Tawa Baptist

Blind Ambition

Scripture: Mark 10:35-45

Video Link: https://youtu.be/zEJ2DkZTFQQ

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Jesus’ humility (v. the disciples’ ambition)
  • Jesus’ vision (v. the disciples’ blindness)
  • Jesus’ redemption (v. the disciples’ anger)
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

It’s October, which means some students will be sitting exams soon.

One method for exam revision is the 1-2-3-7 technique. That is, after your first read through, revise what you want to remember the very next day and then the day after that and then again on the seventh day.

Some people say you should re-read again 21 days after the first read, but if you are sitting exams two weeks from now you, you won’t have time. The point is you cannot expect to remember something you’ve only read once. Repetition is key to learning.    

Today we continue our series in the gospel of Mark based on the lectionary readings. This Sunday’s Scripture is Mark chapter 10, verses 35-45. If you have been following this series, then some of what you are about to hear will sound familiar. This is because it’s the third time that Jesus has said it.

Jesus’ disciples didn’t understand what he was saying the first time, so he kept repeating himself. But, with each repetition, Jesus adds a little more information and so this sermon is not a repeat. From Mark 10, verse 35, we read…

35 Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. “Teacher,” they said, “we want you to do for us whatever we ask.” 36 “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked. 37 They replied, “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.” 38 “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said. “Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?” 39 “We can,” they answered. Jesus said to them, “You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with, 40 but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared.” 41 When the ten heard about this, they became indignant with James and John. 42 Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 43 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.  45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate God’s word for us.

In this passage we see the contrast between Jesus and his disciples.

Jesus’ humility stands apart from the disciples’ ambition.

Jesus’ vision sees beyond the disciples’ blindness.

And Jesus’ redemption shines like a star against the darkness of the disciples’ anger. First, let’s consider the contrast between Jesus’ humility and the disciples’ ambition.

Jesus’ humility (v. the disciples’ ambition)

Thomas Merton, the 20th Century Trappist monk, once wrote…

When ambition ends, happiness begins.

Merton is saying that when we let go of our relentless drive for success and achievement, we can find true contentment and fulfilment.

Ambition is the desire and determination to achieve something. Wanting to achieve something is not necessarily bad in itself, unless it comes at the expense of our well-being and relationships. If ambition is left unchecked, it tends to lead to things like envy and arrogance, anger and greed. Ambition is a hunger that is never satisfied.    

The brothers James and John had ambitions. James and John were the sons of Zebedee, a local fisherman. From what we can piece together it appears James and John came from a moderately wealthy family who were well-connected.

Their father Zebedee owned several fishing boats and employed servants.

Also, James and John may have had a family connection with the household of the high priest.

For James and John to walk away from a successful family business to follow a travelling rabbi, who often criticized the religious establishment, was no small thing. James and John had given up a lot to become disciples of Jesus.

Maybe this was in the back of their mind when they said to Jesus, ‘we want you to do for us whatever we ask’.

This request is the opposite of winsome. This request is a bit insensitive in fact, given how it follows hard on the heels of Jesus’ third passion prediction. Jesus had just been telling his disciples (in verses 32-34) how he will be mocked, spat on, flogged and killed before rising three days later.

Somehow this doesn’t register with James and John. Jesus is their teacher.

He is their boss, and he is soon to suffer terribly, yet they want to tell Jesus what to do. That is ambition speaking. 

But listen to the way Jesus handles their request. There is a grace and humility in Jesus’ response that is truly beautiful. Jesus does not get angry with James and John. He doesn’t yell at them or cast them into outer darkness. Jesus takes the posture of a servant. He listens.

‘What do you want me to do for you’, Jesus asks. That’s a listening question. That’s something a servant says. 

And James and John reply…

“Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.”

There it is. Naked ambition. James and John know that Jesus is a king. To sit at the right and left of a king is to occupy positions of power and prestige. It’s like saying, we want to be second and third in charge of your kingdom.

Although James and John’s ambition (to be in charge) looks quite ugly in many respects, we should not judge them too harshly. Each of us has a bit of James and John in us. None of us are immune from selfish ambition.

Looking at James and John in a more positive light, we note the strength of their faith and hope in Jesus. As I said before, James and John gave up a lot to follow Jesus. Their ambition may have been misguided but they have a confidence in Jesus which is quite inspiring.  

Jesus had just been describing how he would be rejected, mocked and killed. To the disciples this might have sounded like Jesus was a bit discouraged or plagued with self-doubt. Perhaps James and John’s request was their way of saying to Jesus, ‘we believe in you, even if you don’t quite believe in yourself’.  

But Jesus is not plagued with self-doubt. Jesus sees what the disciples can’t see. Jesus sees the cross before him.

Jesus came as a humble servant, but he is primarily a servant of the living God, the Lord Almighty, God of heaven and earth. Jesus does not take his orders from James and John or any other human being. Jesus takes his orders from God the Father. Jesus’ sole ambition is to love and obey God.

Humility does not mean saying ‘yes’ to every request. Humility is about having your feet on the ground. To be humble is to maintain an accurate estimation of yourself, remembering who you are and who you serve. Not being carried away by ambition but holding on to yourself. 

Jesus’ vision (vs. the disciples’ blindness)

Jesus has the humility to know that it’s not his call who gets to sit on his left or right, much less James and John’s call. Jesus will not usurp God’s authority. And so, Jesus declines their request saying…

38 “You don’t know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?”

James and John answer with confidence saying, “We can”.

Their ambition has blinded them. Jesus has just said, “You don’t know what you are asking…”, but James and John are not listening, they act as if they know better than Jesus.

You have probably seen the drawing of the old woman which, depending on how you look at it, is also a drawing of a young woman. Some people can only see the old woman and some can only see the young woman. Then there are those who can see both.

When Jesus asks James and John if they can drink the cup he is about to drink and be baptized with the baptism he is about to be baptized with, James and John misunderstand Jesus’ meaning. They can only see the young woman.

In the Old Testament, the cup had two meanings. Sometimes the cup referred to joy and abundance of good things, like in the 23rd Psalm where we read…

You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life…

Other times though, the cup is a symbol of God’s judgement and wrath, like in the book of Jeremiah where the Lord says…

Take from my hand this cup filled with the wine of wrath and make all the nations to whom I send you drink…

When James and John hear Jesus talking about drinking from his cup, they probably think Psalm 23, joy and abundance, dining at the king’s table.

But this is not what Jesus has in mind. Jesus is thinking about the cup of God’s wrath that he will drink in going to the cross.

Likewise, the image of baptism had two meanings in the first century.

When Jesus talks about baptism in Mark 10, he is not referring to the ritual of baptism that we are familiar with.

Baptism in this context is a metaphor for being overwhelmed or submerged under water, like with Noah’s flood or when the Egyptian army were drowned in the Red Sea or when the Psalmist in distress says, Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me…

For first century Jews though, baptism was also an image of cleansing and renewal. So, when James and John hear Jesus talking about his baptism, they probably think Jesus is referring to God’s destruction of their enemies and the renewal of Israel. They want some of that.

But Jesus has a different understanding of baptism in mind here. Jesus is contemplating the overwhelming suffering he will soon experience in going to the cross.     

