Obadiah II: Finding

Obediah II

But in Mount Zion there shall be those who escape, and it shall be holy, and the house of Jacob shall possess their own possessions. (Obadiah 1: 17 ESV)

Finding

I once lost a cherished pocket-knife… and found it.  I once lost a friend… and found a way to restoration.   I once lost a good book… and it was returned to me.  I once lost my wallet… and found it.  Ok, I do that a lot.

God’s people had lost their wealth, their temple and it’s beauty, and their land.  Worst of all, the people of God lost their relationship with Jahweh, through their rebellion, stubbornness, and deafness.  But God restores His people to Himself.

But only through Christ Jesus, the Messiah.

We are born lost.  Adam’s sin, our community’s sins, our ancestral sins, and our own sins ensure that we would remain lost.

But God keeps His promise through Obadiah every day, through the Messiah.

The Messiah came to save the lost, yes.  But also to return what we have lost.

Whatever we feel we have lost… in God we can find it.

Obadiah I: Pride

Obadiah I

Behold, I will make you small among the nations; you shall be utterly despised. The pride of your heart has deceived you, you who live in the clefts of the rock, in your lofty dwelling, who say in your heart, “Who will bring me down to the ground?” Though you soar aloft like the eagle, though your nest is set among the stars, from there I will bring you down, declares the Lord. (Obadiah 1:2-4 ESV)

Pride

My pride has been my downfall many times.  I played chess in a championship, sure I would teach the country bumpkins a thing or two.  But after I won my first bout, I fell painfully from my perch.

I believed I knew everything about my old 1964 Chevy Panel Truck… mechanically inside and out.  Until my diagnoses failed, my repairs faltered, and the dear old truck had to be trashed.

I thought I knew all about God’s grace, good theology, Biblical wisdom, and maturity beyond my years.  Until I fell to sin, deeply, painfully, destructively, and humbly.

Pride is at the foundation of every sin.

And the Edomites were proud.  They lived on defensible cliffs.  They bordered key trade routes.  Every national effort they attempted, they found success.

Until God said, “that’s enough.”

Pride leads to a fall.  Pride leads to judgement.  Pride leads to true awareness. 

And hopefully, needfully, salvificly, pride leads to Jesus.

See your pride, and humbly accept God’s answer to it: Jesus.

Amos II: Punishment

Amos II

Thus says the Lord: “For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment…”  (Amos 1:3 ESV) 

Punishment

This same statement, for three transgressions and for four, that cause God to not revoke punishment is repeated against Gaza, Tyre, Edom, Ammon, Moab, Judah, and Israel.  Does not that sound very severe?   God appears harsh, full of judgment, and absolute in his pronouncement.

And while modern ‘nicey-nice’ understandings of God might wish that God just decided to look the other way, and revoke after all… He did not revoke.

if He had simply revoked, simply forgotten, simply been nice, it would NOT have been a good thing.  He would have not been just.  He would have made His law, His Laws, the Laws of the Universe into nothing.

Perhaps our universe would have fallen apart, and ceased to exist.

instead, He punished JESUS for His people in those groupings.  He did not revoke His pronouncement against aggressive Damascus, against  idolatrous Gaze, against greedy Tyre, against proud Edom, against cruel Moab, against unfaithful Judah, and against rebellious Israel.  Instead, He punished JESUS.

Because of the threefold (symbolic of ‘complete’) atrocities of those people, and then even one more… God punished.  But He punished Jesus instead.

And while we might not be of those nations or races, we are just as guilty.  And because God did it so strongly before, we can rest assured He will do it with us, too!

Not just because He is nice.  But because of Jesus, and Jesus alone.  Through Jesus, and Jesus alone.  By Jesus, and Jesus alone.  In Jesus, and Jesus alone.

Amos I: Blessings

Amos I

Behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when the plowman shall overtake the reaper

and the treader of grapes him who sows the seed; (Amos 9:13 ESV)

Blessings

This is an incredible promise.  God says, through Amos, that a time is coming when the person ploughing the land in preparation of planting will somehow be plowing AFTER the harvesters!  No, it is not time travel… but rather, the land will be THAT fertile that the planting overtakes the harvesting! 

It would be like investing in a company, and receiving dividends before your investment check clears.

