Tawa Baptist

The Sycamore Tree

Scripture: Amos 7

Video Link: https://youtu.be/CD8ZTg4VlW4

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

Today we continue our Testimony of Trees series by focusing on the sycamore tree. Or to be more precise the Ficus Sycomorus, also known as the sycamore fig; not to be confused with Acer Pseudo Platanus, which is the European version of the sycamore tree that some here might be more familiar with.

The sycamore fig is native to Africa but grows well in parts of the Middle East, where it was plentiful during Biblical times. It reaches a height of 20 meters with strong lateral spreading branches. The leaves are broad and heart shaped, making the sycamore fig ideal for shade.

The fruit of the Ficus Sycomorus is a large edible fig, about 2-3 cm in diameter. Interestingly, the sycamore bears fruit all year round. You can get up to five crops in a 12-month period.   

The sycamore fig is mentioned seven or eight times in the Bible, including most famously in Luke 19, where the tax collector, Zaccheaus, climbs a sycamore tree to see Jesus as he passes through Jericho.

Our message today though is based on the prophet Amos chapter 7, which also mentions the sycamore fig tree. From Amos 7, verse 1, we read… 

Amos 7:

This is what the Sovereign Lord showed me: He was preparing swarms of locusts after the king’s share had been harvested and just as the late crops were coming up. 2 When they had stripped the land clean, I cried out, Sovereign Lord, forgive! How can Jacob survive? He is so small!”  3 So the Lord relented. “This will not happen,” the Lord said. 4 This is what the Sovereign Lord showed me: The Sovereign Lord was calling for judgment by fire; it dried up the great deep and devoured the land. 5 Then I cried out, “Sovereign Lord, I beg you, stop! How can Jacob survive? He is so small!” 6 So the Lord relented. “This will not happen either,” the Sovereign Lord said. 7 This is what he showed me: The Lord was standing by a wall that had been built true to plumb, with a plumb linein his hand. 8 And the Lord asked me, “What do you see, Amos?” “A plumb line,” I replied. Then the Lord said, “Look, I am setting a plumb line among my people Israel; I will spare them no longer. 9 “The high places of Isaac will be destroyed and the sanctuaries of Israel will be ruined; with my sword I will rise against the house of Jeroboam.” 10 Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent a message to Jeroboam king of Israel: “Amos is raising a conspiracy against you in the very heart of Israel. The land cannot bear all his words. 11 For this is what Amos is saying: “‘Jeroboam will die by the sword, and Israel will surely go into exile, away from their native land.’” 12 Then Amaziah said to Amos, “Get out, you seer! Go back to the land of Judah. Earn your bread there and do your prophesying there. 13 Don’t prophesy anymore at Bethel, because this is the king’s sanctuary and the temple of the kingdom.” 14 Amos answered Amaziah, “I was neither a prophet nor the son of a prophet, but I was a shepherd, and I also took care of sycamore-fig trees. 15 But the Lord took me from tending the flock and said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’ 

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

You may have heard of the term cognitive dissonance. Cognitive dissonance is the internal distress a person feels when their external reality does not align with their values or beliefs.

Cognitive dissonance can be caused by our own behaviour; when we do things that go against the grain of our values. Or it can be caused by the behaviour of other people, when they do things which contradict what we believe to be right or true. Let me give you some examples…

Imagine you put a lot of importance on eating healthy food and exercising regularly. You believe your body is a temple and consuming sugar is a sacrilege. If one day you fall off the wagon and eat junk food instead of going to the gym, then you will feel distressed, probably guilt or shame. That’s cognitive dissonance caused by the choices you have made.

Or say you are in middle management and top management tell you to make two of your team members redundant to cut costs. If giving people the sack to increase profits goes against the grain of your values, then you will feel angry and distressed because you are being forced to do something you don’t believe is right. That is cognitive dissonance caused by the choices other people have made.

The experts reckon there are basically four ways to deal with cognitive dissonance. Four ways to bridge the gap between what you believe is important or true and your lived reality.

One way is to change your behaviour. In the case of the health fanatic, that might mean having an apple for dessert instead of ice cream. However, changing your behaviour doesn’t work when the cognitive dissonance is not caused by anything you are doing.

Say, for example, you believed your uncle to be a good man. Then one day you saw him doing something extremely bad. In that scenario, it is your uncle’s behaviour which has conflicted with your belief and caused the cognitive dissonance. Changing your own behaviour won’t help.

To bridge the gap, you would have to modify your belief about your uncle. You would have to accept the fact that he wasn’t as good as you thought he was.

Returning to our healthy eating example: if not eating sugar proves too difficult you could try modifying your values, letting things slide a little. You might tell yourself, “I’m allowed ice cream and brownie every once and a while, especially tonight because I’ve had a hard day.” The problem with this approach is that it can become a slippery slope.

The third thing you can do to bridge the gap caused by cognitive dissonance is compensate by adding new behaviours. Compensatory behaviour is like balancing out the bad with some good.

For example, you might make yourself feel okay about having ice cream and brownie with chocolate sauce, by promising to do an extra spin class tomorrow.

Or you might make yourself feel okay about making money in a dodgy business deal by donating some of the profits to charity. Compensatory behaviour is not ideal. It leaves you divided within yourself. It makes you weaker, less whole.  

The least helpful strategy for dealing with cognitive dissonance is denial.

Denial is when you lie to yourself by pretending your behaviour is not at odds with your values. You might, for example, tell yourself that eating ice cream and brownie with chocolate sauce and sprinkles every day is good for you.

Or you might try to convince yourself that your uncle’s bad behaviour was for the greater good. Or you might reframe that dodgy business deal by saying, “It’s not wrong. Everyone does it. It’s just how the world goes round.”

The problem with denial is that it doesn’t work over the long term. The truth always comes out in the end.    

At some point, all of us must wrestle with cognitive dissonance. At some point all of us realise there is a gap between what we value and how we behave.

At some point we all face a disconnect between what we believe to be right and true and what we experience in reality.

What is the cause of your cognitive dissonance? How do you bridge the gap?  

You might be wondering, ‘what has this got to do with Amos and the sycamore tree?’ Well, bear with me. It will become clear soon.

Amos was a Hebrew prophet. He spoke his message roughly 240 years after king David and around 760 years before Christ. During that time the people of Israel enjoyed a period of sustained prosperity. The people were not oppressed by political enemies and business flourished.

Sadly, the people’s wealth made them complacent toward God. Many in Israel were not living in alignment with the values of God’s covenant. Hence the Lord called Amos to confront the people over their sins.

At that stage the Jewish nation was divided in two. There was the southern kingdom of Judah and the northern kingdom of Israel.

Imagine if New Zealand was divided in two, politically, with one government for the North Island and a completely different government for the South Island. That’s sort of what it was like for the Jews of Amos’ day.

Amos came from Tekoa, which was in the southern kingdom of Judah.

God compelled Amos to prophesy to the northern kingdom of Israel.

That would be like God sending someone from rural Otago with a message for the people of Auckland.

For the most part, Amos’ message was an oracle of judgement. The people of Israel were supposed to live as an example to the nations around them. They were supposed to worship the one true God, to administer justice, to show kindness to the poor and to walk humbly with their God.

Unfortunately, many in Israel were more influenced by the pagan nations around them. Many in Israel worshipped other gods alongside Yahweh.

The consequent moral decay resulted in the rich oppressing the poor.

Basically, the behaviour of the Israelites was not aligned with the values and beliefs of their covenant with Yahweh. And this was causing quite a bit of cognitive dissonance, quite a bit of distress in the land.  

The people dealt with their cognitive dissonance in all the wrong ways.

They compromised their values, they compensated for their injustice by singing worship songs and offering sacrifices, and they denied there was anything wrong in what they were doing.

You see, it wasn’t that the people were not religious. They were very religious, but in the worst possible way. They separated ritual worship from justice and compassion. Their worship was compartmentalised into one day a week.

It wasn’t woven through all of life. They put God in the corner, out of the way.

When people do that, worship becomes empty, false, a kind of going through the motions to cover shame and appease a guilty conscience.

Amos was sent by God to tell the people of Israel they needed to change their behaviour. They needed to repent by bringing the way they lived back into line with the beliefs and values of their covenant with Yahweh. If they didn’t, judgement would follow. The truth always comes out in the end.

In verses 1-6 of Amos 7, the prophet repeatedly refers to God as the Sovereign Lord. A sovereign is the supreme ruler, like a king or the emperor. By calling the Lord, ‘Sovereign’, Amos is reminding us that God is the supreme ruler of the universe. As Sovereign Lord, God has the power and legitimate authority to pass judgement.   

When the Lord shows Amos a vision of judgement by locusts and Amos sees the destruction caused by the locusts, he begs God to forgive Jacob. (Jacob is another name for the nation of Israel.)

And, even though the Sovereign Lord has every right to send a plague of locusts, He listens to Amos and shows mercy on Israel.

Next the Sovereign Lord shows Amos a vision of judgement by fire, so that the water ways are dried up and the vegetation is destroyed. Again, Amos begs God to stop. If God carried out this vision of judgement by fire, the people of Israel (aka Jacob) would surely die.

And once again the Sovereign Lord, who has every right to destroy by fire, listens to Amos and relents.

Next the Lord shows Amos a vision of a plumb line and a straight wall.

Then the Lord says to Amos, “Look, I am setting a plumb line among my people Israel; I will spare them no longer. 9 “The high places of Isaac will be destroyed and the sanctuaries of Israel will be ruined; with my sword I will rise against the house of Jeroboam.”  

A plumb line is used by builders to make sure the structure is straight.

Yahweh has measured the behaviour of his people Israel (those descended from Isaac) and found their worship to be crooked.

Therefore, God is going to bring them back into line by destroying their places of worship and removing their leadership. Jeroboam was the king of Israel at that time, and he was among those who had led the people astray. 

This vision of judgement, which involved exile for the people of the northern kingdom of Israel, was a more merciful vision than the total destruction God had been contemplating.

So what about the sycamore tree then? Well, the sycamore fig was important in ancient Israel. So important in fact that king David appointed a cabinet minister to oversee the care of sycamore trees. [1]

Sycamores were valued for the shade they provided for animals and people alike. And probably too they were part of Israel’s food security strategy, given they fruited all year round.  

In traditional medicine, the fruit of the sycamore fig is sometimes used to treat conditions like constipation and diarrhoea. Also, the tree’s bark is used to heal coughs, sore throats and chest diseases.

One of the curious things about the sycamore fig is that the fruit must be pricked or cut three or four days before harvesting, otherwise it won’t ripen properly and will taste awful.

Before God called him to be a prophet, Amos was a shepherd and an orchardist. Amos took care of sheep and sycamore fig trees. Among other things, taking care of sycamore trees would have involved pruning branches and pricking the fruit, at the right time, so it ripened properly.

The role of the prophet in ancient Israel was similar to that of a dresser of sycamore trees. The prophets pruned back the dead branches of idolatry and they pricked the collective conscience of the nation, so the fruit of justice and mercy would ripen in people’s lives. 

