

–         The Israelites made sacrifices to say ‘thank you’ for the blessings God had already provided

–         The name of the Lord refers to God’s goodness – his integrity

–         True worship involves thanking God for his goodness, his love, his forgiveness, his faithfulness and so on

 

Verse 5 then explains the other part of the gravitational pull of Jerusalem

–         It is the place where the thrones for judgement were set up

–         The thrones for judgment were the legal institutions, or seats of justice, that had been set up by king David. [2] (They were like our law courts)

–         So people came to Jerusalem to seek justice

 

It’s interesting that in the Jewish faith worship of God and justice for people go together – they are not separated – they are bound firmly together

–         This is how it is to be in Christian faith also – worship & justice go together

–         We cannot say we love God if we do not treat the people around us fairly

 

So far then we have heard that Jerusalem is a destination for security, for worship and for justice

 

Asking for peace within

With these things in view the psalmist says to pray for the peace of Jerusalem

–         Peace in Hebrew thought isn’t just the absence of conflict – it is more positive than that

–         Peace (or shalom) is the presence of health and prosperity and right relationship in community with others. It is wholeness & abundant life

–         As mentioned a couple of weeks ago, truth & justice is the pre-requisite to peace – without truth & justice there can be no peace

–         So to pray for peace is to ask God for fairness and justice for all – so that everyone prospers

–         This is a prayer the poor will readily pray – but it’s a lot more difficult to pray if you are rich & powerful and have something to lose

 

If we widen the lens of our perspective to include the verses that follow, what we notice is that half way through verse 6 (having just told us to pray for the peace of Jerusalem) the psalmist then directly addresses his beloved city saying:

–         May they prosper who love you. Peace be within your walls…” and so on

–         This shows us how much the psalmist cares about Jerusalem personally

–         Jerusalem is like a close friend to him – he cares for her like his own family. His very heart is wrapped up in her

–         If the city were cut he would bleed

 

Given Jerusalem’s importance both to the Jewish nation generally and to the psalmist personally it is essential that the city be kept in peace

–         However, the biggest threat to peace does not lie outside the walls

–         The biggest threat lies within

 

That word, ‘within’, is repeated three times in two verses

–         It seems the psalmist is particularly concerned for internal harmony

–         He doesn’t want any in-fighting or in-justice – no corruption here

 

It’s a general principle in life that the inner workings are often more important than what happens on the outside

–         About 10 days ago Robyn had her morning shower and noticed the water was cooler than usual

–         By the time it was my turn the water was practically cold – so it was a shorter shower for me

 

We got the electrician in and he discovered what I suspected

–         The problem was not with anything external like the shower or the water supply – The problem was within

–         The element inside the hot water cylinder was caput

–         It happens to hot water cylinders from time to time

–         No big deal, just have to drain the water out of the cylinder so you can replace the element inside and restore the warmth

 

Like the psalmist, Jesus was personally concerned for the peace of Jerusalem

–         Unlike the psalmist though, Jesus did not approach Jerusalem with joy

–         Luke 19 tells us Jesus wept over Jerusalem, addressing the city directly like it was his treasured child, saying…

 

“If you, even you, had only recognised on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. Indeed, the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up ramparts around you and surround you, and hem you in on every side. They will crush you to the ground…and will not leave within you one stone upon another; because you did not recognise the time of your visitation from God”

 

Jesus came to show people the way of peace – genuine peace – the kind of peace which comes from within the community – from doing justly and living in right relationship with those around us

–         But the people rejected Jesus

–         They didn’t realise God was visiting them in the person of Jesus

–         They didn’t recognise the things that make for peace

–         They thought peace was secured by external force – by armies and political pressure and that sort of thing

 

Less than 40 years after Jesus’ death & resurrection (around AD 70) the people of Jerusalem rebelled against Rome and, just as Jesus had predicted, they were crushed and the temple was destroyed – not one stone left upon another

 

The city of Jerusalem has suffered much

–         During its long history it has been destroyed at least twice

–         Besieged 23 times, attacked 52 times & captured & recaptured 44 times [3]

–         Israelis and Palestinians both claim Jerusalem as their capital

–         The city remains a source of bitter conflict till this day

–         It appears people’s prayers for the peace of Jerusalem have not been answered in 3,000 years

–         The earthly situation seems hopeless

–         I can only imagine that Jesus still weeps over Jerusalem

 

Looking at recent history we would have to say that over the past century peace has not come to Jerusalem from the outside

–         It hasn’t come from the League of Nations or the United Nations or Britain or America or anyone else in the west

–         If we take seriously what the psalmist is saying then peace must come from within – what’s more it can’t be achieved without divine help

 

Conclusion:

So where does that leave us? How are we to interpret and apply this psalm?

–         Indeed what might it mean for us to seek your good [Jerusalem] for the sake of the house of the Lord our God

 

I’m not sure what we can do in a practical sense for earthly Jerusalem, especially from this distance (being on the other side of the world)

–         Distance aside though, we in the West are deluded if we think we can restore peace in the East – our cultures are fundamentally different

–         Peace will not come from the outside

 

So does that mean this verse and indeed this psalm is redundant?

–         No – I’m not suggesting that we no longer need to care about Jerusalem

–         Jesus cared for the holy city and he is our model

–         I’m simply pointing out the limits of what we can do

–         And I’m suggesting we take a broader view of what Jerusalem represents

 

In the book of Revelation the apostle John saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And [John] heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live among them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will be no more mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”  [4]

 

Taking a broader view then, Jerusalem represents the gathered people of God

–         Therefore, this psalm is still very relevant if we apply it to the church

–         In our own strength and understanding we may not be able to bring peace to the earthly Jerusalem but we can seek peace where we are

 

It’s interesting how the night before he died Jesus commanded his disciples to love one another – by this will all people know you are my disciples [5]

–         Jesus was concerned that there be peace within the community of his followers – peace and warmth

–         We need to ensure the element in the hot water cylinder of the church (that is, our love) is functioning properly

–         When we (the church) get that right – when we love one another and seek the good of those in the pews with us – then those outside the church come to know Jesus and they know we are genuine

–         Our love for one another gives the church real mass (real gravity) – drawing others to give thanks to God

–         Without love for one another we are just a balloon – full of air

 

Perhaps our greatest gift to the world is to model what it means to be a Christ-like community of peace from within (from the inside out)

–         If (by God’s grace) we can do that then we will be light in the darkness

 

 

Let us pray…

 

https://soundcloud.com/tawabaptist/12-feb-2017-arrival

[1] Alec Motyer, ‘Psalms 73-150’, page 220.

[2] Refer James Mays’ commentary on the Psalms, page 393

[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerusalem

[4] Revelation 21:2-4

[5] John 13:34-35

Tawa Baptist

Travelling Mercies

Scripture: Psalm 121

 

Title: Travelling Mercies

 

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • God is our guardian
  • Conclusion

 

Introduction:

Today we continue our series on the Songs of Ascents – which we know as Psalms 120 to 134

–         In ancient Israel people tended to go on road trips each year to the temple in Jerusalem to celebrate the three main religious festivals

–         To help them prepare for the festivals pilgrims would sing these 15 songs on their journey

 

The word ‘Ascent’ has to do with moving upward

–         The temple in Jerusalem was on a hill – so the pilgrims were physically ascending (or moving upwards) as they made their way to the temple

–         And, at the same time, they were drawing closer to God

 

In April this year we will celebrate Easter

–         Easter is the main festival for Christians, alongside Christmas and Pentecost

–         The plan, over the next couple of months, is to explore these Songs of Ascents as we journey toward Easter

–         This morning we take a closer look at psalm 121

–         Psalm 121 is a song to give assurance to pilgrims as they travel through the wilderness to Jerusalem

–         For this reason I’ve called today’s sermon ‘travelling mercies’

–         The overall message of the psalm is that God is our guardian

–         From the NIV we read…

 

1 I lift up my eyes to the hills—     where does my help come from? 2 My help comes from the Lord,     the Maker of heaven and earth.

3 He will not let your foot slip—     he who watches over you will not slumber; 4 indeed, he who watches over Israel     will neither slumber nor sleep.

5 The Lord watches over you—     the Lord is your shade at your right hand; 6 the sun will not harm you by day,     nor the moon by night.

7 The Lord will keep you from all harm—     he will watch over your life; 8 the Lord will watch over your coming and going     both now and forevermore.

 

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate this song for us

 

God is our guardian:

On January the 15th, 2009, US Airways Flight 1549 was scheduled to fly from New York City’s LaGuardia Airport to Seattle.

  • – The aircraft was an Airbus A320-214 powered by two turbofan engines.
  • – The pilot in command was 57-year-old Chesley Sullenberger (known as ‘Sully’ for short)
  • – Sully was an experienced pilot and at the time, he had logged over 19,000 flight hours in total
  • – His first officer, Jeffrey Skiles, aged 49, was also very experienced having accrued over 15,000 flight hours in his career
  • – There were 150 passengers and three flight attendants on board

 

Three minutes after take-off the plane struck a flock of Canadian geese causing the engines to lose all power

 

Unable to reach an airport Sully & Skiles glided the Airbus onto the Hudson River, off mid-town Manhatten

  • – Being the middle of January, in New York, the water was freezing
  • – But people managed to evacuate onto the wings
  • – All 155 souls were then safely rescued by boats on the river
  • – Remarkably no one died – hence it became known as the ‘miracle on the Hudson’. (Later a movie was made starring Tom Hanks)

 

The miracle on the Hudson reminds me in some ways of psalm 121

  • – It speaks of God’s protection on a journey – His travelling mercies

 

Psalm 121 begins in a personal way (as did Psalm 120) with the psalmist talking about himself (his own situation)

–         He is on a journey, on the road, and he says…

–         I lift up my eyes to the hills – where does my help come from?

 

It is unclear whether the writer sees the hills as a good thing or a bad thing – as a strength or an obstacle

 

Jerusalem was on a hill, so looking to the hills could be a reference to looking to Jerusalem – the holy city – in which case the psalmist gets strength and encouragement from looking to the hills

 

Conversely, if the hills in question were not near Jerusalem, the psalmist may have felt anxious looking to the hills

–         In ancient Palestine the high places (the hills) were a place where the Canaanites went to worship their idols

–         Therefore the hills would have been littered with shrines to Baal and other foreign deities

–         The hills were also a place for bandits to wait in ambush for travellers

–         In this case the psalmist saw the hills as a place of difficultly and opposition

 

Either way the psalmist’s focus does not remain on the hills, it rests on God

–         As Alec Motyer notes: He looks beyond the dangers [the hills] may hold to the One who made them. [1]

–         My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth

–         Because God is the maker of everything the psalmist does not need to be afraid anything in creation

 

Travelling in the open wilderness, a long way from home with no police protection, can make one feel quite lonely and vulnerable

–         But the psalmist is not alone – God is with him

 

Verses 1 & 2 are written in the first person: I lift up my eyes…

–         But then from verse 3 to the end of the psalm the grammar changes to the third person: He will not let your foot slip…

–         Either the psalmist is talking to himself – like a Shakespearean soliloquy

–         Or the song is a duet, sung antiphonally, with a soloist singing the first two verses and a choir (or priest) responding in affirmation from verse 3 onwards

–         Either way the message is clear: God is your guardian

 

Having the change from first person to third person saves the psalm from becoming all about me

–         It has the effect of making God the main focus – so that it’s really more about what God does than it is about the psalmist himself

–         The Lord will not let your foot slip

–         The Lord will not slumber

–         The Lord watches over you

–         The Lord is your shade

–         The Lord keeps you

 

Verse 3 tells us that the Lord God (Yahweh) never sleeps but keeps constant watch over his people

–         This is in contrast to the Canaanite god, Baal, who as a nature deity needed to be woken up from a seasonal sleep [2]

–         The God of Israel is a diligent and vigilant guardian – he doesn’t get tired

 

Verses 3 & 4 go on to tell us that he who watches over you (personally) is the same as he who watches over Israel

–         This is incredible – it implies that God cares about the individual as much as the whole nation – each person is important to him

–         You are not just another brick in the wall

–         This personal care and attention shown by God reminds us of the 23rd Psalm, where David says: ‘The Lord is my shepherd’

 

In verses 5 & 6 we read, the Lord is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night.

 

This is poetry

–         To say, ‘the Lord is… at your right hand’, means the Lord is close – right beside you like a personal body guard. He is not far away

–         Although we can’t see God he is still present with us

 

The right hand could also be significant for people in the ancient near east in that it represents a vulnerable spot

–         If soldiers carried their shield in their left hand then they were less protected on their right side [3]

–         We all have our vulnerable points – those aspects of our lives where we are weaker for whatever reason

–         Having God at your ‘right hand’ is like saying God is your shield where you are weakest, your protection where you are most exposed and  vulnerable

 

The sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night – what does that mean?

–         Well, the sun is the most powerful force in creation

–         In the wilderness it has the power to kill a person

–         God made the sun – so he is more powerful than the sun

–         He has the ability and willingness to protect the psalmist from the sun or anything else in creation that could harm him

 

By day represents those things that are known and can be seen

–         While by night represents those things which are unknown and can’t be seen – insidious forces

 

You might be wondering, how can the moon harm you?

–         Surely the moon illuminates the darkness?

–         Well the moon can make it easier to see by night but that’s not the meaning here

–         In the ancient world the moon was considered by some to have a deranging influence on people

–         The English word ‘lunatic’ derives from lunar as in moon – originally meaning those who have succumbed to the influence of the moon [4]

–         If this is what the psalmist meant then to be protected from the moon means to keep a sound mind – to not lose your perspective on reality

 

The point is, God will protect your body and your mind as you make the journey to draw closer to him

 

Psalm 121 isn’t just about going on a physical journey, from one geographic location to another

–         It also speaks to our spiritual journey with God

–         The thing about being on a spiritual journey is that it tends to change us, often in unexpected ways

 

There is a book about one man’s spiritual journey in our library at the moment called: Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus

–         In this book Nabeel Qureshi tells the true story of how, as a devout Muslim, he came to believe in Jesus

 

Nabeel was raised in a Muslim home with two loving parents

–         He grew up reading the Quran, going to prayer in the Mosque and holding the Islamic faith in high esteem

–         However, in the process of seeking Allah, God gave Nabeel three dreams which pointed him to Jesus

–         God also put a Christian friend alongside Nabeel – a man named David to help him

 

The Holy Spirit brought Nabeel to the point where he could no longer deny the reality and truth of Christ – that Jesus is the Son of God

–         This is huge for someone who comes from a Muslim background

–         Muslims can accept that Jesus was a prophet but to call Jesus ‘God’ seems like blasphemy to them

–         It is not easy for a Muslim to become a Christian

 

When Nabeel reached the point of realising that Jesus is the way the truth and the life he had a very difficult (painful) decision to make

–         Nabeel knew that if he became a Christian his parents would reject him

–         His accepting Christ would break up the family

–         If that wasn’t hard enough Nabeel also knew becoming a Christian would break his parent’s hearts

–         How could he cause so much pain to people he loved

 

In the book Nabeel recounts his wrestling in prayer before God, saying…

 

“But Lord, acknowledging my faith in You will mean the end of my life. If I don’t die a physical death through emotional torment or at the hands of some misguided Muslim zealot, at least my entire life as I know it will come to an end.” [5]

 

In response Nabeel felt God gently saying to him…

–         “My child, whoever finds their life will lose it and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.”

 

Nabeel had to give up his life in order to receive Christ’s life. This was not some platitude or cliché. The gospel was calling him to die.

 

When Nabeel’s parents did finally learn that he was getting baptised his father said to him: “I feel as if my backbone has been ripped out from inside me”

–         And his mother said: “Why have you betrayed me?”

–         For Nabeel the decision to follow Jesus came with deep pain & grief

 

Psalm 121 finishes with the confident assurance that…

 

7 The Lord will keep you from all harm—     he will watch over your life; 8 the Lord will watch over your coming and going     both now and forevermore.

 

This is a general catch-all type summary to the psalm

–         Not only will the Lord God protect the pilgrim psalmist, as he makes his way through the wilderness to Jerusalem – He will look after the psalmist through all of life

–         That’s what, ‘…your coming and going…’ refers to – everyday life

 

The phrase: The Lord will keep you from all harm… is perhaps the most challenging aspect of this song

–         Simple observation, if not personal experience, make that hard to believe

–         Anyone who has suffered some kind of misfortune or tragedy – like the death of a loved one or the breakdown of a significant relationship or the loss of health or some other tragedy, knows that God cannot be relied on to keep us from all harm

–         The Jewish people (of all peoples) should know that God doesn’t prevent all harm – more than once in their long history hostile forces have tried to annihilate them

–         And, as we have just heard from Nabeel’s story, the decision to follow Jesus seemed to result in a lot of emotional harm for his family

 

So how are we to understand these verses?

–         Is psalm 121 just wishful thinking?

–         Is it a kind of whistling in the dark to make oneself feel better about the unknown – sort of like when someone tells a child “it’s going to be okay”, even though they don’t really know that for sure?

–         Or can we rely on the psalmist’s claim that the Lord will keep you from all harm?

 

Well, we need to read Psalm 121 in light of the whole of Scripture

–         In the Bible, to be kept from all harm (or all evil) does not imply a cushioned life. It does imply a well-armed life though [6]

–         Psalm 23 expects a dark valley but also the means to face it

–         Your rod and your staff they comfort me

 

God did not prevent the geese from flying into the engines of Flight 1549 but he did make it possible for Sully & Skiles to land the plane safely on the river

 

Jesus did not say, ‘You won’t ever suffer in this life.’