It would be like winning a football game before the initial coin toss.

It would be like playing Monopoly with your grandchildren before your own children were born.

The point is that God’s promised blessings are so absolute that we can count on them before our first steps of life.  The point is that God’s promised blessings are so extreme that we will be overwhelmed by them beyond our mathematical ability to calculate them. The point is that God’s promised blessings are more amazing than any other amazing thing you have ever been amazed at… amazingly!

His blessings are amazing.

Joel III: THe Church Victorious

Joel III

But Judah shall be inhabited forever, and Jerusalem to all generations. (Joel 3:20 ESV)

The Church Victorious

Forever is a long time.  And the only way that promise could be true is if Judah, and Jerusalem mean something different than a patch of ground in the Middle East. 

While folk HAVE lived in what used to be called Judah all along, this promise is clearly meant for God’s people.  And God’s people have not owned Judah, or even Jerusalem, for many of the years between Joel and today.

Even if the promise DOES refer primarily to that physical land, the return of a physical nation, “Israel” after World War II does not really keep that promise.  Because if the nation ‘returned,’ or was ‘re-established’, that means it was absent for a time.  And that would break the promise.

Instead, we get to know that Judah and Jerusalem refer to something better!

The people of God… Christians!  The Church!  Christ and His Bride!

And THAT Judah and Jerusalem have indeed been inhabited from Joel’s time to today.  Because the Church has survived, thrived, and expanded.

And this promise of God through Joel shows that the church will NOT die out.  Even if it seems like it.  Even if we fear it.

Forever is a long time.

Joel II: Diversity

Joel II

And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. (Joel 2:28 ESV)

Diversity

Is there a difference between Star Trek and Star Wars? Obviously, yes. But both are sci-fi franchises that cost too much to partake of.

Is there a difference between a Wendy’s Hamburger, and a burger from Big Larry’s?  Of course there is.  But both are beefy, risky health-wise, and delicious.

Is there a difference between a Republican and a Democrat? Certainly.  But both want our votes;, both believe in a bigger government than I do; and both are dangerously flawed human organizations.

Is there a difference, according to Joel (and later, Paul), between  men and women?  Jews and Greeks? Young and old? Rich and poor? Experts and amateurs?  Yes, of course… but NOT before the Lord. 

He sends His Spirit on ALL His people, regardless of our divisions and separations.  And it is HIS Spirit that matters.

Keep the differences in perspective.  A very small perspective.

Joel I: Internal

Joel I

Yet even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your hearts and not your garments.” Return to the Lord your God,

for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster. (Joel 2:12,13 ESV)

Internal

Many things are defined and determined internally rather than externally.  An “American” is not one, today, based simply on voting records, allegiances uttered at sporting events, or even our address.  It is an internal thing first.

Good health is not sure based simply on external symptoms like body temperature, skin tone, or sleep pattern.  We can have good vital statistics but internally be in danger of health disaster.

A house does not make a good home because it has sealed windows, excellent paint, or reliable shingles.  A house is a good home because of what is inside:  love or conflict, peace or fear, unity or anger.

And God’s Kingdom is internally determined, much more than externally observed.  God demands and enables us to have humble hearts, loving devotion to Him, and submission to His Words, His Word, and His work.

Internal matters.

Hosea II: Religion

Hosea II

For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings. (Hosea 6:6 ESV)

Religion

We remove inactive club members from our groups, when members do not DO club things.  A yacht club member who does not ever sail is not really a member of the yacht club.  A member of your football team who never practices or plays is not really on the team.  A stamp collector who owns no stamps, does not like stamps, and does not know anything about philatelists should not be thought of as a stamp collector.

Surprisingly, it is not doing religious things that God seeks in His people.  We are not His because do religious things.  For the Israelites, offering sacrifices and burnt offerings.  For us it might be church attendance, following the Golden Rule, or praying regularly.

Those things are not bad things.  But they are not what makes us God’s people.

It is knowing God, and loving God… both of which can only happen when we know and love Christ Jesus.

It is not religion that saves… it is Jesus.