Jesus can see the blindness of James and John, but he doesn’t humiliate them. Jesus’ vision sees beyond the disciples’ blindness. The Lord goes on to tell James and John…   

“You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with…”

In fact, James and John were witnesses to Jesus’ suffering, death and resurrection. More than that, James was among the first of the apostles to be killed for his testimony about Jesus. In Acts 12, we read how Herod had James put to death by the sword.

John was not murdered, as far as we know, but he did suffer in his witness for Jesus. John survived a series of state-sponsored persecutions of the early church and was eventually sent into exile on the island of Patmos.

The disciples’ experience speaks to our experience. When we first become believers, we don’t know what lies ahead for us in our journey of faith. We are blind, feeling our way like newborn puppies.

There is often an initial joy when we first accept Jesus. But there are also times of desolation along the way, when we feel alone and abandoned by God.

To follow Jesus is to drink from his cup and share in his baptism.

Sometimes, like the first disciples, we will get it wrong. We will misunderstand, we will fail and wonder how we might move forward. But Jesus understands. Jesus forgives and Jesus provides a way for us. Despite the disciples’ misplaced ambition and initial blindness, Jesus was still able to use them, and he is still able to use us.

Although James and John did indeed share in Christ’s sufferings, that did not automatically entitle them to call dibs on the best seats in God’s kingdom.

As Jesus said: ‘To sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared.’  

If Jesus had in mind the cross, then the ‘places’ in view here were allotted to two criminals. One was crucified on Jesus’ left and the other on his right. Ambition had blinded James and John, so they did not know what they were asking.

We have heard about Jesus’ humility in contrast to the disciples’ ambition.

And we’ve heard how Jesus’ vision sees beyond the disciples’ blindness.

Now let’s consider Jesus’ redemption in the face of the disciples’ anger.  

Jesus’ redemption (v. the disciples’ anger)

There are basically two main ways to define greatness. Top down or bottom up. The top-down definition of greatness asks, how many people can I get to serve me? While the bottom-up definition asks, how many people can I serve?

William Booth, the founder of the Salvation Army, once said, “The greatness of a man’s power is the measure of his surrender”.

I believe it is true for women as well. Perhaps what Booth meant here was the more a person surrenders their life to God’s purpose, the more people they will help. William Booth thought of greatness in terms of obedience to God and service to others.

James and John’s ambition, their drive for success and achievement, threatened their relationships with the other disciples. In verse 41, we read how the 10 became indignant with James and John.

The word indignant means angry, but it’s a particular kind of angry. The other 10 disciples were angry with James and John because they felt James and John had behaved in a way that was unworthy or unfair.

By asking for top positions in Jesus’ administration, James and John were implicitly saying to the other 10 disciples, ‘we are better than you’. The other 10 disciples didn’t share James and John’s opinion. The other disciples’ indignation reveals they thought James and John were not worthy of sitting at Jesus’ left and right.

No one, it seems, was too bothered about how Jesus might be feeling, even though Jesus had just described in detail how he was going to suffer.       

Jesus is not indignant. Jesus does not take umbrage. Jesus sees a teachable moment, an opportunity for redeeming the disciples’ relationships. Jesus sets the disciples’ free from their ambition and their anger, saying…

“You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them.  43 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.

This is the part that sounds familiar. Most people in the first century defined greatness in terms of how many people I can get to serve me. Jesus flips this on its head. Jesus redefines greatness as how many people I can serve.

Jesus goes on to use himself as an example saying, in verse 45…

45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.

In the Jewish imagination, the Son of Man was a great figure, one of the greatest. But the thing that makes the Son of Man great is his service to others.

Jesus is the Son of Man. Jesus is trying to tell his disciples that he came to die in order that others might live. That is one of the main ways Jesus continues to serve humanity.

Much ink has been spilt over what Jesus meant by giving his life as a ransom.

In the first century, if you wanted to set someone free from slavery or prison, you did so by paying a large amount of money. The ransom payment redeemed the person’s life, allowing them to go free and start afresh.

Some people over the centuries have asked the question, “If Jesus’ life was the cost of the ransom, then who was paid?” Well, that sort of question misses the point. No one was paid. Jesus is speaking metaphorically here.

Like when someone says, ‘grief is the price we pay for love’. No one receives a payment. Grief isn’t like money. The expression simply means, love costs you. Our redemption cost Jesus his life. Our freedom cost God his Son.

Conclusion:

Let me finish with a story. This is a true story. On Sunday, 16 August 1987, Northwest Airlines flight 225 crashed shortly after taking off from Detroit Airport, killing 154 people on board and two people on the ground. Only one passenger survived, a four-year old girl named Cecelia.

Cecelia survived because, as the plane was falling, Cecelia’s mother, Paula, unbuckled her own seatbelt, got down on her knees in front of her daughter and shielded Cecelia with her body. Paula gave her life as a ransom for her daughter. She saved Cecelia.

Nothing could separate Cecelia from her mother’s love – not tragedy or disaster, not the fall or the flames, not height nor depth, nor life nor death. Such is Jesus’ love for us. He left heaven, became a servant for us and covered us with the sacrifice of his own body that we might live. [1]

Jesus’ sacrifice calls for a response from us. What will you do with the freedom Jesus bought you?

Let us pray…

Loving God, we thank you for Jesus who redeems our life and shows us the way. Set us free from misplaced ambition, blindness and anger. Help us to walk humbly with you. Through Jesus we pray. Amen.

Questions for discussion or reflection:

  1. What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon? Why do you think this stood out to you?
  2. Why does Jesus keep repeating the same message to his disciples? (That is, about his suffering, death and resurrection and about service.) What faith lessons keep being repeated in your life?
  3. Discuss / reflect on Thomas Merton’s words, “When ambition ends, happiness begins”. What does Merton mean by this? Do you agree? When is ambition good? When does ambition become harmful? What was Jesus’ ambition? What is your ambition?
  4. What did Jesus mean when he talked about the cup and baptism, in verse 38? How did James and John (mis)understand Jesus’ words? What realities has God opened your eyes to, since becoming a Christian?   
  5. How does Jesus define greatness? How do you define greatness? Who serves you? Who do you serve? 
  6. Why did the other 10 disciples become indignant (angry) with James and John? What does their anger reveal about them? What makes you feel indignant?
  7. What did Jesus mean when he said, the Son of Man came to give his life as a ransom for many? What freedoms do you enjoy because of Jesus? What will you do with the freedom Jesus bought you?

[1] Refer J. John and Mark Stibbe’s book, ‘A Box of Delights’, page 173.

Tawa Baptist

A Gentle Answer

Scripture: Proverbs 15:1; 1 Samuel 25; John 8:1-11

Video Link: https://youtu.be/_5yRXjKYZPU

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • A gentle answer
  • Abigail’s answer
  • Jesus’ answer
  • Sometimes wrath prevails
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

Did you know that ‘words’ (w.o.r.d.s.) is an anagram for sword?

Putting the s at the front turns ‘words’ into a sword.

They say the pen is mightier than the sword. Words are powerful things.

