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Vulgar and Blunt Thoughts on Prayer v. 1.0

What the what?

Good question.  We’re doing this series in youth group where people can submit any question they want about anything and then I attempt to tackle at least one question per week.  I got a variety of questions on prayer and I usually skirt the issue because it’s something I’m undeveloped, uninformed, ill-equipped and under-practiced in.  I’d rather answer a question on lapsarianism than prayer because I’d rather talk about issues that have no bearing on how I conduct myself. So here it is, this is hardly exhaustive but begins to scratch the surface on something I’ve fought with for a long time.

The vulgar and the blunt

“It is easier on our faith not to pray” – Paul E. Miller

Prayer can make me feel cynical, guilty or even hopeless. If I pray hard for something and don’t get it then despite my capacity for theological rationalization, I begin to lose hope. When I hear other people pray for stupid things and they do get it I feel cynical. When I give up on prayer and praying  then I feel guilty.

It’s a losing proposition right?  I try not to bother God with little things, only big and important things and then I don’t get them.  Some moron prays for a parking spot or a sale at Nordstroms and they think they’ve had an answered prayer and seem to derive joy from that.

Regardless of my cynicism I still feel the pressure and need to pray from pastors, the church and other Christians. I want to want to pray but just don’t have that desire.

My realization lately has been that there is a deeper theological issue behind the practice of prayer that cuts to the core of the gospel. Real prayer is centered on our dependency on God. The gospel is also centered on our dependency on God, it is the realization that we are not self-reliant and we cannot be self-justifying.   Once the gospel sinks in we should realize that we are wholly dependent on God. Many of us attempt to partition our lives into a spiritual realm and a physical realm. We see the two realms as unrelated or having minimal overlap.  This leads to thinking that Jesus is the lord and savior of all my spiritual needs but as for my physical, day-to-day or “real” stuff I take the approach of, “I got this”.  I don’t build my life in such a way that I need God for my physical daily needs despite the Lord’s Prayer explicitly stating my daily dependence on God for my physical needs (daily bread and such).

In reality the spiritual realm is much bigger than the physical world.  If we adapt a new way of viewing ourselves and the world around us (which is the definition of repentance, to change your mind/worldview)  then we see that all of life is spiritual and when we admit our need for God it will consume all of who we are not just some spiritual fragment of ourselves.  Everything has spiritual ties to it, nothing is purely physical and even if it were it wouldn’t be worthy of our attention.

Most Common Questions About/Objections to Prayer

What is prayer?

There is a popular notion floating around that prayer is a conversation with God.  That sounds neat but I don’t think prayer is a conversation.  Prayer is us communicating with God.  God speaking to us doesn’t qualify as prayer (as I understand it), that would either be revelation (God revealing something new to you) or illumination (God shedding light on his already revealed Word).

Too Busy to pray

If you feel that you’re too busy to pray then you are probably taking a legalistic approach to prayer. You feel it’s an obligation you must check off of your list.  Dig deeper.  Underneath that belief is the assumption that God needs you to pray which is backwards. A Christian (I’m speaking to myself here) should (in theory) need to pray to God not because God needs it but because the Christian needs it. If a Christian, me, finds themselves not in need of prayer, their life is likely not built on Christ.  Now we may say, “Jesus is my lord and savior” but if he is truly lord of all your life then you will depend on him for everything not just spiritual salvation.

Don’t know how to pray

There is a lot of good news associated with this problem. It’s been a struggle for me for years and what I’ve noticed in scripture is that God wants us to approach him like little children.  Anyone who reads the new testament is aware of that saying but pause for a second and ask yourself this:  How do little children act?  They are blunt, often rude, possibly selfish and are quick and inconsiderate with what they ask for and how they ask for it.

Typically when I approach prayer I don’t approach him with my “real self”. I try to present some polished and elegant version of myself as if I’m fooling anyone. The truth is, the only way for God to work on your real self is for you to present your real self. This is why God wants us to approach him like little children, he wants us to be ourselves and he will work on that self.

I frequently go through a pre-prayer ritual where I weed out things that are on my mind that I think are too selfish, too small and too petty for God’s time and then I don’t pray for those things. Those things are precisely the things that God expects me to offer up in prayer.

Not sure what I get (or am suppose to get) out of it

“Learning to pray doesn’t offer us a less busy life, it offers us a less busy heart”. – Paul Miller

I think I’m a full-bred American when I ask questions like this.  I’m used to my relationships being transactional.  By that I mean, I do things in order to get things.  I go to school and do my assignments so that I can get good grades, I get good grades so I can go to a better school, I go to a better school so I get a better degree, I get a better degree so I can get a better job, I get a better job so I can get a better house, better car, better life, etc.  That’s what we’re programmed to do in America.  In a sense it’s pragmatism but it’s truly shallower than that.  Prayer doesn’t operate within those perimeters and it seems the effects of prayer are more qualitative than quantitative.

I realize I didn’t answer that question/objection instead I just rambled but that’s all I’ve got for now.

What Good Does it Do?

Now this is a deep theological question with lots of implications.  I’ll post on it later so keep your eyes open although I’ll point you in the direction of Hezekiah (2 Kings 19ish?) with a disclaimer that I am not an open theist.

 

In the words of a famous pig, that’s all folks.

Feel free to comment, object, question or direct my thinking as I hope to continue these thoughts in future blogging.

Posted by  |  March 4, 2013 | Categories: Rants | Tags: , , , , | 1 Comment »

Minor Prophets: Malachi

Malachi: Does it matter how I worship God?

Introduction:

This book is divided six disputes between God and his people. All of the disputes center around the theme of proper worship. They people may or may not have realized that worship was the issue at hand but God saw it that way. In fact I would venture to say due to the rhetorical devices used by God that the people felt somewhat blinded-sided by these accusations. Below are the six disputes broken up by verses. We will not be going through them in order as they are written in chiastic structure so the first section we’ll discuss is dispute 3+4, then 2+5 and finally 1+6.

  1. 1:2-5
  2. 1:6 – 2:9
  3. 2:10 – 16
  4. 2:17 – 3:5
  5. 3:6-12
  6. 3:13 – 4:3

Worship of God involves how we treat other people:

This section is taken from the third and fourth disputes. The first thing we can learn from Malachi is that our worship of God is connected to how we treat other people. Many people think religion or spirituality is our deeply private and inner-most feelings and thoughts about God or ourselves. However this stands in opposition to what the scripture teaches. I won’t toss out any personal aspect of it, it is indeed very personal but it is not merely personal.

Forming and keeping our families - Malachi 2:10-16

The Israelites did not properly worship God with their marriages.

  1. God’s people were marrying those who did not worship the Lord (11).
  2. God’s people were acting faithlessly in their marriages and getting divorces (16).

True worship of God involves honoring God with our families and commitments.

Acting Justly Toward Our Neighbors - Malachi 2:17-3:5

God accuses the Israelites of violating his established justice with their neighbors. Some are engaged in sorcery, adultery, perjury while others oppress the laborers and widows and other still deprive aliens of justice.

So there are those who are simply committing injustice but there is more to it than that. There are also people who are indifferent to justice. Wanna guess what distinction God makes between committing injustice and being indifferent to justice? Little to none is the answer. If you stand in the way of justice or do not care for the victims of injustice then you are indirectly committing an act of injustice. True worship of God involves acting justly towards those around us.