–         No. He said, you will suffer, but I will send you a comforter (an advocate), the Holy Spirit to help you

 

Jesus also said that one keeps their life by losing it for His sake

–         And this turns our idea of harm on its head

–         Just because something is painful and difficult it doesn’t automatically follow that it is harmful

 

In one sense surgery (cutting someone open with a scalpel) is harmful

–         But ultimately it is helpful, life-saving even

–         Sometimes, like a surgeon, God allows us to experience what feels harmful, in order to heal us and help others

–         We may not always understand this at the time though

 

Conclusion:

God did not prevent Joseph’s brothers from harming him (by selling him into slavery in Egypt) but God did protect Joseph and use it to save many lives

 

God did not prevent his Son Jesus from dying on the cross but he did raise Jesus to eternal life, for our salvation

 

We don’t always understand what constitutes harm

–         Suffering is not necessarily harmful. Sometimes comfort can be harmful

–         We see dimly now, as through a glass – we don’t see the whole picture

 

To be kept from all harm doesn’t mean we won’t experience difficulty, suffering, pain and loss in this life

–         To be kept from all harm means that God can use what we feel is harmful for good and so redeem our suffering

–         God will make all things right in the end – in eternity

 

Let us pray…

 

[1] Alec Motyer’s commentary on the Psalms, page 222.

[2] Geoffrey W. Grogan, Psalms, page 200.

[3] Josh Moody, ‘Journey to Joy’, page 35.

[4] Josh Moody, ‘Journey to Joy’, page 35.

[5] Nabeel Qureshi, “Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus”, page 278.

[6] Refer Derek Kidner’s commentary on the Psalms, page 468.

Tawa Baptist

For Peace

Scripture: Psalm 120

 

Title: For Peace

 

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Distress
  • Decision
  • Conclusion

 

Introduction:

A number of you would have travelled away for the holidays – perhaps spending many hours in the car on the way

–         One of the things that helps on a long road trip is having some music to listen to

–         When our kids were younger we listened to a lot of High 5 and Wiggles music. Now though it’s more like Ed Sheeran and Adele

 

In ancient Israel people tended to go on road trips each year to the temple in Jerusalem to celebrate the three main religious festivals

–         They didn’t have CD players or MP3’s on their donkeys back then but they did have a special collection of 15 songs they would sing on the road

–         They called this album the Songs of Ascents – which we know as Psalms 120 to 134

 

The word ‘Ascent’ has to do with moving upward

–         The temple in Jerusalem was on a hill – so the pilgrims were physically ascending (or moving upwards) as they made their way to the temple

–         And, at the same time, they were drawing closer to God

 

In April this year we will celebrate Easter

–         Easter is the main festival for Christians , alongside Christmas and Pentecost

–         The plan, over the next couple of months, is to explore these Songs of Ascents as we journey toward Easter, beginning this morning with psalm 120. From the NIV we read…

 

I call on the Lord in my distress, and he answers me. Save me, O Lord, from lying lips and from deceitful tongues. What will he do to you, and what more besides, O deceitful tongue? He will punish you with a warrior’s sharp arrows, with burning coals of the broom tree.

 

Woe to me that I dwell in Meshech, that I live among the tents of Kedar! Too long have I lived among those who hate peace. I am a man of peace; but when I speak, they are for war. 

 

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate this psalm for us

 

There’s a great clip in the film Jerry McGuire where Jerry is on a road trip searching for the perfect song

–         Eventually he finds Tom Petty’s song, Free Falling

 

In the context of the movie Jerry was a sports agent

–         His job was to manage sporting stars – getting them lucrative contracts and endorsement deals

–         But Jerry became tired of the falseness and deceit in his line of work – he felt jaded

–         One night he has an epiphany and writes a new mission statement for the company – essentially…

–         Fewer clients, less money, better quality relationships, really caring for the people we represent

–         And he called his mission statement: The things we think but do not say

 

Jerry was being honest with those around him

–         Unfortunately they weren’t so honest with him

–         To his face they were nice enough but behind his back they plotted to get rid of him

–         Eventually he was fired and they stole all his clients, all but one

 

The scene we just saw came after Jerry had been fired and as he was starting out again from scratch

–         For Jerry McGuire Tom Petty’s Free Falling was (ironically) a kind of song of Ascents

–         It was about being set free and rising above

 

The writer of Psalm 120 reminds me a little bit of Jerry McGuire

–         Like Jerry he is lied about and deceived by his neighbours

–         And like Jerry he doesn’t follow their lead

–         He deals straight and stands apart from them

 

Distress:

Psalm 120 begins in a very personal way

–         The pilgrim says, “I call on the Lord in my distress…”

 

The word for distress here carries the idea (in Hebrew) of being in a narrow or confined space – the psalmist feels trapped [1]

–         In particular he is trapped by the lying lips and deceitful words of those around him

–         He can’t trust those around him because they are out to ruin his good name

 

Jesus faced this very thing from time to time in his interaction with the Pharisees

–         In Matthew 22 we read how the Pharisees sent some of their own to try and trap Jesus by asking him a question

–         They said, “Teacher, we know that you tell the truth. You teach the truth about God’s will for man, without worrying about what people think, because you pay no attention to man’s status. Tell us then, what do you think? Is it against our Law to pay taxes to the Roman Emperor or not?”

 

Notice the sucker punch

–         They start off all nice, with flattery, but it’s a trick

–         They think they’ve got him with their question

–         If Jesus says, ‘No it’s not lawful to pay taxes to Caesar’, they can accuse him to the Roman authorities

–         And if Jesus says, ‘Yes it is lawful to pay taxes’, they can accuse him of supporting the enemy – being a traitor to Israel

 

Jesus doesn’t allow them to trap him with their deceitful tongues

–         He says to their face, “You hypocrites”

–         A hypocrite (in this context) is an actor – someone who wears a mask and pretends to be something they are not

–         “Why are you trying to trap me? Show me the coin for paying the tax”

–         They brought him a coin

–         “Whose face and name are these?”

–         “The Emperor’s” they answered

–         So Jesus said to them, “Well then, give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and give to God what belongs to God”

 

In other words, it’s not either / or – it’s both / and

–         Pay your taxes and worship God

 

Returning to Psalm 120, the psalmist says, “I call on the Lord…

 

What’s interesting here is that when the psalmist is deceived, lied to and slandered he doesn’t respond by lying or deceiving or spreading nasty rumours about his antagonists

–         No. He calls on the Lord

–         He takes the problem to God

–         He says, “Save me, O Lord, from lying lips and deceitful tongues”

–         He doesn’t descend to the level of his enemies

–         He ascends (or lifts his heart & mind up) to the Lord

 

The point I want to highlight here is that even though the psalmist feels trapped he still has some freedom

–         He can’t control what those around him say or do

–         But he can control his response to his enemies

–         While it is true that their words are putting him in a bind he still has options – he doesn’t have to behave in the same way they do

–         Like Jerry McGuire he has the freedom to do something different

 

The point of application for us is that, with God, we always have the freedom of another option

–         No matter how trapped we might feel, when we look to God, he is able to create a way out so that we don’t become like those who mean us harm

 

Okay, so even though he feels trapped the psalmist still exercises what freedom he has by calling on the Lord, and the Lord answers him

–         Isn’t that intriguing

–         What does it mean that ‘the Lord answers him?’

–         The psalmist doesn’t say explicitly how the Lord answers – that is left to us to read between the lines

–         (Although this psalm is relatively short there is quite a bit left unsaid between the lines)

–         It is unlikely that the psalmist heard an audible voice talking to him

–         It is more probable that the psalmist found God’s answer in the Scriptures

–         By reflecting on the Law of Moses and the story of Israel

 

The psalmist is Jewish – he knows from reading the Hebrew Bible that God is just. The Lord is for truth and he won’t let liars get away with it

–         In the end God will see that the truth comes out and justice is done

–         What’s more the Lord is able to use these circumstances for good

 

Although God doesn’t get a speaking part in this psalm we can figure out God’s answer from what follows in verses 3-4, where the psalmist says…

–         What will he do to you, and what more besides, O deceitful tongue? He will punish you with a warrior’s sharp arrows, with burning coals of the broom tree.

 

Now we might think, that doesn’t sound very nice or gracious

–         Well, we need to remember that these words are poetry

–         So sharp arrows and burning coals are metaphors for the damage that lying words can do

 

Words, when they are misused, are like arrows

–         They can really get under our skin and wound us

–         Slander or lying words are also a bit like burning coals

–         A burning coal sets fire to most things it touches

–         Gossip spreads like wild fire, destroying a person’s reputation, ruining trust

–         What’s more, a burn isn’t a short sharp pain – it is a long lingering pain, which if not treated properly can become infected

 

The psalmist’s enemies have slandered him

–         They have shot his reputation to pieces and burned his trust

–         So the psalmist takes comfort in the knowledge that God will punish those deceitful tongues, like for like

 

What about forgiveness though?

–         Isn’t that what Jesus preached?

–         Yes – Jesus did preach forgiveness

–         But, if we are honest with ourselves, forgiveness is not usually automatic

–         Forgiveness is normally a process, for us

 

You see, if we suffer injustice then what we are left with is anger

–         Forgiveness is the process of letting go of that anger

–         Rather than trying to get even himself the psalmist calls on the Lord and (reading between the lines) the Lord’s implied response appears to be…

–         ‘Leave it with me. I will deal with these deceitful tongues’

–         Knowing that God will punish his adversaries sets the psalmist free

–         It enables him to let go of his anger and move on

–         He doesn’t need to take revenge because God is going to do that

 

Therefore what we get in verses 3 & 4 is the road to forgiveness or the means of forgiveness

–         So if you have been wronged by someone and they are unrepentant so you are angry with them – struggling to forgive – then one strategy for dealing with your anger is to imagine God’s punishment for them

–         However, this is more of a last resort strategy where the injustice is big

–         A better strategy for letting go of your anger at being hurt is to remember your own wrong doing and the grace you have received

–         There’s nothing like remembering our own guilt for taking the wind out of the sails of our anger

 

Decision:

In the first half of the psalm (verses 1-4) we hear about the psalmist’s distress

–         Now, in the second half (having processed his anger) the psalmist moves from distress to decision – a decision for peace

 

In our church library at the moment we have a new book called Saving My Assassin by Virginia Prodan

–         You may have read the book review that Elaine wrote about it

–         Saving My Assassin is the autobiography of a Romanian attorney who lived through the communist regime in that country during the 1960’s, 70’s and 80s’

–         Virginia Prodan reminded me of the author of psalm 120

 

In her book Virginia writes: “During the totalitarian regime of Nicolae Ceausescu, the most brutal and repressive regime… Communist Romania was a land of lies. Religion was tolerated only to keep up outside appearances, and internal dissidence was not permitted. Ceausescu’s goal was to demolish the churches…” [2]

 

Like the psalmist Virginia Prodan was surrounded by lying lips and deceitful tongues – communist Romania was not a place of truth or trust

–         As an attorney she found herself frustrated by the lack of justice and was on the brink of giving up her career in law

 

This is probably quite difficult for many of us here in NZ to imagine

–         According to a recent international survey, NZ is the least corrupt country in the world at the moment – not that we are perfect [3]

 

In any case Virginia went in search of the truth and was invited to a Baptist church where she heard the words of John 14:6 for the first time

–         This is where Jesus says, “I am the way and the truth and the life” No one comes to the Father except through me.”

 

Virginia found Christ and became a lawyer who successfully defended Christians whose crimes against the state included possessing a Bible, showing the Jesus film in their homes and holding prayer meetings and Bible studies

–         For this she was kidnapped, tortured, beaten and nearly killed

–         The mistreatment she suffered was perhaps worse than the distress described by the writer of psalm 120 who says in verses 5-7…

 

Woe to me that I dwell in Meshech, that I live among the tents of Kedar! Too long have I lived among those who hate peace. I am a man of peace; but when I speak, they are for war. 

 

The idea of peace is central to these verses and indeed is at the core or the heart of the psalmist’s identity

–         When the psalmist says there, “I am a man of peace” he means peace is my middle name – I embody peace – I live sleep and breathe it

 

The Hebrew concept of peace or shalom isn’t just the absence of conflict

–         It is the presence of health and prosperity and right relationship in community with others. It is abundant life

–         In order to have this kind of peace one must first have justice

–         By saying he is a man of peace but his adversaries hate peace, the psalmist is essentially saying…

–         ‘I seek truth & justice, while those around me are corrupt’

 

Meshech and Kedar are a long way apart geographically speaking

–         Meshech is in the far north of that part of the world while Kedar is in the south east

–         Again the reference is poetic, symbolising the Gentile (or non-Jewish) world in which Israel is dispersed [4]

–         Basically the psalmist is living away from home among a people who are hostile to him

–         The implication (reading between the lines) is that wherever they go in the world the Jews have enemies

 

The psalmist’s cry, “Woe to me…” seems to be a cry of desperation

–         As a man of peace he walks a narrow path

–         On the one hand he doesn’t want to compromise his beliefs and values in order to fit in with those around him

–         Because he knows that would be like selling his soul – being untrue to himself and there’s no peace in that

–         By the same token he doesn’t want to always be in conflict with those around him because there’s no peace in that either, it’s just exhausting

–         So, “Woe to me” means, ‘How I am supposed to maintain my integrity?’

–         How am I supposed to be a man of peace in such a hostile environment?

–         I try to get along with them, but when I speak they are for war

 

The psalmist really is between a rock and hard place

–         And so he reaches a decision saying, “Too long have I lived among those who hate peace…”

–         The implication here is that he has to get away, at least for a little while

–         If he doesn’t have a break from this he risks losing himself

 

Like the psalmist, Virginia Prodan was a woman of peace – meaning she stood for truth and justice

–         Sadly, the land in which she lived (communist Romania) was for war

–         Meaning it was corrupt and hostile to Christian believers

–         It came to the point where Virginia could no longer stay in Romania

–         Eventually she was offered asylum in America where she now practices as a human rights lawyer in Dallas, Texas.

 

Some things just don’t go together

–         This is a picture of two animals (an ox and a donkey) unequally yoked

–         Incompatible

 

What the psalmist realises by the end of his song is that he can’t be friends with everyone – he is incompatible with those around him

–         Sometimes as Christians we might feel like we have to try and be everyone’s friend – that we must offer our trust to everyone

–         I don’t think that’s very wise – you can’t be everyone’s friend

–         Don’t throw your pearls before swine

–         Don’t give your trust to those who are not worthy of it

–         Freedom is found in Christ, not in trying to please people

 

When people deal falsely with you then do what you need to do to forgive them

–         Find a way to let the anger go, for your own sake

–         But forgiving someone doesn’t mean you have to be yoked to them as their friend forever

–         Be smart – look for peace

–         Build friendships with those you can trust

 

The psalmist’s journey begins with distress and discontent

–         But his distress is the catalyst for his ascent

–         It clarifies things for him – leading him to the realisation that he cannot be yoked to those who want war (when he embodies peace)

–         And so he makes a decision to leave that place, for his own survival

–         Although Psalm 120 doesn’t explicitly say where the psalmist intends to go we know from the songs that follow that he is headed for the temple in Jerusalem where he can be free to be the man of peace he is

 

Like the psalmist we are a people of peace

–         But in this world the path of peace is sometimes narrow and difficult

–         On the one had we don’t want to compromise who we are in order to fit in with those around us

–         But at the same time we don’t want to be in constant conflict with those around us either

 

Our temple (our place of pilgrimage) is not in Jerusalem

–         Our temple is the body of Christ – his church

–         Wherever 2 or 3 of Jesus’ followers are gathered together, that’s our temple – that’s one reason why we gather here each Sunday

–         To remember who we are in Christ

–         To gain the strength and perspective we need to walk the narrow path of peace.

 

Perhaps the question for us is: what do we need to do (both personally and corporately) to remain a people of peace? (To stand for truth, to seek justice)

 

Conclusion:

You wouldn’t think it at first but Psalm 120 touches on some pretty significant issues, when we scratch beneath the surface

–         Lies and truth

–         Betrayal and trust

–         Anger and forgiveness

–         War and peace

–         Feeling trapped and finding freedom

–         Being stuck in a rut and going on a journey

 

Let’s stand and sing…

 

♫       Guide me O Thou Great Jehovah

 

This is a song about going on a journey

[1] Refer Josh Moody, ‘Journey to Joy’, page 19.

[2] Virginia Prodan, “Saving My Assassin”, page 3.

[3] As reported on TVNZ’s “One News” during the past week

[4] Refer Derek Kidner, Psalm 73-150, page 466.

Tawa Baptist

Imagination with God

Scripture: Genesis 15:1-6 and 2nd Kings 6:8-23

 

Title: Imagination with God

 

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • God uses imagination to form faith
  • God uses imagination to reveal reality
  • God uses imagination to create new realities
  • Conclusion

 

Introduction:

When you daydream or imagine, what do you see yourself doing?

 

[Wait]

 

Perhaps you’ve had a hard week at work and you imagine being on holiday somewhere nice and relaxing

–         Or maybe you are studying for exams and you imagine graduating and getting your dream job

–         Or perhaps you are a teacher and there’s a student in your class who comes from a tough background and you imagine a better future for them

–         Or you might have lost someone close to you and so you imagine being reunited with them again, in heaven

 

This morning we continue our series on ‘Being with God’

–         This series is essentially about Christian spirituality

–         In very basic terms we could say that, for Christians, spirituality is Christ’s way of being with us as well as our way of being with Jesus

–         Using the analogy of wireless internet, if wifi is the capacity to connect and interact with others on-line

–         Then spirituality is our capacity to connect with God – to interact with His Spirit in other words

 

Rebecca Nye has a wonderful acronym which we are using to give structure to this series. [1]  Her acronym spells the word S.P.I.R.I.T.

