Tawa Baptist

Changing Spots

Scripture: Genesis 38:1-26

Video Link: https://youtu.be/SHr5xYlysAQ

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Genesis 38:1-11
  • Genesis 38:12-23
  • Genesis 38:24-26
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

Let me ask you a question. It’s a rhetorical question, so you don’t need to answer. Can a leopard change its spots?

The Lord God posed this question to his people through the prophet Jeremiah many centuries ago. It’s a question that is still relevant today. Can a leopard change its spots? It’s like asking, can people change their ways? Can bad character be re-formed into good character?

Today we continue our sermon series on the life of Joseph by focusing on Genesis 38. Last week we heard how Joseph’s brothers sold Joseph into slavery and then deceived their father into thinking that Joseph had been killed by a wild animal.

This week, the focus shifts off Joseph and Jacob and onto Judah. Judah was Jacob’s fourth son and Joseph’s half-brother. It was Judah’s idea to sell Joseph into slavery. Judah was the opposite of Joseph. Joseph was sincere and virtuous, while Judah was calculating and immoral.

Among other things, Genesis 38 addresses the question of whether a leopard can change its spots. It shows how God re-formed Judah’s character.   

Genesis 38:1-11

Genesis 38 begins with Judah leaving home. If the home environment you grew up in was violent or toxic, then sometimes the best thing to do is leave. Nothing changes if nothing changes. But you need to leave to something better. Otherwise you may be jumping out of the fry pan and into the fire. 

Judah’s family was dysfunctional and Judah contributed to that dysfunction. Unfortunately, when Judah left, he did not leave to something better. Judah went to live with the pagan Canaanites.

As Bruce Waltke observes, “Judah’s geographical descent from Hebron’s heights to Canaan’s lowlands mirrors his spiritual condition”. [1]

Judah makes a moral decline. He has little regard for God’s ways or God’s purpose. Far from having a positive effect in the world, Judah conforms to the Canaanite way of life against the purpose of God. He marries a Canaanite woman and has three sons: Er, Onan & Shelah.

After some time, Judah found a Canaanite wife for his eldest son Er. Her name was Tamar. We are not told what Er did, only that his conduct was so evil in the Lord’s sight that God put him to death.

God, who sees the heart, must have known that Er would never change his spots and, perhaps as a way of protecting others from harm, God took back Er’s life.

Now, we need to be careful in reading a verse like this. We cannot make a formula out of Er’s death. Just because someone dies young or experiences some kind of misfortune, it does not automatically follow that God is displeased with them or punishing them.

There are plenty of bad people in this world who live long and prosper. Just as there are many good people who suffer injustice or die young. Next week we will hear how Joseph was sent to prison for doing the right thing.

Jesus was without sin and he was nailed to a cross. The test that someone has found favour with God is not health or wealth in this world. Rather it is resurrection to eternal life. Yes, Jesus died a horrific death at just 33 years of age, but God vindicated Jesus by raising him from the dead.

When it comes to suffering in this life, there is no formula for explaining it. Sometimes life is fair and sometimes it isn’t. The challenge of faith is believing that God is fair, even when circumstance is not, and that God can redeem suffering. He can work it for good.

Er died without fathering any children, so Judah said to his second son, Onan…

“Go and sleep with your brother’s widow [with Tamar]. Fulfil your obligation to her as her husband’s brother, so that your brother may have descendants.”

This is called ‘Levirate marriage’. Levirate marriage was a practical way of taking care of the family. By marrying the dead man’s wife and giving her children, the living brother was giving his dead brother descendants. And he was providing food, shelter & children for the widow, so that she wasn’t destitute. It was a form of social security.

Levirate marriage may seem strange to us. Probably there are some women here who would prefer not to marry their brother-in-law. But in the culture of Genesis 38 it was considered the honourable thing to do.

In effect, Judah was asking Onan to take Tamar into his household and get her pregnant. If Tamar gave birth to a boy, then that boy would be considered Er’s son, not Onan’s son. In other words, the boy born to Tamar would receive Er’s inheritance (as first born) which means there would be less for Onan.

Onan did not like this idea, but he did not want to lose face either, so he faked it. He slept with Tamar in a way that ensured she did not get pregnant. Coitus Interruptus. Onan repeatedly took advantage of Tamar and only pretended to do the right thing.

What Onan did was wicked in the Lord’s sight; so the Lord put him to death also.

Let’s reflect on the bigger picture for a moment. Judah had robbed his father Jacob of his favourite son Joseph. Now Judah learns what it is to become a father and lose two sons. Judah is reaping what he sowed.

Sometimes God allows us to experience the consequences of our actions as a way of preparing us for change. Consequences don’t necessarily effect immediate change, but they can lay the groundwork for long term change.    

The loss of two of his sons does not change Judah for the better in the short term. All it does is make Judah more fearful, more self-interested. What if Tamar is bad luck? Or worse, what if she is a witch? Judah doesn’t want to risk his third son. Fear has Judah running from change.

We notice a certain obtuseness from Judah here. He is spiritually insensitive. Judah seems blind to his sons’ wrongdoing. Instead of facing the fact that his sons were not good people, he superstitiously suspects that Tamar is to blame. 

Judah kicks for touch, he plays it safe and sends Tamar back to her father’s house in mourning, telling her to wait until his youngest son Shelah is old enough for marriage.  

This was another act of deception on Judah’s part. He had no intention of giving Tamar to his youngest son in marriage.

Judah’s spots don’t show any sign of changing at this point.  Judah denies Tamar the freedom to marry anyone else but at the same time he doesn’t provide for her through his son Shelah. Judah’s deception of Tamar is cruel, just as his deception of Jacob had been cruel.

Genesis 38:12-23

After a long time, Judah’s wife died. When it became clear that Judah had no intention of letting Tamar marry Shelah, Tamar came up with her own plan of subterfuge.  

Tamar changed out of her widow’s clothes, covered her face with a veil and sat down at the entrance to the town of Enaim, knowing Judah would pass that way.  

When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute, so he went over to her and said, ‘Come now, let me sleep with you.’ He had no idea who he was talking to.

Tamar said, ‘What will you give me to sleep with you?’ Judah doesn’t realise it, but this is a loaded question. Tamar is hoping he will give her children.

Judah replies, ‘I will send you a young goat from my flock’. This shows that Judah is acting on impulse. He has an itch that needs scratching. He didn’t come prepared to hire a prostitute, but he also doesn’t have much self-control.

The fact that Judah is unprepared plays right into Tamar’s hands. She asks for Judah’s seal with its cord and the staff he is carrying.

Men in the ancient world carried a seal around their neck on a cord. The seal was the shape of a cylinder with unique markings on it which could be rolled over soft clay to authenticate a transaction.

The staff Judah carried was a symbol of his authority, also with unique markings to identify that it belonged to him. In today’s terms Judah was basically giving Tamar his credit card and driver’s licence as guarantees of payment.

Judah is a victim of his own lust and ego. If you give away your moral authority, like Judah did, then you tend to lose other forms of personal authority also.

Judah hands over the symbols of his power and authority to Tamar without realising what he is doing. Once again, Judah is reaping what he sowed. Just as Judah deceived his father Jacob, now Tamar deceives Judah.      

There is a significant difference in Tamar’s deception though. Unlike Judah who deceives for his own selfish ends, Tamar deceives with the more honourable motivation of preserving the family line. Some call it a faithful deception.

After Judah sleeps with Tamar, she becomes pregnant by him. Later Judah sends the young goat he promised but Tamar is no longer there. She has changed back into her widow’s clothes and returned home.

So Judah lets the matter drop. He doesn’t want to become a laughingstock.  

Judah is more concerned with his reputation than he is with doing what is right.

About three months later Judah was told, “Your daughter-in-law Tamar is guilty of prostitution and as a result she is now pregnant.”
Judah said, “Bring her out and have her burned to death.”

If Tamar was guilty then Judah would be expected to respond like this to preserve family honour. But even so, natural justice requires him to test the facts first. Judah is quick to condemn Tamar without a fair trial.

His callous response reveals an ulterior motive. Judah sees this as a convenient opportunity to get rid of his daughter-in-law so that he doesn’t have to give his son to her in marriage. Judah thinks he has found a way to avoid his responsibility while keeping up appearances.   

As readers we can see the double standard. Why is a man called a stud, but a woman is called a slut? Why is it her fault when he is the one who is angry?

Why can’t Judah see what lurks in his own shadow?

Genesis 38:24-26

As Tamar was being brought out, she sent a message to her father-in-law.

“I am pregnant by the man who owns these,” she said. And she added, “See if you recognise whose seal and cord and staff these are.”

‘Do you recognise your own credit card and driver’s license, Judah?’ Mic drop.

In the original Hebrew, Judah literally says, ‘She is righteous, not I.’

Now we might ask, ‘How can the Hebrew Bible say that Tamar is righteous?

She tricked her father-in-law into sleeping with her and, according to the Bible, sex outside of marriage is a sin. Well, Tamar’s example does not give us a licence to deceive people and sleep around.  

Tamar is declared righteous because she acted in faith and loyalty for the well-being of Judah’s family.  

When we consider how risky Tamar’s plan was, we realise that God was helping her every step of the way. There was so much that could have gone wrong but didn’t.

What if someone else tried to solicit Tamar before Judah came along?

What if Judah ignored Tamar as she sat disguised by the side of the road?

What if Judah had not given Tamar his seal and staff?    

What if Judah had recognised Tamar?

What if Tamar had sex with Judah but didn’t get pregnant?

What if Judah had denied any wrongdoing and accused Tamar of stealing his seal and staff and lying about it?

Tamar acted in faith, taking some huge risks to her personal safety, all so she could do the right thing by Judah’s family. Tamar risked her life to give life.    

Returning to the question we started with, can a leopard change its spots? Can a person like Judah change their ways?   

Well, Judah changed his environment and went to live with the Canaanites but that didn’t make him better. If anything, it made him worse. Becoming a husband and a father didn’t change Judah either.

And when he suffered the loss of two of his sons and his wife, there was still no positive change. If anything, these losses only made Judah more fearful and more self-interested.    

A leopard may not be able to change its spots, but God can. Judah could not change his ways, but God did change Judah. God reformed Judah’s character by grace and God’s grace came in the form of Tamar, a Canaanite woman from the wrong side of the tracks, the one no expected.

We can rightly call Tamar the heroine of this story because she saved Judah from himself. God used Tamar’s brave faith as the catalyst for Judah’s repentance and transformation.

The tipping point for character change is honest confession. Judah’s humiliation (at being found out) goes hand in hand with his honest confession and the first steps of his conversion. Nothing changes until Judah is honest with himself.      

God rewarded Tamar’s faith with twin boys (Perez & Zerah) to replace the two sons Judah had lost. This is the grace of God. Tamar literally gives birth to the grace of God for Judah. She mediates God’s grace to Judah.

One thing to note here is that we don’t always reap what we sow. Judah had been quick to condemn Tamar to death for prostitution. By that measure Judah himself should have been killed also. But God in his grace does not punish Judah. God blesses Judah when Judah has done nothing to deserve it. 

When Judah realises that he is the father of Tamar’s babies he knows that God is giving him another chance. And in response to God’s grace, Judah repents. He acknowledges Tamar’s righteousness, and he does not sleep with her again.