Worship of God involves what we do with ourselves:

This section is taken from the second and fifth disputes.

Giving our Best – Malachi 1:6-2:9

Here we find that the people had indeed been bringing their tithes and offerings to God. So on the surface at least they appear to be righteous and spiritually aligned. But that is not how God saw it, God saw them bringing whatever they could spare when he asks for their best. In this passage (1:13) God calls out the priests for allowing blemished and less than perfect offerings. Why would they do that? Probably because they thought no one would notice, but they were wrong because God noticed. God is (or is supposed to be) the recipient of these offerings, if you don’t think he’s paying attention than what (or who) is the offering actually for? Don’t try to impress others with your offering to God; offerings to God are for God.

Giving our All – Malachi 3:6-12

There are two things required in giving our all to God (at least as it’s meant in this passage). First, by all I mean your whole life. Your offering is not the only part of your life you give to God. Many of us try that though. We think we can partition off part of our time and money and give it to God and that will appease him. Would that work in a marriage? Spending an hour a week with the person and giving them some leftover money? Because marriage is the way God describes his relationship to us in multiple places.

Secondly we need to get in touch with the true God. God reveals himself in scripture and provides us with objective truth about his nature and character. We must seek to know this God and not some God of our culture and times or God of our personal desires or God of what some guy on TV said God is. For example if I said that I know Tom Cruise personally someone might question me about that. If I then said Tom Cruise has blonde hair you would certainly doubt me. What if I then proceeded to say, “Well that’s what Tom Cruise is like for me”? Would you conclude that I really know the real Tom Cruise? What if I seemed really earnest and sincere in my belief? Similarly, if someone says they know God but don’t live, act and think like they know the one true God then it is reasonable to doubt their belief. However I’m not giving this lesson for you to analyze other people but yourself. If you say you know the one true and living God how does it appear in your life?

Giving your all means giving every aspect of your life to the one true God.

Worship of God involves how we approach God:

Understanding God – Malachi 1:1-5

This really stems from the last thing we talked about. Getting to know the true God and understanding Him. We cannot simply project a random image into the sky and worship it, we must get in touch with the one true God.

Fearing God – Malachi 3:13-4:3

This explains our need for true reverence for God. Francis Chan believes that these passages about fearing God are not merely about reverence and I would have to concur but they are no less than that. Part of worshipping God is putting him in his proper place and ourselves in our proper place. The Pharisee and the Tax Collector that Jesus taught about show the contrast in those who fear and do not fear. Worshipping God with fear means not doing so with disrespect, distrust or arrogance.

Hoping in God – Malachi 4:4-6

Last but not least our worship of God should convey the hope we have in God. Notice that the book (and the Old Testament) ends with the phrase “or else”, it also begins that way back in the Garden of Eden. There are remarkable things in these last verses. God also calls his people to reflect on the Moses and Elijah, these same two figures are present at the transfiguration in the Gospels. But I digress… ultimately our hope is in God. We hope in Him because we trust in him and we trust because he has revealed himself to be good.

Conclusion, Jesus & the Gospel

Clearly in this last book of the Old Testament it showed that God cares deeply about how he’s worshipped. Did all of this end on page later in the New Testament? Does God still care? Do we act like he still cares? How do you worship? Do you just sing songs and stay awake through a sermon? Do you even do that much?

Ultimately I believe God is most glorified in the proclamation of His gospel. When His one, true, authentic and objective gospel is presented he receives all the glory. There is no room for us to boast. This is why I am so personally insistent on churches proclaiming the gospel every time they gather.

How is the gospel present in Malachi? How isn’t it? The simplest explanation would be to go to the very beginning where God shows that he has loved and gifted the people with mercy and grace before they did their actions and he continues to do it in spite of their disobedience and half-heartedness. This is the good news, God loves first. He loves, gives, sacrifices and pours out mercy and grace while we are still sinners!

How is Jesus foreshadowed here? Quite simply we need a better priest. Jesus, according to Hebrews, is our ultimate high priest. He brings proper offering to God on our behalf and we receive the blessing. Not only do the Jewish people receive a better high priest but chapter 1 verse 5 foreshadows that God will redeem people of all nations (beyond the border of Israel).

Posted by  |  March 4, 2013 | Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: , | Leave A Comment »

Minor Prophets – Zechariah

Zechariah: Does God Give Second Chances?

Intro:

The first thing you’ll notice about Zechariah is that it is massive (at least in comparison to our other Minor Prophets). In it are 14 chapters containing a series of eight visions, two sermons and two oracles. There are many themes present and we’ll dive into it soon. The only thing that really needs to be noted upfront is that this book is also post-exilic meaning that the Jews had returned from their captivity in Babylon. He wrote about the same time as Haggai so they are facing similar struggles.

God Will Give a Second Chance through His Rule (1-6)

God begins this book with a call to repentance. He highlights the faults of the people’s forefathers and contrasts them with God.

  • “Return to me and I will return to you”
  • This phrase alone implies that there not only will be a second chance offered from God but here it is now!

This section discussing God’s rule is a series of eight visions. They are

  1. The Man among the Myrtle Trees – 1:8-17 - There is a report of peace in this vision that parallels the peace of the eigth vision. The difference is in the first vision it reports the peace that exists before the Lord judges the nations. It is the peace of self-righteous nations who believe they can win their own security and rest.
  2. Four Horns and Four Craftsmen 1-:18-21 - This vision shows God winning victories over His people’s enemies.
  3. A Man with a Measuring Line – Ch. 2 - This vision shows God winning victories over His people’s enemies.
  4. Clean Garments for the High Priest – Ch. 3 - This is about the high priest Joshua who is symbolically covered with the filth of the people and must be cleansed.
  5. The Gold Lampstand and the Two Olive Trees – Ch. 4 - This message is about the king that God would appoint to accomplish God’s purpose and vision. At the end of the fifth vision you see the joining of the high priest and the king.
  6. The Flying Scroll – 5:1-4 - This vision shows God purging his people of their sin.
  7. The Woman in a Basket – 5:5-11 - This vision shows God purging his people of their sin.
  8. Four Chariots – 6:1-8 - The last vision parallels the first vision and shows God’s peace after the coming of the Messiah. It is the triumph of the righteous.

Visions one, four, five and eight picture the defeat of all opposition to God’s rule (both internal and external). Meanwhile two and three show God purging the world of those who oppose his people. Chapters six and seven show God purging the sin from His own people. When you stick all the pieces of this puzzle together the picture that is clear is God purifying His people and the world and establishing the reign of his Priest-King. The idea is that one day the whole world will be ruled by God (6:5).

We should all love this chapter because unlike most of the Bible this section doesn’t tell us to do anything. Instead it tells us what God will do and what we are to be expecting and hoping for.

God Will Give a Second Chance through His Word (7-8)

There are essentially two different sermons offered here.

Chapter 7 

Chapter 7 offers more of a negative reinforcement mindset, it ties closely to the idea of God purifying his own people. In verses 11-12 he says that the people would not listen to his law or his Word. This is a point where this ties to us directly, where do you personally reject God’s word? We’d like to hear things that make us feel good but we don’t gain much from those things do we? God examines our actions and our motives for those actions and so we ought to be considering those things as well. God’s word to us is a second chance that he offers us.