–         Space, Process, Imagination, Relationship, Intimacy & Trust

 

These are all essential elements of Christian spirituality

–         We need these six things to connect with and interact with Jesus

–         So far we have looked at the importance of sacred space and process in our relationship with God

–         This morning we explore imagination with God

 

God uses imagination to form faith

Last week I told you about my grandfather who took me fishing

–         Although my grandfather didn’t go to church, fishing with him was sort of like a spiritual experience

–         The ocean was our sacred space

–         We enjoyed the process of fishing for its own sake – we were happy just being with each other

–         And going out on the boat, imagining all the big fish we might catch, was a bit of an adventure

 

My grandfather was a driller and he was good at it

–         He drilled water bores for farmers mostly, but he also did survey jobs

–         I don’t ever remember my grandfather talking to me about his work

–         He never elaborated on the finer points of water pumps or seismic stability or any of that stuff

–         What I do remember is him telling me stories

–         Each night, as I was going to bed, he would ignite my imagination with tall tales of adventure, involving a hero (usually himself) who triumphed over incredible odds

–         The stories didn’t have a moral to them necessarily – they were really more about courage and hope and never giving up

 

Sometimes we might associate the word ‘imagination’ with some kind of fantasy or fairy tale

–         Something made up or pretend, like an imaginary friend

–         With this kind of definition we might think our imagination is there to help us escape reality

 

But with God imagination is not about escaping reality – it’s about revealing reality and in fact creating new realities

–         Imagination is how God forms faith in us

 

In some ways our imagination is a bit like the soil in which the seeds of faith & hope grow – imagination nurtures and supports and feeds our faith

–         If our imagination is the soil then the seed of Christian faith is sown by telling the stories of Jesus

–         Stories of courage & hope, as well as adversity & redemption

 

In the book, Shaped by God, Sarah Arthur talks about ‘The Importance of Story in Faith Formation’ [2]

–         Christian faith is formed more by story more than by facts or information

–         God exists – that’s a fact

–         Jesus is the Son of God – that’s another fact

–         While getting our facts straight is important, knowing those facts doesn’t necessarily form faith in us

–         Being a Christian isn’t just about accepting certain facts or doctrines

–         It’s about trusting a person we can’t see – God

 

Looking back, my grandfather’s approach was similar to God’s approach

–         Just as my grandfather gave me stories, and not information

–         So too God gives us stories to ignite our imagination and form faith in us

 

The Bible is not an encyclopaedia or a text book

–         It is essentially a collection of stories (true stories of adventure) – which tell the larger story of God’s involvement in human history

 

C.S. Lewis seemed to understand the importance of imagination and the power of stories to form faith

–         In his book The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Lewis created a character called ‘Eustace’ – a boy with no imagination.

–         Eustace knows nothing of stories of adventure

–         The only books Eustace likes are ‘books of information’

–         Books which have a lot to say about exports & imports and governments & drains

–         Because of this Eustace has a very stunted imagination

–         Which makes him ill-prepared to handle the adventure of sailing with the King of Narnia to the edge of the world

 

When Eustace sees a dragon for the first time he has no idea what he’s looking at

–         The books Eustace read were weak on dragons and so he doesn’t know one shouldn’t steal a dragon’s treasure or you will become a dragon yourself

–         Only after he has become a dragon does Eustace realise his mistake

 

The valiant mouse Reepicheep takes pity on Eustace and to cheer him up tells the boy stories

–         Reepicheep’s stories give Eustace hope

–         They are tales about great men who had fallen on hard times but who were able to recover and be restored

–         These stories enable Eustace to imagine a different outcome for himself

–         They make faith possible

–         Eventually Eustace is converted from a dragon back into a boy again by Aslan – and in time he finds redemption

–         Like the heroes in Reepicheep’s stories Eustace grows into a virtuous character able to handle the adventure of sailing to the edge of the world

 

There is at least one book in the Bible which has a dragon in it – and a beast and a bride and a mighty hero

–         Who can tell me the name of that book [Wait]

–         That’s right, the book of Revelation

 

It’s a great shame really that Revelation is one of the most misunderstood books of the Bible

–         Perhaps that’s because we live in the ‘information age’

–         The internet is basically a huge database of information which we can access at our fingers tips

–         Collectively, Western society has become a bit like Eustace

–         We prefer technical information and so we are weak on dragons

–         We don’t recognise a dragon when we see it – therefore we don’t know how to defend ourselves against evil

 

What’s more we don’t realise that facing adversity is part of the adventure

–         Something a bit tough happens and we might panic or be tempted to despair or give up

–         We forget that the hero of the story always suffers

–         Without imagination we are ill equipped for the adventure of faith

 

The book of Revelation was written for the early church, most likely at the end of the first century AD

–         At that stage in history the Christian church was facing persecution in a variety of forms – it was a difficult time to stay loyal to Christ

–         Christians needed hope and strength

–         You don’t get hope from a download of data & information

–         Googling the word ‘hope’ won’t give you hope

–         Hope and strength to persevere comes from hearing a story which enlivens the imagination

 

And so that’s what God gives his people – a story which they can identify with

–         A story which is strong on dragons so they will be able to recognise evil when they see it and consequently avoid becoming like the dragon

–         A story with a virtuous Son of Man and a terrible beast so they will know what it is to be human and will keep their humanity

–         A story with a Bride in distress who is rescued by a mighty hero so they will wait faithfully and not give up

 

For those who are familiar with Revelation the dragon is Satan, the beast is the Roman Empire, the Bride is the church and the Hero is, of course, Jesus

–         In the end the dragon and the beast are defeated, while Christ and his Bride (the church) live happily ever after

 

Now what I’ve given you there is a very basic sketch – there is certainly more to Revelation than that

 

I also need to say that in describing Revelation as a story I don’t mean to imply that it is fantasy or that it’s somehow untrue

–         As I said before, in Christian spirituality imagination has to do with what is real

–         Revelation actually deals with ultimate realities – unseen realities

–         It uses imagination to show us what’s going on behind the scenes

–         In fact, God often uses our imagination to reveal reality

 

God uses imagination to reveal reality

The earth’s surface curves out of sight at a distance of 3.1 miles (or 5 km’s)

–         But if the earth were flat, or if you were standing on top of a mountain, then you could see a lot further than 5 km’s with the naked eye

–         On a dark night you could even see a candle flickering up to 48 km’s away [3]

 

What I’m trying to say here is, we can’t see the whole picture

–         The reality we see is limited, to a large extent, by our horizon

–         God gives us an imagination to help us see beyond our horizon so that our view of reality is fuller or more complete

 

We could say our imagination is a bit like a telescope or a pair of binoculars

–         It enables us to see further and clearer

 

Please turn with me to Genesis chapter 15 – page 17, toward the front of your pew Bibles

–         This Scripture shows us one of Abram’s encounters with God

–         Abram was rich and successful in many respects but his wife, Sarai, was unable to have children

–         From verse 1 of Genesis 15 we read…

 

After this, Abram had a vision and heard the Lord say to him, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I will shield you from danger and give you a great reward.”

 

2 But Abram answered, “Sovereign Lord, what good will your reward do me, since I have no children? My only heir is Eliezer of Damascus. 3 You have given me no children, and one of my slaves will inherit my property.”

 

4 Then he heard the Lord speaking to him again: “This slave Eliezer will not inherit your property; your own son will be your heir.” 5 The Lord took him outside and said, “Look at the sky and try to count the stars; you will have as many descendants as that.”

 

6 Abram put his trust in the Lord, and because of this the Lord was pleased with him and accepted him.

 

Do you see what God did there?

–         He didn’t simply tell Abram, ‘You will have a son’

–         He engaged Abram’s imagination

–         He took Abram outside and invited him to look beyond his immediate horizon: ‘Look up at the night sky and count the stars if you can. You will have as many descendants as that’

–         Then Abram put his trust in the Lord

 

Abram’s perception of reality was quite small and narrow

–         God used the stars to help Abram see things differently – to inspire Abram to imagine the full picture

–         God’s word in the soil of Abram’s imagination inspired faith & hope

 

God uses imagination to form faith in us

–         To reveal ultimate reality to us

–         And to create new realities with us

 

God uses imagination to create new realities

On the 30th August 2004, Yoko Ono, the wife of the late John Lennon, placed a full page ad in the New York Times

 

The Ad had only two words: “Imagine Peace”

–         At that time it was less than 3 years since the attack on the Twin Towers and the war on terror was well underway

–         Walter Brueggemann comments…

–         [Yoko Ono’s ad] “…is a recognition that peace will not come by thinking inside the box, but only by pushing beyond the presently available reality to a newness that is given at the edge of the human spirit.” [4]

 

While we might sometimes use our imagination to escape unpleasant realities

–         God uses our imagination to create new (and better) realities

 

There’s a funny story in 2nd Kings about the prophet Elisha [5]

 

The king of Syria was at war with Israel

–         Whenever the king of Syria set up an ambush for the Israelites, God would tell Elisha, the prophet, where the Syrians were

–         Then Elisha would tell the king of Israel and he would warn his people so they could avoid the ambush

 

After this had happened several times the Syrian king started to get a bit paranoid

–         He called his army officers together and confronted them saying,

–         “Which one of you is the traitor? Who keeps giving our position away?”

 

They all looked sideways at each other until one of them spoke up…

–         “It’s none of us your majesty. The prophet Elisha tells the king of Israel what you say even in the privacy of your own room”

 

Sadly the king of Syria lacked imagination

–         Like Eustace he was only interested in books of information

–         Books like ‘Guerrilla Warfare for Dummies’ and ‘How to ambush your enemies in 6 easy steps’

 

Anyway, as I was saying, the king of Syria wasn’t the sharpest knife in the draw and so when he heard that Elisha kept giving his soldier’s position away he thought he might have a chance if he could capture God’s prophet

–         It didn’t occur to the king that God would warn Elisha the Syrians were coming for him (as the Lord had done on every other occasion)

–         What is it they say? The definition of madness is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result

 

Nevertheless, God is a good sport & perhaps because he felt sorry for the Syrian king, God decided to give the Syrians a chance

–         God let the soldiers find Elisha in Dothan

–         So all the king’s horses and all the king’s men went to Dothan and surrounded the town

 

When Elisha’s servant got up and went outside the house he saw the Syrian army and panicked. Running back to Elisha he exclaimed…

–         ‘Master, we are doomed. What shall we do?’

 

But Elisha wasn’t at all surprised – it was like he had anticipated this all along

–         So he said to his servant ever so calmly…

–         “Don’t worry about it mate. They are the ones that are outnumbered”

–         Then Elisha prayed, “O Lord, open his eyes and let him see”

–         The Lord answered Elisha’s prayer and enabled the servant to see reality beyond his limited horizon

–         The hillside was covered with horses and chariots of fire all round Elisha

–         God’s army had been there as back up for Elisha the whole time, only the servant hadn’t seen it

–         Now the servant was imagining a different outcome

 

When the Syrians attacked, Elisha prayed, “O Lord, strike these men blind!”

–         In an instant the Syrian soldiers lost their sight and started bumping into each other

–         Elisha could have run away at this point but that wouldn’t have solved anything

–         So he said to the men, “You are on the wrong track… Follow me and I will lead you to the man you are after.”

–         And he led them to Samaria, a stronghold of the Israelites, their enemies

–         It was kind of ironic really – all this time the Syrians had been trying to ambush the Israelites and now Elisha had led the Syrians into an ambush

 

Once inside the city of Samaria Elisha prayed again asking the Lord to restore the Syrians’ sight

–         The Lord did and when the Syrians realised they were the ones surrounded, things got real

 

The king of Israel couldn’t believe his luck – the Syrians were sitting ducks

–         He eagerly asked Elisha, “Shall I kill them, shall I kill them?”

–         It turns out the king of Israel wasn’t all that different from the king of Syria – they both lacked imagination

–         Because their only solution was a hammer every problem looked to them like a nail

 

Elisha, however, imagined a different solution saying…

–         ‘No. You wouldn’t kill soldiers you had captured in combat, let alone ones that had been brought to you blind.

–         Instead show them kindness and hospitality – give them something to eat and drink and let them return unharmed to their king’

 

So the king of Israel provided a great feast for them and after they had eaten and drunk their fill he sent them back to the king of Syria

–         After that the Syrians stopped raiding the land of Israel

 

What was it Jesus said?

–         “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you”

–         Perhaps he was inviting us to, “Imagine Peace”

 

The problem with both kings (the king of Israel and the king of Syria) is they lacked imagination

–         Their thinking came from inside the box, from their limited horizon

–         They couldn’t imagine anything other than raiding and fighting and seeking revenge

–         They needed someone like Elisha to help them push beyond the presently available reality to a newness that is given at the edge of the human spirit

 

Conclusion:

This morning we’ve been talking about the value of imagination in our spiritual life with God

–         Shortly we will share communion together

–         Communion is a spiritual thing – it is a way of being with God

–         Communion provides an opportunity for sacred space

–         It is more about process than product – it’s something we do for its own sake and not to achieve some end result

–         Communion also engages our imagination, nourishing and strengthening our faith & hope in Christ

 

By sharing the bread and the cup we remember Jesus’ story – in fact we enter into his story

 

Communion is not an escaping of reality

–         It is a way of revealing the reality of Christ’s presence with us

 

In communion we look beyond our limited horizon to catch a glimpse of the bigger picture of God’s story

–         Just as Jesus’ suffered, died and was resurrected – so too we share in his sufferings and we will share in his resurrection one day

 

I guess I could say more – but I don’t want to spell it all out for you – I want to leave something for your imagination…

 

https://soundcloud.com/tawabaptist/6-nov-2016-imagination-with-god

[1] Rebecca Nye, ‘Children’s Spirituality’, page 41.

[2] Sarah Arthur, ‘Shaped by God’ (Ed. Robert J. Keeley), pages 38-41

[3][3] http://www.livescience.com/33895-human-eye.html

[4] Walter Brueggemann, “Mandate to Difference”, page 95.

[5] Refer 2 Kings 6:8-23

Tawa Baptist

Space with God

Scripture: Genesis 28:10-22

Title: Space with God

Structure:

  • Introduction – S.P.I.R.I.T.
  • Jacob’s space with God
  • Our space with God
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

‘Wifi’ – we rely on it so much these days

–         Wifi enables us to interact with others on Facebook

–         To search a world wide database for all the answers to our questions

–         To watch TV shows and YouTube clips, to download stuff,

–         To send and receive email messages

–         To pay our bills and so on

–         I really don’t understand how Wifi works

–         I only know that Wifi gives us the capacity to interact with a whole different world – not the physical world but a virtual world of data and information

 

‘Spirituality’ – you sometimes hear that word (but not as much as wifi)

–         In popular culture these days it’s not cool to be religious but it’s okay to be spiritual

–         If you Google that word ‘spirituality’ it takes you down a whole lot of rabbit holes

 

What then does it mean to be spiritual?

–         Well, if wifi is your capacity to connect with the virtual world of the internet – to interact with others on-line

–         Then spirituality is our capacity to connect with God – to interact with His Spirit in other words

 

I have used the metaphor of wifi to illustrate what we mean by spirituality

–         Jesus used the metaphor of the vine and its branches. Jesus said…

–         No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine, you are the branches… Remain in me.  [1]

 

In very basic terms we could say that, for Christians, spirituality is Christ’s way of being with us as well as our way of being with Jesus

 

Today we begin a new sermon series which I’m calling ‘Being with God’

–         It is essentially about Christian spirituality

 

Now some of you may not think of yourselves as all that ‘spiritual’

–         You might think, I’m more of the down to earth or practical type

–         But being practical and down to earth doesn’t make you any less spiritual

–         In fact it probably makes you closer to God if anything

–         All human beings have the capacity to relate with God and so we are all spiritual beings whether we are aware of it or not

 

Rebecca Nye, who has written a book on children’s spirituality, has a wonderful acronym which I’m borrowing for this series [2]

 

Her acronym spells the word S.P.I.R.I.T.

–         S stands for Space

–         P stands for Process

–         I stands for Imagination

–         R is for Relationship

–         The second I stands for Intimacy

–         And the T stands for Trust

–         Space, Process, Imagination, Relationship, Intimacy & Trust

 

These are all crucial aspects or essential elements of Christian spirituality

–         We need these six things to connect with and interact with Jesus

–         Spirit is our equivalent of a wifi connection with God

–         Over the coming weeks I plan to unpack each of these elements, starting with Space this morning

 

By space we don’t mean ‘Space the final frontier…’

–         It’s not space as in Star Trek or Star Wars

–         But space as in a sacred place

–         A special place where you connect with God

–         A space that especially helps you to be more aware of God’s presence

 

Jacob’s space with God:

To help explore this idea of sacred space please turn with me to Genesis chapter 28 – page 32 near the beginning of your pew Bibles

–         To set the scene a little Jacob, the grandson of Abraham, is on the run from his twin brother Esau – and Jacob has an encounter with God

–         We pick up Jacob’s story from verse 10 of Genesis 28…

 

10 Jacob left Beersheba and started toward Haran. 11 At sunset he came to a holy place and camped there. He lay down to sleep, resting his head on a stone. 12 He dreamed that he saw a stairway reaching from earth to heaven, with angels going up and coming down on it. 13 And there was the Lord standing beside him. “I am the Lord, the God of Abraham and Isaac,” he said. “I will give to you and to your descendants this land on which you are lying. 14 They will be as numerous as the specks of dust on the earth. They will extend their territory in all directions, and through you and your descendants I will bless all the nations. 15 Remember, I will be with you and protect you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done all that I have promised you.”