God changes Judah. We don’t see all the changes in Genesis 38. But, towards the end of the Joseph story, we see what real character change looks like.

By his grace God changes Judah from being deceitful to being truthful.

From being insincere to being authentic.

From being powerful to being vulnerable.

From being hypocritical to being humble.

From being sexually promiscuous to being self-controlled.

From being callous to being compassionate.

Perhaps the greatest transformation to Judah’s character though was the change from self-interest to self-sacrifice. 

In Genesis 44, when the brothers go to Egypt to buy grain, Judah (the former slave trader) offers himself as a slave in Benjamin’s place. Judah offers himself as a sacrificial lamb to save his family.   

Conclusion

Both Tamar and Judah are mentioned in Jesus’ genealogy (in Matthew 1).

Each of them points to Jesus in different ways.  

Tamar points to Jesus as one who mediates God’s grace to sinners.

And Judah points to Jesus who offers his life on the cross to redeem creation.  

What spots is God changing in your character?

May the Lord guide us in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Amen.  

Questions for discussion or reflection:

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

  • Can a leopard change its spots? Can a person change their ways? Can bad character be reformed?
  • In what ways does Judah reap what he sowed? Can you think of a time in your life when you reaped what you sowed? (Whether good or bad.) What happened? Can you think of a time in your life when God (in his grace) saved you from reaping what you sowed? What happened?
  • Why does Judah say, “She is righteous, not I”? Why is Tamar considered righteous in this situation? Why is honest confession necessary / important for character change?    
  • What changes does God bring about to Judah’s character? How does God change Judah’s character?
  • Looking back over your life, so far, what changes has God brought about to your character? How did God effect these changes?
  • How do Tamar and Judah point to Christ?

[1] Bruce Waltke, ‘Genesis’, page 510.

Tawa Baptist

Connection & Consequences

Scripture: Genesis 37:12-36

Video Link: https://youtu.be/dOELw8qLQqU

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • God’s providence
  • The brothers’ deceit
  • Joseph’s innocence
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

Leonardo da Vinci is quoted as saying…

Learn how to see. Realise that everything connects to everything else.

There is truth in this statement I believe. Everything on this planet is connected. We are part of a complex eco system, part of a global economic system, part of a diverse human culture, part of a long history and part of a web of relationships that is all inter-connected.  

And those connections have consequences. For example, if we put plastic into the ocean, that plastic gets into the food chain which eventually gets into our bodies and affects our health.

If there is a natural disaster in New Zealand or overseas, then we feel an outpouring of compassion for those who have suffered loss. We also feel pain in our pocket as our insurance premiums go up.

If there is a war on the other side of the world, countries are inevitably forced to choose sides. Then before long food and oil shortages drive up commodity prices, making life tougher for everyone.

If someone in your family gets sick or goes to prison or dies, then that places more stress and pressure on the rest of the family. And if the family buckles under the pressure, then the fabric of the community suffers for it.

There are also spiritual connections. Connections we cannot see or understand that have real consequences. Without the sustaining connection of God’s Holy Spirit, life as we know it would collapse.    

I could go on, but you get the point. Everything is connected. What happens to one part has very real consequences for the other parts.

Today we continue our series on the life of Joseph, focusing on Genesis 37:12-36. This passage is full of connections and consequences. We just need to learn to see. From Genesis 37, verse 12 we read…

12 Now Joseph’s brothers had gone to graze their father’s flocks near Shechem, 13 and Israel said to Joseph, “As you know, your brothers are grazing the flocks near Shechem. Come, I am going to send you to them.”

“Very well,” he replied. 14 So he said to him, “Go and see if all is well with your brothers and with the flocks, and bring word back to me.” Then he sent him off from the Valley of Hebron.

When Joseph arrived at Shechem, 15 a man found him wandering around in the fields and asked him, “What are you looking for?” 16 He replied, “I’m looking for my brothers. Can you tell me where they are grazing their flocks?”

17 “They have moved on from here,” the man answered. “I heard them say, ‘Let’s go to Dothan.’” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them near Dothan. 18 But they saw him in the distance, and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him.

19 “Here comes that dreamer!” they said to each other. 20 “Come now, let’s kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns and say that a ferocious animal devoured him. Then we’ll see what comes of his dreams.”

21 When Reuben heard this, he tried to rescue him from their hands. “Let’s not take his life,” he said. 22 “Don’t shed any blood. Throw him into this cistern here in the wilderness, but don’t lay a hand on him.”

Reuben said this to rescue him from them and take him back to his father. 23 So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe—the ornate robe he was wearing – 24 and they took him and threw him into the cistern. The cistern was empty; there was no water in it.

25 As they sat down to eat their meal, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were loaded with spices, balm and myrrh, and they were on their way to take them down to Egypt. 26 Judah said to his brothers, “What will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood? 27 Come, let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him; after all, he is our brother, our own flesh and blood.” His brothers agreed. 28 So when the Midianite merchants came by, his brothers pulled Joseph up out of the cistern and sold him for twenty shekelsof silver to the Ishmaelites, who took him to Egypt.

29 When Reuben returned to the cistern and saw that Joseph was not there, he tore his clothes. 30 He went back to his brothers and said, “The boy isn’t there! Where can I turn now?”

31 Then they got Joseph’s robe, slaughtered a goat and dipped the robe in the blood. 32 They took the ornate robe back to their father and said, “We found this. Examine it to see whether it is your son’s robe.”

33 He recognized it and said, “It is my son’s robe! Some ferocious animal has devoured him. Joseph has surely been torn to pieces.” 34 Then Jacob tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and mourned for his son many days. 35 All his sons and daughters came to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. “No,” he said, “I will continue to mourn until I join my son in the grave.” So his father wept for him.

36 Meanwhile, the Midianitessold Joseph in Egypt to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard.

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

Last week we heard about God’s election and God’s revelation. This week’s reading shows us a series of connections and consequences.

In particular, the text draws connections with God’s providence, the brothers’ deceit and Joseph’s innocence. Let’s begin with God’s providence.

God’s Providence:

Some years ago, at the Wellington airport, there was a portrait of Peter Jackson made out of 2,000 pieces of toast, all organised to make a coherent image. Every piece of toast, even the burnt ones, found a purpose in the hands of Maurice Bennett, the artist.

Although we cannot see the artist in the picture, we know there is an artist because the picture makes sense. Toast cannot arrange itself in a meaningful pattern like this. The presence of the artist is revealed in the way the details are connected.  

Although God is not mentioned in today’s reading, we know God is present because, when we zoom out to look at the bigger picture, we see God’s providence.

God’s providence is a term that refers to God’s care and provision for creation. God works with the choices we make (both good and bad) to provide for his creation. God has a way of connecting the dots to give meaning and coherence to our lives.

Augustine has a lovely quote: Trust the past to God’s mercy, the present to God’s love and the future to God’s providence.

We may not be able to see it right now, but God is at work putting things in place and creating connections that will provide for our future.  

We see many providential connections in Genesis 37, which God’s uses to get Joseph to Egypt where the Lord will use Joseph to save millions from starvation.

In verse 12 we read how most of Jacob’s sons had gone with their father’s flock to Shechem.

Now Shechem was a strange place for Jacob’s sons to go really. It was like returning to the scene of the crime. For it was at Shechem that some of Jacob’s sons had massacred a number of people.

Naturally, Jacob would be feeling a bit anxious about his sons returning to a place where they had made enemies. So, Jacob sends Joseph to check that his family are okay.  

In his providence, God uses Jacob’s anxiety as part of the process of getting Joseph to Egypt.  

We see another seemingly random connection in verses 15-17.

Jacob sent Joseph from Hebron to Shechem, which would have meant roughly a four day walk for Joseph. And when Joseph gets to Shechem his brothers are nowhere to be found.

So, there he is, walking around in a lonely part of the countryside when a complete stranger finds him and asks what he is looking for. Joseph says he’s looking for his brothers, and guess what? The stranger just happens to know where Joseph’s brothers are.

We have to ask ourselves, what are the chances of that happening? Pretty slim I would think. Half an hour either way and Joseph probably wouldn’t have met this joker.

By including this detail of Joseph’s ‘chance’ encounter with the stranger the writer means for us to see the hand of God at work here, making sure connections are made.

When Joseph’s brothers see him coming in the distance, they conspire to murder him. They hate Joseph and want to kill his dream. But Reuben intervenes to save Joseph.

Reuben was the eldest son. He had made the mistake of sleeping with one of his stepmothers, that is, one of his father’s wives. So there was a cloud hanging over him. But God still used Reuben to save Joseph’s life, even though things did not go exactly the way Reuben planned.  

While Reuben is gone, Judah suggests selling Joseph to some merchants.

It’s interesting that the slave traders turn up at just the right moment, on their way to Egypt. Interesting also that these merchants just happen to be Ishmaelites and Midianites, cousins of Jacob. Another connection.

God, being the artist he is, chooses to weave other descendants of Abraham into his broader plan of salvation. In today’s terms, it would be like God getting Jews and Arabs to work together to save the Americans.  

God’s providence keeps popping up throughout the Joseph story, but Joseph and his family were not aware of it until after the fact. God’s providence is often only visible in the rear vision mirror.  

As you look back on your life, so far, can you see God’s providence?

Can you see the connections the Lord has made to provide for you?

Are you aware of the consequences of those connections?

Of course, we need to avoid extremes. On the one hand it is not helpful to try and read God’s providence into every little thing that happens. On the other hand, we don’t want to deny the possibility that God is at work in the very things we think are hopeless.  

The Brothers’ Deceit:

Right alongside God’s providence, in today’s reading, we have the brothers’ deceit. After Joseph was sold into slavery his brothers come up with a scheme to hide the truth from their father.

They kill a goat, like a sacrifice, or a scapegoat for themselves and they dip Joseph’s robe in the goat’s blood. Then they show it to their father Jacob.

Notice how crafty the brothers are in doing this. They don’t lie directly to their father. They simply show Jacob the blood-stained coat and allow him to draw his own conclusions.

And Jacob figures the most likely scenario is that Joseph was mauled to death by wild animals.

Like most parents, Jacob reveals a certain blindness here. Jacob does not think for a moment that his sons could be to blame for Joseph’s disappearance. Which is extraordinary. Does he not remember what they did at Shechem? Does he not realise how much they hate Joseph.   

So often we see what we want to see. We deceive ourselves by making the connections we want to make. It’s a self-protection thing.

Those who are familiar with Jacob’s origin story may see a connection here. Jacob is reaping what he sowed. Just as Jacob had taken advantage of his father Isaac’s physical blindness in order to steal the birthright from Esau, so too Jacob’s sons take advantage of their father’s emotional blindness in order to hide what they have done to Joseph.

Connections come with consequences. But not all connections are the same. The closer the connection, the more deeply we feel the consequence. They say a parent is only as happy as their unhappiest child. If your son or daughter is suffering, then you feel it too.

The brothers did not see this connection or realise the consequences for their father. By leading Jacob to believe that Joseph was dead, the brothers put their father in another kind of pit. The pit of grief. Jacob entered into a long depression, refusing to be comforted. Our words and actions have very real consequences for those around us.

The brothers remind us of the religious leaders of Jesus’ day. Pretending to be one thing when all the time they were something else. Jesus was scathing in his rebuke of their hypocrisy.