 Chapter 8

Chapter 8 is much happier than chapter 7. The first sermon is about the terrible consequences that had overtaken the people because they ignored God’s word. The second sermon in chapter 8 is about how God will reestablish his people according to his grace. He gives them a new beginning and a fresh start or in other words, a second chance.

As I said earlier Zechariah is really not a prophecy about what we should do but there are two exceptions found in these chapters. The first is chapter 7:9-10 and the other is chapter 8:16-17. God makes it very clear how he feels about our behavior and that it does matter but the book is more about what God is doing and what he will do in the world than it is about anything we do.

So the only thing that is truly commanded of us here is that we as a people would be marked by truth and love. What are some things we can do to practice these things?

  • Commit to being actively honest with one another by confessing sins, shortcomings and struggles. Individualism starves the soul. In order to be a community committed to truth and love we must actually be part of a community which means being vulnerable. (Modern marriage is like two ticks without a dog)
  • Learning about other people’s lives challenges us to live more like God would have us live. There are great Christian biographies available in bookstores and libraries as well as in the Bible. A few of my favorites would be St. Augustine, John Calvin, Martin Luther and Jonathon Edwards.
  • Pray for one another. Many times we turn prayer into an individualistic activity where we just pray for what we want. But what if you prayed for a full week without praying for yourself at all? How would that change the way you think? How do you know what to pray for with others? You have to ASK them!

God Will Give a Second Chance through His Son (12-14)

This section consists of two oracles. Tonight I’m going to skip our section at the end where we try to find Jesus and the Gospel in the book because its so blatant in this book. If you haven’t picked up on it already, its going to slap you in the face right here. It is probably why Zechariah is the most quoted Old Testament book in the Gospel’s account of the crucifixion.

Both oracles begin with the promise of judgment on Israel’s enemies (9:1-8; 12:1-9). Next both point to One who would come. In the first oracle he is called Israel’s “king”, the “LORD,” and a shepherd (9:9; 14-16; 11:4-9). The first oracle ends with the shepherd-king being detested by the flock: they reject him (11:8). This person is also rejected in the second oracle except he is pierced and struck in this one (12:10; 13:7). However the second oracle doesn’t end with this, instead it describes the celebration of the day of the Lord and the consummation of the kingdom.

Posted by  |  March 4, 2013 | Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: , | Leave A Comment »

Minor Prophets: Haggai

Haggai: Are your Investments Sound?

Introduction:

So let’s give a little history here. God promised David in 2 Samuel chapter 7 that a temple would be built for his people by David’s son Solomon and it was in 1 Kings Chapter 5. Then the Lord predicted that the temple would be destroyed and rebuilt in Isaiah 44(which it was).  When the Babylonians took Jerusalem they destroyed the temple and took the people away (2 Kings 25).  Now the people have been brought back from exile and have returned to their land yet in nearly 20 years they have failed to rebuild the temple.

The book of Haggai is divided into four separate sermons which he delivered at different times as the word of God came to him. Each sermon begins roughly with the phrase, “the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet”.

Sermon 1: Poor Investments Show Themselves – 1:1-15

So as we see from the text the people have become somewhat lethargic and have not rebuilt the temple despite being back in the land for quite some time. Some people resist building it, some people want to wait for the messiah, some people think they just don’t have the money. In fact many were convinced that they did not have the resources they needed to finish the temple but Haggai points out to them that they have provided much comfort for themselves (1:4,9). Yet their homes were all nicely finished and the temple remained bare.

Haggai goes on to say, “You have sown much, and harvested little. You eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm. And he who earns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes.” The problem here is not that they have a lack of resources but a lack of priority, rebuilding God’s temple simply doesn’t matter to them. This is a problem because it matters to God but not his people. Why does it matter to God? Thats a fair question, why would God care about a temple being rebuilt? Haggai gives a few reasons and a few perspectives…

  1. God’s standpoint: God says it would please him and honor him
  2. People’s standpoint: It would a public statement from the people that they still wanted and valued God; it would show him to be a higher priority than the other things they spent their time and money on.
  3. Nation’s standpoint: It would show the other nations that the God of Israel had not gone away when Jerusalem fell. The temple was a symbol of God living among the Israelites and not abandoning them.

The theme of this first sermon is that where you invest your time, energy and money matter to God. They are the gauge by which you can assess your spiritual maturity and your relationship with God. Every hour of every day we invest our lives into something. The question is what? What do you invest your life in? What will the return be on that investment? Or in the words of Mumford and Sons, “Where you invest your love, you invest your life”.

God tells his people that these investment strategies must be corrected in order to be in right relationship with him. What are some ways that we can have “sound investments” with our lives? What does it look like to invest ourselves in God?

  1. Study the Word of God. The Bible is God’s primary way of speaking to us and correcting us. If you ignore his primary line of communication you’re going to have a strained relationship at best.
  2. Consider God’s Character. Actually think and focus on what God is like especially in contrast to yourself. It is humbling but will give you the proper perspective with God.
  3. Pray for God to stir affection for him. Pray also that you’d be disaffected toward your sin.
  4. Seek out the wisdom and leadership of godly individuals around you. Bible study,God-ward meditation, prayer, counsel and conviction will be a good investment of your time.

Sermon 2-4: Sound Investments Prove Themselves in Their Returns

Sermon 2: This is the text from chapter 2:1-9. God encourages his people and promises them many blessings that ultimately culminate in Christ. Verse 9 specifically is the promise of the greater glory which is Christ and his Church.

Sermon 3: In this sermon (2:10-19) God promises blessings to the people even though they are defiled. He explains through metaphor how the defilement is spreading through the people yet he is determined to bless them anyway. The metaphor might be a bit confusing but essentially it just shows that defilement spreads much easier than holiness.

Sermon 4: In this final sermon (2:20-23) God promises spiritual blessings. Zerubbabel was the governor of Judah and God promised to him a signet ring. A signet ring was a ring given from a king to a minister to convey the king’s confidence and give authority to that man. This passage clearly points to Jesus and if that weren’t clear then look at Matthew 1:12 where it identifies that Jesus is the descendent of Zerubbabel.

Christ/the Gospel in Haggai

Everything in this book points somewhat blatantly to Jesus. Christ is our ultimate investment. Christ is the physical blessing received by undeserving people, he is the ultimate glory promised from God, he is the infinite spiritual blessing and reign of God.

As far as the gospel goes, does this book teach a works-based righteousness? It may seem that way at first because God is demanding the building of a temple but when you dig a little deeper you see that God blesses his people despite their works and he grants them mercy instead of justice not because of their actions but because of their faith.

Posted by  |  March 4, 2013 | Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: , | Leave A Comment »

Minor Prophets: Zephaniah

Zephaniah: What’s there to be thankful for?

Intro: What we really look at in Zephaniah is the theme of sinful human pride both in God’s people and in the world.

