Tawa Baptist

Time & Place

Scripture: Deuteronomy 1:1-8

Video Link: https://youtu.be/tL-huaR34VI

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Time
  • Place
  • Word
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

In order to run a horse needs four legs. Cars are similar, they need four wheels to drive. And the human body functions best with four limbs, two legs and two arms.

The early church, during the first century, used the Old Testament for their Bible. The New Testament (as we know it today) was still a work in progress. Four Old Testament books in particular were favourites of the early Christians: Genesis, Psalms, Isaiah and Deuteronomy.

These four books were like the four legs of a horse or the four wheels of a car or the four limbs of the human body. Early Christians relied on them.

Modern Christians are different though. We quite like Genesis, the Psalms and Isaiah but we are not as keen on Deuteronomy. If we think of the Old Testament as a body, then it’s like we’ve got four limbs but we are only using three of them.  Certainly I have preached a lot from the Old Testament through the years but not much at all from Deuteronomy.

Deuteronomy is quoted over eighty times in the New Testament. It was a favourite book of Jesus, John & Paul, yet it is largely lost on us. So, with that in view, we are embarking on a new sermon series in the book of Deuteronomy. Let’s learn how to use this limb which has been sitting idle for so long.

Not sure how long it will take. Probably we will have to do it in parts, like we have with other larger books of the Bible. Hopefully we survive it together. Anyway, here goes. From Deuteronomy chapter 1, verses 1-8 we begin…

These are the words Moses spoke to all Israel in the wilderness east of the Jordan—that is, in the Arabah—opposite Suph, between Paran and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth and Dizahab. 2 (It takes eleven days to go from Horeb to Kadesh Barnea by the Mount Seir road.) 3 In the fortieth year, on the first day of the eleventh month, Moses proclaimed to the Israelites all that the Lord had commanded him concerning them. 4 This was after he had defeated Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon, and at Edrei had defeated Og king of Bashan, who reigned in Ashtaroth. 5 East of the Jordan in the territory of Moab, Moses began to expound this law, saying: 6 The Lord our God said to us at Horeb, “You have stayed long enough at this mountain. 7 Break camp and advance into the hill country of the Amorites; go to all the neighbouring peoples in the Arabah, in the mountains, in the western foothills, in the Negev and along the coast, to the land of the Canaanites and to Lebanon, as far as the great river, the Euphrates. 8 See, I have given you this land. Go in and take possession of the land the Lord swore he would give to your fathers—to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob—and to their descendants after them.”

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

Now, with an opening like that, it is little wonder that a modern audience is not inclined to read Deuteronomy. The first few verses seem quite dry. They don’t exactly start with a bang like a Hollywood movie. It mostly sounds like a list of names and places we haven’t heard of and that don’t mean much to us.

What we notice, on reflection though, is that these eight verses are talking about time, place and words. Specifically, the words of Moses. So, if we are going to understand Deuteronomy, then there’s something important we need to grasp about time, place and words. Let’s start with time.

Time:

Do you remember the story of Rip Van Winkle? It is a fictional story about lost time. Rip Van Winkle is walking in the mountains one day with his dog Wolf, when he comes across some shady characters who give him a strange substance to drink. Rip is quite happy to imbibe the ale but falls asleep soon after.

When he wakes up, his dog is gone, his beard has grown to his waist and his clothes are falling to pieces. Rip returns to the village to discover his children have grown into adulthood and the American Revolution has been and gone.

His walk in the woods, which should have taken no more than a day, has ended up taking 20 years. The world has moved on and changed without him. He has some adjustments to make. With the rate at which the world is so rapidly changing today, some of us may feel like Rip Van Winkle at times.

From verse 2 of Deuteronomy 1 we read…

2 (It takes eleven days to go from Horeb to Kadesh Barnea by the Mount Seir road.) 3 In the fortieth year, on the first day of the eleventh month, Moses proclaimed to the Israelites all that the Lord had commanded him concerning them.

