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live in Love; find your true reward
Tuesday, January 9, 2018
Sunday, October 22, 2017
Humble Faith Follows – 3:1-17
As a writer, there
are lots of things to keep in mind as a story progresses. Characters, plot,
setting. The longer the story the more characters and settings there will be,
and they somehow have to tie into the plot in a smooth way. However, that’s not
all: theme and symbolism also play a huge role. These are ultimately what makes
the story more than just another story; they are what keep a story around for
several generations, or ultimately what constitute a classic. However, though there
are many other things that go into a good story, pace is what I want to focus
on today. The speed at which the story is told is important. It can be used to
build suspense, or it can be used to mitigate suspense. It causes the reader to
say, “Hurry up already and get to the point,” which keeps them turning the page
until they reach a conclusion. Or it can cause a reader to say, “I just didn’t
really get into it, because it was all over too quickly.” In the same way, our
historian is a master of pacing, as our text today will prove.
Our historian writes,
“Joshua started early the next morning and left the Acacia Grove with all the
Israelites. They went as far as the Jordan and stayed there before crossing.
After three days the officers went through the camp and commanded
the people: ‘When you see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God carried
by the Levitical priests, you must break camp and follow it. But keep a
distance of about 1,000 yards between yourselves and the ark. Don’t go near it,
so that you can see the way to go, for you haven’t traveled this way before.’ Joshua
told the people, ‘Consecrate yourselves, because the LORD will do wonders among
you tomorrow.’ Then he said to the priests, ‘Take the ark of the covenant
and go on ahead of the people.’ So they carried the ark of the covenant and
went ahead of them. The LORD spoke to Joshua: ‘Today I will begin to
exalt you in the sight of all Israel, so they will know that I will be with you
just as I was with Moses. Command the priests carrying the ark of the
covenant: When you reach the edge of the waters, stand in the Jordan.’ Then
Joshua told the Israelites, ‘Come closer and listen to the words of the LORD
your God.’ He said: ‘You will know that the living God is among you and
that He will certainly dispossess before you the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites,
Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites, and Jebusites when the ark of the
covenant of the Lord of all the earth goes ahead of you into the Jordan.
Now choose 12 men from the tribes of Israel, one man for each tribe.
When the feet of the priests who carry the ark of the LORD, the Lord of
all the earth, come to rest in the Jordan’s waters, its waters will be cut off.
The water flowing downstream will stand up ⌊in⌋ a mass.’ When the people
broke camp to cross the Jordan, the priests carried the ark of the covenant
ahead of the people. Now the Jordan overflows its banks throughout the
harvest season. But as soon as the priests carrying the ark reached the Jordan,
their feet touched the water at its edge and the water flowing downstream stood
still, rising up ⌊in⌋ a mass that extended as far as
Adam, a city next to Zarethan. The water flowing downstream into the Sea of the
Arabah (the Dead Sea) was completely cut off, and the people crossed opposite
Jericho. The priests carrying the ark of the LORD’s covenant stood firmly
on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, while all Israel crossed on dry
ground until the entire nation had finished crossing the Jordan.”
So by this point the
spies have just returned to Joshua. They had spent three days in the mountains
after speaking with Rahab. Joshua had told Israel in chapter 1:11 that they
would be moving in three days. With that knowledge, it is time for the people
to move again. After a focus on the spies for three days, it is now time to
zoom out and look at the whole nation again. Through the use of expert
narrative pacing, our historian wants to show us that God is faithful to keep
His promises, and that He is present with His people. He shows us this through
the use of multiple speeches.
But before getting
to the first speech, we read in verses 1-2, “Joshua started early the next
morning and left the Acacia Grove with all the Israelites. They went as far as
the Jordan and stayed there before crossing. After three days the
officers went through the camp.”
For convenience
sake, let’s say that the spies entered Jericho on Sunday. They would have
returned to Joshua on Tuesday night. Wednesday morning they all left the Acacia
Grove and set up a new camp on the eastern shore of the Jordan River. After
three more days, action happens.
The first speech
is given by the officers to the people in verses 3-4, “When you see the ark of
the covenant of the LORD your God carried by the Levitical priests, you must break
camp and follow it. But keep a distance of about 1,000 yards between
yourselves and the ark. Don’t go near it, so that you can see the way to go,
for you haven’t traveled this way before.”
So, to keep the
convenient time scale going, the officers go throughout the camp three days
after the Wednesday march. Sometime on Friday the officers go throughout the
camp and tell the people what they need to be watching for. They tell the
people that the ark of the covenant of Yahweh their God being moved by the
Levitical priests is their sign to move out. However, in telling them this,
they also give a boundary. They say that the people must not come within 1,000
yards—literally 2,000 cubits—of the ark because the ark is their guide. One
commentator says, “The distance of 2000 cubits was approximately that of the
outer bank of the Jordan to the inner bed.”[1]
The people were to have faith and follow the ark, and they were not to
pridefully think that they were wiser than God; their faith was to be shown in
humble following at a distance of more than half a mile.
So, before moving
on, I must ask us, do we trust God humbly? Or are we insistent on always
saying, “God, I know what’s best for me, and You need to do it for me”? Do we
follow too closely in a prideful—God can’t lead me best—mindset? Of course God
wants us to follow Him, and to follow Him closely—possible only through
Jesus—but we must be humble in our following and not insist that we know better
than God. If we act in that way, we really aren’t following God, we’re telling
God to follow us, which is the height of sinful pride.
There is another,
very real sense in which the people were told to follow at that great distance
simply for their own safety. Second Samuel 6 tells the story of a man being
struck dead for touching the ark. God wants us to follow Him because He knows
best and because He wants to protect us. When we say, “God, You’d better do
what I want You to do,” we’re ultimately saying, “I want pain and sorrow to
come to me, because I know better than the one who works everything out for my
good.” This is why many times our prayers seem like they are not answered. God
does not want to harm us, so we need to humbly trust and follow Him like the
Israelites were called to do on the shores of the Jordan.
The second speech
is given by Joshua to the people in verses 5, “Consecrate yourselves, because
the LORD will do wonders among you tomorrow.” Joshua tells the people to
consecrate themselves for the next day: Saturday (for our convenient calendar
of events). He says that the reason they need to consecrate themselves is
because God would do wonders among them the next day. This makes me think: how
often do we miss the wonders of God that He is doing in our own lives because
we are not consecrated? How often do we expect His wonders to look like a
parted body of water, when His greatest wonder of all occurred on a bloody
cross? The greatest wonders of God occur in everyday moments when our hearts
are prepared to experience them. This is why we should never pridefully tell
God that we know better than Him, but rather humbly follow Him even when it
looks like the odds are totally against us.
The third speech
is given by Joshua to the priests in verse 6, “Take the ark of the covenant and
go on ahead of the people.” This looks like it takes place the next day. Joshua
orders the priests to move out ahead of the people so as to get the 2,000 cubit
separation in place. The priests response is recorded at the end of verse 6: “So
they carried the ark of the covenant and went ahead of them.” The priests obey
immediately, showing respect for their new leader. As of this point there has
been no disrespect shown to Joshua. The tribes all agreed on moving out after
three days, including the ones who would eventually move back east of the
Jordan after the conquest. The spies did their job and returned with a positive
report. The people all set out from the Acacia Grove and were now camped at the
edge of the Jordan. This fact leads well into the next speech.
The fourth speech
is given by Yahweh to Joshua in verses 7-8, “Today I will begin to exalt you in
the sight of all Israel, so they will know that I will be with you just as I
was with Moses. Command the priests carrying the ark of the covenant:
When you reach the edge of the waters, stand in the Jordan.”
Yahweh wants
Joshua to know that He chose him. He wants Joshua to know that He will be with
him. He tells him that today Joshua will begin to see explicit proof of it. He
tells Joshua more that Joshua relays to the people in verses 9-13, which
ultimately form the main point today, but God primarily wants Joshua to know
that He is with him. God wants Joshua to know that he can trust Him, so that
Joshua can be a godly leader who exemplifies trust in God. If Joshua follows
God like the people were commanded to follow God, then the people would be much
more likely to follow God, especially if God could be visibly seen to be with
their leader.