5 Attributes of God’s character

  1. God alone is God – 1:1-12
    • God gives condemnation religious pluralism.  Pluralism is the idea that more than one religious path is correct.  In modern terms it would be accepting Christianity, Islam, Buddhism and Hinduism as all equally true.
    • Reflect on why religious pluralism might play into or come from our sinful nature.
      • In our sinful condition many of us would like to “cherry-pick” God’s character for what we like.  If we like Christianity’s idea of grace we’ll accept that but when we read about God’s justice in the Bible we like to overlook that so we look to another religion that will tell us what we want to hear about that.
    • God lists specific condemnations for those who worship other Gods and turn their back on the one true God.
      • V4 – Those who worship Baal
      • V5 – Those who worship Milcom
      • V6 – Those who turn their back
      • V7+8 – Those who array themselves in foreign attire
    • The Israelites were doing wrong things in the name of being more inclusive, respectful and open.  The result was syncretism.  Instead of creating a dialogue with other cultures and religions the religious leaders of Israel simply compromised their own beliefs to accommodate and incorporate other religions.
      • I do not think the Israelites were wrong in their desire to be more inclusive, respectful and open of other cultures and religions, they simply missed the mark in executing it.  It is an earnest desire of many Christians to be seen as and to act in ways that are more inclusive and respectful.
    • Reflect on some ways as Christians we can be inclusive, respectful and open without compromising the God we worship?
  2. God is active – 1:10-13
    • This passage reminds us that the God of the Bible is not the God of deism.
    • In verse 12 God says, “I will punish the men who are complacent, those who say in their hearts, ‘The LORD will not do good, nor will he do ill.’”  God corrects this misguided thinking by telling them exactly what he thinks of their behavior and what the end result will be.  God is active in this world.
    • God does not tolerate complacency.
    • Wealth and apparent prosperity will not hide a person from God’s judgment.  Many people thought they were secure because they were wealthy (put their trust in money rather than God), thought they looked busy and could fool God (God is not deceived by wealth) or they thought God simply didn’t care what they did (God is not apathetic).
    • In short, God is active in our world and we should be too.
  3. God is merciful and just – 1:14-2:3
    • You can’t have mercy without some standard of justice.  God is firmly committed to justice and it is a good thing for us that he is just.
    • God also is merciful and he pours out his mercy on his people.  The purpose of him declaring judgment here in Zephaniah is so that people will turn to God.  That by itself is an act of mercy, God is well within his right to act immediately and without warning but he mercifully extends a warning.
  4. God is judge of all the world – 2:4-3:8
    • The judgments in chapter 1 are against his own people the next is that God judges the world.
    • This is shocking to pluralists who think God is just the God of Israel but by declaring judgments on the whole world, God shows that he is judge of the entire world not just one nation, culture or people.
  5. God is the savior of His people – 3:9-20
    • Here we get a glimpse of God’s character.  Behind all the wrath and justice is a heart that cries out to his people.  He rejoices when they repent and return.
    • The language in 3:16-17 is similar to Jesus’ parables in Luke 15 (about lost stuff)
    • It is in this conclusion that God assures the righteous that they will not be put to shame for the wrongs they have done to him.
      • “Sin is an act of cosmic treason” – R.C. Sproul
      • Sin is not simply breaking a rule, its a violation of our relationship with God.  It is the personal wrongdoing and harming of God.  Most of us do not see sin in this way, we don’t realize that we have personally offended God.  But God says that the faithful will not be put to shame even though they rebel against him!
    • Those who are too proud to come will be removed and the Lord will be in our midst.  He will be the savior of his people and he will be with his people.

Gospel in Zephaniah

Our final task as always is to see how this prophet points towards, foreshadows, necessitates and is fulfilled by Jesus and the revelation of the gospel.

  1. Repentance – The gospel is built on the foundation of repentance.  God allows sinners from all nations and peoples the opportunity to repent.
  2. Not saved by religious rule-keeping.  It may seem this way when you see the way that God denounces certain behavior but we learn at the end that even the righteous ones have committed acts of rebellion against God.  It is therefore not their rule-keeping that has kept them safe but their faith.  This interpretation is aided by the New Testament yet is consistent with the internal message of the book.
  3. Once again the wrath of God is a theme in the book and this points to the need for the propitiation provided by Christ on the cross.

Posted by  |  March 4, 2013 | Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: , | Leave A Comment »

Minor Prophets: Habakkuk

Habakkuk: How Can I Be Happy?

Intro:

As has become custom in this series we don’t know much about Habakkuk but we can pick up a lot of his character from this book.  It’s one of the few Minor Prophets where the prophet himself is a main character.

This one is different from the other prophets because God does not offer a chance for repentance.  Judgment is imminent this time.  There will be no chance to repent and avert God’s judgment like with the other prophets.  This time it is coming and the Israelites need to prepare for it.

It’s a very unique book because it is short and there is no narrative, it’s just a conversation between Habakkuk and God.  It doesn’t really give us the details we’d like surrounding the conversation or even how God spoke to him, was it a dream? A burning bush?  We have no idea but here’s the conversation…

Habakkuk’s Complaint # 1 (verses 1:2-4)

  • Why don’t you answer me?
  • Don’t’ you care that your people are corrupt?
  • The law is paralyzed and justice never goes fourth?

God’s Response #1 (verses 1:5-1-:11)

  • I see the injustice and I’m going to use the Chaldeans to wipe out the injustice of my people
  • The Chaledeans are as mean and nasty as they come, they’ll definitely be able to wipe out the stuff you’re complaining about

Habakkuk’s Complaint # 2 (verses 1:12-17)

  • You wouldn’t do that, the Babylonians are even more unjust than the Israelites.
  • You’re not being consistent with your own character; I know you and you wouldn’t do that.

God’s Response #2

    • There are three groups in play here:
      1. The wicked
      2. The Babylonians
      3. The righteous (remnant of Judah)
    • The Babylonians will indeed wipe out the wicked from among Israel.
    • The righteous shall live by faith
    • Woes to the Babylonians
    1.  2:6-8 – Those who plunder others will themselves be plundered
    2. 2:9-11 – Those who sought security in material possessions and economic gains at the expense of others.
    3. 2:12-14 – Pronounces judgment on the ruthless but futile efforts of the tyrant to perpetuate his fame.
    4. 2:15-17 – Judgment on Babylon’s sadistic and humiliating treatment of others
    5. 2:18-20 – Denounces idolatry

Habakkuk’s Prayer

  • Habakkuk wrestles with the power and sovereignty of God, reflecting on what he has done and what he is capable of.  He then accepts the Lord’s plan with fear and humility.
  • In verse 17 he projects a grim future for an agricultural economy yet…
  • He concludes with rejoicing in the Lord, TRUSTing in Him for his salvation and taking joy in his salvation.
  • Verse 19 shows his total dependence on God’s sovereignty

Conclusion:

Essentially what we have here is a pretty righteous guy complaining to God about all the unrighteousness around him.  I’ve got to say I can relate to an extent because I get very frustrated with the practices of the American church and my nation in general.  What if God came to you and said, “You know you’re right, I’m going to wipe out the injustice in American and I’m going to use Iran or China to do it”.  I think most of us would respond like Habakkuk and say, “hang on God, I agree something needs to be done but you can’t use the less righteous to judge us”.

Here’s the question of the night: Would you be able to come to peace with our country being destroyed if you knew it was the will of God?  This is where our title question comes from, the complete question is, “how can I be happy when it seems God doesn’t care?”  That’s the question Habakkuk struggled with, go back to his first complaint and he was unhappy about the injustice but he seemed even more unhappy with God and his inaction.