Today we continue our series in the book of Proverbs. Proverbs contains wisdom for getting through this life. Proverbs has lots to say about words. Our message today focuses on chapter 15, verse 1, which reads…

A gentle answer:

A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate God’s word for us.

This proverb is basically saying, words and the tone (or manner) in which we say them, have the power to calm a situation or make it worse.

We cannot control what other people might be feeling in the first instance, but we can control how we respond, and our response can have a profound effect on the outcome. 

A gentle answer may seem simple enough but it’s actually quite difficult to do, especially in the heat of the moment. Four things to keep in mind…

Firstly, gentleness requires backbone. A backbone lends strength and flexibility to the body. Being gentle does not mean being a push over or a jelly fish. Gentle is not weak. Gentleness requires the strength to stand your ground and the agility to adapt to change.

Secondly, a gentle answer requires logic. Gentle is not emotional. A gentle response involves keeping your composure and speaking sense. There is a time to express emotion but too much emotion tends to get in the way of a gentle answer.   

Some people are naturally empathic in the sense that they quite quickly and intuitively pick up on what other people are feeling. This is both a gift and a curse. On the one hand it helps you to read the situation and understand what you are dealing with.

But if the other person’s emotion bleeds into yours, then it becomes very difficult to keep yourself calm. If you are naturally sensitive to other people’s feelings, you can end up on the emotional roller coaster with them.

Giving a gentle answer requires you to hold on to yourself and not be overwhelmed. You need to read what the other person is feeling without getting sucked into the vortex of their emotion. You have to turn your own feelings off and think rationally in that moment.

You might say to yourself something like, ‘That person is angry and their anger belongs to them. It does not belong to me. I will stay calm and keep breathing. What is the outcome I want in this situation? And what are the logical steps to achieving that outcome?’       

A third thing to keep in mind, if you want to give a gentle answer, is finding common ground. You don’t have to agree with everything the other person is saying or doing but try and identify what you do agree on. Finding common ground enables you to build a connection.

One thing that gets in the way of finding common ground is the ego. You have to put your ego aside if you want to give a gentle answer. As long as you are focused on defending your ego, you won’t be able to find common ground.

A gentle answer requires backbone, logic, common ground and, fourthly, freedom. A gentle answer allows the person you are dealing with to make a free choice. By definition, gentleness does not threaten or coerce or manipulate in any way. A gentle answer presents the other party with a sensible option, not a blunt ultimatum.

There is a fifth thing required for a gentle answer and that is grace. Each of us has a certain amount of grace in the bank account of our soul. This balance of grace is like the currency we spend in dealing with the difficulties of life. Whenever something bad happens, like we become ill or we don’t get enough sleep or someone is unkind or unfair, or whatever, it costs us a little grace.

Likewise, when you are faced with an angry person, giving a gentle answer will require you to make a withdrawal from your grace account.

We need to keep an eye on how much grace we have left in our account. If you are running low, do something to take care of yourself so your balance of grace is topped up and you have the resources you need to manage yourself in a challenging situation.    

A gentle answer will cost you, but not as much as a harsh word. 

Abigail:

There’s a woman in the Bible who had the grace to give a gentle answer and turn away wrath. Her name is Abigail. In the book of First Samuel chapter 25, David (who is on the run from Saul) finds himself in the desert of Maon.

He and his men, as many as 600 soldiers, needed to eat. There was a rich man in that area by the name of Nabal. David sends some of his men to Nabal to ask if Nabal can help out with any supplies. Afterall, David’s men have provided security for Nabal by protecting his flocks.

But Nabal spoke harshly to David’s men, and he insulted David saying…

“Who is this David? Who is this son of Jesse? Many servants are breaking away from their masters these days. Why should I take my bread and water and the meat I have slaughtered for my shearers and give it to men from who knows where?”

Nabal’s response here shows a lack of grace and a large amount of ego. Nabal is no jelly fish; he is no push over. But he doesn’t have backbone either. A backbone combines strength with flexibility. Nabal is more like a brick wall, hard, brittle, inflexible. 

Nabal was not a wise man. Everyone in Israel knows who David is. David is the one who killed Goliath. David is a national hero, anointed by Samuel to be the next king. The smart thing to do was get on David’s good side.

When David’s men reported back to him, David told them to strap on their swords and he marched off with 400 soldiers to teach Nabal a lesson. David was angry and he did not intend to keep any prisoners.  

In the meantime, one of Nabal’s servants had a quiet word with Nabal’s wife, Abigail. The servant told Abigail how Nabal had hurled insults at David’s men even though David’s men had been good to them.

“Night and day they were a wall around us [protecting us] all the time we were herding sheep near them. 17 Please think this over and decide what to do. This could be disastrous for our master and all his family.” He is so mean that he won’t listen to anybody!”

Abigail didn’t need long to think about it. 18 She quickly gathered two hundred loaves of bread, two leather bags full of wine, five roasted sheep, two bushels of roasted grain, a hundred bunches of raisins, and two hundred cakes of dried figs, and loaded them on donkeys. 19 Then she said to the servants, “You go on ahead and I will follow you.” But she said nothing to her husband…

Abigail understood that a gentle answer was going to cost her, but not nearly as much as her husband’s harsh answer would cost them if she did not intervene.

20 Abigail was riding her donkey around a bend on a hillside when suddenly she met David and his men coming toward her. 23 When Abigail saw David, she quickly dismounted and threw herself on the ground 24 at David’s feet, and said to him, “Please, sir, listen to me! Let me take the blame. 25 Please, don’t pay any attention to Nabal, that good-for-nothing! He is exactly what his name means—a fool! I wasn’t there when your servants arrived, sir. 27 Please, sir, accept this present I have brought you, and give it to your men. 28 Please forgive me, sir, for any wrong I have done…

Nabal had reacted to David’s friendliness with arrogance and scorn. Now Abigail, responds wisely to David’s anger with humility and gentleness.

Notice though that a gentle response is not a weak response. There is real courage, real strength, real backbone in Abigail’s action here. Put yourself in her shoes for a moment. Abigail was facing 400 angry men and she was saying, ‘Let me take the blame’. 

Although Abigail has done nothing wrong, she offers to take the blame in order to save her household. This is a picture of grace. This reminds us of what Jesus did on the cross.

Notice too the way Abigail finds common ground with David. Abigail agrees with David that Nabal is a fool. She is wisely establishing a connection and acknowledging that David has every right to feel offended. At the same time, she is also putting distance between herself and Nabal.

To her credit, Abigail doesn’t burst into tears or allow herself to be overwhelmed by emotion. Rather, Abigail sets her gentle answer on the firm foundation of reason and logic. Abigail appeals to David’s conscience, his better nature. From verse 30 she says… 

30 And when the Lord has done all the good things he has promised you and has made you king of Israel, 31 then you will not have to feel regret or remorse, sir, for having killed without cause or for having taken your own revenge…”

This is wise. Abigail gently points out to David the logical outcome if he shows mercy. But she does it in such a way that David still has a choice. Abigail does not threaten David or try to force his hand in any way. She points out to David the benefit of showing mercy (you will be free from regret) and leaves the decision with him. Abigail gives David freedom.

Abigail’s gentle words turned David’s wrath away. The king accepted Abigail’s gift and did not carry out his revenge.

