Archive for January, 2009

The Wisdom of Solomon

January 27, 2009 at 11:58 am · Filed under Old testament ·Tagged , ,

King solomon

 

1 Kings 3:5-15

Seeing Barack Obama taking the oath at his inauguration the other day I couldn’t help but feel sorry for him. He has had a tremendous moment of triumph – the very first African American to become President of the USA -  but now the work begins. He is  a man of great idealism, but now his ideals will be tested by the realities of politics. Someone once said, “Politics is the art of the possible” ( actually it was Bismarck who first said this). You can’t be in politics if you are unable to compromise.
People’s  expectations of Obama are so high. He needs wisdom, and humility, and faith, to  bring him through. And we should pray for him.

I also couldn’t but help thinking of King Solomon who, you will recall, was in a similar situation and prayed that God would give him, not wealth or power, but wisdom to know how to rule his people.

There is quite a lot about Solomon in the Second Book of Chronicles and the First Book of Kings – all about his achievements, his wisdom, his wealth, his power.

What we really need at this point is an overview of his life. So, with a bit of imagination, let us step into Solomon’s sandals. Let’s imagine how he might have viewed things towards the end of his life as he looked back over his achievements and failures. We can use the Book of Ecclesiastes to guide us here. (Many scholars believe that Ecclesiastes was written by Solomon, towards the end of his life.)

 

Solomon’s story

I am Solomon, son of David, king in Jerusalem. My empire is wide – from the mighty River Euphrates,  to the land of the Philistines, and down as far as the border with Egypt. All the kings of Arabia pay tribute to me – 23 tons of gold per year! During my reign I have been immensely wealthy. Gold is  plentiful, silver is regarded as a common metal and cedar wood just like common fig wood. But, you know, I have found no satisfaction in my wealth. It all seems empty – all is vanity.

Nor have I found happiness in the pursuit of pleasure. I enjoyed the finest of food, wore the most sumptuous garments and was entertained by the most skilled musicians, dancers and poets. I was attended by the most beautiful women. Indeed, I had at one time 700 wives, all of royal birth from the surrounding nations, as well as 300 concubines. There really was nothing a man could want that I lacked. But I was not happy – there was no real satisfaction, all was vanity.

I had wide interests: the pursuit of knowledge took up a lot of my time. I became a philosopher and scientist. I studied trees and herbs,  animals and birds, reptiles and fish. I sought out knowledge and wisdom, but it didn’t make me happy.

 I was renowned for my wisdom in judging the people. On one occasion two prostitutes were disputing about the ownership of a baby. I ruled that the child should be cut in half and shared between the two. Immediately one of the women said,  “Don’t do it, don’t kill him! Let her have him, but don’t kill him.” But the other woman said, “Cut him in half! If I can’t have him I don’t see why she should.”
I knew then which woman to give the baby to. The first one, even if she was not the real mother, was the one who deserved to bring up the child – rather than the other prostitute who was a  bitter and hard-hearted woman.

The people were in awe of my ability to administer justice. They came from far and wide to see me. Even the Queen of Sheba came, all the way from southern Arabia. She brought vast wealth – four tons of gold as well as gem stones and precious spices. She tested me with hard questions: about philosophy, about God, about the natural world, and also about the world of trade and politics. And she admitted that she was impressed.

Now, I don’t want you to think I am boasting. All that I have said is true. I’m just trying to get you to see that none of this adulation brought me true joy or meaning to life. All was vanity.

 

 Youthful hope

When I was a young man God had appeared to me in a dream. He said to me, “Ask for whatever you want”.
I said, “ Now, O Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties.
Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number.   So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?”         (1 kings 3:7-9)

At that point I felt that I really needed wisdom and discernment more than anything else. And God was pleased to gave it to me – as well as wealth, power, and honour.

If only I had continued in the way I started! I was humble then. I really wanted God’s help and guidance. I wasn’t seeking a life of pleasure and dissipation. But later that’s what I came too. And it was worse than that – it wasn’t just worldliness. You see: I compromised my faith in the Lord.