 

16 Jacob woke up and said, “The Lord is here! He is in this place, and I didn’t know it!” 17 He was afraid and said, “What a terrifying place this is! It must be the house of God; it must be the gate that opens into heaven.”

 

18 Jacob got up early next morning, took the stone that was under his head, and set it up as a memorial. Then he poured olive oil on it to dedicate it to God. 19 He named the place Bethel. (The town there was once known as Luz.) 20 Then Jacob made a vow to the Lord: “If you will be with me and protect me on the journey I am making and give me food and clothing, 21 and if I return safely to my father’s home, then you will be my God. 22 This memorial stone which I have set up will be the place where you are worshiped, and I will give you a tenth of everything you give me.”

 

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate this reading for us

 

We were recently in the South Island and were lucky enough to travel down the West Coast

–         We had never been there before, so it was new and exciting

glacier-country-franz-josef-1

We stayed a couple of nights at Franz Josef and during the day we walked up the valley to where you could see the end of the glacier about 500 metres away

–         You can’t actually walk on the glacier anymore unless you go in a helicopter

 

We could see where the glacier used to be – how it has carved out this massive path through solid rock

–         For thousands of years the glacier ice has been slowly advancing and receding, moving mountains as it goes

–         The glacier is God’s chisel

 

There’s a fault line that runs down the valley to the petrol station in the township of Franz Josef and a splinter fault running at right angles to the valley

–         It is a real intersection for the forces of nature

 

Strangely, I felt quite peaceful in that environment

–         The largeness of that space made me conscious of how small I am

–         The oldness of the space made me think how short and insignificant my life really is

–         And the wildness made me aware that I wasn’t in charge

–         I was subject to powers far greater and far older than me

 

Now you may be wondering, how does all of that give you a sense of peace?

–         Well, it’s difficult to explain really – it just does

–         Perhaps it’s the peace which comes from perspective – all your problems fade into insignificance against the grandeur of that kind of background

–         Or maybe it was the understanding that God is in control here, not me

–         And because God is in control I don’t need to worry

–         My life is in his hands

–         Whatever the reason, the bigness of the environment made me feel lighter and freer – it was wonderful

–         For me those mountains and glaciers, and the valleys in between, all that ancient wide open space, was sacred

 

In Genesis 28 Jacob is on the run from his brother Esau

–         Jacob had tricked Esau out of his birth right and the blessing too

–         Naturally Esau was angry

–         Jacob was between a rock & a hard place – he had little choice but to run

 

Alone, scared, exhausted and in an unfamiliar place, Jacob lies down to sleep

–         He is so tired he uses a stone for his pillow

–         And when he dozes off the Lord God appears to him in a dream

 

This morning we are talking about the importance of space in our spiritual lives – that is, in our interactions with God

–         Jacob’s encounter with God takes place, not in wakeful control, but at a time when his guard is down, while he is asleep [3]

–         It also takes place when he has been forced to leave home – while he is on his way into exile

 

The initiative for this encounter is with God

–         Jacob hasn’t been praying or seeking God in anyway – he’s just been running for his life

–         So this interaction is unexpected from Jacob’s point of view

 

Jacob knows on some level that he has done wrong and, if anything, he isn’t expecting grace or encouragement – he’s probably feeling guilty and expecting punishment

–         Yet there is no word of reproach from God

–         There is no telling off, no reprisal

–         The Lord himself stands beside Jacob

–         Wow – imagine that – seeing God stand beside you

–         God isn’t up in heaven sitting on his throne looking down on Jacob

–         He is ‘down to earth’ standing alongside Jacob

 

The main point of Jacob’s vision of the stairway reaching from earth to heaven with angels going up & down, seems to be that heaven and earth are connected

–         Angels are heavenly messengers, running errands for God, so there is an on-going connection between heaven and earth

–         Heaven is in fact coming to earth

–         Jacob can count on the resources of heaven

 

In Jacob’s dream the Lord introduces himself and reiterates the promise he had made to Abraham – Jacob is now the beneficiary of that promise

–         Then the Lord basically says three things to Jacob…

–         I will be with you, I will protect you and I will bring you back to this land

–         Presence, protection and homecoming

–         That was not what Jacob was expecting to hear but it was exactly what he needed to hear

 

When Jacob woke up he said…

–         “The Lord is here! He is in this place and I didn’t know it. What a terrifying place this is. It must be the house of God; it must be the gate that opens into heaven.”

 

It was God’s presence in that place that made it sacred space

–         As a memorial to God’s presence Jacob set up a stone and poured olive oil on it to consecrate it to the Lord

–         Then he named the place “Bethel”

–         Beth means ‘house’ and El is one of the names of God

–         So Bethel means ‘House of God’

–         This is sacred space

 

One thing we note is that it’s not just the physical space which is in view here – Jacob’s emotional space also gets a mention

–         He says, ‘what a terrifying place this is’

–         The presence of God is often presented in the Bible as a frightening thing for human beings

–         In a paradoxical way the fear of God actually gives us a deeper sense of peace

–         When we fear God our other fears don’t seem like such a big deal

–         Like walking in the mountains – being in the presence of something far older and more powerful gives us perspective, setting us free from our petty anxieties

 

The point is, Jacob’s encounter with God has put Jacob in a better emotional space

 

God has made promises to Jacob so Jacob makes a promise to God

–         He will worship God and give the Lord 10% of everything God gives him

–         We call this 10% a tithe

–         Giving in proportion to what we receive

 

The obvious thing to note here is that financial giving is an act of spiritual worship

–         Jacob’s tithe is not a tax – it’s freely promised by Jacob

–         By giving this tithe Jacob is acknowledging that everything he receives actually comes from God and therefore belongs to God

 

Sometimes when we give our offerings in church or through AP’s we might think we are doing God a favour, giving to God out of our own resources

–         But that’s not right – that’s entitlement thinking

–         Everything we have is a gift from God including the ability to work and earn money

–         There are plenty of people in the world who work harder than us and get paid a lot less

–         When we make an offering to the church we are simply returning something to God which came from him in the first place

–         It’s not our money, it’s His

 

The point we shouldn’t miss here is that Jacob’s spirituality permeated the rest of his life

–         It wasn’t something abstract or out there, separate from his life

–         Jacob’s spirituality affected him emotionally and financially

 

Okay, so Bethel was Jacob’s sacred space with God

 

Our space with God:

What about our sacred space with God?

–         Where is it that you are especially aware of God’s presence?

 

For many people the church sanctuary is sacred space

–         After all, it is where people gather for special occasions like weddings and funerals

–         It is also where we come together to sing songs of praise to God, to hear his word, receive communion and take care of our relationships together

–         All special, all sacred and meaningful rituals which support our spiritual life

 

One of the things people notice about this auditorium is that it actually looks like a church

–         It has been purpose built and consecrated as a church

–         It’s not just a generic warehouse style building

–         It’s not that God can’t meet with people in a warehouse – he can

–         It’s more that there is something special about the feel of this place

–         This is more obviously a sacred space

 

When we look around in this auditorium we see a huge space above us

–         From a practical point of view having this massive space overhead doesn’t make sense – it’s difficult to heat, hard to change the light bulbs and doesn’t seem to serve any functional purpose – But I like it

–         It speaks to me of the largeness of God – the spaciousness of God

–         In a way it reminds me of being in the mountains

 

I suppose because church buildings are sacred space they can potentially be a touchy subject if we make changes to the place

–         The thing to keep in mind here is that we worship God, not the space

–         What makes a space sacred is God’s presence

–         Jesus said, “For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.” [4]

–         Where Christ is, there God is also

–         That means it’s not the architecture which makes a building sacred space, it is Christ among his people who make it sacred

 

While we don’t worship this space we still want to take care of it – to maintain it, keep it clean and tidy and safe for people

–         You know how it is – when you have people coming over to your house you whip round with the vacuum cleaner and make the place clean and comfortable for them.

–         How much more so when it is Christ who we are meeting with

 

As we’ve seen from Jacob’s encounter with God at Bethel, sacred space is not limited to church buildings

–         You may have encountered God while walking up Colonial Knob and so that is sacred space for you

–         Or you may have a particular room in your house which is sacred space because that’s where you go to pray and read the Bible

–         We need to go to those spaces often to be with God in a special way

 

One of the things that goes hand in hand with physical space is time

–         We can’t be in a space without spending time

–         Time seems to be in short supply for most of us these days

–         Life seems to be very busy and rushed

–         Some of that is the choices we make but not all of it

 

Tomorrow is Labour Day when we get a day off to celebrate the introduction of the 40 hour working week

–         It is difficult to find many people in fulltime jobs who work as little as 40 hours a week these days

–         Employers demand more and more – that is one of the downsides to living in a consumerist society I suppose

–         Some people have to work 2 or 3 jobs just to make ends meet

 

The good news is that even though we are relatively time poor God is Lord of time – he is able to make room in our busy schedules

–         And he is able to accomplish quite a lot in a short amount of time

 

Take Jacob for example – He was in a hurry, a hurry to get away from Esau

–         He didn’t have many discretionary daylight hours

–         So God met with Jacob while he was asleep – in a dream

–         And God accomplished a lot in Jacob’s heart & mind in that short time

 

Now I’m not suggesting we shouldn’t try to make time for God

–         Of course we should – we could often do with less TV and more listening to God and each other

–         But if you are a parent looking after young kids at home then it can be quite difficult sometimes to find half an hour of sacred space to be alone with God

–         God understands that – he gets it

–         He is able to meet you in your busy-ness

–         Maybe for you sacred space is when the other kids are at school or kindy and you take your baby for a walk in the pram – they go to sleep and you listen for God while you walk

–         Or if that doesn’t work then think of some other way you could connect with God as part of your normal routine

–         Or if you are in paid employment and have a demanding job maybe use the commute to listen to some sermons or something else that helps you focus on God – put your earphones in and away you go

–         The point is, be open to God’s presence in the ordinary routines of life for God can meet us anywhere

 

Another form of sacred space is silence

–         There is so much noise in many of our lives and silence gives us rest from the noise

 

Not just that though – when we are silent in order to listen to other people we create sacred space for that person to be heard and understood

–         And when they are heard and understood loneliness is kept at bay

–         Then light and warmth find their way into the soul

 

Stephen King wrote a book called The Body which was later made into the 80’s cult classic movie, Stand by Me

 

In his book Stephen King writes…

–         The most important things are the hardest things to say. They are the things you get ashamed of because words make them smaller. When they were in your head they were limitless; but when they come out they seem to be no bigger than a normal thing.

 

That is very true in my experience

–         Some things are so important their meaning cannot be properly expressed by mere words

–         Silence can be the vehicle which preserves the sanctity of those pearls

–         Or it can be a way of saying something so important it can’t be put into words [5]

 

Conclusion:

Talking about our spiritual lives, like we are, doesn’t really do justice to the reality of being with God

–         With this in mind I want to create the opportunity for some sacred space for you now

–         In a moment I will step down from the pulpit and we will have a minute or two of silence

–         You might want to close your eyes during this time and just be with God

–         Let go of your worry and anxiety and simply listen

–         What is it Jesus wants to say to you – what is it he wants to give you…

 

https://soundcloud.com/tawabaptist/23-october-2016-space-with-god

[1] John 15

[2] Rebecca Nye, ‘Children’s Spirituality’, page 41.

[3] Walter Brueggemann’s Interpretation commentary on Genesis.

[4] Matthew 18:20

[5] Rebecca Nye, ‘Children’s Spirituality’, page 45.

Tawa Baptist

Good News for the Oppressed

Scripture: Nahum 1:11-15

 

Title: Good news for the oppressed

 

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • The message to Nineveh (and its king)
  • The message to Judah
  • Conclusion

 

Introduction:

Today we continue our series on the city of Nineveh

–         First we looked at Nineveh through the eyes of Jonah

–         Now we look at Nineveh through the eyes of another prophet, Nahum

–         Nahum is sort of like the Brussel sprouts of the Bible

–         You know it’s good for you but that doesn’t make it taste any better

 

In the book of Jonah, the people of Nineveh repented of their violent ways and God had compassion on them – He relented and did not destroy their city

–         Sadly Nineveh’s repentance did not last

–         Some decades later the Assyrians went back to their old ways of terrorism and torture

–         Fast forward 100 years or so from the time of Jonah and God has another message concerning Nineveh

–         This time Nahum is given a vision of Nineveh’s destruction

–         While Nahum’s message is bad news for Nineveh, it is good news for the people of Judah

 

We pick up the prophecy from verse 11 of Nahum chapter 1…

 

From you, [O Nineveh], has one come forth who plots evil against the Lord and counsels wickedness. This is what the Lord says:

“Although they [Assyria] have allies and are numerous, they will be cut off and pass away. Although I have afflicted you, [O Judah], I will afflict you no more. Now I will break their yoke from your neck and tear your shackles away.”

 

The Lord has given a command concerning you, [O king of Assyria]:

“You will have no descendants to bear your name. I will destroy the carved images and cast idols that are in the temple of your gods. I will prepare your grave for you are vile.”

 

Look, there on the mountains, the feet of one who brings good news, who proclaims peace. Celebrate your festivals, O Judah, and fulfil your vows. No more will the wicked invade you; they will be completely destroyed.    

 

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate this reading for us

 

As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, the name Nahum means comforter

–         Although it might not seem like it to us (because of the strong language used in this book) Nahum’s message was essentially a message of comfort to the people of Judah who had suffered much at the hands of the Assyrians, for more than a century

–         It was a comfort to the oppressed to know that God was going to bring an end to the terror and violence of Assyrian rule

 

Today’s verses contain a message for two audiences – that is: Nineveh (in particular the king of Assyria who lived in Nineveh) and Judah (the Jews)

–         First, let us consider Nahum’s word to Nineveh and it’s king

 

The message to Nineveh (and its king):

One of the truly impressive things about Nahum, we believe, is that he predicted the downfall of Nineveh at a time when Assyria was at the height of its powers

–         I expect it would have taken a great deal of faith and courage for Nahum to say what he said against Nineveh

–         Violent dictators tend to take exception to individuals (like Nahum) who criticise their regime

–         Not only that but Nahum’s own people (the Jews) did not take kindly to false prophets or to false hope

–         To most people Nahum’s prediction that Nineveh would be destroyed would have seemed highly unlikely in the context

 

In the next Jack Reacher movie there is a scene where Jack Reacher is sitting in a diner (a café) and he gets arrested by a Sherriff

–         While he is in cuffs and still in the diner Jack says to the Sherriff

–         “In the next 90 seconds two things are going to happen. First the phone is going to ring and then you will be in these hand cuffs on your way to jail”

–         The Sherriff laughs at him and says, “That’s a hang of a prophecy”

–         Then the phone rings – next thing you see the Sherriff in cuffs and being taken away in a patrol car

–         Apparently the Sherriff was dirty and Jack Reacher had proven him guilty

 

Nahum’s prediction was a bit like Jack Reacher’s prediction

–         Just as the sheriff’s situation would soon be reversed so that he was wearing the handcuffs and not Jack Reacher, so too Nineveh’s situation of relative power would soon be reversed, even though it seemed highly unlikely in the context

 

In verse 12 the Lord says…

–         “Although they [Assyria] have allies and are numerous, they will be cut off and pass away…”

 

Nahum’s prediction (that the most powerful nation in the world would be ended) seemed unlikely, but that’s exactly what happened

–         In 612 BC – some years after Nahum’s prophecy – the Babylonians completely destroyed Nineveh

 

God’s message here isn’t just for Nineveh generally – the Lord has a personal message for the king of Assyria in particular

 

In verse 11, Nahum talks about one who plots evil against the Lord and counsels wickedness

–         This is a reference to the king of Assyria who was planning and scheming to destroy Jerusalem

–         God knew what the king was thinking and took personal offence at the king’s plans

–         To give you an idea of the evil character of the kings of Assyria, this is what one of them wrote about himself

–         These words were discovered by archaeologists – content may disturb…

 

I flayed [the skin from] as many nobles as had rebelled against me [and] draped their skins over the pile [of corpses]… I cut off the heads of their fighters [and used their heads to] build a tower before their city. I burnt their adolescent boys [and] girls… I captured many troops alive: I cut off, of some, their arms [and] hands; I cut off, of others, their noses, ears, [and] other extremities. I gouged out the eyes of many troops. I made one pile of the living [and] one of the heads. I hung their heads on trees around the city. [1]  

 

That gives you an idea of the kind of person the king of Assyria was

–         Not only did he torture & terrify people – he was proud of it

–         God is patient and slow to anger – but he’s also just, he won’t tolerate that sort of behaviour for too long

–         Given the terrible things the king has been doing the Lord says to the Assyrian leader…

 

“You will have no descendants to bear your name. I will destroy the carved images and cast idols that are in the temple of your gods. I will prepare your grave for you are vile.”

 

Three consequences for the king of Assyria here…

–         He will have no descendants

–         His religion (everything he had sacrificed for & believed in) will be destroyed – which essentially means his life will have no meaning

–         And he will die – God will bury him

 

Now some people might think – gee that’s bit harsh of God

–         But in actual fact what we notice here is God’s mercy in punishment

–         God does not threaten to torture the king, as the king had tortured others

–         God takes no pleasure in the suffering of his enemies

–         His punishment, in this context, is annihilation – which is a relatively merciful outcome

–         The other kindness God shows the Assyrian king is to dig a grave for him – this is more than the Assyrians had done for their enemies

 

So that’s God’s message for the people of Nineveh and for their king personally

–         What then does the Lord have to say to the people of Judah?

