Thursday, 16 February 2012
Faith@work: Living to the glory of God
We begin a new Sunday series at the Chinese Church this March entitled "Faith@Work: Living to the glory of God" where we will be exploring what the bible says to us about our purpose, witness, faith and joy in our daily lives at work.
Each week's sermon will be immediately followed by practical workshops led by members of the English Ministry Team on topics including "My first job", "Working in IT & Science" and "Exam preparation skills".
Find out more at http://www.rockfellowship.org.uk/faithatwork/ and why not join us at the Chinese Church this Sunday!
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How to start your own cult (or turn your church into one)
Last night at Rock Fellowship we looked at the funny yet tragic story of Micah's house of idols in Judges Chapters 17 and 18. I suggested that we could summarise the passage as a "how-to" guide on starting up your own cult. Here are the three steps we saw:
1. Don't start from scratch
There's no need to come up with fresh material. Use the bible. Start with Christianity. Call it a church, even, and baptise your members.
Yes, Micah starts his own religion with his own idols. But he also had an ephod, installed a priest and called upon the name of the LORD (Judges 17:13). In other words, he was building upon the faith of his fathers. His was a new and improved version of Israel's god.
2. Get someone famous
The turning point was the arrival of a Levite from Bethlehem who turns out to be none other than a direct descendant of the great man of God, Moses, himself (Judges 18:30). Even the Danites recognise this personality simply from hearing his voice while standing outside Micah's house (Judges 18:3).
Micah immediately hires the Levite as high priest to preside over his new religion, saying, "Now I know the LORD will prosper me" (Judges 17:13). In other words, this was a celebrity endorsement. With someone this famous on Micah's team, God must be blessing his church.
3. Fill it with disgruntled Christians
Soon, the Danites turn up. No longer is this one man's religion, it becomes a whole tribe's. The Levite gets a promotion to Archbishop of Cantebury. A megachurch is built overnight.
But notice how the Danites came to chance upon Micah's religion in the first place: The were leaving their own. For generations, they had been struggling in "Zorah and Eshtaol" (Judges 18:2). This was land given them by God as an inheritance. However, right from the beginning of the book of Judges, we learn that Dan never quite managed to take control of that land (Judges 1:34). Rather than stay and fight, the Danites had decided it was easier to pack-up and leave.
What they found in Micah's god was approval. Approval to leave their city (Judges 18:6). Approval to attack another peaceful city (Judges 18:27). Here was a god who endorsed their sinfulness. Whatever they wanted to do - even if it was against God's law; even if it was against their own conscience - this god said, "OK." "Go in peace. The journey on which you go is under the eye of the LORD" (Judges 18:6).
The author summarises this sad situation with one recurring phrase:
"In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes."
Judges 17:6
1. Don't start from scratch
There's no need to come up with fresh material. Use the bible. Start with Christianity. Call it a church, even, and baptise your members.
Yes, Micah starts his own religion with his own idols. But he also had an ephod, installed a priest and called upon the name of the LORD (Judges 17:13). In other words, he was building upon the faith of his fathers. His was a new and improved version of Israel's god.
2. Get someone famous
The turning point was the arrival of a Levite from Bethlehem who turns out to be none other than a direct descendant of the great man of God, Moses, himself (Judges 18:30). Even the Danites recognise this personality simply from hearing his voice while standing outside Micah's house (Judges 18:3).
Micah immediately hires the Levite as high priest to preside over his new religion, saying, "Now I know the LORD will prosper me" (Judges 17:13). In other words, this was a celebrity endorsement. With someone this famous on Micah's team, God must be blessing his church.
3. Fill it with disgruntled Christians
Soon, the Danites turn up. No longer is this one man's religion, it becomes a whole tribe's. The Levite gets a promotion to Archbishop of Cantebury. A megachurch is built overnight.
But notice how the Danites came to chance upon Micah's religion in the first place: The were leaving their own. For generations, they had been struggling in "Zorah and Eshtaol" (Judges 18:2). This was land given them by God as an inheritance. However, right from the beginning of the book of Judges, we learn that Dan never quite managed to take control of that land (Judges 1:34). Rather than stay and fight, the Danites had decided it was easier to pack-up and leave.
What they found in Micah's god was approval. Approval to leave their city (Judges 18:6). Approval to attack another peaceful city (Judges 18:27). Here was a god who endorsed their sinfulness. Whatever they wanted to do - even if it was against God's law; even if it was against their own conscience - this god said, "OK." "Go in peace. The journey on which you go is under the eye of the LORD" (Judges 18:6).
The author summarises this sad situation with one recurring phrase:
"In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes."
Judges 17:6
Monday, 13 February 2012
The servant king (1 Samuel 17)
This year Queen Elizabeth II celebrates her Diamond Jubilee,
marking sixty years as the constitutional monarch over 16 sovereign states in
the Commonwealth of Nations, which includes of course, the United Kingdom. Born
Elizabeth Alexandra Mary on 21 April 1926, Her Majesty the Queen is the
second-longest reigning monarch in Britain, only after Queen Victoria (who
reigned for sixty-three years till 1901).
As head of state, the Queen does (theoretically) have
executive authority over the government in the United Kingdom, also known as
her royal prerogative. However, such powers are limited by Parliament, which
means that under the constitution, laws can be enacted to overrule the Queen.
In practice, most of the Queen’s responsibilities are ceremonial and
representational. She can bestow honours twice a year and appoint the next
Prime Minister to office, but that’s about it.
The books of 1 and 2 Samuel focus on the establishment of
the kingdom of Israel, and today’s passage in particular, 1 Samuel 17, asks the
question, “Who is the true King of Israel?” Before this, there was no king.
Such was the purpose of the book of Judges, which records the period of history
prior to this, when the twelve tribes of Israel were scattered across the Promised
Land, each locked in a constant never-ending struggle with the local
inhabitants. Each time the Israelites were oppressed by the Canaanites, or the
Philistines or the Amalekites or the Moabites, they would cry out to God in
desperation and God would send them a judge – Rambo-like characters like Gideon,
Ehud and Samson – these were military leaders who would be empowered by God to
bring Israel victory against their oppressors in battle and in conflict. However, the judge would eventually die, Israel would lose heart and fall back into
idolatry, and once things got really tough, God would have to send them another
judge. Another saviour.
Now Samuel, after which the books 1 and 2 Samuel are named,
was the last judge sent by God in this period of history (1 Samuel 7:15-17),
the unique thing being that Samuel was both a judge and a prophet of God. But
when he came along, the people of Israel said, “Hang on! It’s really good that
God has used you to bring us victory against our enemies and everything. But
how about giving us something a bit more… well, permanent!”
So in Chapter 8, when Samuel’s now an old man, and everyone
can see that his own sons are downright useless and rebellious, the people of
Israel go to Samuel with a request and say, “Now appoint us a king to judge us like all the nations” (1 Samuel
8:5).
They wanted a king. They didn’t want to sit around waiting for
God to send yet another judge, who knows when. No, they wanted a king now, “like all the nations”. What they
were asking for was continuity. Stability.
That is, a king would have sons, and his sons would carry on in his place as
kings (something similar happens to Gideon in Judges 8:22).
But what did they mean when they said that they wanted a
king “like all the nations”? We get an answer in the next chapter. In Chapter
9, Samuel tries to warn them that having a king would, in effect, mean
enslavement to that king. The king would place demands upon them, and they
would have no right to disobey. Unlike Queen Elizabeth II, this King of Israel
would have complete sovereignty over his people with no parliament; no
constitution to curb his powers.
Listen to their answer in verse 19 onwards.
But the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel. And they said, “No!
But there shall be a king over us, that we also may be like all the nations,
and that our king may judge us and go out
before us and fight our battles.”
1 Samuel 9:19-20
1 Samuel 9:19-20
That last line is key to understanding the opening verses of
1 Samuel 17: the king’s job is to go out
and fight our battles. Because here we have a battle. Here, we see King
Saul, the first king of Israel, leading his people into battle against their
enemies. But in reality, what we see is King Saul, hiding from the battle. He doesn’t “go out and fight” their
battles.
Someone else does that on Israel’s behalf. And he is Israel’s true King.
Three things I want us to see in today’s passage:
1. Know where the true battle lies (verses 1-11)
2. Know who your real king is (verses 12-30)
3. Know your God who holds the victory (verses 31-58)
2. Know who your real king is (verses 12-30)
3. Know your God who holds the victory (verses 31-58)
1. Know where the
true battle lies
Now the Philistines gathered their armies for battle. And they were
gathered at Socoh, which belongs to Judah, and encamped between Socoh and
Azekah, in Ephes-dammim. And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered, and
encamped in the Valley of Elah, and drew up in line of battle against the
Philistines. And the Philistines stood on the mountain on the one side, and
Israel stood on the mountain on the other side, with a valley between them.
1 Samuel 17:1-3
1 Samuel 17:1-3
The first bit is all about the enemy: the Philistines. These guys come up again and again in 1 Samuel.
Yah, yah, I know it’s easy to get them mixed up with the other fellas Israel’s
always in a skirmish with: what with all the Hivities, Perizzites and the
Canaanites. But these guys, the Philistines, they are a real mean bunch. These
guys are determined!
Back in Chapter 4, the Philistines were the guys who fought and
defeated Israel in battle. But if you remember, it was that memorable incident
where they got hold of the ark of God in Chapter 5. What happened next was quite
funny, because God caused all kinds of havoc to fall on their city. Their idol
statue of their god Dagon got smashed up. The people in the city of Ashdod got
struck with all kinds of weird tumours and sickness. In the end, every one of
the Philistine priests and kings got together and agreed: the ark of God had to
go! So they sent it back to Israel in Chapter 6.
Next, when Samuel becomes judge, his very first fight was
against the Philistines and he won a pretty big victory there in Chapter 7. In
the process, Samuel was able to recapture several cities, “from Ekron to Gath” (1 Samuel 7:14). Now this is significant,
because we later learn that Goliath was born in Gath, which is to say that Goliath
probably had a score to settle with Israel.
When Saul became king, his most significant battle recorded at
the beginning of his career was (again!) against the Philistines in Chapters 13
and 14. (Though actually, it was his son, Jonathan who was the real hero in
leading the men into victory. Saul turned out to be a real jerk, trying to
steal the glory from his own son.)
Now all this is to say that these guys don’t know how to give up! The Philistines had been defeated by
Israel time and time again, under Samuel as judge, under Saul’s reign as king.
But they kept coming back. Each time, they got tougher. Each time, they got
more personal.
And this time, they were determined to show Israel who da
man!
The chapter opens with the Philistine army encroaching on
Israelite territory, “Socoh, which
belongs to Judah.” They camped out in Israel’s backyard! That’s bad-ass!
In just the first two verses, we see a stark contrast
between the opposing forces. The Philistines “gathered… for battle”. Saul and
the Israelites, however, “were gathered”. One verb is in the active, the other,
in the passive – meaning this: the Philistines knew what they were doing. Israel didn’t. The Philistines were
ready for a fight. Saul and Israel had no choice but to defend themselves.
Saul wasn’t leading Israel into a battle.
Both Saul and Israel were being led
into confrontation by the enemy. We find out later that Israel basically just
stayed there, for forty days, frozen – waiting for the enemy to make the first move.
Saul and all of Israel were afraid. What made it worse was
this: they were afraid of one man.