 

Middle age compromise

Now, politics is the art of the possible  -  you do have to make compromises. And I  had to make alliances with Egypt, and with the Hittites, and Sidonians, and numerous other nations, if I was to consolidate my power. That was the reason for all those wives. (Did you think it was just that I liked women? ) You see,  you make an alliance by marrying the daughter of the king of  that country, and I had to make many alliances. (I’m not making excuses here, I didn’t need to make 700 alliances!)

The real problem was not just the number of wives. The real problem was that these women were pagans. God had forbidden us from marrying pagans but I disregarded his Law. My devotion to him wavered. I built houses for my foreign wives and then I built private chapels for them to worship their gods. I shudder now when I think of it.

I followed Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians.  On a hill east of Jerusalem, I, Solomon built a shrine for Chemosh the detestable god of Moab, and for Molech the detestable god of the Ammonites. I did the same for all my foreign wives, who burned incense and offered sacrifices to their gods.      (1 kings 11:5-8 )

As if that were not enough, I even joined my wives in the worship of these gods. And the Lord was angry with me. Through his prophet he has said that he will split the kingdom after my day and my son will only inherit a small part of it.

 

Old age regrets

Now, in my old age, I repent. Now I am sorry – but it’s too late. Yes, God will forgive me but I can’t undo the harm I have done by my actions.  Now I realise the difference between true wisdom and mere knowledge. What good was all my science, all my trading acumen, all my wealth if I did not obey the Lord ? Was that true wisdom? What wise man has a thousand wives and concubines?

Now, in my old age I have come to see the meaning of true wisdom.

 

Here it is in the Book of Ecclesiastes:
“Meaningless! Meaningless! says the Teacher. Everything is meaningless!”
(Ecclesiastes 12:8)    Without God, you see, all is vanity.

“Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.”
 (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14)

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Called by name

January 19, 2009 at 1:25 am · Filed under New Testament, Old testament ·Tagged

Samuel and Eli

Names are funny things -  although perhaps it’s that people are funny about names! Often, when I visit people in hospital I have difficulty finding the patients – they are in hospital under a different name from the one I know them by. You’d be surprised how many people use their middle name in everyday life, but on all official records  are known by their first name. And then some folk like to be called by a name they have chosen for themselves or by a nickname.  I wonder how many of you here are known by a different name than the first name on your birth certificate.

Names are very personal and the closer you are to a person the more free you can be with their name – changing it perhaps to some shortened or diminutive form. 

What about our realtionship with God then? If God were to address me personally by name,  would he use my surname like a schoolmaster of the old school? “Jenkins, come her at once!”. No. I’ve never heard God audibly call my name but I am sure that if he did  he would call me David. Jesus tells us that he is the Good Shepherd and the Good Shepherd knows each one of his sheep by name and calls them individually by name.

My dog knows his name but sometime he chooses not to hear it and doesn’t respond. ( That’s what you get with a willful Jack Russell terrier!) Do we respond to God’s call or are we blocking it out?

You know, the whole Bible is full of occasions when God spoke to people individually.  On some occasions we actually have it recorded that God addressed them by name.

We’re going to look at some of these now.  (I don’t claim this  is an exhaustive list and I haven’t included those occasions when it is the angel of the Lord, rather than the Lord himself, who calls the person.)

Samuel

Samuel is the first one that springs to mind – the favourite Old Testament Bible story of so many people(1Samuel, chapter 3).  There’s this young boy  (we don’t know exactly how old he is) helping the Priests and Levites at God’s shrine in Shiloh. Presumably he helped to light the lamps and fetch water and wood. And he slept there, on the premises of God’s house.

And in the night God called: “Samuel! Samuel!”  At first Samuel didn’t recognize it as the voice of God -  but Eli the chief priest  knew.
“Go back down, and if he calls you again say, ‘Speak, Lord, your servant is listening’.”

God’s call came to Samuel when he was just a boy. It was a call be a prophet – to bring God’s message to the people of Israel. And that very first message was one of judgement on Eli’s house for the blasphemy of his sons.

Over the years, as Samuel grew up, God spoke words of wisdom and guidance for the nation through his lips. Today God can still speak through the lips of a child.