–         Well it’s (mostly) good news for them

 

God’s message to the people of Judah:

Last week we were fortunate enough to spend some time in the South Island

–         One of the places we stayed at was affordable but a little bit dodgey

–         We woke up one morning to find that we were locked in our room

–         The door wouldn’t open from the inside so we had to phone someone to come and unlock the door from the outside

–         That was fine except the same thing happened the next morning, which was a bit more frustrating, not to mention dangerous

–         (Especially when the phone didn’t work at first)

–         Not sure what would have happened if the building had caught on fire

–         Having just spent the previous few days walking through some wide open spaces, I didn’t appreciate feeling trapped & powerless in a tiny room

–         Fortunately our incarceration wasn’t long

 

Judah were a trapped nation

–         “Decades earlier the Assyrians had subjugated and exiled the peoples of the northern kingdom [Israel] (2 Kings 17). They did not overthrow the [southern] kingdom of Judah at that time, but for almost a century… the Assyrians controlled Judah as a kind of puppet kingdom” [2]

–         In other words, Judah were essentially locked in their room, unable to escape Assyrian control

–         They were powerless to free themselves and needed someone to release them from the outside

–         This is essentially what God was promising to do for Judah in verse 13 where he says…

 

“…Now I will break their yoke from your neck and tear your shackles away.”

 

Shackles are like hand cuffs and, in this context, the yoke is a metaphor of oppression

–         A yoke is a wooden cross bar that fits over the neck of the ox

–         The farmer uses the yoke to control the ox

–         The Assyrian yoke (their means of controlling Judah) was going to be broken – this was good news for the captives

–         But the good news came with a little sting because just before this, in the second part of verse 12, the Lord says…

 

“Although I have afflicted you, [O Judah], I will afflict you no more.”

 

God is basically taking responsibility for Judah’s suffering

–         It was God who put the Assyrian yoke on Judah’s shoulders in the first place

–         On the one hand this is a difficult truth to face – God has had a hand in Judah’s affliction

–         But on a more positive note it does reassure us that God is in control of the situation

–         Just as he had the power to put the yoke on them, so too he has the power to remove the yoke

 

To give you some context the people of Judah had behaved badly themselves

–         They had been disloyal to the Lord and cheated on him by worshipping other gods

–         Consequently God tried to bring his people back into line using the yoke of Assyrian oppression

–         Unfortunately the Assyrians had gone too far and so God had to break the Assyrians’ power

 

The day would come when the Lord would give his people an easy yoke

–         As Jesus said…

–         Come to me all you who are weary and I will give you rest for your souls, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light

–         Jesus’ yoke is not one of fear or oppression – it is one of wisdom and freedom to do right

 

The message of good news for Judah continues in verse 15…

 

Look, there on the mountains, the feet of one who brings good news, who proclaims peace…

 

Here Nahum imagines the future with a messenger running through the mountains carrying the message of good news that Nineveh has fallen

–         Nineveh’s destruction will mean peace for the people of Judah

 

This word would give light to the people living in darkness

–         It would be like being in a prison camp during the Second World War and receiving word that the Allied soldiers had recaptured Paris and were on their way to Berlin

–         Or it would be like living in Syria and hearing the news that the war was finally over (for good this time) and life could return to normal

–         To those who believed Nahum’s message it would have the power of giving people hope to carry on

–         There was light at the end of the tunnel and it wasn’t a train coming

 

Nahum’s verse finds an echo in Isaiah 52, verse 7…

–         How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns”

 

This is the crux of faith really – believing that God reigns (that the Lord is in control of events) even when everything appears to be in chaos

 

Nahum 1 verse 15 continues with the words…

–         Celebrate your festivals, O Judah, and fulfil your vows.

 

Just as we have Christian festivals like Easter & Christmas so too the Jews have their religious festivals – community rituals for remembering their history & identity

–         By saying, ‘celebrate your festivals O Judah’, Nahum is encouraging the people to remain faithful to Yahweh

–         Remember who you are, stay solid in your faith, by continuing your normal patterns of worship

 

Most of the Christian life comes down to faithfulness

–         What we generally get in the Bible is the highlights of God’s dealings with humanity throughout history

–         We don’t get the whole 5 day test match

–         For example, we hear how Joseph went to Egypt and saved his family from starvation and then 400 years pass without much comment until Moses comes along

–         What happened in that 400 years between Joseph & Moses?

–         God had promised to give Jacob’s descendants the land of Canaan and yet there they were faithfully waiting in the land of Egypt, believing in the promise and passing on their faith to their children – simply trusting God to make good on his promise one day, somehow

–         Nothing spectacular – just remembering who they were and abiding in God’s promise – Being the people of God together

 

There’s a wonderful article in the latest edition of the Baptist magazine by Dr Greg Liston [3]

–         His article addresses the issue that while the Christian church is growing rapidly in places like Asia, Africa and South America, it is (generally speaking) declining in size, status and significance in western countries like ours

–         Some people respond to this decline by saying we need to do more and do it better – be more relevant, more polished, more innovative, etc.

–         The problem with this is that we end up taking the responsibility (and the stress) for the success of the church on our own shoulders – big mistake

 

Greg says the church’s deepest challenge actually lies – not in working out what we can do better, but in remembering who we are…

–         We need to remember that the church is not principally a human organisation, but one foundationally constituted by God’s Spirit

–         This means the church is not primarily a responsibility

–         Rather the church is a gift

–         So our job is not to make stuff happen

–         Our job is to join in with what God is already doing

 

As Mother Teresa is often quoted as saying…

–         ‘God has not called me to be successful, he has called me to be faithful’

 

Or, as Jesus says…

–         Apart from me you can do nothing

–         Abide in me and you will bear much fruit

 

Celebrate your festivals and fulfil your vows

–         We shouldn’t try to be something we’re not

–         Remember who you are and remain faithful in your worship as you wait for God to fulfil his promises

 

Chapter 1 of Nahum concludes with the words…

–         No more will the wicked invade you; they will be completely destroyed.   

 

This is the good news which makes it possible for Judah to wait faithfully

–         “The wicked” most likely refers specifically to the Assyrians

–         God is not making an unconditional promise here that Judah will never be invaded by anyone ever again

–         He is saying they won’t be invaded by Assyria

 

Sadly the people of Judah were not able to remain faithful to the Lord for long

–         And because of their unfaithfulness Jerusalem eventually fell to the Babylonians, as well, and the survivors were carried off into exile

 

Conclusion:

This part of Israel’s history is a bit sad really

–         Fortunately it doesn’t end there

–         In a kind of muted way Nahum’s prophecy points beyond the politics of his day to Jesus

 

In Luke 4, Jesus gives his job description – quoting from the prophet Isaiah he outlines what he came to do…

–         The Spirit of the Lord is on me because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor

–         He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind

–         To release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour

 

The people of Jesus’ day, who lived under Roman occupation (which was similar but perhaps not quite as bad as Assyrian oppression) naturally thought Jesus had come to destroy Rome, as Nineveh had been destroyed

–         But Jesus’ kingdom is not of this world

–         He didn’t come for political revolution

–         Jesus weapons were not swords or spears

–         His weapons were grace & truth

–         Jesus didn’t come to wage war against flesh and blood

–         He came to destroy sin & death

 

Jesus set the captives free by healing people of their diseases

–         By casting out evil spirits

–         And through forgiveness

 

Jesus’ greatest victory was won by laying down his life and dying on a cross

–         Jesus’ resurrection is the sign of his victory over death

–         Our job is to be faithful in trusting Jesus and his resurrection

 

Let us pray…

 

 

[1] Quoted in James Bruckner’s NIVAC on Jonah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah,  page 29

[2] Tremper Longman III – page 798 of ‘The minor prophets’ (Nahum).

[3] Greg Liston, Baptist Magazine (NZ), ‘I believe in the Church, pages 4-6.

Tawa Baptist

Nahum on Nineveh

Scripture: Nahum 1

 

Title: God’s comforting judgment

 

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • God’s comforting judgment
  • God’s righteous anger
  • Conclusion

 

Introduction:

When I was a kid dinner was meat and three veg and sometimes the three veg included Brussel sprouts

–         Boiled Brussel sprouts tasted just awful to me

 

Recently though, I had a salad with thinly sliced raw Brussel sprouts, apple straws and a nice dressing – it tasted surprisingly good

–         I still don’t like boiled Brussel sprouts but I love raw Brussel Sprouts in a salad – delicious

 

This morning we continue our series on the city of Nineveh

–         Over the past few weeks we have looked at Nineveh through the eyes of Jonah

–         Today we begin looking at the city of Nineveh through the eyes of another prophet, called Nahum

 

People generally like the story of Jonah because it’s familiar and because it reveals a God of compassion and mercy

–         A God who is slow to anger and rich in love

–         And they are the characteristics of God that taste good to us

–         Consequently Jonah gets preached on widely

 

Nahum, on the other hand, presents quite a different side of God

–         Nahum uses some very strong language and can leave one with a feeling of judgment and doom

–         In the book of Jonah, God is patient, Nineveh is saved and Jonah is angry

–         But in the book of Nahum, God is angry, Nineveh is destroyed and Nahum’s feelings are not explored

 

Consequently Nahum has the reputation of being the Biblical equivalent of Brussel sprouts

–         Yea, it’s good for you but kind of hard to swallow

–         But if you thinly slice it and eat it raw – if you break it down and understand it in its original context, it is surprisingly good

 

In the book of Jonah, the people of Nineveh repented of their violent ways and God had compassion on them – he relented and did not destroy their city.

–         Sadly Nineveh’s repentance did not last

–         Some decades later the Assyrians went back to their violent ways

 

Fast forward 100 years or so from the time of Jonah and God has another message concerning Nineveh

–         This time there is no opportunity for repentance – the Assyrians have gone too far and so Nineveh will be destroyed

–         From Nahum chapter 1, verse 1, we read…

 

An oracle concerning Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite.

The Lord is a jealous and avenging God;     the Lord takes vengeance and is filled with wrath. The Lord takes vengeance on his foes     and maintains his wrath against his enemies.

 

3 The Lord is slow to anger and great in power;     the Lord will not leave the guilty unpunished. His way is in the whirlwind and the storm,     and clouds are the dust of his feet. 4 He rebukes the sea and dries it up;     he makes all the rivers run dry. Bashan and Carmel wither     and the blossoms of Lebanon fade.

 

5 The mountains quake before him     and the hills melt away. The earth trembles at his presence,     the world and all who live in it. 6 Who can withstand his indignation?     Who can endure his fierce anger? His wrath is poured out like fire;     the rocks are shattered before him.

 

7 The Lord is good,     a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him, 8     but with an overwhelming flood he will make an end of Nineveh;     he will pursue his foes into the realm of darkness.

 

9 Whatever they plot against the Lord     he will bring to an end;     trouble will not come a second time. 10 They will be entangled among thorns     and drunk from their wine;     they will be consumed like dry stubble.

 

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate this reading for us

 

God’s comforting judgment:

Charles Dickens’ classic novel ‘A Tale of Two Cities’ begins with that famous line “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times”

–         This is a kind of paradox – a thing exhibiting apparently contradictory characteristics

–         If we think in terms of ‘either / or’ then we will probably struggle with paradox

–         But when we learn to think in terms of ‘both / and’ then paradox starts to make more sense to us

 

Other examples of paradox include…

–         ‘Nobody goes to that restaurant, it’s always packed’

–         Or, ‘The sound of silence’

–         Or, one by our friend C.S. Lewis, “Someday you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again”

 

The humble Brussel sprout is a paradox too – it can taste disgusting but it can also taste delicious

 

The Bible is full of paradox – seemingly contradictory things that go together

–         Like our friend Jesus says…

–         ‘The first shall be last and the last shall be first’

–         Or, ‘Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it’

 

Nahum presents us with paradox in the nature of God

–         The same God who is merciful and ready to forgive the people of Nineveh is also a jealous and avenging God

–         God is full of anger but at the same time in control of his anger

–         He can be a powerfully destructive force against the guilty and a refuge for those who trust in him

–         Paradox – it’s ‘both / and’, not ‘either / or’

 

One paradox in particular that Nahum draws out is God’s comforting judgment

 

The name ‘Nahum’ means comforter

–         And yet, Nahum’s message seems anything but comforting

–         It’s about God coming in judgment to destroy Nineveh

–         This is what God (through Nahum) has to say to Nineveh…

 

…but with an overwhelming flood he [the Lord] will make an end of Nineveh;     he will pursue his foes into the realm of darkness.

9 Whatever they plot against the Lord     he will bring to an end;     trouble will not come a second time. 10 They will be entangled among thorns     and drunk from their wine;     they will be consumed like dry stubble.

 

Nahum is writing poetry here but it is poetry that came true in history

–         The city of Nineveh was eventually overwhelmed by a flood of enemies in the form of the Babylonian army

–         The city was also destroyed by a literal flood of water

–         The river which Nineveh had relied on as a natural defence became the instrument of its destruction

 

To be pursued into the realm of darkness is a frightening image

–         Darkness in Scripture usually means distress, terror, mourning, dread and  oblivion

 

Entangled among thorns is a picture of pain & powerlessness

–         If you are entangled in thorns then you can’t move without tearing your own flesh or impaling yourself

 

Likewise, being drunk means losing all control and making a fool of one self

–         The thing about being drunk is that it’s self-inflicted

–         In other words, Nineveh have brought this disgrace on themselves

–         They, and no one else, are to blame for their predicament

 

Dry stubble is grass or vegetation that has been consumed so only the short little stalks protrude out of the ground

–         To burn the stubble is to completely destroy what is left

–         There will be no trace left of the city

–         This may seem harsh but it is quite fair

–         The Assyrians used a scorched earth policy with others – burning everything to the ground in their wake

–         Now God is going to do the same with them

 

Overwhelmed, tangled, drunk and consumed – this is to be the end for Nineveh

–         How is that comforting?

–         Well, it’s not comforting if you are from Nineveh

–         But to Nineveh’s enemies (especially to Israel), who have suffered much at the hands of the Assyrians, it is actually a great comfort to know that God is on your side

–         That the evil and violence you are suffering will be brought to an end

 

It’s the comfort of facing a violent attacker knowing that the police are on their way – the bad guys are not going to get away with it

 

The paradox of God’s judgment is that it is a comfort for those who trust him and at the same time a nightmare for those who oppose him

 

7 The Lord is good,     a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him,

 

We don’t like to think about God’s judgment all that much – it scares us

–         We prefer to think about his mercy and forgiveness

–         We still need to remember his judgment though – not so that we are frightened but so that we will be comforted when we suffer injustice

 

If we complain that God is not fair then it could be that we don’t have an adequate grasp of his judgment

–         Jesus said, Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness; they will be satisfied

–         Things may not be right now but God is going to make them right in the end – there is comfort in knowing this

 

God’s righteous anger:

God’s judgment is comforting and his anger is righteous

 

Verse 2 describes the Lord (Yahweh) as a jealous God

–         We generally think of jealousy as a bad thing

–         We think jealousy is born from the fear of being replaced by a rival

–         We associate jealousy with envy

–         And while it can carry those connotations it can also have a more positive meaning

–         As in having zeal or ardour to safe guard or protect something from thieves and robbers (from those who have no right to it)

 

For example, it is entirely appropriate for a husband to be jealous for his wife and for a wife to be jealous for her husband – jealous in the sense of protecting your marriage and not sharing your partner with another man or woman

 

Likewise, it is a parent’s job to be jealous for their children – to protect them, to not allow any harm to come to them and to search for them when they lost

–         Jealousy in that sense is a good thing

 

Jealousy in its best sense is a form of righteous anger

–         Jesus demonstrated zeal or jealousy for God’s temple when he overturned the tables of the money changes

–         Jesus was rightly angry at the merchants because their greedy presence was preventing people from coming to God for worship & prayer

 

There has been a series of movies over the past decade called Taken, starring Liam Neeson

–         The first in the series tells the story of a retired CIA agent whose daughter is kidnapped by some human traffickers

–         I haven’t watched any of these films, mainly because I have two daughters and I don’t find that sort of thing entertaining

–         But there is a famous scene from the first movie, which has become part of popular culture, where Liam Neeson’s character is on the phone with the kidnappers and says to them…

I don’t know who you are. I don’t know what you want. But if you are looking for a ransom I can tell you I don’t have money. But what I do have are a very particular set of skills. Skills that I have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you. If you let my daughter go now, that will be the end of it. I will not look for you, I will not pursue you. But if you don’t, I will look for you, I will find you and I will kill you.