‘Pricking the conscience of the nation’, is another way of saying the prophets pointed out the cognitive dissonance caused by the people’s moral failure. 

Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, had his conscience pricked by Amos, and he didn’t like it. Rather than letting the truth of what Amos was saying sink in, Amaziah was in complete denial of any wrongdoing. Amaziah reported Amos to the king and he told Amos to get lost, saying…

“Get out, you seer! Go back to the land of Judah. Earn your bread there and do your prophesying there. 13 Don’t prophesy anymore at Bethel, because this is the king’s sanctuary and the temple of the kingdom.”

A seer is another name for a prophet. Prophets like Amos see visions from God and are therefore called seers. In ancient Israel there were people who made a living as prophets or seers. They would tell people what their itching ears wanted to hear and be paid for it.

By telling Amos to earn his bread prophesying back in Judah, Amaziah is accusing Amos of being a prophet for hire. He is calling Amos’ character and motives into question.

Amaziah seems to be implying that Amos is being paid by the religious establishment of Judah to spread conspiracy theories and fear in the northern kingdom of Israel. Amaziah sees Amos as an enemy who could have a destabilising effect on Israelite society.   

While it is true that Amos’ words could potentially upset the status quo, no one is paying Amos to give a message of judgement against Israel. Far from it.

Amos is an honest man and a friend to Israel. His plumbline words of truth are a kindness, not a conspiracy.

When God showed Amos visions of Israel’s possible destruction by locusts and fire, Amos interceded for the Northern kingdom of Israel, asking God to have mercy. Amaziah is the one promoting conspiracy theories, not Amos.

Amos stands his ground saying: “I was neither a prophet nor the son of a prophet, but I was a shepherd, and I also took care of sycamore-fig trees. 15 But the Lord took me from tending the flock and said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’ 

In other words, “I’m not a prophet for hire and neither is anyone in my family.

No one is paying me. I’m not even part of the religious establishment. I am a labourer. I’m not here for any personal gain. I’m here because God sent me”.

Amos gets the last word, saying to Amaziah…

17 “…Your land will be measured and divided up, and you yourself will die in a pagancountry. And Israel will surely go into exile, away from their native land.’”

The truth always comes out in the end. Amos’ word from the Lord was realised in 722 BC when the northern kingdom of Israel was conquered by Assyria and the people were taken into exile. 

Conclusion:

Amos foreshadows Jesus in a number of ways…

Both Amos and Jesus were practical men, they worked with their hands.

Amos was a shepherd and Jesus is the good shepherd.

Both men lived most of their lives in relative obscurity before being compelled into a public ministry of proclaiming God’s word.

Both Amos and Jesus had an interest in sycamore trees. (Jesus probably slept under a few sycamore trees in his time.)

Both men were sent by God, offering a remedy for cognitive dissonance.

Both Amos and Jesus preached a message of repentance.

Both men confronted a religious establishment that was blind and corrupt.

And both were rejected by those they came to save.      

There is a significant difference between Amos and Jesus though. Amos came to fore warn the people of God’s judgement in the form of exile.

Jesus came to redeem the exiles (the lost sheep of Israel) and bring them home. Through his death and resurrection, Jesus bridges the gap of our cognitive dissonance removing our guilt and shame. Our part is to trust and obey Christ.

Let us pray…

Sovereign Lord, we thank you for your justice and your mercy. Forgive us for not living by the plumbline values of your kingdom. Grant us the grace to live in alignment with your purpose for us in Christ. 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. What are some of the characteristics and uses of the sycamore fig tree?
  3. What is cognitive dissonance? How does cognitive dissonance make you feel? What are the four strategies for managing cognitive dissonance?
  4. What was the cause of Israel’s cognitive dissonance in Amos’ day? How did Israel deal with this? What is the cause of your cognitive dissonance? How do you deal with it?  
  5. Why does Amos refer to God as “Sovereign Lord”?
  6. How is God’s mercy evident in Amos 7?
  7. In what ways are Amos and Jesus similar? In what ways are they different? 

[1] 1 Chronicles 27:28

Tawa Baptist

Sweet & Sour

Scripture: Isaiah 64

Video Link: https://youtu.be/U8ejSDq3bgg

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • God’s intervention and absence
  • God’s goodness and anger
  • God’s gentleness and severity
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

If you try sucking a lemon, it tastes pretty sour. Sets your teeth on edge. But if you mix the lemon with a bit of honey and water, it’s delicious and good for you.

Likewise, if you bite into a raw onion on its own, the taste will make your eyes water. It’s not pleasant. But if you cook the onion with a bit of balsamic vinegar and brown sugar, it tastes delicious.

Lemon and honey, sugar and vinegar, these are classic sweet and sour flavours in cooking. You wouldn’t know unless you tried it, but somehow, sweet and sour is a winning combination.

We are currently in the season of advent. Advent is a time to remember Jesus’ coming. With this in view, our sermon today is based on Isaiah 64, which is essentially a prayer for God to come down to earth.

Isaiah 64 is a sweet and sour prayer. In the context of Isaiah, the relationship between God and his people is not good, it’s like sucking a lemon. The people are affected by exile and feeling the distance between themselves and the Lord. The prophet balances this sourness with a little honey. From verse 1 we read…

Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains would tremble before you! 2 As when fire sets twigs ablaze and causes water to boil, come down to make your name known to your enemies and cause the nations to quake before you! 3 For when you did awesome things that we did not expect, you came down, and the mountains trembled before you. 4 Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for him. 5 You come to the help of those who gladly do right, who remember your ways.
But when we continued to sin against them, you were angry. How then can we be saved? 6 All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away. 7 No one calls on your name or strives to lay hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us and have given us over toour sins. 8 Yet you, Lord, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand. 9 Do not be angry beyond measure, Lord; do not remember our sins forever. Oh, look on us, we pray, for we are all your people. 10 Your sacred cities have become a desert; even Zion is a desert, Jerusalem a desolation. 11 Our holy and glorious temple, where our ancestors praised you, has been burned with fire, and all that we treasured lies in ruins.

12 After all this, O Lord, will you hold yourself back? Will you keep silent and punish us beyond measure?

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

We find a number of sweet and sour combinations in the prayer of Isaiah 64. Our message today focuses on three in particular: God’s intervention and absence. God’s goodness and anger. As well as God’s gentleness and severity. Let’s begin with God’s intervention and absence. 

God’s intervention and absence:

How many of you yell at the ref when you are watching a sports game?

And how many of you live with someone who yells at the ref? Be honest now.

It can be frustrating when the ref makes a bad call and unfair play is allowed. Personally, I don’t care. It’s just a game. But for some of you the compulsion to step onto the field and intervene is very strong.

Modern technology has advanced to the point where the TMO does intervene at times. In fact, in cricket, the players can challenge the on-field decision and ask the third umpire for a second opinion.

In verse 1 of Isaiah 64, the prophet makes an impassioned plea for God’s intervention saying, O that you would rend the heavens and come down that the mountains would tremble before you…

Before we unpack this verse, you should know this sweet and sour prayer actually begins at verse 7 of Isaiah 63. So, this plea for God’s intervention comes somewhere near the centre of the prayer. Isaiah 64, verse 1 is the heart of the prayer, which means it is probably the most important part. 

That word rend means to rip or to tear open. In Old Testament times, rending or tearing your clothes was a sign of grief or remorse. It was a dramatic way of showing everyone that you did not agree with what was happening. Sometimes it signalled repentance. Other times the rending of garments was a sign of protest, like yelling at the ref.     

Asking God to rend the heavens was like asking God to tear his clothes in protest at the status quo. But God appears to be unresponsive, aloof and disengaged. The prophet wants God to visibly show his outrage at the state of affairs. He’s asking God (the third umpire) to come onto the field and right some wrongs.

The mountains of verse 1 are a metaphor for imposing and oppressive obstacles. [1] Whether Isaiah’s audience are in exile or returning from exile, they are up against it. The prophet wants God to come down from heaven in power to deal with the challenges his people on earth face.

He wants God to put heat on Israel’s enemies, as when fire sets twigs ablaze and causes water to boil.

Fire is a catalyst for change. Fire makes things happen. If God came down to intervene that would be the catalyst they needed, just like the days of old when God intervened to deliver Israel from slavery in Egypt.

Some commentators reckon the prophet is confronting God and the people with an intolerable tension between the past and the present. [2]

God intervened before, why won’t the Lord intervene again?

For God’s people in exile the contrast between then and now is as stark as a lush green forest and a barren brown desert. The people have gone from a land of milk and honey to a land of tripe and onions. They have exchanged freedom in Palestine for captivity in Babylon. And when they finally did return to the Promised Land, after their exile, they found ruin and disappointment.   

One thing is clear, God’s perceived absence has the effect of causing people to miss the Lord and to long for him. “Don’t it always seem to go you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone”.

There may be times when we feel like exiles in a strange land. Times when we wish God would intervene to change our situation and yet, despite our earnest prayers, nothing changes. The water doesn’t boil and the mountains still stand in our way.

The Lord disciplines those he loves. Sometimes God’s perceived absence and inaction refines us. It moves us to sort out our priorities and realign our values. It sharpens our yearning for intimacy with God.

God’s goodness and anger:

So why doesn’t God intervene? Well, the prophet thinks it has to do with the sweet and sour combination of God’s goodness and anger.

Most people wouldn’t naturally put goodness and anger together. We tend to associate anger with violence or a lack of self-control. Christians often think of anger like a wild animal, something bad to be avoided. Even secular society frowns on anger (in NZ at least).

And while it’s true that not all expressions of anger are good, there is a right kind of anger. At its heart, anger is the natural and unavoidable response to injustice.         

In the same way that your body reacts to an infection by producing antibodies to fight the infection, so too your soul reacts to injustice by producing anger to oppose the injustice. Anger is our soul’s natural immune response to something immoral or wrong and therefore it is good.

But, just as our physical immune system can sometimes overreact and attack healthy cells, so too our soul (or our psyche) can misdirect anger. We might take our anger out on someone who doesn’t deserve it, or we might turn our anger inward where it festers into self-hatred and depression.   

God’s anger is never misdirected or out of proportion. God doesn’t fly off the handle in a fit of rage. God’s anger is tempered with self-control. God’s anger is a carefully measured and fair response against evil and injustice. Without God’s anger, there is no justice and without justice there is no peace.

In verses 4 and 5, the prophet directs our attention to the goodness of God saying: Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for him.

You come to the help of those who gladly do right, who remember your ways.

God is unique. He is one of a kind. There is no one else like Yahweh. Not only is the Lord powerful he is also just and merciful, acting to help those who do what is right. This speaks to the goodness of God’s character.

It also suggests the problem for Israel. If Yahweh were a pagan god the people might think they could bribe him or manipulate him with sacrifices. But the Lord Almighty is not like the gods of other nations. He is free. He won’t be bribed or manipulated.

God does good because he is good. Likewise, God gets angry with evil because he cannot abide injustice.