Jesus understood the damage deceit can cause. Dishonesty destroys trust and trust is essential to abundant life. Trust is the foundation of right relationship. Without trust our relationships collapse. Without trust we feel alone and anxious.     

Joseph’s Innocence:

Like a light in the darkness, Joseph’s innocence stands out against the backdrop of the brothers’ deceit.  

One of the qualities of light is silence. Light makes no sound. You can see it and feel it, but you cannot hear it.

Strangely, the text gives more attention to the brothers’ deceit than it does to Joseph’s innocence. How often is that the way. The naughty kids get most of the attention while the good kids are overlooked.

We see Joseph’s innocence in the way he obeys his father in going to look for his brothers. And we see his innocence in the charges the brothers bring against him. Joseph’s only crime (and it is no crime at all) is being the favourite and having a dream.

Once Joseph catches up with his brothers, we don’t hear a word out of him. The writer of Genesis leaves Joseph’s ordeal to the reader’s imagination.

Joseph was quite young, still a teenager. He was outnumbered by grown men who, to his complete surprise, mug him, strip him of his clothing and throw him into a pit in the ground. He is left there, in the dark, confused, sore, thirsty, terrified and crying for help.

We know that Joseph was distressed in the pit because later in the story, in chapter 42, Joseph’s brothers recall how they had ignored his cries for help. All those years later they could still remember it.  

By silencing Joseph, at this point, the author is highlighting Joseph’s powerlessness. The boy has no say in the matter. He is forced. Joseph is innocent. He has done nothing wrong and yet he is being severely mistreated. This is a circumstance outside of his control.

It is a well-documented fact that most abuse happens within families. Joseph’s experience mirrors that of millions of innocent children down through the ages. And millions more who have been trafficked and sold into slavery.

If you are not safe with your family, then where are you safe?

If you cannot trust your family, then who can you trust?  

Joseph’s ordeal at the hands of his brothers draws some clear connections with Jesus’ suffering…

Like Joseph, Jesus was the subject of a murder plot.

Like Joseph, Jesus was betrayed by those close to him.

Like Joseph, Jesus was sold for a bag of silver.

Like Joseph, Jesus was innocent.

Like Joseph, Jesus was stripped of his robe.

Like Joseph, Jesus cried out.

And like Joseph, Jesus went down into the ground.

Unlike Joseph though, Jesus didn’t just die in people’s imaginations. Jesus actually died, physically, and was raised to life again.

Conclusion:

Who do you identify with most in this story of Joseph and his brothers?

What connections do you draw with your own experience?

Perhaps like the stranger in the wilderness you are oblivious to the part you play in God’s providence. May the Lord give you eyes to see that your life has consequence. What you do matters.   

Or maybe, like Joseph’s brothers, you have done some terrible things. Things you wish no one to ever find out. Things you now regret. May the Lord hear your confession and help you to make amends.

Or perhaps, like Jacob, you have dared to love greatly and are paying the price in grief. May the Lord heal your pain and restore your joy.   

Or maybe, like Joseph, you have suffered great injustice at the hands of people you should have been able to trust. May the Lord lift you out of the pit and set you free. Amen.

Questions for discussion or reflection:

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

  • Discuss / reflect on the quote: ‘Learn how to see. Realise that everything connects to everything else’. What connections and consequences are you aware of at the moment?  
  • What is providence? How might we recognise God’s providence? Can you think of an example of God’s providence at work in your own life? What happened as a consequence?  
  • What are the consequences of the brothers’ deceit? E.g. the consequences for Jacob? And the consequences for the brothers’ themselves?
  • Why is deceit so damaging? What is the remedy for deceit?
  • Discuss / reflect on the ways Joseph’s experience connects with Jesus’ experience.
  • Who do you identify with most in Genesis 37:12-36 and why?   
Tawa Baptist

The Dream

Scripture: Genesis 37:1-11

Video Link: https://youtu.be/f4wWy7Cf3JI

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • God’s election
  • God’s revelation
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

In the early 1970’s the musical production, Joseph and the amazing technicolour dream coat was launched on stage. The story line is based on the account of Joseph in the book of Genesis. 

It must be one of the most popular musicals of all time. Something like 20,000 amateur productions have been performed throughout the past 50 odd years.

Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber took some liberties with their version, but we won’t hold that against them. It’s good to see a Bible story celebrated.

Today we begin a new sermon series based, not on the Joseph musical, but on the original story of Joseph in Genesis. From Genesis 37, verses 1-11, we read…

Jacob lived in the land where his father had stayed, the land of Canaan. 2 This is the account of Jacob’s family line. Joseph, a young man of seventeen, was tending the flocks with his brothers, the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives, and he brought their father a bad report about them. 3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons, because he had been born to him in his old age; and he made an ornate robe for him. 4 When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him. 5 Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more. 6 He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had: 7 We were binding sheaves of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it.” 8 His brothers said to him, “Do you intend to reign over us? Will you actually rule us?” And they hated him all the more because of his dream and what he had said. 9 Then he had another dream, and he told it to his brothers. “Listen,” he said, “I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” 10 When he told his father as well as his brothers, his father rebuked him and said, “What is this dream you had? Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow down to the ground before you?” 11 His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind.

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

If you didn’t know anything about the Joseph story, and all you had to go on was the title, Joseph and the amazing technicolour dream coat, then you might think it was a story about a dude called Joseph who had a coat which gave him special powers.

But really, the Joseph story is not about a coat and it’s not primarily about Joseph either. At its core, the Joseph story is about God and his hidden purpose.

Today’s reading highlights the twin themes of God’s election and God’s revelation. Sadly, God’s revelation and election are misunderstood by his people.

God’s election:

God’s election is a technical theological term that refers to God choosing a particular person or group of people for a particular purpose. To be elected by God is to be chosen for a purpose.

If you think of God as a carpenter and human beings as the carpenter’s tools, then God’s election is like the Lord selecting a particular tool to do a specific job. Maybe, at one time, he will select a hammer. But he won’t always select a hammer. Other times he will select a measuring tape or a scribe or a saw, depending on what he wants to achieve.

God makes people differently, each to serve a different purpose. Being chosen (or elected) by God does not make you better or more important than other people. Nor does it make your life easier. But it does give your life eternal meaning.

Earlier in the book of Genesis, God elected Abraham to serve the divine purpose of blessing the nations of the world. As part of God’s election of Abraham, the Lord made certain promises. Those promises, together with God’s election, were passed on to Isaac and then to Jacob. 

God changed Jacob’s name to Israel, and Jacob became the founding father of the nation of Israel. Israel being God’s elect, his chosen people and the inheritors of God’s promises to Abraham.

Put very simply, God elected the people of Israel for the purpose of blessing the world. 

Jacob had four wives, twelve sons and one daughter. (He must have been exhausted.) These days we would call this arrangement a blended family. The twelve sons became the twelve tribes of Israel.

It would be fair to say, Jacob’s family dynamic was not that healthy. In fact, it was dysfunctional. There were rivalries and jealousies, secrets and lies, violence and cover ups. There wasn’t much love to go around.

God’s election is inscrutable. It is beyond our comprehension. If you are selecting someone for the All Blacks or the White Ferns, you pick the best of the best. More than selecting raw talent though, you pick people who work well together as a team.

But, from our limited human vantage point, it appears God’s election does not work like that. God’s election is not based on our virtue or competence.

Jacob’s family were not very good at being a family. They did not work well together as a team. And some of them lacked a moral compass. It is a testament to God’s wisdom and grace that he was able to use such a dysfunctional family to bless the world in a significant way.     

Joseph was Jacob’s second youngest son and he was Jacob’s favourite. Jacob gave Joseph a special coat to wear. We don’t know whether the coat was one of many colours but it stood out in some way, perhaps a bit like a korowai in that it was a symbol or mantle of leadership.

The coat sent a clear message to the whole family that Joseph was Jacob’s favourite to take over one day. The brothers hated him for it. Being elected the favourite tends to isolate you.

I’m reading Martin Seligman’s book, Flourish, at the moment. It’s about positive psychology and wellbeing. In his book, Martin writes about the Losada ratio.

The idea is that for organisations and teams to function well, people need to be saying at least three positive statements for each negative statement. Three to one is the minimum.

A ratio of five positive statements to one critical statement is better though.

For example, if you want a strong and loving marriage, you need to be saying five good things to your husband or wife, for every critical comment.  

That being said, critical comments still have their place. If there is no critique, then the positive statements tend to lose their credibility. The point is, for human flourishing we need to aim for a ratio of five positive statements for each negative statement.        

Three times in today’s passage we read how Joseph’s brothers hated him and they could not speak a kind word to him.

Joseph did not get a Losada ratio of five to one. He didn’t even get a three to one ratio. The negative comments he received outweighed the positive. Which was like pouring weed killer on the relationship.

Joseph’s mother, Rachel, died when Joseph was around six or seven, so Joseph was pretty much on his own in the family, except for his father and his younger brother, Benjamin. Life within the family was not easy for Joseph.

Which brings us to a sobering point. Election, being chosen or set apart for a special purpose, is not easy. Election has a way of putting a target on your back. 

Some might say that Joseph did not help himself in this regard. In verse 2, for example, we read how Joseph was working with four of his brothers and brought a bad report about them to his father.

Some commentators criticize Joseph for doing this, saying it shows he was a spoilt brat, a tattletale and unwise. But the text makes no criticism of Joseph.

Joseph’s honest report to his father is more likely a sign of his integrity. Joseph was not like his brothers. He was not inclined to deceit. He did not hide things. Joseph was an open book.

In talking about election, we must also talk about Jesus. As we will see throughout this series, Joseph points to Christ in many ways.

Joseph is like Jesus in that God used Joseph to save many people.

When it comes to God’s election, Jesus does more than Joseph though.

Jesus opens the door of God’s election to all people.

You see, God has elected one person, Jesus, to be the Messiah, the Saviour of the world. Therefore, anyone who accepts Jesus and is found in Christ becomes part of the elect people of God.

As I mentioned before, becoming part of the elect people of God does not make you better than others. Nor will it make your life easier (in this world). Being part of the elect people of God comes with the responsibility of serving God’s purpose. Obeying his will.

Some believe that God elects certain people for salvation and others for damnation. And they call that predestination. I don’t believe that. I believe God gives everyone a fair go.

It’s more like God is saying to humanity, if you want to become part of my elect people, then Jesus is the pathway. Jesus is the doorway for entry. Accept Jesus and you are in, you are one of the elect. Jesus is way, the truth and the life.

Now, at the same time, God is free. Free to help certain people onto the right path. Free to help certain people to receive Jesus. But God’s action in doing that does not exclude anyone else from coming to Christ.

You might wonder, ‘So what about those who are not in Christ? What about those who don’t accept Jesus? Perhaps because they did not have much opportunity. What happens to them?’

Well, Jesus taught that God treats everyone with justice and fairness. That means, at the end of the day when we face judgment, the least we can expect from God is fairness.

The measure you use for others is the measure God will use for you.

If you forgive others, God will forgive you.

Blessed are the merciful for they will be shown mercy.

These are the sorts of things the Lord said. Therefore, it is in our interests to be kind, forgiving, and generous. Of course, if someone is living their life like this, then they have accepted the way of Christ, even if they are not aware of it.