Before Joshua
speaks God’s words to the people, God gives him some words for the priests,
which likely means that this conversation occurred before the priests left in
verse 6. Not only were they to go ahead of the people, but they were to stand
in the water when they got there. The priests obeyed, as verse 6 demonstrates.
As the priests
march towards the Jordan, Joshua gives the final speech of our passage to the
people in verses 9-13, “‘Come closer and listen to the words of the LORD your
God.’ He said: ‘You will know that the living God is among you and that
He will certainly dispossess before you the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites,
Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites, and Jebusites when the ark of the
covenant of the Lord of all the earth goes ahead of you into the Jordan.
Now choose 12 men from the tribes of Israel, one man for each tribe.
When the feet of the priests who carry the ark of the LORD, the Lord of
all the earth, come to rest in the Jordan’s waters, its waters will be cut off.
The water flowing downstream will stand up ⌊in⌋ a mass.’”
He tells the
people to listen up to God’s Word. God had a message for His people. This
God—their God—is named Yahweh in verse 9, and in verse 13 He is described as
the “master of all the earth.” The God who is in a personal covenant with
Israel is the God who rules the whole earth. This is mind-blowing. What’s even
more mind-blowing is what He says next: Israel would know that God was present
with them, and they would know that God was going to give them victory over the
inhabitants of the land when “the ark of the covenant, the Lord of all the
earth,”[2]
went into the Jordan. Howard writes, “If the Hebrew is correct as it stands,
then the ark is identified all that much more closely with God himself, that
is, the ark (or the covenant) is equated with the Lord himself.”[3]
God’s presence is located in the ark. This was why the people were called to
humbly respect the ark by keeping a certain distance from it. (Verse 12, about
twelve men, is a parenthesis that heightens suspense, but since it isn’t
mentioned again until chapter 4, I will bring it up next time.) God explains,
through Joshua, the sign that would prove that He was with them and giving them
the land would occur when the priests went into the water: “When the feet of
the priests who carry the ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth, come to
rest in the Jordan’s waters, its waters will be cut off. The water flowing
downstream will stand up ⌊in⌋ a mass.”
Finally, we see played
out in detail in verses 14-17 what was previewed through the speeches in 3-13,
“When the people broke camp to cross the Jordan, the priests carried the ark of
the covenant ahead of the people. Now the Jordan overflows its banks
throughout the harvest season. But as soon as the priests carrying the ark
reached the Jordan, their feet touched the water at its edge and the water
flowing downstream stood still, rising up ⌊in⌋ a mass that extended as far as
Adam, a city next to Zarethan. The water flowing downstream into the Sea of the
Arabah (the Dead Sea) was completely cut off, and the people crossed opposite
Jericho. The priests carrying the ark of the LORD’s covenant stood firmly
on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, while all Israel crossed on dry
ground until the entire nation had finished crossing the Jordan.”
Before explaining
in detail, let’s read a more literal translation. Howard translates verses
14-16,
And it happened—when the
people set out from their tents to cross the Jordan, with the priests carrying
the ark of the covenant before them, and when those carrying the ark came as far
as the Jordan, and [when] the feet of the priests carrying the ark were dipped
into the edge of the waters (now the Jordan overflows all its banks all the
days of the harvest)— that the waters coming down from above stood! They
rose up [in] one heap, a very far distance away, at Adam, the city that is
opposite Zarethan, and the [waters] coming down upon the Sea of the Arabah,
the Salt Sea, were completely cut off. And the people crossed
opposite Jericho.[4]
It’s quite a mouthful. The author
wants to draw out the suspense as long as possible. Starting with, “and it
happened,” the author proves that God’s word came true. “The people set out” is
a loaded phrase. This was not a small band of friends. According to Numbers 26,
there were 601,730 men over twenty years old. Assuming for a moment that every
man twenty years old has a wife (which is a semi-safe assumption back then) and
at least one child, we’re easily looking at a number of 1,805,190 people—male
and female—of all different ages. We must also keep in mind that this count
does not include any of the Levites, of whom it is safe to assume that there
were at least 20,000 men over twenty years old, which means at least 60,000
more people, bringing the total to at least 1,865,190 people about to cross a
flooded river (cf. 3:15).
When this crowd
saw the ark set out, they broke camp, which must have been a sight to see.
Think about the noise from this throng of people. It’s no wonder the people of
Jericho were shaking in their boots at the thought. The priests were in the
front with the ark. When the ark reached the flooded bank of the Jordan it
happened: the water stopped. When they crossed the Red Sea forty years earlier,
it was a still body of water, the parting of which was described as, “the
waters ⌊like⌋ a wall to them on their right and
their left” (Exodus 14:22). Here, they are crossing a river which flows south.
It is described as, “the water flowing downstream stood still, rising up ⌊in⌋
a mass that extended as far as Adam, a city next to Zarethan. The water flowing
downstream into the Sea of the Arabah (the Dead Sea) was completely cut off.”
Our historian tells us that the waters stood up at Adam, which is next to
Zerathan. “Adam . . . on the eastern shore of the Jordan . . . about sixteen
miles north of Jericho.”[5]
I point this out because verse 16 says that the people crossed opposite
Jericho. The water stood up sixteen miles north of them, and then south of them
flowed into the Dead Sea until there was nothing left to flow into the Dead
Sea. This was quite the miracle! God could have done anything, such as parted
the water so two or three people could cross at a time, but instead He dried up
the whole southern section of the river, including sixteen miles north of them,
and said, “Cross!”
Verse 17 is huge! “The
priests carrying the ark of the LORD’s covenant stood firmly on dry ground in
the middle of the Jordan, while all Israel crossed on dry ground until the
entire nation had finished crossing the Jordan.” The ark stayed in the middle
of the river while the people crossed. The 2,000 cubit distance was kept,
because they had multiple miles of dry ground on each side of the ark. But the
point is that not only does God lead His people, but He goes with His people
and stands in the midst of their trouble until the last one of His people is
through. We must humbly follow our God because He humbly leads us, even though
He could powerfully smash any of us at any moment, and be perfectly just to do
so.
You see, not one
of us deserves to have God in our midst. And at the same time, since God is the
Master of all the Earth, He is everywhere and thus always in our midst. For
this reason every breath we take is grace. God could have denied you that last
breath because you’re sinful. You’ve lied, stolen, cheated, idolized something,
etc. However, not only is God the Master of all the Earth, but Jesus Christ is
too. Instead of clinging to that title though, He shed it and lived amongst us
and our trouble 2,000 years ago. He was unjustly condemned and nailed to a
cross even though He did nothing wrong, and He hung there on the cross for 6
hours until every last sin of every person who would ever place their faith in
Him was paid for. Then He died. The wrath of God covered Him like the Jordan
River refilled its valley after the people were safely across. However, after
three days in the tomb, Jesus rose from the grave, emerging from the River
victorious to show that death had no hold over Him.
Just like God
didn’t cross the river immediately, but stayed in it until His people came
through safely, Jesus didn’t think about Himself first either. He gave His life
for each and every one of His people. He enables us to do the same for those in
our lives. And He urges us to trust Him fully and follow Him even when nothing
makes sense because He is with us.
If you’ve never
trusted Jesus before, please do so today!!
So the Bible has
suspenseful sections contained in its pages. In fact, while the book of Genesis
covers 2,000 years and the book of Exodus covers 400 years, the book of
Leviticus maybe covers thirty days. The time focus alone in that example shows
us that Leviticus is a key focus from the Bible’s point of view since the pace
almost slows to a stop. However, in much the same way that we often stop
reading when we get to Leviticus, when the pace slows anywhere in the Bible we
decide its boring, instead of doing what we do in other reading, where we say, “I
gotta get through this so I can get answers.” The “boring” parts are part of
the story too—a necessary part. Let’s repent of our judgment of them and follow
God humbly, accepting all of His Word as worthwhile, rather than pridefully
just enjoying the parts that interest us.
Solus Christus
Soli Deo Gloria
[1]
Marten H Woudstra, The Book of Joshua,
NICOT (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1981), 81.