You may have seen an ad on TV where the mum is wiping the kitchen bench with a piece of raw chicken – not very hygienic. The point of the ad is that using a dirty old dish cloth to wipe down the bench just spreads the germs around.

It makes things worse. What you need is a clean new cloth.

The prophet puts his finger on the problem in verses 5 and 6, where he says…

…But when we continued to sin against them, you were angry. How then can we be saved? 6 All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags…

It’s like the prophet is saying, spiritually speaking we’ve become like someone trying to keep the kitchen clean with a dirty cloth. We may as well be wiping the bench with a piece of raw chicken. Our righteous acts, our best intentions, are just spreading the salmonella of sin around and making things worse.  

The prophet also uses the image of a leaf blown away by the wind. In verse 6 he says, we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.

As long as the leaf stays connected to the tree it lives and breathes. But once the leaf is separated from the tree it dies. With this metaphor, God’s people are like leaves which have become disconnected from the tree.

The wind, in this word picture, is sin. Sin separates people from God, the source of life. The prophet is probably alluding to the exile. The nation sinned against God badly and for a long time. As a consequence, they were swept away to Babylon. This explains Israel’s disconnect with God. 

The prophet is basically saying, we have excluded ourselves from the worshiping community and there’s nothing we can do to get back in.

We admit, the problem is less with our enemies and more with us.  

The alienation between God and his people finds expression in verse 7 where the prophet says: No one calls on your name or strives to lay hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us and made us waste away because of our sins.

‘To call on the name of the Lord’ means to pray. The prophet is praying on behalf of the people because the people have given up trying to pray themselves. They don’t believe God will listen to them because of their sins.

It’s a Catch 22 situation. The only way we’re going to get through this is with God’s help (with him coming down to save us). But God isn’t going to help us because we’ve broken faith with him and he is angry. So what’s the point in praying? We’d just be wasting our breath.  

The people feel hopeless because God has hidden his face. What does it mean for God to hide his face? At the end of the service each week, when I give the benediction, I say… May the Lord make his face shine upon you… This is based on Aaron’s priestly blessing for the people of Israel in the wilderness.

To have the Lord’s face shine upon you is like saying, may God smile on you.     May God’s presence light your way through life, so you are not afraid and do not stumble. May God bless you with warmth and wisdom and vitality.

If that is what it means for God to shine his face upon you, then hiding his face is the opposite. When God hides his face, we stumble in darkness. Without the light of God’s presence, we are afraid because we cannot see a way forward. The signs of God’s grace and blessing are hidden from us.

When God is angry, he doesn’t usually storm in and smash things. More often God hides his face; he steps back, he withdraws his light, so we stumble in the dark and suffer the consequences of our actions.   

There’s a certain irony in God’s goodness. On the one hand God’s goodness enables life to function on earth. More than that, God’s goodness supports trust. It is because God is good that we can trust him.

But at the same time, God’s goodness prevents us from getting close to him. We are not always righteous or just and therefore we risk provoking God’s anger. We need a third person (someone good) to intercede for us, to pray on our behalf. Jesus is that third person. He is the righteous one who bridges the gap, restoring the communication with God.      

Have there been times in your life when you felt like God was hiding his face from you; times when you gave up on prayer? Who interceded for you during that time? Give thanks to God for them.

Now ask yourself, is there someone who needs me to carry them in prayer at the moment? Jesus lends us his righteousness that we might intercede for others before God in prayer.

God’s gentleness and severity:

Isaiah 64 is a sweet and sour prayer. The prophet longs for God’s intervention, during a time when God’s absence is felt keenly. The prophet acknowledges God’s goodness together with God’s anger, his opposition to injustice. Now let’s consider the combination of God’s gentleness and severity.

As a kid, I remember watching a potter form a bowl out of clay. I was transfixed, watching the vessel take shape on the wheel.

Every now and then the potter would look up at me and smile. He was completely silent, didn’t say a word, just let his hands do the talking.

There was a gentleness in those hands, a sensitivity. The potter wasn’t forcing the clay, he was respecting it, feeling for it’s true form. He was an artist.

In verse 8 we read…

Yet you, Lord, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.

Here the prophet puts two images of God together. The Lord (Yahweh) is both a father to us and a potter. In other words, God is our creator and we are his handiwork, his children. We owe our very existence to God.

A good father, like a good potter, has a gentle touch. Just as a potter skilfully shapes and forms the clay into a functional form, so too a father tenderly shapes and forms his children into maturity.  

The Jewish exiles were like a lump of clay. They were in a state of chaos.

They had little form or shape or function in Babylon. And, like a lump of clay, they were completely helpless. There was nothing they could do to shape themselves. They were entirely dependent on God to reform them as a nation.  

Why does a potter work with clay to create something? Because he is a potter and that’s what potters do. Why should God reform and remake the exiles into a new nation? Because he is the creator and that’s what the creator does.

The prophet is not asking God to act on the basis of the people’s righteousness. He has just admitted they have no righteousness. The prophet is asking God to act on the basis of who God is. Creator and Father.

Making pottery is not all gentleness and grace. After the vessel is formed it goes into a fiery furnace where it bakes at a severe temperature to make it strong and durable. Yes, God is gentle. We could say gentleness is God’s default setting. Gentleness is how God deals with us most of the time. But there are occasions, from our perspective, when God can be quite severe.  

In verses 10 and 11 the prophet describes the state of Israel. The cities have become a desert and Jerusalem a desolation. The temple has been burned with fire and all that was treasured lies in ruins. This is a picture of God’s severity.

We have heard enough about God’s severity over the past three weeks, as we unpacked Mark 13. I don’t need to labour the point today. Suffice to say, God is not like Santa Claus. He is not a benign old man who indulges our every whim. As C.S. Lewis reminds us, God is good but he is not safe. Respect him. He holds your eternity in his hands.    

Having reminded God of his severity, the prophet then concludes his prayer with a question: 12 After all this, O Lord, will you hold yourself back? Will you keep silent and punish us beyond measure?

That’s how the prayer ends, left hanging with the question unanswered.

We know, from our vantage point in history, that the Lord did not hold himself back. We know God does not punish beyond measure. The prayer of Isaiah 64 is answered in the person of Jesus.

Conclusion:

The prophet had asked for God to rend the heavens and come down to help them. Roughly five centuries later, at Jesus’ baptism, we read…

And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. [with gentleness]

Jesus is the divine intervention the prophet had asked for. Jesus is God’s presence among us, in human form. Jesus is the potter and the clay. Jesus is the catalyst for change, making things happen in heaven and on earth.

Jesus moved the mountains of sin and death, to restore our relationship with God. Jesus is the embodiment of God’s goodness, the ultimate expression of God’s gentleness and justice. Jesus is the face of God, shining upon us.

Let us pray. Father God, you are the potter, we are the clay. Thank you for rending the heavens and coming down. Thank you for answering Isaiah’s prayer in and through Jesus. 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. Do you yell at the ref during a sports game? Do you know someone who does? Why do people do that? Why does the prophet call for God to rend the heavens and come down?
  3. Have there been times in your life when you longed for God to intervene? What happened?
  4. Have there been times in your life when you felt like God was absent? How did this affect you? 
  5. Why do we need anger? When is anger good? When is anger not good? What strategies do you have for managing your anger well?
  6. Discuss / reflect on Isaiah 64:7. Why did the people give up praying to God? Have there been times when you felt like prayer was useless? Why did you feel that way? Did anyone intercede for you (pray on your behalf) during that time? Is there someone who needs you to carry them in prayer at the moment?
  7. What purpose does God’s gentleness serve? What purpose does God’s severity serve? What is your perception of God? In your mind, is God all gentleness or all severity or a bit of both? Do you have the balance right?    

[1] Refer John Watts, Word Commentary on Isaiah, page 335.

[2] Refer Paul Hanson’s commentary on Isaiah, page 237.

Tawa Baptist

Owls

Scriptures: Isaiah 34:8-15 & 43:18-21

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

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • God’s vengeance (Isaiah 34)
  • God’s salvation (Isaiah 43)
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

There’s a saying, ‘birds of a feather flock together’. It means, people with things in common tend to be found together.

Birds of the same kind do often flock together, but not always. Owls tend to be a relatively solitary bird for the most part. Only very rarely do you see them together. But, in the unlikely event you were to see a group of owls in one place, what would you call them?  [Wait] That’s right, a parliament of owls.

Other descriptors might include a wisdom of owls or a congress or a hooping or an eyrie or a looming or a stare and so on. All these words indicate the way owls haunt the human imagination. There’s something a little bit spooky about this bird.

Today we conclude our sermon series on Birds of the Bible, with the owl. Many people associate the owl with wisdom, as in ‘the wise old owl’. That idea comes from Greek mythology. In ancient Greece, the little owl was the companion of Athena the Greek goddess of wisdom. 

In Scripture, the owl is not really associated with wisdom. More often the owl is associated with sleepless nights, loneliness and alienation, desolation and judgement. There is a certain sense of foreboding (like a bad omen) that accompanies the owl.

With this in view, it is not surprising that owls appear several times in the Old Testament prophetic books. Our message today focuses on two occurrences of owls in the book of Isaiah. Let’s begin with chapter 34, verses 8-13.  

God’s vengeance

8 For the Lord has a day of vengeance, a year of vindication for Zion’s cause. 9 And the streams of Edomshall be turned into tar and her soil into sulfur; her land shall become burning tar. 10 Night and day it shall not be quenched; its smoke shall go up forever. From generation to generation it shall lie waste; no one shall pass through it forever and ever. 11 But the desert owland the screech owl shall possess it; the great owl and the raven shall live in it. He shall stretch the line of confusion and the plummet of chaos over it…  13 Thorns shall grow over its strongholds, nettles and thistles in its fortresses. It shall be the haunt of jackals, an abode for ostriches. 14 Wildcats shall meet with hyenas; goat-demons shall call to each other; there also Lilith shall repose and find a place to rest. 15 There shall the owl nest and lay and hatch and brood in its shadow; there also the buzzards shall gather, each one with its mate.

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

Owls are raptors. They are birds of prey. Owls have very good night vision and excellent hearing. The shape of the owl’s face funnels sound to their ears, magnifying what they hear up to ten times. Owls are keen listeners.

Put that together with super strong talons, natural camouflage and the ability to fly silently and that makes owls stealth hunters.

Like the sparrow, owls are resilient hardy birds found all over the world except Antarctica. They know how to survive. Fossil records show that owls have been around for about 55 million years. Significantly longer than human beings.

Owls will typically feed the oldest and strongest of their young first. This means if food is scarce, the smaller weaker owlets tend to starve while the fittest of the next generation survive. Owls are very unlike God in this way.

Nevertheless, owls are helpful to humankind. Farmers like to keep owls around as pest control. A barn owl can eat up to 1000 mice a year, usually swallowing them whole. Later it will regurgitate the bones and fur in the form of a pellet.

In Shakespeare’s play, Macbeth, the owl is a symbol of death, used to portray evil and darkness. The sound of the owl marks the death of Duncan, haunting Lady Macbeth. But long before Shakespeare, the prophet Isaiah associated the owl with ominous and fearful forces.  

