February 25, 2010

Exodus 8

Do you enjoy frog legs? The Egyptians had their fill of them. Remember yesterday we talked about how the Lord, will slay our gods in order to increase the glory of His name? Here are three examples of the Lord‘s god-slaying passion. The Egyptians had a frog-god called Heqt or Heket. If he were real, he would be responsible for controlling the frog population for the Egyptians. So, the Lord demonstrates His power over Heket. Isn’t it funny that the court magicians could only add to the number of frogs rather than to reverse what the Lord had done to afflict Heket? Pharaoh promised anything for relief. Now, he is beginning to recognize, to experience, the Lord. So also, are the Egyptians and the Israelites.

Pharaoh hardened his own heart after gaining some relief from the frogs. When he reneged on his promise, the Lord slew the god of the dust, the earth-god, Geb. Some sort of insect, lice, mosquitoes, sand fleas or gnats, rose up out of the ground to terrorize the people. It was at this point that the magicians could neither add to nor relieve the problem. They recognized that this was the ‘finger of God’, the real God not the convenient thing upon which they daily relied.

You know with all these heaps of dead rotting frogs lying around, one would expect the number of flies to increase. The plague here is swarms. Most translations put in italics after swarms “of flies”. Literally it is a “mixture of noisome beasts.” I think it was their sacred beetle, the scarab. Many scarabs made of gold have been found in the tombs. These were sacred to the sun-god Ra. Do you think the Lord was having fun slaying the false gods? The Lord is keeping it clear to everyone what He is doing by keeping the plague away from Israel. Pharaoh is beginning to soften. He found the Israelite worship offensive. Maybe he could let Israel go a little ways across the border. But the Lord would accept nothing but the slaying of the gods who vied against Him for the worship of man.

The Lord will accept nothing in our own lives but worship of Himself alone. Indeed, if He is God Almighty, nothing else should be there. Part of our experience of His glory is the slaying of other gods. If we don’t slay the other gods, He will. Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today!

--Pastor john

Mark 5:1-21

When I lived in Norman, my back yard bordered a graveyard. Was it significant that when we first moved in, the previous resident had hung garlic in the rafters of the garage, which was the closest building to the graveyard? I guess I’ll never know, but I will always wonder. I took the garlic down. Sometimes people have a preoccupation with death, particularly when the powers of darkness hold sway over their lives.

The area Mark calls the country of the Gadarenes or Gerasenes is on the far eastern side of the Sea of Galilee. “No towns or villages exist along the lake’s narrow eastern shore because cliffs several thousand feet high rise up from near the water’s edge. The steep cliffs are less pronounced the farther south one proceeds toward Gadara, situated on the heights several thousand feet above the Jordan Valley” [1] The cliffs are riddled with caves which made them very useful for tombs, especially since the rough terrain made it difficult to live there. It was a Gentile area, hence the heard of swine.

As the Lord embarks from the lake and up the steep terrain to find the nearest town, He and the disciples are met by the demoniac coming out of the tombs. This man was more than the village idiot. He was strong enough to break iron bonds. He was preoccupied with death, living in the tombs. He would cut himself with stones. (It is interesting that as our culture increases its flight away from Christianity that the number of young people who are into cutting is rising.) He was tormented constantly by the unclean spirits. He came out to meet Jesus. The demons recognized Jesus and knew who He was. They knew His power. They knew His glory. They begged to remain in the region. But Jesus had come to set men free. He had come to set this one man free. He came to serve this one man. The King of Glory came for this one man. He released the man.

The multitude of demons rushed into a herd of swine (unclean animals according to Old Testament Law). The pigs would rather be dead than inhabited by demons. (It is interesting that humans would rather be inhabited by demons.) They rushed off the cliffs and perished in the sea. Now two thousand pigs in today’s economy could easily be worth $250,000.00. This was a significant loss of income for the local people. Hearing of their loss, they came out to see what happened. They found the man clothed, in his right mind and talking with Jesus. The witnesses informed the residents of what they saw. The residents pleaded with Jesus to leave. Why? Their initial concern was more related to their income than the fact that the village embarrassment had been set free. Their income was more important than the Glory. If He stayed around, they might lose more pigs. Alas it appeared that Jesus and the 12 had come all this way for just the one man. But that is part of the glory of Jesus. He will sometimes move heaven and earth to set free just one person, who cries out to Him in truth.

But the story doesn’t end here. The former demoniac wants to come with Jesus. Who can blame him? But Jesus would not permit it. He made him stay and tell the others what the Lord had done for him. In Mark 7:31-37 Jesus returns to the area. This time he has an astonishing ministry among the residents. I believe this former demoniac prepared the way.

Today as the use of drugs has risen and interest in eastern religions has risen, so also segments of our culture have seen a corresponding rise in preoccupation with death and cutting oneself. Listening to Dawson McAlister Live, I have come to realize that there are a number of young people out there that are bound in cutting themselves.

There is One whose glory will set them free, if they could but see it. Jesus does it with a word. He breaks the bonds of those imprisoned in the strongest chains and sets them free. How we need to speak His glory! Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!

--Pastor John



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[1]Radmacher, E. D., Allen, R. B., & House, H. W. 1999. Nelson's new illustrated Bible commentary . T. Nelson Publishers: Nashville