It seems that a journey which should have only taken a couple of weeks ended up taking 40 years. Like Rip Van Winkle the people of Israel lost quite a bit of time in the wilderness. Unlike Rip, the Israelites were not sleeping.

Moses lived around the 13th Century BC. So that’s about 3,300 years ago, give or take. If we read the opening verses of Deuteronomy at face value, then Moses’ words were delivered at a time of transition for the Israelites. The nation was on the cusp of entering the Promised Land, with all the possibilities and problems that entailed.

When you dig a little deeper though, you find that Deuteronomy contains a timeless message. It wasn’t just helpful for Israel in the wilderness, preparing to take the land, it also had something to say to the people of Judah, around 600-700 BC, who were trying to hold their place in the land. Then later, after the people had been taken into exile, Deuteronomy spoke a word to those hoping to return to the land.

It seems Deuteronomy is particularly relevant for times of transition and change. This might be one of the reasons Deuteronomy struck a chord with the early church; because Jesus’ coming brought monumental change, both on a personal level but also at a wider societal level.

We, today, live at a time of unbelievable change and transition. What might Deuteronomy have to say to us?

Place goes hand in hand with time. You can’t have a time without a place.

Place:

In New Zealand culture, and in Maori culture especially, place is very important. When someone gives their Pepeha, when they introduce themselves in Maori, they refer to the place they come from. They talk about where their Marae is located as well as the name of their mountain and river.

When we talk about the place we come from and the people we are related to, we are essentially describing our home.

A place to call home was very important to Israel as well. The people had just spent 40 years wandering the wilderness with no place to call home. Now they were about to take possession of a place God had promised them.

The first two verses of Deuteronomy 1 are peppered with place names. For example: The Arabah opposite Suph, between Paran and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth and Dizahab.

We also come across a place called Horeb. Horeb, is another name for Mount Sinai. Kadesh Barnea comes up a few times too.

It is verse 7 though, where Moses quotes the Lord in describing the boundaries of the land…

…go to all the neighbouring peoples in the Arabah, in the mountains, in the western foothills, in the Negev and along the coast, to the land of the Canaanites and to Lebanon, as far as the great river, the Euphrates. 8 See, I have given you this land. 

A place is more than just an empty space. For a space to become a place, it needs boundaries. There was a lot of empty space in the wilderness of Sinai but the wilderness was not Israel’s place.

The boundaries of the land, given in verse 7, define Israel’s place. Deuteronomy is a book which defines boundaries. Not just physical and geographical boundaries but moral and ethical boundaries as well.

Without boundaries, space becomes terrifying and dangerous. Boundaries provide security and freedom; they make a place safe and functional.

The boundaries God gives are generous and wise. They are tailored to fit his people.        

Patrick Miller makes the observation that Israel’s land (their place to call home) is promised, given and taken.

God promised the land to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The people of Israel have not arrived in this place by accident. They are there by God’s design.

The Promised Land is given by God. It is not deserved or earned. It is offered.

At the same time though, the land needs to be taken by Israel. Israel needs to act if they are going to take possession of the land. Divine gift and human action are two parts of the same whole.

The Promised Land is for us a symbol of God’s Kingdom, our salvation. God’s kingdom is both given by God and, at the same time, taken by us. God’s offer of salvation requires an active response from us, if we are to realise it.    

For us, Israel’s place in the Middle East is associated with a long history of conflict. I don’t really understand the politics of it and I don’t think it would helpful to try and unpick that history too much.

We are followers of Jesus, the Christ. Jesus was never that interested in geopolitical conflicts. Jesus is interested in place though. In John 14, the night before his crucifixion and death, Jesus said to his disciples…

“Do not be worried and upset. Believein God and believe also in me. 2 There are many rooms in my Father’s house, and I am going to prepare a place for you. I would not tell you this if it were not so. 3 And after I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to myself, so that you will be where I am. 4 You know the way that leads to the place where I am going.”

The place Jesus was talking about here is a place with God; a room in God’s home. This place is eternal and secure.