Jesus:

We are talking about how a gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.  Jesus was a master at the art of the gentle answer. In the gospel of John, chapter 8, we read…

2 At dawn Jesus appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. 3 The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group 4 and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5 In the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” 6 They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.

The whole thing is a set up. We know the woman has been set up because it takes two people to commit adultery and the man isn’t there. The law said both the man and the woman should be stoned, not just the woman.

Primarily though, the Pharisees are trying to set Jesus up. If Jesus says, ‘Stone her’, then he gets in trouble with the Romans and if he says, ‘Don’t stone her’, he can be accused of breaking the law of Moses. 

Jesus is faced with a crowd, most of whom are either angry or confused. What does he do? Well, he holds onto himself. He does not let the anger or malice of his adversaries bleed into his soul or overwhelm his judgment. Jesus exercises the strength of self-control and says nothing at first. Instead…  

Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. 7 When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.

Jesus’ response is gentle. It is not harsh or emotional. His response is courageous and rational. Jesus does not beg for mercy for the woman. Nor does he try to appease the Pharisees. Jesus doesn’t say, ‘Let me take the blame’, like we might expect.

No. Jesus finds common ground and he uses logic. The law is the common ground. Yes, the law does prescribe the death penalty for adultery. But, before you start throwing stones, think about the outcome for yourself if you do kill her. You will find it hard to live with yourself, knowing you also have sinned and deserve the same punishment. Jesus’ logic is clear. 

There is no coercion, no threat and no manipulation in Jesus’ gentle answer. Jesus leaves the decision with each individual and their conscience. The people are free to choose.

9 At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. 10 Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” 11 “No one, sir,” she said. “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”

Jesus was gentle but firm with the Pharisees who were trying to trap him and he was gentle but firm with the woman too. Gentle does not mean weak. Jesus does not condemn the woman but nor does he condone adultery. Jesus shows back bone. Strength with flexibility.

Jesus makes a withdrawal of grace from his own personal account and deposits it in the woman’s account, not so she can carry on as she has been. But rather so she can make a fresh start in right relationship with others.   

Backbone, logic, common ground, freedom and grace. All these are on display with Jesus’ gentle answer.

Sometimes wrath prevails:

That being said, it must also be acknowledged that a gentle answer does not always turn away wrath. It did for Jesus in John 8 and it did for Abigail in Samuel 25. But there are times when no amount of gentleness will do.

When Jesus was made to stand trial before the Jewish council, the Lord did nothing to provoke their anger. Jesus stood his ground and responded with gentleness and reason, grace and truth.  

When one of the guards struck Jesus on the face, the Lord answered not with emotion but with logic, saying, ‘If I said something wrong, testify to what is wrong. But if I spoke the truth, why did you strike me?’ 

And, when Jesus stood before the Roman governor and Pilate said, ‘Don’t you realise I have the power either to free you or crucify you?’ Jesus answered with logic and grace, ‘You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore, the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.’

Jesus’ gentle answer convinced Pilate that Jesus was innocent. From then on Pilate tried to set Jesus free but the anger of the Jews prevailed and Jesus went to the cross.  

Even while he was hanging on the cross, bleeding out, thirsty, exhausted, in agony, with insults ringing in his ears, Jesus still managed a gentle answer: ‘Forgive them Father, for they know not what they do.’

A gentle answer turns away wrath, most of the time, but not always. This life is not necessarily fair.

Conclusion:  

We are not likely to find ourselves in an extreme, life-threatening situation like Abigail or Jesus, for which we can be thankful.

But we may still be ambushed by a petulant child or a surly teenager. We may have to deal with an unreasonable adult or a grumpy husband or wife. And there may be times when people who do not know us that well, dump their prejudice on us.

Those moments often come without warning when we are feeling tired and otherwise distracted. We may not always be well equipped with the grace or the strength or the presence of mind we need to give a gentle answer.

Sometimes we will manage to hold on to ourselves and not be overwhelmed by the weight of someone else’s emotion. Other times our ego might get the better of us so that we seek to justify ourselves and respond more harshly than we would have liked. 

Try to have the same grace for yourself that you do for others. It does no good to get stuck in a cycle of feeling guilty and beating yourself up whenever you fall short of your ideals.

We can be our own worst enemy. Sometimes we end up shadowboxing with ourselves. Sometimes we need to speak a gentle answer to our own inner critic. 

Remember too, there may be times when a gentle answer is not called for. There may be times when it is better to give no answer and simply walk away from an angry person, give them a chance to cool down.

This is particularly relevant when communicating on social media. Best not to engage a keyboard warrior.

Life is messy. Sometimes we get it right. Sometimes we make the mess worse. None of us is perfect. We look to Jesus to be our wisdom and our righteousness, knowing that …he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Christ our Lord. Amen.

Questions for discussion or reflection:

What stands out for you in reading these Scriptures and/or in listening to the sermon? Why do you think this stood out to you?

  • Can you think of a time (in your own experience) when you observed a gentle answer turning away wrath? What happened?
  • Why is it necessary to keep emotion at arms’ length when giving a gentle answer? What can we do to hold onto ourselves and not be overwhelmed by emotion in the heat of the moment?
  • What is your ‘grace balance’ like at present? Are you running low on grace? What can you do, over the next few days or weeks, to top up your grace balance?
  • Discuss / reflect on Abigail’s gentle answer in 1st Samuel 25. How did Abigail find common ground with David? What logic did Abigail use to turn away David’s wrath?
  • Discuss / reflect on Jesus’ gentle answer in John 8:1-11. What common ground did Jesus find with his adversaries in this situation? How did Jesus use logic and freedom to turn away wrath?
  • What can we do when a gentle answer does not turn away wrath? What can we do when we fail to give a gentle answer? When is a gentle answer not appropriate?     
Tawa Baptist

Yesterday

Scripture: Deuteronomy 1:19-45

Video Link: https://youtu.be/JaiElrXVwTc

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Israel’s fear in the face of God’s faithfulness
  • Israel’s arrogance in the face of God’s anger
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

The atheist philosopher, George Santanya, once said: ‘Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.’

Whatever George Santanya may have believed about God, this quote certainly strikes a chord with Moses. In Deuteronomy, Moses gives a series of sermons to the people of Israel as they stand on the edge of the Promised Land, after 40 years of wandering in the wilderness.

In the opening chapters of Deuteronomy, Moses is at pains to remind the Israelites of their past, in particular the mistakes of their past.

Today’s message draws its inspiration from Deuteronomy chapter 1, verses 19-45, in which Moses recounts the events of 38 years earlier, when the people of Israel failed to enter the Promised Land.

Moses is now speaking to the adult children of those who faltered. And he doesn’t mince words or sugar coat it. Moses wants the next generation to learn from the past, so they don’t make the same mistakes their parents did.

Broadly speaking Moses highlights at least two mistakes to avoid from the past. There is Israel’s fear in the face of God’s faithfulness and there is Israel’s arrogance in the face of God’s anger. First let’s consider Israel’s fear. 

Israel’s fear in the face of God’s faithfulness:

In verses 19-33 of Deuteronomy 1, which we read earlier in today’s service, Moses recalls the events that led up to Israel’s first failed attempt to the enter the land.