[2] David M. Howard, New American
Commentary – Volume 5: Joshua, (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman,
1998), WORDsearch CROSS e-book, 127.
[3]
Ibid. Rather than translating it, “the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all
the earth.”
[4]
Ibid., 129.
[5]
Trent C. Butler, Joshua, WBC (Waco,
TX: Word, 1983), 48.
Monday, October 9, 2017
The Return of the King
For some unknown
reason, I have recently decided to attempt to nail down my eschatological
position which is like nailing spaghetti to a wall. In addition to all of this,
I have been convinced of several things. First, none of the three primary
eschatological positions we know of—postmillennial, amillennial, or
premillennial—are how it’s ultimately going to work. Jesus told the disciples
Himself in Acts 1:7, “It is not for you to know times or periods that the Father
has set by His own authority.” If it wasn’t for them to know how it would
work—and they were given much inspired writing material—why would we be
prideful enough to say, “This is how it has to work!” Second, no one is
ultimately heretical or unsaved for holding a different position on these
matters (unless one denies the bodily resurrection of believers or the literal
return of Jesus Christ), and as such this should be able to be a point of discussion
and not a point of division. There are much more important things for churches
to divide over, and eschatology is not one. Third, and where I want to focus
this post, Jesus is coming at a time we do not know.
Matthew 24:44
says, “This is why you also must be ready, because the Son of Man is coming at
an hour you do not expect.” The background to this statement is found in
Matthew 24 and continues through chapter 25; all of it discusses the last days
and chapter 25 specifically gives parables expanding on 24:44, and concludes
with a prophecy of the final judgment (25:31-46). Jesus gives many reasons
throughout chapter 24 that could be referred to when He says in verse 44, “this
is why,” but for my purposes in this post I’d like to simply look at the final
reason, also found in verse 44. It could be rewritten, “You must be ready
because the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”
I heard a sermon
earlier this week that stated, “The Bible does not teach that every generation
of Christians has to believe that Christ could come at any moment. The Bible
does not teach that and the apostles didn’t believe it in their day.”[1]
Begging your pardon, sir, but Jesus says the exact opposite. He says, “Be
ready! It can happen any time!” Jesus goes so far as to say, “It will be when
you don’t expect it.”
And so far what
I’ve learned in my studies is that for a classic, “orthodox” postmillennialist,
Christ cannot come back until after the golden age of 1000 years, whether
literal or symbolic. Sorry, but I’m not buying that one. For an amillennialist,
the millennium is figurative for eternity. Geerhardus Vos explains, “The
symbolism of the one thousand years consists in this, that it contrasts the
glorious state of the martyrs on the one hand with the brief season of the
tribulation passed here on earth, and on the other hand with the eternal life
of the consummation.”[2] I’m
sorry, but immediately following the millennium, regardless of your
understanding of Revelation’s literary structure, Satan is released from prison
and again attacks God’s people (Revelation 20:1-10 is one thought, though there
are two visions—seemingly one heavenly in vs. 1-3 and one earthly in vs. 7-10
with vs. 4-6 not entirely clear on locale). Satan cannot be released
post-eternity. And for a premillennialist, Christ returns to set up His
Kingdom, time passes while He sets up His rule and reigns, after His rule Satan
is allowed to deceive the nations again, and then Jesus defeats this rebel
group and returns again to execute the Final Judgment. The problem here is that
now there are now three comings of Christ—Bethlehem 2,000 years ago, in the
future before the millennium (typically against Antichrist), and 1,000 years
farther in the future before the last Judgment as described in Matthew 25. (Will
a premillennialist correct me if I’m misunderstanding the viewpoint, please?)
As of right now I can’t hold to any of these views.
But there’s
something bigger. Amongst Christians today—at least American Christians—there’s
a thought that goes around to this effect, “The Greek phrase for “all nations”
is “panta ta ethne” which refers to all of the ethnicities or people groups of
the world. We believe that Jesus was very clear in stating that His gospel
would be preached to all nations/ethne/people groups before He would return.”[3] In
the same article, they cite the Joshua Project website which explains,
Global Summary[4]
An
overview of the people groups of the world
People
Groups:
16,858
Unreached
Groups:
6,994
%
Unreached Groups:
41.5%
________________________________________
Population:
7.47
Billion
Popl
in Unreached:
3.15
Billion
%
Popl in Unreached:
42.2%
While I absolutely admire their
desire for every people group in the world to hear the good news about Christ,
and while I hope to play even a microscopic role in that task, and especially
while calling their organization the Joshua Project draws to mind conquering
the nations and inheriting the earth through
the Gospel message as opposed to the sword and simply the land of Canaan in
the book of Joshua, I believe it poses a problem. The problem is this: instead
of needing a “millennium” of church prosperity—as postmillennialists typically
teach—we have to make sure there is at least one representative of each of the
16,858 people groups in the world who believes in Christ. This doesn’t sit well
with me for two reasons. First, it means it will be at least—if not much more—a
few years before Christ can return. Second, it means—because of the first—that
we need not get ready yet. It means we can let our robes get dirty and live in
drunkenness and carousing until the Joshua Project website says there are only
94 people groups left to reach (contra Revelation 16:15; 22:14; 1 Thessalonians
5:6-8).
This contrasts
greatly with the primary goal of eschatology. Donald Hagner explains, “Eschatology
is never presented for the sake of mere information but always and consistently
as the motivation for ethical living. Again, the fact of the Parousia [i.e.
Christ’s appearing], not the time of the parousia, is what matters. The
evangelist stresses the need to be prepared for that coming reality.”[5]
Christ is coming when we do not expect, so if we expect it at the end of
reaching every people group with the gospel, He will not be coming then. We
must always be ready.
But what does
being ready look like? It looks like several things. First, it looks like
striving for holiness in life. Revelation 22:15 describes the things believers
should avoid—things that are specifically unholy—“Outside are the dogs, the
sorcerers, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters, and everyone who
loves and practices lying.” We must also keep in mind that Jesus elevated most
of these above the physical act: murder is hatred in the heart, sexual
immorality is lust in the heart, idolatry is worshipping anything more than
God, which could even include your eschatological viewpoint. All of these must
be avoided to be able to say you are living a holy life. But we must also
remember it’s impossible apart from the Holy Spirit’s help. On our own we are
unable to live holy. If we have the Spirit we will live holy, and never make
the excuse, “It’ll be a while before Christ returns.” With that said, as
preachers and disciplers we should not put a timeline on when Christ can return
because that could potentially be a stumbling block to someone, who could use
the excuse I stated above. Christ will come at any moment and we must be ready!
Secondly, this
readiness looks like the following: proclaiming the gospel wherever you go and
helping to promote the gospel even in places where you are not. One other
debated point in Christian theology is whether or not the Jews as a people
group will return to Christ. If so, I believe the representative of each nation
view is ridiculous and we should be praying for massive revival across the
world—including Israel. If not, then the representative view makes more sense,
but at the same time I’d say it’s already complete: I fully believe that children
who died in childbirth or miscarriages (or abortions) already make up people of
every nation, tribe, and tongue in heaven. So either way, Christ has not
returned yet, which means the task of evangelism is not yet complete. The Great
Commission has not yet come to the Great Conclusion, so we must be out in the
fields working for the harvest. Jesus said, “The harvest is abundant, but the
workers are few. Therefore, pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out
workers into His harvest” (Matthew
9:37-38).
Will the Lord find
you ready when He comes at a time you don’t expect? Or will He find you lazy or
sinning?
Soli Deo Gloria!
[1]
Rev David Silversides, “Postmillennialism and Rev 20,” preached April 12, 1997,
www.tinysa.com/sermon/9130414633,
time of quote: 57:00.
[2] Quoted in Robert B. Strimple, “Amillennialism,” in Three views on the
Millennium and Beyond, Counterpoints series (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan,
1999), 128.
[5] Donald A.
Hagner, Matthew 14-28, Word Biblical Commentary (Nashville, TN: Thomas
Nelson, 1995), WORDsearch
CROSS e-book, 721.