If we think of this life as a journey through the wilderness, then crossing the Jordan River to enter the Promised Land is like passing through death to eternal life to be with God our Father.  

John 14 often gets read at funerals and that is appropriate but it also speaks to us in this life, when we feel out of place, like we don’t fit or don’t belong.

God is our home and Jesus is the way home. 

We have been talking about time and place. Deuteronomy is a book that is relevant for all time, especially times of transition and change. At the same time, Deuteronomy is a book about place. It defines the boundaries which give a particular place security and freedom.

Deuteronomy is also a book of words; the words of Moses. Moses’ words give meaning, purpose and identity to Israel’s place, their home. Moses’ words remind Israel of who they are and why they are.

Words:

We live in an age of information overload, an age of advertising, marketing and hype. True silence (inner silence) is a rare and precious thing.

Ironically, the effect of this inflation of information is that words seem cheap to us. Words appear to have lost most of their value. But appearances can be deceiving. Words are still very powerful.

The right words, spoken in the right place at the right time are like seeds planted in the soil of our mind. Good words have the potential to grow and bear fruit in our lives.

There are three references to Moses’ words in the opening five verses of Deuteronomy chapter 1.

The book of Deuteronomy starts like this: These are the words Moses spoke to all Israel…  

Then, in verse 3 we read: Moses proclaimed to the Israelites all that the Lord had commanded him concerning them.

And in verse 5: Moses began to expound this law…

We could think of Deuteronomy as Moses’ last and perhaps greatest sermon series to the nation of Israel. The book is presented as three or four speeches by Moses. But these sermons are not just Moses’ ideas. Moses is proclaiming and explaining God’s word so the people can understand it and know how to apply it.

Simply put, Moses is the mediator of God’s word.

If God’s word is like a seed, then Moses is like the gardener who plants the seed and waters it and protects it.

Or if God’s word is like information being sent through a fibre cable, then Moses is the technician who connects the cable to your house.

Or if God’s word is like a foreign language that we don’t understand, then Moses is the interpreter making the meaning clear to the people.

Or if God’s word is like electricity, then Moses is the electrician who installs the wiring and switches so we can turn the lights on and see.

Or if God’s word is like flour and water, yeast and salt, then Moses is the baker who kneads the dough and bakes the bread so the people can eat.

Or if God’s word is like an aeroplane, then Moses is the pilot and navigator flying the passengers to the airport of a new and different country.     

Moses is the mediator of God’s word.

The gospel of John, in the New Testament, opens like this…

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all humankind.

The Word that John was writing about here is Jesus, the Christ.

While Moses was the mediator of God’s Word, Jesus actually is God’s Word.

Therefore, Moses’ words in Deuteronomy were pointing to Jesus.

A few verses later, John makes a connection between Moses and Jesus saying…

16 Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

Do you see what John is saying here? The law of Moses is grace already given. We might be inclined to read into these verses a disconnect between Moses and Jesus, as if the law that came through Moses was somehow different from or in opposition to the grace that comes through Jesus.

But the law of Moses and the grace of Jesus are not two separate things. They are not divorced from each other or opposed. The Law of Moses and the grace & truth of Jesus are an organic whole. They go together. They are in continuity with each other. Jesus fulfils the law of Moses. 

If we think of Deuteronomy like the roots of a tree, then the gospel of Jesus is the fruit of that same tree. Deuteronomy is the gospel according to Moses.

The difference here is not between law and grace. The law of Moses is an expression of God’s grace. The difference between Moses and Jesus is that Moses was the mediator of God’s word, whereas Jesus actually is God’s word incarnate, in the flesh, in human form.

To put it another way, if we think of God’s word as light, then Jesus is like the sun (the source of light) and Moses is like the moon, which merely reflects the sun’s light.

Conclusion:

Time, place and words. In Deuteronomy, Moses is sowing the right words at the right time and in the right place. The seeds of his words were given by God to grow into a home for Israel and for all God’s people. 