Habakkuk eventually showed some growth and maturity in his understanding of God.  From what I can tell he never really understood exactly what God was doing or why (although he got some clarity).  Ultimately he accepted that God was beyond him and that he needed to trust in God’s goodness.  This faith or trust is a tricky concept because it’s hard to trust in what you don’t understand but that is part of faith.  So while trusting in God is an act of faith it’s not a “blind leap of faith” we have countless testimonies to His goodness, the Bible is full of them and the Church is full of them.

Jesus and the Gospel in Habakkuk

This book foreshadows the gospel in a few ways.  First and foremost Habakkuk is greatly in need of a mediator between himself and God for understanding (1 Timothy 2:5).  Secondly the book hits right at the heart of the gospel in its central point that the righteous shall live by faith.  It doesn’t outline that as articulately as the New Testament but the central thesis is still present, the righteous have always lived by faith but in the New Testament we learn that it is faith that makes on righteous.

Final Thought

Finally, to answer the question we can be happy because Christians do not build their hope in this side of the grave.  If this world were all that mattered then we would be utterly distraught when we read about the destruction of nations so while we are to love this world as God’s creation and care for it, it is not the ultimate ends.  Ultimately we are to take pleasure, joy and hope in God and his goodness, justice and holiness.

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Minor Prophets: Micah

Micah: What Does God Want?

 I) Sentence of God upon both idolatrous kingdoms – 1:1-16

This introduction should look familiar to us from the other Minor Prophets. There is very little information about Micah himself and then straight into the wrath. We know relatively little about Micah except that he was likely a contemporary of Isaiah so that should give you an idea of the time frame. Our first subsection here is 1:1-4. This section is God promising to crush Israel’s pride because of broken law. The next subsection is punishment for idolatry and the destruction of Samaria (1:5-7). Finally we have lament over the coming Assyrian invasion (1:8-16).

 II) Bill of particulars: oppression by upper classes, 2:1-3:12

In this section we see the list of particular things that God has a problem with. I think these are particularly relevant or at least relatable for us. The first is the exploitation of the lower class by the lazy and idle rich. In the Bible the term “woe” is to proclaim their funeral so when it says “woe to those” it is announcing the end of the time for those groups or individuals. There are plenty of woes here because there are lots of things wrong with these people

  1. (2:1-13) first is the exploitation of lower classes by the rich. This is a very real problem that still goes on but over and over again it must be said that God does not hate the rich. Wealth and prosperity are blessings from God, those blessings are meant for you to serve and bless other with them. When you exploit your position you’ve misused a gift of God. This displeases God and it still goes on today as much if not more than it did back then. This is the general thrust of the “Occupy” movement. Whether you agree with them or not they feel that the rich in this country have exploited their position. I certainly acknowledge that some of that goes on and something does need to be done about it yet on the same week we saw Carl Linder die and he was a man who used his wealth to better our city by giving away millions of dollars.
  2. (3:1-4) secondly the government had become a devourer instead of a defender of its citizens. I hope the language in this section is poetic but it could very well be literal. This type of oppression rises time and time again all over the world. Since I mentioned the occupy movement I have to mention the “other side” of popular protest movements in our day and that is the tea party. I don’t endorse either of these movements but I do acknowledge that both have a point. The tea party sees our government as a devourer of wealth, comfort and security. I think our government, just as any government, can be wasteful in certain areas and needs to be accountable to the people. But it is interesting that the issues in Micah’s time were the rich oppressing the poor and the government misusing its position (two things we still struggle with today).
  3. (3:5-8) Third, Micah shows the contrast between the corrupt state religion and the power and the message of God-fearing preachers. “Religion” is fake, dogmatic, legalistic, moralistic, harsh, judgmental and manipulative; it oppresses the poor, shields the rich, deceives the people and leads people away from God. That is not the faith God calls us to and so he denounces false prophets who live like this. In short the message here is if you’re not caring for the poor then you’re not a prophet from God. I won’t get into any more modern tangents suffice it to say we have issues with corrupt institutionalized religion in our day. This section ends with 3:9-12 which gives the final denouncement of these three groups.

 III) Ultimate triumph of God’s grace – 4:1-5:15

Our next section here focuses on the future coming Messianic triumph of the kingdom of God over the world. That is something we firmly believe in and we believe are in the midst of, Jesus is the Messiah this passage points to and he spent his time on earth establishing his Kingdom and will finish it when he returns (4:1-8). He then tells them what all will take place before the time is fulfilled: suffering, exile, restoration, judgment upon heathen neighbors (4:9-13). This next subsection is a description of the one who will usher in this kingdom. The divine-human Victor who shall bring this to pass, defending His flock, destroying the world powers will be born in Bethlehem (hint hint verse 2) (5:1-6). Finally he addresses the triumph of Israel after humbling and purging from idolatry (5:7-15).

 IV. God’s controversy with ungrateful Israel – 6:1-16

Next we move to the section where God offers his indictment and then a call to repentence. He summons to the Northern Kingdom to respond to God in view of His exodus mercies (6:1-5) He then elaborates on what the appropriate response should be or in other words “here is what repentance should look like”. Response of an awakened conscience: holy living must accompany valid worship; yet Israel is still dishonest and oppressive (6:6-13). He then issues a final warning about the failure to repent will be followed by a crop failure; the policy of alliance with unbelievers is to be discredited (6:14-16).

V. Fulfillment of covenant promise to the faithful remnant 7:1-20

Our final section offers a lament of true Israel over prevalence of selfishness and shameful corruption in their own land (7:1-6). He shows that true Israel’s continued trust in God’s mercy (7:7-10). And finally he projects the promise into the future of the triumph of the messiah for all time (7:11-20). If you don’t see Christ in this book then I’ve failed you. He is the promised solution to the injustice and evil in this world. He is the founder and builder of the eternal kingdom that’s promised. He’s the human leader born in Bethlehem that will usher in that eternal kingdom.

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Minor Prophets: Amos

Amos: Does God Care?

Introduction

Tonight we’re going to look at the book of Amos and see what he has to say.  There are so many themes running through each book that it’s difficult to reduce it to a “theme” without robbing it of its meaning but we’ll attempt to look at through the lens of “Does God care?”  The belief that God cares about us is a distinctive of the Christian faith especially back in the Greco-Roman era where stoicism consumed much of the religious thought.  The Bible has always taught about a God who is deeply involved with human affairs and deeply concerned with the human condition.

So real quick, who is Amos?  We’ll learn from the text that he was a farmer and seemed to be perfectly content being a farmer.  He was called by God to be a prophet despite not having any particular desire for the job.  He was from Judah and called to prophesy to Israel, that gave him an outsider’s voice and perspective (albeit not a welcomed one).  Amos prophesied during one of the most prosperous eras in the history of Israel so his prophesy had a sense of unexpectedness much like that of an earthquake which was prophesied in the first verse.

We’ll break the book into three sections that will be “the Judge and the judged”, “the focus of God’s judgment” and “the cause of God’s judgment”.  With those three things we’ll roughly cover the entire book although I do recommend that you read it in its entirety on your own.

The Judge and the Judged

The characters of Amos are basically just God and Amos.  The rest of the people addressed are people groups.  As is the case in the entire Bible, God is the main character of the book with Amos playing a minor role in delivering God’s word to his people.

The Judge(1:1-2; 3:3-8)

The book opens with God “roaring”, that’s typically a word associated with a mighty force.  Either a lion, battle, waterfall or storm.  This is not a mere passing thought from God as he cares deeply about the matters at hand.  He is a God who roars!