Thursday, August 31, 2017
Open Letter, pt 2
August
31, 2017
To the person watching the screen,
This is probably
the hardest of the letters to write. And it’s not primarily because it’s the
section that would preach most clearly to me, since I’ve often found myself in
this position over the past fifteen years. The reason it’s the hardest is because
I’m at a loss for how to best go about writing this. I could come with the
“you’re helping people stay enslaved in sin” approach, which if you don’t know
Christ doesn’t mean anything to you, and if you do know Christ just adds
unnecessary condemnation to your plate. However, I could also come with the
“Jesus loves you” approach, which if you don’t know Christ won’t change your
outlook on this sin, and if you do know Christ it will come across as, “cool, I
knew that.” So I don’t exactly know what to say. Except for this:
The Law of God is
divided into two portions. “Love God and love people.” This law is universal,
and not simply for believers. The whole world will be judged for failing to
live up to this law. And while the only way to truly love other people is by
being confronted by the life-changing love of Jesus (which I will hit on in a
second), the fact is that we are expected to love people—thinking of them and
their good before we think of ourselves and our selfish wants. In fact we were
preprogrammed to be selfless and loving, but when sin came in with Adam and
Eve, hatred, selfishness, and apathy entered—making love an almost impossible
reality. This is why everyone falls in and out of love so easily. We don’t know
how to think of others’ needs before our own.
So here’s my
conclusion: if you’re a believer, you’re called to love fellow believers, your
family, your neighbors, and even your enemies. In short, you’re called to love
everyone without question. No one should be exempt from your love. And this
love—believer, family, neighbor, enemy—must always be selfless love. Therefore
when you are gazing at a person/persons on a computer screen, you are
fulfilling your own selfish pleasure and not at all being loving. In which case
you are not fulfilling the basic requirement of being a Christian as described
in James 1:27, “Pure and undefiled religion before God the Father is this: to look after orphans and widows in their
distress and to keep oneself unstained from the world” (emphasis added).
What are pornstars but very literally orphans and widows? By gazing at them and
enjoying what they’re doing, you are not looking after them, but looking at
them and doing nothing for them.
If you’re not a
believer, you more than likely don’t care about following God’s law. You don’t
care about truly loving others. You really want to just get what you can out of
this life—selfishly or otherwise. Here’s the thing though: as a nonbeliever,
you are judged by what you do. Revelation 20:12 makes that blatantly clear. If
you don’t love others as Christ loved, you will be judged for that. However, if
you turn to Christ and put your faith in Him, your imperfect love will be
placed on Him, and you will be judged by His perfect love. Everyone is judged
by what they do: if in Christ, you are judged by what Christ did, if outside of
Christ, you are judged by what you have done yourself. If, as most, you are an
unloving, selfish person, you will be judged as such. If you trust Christ, you
are judged as a perfectly loving person, even though you will occasionally, and
frequently, fall.
So let me explain
why I can say that Jesus is so loving. He came to earth—from God—as an infant.
God in the bod of a totally helpless babe. Selfless. He grew up, never
disobeying his parents—loving and compassionate—despite the fact that they
weren’t perfect parents. And then He started a ministry of love where He gave
hope to society’s outcasts: tax collectors, prostitutes, military rebels. And
then, to prove just how much He loved them, He died on the cross that we all
deserved. Three days later He rose to prove that His life was spotless, even
though He spent time with society’s outcasts. He never sinned; He loved
perfectly; and He is God Almighty.
I plead with you
to place your faith in Him and turn from your life of sin.
And if you already
believe, please recommit to Him and living like Him in this world!
I am on this road
with you. Let’s walk it victoriously!
Sincerely,
JW
Part 3: guy on the
other side of the screen
Part 4: person
behind the camera
Open Letter, pt 1
August
31, 2017
To the girl on the other side of
the screen,
Let me just begin
by saying, “I love you,” and it’s based on that truth that I write what I write
in what follows. I realize that that phrase has probably been destroyed for you
over the years. Perhaps someone told you, “If you do this, then I’ll love you,”
and if that’s true, I’m immensely sorry for you. It crushes my heart to know
that those kind of things are said and done. When I say, “I love you,” I also
don’t mean, “I love what you have to offer.” That’s not love.
Let me explain
what true love is. Jesus said, “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay
down his life for his friends.” And while we’ll probably never meet, my prayer
is that you would stumble across this post and be affected by it for better. Loving
people is not about what I can get out of it, but how the recipient of the love
can benefit. Considering that Jesus was known during His time on earth as a
“friend of sinners,” which specifically referred in many instances to being a
friend to the sexually deviant, I want you to know that Jesus doesn’t consider
Himself too good for you.
And even though
your experience with religious people throughout your lifetime may have
showcased the exact opposite, and even though you probably now think, “there’s
no way for me to escape this life, because who else would hire me so I can make
a living?” I need you to know that there is hope for you still. As long as
you’re still breathing, Jesus is calling out to you, saying, “I don’t condemn
you. Leave your life of sin.”
Perhaps you think,
“Why would I want to have anything to do with Jesus? Christians are just a
bunch of holier-than-thou, stuck up, prudes.” And I would agree that too often that
assessment is true, but I would also say that based on the way Jesus lived,
Christians should absolutely not act this way. Jesus embraced with open arms
those who were hurting, low, and despised by the “religious people” of His day.
Jesus died the death they had all earned—I have earned, you are earning—in
order to say, “I love you enough to suffer for you,” because there is no better
way to empathize with someone than to suffer in their place.
He died on the
cross 2,000 years ago, taking your sin upon himself. When God says, “Do not
commit adultery,” which means, “Sexual activity outside marriage is off
limits,” and a person engages in sexual activity outside marriage (of which I
am not innocent either), that sin alone is enough to earn eternal death because
it is against an eternal God. But when Jesus died, He said, “I am willing to
die this death in their place, Father. Accept me in their place.” And the proof
that God accepted Him was when He was raised again three days later. For this
reason, I plead with you: Believe in Jesus, and leave this life you’ve grown
used to. It doesn’t have to be this way for you. Jesus offers something better.
If this message
affects you for the better, please seek out a church to join. Please don’t stop
looking for one until you find a church that teaches Jesus as central and lives
like He lived—loving those that are hurting. Praying for you.
Sincerely,
JW
Part 2: person watching the screen
Part 3: guy on the
other side of the screen
Part 4: person
behind the camera
Thursday, August 24, 2017
A Prostitute’s Plea for Preservation – 2:1-24
The Ancient Church
Father, Cyril of Jerusalem, who lived around 350, said,
Pass now, pray, to the others who
were saved by repentance. Perhaps even among the women someone will say, “I
have committed fornication and adultery. I have defiled my body with every
excess. Can there be salvation for me?” Fix your eyes, woman, upon Rahab, and
look for salvation for yourself too. For if she who openly and publicly
practiced fornication was saved through repentance, will not she whose
fornication preceded the gift of grace be saved by repentance and fasting? For
observe how she was saved. She said only this: “Since the Lord, your God, is
God in heaven above and on earth below.” “Your God,” she said, for she did not
dare call him her God, because of her wantonness. If you want scriptural
testimony of her salvation, you have it recorded in the Psalms: “I will think
of Rahab and Babylon among those who know me.” The salvation procured by
repentance is open to men and women alike.[1]
And that right there is exactly the
point of this passage. Deuteronomy 7:1-6 says,
When the LORD your God brings you
into the land you are entering to possess, and He drives out many nations
before you—the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites
and Jebusites, seven nations more numerous and powerful than you—and when the
LORD your God delivers them over to you and you defeat them, you must
completely destroy them. Make no treaty with them and show them no mercy. Do
not intermarry with them. Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their
daughters for your sons, because they will turn your sons away from Me to
worship other gods. Then the LORD’s anger will burn against you, and He will
swiftly destroy you. Instead, this is what you are to do to them: tear
down their altars, smash their sacred pillars, cut down their Asherah poles,
and burn up their carved images. For you are a holy people belonging to
the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you to be His own possession
out of all the peoples on the face of the earth.
Because of that, it should be very
surprising what we instantly read in Joshua 2. And our historian intends for
that to be the case.