Elijah

 Another prophet of God. You remember how God had used him in a mighty contest of power against the prophets of Baal.  And after it was all over Elijah felt exhausted.  When Queen Jezabel threatened his life he panicked and ran off into the wilderness. Eventually Elijah he made his way to Mount Horeb and retreated into a cave  – completely depressed and full of self-pity.

 God said: “What are you doing here, Elijah?” ( 1 Kings 19: 9)

It was a challenge to Elijah to get back to the task for which God had called him.  God ministered tenderly to Elijah and then sent him back, renewed in spirit, to appoint kings and leaders of nations.

God’s call to Elijah had been a challenge to get back on track. We all need that sometimes in our own lives.

Abraham

The severest test of all was when God called Abraham by name. Previously the Lord had called him to leave his home and move to a new land. He had learned to life the life of faith  – trusting in God. His faith had been rewarded when Sarah had given birth to Isaac, the child of the promise.  All God’s promised were to be fulfilled through that child.
 

Now comes the test:  God calls him by name

Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, Abraham! Here I am, he replied.
Then God said, Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about.              ( Genesis 22: 1-2)

The amazing thing is that Abraham obeyed, even though God had promised that through his son Isaac he would bring blessings to the whole world. All the promises were bound up in Isaac.

Abraham was prepared to do the unthinkable – to sacrifice Isaac if that was what God wanted of him. He believed that, if necessary, God could bring Isaac back from the dead (or so we are told in the New Testament  – Hebrews 11:19)

Abraham was ready with the knife to slay his son when God called again – this time through his angel.

But the angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven, Abraham! Abraham! Here I am, he replied.
Do not lay a hand on the boy, he said. Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.
(Genesis 22: 11-12)

We see why Abraham  is regarded as the greatest person of faith in the Old Testament – the father of all who believe.

God calls to each of us, at times, to make sacrifices for the sake of his Kingdom. We should be thankful that it is not of the order of magnitude of the test experienced by Abraham.

Let’s go to the New Testament now, and think of some of the people Jesus spoke to by name:

Zacchaeus

This is a favourite New Testament Bible story for so many people: the little man who was so hated by the people that no one would let him through the crowd to see Jesus. He was rich  but there was something lacking in his life. He wanted to see Jesus and he wanted his life to change, so he took the unconventional path. I think climbing a tree when you are no longer young is very unconventional and a sure sign of determination. Zachaeus sat there among the foliage thinking no one would notice him. But Jesus looked up and spoke to Zacchaeus by name.

When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.     ( Luke 19: 5)

 Jesus invited himself to  Zacchaeus’s house.  Perhaps we need to realize that he invites himself in to our lives. Are we going to open the door for him and eagerly welcome him in the way Zacchaeus  did?

Simon Peter

Well, we know how Jesus called Simon and gave him the new name of Peter, the rock. Not because Simon was a rock at that time but because Jesus saw he was capable of becoming one.  (John 2: 42)

Later, you recall, Peter denied his Lord and wept bitterly over his failure. After the Resurrection Jesus appeared to his disciples on the lake shore. And he spoke to Peter by name:

When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these? Yes, Lord, he said, you know that I love you. Jesus said, Feed my lambs.     (John 21: 15)

Do you love me?  Does he not ask that question of us also? Do you love me more than all these other things  in your life – all this stuff?  Do you love me?

Martha

One day Jesus went to the house of the sisters Martha and Mary. Mary was sitting at his feet and lapping up his every word – she really wanted to hear what Jesus had to say and to learn from him. But Martha was preoccupied with getting the meal to the table. She had no time to sit and listen. She was under stress and felt at that moment that getting the food ready was the most important thing of all. In her desire to honour Jesus she had forgotten the purpose of his visit, which was to talk with them about the things of God. A hot meal seemed, at that moment, to be more important than the words of Jesus.

But Jesus spoke to her by name:

Martha, Martha, the Lord answered, you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.                       (Luke 10: 41- 42)

Jesus was giving a gentle rebuke to Martha. It’s not that he didn’t want her to serve him a meal: it’s just that the things he was saying about God’s kingdom were of paramount importance. He would rather she sat at his feet, like Mary.

