Judges 9 recounts the sad and bad exploits of Abimelech, son of Gideon by a slave girl, and assassin of 69 of Gideon’s sons, with Jotham the sole survivor. He ruled Israel for three years before “God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the citizens of Shechem.” They had originally conspired with him as leader since he had been a resident in their community.
In the “good old days” of peace between them, the citizens had withdrawn 1 ¾ pounds of silver from the temple of Baal-Berith. (Not that they stole the money. In ancient times temples were often bankers entrusted with wealth.) Anyway, Abimelech used the cash to hire “reckless adventurers”—AKA known as “soldiers of fortune.” Hiring such men to serve as militia and a standing army wasn’t unusual in that day—or this. King George III couldn’t persuade enough Englishmen to fight his American colonies, so he paid Hessians from Hesse in Germany. To this day, Americans who love to fight, and prove they can fight, will always find work killing people somewhere in the world—or even as bodyguards for drug lords, but no less savage protecting their bosses. All of this introduces the essential point: Israelite kings often resorted to hiring mercenaries as warriors. Check Judges 11:3, I Kings 11:23-25, II Chronicles 13:6-7. David’s two ego-centric sons Absalom and Adonijah loved the display of having the appearance of an army by hiring 50 armed guards to serve as their vanguard II Samuel 15:1, I Kings 1:5. David’s constitutional inability to discipline his sons encouraged their publicity-seeking adventures. End Part I
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Zane Grey turned his interest in the west into a series of best-selling, made-into-movies books. Grey loved fishing, and could never fish enough. When on the rivers or oceans, he forced himself to rise early to write, then write late at night. When at home he had a harder time getting to his writings. As his biographer said, “he would keep putting off the inevitable moment....” Frank Gruber, 214.
Writing a lesson or sermon; making a necessary call; or giving one’s self to important but unwelcome administrative work, can all suffer from our procrastination. Jesus never suffered procrastination to delay him, whatever he faced. At age 12 he remained behind when his parents returned to Nazareth. That’s where he HAD TO BE. Though we might think that, as a 12 year-old, he had more than enough time to prepare before he began preaching at age 30. On the night of his arrest Jesus went, “as usual” Luke 22:39, to the Mount of Olives. Though he knew shame, disgrace and humiliation awaited him there. Timeliness, not delay, motivated him. He approached Lazarus’ tomb, John 11:34-35, with tears in his eyes and trouble in his mind. But by going directly there he performed the greatest miracle of his career, knowing it would bring his death at the behest of the Sanhedrin. He had much the same experience in Gethsemane. He went beyond the three disciples in an agony of distress, facing the certainty of separation from God’s presence for the first time EVER. In the turmoil between emotion and reason he momentarily sought avoidance of the Cross, but as quickly submitted to God’s will. Because he accepted God’s will he won the battle of Calvary in the Garden of Gethsemane. He ENDURED the Cross for the JOY set before him Hebrews 12:2. May we all go and do likewise when facing the Master’s demand that we deny ourselves daily and take up his cross! First, an addendum to Thursday’s 9 January blog. I should have added the following to “Go to Hell.” “That isn’t a profanity, but a punishment. Hell is a place, not an oath. No one wants to be sent there. Anyone going there will have but one regret: but it will be savage and eternal.”