Our historian writes,
“Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two men as spies from the Acacia Grove,
saying, ‘Go and scout the land, especially Jericho.’ So they left, and they
came to the house of a woman, a prostitute named Rahab, and stayed there.
The king of Jericho was told, ‘Look, some of the Israelite men have come
here tonight to investigate the land.’ Then the king of Jericho sent ⌊word⌋
to Rahab and said, ‘Bring out the men who came to you and entered your house,
for they came to investigate the entire land.’ But the woman had taken
the two men and hidden them. So she said, ‘Yes, the men did come to me, but I
didn’t know where they were from. At nightfall, when the gate was about
to close, the men went out, and I don’t know where they were going. Chase after
them quickly, and you can catch up with them!’ But she had taken them up
to the roof and hidden them among the stalks of flax that she had arranged on
the roof. The men pursued them along the road to the fords of the Jordan,
and as soon as they left to pursue them, the gate was shut. Before the men
fell asleep, she went up on the roof and said to them, ‘I know that the
LORD has given you this land and that the terror of you has fallen on us, and
everyone who lives in the land is panicking because of you. For we have
heard how the LORD dried up the waters of the Red Sea before you when you came
out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two Amorite kings you
completely destroyed across the Jordan. When we heard this, we lost
heart, and everyone’s courage failed because of you, for the LORD your God is
God in heaven above and on earth below. Now please swear to me by the
LORD that you will also show kindness to my family, because I showed kindness
to you. Give me a sure sign that you will spare the lives of my father,
mother, brothers, sisters, and all who belong to them, and save us from death.’
The men answered her, ‘⌊We will give⌋
our lives for yours. If you don’t report our mission, we will show kindness and
faithfulness to you when the LORD gives us the land.’ Then she let them
down by a rope through the window, since she lived in a house that was ⌊built⌋
into the wall of the city. ‘Go to the hill country so that the men
pursuing you won’t find you,’ she said to them. ‘Hide yourselves there for
three days until they return; afterward, go on your way.’ The men said to
her, ‘We will be free from this oath you made us swear, unless, when we
enter the land, you tie this scarlet cord to the window through which you let
us down. Bring your father, mother, brothers, and all your father’s family into
your house. If anyone goes out the doors of your house, his blood will be
on his own head, and we will be innocent. But if anyone with you in the house
should be harmed, his blood will be on our heads. And if you report our
mission, we are free from the oath you made us swear.’ ‘Let it be as you say,’ she replied, and she
sent them away. After they had gone, she tied the scarlet cord to the window.
So the two men went into the hill country and stayed there three days
until the pursuers had returned. They searched all along the way, but did not
find them. Then the men returned, came down from the hill country, and
crossed ⌊the Jordan⌋. They went to Joshua son of Nun
and reported everything that had happened to them. They told Joshua, ‘The
LORD has handed over the entire land to us. Everyone who lives in the land is
also panicking because of us.’”
So we have quite
the story presented to us here today (in addition to this being the largest
chunk of text I’ve ever tried to tackle in one setting before). I pray that I
can do it justice and be accurate and Christ-exalting in my explanation of it.
But so far in the book we have not exactly gotten to any action; that changes
today. We began by looking at the fact that God put Joshua in charge of His
people after the death of Moses. Then we saw God speak comfort and reassurance
to Joshua and charge Joshua with the priority of God’s Word for success in
everything he was to do. Then Joshua spoke publicly to the people and told them
to prepare for the journey across the Jordan which would happen in three days. This
brings us right up to speed with Joshua 2:1, the first part of which reads, “Joshua
son of Nun secretly sent two men as spies from the Acacia Grove, saying, ‘Go
and scout the land, especially Jericho.’” This secret sending out occurs in the
midst of Joshua’s speeches in 1:10-18. There he told them they’d march in three
days; here he sends guys out who return three days later (2:22-23).
There is a lot
going on in this very first sentence of the chapter. The suspense should
already be mounting, because the last time spies were sent out from Israel
Joshua was one of them and ten of the twelve said, “We can’t do it!” and it
caused a rebellion—the consequences of which lasted forty years. So right off
the bat we should be wondering, “Will it be different this time? What if they
all fail again?”
In addition,
Acacia Grove is an interpretation of the place called Shittim. “This place was
where the Israelites had rejected their God earlier and prostituted themselves
by consorting with Moabite women and gods at Balaam's instigation (Numbers
25:1–3; 31:16).”[2]
The fact that verse 1 ends by saying, “So they left, and they came to the house
of a woman, a prostitute named Rahab, and stayed there,” instantly raises the
question, “Is Israel going to prostitute itself again?”
So before we read
any farther the writer wants us to wonder just what is going to happen, and
ask, “Are they going to trust God this time, or fail miserably, yet again?” The
following 23 verses expand and clarify on this concern and give a sure sign of
just how big the grace of God really is.
First we see
Rahab’s faith shown through her actions at the time. Joshua 2:2-7 says, “The
king of Jericho was told, ‘Look, some of the Israelite men have come here
tonight to investigate the land.’ Then the king of Jericho sent ⌊word⌋
to Rahab and said, ‘Bring out the men who came to you and entered your house,
for they came to investigate the entire land.’ But the woman had taken
the two men and hidden them. So she said, ‘Yes, the men did come to me, but I
didn’t know where they were from. At nightfall, when the gate was about
to close, the men went out, and I don’t know where they were going. Chase after
them quickly, and you can catch up with them!’ But she had taken them up
to the roof and hidden them among the stalks of flax that she had arranged on
the roof. The men pursued them along the road to the fords of the Jordan,
and as soon as they left to pursue them, the gate was shut.”
Already our historian
wants us in suspense at the state of their mission. The spies had hardly gotten
there when the king sent word to Rahab about the spies who had come to her
house. Rahab had already hidden them though. This gives more suspense: she hid
the spies; the king knows they are there; what should she do? She lies.
However, we must look closely at her lie. She does not say, “I don’t know what
you’re talking about; I never saw anyone.” She doesn’t say, “Spies, here? You
joking?” She says, in effect, “They were here, but they already left.” Her
lie—we will find out in the next section—continues when she says, “I don’t know
where they’re from, and I don’t know where they’re going. Chase them and you
might catch them.” Our narrator reminds us of the truth before telling us that
the soldiers of the king believed her, and went out the city gate. John Calvin
adds, on the last phrase in verse 7, “the gates being shut, the city like a
prison excluded the hope of escape. They were therefore again aroused by a
serious trial to call upon God.”[3]
So at this point,
what do we know about Rahab? First, we know she’s a prostitute. Second, we know
she lies. But I introduced this first section of text as, “Rahab’s faith shown
through her actions,” so how can that be true if she’s a liar? Let’s look at
what she was lying about. We see very clearly that her lie was not to harm
someone. Her lie was not to discredit someone. The soldiers and the king would
both assume her as telling the truth, and thus, when they proved unable to find
the spies, would be forced to return home admitting, “They must have just been
too fast for us,” and no one would lose their head for it. In addition, her lie
was in order to protect—and thus show love to—God’s people. The Law states,
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and love your neighbor as
yourself.” Rahab’s faith is demonstrated in that she showed faith by lying to
the king of Jericho. If she’d been found out as a liar, she could have been
killed; she put her life on the line so God’s people could go free. Calvin
helps us keep a balanced perspective by saying,
As to the falsehood, we must admit
that though it was done for a good purpose, it was not free from fault. For
those who hold what is called a dutiful lie to be altogether excusable, do not sufficiently
consider how precious truth is in the sight of God. Therefore, although our
purpose, be to assist our brethren, to consult for their safety and relieve
them, it never can be lawful to lie, because that cannot be right which is
contrary to the nature of God. And God is truth. And still the act of Rahab is
not devoid of the praise of virtue, although it was not spotlessly pure.[4]
God is a God of truth, and truth is
extremely important to God, but He is also a God of love, and He expects those
who call themselves His to be loving as He is. Sometimes this might mean
bending the truth—when in a life-threatening situation like this one. At this
point in the story Rahab is most certainly not thinking about herself.