God’s word is delivered to his people under such a banner and is presented in the form of rhetorical questions.  In section 3:3-8 the rhetoric shows that God has announced his judgment and his judgment has an inevitable conclusion.  God make a variety of claims here some more poetic/rhetorical than others but in verse 6 he asks, “Does disaster come to a city, unless the Lord has done it?”  Yet God says his plans have been revealed to them through Noah, Abraham, Moses, etc. and nothing that happens does so without it first being revealed.  By this I take it to mean that he is taking away our card of God being “unfair” (as if we had that card anyway).

The Judged (1:3-3:2)

Just like in Joel there are two groups that will be judged, the nations and God’s people.  This was unexpected by most people as they completely agreed with Amos that God’s judgment would fall on the nations and were probably welcoming it.  Amos become unpopular though as be shared God’s judgment on the people of Israel.

Notice that when God judges the nation his primary concern is for cruelty against human beings.  The political possession of territory isn’t want concerns him but the cruelty with which people are treated by their authorities is what provokes his anger.

Compare verses 1:3 and 2:4, Amos makes Israel sound like it’s just another nation.  That alone would have been disturbing to the people but he goes on.  He says that they have rejected the law of the Lord and have been led astray by false gods.  God shows here through Amos that God’s people are not above criticism.  God accuses Israel of sins of economic and religious oppression.  The righteous, the needy and the poor had been abused.  The purpose of this judgment (as in any judgment) is to put an end to the social injustice that had inhabited the land.

What we can take from this section is that everyone is judged by God.  Even those of us who are sure that we’re in good with God will still be judged by God.  As Christians we have assurance of the outcome of our judgment but that does not make us exempt from the decrees of God.

The Focus of God’s Judgment (3:6-9 – 6:14)

His People (3:9-15; 6:8-14)

God gives a surprising judgment to his people, when we look at 3:9-10 we see that the enemies of Israel is who God calls on to be witnesses of the wrongdoing of Israel.  God warns that he will be thorough in his judgment and tear down all of Israel’s sinful altars as well as mansions.

The main characterization of the people was self-indulgence.  They thought they deserved everything and were exceedingly prideful (6:13).  It is interesting how much this type of thinking leads to sin.  Pride is the source of many sins especially idolatry.  But simply put; Israel had become proud and God was going to humble them.

Their Leaders (4:1-3; 6:1-7)

Amos calls the leading women of Samaria “cows” (which by the way is still not an ok thing to say to women) although he does not do it because of their appearance but because of their lazy, luxurious and self-indulgent lifestyle (6:1-7).

Israel’s notable men were condemned because they were using people for their own ends.

Good leadership is a gift of God for the blessing of the people.  Leaders are meant to be a means of God’s blessing but when they fail to serve their role they can harm people rather than serve and bless them.  In what ways do you experience good leadership and in what ways are you a leader?  Do you use your leadership opportunities to bless others or to bless yourself?  Do people led by you feel blessed?

Their Religion (4:4 – 5:27)

Israel’s sense of religion allowed them to sin yet feel a sense of God’s favor (a deadly combination).  They loved their sin and they loved their religion so they manufactured a way to have both.  They made idols for themselves and designed ways to prosper at great cost to others.

God warns the people by threatening them with a lack of material things (4:6-11).  They are told to “seek the Lord and live” (5:4-6).  Their religion was false and did not bear the intended fruit.  What was true then is true today.  There is no such thing as a saving faith that does not produce works.  If your religion (no matter what you call it “Christian”, “Muslim”, etc.) allows you to take advantage of the poor, oppress the righteous, obstruct justice and ignore God’s warning then it is a false religion and one worthy of judgment.

The Character and Cause of God’s Judgment (Chapters 7-9)

The Character of God’s Judgment (Chapters 7 and 9)

The character of God’s judgment is described in three ways, merciful, just and certain.

Mercy – At the beginning of chapter 7 God gives Amos vision of judgment including locusts and fire but then promises (twice) that “This will not happen (verse 3 and 6”.  Why then does God bother with the visions?  God shows Amos what the sins of Israel truly deserved but because he is merciful he spares them that.

Not only that but God promises that the long night of judgment will end, in 9:11-15 he promises the end of judgment and the restoration of the people.  Verse 11 is cited in the New Testament as a prophecy about Christ.  Jesus was in David’s lineage so restoring the prosperity of David to an even greater degree.  Part of this prophecy is fulfilled in Christ’s work on the cross and the rest will be fulfill in his second coming.

Justice - God gives Amos a vision of a plumb line here.  A plumb line was used to show whether a wall was perfectly vertical or not.  You would add a weighted object to one end of a string and drop it down the wall and it would become obvious if the wall was straight or not.  Amos knew that the “wall” of Israel was so crooked it could not be corrected.  This illustrates that God judges fairly and justly, all that should be destroyed will be destroyed.  We can trust in his perfect discernment (9:8).

Certainty – God promises in 7:10-17 and in 9:1-6 that judgment will certainly and inevitably come.  These aren’t empty vain words but promises from the all-powerful creator of the universe to a people that are corrupt and sinful.  God is patient, he is merciful and he is just and he can and will act.

The Cause of God’s Judgment (Chapter 8)

In chapter 8:1-10 we get a picture of the cause for God’s judgment.  And in verses 11-12 we hear a terrible judgment which is the promise that they will no longer hear the words of the Lord.  We have an incredible gift of being able to read God’s word so readily and freely in this day and age but when our most important revelation about life and everything come from his Word then it would be the worst possible judgment to lose his word.  He tells the people that on their trajectory they will no longer hear the word of the Lord from prophets like Hosea or Amos.

Conclusion

In Amos we see the trajectories of God’s judgment and God’s mercy at work, those trajectories meet and are reconciled at the cross of Jesus Christ.  God’s judgment roars, how will it find you?  Christ has absorbed the wrath of God for all who put their trust in him, is this you?

Ultimately we learn from Amos that God cares deeply for human suffering, oppression and injustice.  Trials are one of the ways God shapes our character, trials are meant as a way to snap us out of our complacency.  With that understanding, we can know that trials are one of the ways God shows us mercy.  The repeated use of trials are the repeated acts of mercy as God allows us time and time again to repent and see the error in our ways.

Unlike the last two prophets, Joel is writing to a people that are prospering.  Despite their prosperity they mistreated the poor and oppressed people.  They came to believe that all of their good things were products of their good work rather than blessings from God.  We get this way too and perhaps trials we face can be used to teach us and correct our hearts and minds before God.

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Minor Prophets: Joel

Joel:  Whom Will God Save?

Introduction

Joel is an interesting book, it is short, provides no dating of any kind and doesn’t tell us much about Joel as an individual.  Joel’s prophesy is referred to a few times in the New Testament most notably probably on the day of Pentecost but also Romans 10:13 references Joel 2:32.

 Themes in the book are primarily (but not limited to) judgment, repentance and salvation.  Although despite the doom and gloom feel of the book, it’s overarching theme is the nature, character and promise of salvation.

 Saved From What?

 God’s Judgment on the Nations

The first two chapters of Joel focus on the nation of Judah whereas in chapter 3 the Lord speaks against the nations.  God describes the nations of the world as a crop that is ripe (with wickedness and evil) for the harvest of judgment.  The sins are not fleshed out in any great detail although there are a few mentioned in 3:3.  

