Exploring Dependence – Sermon On The Mount

So, throughout the Old Testament, Israel struggles to grasp that the core of her relationship with Yahweh was her dependence on Him as her Provider and Protector.

With the completion of the book of Nehemiah, the Story disappears into 450 years of silence. The next character to appear is John the Baptist, around 30 AD.

By the time John shows up, the Pharisees have become the dominant face of Israel’s worship. They were technicians of the Law who focused on the tiniest of details, but missed the heart. While they tithed off their herb gardens – mint and dill and cumin – they missed the essential elements of the faith – justice, mercy, and  faithfulness (Matthew 23:23-24; cf. Micah 6:8). Jesus did not view it as either/or. He says they should have done both.

This tension between Jesus and the scribes and Pharisees is present from the very beginning of Jesus’ ministry. It underlies the message of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus first public discourse.

Jesus begins the sermon with a description of spiritually hungry people and promises them the Kingdom and it’s attendant rewards (Matthew 5:1-12). Their character is distinctive and must not be hidden (5:13-16). Implicit in this description is the question of what is necessary for a person to enter the Kingdom.

The answer? Read more

Exploring Dependence – After the Exile

The Old Testament is the story of Israel’s relationship with God. As we have surveyed this story, the following highlights stand out:

• As God brought Israel out of Egypt, and began to form them into a nation, He used the manna to teach them that their continued, daily existence was absolutely dependent on His active decree. They were kept alive, not by the food they ate, but by the words that proceeded out of His mouth (Deuteronomy 8:3). He was preparing them for life in the Promised Land, where He would bless them abundantly. In the midst of that blessing, they must not become confused and forget that He, not their own effort, was the source of that wealth. Such confusion would lead to the worship other gods (Deuteronomy 8:5-19).
• While the manna only lasted for 40 years, the lesson was perpetuated in the system of the Sabbaths (Leviticus 23-25).
• The Sabbath system included a Sabbath year as well as a Sabbath Day. Every 7^th year, they were to let the land lay fallow and trust that God would cause it to produce enough in the 6^th year to last them through the 8^th year. In this, they would be reminded of their dependence, and experience His provision.
• However, there is no biblical record of them ever celebrating a Sabbath Year. By the time we get to 2 Chronicles 36:20-21, they owed 70 Sabbath Years, and Yahweh sends them into captivity for those 70 years. For 490 years, the people of Israel refused to trust God as their Provider. Thus, they became proud, and chased after other gods, just as Yahweh said they would. But that was the effect, not the cause.
• The cause was that they lost the core of their relationship with God. The did not recognize Him as their Provider and Protector.

So, the Exile was God’s discipline to reinforce His message to them from the very beginning – He was their Provider and Protector, and was to be the sole object of their affection.

Which raises the question, “Did Israel learn their lesson from the Exile?”

Let’s see. Read more

Exploring Dependence – Israel Misses the Point

So, God used the manna to teach Israel that their continued, daily existence was absolutely dependent on His active decree. They were kept alive, not by the food they ate, but by the words that proceeded out of His mouth (Deuteronomy 8:3). He was preparing them for life in the Promised Land, where He would bless them abundantly. In the midst of that blessing, He didn’t want them to become confused and forget that He, not their own effort, was the source of that wealth. Such confusion would manifest itself in the worship other gods (Deuteronomy 8:5-19).

While the manna only lasted 40 years, the lesson was perpetuated in the system of the Sabbaths, laid out in the Mosaic Law (Leviticus 23-25). Israel was to rest in God’s provision and protection. That was the core of their relationship with Him.

Unfortunately, Israel’s history through the Old Testament is, for the most part, the history of a people who repeatedly failed to grasp this very basic aspect of their relationship with Yahweh.

This failure is so offensive to God that He depicts it as whoredom (Exodus 34:15-16; Leviticus 17:7; Hosea 1:2). We can track this whoredom from the time of the Exodus all the way up to the Exile, almost 1000 years later.  Read more

Exploring Dependence – The Lesson of The Sabbath

As we have begun to track our dependence on God through The Story, we have made the following observations:

• As Christians, we tend to be ok with the idea of dependence in theory, but practically manifest an ongoing desire to live independently of God. This is most evident in the area of provision and protection. The fact that we see money as the most immediate path to provision and protection suggests that it, not God, may be the true source of our confidence.
• In the stories of Adam and Noah, we see God revealed as the One who Provides for and Protects those He has chosen.
• In Israel’s wilderness wanderings, God used manna to teach Israel that man is not kept alive by food, but by the active and intentional will of God. The manna was for testing and humbling Israel, so that when He brought them into the land where they would prosper, they would remember that it was God who gave them the power to make wealth. Israel’s ongoing recognition of this was to be expressed in their continued worship of, and obedience to, Yahweh. The worship of other gods would be proof that they forgot this lesson. Thus, their entire relationship with God rested in the recognition that their minute-by-minute existence was a result of His active provision and protection.

But the lesson doesn’t end with the 40 years in the wilderness. How were the succeeding generations to remember this truth?

To answer this, let’s take another look at Exodus 16:22-30 and the lesson of the manna.

“Now on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for each one. When all the leaders of the congregation came and told Moses, then he said to them, “This is what the LORD meant: Tomorrow is a sabbath observance, a holy sabbath to the LORD. Bake what you will bake and boil what you will boil, and all that is left over put aside to be kept until morning.” So they put it aside until morning, as Moses had ordered, and it did not become foul nor was there any worm in it. Moses said, “Eat it today, for today is a sabbath to the LORD; today you will not find it in the field. “Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, the sabbath, there will be none.” 

It came about on the seventh day that some of the people went out to gather, but they found none. Then the LORD said to Moses, “How long do you refuse to keep My commandments and My instructions? “See, the LORD has given you the sabbath; therefore He gives you bread for two days on the sixth day. Remain every man in his place; let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.” So the people rested on the seventh day.”

(Exodus 16:22–30 NAS95)

To review, God gave manna to Israel to vividly demonstrate that He was their Provider. In order to teach them to rely on Him, not the manna, He caused any left-over manna to spoil overnight, so that they would have to trust Him each day for the provision for that day. However, on Friday, they were to gather enough for two days – Friday and Saturday. On Fridays, what they gathered would not spoil overnight. It would last through Saturday. Note the reason for this – Saturday was to be a Sabbath – a day of rest.

If you have been around church much, the concept of the Sabbath is probably something that you have been very accustomed to, without really understanding where and how it came into the story.  It is easy to just assume that it was always there, and that God somehow took pleasure in our practice of it, although many of us fear that maybe we should still be keeping the Sabbath today.   Read more

Exploring Dependence – The Lesson of the Manna

As we began to explore the issue of our dependence on God in the last article, we set out the notion that, as Christians, we tend to be ok with the idea of this dependence in theory, but practically manifest an ongoing desire to live independently of God. Perhaps this is most evident in the area of provision and protection. The fact that we see money as the most immediate path to provision and protection suggests that it, not God, may be the true source of our confidence.

We looked at some of the highlights of this theme, as The Story unfolded through Genesis. Through these events, God is revealed as the One who Provides for and Protects those He has chosen.

This week, we want to pick up with the next major event in the Story – The Exodus.

Abraham had Isaac, who had Jacob, who had sons that became the 12 Tribes of Israel. Because of a famine, they went down into Egypt, where they spent 400 years growing into a nation. Now God is ready to bring them out of Egypt and back into the land that He first promised to Abraham. After He magnifies himself through the plagues, Pharaoh finally lets Israel go, only to change his mind and chase them down as they are trapped against the Red Sea (Exodus 14-15). Here Yahweh manifests Himself as their Protector, parting the Red Sea to allow them to escape, and then destroying the Egyptian army as they pursue Israel through the Sea. With this, their deliverance from the threat of the Egyptians is final, at least for this stage of their history.

Now, the focus of the story turns to Yahweh’s as Provider – His provision of the Land He has promised, and more fundamentally, His provision in their day-to-day existence, even as they are traveling to the Land.  Read more

Exploring Dependence – From The Beginning

So, we have set out to examine this issue of our dependance. In the previous article, we pointed out that our failure to acknowledge our dependency brought about the fall. We did not see ourselves as dependent and so, chose to act independently, as though we could be like God.

Now, realistically, I expect that if you are reading this article, at a very minimum you will already acknowledge God and and our dependence on Him.  So, why the need for this examination?

Well, I think there are two things we need to explore:

• The depth of our dependence -  It is quite possible to acknowledge the idea of our dependence, while at the same time, minimizing the degree or significance of that dependence.
• The areas and ways in which our independence continues to manifest itself – Even among believers who claim a firm commitment to Christ, I find attitudes and beliefs that I have come to suspect are at odds with the true nature of our dependency.

Why do I think this?