And are we not also sometimes likely to be so concerned about serving the Lord that we fail to listen to his words?

Lazarus

He was the brother of Martha and Mary. What an amazing thing: he died of a fatal illness and he was in the tomb for four days!  When Jesus came, he ordered them to roll away the stone. Then he addressed  Lazarus by name.  He stood at the mouth of the tomb and cried in a loud voice: “Lazarus, come forth!”  And the dead man came out of the tomb, still wrapped up in strips of cloth like a mummy. But he was no longer dead!

“I am the Resurrection and the Life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live”, Jesus had said previously, and Martha had believed him. (John 11:25)

Have we heard the voice of Jesus calling us from the spiritual death of sin and selfishness to a new life of love and faith in his service?

Mary Magdalene

On the first Easter Day Mary Magdalene stood by the empty tomb of Jesus, weeping. She thought someone had taken his body. Then the risen Lord stood by her and addressed her by name:

“Mary!”

“Master!”, she cried ecstatically – and she clung to him.    (John 20:16)

So Mary Magdalene became the very first person to meet the risen Lord and to hear his voice calling her name.

 Today the Living Lord calls us by name.
“David!” he says …
“Jane!” …                              (fill in your own name here).

 And do we respond: “Master!” ?

We read in the Book of Acts of the Risen Lord speaking to another person. This time it was a number of years after the Resurrection and Ascension and Jesus spoke from heaven.

Saul of Tarsus

Saul was on the road to Damascus, on his way to persecute the Christians. Suddenly, a light from heaven beamed like a searchlight
He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?                               (Acts 9: 4)

Saul was blind for three days and he fasted and prayed. And God called a man called Ananais by name:

In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, Ananias! Yes, Lord, he answered.  (Acts 9: 10)
Go to Saul and lay hands on him so that he may regain his sight.
Ananias did what the Lord had told him.

“Brother Saul!” he said, to the man who, three days earlier, had been seeking to imprison him!

And Saul was healed, and baptized, and filled with the Holy Spirit.

 God does call us to do difficult things sometimes. Ananias had to go to his enemy and heal him. Saul had to admit he had been totally wrong, he had to repent and he had to believe in Jesus.

God challenges us when he called us by name. But what wonders of joy there are for those who respond to his call!

 

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The Baptism of Jesus

January 15, 2009 at 10:21 pm · Filed under Christian living, Jesus Christ ·Tagged , , ,

 Mark 1: 1-11

A  bystander’s view

Hello my name is  Jacob. I was brought up in Jerusalem and taught the Law of God. The rabbis taught us all about God’s commandments. There were also some who spoke of the coming of the Messiah – Gods anointed one. And also of the one who was going to come before, in the spirit and power of Elijah.

When I heard of that, I felt a stirring in my soul – a yearning to know God. I wanted to be able to talk to him but I felt that my sins were a barrier between myself and the Lord. For God is holy and perfect and can not look upon sin. But I felt myself to be unholy and far from perfect. I would always fall down on some commandment or another.  How could I break our of this cycle of failure?

Then one day a strange figure appeared in the wilderness of Judea. He was called John and he looked just like the prophet Elijah of old -  even down to his garments! Like Elijah he wore a rough camel-hair garment and an untanned leather belt. His hair was wild and unkept and he ate locusts and wild honey. His message was also similar to that of Elijah: “Repent of your sins!”, he said, “God will forgive you and you can be dipped in the River Jordan as a sign of cleansing.” When I heard about that I went out to see John at the River Jordan. There were hundreds of others going out to hear John’s fiery message. We were stirred, we were moved by the Spirit of God. We confessed our sins and failures before God and implored his forgiveness. And then John baptized us in the river.

I had seen Gentile converts being baptized – when they were cleansed from their old Gentile way of life – but I had never before seen Jews baptized in this way. As the water flowed over my body it felt as if all my sins were being washed away – but really it was only water washing my body. John insisted that he was not the Messiah himself – he was just preparing the way for him.
 