In summary, the nation left Mount Sinai and arrived at Kadesh Barnea, which is an oasis to the south of the land of Canaan. Moses said: Take the land the Lord your God is giving you, don’t hesitate and don’t be afraid.

But the people wanted to send spies in first, which seemed prudent at the time, so Moses agreed. Each of the 12 spies gave a favourable report of the land but only two (Joshua and Caleb) were keen to proceed. The other 10 spies focused more on the obstacles and threats, saying there were giants in the land and the walls of the cities reached to the sky.

Unfortunately, democracy was the winner and Joshua and Caleb’s minority report was ignored. From verse 26 of Deuteronomy 1, Moses remembers…

26 “But you rebelled against the command of the Lord your God, and you would not enter the land. 27 You grumbled to one another: ‘The Lord hates us. He brought us out of Egypt just to hand us over to these Amorites, so that they could kill us. 28 Why should we go there? We are afraid.

Fear is a powerful thing. There are two kinds of fear. Rational fear, which is well founded in truth and useful to protect us. Like, seeing a hot element on the stove and not touching it for fear of being burned.

And then there is irrational fear, which is based on a lie. Irrational fear, if it gets hold of us, distorts our perspective and blinds us. Irrational fear paralyses people. The Israelites’ fear was irrational. It was based on a false belief.   

David Riddell, a Christian counsellor, has a helpful tool for correcting false beliefs and renewing your mind. He calls it Trace – Face – Replace.

The idea with trace face replace is to trace your self-talk and feelings to the underlying beliefs which are driving those feelings. Then face your beliefs squarely, to see whether or not they are really true. And, if the belief you hold is false, then replace it with a belief that is true.

For example, if you find that you have a habit of bailing out when the going gets tough, you might trace that behaviour to a belief that life should be easy. When you face that belief you find that it is false. Actually, life is not easy. So, with time and practice, you replace the belief with one that is true. Something like, life has it challenges but God is with us and for us through thick and thin. We need to speak the truth to ourselves.

Now I’m not suggesting that all anxiety can be cured in this way. There is a certain level of systemic (or ambient) anxiety in our world today, due to a range of factors which are outside of our control. Nevertheless, I think David Riddell’s method is helpful.   

The Israelites were afraid of entering the Promised Land. And when we trace that feeling of fear to its source, we see it was based on a belief that God hates them.

Moses, who is a wise and compassionate pastor, tries to get the people to face their wrongly held belief in order to replace that false belief with a belief that is true. In verse 29, Moses says… 

29 “But I told you, ‘Don’t be afraid of those people. 30 The Lord your God will lead you, and he will fight for you, just as you saw him do in Egypt 31 and in the desert. You saw how he brought you safely all the way to this place, just as a father would carry his son.’     

Sometimes we think that faith is not based on anything. It’s just a leap in the dark. But Biblical faith looks back at the facts of what God has done in the past. Faith is grounded in the reality of our experience with God.  (Not just our personal experience but our collective experience also.) 

Moses fights fear with facts. The people believe that God hates them and so Moses basically says, ‘Where’s the evidence for that belief?’ The facts are that God delivered you from slavery in Egypt and brought you safely through the desert to this oasis. All the evidence indicates that God loves you.

Why would God provide all that care and protection only to lead you into an ambush? It doesn’t make sense. Your false belief needs to be replaced with a true belief.

In verse 30, Moses says the Lord your God will lead you and fight for you. Here God is portrayed as a powerful warrior, the General of a heavenly army. This belief, that God will fight for Israel, is not random. It is based on the fact that God actually did this for Israel when they left Egypt. 

Then, in verse 31, God is portrayed as a loving Father, where Moses says: You saw how he brought you safely all the way to this place, just as a father would carry his son. Again, that statement is based on the facts of what God has done in the past.

So the true belief, the belief Moses wants the people to hold to going forward, is that God is powerful, like a mighty warrior, but also gentle and protective like a loving Father.

There is so much fear and anxiety in our world today. Some of it is reasonable but not all of it. If we were to trace our fears to the underlying beliefs we hold, we would probably find that many of our beliefs are simply false and need to be replaced with a belief that is accurate and true.

What is it you really believe about God?

I’m not sure we really know what we believe when we are singing songs in church on Sunday. I think we find out what we truly believe when the faecal matter hits the fan, Monday through to Friday.

Do you believe God hates you? The truth is, God loves you like a good father. That doesn’t mean you won’t have to struggle. That doesn’t mean you won’t ever meet with resistance. But it does mean you are not alone in your struggle.

Do you believe God is powerless? The truth is, God is mighty to save, like a powerful warrior. That doesn’t mean life will always be easy. It doesn’t mean everything will be handed to you on a silver platter. But it does mean God can work every circumstance for good.

Returning to Deuteronomy. Sadly, the people of Israel still would not trust the Lord, even though Moses had reminded them of the facts of God’s leadership and care for them. 

If verses 19-33 of Deuteronomy 1 speak of Israel’s fear in the face of God’s faithfulness, then verses 34-45 speak of Israel’s arrogance in the face of God’s anger. We pick up Moses’ retelling of Israel’s past from verse 34…

34 “The Lord heard your complaints and became angry, and so he solemnly declared, 35 ‘Not one of you from this evil generation will enter the fertile land that I promised to give your ancestors. 36 Only Caleb son of Jephunneh will enter it. He has remained faithful to me, and I will give him and his descendants the land that he has explored.’ 

37 Because of you the Lord also became angry with me and said, ‘Not even you, Moses, will enter the land. 38 But strengthen the determination of your helper, Joshua son of Nun. He will lead Israel to occupy the land.’

39 “Then the Lord said to all of us, ‘Your children, who are still too young to know right from wrong, will enter the land—the children you said would be seized by your enemies. I will give the land to them, and they will occupy it. 40 But as for you people, turn around and go back into the desert on the road to the Gulf of Aqaba.’

41 “You replied, ‘Moses, we have sinned against the Lord. But now we will attack, just as the Lord our God commanded us.’ Then each one of you got ready to fight, thinking it would be easy to invade the hill country.

42 “But the Lord said to me, ‘Warn them not to attack, for I will not be with them, and their enemies will defeat them.’ 

43 I told you what the Lord had said, but you paid no attention. You rebelled against him, and in your arrogance you marched into the hill country. 44 Then the Amorites who lived in those hills came out against you like a swarm of bees. They chased you as far as Hormah and defeated you there in the hill country of Edom. 45 So you cried out to the Lord for help, but he would not listen to you or pay any attention to you.

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate God’s word for us.

When we think of anger we tend to picture someone losing control. A sudden outburst of pent up emotion. Perhaps yelling or punching the wall. Anger has many faces though. More often, in our culture, anger slips out in the form of sarcasm, or it goes inward as with resentment.

Anger is usually the result of injustice. If you cut yourself, you bleed. If you suffer injustice, you feel angry. The greater the injustice the greater the anger (whether that injustice is real or merely imagined).

The problem with us human beings is that we have a proclivity to feel we have been badly slighted or unfairly treated when in fact we haven’t. Or we might be inclined to magnify the injustice we feel because there is power in taking the role of the victim. So human anger is not always righteous or justified.