Hosea I: Hope

Hosea I

Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be like the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured or numbered. And in the place where it was said to them, “You are not my people,” it shall be said to them, “Children of the living God.” And the children of Judah and the children of Israel shall be gathered together, and they shall appoint for themselves one head. And they shall go up from the land, for great shall be the day of Jezreel. (Hosea 1:10-11 ESV)

Hope

At the beginning of Hosea’s book, things look grim.  God appears to have had enough with His people’s spiritual laziness, purposeful ignorance, and eager wandering.  His wrath is coming.

But at the end, we find the best kind of hope.

Hope that comes after the sureness of doom.

Hope that is promised when things seem ok is empty.  It is like telling a rich family they will have some money.  Or telling a professional athlete he will have coordination.  Or telling a happy puppy that it will be petted soon.

Of course THOSE things will happen!  So hope is not needed.

But when a family is dirt-poor and desperately broke, a bit of money sounds grand.  For a quadriplegic to hear a promise of coordination, it is exciting.  For a neglected dog to realize that good attention is coming causes tail wagging supreme.

The hope God gives His people is like that.  We do not deserve the blessings He is bringing.  For Hosea’s crowd, and sometimes for our own hearts, we need hope because things seem dire. Without Jesus, doom is sure, but with Jesus, hope is bright. 

When you need hope, look nowhere but to Jesus.

Daniel III: Faith

Daniel III

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.” (Daniel 3:16-18 ESV)

Faith

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego seem like fools.  King Nebuchadnezzar and his advisors were arrogant and wrong,  powerful and wrong, sneaky and wrong, bureaucratic and wrong, and wrong and wrong.

And common sense, human logic, political expediency, and self-protection all would suggest that the three well-fed young men should just pretend to deny God.  They should just utter words of false-worship that they did not mean.   They should just bow their heads with their fingers crossed.

But they believed God’s power, love, protection, promises, and presence.  And they did not bow.  And they did not obey the king.  And they were cast into a hot furnace.

And they lived.

Faith, and the One believed in, triumphed.

Faith, and the One believed in, always does.

Daniel II: Profession

Daniel II

It has seemed good to me to show the signs and wonders that the Most High God has done for me.  How great are His signs, how mighty his wonders! His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and His dominion endures from generation to generation. (Daniel 4:2,3 ESV)

The sentence is by the decree of the watchers, the decision by the word of the holy ones, to the end that the living may know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom He will and sets over it the lowliest of men.’  (Daniel 4:17 ESV)

Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, for all his works are right and his ways are just; and those who walk in pride he is able to humble. (Daniel 4:37 ESV)

Profession

We Christians are often such skeptical cynics.

We doubt professions of faith.  We question displays of good works.  We disbelieve promises of Christ-loyalty.

And maybe we think that experience gives us good reason.

But these three statements could have been uttered by Daniel, by Abraham, by Moses, by Isaiah, by Malachi, by Luke, by Paul, by Timothy, by Billy Graham, by your own pastor.

But we doubt them.  Because they were made by a man that we have decided did not mean them. 

Nebuchadnezzar might not have been a thoughtful believer, but do not these statements show Him a believer?

Nebuchadnezzar might not have been a mature believer, but do not these statements show Him a believer?

Nebuchadnezzar might not have been an educated believer, but do not these statements show Him a believer?

He was a believer who made mistakes.  He was a believer who continued to sin.  He was a believer who doubted, wondered, miss-stepped, and did horrid things.

But those statements are professions of faith that I am sure made the angels rejoice.

We need to do more rejoicing at professions of faith.  We need to be less skeptical and cynical.

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Daniel I: Wow!!!

Daniel I

Daniel answered and said: “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, to whom belong wisdom and might. He changes times and seasons; He removes kings and sets up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding; He reveals deep and hidden things; He knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with him. (Daniel 2:20-22 ESV)

Wow!

I know a pretty good chef.  When working in that field, he was well known and respected not just for the individual menu items, but particularly for the way the items meshed together.  Leftover parts from one dish would be amazingly promoted in the next serving to a starring role.  Things that were the main focus of one part of the meal, ended up as mere garnishes in a few minutes. 

That is what God does in human affairs.  Not only does He do great work in particular situations, but He entwines all the threads of our lives into a glorious tapestry. And apparent low aspects become heroes in another scene.  He uses His people… each of us… exactly in the right place and at the right time for OUR good, as well as for the good of His Kingdom, as well as for His glory.