Second we hear
Rahab’s faith through her words. Joshua 2:8-13 says, “Before the men fell
asleep, she went up on the roof and said to them, ‘I know that the LORD has
given you this land and that the terror of you has fallen on us, and everyone
who lives in the land is panicking because of you. For we have heard how
the LORD dried up the waters of the Red Sea before you when you came out of
Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two Amorite kings you completely
destroyed across the Jordan. When we heard this, we lost heart, and
everyone’s courage failed because of you, for the LORD your God is God in
heaven above and on earth below. Now please swear to me by the LORD that
you will also show kindness to my family, because I showed kindness to you.
Give me a sure sign that you will spare the lives of my father, mother,
brothers, sisters, and all who belong to them, and save us from death.’”
After the soldiers
rush out the gate, Rahab goes up to the roof to check on her fugitives. Her
words evidence clearly that she has heard much of Israel in the recent
weeks—even as much as forty years earlier. Perhaps the fact that Israel had
wandered in the wilderness for forty years only exaggerated Canaan’s fear at
their arrival? She says flat out, “the LORD your God is God in heaven above and
on earth below,” and she uses that as a way to say, “We know this is true, and
it’s scary.” While the rest of her town sought to flee from that reality, Rahab
sought it out, as the conversation shows. She didn’t want to flee the terror to
come; she wanted to adjust her allegiances so she didn’t have to be afraid. She
asked for a sign that she would be saved from the wrath to come. And her
selflessness is shown again in that she didn’t seek just for her own salvation
but the salvation of her family also. Since her salvation—in its truest
sense—wouldn’t come until the future, the spies’ response is in the next
section.
Third we look
forward to her faith being proved through actions to come in the future. Joshua
2:14-21 says, “The men answered her, ‘⌊We will give⌋
our lives for yours. If you don’t report our mission, we will show kindness and
faithfulness to you when the LORD gives us the land.’ Then she let them
down by a rope through the window, since she lived in a house that was ⌊built⌋
into the wall of the city. ‘Go to the hill country so that the men
pursuing you won’t find you,’ she said to them. ‘Hide yourselves there for
three days until they return; afterward, go on your way.’ The men said to
her, ‘We will be free from this oath you made us swear, unless, when we
enter the land, you tie this scarlet cord to the window through which you let
us down. Bring your father, mother, brothers, and all your father’s family into
your house. If anyone goes out the doors of your house, his blood will be
on his own head, and we will be innocent. But if anyone with you in the house
should be harmed, his blood will be on our heads. And if you report our
mission, we are free from the oath you made us swear.’ ‘Let it be as you say,’ she replied, and she
sent them away. After they had gone, she tied the scarlet cord to the window.”
John Calvin
explains about her house,
Her house was contiguous to the wall
of the city, nay, its outer side was actually situated in the wall. From this
we may infer that it was some obscure corner remote from the public
thoroughfare; just as persons of her description usually live in narrow lanes
and secret places. It cannot be supposed with any consistency to have been a
common inn which was open to all indiscriminately, because they could not have
felt at liberty to indulge in familiar intercourse, and it must have been
difficult in such circumstances to obtain concealment.[5]
I share that first, because it is
relatively clear that the verses here are presented out of order. Given that
soldiers were looking for the spies, it is clear that the spies couldn’t have
been either on the rope or at the bottom of the rope when she speaks in verses
16-21. The description of her house is given in verse 15 to help us understand
how the spies were afforded an exit from the city even though the gate was
closed and people were searching for them.
But the most
important thing in these verses is the content of the discussion that I believe
occurred before they were let down. The spies say that if she doesn’t report them
they will treat her family well when Yahweh gives them the land. They repeat
the same general thing in verse 20. The interesting part about verse 14 is that
it says, “when the Lord gives,” and not “if the Lord gives.” The spies totally
trusted God that He would deliver the land into their hands. Perhaps this faith
was due to Rahab’s words in the prior section; they now knew the land was
terrified of them and it encouraged them to press on.
Rahab then
continued to give them guidance on how to get back to their camp. She told them
to hide out in the mountains for three days and then to go home. She wanted to
make sure that they were absolutely safe, and thus told them to hide in the
exact opposite direction from the way they had originally come,[6]
since the soldiers wouldn’t be looking there.
The spies speak at
this point and specify the conditions of their protecting Rahab when they take
the land. These provisions conclude in verse 20 with the same condition as
verse 14. The fact that the narrator repeats it again after she tells them
where to go from there is because the narrator wants us to see that she is who
she is claiming to be. The narrator wants us to trust her. The other conditions
that the spies lay out are as follows: she was to tie a scarlet cord in the
window and bring her entire family inside her house, if someone inside died,
the spies would assume the blame, but if someone went outside and died, that
would be on them.
After the spies
are let down the rope, out the window, and on their way to hide in the
mountains, Rahab ties the scarlet cord in her window, which again shows us that
she is genuine.
The passage
concludes in Joshua 2:22-24, “So the two men went into the hill country and
stayed there three days until the pursuers had returned. They searched all
along the way, but did not find them. Then the men returned, came down
from the hill country, and crossed ⌊the Jordan⌋. They went
to Joshua son of Nun and reported everything that had happened to them.
They told Joshua, ‘The LORD has handed over the entire land to us.
Everyone who lives in the land is also panicking because of us.’” What we see
here is that God protected the spies and brought them back to Joshua safely.
The fact that the spies were outside of Jericho for three days is good proof
that no sexual business happened while the spies were with Rahab—and is also
more proof that her faith was genuine—since their trip only lasted for three
days. The other thing we see here is the fact that their report was positive:
the land would be theirs and it propved that God was faithful. So this spy trip
had been better in every way than the previous—forty years earlier.
So we’ve come to
the end of the text, and we’ve seen a woman show all the signs of being a
believer. She claims Israel’s God as her God; she protects and cares for God’s
people; she wants her family to be saved; she’s turned her back on her old
lifestyle. What is clear throughout the text is “that God uses not only his own
prophets and leaders to bring faith and courage to disconsolate Israel. God
uses the most unexpected and immoral persons to further his purposes in the
world. . . . People of God must be open to learn from all sources which God
would use.”[7]
And perhaps you
stumbled upon this blogpost today and you feel totally unworthy. Perhaps you’ve
lived a wretched life of sin and it’s not fulfilling you. Perhaps you feel as
used and abused as Rahab probably felt. Man or woman, I’m talking to anybody
right now: God doesn’t make junk, and no one is too far gone for His grace. God
has used many “total screw-ups” to further His plan, and He is calling you
today as well. Turn from your sin as Rahab did, and know that Rahab was one of
Jesus’ ancestors. And just as the spies said that anyone hiding in Rahab’s
house would be saved when the city fell, so also if you are hiding in Christ
when the sky rolls back and He appears, you will be saved. Place your faith in
Him and seek Him daily. He is your only hope and sign for salvation. Please
believe today.
And with that, we
have seen—in a book of conquest and war—the most complete and thorough conquest
explained in the book of Joshua. Rahab, a former prostitute turned woman of
God. This is the type of conquest the whole book previews by shadows and types,
boldly displayed in 1080p high definition as early as chapter 2. Just as the
Israelites were to take the land of Canaan, so also Christ said, “The Kingdom
of God is near.” When He rose from the dead it came, and now it spreads through
the preaching of the gospel. This is much bigger than what nation a person
belongs to—as referenced at the beginning of this post.
Turn to Him and be
saved—all the ends of the earth!
Solus Christus
Soli Deo Gloria
[1]
John R. Franke, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1-2
Samuel, Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture (Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, ©2005), 12.
[2]
David M. Howard, New American Commentary – Volume 5: Joshua, (Nashville,
TN: Broadman & Holman, 1998), WORDsearch CROSS e-book, 97.
[3]
John Calvin, Commentary on Joshua.
[4]
John Calvin, Commentary on Joshua.
[5]
John Calvin, Commentary on Joshua.
[6]
David M. Howard, New American Commentary – Volume 5: Joshua, (Nashville,
TN: Broadman & Holman, 1998), WORDsearch CROSS e-book, 113. “She
shrewdly sent them in the opposite direction from where the pursuers had gone:
they had headed east, toward the Jordan River and its fords (see v. 7 and comment
there), whereas the hills near Jericho were to the west of it, as it lay in the
Jordan valley.”