In verse 34, Moses says that God became angry after listening to Israel’s complaints. Because we human beings are so self-centred we often make the mistake of thinking that divine anger is the same as human anger. But it’s not.

Yes, injustice makes God angry too; the Lord was angry with Israel because their complaints against him were untrue and unjust. But God has a far better handle on his anger than we do. God keeps the injustice in perspective. He doesn’t exaggerate it. And his expression of anger is always fair and measured, salted with mercy and creativity. God does not explode in a fit of rage.

We see the fairness of God’s anger in the solemn declaration he makes in verses 35-38. The Lord vows that this generation of Israelites, who believed he hated them, will not enter the Promised Land. So often God’s wrath takes the form of giving people what they say they want. God’s wrath is not him hitting people with a big stick. More often, God’s wrath takes the form of God stepping back and letting people experience the consequences of their own choices.

But God’s anger is also discerning. God’s anger minimises any collateral damage. The innocent ones do not receive the same treatment as the guilty. Caleb and Joshua, the two spies who trusted God and encouraged the people to take the land, they both get in. They have to wait the better part of 40 years, but still they are treated with fairness.

As well as being fair and righteous, God’s anger is also creative. Verses 39-40 surely reveal the beauty and wisdom of God’s anger. Israel were afraid of what their enemies might do to their children so God basically says, ‘I will prove your fear to be false. Your children will occupy the land. They will succeed where you have failed.’

Imagine this. Someone you know well, someone you had treated with kindness, repaid your kindness by spreading malicious rumours about you. The things they said were untrue, unkind and unfair.

How would you feel? I expect you would feel angry and rightly so. But what are you going to do with that anger? Are you going to play a game of tit for tat and say nasty things about them behind their back?

Or are you going to tell them to their face that they are out of line and then, to prove them wrong, put money in a Trust fund for their kids to buy a house one day? (In this little story you’ve got the means to do that.)

Probably most of us want to speak our mind to those who wrong us but I don’t think any of us would bless their children so generously. And yet that is effectively what God did with his anger. He turned it into something creative and beneficial, saying your kids will inherit the land. God is not like us. His anger is just and merciful.

God’s declaration, that the children will inherit the Promised Land, reminds me of Jesus who says in the gospels: Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the Kingdom of Heaven.   

Simple, childlike trust opens the door.

So what does Israel do in the face of the Lord’s anger? Well, they say to Moses (in verse 41)…

‘…we have sinned against the Lord. But now we will attack, just as the Lord our God commanded us.’

On the face of it, this looks like repentance and we would expect repentance to do the trick. But it is too late. This is not the eleventh hour. This is the thirteenth hour.[1] God has already made his solemn declaration and he won’t take it back. That particular generation of Israel have missed their window of opportunity for entering the land.

Another quote from George Santanya: ‘Fanaticism consists in redoubling your effort when you have forgotten your aim.’ 

Or to put it another way, if what you are doing isn’t working, then more of the same isn’t going to help. 

By this definition the Israelites of Moses’ generation were fanatics. They redoubled their efforts while forgetting their aim. Israel’s aim, their purpose, was to trust and obey the Lord God. Sadly, they had forgotten this and compensated by redoubling their efforts, by trying even harder. But there’s no point in shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted.

Even though Moses warned them that God was not with them to give them victory, the people rebelled against the Lord and in their arrogance marched into battle only to suffer heavy defeat.

Maybe their earlier repentance was honest enough in that moment but it is undone by the next moment’s truth.

It seems that Israel’s need for redemption was so great they were willing to risk their lives for it. But salvation belongs to God. We cannot manufacture our own redemption.

Interestingly, Hormah (the place of Israel’s defeat) comes from a word meaning destruction or annihilation. The message is: failure to trust God’s word results in death.

Today’s reading finishes with Moses recalling how the survivors of that defeat cried out to the Lord for help, but he would not listen or pay attention.

We may prefer to think of God’s compassion and grace but what we have here is a picture of God’s unswerving justice. The people have simply reaped what they sowed. More than once they refused to listen to God and so God refuses to listen to them.

After the defeat at Homar, the people went to the oasis at Kadesh before returning to the wilderness for 38 more years. Sometimes you have to go back before you can go forward.

Conclusion:

You know, we need to be careful not to look down on Israel here. If we are honest with ourselves, we are not that different and we may even be worse.

Like Israel, we too are sometimes so focused on the giants in the land that we lose sight of God’s faithfulness. And in losing sight of God’s faithfulness we are overwhelmed by fear.

Like Israel, we too may be so desperate for redemption that we try to manufacture our own salvation. We may wear ourselves out trying to be good enough and then end up feeling defeated by the reality of how far we fall short.

Ultimately though we need to remember, today’s story is not primarily about us. This story is about Jesus. Jesus did for Israel what they could not do for themselves. Just as Jesus did for us what we cannot do for ourselves.

Jesus lived the perfect life of trust and obedience to God the Father on our behalf. And, in the process, Jesus conquered the giants of sin and death. Not only that but Jesus embodies the Promised Land of God’s kingdom.

We get to participate in God’s kingdom, not through our own strength or courage, but through simple childlike trust in Christ.  

The musician, Taylor Kingman, wrote a song called Wannabe. It’s not really the sort of song we might sing in church but the last verse makes an honest prayer, I think, even if Taylor Kingman did not intend that. Can you make this your prayer…      

I wanna be true

The blossoms of love are blighted with fear in the roots

And that moment was honest, untouched by the next moment’s truth

And I’m sorry for all I’ve taken and I’m sorry for all I’ve let loose

I wanna be true, I wanna be forgiven for giving up on everything I knew

I wanna be true. 

Amen. 

Questions for discussion or reflection:

What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon? Why do you think this stood out to you?

  • Why does Moses remind the nation of Israel of its past mistakes?
  • How might we discern the difference between rational fear and irrational fear? How might we overcome irrational fear?
  • What do you really believe about God, Monday through to Friday? To help you explore this question, you may like to try the following exercise:

Are you aware of a mantra of self-talk or a feeling that is troubling you? Trace that self-talk or feeling to its underlying belief. Face that belief squarely. Is that belief true? If it is false, what belief can you replace it with?   

  • Why did God become angry with Israel? How did God deal with his anger? How do you typically deal with your anger? How is God’s anger different from human anger?
  • What connections do you see between this story of Israel and Jesus? What does Jesus do for Israel that Israel could not do for itself? What does Jesus do for us that we cannot do for ourselves?
  • Take some time this week to intentionally recall God’s faithfulness to you personally. It might be little things God does in each day or bigger things he has done over the years. Think of specific examples and thank him.   

[1] Credit to Walter Brueggemann for this line.