God’s revelation:

God’s election goes hand in hand with God’s revelation. Revelation is another technical theological term that basically refers to the way God reveals himself and his plan. Revelation is God’s way of communicating with us, in other words.

God can communicate in all sorts of ways. One way is through dreams.

In the ancient near east, people were inclined to believe that a dream was a message from the gods, like an omen or a prediction of things to come.

Let me be clear. Just because Joseph had a dream that came true, it does not automatically follow that every dream you have is a message from God about the future.

Current thinking tells us that dreams are our mind’s way of processing what has already happened to us, in the past, especially the recent past. Our dreams help to untangle knots in our thinking and feeling. Dreams are sort of like anti-virus software on a computer, identifying bad code and cleaning it up.

Or, to put it another way, dreams are the unconscious mind communicating with the conscious mind. For example, if we repress an emotion during the day,

that emotion is likely to pop up in a dream at night. Maybe a dream that gives us a good feeling, or a nightmare, depending on the emotion.

The other thing to understand is that dreams use symbols or picture language to communicate. It does no good to try and interpret a dream literally. You have to translate the images in your dream, according to what those images mean for you personally, or the dream won’t make sense.

What I’m saying here is most dreams are about your personal past, not the future. And most dreams are a message from your unconscious mind, not a message from God.

There are exceptions to this rule, however. There may be times when God plants an idea in your mind while you sleep. Sort of like the movie Inception.

With the benefit of hindsight, it appears God revealed something of his purpose for Joseph and Jacob’s family through the dreams in Genesis 37.

Joseph had two dreams which he shared with his brothers. In the first dream the brothers’ sheaves of grain bowed down to Joseph’s and in the second dream the sun, moon and eleven stars bowed down to Joseph.

Interestingly, Joseph does not offer an interpretation of his own dreams. He simply shares the dreams and lets his family draw their own conclusions. Sometimes we are too close to our dreams and we need the perspective of someone who knows us well, someone we can trust, to help us interpret our dreams.

Unfortunately, Joseph’s brothers did not really know him all that well and they were not trustworthy caretakers of his innermost thoughts. The brothers respond defensively, saying, “Do you intend to reign over us? Will you actually rule us?”   

Joseph’s brothers question the revelation Joseph has received. They cannot accept it. Joseph’s dreams are dangerous. They threaten the status quo. They are an omen of upset in which the natural order of things is turned on its head. The young are supposed to serve the older, not the other way round.    

Sadly, Jacob’s family do not properly understand Joseph’s dreams or God’s purpose. In God’s scheme, the greatest is the servant of all and the one in charge does not lord it over the others. This is what Jesus taught us.

What Jacob’s family do not yet realise is that Joseph has been elected by God to save the family, more than rule over them. Had Joseph’s family understood the suffering Joseph would go through to achieve God’s purpose, they might have had a different response.

Although Jacob echoes his sons in publicly rebuking Joseph, privately the old man kept the matter in mind. We are reminded of Mary who, at the wonderful revelations surrounding Jesus’ birth, pondered these things in her heart.   

Jacob knew enough of God’s ways to not rule out the possibility that Joseph’s dreams would come true. Likewise, we should not be too quick to judge.

We should never say, ‘God cannot use me. I have nothing to offer’. Nor should we say, ‘God cannot work through this person or that situation’. God is free to work out his purpose however he wants. We need to let God be God.

God’s inscrutable election means we live with hope and possibility. We do well to ponder these wonders in our heart.  

Conclusion:

Just as God elects his Son Jesus to save the world, so too God reveals himself to the world most clearly through Jesus.

Jesus is the perfect image of God. Jesus shows us what it looks like to be human, as God intended. If we want to know God’s purpose, our best bet is to look to Jesus who embodies the truth and grace of God.

Let me conclude our message now with another way in which Joseph points to Jesus. The dreams Joseph had were similar to the dream God has given us. Similar, but not identical.  

Joseph dreamed that his family would bow down to him. Our God inspired dream is not that people would bow down to us, but rather that at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow… and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. 

When that happens, God’s kingdom will be realized in its fullness and we will have heaven on earth. No more injustice, no more war, no more loneliness, no more sickness or pain. That is the dream.

May the Lord strengthen our hope as we wait for the day of Jesus’ return. Amen.

Questions for discussion or reflection:

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

  • What do we mean by ‘God’s election’? Why does God elect people?
  • How do we become part of God’s elect people? What are the implications of being part of God’s elect people?
  • What ratio of positive to negative comments do you use in your conversation with others? What ratio of positive to negative comments do you receive? Does anything need to change for your relationships to flourish?
  • What do we mean by ‘God’s revelation’? What are some of the ways God communicates with you?
  • Have you ever had a dream you sensed was from God? If so, how did you know God was speaking to you in the dream?  
  • Discuss / reflect on the twin concepts of God’s election and revelation as they relate to Jesus? How does Jesus fulfil God’s election and revelation?
Tawa Baptist

Why the Gospel

Prepared by Mike Harvey

Good morning

For those of you who don’t know me, or who are new or new-sh to this church, you might guess I’m from Canada or the US.  Pretty good guess – California actually.  I moved to NZ 22 years ago to see the lovely sights in this country, well, one lovely sight whose name is Geraldine.  Being the smart man I was, I married Geraldine almost straight away, and we have been attending Tawa Baptist since 2003.

I grew up in a Christian home, and went to what I think was a pretty typical evangelical church in America.  I was a child of the 1970s & 80s — at the time, evangelical leaders and groups such as Campus Crusade were big on such jargon and ideas like being born again, the Four Spiritual Laws, and the Romans Road to Salvation.

There was a big emphasis on sharing the Gospel, or ‘the Good news’; and as a college and university student, I did a bit of that, knocking on doors once (frightening experience), and then after university I did missionary work for a while.   Later in life, I heard sermons that it’s not only your words, but it can be your deeds too, that attract people to the Gospel.  And the importance of prayer.  So that was nice, took the pressure off.  I didn’t feel I always had to be ‘out there’ talking to strangers.

But lately I’ve come to realise that in my life, I haven’t heard many sermons about WHY I should evangelise, or do good deeds, or pray.  Was it primarily to get people into Heaven?  Or was it primarily so they’d have better lives now, while they are still alive?  They would feel loved (?), for example, by the Divine, and so they’d feel more able to love others?  Which one of these was the primary reason?  Or were all of these good reasons in equal measure?  All of these goals were of course mentioned in some of the things I heard and read, but I don’t remember hearing or reading anyone saying, THIS is the main goal, and those other things are secondary, or no, THAT’s the main goal, and here are some by-products.

As a Christian singular, where am I trying to go?  Or maybe a better question – As Christians plural, as a church (Tawa Baptist and the wider church), where are WE trying to go?  What are we hoping to achieve?

I was listening to a podcast a couple months ago and Matthew W Bates was being interviewed.  He’s a professor of theology at a small university in Illinois and he’s written a handful of books.  His most recent book is called  Why the Gospel?  On the podcast he told a story about him talking to a room of pastors and he gave them this question:  “Why did God give us the Gospel?”

He said,  “There was a fairly stunned silence.  If I had asked What IS the gospel, I would have got some pretty good answers.  But the question WHY the gospel is one I think throws people off.”  When he has asked this to other groups, he does say after a while he gets answers such as “Well because we need forgiveness” or “Because God loves us”. 

Mr Bates went on to say this:  “But both of those miss the target, I think, by short circuiting what Scripture teaches us…, and misses the primary reason God gives us the gospel…and that is, because we need a King.”

Mr Bates later goes into what he means by that, and if you want to listen to the episode, I have a link to that podcast at end of my sermon notes.   But I want to use his idea of kingship to go in a different direction.  And that is: Why a king?  Why is THAT important – what human need does a king fill? 

As an American import living in NZ, I have had to become familiar with NZ’s connection to the British monarchy.  At first, I didn’t quite understand that relationship, and I suppose I still don’t fully get it.  Why keep that connection?  Indeed, why does the UK still have a queen, or a king?  When it’s only a ceremonial role?   What practical use does it have?

But then I watched the Queen’s and King’s Christmas messages over the years.  The Queen would often talk about peace and reconciliation, of community service, of faith and hope.   Last month, King Charles said we “must protect the Earth and our natural world as the one home which we all share”.

And then there was the movie ‘The King’s Speech” about King George VI. (A terrific movie by the way, recommended!)  The day Britain declared war on Germany, he said in a radio address:

“The task will be hard. There may be dark days ahead, and war can no longer be confined to the battlefield. But we can only do the right as we see the right, and reverently commit our cause to God.  If one and all we keep resolutely faithful to it, ready for whatever service or sacrifice it may demand, then, with God’s help, we shall prevail.”

So now I was starting to get it – what the point of a monarch was.  At their best, they can inspire us to do great things, or rally us in times of difficulty.  And in the movie, you saw all of Britain huddled around radios together as families or at a pub.   In the old clips of the Queen visiting NZ, we see throngs of people, all together as one as they welcomed her. 

At our best, this speaks to something about identity, doesn’t it?  A CORPORATE identity.  By joining together around a king or queen, we’re making a statement that we are part of a group, with a common purpose.  We are saying we want to be a PLACE of justice, freedom, and beauty, a place of joy, hope and love.

In other words, yes I agree with Mr Bates that we need a king, but it would be kind of strange for me as individual to have a king who is king of only me.  King implies there is a kingDOM, a group of people rather than just one person.  And to me, that’ a more exciting prospect, that I would be part of a kingDOM, to have a sense of belonging, of knowing who I am in the context of community.

First Sameul 8 tells us that 1000 years before Jesus, Israel wanted a king like the other nations had.  And if you’ll recall, God was pretty mad at them for asking that.  But it wasn’t because he was against the idea of kingship and kingdom;  it was because HE was supposed to be their king.

Israel was to be different from other nations – while they had human kings, Israel was to have a DIVINE king.  They were to have a UNIQUE identity, a unique corporate identity, a divine identity, which would be a model of peace and justice and fairness and joy and love to other nations, that other nations may be drawn to them and ultimately to God the King, so that all of humanity would experience the same glory.  After all, God had promised Abraham in Genesis 12 that all peoples on earth would be blessed through him.

But Israel wanted that human king – they gave themselves over to worldly powers.  This was sin with a Capital S.

I think it’s helpful to think of sin in two ways – Capital S versus small S sin.  Capital S sin is when we overvalue things of this world that are temporary, like $$, personal success, or comfort, and undervalue our relationship to God, undervalue our relationship to each other as God-image-bearing humans, and undervalue God’s Creation.  When we have Capital S sin in our lives, we’re much more likely to commit small s sins, such as greed, envy and hatred, and that’s what often happened with Israel, according to the Old Testament.

Time and again in the Old Testament, we see God trying to help Israel out of the trap of Sin and sins. He gave them laws to help them value their relationships with Him and each other, and he gave them prophets to warn them when they were going off on the wrong path.  Through his prophets, he also showed them his heart, how much he loved them. Listen to these words from the prophet Hosea – chapter 11:

1 When Israel was a child, I loved him,
    and out of Egypt I called my son.
2But the more they were called,
    the more they went away from me.

It was I who taught Ephraim to walk,  [Ephraim was one of the 12 tribes of Israel]
    taking them by the arms;
but they did not realize
    it was I who healed them.