If you are homeless, adrift in the world, living on the edge of possibility, somewhere between hope and despair, then I believe Deuteronomy contains God’s word for you.

Or if your security is threatened, if your family are under pressure and you are struggling to keep your home together, then I believe Deuteronomy contains God’s word for you too.

Or if you have lost your home, had it ripped out from under you so that you no longer feel like you fit. If you long to return home, then I believe Deuteronomy contains God’s word for you also.

Let us pray…  

Father God, you are our home. Lord Jesus, you are the way home. Holy Spirit, you are our guide. Help us at this time and in this place with the words of life we need to bring others with us, as we make our way home to the Father. Through Jesus we pray. 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?

  • Which are your favourite books in the Old Testament and why? Have you spent much time reading Deuteronomy? Why or why not? Why was Deuteronomy a favourite book for the early church?
  • What societal changes have you noticed in your lifetime? What transitions are we (in NZ) currently going through? What do you think our country needs at this time?
  • Why are boundaries important?
  • Have you ever felt out of place? What was that like? Discuss / reflect on John 14:1-4. What do these verses tell us about our place (our home) and how to get there? 
  • Can you think of a time in your own life when you received the right word at the right time and in the right place? What happened and what was the effect?
  • What is the relationship between Moses and Jesus?
Tawa Baptist

Psalm 84

Scripture: Psalm 84

Video Link: https://youtu.be/T0b7x_uOo7Q

Key Point: God is our home

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

A question for you. Who came up with this quote?

“One road leads home and a thousand roads lead into the wilderness”  

[Wait] Apparently it was C.S. Lewis, from his book The Pilgrim’s Regress.

Today’s message is based on Psalm 84. Psalm 84 is about the road that leads home to God. From verse 1 we read…  

1 How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord Almighty! 2 My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. 3 Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young— a place near your altar, Lord Almighty, my King and my God. 4 Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you. 5 Blessed are those whose strength is in you, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage. 6 As they pass through the Valley of Baka, they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools. 7 They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion. 8 Hear my prayer, Lord God Almighty; listen to me, God of Jacob. 9 Look on our shield,O God; look with favour on your anointed one. 10 Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked. 11 For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favour and honour; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless. 12 Lord Almighty, blessed is the one who trusts in you.

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

God is referred to more than 20 times in the 12 verses of this psalm and references to God’s dwelling crop up about 10 times. The main idea seems to be: God is our home.

A home is different from a house. A house is a building but a home is a place of belonging and connection, a place of sanctuary and refuge, a place of comfort where we can let down our defences and be ourselves.  

Home, in the best sense of that word, meets the needs of our soul. When we are away from home we ache for it.

God is our home:

During the 19th Century, Elizabeth Browning wrote this poem…

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of being and ideal grace.
I love thee to the level of every day’s
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for right.
I love thee purely, as they turn from praise.
I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood’s faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints. I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life; and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.

Elizabeth Browning wrote this sonnet for her husband Robert Browning. It is about her love for him, a love which is multifaceted and which she hopes will transcend death. Their love is not just physical, it is spiritual.

Elizabeth Browning’s poem is an expression of deep, heartfelt feeling. It is unrestrained and unashamed, her heart on the page. Robert is her home.

As well as being a poet, Elizabeth Browning was also a campaigner against slavery and human trafficking. She was an advocate for those who had lost their home through injustice.

Elizabeth Browning’s poem parallels the feeling of the poet in Psalm 84. Psalm 84 reads like a love poem, only the author isn’t writing for their husband or wife. They are writing for God and in particular his presence symbolised in the Jerusalem temple.

From verse 1 we read: 1 How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord Almighty! 2 My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.  

When the psalmist describes God’s dwelling place as ‘lovely’, he doesn’t just mean how nice or pleasant. The sense is more like, ‘How dear to me is your dwelling place. I love it so much’.

But it’s not primarily God’s house that the psalmist holds dear. It is the one whose presence is found in the house; it is God himself that the psalmist longs for. My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. In other words, my whole being aches for you God. You are my home.