 

This is a bit dark and threatening but it helps to illustrate what we mean by jealousy in a fatherly sense

–         Please don’t misunderstand or misapply the illustration

–         I’m not suggesting we have a license to behave like Liam Neeson’s character in that movie

–         We are not to go after our enemies with death threats

 

The point of the illustration is to help us understand what Nahum is getting at when he says…

–         The Lord is a jealous & avenging God… slow to anger & great in power

 

The Assyrians (the people of Nineveh) had kidnapped the people of Israel

–         You’ve heard the expression, ‘the 10 lost tribes of Israel’ – well it was the Assyrians (Nineveh) who did that

–         They invaded Israel and those they didn’t kill, they carried off into slavery, leaving nothing but scorched earth behind them

–         Like human traffickers they were cruel & brutal and did not show mercy for women & children

 

The Lord God is like Liam Neeson’s character in two ways…

–         He is a loving Father who is jealous for his children Israel

–         He will stop at nothing to go after those who have taken his daughter

–         He is also a mighty warrior – the Lord has a particular set of skills that make him a nightmare for people like the Assyrians

–         The difference with God is that he knows exactly who the Assyrians are and where they live

–         And, unlike any human being, the Lord is qualified to act as judge and executioner

 

Now God’s jealousy isn’t just for his children Israel

–         The Lord is also jealous for his reputation and his role as God

–         If anyone tries to displace God by worshipping idols or by putting themselves in the place of God then the Lord is not happy with that

–         It’s not that God feels threatened or fearful of rivals

–         It is that God feels protective of his creation

–         When we try to displace God, when we worship the things we have made rather than our maker, creation suffers for it

–         God won’t tolerate any rivals because it is bad for the world he loves

 

The people of Nineveh had put themselves in the place of God

–         They were arrogant – they thought they were untouchable, undefeatable

–         And at the time when Nahum delivered his oracle (his burden) they were the leading world power of the day

–         Which makes Nahum’s message even more remarkable – because he was predicting Nineveh’s downfall at the height of their powers

 

One of the things we note about Liam Neeson’s character, in the movie Taken, is that he is calm – he is in complete control of his anger

–         There is quite a bit about God’s anger in our reading from Nahum

 

In verse 2 we are told that the Lord is filled with wrath and then in verse 3 we are told the Lord is slow to anger and will not leave the guilty unpunished

–         These statements seem contradictory don’t they – but its paradox

–         Nahum’s point here is that God is in complete control of his anger

 

That the Lord is filled with wrath tells us (paradoxically) that God cares and is deeply affected by injustice and evil

–         If God didn’t care he wouldn’t feel angry – he wouldn’t feel anything

 

That God is slow to anger tells us that God is in control of his temper – he doesn’t react in the heat of the moment or fly off the handle

–         To give you an idea of how slow to anger the Lord is, the Assyrians’ reign of terror lasted for 250 years

–         God’s anger is righteous – He releases his anger at just the right moment and in just the right measure so that the guilty are not left unpunished

 

The image I get when thinking of God’s anger is one of a huge dam holding back water

–         The water of God’s anger (and power) is released in a controlled way

 

It is precisely because God is good and in complete control that he is qualified to take vengeance on his foes – We are not qualified to pass judgment

 

We don’t have time to explore every line of poetry in these verses but there are a couple of metaphors of God’s power I need to draw your attention to

 

In verse 4 we read that God dries up the sea and makes all the rivers run dry

–         To the ancient Hebrew mind the sea symbolised chaos

–         Nahum is saying here that God has the power to make chaos disappear

–         In other words, God’s jealousy (his righteous anger) restores order

 

Then in verse 5 we read how the mountains quake before the Lord and the hills melt away

–         Mountains and hill are the image of stability and security

–         Nineveh may think they are immovable – as stable and secure as a mountain

–         But before God’s righteous anger they are not

 

What was it Jesus said…

–         “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you”

 

Conclusion:

Our reading from Nahum began today with the words…

–         An oracle concerning Nineveh…

 

The original Hebrew word translated as oracle also means burden

–         Nahum’s message is a burden, just as vengeance is a burden

 

So with all this talk of anger & destruction, where is the good news for us?

–         Well, the good news is: we don’t have to carry the burden of vengeance

–         We don’t have to worry about getting even with our enemies because we know God is more than able to take care of that

 

Following the teachings of Jesus, the apostle Paul (in his letter to the Romans) writes…

 

Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God; for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” No, “if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.   

 

To heap burning coals on their heads isn’t to be taken literally

–         It is a metaphor which means something like, ‘when you show kindness to your enemies, it causes them to burn with shame’

–         Loving your enemies – it’s a paradox

 

Because God takes vengeance on our behalf, we don’t have to – we are free to keep our hands clean and let God do the dirty work

–         Let us pray…

Tawa Baptist

Nineveh Repents

Scripture: Jonah 3

 

Title: Nineveh Repents

 

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Jonah’s preaching
  • Nineveh’s repentance
  • God’s compassion
  • Conclusion

 

Introduction:

The Economist Intelligence Unit did a global livability study looking at the most “tolerable” cities to live in given crime levels, threat of conflict, quality of medical care, levels of censorship, climate, schools and transport links [1]

–         And they came up with a list of the 10 best cities in the world

–         There were 4 Australian cities in the top 10 and 3 Canadian cities

–         With Melbourne being rated the best city to live in, in the world

–         Auckland, NZ, came in tenth – which made me wonder whether they had considered Wellington at all

–         We lived in Auckland for 3 years and while it wasn’t too bad, Wellington is a way better city in pretty much every way

 

At the other end of the spectrum, if you google ‘most violent cities’ then Latin American countries are predominant

–         The city of Caracas, in Venezuela, is currently ranked the most dangerous with nearly 120 homicides per 100,000 people  [2]

 

Today we continue our series on the city of Nineveh

–         These days Nineveh is more of a province in northern Iraq

–         But in ancient times it was a significant city

–         Nineveh would not have won any prizes for being the most tolerable place to live but it was certainly up there as one of the most violent places

 

For two Sundays now we’ve looked at the city of Nineveh through the book of Jonah

–         This morning we pick up the story from Jonah chapter 3

–         I will be reading from the New International Version – the words will appear on the wall…

 

Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time: 2 “Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you.” 3 Jonah obeyed the word of the Lord and went to Nineveh.

 

Now Nineveh was a very important city; a visit required three days. 4 On the first day, Jonah started into the city. He proclaimed, “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overturned.” 5 The Ninevites believed God. A fast was proclaimed, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth.

 

6 When the news reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, took off his royal robes, covered himself with sackcloth and sat down in the dust. 7 This is the proclamation he issued in Nineveh: “By the decree of the king and his nobles: Do not let people or animals, herds or flocks, taste anything; do not let them eat or drink. 8 But let people and animals be covered with sackcloth. Let everyone call urgently on God. Let them give up their evil ways and their violence.  9 Who knows? God may yet relent and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish.”

 

10 When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he had compassion and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened.

 

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate this reading for us

 

There are essentially three parts to this chapter…

–         Jonah’s preaching

–         Nineveh’s repentance

–         And God’s compassion

 

First let’s consider Jonah’s preaching…

 

Jonah’s preaching:

Robert Frost has a poem called Reluctance

–         The last verse goes like this…

 

Ah, when to the heart of man

Was it ever less than a treason

To go with the drift of things,

To yield with a grace to reason,

And bow and accept the end

Of a love or a season?

 

Jonah is sometimes described as the reluctant prophet – and for good reason

 

When God asked Jonah to go to Nineveh, Jonah protested and when his protest failed he tried running away

–         Then when God saved Jonah from drowning, by providing a large fish, Jonah was thankful but he wasn’t really sorry for running away

–         Nevertheless God wanted to give Jonah a second chance, so he spoke to the fish and the fish spewed Jonah out onto the beach

 

Once again God calls Jonah to go and preach to the people of Nineveh

–         This time Jonah obeys God, but only reluctantly

–         His heart is not really in it

–         ‘The drift of things’ (of everything in fact) is pulling Jonah towards Nineveh and yet it still feels to his heart like treason

–         Yes, Jonah obeys God this time, but it is a reluctant yielding to reason

–         Like a man subject to the change of seasons or to a love which is ending, Jonah is subject to forces he cannot control

–         The most sensible option available to Jonah is simply to go with it

 

We can’t be sure where the fish spewed Jonah out, but we do know that Nineveh was inland by quite a distance (about 500 miles north of Jerusalem) so it would have taken Jonah a fair while to walk there

 

Verse 3 tells us that a visit to Nineveh required three days

–         This probably means Jonah could reasonably expect to budget three days to proclaim his message in all of Nineveh’s public places

 

Jonah’s sermon, in a nutshell went like this…

–         “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overturned”

 

Now you might think, a short sermon is a good sermon

–         But this is too short

–         We know for a fact that Jonah could do better

–         Just last week we heard his beautifully composed poem about how God rescued him from drowning

–         Jonah delivered this poem in the belly of a fish where no one but God could hear

–         Now, when he is faced with an enormous audience, Jonah gives 8 words of doom (it’s actually only 5 words in the original Hebrew)

 

There are no illustrations or movie clips and no miracles to prove his point

–         There is no explanation of what Nineveh has done wrong, nor is there any specific application about what they can do to put things right

–         In fact, God’s name is not mentioned at all

–         If Jonah wanted to save Nineveh then we might expect him to be a bit clearer with the details

–         Instead Jonah’s message is blunt and vague

–         It appears that Jonah is forcing himself to obey God – all the time hoping that his message won’t be successful

–         To be fair to Jonah though, the people of Nineveh spoke a different language – so that may have been a limitation

 

Language is a funny thing

–         One word, spelt exactly the same, can have two quite different meanings

–         For example, the word bark can mean a loud noise, like a dog might make, or it can mean the covering of a tree

–         The word light can refer to a lamp but it can also mean not heavy

–         And the word cool – can refer to temperature but it can also mean something is really good or acceptable – as in, ‘that’s cool man’

 

The word, “overturned”, which Jonah uses in his sermon (hapak in the original Hebrew), has a double meaning [3]

–         On the one hand it can mean destroyed – as in God is going to wreck this city

–         But on the other hand it can also mean changed – as in God is going to transform this city, he is going to turn your world upside down so that your whole way of life is different

 

Jonah was hoping for the first meaning (destroyed) but he knew God well enough not to rule out the second meaning (changed)

 

Nineveh’s repentance:

Despite his half-hearted (reluctant) sermon, Jonah’s success as a preacher is unparalleled in history

–         The entire city from the least to the greatest (from the livestock to the king himself) took Jonah’s message to heart and very quickly repented

 

Apparently Jonah didn’t need to use the full three days to spread his message, because the people of Nineveh spread it themselves

–         They didn’t need the problem explained to them because they already knew what they had done wrong

–         The king of Nineveh certainly knew – he summed it up as…

–         “Let them give up their evil ways and their violence”

–         What’s more, even though Jonah never mentioned Yahweh’s name, verse 5 tells us the people of Nineveh believed God

 

Belief in God goes hand in hand with repentance

–         You can’t really have one without the other

–         If we believe in God it will inevitably lead to repentance

–         If belief doesn’t lead to repentance then we are just kidding ourselves

 

For example, if it’s cold and the clothes you are wearing are wet, then the best way to get warm is to get out of the wet clothes and into something dry

–         Simply thinking warm thoughts isn’t repentance

–         Actually changing your clothes (changing your behaviour) is repentance

 

The problem is, most people don’t want to get out of their wet clothes because they think, “I’m not that wet anyway” or “I’ll soon dry off” or “It’s going to make me even colder getting changed”

–         They’re not really facing the problem

–         In order to change our clothes we need to feel even colder

 

If we apply this metaphor to the people of Nineveh, then they were already cold, standing around in wet clothes, when Jonah turned up

–         Jonah’s message to them was, “You’re going to get hyperthermia & die”

 

The people of Nineveh didn’t need convincing – they were freezing and they knew what they had to do to get warm – change into some dry clothes

–         In other words, stop their violent ways and practice kindness

 

Real repentance only comes about when we realise just how cold & wet we are

–         So long as we hold on to the illusion that we are right – so long as we keep denying the truth and justifying ourselves,

–         So long as we keep saying, “I’m not that wet, I’ll dry off soon” – we can’t change

 

It’s harder for good people, respectable people (like Jonah) to admit when they are wrong – they don’t want to change their wet clothes, it’s too embarrassing

–         It was easier for the people of Nineveh to admit they were wrong because they could feel the coldness of their actions

 

Again it is ironic that Jonah (who has experienced God’s miraculous power & grace) is unwilling to say sorry and seek forgiveness

–         Yet the people of Nineveh (who have never experienced God’s miraculous power and only hear a message of judgment) are willing to repent and seek mercy

 

In Matthew 12 Jesus says to the men & women of his day…

–         The people of Nineveh will rise up at the judgement with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the proclamation of Jonah, and see, something greater than Jonah is here.

 

If the people of Nineveh listened to Jonah (a foreigner) and believed his message (as poor as it was), it seems crazy that Jesus’ own people did not believe Jesus’ message (as rich as it was)

 

In some ways the king of Nineveh shows more insight than Jonah himself

–         In verse 9, after making a royal decree for everyone to repent and change their ways, the king says…

–         Who knows? God may relent and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish

 

This is interesting for what it reveals

–         Unlike Jonah, the king of Nineveh seems to intuitively understand that God is free

–         Just because they have repented, it doesn’t automatically follow that God must forgive them

–         The king throws himself and his people at God’s mercy and hopes for the best

 

Earlier this week Brian Gillies sent me a link to an article about Henry Gerecke[4]

–         Gerecke was an American army chaplain during the second world war

–         He served in a field hospital in 1944 following the D Day invasions

–         He also saw inside the Nazi concentration camps at the end of the war

 

Gerecke was preparing to return to the US following the war when he was asked by Colonel Andrus if he would stay behind to act as a chaplain to some high profile Nazi war criminals (Hitler’s henchmen) as they stood trial at Nuremburg

–         Many people on the home front thought these Nazi’s shouldn’t be given the chance to make their peace with God

–         Consequently, Henry Gerecke (a Lutheran pastor) together with Father Richard O’Connor (a Catholic priest), were inundated with hate mail

–         What they were doing was thought to be anti-Semitic, unpatriotic and unjust – a kind of betrayal of the Jews and allies who had died at the hands of the Nazi’s

 

It was a difficult decision to make but in the end Gerecke and O’Connor felt that ministering to these loathsome men was what Christ would have them do

–         Christ too was criticised for keeping bad company but always maintained he came to seek and save the lost

 

Gerecke’s situation was similar to Jonah’s in that God had called Jonah to minister to his enemies – people Jonah considered beyond redemption

–         It would have felt like a betrayal of his own people

However, unlike Jonah, Gerecke and O’Connor were willing to serve and did not try to run away from God

–         Gerecke & O’Connor were not as successful as Jonah

–         Of the 21 men who stood trial, 11 were condemned to die and, according to Gerecke’s final report, only four of them…

–         “…died as penitent sinners trusting God’s mercy for forgiveness [and] believing in Jesus who shed his blood for their sins.”

 

Will those repentant Nazi’s be forgiven and make it into heaven?

–         God is free, so like the king of Nineveh the most we can say is…

–         Who knows? God may relent and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish

 

God’s compassion:

Jonah’s preaching was reluctant – half hearted

–         By contrast, Nineveh’s repentance was genuine – fully committed

–         But it’s God’s compassion which triumphs in the end

 

10 When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he had compassion and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened.

 

There are two sides to the coin of compassion

–         One side is entering into the suffering of another – sharing their pain

–         The other side is doing something to alleviate that pain

–         When we feel someone else’s pain as our own then we are motivated to relieve their suffering

–         So to have compassion is firstly to feel and then to heal

 

This is a picture of the memorial at Gallipoli

 

The story that goes with this memorial is that there was a wounded British soldier groaning in agony in no man’s land between the trenches

  • – At that moment a piece of white underwear was raised from the Turkish side and a well-built, unarmed soldier appeared.
  • – The Turk walked slowly towards the wounded British soldier, took him in his arms and carried him to the Allies’ side, before gently placing him down on the ground and returning to his trench.

 

There are some who question the accuracy of this story

  • – I don’t know, I wasn’t there
  • – Either way, it is a picture of compassion
  • – Feeling another’s pain and then acting to help & heal that person
  • – Feeling and healing

 

To say that God had compassion on the people of Nineveh means that he was affected by their sin (he felt the hurt they inflicted on each other) and he acted to heal that hurt – feeling and healing

 

God’s compassion wasn’t just a response to the people’s repentance

–         His compassion is seen long before that, when he sent Jonah to warn them

 

That God is compassionate and open to change tells us that the details of God’s will are not fixed in stone

–         Sometimes we are tempted to think of God’s will as a train travelling along the tracks

–         The thing about a train is that it can’t really deviate off the tracks – it has to follow the path laid out for it

–         And once the train gets up some speed it is very hard to stop, because it’s got all this weight (all this history) behind it

 

But I don’t believe God’s will is like a train following the tracks

–         I see God’s will as more dynamic than that

–         God’s will is like a 4WD vehicle

–         God can follow the road or he can go off road

–         If someone or something is in the way then God can easily stop to wait or change course to avoid a collision

–         Yes, he has a fixed destination in mind (the redemption of his creation)

–         But he also has the power and freedom to alter his course in getting to that destination

–         And that’s what he does in the case of Nineveh – God changes his course (without changing his overall purpose) and saves the city

 

Conclusion:

This morning we’ve heard that Jonah was a reluctant preacher

–         But despite his reluctance the people of Nineveh still humbled themselves in genuine repentance

–         And God had compassion on Nineveh

–         God is free and he uses his freedom to love his enemies

 

I’m conscious that today is September 11 – fifteen years since the attack on the Twin Towers in New York

–         The attacks killed nearly 3,000 people and injured over 6,000 others

–         In response to these attacks America declared a war on terror and thousands more died

–         So people might say the city of New York is akin to Nineveh, with its violence

–         Others say, no, it’s the terrorists who are more akin to the people of Nineveh

–         I suspect it’s not that black & white

–         All of our cities have violence in them

–         All of our hearts the seeds of terror

–         None of us can claim to be completely pure or righteous

 

I don’t think the events of 9/11 were God’s will

–         I think what happened that day grieved his heart and went against his will

 

Jesus points us to the will of God (to the compassion of God) when he says…

 

Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous…

 

 

Let us pray…

 

https://soundcloud.com/tawabaptist/11-sep-2016-nineveh-repents

[1] http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/property/pictures/9477990/The-worlds-10-best-cities-to-live-in.html?frame=2311083

[2] http://www.businessinsider.com/most-violent-cities-in-the-world-2016-1/?r=AU&IR=T/#1-caracas-venezuela-had-11987-homicides-per-100000-residents-50

[3] James Bruckner, NIVAC ‘Jonah’, pages 90-91.