He did these things in bringing the Messiah.  But He does it in every other area, too.  That is how powerful, knowledgeable, loving, and gracious He is.

It's orchestral, coordinated, complicated, and beautiful.

Be amazed!

Ezekiel III: Trading Up

Ezekiel III

And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. (Ezekiel 36:26 ESV)

Trading Up

I have read of people, con men almost, who go to a flea market with a  piece of trivial junk in their hands… maybe a screwdriver.  They make a series of trades, each time increasing the value of what they ‘own’ until they leave the marketplace with something surprisingly valuable, like a riding lawnmower.

They trade up.

Ezekiel promises here that for those of us who know we had stone cold hearts, God will enable us to trade up!  Through the Christ (and only through the Christ) our selfish hearts become hearts able to love.  Our fearful hearts become hearts at peace.  Our bored hearts become excited hearts.  Our dull hearts become hearts reflecting Christ’s light. 

Our dead hearts become alive hearts.

And all because of Christ.

Ezekiel II: The Messiah

Ezekiel II

And I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd. And I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them. I am the Lord; I have spoken. (Ezekiel 34:23,24 ESV)

The Messiah

Ezekiel’s audience was seeing their line of Kings fail and die out.  And undoubtably that made them nervous.  Not only was a Kingdom difficult to manage without a King… but the whole concept of God’s Blessings on His People was entwined with that Kingdom.  And a King.

But now what?

So this promise has at least two levels.  First, Ezekiel is saying that A King will still be around.  While they might have been thinking about better prices for olive oil, better sources for sheep-feed, and better armed protection against enemy nations, God meant more.

He is saying that He will take care of them.

Which brings our minds to the second level.  God was going to provide a King, but a better King than they had dreamed of since the days of Samuel.  This would not be a King like other nations have… this would be God’s choice of King, a King with God’s direct authority, the Lord Himself as King!

And somehow, with shades of Christmases to come, that King would be both divine and human.

That King would be the Messiah.

And that Messiah is still our King.  Shepherding His people, feeding His people, being our prince, being our savior. 

Being Jesus.

Ezekiel I: Unpragmatic Obedience

Ezekiel I

And you shall speak My words to them, whether they hear or refuse to hear, for they are a rebellious house. (Ezekiel 2:7 ESV)

Unpragmatic Obedience

I’ve stopped, I admit, trying to teach my dog to “come,” because it does not seem to do any good.  He ignores my command, or even goes the other way.

I’ve stopped, for the most part, urging folk to refer to the northwest part of Texas as the “potholder of Texas,” rather than, “The panhandle.”  Because that region of Oklahoma SHOULD be honored with that name, since it looks like a panhandle, and Texas does not.  No one has joined me.  So it does not seem to do any good.

I’ve stopped balancing our checkbook on paper, because online banking gives us better, quicker financial information.  Paper balancing does not seem to do any good.

But poor Ezekiel is not given that type of option by God.   Ezekiel is told to Speak for God… whether the people hear, listen, obey, agree, or pay attention.  Poor Ezekiel must have felt, at times, that his preaching was not doing any good.

But God said to keep preaching. 

Obeying God, whether as a preacher, a father, or anything, is not a pragmatic choice.  God’s people are not given the option of obeying as long as we see the good effect, find such efforts successful, or see a grand result.

Obedience to God is what we get to do regardless of visible effect.

We obey because He says.  That’s what Ezekiel did.  That’s what Jesus did.  That’s what we can do.

Lamentations II: Suffering

Lamentations II

I am the man who has seen affliction under the rod of his wrath; (Lamentations 3:1 ESV)

Suffering

Living in Judah during the time of Jeremiah would have been terrible.  The nation, the regions, the cities, the villages, the neighborhoods, and the families all suffered.

But it was more than people suffering… it was individuals.

Jeremiah shows us this as he describes those dark days of God’s wrath.  He writes as the personification of God’s people. 

He writes “I” instead of “we.”

Never lose sight of that when considering the suffering in our world.  Yes, nations suffer.  Yes, regions suffer.  Yes, cities suffer.  Yes, neighborhoods suffer.  Yes families suffer.