Verse 4: To them I was like one who lifts
    a little child to the cheek,
    and I bent down to feed them.

Will they not return to Egypt because they refuse to repent?

Verse 7:  My people are determined to turn from me.
    Even though they call me God Most High,
    I will by no means exalt them.

Verse 8:  “How can I give you up, Ephraim?
    How can I hand you over, Israel?

My heart is changed within me;
    all my compassion is aroused

Verse 9:  I will not carry out my fierce anger,
    nor will I devastate Ephraim again.

Behold the heart of God!   Verse 4, he shows the tenderness of a parent.  But verse 7, he’s angry and pained at their rejection, and says he will not exalt them.  But then verse 8, he says his heart is changed and says he won’t carry out his fierce anger.  You see this internal anguish, the going back and forth between pain and compassion.  One would have hoped Israel, when listening to these words by Hosea, would have finally turned to God.

But in general, Israel wouldn’t budge; they would fall under the temptation of Capital S sin and, as a result, become so weak and powerless, burdened by a multitude of small s sins, they’d again fall victim to invasion and exile.  The pattern, the cycle, continued, even up to the time of Jesus, when they still found themselves under the power of someone else, this time the Romans.

But was Jesus now the King, the Messiah who would free Israel from this worldly power Rome?  Well, no and yes.  Jesus certainly didn’t live the life of a king.   But he did show his power over human and demonic forces, with healings and forgiveness.  He didn’t start a political revolution in the traditional sense, but he did show a revolutionary way of living where the law of God, the law of love would be followed, rather than the unjust laws of man –  but in the end Jesus, and so God himself, was rejected and killed.

History had been building to this moment.  God coming to earth through his Son was the ultimate illustration of God’s desire to reconcile mankind with Himself, and reconcile mankind with each other.  The cross was the ultimate incident of mankind’s rejection of God’s love.  And because of this, it was the ultimate incident of divine suffering, and so the ultimate expression of God’s love.

Sin, with a capital S, that is, mankind’s rejection of God, had seemed to have won.   But on the 3rd day Jesus rose, showing that Sin and death were conquered.   And by the way, not all of Israel had rejected Him.   Lifted in their spirits by the resurrection, 11 of his disciples, and then Paul, all 12 of them Israelites, and then small groups of followers, took up the mantle and spread the Gospel. They wrote letters and books that became the New Testament that tried to explain the meaning of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection.  And we’re still grappling with understanding that meaning in 2024, and today in this sermon.

So what does all of this have to do with individual salvation and sharing the Gospel to my friend so my friend can be saved?   You may have noticed so far I’ve been using words like Israel and mankind (rather than the individual) – I’ve been talking about groups of people and communities.  When we read the Bible, I wonder sometimes whether we over-individualise certain verses, and fail to see the larger context, the larger story, that is of God’s purpose for Israel and the church, of what our divine corporate identity is to be.

I’ll give an example.  At the start of the sermon, I mentioned the common tools of the Gospel used in the 1970s/80s, like the 4 Spiritual Laws and the Romans Road.  From what I can tell on the internet, they are still being used today.  The Romans Road is a series of 4 or 5 verses plucked from different parts of the book of Romans.  One of them is Romans 5:8:

“But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.” NRSV

Here is the way many Christians read this verse: 

While I was a sinner (e.g taking drugs, being envious, being selfish, not honouring my parents), he died for me, which means I can go to Heaven despite my sins.

But putting this verse in the larger context of Romans and the wider Bible, how about this as another way to read it?

While Israel, when humanity, was looking to other things besides God as giving meaning to their life, not relying on Him, rejecting Him as a community (Sin with a capital S), and while this led to societal breakdown and to the increase of individual sins and people going off the rails, and while all this was happening despite God time and again trying to show his love and guidance – while this terrible rejection of God from humanity was going on, God stepped into History and upped the ante, showing humanity EVEN again AND EVEN MORE how much he loves us, by sending us His Son to death, setting US free from the ‘death’ that we as a community were bringing on ourselves.  Sin ‘did its worst’ but he conquered it.  This means that we as individuals and as a community are free and empowered to bring his Kingdom indeed to Earth.

To me, this is a far richer way to understand Romans 5:8, and the ‘why’ of the Gospel.  The Lord’s prayer says thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.  Revelation 21, which Angela read earlier talks about the end of the age, when heaven comes down to earth, when the divine and humanity meet. 

God’s dwelling place is now among the people…He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death  or mourning or crying or pain.

Revelation 21 is a vision of a corporate salvation.  And it’s not about escaping the earth, but about the arrival of God’s Kingdom ON earth.  That’s our corporate goal.  That’s our corporate Gospel.

I am not suggesting that individual salvation is not important – but I propose that our thinking about it can be enhanced.  I am saved – saved from what, and in order to do what?  Well, not only saved at some future date from this world, to go to the new heaven and new earth, but rather saved NOW from the stranglehold of sin on my life, in order to free me up to live NOW as a divine image bearing human, to enjoy God’s creation now, to improve this world now, to belong to a community, a community of other empowered people whom God has also saved, maybe to work alongside them to bring hope and healing to our society, that is, to bring the kingdom of God to Tawa, NZ and the ends of the earth.  And in this way, bringing Revelation 21 to pass.

In closing I’d like to share something from NT Wright, an Anglican NT scholar who was the Bishop of Durham for a number of years and has written over 70 books.  In his book ‘The Day the Revolution Began’, he says this as a commentary on Galatians 1:4:

“The loving purpose of God, working through the sin-forgiving death of Jesus, frees us from the power of the present evil age, so that we may be part of God’s new age, his new creation, launched already when Jesus rose from the dead, awaiting its final completion when he returns, but active now through the work of rescued rescuers, the redeemed human beings called to bring redeeming love into the world – the justified justice-bringers, the reconciled reconcilers, the Passover People.” (Pages 364-5.)

Amen.  So be it.

Further notes and resources

  1. The podcast episode featuring Matthew W Bates who asked the room of pastors ‘Why the gospel’

https://podcast.choosetruthovertribe.com/episodes/why-the-gospel-matthew-bates?hsLang=en

  • The Day the Revolution Began (2016), by NT Wright – the book from which I used to conclude the sermon.  NT Wright is well known for his criticism of the North American church’s overemphasis on ‘going to heaven when you die’ – see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N._T._Wright
  • Other NT Wright resources

– https://ntwrightpage.com/

– https://www.premierunbelievable.com/shows/ask-nt-wright-anything  – a series of 30 minute podcasts where NT Wright asks listener questions.  I’ve found this very helpful.

– Go to youtube and search “NT Wright” – you’ll find many sermons, lectures, interviews etc.

  • Divine Government:  God’s Kingship in the Gospel of Mark (1990) by RT France

“…the personal change of values which Jesus required must obviously have an effect on the lifestyle and relationships of those who followed him.  The new relationship with God…could never by a purely private, individual affair, and it is particularly in their relations with one another that the new values of God’s kingship must begin to operate.  Hence the frequent stress on matters of status and leadership, the call to welcome the insignificant, and to serve rather than to be served….In this topsy-turvy community, where the first are last and the last first, the new values of divine government can begin to take visible form.   And when that happens, as a result of the inward transformation which God’s kingship demands, there is the promise of a truly transformed society, not changes merely by a reordering of its structures, but by a reorientation of its values.” Page 62.

  • Further to the idea that kingship can inspire a positive corporate identity, this is from the Guardian’s review of ‘The King’s Speech’ flim:

“When war broke out in 1939, he [King George VI] became an unlikely symbol of national resistance, his mundane domesticity a reminder of what Britain was fighting for. ….[H]is newsreel appearances were regularly interrupted by applause from the audience. But it was not merely deference that explains the public reaction, even though it played its part. The truth, I suspect, is that when thousands applauded the King in the cinema, they were not just acknowledging their monarch; they were applauding themselves.”  https://www.theguardian.com/film/2011/jan/02/the-kings-speech-george-vi

Tawa Baptist

His plan, your story

Sermon by Neville Gardner

Please bear with me as I give a brief outline of the story of The Penguin Who Wanted to Fly, which I read out earlier in the service. This is for people who will read the online text or listen to a recording of the sermon, which don’t include the story.

The story was of a penguin who thought that, because penguins are birds, they belong in the sky. Against the advice of all the other penguins, he tried hard to fly, running faster and jumping from higher, but always crashing. Even from the highest iceberg he could find, he just crashed into the sea – only to find that he could fly, in the upside-down sky beneath the waves.

At the risk of spoiling the fun of a good story, I’d like to raise four things that struck me:

The penguin was determined to carry out his own plan for his life

The penguin tried to succeed using his own strength and determination

The penguin did not listen to advice

The penguin wanted to share his story (I like to think the penguin who told the story to the man on the beach was the same as the one featured in it, but I can’t be sure).

Each of these topics merits its own sermon. But, because this is the first sermon of the year, I thought I’d just do a gentle overview. Stir up your thinking, perhaps.

  • The penguin put all his time and effort into carrying out his own plan.

This was beyond a simple New Year resolution – trying to fly was everything to the penguin. Self-help books by the shelf-full tell us that if we try hard enough, practice enough and sacrifice enough, we can do anything, be anybody. Inspirational, even if not true.

Working towards your own dreams and challenging yourself with New Year resolutions can have their place. But now is as good a time as any to remember that God has plans for you too. He has a general plan, the same for everyone, and he has a specific plan, different for each person.

The Bible is full of what God wants for, and from, us. One summary is contained in Micah 6:8

“. . the Lord has told us what is good. What he requires of us is this: to do what is just, to show constant love, and to live in humble fellowship with our God.”

Matthew 22 records that Jesus said “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the most important commandment. The second most important commandment is like it: ‘Love your neighbour as you love yourself.”

God’s general plan is for everyone to have a relationship with Him, to love Him and to love other people.

As well as this general plan, God has a specific plan for each individual believer. Ephesians 2:10 tells us “God has made us what we are, and in our union with Christ Jesus he has created us for a life of good deeds, which he has already prepared for us to do.” 1 Corinthians:12 gives us a picture of a body made up of many parts, each with a vital role to play – everyone who follows Jesus is like a part of his body (meaning the church), each with a special role to play. For you, this role is called your ministry.

God has given every believer a personal ‘gift’ to use to serve him. That means we are wired to care more about some things than others, with a particular style of relating to other people. Every believer has at least one such gift – a passion, a heart for serving God in a particular way.

1 Peter 4:10-11 tells us

“Each one of us, as a good manager of God’s particular gift, must use for the good of others the special gift he has received from God. Whoever preaches must preach God’s messages; whoever serves must serve with the strength that God gives him, so that in all things praise may be given to God through Jesus Christ.”

Our gifts are to be used for God and others, not ourselves.

If you are one of the many Christians who are not sure what God’s plan is for them, ask him. James 1:5 says “But if any of you lacks wisdom, he should pray to God, who will give it to him; because God gives generously and graciously to all.” But be prepared to wait for an answer.

We are used to reading in the Bible of times when God sent an angel or a dream to people, telling them exactly what he wanted them to do. And they did it. Remember Mary, Joseph and the shepherds in the Christmas story? If only it was always that simple.