In our reading earlier, from Isaiah 34, the prophet talks about God’s vengeance on the nations that have opposed the people of Israel. In particular, Isaiah foresees a day when God will smash Edom.

Edom (not to be confused with the cheese) is the people group descended from Esau. Esau was Jacob’s twin brother. Esau’s descendants became the nation of Edom and Jacob’s descendants became the nation of Israel.

Human parents, in the ancient world, treated their children in much the same way that owls treat their young. The oldest and strongest male was favoured and given the lion’s share of the estate.  

Esau was the oldest and therefore in line to inherit the land and birth right, while Jacob (the younger twin) would have to make do with the leftovers. This did not make for good family dynamics. Jacob cheated Esau out of his inheritance so there was bad blood between them.

Although Jacob and Esau did eventually make peace, the bad blood lingered with their descendants. The people of Edom treated the Israelites with aggression and cruelty.  

The worst of it though, was the way Edom allied itself with the Babylonians. (Birds of a feather flock together.) When the Babylonian army laid siege to Jerusalem, the people of Edom supported the Babylonians and after the city had been sacked, the Edomites plundered what remained. No love lost.  

Because of their violent opposition to God’s people and to God’s purpose, Isaiah predicted the destruction of Edom, saying the land of Edom would become the possession of the desert owl, the screech owl and the great owl.

Owls do not build their own nests. Rather, they take over the nests of other birds. So, from the perspective of Israel, who had lost their home to the Babylonians, the imagery of owls inhabiting Edom was poetic justice.

The owl’s association with darkness and evil comes out even more clearly in verses 14 & 15, where the prophet Isaiah puts the nesting owl alongside goat demons and Lilith.

Goat demons are a mythical creature, half goat, half man. And Lilith is the name of a demoness of the night who was thought to devour new born babies. These evil creatures were the stuff nightmares are made of and so they serve Isaiah’s poetry well.

Reading about God’s vengeance like this is a bit disturbing. As Christians we are more familiar with Jesus who is full of grace and compassion. Jesus who teaches us to love our enemies and turn the other cheek and so on. How do we reconcile the vengeance of God with the mercy of God?

Well, God’s vengeance is one aspect of his justice. God’s justice and mercy are not separate. They are one, just as God is one. The God of the Old Testament is the same as the God of the New Testament. God is consistently fair and measured in his response to evil.

We see the oneness of God’s justice and mercy in the way he contains Lilith. Following the logic of Isaiah’s poetry, if Lilith eats babies, then to read that she is at rest in a desolate and isolated place is a comfort, because it means she is not hurting children anymore.          

Likewise, if a nation is loose in the world doing harm, like Edom was, then it is not merciful of God to ignore that nation and look the other way. The just and merciful thing is to give that nation the opportunity to change their ways and if they don’t change, then the next step is to stop that nation from continuing to do harm.

God has every right to protect his creation from those who abuse it. That’s what God’s vengeance is, a just and merciful response to stop evil.

In Isaiah 34, the prophet is dressing an old wound. The Israelites have suffered much at the hands of the Edomites and Isaiah wants to clean up the wound so it can heal without becoming septic.

Think of it this way. If someone does serious violence to you or someone you love, then you will quite rightly feel angry with them and want that person stopped. You will also need to find a way to safely vent your rage, so it doesn’t eat away at you from the inside out and turn you bitter.

Forgiveness is a process which involves letting go of your anger in a way that does no harm. The poetry of Isaiah 34 provided Israel with a way to release their anger and their fear so they could forgive the past and not turn septic.

The words of Isaiah 34 give the people of God faith to leave vengeance in the Lord’s hands and move forward with hope. If you believe that God is going to carry out justice on your behalf, then it protects you (to some degree) from going down the path of violence yourself.

We have heard recently how Christians in the state of Manipur, in India, are being persecuted, with many churches burned to the ground. We feel for the believers in Manipur and pray for God to protect them and help them.

I’m not sure how I would respond if faced with that sort of violence. I pray that we would never have to find out. Lord, save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil.

Isaiah 34, with its graphic description of God’s vengeance, may be confronting to many of us, but I imagine it is a comfort to those who are abused for their faith. It helps to know God will right the wrongs committed against his people.

Okay, so we have heard how owls are associated with death and the aftermath of God’s vengeance. But vengeance does not have the last word, for the prophets generally follow a message of judgement with a message of hope.

God’s salvation

God’s vengeance serves his greater plan of salvation. Later, in Isaiah, owls are depicted as honouring God.  From chapter 43, verses 18-21, we read…  

16 This is what the Lord says… 18 “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. 19 See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. 20 The wild animals honour me, the jackals and the owls, because I provide water in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland, to give drink to my people, my chosen, 21 the people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise.

In a nutshell, Isaiah’s message in these verses is: don’t be blinded by the past, be open to the future.

There’s an advertisement on TV at the moment for Ford motorcars. It quotes Henry Ford saying: “If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said, faster horses.” Henry Ford was a man of vision, an innovator. He was not blinded by the past. He was open to the future and to new possibilities. 

Isaiah 43 was written for the Jewish exiles in Babylon. The exiles probably felt a bit like the owl; lonely and alienated, living in a spiritually desolate place, surrounded by evil. Remembering the stories of their past (how God had delivered them from slavery in Egypt) had a soothing affect. The old familiar stories were a comfort, like a security blanket.

Isaiah was aware that dwelling on the past was holding people back. The past can become an idealised world into which we retreat when the future becomes too frightening to face. The Jewish exiles were at risk of looking so long at a door that had closed that they would miss the new door of salvation God was opening.

Don’t dwell on the past can also mean, let go of your hurt and anger. There is a time and place for contemplating God’s vengeance and for venting your rage but, once you have got it out of your system, don’t wallow in self-pity and resentment. Move forward. Don’t be blinded by the hurts of the past.

In verse 19 the Lord says: See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?  This is a call to be open to the future.

After some decades the Babylonian empire was conquered by the Medes who took a different approach. In 538 BC (around 50 years after the fall of Jerusalem) King Cyrus released the Jewish exiles, allowing them to return to their homeland to rebuild the Jerusalem temple.

On the one hand this was good news but, at the same time, it was also challenging. The Jewish exiles had become quite settled in Babylon. The prospect of picking up sticks and making a long journey through the wilderness to resettle in Palestine would have been daunting.

They were returning to ruins. They would have to rebuild from scratch. They needed reassurance and encouragement, so the Lord says…

I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.

God was promising to provide what the people needed to return and rebuild a new life in Jerusalem. 

Are you facing a daunting prospect at the moment? Are you facing challenges that feel overwhelming? Let me say to you: The Lord is able to make a way for you when you cannot see a way for yourself. Look to him to lead you.

The idea of God making a way in the wilderness continues in verse 20, where the Lord talks about the jackals and the owls honouring him because of the new thing he is doing.

Previously, in Isaiah 34, we read how the jackals and owls prowled among the ruins. They were associated with God’s vengeance, with chaos and evil spirits. Now, in chapter 43, Isaiah reintroduces the jackals and owls, not as sinister prowlers, but this time as giving honour to God. This is new and different.

The image here is one of salvation. Given that God can transform the owl from an omen of evil and death to a symbol of praise and new life, how much more will the Lord redeem his people.

Isaiah’s words are full of hope. The Lord Almighty is a creative, redemptive God, committed to the healing of his entire creation. Ultimately, even owls and jackals have a place, serving a positive purpose in God’s plan of salvation.

Conclusion:

The very things we dread and fear are often the things God uses to redeem us. We see the way of God’s salvation fulfilled in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. God used the cross, an instrument of cruelty, vengeance and shame, to serve his purpose of forgiveness, reconciliation and salvation.

May the Lord bless you and keep. May the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift up his countenance on you and give you peace. 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?

  • How do you feel when you hear an owl (or Morepork) calling at night? What comes to mind when you think of an owl?
  • Why does God declare vengeance on Edom? What purpose does God’s vengeance serve? How might the idea of God’s vengeance help us to let go of our anger and forgive those who do harm?
  • Why does Isaiah tell the Jewish exiles to forget the former things? Are there things from the past you need to let go of? 
  • What is your life situation at the moment? Are you facing a daunting prospect? Are you facing challenges that feel overwhelming? Whatever your situation, can you sense God’s presence, making a way for you? If so, how?
  • In what way(s) is the characterisation of the owl in Isaiah 34, different from Isaiah 43? What does this change show us about God’s ultimate purpose?
Tawa Baptist

Redeemed

Scripture: 1st Peter 1:13-21

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Holy Hope
  • Reverent Fear
  • Costly Redemption
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

If someone says, “You are a chip off the old block” or “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree”, what they mean is: you are very similar in character to your father or mother. You are like your parents, in other words.

Today we continue our series in the New Testament letter of 1st Peter, taking a closer look at chapter 1, verses 13-21. In this passage Peter focuses on his readers’ personal relationship with God the Father. Because God has given us new birth into a living hope (1:3) we are now his children. And as his children, we need to ensure we are a ‘chip off the old block’ (no disrespect intended). If God is the tree, then we are to be the apple that doesn’t fall far from the tree. In other words, our character should be like that of God our Father. Holy. From 1st Peter, chapter 1, verses 13-21 we read…

13 Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope on the grace to be brought to youwhen Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming. 14 As obedientchildren, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. 15 But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16 for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”

17 Since you call on a Fatherwho judges each person’s workimpartially, live out your time as foreignershere in reverent fear. 18 For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemedfrom the empty way of lifehanded down to you from your ancestors, 19 but with the precious bloodof Christ, a lambwithout blemish or defect. 20 He was chosen before the creation of the world,but was revealed in these last times for your sake. 21 Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.

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

There are three main ideas I want to draw out of today’s reading: Holy hope, reverent fear and costly redemption. First let us consider the holy hope to which we are called.

Holy hope:

Last week we heard about hope. Hope is the capacity to imagine a good future. Hope is like a rope connecting the future to the present. When we are struggling to keep our head above water, hope connects us – it keeps us afloat and allows us to imagine things will turn out well in the end.

Christian hope is not a long shot. Christian hope is a sure thing because it is based on something that has already happened – the resurrection of Jesus.

Christian hope is also a holy kind of hope. It is the expectation that we will become like Christ – a genuine chip off the old block.

In verses 13-16, of chapter 1, Peter makes a connection between hope and holiness. To clarify what Peter is saying here I’ve come up with an acrostic which spells the word H.O.P.E.

H stands for the holiness of hope

O is for the obedience of hope

P stands for the preparedness of hope, and…

E is the expectation of hope

We’ll start with the expectation of hope and work backwards from there.

In verse 13 Peter instructs his readers to set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming.

The expectation of Christian hope is that we will receive grace (and not punishment or wrath) when Jesus returns in glory. To expect grace is look forward in anticipation of receiving something good.

When I was in standard 1 (Year 3 by today’s terms) I was called out of class to meet the headmaster in the gym. As I entered the gym I saw other kids of all ages throughout the school gathered too. I had no idea why we were there. The headmaster stood up and explained that each of us were going to receive an award at the end of year prize giving.