But in every case, for those sufferings to have any meaning, we must see that it is individuals who suffer.

When children suffer, it is a child who is suffering.  When the aged suffer, it is an elderly person who is suffering.  When oppression happens, it happens to individuals.  When people hurt, it is a person who hurts.

But God’s compassion, reconciliation, and salvation come to both the large groups, and the individuals, too!

He saves His people, but He saves persons.  He is the God of groups, like churches and families, but He is the God of individuals.

In that way, He relieves YOUR sufferings.

Lamentations I: Steadfast Love

Lamentations I

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. (Lamentations 3:22,23 ESV)

Steadfast Love

Two characteristics of God’s hesed (steadfast love) seem to contradict each other.  But they really do not.

First, Jeremiah points out that God’s hesed never ceases.  Connected to His mercy, it never, ever, ever, ever ends.  It progresses from now, until forever.  Our eternity in heaven, in the presence of our Savior, will be spent WITH Jesus, knowing His steadfast love! That is a lot of steadfast love! That forever quality is the first part of what makes is steadfast.

And second, we see that the steadfast love of the Lord is new every morning.  It starts fresh, not founded on our failures, our unsteadfast love, our decisions, actions, and declarations.  Every day it starts over.  It is the second chance of second chances.

Those two might seem to be contradictory.  If it never ceases, why does it need to start new?  And the answer is because God is amazing.  Somehow, He adds each day to the full perfection of His lovingkindness.

It never runs out.  It never gets old.  It never is stale.  It never gets watered down.

It never ceases, and it is new every morning.

Jeremiah IV: Trust IS

Jeremiah IV

Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green,          and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit. (Jeremiah 17:7,8 ESV)

Trust IS

I have a bad tree in my back yard.  It is not the tree’s fault, really.  It is too far from water, no streams or wells nearby.  It stands on it’s own, and the heat of the sun bakes it, and when the rain doesn’t fall for a few weeks or months… we can almost watch it shrivel up.  It has stopped producing apples… is rarely green… and looks terrible.

But what a tree Jeremiah describes!  Planted close to nurturing water, roots drinking from a steady stream.  No fear of excessive heat or drought.  And guaranteed to bear fruit.

And while we usually read this passage as claiming that the process of becoming THAT kind of tree requires us to trust in the Lord… the Lord actually tells us a little bit more.

Trusting IN the Lord is good… but Jeremiah says that God’s people’s trust IS the Lord.

Because our ability to trust comes from Him.

Because it is not our trust that matters, it is the Lord that matters.

Because trusting brings us into relationship with Him, through Christ… and that relationship IS what makes great trees.

Trust IS the Lord!

Jeremiah III: Good Intentions

Jeremiah III

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. (Jeremiah 29:11 ESV)

Good Intentions

Do not confuse our human good intentions with God’s good intentions.  Where our intentions, even when seemingly good, are usually tainted with at least SOME selfish motivation, God has plans for US, His people.

Where our follow-up, even when often fairly good, still comes up short, God’s good plans are absolutely sure, and WILL happen.

Where our plans can be sketchy, illogical, unsure, and even dark, God’s plans for His people are grand, beautiful, exciting, and amazing.

He plans for His people’s welfare, for the brightest of futures, and for hope.

He knows those plans.  And when we know HIM… we can rest in His plans.

Jeremiah II: Hearts

Jeremiah II

For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. (Jeremiah 31:33 ESV)

Hearts

We Christians often sound like we think it is our obedience, actions, and law-keeping that makes us God’s people.  But really, that is putting the cart ahead of the horse.

God says here that He (the Holy Spirit, particularly) alters our hearts first.  Our inner being.  Our foundational existence.  Who we ARE… not merely what we DO.  Our hearts, uniquely CHRISTIAN’S hearts, are changed so that we know God.  We know Him through His Law (His Word).  We understand His Will through His Law (His Word).  We relate to Him through His Law (His Word).

Other things flow from that.  Our willingness to obey, and our ability to obey, for instance… but it starts with new hearts.

Other things flow from that.  His peace, His joy, His hope, for instance… but it starts with new hearts.

Other things flow from that.  Love, for instance… but it starts with new hearts.

We are God’s people because He changes our hearts… He does not change our hearts because we are God’s people.