From my own experience, and from talking with others, I don’t think God always suddenly reveals a lifetime plan to someone and expects them to accept it and get on with it. His plans may well be revealed to you gradually during your journey with him. God gives you the tools and guidance for carrying out his plan, but expects you to use your own skills and initiative too. Of course, there are times during your journey when God says “I want you to do a certain thing, and I want you to do it now.” We need to be open to those opportunities.

A couple of years ago I was due to give a sermon here, and I was sitting in church waiting for the service to start. All of a sudden, a single new sentence popped into my head, and I knew I had to include it in the sermon. I found a pen and scribbled it into my notes. After the service, someone thanked me for saying something that they had really needed to hear – you’ve guessed, it was that last minute sentence. If I learned nothing else from that experience, I know to keep a pen handy!

As an example of God only gradually revealing his plan, I’m afraid I’m going to use my experiences again. Not because it’s a particularly good example, but because it’s the one I know.

For the first 30 years of my life, I knew nothing of God. I was like the penguin, doing my own thing, succeeding or failing by my own abilities, or lack of. After leaving school and working for 10 years, I came up with a plan to be an archaeologist. I went to university, worked hard, got some good qualifications and prepared to fulfil my dream. Then God stepped in, and being an archaeologist didn’t figure in his plan for me.

To start with, he formed a relationship with me. My eyes were opened, just like those of the penguin when he found he was meant to fly in the sea, not the sky.

And the change to my life was almost as dramatic – less than a year after accepting Jesus, I was married and had moved from the UK right around the world to New Zealand. Here, my relationship with God developed.

At some stage, God gave me a gift of teaching, for want of a better word, something I had not been interested in before. I started a job that helped me develop teaching and writing skills, and looking back, this was part of my preparation for ministry.

It was only after developing a relationship with God, realising my God-given gifts and gaining the necessary skills and personal style of doing things, that God started the next stage in his plan – He put me to work teaching about Him. Firstly with children, then adults and all ages. At various stages along the way, such as when Will first asked me to give a sermon, I would ask “Really God, you want me to do that now? Am I ready?” I could sense God shaking his head and saying “I am God you know, I don’t make mistakes.”

I think I now have a broad awareness of God’s plan for me, much of it gained by hindsight.

God’s plan for me involved forming a relationship with him, receiving a special gift, developing the skills I needed, and only then obviously serving him as he intended. This was just my experience – things might happen, or have already happened, quite differently for you.

  • Back to the penguin in the story. He tried to carry out his own plan, using his own strength and determination.

There is only one person who can carry out the ministry role God has planned for you – you. But you will need his help, your own strength will not be enough.

In Philippians 4: 13 Paul said “I have the strength to face all conditions by the power that Christ gives me.”

Proverbs 3 says “Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Never rely on what you think you know. Remember the Lord in everything you do, and he will show you the right way.”

  • The penguin did not listen to advice.

We have no excuse for doing this, because we each have the Holy Spirit to teach and guide us, to help us overcome our weaknesses. The Holy Spirit also helps us know God better, and helps him know us. When we don’t know what to pray for, the Holy Spirit will intercede for us.

Romans 8:26-27 tells us: “In the same way the Spirit also comes to help us, weak as we are. For we do not know how we ought to pray; the Spirit himself pleads with God for us in groans that words cannot express. And God, who sees into our hearts, knows what the thought of the Spirit is; because the Spirit pleads with God on behalf of his people and in accordance with his will.”

  • The penguin wanted to share his story

This is a positive aspect of the tale. The Bible teaches that followers of Jesus will want to tell others about Him and what he’s done in their lives. Sharing with others is a vital part of the Christian life – it’s another aspect of God’s general plan for everyone. Just before Jesus was taken up to Heaven, it is recorded in Acts 1:8 that he told his disciples “But when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, you will be filled with power, and you will be witnesses for me in Jerusalem, in all Judaea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

The story of The Penguin Who Wanted to Fly was just that, a story. But I have used it to remind us of a few aspects of our journey with God. Your story will be different from mine, it will be different from everyone else’s, but it will be your story, one God has created with you. God’s plan for you is a story that’s still being written.

Are you ready to turn the next page?

Tawa Baptist

Christmas Day Message

Video Link: https://youtu.be/8O8tlfGlmuQ

Learning by Experience:

Kia Koutou and good morning everyone.

Mark Twain once said, ‘If you hold a cat by the tail, you learn things you cannot learn any other way.’

In other words, some things you cannot be told. Some things can only be discovered through personal experience. What you discover when you hold a cat by the tail is not to hold a cat by the tail. We tend to learn more from our mistakes than our successes. 

Albert Einstein, another dude with bushy hair and an impressive mustache, put it this way, ‘Learning is an experience. Everything else is just information.’

The point here is that we learn by doing. You don’t learn how to hammer a nail by watching The Repair Shop. You learn to hammer a nail by hammering a nail. 

Or take parenting as an example. Parenting books and Ted Talks may provide helpful information, but the real learning comes with the experience of trying to settle a crying baby or being there to support your kids when they need you or managing your feelings of powerlessness as your son or daughter leaves home. 

So does this principle of learning by experience work with God as well? Because God is not like us. God is Spirit. We can’t really see God or take him out for a coffee to get to know him.

Well, learning about God is not exactly the same as learning to hammer a nail or be a parent. But we still learn by experience.

We learn faith by being trusted.

We learn hope by being made to wait.

We learn love by being forgiven.

And we learn about God through Jesus.

Yes, you will pick up some helpful information by listening to sermons and reading spiritual books but the real learning about God comes with an experience of Jesus’ Spirit. 

When Mary (the mother of Jesus) first learned she was with child, she went to visit Elizabeth who was about six months pregnant with John the Baptist. 

41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! 43 But why am I so favoured, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

Through the experience of the Holy Spirit, Elizabeth learned that Mary was carrying the Messiah of God. Elizabeth felt God’s presence in herself, and it was the experience of pure joy.

When the angels appeared to the shepherds, proclaiming the birth of the Messiah, the shepherds didn’t just say, ‘O yeah, good to know.’ Rather they hurried off to find Mary and Joseph and the baby lying in a manger.

They were not satisfied with mere information. They wanted to experience the presence of the Christ child for themselves, and that experience affected them. It compelled them to share the good news.  

When the wise men saw the star shining in the east, they knew from their research that it was significant. These wise men understood that real learning comes through experience.  So, they set off on a long journey to find the King of the Jews and experience his presence for themselves, in person. They were not disappointed.

Fast forward 33 years and we read about Thomas, the disciple who would not take other people’s word for it. When Thomas’ friends told him the information that Jesus had been raised from the dead, Thomas wanted to experience the risen Christ for himself. Let me touch him. Let me put my fingers in his wounds.

A week later Jesus appeared to Thomas and Thomas discovered firsthand that Jesus is both human and divine. Learning is an experience.

What is your experience this Christmas? Is it a busy time for you? A stressful time, a week of running around trying to fit everything in. When Christmas is uncomfortably full it can be difficult to experience the presence of Christ. Difficult but not impossible.

The very first Christmas was busy and full, messy and unpredictable. Nevertheless, Jesus was present in the most unlikely of places, a feeding trough. The Spirit of Jesus has a way of showing up where we least expect him.  Make room for the Spirit.

What is your experience this Christmas? Is it a lonely time, a sad time, an empty time when you feel the absence of those you love. Everyone around you seems to be happy but you cannot wait for the season to end and for things to return to normal. 

When Christmas is painful and joyless it can be difficult to experience the presence of Christ. Difficult but not impossible. Jesus was born into a violent world, a sad world, a troubled world. The good news is Jesus was born to redeem this world through his death and resurrection.

Blessed are you who are sad or lonely this Christmas. You are closer to God than you think. 

Let me pray for you…

Loving God, we thank you for entering into the human experience through Jesus. May you be real for us this Christmas and always. Open our hearts and minds to the presence of Christ, that we would learn from you. Amen.  

Tawa Baptist

Before & After

Scripture: Ezekiel 36:26-27

Video Link: https://youtu.be/RQtLqS7-W9s

Before and After (the difference Jesus makes)

Before humankind learned to cook, people had to eat their meat raw. Since learning to cook though, there has been a lot less food poisoning and better nourishment.

Before the invention of the wheel, it was a lot harder to move things around. It took a great deal longer to get anything done. Since the wheel though, people have been able to carry more stuff and get places faster.

Before someone thought up the printing press, people had to copy words by hand onto scrolls. It took ages and was really expensive, which meant not many people got the opportunity to read or write. Since the printing press though, books have become more accessible, which makes the transfer of information a lot easier.

Before the discovery of penicillin, people often died from infections and the average life expectancy was less. Since penicillin though, there have been more people surviving into old age. Antibiotics have reduced human suffering considerably.

Christmas is a time when we celebrate Jesus’ coming into the world. Jesus’ life makes a bigger difference than the wheel, the printing press, penicillin and cooking all put together. The main difference Jesus makes is to our relationship with God.

Before Christ, if someone did something wrong, they had to sacrifice a goat or a lamb in order to be forgiven. Since Jesus’ death on the cross though, there is no need for animal sacrifice. If we forgive others, God will forgive us.  

Before Christ, if someone wanted to belong to God’s people, they had to be Jewish. Since Jesus’ resurrection though, the key is not genetics, but faith. When we accept Jesus, God accepts us, no matter what our whakapapa or family tree. Because of Jesus we can call God, Father.

Now, in talking about the positive difference Christ makes, we might think that because of Jesus we can get God to do whatever we want. But that is not how it works. God is not like Santa Claus. Sometimes doing the right thing and following Jesus makes your life, on this earth, harder.

Through Jesus we can be friends with God but the point of being friends with God is not to get what we want. The point is to do what God wants and enjoy him forever. Jesus shows us what God wants.

The prophets of the Old Testament looked forward to Jesus’ coming. They knew the difference the Messiah would make to our inner life. In Ezekiel 36 the Lord says through his messenger…

26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.

The heart, in this context, represents a person’s inner life, the place inside you where decisions are made. The heart is not just your emotions, it’s also your mind and your will.

A ‘heart of stone’ is a dead heart, it’s a mind and will that is unresponsive to God. Whereas a heart of flesh is a living heart, it’s a mind and will that is obedient to God.

With the birth of Jesus, God offers humanity a heart of flesh. It is through the Spirit of Jesus that God gives us a new heart, a new attitude, a new way of thinking and feeling so we are inclined to do what God wants.

In a moment we will pray. I will pray the words in plain type, and I invite you to respond with the words in bold. Let us pray…

Father God, we thank you for Jesus who reveals your love and truth.

            Hallowed be your name.

Father God, we thank you for Jesus who brings heaven to earth.

            May your kingdom come, and your will be done. 

Father God, we thank you for Jesus who understands our needs and longings.

            Give us this day our daily bread.

Father God, we thank you for Jesus who takes away the sin of the world.

            Forgive us our sin as we forgive those who sin against us.

Father God, we thank you for Jesus who shows us Your way.

            Deliver us from evil.

Father God, we thank you for the Spirit of Jesus who transforms our heart.

Yours is the glory. Amen.

Tawa Baptist

Small Things

Scripture: Proverbs 30:24-31

Video Link: https://youtu.be/Jdd3YfZQhJ8

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Small things
  • Proud things
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

Some would say that humility is the mother of all virtues. It is from humility that other virtues like patience, faithfulness, compassion and so on are born.