His name was Goliath.
And there came out from the camp of the Philistines a champion named
Goliath of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span. He had a helmet of
bronze on his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail, and the weight of the
coat was five thousand shekels of bronze. And he had bronze armour on his legs,
and a javelin of bronze slung between his shoulders. The shaft of his spear was
like a weaver’s beam, and his spear’s head weighed six hundred shekels of iron.
And his shield-bearer went before him.
1 Samuel 17:4-7
1 Samuel 17:4-7
This guy was big! Three metres high and covered head to toe
in bronze armour. He looked more like a Decepticon than a human being. His coat
of mail alone was 5000 shekels. That’s 55 kilograms in weight – 11 huge bags of
Japanese rice from Cho Mei – try wearing that on your chest all day! Goliath carried
two pieces of weaponry – an iron spear that weighed 7 kilograms, and a large
shield. The reason we know the shield was large was because he needed another
person – a shield-bearer – just to carry it around!
Now term the ESV uses to describe Goliath of Gath is the
word “champion” there in verse 4.
But the word is literally “the man in
between”. Now that’s significant. If you look back to verse 3, you see that
Israel and the Philistines are camped out across one another, on two mountain
ranges, with a valley “between them”. It was a gap separating the two forces.
Goliath was the man who now stood in this gap, the champion who now stood “in
between” the two camps.
Yet as menacing as it was to behold this bulked-up Yao Ming mutant
on steroids, we soon find it out that it wasn’t so much what they saw, as it
was what the Israelites heard from Goliath, that truly terrified them.
He stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, “Why have you come out to
draw up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not servants of Saul?
Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me. If he is able to
fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants. But if I prevail
against him and kill him, then you shall be our servants and serve us.” And the
Philistine said, “I defy the ranks of Israel this day. Give me a man, that we
may fight together.”
When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.
1 Samuel 17:8-10
When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.
1 Samuel 17:8-10
Goliath’s challenge was this: Show me a man that I might
fight him! Why bother with the large numbers? Just one man will do. We’ll
settle it right here, right now. Just one-on-one. Winner takes all!
Well, actually Goliath said a bit more than that, if you
look closely, especially at verse 8.
“Am I not (the,
and not simply ‘a’ as found in most translations) Philistine, and are you not
servants (or slaves) of Saul?” What is he saying? Goliath is claiming to be the
true representative of his nation, the Philistines. His strength, his height,
his courage says it all. He is the
Philistine of Philistines! In contrast, the Israelites are nothing but slaves to the king. Already, Goliath is
implying, there is no equal to be found amongst Israel’s ranks.
Furthermore, look at the wager he proposes in verse 9. “If
he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants (or
slaves). But if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall be our
servants (or slaves) and serve us.” What is he saying? Either you win (but
remain slaves to your king). Or you lose and become slaves to the Philistines.
Either way, you are nothing but slaves!
Now think about it for a moment: Who was Goliath challenging
to face him? Was he simply saying to them, “Let one of you come and face me, if
he dares”? It wasn’t just anyone, was it? Who was supposed to fight Israel’s
battles on their behalf? It was the job of the king. That’s what Israel asked
for when they said to Samuel, “Give us a king like the nations.” Goliath wasn’t
issuing an open invitation to any and every Israelite soldier. If anything he
was mocking them as slaves, unworthy even of his attention. No, Goliath had just
one man in mind. “Send in the king. Let me fight your king!”
Do you now see the significance of the response recorded in
verse 11? When Saul and all Israel
heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.
Israel was afraid. Saul also was afraid. He didn’t want to face that
giant of a Goliath. How could he? Just look at him!
Now, before we do move on, I want you to notice something
about the battle so far. Answer me this:
Where is the true battle? Here we have a grand total of fifty-eight verses
in what is possibly the most famous battle in all the bible – David and Goliath – and the action
sequence only begins much later in verse 48; and lasts for only six verses.
That’s it. Less than one-tenth of the passage is given to any fighting at all.
And yet I put it to you that the battle began from the very
first verse. The Philistines had effectively invaded Israel right from the
beginning. Yet for forty whole days, Israel did nothing but sit and wait for
something to happen. Why? Because one man stood in between. Because Goliath,
for forty days, stood between the two camps, and issued a challenge to the
king. He didn’t have to use his spear. He didn’t have to raise his shield. All
he did was open his mouth and fear descended upon the entire Israelite army.
Where is the true battle?
Israel stood frozen because they thought the battle had not yet begun. Not until swords were
drawn. Not until trumpet was sounded. What Israel did not realise was that they were already being defeated.
Where is the true battle? It was in their hearts. Israel had lost all hope of winning the
battle because they had lost all faith in their king. Saul had let them down.
They were slaves to a useless, cowardly king. And soon they would be slaves to
a fearsome enemy nation.
Let me ask you: Where are your battles fought? Most of you are probably going, “Me? Battles?
This is the twenty-first century!”
There was a time when Christians would sing songs like “Onward
Christian soldiers”, “Stand up! Stand up for Jesus!” or “Glory, glory! Hallelujah!”
We don’t hear such songs anymore. They seem to have become out of style. The
only one that comes close is the fairly recent one by the Stuart Townend and
Keith Getty, “O Church Arise” but aside from that, there doesn’t seem to be
anything else that’s sung in our churches today. Yet, this is the reality in
scripture, in both new and old testaments: The Christian life is a battle – a constant
struggle – against sin, against death and against the devil.
Could it be, that the reason why you don’t see this, is
because either your don’t know your bibles? Or worse, like Saul and the
Israelite army in the Valley of Elah, you guys have already lost. Maybe that’s
why you keep putting off getting baptised, or actually committing to a church,
or reading your bible. Because you think: “The battle’s back in Singapore after
I graduate. The battle only starts on the first day of work. The battle only
starts after I get my degree.” Is that what you tell yourselves?
You don’t realise that the battle is right here. Right now. You don’t see that what you’ve
done – either by your blindness or laziness – is this: You have made yourselves
easy-pickings for the enemy.
2. Know who your
real king is
Now thankfully, the passage doesn’t end there. Otherwise
this would make for a truly depressing sermon application! Because next, we
meet the hero of the story. We meet a young man named David.
Now David was the son of an Ephrathite of Bethlehem in Judah, named
Jesse, who had eight sons. In the days of Saul the man was already old and
advanced in years. The three oldest sons of Jesse had followed Saul to the
battle. And the names of his three sons who went to the battle were Eliab the
firstborn, and next to him Abinadab, and the third Shammah. David was the
youngest. The three eldest followed Saul, but David went back and forth from
Saul to feed his father's sheep at Bethlehem. For forty days the Philistine
came forward and took his stand, morning and evening.
1 Samuel 17:12-16
1 Samuel 17:12-16
Two important things are introduced here about David.
Firstly, he was young. He had eight brothers, the three oldest brothers were in
the army, they were there in the Valley of Elah with Saul, but David stayed at
home because he was the youngest of all the brothers. So, the first piece of
information we get about David is that he was young, probably too young for the
army, and definitely the youngest amongst all his brothers.
But the second thing we learn is that he was responsible for
his father’s sheep. Why that’s important, we’ll see very soon.
And Jesse said to David his son, “Take for your brothers an ephah of
this parched grain, and these ten loaves, and carry them quickly to the camp to
your brothers. Also take these ten cheeses to the commander of their thousand. See
if your brothers are well, and bring some token from them.”
1 Samuel 17:17-18
1 Samuel 17:17-18
One day, Dad sends David on an errand to find out how his
three eldest sons were doing. It had been forty days since they went out to war
with Saul. So Jesse tells his youngest son to pack some supplies (and to be
sure to bring some goodies to curry favour with the Commanding Officer) in
order to bring back some news. Verse 19 is probably still part of Jesse’s
speech to young David, “Now Saul and
they and all the men of Israel were in the Valley of Elah, fighting with the
Philistines,” meaning, Jesse thinks that they were caught in a prolonged stand-off
with the Philistine forces. He didn’t know that the whole bunch had been
spending over the past month twiddling their thumbs and checking their Facebook
statuses. However, David would soon see the real situation with his own eyes.
And David rose early in the morning and left the sheep with a keeper
and took the provisions and went, as Jesse had commanded him. And he came to the
encampment as the host was going out to the battle line, shouting the war cry. And
Israel and the Philistines drew up for battle, army against army. And David
left the things in charge of the keeper of the baggage and ran to the ranks and
went and greeted his brothers. As he talked with them, behold, the champion,
the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, came up out of the ranks of the
Philistines and spoke the same words as before. And David heard him.
1 Samuel 17:19-23
1 Samuel 17:19-23
Just take note of verse 23 for now. The armies looked as if
they were about to engage in battle. David was right there with his brothers (amidst
the ranks, verse 22 tells us). But then, just as the action was about to begin,
Goliath steps up to the plate – the same way he had done for the past forty
days, issuing the exact same challenge he’s given the past forty days. And
verse 23 says, “David heard him.” Notice Israel’s response.
All the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him and were
much afraid. And the men of Israel said, “Have you seen this man who has come
up? Surely he has come up to defy Israel. And the king will enrich the man who
kills him with great riches and will give him his daughter and make his
father's house free in Israel.”
1 Samuel 17:24-25
1 Samuel 17:24-25
The soldiers retreated “when they saw the man” (verse 24).
Goliath was all it took to turn back the entire army. Just one man. And yet,
they said to one another, “Have you seen this man?” This guy is huge! He is
awesome! And they start gossiping about how the king would reward the foolish,
I mean, brave soldier who manages to kill Goliath: freedom from taxes and
marriage to the princess!
At this point, David’s had enough, so he butts in the
conversation.
And David said to the men who stood by him, “What shall be done for the
man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who
is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living
God?” And the people answered him in the same way, “So shall it be done to the
man who kills him.”
1 Samuel 17:24-27
1 Samuel 17:24-27
Notice that David asks two questions. The Israelite men
answer the first but ignore the second. “What shall be done for the man who
kills Goliath?” Verse 27: “The people answered him the same way.” They do not
answer the second question, “For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he
should defy the armies of the living God?”
You see the first question asks: What can we do? What’s in
it for us?
The second question asks: What will God do?
For the first time in the whole story, God is mentioned. For
the first time in forty days, God is brought into the picture. Up till this
point, Goliath is seen as a threat to Israel. Goliath is defying Israel (verse
25). But David sees in a split-second what everyone around him seems to be have
absolutely clueless about for the last forty days: Goliath is challenging not
Israel, but the true and living God (verse 26)!
And that gets David into heaps of trouble with his oldest
brother, Eliab.
Now Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spoke to the men. And
Eliab's anger was kindled against David, and he said, “Why have you come down?
And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your
presumption and the evil of your heart, for you have come down to see the
battle.” And David said, “What have I done now? Was it not but a word?” And he
turned away from him toward another, and spoke in the same way, and the people
answered him again as before.
1 Samuel 17:28-30
1 Samuel 17:28-30
It is pretty ironic how Eliab accuses his youngest brother
of presumption, claiming, “I know… the evil of your heart.” Because if you look
back a chapter, to 1 Samuel 16:8, there God tells Samuel that he can see into
David’s heart. “For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks at the outward
appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” (Compare also what God says of
David in 1 Samuel 13:13, “a man after his own heart”). Eliab is claiming to be
able to do what only God can: to see into our innermost motivations. More
likely, this oldest brother is just ticked off that the youngest child in his
family is revealing the soldiers for who they really are, cowards.
In response to this, it almost appears like David is acting
like a kid. “What have I done? Was it not but a word.” But to think that, would
be to miss the deep significance of what David is actually doing here. Because,
what was David doing? In Eliab’s
eyes, David was speaking out of turn. In Eliab’s eyes, David was boasting of
something he had no knowledge of as a kid.
But in David’s own words, what was he doing? He was speaking
“a word”. And in verse 30, he continues to speak that same “word” to the others
around him. What was David doing? He was speaking into their hearts. He was
speaking of God.
He was, in a sense, evangelising!
In fact, what we see next is David evangelising – speaking
the good news – to King Saul!
When the words that David spoke were heard, they repeated them before
Saul, and he sent for him. And David said to Saul, “Let no man's heart fail
because of him. Your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.” And Saul
said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with
him, for you are but a youth, and he has been a man of war from his youth.” But
David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep sheep for his father. And when
there came a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb from the flock, I went after him
and struck him and delivered it out of his mouth. And if he arose against me, I
caught him by his beard and struck him and killed him. Your servant has struck
down both lions and bears, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one
of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God.” And David said, “The
Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear
will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “Go,
and the Lord be with you!”
1 Samuel 17:31-37
1 Samuel 17:31-37
There are three parts to this message of good news that
David preached to Saul that day.
1. Do not let your
heart fail
David is dealing directly with the problem in the Israelite ranks: fear. Their hearts have failed them. Why? Because of Goliath’s taunts. “Let no man’s heart fail because of him.” Not a single sword has been drawn and yet every man in Israel’s army has already been defeated. David speaks into the true battlefield, into their hearts, encouraging the soldiers to see the battle from God’s perspective. And now he tells the king to do the same. Goliath is just a man. You serve the living God!
David is dealing directly with the problem in the Israelite ranks: fear. Their hearts have failed them. Why? Because of Goliath’s taunts. “Let no man’s heart fail because of him.” Not a single sword has been drawn and yet every man in Israel’s army has already been defeated. David speaks into the true battlefield, into their hearts, encouraging the soldiers to see the battle from God’s perspective. And now he tells the king to do the same. Goliath is just a man. You serve the living God!
2. Your servant
will go and fight
David says he will take up the challenge. He will face the mighty Goliath. But notice how David addresses himself before the king: Your servant. Three times, David stands before Saul, unashamedly identifying himself as his servant or slave.
David says he will take up the challenge. He will face the mighty Goliath. But notice how David addresses himself before the king: Your servant. Three times, David stands before Saul, unashamedly identifying himself as his servant or slave.
Remember Goliath’s taunts, “You are all slaves of Saul!”
David sees no dishonour or shame in that; in the same way that David would not
allow his youth or lowly profession to be looked down upon. David is Saul’s
servant. And this servant is more than able to meet the challenge.
As an aside, notice that David sees tremendous value in his
experience serving as a shepherd over his father’s sheep. It is worth
remembering that the great Moses, the man of God, was also at one time, a
shepherd. Eventually, the word “shepherd” came to be a way of addressing the leaders,
the priests and even the kings of Israel (See Ezekiel 34). In the New Testament,
the leaders and elders of the church are called to be under-shepherds of Jesus Christ,
who is the chief shepherd overseeing his flock, the church (1 Peter 5:1-4). Of
course, the term we are more familiar with is “pastor”, which is simply the
Latin word for “shepherd”.
And yet, in a tragic way, “pastoral” ministry has now been more
narrowly defined in terms of providing marriage counselling and visiting the elderly
and sick. We talk of someone having a “pastor’s heart” as a way of describing
someone who has a gentle demeanour, drinks lots of tea and goes, “uh-uh, uh-uh,
I see what you mean. You poor thing. Let’s pray.
For David, being a shepherd had nothing to do with cuddling
his sheep and whispering soft nothings into their ears. Pastoring sheep meant
defending the sheep. Pastoring sheep meant leading his sheep, not individually,
not one by one, but as a flock. When a lion or bear snatched a lamb from the
flock, David “went after him and struck him and delivered it out of his mouth”
(verse 35). For David, to be a pastor meant having guts and courage.
And in the Old Testament, the pastor is the leader, the
priest, the king. It doesn’t mean that counselling isn’t important for church
life. But counselling is not pastoring. That is not the biblical definition of
the pastor/shepherd. The pastor’s job is to lead and the pastor role is to
protect the flock.
And here, this pastor says, “I will fight the enemy.”
3. God will
deliver me
The ultimate victory lay not in Goliath’s taunts. But neither did it reside in David’s confidence. The victory belonged to God and to God alone. “The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.”
The ultimate victory lay not in Goliath’s taunts. But neither did it reside in David’s confidence. The victory belonged to God and to God alone. “The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.”
Now, David is talking about more than God’s power to defeat
the enemy. He is telling Saul the good news of God’s power to rescue David from
harm. “The Lord … will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” What David
has done here is preach the gospel. “Do not fear. I will be your substitute and
fight on your behalf. And God will be faithful to save.” That’s the gospel
according to David.
But Saul doesn’t get it. He still cannot bring himself to
trust in God’s salvation alone; to trust in this gospel alone.
Then Saul clothed David with his armour. He put a helmet of bronze on
his head and clothed him with a coat of mail, and David strapped his sword over
his armour. And he tried in vain to go, for he had not tested them. Then David
said to Saul, “I cannot go with these, for I have not tested them.” So David
put them off. Then he took his staff in his hand and chose five smooth stones
from the brook and put them in his shepherd's pouch. His sling was in his hand,
and he approached the Philistine.
1 Samuel 17:38-40
1 Samuel 17:38-40
Saul’s weapons were Goliath’s weapons: bronze armour, coat
of mail and sword. They were not David’s. Now in case we miss the blatantly
obvious, this was Saul’s armour –
this was the armour of the king! Saul was dressing this young shepherd up with
his shield, his helmet and equipping him with his own sword – the symbolism
being, that Saul was handing the keys of the kingdom to another person!
But David rejected them. “I cannot go with these.” David was
not a warrior like Goliath, clad in bronze and armed with sword. And David was not
king like Saul, either.
David was a different sort of warrior, one whose true
strength lay in his trust in God. And David was a different sort of king, the servant king who fought, risking his
life, to save the flock.
3. Know your God
who holds the victory
And the Philistine moved forward and came near to David, with his
shield-bearer in front of him. And when the Philistine looked and saw David, he
disdained him, for he was but a youth, ruddy and handsome in appearance. And
the Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?”
And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. The Philistine said to David,
“Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and to the
beasts of the field.”
1 Samuel 17:41-44
1 Samuel 17:41-44
David enters the battlefield ready to challenge the mighty
Goliath, the man in the middle. Both camps are in full view of the fight. But
Goliath looks ahead, and initially has to advance forward to get a clearer view
of his opponent, probably because of his minute size. When he does see David
for who he is – just a kid – the Philistine champion is less than impressed! He
is insulted that the Israelite armies would send this boy to fight a man’s war.
Not unlikely, he is angered that Saul hasn’t come out to meet him.
Still, Goliath would make a lesson out of this boy. He calls
upon his gods, Dagon (1 Samuel 5:2) and Ashtaroth (1 Samuel 31:10) and curses
David to his face. “Come to me,” Goliath says, “and I will give your flesh to
the birds of the air and the beasts of the field.” There would be no mercy,
even for this child.
But notice what Goliath is doing. He is tearing down his
opponent with his words. The curses, the put-downs, the threats are all
designed to strike the first blow into his opponent’s heart. Furthermore, he is
saying all this not simply for David’s benefit – Goliath is so confident he can
take this kid down in no time – no, it’s for the Israelite armies. He wants to terrify
them with a display his might. He seeks to destroy any spirit they have left in
this foolish kid. He wants Israel to know the Dagon and Ashtaroth, the gods of
the Philistines, will utterly destroy all who oppose them.
But David, in turn, engages Goliath with the gospel, which
says, the LORD is the only true and living God. And this God is the Deliverer
of Israel!
Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword and
with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of
hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord
will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your
head. And I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day to
the birds of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth
may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know
that the Lord saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the Lord's, and
he will give you into our hand.”
1 Samuel 17:45-47
1 Samuel 17:45-47
Each and every verse speaks not of David’s ability but establishes
God’s identity. That is: David is telling us who God is.
David identifies God
as the “LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel.” (The word “hosts”
simply means “armies”, hence what we have here is a repetition of the fact that
this God is a God of war). Later on, David says, “The battle is the Lord’s.” God
is in conflict and war against his enemies. He leads his people into war
against his enemies.
But secondly, this is the God who saves “not with sword or
spear” (verse 37). God will defeat his
enemies but he will not do so using the weapons of his enemies. Hence,
David’s opening statement to Goliath, “You come to me with sword and spear and
with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts.”
The point is that David would not use the tools of war to
defeat this man of war. And that’s important because of the following verses
describing how David does strike down the Philistine champion, with nothing more
than a stone and a sling. Many a sermon has been preached on the five stones
David chose from the brook to take down Goliath, investing deep significance in
each of these stones (symbolising the five wounds of Christ!) or even the type
of stone used (smooth stones from the brook fly straighter!) but the point has
already been made by David himself: he came against Goliath “not with sword or
spear”. So much so, that the narrator repeats this fact in verse 50, “There was
no sword in the hand of David.”
When the Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David, David
ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine. And David put his
hand in his bag and took out a stone and slung it and struck the Philistine on
his forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the
ground.
So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone,
and struck the Philistine and killed him. There was no sword in the hand of
David.
1 Samuel 17:48-50
1 Samuel 17:48-50
The defeat of the great Goliath signalled the defeat of the
Philistines. Verse 51: “They fled.” The Israelite army pursued them, pushing
the enemy beyond the borders of their land, reclaiming the lost cities and only
returned to plunder the abandoned Philistine camps.
However, the camera is till focussed on David. This was a
significant moment for the young shepherd. And though he had already defeated
Goliath in verse 50, with no sword in his hand, curiously enough, he does pick
up a sword in the very next verse.
Then David ran and stood over the Philistine and took his sword and
drew it out of its sheath and killed him and cut off his head with it. When the
Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled. And the men of Israel
and Judah rose with a shout and pursued the Philistines as far as Gath and the
gates of Ekron, so that the wounded Philistines fell on the way from Shaaraim
as far as Gath and Ekron. And the people of Israel came back from chasing the
Philistines, and they plundered their camp. And David took the head of the
Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem, but he put his armour in his tent.
1 Samuel 17:51-54
1 Samuel 17:51-54
Verses 51 and 54 are obviously connected in that David cuts
off Goliath’s head and then deposits his armour “in his tent”. David had
earlier rejected Saul’s armour. He didn’t want it. But now he takes Goliath’s
because that armour does belong to him; because that victory does belong to him.
The victory won by the entire Israelite army that day, in defeating Goliath and
in defeating the Philistines, came not by the hand of Saul. It came through
David.