Now for today’s blog. Many Christians instinctively fear the loss of faith by associating with the unsaved. That naturally keeps them in the company of the saved, their comfort zone. But it reflects an Old Testament perspective, not a New Testament reality. God ordered the extermination of Canaan’s seven nations when Joshua led the invasion. That protected an incipient nation-in-the-making from the depravity the seven regularly practiced as essential to their religion, resulting in ever worse public behavior. It also recognized the inability of Israel’s Law-based religion to resist and eventually convert heathen. Indeed, brilliantly-gifted ancient Israel never approached basic success in mastering the science of obedience into an art. They never ceased being attracted to the gods and goddesses of satanic religions. Throughout their history, a bare minimum of kings, covering a bare minimum of years, conscientiously sought God’s will. Jesus himself dramatized and inspired in his believers an entirely new concept. He actively associated with, and as willingly ate with, those even Judaism proscribed: tax collectors, demon-possessed, lepers, women of various groups, Gentile officials, etc. He always concentrated on what those people, and even the upper-classes would have, gained, had they not been so religiously arrogant. He knew how they would profit by his being with them, not what it cost him to get involved. He never feared personal contamination because... while he identified with sinners, he mentally, morally and spiritually divorced himself from their practices and perversions. Therefore, heirs of an all-conquering faith established by the all-overcoming Christ, Christians should cultivate relationships with non-believers. Our very willingness to do so will develop opportunities to bear witness to and evangelize the unforgiven. We need be aware only of this caveat. If the association increases faith in the unchurched, continue it. If it weakens ours, discontinue it. It is of no value to lose our soul while trying to save another person’s. In The Federalist Papers Alexander Hamilton critiqued the critics of the proposed Constitution, who decried its lack of a bill of “rights.” Hamilton trenchantly noted that the absence in such a “bill” in several states’ constitutions didn’t prevent avid support by its citizens.
States’ defenders claimed that state constitutions had implied rights which meant the same as a “bill” since the constitutions were broadly based on British rules and laws. To which Hamilton replied that the U.S. Constitution also had such implied rights, and named several Articles. The Federalist Papers, 532 Nevertheless, only the addition of the first Ten Amendments—the Bill of Rights—to the Constitution guaranteed its passage. Unlike America’s Constitution, God’s Biblical Message has never been amended, Old or New Testaments. Nor does it need amendments; nor will it tolerate amendments. Jesus resolved that issue when he declared that any plant God hadn’t planted in his word would be deracinated Matthew 15:13. His glaring defiance of human additions to and subtractions from Bible teaching hasn’t stopped human additions and subtractions. But it does emphatically warn us that ONLY God’s WORD remains after Judgment. Which also explains how perfect unity exists in God’s new Heaven and earth. Since God obliterates all religious belief that disagrees with his revealed word, any such belief now embraced WILL NOT exist. The devotees of such beliefs will find them “burned up,” and themselves “saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.” That is, fortunate that God graciously accepts them though rejecting their mistaken doctrines. The same principle applies to individual opinions now held. Some doubt Jesus performed “such and such a miracle,” or taught “such and such a doctrine.” Anyone who remains unconvinced about anything the Gospels’ say Jesus said or did may be saved, but again, only “as if miraculously escaping from a fire.” Nothing, Jesus declared in Matthew 15:13, exists in God’s Presence, that doubts, disagrees or compromises God’s Word. He has given us NO BILL of RIGHTS to protect our individual opinions! Only his Word remains in the end. The same principle applies to any personality trait that’s now negative, unproductive and anti-Christian. All such will vanish from us, as if we’re escaping with our lives from a vast fire. Now...if we don’t want to live in such a world. If we insist we can’t be happy if someone we have loved won’t be there because he wouldn’t live in such a world. If we persist in holding any position though God says he won’t accept it. If we demand the right to a belief that satisfies us, though it opposes God and Christ, God tells us: We Can Go To Hell! Dean Acheson, who served as President Truman’s Secretary of State, wrote about the difficulty of interacting with Russian diplomats. This with the cold war raging after WWII. He said that any conversation ended with either sardonic or ridiculous comments from them. And any discussion ended in frustration and boredom.