[7]
Trent C. Butler, Joshua, Word
Biblical Commentary (Waco, TX: Word, 1983), 35.
Sunday, August 6, 2017
God's Glorious Works and Word (neither will fall flat) -- Psalm 19
“My very educated
mother just served us nine (pizzas).” “A long time ago in a galaxy far far
away.” “Space—the final frontier.” Astronomy has always been interesting to me.
And while the three statements that opened this post are all space related—the
last two are movie quotes, and the first is a mnemonic device to remember the
planet’s names—the first two mean the most to me. Star Wars has always been
entertaining, and the various planets all supporting life—sitting there
unsupported in space—with ships and space stations everywhere you look, can
drive a youngster’s imagination and creativity for years. But to bring it
closer, facts and figures abound on the internet and in science books about
Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune—sorry Pluto.
I can spout off a ton of these facts if you were to ask me because this was my
favorite subject in grade school.
And biblically,
this is right. God speaks to all humanity through His creation, and it only
makes sense to be totally awed by them. Psalm 19:1 says, “The heavens declare
the glory of God, and the sky proclaims the work
of His hands.” And there’s no escaping this truth. Whether a person
claims that the universe exploded out of a big bang and has expanded over
billions of years; or claims that out of the gigantic vastness of the universe our
small earth is the one place that God has chosen to place His intimate attention
on; or claims that the earth is immovable, flat, and the center of everything
because God wants it to be clear that this is all there is for us, God WILL GET
HIS GLORY—at least on the last day (for the first claim).
And while I laughed
at first, and people I know have laughed at me since—I think there is definitely
something to say for the third view laid out above. However, let’s hear first
what David has to say in Psalm 19:
The
heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky
proclaims the work of His hands.
Day after day
they pour out speech;
night after night
they communicate knowledge.
There is no
speech; there are no words;
their voice is not
heard.
Their message
has gone out to all the earth,
and their words
to the ends of the world.
In the heavens
He has pitched a tent for the sun.
It is
like a groom coming from the bridal chamber;
it rejoices like an athlete
running a course.
It rises from one
end of the heavens
and circles
to their other end;
nothing is hidden from its heat.
The instruction
of the LORD is perfect,
renewing one’s life;
the testimony
of the LORD is trustworthy,
making the inexperienced wise.
The precepts
of the LORD are right,
making the heart glad;
the command
of the LORD is radiant,
making the eyes light up.
The fear
of the LORD is pure,
enduring forever;
the ordinances
of the LORD are reliable
and altogether righteous.
They are more
desirable than gold—
than an abundance
of pure gold;
and sweeter
than honey,
which comes
from the honeycomb.
In addition, Your servant
is warned by them;
there is great reward in keeping them.
Who perceives
his unintentional sins?
Cleanse me
from my hidden faults.
Moreover, keep Your servant
from willful sins;
do not let them
rule over me.
Then I will be
innocent
and cleansed
from blatant rebellion.
May the words
of my mouth
and the meditation
of my heart
be acceptable
to You,
LORD, my rock and my Redeemer.
And at this point,
my desire is not so much to try to convince you that I am right about my
emerging view of cosmology, as it is my desire to briefly explain how this
psalm points 1) to the glory of God, and 2) to Jesus Christ as the only way to
be reconciled to God. However, with that said, I will bring out some of the
stronger points when suitable to the discussion.
Before venturing
into the text, every commentator points out that there are two distinct
sections in the psalm that can be conveniently explained as general revelation
(vs. 1-6) and special revelation (vs. 7-11) followed by a third section that I call
the response (vs. 12-14). It is very easy when talking about poetry, especially
Biblical poetry for some unknown reason[1],
to call into question the literal aspect of what the author is saying because
of the poetic nature of the text. If a person wants to use the “poetic language
argument” on psalm 19, then they need to be consistent and use it all the way
from verse one to verse fourteen. This is not to say that there are not poetic
portions in the psalm, but it is to say that the main emphases in the psalm are
to be taken literally.
First, we have
general revelation in verses 1-6. David writes, “The heavens declare the glory
of God, and the sky proclaims the work of His hands. Day after
day they pour out speech; night after night they communicate knowledge.
There is no speech; there are no words; their voice is not heard. Their message
has gone out to all the earth, and their words
to the ends of the world. In the heavens He has pitched
a tent for the sun. It is like a groom coming from
the bridal chamber; it rejoices like an athlete
running a course. It rises from one end of the heavens and circles
to their other end; nothing is hidden from its heat.”
All six of these verses seek to prove the fact that the heavens speak of the
glory of God. We cannot lose sight of this fact in any discussion of the
passage. David is not seeking to be scientific, but rather is seeking to give
glory to God. This is what we must all seek to do no matter what time we find
ourselves in.
It is pretty clear
that verse 2 is expanding upon verse 1. In the daytime creation speaks; at
night creation gives knowledge. Derek Kidner explains, “Knowledge is well
matched with night, since without the night skies man would have known, until
recently, nothing but an empty universe.”[2]
Verse 3 is hard to
understand, but after some Hebrew explanation, it begins to be clearer, and
most of verse 4 goes with it. Calvin explains that it does no harm to the text
to translate it as, “There is no language,
there is no speech, [where] their
voice is not heard.” Then he proceeds to interpret it as follows: “Different
nations differ from each other as to language; but the heavens have a common
language to teach all men without distinction, nor is there any thing but their
own carelessness to hinder even those who are most strange to each other, and
who live in the most distant parts of the world, from profiting, as it were, at
the mouth of the same teacher.”[3] The
fact of the matter here is that any so-called scientist who refuses to
acknowledge God’s hand in creation really has no business being in that field
of study. Romans 1:18-23 describes this type of person perfectly.
The end of verse
4, through the end of verse 6, describes the sun. This description is
beautiful, and I will repeat it here: “In the heavens He has pitched
a tent for the sun. It is like a groom coming from
the bridal chamber; it rejoices like an athlete
running a course. It rises from one end of the heavens and circles
to their other end; nothing is hidden from its heat.”
David’s poetic language hits a high point in verse 5. Verse 4 and verse 6 are
simply stating facts. To an observer, the sun is moving—not the earth—and as
such, it dwells in the tent of the heavens—within our own atmosphere—running a
racetrack around the earth. And while David’s point is not to prove this—our Bible
is a trustworthy book, and several things need to be stated. First, if the
earth is orbiting the sun, how did the earth get formed on the second and third
days of creation, but the sun didn’t get formed until the fourth? Second, if
the earth is spinning 1,000 miles an hour on its axis (and its unchanging motion
is why we don’t notice it), why does Joshua 10 simply say, “the sun stood
still,” and not something along the lines of, “the sun stood still, and we all
flew east because the earth actually careened to a halt”? (I recognize that God
is powerful enough to keep everyone from flying away, but I also believe that
God is a God of simplicity, proven by, “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and
you will be saved”; the simplest way for the sun to stand still is literally for
the sun to stand still). Finally, if God sits above the circle of the earth—and
the circle is actually a sphere, which isn’t textually supportable[4]—wouldn’t
He technically be under the earth anywhere in the southern hemisphere?
But I digress.
While other religions worshipped the sun, David is here saying, “Lord, you are
glorious because You gave the sun a job to do and it does it: day in, day out,
for weeks on end and years untold.” This is what set Judaism—and now sets
Christianity—apart from any other religion on earth. Other religions worshipped
the heavens; we see them as pointing to God.
Second, we have
special revelation. David writes, “The instruction of the LORD
is perfect, renewing one’s life; the testimony of the LORD
is trustworthy, making the inexperienced wise. The precepts
of the LORD are right, making the heart glad; the
command of the LORD is radiant, making the eyes light up.
The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever; the ordinances
of the LORD are reliable and altogether righteous. They
are more desirable than gold—than an abundance
of pure gold; and sweeter than honey, which comes
from the honeycomb. In addition, Your servant is warned
by them; there is great reward in keeping them.” David here
makes six statements about God’s Word—that special revelation by which man can
be put into covenant with God. If there is poetic language in the first half of
the psalm besides David’s description of the sun’s movement as a bridegroom/athlete,
then it is in the fact that the sun could be used as a simile for all six
statements about God’s Word.