But the author obviously wants us to take notice of what
David does instead with Goliath’s head, his prize, as it were. And verse 54 says
that David “brought it to Jerusalem.” Now this seems to come out of nowhere. At
this point in time, Jerusalem was not yet under the control of Israel. But much
later on in 2 Samuel 5, we learn that David establishes his ascent to the
throne by overthrowing this city, by making it his home, such that Jerusalem
would eventually be called, the City of David. And what we have here is a
preview of what is to come. When David eventually did become King of Israel, he
brought into it Goliath’s head as a way of saying that this was where it all
began. Here as a shepherd boy, in the battlefield, facing an insurmountable
opponent. Here in the Valley of Elah, God established David as the true King of
Israel.
The servant King
A thousands years later, at the entrance to that same city
of Jerusalem – the city of David – the crowds could be heard chanting a
familiar refrain we just encountered in today’s passage.
“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”
Matthew 21:9
Matthew 21:9
The cries of praise were being offered in honour someone they
were even calling, “The Son of David!” The event is sometimes referred to by
Christians as Palm Sunday. And the person the crowds were so excited about was
a man named Jesus, a carpenter from the northern town of Nazareth.
It was the week before Passover when every pious Jew would
be gathered to offer sacrifices to God as commanded by Moses in the Law. And
here was Jesus making his entrance into the great city of the King. Some were
even speculating that this could be the Christ, the one whom God promised would
one day ascend to the throne of David. They spread palm branches on the road.
The men threw their cloaks on the ground. The whole city was stirred up. This
really could be it. Jesus really could be the one!
What were they expecting Jesus to do? Well, what did David
do when he boldly proclaimed before Goliath, “I come to you in the name of the Lord!” He defeated the enemy. He
became the king. Israel won the victory!
“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”
And yet, Jesus rode into the city on a donkey. Matthew tells
us that this was to fulfil the prophecy of Zechariah 9:9, “Behold your king is
coming to you, humble and mounted on a donkey.” Jesus is the King, but he is a
humble King. A gentle King. I wonder if you might even say, a servant King.
What if we were to ask the crowds gathered that day, the
three questions we encountered in today’s passage.
1. Where is the battle?
2. Who is your king?
3. Who is your God?
2. Who is your king?
3. Who is your God?
In answer to the first question, they might have said, “The
battle is right here, in Jerusalem. Against the Roman occupiers. Against Herod.
Against the tax collectors. Yeaah, Jesus is coming to kick their butts!”
In answer to the second question, they might have said, “Jesus,
I guess. After all, everyone seems to be calling him the Son of David.” And
yet, it would be merely days later, when the same crowds are addressed by
Pilate, the Roman governor, with the question, “Shall I crucify your King?” The
chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar!” (John 19:15)
But what of the third question: Who is your God? Well,
ironically, it is the crowds who ask this question of Jesus as they see him
hanging on the cross. “He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires
him. For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’”
Where is the true battle?
It happened on the cross. The cross is the symbol of God’s judgement upon our
sin – your sin, my sin. The shame, the pain, the separation, the desperation –
all that was taken on by Jesus Christ on our behalf, when he stood in our place
on that cross; he stepped into that battlefield, to free us from our sins, from
the punishment for our sins and from slavery to the one who accuses us of our
sins, the devil.
Who is your true king?
It is the one powerful enough to help us in our weakness; and yet humble enough
to enter into our weakness. Though rich, he became poor for our sakes, so that
in his poverty we might be rich (2 Corinthians 8:9). Though sinless, he became
sin for our sake, so that in Jesus Christ we might be the righteousness of God
(2 Corinthians 5:21).
Who is your God? He is the one who raised Christ on the third day, delivering him from death and decay, and vindicating the work of his Son on the cross to justify sinful men and women as fully forgiven and fully accepted sons and daughters of God through his blood. And one day, God will judge all evil and rebellion against him through this same Jesus, to whom God has given all authority in heaven and on earth.
Who is your God? He is the one who raised Christ on the third day, delivering him from death and decay, and vindicating the work of his Son on the cross to justify sinful men and women as fully forgiven and fully accepted sons and daughters of God through his blood. And one day, God will judge all evil and rebellion against him through this same Jesus, to whom God has given all authority in heaven and on earth.
That at the name of Jesus, every knee shall bow, and every tongue
confess, that he is Lord. To the glory of God the Father.
Philippians 2:11
Philippians 2:11
Until then, we who trust in Jesus Christ, as our Saviour,
our true King and our true God, witness to this one truth: “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven
given to men by which we must be saved!” (Acts 4:12)
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord: the Lord
Jesus Christ.
You laid aside Your majesty,
gave up everything for me.
Suffered at the hands of those You had created.
gave up everything for me.
Suffered at the hands of those You had created.
You took away my guilt and shame,
When You died and rose again.
Now today You reign,
And heaven and earth exalt You.
When You died and rose again.
Now today You reign,
And heaven and earth exalt You.
I really want to worship You my Lord,
You have won my heart and I am Yours.
Forever and ever, I will love You.
You have won my heart and I am Yours.
Forever and ever, I will love You.
You are the only one who died for me,
Gave Your life to set me free.
So I lift my voice to You in adoration.
Gave Your life to set me free.
So I lift my voice to You in adoration.
Saturday, 11 February 2012
Real suffering (Ephesians 3:1-13)
Stop… in the name
of love
I’m not saying that we won’t struggle with this. Quite the opposite: We will struggle with these issues precisely because we are struggling to apply the gospel into these issues; and because the gospel is so radically inclusive and at the same time, so radically exclusive in these issues. God is bringing all things under Christ – meaning every person and every issue is relevant to Jesus. And yet Christ is head over all things – In the end, he will be seen as King. In the end, he alone receives all glory.
But we also see that one other place – and this is the staggering reality revealed in Ephesians 6:10 – we see that reality of God’s full and final plan realised since creation, in the church. “So that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known.”
Dare I ask: Are you in God’s presence? Are you in Christ? Do you approach the Almighty Judge of the Universe with boldness? With confidence?
Paul’s purpose is to communicate God’s love. That’s his
destination in verse 18, “to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge,
that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” That’s why he prays.
Verse 14: “For this reason I bow my knees before the Father,” Paul begins. He is
saying: I want you know what it means for God to love you; What it means for
Christ to die on the cross for you.
But there is a problem. His destination is God’s love – that’s
where he is trying get to – but along the way he makes a detour. Why? Because
of suffering. Look at verse 1.
For this reason, I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ on behalf of you
Gentiles
Ephesians 3:1
Ephesians 3:1
It is the exact same way he begins in verse 14, “For this
reason I bow my knees”. He is about to pray for these Christians to know the
fullness of God’s love in Jesus Christ. But along the way he mentions the fact
that he is praying this prayer in a prison cell. He is not in a comfortable study,
doing his morning devotional on his Kindle, sipping herbal tea and listening to
Stuart Townend in the background. Paul is a prisoner of Christ “on behalf of
you Gentiles”. The context of this prayer for love – this prayer for God’s
power to understand God’s love – is suffering.
And Paul immediately sees: That’s a problem for these
Christians.
And sometimes you might be very eager to communicate God’s
love to a friend, so you bring them to church, you bring them to hear the talks
at the CICCU mission last week (which were amazing!), you bow your knees before
God and you pray for them to receive God’s love. But if you are like Paul, you
take one look at your friend, and you might notice that he’s been worried sick
about his grandmother in hospital. Or that she’s just come off a bad break-up
with her boyfriend. You notice these things because suffering may, at times,
lead us to cry out for God’s love. But often times, it causes us to question the
reality of God’s love. If God loves us, why is there suffering in this world?
Paul stops to deal with that question. He wants his readers
to understand that God’s love and our suffering are not two incompatible
realities. In fact, Paul will go so far as to say that one explains the other. That
is, Paul doesn’t just comfort them, and say, “There, there you poor thing.” He tells
them the reason why he is suffering.
And it’s very shocking what he says here, I wonder if you’ve noticed that. He
says: I am suffering for Christ. I am suffering for your sake. “For this
reason, I Paul, a prisoner for Christ
Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles.” Wow!
There are three things I want you to notice in today’s
passage:
(1) The reason for Paul’s suffering – which is the gospel (verses 1-6);
(2) The privilege of Paul’s suffering – which is God’s grace (verses 7-9); and
(3) The boldness of Paul’s suffering – which is their glory (verses 10-13)
(2) The privilege of Paul’s suffering – which is God’s grace (verses 7-9); and
(3) The boldness of Paul’s suffering – which is their glory (verses 10-13)
1. The reason for
Paul’s suffering – the gospel
Remember the reason why Paul makes this important stop. He
is dealing with the problem of suffering – his
suffering! Paul is in prison. Paul is in chains (Ephesians 6:20). But, notice,
he doesn’t stop to talk about his painful trials, does he? He isn’t complaining
about the prison food or the unfair treatment. What Paul does is he goes
straight into the reason why he is
suffering.
Assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace that was
given to me for you, how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, and I
have written briefly. When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the
mystery of Christ, which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations
as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit.
Ephesians 3:2-5
Ephesians 3:2-5
What he keeps focusing on is this thing he calls “the
mystery”. It is the mystery made known to him by revelation (verse 3). It is
the mystery not made known to the
sons of men in other generations (verse 5), but instead revealed, only now, and
only to Christ’s holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit.
What is this mystery?
It is not talking about something mysterious. As in a mystery novel where Sherlock Holmes uses his intuition,
takes one look at the clues and then solves the whole mystery. It is also not
talking about the mysterious unknown – ghosts, UFO’s and the Twilight Zone. Ooooh,
mysterious!
“Mystery” in the bible is something that is hidden by God
from man’s understanding. That’s verse 5: It was not made known to the sons of
men. “Secret” might be a better word. God had kept this secret hidden for
generations, all throughout history – this secret of Christ – of what God was planning
to accomplish when Jesus came. What’s the reason why we couldn’t figure it out?
God kept it hidden from our understanding. He didn’t want us to know the final
destination of his plan.
Until now.
Now, God has revealed this secret, it says at the end of
verse 5, “to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit”. Paul is not
Sherlock Holmes. He didn’t work out this mystery. It was revealed to him by God
– “by the Spirit”.
But why now? Notice
that this is called the mystery “of
Christ” (verse 4). It was the coming of Jesus Christ that changed the
course of history. In fact, the holy apostles in verse 5 – “his” holy apostles –
is not a reference to God, but to Jesus. These are Jesus’ apostles. He chose
his twelve disciples. He revealed the secrets of the Kingdom of God to his holy apostles. And upon his death
and resurrection, he left them his Holy Spirit, to remind them of all that he had
taught them and to give them insight into the mystery of God. “To you it has
been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven,” Jesus says in Matthew
13:11, “but to them it has not been given.”
Well, that brings us back to the same question: What is this mystery? Paul tells us, in
verse 6.
This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same
body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.
Ephesians 3:6
Ephesians 3:6
Hmm, doesn’t sound all that mysterious, does it? Doesn’t
sound like much of a mystery, either. Rather, it’s plain and frankly, quite
simple. The outsiders are now insiders.
Everything that God promised his people, the Jews – everything, which includes the
kingdom, the resurrection and eternal life – all of these promises are now
given to non-Jews, to Gentiles – “in Christ Jesus through the gospel.” That’s
the mystery. It is not mysterious. It is not hard to explain: “If you are in
Christ, you’re in.” That’s the mystery.