Well, in my years of seeking to walk with God, I have discovered a number of areas where the values and beliefs of popular Christian culture were at odds with Scripture. One of those areas is the area of money and possessions – how a Christian should view and handle finances. This is significant to our discussion because I have come to realize that it is in money and possessions that our pursuit of independence is most prominent. Read more

The Practical Pursuit of God’s Pleasure – Dependence

“What is the meaning of clothes?”

This was a discussion question in a workshop on the post-modern mindset I attended several years ago.

“Clothes are a covering,” was the first response.

Turns out, that was the typical answer. But it did not really answer the question the presenters were asking. “Covering” gives the function of clothes. It doesn’t explain their meaning. The question they were raising was, “What does the existence of clothing mean?”

To get to their point, they offered up another question – “What is the meaning of food?”

Now that we had wised up a little, the answers came slower. I honestly don’t remember any specific answers given, but I do recall that everyone knew better than to say “nourishment.” Read more

The Practical Pursuit of God’s Pleasure – Reward for Suffering Well

This week, we return to the pursuit of God’s will and His pleasure.

In recent weeks, this journey has taken us into the realm of suffering, where we have found that His will may well include undeserved suffering, and that He is pleased when we handle these experiences well. His pleasure is not sadistic, but is a Fatherly pride. When we behave this way, we look like one of His children – like His Son.

What are the defining characteristics of this likeness?  Well, when treated wrongly, we don’t retaliate, either in word or deed. Instead, we guard our words, speaking no evil and avoiding deceit; we turn away from evil and do good; we seek peace and pursue it.

Why?

So far, we have been given two strong motivations.

First, God called us so that He could bless us with things like life and good days. But those blessings are reserved for those who turn away from evil and do good, who seek peace and pursue it. Our own evil words and deeds cannot be justified in the name of retaliation. We must stand firm in righteous conduct if we want to experience these blessings from God.

A second motivations is the opportunities this kind of response creates to explain the hope that motivates us. Just as Christ’s unjust suffering brought us to God, so our unjust suffering can be instrumental in helping others learn of the hope available through Christ.

This summarizes Peter’s exhortation in 1 Peter 2:11-3:18. But he is not finished. There is one benefit remaining to be explored, perhaps the most significant of all – the benefit that will be ours when we move from the physical to the spiritual realm.

This is a major theme of 1 Peter, and he returns to it in 3:19-22 – a difficult passage. Read more

A Pause In The Journey

 

As I begin this week’s article, I am traveling across the plains of New Mexico with the Wild Bunch, a group of guys who are a significant part of my journey. We are returning from a backpacking trip to the Pecos Wilderness in the mountains northeast of Santa Fe.

As I was anticipating this trip, I knew it would complicate my regular writing schedule. My original plan was to get this article written before I left, and was feeling some pressure around that. But then God reminded me that these articles are about sharing my journey, and that I shouldn’t get ahead of that journey.

So this week, we are going to take a detour from our ongoing discussion for a retreat into the wilderness with God.

Thanks for joining me.

This little expedition was intended to be a trial run for a longer, fast and light trip we were contemplating next summer. The plan was to attempt a 15 mile loop in a little more than three days. I knew that our goals were ambitious, especially since we would be setting out the first day, after having driven all night from sea-level to 8200 feet elevation. The combination of sleep deprivation and extreme elevation change would certainly stack the deck against us. But we wanted to get an idea of how our legs would respond to consecutive days on the trail under pack. Read more

The Practical Pursuit of God’s Pleasure – Benefits of Suffering Well

In our pursuit of knowing God’s will and enjoying His pleasure, we have discovered that undeserved suffering may be a part of His will for each of us, and that He is pleased when we handle these experiences well. His pleasure springs, not from the fact that we are suffering, but from the family resemblance that is evident in those times. Because when we behave this way, we look like His Son. Like one of His children.

This family trait is so significant that Peter devotes his entire first epistle to it.

Last week, we looked at a major portion of chapters 2 and 3 of that epistle. In 3:8, he summarizes everything back to 2:11 with the exhortation to “be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit, not returning evil for evil or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead.”

The reason? We were “called for the very purpose that [we] might inherit a blessing” (v.9). He expands on this by quoting a significant portion of Psalm 34 (vv. 12-16), which is also written to those facing affliction. Like 1 Peter, it accepts affliction as a normal part of life, and does not give a false hope that God will keep us from suffering, acknowledging that “Many are the afflictions of the righteous” (v. 19), but assures us that “the Lord delivers Him out of them all.”  Read more

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