[4][4] http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2014/may-web-only/would-you-share-gospel-with-hitlers-worst-henchmen.html?start=3

Tawa Baptist

Jonah thanks God

Scripture:

Jonah 1:17 – 2:10

 

Title:

Jonah thanks God

 

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Jonah’s thanksgiving
  • Jonah’s hope
  • Jonah’s blindness
  • Conclusion

 

Introduction:

This morning we continue our series on the city of Nineveh

 

In today’s terms Nineveh is located in Northern Iraq and in ancient times was one of the strongholds of the Assyrian empire – Israel’s enemies

–         The two books of the Bible which have the most to say about Nineveh are the prophets Jonah & Nahum

 

A couple of weeks ago we started looking at Jonah

–         We heard how God asked Jonah to go to Nineveh to preach against its violence and wickedness

–         Jonah, who believed strongly in justice, didn’t think Nineveh should be given a chance to repent and be forgiven

–         So he got aboard a ship and sailed away in the opposite direction

–         But the Lord didn’t give up on Nineveh or on Jonah

–         God sent a powerful storm and, long story short, the sailors threw Jonah overboard

 

Today we pick up the threads from the end of chapter 1

–         Please turn with me to Jonah 1, verse 17 – page 897 in your pew Bibles

–         At this point Jonah is in the water, no land in sight and no life jacket – things are looking a bit grim for the prophet

–         From verse 17 to the end of chapter 2 we read…

 

17 At the Lord‘s command a large fish swallowed Jonah, and he was inside the fish for three days and three nights.

2 From deep inside the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord his God:

2 “In my distress, O Lord, I called to you,     and you answered me. From deep in the world of the dead     I cried for help, and you heard me. 3 You threw me down into the depths,     to the very bottom of the sea,     where the waters were all around me,     and all your mighty waves rolled over me. 4 I thought I had been banished from your presence     and would never see your holy Temple again. 5 The water came over me and choked me;     the sea covered me completely,     and seaweed wrapped around my head. 6 I went down to the very roots of the mountains,     into the land whose gates lock shut forever. But you, O Lord my God,     brought me back from the depths alive. 7 When I felt my life slipping away,     then, O Lord, I prayed to you,     and in your holy Temple you heard me. 8 Those who worship worthless idols     have abandoned their loyalty to you. 9 But I will sing praises to you;     I will offer you a sacrifice     and do what I have promised. Salvation comes from the Lord!”

10 Then the Lord ordered the fish to spit Jonah up on the beach, and it did.

 

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate this reading for us

 

Jonah’s thanksgiving:

In an address to the U.S. National Prayer Breakfast in 1994 Mother Theresa told this story…

–         “One evening we went out, and we picked up four people from the street. And one of them was in a most terrible condition.

–         I told the sisters, “You take care of the other three; I will take care of the one who looks worst.”

–         So I did for her all that my love could do.

–         I put her in bed, and there was such a beautiful smile on her face.

–         She took hold of my hand as she said two words only:

–         “Thank you.” Then she died.

 

I could not help but examine my conscience before her. And I asked:

–         What would I say if I were in her place?

–         And my answer was very simple.

–         I would have tried to draw a little attention to myself.

–         I would have said, “I am hungry, I am dying, I am in pain,” or something.

–         But she gave me much more; she gave me her grateful love.

–         And she died with a smile on her face.

–         Gratitude brings a smile and becomes a gift.”

 

Even though Jonah is in a dark and terrifying place

–         As close to death as one can come

–         He does not offer a prayer of complaint

–         Or even a prayer of confession

–         He offers a prayer of thanksgiving

 

It may not be immediately obvious to us that Jonah’s prayer is a thanksgiving because we don’t explicitly read the words, “Thank you God”

–         But we know it was a prayer of thanksgiving because it follows the same pattern as other Jewish thanksgiving psalms

 

Typically with Hebrew psalms of thanksgiving there is a retelling of the crisis in retrospect

–         That is, a looking back at the near death experience and an acknowledgment of Yahweh’s deliverance

–         And there is a promise or a vow to praise the Lord and offer sacrifices to him – as a practical way of saying thankyou

–         If someone does something nice for us then we might acknowledge that by sending them a thank you card

–         What we read in Jonah chapter 2 is the prophet’s ‘thank you card’ to God, for saving him from drowning

 

The first thing we note about Jonah’s prayer of thanksgiving is that it was composed in the belly of a large fish

–         I imagine the belly of the fish was cramped, dark, slimy and smelly

–         It’s not like Jonah had a pen and paper with a desk and chair and lamp to sit down and write

–         Which means that Jonah would have composed the psalm in his head (drawing on other psalms of thanksgiving with which he was familiar) and then spoken or even sung it out loud to God

 

Some people these days have a difficulty with a large fish swallowing a man whole and then vomiting him out 3 days later

–         They think if something is miraculous then it’s not historical

–         And so they explain the story of Jonah as a parable which, although made up, nevertheless communicates some very profound truths

 

Well, that’s one theory, but personally I have no problem with the miraculous

–         I think God could easily make a fish large enough to swallow a man – no problems with that

–         In fact it seems to me to be exactly the sort of practical joke God might play on someone like Jonah

–         It’s totally fits with God’s whacky sense of humour

–         Anyone who has experienced God’s sense of humour for themselves will understand what I’m saying

 

Where the story becomes difficult to believe is in the next chapter – in Jonah 3 – where the entire city listen to Jonah’s message and repent

–         That really stretches the imagination – but we’ll get to that next week

 

In Mother Teresa’s story, which I mentioned before, the dying woman simply said ‘thank you’ – she didn’t draw any attention to herself

–         By contrast Jonah attracts a lot of attention to himself

–         One of the striking things about Jonah’s psalm of thanksgiving is it’s self-centered-ness

–         Most of the psalm focuses on Jonah’s crisis – it’s I, I, I, me, me, me, most of the way through

–         I called, I cried, I thought, I went down, I felt, I prayed, I will sing, I will offer – and so on

–         With all this I, I, I, me, me, me, talk it’s little wonder Jonah gave the fish a belly ache and was vomited up

 

We don’t want to be too hard on Jonah though

–         After all he has been through a tough time and nearly died

–         In fact it is at the very cusp of death – at his lowest ebb – that Jonah finally prays to God. Verse 7…

–         “When I felt my life slipping away, then, O Lord, I prayed to you”

 

You may remember from a couple of weeks ago that Jonah did not pray when the storm hit

–         The pagan sailors were all praying and even called Jonah to prayer, but Jonah refused to talk to God

–         It’s only when he hits rock bottom that Jonah breaks his silence

–         And it’s only when he prays that God sends the fish to rescue him

 

It’s not like the sailors threw Jonah overboard and the fish swallowed him up straight away – No

–         God waits for Jonah to pray before he sends the fish

 

Sometimes we might be tempted to think,

–         ‘What’s the point in praying? God already knows what I’m thinking – he knows what’s in my heart.

–         Why bother saying it out loud?’

–         Well perhaps it’s because we need to own it

 

We’ve been watching that mini-series on Sir Edmund Hillary on Sunday nights – quite enjoying it so far

–         Sir Ed is depicted as a fairly quiet character

–         Kind of a classic kiwi bloke – holds it all in

–         Doesn’t really say how he’s feeling

–         At the end of last week’s episode the girl that Ed fancies is about to head off to Australia for 3 years

–         This girl knows that Ed likes her, but she (quite rightly) doesn’t want to do all the work in the relationship

–         Even though she knows that Ed likes her, Ed still has to be the one to say it out loud – she can’t say it for him

–         When Ed realizes that he may not see the girl of his dreams again for a long time he says,

–         “I wish I had found the courage to ask you out”

–         And that’s enough for him to get a kiss

 

It’s a similar thing with prayer

–         Yes, God knows what we are thinking but we must still say it out loud – he can’t say it for us

 

So Jonah finally prays and God saves him

–         But Jonah’s salvation is not yet complete because he is still in the belly of the fish and he won’t be able to survive there for long

 

Jonah’s hope:

In some ways this is Jonah’s finest moment – thanking and praising God (from the belly of the fish) before his deliverance is fully realized

–         It shows us that Jonah’s faith & hope in the Lord is strong

 

A team of child psychologists wanted to observe how different children respond to negative circumstances

–         So they filled a room with horse manure

–         And put a child in the room to see how he might react

–         The boy whined and cried and despaired that he was in a room full of smelly horse poo

 

Then the psychologists put another child in the room

–         The little girl immediately started tearing around and digging in the manure with an excitement that baffled the on-lookers

–         After a few minutes of watching this, they asked the child why she was so excited

–         And she replied, “With all this manure in the room, there’s got to be a pony somewhere”

 

The reaction of the second child is a picture of hope

–         Even though the little girl could not see a pony

–         She could see the signs of one

–         Her hope of finding a pony was strong because of the manure

 

What was it the Apostle Paul said?

–         For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

 

Paul’s point here is that hope is often strongest when things appear worst

–         Not when life is at its best

 

Jonah’s situation was significantly more life threatening than being in a room full of horse manure

–         Most of his prayer describes the horror of his situation

 

Generally speaking the people of Israel were not a seafaring people

–         They were afraid of the sea and other large bodies of water

–         For them the sea was a symbol of chaos as well as a symbol of deliverance by trial

 

Noah had to pass through the chaotic flood waters (in the ark) in order to save his family and the animals from death

–         The people of Israel had to pass through the Red Sea in order to be delivered from slavery in Egypt

–         And they had to pass through the river Jordan in order to enter the promised land

 

I expect Jonah was conscious of these stories of deliverance through threatening waters, during his 3 days & nights inside the fish

–         And I expect these stories of deliverance strengthened his hope

–         I imagine the smelly inside of the fish and sea all around were for Jonah like the manure was for the little girl

–         Where there is manure there must be a pony

–         Where there is a great body of water there must be deliverance

 

So Jonah’s faith & hope in the Lord was strong – he praises God for his deliverance even before that deliverance is fully realized

 

One of the implications here is that God’s salvation of us is normally a process – it happens in stages, not all at once

–         God didn’t magically transport Jonah to dry land or back to the temple (like in Star Trek when they say, ‘Beam me up Scotty’)

 

The first step of salvation for Jonah was God sending a violent storm

–         The second step was Jonah being thrown in the sea and nearly drowning before he finally cried out to God for help

–         The third step was being saved from drowning by a huge fish

–         Jonah could see where this was going – eventually God would return him to dry land

–         And so while Jonah was waiting for the next phase, he praised God

 

One of the things we do each Sunday is to come together to sing songs of praise to God

–         Some weeks singing songs of praise is easier than others

–         If things are going well and we are aware of God’s goodness in our lives, then no problems singing

–         But if we have had a hard week and we are struggling to see God’s goodness or we feel like we aren’t quite out of the woods yet, then it can be more of a struggle to sing about how great God is

–         This life is not perfect – there are times when God seems absent and we shouldn’t try to deny or ignore the feelings this raises for us

–         But it doesn’t help to dwell too long on those feelings either

–         While we are waiting for God to complete our salvation we can still offer thanks & praise to him in anticipation of what he will do

 

So if you feel like you’re wading through a lot of poo at the moment – just think, there must be a pony somewhere

 

Jonah’s blindness:

Having celebrated Jonah’s strength of hope from the belly of the fish we also need to acknowledge the fundamental contradiction we find in Jonah

–         Yes, Jonah is a thankful believer in Yahweh, but he is also a disobedient believer

–         And to make matters worse, Jonah is unrepentant

 

Once when the famous preacher and evangelist, Billy Graham, was driving through a small town in the southern states of America

–         He was stopped by a policeman and charged with speeding.

–         Graham admitted his guilt, but was told by the officer that he would have to appear in court.

 

The judge asked, “Guilty, or not guilty?”

–         When Graham pleaded guilty, the judge replied…

–         “That’ll be ten dollars – a dollar for every mile you went over the limit.”

–         Then the judge suddenly recognized the famous minister.

–         “You have violated the law,” the judge said.

–         “The fine must be paid – but I am going to pay it for you.”

–         He took a ten dollar bill from his own wallet, attached it to the ticket, and then took Graham out and bought him a steak dinner!

 

“That,” said Billy Graham, “is how God treats repentant sinners!”

 

Many of us have heard that message before – that God forgives and pays the debt for repentant sinners

–         (For those who admit their guilt and try to change their ways)

–         So we are not surprised or impressed by Billy Graham’s story

 

What would make the story more interesting is if the judge still paid the fine even though Billy Graham did not admit his wrong doing and was not sorry for speeding

–         This is basically what God does for Jonah – which is what makes his story so interesting

–         God saves Jonah, even though Jonah is not repentant

 

Nowhere in his psalm does Jonah say, “Woops, sorry Lord. I was wrong, you were right. Will you forgive me?”

–         Jonah may be thankful that God saved him but he’s not sorry for running away

–         Jonah is, in a sense, blind to some aspects of himself

 

The psychologist Carl Jung came up with a term he called the shadow side

–         For many years I mistakenly thought our shadow side was that part of us which was like the dark side of the force – the bad in us

–         But actually our shadow is more simply those aspects of our personality (both good & bad) that we are not aware of and can’t see easily or won’t acknowledge

–         So our shadow side is really our blind spot

 

Now the fact is we all have a shadow-side or a blind spot, including people of outstanding integrity and faith like Jonah

 

In verse 8 Jonah says, rather revoltingly…

–         “Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs. But, with a song of thanksgiving, I will sacrifice to you”

–         This is a clearer translation than what we have in our pew Bibles

 

It’s sort of like Jonah is saying here,

–         “I’m not like those scum bag idol worshippers. I’m better than them. You can count on me to make good on my promises”

 

What Jonah doesn’t realize is that after he was thrown overboard those pagan idol worshipping sailors became worshippers of Jonah’s God, Yahweh

–         And they did exactly the same thing that Jonah promised to do

–         They made vows and offered sacrifices of thanksgiving to Yahweh

–         So Jonah isn’t all that different to the pagan sailors

–         He just has the advantage of knowing more about God than they do

 

But there is an even deeper blindness in Jonah here because actually he is guilty of idolatry as well [1]

–         While Jonah may not literally bow down to images of wood or stone he has attempted to make God in his own image

–         He has tried to make God conform to his way of thinking

 

Whenever we put God in a box or reduce God so that he is smaller, more domesticated, more controllable and less free (as Jonah did) then we are guilty of idolatry

–         As we talked about last time the great Kauri tree of justice is so large in Jonah’s forest of belief that the small Sapling of mercy has no light to grow

–         In Jonah’s mind God is not free to forgive the people of Nineveh

–         Jonah has tried to make God conform to his way of thinking – and that’s basically idolatry

 

Jesus and the apostles in the New Testament had a lot to say about faith

–         And that’s because faith is fundamental to a relationship with God

–         We, finite beings, can’t be in a relationship with the infinite God without trust

–         Faith (trust) doesn’t try to control God – faith let’s God be free

 

Conclusion:

Jonah is a complex character isn’t he

–         He is sincerely thankful and genuinely hopeful but ultimately unrepentant

–         Nevertheless God in his grace breaks with our expectations and saves Jonah anyway

–         Salvation really does belong to the Lord

 

I’m not saying here that God is bound to save us even if we remain unrepentant – far from it

–         God may be patient but he’s no fool, so we shouldn’t push our luck

–         The point is: Deliverance belongs to the Lord

–         That means God is free – free to show mercy to whomever he wants, but also free to withhold his mercy

 

Like all the prophets of the Old Testament, Jonah points to Jesus

–         In Matthew 12, Jesus is asked to perform a sign or a miracle to prove his credentials but Jesus refuses saying…

 

“No! The only miracle (or sign) you will be given is the sign of the prophet Jonah. In the same way that Jonah spent three days and nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will spend three days and nights in the depths of the earth”  

 

Jonah may not have been perfect but God still used him to point to Jesus – in particular Jesus’ death and resurrection

 

It is Jesus’ death & resurrection we remember today as we gather around the Lord’s Table

–         The musicians will come now to lead us in sung praise as we prepare for communion…

 

 

Out Takes:

Another thing we notice about Jonah’s prayer is that the Lord’s temple features a couple of times

–         Verse 4, “…I thought I would never see your holy temple again”

–         And verse 7, “…I prayed to you [from the depths of the ocean] and in your holy temple you heard me.”

 

God designed the temple to be a safe, peaceful and ordered space

–         In the temple there is a place for everything and everything in its place

–         The sea (or the ocean) is the complete opposite to the temple

–         The sea is dangerous, messy and chaotic

 

Don’t it always seem to go that you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone – pave paradise, put up a parking lot.