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

Moses Intercedes

Scripture: Exodus 32:1-14

Title: Moses Intercedes

Key Idea: Moses intercedes for the people by asking God to be true to Himself

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Israel’s disloyalty (vv.1-6)
  • God’s anger (vv.7-10)
  • Moses’ intercession (vv.11-13)
  • Conclusion – Yahweh repents (v. 14)

Introduction:

The Christian mathematician, Blaise Pascal, famously said…

  • All human evil comes from a single cause, man’s inability to sit still in a room 

With the holidays approaching some of you may be contemplating travelling away for a break

  • Most holidays we go to see family who live about 7 hours north of here
  • When our kids were little they would sleep some of the way but invariably we had to provide some entertainment for most of the trip
  • We might listen to the Wiggles or High Five for a while but by the third or fourth time through the tape that got a bit tiresome
  • We played the classic I spy with my little eye & word association games
  • But my favourite game (and probably their least favourite) was seeing how long they could stay completely quiet and still for
  • Some attempts were more successful than others

Please turn with me to Exodus chapter 32 – page 92 in your pew Bibles

  • Today we continue our series on Moses
  • At this point in the story Moses is up Mount Sinai receiving instructions from Yahweh
  • He has been gone about 6 weeks and the people are growing impatient
  • Like passengers in the back seat of a car, all they had to do was sit still and wait quietly. Sadly, they weren’t able to do this
  • From verse 1 of Exodus 32 we read…

[Read Exodus 32:1-14]

 

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate this reading for us

This Scripture passage rather conveniently divides into three parts…

  • Israel’s disloyalty in verses 1-6
  • God’s anger in verses 7-10
  • And Moses’ intercession in verses 11-13

First let us consider Israel’s apostasy – their disloyalty or rejection of Yahweh

Israel’s disloyalty:

As an explanation of the quote we opened today’s sermon with, Blaise Pascal goes on to observe…

“Nothing is so insufferable to man as to be completely at rest, without passions, without business, without diversion, without study. He then feels his nothingness, his forlornness, his insufficiency, his dependence, his weakness, his emptiness.”

 

Moses has been up the mountain listening to Yahweh for about six weeks

  • All the people had to do was be still and wait, but they couldn’t manage it
  • Moses’ absence had put them in touch with their own nothingness, their insufficiency, weakness and emptiness
  • To overcome these insufferable feelings the people gathered round Aaron and took matters into their own hands, saying to Aaron…

‘We do not know what has happened to this man Moses, who led us out of Egypt; so make us gods to lead us.’

There is quite a bit wrong with this sentence

  • For starters we hear contempt in the phrase, ‘this man Moses’, as if Moses were a stranger to the people

Worse than this though there is a complete denial of God

  • The people credit Moses with leading them out of Egypt when in fact it was the Lord Almighty who led them
  • By pretending God does not exist the people are able to say, ‘make us gods to lead us.’

This request is a blatant disregard of God’s instruction not to make images or idols for worship

  • It amounts to nothing less than a rejection of Yahweh who delivered Israel from slavery – It is a betrayal of the worst kind
  • The people don’t want a God who can think and speak and act
  • They would rather have a lifeless object which they can see and touch and control

An idol isn’t necessarily a statue that people bow down to

  • It could be money in the bank, or our job, or a status symbol, like the clothes we wear or the car we drive
  • An idol is basically any mechanism or device which makes us feel like we are in control
  • By that definition a bomb or a gun could be an idol

We are not in control of course but it makes us feel more powerful, more secure if we can maintain the illusion that we are calling the shots

  • Jesus said that human beings live by faith
  • Which means we are actually more empowered, more secure, when we accept the reality that we are not in control and simply trust God

Apparently Aaron gave little resistance to the people’s demand

  • He asked for the people’s ear rings, melted them and made a gold bull
  • Then the people said, ‘Israel, this is our god, who led us out of Egypt’
  • Aaron went along with this and built an altar in front of the golden bull saying, ‘Tomorrow there will be a festival to honour the Lord (Yahweh)’

What we have here is syncretism

  • Syncretism is the combining of different, often contradictory, beliefs

In the ancient east statues of golden bulls or calves were used by pagans in the worship of Baal

  • Aaron was combining aspects of Baal worship with the worship of Yahweh, the Lord Almighty. That was syncretism
  • It was also the breaking of the third commandment not to take the Lord’s name in vain

[Set up table with water & turps and empty glass]

I have here a jug of water and a bottle of turps together with an empty glass

  • Imagine the empty glass represents the human soul
  • You only have one soul – one container
  • Worshipping the one true God – the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ – is like pouring water into our soul – it refreshes us, it is life to us
  • Idol worship is like pouring turps (or poison) into our soul – it will kill us
  • Syncretism is when someone tries to mix the water and the turps
  • Even a little bit of turps will ruin the water and make it unfit for drinking
  • It doesn’t work to worship God and Buddha at the same time
  • Just like it doesn’t work to follow Jesus and put money or career first

[Return to the pulpit]

From our vantage point in history we might look back and think, how could the Israelites do such a terrible thing?

  • But at the time the people of Israel couldn’t see that it was terrible
  • They probably thought they were doing a virtuous thing – not unlike terrorists who also think they are doing a virtuous thing
  • What’s more Israel were doing it in a democratic way – this was the collective wisdom of the majority. (So much for democracy)

We shouldn’t feel too superior to the Israelites – I’m not sure any of us is so pure in our worship of the Lord

  • That’s the thing about syncretism – we can’t always see it
  • Like turps it appears the same as water
  • Apostasy doesn’t present itself as a red devil with horns
  • It comes as an angel of light – we may think it a good thing at first

 

Verse 6 tells how the people sacrificed to the golden calf and then sat down to a feast which turned into an orgy of drinking and sex

  • Idolatry (putting ourselves in control) leads to moral chaos and the breakdown of society

So, that’s the people’s disloyalty

  • What about God’s response?
  • Well, God is angry

 

God’s anger:

My grandad had a pool table and we used to play pool together

  • Pool is basically a game of physics – it’s about the transfer of energy
  • Energy is transferred from the cue to the white ball and onto a numbered (or coloured) ball

Anger is essentially a form of energy

  • Energy is not good or bad – it’s just energy
  • When we are angry we have an intense concentration of energy in us which moves us – sort of like balls in a game of pool are moved

If anger is the white ball (on a pool table) then the numbered (or coloured) balls on the table are the different faces of anger

  • Just as a moving white ball transfers energy to the other balls on the table so too anger expresses itself in a variety of behaviours
  • Perhaps the black 8 ball represents outrage – swearing or yelling or throwing your weight around
  • But outrage isn’t the only face of anger – sometimes people hold the rage in and it becomes sadness, bitterness, resentment, cynicism, or contempt

One common face of anger is sarcasm

  • Some people think sarcasm is funny, but it’s not something I enjoy
  • Sarcasm is a form of anger
  • If you are sarcastic a lot then you have a problem with anger, underneath

God uses sarcasm with Moses in verse 7, where He says…

  • “Go back down at once, because your people, whom you led out of Egypt have sinned and rejected me
  • God is picking up on what the people said earlier about Moses leading them out of Egypt
  • God is angered by the people’s denial of Him and this angry energy is transferred into words of sarcasm – like the white ball transferring energy onto the yellow ball

The other thing to say here is that anger is never a primary emotion – even with God (perhaps especially with God) – anger is always secondary

  • Anger is energy that has been transferred from something deeper
  • The white ball on a pool table doesn’t move by itself
  • The white ball (of anger) moves because it is hit by the cue

So what does the cue in the hands of God represent?