Rick Warren says, ‘Humility is not denying your strengths, humility is being honest about your weaknesses’. Charles Spurgeon said something similar, ‘Humility is the proper estimation of oneself’.

Humility then is closely related to honesty and truth. It is also the companion of wisdom. ‘True humility is staying teachable, regardless of how much you already know’.

Today we continue our series in the book of Proverbs, by focusing on chapter 30. Proverbs 30 contains the sayings of Agur. The main theme running through Proverbs 30 is the importance of humility and the danger of hubris or pride. 

Agur begins by saying he is the most ignorant of men. This is interesting, coming as it does near the end of the book. It is a little reminder to us that no matter how much we think we know, there is always more to learn.  

Agur also reinforces the point, made throughout Proverbs, that wisdom comes from knowledge of the holy one, from God.

We are not going to cover all of Proverbs 30 this morning. Just verses 24-31, which read…

24 “Four things on earth are small, yet they are extremely wise: 25 Ants are creatures of little strength, yet they store up their food in the summer; 26 hyraxes are creatures of little power, yet they make their home in the crags; 27 locusts have no king, yet they advance together in ranks; 28 a lizard can be caught with the hand, yet it is found in kings’ palaces.

29 “There are three things that are stately in their stride, four that move with stately bearing: 30 a lion, mighty among beasts, who retreats before nothing; 31 a strutting rooster, a he-goat, and a king secure against revolt.  

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

A riddle for you. What can you put in a bucket to make it weigh less? [Wait]

A hole. Our reading this morning has the sound and feel of a series of riddles.

In these verses we are presented with two sets of four things. The first set describes creatures that are humble and small but, despite their size, they thrive by wisdom.

The second set of four describes creatures that are proud and fearless in the way they walk. Sort of the opposite of the small wise creatures. Agur is inviting us to consider the contrast. Let’s begin with the small things. 

Small things:

The first of the four small but wise creatures is the ant. We came across the ant two months ago, in Proverbs 6.  

In Proverbs 30, the emphasis is on the ants’ foresight in gathering provisions in season. Relative to their body weight, ants are strong. But relative to a human being, a single ant is a creature of little strength and can be easily crushed.

Physical strength is less important, though, than wisdom. God has made this world so that it is not always survival of the strongest but rather survival of the wisest.

One wise thing about ants is that they work together. Working on your own (especially doing heavy physical labour) can be quite tough. But when you work as part of a team, there is a certain buoyancy or energy that carries you. Somehow the work doesn’t seem so overwhelming.

Ants survive and thrive by using whatever is at hand. Ants gather from the environment around them. They don’t sow crops, but they do harvest. Ants make do with what they can find.

One point of application is to open our eyes and notice what is in front of us. Sometimes, when we are facing a problem, we may look elsewhere for a solution, when God has already provided what we need in our own backyard.

The second of our humble but wise creatures is the hyrax, also known as the coney or the marmot or the rock badger. The hyrax is a small mammal, about the size of a rabbit.  

Its feet are made for climbing, which is handy for finding a home in rocky crags, where no one can touch them. Like ants, hyraxes use what is at hand in their local environment.

The hyrax has good eyesight and can spot a predator from around 900 metres away. For protection they live in colonies of up to 50 and tend to stay close together. There is wisdom in sticking together.

Hyraxes are not the same as ants in every way though. Ants are always busy, always on the move, always working. Whereas hyraxes don’t move much. Hyraxes have the ability to remain still and keep watch. Keeping still conserves energy and it avoids unwanted attention from predators.

There is wisdom in being still. To paraphrase Blaise Pascal: All human evil stems from a single cause, man’s inability to sit still in a room. We human beings have an unfortunate tendency to react out of fear or get involved in things that we should stay out of. The hyrax knows how to be still and mind its own business.

When was the last time you sat still in silence for half an hour and simply allowed yourself to be? It’s a lot harder than you might think.

The third of our small creatures is the locust. Locusts are like ants in that they have no king or commander and yet they are organized. They cooperate and work together as one. The focus here is on leadership.

For centuries the people of Israel managed without a king. They didn’t need an earthly king because God was their King. But then, in First Samuel, we read how the people asked for a king like the nations around them.

The prophet Samuel warned the people that a king would tax their income, take their sons off to war and place burdens on them. An earthly king is not unlike a swarm of locusts in what he devours.

But the people did not listen and so God gave them what they asked for. Suffice to say, it did not go well. Power is corrosive to humility. Power feeds the ego and distorts a person’s perception of themselves and those around them.       

The leaderless locusts pose the question: ‘What kind of people do you want to be – strong and led by a king? Actually, you don’t need that as much as you need wisdom.’ [1]

Time for another riddle. What month of the year has 28 days? [Wait]

All of them. Every month has 28 days.

In verse 28 we read of the fourth small creature that is wise: a lizard can be caught with the hand, yet it is found in kings’ palaces.

This verse is a bit of a riddle. I’m not sure what it means? Agur contrasts the lizard which is not powerful with the king who is powerful. Yet both share the same palace?

Is Agur saying that fortification and armed guards are no match for wisdom? Wisdom can breach the palace defenses in a way that military force cannot.

Or is he saying that wisdom is at home in the palace and that it is easily caught, like a lizard? The king needs to find wisdom in order to rule well.  

Or is Agur suggesting that kings are in some way similar to lizards? Is he saying that power attracts creepy crawly, reptile like people? Maybe. But not everyone in power is lizard like.

We do notice that lizards are different from ants, hyraxes and locusts in that lizards are not social creatures. The ant, the hyrax and the locust thrive in community together. Whereas the lizard is more territorial, more solitary.

Kings tend to be territorial as well. And the mantle of leadership is often lonely.  

Verse 28 remains a mystery to me. Perhaps that is the purpose of this riddle, to humble us. To show us how little we really know and therefore how important it is that we remain teachable.

Proud Things:

Okay, so we have touched on the small but wise things in verses 24-28. What about the proud and fearless creatures in verses 29-31. Let’s remind ourselves of what is written…

29 “There are three things that are stately in their stride, four that move with stately bearing: 30 a lion, mighty among beasts, who retreats before nothing; 31 a strutting rooster, a he-goat, and a king secure against revolt. 

The ant, the hyrax, the locust and the lizard were noted for being extremely wise, even though they are small compared to other creatures.

In contrast, the lion, the rooster, the he-goat and the king are noted for how they move. That is, the manner in which they carry themselves. How one moves has nothing to do with wisdom. How one moves is window dressing. It’s just advertising to create a desired perception. 

The smaller humble creatures get high praise, while the more powerful, stately looking creatures get a downgrade. What good is it to move with stately bearing? It’s almost like saying, the lion, the rooster, the goat and the king look impressive, but they are not that bright.    

Being brave and self-assured comes a poor second to being wise.

Perhaps we are meant to see some irony here. The he-goat and rooster are not like the lion. They are more like big fish in a small pond. Each would run from a lion. Which begs the question, is the king more like a lion or a farm animal? [2]

The goat and the rooster remind us there is folly in the small pretending to be great. The ant, the hyrax, the locust and the lizard are small but they do not pretend to be great. They embrace their smallness and use it to their advantage. 

Agur seems to be warning against illusions of grandeur. The message is, know yourself and your limitations. More than that, accept yourself and use what you’ve got to your advantage.

‘Humility is not denying your strengths, humility is being honest about your weaknesses’.

The hyrax has the humility and wisdom to accept its own strengths and weaknesses. The hyrax is good at climbing, but it is not a strong fighter. So, it makes a home in the rocky crags where predators cannot reach and therefore where it won’t need to fight.

The rooster seems to live in denial of its weaknesses and ends up on your dinner plate.

Parallel with this, Agur may be inviting us to discern what is a legitimate threat and what is not, so we make better choices for our own wellbeing.

The lion is an apex predator. Although lions do not normally hunt people, you wouldn’t want to get too close to one. Lions are wild creatures and do not follow any sort of moral code. They are driven by hunger, not mercy or justice. You are wise to stay well clear of lions.

Roosters and goats, on the other hand, may strut around like they own the place, but we don’t need to fear them. Roosters and goats look to us to care for them.

It’s similar with people. Some people are like lions. They are strong and powerful, a genuine threat. You cannot reason with them and so you are best to give them a wide berth. Other people though are more like roosters. They make a lot of noise and appear confident, but you don’t need to fear them.

The trick is being able to tell the difference. You don’t want to mistake a lion for a rooster.

The fourth thing that moves with stately bearing is, a king secure against revolt. This line can also be translated, a king with his army around him. Either way, there is an implied criticism here. If the king’s confidence is in his army or in the numbers supporting him, then he is not truly wise.

In Psalm 33 we read, ‘No king is saved by the size of his army; no warrior escapes by his great strength… But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love…’

Real power comes from wisdom that fears God and acts uprightly. [3]

To ignore God is as arrogant and ridiculous as a strutting rooster or billy goat.

In short, when we put the small but wise creatures alongside the strong and proud, we see the power of the weak and the weakness of those in power.  

Conclusion:

What is as small as a mouse but guards a house like a lion? [Wait]

A lock.

Jesus liked riddles. Many of his parables contained riddles.

Jesus also liked to champion the small things of God’s creation.

In Matthew 13, the Lord says… 

“The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. 32 Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.”

God’s kingdom may start small, but it grows and provides shelter for those who (like birds) are small but wise. Jesus followed this parable with a similar one…

33 “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty poundsof flour until it worked all through the dough.”

Yeast makes the dough rise. The yeast of God’s kingdom, which is small, has the wisdom to raise and transform whole households and communities. Indeed, the whole world.

Small things done with great love are the mustard seeds and yeast of God’s kingdom. The mustard seeds and yeast of God’s kingdom are in your heart and hands.

What small thing can you do with great love this week?

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 are your strengths? What are your weaknesses? How can you make the most of both your strengths and weaknesses?
  • Discuss / reflect on what we can learn from ants, hyraxes, locusts and lizards. What do they share in common? How are they different? What do these creatures reveal about God?   
  • When was the last time you sat still in silence? What happened in the silence?
  • Discuss / reflect on what we can learn from the lion, the rooster, the he-goat and the king. How are they different from the small but wise creatures of verses 24-28?
  • Can you think of a time when someone did something small for you, with great love? What did they do and what affect did it have? What small thing can you do with great love this week?

[1] Paul Koptak, NIVAC Proverbs.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Ibid.

Tawa Baptist

The Right Way?

Scriptures: Proverbs 16:25; 14:12; 16:2; 16:7; 12:15; Jeremiah 27;

Matthew 7:13-14; 5:3-12

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

The Right Way?

Good morning everyone.

Today we continue our series in the book of Proverbs. Proverbs offers practical wisdom for this life.

The ancient world, in which Proverbs was composed, was largely an oral culture. Most information was passed on by word of mouth, rather than reading and writing.  

There was no internet, so you couldn’t google something to learn about it. And books, as we know them, hadn’t been invented yet. The ancients did write things on scrolls or on walls but reading and writing was an expensive exercise and access to writing materials was not common or widespread.

If you wanted to know something, you had to ask a person who knew what they were talking about and then listen carefully. Storytelling, poetry and song were often used to help people remember what they heard. Repetition was another strategy used to commit ideas to memory.

