February 20

EXODUS 3
With the exception of the appearance of the Lord Jesus Christ, this chapter begins the record of the greatest theophany found in the Bible. (A theophany is an appearance of God.) Books have literally been written on this chapter. How can I have just one little meditation on this chapter?
Why did God choose to appear as a burning bush? This metaphor of God as a consuming fire runs deep in Scripture. See Ex. 24:17; Deut. 4:24; 9:3; & Hebrews 12:29 plus a host of other images of his burning anger. We can talk all we want about the grace of God, yet at the same time we must remember that He is also a holy God. His holiness consumes what is not holy. The fire image is quite a fearful thing. But wait, listen to what this consuming fire says, “I have surely seen the oppression . . . I know their sorrows. 8“So I have come down to deliver . . .”
This really is more than what one can grasp in one sitting. Moses asks a very reasonable question, “What is Your name?” For a person of His culture and time, that was a way of asking, “Who are you? What are you like?” Moses could see this consuming fire that did not consume things. He knew of the oppression of his people. He had experienced the impotence of his own ability to deliver. His life had seemed like a colossal waste. Yet his senses could not deny what he was seeing and hearing. Who is this God that had not yet delivered and had been seemingly unavailable?
What was God’s answer? “I am that I am.” To a perfectly good question he receives what would seem at first a smart-aleck answer. But think on it. How else could an infinite God explain Himself to a finite man? He is what He is. Since He is infinite, the best way to learn what He is like is by experience. If it is through experience that we learn to know Him, then He is what He is. The next 40 years are experiences where Moses will learn what God is like and who He is. Some things that Moses will learn are that God sees the oppression of His people; He knows their sorrows; He comes down to deliver. In the midst of that deliverance, God’s fire consumes all that is not holy. What is holy remains and is made pure. It is not consumed. Hmmm. . . There is a lot to think about here. Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john

PSALM 51
Just six days ago, I was staying in the New Park Hotel in Amman, Jordan. When you step out of the hotel and look up, you can see the northeast corner of the citadel of the ancient city. Down toward the western end of the citadel archaeologists have found the foundations of what they believe to be a palace belonging to an ancient king of Rabbah Ben Ammon. That was the city to which Joab was laying siege when David made his infamous decision to stay at home rather than go out to war. It was somewhere around here that David had Joab put Uriah in the hottest part of the battle and then withdraw so that Uriah would be killed. It is a rugged area to be attempting a siege. I could see how a blunder could be staged that that would yield the desired outcome without inflicting large losses upon one’s own troops.
Just a few days before I was at the New Park Hotel, I was in the City of David looking at the Archeological Park. Archeologist Eilat Mazar has located there what she believes to be the remains of David’s palace. It sits at the northwest corner of David’s old city. The old City of David barely covers 12 acres, is long and skinny, and steeply slopes from the lowest point in the south to the highest in the north. At Mazar’s location David’s palace would not have to be very tall to overlook every house in town. Moreover, the archeological park indicates that a royal quarter of houses surrounded the palace, meaning David’s most trusted military men and civil officials probably lived very close by. I wonder if it was common practice for women to bathe on their rooftop. If not, what was Bathsheba doing up there? If so, David knew that being there alone would escort him into the area of lustful thoughts. He went there anyway.
Whatever the causes, David was almost literally “caught with his pants down,” not only with the adultery but also with the cover-up murder. David tried to hide his sin. He denied, denied, denied, even to himself. How long had the desire for God gone dry before he knew it was gone? How long was it before he experienced the realization that he was no longer in fellowship with God? How long was it before he realized that his private sin was public knowledge? Was it really only when Nathan the prophet came to him? When and how did this overwhelming remorse take him so that he penned this Psalm? It seems to me that this sin was so premeditated that the answer to all these questions is, “He knew it all along, but refused to consciously recognize it.” If man of whom God implied was ‘a man after His own heart’ could be caught that way, how much more can I?
David’s desperation for cleansing and renewal and forgiveness wash through this Psalm. His confession had to be made public for in a sense his was a public sin. O sure, the thought processes which led to the private bedroom act were all private. Sure, the arrangements for Uriah’s murder were private, but the consequences had public results. Ultimately, it was only against God that he had sinned, but in the process he sinned against Bathsheba, taking from her that which she should only have given her husband. He sinned against Uriah, taking from him that which belonged only to him as Bathsheba’s husband. He sinned against Uriah, taking his life from him. But David knew that ultimately, as the Creator, these all belonged to God. He sinned against God. The fellowship was gone, and he knew it.
Here is where the Glory of Jesus comes in. Jesus does not just wink at the sin. He desires and demands truth in our hidden parts, but when He brings us to the point (which may feel like our bones are being broken) where we see and acknowledge the truth, He brings forgiveness. He does purge us. He does wash us whiter than snow. He does create in us a clean heart. He does renew a steadfast spirit—David had one before Bathsheba, and he would have one again. God does restore His presence. He does this so that other sinners may come to repentance and be converted. He does it so that we might experience true change and experience Him. He wants me to experience Him. David lived the rest of his life in the ignominious circumstances resulting from his sin, but nevertheless, he experienced God once again. Now that is glory! Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john