  • The cue represents what we might call care or love or compassion
  • It is precisely because God cares so much that He hits the white ball of His anger
  • If God didn’t care about the people He wouldn’t have been so upset
  • If God hadn’t been so attached to Israel He would have put the cue down and walked away from the game

As I understand it Buddhism is a non-violent religion

  • Jesus also taught non-violence
  • So Buddhism and Christianity appear similar (like turps & water)
  • But when you take a closer look you realise how different they are
  • Buddhism says the way to avoid violence is to not care, to not love and not form attachments
  • Because when you don’t care about anything, you don’t get angry or upset about anything and so you don’t hurt anyone

By contrast Jesus teaches us that we must care, we must form attachments

  • We shouldn’t become attached to money or material objects but we should care about our neighbour and we should love God
  • Of course this means we will inevitably get angry
  • The pool cue of care will set the white ball of our anger in motion
  • Jesus’ intention is that we use the energy of anger for good
  • Release the energy in a controlled way and in a direction which achieves a positive outcome

I think, in hindsight, that my grandad was using the game of pool to teach me lessons for life

  • He was always telling me don’t hit the ball too hard
  • Take your time, line it up right and hit the ball gently because then, even if you miss, at least it will be in place for you to sink next time
  • Hitting the ball hard just makes a mess of things

God was angry with the Israelites because He cares

  • The Good News Translation has God saying to Moses…
  • “Now don’t try to stop me. I am angry with them and I am going to destroy them. Then I will make you [Moses] and your descendants into a great nation.”

Words like this in the mouth of God are difficult for us – especially in light of events in Paris yesterday

  • We have to keep the bigger picture in mind – God’s overarching goal for humanity is, not to destroy but, to save as many as possible

The Good News Bible is usually pretty good but their translation of the opening sentence, ‘Don’t try to stop me’, is a bit misleading

  • God actually does want Moses to stop Him, why else would He tell Moses what He was thinking

A more accurate translation (like the NIV) reads…

  • “Now leave me alone so that my anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them. Then I will make you into a great nation.”

This translation makes better sense

  • The fact that God is asking to be left alone with this decision tells us at least two things…

Firstly, that God is in control of His anger

  • He is not about to react in the heat of the moment
  • God is not like David Banner, who could turn into the Incredible Hulk at any time. ‘Don’t make me angry. You wouldn’t like me when I’m angry’ – that’s not God
  • God is taking time to consider His actions – measure twice, cut once

Asking to be left alone also tells us this was not an easy matter for God

  • It’s like finding out that your husband or wife has been cheating on you
  • There is tremendous grief involved for the Lord
  • God wants time on His own to deal with His grief and anger, that’s how deeply affected He is by Israel’s rejection

Now it is important to understand that God’s grief isn’t all about Himself

  • Yes, Israel’s rejection of Him hurts but I reckon God is also grieving for the other nations of the world – for humanity generally
  • The Lord’s intention for Israel was that they be a holy people – a nation of priests who would lead the other nations of the world to God
  • By worshipping the golden calf Israel have pointed the other nations away from the Lord and over a cliff
  • Israel have made it harder for people to come to God and that grieves the Lord’s heart

God doesn’t want to destroy anyone, least of all His beloved people

  • His overarching purpose is to save as many people as possible
  • But what is He to do if Israel rejects Him?
  • He can’t force the people to love Him
  • What choice does He have but to start again with Moses?

Moses’ intercession:

Although God has asked Moses to leave Him alone with His grief and anger, Moses stands His ground and intercedes for the people and for God

With an idol, there is no dialogue – there is just the monologue of our own self talk

  • But with God there is dialogue – our prayers can influence God
  • What we say and do makes a very real difference
  • Which means that to some degree the future is open
  • God’s overall purpose is to save or redeem as many people as possible and, thankfully, we can’t change that
  • But we can influence God’s strategy for how He reaches His goal

To use the metaphor of driving a car…

  • If God is the driver and we are the passengers, and it’s His purpose to travel from Auckland to Wellington, then we can’t change His mind about the destination
  • But we can influence the route He takes in getting there, where He stops and how many people He picks up on the way, that sort of thing

It’s not like life is a movie and we are just playing the roles and reading the lines that have been written for us

  • We are not fated to a particular destiny
  • Christians don’t believe in fate
  • Christians live by faith
  • Faith is not set in stone – it’s organic, it’s interactive, it’s dynamic

When God made humanity He didn’t make us in the image of an idol – a lifeless lump of stone that can’t talk back or change anything

  • God gave us a mind to think with, freewill to choose, emotion to move us and a voice to speak
  • God made us like Himself, in His own image
  • And in doing that the Lord was sharing His power with us

Moses seems to understand this and so when God says, ‘Leave me alone…’, Moses stands his ground and talks back

  • Moses is not disrespectful to God
  • He does not minimise or condone or justify what the Israelites have done in betraying Yahweh
  • And he does not deny the truth of what God is feeling – although he does ask the Lord to put His anger aside

Moses speaks up and appeals to God’s reason, reputation and integrity

  • Moses does not appeal to human rights – he doesn’t say, ‘God, you can’t kill the people because they’ve got rights’
  • We may have rights when it comes to other human beings but when it comes to God we don’t have any rights
  • All we have grace – everything we have is a gift from God
  • Human rights don’t come into it

When we consider what Moses says to God we soon realise that Moses is actually interceding for God Himself, more than the people

  • Moses is asking God to be true to Himself

In verse 11 Moses appeals to the Lord’s reason…

  • “Why should your anger burn against your people whom you brought out of Egypt with great power and a mighty hand?”

In other words, Lord, why destroy the people you have just saved – that doesn’t make sense. You’ve got a lot invested with these people. Don’t throw that away

 

Then in verse 12 Moses appeals to the Lord’s reputation…

  • “Why should the Egyptians say, ‘It was with evil intent that he brought them out, to kill them in the mountains and to wipe them off the face of the earth’?”

In other words, Lord, killing the Israelites now will make You look bad so that it will be harder for the other nations of the world to trust You

  • God needs to preserve His reputation if He wants to save as many people as possible

                                                                    

And in verse 13 Moses appeals to the Lord’s integrity…

  • Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Israel, to whom you swore by your own self: ‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and I will give your descendants all this land I promised them, and it will be their inheritance forever’.

In other words, remember who You are Lord. You are a God who keeps His promises.

  • If You break Your promise to Abraham You won’t be able to live with Yourself

 

Conclusion:

Interestingly the text does not record God saying anything else here

  • Moses has the last word on this occasion
  • God listened to Moses – He changed His mind and did not bring on the people the disaster he had threatened
  • The future is open

This is perhaps Moses’ finest hour

  • He saves the people from destruction by asking God to stay true to Himself

Outtakes

Moses knows all about anger

  • He knows all about caring too much
  • And he also knows the sting of rejection

Remember how Moses (as a younger man) killed the Egyptian slave driver who was beating a Hebrew slave

  • And then the next day when Moses tried to settle a dispute between two fellow Israelites, the man answered sarcastically…
  • ‘Who made you ruler and judge over us? Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian?’