This was his message: After me will come one more powerful than I, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I baptise you with water, but he will baptise you with the Holy Spirit.   (Mark 1:7 -8  )
 I desperately wanted to know this experience of the Holy Spirit – that cleansing which would truly wash away my sins in a way that the waters of the Jordan  never really could.

And then, a few days later, he came -  Jesus of Nazareth. They say he was a relative of John – a cousin or something like that. His father was Joseph, the carpenter in Nazareth, and he was of the line of King David. This is just as foretold in the prophets of the Messiah. I learned later that he was actually born in Bethlehem, King David’s town, the very place the prophets had foretold.

Well, Jesus came up to John and asked to be baptized. John didn’t want to baptize him.  “I need to be baptized by you,” he said, “and do you come to me?”
I think John felt very strongly that he was not worthy. He was aware that he was not sinless, and that Jesus was. You see, Jesus didn’t need to be baptized as a sign of forgiveness of sins but he wanted to go through with it to identify with all the people there who wanted to go God’s way in their lives. I think he saw it as an act of dedication to the work God was calling him to. So he said to John, “Let it be so now – for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness.” And John agreed to it.

Now I’m not exactly sure what I saw then – I was standing some distance away. There was some strange disturbance in the sky just as Jesus came out of the water, and a loud booming voice like thunder. I didn’t hear the words.

Later John said he saw the Spirit of God descending from a gap in the heavens  in just the same way a dove alights. I don’t know if it actually was in the form of a dove. I’ve also heard that Jesus and some others heard the voice say, “You are my Son, the Beloved, with you I am well pleased.”

 After this Jesus went out to the wilderness for 40 days. And when he returned he was filled with the power of the Spirit. He proclaimed, “The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God has come, now repent and believe the Good News!” It was then that I became one of the followers of Jesus and came to know the fulfillment of all my spiritual yearnings.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Well, I’ve been trying to tell the story from the point of view of a bystander.
Let’s just think about the implications for a minute. We see:

 

For Jesus


 
1) An act of public commitment and dedication
Jesus came to John to be baptized and to dedicate himself to the task to which his Father was calling him.

2)  The descent of the Holy Spirit
The power of the Holy Spirit came upon him to anoint  and prepare him for his ministry.

 3)  A voice from heaven
God spoke, confirming that Jesus was indeed God’s Son. I have no doubt that Jesus always knew he was God’s Son,  but this was the confirmation for him.

 

 For us

What was true for Jesus is also true for us in some sense.  When he was baptized, Jesus made his commitment to the work to which God was calling him. And we make a comitment when we come to Jesus and seek to follow him.
For us also there is :

1) The act of public commitment and dedication
For most of us ( if we were brought up as Presbyterians or Anglicans or Catholics) we were baptized as infants. So the moment of our baptism was not the moment of public comitment for us. It might have been at our confirmation, or some other occasion when we made a public confession of our faith in Jesus.
Whenever it was, there was some point in our lives at which we decided to follow Jesus and were prepared to stand up and be counted.

2) The Holy Spirit descends
For Jesus the heavens were rent asunder and the Spirit came upon him like a dove. For us it will not be that spectacular. ( Although some people do seem to have very spectacular conversion experiences.) It is more likely to be a much quieter affair, our moment of public comitment. The important thing, however,  is that we have dedicated our lives to Christ and that the Holy Spirit is at work with in us. We need his help in order to live the life of faith.

3)  God anounces that we are his children
Now Jesus is the only-begotten Son of God: there is no way that you or I can be sons and daughters of God  in that sense.  Jesus is unique. But we do become children of God in another sense: by adoption. We receive the Holy Spirit and we are adopted into God’s family. We know him as Father.

In his prayers Jesus used a very personal name for God – “Abba” – which in the Hebrew language means “Daddy”. It’s such a personal name – one which a small child would use when talking to his Daddy.

The Apostle Paul tells us that just as Jesus prayed “Abba, Father”, so can we – for we have been adopted into God’s family.

Because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.    (Romans 8:14-6)

What a glorious thing this is!

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