So again, you might very reasonably say, “What’s the big
deal?” And if you think that, it’s because you’re a Gentile. You’re the
outsider. You don’t understand what a big deal it is for God to include you into
his kingdom.
You don’t get it
because you don’t get the gospel. The gospel is the central message of the
bible that Jesus Christ died on the cross so that you could be in. That’s the ticket
price. Jesus’ death for your life. Some of you take the cross for granted, that’s
why you take your life for granted. You think it’s cheap. You think that the money
you dropped in the offering bag is your subscription to this church service.
You think that going to Rock Fellowship is such a sacrifice. You don’t get that
the only reason why you can call yourself a Christian – if you really are a
Christian – is that Jesus Christ was nailed to the cross and he took the
punishment of God for your sin on your behalf. That is the gospel.
But there’s another way to reject the gospel, and this is
probably closer to the reason why Paul brings up the gospel here. It is the reason
why Paul stops for a moment from talking about God’s love to focus on the
reason for Paul’s suffering. The first way to reject the gospel is to reject
Christ’s death on your behalf. But the second way to reject the gospel is to
reject those accepted through Christ’s death on their behalf. And I think it’s
this second rejection that is central to the reason why Paul is suffering for
the gospel.
Paul was in prison because the gospel is offensive. It was
offensive to the insiders, the Jews, who said, “How can these Gentiles be
included into the kingdom?” They worship idols. They are immoral. They don’t
know anything about the bible or about God. How can we let them into our
church?
And Paul says this: The Gentiles are fellow heirs, members
of the same body, partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. That’s
offensive.
If you’ve been coming to the Chinese Church for decades; and
for decades we only had Chinese songs; for decades we have only had Chinese
people; for decades we only ate Chinese food! Then suddenly, one day, someone
brings huge big bowl of Caesar Salad and plonks it right in the middle of the
buffet table at the Chinese New Year. Or one day, a whole group of African
Christians join us on Sunday afternoon and they start jumping and raising their
hands during the songs. Or one day, a Japanese pastor who speaks fluent
Mandarin applies to be our lead pastor.
What is our response? What should be our response? I hope it
is this: In Christ Jesus, through the gospel, all outsiders are insiders! That
should be our response.
But the reality for Paul was this: that wasn’t the response he
got to the gospel. People got upset. They started riots. They even hired men to
kill Paul. That’s the reason why he was arrested. Mainly for causing so much
trouble for preaching this gospel – this simple message that Jesus Christ is
the one and only way we are accepted by God. That was enough then to get people
angry with Paul. It is an offensive message.
Yet notice what it took for Paul to understand that gospel.
Revelation. God changes our hearts to accept Christ, to accept this message of
Christ, and only then, to accept our brothers and sisters in Christ.
That’s very important because of what I’m going to say next.
If you don’t see that Christ makes anyone and everyone who trusts in him,
acceptable here in the church – you’re probably not a Christian, yourself. I’ll
say that again, maybe in a slightly different way. If you can’t look at another
person who is totally unlike you – he or she has a different colour of skin,
they speak a different language, they come from a background that is entire
foreign to yours – and say in your heart, as long as this person trusts in
Jesus Christ as their one and only basis for forgiveness and acceptance in God,
he is my brother; she is my sister; if you cannot say that, then it’s possible
that you are not a Christian yourself.
This has implications on the way we do church membership. On
the way we choose our leaders, our pastors, our Sunday schools teachers. On who
we marry – whether that person is a graduate or not, Chinese or not, young or not
so young. It has implications on mission – do we just reach the Chinese
students; are our events just focussed on Chinese New Year and Mid-Autumn
Festival every year?
I’m not saying that we won’t struggle with this. Quite the opposite: We will struggle with these issues precisely because we are struggling to apply the gospel into these issues; and because the gospel is so radically inclusive and at the same time, so radically exclusive in these issues. God is bringing all things under Christ – meaning every person and every issue is relevant to Jesus. And yet Christ is head over all things – In the end, he will be seen as King. In the end, he alone receives all glory.
The only way to
struggle with these issues is to struggle with the gospel. You need to open
your bibles (It boggles me how church leaders can debate long and hard about
church issues with God’s word closed to the discussion!) and you need to bow
before God in prayer – he reveals his gospel by his Spirit. You keep coming
back to the gospel. You keep turning back to Christ. And you keep leaning on
God’s spirit for his wisdom and revelation.
The gospel will cause us to struggle. That’s a good thing.
But the gospel will also cause us to suffer. That, too, is a good thing.
Paul calls this God’s grace to him.
2. The privilege
of Paul’s suffering – God’s grace
Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God’s
grace, which was given me by the working of his power. To me, though I am the
very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles
the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to bring to light for everyone what is
the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things.
Ephesians 3:7-9
Ephesians 3:7-9
Again, remember that Paul is speaking to a bunch of
Christians, who see him languishing in a prison cell and are probably going, “You
poor thing.” And Paul is saying to them, “You don’t get it. Yes, it’s tough. But
I know why I’m here. It’s because of the gospel.”
If we were in such a situation, well, if I were in such a
situation, I would be tempted to say something like, “I don’t deserve this
suffering.” You know, especially if you’re serving God and preaching the
gospel, you might say, “Why is this happening to me? Am I not doing God’s will?”
I mean, it’s bad enough if you’re in trouble for doing something that you know
is bad; you know that God doesn’t want you to do. But what if you’re doing
something that you know for sure, God wanted you to do. What if you were
obeying God fully and walking according to his revealed will, and then
suffering occurs? Wouldn’t you be tempted to say, “I don’t deserve this!”
But what does Paul say? I don’t deserve to be preaching this gospel.
He says, “Though I am the very least of all the saints, this
grace was given me, to preach to the Gentiles” (verse 8). This is God’s grace.
I don’t deserve this. It is a privilege to open my mouth and to speak this
message of the gospel and be an instrument that God uses to bring outsiders
into his kingdom.
Paul isn’t exaggerating when he calls himself the least of
all the saints (by “saints” he is referring to Christians. All Christians are “saints”,
or “set apart” for God.) He is the last guy you would expect to be a Christian pastor.
For Paul to be preaching the gospel would be like getting Richard Dawkins to
speak at the CICCU mission, telling hundreds of students to give their lives to
Jesus. In the book of Acts, we see Paul dragging Christians to court, throwing
them into prison, and at one point, even condoning the murder of the first
Christian martyr. He did this with a passion. He did this because he thought he
was absolutely in the right, that he was serving God, that Jesus was a fake,
and that the Christian faith was deceptive and dangerous. He truly believed
this, but his beliefs led him to anger, to violence and to persecute those who
disagreed with him (1 Timothy 1:13).
But then Paul met Jesus. On his way to arrest and kill more
Christians, there on the road to Damascus, Jesus appeared to Paul, then called,
Saul.
“Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?”
And he said, “Who are you, Lord?”
And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.”
Acts 9:4-5
And he said, “Who are you, Lord?”
And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.”
Acts 9:4-5
The vision left Paul blind for three days. Led to Damascus,
Paul met a Christian named Ananias, who also received a message from Jesus to
lay hands on Paul, helping him regain his sight. Ananias was, understandably,
hesitant at first.
But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how
much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem. And here he has authority
from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name.”
But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.”
Acts 9:13-15
But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.”
Acts 9:13-15
Paul was chosen by Jesus – this former murderer was hand-picked
by God – to do two things: to preach the name of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles,
kings and Israelites; and to suffer for that same name. And here in Ephesians
3, Paul refers to this episode, calling it God’s grace.
For Paul, his salvation in Christ and his service to Christ
were one and the same. For Paul, speaking the gospel and suffering for the sake
of the gospel, were one and the same. They were given him in accordance with
the grace of God.
He did not deserve to be saved. And in a way, yes, he did
not deserve to suffer. But not in the way, you or I, would say, “I don’t
deserve to suffer.” For Paul, his suffering came hand in hand with his
salvation. In another letter to the Christians in Philippi, he writes:
For it has been granted to you for the sake of Christ you should not
only believe in him but also to suffer for his sake.
Philippians 1:29
Philippians 1:29
The word “granted” here is actually the word “graced” (echariste). It means that God has given
you one gift – one grace – in two parts: to trust in Jesus, and to suffer for
Jesus. Both were from God. Both were God’s grace. Paul didn’t deserve his
suffering. It was “graced” upon him by God.
The question on everyone’s minds is: Surely, this only
applies in special cases like Paul? Verse 4 says, he is a “minister” of the
gospel. There you go! He’s a minister. Ministers are pastors, bishops,
what-have-you. In the NIV, the same word is translated, “servant” (diakonos). It’s actually a very, very
common word found repeatedly in the gospels and the New Testament letters. It just
means servant, or employee. In many cases, it even refers to a waiter.
That is, the weight of Paul’s commission is not to be found in
that one word, “servant”. It’s in the
gospel. Of this gospel – this precious message of Jesus’ death of the
cross, which announces God’s kingdom and brings outsiders into that kingdom –
of this gospel, Paul is made a waiter.
He just serves it up. That’s the waiter’s job – not to add a little something
to your dish or dress it up. Paul’s job as a servant of the gospel is to get it out. To pass it on.
And if you are in any way, speaking the gospel to your
friends, to the kids at Sunday School, at Rock Fellowship to your brothers and
sisters – not just up front on Sundays with a microphone – but even in the car
on the way to Tesco’s for your weekly shopping; you need to realise, it’s a
privilege. God is graciously using you to make known the most important message
in the universe about his Son. It is a message we are entrusted with to speak
clearly and honestly. It is a message that God empowers us to know by his
Spirit. It is a message that is often rejected. It is a message that often gets
us into trouble.
It is a message of God’s salvation, of God’s plan. Of God’s grace. And Paul says, it is a message
that gives us boldness in God’s presence.
3. The boldness of
Paul’s suffering – our glory
So that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made
known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This was according
to the eternal purpose that he has realised in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom
we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him.
Ephesians 3:10-12
Ephesians 3:10-12
There is a radical transition that occurs in verse 10
onwards. Up till then, it was Paul who was called to preach the gospel. Up till
then, it was Paul’s ministry in bringing to light for everyone God’s plan hidden
for ages past (verse 9).
But now, it’s the church, not just Paul, who makes this
gospel known. Now in verse 10, it’s the church preaching not simply to the
world, but making God’s wisdom known to the “rulers and authorities in the
heavenly places.” What’s going on?
There are two staggering implications to this transition.
Firstly, the gospel
gives birth to the church. That is, in preaching the gospel, men and women are gathered around the Word of God as the church.
We often get it the other way around. We sometimes think that we need to get Christians together to come up with a new message every now and then to be packaged as the gospel. Or we assume that since our church has been around for so long, we must be preaching the gospel. In so doing, we've gotten the means mixed up with the end. Only the gospel produces the church. The church can never ever produce the gospel, for the gospel is the eternal unchanging message of the one salvation through the death of Jesus Christ. What we do with the gospel is guard it from error and proclaim it in faithfulness.
How is this important? In missions and evangelism, the preaching of the gospel is central, and I could go more into that. But instead, I want to mention just one very relevant issue. What are you looking for in a church? Here in Cambridge, students hop from church to church looking for various things: good music, friendship, the kind of coffee they serve during the break, how long the sermon is. As you consider these factors in the church you are hoping to settle in, the question you are really asking is: What is the purpose of this church? What can this church do for me?
I suggest to you, that's the wrong question. The real question you should be asking is: Is the gospel being preached?
You see, if you really believed that the gospel produces the true church, then you would be looking for the gospel. Jesus says that he will build his church and he does so (as we saw in last week's passage) "on the foundations of the apostles and prophets" (Ephesians 2:20) which is again, a reference to the gospel witness to the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Whatever state the church is in: if it is preaching the gospel, God by his grace will build his church. It may not be big and the coffee might be lousy - but if the gospel is there, God will build his church. The danger is: you may be looking at what may appear to be a vibrant church, but which has no evidence of the gospel; no centrality of the message of the cross. Such a gathering is a very dangerous one to be in. For they have taken the gospel for granted and foolishly taken the glory away from God.
Look for the gospel. Or better yet: preach the gospel. For God uses the gospel as means to building his church.
So the purpose of the gospel is the church. Not many Christians would have a problem with that statement, I should think, but some may with the next: The purpose of the church is not the gospel. Rather the church stands as the result of the proclamation of the gospel as a testimony to the fullness and completeness of God's plan in Jesus Christ. That is the second point.
We often get it the other way around. We sometimes think that we need to get Christians together to come up with a new message every now and then to be packaged as the gospel. Or we assume that since our church has been around for so long, we must be preaching the gospel. In so doing, we've gotten the means mixed up with the end. Only the gospel produces the church. The church can never ever produce the gospel, for the gospel is the eternal unchanging message of the one salvation through the death of Jesus Christ. What we do with the gospel is guard it from error and proclaim it in faithfulness.
How is this important? In missions and evangelism, the preaching of the gospel is central, and I could go more into that. But instead, I want to mention just one very relevant issue. What are you looking for in a church? Here in Cambridge, students hop from church to church looking for various things: good music, friendship, the kind of coffee they serve during the break, how long the sermon is. As you consider these factors in the church you are hoping to settle in, the question you are really asking is: What is the purpose of this church? What can this church do for me?
I suggest to you, that's the wrong question. The real question you should be asking is: Is the gospel being preached?
You see, if you really believed that the gospel produces the true church, then you would be looking for the gospel. Jesus says that he will build his church and he does so (as we saw in last week's passage) "on the foundations of the apostles and prophets" (Ephesians 2:20) which is again, a reference to the gospel witness to the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Whatever state the church is in: if it is preaching the gospel, God by his grace will build his church. It may not be big and the coffee might be lousy - but if the gospel is there, God will build his church. The danger is: you may be looking at what may appear to be a vibrant church, but which has no evidence of the gospel; no centrality of the message of the cross. Such a gathering is a very dangerous one to be in. For they have taken the gospel for granted and foolishly taken the glory away from God.
Look for the gospel. Or better yet: preach the gospel. For God uses the gospel as means to building his church.
So the purpose of the gospel is the church. Not many Christians would have a problem with that statement, I should think, but some may with the next: The purpose of the church is not the gospel. Rather the church stands as the result of the proclamation of the gospel as a testimony to the fullness and completeness of God's plan in Jesus Christ. That is the second point.
Secondly, the gospel
is the announcement of God’s final plan realised and full victory achieved in
Jesus Christ. “The rulers and authorities in the heavenly places” – do you
know what that’s talking about? Paul makes a fuller reference in Ephesians 6:12
where he tells Christians, “For do we do not wrestle against flesh and blood,
but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over
this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly
places.”
What the gospel is doing then is announcing God’s victory in
the face of his enemies – even “the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly
places.” The gospel says: God has won. We see that on the cross where Jesus
takes on the full judgement of the world upon himself and defeated death, decay
and the devil.
But we also see that one other place – and this is the staggering reality revealed in Ephesians 6:10 – we see that reality of God’s full and final plan realised since creation, in the church. “So that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known.”
When you look around you, and you see sinners deserving
judgement, now standing firm in their faith and trust in Jesus Christ, looking
forward to the day of his return – you see the evidence that God has won. That
guy should be condemned. That girl should be an outcast. But in Jesus Christ,
they are loved, accepted, redeemed by his blood.
God wants his enemies to see that. There! These men and
women are the evidence and proof that when Jesus said on the cross, “It is
finished!” all of God’s purposes in salvation and judgement were truly
accomplished. Why? Because these men and women – though weak and helpless sinners
– stand bold and confident before the throne in Jesus Christ.
In whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in
him.
Ephesians 3:12
Ephesians 3:12
Verse 12 is kind of over the top language: boldness, access,
confidence. It is God saying, “Come on in!”
Dare I ask: Are you in God’s presence? Are you in Christ? Do you approach the Almighty Judge of the Universe with boldness? With confidence?
It was God’s eternal purpose that in Christ Jesus, you are
able to do so, right here and right now. It is God’s statement to all who
oppose him, and who oppose you because you are in him, that Jesus was
victorious on the cross. You stand by grace if you are standing in Christ.
Which brings us to verse 13, which is Paul’s closing
statement: Don’t give up!
So I ask you not to lose heart over what I am suffering for you, which
is your glory.
Ephesians 3:13
Ephesians 3:13
This week at Rock Fellowship we ended by talking about what
our non-Christian friends see when they look at us as Christians. Some of us
admitted, “They don’t see much that’s different from everyone else.” We could
all think of someone who is nicer than us. Someone who is more generous. And
even when it came to suffering, we could think of a few non-Christian friends
who were in much more challenging situations than we were.
It is tempting as Christians to try and outdo our
non-Christians friends, even with a sincere desire to show how much God’s grace
has changed our lives. So, we make a special effort to be loving and patient to
say, the person in class who is meanest to us.
But you know, the unique thing we see in this passage is not
that Paul is suffering in prison – I’m sure there are lots of other people in
the neighbouring cells – but why. Paul knows the reason for his suffering, he
is able to communicate it clearly to us, he is even able to encourage us
through his suffering.
That’s unique. That’s different. And that’s very helpful.
So by all means, do be extra nice to that mean guy in your
class. But when someone asks you why, what will you say? “Oh, it’s just nice to
be nice.” Or, “I’m paying it forward.”
Or will you say, “That’s what I looked like to Jesus when I
rejected him as God. And this is just a small part of what Jesus did for me on
the cross even when I was his enemy.” You see, that’s different. That’s the
gospel.
Here, Paul is saying something not many people can say,
honestly or with conviction. I’m suffering for the gospel. I’m suffering for
your glory; without a hint of self-pity, I might add, but with every intention of
encouraging these Christians to stand firm in the gospel.
You see, the reaction Paul is looking for is not, “What a
brave man, that Paul is,” but “What an amazing God we have in Jesus Christ”. If
Paul is still standing in the gospel; if God is keeping him faithful even in
these difficult circumstances; then God will be just as faithful and loving in
my life through Jesus Christ.
And friends, that’s just Paul stopping for a moment to address
the problem of suffering. Stick around and find out what he says next when he
talks about God’s love.
Heavenly Father,
Thank you that in Jesus Christ
Even our suffering has a purpose
To bring glory to your name
And encouragement to those around us
Help us always to trust in Jesus alone
Who bore all our suffering and pain
All our condemnation and shame
On himself when he died on the cross
So that now I can stand before you accepted
Confident of your love
And bold in your presence
We ask this in Jesus’ precious name
and for his glory alone,
Amen.
Thank you that in Jesus Christ
Even our suffering has a purpose
To bring glory to your name
And encouragement to those around us
Help us always to trust in Jesus alone
Who bore all our suffering and pain
All our condemnation and shame
On himself when he died on the cross
So that now I can stand before you accepted
Confident of your love
And bold in your presence
We ask this in Jesus’ precious name
and for his glory alone,
Amen.
Thursday, 2 February 2012
God of war (Judges 15)
After some days, at the time of the wheat harvest, Samson went to visit
his wife with a young goat. And he said, “I will go in to my wife in the
chamber.” But her father would not allow him to go in. And her father said, “I
really thought you had utterly hated her, so gave her to your companion. Is not
her younger sister more beautiful than she? Please take her instead.”
And Samson said to them, “This time I shall be innocent in regard to
the Philistines, when I do them harm.”
Judges 15:1-3
Judges 15:1-3
Samson isn’t the kind of guy you want to upset. You want to
make sure he is always happy. You want to make sure he never ever loses his temper. Because Samson’s
a lot like the Marvel cartoon character, the Hulk. “When Samson angry... Samson
smash!”
And that’s the reaction of his father-in-law in the
beginning of the story here in Chapter 15. Samson visits his wife with a gift –
a young goat (maybe she might have appreciated some chocolates instead, but a
young goat was a thing of value) – and this picks up from the events of his
wedding day back in Chapter 14. There in verse 19, Samson in “hot anger” went
back to his father’s house, but not before killing thirty men to steal their
clothes in order to repay a bet he had lost on his wedding day.
But now Samson is back. The goat’s probably his way of
saying, “Sorry for leaving you at the altar, honey... oh, and for killing all those
cousins of yours on the way home. No hard feelings.” What Samson doesn’t know,
of course, is that his wife has been given to another man (his “best man”
according to 14:20) by his father-in-law.
The reason for this? Verse 2: “I really thought you utterly hated her.” After all, Samson
was the one who walked out on his wife – on his wedding day of all days. The
marriage was not even consummated (hence verse 1, “I will go in to my wife in
the chamber” – that’s what he had come to take care of). So, Daddy thought,
Samson must not have wanted her at all and gave her away. It all sounds
rational. It all sounds reasonable, even. After all, Dad managed to save his daughter
from dying an old maid. But then look at what Dad says next, “Is not her
younger sister more beautiful than she? Please take her instead.”
You see, these two daughters were to their father as that
goat was to Samson. They were just things of value. “Take this daughter
instead,” Dad said to Samson in an attempt to placate him, to appease his
psychotic murdering son-in-law who could easily tear him limb from limb. Samson
brought a goat; Dad brought out his younger daughter. Same thing.
But it didn’t work. Verse 3: And Samson said to them, “This
time I shall be innocent in regard to the Philistines, when I do them harm.” Meaning:
“Now, I’m really mad.”
But also, what Samson meant was, “Now, I’m right to get mad.”
So Samson went and caught 300 foxes and took torches. And he turned
them tail to tail and put a torch between each pair of tails. And when he had
set fire to the torches, he let the foxes go into the standing grain of the
Philistines and set fire to the stacked grain and the standing grain, as well
as the olive orchards.
Judges 15:4-5
Judges 15:4-5
How he did this, I have no idea. Samson rounded up 300
foxes, tied them up in pairs by their tails, somehow attaching a flaming torch
between each pair. Presumably the foxes would then try to run off in opposite
directions but end up zig-zagging through the fields setting fire to the grain
in the process. It was mad and yet it was also quite brilliant. Samson
single-handedly destabilised an entire nation’s economy. He destroyed all their
food supplies (both the “stacked grain” as well as the “standing grain”). He
even targeted their olive orchards, which, for an agrarian society, was at the
very heart of their wealth. There was method in his madness.
Samson wanted revenge and he knew where to hit where it
hurt.
Then the Philistines said, “Who has done this?” And they said, “Samson,
the son-in-law of the Timnite, because he has taken his wife and given her to
his companion.” And the Philistines came up and burned her and her father with
fire.
Judges 15:6
Judges 15:6
Last week we saw how Samson’s wife was forced into the
impossible situation of either betraying her husband or risk being burned with
her father’s household. “Entice your husband to tell us what the riddle is,”
they said to her in 14:15, “lest we burn you and your father’s house with
fire.” She did what they told her to and yet here we read that they burn her
anyways. Notice that it wasn’t just Dad’s fault for making Samson mad. “The
Philistines came up and burned her
and her father with fire.”
For Samson, it was yet another reason to get mad.
And Samson said to them, “If this is what you do, I swear I will be
avenged on you and after that I will quit.” And he struck them hip and thigh
with a great blow, and he went down and stayed in the cleft of the rock of
Etam.
Judges 15:7-8
Judges 15:7-8
Samson was not out for justice. He wanted vengeance. He
says, “I will be avenged.” You have
done this – not to my wife; not to her family – you have done this to me. What followed was more violence
and more death.
At the heart of all this is a guy who simply does whatever
he wants. Worryingly still, he gets away with it. When kids throw a tantrum,
they might hold their breath or start chucking food on the walls, but there’s a
limit to the destruction they can cause. The adults know that, and more
importantly, the kids themselves learn that over time. But this guy doesn’t. He
does whatever feels right. In Chapter 14, he sees a Philistine girl he likes
and that’s reason enough to take her as his wife – irrespective of his parents’
wishes, irrespective of God’s wishes. That’s what his father-in-law was getting
at when he pushed his younger daughter in front of Samson, “See, see... isn’t
she more beautiful in your eyes?” The people around Samson know him well
enough. They know that he is one huge walking appetite that constantly needs filling
up. There is no right or wrong for Samson. Everything is about what Samson
wants and what Samson needs. That’s his justification – for anger, for rage,
even for murder.
And yet what we are going to see next is God using Samson’s
appetite and sinfulness for God’s sovereign purpose. What we are going to see
is God’s will fulfilled not in spite of Samson anger, but through his selfish anger
– to reveal God’s plan and to bring about God’s salvation.
But first, in order to do that, God is going to use Samson
to spark a war!
Then the Philistines came up and encamped in Judah and made a raid on
Lehi. And the men of Judah said, “Why have you come up against us?” They said,
“We have come up to bind Samson, to do to him as he did to us.” Then 3,000 men
of Judah went down to the cleft of the rock of Etam, and said to Samson, “Do
you not know that the Philistines are rulers over us? What then is this that
you have done to us?” And he said to them, “As they did to me, so have I done
to them.”
Judges 15:9-11
Judges 15:9-11
Samson’s really done it now. What started out as a bar-room
brawl has now escalated into a full-fledged war between two nations. The
Philistines deploy their tanks and military forces to the borders of Judah in
an attempt to find and capture Rambo, and understandably, the people of Judah
are freaked out to wake up the next morning only to find a battalion of tanks parked up their front driveway! “Why
have you come up against us?” they ask. The answer? One single man is
responsible: Samson did this to us and we have come to repay the favour.
The people of Judah are shaking in their boots. So what they
did next was motivated purely by fear – they were fearful of war. They were
fearful of destruction by a superior force. And yet, what we also see is that
the men of Judah were immensely fearful of Samson. They gather 3000 men, not to
face the enemy, but to betray a fellow countryman. There at Samson’s hideout,
the rock of Etam, 3000 men stood surrounded one man, Samson, just to bring him
in and turn him over to the enemy.
If you look back to the very beginning of Judges Chapter 1,
there we see Judah leading the charge into enemy territory. Judah was the
strongest and bravest of all of the clans of Israel, defeating an army of
10,000 men in Bezek (Judges 1:4). And if you look ahead to verse 16, we find
out the number of Philistine soldiers encamped at the border of Judah – one
thousand men. That is, here are 3,000 men of Judah fearful of an army one-third
its size; here is Judah, 3,000 men strong but fearful of one man, Samson. In
the book of Judges, the tribe of Judah start out bold and courageous. They end
up fearful and cowardly.
They say to Samson – almost matter-of-factly – “Don’t know
the Philistines are rulers over us?” Here is a generation that has accepted
defeat. Here is a generation which has chosen not to fight. They have given up
and given in to another power – not God, but man. The Philistines are rulers
over us – that’s a pretty damning statement. The Philistines are in charge now,
not us. And definitely, not God. In their minds, it’s Samson who needs to get
with the program.
For the past few months at Rock Fellowship we have been
journeying through the book of Judges and what we have encountered again and
again are cycles of our sin and God’s salvation. Each generation of God’s
people go through cycles of (1) rebellion against God through idolatry and sin;
they face (2) judgement from God who hands them over to their enemies; they
then (3)cry out to God for help in repentance; (4) God answers by sending a
judge to save them; (5) there is momentary peace in the land; (6) the judge
dies and the people soon forget God’s help and fall back into sin.
Look how this generation of Israelites began back in Judges
Chapter 13.
And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, so
the LORD gave them into the hand of the Philistines for forty years.
Judges 13:1
Judges 13:1
It is the beginning of a new cycle. Israel did evil before
God. God punished Israel by giving them over to their enemies. But then? Nothing.
No cry for help. No repentance before God. God does, however, raise up Samson as
a judge – from birth, I might add – but this is not in response to any form of
repentance or call for help. And two chapters later, here in Chapter 15, we
find out why.
“Don’t you know the Philistines are rulers over us?”
The Israelites had given up. God was no longer in charge
over their lives; the Philistines were. It was a pitiful situation. The fear of
man had led a whole generation of believers to compromise their faith in God.
The fear of man had led these Israelites to betray one of their own brothers.
Even Samson could see this. He had to ask them for an assurance that they would
not kill him themselves. For the first time in the story, we see a hint of fear
in the mighty Samson, or should I say, shame.
He is fearful of their betrayal and ashamed
of their cowardice.
And they said to him, “We have come down to bind you, that we may give
you into the hands of the Philistines.” And Samson said to them, “Swear to me
that you will not attack me yourselves.” They said to him, “No; we will only
bind you and give you into their hands. We will surely not kill you.” So they
bound him with two new ropes and brought him up from the rock.
Judges 15:12-13
Judges 15:12-13
“We will surely not kill you,” they say to Samson. All they
would do was hand him over to be killed. All they would do was tie him up,
escort him outside of their border and surrender him into the hands of the
enemy. That’s all they would do. They were rationalising their sin: “We aren’t
going to hurt you.” They were justifying their sin, “There is nothing else we
can do. The Philistines are in charge.”
But the truth is: God is the one who is in charge. And God
would do something about the situation.
When he came to Lehi, the Philistines came shouting to meet him. Then
the Spirit of the LORD rushed upon him, and the ropes that were on his arms
became as flax that has caught fire, and his bonds melted off his hands. And he
found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, and put out his hand and took it, and with
it he struck 1,000 men. And Samson said,
“With the jawbone of a donkey,
heaps upon heaps,
with the jawbone of a donkey
have I struck down a thousand men.”
heaps upon heaps,
with the jawbone of a donkey
have I struck down a thousand men.”
As soon as he had finished speaking, he threw away the jawbone out of
his hand. And that place was called Ramath-lehi.
Judges 15:14-17
Judges 15:14-17
Samson takes down the entire Philistine army –
single-handedly! It’s like the opening scene of one of those Hollywood movie
trailers where the deep-voiced commentator goes (ala James Earl-Jones), “One
man... against impossible odds! One man against an army, armed with nothing
else.... but a jawbone!”
Now, in case we miss the turning point of the story, don’t
forget that just moments earlier, Samson was fearful of his own people’s
betrayal. Moments earlier, Samson was bound “with two new ropes” and escorted
to the border by 3,000 Israelite soldiers.
And as he approached the Philistine forces , they celebrated
their victory over Samson! “The Philistines came shouting to meet him” (Judges
15:14). “We have won!” they thought.
But then we read, “The Spirit of the LORD rushed upon
(Samson)”. God empowered Samson with super-human strength. And in case we
missed how extraordinary God’s intervention was, it even tells us that his
hand-cuffs turned to jelly: “The ropes that were on his arms became as flax
that has caught fire.” God unmistakeably did this. God turned the tables on the
Philistines.
You might even say: God caused this war.
Not Samson. Yes,
his selfishness and thirst for vengeance led him from one conflict to another.
But God chose this guy to be the judge. God empowered him with his Spirit. God
made the ropes on his hands fall apart. Samson was God’s means to God’s end.
Not the Philistines.
Yes, they had overpowered this generation of Israelites. But right from the
beginning of Judges 13, it reads, “The LORD gave them into the hands of the
Philistines”. God empowered the Philistines, too, enabling them to rule over Israel.
And certainly not the
Israelites. They shrank away from the fight. They had given up the fight,
even though God had commanded them to subdue the land. But God steps in, raises
a judge and trouble-maker who is Samson – a man who, certainly loves to fight –
and starts a war between the two nations.
Now, don’t get me wrong. Samson is far from perfect. In
fact, Samson is downright selfish, impetuous, proud and sinful. But that does
not mean that God is unable to use Samson for his purposes to save.
To save? Yes, to save.
In fact, that’s the word Samson uses in the very next verse. He calls it a
“great salvation”.
And he was very thirsty, and he called upon the LORD and said, “You
have granted this great salvation by the hand of your servant, and shall I now
die of thirst and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?” And God split open
the hollow place that is at Lehi, and water came out from it. And when he
drank, his spirit returned, and he revived. Therefore, the name of it was
called En-hakkore; it is in Lehi to this day.
Judges 15:18-19
Judges 15:18-19
Salvation means rescue.
Rescue from harm. Rescue from evil. Rescue from death. That’s what it means to be saved. Salvation
means rescue.
But here the bible is giving us a bigger picture of what it
means to be saved. It is the defeat
of evil. It is the defeat of God’s
enemies. It is the defeat of death. The
picture the bible paints of salvation here in this episode of Samson’s life is
that of war and conflict.
The “great salvation” by the hand of Samson was a great act
of violence. He killed 1,000 men and pilled their bodies in a mound so high, he
could even sing, “Heaps upon heaps... have I struck down a thousand men.” It
was a brutal, bloody, gory scene of death. But in that we see a picture of the
great salvation God had given Samson – the death of this army. Samson marks his
victory by naming the hill, Ramath-lehi, which means Jawbone Hill (We’ll look
at the significance of that in just a few moments).
But also, we see God’s great salvation in a second scene
right after – in the giving of the water to quench Samson’s thirst. “And God
split open the hollow place that is at Lehi, and water came out from it.”
Samson names that place too, En-hakkore – “The spring of him who called”. That
too, was God’s salvation come to Samson, but this time it was a scene of God’s
great patience and generosity with Samson.
Samson is still Samson. He is doing what is right in his own
eyes – he isn’t thinking, “How can I do God’s will and help my people turn back
to God?” Absolutely not! He is taking revenge on his enemies and boasting about
his own strength. “With the jawbone of a donkey have I struck down a thousand
men.” I did this. Me.
Also, don’t miss the significance of the jawbone. The
narrator takes great pains to describe how “he found a fresh jawbone... and put
out his hand and took it, and with it he struck 1,000 men.” The fact that it
was fresh meant that it was probably still bloody and was part of a corpse. And
Samson’s parents had been instructed since his birth to make sure that he kept
his vows as a Nazirite, one of which involved never-ever touching a dead corpse
(well, actually this was a blanket prohibition for all Israelites). Samson goes
out of his way to defy God’s word. Yet the amazing thing is he ends up doing
God’s will.