Or as Elizabeth Browning would say: How do I love you [Lord]? Let me count the ways. I love you to the depth and breadth and height my soul can reach.

Verse 3 provides an image full of warmth where it says: 3 Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young— a place near your altar, Lord Almighty, my King and my God.

If even sparrows and swallows can make a home in God’s temple, then how much more does the psalmist belong. The psalmist knows God is his home.   

Sparrows and swallows normally mate for life. They are loyal to their mate. Perhaps the psalmist is intimating that he worships only one God and he is loyal to the Lord his God for life.

Sparrows don’t generally leave home. They tend to stay in the same place pretty much all their lives, if they can. In contrast, swallows tend to travel long distances in migration. The image of the sparrows and the swallows suggests that both those who have never left home and those who have wandered far and wide can find a home with God.

As verses 4 & 5 say: Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you. 5 Blessed are those whose strength is in you, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.

These verses might be saying, whether you stay at home with God, like the sparrow, or whether you travel a long way to draw near to God, like the swallow, you are blessed. 

Some people grow up in a Christian family. They go to church all their life and never stray far from the Lord or his people. They are blessed, they are fortunate. Others don’t start life knowing about God or going to church. They may learn about God’s love and become followers of Jesus later in life. They may have further to travel but they too are blessed.

And then there are those who, for whatever reason, spend time in the wilderness, when God seems a long way away. Maybe the wilderness wanderings are of their own making, like the prodigal son in Jesus’ parable. Or maybe the wilderness years are not their choice, like a forced exile. Either way, there is strength and blessing for those whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.

My great-grandfather served with the New Zealand expeditionary forces in Egypt, Turkey and England during the First World War. He was overseas for around four years during which time he kept a diary of his experience. Nothing too deep, more of a record of what he did each day.

In those times, over 100 years ago now, troops were transported by ship, rather than plane. Each day, on the boat ride home, Albert had only one entry; the number of miles the ship had travelled that day. Albert’s heart was set on home. He’d had enough of war and couldn’t wait to get back to New Zealand.

This is what it is like for those in Psalm 84 whose hearts are set on pilgrimage. They can’t wait to get back home to the Jerusalem temple, the special place of God’s presence.

You may recall, the heart in ancient Hebrew thought refers to a person’s inner life, their mind basically. And a pilgrimage is a special road trip or journey to draw near to God. Ancient Jews tended to make literal pilgrimages to Jerusalem for the various religious festivals, like Passover and Pentecost.

Going a little deeper though, to have one’s heart set on pilgrimage is to have a mind-set or an orientation directed toward God. Or to say it another way, to set your heart on pilgrimage means to have a highway in your mind to God.

So, for example, when something goes wrong the first thing we think to do is pray and ask God to lead us in accordance with his will. And when something goes well, the first thing we think to do is thank God for his grace. And when we have some spare time, our preference is to spend that time enjoying God, looking for signs of his presence, like divine finger prints on the day.          

Verses 6 & 7 describe what it is like for those whose hearts are set on pilgrimage: 6 As they pass through the Valley of Baka, they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools.

My grandfather was a well driller. He did all sorts of drilling but his main work was putting down water bores for farmers and whoever else wanted one.

Drilling water wells is something life giving for people and stock. Once a well is put in place it is fairly permanent. You can’t really take the water well with you when you leave the farm. A water well is a lasting legacy. 

The Valley of Baka (in verse 6) is thought to be a dry and arid place. The road back home to God’s presence is not easy in places. Drawing close to God through pilgrimage may feel tiring and dry and inhospitable at times. But those who believe that God is their home make what would otherwise by a dry journey a place of springs.

For Jewish pilgrims of old this may have meant digging physical wells in dry places. For the followers of Jesus (Christian pilgrims) this equates to being a blessing to God’s world. As we journey through this world we are to dig wells, or leave a life giving legacy, for those who follow after us.   