–         It’s often when we lose stuff, when we are cut off from the people and places we love that we truly realize just how much we value them

–         Jonah had been running away from God and from the temple but when faced with the prospect of never being able to return he suddenly realized what he had

 

https://soundcloud.com/tawabaptist/4-sep-2016-jonah-says-thanks

[1] Refer Terence Fretheim, ‘The Message of Jonah’, page 103, for more on this

Tawa Baptist

Jonah’s Justice

Scripture: Jonah 1:1-16

 

Title: Jonah’s Justice

 

Structure:

  • Introduction – Nineveh
  • Jonah and God (vv. 1-4)
  • Jonah and the sailors (vv. 5-16)
  • Conclusion

 

Introduction:

Today we begin a new sermon series on the city of Nineveh

–         According to Genesis, Nineveh was founded by Nimrod (the great grandson of Noah and a mighty warrior & hunter) [1]

–         Archaeologists have found pottery at the site of Nineveh which dates back to 3000 BC – so Nineveh was a very ancient city indeed

In Old Testament times Nineveh was located in the Assyrian Empire – what we today would call Northern Iraq (about 220 miles north of Baghdad)

–         The Assyrian Empire doesn’t exist anymore but back in the day the people of Nineveh were Israel’s enemies

–         At the height of their powers (during the 7th Century BC) the Assyrians controlled a vast area – reaching down through Palestine into Egypt

–         The residents of Nineveh had a reputation for cruelty and violence

–         Consequently the city of Nineveh was considered an evil place – sort of like Sodom & Gomorrah or Babylon

 

The two books of the Bible which have the most to say about Nineveh are the prophets Jonah & Nahum

–         We are going to start our series on Nineveh by looking at the book of Jonah and, depending on how that goes, we may look at the book of Nahum later in the year

Jonah was a prophet who lived in Galilee (that’s the northern part of Israel)

–         We read about Jonah in 2 Kings chapter 14 – where he successfully predicted king Jeroboam II would recapture some of the lands of Israel to restore its former borders

–         In other words, Jonah gave the king of Israel confidence to fight and reclaim lost territory for Israel

–         This was a good message to bring – a patriotic message

 

It also tells us Jonah lived and prophesied in the 8th Century BC, so he came after Elijah & Elisha, but before Jeremiah

–         Jonah was a contemporary of Amos & Hosea

Please turn with me to Jonah chapter 1 – page 895 in your pew Bibles

–         We can’t be certain but the story of Jonah is probably set about 750 years before Jesus when the Assyrians were on the rise – just before they became a super power

–         From Jonah chapter 1, verses 1-16 we read…

 

One day the Lord spoke to Jonah son of Amittai. 2 He said, “Go to Nineveh, that great city, and speak out against it; I am aware of how wicked its people are.” 3 Jonah, however, set out in the opposite direction in order to get away from the Lord. He went to Joppa, where he found a ship about to go to Spain. He paid his fare and went aboard with the crew to sail to Spain, where he would be away from the Lord.

 

4 But the Lord sent a strong wind on the sea, and the storm was so violent that the ship was in danger of breaking up. 5 The sailors were terrified and cried out for help, each one to his own god. Then, in order to lessen the danger, they threw the cargo overboard. Meanwhile, Jonah had gone below and was lying in the ship’s hold, sound asleep.

6 The captain found him there and said to him, “What are you doing asleep? Get up and pray to your god for help. Maybe he will feel sorry for us and spare our lives.”

 

7 The sailors said to each other, “Let’s draw lots and find out who is to blame for getting us into this danger.” They did so, and Jonah’s name was drawn. 8 So they said to him, “Now, then, tell us! Who is to blame for this? What are you doing here? What country do you come from? What is your nationality?”

9 “I am a Hebrew,” Jonah answered. “I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made land and sea.” 10 Jonah went on to tell them that he was running away from the Lord.

 

The sailors were terrified, and said to him, “That was an awful thing to do!” 11 The storm was getting worse all the time, so the sailors asked him, “What should we do to you to stop the storm?”

 

12 Jonah answered, “Throw me into the sea, and it will calm down. I know it is my fault that you are caught in this violent storm.”

 

13 Instead, the sailors tried to get the ship to shore, rowing with all their might. But the storm was becoming worse and worse, and they got nowhere. 14 So they cried out to the Lord, “O Lord, we pray, don’t punish us with death for taking this man’s life! You, O Lord, are responsible for all this; it is your doing.”

 

15 Then they picked Jonah up and threw him into the sea, and it calmed down at once. 16 This made the sailors so afraid of the Lord that they offered a sacrifice and promised to serve him.

 

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate this reading for us

Irony - polar bear

Jonah & God:

Here we have a road sign saying, ‘Watch for ice’, with a polar bear slipping over in the background – this is a picture of irony

 

Irony, in this sense, is when the situation seems to reverse normal expectations

–         We wouldn’t expect a polar bear to fall over on the ice, so it is ironic

–         The book of Jonah is full of irony – especially chapter 1

 

The story begins with God telling Jonah to go to Nineveh to speak against it because of its wickedness

–         This is not what Jonah expected

–         Normally in the Old Testament when prophets were asked to speak against foreign nations they simply did it from the relative safety of Israel

–         But in this situation, God actually wants Jonah to go to Nineveh in person

 

The difference is this…

 

If you preach against your enemies at home, then people will applaud you

–         They will take heart and gain hope from your message

–         Not only that but your enemies are unlikely to hear your message and therefore even less likely to change their ways and be forgiven

 

But if you go to your enemies and preach to them, then you are putting yourself at great risk

–         It would be like God saying, ‘Go to ISIS controlled territory (in Iraq) and preach against their violence’

–         You would expect to be killed

–         Having said that, there is an outside chance they will listen, change their ways and be forgiven – after all, you wouldn’t expect God to send you unless he thought there was some possibility of success

 

Jonah doesn’t like what God is asking him to do so he lodges a protest with God

–         The opening chapter doesn’t record Jonah’s protest – it presents Jonah as silent on the matter

–         But chapter 4 makes it clear that Jonah had words with God before going

–         As we shall see, Jonah was not afraid of dying

–         Jonah was afraid he would be successful – that the people of Nineveh would be conscience stricken by his message, repent and be forgiven

 

This also is ironic – a prophet who doesn’t want his message to be successful

–         Jonah didn’t think God should forgive the Assyrians

–         Jonah believed in justice and forgiveness isn’t fair

–         Just as there was no room for Jesus in Bethlehem – there is no room for forgiveness in Jonah’s heart

Instead of obeying God, Jonah goes to Joppa, pays his fare and gets on a boat bound for Tarshish – in Spain

–         Now Tarshish is in the opposite direction from Nineveh

–         In Jonah’s day Tarshish was considered to be on the edge of the known world

–         The point is, Jonah was trying to get as far away from Nineveh (and from the presence of the Lord) as he possibly could

 

Now when it says that Jonah was wanting to flee from the Lord, it doesn’t mean that Jonah somehow thought he could outrun God or go somewhere that God wasn’t

–         As a prophet Jonah knew that God was present everywhere in the world

–         Jonah ran away from Israel because Israel reminded him of the Lord and he didn’t want to be reminded of what the Lord wanted him to do

 

The band U2 have a song, ‘Where the Streets Have No Name’

–         The words go like this…

 

I want to run, I want to hide

I want to tear down the walls that hold me inside

I want to reach out and touch the flame

Where the streets have no name

 

‘The walls that hold me inside’ are the things that restrain us and make us feel trapped on the inside

–         And I interpret ‘Where the streets have no name’ to be a place that is unfamiliar to you – a place you don’t know at all

 

I’m not sure what Bono meant by those words but they speak to me of a person (like Jonah) who is wanting to run away from something but feels trapped

–         If you’ve lived in the same place for a while then you build up this library of memories – some of them good and some of them bad

–         And those memories are attached to places – to streets with names

–         So every time you go down a particular street it reminds you of something – perhaps a failure or a regret or even worse, something good that you’ve lost

 

My grandfather used to take me fishing when I was kid

–         We had some great times in this little aluminium dingy of his

–         He was good to me – we were close

–         When he died I inherited the dingy

–         Funny thing is I never took it out on the water again

–         I can’t really explain it but perhaps it reminded me of my loss

–         Fishing without my grandfather just wouldn’t be the same

 

I reckon Jonah wanted to go somewhere completely new where the street names didn’t have any memories attached to them – where he wouldn’t be constantly haunted by what God wanted him to do or by what he had lost

–         For Jonah, Spain was a place where the streets had no name

–         A place where he wouldn’t be reminded of the Lord

–         Of course, Jonah’s action in running away from God was like playing with fire – reaching out and touching the flame – he would get burned

 

Now at this point God has a choice

–         He can either replace Jonah – cut him loose and ask someone else to go to Nineveh in his place

–         Or, God can go after Jonah and turn him around

 

We’ve just completed a series on the 23rd Psalm and have learned that the Lord is not inclined to cut his sheep loose

–         If a sheep wanders off and gets lost then the Lord (who is a good shepherd) goes looking for that sheep in order to restore it to the flock

–         This is exactly what God does with Jonah

–         God, in his goodness, pursues Jonah – he doesn’t give up on him

 

Verse 4 tells us how God sent a wind on the sea that was so violent the ship was in danger of breaking up

 

Jonah & the sailors:

It must have been a pretty bad storm because the sailors, who were used to high seas, were terrified

–         The fact they threw cargo overboard tells us this was a serious situation

 

But throwing cargo overboard is not the first thing the sailors do

–         These sailors are not atheists – they are pagans

–         They don’t know about Yahweh, the God of Israel, and yet they are still religious in their own way

–         Their first response is to pray – each to his own god

–         Their gods are not real and have no control over the elements but the sailors don’t know that

 

What makes this scene highly ironic is that Jonah (the prophet) is fast asleep while the pagan sailors are praying

–         We would expect Jonah to be leading the prayer meeting, not sleeping through it

 

That Jonah is able to sleep so soundly through such a violent storm tells us that his conscience is not disturbed

–         We would expect Jonah to be feeling some degree of guilt or shame and therefore not to be sleeping well – but apparently he is comfortable with the decision he has made

 

Why is that?

–         Well some people might say it’s because Jonah has hardened his heart

–         But I don’t think so – that doesn’t fit with Jonah’s character

–         He’s actually a fairly sensitive bloke

 

I reckon Jonah is able to sleep easy because, in his mind, he is acting with integrity

 

Jonah’s belief in justice – that people should get what they deserve – is so strong that it allows no room for God’s grace or forgiveness

 

You know how in a forest the larger trees overshadow the smaller saplings

–         So the light doesn’t get through and those smaller plants don’t ever get a chance to grow

–         Well it’s a bit like that with Jonah

 

In Jonah’s heart and mind justice is the really big, dominant tree in the forest – and mercy or forgiveness is the sapling that just doesn’t get a chance to grow

–         Jonah believes the people of Nineveh should not be given an opportunity to repent and be forgiven

–         In his mind that wouldn’t be fair, not after what they’ve done

–         God has to prune the trees of justice in Jonah’s mind to let the light of his grace through and allow the saplings of forgiveness to grow

 

Any guilt that Jonah may feel as a consequence of disobeying God is absolved by his self-imposed exile

–         Jonah is consistent – if he doesn’t obey God’s word then he doesn’t deserve to live among God’s people

–         Which may be part of the reason he takes himself off to Spain

 

Unfortunately, acting with integrity doesn’t guarantee that you are right

–         It is possible to be perfectly consistent and yet still be wrong

 

It seems to me that Jonah has confused justice with God

–         While it is true to say that ‘God is just’

–         It does not automatically follow that ‘justice is God’

–         God is free – both free to punish and free to forgive – that’s what makes him God

–         If God had to submit to Jonah’s idea of justice then he wouldn’t be God

 

The captain has to go and wake Jonah

–         “What are you doing asleep”, he asks, “Get up and pray to your god for help. Maybe he will feel sorry for us and spare our lives.”

 

Irony again

–         The pagan captain is basically saying to Jonah, “Pray for mercy”

–         This is what Jonah should be saying to the people of Nineveh

–         But Jonah doesn’t believe in mercy – he believes in justice

–         Despite the captain’s call to prayer Jonah doesn’t pray at this point – he is giving God the silent treatment

 

The sailors draw lots to find out who is to blame

–         We can’t be sure, from this distance in history, what ‘drawing (or casting) lots’ involved, but it was something like throwing dice

–         If your number came up then you were it

–         Surprise, surprise, Jonah’s number comes up

 

The sailors ask Jonah a series of quick fire questions and Jonah responds…

–         I am a Hebrew

–         I worship Yahweh, the God of heaven who made land and sea

–         And, I’m running away from the Lord

 

Now the sailors are even more afraid

–         But their fear this time is different

–         At first they were simply afraid of dying

–         Now they’re afraid because they have become aware they are in the presence of such a great and powerful God

–         It’s that sense of wo-oh – this is for real

–         We are not alone, we are in the presence of someone or something that we do not understand and cannot control

 

The sailors are absolutely shocked that anyone would disrespect their God like that – especially a God so powerful

 

The waves were getting worse so the mariners ask Jonah, “What should we do to stop the storm”,

–         And Jonah replies, “Throw me into the sea and it will calm down”

 

Now this is a brave and interesting move by Jonah

–         There was more than one way to stop the storm

–         Jonah could have cried out to God for mercy and forgiveness

–         The Lord would have stilled the waves and the sailors could return Jonah to Joppa

 

But Jonah doesn’t do this – sadly his integrity gets in the way

–         Jonah wouldn’t ask for forgiveness and mercy for himself all the while expecting justice and judgement for the people of Nineveh

–         No – if they deserve justice, then so does he

–         Jonah may be wrong but at least he is consistent

–         Jonah would rather be thrown in the sea and die than ask the Lord for forgiveness – that’s how tight his integrity is

 

As Terence Fretheim points out…

–         “Jonah admits that he is guilty, yet he will not repent. And so he will satisfy God’s justice. He will take upon himself what he deserves…

–         In a clever move Jonah has here succeeded in throwing the ball back into God’s court. He will show God how to act justly” [2]

 

We the audience are left wondering, ‘How will the Lord respond?’

 

That Jonah is willing to sacrifice himself to save the pagan sailors also shows us that Jonah wasn’t against Gentiles (or non-Jews)

–         Jonah’s resistance in going to Nineveh wasn’t a racial thing – it was a justice thing

 

Like Jonah, the sailors have integrity too

–         They are not about to throw Jonah overboard if they can help it

–         Ironically, they try to repent on Jonah’s behalf – they try to row back to shore

–         But it’s no use – you can’t repent for someone else, they must do it for themselves

 

The wind and waves just get worse

–         In the end they realise there is nothing else for it

–         The sailors pray to Jonah’s God – to Yahweh – asking for mercy,

–         “O Lord, don’t punish us with death for taking this man’s life”

 

Yet again we see the irony…

–         Jonah won’t pray to the Lord (he won’t ask God for mercy, even though he knows he’ll get it)

–         But the pagan sailors do ask, even though they’re not sure of the outcome

 

As soon as they throw Jonah in the drink, the sea goes calm

–         At this the sailors fear the Lord

 

The Hebrew word for fear (yara) is the same as for worship

–         So to fear the Lord (in this context) is to worship the Lord

 

The sailors have been pretty consistent through all of this

–         They have been afraid the whole way along

–         But the nature of their fear has changed

–         In the beginning, when the storm started, they were afraid of dying

–         But in the end, when the stormed ceased, they feared God

 

Two quite different types of fear

–         When you are afraid of dying then you tend to do stupid things

–         But when you fear the Lord, you make better choices

–         The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom

–         The sailors’ fear of the Lord led them to offer sacrifices to him and promise to serve him

 

Again there is this beautiful irony

–         Jonah’s disobedience to God results in the sailors’ conversion

–         God doesn’t waste anything, especially not our mistakes

–         If Jonah hadn’t got on that boat to Spain the sailors would never have come to know the Lord

–         They would never have experienced the reality of God’s power like they did in that storm and the calming of the storm

–         Nor would they have met a prophet like Jonah to interpret God’s power for them

 

And that’s the fascinating thing right there

–         God’s power in and of itself was not enough to change the sailors

–         The storm is inarticulate – it doesn’t make sense

–         God’s power by itself just makes the sailors more afraid of dying

–         The sailors need Jonah to articulate God’s purpose in the storm

–         When Jonah interprets the events for them then the sailors’ fear is transformed from soul destroying appeasement to life giving worship

 

We might think the part we play in God’s plan of salvation is unimportant

–         And while it doesn’t depend on us entirely God does give us a vital role

–         Like Jonah we may be called upon to interpret God’s power

–         The wonderfully ironic thing is that it’s through his weakness that Jonah interprets God’s power

–         It is when Jonah confesses his wrong doing that the sailors come to know God’s grace

 

Conclusion:

Some Biblical commentators are pretty hard on Jonah

–         They think the moral of the story is, “don’t be like Jonah”

–         But I don’t think that’s point at all

–         I like Jonah – he is honest and he is brave

–         And most importantly he points to Jesus

 

The name ‘Jonah’ means dove

–         Doves were used by the poor, in ancient Israel, as a sacrifice to the Lord

–         If you couldn’t afford a lamb or a goat then you sacrificed pigeons or doves instead

–         Jonah (the dove) sacrificed himself – he put himself at risk – for the sake of those who did not know the Lord

–         Remind you of anyone?  (That’s right – Jesus)

 

Jesus had integrity – he believed in justice, but not at the expense of grace and mercy

–         God is free – free of our expectations

–         We must have a belief system (a theology) which is spacious enough to allow room for both justice & mercy

–         We don’t want to let the tree of justice grow so large that the sapling of forgiveness has no light to grow

 

Let us pray…

 

https://soundcloud.com/tawabaptist/21-aug-2016-jonahs-justice

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[1] Genesis 10:8-11

[2] Terence Fretheim, ‘The Message of Jonah’, page 88-89.