I was not told what prize I was going to get, just that I had to sit up on the stage and come to the front when my name was called. From that moment on I waited in eager expectation that something good was coming my way. When my name was called I received a certificate for most improved student and a picture book, which I still have.

It’s a bit like that with being a Christian. We have been selected to receive a prize, not because of anything we’ve done necessarily, but because God is gracious. We don’t know what the prize will be but we do know it is something good to look forward to in eager expectation.      

The E of Christian hope stands for expectation and the P stands for preparedness.

Verse 13 of chapter 1 begins with Peter saying: Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you… 

The reason they called us to the gym before the prize-giving is so we would be prepared. They wanted us to be there on time, in the right place and dressed appropriately, in our full uniforms. They also wanted us to be on our best behaviour, to be self-controlled, since we were going to be on the stage for everyone to see.

When Peter says, prepare your minds for action, he means, ‘gird up the loins of your mind’. To gird up the loins is an Old Testament phrase. In the ancient near east men wore long robes (sort of like Jedi knights). If they needed to make haste or do some manual labour they would hitch their robe up into their belt so they could move more freely. These days we might say, ‘Roll up your sleeves’ or ‘Get stuck into it’.

Christian hope is not a lazy or dreamy thing. Christian hope means rolling up the sleeves of your mind, getting your brain into gear and being mentally prepared.      

Karen Jobes notes how “Girding up the loins” may be an allusion to Exodus 12:11, where the Lord instructs his people to prepare for the exodus by eating their final meal in Egypt with their sandals on and their loins girded”. [1] That is, prepared and ready to go at a moment’s notice.

Returning to 1st Peter 1:13, the word translated as self-controlled is literally ‘be sober’. People who have no hope might drown their sorrows (they might get drunk). But Christians have real hope and so we have no need to find comfort in a bottle.

Like a batsman in cricket, facing a fast bowler, we must be mentally prepared and self-controlled with each ball that comes our way. We don’t want to nick ourselves out or miss the opportunity to put away a bad delivery.

The O in Christian hope stands for obedience. In verse 14 Peter writes: As obedient children do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance.

God’s grace does not give us a license to do whatever we want. Christian freedom comes with the responsibility to obey God. Indeed, the fruit of Christian faith is obedience. The kingdom of heaven is a place where God’s will is done perfectly. This means heaven is a place where God is obeyed, willingly and with love.

If our hope includes heaven then we need to get some practice in and obey God now, in this life. Obedience can feel difficult in this world, because there are forces within us (and around us) that work against God’s will. But part of our hope, part of the grace we look forward to with eager expectation, is that obedience in the kingdom of heaven will come more naturally, more easily.   

The H of Christian hope stands for holiness. In verse 15 Peter says: But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do;  

To be holy is to be set apart for a special or sacred purpose. As I’ve said on other occasions, your tooth brush is holy, set apart for your mouth. You don’t use your toothbrush to clean the toilet. A table is set apart for food. You don’t put your bottom on the dinner table.

Holiness is about moral purity and integrity. Holiness is about living in a distinctive way from the society and culture around you. To be holy is to be light in the darkness.  

We note too that we are to be holy in all we do. Our hope is to be fully set on the grace to be given us. Holiness is not a half-hearted thing. Holiness speaks of wholeness or fullness. Oneness. Last week I used the analogy of hope as a rope or a life-line. If you are drowning and someone throws you a life-line, you hold onto that rope of hope fully, with both hands and with all your strength, because it is your salvation.

In verse 16 Peter quotes from the Old Testament book of Leviticus where God says to Israel: “Be holy, because I am holy.” God’s people are to reflect God’s holy character, even though this makes them strangers in this world.

Christian hope is characterised by holy living, obedience to God the Father, preparedness for action and expectation of grace when Jesus returns.

Reverent fear:

The second idea I want to draw your attention to this morning is that of reverent fear. In verse 17 Peter writes: Since you call on a Fatherwho judges each person’s workimpartially, live out your time as foreignershere in reverent fear.

In verse 13 Peter had just talked about setting our hope on the grace to be given us when Jesus is revealed. Now, in verse 17, he talks about God’s judgement. These two ideas, judgement and grace, may appear to be at odds with each other. But they actually work together like two cogs in a clock which, although moving in opposite directions, actually function in harmony to keep the clock in time.

Or to use another analogy, our faith in God is like a guitar string, held in tension. One end of the string is anchored to the bridge, on the body of the guitar, and the other end is tied to the tuning keys on the head of the guitar. If the string is too loose it makes a dead, limp sort of sound. And if it is too tight it sounds out of tune and is at risk of breaking.

As Christian believers we need to hold the judgement of God at just the right tension with the grace of God. If the string of our faith is too tight – if we only ever think of God as a stern dispassionate judge – then our faith will sound highly strung and is at risk of snapping. But if we go to the other extreme of thinking that God is an over indulgent Father, who will forgive us without requiring confession or repentance, then our faith will make a dead, limp sound.

Yes, God is a loving Father who longs to show grace to his human children. But at the same time he is also an impartial judge who must be true to his own character and carry out justice. God’s grace and judgement are not separate. They are one – part of the same instrument. But they need to be held in the right tension, by faith, if we are to be in tune with God.           

So what is reverent fear? Well, reverent fear is the note that sounds when grace and judgement are held in tune.

Reverent fear is not so much the fear of being punished if you do something wrong. That would be a denial of our hope of grace. Perfect love drives out the fear of punishment. Reverent fear is the fear of not giving glory to God by the way we live our lives.

Reverent fear is like when someone represents their country in sport. The sports-person feels a great honour in representing their country and does not want to let their team down. The fear is not of being punished but rather of disgracing yourself by dropping the ball.

As Christians we have been given a great honour in representing God. Our greatest fear is not punishment. No, our greatest fear is failing to give our best for God. We don’t want to look back at our life, from the vantage point of eternity, and feel ashamed or have regrets. That’s the fear.       

Reverent fear is often the attitude of fathers as they drive their wife and new born baby home from the hospital. A man never drives as carefully as when he has his children in his car. It’s not that he is afraid of getting a speeding ticket. He drives with reverent fear because he wants to protect the precious life on board. Reverent fear is not about punishment. It’s about care and respect.  

When Robyn and I were married, a friend of ours (Geoff) made a metal stand for our wedding cake. Geoff had a degree in physics and he was a welder. The two tiers of the cake stand were welded together by a rod of steel, in the shape of a spiral.

Geoff made that cake stand in reverent fear. By which I mean he took great care in his work to ensure the welding was sound and the cake stand stable. Geoff was not fearful of being punished if the welding did not stick. Rather he was more concerned that our wedding cake not be ruined by faulty workmanship. Geoff did a good job. His workmanship was vindicated. The stand stood.

The main purpose of God’s judgement (at the end of time) is to vindicate God. Judgement day is a day when God’s workmanship (His justice and goodness) are revealed and people see that God’s work was sound and true all along.

Holy hope, reverent fear and costly redemption.

Costly redemption:

In 1998 the film Saving Private Ryan was released in New Zealand. The premise of the movie is that Private James Ryan is one of four sons serving in active combat during the Second World War. Each of his three brothers have been killed in combat and so James is the sole survivor. To prevent the family from losing all their boys, Captain John Millar and his platoon are assigned the task of searching for and redeeming the life of Private Ryan, who is somewhere in France behind enemy lines.

Although the movie is fictional it draws on the story of a real life soldier called Fritz Niland. I’m not sure of the details of Fritz’ story but Private Ryan’s redemption was a costly one indeed. While James Ryan was rescued and went on to live a long and full life, only one member of John Miller’s platoon survived. Private Ryan was redeemed by the blood of his fellow soldiers.   

From verse 18 of chapter 1 Peter writes: For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemedfrom the empty way of lifehanded down to you from your ancestors, 19 but with the precious bloodof Christ, a lambwithout blemish or defect.  

Peter is talking here about costly redemption. So what is redemption?

Redemption is being released from one state of being into another better state of being.  Private Ryan was rescued from behind enemy lines and released from active duty. He was taken out of a combat zone and allowed to return home.

In the ancient world of the first century, slaves could be redeemed when someone paid money to buy their freedom. Once they had been redeemed the person was a slave no longer. Their status changed from slave to freeman.

God redeemed the people of Israel from slavery in Egypt. That is, God set his people free. He did not do this by paying a fee to Pharaoh. He did it by his mighty power. The people of Israel went from living in a foreign land under a state of oppression to (eventually) entering the Promised Land where they were free to serve the Lord God and not Pharaoh.

In some ways the kind of world we live in today (a world organised against God) is a state of oppression. God is redeeming us (or releasing us) from the kingdom of this world and into the kingdom of heaven where we are truly free to do his will.

Another Old Testament reference to redemption relates to the exile. In Isaiah 52:2-3 the prophet says: Shake off your dust; rise up, sit enthroned, O Jerusalem. Free yourself from the chains on your neck, O captive Daughter of Zion. For this is what the Lord says: “You were sold for nothing, and without money you will be redeemed.”

Isaiah is talking here about the redemption (or setting free) of the Jews scattered in exile throughout Babylon and Assyria. It is a message of holy hope. God is going to open the door for the exiles to return home to Jerusalem.

Picking up this metaphor of the people of God as exiles and strangers, Peter addresses the Christians scattered throughout Asia Minor as strangers or sojourners. God is redeeming those who believe in Jesus, from their long exile in this world, and bringing them home to the heavenly Jerusalem.      

This redemption is achieved not with money but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. There is nothing more precious in all of creation than a human life. And there is no human being more perfect than Jesus. The Lord’s costly redemption reveals the depth of God’s love. 

Peter is stressing the costliness of our redemption here. Jesus is the unblemished sacrificial lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Jesus’ blood shed on the cross seals the deal, releasing us from the oppressive power of sin and death into a state of righteousness and eternal life.

In verse 20 Peter explains how Jesus, the Christ, was chosen before the creation of the world but was revealed in these last times for your sake.

This speaks of God’s foreknowledge. It tells us that God had a plan to redeem his creation even before he made the world.

It is through Jesus that we are able to believe in God. It’s not just that Jesus makes us aware that God’s exists. Nature does that. It’s more that Jesus shows us what it means to be truly human, made in the image of God.

When you are renovating your house it is helpful to have a picture in mind (a vision) of what you want your house to look like when it is finished. Same thing when cooking a meal. If you are following a recipe it helps to have a picture of what the meal is supposed to look like when it is ready. Jesus is the picture of what humanity is supposed to look like after our redemption is complete.

It is because God redeemed us with the blood of his own son that we can believe that he loves us. Furthermore, it is because God has raised Jesus from the dead that we can believe God will raise us also and make us truly human like Jesus. So your faith and hope are in God.

Jesus is the bridge. He is the pathway on which we walk by faith out of slavery to the Promised Land. Out of our exile, in the Babylon of this world, and into the heavenly Jerusalem.  

The thing we need to understand about being redeemed is that we are not set free to do whatever we want. We now belong to the one who redeemed us. We belong to God the Father in other words.  

So if we are not free to do what we want, what are we free to do?

We are free to call God our Father.

We are free from the emptiness and spiritual ignorance of our past.

And we are free to emulate (or to copy) God’s holiness.  

Conclusion:

Not only does God’s costly redemption make holiness possible, it also makes God’s love visible.

May grace and peace be yours in abundance.

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?

  • What is the expectation of Christian hope?
  • How might we prepare our minds for action?
  • What does holiness look like for you personally? How do we live a holy life?
  • Why do we need to hold God’s judgment in tension with his grace? How well tuned is the string of your faith? Is it too highly strung (overly weighted towards God’s judgement)? Or is it too limp (biased towards God’s grace)?
  • What does it mean to live in reverent fear?  How is this different from living in fear of punishment?
  • What does Peter mean by redemption?
  • How do you feel when you consider the costliness of your redemption?  

[1] Karen Jobes’ commentary on 1st Peter, page 111.

Tawa Baptist

Loss & Hope

Scripture: Genesis 23

Title: Loss & Hope

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Abraham mourns
  • Abraham buys land
  • Hope for exiles
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

“The Kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then went and sold all he had and bought that field.”  [1]

Today we continue our series on the life & faith of Abraham & Sarah

–         Last time we heard how God tested Abraham by asking him to sacrifice his son Isaac. Abraham passed the test and Isaac’s life was spared

–         This morning our message focuses on Genesis 23

–         About 20 years have gone by and Isaac is a grown man – 37 years old

–         Sarah dies and Abraham finds hope in the face of death

–         Abraham is like the man who found the treasure and bought the field

–         From Genesis 23, in the NIV, we read…

 Sarah lived to be a hundred and twenty-seven years old. She died at Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham went to mourn for Sarah and to weep over her. Then Abraham rose from beside his dead wife and spoke to the Hittites.

He said, “I am a foreigner and stranger among you. Sell me some property for a burial site here so I can bury my dead.”

The Hittites replied to Abraham, “Sir, listen to us. You are a mighty prince among us. Bury your dead in the choicest of our tombs. None of us will refuse you his tomb for burying your dead.”

Then Abraham rose and bowed down before the people of the land, the Hittites. He said to them, “If you are willing to let me bury my dead, then listen to me and intercede with Ephron son of Zohar on my behalf so he will sell me the cave of Machpelah, which belongs to him and is at the end of his field. Ask him to sell it to me for the full price as a burial site among you.”

Ephron the Hittite was sitting among his people and he replied to Abraham in the hearing of all the Hittites who had come to the gate of his city. “No, my lord,” he said. “Listen to me; I give you the field, and I give you the cave that is in it. I give it to you in the presence of my people. Bury your dead.”

Again Abraham bowed down before the people of the land and he said to Ephron in their hearing, “Listen to me, if you will. I will pay the price of the field. Accept it from me so I can bury my dead there.”

Ephron answered Abraham, “Listen to me, my lord; the land is worth four hundred shekels of silver, but what is that between you and me? Bury your dead.”

Abraham agreed to Ephron’s terms and weighed out for him the price he had named in the hearing of the Hittites: four hundred shekels of silver, according to the weight current among the merchants.

So Ephron’s field in Machpelah near Mamre—both the field and the cave in it, and all the trees within the borders of the field—was deeded to Abraham as his property in the presence of all the Hittites who had come to the gate of the city. Afterward Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave in the field of Machpelah near Mamre (which is at Hebron) in the land of Canaan. So the field and the cave in it were deeded to Abraham by the Hittites as a burial site.

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate this reading for us

 

Abraham mourns:

During a storm we might see some lightning and hear some thunder

–         The lightning & thunder happen at the same time but because light travels a lot faster than sound we don’t hear the thunder until seconds later

–         You can roughly calculate how far away the lightning strike was by counting the seconds that pass between the lightning and the thunder

–         Sound travels one kilometre every 3 seconds [2]

–         So, if we hear were to count 15 seconds between a lightning flash and the sound of thunder we know the lightning struck 5 kilometres away, because 15 seconds divided by 3 kilometres per second = 5 km’s

–         Or if we were to count 6 seconds between the lightning and the thunder we know the lightning was closer, only 2 kilometres away

Our emotions are a bit like thunder – our feelings travel at the speed of sound, slower than the speed of light

–         Consequently there is often a gap between something happening to us and us feeling it

–         The more detached from our soul we are the longer it takes us to feel it

–         While the more in touch with our soul we are the quicker we feel it

For example, we might have an accident or get some really bad news and at the time we feel relatively okay, better than we expected we would

–         But then the feeling hits us a couple of days or weeks later – maybe we start freaking out or we break down in tears or whatever

–         Lightning, then the thunder

 

In Genesis 23 lightning strikes (so to speak) when Sarah dies

–         Sarah & Abraham have been together for well over 100 years and they have been through all sorts of experiences (good & bad)

–         Sarah was loyal to Abraham through thick & thin – but she was not one to ride on the coat tails of her husband’s faith

–         Sarah had her own relationship with God

–         Her faith was hard won and tested in the disappointment of barrenness

–         Sarah went from hope to despair and beyond, then back again

In losing Sarah, Abraham lost a great deal

–         Verse 2 tells us that Abraham went to mourn for Sarah and weep over her

–         Abraham is in touch with his soul – he knows who he is and what is important to him. He is comfortable being himself and isn’t trying to be something different

–         Because Abraham is in touch with his soul he is able to face loss honestly, without denial. When lightning strikes he feels the thunder

 

To mourn is to show the sorrow you feel for the death of someone

–         People in the ancient world mourned or showed their sorrow in a number of ways including wearing sackcloth, sitting in solemn silence, putting ashes on their head, tearing their clothes and so on

–         These days we mourn in quite different ways

–         We don’t wear sack cloth but we might wear black clothes

–         We don’t throw ashes on our head but we might dress up for a funeral or hang out with friends & family to share stories

However we do it, mourning is a way of being in touch with our soul and showing others the thunder we are feeling on the inside

–         Mourning is the opposite of hiding our feelings

–         Mourning is refusing to pretend we are okay when we are not feeling ok

–         Mourning means expressing our grief rather than holding it in

–         Mourning is a way of spring cleaning our soul, as opposed to sweeping things under the carpet

–         Many of us in this congregation have done quite a bit of mourning lately

 

We’re not told specifically how Abraham mourned, except that he wept

–         This reminds us of Jesus who wept at the grave of his friend Lazarus

–         Weeping releases something in us – it sets us free is some small way

–         Tears are like oil in an engine – tears lubricate the inner workings of our soul so things don’t over heat or seize up

–         Tears reduce the friction caused by death

Of course, when anyone dies there are usually a lot of practical things to organise – so Abraham doesn’t wallow in his sorrow

–         He takes a positive step – he rises to buy some land in order to bury Sarah

 

Abraham buys land:

Victor Hugo, the writer of the book Les Miserables, has a quote…

–         Virtue has a veil, vice a mask

A bride wears a veil over her face as a sign of her modesty – her purity

–         A veil is both delicate and transparent

–         It allows people to see who you are without giving everything away

A mask, on the other hand, is something people hide behind

–         People who wear masks are pretending to be something they are not

–         Virtue has a veil, vice a mask

–         Abraham has a veil, the Hittites (it seems) are wearing a mask

 

Abraham approaches the Hittites in the gate of their city

–         The gate of ancient cities wasn’t just an entry point – it was more importantly a place where legal decisions were made

–         Most ancient cultures were oral cultures, as opposed to writing cultures

–         So if you wanted to make an agreement or settle a dispute you didn’t do this in writing – you did it by speaking publicly with the people involved in front of respected witnesses

–         Abraham goes to the gate because he wants to legally purchase land

Abraham approaches the Hittites in an attitude of humility & vulnerability, as one wearing a veil – modest and transparent

–         He doesn’t come in force, nor does he beg – he is gracious & true saying,

I am a foreigner and a stranger among you. Sell me some property for a burial site here so I can bury my dead.

Abraham is a ‘resident alien’ – he doesn’t have full citizenship rights so he can’t buy & sell land without permission from the locals

–         There is a certain irony here – Abraham is asking permission to buy the land that God has already promised to give him

–         Abraham doesn’t use God as an excuse to take the land by force – he doesn’t start a holy war with the Hittites to get what he wants, no

–         Abraham modestly puts himself somewhere near the bottom of the social ladder – he humbles himself before the people of the land

 

Again we see something of Jesus in Abraham – I’m reminded of Philippians 2 where the apostle Paul writes…

–         Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant…

–         Abraham didn’t grasp the land – but humbled himself saying, I’m a foreigner and an stranger among you

But at the same time he is quite direct & straight up about what he wants

–         There’s no hidden agenda – everything is above board & transparent

–         He wants to own a permanent stake in the land

The Hittites replied to Abraham, “Sir, listen to us. You are a mighty prince among us. Bury your dead in the choicest of our tombs. None of us will refuse you his tomb for burying your dead.”

The Hebrew which is translated as ‘mighty prince’ there, literally means ‘a prince of God’ [3] (i.e. a prince of Elohim)

–         The Hittites recognise that Abraham has a special relationship with God

–         However, their politeness is somewhat of a mask – the truth is they are reluctant to sell any land to Abraham

–         Behind the mask they are saying, ‘you are welcome to use our land to bury your dead but we want to retain ownership’

Abraham is not so keen on that idea so he wisely requests that they ask Ephron (on his behalf) if he will sell his cave

–         That’s a smart move – Abraham isn’t getting the response he wants from the group so he gets more specific by asking an individual

–         This also shows that Abraham has done his homework – he knows the particular place he wants for a burial site and who owns that land

–         Ephron’s land is near Mamre, which is a sacred place for Abraham because God met Abraham at Mamre

Ephron happens to be there at the gate and says, ‘I’ll give you the field and the cave to bury your dead.’

–         Now, as generous as that sounds, Ephron is not offering to give the land to Abraham for nothing. It’s just a polite (masked) way of saying ‘let’s negotiate’. After all, Abraham didn’t ask for the field, just the cave

–         The fact that Ephron is now making the field part of the deal is a sign to Abraham that he is about to get more than he bargained for

Abraham is not interested in playing games – he gets to the point as quickly as he can and offers to pay Ephron

–         Ephron says the price is 400 shekels of silver – but what’s that between me and you?

–         Well, I can tell you 400 shekels is a lot – more than your average worker could expect to earn in a life time

–         But what can Abraham do? Ephron has him over a barrel

–         He needs to bury Sarah soon, before her body starts decomposing

–         Abraham agrees to Ephron’s terms without haggling with him – which is unusual in that culture. But it’s not about the money for Abraham

–         Clearly Abraham values his wife Sarah – he will gladly pay the price for the woman he loves

By paying what Ephron asked and not negotiating the price down, Abraham reduces the risk of the sale being contested in the future

–         No one can argue that Abraham ripped Ephron off with blankets & beads

–         Abraham is looking to the future – he is staking his claim in the land that God has promised him

–         You see, in that culture people had a strong desire to be buried with their ancestors in their native land. By purchasing a burial place in Canaan Abraham demonstrated his unswerving commitment to the Lord’s promise. [4] Canaan was his new homeland.

 

“The Kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then went and sold all he had and bought that field.”

–         Like the man in Jesus’ parable, Abraham was prepared to pay whatever was necessary to gain the treasure (the hope) that field promised

 

Hope for exiles:

This story of Abraham buying land in Canaan is really a story of hope for the exiles

Many centuries later Abraham’s descendants (the nation of Israel) were under siege by the Babylonians and the city of Jerusalem was about to fall

–         The people were facing either death or exile to a foreign land

–         At the very point of facing defeat God tells his prophet, Jeremiah, to buy a field

–         In many ways it was a crazy financial decision – buying land just weeks before the Babylonians seized possession of it

–         But God asked Jeremiah to do this as a sign of hope in the face of death & exile

–         The Lord was saying to the people, ‘I will restore you and your land. One day you will again buy & sell property in Canaan and live in safety’

 

In some ways it was similar with Abraham

–         Abraham was facing death – he had just lost his dear wife Sarah and he was, by this stage, an old man himself, at 137

–         As a resident alien, a landless foreigner, Abraham was also a kind of exile

–         He had left the land of his birth to follow the call of God and now Canaan was his new homeland – but he wasn’t yet a full citizen so he was sort like an exile in his own country

–         Buying real estate was a courageous act of hope – It was a way of saying our present circumstance does not determine our future

–         Beyond death there is resurrection – life with abundance

–         Beyond exile there is restoration – belonging with peace

 

New Zealand has undergone rapid change in recent years. Some of those changes have been good but other changes have been detrimental to community

–         I heard someone say recently that, ‘Culturally speaking, the church in NZ is in exile at the moment.’ There is truth in that statement

–         To be a Christian in NZ is to be like a resident alien in your own country

–         It’s not quite as difficult for us as it was for Abraham – we can still buy & sell property for example

–         But to a large extent the way of Christ is a foreign concept to our society

–         Even the stories of the Bible are foreign to many people today

–         We are a minority and we are not in power

 

Conclusion:

So what are we to do? Well, we take a leaf out Abraham’s book

We stay in touch with our soul so that we can face loss honestly, without denial

–         When lightning strikes we feel the thunder

–         We don’t pretend it doesn’t hurt – we mourn, we weep

–         But we don’t wallow in our sorrow either

–         After our tears we rise and act positively, doing what needs to be done

 

When dealing with those who don’t share our faith we wear a veil, not a mask

–         We don’t give everything away but we don’t pretend to be something we are not either – we don’t fake it, nor compromise who we are

–         We humble ourselves, remaining modest & transparent

–         We don’t seize, by force, what God has promised – we pay our dues

–         We don’t wage a holy war against our neighbours – we seek the peace, the wholeness, the shalom of the city in which we live

 

Above all we face death & exile with a spirit of hope – a determined belief that God’s kingdom will come in our land one day

–         That doesn’t necessarily mean we go round buying up real estate

–         The field where our treasure is buried is not a literal patch of dirt

–         Jesus is the treasure – Jesus embodies the Kingdom of God in his person – so the field is wherever we find Jesus

Three places we are likely find Jesus…

–         In the Bible

–         In right relationship with other believers

–         And in our own experience of suffering

But the key to finding Jesus is the Holy Spirit

–         So when we read the Bible we ask the Holy Spirit to illuminate Christ in the Scriptures – to shine his light on what we are reading so we can see the heart of God

–         And when we are hanging out with other Christians we ask the Holy Spirit to connect us – so we are aware of the presence of Christ among us (Where two or three are gathered in his name, Jesus is with them)

–         And when we are going through a difficult time we ask the Holy Spirit to make us one with Christ in his suffering – for if we share in his suffering we will also share in his glory

 

Questions for discussion or reflection:

1.)    What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon?

2.)    Can you think of a time in your life when lightning struck and then thunder followed a little later? What happened?

–         What does it mean to be in touch with your soul?

–         How in touch with your soul are you?

3.)    What does it mean to mourn?

–         How do you mourn?

–         Why is it important not to wallow in our sorrow?

4.)    Victor Hugo said, “Virtue has a veil, vice a mask”.

–         What do you think this means? How is a veil different from a mask?

–         In what sense did Abraham wear a veil in his dealings with the Hittites?

5.)    What is the significance of Abraham insisting on buying land to own in perpetuity, as opposed to borrowing a tomb to bury Sarah?

6.)    Discuss (or reflect on) the similarities and differences between Abraham’s and Jeremiah’s real estate purchases

–         How was the purchase of land an act of hope in the face of death & exile?

–         What acts of hope might we perform in the face of death & exile?

7.)    In what sense is the church in NZ in exile at the moment?

–         What can we do in a context of cultural exile?

8.)    Take some time this week to find the treasure of Jesus (with the help of the Holy Spirit)…

–         By reading the Bible

–         Spending time with other Christians

–         Or in some difficulty you are facing at present

 

 

[1] Jesus, quoted in Matthew 13:44.

[2] https://www.wikihow.com/Calculate-the-Distance-from-Lightning

[3] Refer Bruce Waltke’s commentary on Genesis, page 318.

[4] Refer footnote to Genesis 23:19 in the NIV Study Bible, page 40.

Tawa Baptist

God’s comfort

Scripture: Isaiah 40:1-11

Title: God’s comfort

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • God’s comfort
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

This morning we follow the lectionary reading for the second Sunday in Advent

–         In case you’re wondering what a lectionary is, it’s simply a list of prescribed Bible readings for each day

–         And the Old Testament reading prescribed for today (the 10th December 2017) is Isaiah 40:1-11

–         As I keep saying the word Advent means ‘coming’

–         Isaiah 40 is about the advent (or the coming) of the Lord.

–         From verse 1 we read…

 

Comfort, O comfort my people, says your God. Speak to Jerusalem’s heart, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.

3 A voice of one calling: “In the wilderness prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. 4 Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. 5 And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all people will see it together. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

6 A voice says, “Cry out.”

And I said, “What shall I cry? All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field. 7 The grass withers and the flowers fall, because the breath of the Lord blows on them. Surely the people are grass. 8 The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever.”

9 You who bring good news to Zion, go up on a high mountain. You who bring good news to Jerusalem, lift up your voice with a shout, lift it up, do not be afraid; say to the towns of Judah, “Here is your God!” 10 See, the Sovereign Lord comes with power, and he rules with a mighty arm. See, his reward is with him, and his recompense accompanies him. 11 He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young.

 

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate this Scripture for us

 

God’s comfort:

By the rivers of Babylon, where we sat down

There we wept, as we remembered Zion…

 

Can anyone tell me the name of the 1970’s pop group who sang that song?

–         [Wait for people to reply…]

–         Yes, that’s right, it was Boney M.

 

Now can anyone tell me where they got the idea and words for that song?

–         [Wait for people to reply…]

–         ‘By the rivers of Babylon’ comes from Psalm 137, a song of lament, written by the Jews living in exile in Mesopotamia

 

In 586 BC King Nebucadnezzar destroyed the city of Jerusalem, killed thousands and forced many of the survivors to leave their homeland

–         This all happened because the people of Judah had broken faith with God

–         They had betrayed the Lord and dragged his name through the mud

–         So God left the temple and let his people suffer the consequences of their own injustice

–         The surviving Jews were held captive as exiles in Mesopotamia for about 70 years. Isaiah chapters 40-55 are words of comfort & hope for the exiles

 

Probably, for most of us here, the word comfort is a soft word

–         When I hear the word ‘comfort’ I tend to think of a pillow for my head or comfort food, like ice-cream, or a soft toy for comforting a small child

–         But I don’t think this is what God has in mind when he says, ‘Comfort my people’

 

If you are lost in the bush then having a compass is far more comforting than having a pillow

–         Or if you are trapped in a deep hole, then being thrown a rope is far more comforting than being thrown a tub of ice-cream

–         Or if you fall overboard at sea, then wearing a lifejacket is more comforting than holding a teddy bear

–         The comfort God offers gives real, tangible meaning & hope in the most bitter and hopeless of circumstances

–         It’s the comfort of a compass and a rope and a life jacket, not the comfort of pillows and ice-cream and soft toys

 

The people are hurting, they have suffered much and so the Lord says: speak comfort to Jerusalem’s heart

–         The heart of Jerusalem is not it’s buildings or its sacred sites

–         The heart of Jerusalem is its people

–         So when God says speak to Jerusalem’s heart he is really saying, speak to the people of Jerusalem

–         And in the context of Isaiah 40, written hundreds of years before Christ, most of the people of Jerusalem are living in exile, they are not actually living in the city itself – so this message of comfort is meant for the exiles

 

We’ve heard a bit about Jerusalem in the news this past week

–         Donald Trump’s words were comforting to the Israelis but very discomforting to the Palestinians

–         I wonder what it would mean to speak words of comfort to Jerusalem’s heart today (roughly 2,500 years later)

–         If the heart of Jerusalem is it’s people then we would have to say Jerusalem’s heart is divided today

–         Ethnically speaking the people of Jerusalem aren’t just Jewish, they are also Palestinian

–         And from a religious perspective they’re not just orthodox Jews, they are also Muslim and Christian and other things besides.

 

I don’t think Jesus would get involved in a political argument over who Jerusalem belongs to

–         Jesus died for the Israelis and the Palestinians – he loves them both

–         Donald Trump is trying answer the wrong question

–         The question is not: Who owns Jerusalem?

–         The question is: Will you be ready when Jesus returns?

 

Verse 2 continues …proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed

–         In Hebrew, the term hard service is the same term used for compulsory military service

–         So it is like saying to the exiles that their tour of duty is over

–         No more war for them, no more destruction and chaos – they have done their time

 

The last part of verse 2 reads…

–         Proclaim… that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.

–         Now when I first read this, I thought to myself, it sounds like Israel has paid for her own sins by suffering punishment from God

–         And that God has punished her twice over – more than she deserved

–         But that can’t be right – God is just & merciful – with God the punishment is never greater than the crime

 

Israel’s injustice toward God and their neighbours was like an infected wound that had to be cleansed, quarterised and dressed

–         Their hard service wasn’t so much payment for their sin as it was painful but necessary surgery to heal a wound

 

I was sitting in WINZ the other day (as you do) and they had this advertisement playing on their TV, with three guys in the pub betting on the races

–         One of the guys spent his wife’s hard earned money on a horse to win but he lost it all and ‘Guilty Feeling’ won instead

–         As a consequence the power bill didn’t get paid

–         Worse than this though the man had to live with the consequences of having abused his wife’s trust

 

Israel were like the guy in the ad with the gambling problem

–         They had bet on idolatry and broken trust with the Lord

–         God allowed Israel to suffer the consequences of their sin and disobedience so the nation would be humbled and learn their lesson

–         It was a kind of tough love approach by God, in much the same way that we might have to show tough love to someone with a gambling addiction

 

When the text says, She has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins, it doesn’t mean that God has punished Israel twice over for her wrong

–         It means that God himself has paid for Israel’s mistakes in full

–         You see, the word double does not mean twice over, in this context

–         The Hebrew word for double here means two sided (or double sided)

–         The same word is used in Job 11:6, which reads …for true wisdom has two sides. Know this: God has even forgotten some of your sin.