Even when calls out to God in thirst, it looks like a
ridiculous situation doesn’t it? “God, you have saved me, but now are you going
to let me die?” We might be tempted to give him two tight slaps to wake him up
from his stupidity. What does God do? God miraculously splits a rock to open a
fresh spring of water. What does Samson do? He boasts! He names that place “The
Spring of the One who Called”. Not “The Spring of the One who Answered”. No,
it’s Samson who rang the right number, who got God to answer on the phone, and
who was responsible for this miraculous spring of water. This was Samson’s
spring.
Samson is still Samson. But
God is still God.
He is the God who saves his people even when they reject
him. He is the God who hears his people when they cry out to him. He is the God
who is patient, gracious and loving towards men and women who are sinful,
rebellious and ungrateful. God is still God.
We forget that often and easily. When circumstances change.
When we change. We forget that God is unchanging in his holiness, his power and
his love. God is always holy. God is always in charge. And God is always
gracious and loving even when we are not.
And what the bible does is remind us again and again that
God is God.
1.
God is
our ruler
Not the Philistines. Not your overbearing boss at work. Not even if you live in a country run by dictators and corrupt politicians who oppress you because of the colour of your skin or the God whom you worship. God rules over all kingdoms, all parliaments, all presidents. He establishes all governments to ensure justice and peace. They may fail in this regard, and leave them in power long enough, they will fail. But God is always in charge.
The truth of this hits home when you consider nations with rulers and governments who do not acknowledge God’s sovereignty. Romans 13:1 says, “There is no authority except from God.” That includes the United States. That includes North Korea.
In such situations we remember Jesus who said to Pilate, “You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above.” (John 19:11) God had given Pilate, the Roman governor, the authority to execute Jesus on the cross. Even through the events of the murder of his Son, God was sovereign. God was in charge.
And like the Israelites in Samson’s day, so the Israelites at Jesus’ trial, denied that God was in charge over their lives. What did they cry out before Pilate when he taunted them, “Shall I crucify your King?” (John 19:15)
“We have no king but Caesar.”
With that last damning statement, they crucified Jesus. They had rejected him as the Christ. They had rejected God as the King. Yet in doing so, Pilate and the chief priests and the people of Jerusalem and the Roman guards and the executioners and the friends who abandoned Jesus and even Judas who betrayed Jesus, were all doing the will of God. God was sovereign over the cross. Jesus was crowned through his crucifixion.
The cross reveals the ultimate rejection of God as King. The cross displays the ultimate sovereignty of Jesus as the Christ.
Not the Philistines. Not your overbearing boss at work. Not even if you live in a country run by dictators and corrupt politicians who oppress you because of the colour of your skin or the God whom you worship. God rules over all kingdoms, all parliaments, all presidents. He establishes all governments to ensure justice and peace. They may fail in this regard, and leave them in power long enough, they will fail. But God is always in charge.
The truth of this hits home when you consider nations with rulers and governments who do not acknowledge God’s sovereignty. Romans 13:1 says, “There is no authority except from God.” That includes the United States. That includes North Korea.
In such situations we remember Jesus who said to Pilate, “You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above.” (John 19:11) God had given Pilate, the Roman governor, the authority to execute Jesus on the cross. Even through the events of the murder of his Son, God was sovereign. God was in charge.
And like the Israelites in Samson’s day, so the Israelites at Jesus’ trial, denied that God was in charge over their lives. What did they cry out before Pilate when he taunted them, “Shall I crucify your King?” (John 19:15)
“We have no king but Caesar.”
With that last damning statement, they crucified Jesus. They had rejected him as the Christ. They had rejected God as the King. Yet in doing so, Pilate and the chief priests and the people of Jerusalem and the Roman guards and the executioners and the friends who abandoned Jesus and even Judas who betrayed Jesus, were all doing the will of God. God was sovereign over the cross. Jesus was crowned through his crucifixion.
The cross reveals the ultimate rejection of God as King. The cross displays the ultimate sovereignty of Jesus as the Christ.
2. God will defeat all his enemies
The salvation of God’s people means the defeat of God’s enemies. That was what happened in the Exodus – the Red Sea which gave safe passage to Israel was the same waters that swallowed up the entire Egyptian army. That was what happened here in Judges: one moment the Philistines are rejoicing over their captive, Samson; in another, Samson is standing over a mountain piled with their bodies.
And the bible tells us the certainty of this final judgement comes to us through the cross of Jesus Christ.
“He had fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed, and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”
(Acts 17:31)
The cross is God’s announcement, not simply that Judgement will come, but that Judgement has already come. God has fixed the day. God has appointed Jesus, the man. We know this how? Because God has raised Jesus from the dead.
The salvation of God’s people means the defeat of God’s enemies. That was what happened in the Exodus – the Red Sea which gave safe passage to Israel was the same waters that swallowed up the entire Egyptian army. That was what happened here in Judges: one moment the Philistines are rejoicing over their captive, Samson; in another, Samson is standing over a mountain piled with their bodies.
And the bible tells us the certainty of this final judgement comes to us through the cross of Jesus Christ.
“He had fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed, and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”
(Acts 17:31)
The cross is God’s announcement, not simply that Judgement will come, but that Judgement has already come. God has fixed the day. God has appointed Jesus, the man. We know this how? Because God has raised Jesus from the dead.
3. God will save his people
The last verse of Judges 15 reads, “And he (meaning, Samson) judged Israel in the days of the Philistines twenty years.” (Judges 15:20)
Samson is the anti-hero. No one voted for him. No one asked for his help. Yet God chooses Samson from birth to be saviour and judge over a people who do need help; who do need a saviour, whether they are willing to admit or not. In the face of man’s rejection and sinfulness, God is still gracious to save.
“The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance,” the apostle Paul begins in 1 Timothy 1:15, as he summarises the message of the gospel, “that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.” And then he adds, “of whom I am the foremost.”
Who did Jesus come to save? Sinners. Who are you if you call yourself a Christian? A sinner.
Jesus did not come to save good people, moral people, righteous people – because there are none. He came to die for and to take the sin of rebellious people. Bad people. And if you are a Christian, that’s you. That’s me.
God is gracious. I am sinful. And Jesus came for me. That’s how the gospel works.
But God, being rich in mercy, because of his great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ – by grace you have been saved – and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.
(Ephesians 2:4-6)
The last verse of Judges 15 reads, “And he (meaning, Samson) judged Israel in the days of the Philistines twenty years.” (Judges 15:20)
Samson is the anti-hero. No one voted for him. No one asked for his help. Yet God chooses Samson from birth to be saviour and judge over a people who do need help; who do need a saviour, whether they are willing to admit or not. In the face of man’s rejection and sinfulness, God is still gracious to save.
“The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance,” the apostle Paul begins in 1 Timothy 1:15, as he summarises the message of the gospel, “that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.” And then he adds, “of whom I am the foremost.”
Who did Jesus come to save? Sinners. Who are you if you call yourself a Christian? A sinner.
Jesus did not come to save good people, moral people, righteous people – because there are none. He came to die for and to take the sin of rebellious people. Bad people. And if you are a Christian, that’s you. That’s me.
God is gracious. I am sinful. And Jesus came for me. That’s how the gospel works.
But God, being rich in mercy, because of his great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ – by grace you have been saved – and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.
(Ephesians 2:4-6)
As tempting as it is to stop here, I think this passage from
Judges 15 requires us to think more about how God works in response to our fear
of man and our inaction over sin. In particular, many may read these verses and
be troubled by a blood-thirsty character like Samson and how God actually uses
him to stir up trouble at a time of relative peace. And yet as uncomfortable
and perhaps, as embarrassed, as we may be as Christians, with such descriptions
of violence and war today, we forget that this is the context of the book of
Judges. Indeed, it is the very language of the bible.
Each generation of believers in Judges finds new reasons to
shrink back from the mandate given by God to subdue the Promised Land. Each
generation shrinks back from the battle. And in each and every generation, God
raises an Othniel “who went out to war” (Judges 3:10), an Ehud who assassinates
the Moabite king (Judges 3:12-30), a Deborah who has to kick general Barak in
the backside to get him to launch an attack on the Canaanites (Judges 4-5), the
timid pimple-faced Facebook-addicted hacker, Gideon, whom God calls a “mighty
warrior” (Judges 6:12) and ends up taking down over 120,000 men in battle
(Judges 8:10), and now a Samson, the superhero with a short fuse. With each
judge in each generation, God is leading his people back into, and not away
from, the war.
Some dismiss such language as archaic. It’s just the Old
Testament, they say, when God was angry and men were uncivilised. They say that
Jesus came to preach peace, love, joy, happiness – not war, destruction, death.
And yet this is the same Jesus who says to his disciples, “Do not think I have
come to bring peace on the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.”
(Matthew 10:34) Or at Christmas-time when we read that the angels proclaim
Jesus’ birth to the shepherds, singing, “Glory to God in the highest, and on
earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” we miss the verse before
describing them as a “multitude of heavenly host”, which could be just as
accurately translated as a multitude of “armies” – a reference to the common expression
found in the Old Testament of God as the “Lord of hosts”, which simply means
the God of armies. These are God’s angelic military forces announcing the
coming of the Commander-in-Chief, the birth of Jesus Christ.
Perhaps the most striking image of war and conflict is found
in the pages of the last book of the bible. Revelation 12:7 reads, “Now war
arose in heaven,” followed by a great struggle between God’s angels and the
devil, pictured as a red dragon in opposition to God, and especially towards
Jesus. Almost immediately, however, we find out that the dragon and his minions
are defeated (Revelation 12:8), and Satan is thrown out of heaven. “Therefore,
rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them!” There is victory in heaven. Not
so, on the earth. “But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down
to you in great wrath, because he knows his time is short!”
The devil is defeated. But precisely because he knows this,
it tells us that he goes off to “make war... on those who keep the commandments
of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus.” (Revelation 12:17)
It is saying this: If you are in Jesus; if you hold to the
message of cross – the devil has you in his sights. What do you do? Verse 11 says
you overcome the devil with the blood of Jesus Christ shed on the cross.
And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of
their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.
Revelation 12:11
Revelation 12:11
The Christian life is a battle. Against the devil. Against
the world. Against sin. And the only weapon we have at our disposal is the only
weapon we need. It is the gospel. Jesus Christ has conquered the devil. Jesus
Christ is the true king of heaven and earth. And Jesus Christ has taken my sin,
given me new life and lives in me through his spirit. The gospel is the good
news that Jesus Christ is the victorious saviour over the devil, death and sin
through his work on the cross on my behalf.
And until he returns on that final day of judgement and
salvation, Jesus Christ enables me to stand by grace, through faith, on this
gospel of peace.
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on
the whole armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of
the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the
rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present
darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore
take up the whole armour of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil
day, and having done all, to stand firm.
Ephesians 6:10-13
Ephesians 6:10-13
Our call to war to love the captive soul
But to rage against the captor
And with the sword that makes the wounded whole
We will fight with faith and valour
When faced with trials on every side
We know the outcome is secure
And Christ will have the prize for which He died
An inheritance of nations
(“O Church Arise”, by Keith Getty and Stuart Townend)
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