Jesus’ life and teaching (recorded in the gospels) is the deepest well, with the purest water. But there are other wells we can draw from too.

Perhaps the point of application for us is: how might we dig wells in dry places as we journey through life? We do this by sharing the gifts God has given us.

Elizabeth Browning’s poetry is a well for those who take the time to dip into it. C.S. Lewis’ writing is a well for those who read his books with thoughtfulness. The people who paid for and built this church auditorium have left us a well to gather around for worship. The musicians who wrote the songs we sing in church have left wells for us to be refreshed by as we sing their songs.

When you dig deep in giving your time and love to someone else, particularly a child or a young person, you are digging wells of refreshment which they can draw from long after you have gone. Our Deacons do quite a bit of spade work too, in the form of careful decision making to help our congregation both in the present and the future.

What gift has God given you to share? What kind of well (or legacy) can you leave for those who come after you?       

Verse 7 says of these pilgrims: They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion.

You know when you are on a long hike through the bush or up a mountain, there comes a point when you feel a bit weary. Then, as the end gets closer, you find a second wind. The hope of reaching your goal spurs you on with new strength and a vigour you did not know you had.

Zion is another word for the city of God. Ancient Jews probably thought of the earthly Jerusalem as Zion, God’s holy city. For Christians though, Zion refers to the heavenly Jerusalem. To appear before God in Zion is a way of talking about returning home to God.

We belong with God. God is our home, our sanctuary, our refuge, the one with whom we can be ourselves.   

In verses 8 & 9 the psalmist offers a prayer to God, saying: Look on our shield,O God; look with favour on your anointed one.

The phrase anointed one refers to the king of Israel, the leader of God’s people. The king is also referred to as our shield. In ancient times it was the king’s job to protect the nation, and that’s why he is called a shield. The psalmist is asking God’s favour or grace for the king because when the king is supported by God the whole nation prospers.

In Greek ‘anointed one’ translates as Christ and in Hebrew as Messiah.

For Christians, Jesus is the Christ or the Messiah, God’s anointed one. Jesus is our king and our shield. We look to Jesus for leadership and protection.

What we find though is that Jesus does not necessarily protect us from military or political threat. Rather, Jesus protects us from the power of sin and death, bringing us home to eternal life with God.

Verse 10 reads: Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.

Psalm 84, was written by the Sons of Korah. The Sons of Korah were Levites, part of the tribe of Levi (nothing to do with denim jeans by the way).

In ancient Israel, God appointed the Levites to serve in his temple. The Levites were not authorised to make sacrifices like the priests. Instead they did things like, being on door duty and singing in the choir.

The Sons of Korah were most likely descended from the same Korah who led a rebellion against Moses in the wilderness. Korah was killed for his disobedience when the ground opened up and swallowed him whole, in Numbers 16. But some of his descendants survived and were appointed by David to lead the temple music. [1] It is a lovely story of redemption.

I imagine the descendants of Korah felt some shame because of what their great, great granddaddy did. But God did not hold it against them. The Lord bestows favour and honour.

Some listening to this may carry a sense of shame because of what someone else in their family has done. Let me say to you, God does not hold the actions of your parents or your grandparents against you. We cannot deny the past but we are free to follow a different path from our forebears.

Verse 11 says: For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favour and honour; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless.

To say that God is a sun means that God is the source of all that is life-giving and good. And to say that God is a shield means that God is in fact our King, our protector, our security.

Being blameless, in Hebrew thought, means to be whole or wholehearted. Not two faced but having integrity, so that what you say is one with what you do. Not behaving one way at church on a Sunday and then a different way at home or at school or at work the rest of the week.    

Being blameless then is not about being perfect and never making a mistake. Being blameless is about being the real deal, the genuine article. Not being phoney, not being a chameleon.

In the Marvel (movie) universe, Thor was blameless (in the sense of being wholehearted), while Loki was two faced. And in Jane Austin’s Pride & Prejudice, Mr Darcy was wholehearted, while Mr Wickham was not.   