 Initially it sounds as though God is picking a fight but what he is actually doing is summoning nations for judgment.  He is calling them to give an account for their actions (3:12-16).  The contest is so one-sided that Joel moves from military imagery to agricultural.  This throw down between God and the nations will not be a clash of titans but will look more like a farmer swinging a sickle (v. 13).

 God calls all the nations to the Valley of Jehoshaphat (“Yahweh Judges”) or the valley of decision.  This is the place where God will judge and distribute justice to the nations.  The nations had captured and sold the Israelites and God will do the same to them.  God did deliver on this promise, in 322 B.C. Alexander the Great took Tyre and the archaeological records show that more than 13,000 inhabitants of Tyre were sold into slavery.  God makes these judgments justly and there is no appeal before him because his judgments are without error.

 Mark Dever says about this passage, “One day, you too will find yourself in a time and place where all the guessing and doubting and wondering and sneaking and lying and cheating and harming and engorging and murdering finally stops, and God says, “No!”  It is the time and place where the world’s might meets right, and right proves most mighty.  One day, we will all come to the valley of God’s verdict on human action.”

 God’s Judgment on His People

So not only will God judge the nations but he will also judge his people, in fact that is what prompts Joel’s prophecy.  If you go back to chapter 1 you see the God’s people struggling with current trouble and trouble on the horizon.

 Trouble now – Invading locusts

Joel uses hybrid language that implies the obvious invasion of locusts destroying everything but he also uses language of an army.  He may be trying to convey two ideas at once.  Whether it was just locusts or locusts and an army the devastation was all-encompassing.  The people have a hard time remembering a time when it was worse.  Vines and fig trees (symbols of security and peace in the ancient Near East) were laid waste.  Everyone from the priest to the drunkard was ruined.  Priests could not offer sacrifices because nothing as left to sacrifice. 

 Despite all this trouble the message is that this destruction is just a foreshadow of the judgment that is coming in the day of the Lord so much so that it looks like un-creation.

 Trouble ahead – The day of the Lord

“The day of the Lord” is the phrase that is used over and over again in from 1:15 to the end of chapter 2.  It refers to the coming trouble for them; Joel sees it as the undoing of everything that is.  No one can imagine anything worse than their current situations but he warns them that the judgment of God is what’s coming and their current situation pales in comparison.

 Perhaps this is the reason that Joel isn’t the most popular book in the Bible, he confronts our preconceived notions of God, the world and ourselves.  The diagnosis offered by the Bible is that God is holy and just, the world is fallen into sin and consumed with evil and we as individuals are sinners and offend God with our actions.  Most people want to define God by whatever they conceive to be nice and sweet or whatever is appealing or appetizing.  We don’t have that kind of subjective power over God.  God is most definitely good but what is good is not always obvious to us.  We need to recalibrate our understandings of “good” according to what God reveals in scripture.  God is good and will not forever endure sin, the day when he puts an end to it is the final Day of Judgment on sin and that is what is referred to as “the day of the Lord”.

The book of Joel then is ultimately about salvation but first we must understand what it is we need to be saved from.  So what is it that we need to be saved from?  We have a problem whether we realize it or not, many people prefer to pick religious views or worldviews that allow them to think everything is good and perfect and that we’re essentially good.  If that is where you are then you should read the Bible and allow it to challenge you (and it will) about your notion of the world and the people in it.

In short what we must be saved from is our sin and its consequences-the judgment of God.

What is Salvation?

So in this book we learn that God is committed to justice but we also learn that he is committed to mercy.  He will judge his people but he will also save them.  So what is this salvation that is promised to the people?

 God’s Rescue from Enemies

God promises that he will deliver his people from their enemies.  2:20 and 3:16-17 he emphasizes how he will be their salvation by way of saving them from their enemies.

 God’s Restoration of Prosperity

God’s idea of salvation is far more than simply saving his people from death but restoring them to prosperity.  This is what consumes most of chapter 2 (18-27).  Prosperity is something we have distorted in America, the prosperity we provide for ourselves is money, so-called security and happiness but God’s idea is bigger.  It is no less than those things but it is much more.  The book also ends with promises of prosperity including the ultimate promise which is a reconciled relationship with God.  “I will pardon their bloodguilt, [which] I have not pardoned,” (Joel 3:21 HCSB).

God’s residing with His People

The final component of salvation is the key component and what makes salvation so sweet.  God promises himself.  He promises to reside with his people in 2:28-32.  If that passage sounds familiar to you it’s because Peter quotes it in Acts 2:16-18.  God’s promise to protect them means that he will protect them himself, he will prosper them by being with him and is chief blessing to his people is himself.  This epiphany occurred earlier in the Bible when Moses realizes what good is the Promised Land if God himself isn’t there? (Ex. 33:15-16)  This is also stated well in the title of one of John Piper’s book when he declares that “God is the Gospel”.

The heart of salvation then is God restoring his people to himself and his own presence, not just in Joel but in the entire Bible.  Some people falsely present God as a way to achieve our own ends, this is not a variation of Christianity it just isn’t Christianity at all.  The ultimate end for a Christian is a restored relationship with God and intimacy with him.  This is what God promises to us and this is the deepest human desire (whether we realize it or not).

There is a sermon illustration out there where a pastor will have the congregation close their eyes and picture heaven.  The pastor then describes heaven as a mansion for you with lots of rooms and stuff, golden streets, all your friends and family and just as he finishes he tells you to open your eyes.  He’ll bring to the light the fact that he never once mentioned Jesus being in heaven and ask, “would you really be OK with that?”  If your idea of heaven doesn’t include Jesus then your idea of heaven is wrong and you’re working towards the wrong goal.  Residing with God is the ultimate promise and prize.  I am truly sorry if you’ve been sold a false idea of the Christian faith or heaven but hopefully you realize that what I’m telling you is good news.  I’d recommend reading two books by John Piper at least one is available for free online Desiring God and God is the Gospel.

Why Will God’s People Be Saved?

Ultimately what is achieved by the salvation of God’s people is God displaying his character which magnifies his glory.  God’s call to repentance is one that is based on his character; in 2:13 he calls them to return “for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love”.  Therefore the mere fact that God would even offer us a chance to repent shows his character.  Many people read this and think God is like an enemy or someone out to get you but someone who is your enemy doesn’t tell you they’re about to come wipe you out, they just do it.  God sends messages like the Book of Joel as a gesture of compassion and out of his goodness.  In short, God’s people will be saved in order to bring God glory.

Conclusion: Who Will Save You?

The question that was presented to the nation of Israel is now presented to the Church.  Who will save you?  Those within the Church just like those within Israel will be judged, no one is exempt however all who call on the name of the Lord will be saved.  Where does this leave you?

May you explore the book of Joel and see the beauty of salvation and the intimacy of dwelling with God himself.  

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Minor Prophets: Hosea

Hosea: What is love?

 

Introduction:

Hosea is different from most other minor prophets because it is longer than most and it focuses on the northern kingdom of Israel rather than Judah (the southern kingdom).  The northern kingdom will be referred to as Samaria (its capital city) and Ephraim (the most important tribe in Israel just like Judah in the south).

On the most basic and human level the book of Hosea is about marriage.  Throughout the book God uses this as a metaphor and he speaks to Israel through Hosea as if Israel is the mother of the people and the Lord is her husband and father.