One thing you notice as you read through Proverbs is the repetition. Some Proverbs are repeated word for word in different chapters and other Proverbs are rephrased in a slightly different way.     

The focus of our message today is Proverbs 16, verse 25, which reads…

There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.

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

Where it says man, it means human being, both men and women.

This verse is basically saying that things are not always as they appear at first. The way something begins is not always how it ends. Or, as Bob Dylan put it, ‘What looks large from a distance, up close is never that big.’

More than this though, Proverbs 16 verse 25, is saying that we human beings are limited in our knowledge and understanding. We cannot rely solely on our own inner compass, or our own judgement. We need an external point of reference to check we are on the right path.  

If you are building a house, then you don’t just use your eye to determine if something is straight. You use a plumb line, a tape measure and a spirit level. Because what looks straight to the naked eye may be off by inches.

Or if you are a guitarist or a violinist then you don’t just tune your instrument by ear. You tune your instrument to a piano that you know is in tune or you use an electronic tuner, as an external point of reference.

Or if you are travelling a great distance in the wilderness or on the open sea, you don’t just follow your gut or your instinct. You use a compass or a sextant or the stars or GPS.      

There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death, is repeated, word for word, in Proverbs 14, verse 12.

We also find similar proverbs elsewhere. In chapter 16, verse 2, for example we read: All a man’s ways seem innocent to him, but motives are weighed by the Lord.

This gives a slightly different nuance of meaning. The idea here is that our mind has a way of fooling us. Our brain has this unfortunate tendency to be biased and filter out (or deny) the inconvenient truth about ourselves.

We might genuinely believe we are doing something with pure motives, when in fact we have mixed motives without being aware of it. Maybe we are compensating for the guilt we feel over something we did in our past. Or maybe we are really more interested in making ourselves look good in the eyes of others. Disinterested virtue is rare.

Each of us has what Carl Jung called a ‘shadow’. Your shadow is that part of yourself that you cannot see. Both good and bad lie hidden in your shadow. God sees what’s in your shadow, but you can’t. None of us is as good as we imagine ourselves to be.        

Proverbs 12, verse 15, gives another take on chapter 16, verse 25… 

The way of a fool seems right to him, but a wise man listens to advice.

This is almost the same as saying: There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death, except Proverbs 12:15 puts the accent on listening to good advice. Seeking the advice of others is one way of using an external point of reference to check whether we are on the right track or not.

The Bible is another external point of reference. When we read the Bible with an open mind, we are seeking the advice of wise men and women from ancient times. Of course, interpretation is key. We still need other believers to moderate our reading of Scripture, so we do not mislead ourselves. More importantly, we need the illumination of the Holy Spirit to discern God’s word.   

Jesus may have had Proverbs 16, verse 25 in mind when he said…

13 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”

The broad road seems right to a person, but it leads to death. While the narrow road seems wrong, but it leads to life.

I don’t think Jesus is talking about being broad minded or narrow minded here. I think the broad road is a poetic way of talking about the easy or popular option, maybe even the cheat’s option. While the narrow road is a poetic way of talking about the more difficult but more honest option. 

When Jesus was being tempted by Satan in the wilderness, the Devil offered Jesus the broad road, the easy road, to power and success. ‘Bow down in worship to me and I will give you all the kingdoms of the world’.

But Jesus refused. Jesus chose the narrow road, the more difficult but honest road, of remaining faithful to God. Jesus stayed loyal to his heavenly Father, even though the narrow road went via the cross. Ultimately though, after the cross, the narrow road led to resurrection and eternal life.

So, if there is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death, how then do we know we are on the right path? How can we discern the way that leads to life and the way that leads to death?

We may listen to the advice of others but if their advice is bad, then where does that leave us? Likewise, we may read the Bible but if we misinterpret what we read then we end up on the wrong path anyway.

Well, I believe that if you are genuine in asking God to show you the right way and you are honest with yourself, the Lord will guide your steps.

 In Proverbs 16, verse 7, we read…

When a man’s ways are pleasing to the Lord, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.

So being at peace with your enemies is a sign that you are on the right path.  

We should note that Proverbs 16, verse 7, is not a promise. It’s not a guarantee. Rather, it is a general rule. When we live in a way that pleases God, we can normally expect to be at peace with those around us.

There are exceptions to this rule of course. But, for the most part, if you do justly, show mercy and walk humbly, then you are more likely to enjoy peace with your neighbours. Makes sense right.   

Scripture interprets Scripture. What examples do we find in the Bible to illustrate this idea that there is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.

One example that comes to mind is found in the book of Jeremiah. Jeremiah was an Old Testament prophet who predicted the fall of Jerusalem. Jeremiah’s message from God was, don’t resist the might of the Babylonian empire.

Any nation that does not serve the king of Babylon will be punished with sword, famine and plague… But any nation that does bow its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him, will live in its own land.

In other words, do not try to defend yourselves against the Babylonian army because you are not going to win.

To the Jews of his day, Jeremiah seemed unpatriotic. He seemed to lack faith in God. Other prophets (false ones) were telling the people that God would fight for them and Jerusalem would never fall.

And what these false prophets were saying seemed right to the people. Afterall, only a century earlier, during the time of king Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah, God delivered Jerusalem from the Assyrians.

Hardly anyone agreed with Jeremiah’s minority report and Jerusalem was destroyed with the survivors being taken into exile, just as Jeremiah predicted.

Jesus had a similar message for the Israelites of his day. Like Jeremiah, Jesus wept over Jerusalem.

Jesus’ message was, don’t resist the Romans. My kingdom is not of this world. Turn the other cheek. Walk the extra mile. This is the way of peace. If you fight against the Romans, you will cause yourself unimaginable suffering.

Tragically, the people ignored Jesus. Resisting the might of the Roman empire seemed right to most Jews at the time, but it led to death. Over a million people were killed in the siege of Jerusalem in AD70.

Jesus wept then and I imagine he still weeps now.

There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.

God’s ways are not our ways.

The Pharisees of Jesus’ day believed strongly that their way was the right way. They genuinely thought all their rules, which acted like a fence around the Law, were pleasing to God. But their way led to death.

Throughout the gospels Jesus challenged the Pharisees and religious leaders. Jesus called them out on their self-righteousness and hypocrisy saying things like…

Woe to you Pharisees, because you give a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone.

Also, “… you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness…”

This tells us something about the way of life that pleases God. It tells us God is pleased with justice and generosity. It tells us God is pleased when religion is based on love for him and our neighbour. It tells us God does not like it when people use religion as a way to hide evil. True religion, true faith, true spirituality needs to come from the inside out. 

It wasn’t just the Pharisees who got it wrong. Even Jesus’ disciples, his closest friends, misunderstood God’s ways at times.  

In Matthew 16 we read what happened when Peter thought he knew best…

21 From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.

22 Peter took Jesus aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!”

Simon Peter meant well. It seemed right to him that Jesus should not suffer. But Peter was well off track.  

23 Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”

This must have hurt. Imagine thinking you were doing something good, only to be told by Jesus himself that you are aligned with Satan, the one opposed to God’s purpose. The strength of Jesus’ response to Peter mirrors the seriousness of Peter’s error.

24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 25 For whoever wants to save their lifewill lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.

We may have heard those words so many times they wash over us without penetrating our heart. But Jesus’ message here is shocking. This is a slap in the face, a reality check.

Picking up your cross is a metaphor for suffering in very real ways. To carry a cross in Roman times was to face pain, shame and death. No one wanted to be crucified. No one thought, ‘Oh, carrying a cross, that seems right and good to me. Let’s do that’.

Jesus’ words are counter intuitive, they turn our thinking upside down. Jesus inverts traditional wisdom. Traditional wisdom says, ‘choose the line of least resistance’. Picking up your cross and following Jesus, is the opposite of that.     

The apostle Paul put it in similar terms when he talked about offering your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God for this is your spiritual act of worship.  

The point is, serving God’s purpose, following Jesus’ way, is not an easy or glorious experience. It is difficult. It will cost you.

As a Christian you probably won’t have to literally carry a cross or be flogged or nailed to a tree, like Jesus was. But there will be times when obeying Jesus in faith makes you feel uncomfortable, frustrated, vulnerable and powerless. You will look foolish at times. You will be misunderstood. You will lose and you will wonder what the point is.  

Not that it’s all bad. There are also times when serving Jesus feels like a good fit and a privilege. But the values of God’s kingdom are so different from the values of this world that staying loyal to God’s values will inevitably result in personal suffering. The good news is, if you share in Christ’s sufferings, you will (one day) share in his glory.

Not that glory will matter to you by then. In the end you won’t be interested in glory. You won’t care what other people think. You will simply want Christ to hold you.

In Matthew 5, Jesus gives us the beatitudes. The beatitudes spell out what the right way looks like. What we notice about the beatitudes is the ‘right way’ does not always seem right at first. The beatitudes could be summarised like this: ‘There is a way that does not seem right to a man, but in the end it leads to life’.

For example: Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

To be poor in spirit is to be emotionally depleted, at the end of your rope, weak and vulnerable, like you have been emptied of your courage and motivation. No one chooses to be poor in spirit. No one says, ‘I think I will be poor in spirit today because that seems right to me’. Being poor in spirit is something that circumstance forces on you.

Jesus said you are blessed or lucky if you are poor in spirit because being poor in spirit is a pathway to the kingdom of heaven. Being poor in spirit means you are aware of your need for God and willing to depend on him because you have nothing else.

Another example from the beatitudes of what the right way looks like.

Jesus said: Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

In order to be merciful, you have to be in a position of power in relation to someone else. The merciful are those who use their power to save or help others, as opposed to ignoring or oppressing others. Mercy might mean forgiving a debt or lifting someone out of a hole (literally or metaphorically). 

Mercy, therefore, is a choice. Jesus is saying that the measure you use for others is the measure God will use for you. If you show mercy to others, God will show mercy to you.

Showing mercy usually feels like a sacrifice. Showing mercy will cost you and so it is not easy to show mercy. Forgiving someone may not seem right, when what you really want is revenge. But, as right as revenge might feel in the moment, it leads to death. Mercy, on the other hand, leads to life for you.   

We don’t have to time to go through all the beatitudes now. You can study them yourself later, if you want to know the way that does not seem right, but in the end leads to life.

Suffice to say that when it comes to discerning the right way, we need to look to Jesus. Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. Jesus is our best external point of reference when it comes to measuring decisions. Jesus’ example embodies the way we need to take.

May the Lord bless you and guide you by the light of his presence in all the decisions you make, large and small. 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?

  • Discuss / reflect on the meaning of Proverbs 16:25. ‘There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death’. 
  • Can you think of a time when you (or someone else) did what seemed right, but it ended badly? What happened?
  • What did Jesus mean by the broad road and the narrow road, in Matthew 7:13-14?
  • How can we know if we are on the right path? What are some external points of reference we can use to check if the way we are choosing is actually right? What do we know about the way that pleases God?
  • How do the beatitudes in Matthew 5 inform (and challenge) our understanding of the right way?
  • Why do we need to include Jesus in our decision making? How might we do this? 
Tawa Baptist

A Gentle Answer

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

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

Structure:

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

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

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

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

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

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

A gentle answer:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Abigail:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jesus:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sometimes wrath prevails:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Conclusion:  

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Questions for discussion or reflection:

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

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