The Sons of Korah are not faking it. They are wholehearted in their musical worship and in the walk (or rhythms) of their daily lives.

Verse 11, where it talks about God not withholding any good thing, reminds me of Jesus’ words in Matthew 7 where the Lord says…

7 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. 9 “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!

This is in keeping with the idea that God is our home. Jesus wants us to understand that God is a loving Father who knows how to give good things to His children. It does not necessarily follow that we will always get what we want though.

The 19th Century German artist, Caspar Friedrich has a painting called, “Wanderer above the sea fog”. It shows a man standing on a rocky outcrop overlooking a rugged landscape shrouded in fog. The wanderer cannot see a clear path ahead but he looks quite relaxed. One gets the sense he will find his way home through the fog.

The band U2 have a song called Walk On. It is about home and exile, among other things. Bono has a line in the song where he sings: Home, hard to know what it is if you’ve never had one.

That line resonates. Our collective sense of home has been severely eroded. In the developed world homes are ripped apart by domestic violence, separation and divorce. Hundreds of thousands of kids grow up without any sense of security or any idea of what a functional home life looks like.    

And in other parts of the world people are forced to flee their homes because of war or famine. Literally millions of people are displaced through no fault of their own. Hundreds of thousands of kids grow up in refugee camps.

Home, hard to know what it is if you’ve never had one.    

I’m not sure what you feel when you hear me say, ‘God is our home’. Maybe you feel confused because you’ve never really experienced anything approximating a real home. Or maybe you feel angry because you had a home once but then it was taken from you.

Or maybe you feel hopeful because you are looking forward to that day when you will finally be at home with God, in Zion. 

In another part of that same song by U2, Bono sings a line pregnant with hope: We’re packing a suit case for a place none of us has been. It’s a place that has to be believed, to be seen.   

Our eternal home (with God) is a place that has to be believed to be seen. We can’t really imagine it yet. The best we can do is trust God.

Psalm 84 finishes with another beatitude: Lord Almighty, blessed is the one who trusts in you.

Trust is more difficult for some than others. If you have been let down or betrayed by those close to you, or had your home ripped out from under your feet, then you may find it hard to trust. Trust is a gift from God.

Most of you are here this morning (or listening to this on-line) because you do trust God, or at least you want to trust him, even if it is a struggle at times.

I believe trusting God is worth the risk. We all have things that go wrong in our life and reasons not to trust. But a lot of things go well also, or at least are not as bad as they might have been.

Conclusion:

The journey home to God requires us to make a choice every day to trust God. We have to believe that God will guide us through the fog. Trust is the foundation on which our home is built.

The good news is that we do not make the journey alone. Jesus gives us his Spirit to guide and help. In John 14, the night before his crucifixion and death, Jesus said to his disciples…

“Do not be worried and upset. Believe in God and believe also in me. There are many rooms in my Father’s house, and I am going to prepare a place for you.”

Let us pray…

Father God, you are our home. Help us to trust you regardless of the changing circumstances of our lives. Be our sun and our shield. Guide us and protect us. When the way home is dry, give us strength to dig deep and leave wells for those who follow in our steps. Make us a blessing to others and bring us into your presence with honour and joy. Through Jesus we pray. 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 is the difference between a home and a house? What was your home life like growing up?
  • What might the psalmist be wanting to convey by using the image of sparrows and swallows? Which bird to do you identify with more, the sparrow or the swallow? Why?
  • What does it mean to have your heart set on pilgrimage?
  • What gift has God given you to share with others? What ‘well’ can you leave as a life-giving legacy to those who come after you?
  • How do you feel when you hear the phrase, ‘God is our home’? Why do you feel this way? What did Jesus have to say about home? 
  •  Take some time to look at and reflect on Caspar Friedrich’s painting “Wanderer above the sea fog”. Alternatively, listen to the song “Walk On” by U2. Do either of these pieces of art resonate with your experience? How? 

[1] Derek Kidner, 49-50