–         So to receive from God ‘double’ actually means that God has paid for (or forgiven) all of Israel’s sins

–         Not just the ones that Israel knows about but also the sins they are not conscious of – the sins on the flipside

 

Have you ever wondered about the sins you have committed without being aware of it? I have.

–         On the rare occasions that I buy an item of clothing I wonder whether it was made with slave labour

–         I don’t break into people’s homes and steal stuff but I do participate in a global economic system that transfers wealth from the poor to the rich in unjust ways – we are all part of that system whether we like it or not

–         Unless we were to live in the desert making our own clothes, eating locusts and wild honey I don’t see how we can avoid being complicit

–         The good news is that God’s forgiveness for us is double sided

–         Christ has paid for our all our sins – both the ones we know of and the ones we don’t.

–         I’m not suggesting that means we can turn a blind eye to injustice

–         The point is: God’s grace is often far greater than we imagine

 

In verses 3-5 of Isaiah 40 we hear a voice calling…

–         “In the wilderness prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God…”

 

With these verses the Jewish exiles are being told that the Lord God, Yahweh, is coming and they are to build a highway for him

 

Construction of Transmission Gully is well underway – a 27 kilometre four-lane motorway which will run from Mackays Crossing to Linden, through Transmission Gully.

–         The new motorway is scheduled to be open for traffic in 2020.

 

Developing the Transmission Gully Motorway was controversial, and was a topic of considerable debate in Wellington politics for some time.

–         There are anecdotal accounts that the American Marines were keen to build a road inland through Transmission Gully in World War II, but the government did not have the material (the concrete) to spare.

 

Building a literal highway for regular motorists in the 21st Century is a significant and costly undertaking

–         Building a metaphorical highway for the Lord is also a significant task – it means personal & corporate change, repentance basically

–         Straightening out our lifestyle so we are ready when Jesus returns

 

It is significant that the Lord makes his way through the desert wilderness

–         In the ancient world the wilderness was generally a metaphor for chaos and a place where God was thought to be absent

–         To say the Lord will come to his people through the wilderness is like saying that God will restore order out of the chaos

–         God will make his presence most real in the places he was thought to be most absent

 

As a family, we found God in the desert

–         I don’t mean that we literally drove out to the central plateau to meet God

–         I mean that we became Christians when my grandmother died

–         She had cancer but by the time they discovered it the cancer had spread to her liver and there wasn’t much they could do for her

–         Nan came to live in our house for the last few months of her life before she died. I was about 10 or 11 at the time

–         Now you would think that nothing good could come out of that but actually God came to us through that desert experience

–         He didn’t heal my nan but she did place her trust in Jesus before she passed and as a consequence we began following Jesus too

 

It’s funny how God is often most real for us when we are in a place of deep suffering and disorientation – a desert place

–         It’s our need that makes us open to receive God

–         And it’s the desert that makes us aware of our need

 

Verse 5 says…

–         And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all people will see it together.

–         What does this mean?

–         Well, the word glory can mean a number things depending on the context

–         In Isaiah 40 the glory of the Lord refers to the manifestation of God’s presence. God’s glory is the sign or the indicator that God is present

 

It’s easy to tell when a human being is present – you know that I’m here because I have a physical body that you can see and hear and touch (hopefully you can’t smell me from where you are)

–         In a sense our bodies are our glory – they are a physical manifestation of our presence

–         But God is not like us – he isn’t made of flesh & bones – He is Spirit and so how do we know when God is present?

 

Well, it’s a little bit like knowing whether someone is home or not, without actually going into the house

–         You can usually tell someone is home because their car is in the driveway

–         Or, if it’s night time the lights are on and, if its dinner time, you might smell food cooking

–         We could say the car, the lights and the cooking smells are the glory of the house, in the sense that they are signs of the homeowner’s presence

 

God’s glory, his presence, can be seen in a whole variety of ways

–         We might see God’s glory (or presence) manifest in a sunrise or when our prayers are answered or when someone makes a decision to follow Jesus

 

For me personally, one sign of God’s glory (or presence) in my day is synchronicity – being in the right place at the right time

–         For example, last Thursday someone from water services came to fix the leaky water toby behind the hall

–         Just as I was hopping into my car to leave for an offsite appointment I noticed the plumber coming round the back of the church

–         He was having trouble finding the leaky toby – and to be fair it is hard to find, being half way up the bank hidden in the bushes behind the hall

–         So I showed him where the leak was and he fixed it

–         Had I been a minute earlier or later I would have missed him and he probably would have left without fixing the leak

 

Now that might seem to you like a mere coincidence or a minor detail

–         But for me it was a manifestation of God’s glory, a small sign of His presence in my day

–         Had I missed the plumber it would have created more work for me because then I’d have to ring the Council back and get them to send someone again – which would be a bit of a wind up

–         By making sure I was in the right place at the right time God saved both me and the plumber time & frustration

–         Little things like that are a great comfort to me because they demonstrate in a very real and practical way that God is present – I’m not alone

 

When the people of Israel left their slavery in Egypt the Lord led them by a pillar of fire & cloud – this pillar was another form of the glory of God

–         People could look at the pillar and see that God was present with them, sort of like seeing the lights on at night and knowing the owner of the house was at home – it was a tremendous comfort to the people

–         In ancient Israel the Tabernacle and then later the temple in Jerusalem were also manifestations of God’s glory (signs of his presence)

 

Obviously when the temple was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BC that was a sign that the lights were off, that God’s glory had departed and the Lord’s presence had left the building

–         So when it says in verse 5 the glory of the Lord will be revealed, the exiles can draw strength & comfort in the certain knowledge that God’s presence is returning to them – they are not alone

–         Verse 5 doesn’t tell us specifically how God’s glory will be revealed

–         Initially, we could say it was revealed in the return of the exiles and the rebuilding of the temple

–         But looking beyond that we know (from our vantage point in history) that God’s glory is perfectly revealed in the person of Jesus Christ

 

Over 500 years later the gospel writers would use these words from Isaiah 40 in reference to John the Baptist and Jesus

–         They would identify John as the voice of one calling in the wilderness

–         And they would name Jesus as the glory of the Lord revealed to all humankind

–         For it is through the humanity of Jesus that God chose to make visible his presence with his people

–         And it is through the suffering of Jesus that God chose to reveal his glory

 

In verses 3-5 we heard the voice of someone calling in the wilderness

–         Then in verses 6-8 we hear a different voice, or rather two voices:

–         A heavenly voice and human voice [1]

–         The heavenly voice says, “Cry out”

–         And the human voice responds, “What shall I cry? All people are like grass, & all their glory is like the flowers of the field. 7 The grass withers & the flowers fall, because the breath of the Lord blows on them…”

 

Last year we went to the West Coast of the South Island for a bit of a look around – we’d never been there before

–         We stopped at Franz Joseph for a night or two

–         I remember walking up the valley toward the glacier with these massive stone cliffs either side of us

–         The valley had been carved out of solid rock over many thousands of years as the glacier ice moved backwards and forwards through the valley

–         We are here for 70 or 80 years maybe, if we’re lucky but this valley, the mountains and the glacier, had been there for millennia upon millennia

–         It gives you a sense of the fleeting nature of human life

 

Being in a place as old as that begs the question: What is the meaning of our lives when our lives are so short?

–         In a paradoxical sort of way though, being close to something so ancient actually comforted me

–         It quieted my soul, putting all my worries & anxieties into perspective

 

The human voice (in verses 6 & 7) sounds a note of despair, which is what we would expect from someone who has lost so much and was living in exile

–         It’s like this person is saying: What’s the point in telling people that God is coming? By the time he arrives we’ll probably be dead anyway

–         What’s the point in comforting people, we are like flowers, here today and gone tomorrow – human life is so fragile, so fleeting and God’s advent (His coming) is so slow (like a glacier)

–         But despair eventually gives way to hope for the word of our God endures forever 

–         It is the enduring nature of God’s word that puts our worries into perspective and gives meaning to the transitory nature of human life

–         God’s word is super food for our soul when we are starved for meaning

 

We hear the content of the message of comfort in verses 10 & 11…

–         See, the Sovereign Lord comes with power, and he rules with a mighty arm. See, his reward is with him, and his recompense accompanies him.

 

The image we have of God here is that of a mighty warrior king

–         If you are a weak, vulnerable, defenceless nation then it is a comfort knowing you are under the protection of the most powerful force on earth

–         Or, to use another analogy, if you are being held hostage it is a comfort knowing the Navy Seals are on their way to your rescue

 

The reward accompanying God (the warrior King) is most likely a poetic reference to the Jewish exiles – the people are the treasure, the recompense

–         God is about to set his captive people free and lead them back from exile to their homeland in Judea and Jerusalem

 

But God is not one dimensional – there are many facets and layers to God’s character

–         As well as being a warrior King the Lord is also a shepherd gathering the lambs in his arms and carrying them close to his heart, gently leading those with young

 

Not only is God powerful & strong like a warrior King (so that no enemy can resist), he is also tender & gentle like a shepherd (so the weak won’t be left behind) [2]

–         These twin images offer real practical comfort to the people

 

Conclusion:

When we put it all together the message is…

–         God is on the move and the exiles’ sense of God’s absence will soon be replaced by a sense of God’s presence

–         This is good news – a message of real comfort

–         Not the soft superficial comfort of pillows, ice-cream and teddy bears

–         But the real life saving comfort of a compass when we are lost in the bush, or a rope from above when we are at the bottom of a pit, or a life jacket when we fall overboard

 

In John 14, the night before he died, Jesus spoke words of comfort to his disciples – He promised them the gift of His Holy Spirit

–         God’s Spirit is intimately connected with God’s glory

–         It is by God’s Spirit that we become aware of God’s presence both in the ordinary things of our lives as well as the extra-ordinary

 

Questions for reflection or discussion:

 

1.)  What sort of comfort is meant in Isaiah 40?

–         What comforts you?

2.)  Reflect / discuss the double sided forgiveness of God

3.)  How do we prepare a highway for the Lord?

4.)  What is the significance of God coming through the desert wilderness?

–         Think of a time when God has met you in (or through) a desert experience

5.)  What is the glory of the Lord?

–         How do you know God is present with you?

6.)  How does Jesus reveal the glory of God?

7.)  Ask God to make you aware of presence this Advent season and make a note of how he answers your prayer

 

https://soundcloud.com/tawabaptist/10-dec-2017-gods-comfort

 

[1] These speech marks follow the NIV translation.  The original Hebrew doesn’t have speech marks.

[2] Refer Barry Webb’s commentary on Isaiah, page 163.