JOB 20
Julias Caesar became dictator/emperor of Rome around 48 b.c. bringing an end to the Roman Republic. Some would say that this was and evil. He did not last too long. He was assassinated in March of 44, only 4 years of rule. However, the republic never recovered. The empire continued with a legacy of evil emperors for 400 years. One might say that evil reigned for a long time.
One of modern history’s all-time bad guys, Adolf Hitler, came to power in 1933. In April of 1945 in the face eminent defeat, he and his bride committed suicide, and their bodies were destroyed by fire. He reigned only 12 years, in terms of world history, only a short time. In those twelve years his regime managed to execute around 18 million people and bring countless heartaches to people across the globe by the wars he began. Was his triumph but for a short time? Ask the families of those most closely affected and they would probably say it was too long. Compare it to eternity, and it was but a short time.
Is it true that the triumph of the wicked is but for a short time? Zophar is provoked by Job’s protestations that he is innocent. “Surely,” he thinks, “Job is suffering because he has committed something wicked, and God has brought something evil upon him to bring justice against his wickedness.” He considers the present fall of Job to be the just recompense of some sin that Job has committed. He brings the full brunt of his argument against Job.
Is it the glory of God to bring a short end to the triumph of evil? Certainly it is His glory to triumph over evil, but is there also a place in God’s economy for longsuffering and patience giving the evil person time to repent? Certainly it would seem so. If that is true, then is it not also true that those who are evil may harm others in their path? It would seem so. It would seem that the only alternative is to never allow evil to exist in the first place. To do that would eliminate the possibility of choice. I am convinced that I have the power of choice. It seems to be consistent with the reality that I see around me. That power of choice explains why evil exists. Certainly God will bring an end to the triumph of evil, but it will be in his time.
So whenever I am tempted to judge someone has committed evil because I see them in misery, I had better remember, “It is the glory of God to wait for judgment. I had better wait on my evaluation of another’s misery. It is better to extend mercy to them, for I myself may someday be in their shoes.” That is His glory. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john

MARK 2
Isn’t it funny how we get hung up on forms. A friend of mine told me of a family member who was receiving training to be a notary. In her training she was told that if someone didn’t fill out the forms properly, she, of course, was not to notarize the paper. Now that is understandable. But she was also instructed not to tell people how to fill out the form properly. Why? Because that would be giving legal advice. They are hung up on a form of a different sort.
The people of Jesus’ day were no different. Jesus said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.” How outrageous! Only GOD can forgive sins! Well, Duh! Only God can heal! Jesus did not fit their form for Deity. Jesus went to eat with the tax collectors and sinners. The form says that a holy man does not eat with sinners; then, how can sinners find out how to have their sin removed? Jesus did not fit their form of separation from sin. Even the disciples of John the Baptist did not get it. J.B. taught his disciples a form of fasting – a sign of mourning over sin and its ensuing separation from God. But God was with them in the flesh! Jesus did not fit their form of fasting. Then there was the form of the Sabbath. All through the ages people have tried to push the envelope on the form of work on the Sabbath. What constitutes work and what doesn’t? But the point was not to give man the proper forms to fill out in the proper way. The point was to give man relief from everyday pursuits to focus on the One who created the form, the One who gives him meaning, to focus on God. They made the form the point rather than God.
The kingdom of God isn’t about forms of the kingdom. It is about Him! It is about His glory! That is why we have to cut through the forms and see the glory! What is the glory? He is the God who forgives sin! The forgiveness of our sin will one day lead to our healing. Fasting has its place—if we are mourning over a lack of seeing His glory. The Sabbath was given so that we could spend a day focusing on His glory. It is not about defining what forms of work we can and cannot do. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor John