So here's the thing. I'll probably spend the rest of my life doing Deuteronomy - there's a lot of verses in that there book - but it is a book I've read a thing or two about in the past, it is a book about teaching (which would be a good focus for this year anyway) and it's also one of the most important books of the Bible, one of the most quoted in the New Testament, and generally fairly interesting. Also, it's not narrative, which fits my style.
vs 1
OK, so now we've got our bearings. If only all historical books started this way! We know that these are the words of Moses, and we know where he gave them (which gives a hint to when he gave them). He actually tells us when in a little bit.
I say he, meaning Moses - of course it's not exactly clear who wrote Deuteronomy. I'm happy with the assumption that Moses wrote most of it, although I'm also happy with the assertion that Joshua might have scribed a lot of it, and even written the last bit about Moses dying. Some people say Moses wrote it before he died, because God revealed to him how he'd die. Seems a little... unnecessary to me.
vs 2
I always read this verse as completely damning of Israel - the trip that took them 40 years was made in 11 days at the end of it. Ouch. I mean, that proves to me God was involved. No-one can get so lost that they can't make an 11 day trip in at best a year.
vs 3
So here we are - a firm date of when this occurred. 40 years of desert wanderings, and now they are poised on the east side of the Jordan. It's a monumentous time, and so of course Moses gives a speech. Or two. Or three. And perhaps a song. As you do.
It is a pretty monumentous time. Yes, I made up the word monumentous. I like it.
vs 4
You can read about these military victories in Numbers. Sufficed to say, they are pretty much poised to enter the promised land.
vs 5
I think the term "this law" is important. It's true that we're going to read very similar (in fact, a lot of the time exactly the same) laws to what have gone before. But Moses here is rebuilding a foundation of law for the new generation that will become Israel. He is recapping what has already been said, but he is also formulating a distinct book of law. This book, Deuteronomy, is pretty much the most well known book of law for Jews from then on.
vs 6
40 years was enough. A generation had died. A new generation could hopefully move forward and make a new, fresh start.
There's only so much you can expect from them, though. They are still people and, dare I say it, still Israelites.
vs 7
I find it interesting that, for Israel, God had a specific amount of land marked out for them. Theirs was not a world domination. The other nations were to exist too, and many to be more powerful than Israel. But Israel was to exist as an example nation. Not a leader nation necessarily. A priest nation, but not really a king or emperor nation. God is the king, after all.
vs 8
There is an interesting dualism here "I have given you the land, now go take it" - that is, fight for it. Form an army, invade it, be killed for it, kill for it. Not exactly the kind of gift we are used to. And yet really, the message is that nothing will stop Israel from taking the land except themselves. Without getting too metaphory, I think salvation is quite similar. Nothing stops us from taking it except ourselves (and possibly not hearing it in the first place, but that's a whole other argument.) But we ourselves are enough.
I don't know how far I'd go with this idea, though. I mean, the idea that if a church steps out in faith to do something, God will obviously bless what they do. But I think really you have to have the promise of God to do that. God promised the land to Israel. God promises us salvation - he will not turn his back on us on that. But stepping out in faith to start a building program or a youth group or a school or a retirement village - it's not always going to work. We don't like to remember our failures. We like to look at the successes and say, "See how easy it is? Just have faith." Well, I'd say just have faith, a vision, and a promise. But that's just me.
And as I have said many times before, promises by God about action on his part are not promises of success on yours. Not how we might measure or expect it, anyway. Obviously God never fails in his intentions.
vs 9
One man over 650,000 odd people is a big burden. There might be less now, what with the death of the last generation. Anyway, Moses was under a lot of pressure. He is recounting this story which we have already been told.
vs 10
This is still Moses talking, I think before the 40 years of wandering. It is interesting how Moses tells that story, but we'll get to it. So they were vast in number before then... I guess they were probably still pretty vast at this point.
vs 11
So it's not that Moses is complaining about the blessing of numbers that God promised. He recognises it as a good thing.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Psalm 21
When in doubt, do a psalm!
vs 1
It might be Saul that David's talking about, but then really it's more likely that David is the king that rejoices in victories given by God.
Even a king recognises the strength of God, and relies on it and rejoices because of it. If a king does it, surely lowly typists like myself should too!
vs 2
Of course, David's desires were (mostly) godly, so that's all well and good.
vs 3
I don't think it was God who placed a crown on the king's head literally. This actually may be more like "Because of your strength, the king has been blessed richly and has been able to afford a crown made of gold." Of course, that's not very poetic.
vs 4
Woah. David is still alive? No, of course not. But that is most obviously a messianic reference. Not that David necessarily thought of it like that, but come on! David might be referring to the line of sons he has.
Jesus will live forever and ever. And with that in mind, he probably did get crowned and blessed literally by God too.
vs 5
When you read Samuel, it is obvious that it's because of all his victories that David is so acclaimed. And this applies to Jesus too - if he didn't have a victory over sin, death, demons, and all badness generally, then I don't know that we'd respect him as much.
vs 6
David obviously feels blessed. Good for him, because he was blessed. The third person thing is of course interesting - but if he was writing it for other people to sing, then obviously they'd need to sing it in the third person. Good thinking!
And then it also becomes more obvious that there's a link to the messiah too, but that's just God being awesome.
vs 7
So now the trust in God moves on - from strength, it moves to love. Strength alone is a fine quality, and certainly one to be respected and even feared. But we do not come to relationship with God because of his strength and power only. We come because he loves us. Perhaps we come because of his strength, but we will stay because of love.
vs 8
Not the enemies of the king - the king is at war with the enemies of God. But he has no need to fear, because since the are enemies of God, God will take care of them.
vs 9
Now it's true that crazy cool things like this did happen in the history of Israel and its wars against various bad nations. And to have faith that God will act for you in battle must get you pretty pumped up.
But cast your mind also to the future, where God will do this to his enemies on the last day. That'll be one hell of a fireworks show.
vs 10
This did happen to nations from time to time - they just sort of stop on the timeline and are never seen again. But the destruction of God's enemies will be even more final at the last days, when there will be an eternity in which they don't figure. Total wipe out.
vs 11
We might say "Duh", but if you're dumb enough to plot against God (replace dumb with ignorant, unbelieving, willfully bloody-minded, selfish - whatever) then you probably think you've got an edge on him somehow. All those people out there who think "I am combatting ignorance and this outdated belief in spirituality and Christianity and religion by teaching people atheism" (or science or writing books that are full of God-hate etc) - some of them really think they can win. Ha. I'd laugh more, but it's sad really.
vs 12
Some of the less cultured among us know exactly where that arrow's going.
The thing is, you can actually strike or snatch arrows out of the air if you're fast enough. You can bat them out of the sky with a weapon or a shield. But if you turn your back, you're toast. It's as if you don't even think there's a threat.
vs 13
It might seem cruel, but we praise God for this judgment. People do deserve judgment, and God is a holy and just God. He's also compassionate though, and if he decides to relent against someone, we should cheer twice as hard. "Maximus the Merciful!"
vs 1
It might be Saul that David's talking about, but then really it's more likely that David is the king that rejoices in victories given by God.
Even a king recognises the strength of God, and relies on it and rejoices because of it. If a king does it, surely lowly typists like myself should too!
vs 2
Of course, David's desires were (mostly) godly, so that's all well and good.
vs 3
I don't think it was God who placed a crown on the king's head literally. This actually may be more like "Because of your strength, the king has been blessed richly and has been able to afford a crown made of gold." Of course, that's not very poetic.
vs 4
Woah. David is still alive? No, of course not. But that is most obviously a messianic reference. Not that David necessarily thought of it like that, but come on! David might be referring to the line of sons he has.
Jesus will live forever and ever. And with that in mind, he probably did get crowned and blessed literally by God too.
vs 5
When you read Samuel, it is obvious that it's because of all his victories that David is so acclaimed. And this applies to Jesus too - if he didn't have a victory over sin, death, demons, and all badness generally, then I don't know that we'd respect him as much.
vs 6
David obviously feels blessed. Good for him, because he was blessed. The third person thing is of course interesting - but if he was writing it for other people to sing, then obviously they'd need to sing it in the third person. Good thinking!
And then it also becomes more obvious that there's a link to the messiah too, but that's just God being awesome.
vs 7
So now the trust in God moves on - from strength, it moves to love. Strength alone is a fine quality, and certainly one to be respected and even feared. But we do not come to relationship with God because of his strength and power only. We come because he loves us. Perhaps we come because of his strength, but we will stay because of love.
vs 8
Not the enemies of the king - the king is at war with the enemies of God. But he has no need to fear, because since the are enemies of God, God will take care of them.
vs 9
Now it's true that crazy cool things like this did happen in the history of Israel and its wars against various bad nations. And to have faith that God will act for you in battle must get you pretty pumped up.
But cast your mind also to the future, where God will do this to his enemies on the last day. That'll be one hell of a fireworks show.
vs 10
This did happen to nations from time to time - they just sort of stop on the timeline and are never seen again. But the destruction of God's enemies will be even more final at the last days, when there will be an eternity in which they don't figure. Total wipe out.
vs 11
We might say "Duh", but if you're dumb enough to plot against God (replace dumb with ignorant, unbelieving, willfully bloody-minded, selfish - whatever) then you probably think you've got an edge on him somehow. All those people out there who think "I am combatting ignorance and this outdated belief in spirituality and Christianity and religion by teaching people atheism" (or science or writing books that are full of God-hate etc) - some of them really think they can win. Ha. I'd laugh more, but it's sad really.
vs 12
Some of the less cultured among us know exactly where that arrow's going.
The thing is, you can actually strike or snatch arrows out of the air if you're fast enough. You can bat them out of the sky with a weapon or a shield. But if you turn your back, you're toast. It's as if you don't even think there's a threat.
vs 13
It might seem cruel, but we praise God for this judgment. People do deserve judgment, and God is a holy and just God. He's also compassionate though, and if he decides to relent against someone, we should cheer twice as hard. "Maximus the Merciful!"
Monday, January 26, 2009
And while I'm posting... Sermon: Resurrection - our path to immortality
I've started posting various sermons up, so here's another one - quickly, before my laptop crashes again! Once again, I will include various notes with it. I'll even put a link in to the video I used.
The resurrection – our path to immortality
Now that the myth of no resurrection has been foiled by Paul, he goes on to give some teaching on the subject of the last resurrection by way of answering a question, “What will the resurrection be like?”
He actually mocks those for asking this question as foolish. Why? Not because they do not understand. But because they think they can. Paul never really answers this question to our satisfaction. He gives broad principles of truth, but he can’t answer the questions How or With What exactly.
But that does not prevent him from teaching on the subject. Instead, he answers the right questions. People asking “What will the resurrection body be like?”, what do they really want to know? They want to know will they look the way they did when they died, or will they be the 25 year old they remember? Will they recognize their children? Will their amputated leg regrow? Paul doesn’t answer those questions. In fact, he says that our resurrection body will be so different, it will be unbelievable that it came from our earthly body. But rather than talk about the differences in hair colour and age and other cosmetic differences, he looks at important things.
This body decays, perishes and dies. The resurrection body won’t die – death is conquered by resurrection.
The earthly body is dishonoured – it is part of a broken world of sin. Our physical bodies do play a part in our sinful nature. The resurrection body is raised in glory. The human body is an amazing thing, and its design gives glory to He who made it. How much more a perfect resurrection body!
These bodies are weak, and not just physically. Sure, they break when you hit them hard enough, but that is just the same as perishable. This is a fundamental spiritual weakness inherent in the nature of our earthly body. It represents our inability to make a lasting impact on our own lives, let alone the world around us. We lack power. It’s hard to imagine that, because while we live in these bodies we don’t want to imagine ourselves as powerless. We look around and all the things we can accomplish, and we think, “Look at what we have done! Look at the changes we have made on the world! What mighty creatures we are!” But the truth is that we have no idea what power is. God is power. Is Paul here promising that we will become gods ourselves? No. He promises we will be raised in power. We will truly understand and respect and recognize God’s power. After all, we will have witnessed his victory over death.
Finally, the body that we sow in death is natural, earthy. But the resurrection body is a spiritual body. That doesn’t mean that it is made of spirit. We will not be floating disembodied spirits – we’re talking about resurrection! No, it will be a body that is prepared for spiritual life. A spiritual body. The resurrection body will be prepared for the life of eternity in a way that we simply are not prepared for now.
Big Idea: The resurrection comes only through death
Impact: It is through death that resurrection life comes.
We should not fear death, because it leads to resurrection.
While death is something to be grieved, we should not treat it like the end.
Our lives then should not be shaped by a preoccupation about this life, but about eternal life.
Big Idea: The resurrected body is not like the earthly body – it is different.
Impact: We must accept that there is only so much we can know about eternity.
We have to learn to accept the truth of something without fully understanding it.
Again, this focus reveals to us that we should not live for this temporary life alone.
If we accept eternity, then we must live focused on eternity, as nothing else matters.
Big Idea: Resurrection is God’s plan for the defeat of death.
Impact: With this in mind, we should give ourselves fully to God, because we know there is more to life.
If we’re not Christian, we should be – because this is God’s plan for us.
If we are Christian, then our focus should be on resurrection, and therefore on eternity.
This means that the Christian life will inevitably be different from the non-Christian life.
Sermon 2 words
When something happens for the first time, we think it’s a big deal. Everyone knows the name of the first man on the moon. Who was it? (Neil Armstrong) Can anyone tell me the name of the people to attain the first powered flight? (Wilbur and Orville Wright) Who made the first phone call? (Alexander Graham Bell) These things are important not only because they represent a first for humanity, but also because they are stepping stones which spark huge advances that change the way we live. The simple fact that so many of us have telephones in our houses, and that most of us have probably traveled on an airplane, makes these first-of-many accounts that much more important. One day space travel may become as accessible to the everyday life as air travel is now.
But there is something that has not yet happened that will be even more common to human experience. In fact, it will be pretty much universal – almost every human being will experience this event. It has already been experienced by a famous first person. That person is Jesus, and the event is resurrection, coming back to life from the dead.
For the Christian, the life of Jesus culminates in the Easter events. We know that God, being perfect justice, must punish those who rebel against him. And that’s everyone, and the punishment is an eternity without God, and is marked by death. We know that God came to earth as a man, Jesus, the Christ, and Jesus was able to live the perfect life of submissive obedience that God requires. Furthermore, Jesus died a painful death on a cross, and in doing so took the punishment for the disobedience of all people. To prove he could take this punishment, Jesus was resurrected three days after he was buried – a defeat of the death that marked the punishment.
But it doesn’t end there. Although God is perfect justice, he is also perfect mercy and love. Death, even though it is a punishment for rebellion against God, is nevertheless God’s enemy. He therefore set in place a plan - his plan of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection - in order to defeat his enemy, death. God’s plan for defeating death therefore is to stage a resurrection of all people at the end of time. To prove that it’s going to happen, he made Jesus the famous first – the first resurrectee of what will be a countless number.
The apostle Paul talks about this plan of God in his letter to the Corinthians. The Corinthian church, who Paul is writing to, has some people in it who question this idea of a resurrection of all people at the end of time. So he wrote this section in chapter 15 of 1 Corinthians to set them straight on resurrection, and show them its importance. In verse 20 he describes Christ as the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep (that’s a nice way of saying those who’ve died, but it also shows a link to the idea of resurrection – after all, those who fall asleep wake up again). Firstfruits is an important way of describing Jesus’ “famous first” resurrection. You see, when Israel used to make sacrifices to God, they would offer the firstfruits of their crop to God, because this symbolized God’s ownership of the whole harvest. In the same way, Jesus being the firstfruit of the resurrection shows that the whole resurrection belongs to God. It’s his crop. In fact, Jesus often referred to the kingdom of God as a harvest in his parables!
In verse 24 we are told that the end of this world will come when all dominions, authorities and powers that are set up against God are defeated, and in verse 26 it says that the last enemy to be destroyed is death. That will be done by the resurrection of all people from the dead. If we’re at all unsure about when the kingdom of God is coming, the resurrection of the dead will be a clear mark that it has come.
But as I said, Paul didn’t write this bit about the resurrection just as an afterthought. People in that church were questioning the resurrection. And let’s be honest, it’s not the easiest thing for the average person to accept. People always want to ask questions about the resurrection. “Will people who’ve had limbs cut off get them back in the resurrection? What about people who were cremated, or blown up by a bomb? Will old people be young again in the resurrection? If so, then what about babies that die in childbirth, will they be in their mid twenties and fit? Will dogs and cats be resurrected? Will we recognize each other once we’ve been resurrected?” Even Jesus faced these questions about resurrection – the Sadducees asked him what would happen if a woman had seven husbands - whose wife would she be after the resurrection?
Paul faced similar questions, which he recorded as, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?” The problem is that, because we don’t have the right focus, we end up asking the wrong questions! Watch with me, if you will, this short video – it’s an awareness test, to see how aware you are. (show awareness test video). What that video shows us is that if you are focused on one thing, you can miss something that might be important. How important are moonwalking bears? Well, I don’t have time to go into that. But here in the Bible, Paul is saying that because we are so focused on our lives here on this earth, we can easily miss the truths about the resurrection. We become so tied up in this life, that the questions we ask about resurrection become foolish!
So here are the answers that Paul sees are the important ones that people should know. First of all, the resurrection only comes through death. That might seem obvious – how can someone be resurrected (brought back to life from the dead) if they have not first died? But then, as we’ve been shown, sometimes it’s easy to miss the obvious. But this is an important, foundational point. It is through death that the resurrection comes. This can seem confusing. Why would God use death, his avowed enemy, to bring about his will for eternal life? Well, this only serves to further prove God’s power over it. You have to be really powerful to be able to use an evil thing to achieve a good purpose.
What is the impact on us of this truth, that resurrection only comes through death? Well, it’s easy to think of death as the end, as something to be feared. Now the truth is that death is the enemy of life. But God has made a victory over death, using death as the time of planting the seed that grows into the new resurrection life. So let me ask you – do you fear death? Do you fear it as the end of your existence? Christians should have no fear of death, because God has promised to defeat death through resurrection, and then give eternal life. Jesus says, “I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. 5But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him.” As Christians, we should have no fear of death – God overcomes death with eternal life through resurrection.
Perhaps you go in the opposite direction – maybe you are looking forward to death, because you think that you will have lived a full life, and then it will all end in a peaceful oblivion. For you, the warning is much more severe – because for those who are not Christians, God still promises resurrection – but to face judgment, and the punishment of an eternity away from God, called hell. Hell is not a happy place. It is a place of punishment, and it exists eternally.
Paul’s second truth about the resurrection is this: that the resurrected body and the resurrection life will not be like this earthly body – it will be different. Paul says that we have to expect that there will be differences in the resurrected body that we simply can’t guess at from looking at our earth bodies. He compares it to a seed. Here, I have a seed. Does anyone know what kind of seed this is? I want you to guess, from looking at the seed, what kind of plant comes from it. It’s not easy to tell. Will it be a tree, a vine, a bush, a flower? Will it be big, small? What colour will it be? From looking at the seed alone, it’s just not possible to tell what this will grow up to be.
We might think that by looking at Jesus in his resurrected body that it doesn’t look that different – people still recognize him for who he is, he still eats, he walks and talks. Pretty much like how we live now, right? But that is just us getting distracted again and not having the right focus. Why do we look at earthly things like looks, and eating and drinking? Paul sets us on track, and shows us the things we should be looking at. In verse 42 he says, “The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable.” Now there’s a big difference! Our earthly bodies perish. They break. They age. They decay. They wither and they die. What a difference to hear that when the body is raised, it is raised imperishable! A body that won’t spoil or break. That won’t wither and die, but will stay good no matter how long it goes on for. A body that is suitable for a life in eternity.
He goes on to say, “it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory”. The earthly body is dishonoured – it is part of a broken world of rebellion against God. Even worse, our own physical bodies are an enemy against us in our relationships with God. The physical body plays a part in our disobedient nature. Even as Christians, we struggle to please God while living in these dishonoured bodies. But when we are raised from the dead to new life, we will be raised in a glorious body. Without defects, without dishonour – it will be a body that fulfils its job in allowing us to bring glory to God, in accordance with his plans for us.
“It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power”. These bodies are weak, and not just physically. Sure, they break when you hit them hard enough, but that is just the same as perishable. This weakness is a fundamental spiritual weakness inherent in the nature of our earthly body. It represents our inability to make a lasting impact on our own lives, let alone the world around us. We lack power. It’s hard to imagine that, because while we live in these bodies we don’t want to imagine ourselves as powerless. We look around and all the things we can accomplish, and we think, “Look at what we have done! Look at the changes we have made on the world! What mighty creatures we are!” But the truth is that we have no idea what power is. God is power.
So what does it mean to be raised in power? Is Paul here promising that we will become gods ourselves? No. He promises we will be raised in power. We will truly understand and respect and recognize God’s power. After all, we will have witnessed his victory over death in resurrection.
Finally, the body that we sow in death is natural, earthy. But the resurrection body is a spiritual body. That doesn’t mean that it is made of spirit. We will not be floating disembodied spirits – we’re talking about resurrection! No, it will be a body that is prepared for spiritual life. A spiritual body. The resurrection body will be prepared for the life of eternity in a way that we simply are not prepared for now. No doubt that along with this spiritually prepared body, our minds will be transformed to allow us to more fully understand the intricacies of a spiritual lifestyle.
What do I mean? I mean that the resurrection is something that we simply cannot fully understand on this side of it. Sometimes we have to learn to accept the truth of something without fully understanding it. To be honest, we do this all the time without even thinking about it. How many of us know how the cars we drive work? Or how a microwave or a television or a computer work? How many understand economics, or why one painting is pretty and another one is ordinary, the interaction of sub-atomic particles, or a host of other things? But we accept the truth of them. It is the same with the resurrection. We have to learn to accept the truth of it without being able to fully understand how it works. But if we do accept eternity and resurrection, then this will necessarily change the focus of how we live life.
I say this because real faith is something that cannot help but change the way you live life – everything from the way you think about things to the way you talk, and act, and relate to people and to God. It can be difficult for us to understand this sometimes, because so much of what we are told to believe doesn’t really have much of an impact on how we live our lives. According to the newspapers, the slowdown of China’s economy means that the federal budget will be down $5 billion dollars this year. You hear it to be true, but how will it change your life? It doesn’t really strike close to home. $5 billion dollars is a lot of money. Perhaps it’s too much. Too much for us to think about, to get our minds around. So we think, “Oh, that’s no good.” We might even go so far as to say, “Better tighten our belts and reduce our spending a bit”, although I’d doubt much actual activity would be taken until we see an effect closer to our own homes and wallets.
Perhaps we think that way about the resurrection. No-one wants to think about death. It’s morbid, it’s a downer. It’s hopefully far away. And as for the resurrection - who knows when that will be? In the meantime there’s bills to pay, and a family to look after, and work to do, meals to eat. But it does have an impact now. Our focus should not be on the temporary things that soak up our time and energy like a sponge. We have to remind ourselves that God’s plan is for eternity, not just for now. It may not seem immediately relevant. You may be waiting for it to affect your own home, your own wallet as it were, before you do something about it. But that is an inappropriate response. The equivalent would be hearing a fire alarm while you’re at work in an office near the top of a skyscraper. The alarm tells you, “The building is on fire, time to leave.” But you decide, “No, the fire isn’t affecting me yet. I’ll wait until I can feel the heat coming through the floor, then I’ll leave.” Of course, by the time you can feel the heat, it’s too late to escape. Your belief might have been real, but it wasn’t translated into action, and then it’s too late.
The resurrection and eternal life may be a long way from you – of course, they might not be. You never know what might happen tomorrow. It is important that we translate our belief into action, even if we don’t really have a full understanding of what it means for us.
So Paul has given two answers so far on what he thinks are important understandings to have about the resurrection. First of all, it comes through death – so death is not a thing to be feared. Second of all, the resurrection body won’t be like our earthly body. It will be an imperishable, glorifying, power-acknowledging, spiritually capable body. And even though we might not fully understand the ramifications of that, we should let the truth of it shape our focus on eternity, and shape the way we live our lives now.
Finally, Paul wants us to understand that the resurrection is part of God’s plan for his defeat of death, and his ultimate victory over all things, so as to bring people into his royal family, to live with him for all eternity. He says, “When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory." 55 "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
The truth is that death is not a danger to God. God doesn’t fear death. He created death. It may be an enemy to him, but only because it is hostile to his intentions, harmful to his plan. But it is not a powerful thing to God. It is just a bowling pin to be knocked over. The 8 ball, the last ball to be sunk in a game of snooker. No, the truth is that death’s sting is dangerous and fearful for us. It marks our punishment for being disobedient to God. It is the ultimate end over our perishable bodies. It is an enemy for us that we cannot defeat.
But God has a plan for victory. In fact, he has already won. Death has been swallowed up in that victory. Do we still die? Yes. But for the Christian, there is no longer a sting in death – for death has become the door to resurrection and to eternal life in heaven with God! It no longer holds finality – the finality is in eternity with God!
What is the logical conclusion of this? Paul says it in the very last verse of this section. “Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” I said earlier that if we really believe in the resurrection, if we really believe in eternal life, then it should change how we live right now. But how? I think there’s three things that are absolutely vital.
Number one, “Dear brothers and sisters, stand firm.” If you are not a brother or a sister of Jesus, if you are not a member of God’s royal family, then the truths of the resurrection and of eternity say that you should be. Because resurrection and eternity are a reality proved through the resurrection of Jesus from the dead that we celebrate on Resurrection Sunday at Easter. Resurrection and eternity are a reality for all people. But only those who have admitted their disobedience to God, their rebellion against him, their inability to live up to the perfect standard he demands; only those people who turn away from a godless life and embrace the offer of adoption into God’s kingdom and family; only those people who surrender the control over their powerless life over to God’s mighty power; only those people will spend eternity with God. For the others – those who deny his existence; who deny his eternal plan; who ignore his claim over their lives or who willfully disobey his commands; eternity still awaits. But it is an eternity without God. An eternity of punishment. For them, the resurrection will be a dreadful day. Make sure that you are standing firm in the family of God, that you have secured your adoption into the family of God. If you’re not sure, then talk to me. Talk to someone from this church. Don’t leave this building without making sure you’re eternal future is secure. You too can be a part of God’s plan for eternity.
Number two, “Let nothing move you.” If you are a Christian, then it is vital that you do not let your focus on eternity be moved. The cares of this world will always try and reach out to drag us down and distract us from what is truly important. But we can’t afford to allow our focus to be moved, whether by comfort, financial security, health, family, work – there is nothing that we can allow to move us from our focus. So let me ask you – are you living your life with a focus on the resurrection? Are you expecting eternity? Are you ensuring that your life is impacting the eternal life of yourself and of others?
“How can I do that?” you may ask. It relies on the third and final point to ensuring the resurrection and eternity change how we live. Paul says, “Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” A life lived for eternity is a life lived for God. It means devoting yourself to God’s work, and rolling out his plan. That means doing works that have an eternal impact, both on your Christian life and the lives of others. Famous author and certified genius of the 1700s Hugh Blair said this, “People too often separate their beliefs which relate to eternity from the ordinary affairs of the world. They leave them in a high region to which only on great occasions they resort: and, when they descend into common life, consider themselves at liberty to give free scope to their whims and passions. Where, in fact, it is their behaviour in the daily train of society, which fixes and determines their spiritual character; gradually instilling those dispositions, and forming those habits, which affect their everlasting condition.” We must ensure that our personal lives are glorifying to God, and forming habits that will stand us in good stead in eternity. I think sometimes that we forget that God has told us to do this – we rely on the transformation of the resurrection to make us perfect without taking any responsibility for the preparation of our spiritual body.
Not only must we do God’s work in our own lives, but we must ensure that we are a part of God’s team to reach everyone with the message of eternity. As Paul says himself earlier in the letter, “The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor. For we are God's fellow workers.” And again, “Fire will test the quality of each man's work. 14If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. 15If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.” The work of the Lord amongst those who are not yet saved from eternal punishment is so great and varied that there will be a place for you no matter what your skills, gifts or availability. It is not simply reaching people with the message and seeing them “saved” either – it is the continual work that goes on in their lives, just as it does in yours, of transformation in preparation for the resurrection and an eternity with God because of Christ.
Make sure that your life is focused on God’s plan for eternity. Because as Paul says, “You know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” If you have eternity in mind, can you be this sure of the value of anything else you do?
The resurrection – our path to immortality
Now that the myth of no resurrection has been foiled by Paul, he goes on to give some teaching on the subject of the last resurrection by way of answering a question, “What will the resurrection be like?”
He actually mocks those for asking this question as foolish. Why? Not because they do not understand. But because they think they can. Paul never really answers this question to our satisfaction. He gives broad principles of truth, but he can’t answer the questions How or With What exactly.
But that does not prevent him from teaching on the subject. Instead, he answers the right questions. People asking “What will the resurrection body be like?”, what do they really want to know? They want to know will they look the way they did when they died, or will they be the 25 year old they remember? Will they recognize their children? Will their amputated leg regrow? Paul doesn’t answer those questions. In fact, he says that our resurrection body will be so different, it will be unbelievable that it came from our earthly body. But rather than talk about the differences in hair colour and age and other cosmetic differences, he looks at important things.
This body decays, perishes and dies. The resurrection body won’t die – death is conquered by resurrection.
The earthly body is dishonoured – it is part of a broken world of sin. Our physical bodies do play a part in our sinful nature. The resurrection body is raised in glory. The human body is an amazing thing, and its design gives glory to He who made it. How much more a perfect resurrection body!
These bodies are weak, and not just physically. Sure, they break when you hit them hard enough, but that is just the same as perishable. This is a fundamental spiritual weakness inherent in the nature of our earthly body. It represents our inability to make a lasting impact on our own lives, let alone the world around us. We lack power. It’s hard to imagine that, because while we live in these bodies we don’t want to imagine ourselves as powerless. We look around and all the things we can accomplish, and we think, “Look at what we have done! Look at the changes we have made on the world! What mighty creatures we are!” But the truth is that we have no idea what power is. God is power. Is Paul here promising that we will become gods ourselves? No. He promises we will be raised in power. We will truly understand and respect and recognize God’s power. After all, we will have witnessed his victory over death.
Finally, the body that we sow in death is natural, earthy. But the resurrection body is a spiritual body. That doesn’t mean that it is made of spirit. We will not be floating disembodied spirits – we’re talking about resurrection! No, it will be a body that is prepared for spiritual life. A spiritual body. The resurrection body will be prepared for the life of eternity in a way that we simply are not prepared for now.
Big Idea: The resurrection comes only through death
Impact: It is through death that resurrection life comes.
We should not fear death, because it leads to resurrection.
While death is something to be grieved, we should not treat it like the end.
Our lives then should not be shaped by a preoccupation about this life, but about eternal life.
Big Idea: The resurrected body is not like the earthly body – it is different.
Impact: We must accept that there is only so much we can know about eternity.
We have to learn to accept the truth of something without fully understanding it.
Again, this focus reveals to us that we should not live for this temporary life alone.
If we accept eternity, then we must live focused on eternity, as nothing else matters.
Big Idea: Resurrection is God’s plan for the defeat of death.
Impact: With this in mind, we should give ourselves fully to God, because we know there is more to life.
If we’re not Christian, we should be – because this is God’s plan for us.
If we are Christian, then our focus should be on resurrection, and therefore on eternity.
This means that the Christian life will inevitably be different from the non-Christian life.
Sermon 2 words
When something happens for the first time, we think it’s a big deal. Everyone knows the name of the first man on the moon. Who was it? (Neil Armstrong) Can anyone tell me the name of the people to attain the first powered flight? (Wilbur and Orville Wright) Who made the first phone call? (Alexander Graham Bell) These things are important not only because they represent a first for humanity, but also because they are stepping stones which spark huge advances that change the way we live. The simple fact that so many of us have telephones in our houses, and that most of us have probably traveled on an airplane, makes these first-of-many accounts that much more important. One day space travel may become as accessible to the everyday life as air travel is now.
But there is something that has not yet happened that will be even more common to human experience. In fact, it will be pretty much universal – almost every human being will experience this event. It has already been experienced by a famous first person. That person is Jesus, and the event is resurrection, coming back to life from the dead.
For the Christian, the life of Jesus culminates in the Easter events. We know that God, being perfect justice, must punish those who rebel against him. And that’s everyone, and the punishment is an eternity without God, and is marked by death. We know that God came to earth as a man, Jesus, the Christ, and Jesus was able to live the perfect life of submissive obedience that God requires. Furthermore, Jesus died a painful death on a cross, and in doing so took the punishment for the disobedience of all people. To prove he could take this punishment, Jesus was resurrected three days after he was buried – a defeat of the death that marked the punishment.
But it doesn’t end there. Although God is perfect justice, he is also perfect mercy and love. Death, even though it is a punishment for rebellion against God, is nevertheless God’s enemy. He therefore set in place a plan - his plan of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection - in order to defeat his enemy, death. God’s plan for defeating death therefore is to stage a resurrection of all people at the end of time. To prove that it’s going to happen, he made Jesus the famous first – the first resurrectee of what will be a countless number.
The apostle Paul talks about this plan of God in his letter to the Corinthians. The Corinthian church, who Paul is writing to, has some people in it who question this idea of a resurrection of all people at the end of time. So he wrote this section in chapter 15 of 1 Corinthians to set them straight on resurrection, and show them its importance. In verse 20 he describes Christ as the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep (that’s a nice way of saying those who’ve died, but it also shows a link to the idea of resurrection – after all, those who fall asleep wake up again). Firstfruits is an important way of describing Jesus’ “famous first” resurrection. You see, when Israel used to make sacrifices to God, they would offer the firstfruits of their crop to God, because this symbolized God’s ownership of the whole harvest. In the same way, Jesus being the firstfruit of the resurrection shows that the whole resurrection belongs to God. It’s his crop. In fact, Jesus often referred to the kingdom of God as a harvest in his parables!
In verse 24 we are told that the end of this world will come when all dominions, authorities and powers that are set up against God are defeated, and in verse 26 it says that the last enemy to be destroyed is death. That will be done by the resurrection of all people from the dead. If we’re at all unsure about when the kingdom of God is coming, the resurrection of the dead will be a clear mark that it has come.
But as I said, Paul didn’t write this bit about the resurrection just as an afterthought. People in that church were questioning the resurrection. And let’s be honest, it’s not the easiest thing for the average person to accept. People always want to ask questions about the resurrection. “Will people who’ve had limbs cut off get them back in the resurrection? What about people who were cremated, or blown up by a bomb? Will old people be young again in the resurrection? If so, then what about babies that die in childbirth, will they be in their mid twenties and fit? Will dogs and cats be resurrected? Will we recognize each other once we’ve been resurrected?” Even Jesus faced these questions about resurrection – the Sadducees asked him what would happen if a woman had seven husbands - whose wife would she be after the resurrection?
Paul faced similar questions, which he recorded as, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?” The problem is that, because we don’t have the right focus, we end up asking the wrong questions! Watch with me, if you will, this short video – it’s an awareness test, to see how aware you are. (show awareness test video). What that video shows us is that if you are focused on one thing, you can miss something that might be important. How important are moonwalking bears? Well, I don’t have time to go into that. But here in the Bible, Paul is saying that because we are so focused on our lives here on this earth, we can easily miss the truths about the resurrection. We become so tied up in this life, that the questions we ask about resurrection become foolish!
So here are the answers that Paul sees are the important ones that people should know. First of all, the resurrection only comes through death. That might seem obvious – how can someone be resurrected (brought back to life from the dead) if they have not first died? But then, as we’ve been shown, sometimes it’s easy to miss the obvious. But this is an important, foundational point. It is through death that the resurrection comes. This can seem confusing. Why would God use death, his avowed enemy, to bring about his will for eternal life? Well, this only serves to further prove God’s power over it. You have to be really powerful to be able to use an evil thing to achieve a good purpose.
What is the impact on us of this truth, that resurrection only comes through death? Well, it’s easy to think of death as the end, as something to be feared. Now the truth is that death is the enemy of life. But God has made a victory over death, using death as the time of planting the seed that grows into the new resurrection life. So let me ask you – do you fear death? Do you fear it as the end of your existence? Christians should have no fear of death, because God has promised to defeat death through resurrection, and then give eternal life. Jesus says, “I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. 5But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him.” As Christians, we should have no fear of death – God overcomes death with eternal life through resurrection.
Perhaps you go in the opposite direction – maybe you are looking forward to death, because you think that you will have lived a full life, and then it will all end in a peaceful oblivion. For you, the warning is much more severe – because for those who are not Christians, God still promises resurrection – but to face judgment, and the punishment of an eternity away from God, called hell. Hell is not a happy place. It is a place of punishment, and it exists eternally.
Paul’s second truth about the resurrection is this: that the resurrected body and the resurrection life will not be like this earthly body – it will be different. Paul says that we have to expect that there will be differences in the resurrected body that we simply can’t guess at from looking at our earth bodies. He compares it to a seed. Here, I have a seed. Does anyone know what kind of seed this is? I want you to guess, from looking at the seed, what kind of plant comes from it. It’s not easy to tell. Will it be a tree, a vine, a bush, a flower? Will it be big, small? What colour will it be? From looking at the seed alone, it’s just not possible to tell what this will grow up to be.
We might think that by looking at Jesus in his resurrected body that it doesn’t look that different – people still recognize him for who he is, he still eats, he walks and talks. Pretty much like how we live now, right? But that is just us getting distracted again and not having the right focus. Why do we look at earthly things like looks, and eating and drinking? Paul sets us on track, and shows us the things we should be looking at. In verse 42 he says, “The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable.” Now there’s a big difference! Our earthly bodies perish. They break. They age. They decay. They wither and they die. What a difference to hear that when the body is raised, it is raised imperishable! A body that won’t spoil or break. That won’t wither and die, but will stay good no matter how long it goes on for. A body that is suitable for a life in eternity.
He goes on to say, “it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory”. The earthly body is dishonoured – it is part of a broken world of rebellion against God. Even worse, our own physical bodies are an enemy against us in our relationships with God. The physical body plays a part in our disobedient nature. Even as Christians, we struggle to please God while living in these dishonoured bodies. But when we are raised from the dead to new life, we will be raised in a glorious body. Without defects, without dishonour – it will be a body that fulfils its job in allowing us to bring glory to God, in accordance with his plans for us.
“It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power”. These bodies are weak, and not just physically. Sure, they break when you hit them hard enough, but that is just the same as perishable. This weakness is a fundamental spiritual weakness inherent in the nature of our earthly body. It represents our inability to make a lasting impact on our own lives, let alone the world around us. We lack power. It’s hard to imagine that, because while we live in these bodies we don’t want to imagine ourselves as powerless. We look around and all the things we can accomplish, and we think, “Look at what we have done! Look at the changes we have made on the world! What mighty creatures we are!” But the truth is that we have no idea what power is. God is power.
So what does it mean to be raised in power? Is Paul here promising that we will become gods ourselves? No. He promises we will be raised in power. We will truly understand and respect and recognize God’s power. After all, we will have witnessed his victory over death in resurrection.
Finally, the body that we sow in death is natural, earthy. But the resurrection body is a spiritual body. That doesn’t mean that it is made of spirit. We will not be floating disembodied spirits – we’re talking about resurrection! No, it will be a body that is prepared for spiritual life. A spiritual body. The resurrection body will be prepared for the life of eternity in a way that we simply are not prepared for now. No doubt that along with this spiritually prepared body, our minds will be transformed to allow us to more fully understand the intricacies of a spiritual lifestyle.
What do I mean? I mean that the resurrection is something that we simply cannot fully understand on this side of it. Sometimes we have to learn to accept the truth of something without fully understanding it. To be honest, we do this all the time without even thinking about it. How many of us know how the cars we drive work? Or how a microwave or a television or a computer work? How many understand economics, or why one painting is pretty and another one is ordinary, the interaction of sub-atomic particles, or a host of other things? But we accept the truth of them. It is the same with the resurrection. We have to learn to accept the truth of it without being able to fully understand how it works. But if we do accept eternity and resurrection, then this will necessarily change the focus of how we live life.
I say this because real faith is something that cannot help but change the way you live life – everything from the way you think about things to the way you talk, and act, and relate to people and to God. It can be difficult for us to understand this sometimes, because so much of what we are told to believe doesn’t really have much of an impact on how we live our lives. According to the newspapers, the slowdown of China’s economy means that the federal budget will be down $5 billion dollars this year. You hear it to be true, but how will it change your life? It doesn’t really strike close to home. $5 billion dollars is a lot of money. Perhaps it’s too much. Too much for us to think about, to get our minds around. So we think, “Oh, that’s no good.” We might even go so far as to say, “Better tighten our belts and reduce our spending a bit”, although I’d doubt much actual activity would be taken until we see an effect closer to our own homes and wallets.
Perhaps we think that way about the resurrection. No-one wants to think about death. It’s morbid, it’s a downer. It’s hopefully far away. And as for the resurrection - who knows when that will be? In the meantime there’s bills to pay, and a family to look after, and work to do, meals to eat. But it does have an impact now. Our focus should not be on the temporary things that soak up our time and energy like a sponge. We have to remind ourselves that God’s plan is for eternity, not just for now. It may not seem immediately relevant. You may be waiting for it to affect your own home, your own wallet as it were, before you do something about it. But that is an inappropriate response. The equivalent would be hearing a fire alarm while you’re at work in an office near the top of a skyscraper. The alarm tells you, “The building is on fire, time to leave.” But you decide, “No, the fire isn’t affecting me yet. I’ll wait until I can feel the heat coming through the floor, then I’ll leave.” Of course, by the time you can feel the heat, it’s too late to escape. Your belief might have been real, but it wasn’t translated into action, and then it’s too late.
The resurrection and eternal life may be a long way from you – of course, they might not be. You never know what might happen tomorrow. It is important that we translate our belief into action, even if we don’t really have a full understanding of what it means for us.
So Paul has given two answers so far on what he thinks are important understandings to have about the resurrection. First of all, it comes through death – so death is not a thing to be feared. Second of all, the resurrection body won’t be like our earthly body. It will be an imperishable, glorifying, power-acknowledging, spiritually capable body. And even though we might not fully understand the ramifications of that, we should let the truth of it shape our focus on eternity, and shape the way we live our lives now.
Finally, Paul wants us to understand that the resurrection is part of God’s plan for his defeat of death, and his ultimate victory over all things, so as to bring people into his royal family, to live with him for all eternity. He says, “When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory." 55 "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
The truth is that death is not a danger to God. God doesn’t fear death. He created death. It may be an enemy to him, but only because it is hostile to his intentions, harmful to his plan. But it is not a powerful thing to God. It is just a bowling pin to be knocked over. The 8 ball, the last ball to be sunk in a game of snooker. No, the truth is that death’s sting is dangerous and fearful for us. It marks our punishment for being disobedient to God. It is the ultimate end over our perishable bodies. It is an enemy for us that we cannot defeat.
But God has a plan for victory. In fact, he has already won. Death has been swallowed up in that victory. Do we still die? Yes. But for the Christian, there is no longer a sting in death – for death has become the door to resurrection and to eternal life in heaven with God! It no longer holds finality – the finality is in eternity with God!
What is the logical conclusion of this? Paul says it in the very last verse of this section. “Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” I said earlier that if we really believe in the resurrection, if we really believe in eternal life, then it should change how we live right now. But how? I think there’s three things that are absolutely vital.
Number one, “Dear brothers and sisters, stand firm.” If you are not a brother or a sister of Jesus, if you are not a member of God’s royal family, then the truths of the resurrection and of eternity say that you should be. Because resurrection and eternity are a reality proved through the resurrection of Jesus from the dead that we celebrate on Resurrection Sunday at Easter. Resurrection and eternity are a reality for all people. But only those who have admitted their disobedience to God, their rebellion against him, their inability to live up to the perfect standard he demands; only those people who turn away from a godless life and embrace the offer of adoption into God’s kingdom and family; only those people who surrender the control over their powerless life over to God’s mighty power; only those people will spend eternity with God. For the others – those who deny his existence; who deny his eternal plan; who ignore his claim over their lives or who willfully disobey his commands; eternity still awaits. But it is an eternity without God. An eternity of punishment. For them, the resurrection will be a dreadful day. Make sure that you are standing firm in the family of God, that you have secured your adoption into the family of God. If you’re not sure, then talk to me. Talk to someone from this church. Don’t leave this building without making sure you’re eternal future is secure. You too can be a part of God’s plan for eternity.
Number two, “Let nothing move you.” If you are a Christian, then it is vital that you do not let your focus on eternity be moved. The cares of this world will always try and reach out to drag us down and distract us from what is truly important. But we can’t afford to allow our focus to be moved, whether by comfort, financial security, health, family, work – there is nothing that we can allow to move us from our focus. So let me ask you – are you living your life with a focus on the resurrection? Are you expecting eternity? Are you ensuring that your life is impacting the eternal life of yourself and of others?
“How can I do that?” you may ask. It relies on the third and final point to ensuring the resurrection and eternity change how we live. Paul says, “Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” A life lived for eternity is a life lived for God. It means devoting yourself to God’s work, and rolling out his plan. That means doing works that have an eternal impact, both on your Christian life and the lives of others. Famous author and certified genius of the 1700s Hugh Blair said this, “People too often separate their beliefs which relate to eternity from the ordinary affairs of the world. They leave them in a high region to which only on great occasions they resort: and, when they descend into common life, consider themselves at liberty to give free scope to their whims and passions. Where, in fact, it is their behaviour in the daily train of society, which fixes and determines their spiritual character; gradually instilling those dispositions, and forming those habits, which affect their everlasting condition.” We must ensure that our personal lives are glorifying to God, and forming habits that will stand us in good stead in eternity. I think sometimes that we forget that God has told us to do this – we rely on the transformation of the resurrection to make us perfect without taking any responsibility for the preparation of our spiritual body.
Not only must we do God’s work in our own lives, but we must ensure that we are a part of God’s team to reach everyone with the message of eternity. As Paul says himself earlier in the letter, “The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor. For we are God's fellow workers.” And again, “Fire will test the quality of each man's work. 14If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. 15If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.” The work of the Lord amongst those who are not yet saved from eternal punishment is so great and varied that there will be a place for you no matter what your skills, gifts or availability. It is not simply reaching people with the message and seeing them “saved” either – it is the continual work that goes on in their lives, just as it does in yours, of transformation in preparation for the resurrection and an eternity with God because of Christ.
Make sure that your life is focused on God’s plan for eternity. Because as Paul says, “You know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” If you have eternity in mind, can you be this sure of the value of anything else you do?
Joel chapter 3
vs 11
I'm guessing that this is referring to the valley of judgment, where they should all assemble?
I mean, hey, if God's going to come and kick your ass anyway, may as well go out fighting.
vs 12
Well, this verse answered those questions. Yay me.
God's not even worried about every nation coming at once. He could snuff them out with a thought of clicking his fingers.
vs 13
So here it is not a harvest of righteousness, and the wine is not wine of good tastiness. It is a harvest and a wine of wrath and judgment on the amount of wickedness that God finds in the nations. You might think, "Well, are the nations really that wicked?" But remember, they have decided that the best course of action for their nations is to raise up armies to try and fight God.
Well, if nothing else, there's a great harvest of stupidity. (To be fair, God commanded it, so they didn't really have much choice)
vs 14
Apart from being somewhat poetic, I suppose this is making the (I would say reasonably obvious) observation that if the armies of the world have united to face down God himself, there there's not much left of this timeline.
vs 15
Sounds pretty end-timesy to me.
vs 16
Only God's people are safe in this time. Everyone else gets the business end of God - the roaring, angry side. This is the two-faced nature of God - saviour and judge. I think this only further shows that Joel is not written to show that judgment is coming on Israel, but that God is God over Israel, and their response should be to ask God for things when stuff goes wrong (ie locusts) because he'll look after them even in the biggest disaster ever.
After all, the nations aren't really reading this prophecy at this point.
vs 17
Note the timing - once God has destroyed the armies of the nations, then Israel will no longer be invaded by foreigners. So if you're reading this as a geographic thing (rather than an eschatological end timesy thing) then I'm thinking you'll be looking for rocket attacks and suicide bombers are going to stop at some point in time.
vs 18
Just ignore for the moment that God has slaughtered entire nations of people. For his people, it sounds like a very nice place. Heavenly, you might say. Well, that's what I would say. I mean, as nice as it is to have mountains worth of wine, I'm not drinking wine that dripped off a mountain. Not unless you have a really fine sieve.
vs 19
So now we spare a look over our shoulders at the lands of the foreign devils. It's not pretty. The reason for their destruction is made plain - for attacking God's people. You get what you get, I suppose.
vs 20
Well, that has been true so far - just not always by Jews.
vs 21
Punishment is the comfort of the people of Israel at this time. I'm guessing that, what with the punishment being on the nations, and the promises that they won't invade any more, that there was a problem with them invading in the first place. Was it immediate to Joel's time, and hence this letter? Or do locusts just remind the people of invasion, and they needed some comfort?
Well, God here is reminding them that the Day of the Lord will be a hell of a lot worse than locust plagues, and it will be chiefly aimed at the gentiles. So yay Israel!
But of course this has greater relevance for us too. The judgment will not chiefly be aimed at Christians. We're saved from it to a degree. But we shouldn't cheer that the enemies of God are being punished at the last day, because they're just like us. God's real enemies are ignorance, disobedience, rebellion and death. He will get rid of those. If you're clining to them, then you'll go with them. Because God punishes those who need punishing.
I'm guessing that this is referring to the valley of judgment, where they should all assemble?
I mean, hey, if God's going to come and kick your ass anyway, may as well go out fighting.
vs 12
Well, this verse answered those questions. Yay me.
God's not even worried about every nation coming at once. He could snuff them out with a thought of clicking his fingers.
vs 13
So here it is not a harvest of righteousness, and the wine is not wine of good tastiness. It is a harvest and a wine of wrath and judgment on the amount of wickedness that God finds in the nations. You might think, "Well, are the nations really that wicked?" But remember, they have decided that the best course of action for their nations is to raise up armies to try and fight God.
Well, if nothing else, there's a great harvest of stupidity. (To be fair, God commanded it, so they didn't really have much choice)
vs 14
Apart from being somewhat poetic, I suppose this is making the (I would say reasonably obvious) observation that if the armies of the world have united to face down God himself, there there's not much left of this timeline.
vs 15
Sounds pretty end-timesy to me.
vs 16
Only God's people are safe in this time. Everyone else gets the business end of God - the roaring, angry side. This is the two-faced nature of God - saviour and judge. I think this only further shows that Joel is not written to show that judgment is coming on Israel, but that God is God over Israel, and their response should be to ask God for things when stuff goes wrong (ie locusts) because he'll look after them even in the biggest disaster ever.
After all, the nations aren't really reading this prophecy at this point.
vs 17
Note the timing - once God has destroyed the armies of the nations, then Israel will no longer be invaded by foreigners. So if you're reading this as a geographic thing (rather than an eschatological end timesy thing) then I'm thinking you'll be looking for rocket attacks and suicide bombers are going to stop at some point in time.
vs 18
Just ignore for the moment that God has slaughtered entire nations of people. For his people, it sounds like a very nice place. Heavenly, you might say. Well, that's what I would say. I mean, as nice as it is to have mountains worth of wine, I'm not drinking wine that dripped off a mountain. Not unless you have a really fine sieve.
vs 19
So now we spare a look over our shoulders at the lands of the foreign devils. It's not pretty. The reason for their destruction is made plain - for attacking God's people. You get what you get, I suppose.
vs 20
Well, that has been true so far - just not always by Jews.
vs 21
Punishment is the comfort of the people of Israel at this time. I'm guessing that, what with the punishment being on the nations, and the promises that they won't invade any more, that there was a problem with them invading in the first place. Was it immediate to Joel's time, and hence this letter? Or do locusts just remind the people of invasion, and they needed some comfort?
Well, God here is reminding them that the Day of the Lord will be a hell of a lot worse than locust plagues, and it will be chiefly aimed at the gentiles. So yay Israel!
But of course this has greater relevance for us too. The judgment will not chiefly be aimed at Christians. We're saved from it to a degree. But we shouldn't cheer that the enemies of God are being punished at the last day, because they're just like us. God's real enemies are ignorance, disobedience, rebellion and death. He will get rid of those. If you're clining to them, then you'll go with them. Because God punishes those who need punishing.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Joel chapter 3
vs 1
So we're really talking never, aren't we? No, that's not true. I mean we're either talking about 1948 (which doesn't really seem to fit the mould), we're talking about a future time when Israel gets it's act together (in which you would have to be more patient than God to wait for that), or Jerusalem and Judah are figurative in a heavenly, God's people, Christianly sense (in which case plenty of patience is still suggested).
vs 2
This isn't sounding quite so happy as one would hope, especially if you're a gentile. So where do we fit in this mass judgment in the valley of judgment fit in with the verse before? I think we're pretty much looking at end of days stuff here, in which case us Gentiles have been grafted into the tree of Israel, so we're all right. I hope.
vs 3
Obviously the nations are in need of a bit of judgment, because they really have acted quite despicably. So perhaps we shouldn't feel so bad.
Now here's the thing - are these charges current? Are the future? Are they historical? Or are they metaphorical?
We assume they're not current. We don't want them to be metaphorical (and wouldn't that make Joel's prophecy a bit lame to the people hearing it?). So we think possible either past or future, or both.
If they are in the future, then all is well - we can expect these things to happen to Israel.
If they are in the past (and we're talking possibly 2500 years or more past), then why will the nations of the future pay punishment for the actions of nations they probably had very little linkage with, even historically? I didn't think God punished the sins of the people to their 9th or 10th generation. Or does God treat nations like an entity, and therefore punishes them for their actions, rather than just the people responsible? Does that mean that God will also punish corporations as entities? I wonder.
vs 4
This sounds all too much like an Israel-Palestine conflict: "You started it!" "Did not!" "Yeah, well you did that thing last, so now we have to retaliate!" "But that was in relatiation for something you did!" "Yeah, but you deserved that!" and so each side goes on happily killing each other.
The only difference here is that God is actually always right, and going against him is sin, so he's justified in this argument.
vs 5
That's pretty much as close to an attack against God directly as you can get, if you ask me. Philistia must have a memory short enough that they don't remember what happens when they messed with God directly last time (the whole tabernacle incident).
vs 6
Well, someone obviously did this. It sounds kinda exile-y to me. But that sort of thing happened all the time in the old days. No doubt if Israel had done it (no doubt they did) then it would be righteous punishment for people going against God.
vs 7
It's not difficult to see why people would see the 1948 Israel as a culmination of this promise. However, if you think this is an end of days thing, then I am guessing this is going to hold true for Christians too - that means they'll be sold into slavery before they get to come back. Not all flowers and sunshine.
vs 8
Eye for an eye sort of thing.
vs 9
Now, see, this is just one more example of God posturing like Bruce Lee. I feel all my kung fu analogies hold here. Here is God licking the blood of his metaphorical fingers after being attacked by the nations, and then tearing his shirt off, flexing his muscles and making the quintessential Bruce Lee "come get some" hand gesture.
vs 10
So basically everyone is to come and attack God. God thinks he can take them all on.
What will happen? Can God possibly succeed against all these odds? Find out next time!
So we're really talking never, aren't we? No, that's not true. I mean we're either talking about 1948 (which doesn't really seem to fit the mould), we're talking about a future time when Israel gets it's act together (in which you would have to be more patient than God to wait for that), or Jerusalem and Judah are figurative in a heavenly, God's people, Christianly sense (in which case plenty of patience is still suggested).
vs 2
This isn't sounding quite so happy as one would hope, especially if you're a gentile. So where do we fit in this mass judgment in the valley of judgment fit in with the verse before? I think we're pretty much looking at end of days stuff here, in which case us Gentiles have been grafted into the tree of Israel, so we're all right. I hope.
vs 3
Obviously the nations are in need of a bit of judgment, because they really have acted quite despicably. So perhaps we shouldn't feel so bad.
Now here's the thing - are these charges current? Are the future? Are they historical? Or are they metaphorical?
We assume they're not current. We don't want them to be metaphorical (and wouldn't that make Joel's prophecy a bit lame to the people hearing it?). So we think possible either past or future, or both.
If they are in the future, then all is well - we can expect these things to happen to Israel.
If they are in the past (and we're talking possibly 2500 years or more past), then why will the nations of the future pay punishment for the actions of nations they probably had very little linkage with, even historically? I didn't think God punished the sins of the people to their 9th or 10th generation. Or does God treat nations like an entity, and therefore punishes them for their actions, rather than just the people responsible? Does that mean that God will also punish corporations as entities? I wonder.
vs 4
This sounds all too much like an Israel-Palestine conflict: "You started it!" "Did not!" "Yeah, well you did that thing last, so now we have to retaliate!" "But that was in relatiation for something you did!" "Yeah, but you deserved that!" and so each side goes on happily killing each other.
The only difference here is that God is actually always right, and going against him is sin, so he's justified in this argument.
vs 5
That's pretty much as close to an attack against God directly as you can get, if you ask me. Philistia must have a memory short enough that they don't remember what happens when they messed with God directly last time (the whole tabernacle incident).
vs 6
Well, someone obviously did this. It sounds kinda exile-y to me. But that sort of thing happened all the time in the old days. No doubt if Israel had done it (no doubt they did) then it would be righteous punishment for people going against God.
vs 7
It's not difficult to see why people would see the 1948 Israel as a culmination of this promise. However, if you think this is an end of days thing, then I am guessing this is going to hold true for Christians too - that means they'll be sold into slavery before they get to come back. Not all flowers and sunshine.
vs 8
Eye for an eye sort of thing.
vs 9
Now, see, this is just one more example of God posturing like Bruce Lee. I feel all my kung fu analogies hold here. Here is God licking the blood of his metaphorical fingers after being attacked by the nations, and then tearing his shirt off, flexing his muscles and making the quintessential Bruce Lee "come get some" hand gesture.
vs 10
So basically everyone is to come and attack God. God thinks he can take them all on.
What will happen? Can God possibly succeed against all these odds? Find out next time!
So, while we're waiting... Sermon: Resurrection - a necessary truth
I hate not having my computer. Took like 20 minutes for this to load up. Stupid old technology.
Anyway, since I preached a sermon on Sunday, I thought why not stick it up here. Unlike my sermon, though, I can stick all my notes and the stuff I didn't end up saying (after I remembered not to just delete it! So there's not as much of that). Enjoy.
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1 Corinthians 15:12-34 and 35-58
The resurrection – a necessary truth
Fact – someone in Corinth was preaching that there was no actual physical bodily resurrection. This is understandable, because after all they did not have a timetable for what was going to happen, and upon seeing some of their number die without Christ having yet returned, the question would have been raised.
Fact – you cannot say that Christ was resurrected, but that no one else will be. Resurrection is an all or nothing affair. If you say there is no resurrection for us, then that means there is no resurrection for Christ. If God can raise Christ, why not us too?
Fact – without the resurrection, there is no eternal hope for Christians. Our hope is merely pinned to this life, and that is truly pitiable.
Fact – without the resurrection, Christianity is meaningless. There is no salvation from sins.
Fact – the resurrection is a key doctrine of early Christianity. The apostles and Paul and the other early preachers like Sosthenes (remember him? He co-authored this book) have been preaching resurrection as a key part of the gospel. It is the third main point of Paul’s gospel summary in vs 4, “He was raised on the third day, according to the Scriptures.” If they can’t be trusted to preach the truth on a core part of the gospel, than that’s bad enough. But if this pivotal part of the gospel is not true, then Christianity as a whole falls down.
Fact – resurrection is a necessary step in God’s plan for our eternity. It is the key to Christ’s victory over all things, which includes death.
Fact – people were being baptized for the dead. Paul’s main point here is not about this practice per se, but rather that it points to a necessity for a resurrection of all people.
Conjecture – We don’t know what this means. It could mean that the same people who were preaching no resurrection were also following baptism for the dead.
Fact – Paul risks his life daily for the gospel. Why would he do that if the only thing to be valued is this life? If that were all he had to look forward to, then why not enjoy this life as much as possible and cling to it tenaciously?
Fact – Paul ends with a warning about ignorance and bad company. We must know all of the core doctrines of Christianity, so that we can recognize when someone is speaking against them. The resurrection, for Paul, is absolutely key to the gospel. Without it, Christianity is nothing. Dropping the resurrection from the faith strips it of its power, makes it useless. We can’t risk that! It’s hard enough being a Christian and standing up for what is right, without having our faith undermined by people who, whether on purpose or by accident, are preaching things that are not in keeping with the core doctrines of Christianity.
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Starting at verse 20, “But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.” Just as the firstfruits of your crops were offered as a sacrifice to God in the Old Covenant to show that God had claim to all of it, Jesus is the firstfruits of the resurrection, to show that God has claim to all life. Jesus was resurrected to show us the model for what is to come for us all. Verse 21, “For since death came through a human being, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a human being. 22 For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.” The resurrection of the dead is made to completely cancel the penalty of sin. Sin kills, but Jesus saves from death. Since we don’t suddenly become invincible when we’re saved, that means that there must be another answer to death. There is – it is the resurrection of us all. Verse 23, “But in this order: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him.” We even get told when our own resurrection will be – when Christ returns! Jesus is coming back (another key part of the Christian faith), and when he does, we will be resurrected just as he was – bodily, from the dead. Verse 24, “Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. 25 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.” So the way it goes is basically Jesus returns; destroys all dominion, authority and power; everyone is resurrected, and that’s it – this earth is then no more. What does Paul mean by dominions and authorities and powers? Verse 26, “The last enemy to be destroyed is death.” Death is a power that is set up against God, so it must be done away with like all other powers set up against God’s plan. Death is destroyed by resurrection. Paul then finishes with a clarification, verse 27 “For he "has put everything under his feet." [c] Now when it says that "everything" has been put under him, it is clear that this does not include God himself, who put everything under Christ. 28 When he has done this, then the Son himself will be made subject to him who put everything under him, so that God may be all in all.”
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Big Idea: The resurrection is a linchpin to the Christian faith. Without it, Christianity is worthless.
Impact: If we are not living our lives with the resurrection in mind, then our faith is pointless.
That means taking risks, like Paul risking his life every day.
That means valuing our eternal life over our current life.
That means valuing other people's eternal lives.
Big Idea: The linchpins of the Christian faith are always under attack.
Impact: Our faith can become useless if we are ignorant.
That means knowing the tenets of our Christian faith.
That means knowing what the core doctrines of Christianity are.
It means combating those who would seek to undermine or mislead people into thinking otherwise.