Who is Hosea?  We don’t know much about him before this book other than his Father’s name and the general period in which he was writing but we do know that God came to him directly and told him to marry a specific woman (for a specific purpose).

 Who is Gomer?  It was a relatively common name back then despite its lacking popularity these days.  Gomer was unfaithful to Hosea but he knew that about her going into the marriage.

After Gomer had been unfaithful to him (likely with some kind of prostitution) God instructed Hosea to go buy her back and continue to love her.  This is the end of Hosea’s story, he never mentions himself again in the book and the rest of the Bible goes without mentioning him.  So what’s the point?  The point is that God uses Hosea and Gomer (two real people) as a metaphor for himself and Israel.
This book threatens a lot of judgment, the word “will” is used over one hundred times (as in he will punish them)

Love Challenge: Sin

First let’s consider the people we’re talking about, the people of Israel.  God had already gone out of his way to deliver them, lead them, prosper them, and give them his law, his covenant and his prophets.  Yet this is the description of Israel that we’re given by God at the time of Hosea.

  • Sunk deep into corruption (9:9)
  • Stubborn (in their corruption) (4:16)
  • Refused to repent (11:5)
  • Rejected what is good (8:3)
  • Rejected knowledge and ignored the law of God (4:6)
  • Rebelled Against God (13:16) and his Law (8:1)
  • Regard the Law as something “alien” (8:12)
  • Determined to turn from God (11:7)

 So in short: they weren’t doing so great.  From our perspective it seems as though they were going out of their way to break God’s heart and to provoke him to anger.  I doubt that this was the case; I think they were so caught up in themselves and their sin that they couldn’t think of others especially God and in that way they bear a striking resemblance to many Christians today.

The Acts of Sin

What were their specific sins that were so terrible?

The Rulers:

  • Not righteous
  • Dearly loved shameful ways (4:18)
  • Rebellious (9:15)
  • Turned to Assyria and Egypt for help instead of the Lord

The People:

  • Drunkenness
  • Mocking
  • Insolent words
  • Cursing
  • Lied
  • Deceived
  • Stole (4:2; 7:1; 12:7)
  • Adulteress

The Core of Sin

So what was the cause of all this sin?  Weren’t they God’s chosen people?  The problem was that their faith/religion was wrong.  The issue was syncretism, as the Israelites worked with the Assyrians and the Egyptians they synthesized their religious views.  The Jews would incorporate elements of worship from the Assyrians.  God said that they had forgotten him as their maker (8:14) and there was no acknowledgement of him in the land (4:1).

What was the main sin here?  The root or core of the sin was idolatry.  Idolatry is when something replaces your love for God or when you have something you love more than God.  In a sense idolatry is spiritual adultery (hence the illustration).  God is to be our supreme love and anything less than that is idolatry/adultery towards him.

The Appearance of Sin

The Israelites made sacrifices to other Gods (4:13) and actually crafted idols for themselves idols made of wood (4:12; 4:17; 5:11).  They had given themselves over to the worship of Baal (2:17, 13:1).  It’s not that they became irreligious or atheist they just changed the object of their worship.

The Root of Sin

What is the cause of this sin?  Pride and self-reliance seem to be the problem here.  God says, “You have depended on your own strength and on your many warriors” (10:13).  “When I fed them, they were satisfied; when they were satisfied, they became proud; then they forgot me” (13:6).  The people’s sin was in forsaking their love for God but you have to wonder about their love for God, is it just situational?  Is your love for God just situational?  What I mean is that they only loved God when the setting was right, when they needed him to do something or needed something from him but as soon as they got comfortable they forgot all about him and in fact turned on him.  Are we really that much different?

These people were crooked deep down and the sinful actions were the results of their misguided hearts.  Despite being saved by God and provided for by God the people still turned away from God.  I used to wonder why God took sin so personally but when you read this it reverses the question, how couldn’t God take sin personally?  As R.C. Sproul says, “Sin is an act of cosmic treason”.  Have you thought about your sins in this way before?  What is the root of your sin?

Love’s Recovery: Repentance

How does sin challenge love?  When I make a statement like that most would think that it is the human’s problem to restore love (and in a sense it is) but what sin does is violate the holiness of God.  It is God who should not love us because of sin; his love cannot be separate from his love.  Repentance is the means by which we are restored with God’s love.  We need to confess our sins and repent of them.  God knows our sins so burying, hiding or ignoring them will not do us any good (in fact quite the opposite).  We need to acknowledge all of our individual sins and treat them as if we’ve been exposed on the 5 o’clock news.

More than anything the book of Hosea calls people to repentance, here are some examples:

2:2 - “Plead with your mother, plead—for she is not my wife, and I am not her husband—that she put away her whoring from her face, and her adultery from between her breasts;”

6:1-3 - “Come, let us return to the LORD; for he has torn us, that he may heal us; he has struck us down, and he will bind us up.  After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live before him. Let us know; let us press on to know the LORD; his going out is sure as the dawn; he will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth.”

8:2-3 - To me they cry, “My God, we—Israel—know you.”  Israel has spurned the good; the enemy shall pursue him.

8:5 - I have spurned your calf, O Samaria.  My anger burns against them.  How long will they be incapable of innocence?

10:12 - Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap steadfast love; break up your fallow ground, for it is the time to seek the LORD that he may come and rain righteousness upon you.

12:6 - “So you, by the help of your God, return, hold fast to love and justice, and wait continually for your God.”

14:1-2 -  Return, O Israel, to the LORD your God, for you have stumbled because of your iniquity.  Take with you words and return to the LORD; say to him, “Take away all iniquity; accept what is good, and we will pay with bulls the vows of our lips.

14:9 - Whoever is wise, let him understand these things; whoever is discerning, let him know them; for the ways of the LORD are right, and the upright walk in them, but transgressors stumble in them.

As we can see above the Lord is patient with his people and even though they attack him with their sins, unfaithfulness, idolatry, adultery and so on he always leave the door open for them to come back to him through repentance.  This is something that if it has not occurred in your life yet then I assure you it will.  Carefully and constantly examine your own heart for impurities and confess and repent.

Love’s Hope: Restoration

The book of Hosea has plenty of condemnation, judgment and calls to repentance but ultimately it provides hope.  No matter how far we have fallen we’re never out of God’s reach and our hope is in his unfailing love.  Sometimes people get distracted by all the negative-sounding talk about judgment and repentance and they fail to see the beauty of redemption offered by a book like this.  The redemption and restoration of the unfaithful wife from the faithful husband is the true story here.  In old covenant terms the nation of Israel was a whorish wife to God in new covenant terms the Church is a whorish wife.

 

Jumping back to Hosea himself, out of love he purchased his wife back to him though she freely ran away and whored herself out and he took in the children who were not his own.  This is what God has done for us in Christ; he purchased us back from our sinful ways and for the sake of love took on the burden of an unfaithful wife.

Conclusion: This is Love

Our sin (like Gomer’s) hurts our relationship with God, our repentance can heal our relationship with God and we can be restored to right relationship with God by the grace and love of God.  Gomer’s only hope was in the love that she didn’t deserve.  And this undeserved love from God is your only hope as well.

Sources: I highly recommend any of them particularly the first one

Posted by  |  March 4, 2013 | Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: , | Leave A Comment »

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