First, the sun is
bright, and who is not cheered by the light of the sun on a cloudless day? In a
much greater way the Word of God renews life.
Second, the sun
follows a trusted course, and wise people understand this. In much the same way—though
greater—the Word of God can be trusted to make people wise.
Third, though it
is hard to see how the sun can be right, it isn’t hard to see how it makes
hearts glad. When it rises people rejoice at getting another day to live. In a
much greater way, the Word of God is right—never wrong—and this should lead to
gladness for those who rely on His Word.
Fourth, the sun is
radiant, and if you look at it, it hurts your eyes. In a much greater way, God’s
Word is radiant with truth, and looking in there will leave a glow on your face
like Moses’ (Exodus 34:29).
Fifth, the sun is
pure light. And its continuous circuit through the heavens would evidence that
it is never going anywhere for good. It is “everlasting.” What is truly
everlasting though, is God’s Word. Revelation says that there will be no sun on
the New Earth, but the Word of God will be there.
Sixth, and
finally, the sun is reliable. It rises in the east and sets in the west. It
sinks lower in the sky as winter comes and rises higher as summer draws near.
It has done this for 6,000+ years. It isn’t stopping anytime soon (unless Jesus
returns). However, the Word of God is much more reliable, and it—not the sun
nor any other part of creation—is what we must place our trust in.
David then adds
two things at the end of the section. First, he says he’d rather have God’s
Word than riches/wealth or delicacies of diet. Second, he says that it warns
him of sin and encourages him to run with perseverance for his reward (Hebrews
12:1-2). How much attention/praise do we give to God for His Word? Do we want
it more than a steak dinner or a six figure job? If we don’t, we should. We don’t
want a created object to obey God better than we do; though sadly, the sun is always
a much more faithful servant of God than we are.
Finally, we have
David’s response where he says, “Who perceives
his unintentional sins? Cleanse me
from my hidden faults. Moreover, keep Your servant
from willful sins; do not let them rule over me. Then I will be
innocent and cleansed from blatant rebellion. May the words
of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be
acceptable to You, LORD, my rock and my Redeemer.” In reflecting upon
the sun and how nothing is hidden from its heat, and in reflecting upon the
amazing law of God, David is reminded that not only is the Law amazing and
positive for the child of God, but also that it searches him out and he cannot escape
it. Derek Kidner calls it “the spiritual counterpart of verse 6c.”[5]
If it wasn’t for
the Word of God and its searching, sword-like nature, none of us would care
about how we live our lives. In fact, many people in this world recognize the
truth about the Word of God, know it makes a huge claim on their lives, and
refuse to submit to it, and rebel in every way possible. There are some who
believe in a flat earth who would argue that our government—NASA specifically—knows
that the world is flat and have decided to create and promote the globe model
in umpteen different ways to deceive the world. Now, while I don’t like
conspiracy theories—and I find them foolish—I would like to say that if this was
proved to be true then it only casts more credence to the Word of God. Romans
1:18-23, Colossians 2:8, and 1 Timothy 6:20—among others—all talk about people
being deceived or simply ignoring and rebelling against the truth that is right
in front of them. But I digress again.
David recognizes
that he is a weak human who obeys God less faithfully than the sun, and for
this reason he asks God to cleanse him even from sins he doesn’t yet recognize
in his own heart. (I’m so thankful that God took almost seven years to reveal
as much of my wickedness as I am now aware of—there’s so much more I’m still oblivious
to—and that He didn’t drop it all on me the first day I came to Christ.) David
knows his heart is wicked (Jeremiah 17:9) and he wants God to deal with it. He
even asks the Lord to keep him from willful sins. He wants God to keep him from
false testimony, adultery, idolatry, etc. He knows he is incapable of avoiding
these on his own. He knows he’s weak. But he also knows that if God answers
this prayer then he would be blameless, and that is what all of God’s people
should desire—holiness and blameless living.
He closes with a
plea that even his speech and thoughts be pleasing to God. Do we desire this
much to be close to God and in blameless, uninterrupted communion with Him? I’m
praying that I would become this way.
But maybe you’re
reading this and you think, “this guy is crazy—even more than the average, ‘kooky’
Christian—because he thinks the earth is flat.” Or maybe you don’t. Maybe your
issue is more substantial, “Who is this Jesus he is talking about? Why would he
want to live a blameless life? My life is anything but blameless.” I have good
news for you.
First, you need to
understand that the same man who wrote this psalm fell into the vilest of sins
at one point in his life, and it took a story about sheep to get him out (2
Samuel 11-12). If a guy can be so dedicated to God that even looking at the sun
convicts him of wrong heart motives he
might have, and then he falls into the “worst” of sins later on in life, then
I must say that there is nothing you can possibly do to keep yourself from God’s
love and grace.
Second, you need
to understand that the reason anyone would desire to live blameless is because
they want to please those who love them. No one loves greater than God, and
since God desires holiness, those whom He has loved desire freely to please Him
by striving to live a blameless life. If this desire is absent in a person’s
life then they are not a believer.
Third, you need to
understand just how God’s love is greater than anyone else’s love. There is a
Son much greater than the sun that was discussed extensively in this post. Jesus
Christ is the Son of God, born of a virgin who lived a perfectly sinless life.
As such, He had not earned death as the punishment for sin, and as such He had
done a life full of good deeds that we couldn’t even come close to equaling.
But, He was unjustly tried, sentenced to death and crucified on a cross. Three
days later He rose from the dead because death had no claim on Him, and for those
who believe in Him death won’t have the last word either. So with that, I plead
with you to give your life to Him.
So as my title
implies, God’s glory is seen in both His works and His Word, and His glory in
both will never fall flat, because He upholds the world by the word of His
power, and His Word outlives everything on earth (Isaiah 40:8). God’s Word even
outlived Pluto as a planet (which causes one to wonder when they’ll decide
seven other objects in the sky aren’t planets either). But let me suffice it to
say: you can’t prove that the earth is flat any more than you can prove that
the earth is a globe. Mathematical calculations can work either way and there
are also scientific explanations either way. However, what can be proved is
that God is glorious, and that His works and Word demonstrate this truth. The
question is: you have faith in your view of the structure of our planet, but do
you also have your faith placed firmly in Jesus Christ? That’s the only
question that ultimately matters.
Solus Christus
Soli Deo Gloria
[1]
I think I know the reason: people don’t want to accept the plain facts the
Bible is saying—like how in Genesis 1-2 God created the world Himself, and He
did it in six literal days. Instead, “that’s poetic language, so we must
understand it as poetry.” Give me a break.
[2]
Derek Kidner, Psalms 1-72, TOTC (Downers
Grove, IL: Inter-varsity Press, 1973), 98.
[3]
John Calvin, Commentary on the Psalms.
[4]
“To render chûgh, the LXX strangely uses the rare word gýros,
“ring, circle,” used especially for a circular trench around a tree, gyróō,
“bend, make round, make a circular trench” (cf. gýrōsis). The image
conveyed by this word appears to express the classic Babylonian idea of the
ring of water surrounding the earth’s surface.”
G. Johannes Botterweck and Helmer Ringgren, Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament – Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament: Volume 4, Revised, (Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 09/16/2016), WORDsearch CROSS e-book, 246. Interestingly, as seen in the word “strangely” in the prior quotation, the LXX could have used sphaira, “sphere” instead of circle if that’s what God had intended to convey. See David Wardlaw Scott, Terra Firma (original copyright 1901), 113.
G. Johannes Botterweck and Helmer Ringgren, Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament – Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament: Volume 4, Revised, (Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 09/16/2016), WORDsearch CROSS e-book, 246. Interestingly, as seen in the word “strangely” in the prior quotation, the LXX could have used sphaira, “sphere” instead of circle if that’s what God had intended to convey. See David Wardlaw Scott, Terra Firma (original copyright 1901), 113.
[5]
Derek Kidner, Psalms 1-72, TOTC (Downers
Grove, IL: Inter-varsity Press, 1973), 100.
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