Acheson surmised one of two reasons. First, the diplomats dared not speak what they really thought. Second, they so deeply believed what they parroted as a party line that they considered all opposing views blind to truth. In either case, no personal relationship could be established. The Russians had nothing to say in private, in social conversation, over cocktails, around a table, that differed from their public statements. They were NOT persons, thinking, but robots spouting artificial intelligence. Which leads to a spiritual truth. We may communicate with many people, but we have meaningful fellowship only with our companion disciples of Christ. Who accept their humanity with its flaws, failures, mistakes, sins and limitations. We grant patience to other Christians in their ordeals since we need unquestioned loving support through our trials. Christians never need to take themselves seriously. We have multiple reasons NOT TO. But that only begins our fellowship in Christ. For our trust lies in the Christ who: insists we look beyond ourselves to HIM in every situation Hebrews 12:2. (Note: the writer urged us to look steadfastly at Jesus, not at the crowd of witnesses in Hebrews 11. They, like us, are but mortals.) Jesus alone as the WORD of God made flesh makes the difference in us being merely sinful mortals without hope of ever being anything more. AND being forgiven sinful mortals blessed with inevitable growth in discipleship now and promised NO LIMITATIONS in our perfected humanity in God’s new world. Amen. Judy made lasagna a while back. Very good. Tasty. Worth having more. Following what recipe I never knew. I did ask if she used eggs. Which brought a page of internet opinions about the use of eggs in the dish.
The Egg Traditionalists. One said she always used eggs. If she didn’t, the cheese wouldn’t turn firm. Another said she didn’t know why her lasagna always turned sloppy, but didn’t know it was the absence of eggs. Another said she used egg substitute because egg was necessary, and the substitute became the binding agent without the fat. Still another said her trial without eggs ended with molten cheese oozing like lava from Vesuvius. The Non-Egg Innovators. One had tried it with and without, and saw no difference. Another never used eggs, simply spread the cheeses out over the ricotta. Another said she used eggs, with success while her mom didn’t, with equal success. Still another said she experimented both with and without eggs, without seeing any difference. The Possible Conclusion. There may not be one way to create lasagna. Any method need not be dogmatic that it’s the one and only way. Spiritual Point. Is there a spiritual truth in the lasagna mystery? Of course. There is only one way where there’s only ONE WAY. And that’s found in Christ’s answer to Thomas in John 14:6. “Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’” Whatever anyone, and that means ANYONE, may say about getting to Heaven, NO ONE enters there unless Jesus Christ permits his entrance. He doesn’t answer our question, “What if someone hasn’t heard of Jesus?” He won’t satisfy our curiosity how he IS the Only Way to God. He simply IS and his ALL AUTHORITY in Heaven and on earth makes it real. Christians need never be shy of repeating what Jesus said. They never need to apologize for repeating it. And they never need to explain it. Jesus said it. That settles it. By the way, if no one accepts it, Christ still settles it! A story in Woman’s World, August 8, 2000, featured a woman who had inherited thick, heavy thighs from her mother, who had inherited it from hers, and so on. Since exercise and diet wouldn’t eliminate the problem she decided to forego wearing pantsuits. She also hated wearing shapeless dresses.
Editors of the Woman’s World offered to help. They suggested a “modern” pantsuit in a “monochromatic” color. This writer didn’t know pantsuits could be modern or out-of-date. He did know that monochromatic is one color. He clearly saw the spiritual point. We can hide a bad complexion under make-up, big legs in pants and heavy hips in stylish clothes. And only those who know us more personally will KNOW. And they won’t care one way or the other. Governments keep secrets. Corporations keep secrets. Persons keep secrets. But a day comes when all secrets are revealed. Let us be very sure that God’s Day of Judgment won’t reveal any sin we successfully hid from ourselves, strangers or friends. Forever unforgiven sin is revealed on that Day. Denying we have big bottoms or short legs isn’t a sin, but denying that we’re sinners only increases its destructive impact on our lives. It never removes or reduces the presence and guilt sin invariably brings. Hiding and denying our sin; excusing or justifying our sin; refusing to admit our guilt as sinners; hoping to balance our guilt with enough good deeds to win God’s favor—or any other way we use to avoid admitting, I’m a sinner,” only exacerbates our condition. God wants to free us from the power of sin by releasing us through forgiveness from the presence of sin. How thankful we can be that “God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” Romans 5:8. Thanks be to God for this amazing gift. |
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