Sermon 1 Words
How long do you think it would take to get to sleep if you were lying in an uncomfortable position on a particularly uncomfortable couch? What if you had a powerful light flashing regularly straight in your eyes, and your eyes were taped open so you couldn't look away from the light? What if there was also loud blues music blaring at you? Finally, what if you also had an electrode strapped to your leg that zapped you regularly every few seconds, making your leg spasm? You might think that you would never get to sleep under such strained conditions.
Well, in 1960, a professor called Ian Oswald put a number of people in that exact position, and timed how long it took them to go to sleep. He put a brain scanning machine on them to measure when they fell asleep (since their eyes were taped open). Anyone care to guess the results? All the people in the experiment fell asleep within eight to twelve minutes.
So to make it even harder, he sat his subjects at a table, and told them to hit their elbows on the table and clap their hands in time with the music. Now, these people didn't fall into an extended period of sleep. Instead, their brains would regularly shut off, and they would have spells of sleep that would last between 3 and 20 seconds. Their heads would bow, and their actions would stop for a few seconds, and then they would wake up and keep going as if nothing had happened. One of the subjects had 52 of these micro sleep pauses in only 25 minutes, although he could only remember pausing once.
How did these people manage to go to sleep at all, during the flashing lights, the loud music, the electrodes zapping, and even while clapping and banging their elbows? Because everything that was happening to them was happening on a regular basis, and everything they were doing they were doing on a regular basis, and so eventually their brains shut down and ignored it. You might have experienced this while driving a car on a long ride down a straight, boring country road. This experiment proves that no matter how invasive or shocking (pardon the pun) something is, as humans we can eventually get used to it and ignore it. The common saying is “familiarity breeds contempt”, and we all know it's true.
It can get that way for us as Christians. As Christians, we believe some pretty incredible things to be true. But to hear us talk about them sometimes, you would think that we thought they were totally blasé. Even worse than familiarity and indifference, there are some things in the core of the Christian gospel that can get left aside, not even mentioned, or worst of all, they can be dismissed as irrelevant or as unnecessary. In the Corinthian church, this is what some people were doing with one of the most important, core beliefs of the Christian faith – bodily resurrection from the dead. Some people were saying that there was no resurrection from the dead, and worse yet, others were believing them.
So Paul jumps on this problem in chapter 15 of 1 Corinthians. He doesn't mince words here, the issue is too important. He repeats himself, it is so important. To understand this part of 1 Corinthians, we need to understand why the resurrection of the dead is so important to the Christian faith, why it is a necessary belief for Christians to have. So what does a Christian mean when we talk about resurrection? No doubt the first thing that your mind goes to is the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. That is the gospel, as Paul put it in 1 Corinthians 15 starting at verse 3, “that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures” and a bunch of people saw him.
But that is only the beginning of the Christian belief about the resurrection. We don't believe that it stops with Jesus three days after his burial. No, we believe that everyone will be resurrected from the dead, in order to face judgment. That is what Paul is talking about here in 1 Corinthians – the resurrection of all people for judgment, and for the Christian, eternal life.
Paul says that people in the church at Corinth have been saying that there will be no resurrection of people from the dead. And those people exist in the church of today! There are Australian churches that would say that they think resurrection is a spiritual metaphor, a story used to paint a picture of our relationships with God, or with each other, or something. We don't know what those in Corinth were saying, but we have a few clues about why they were saying it. The Greek mindset was to try and understand what was going on in the world around them. It's a very similar mindset to that of our scientific view of the world, except they looked to philosophy rather than science. To them, the idea of a resurrection from the dead sounded implausible. We get a taste of the Greek attitude to resurrection in Acts 17. “A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to dispute with [Paul]. Some of them asked, "What is this babbler trying to say?" Others remarked, "He seems to be advocating foreign gods." They said this because Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection.” Later in verse 32, it says, “When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered.”
Some of them sneered. That's what happens when you talk to a lot of people today about the idea of a resurrection. They sneer. They say things like, “That's just what those silly people in ancient times believed in. No-one would believe in something so preposterous now, not since we know so much about science and the human body.” So some people try and remove resurrection from Christianity, to try and make it more palatable to the modern scientific mindset. Some people say Jesus 'swooned' on the cross, and that he didn't die, but survived being crucified then stabbed in the stomach and being put in a grave for three days. Others say he died, but returned as a ghost to pass on some last-minute information, as if that’s more believable.
The Bible does not accept such nonsense. Jesus Christ died on a cross outside Jerusalem. To make sure he was dead, some soldiers jabbed a spear into him. Roman soldiers may not have had brain scanners and heart rate monitors, but they knew when someone was dead. Ancient people weren't stupid. Then they threw him in a grave and blocked it with a big stone. We know that. But sometimes we forget that God also raised him from the dead on the third day. Oh, we don't forget, sure. But do we actively remember? When we celebrate communion, we remember the body and blood of Christ sacrificed for us to pay for our sins. But do we also faithfully remember the resurrection? Or has it become for us a regularly flashing light that we can so easily ignore? The death of Lord Jesus, Christ, Son of God, is of ultimate importance to the Christian faith. But if you forget the resurrection, then in reality you are just worshiping Spartacus. You're just worshiping any criminal (or innocent) who was crucified and died. If there's no resurrection of Jesus Christ, there is no salvation. In verse 17 of 1 Corinthians 15 Paul says, “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.” Christ's resurrection is the stamp, the guarantee, the proof that he has the power over sin and death. Anyone can say that. Anyone can die on a cross. Some people even do miracles. But without resurrection, without that declaration from God that, “Yes, Jesus has power to cancel sin and its deathly stranglehold”, Jesus' death is meaningless.
But resurrection is more than just Christ on the third day to the Christian faith. That's what these Corinthians were perhaps trying to say –only Jesus for resurrection, no-one else. But you simply can't have Jesus being resurrected and then stop there. Paul says that to them, verse 12, “If it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised.” Paul took this as them speaking against the gospel that he had preached, and that the Corinthians had believed. Now some of them were trying to fiddle with it so that it made more sense, was more acceptable to the Greek view of life. But you can't have it both ways - either Christ was raised from the dead, and so will we all be, or no-one is raised, not even Christ. Resurrection is either a fact or it is not.
Our faith is built on this foundation – that on the last day, we will be raised from the dead in bodily form. Paul gives the Corinthians some important corrective teaching on that here in this chapter. I won’t go into it now – I’ll be looking at the ins and outs of resurrection in my next talk. Sufficed to say that the resurrection of everyone from the dead upon the return of Jesus Christ (another vital tenet of the faith), so as to defeat death, is part of God’s plan to bring ultimate glory to himself.
Sometimes I think we, as Christians, have lost sight of the fact that bodily resurrection is a key part of God’s plan and of our hope for the future. Perhaps we think about spirits floating around with angel wings and harps, or we think of ghosts or disembodied spirits, or some other Hollywood fantasy. I don't know what you think. I will bet that we don't think too much about it at all. This should be a challenge to us. Our faith is useless to us if we are ignorant of it. We must know the tenets of our faith so that we can recognize when people are talking garbage about it. We must know the tenets of our faith so that we base our hope on unshakeable ground. We should be seeking the truth. What good does it do us to be confused or mislead about our faith?
How much do you know about your faith? Are you always strengthening your knowledge of the foundational tenets of the gospel? “How can I do this?” you might ask. Do you read your Bible regularly? And I don’t mean read it like a story book. I mean really read it, study it, learn from it, absorb it? Do you pause when you don’t understand something, and try to puzzle it out, or look for answers? Do you attend a regular bible study, so that you can look into deeper questions you may have about Bible passages, or theological ideas, or how to apply this gospel to your life, or perhaps help others who could learn from your experience in the faith? I hope everyone here does those things. If you’re not reading the Bible regularly, and reading it with a mind to understanding it and learning from it, I cannot encourage you enough to start now. It is of highest importance that we are all increasing our awareness of the gospel, and the most obvious way of doing that is through studying the Bible, both ourselves individually and together in groups. Group study is particularly important – after all, if you make a mistake and come to a wrong conclusion at home by yourself, who will correct you? But in a group, you can sharpen each other’s understanding, like iron sharpens iron.
The Corinthian church had people in their midst who were questioning a key tenet of the Christian faith – the resurrection of the dead on Christ’s return. Paul’s message to them about this inadequacy is harsh, in verse 33, “Do not be misled: "Bad company corrupts good character." Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning; for there are some who are ignorant of God—I say this to your shame.” A mix of ignorance and bad company had become a shameful problem with the Corinthian church. Don’t let it become a shame to you, or your church. Make sure that you are equipped to be knowledgeable of God, and not ignorant, and liable to be swayed by the bad company of the incorrect.
The resurrection of all people for judgment is a huge, shocking claim to make, as much today as it was in ancient Greece. But to us, especially if we've been in churches a while, it can become blasé or even forgotten. Familiarity breeds contempt, our brains go to sleep. We can't afford for that to happen, and so Paul's words are to shake us awake. He says that if Christ has not been raised, “Those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. 19 If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all others.” The Christian faith does not promise merely a relationship with God for this life, and then nothing at death. If it did, then we would be truly pitiable, says Paul. All those Christians who you have known, who you have lived under the teaching and encouragement of, and who are now dead, that would be the end for them. If that’s the case, what’s the point of living a good Christian life? A life dedicated to God is worthless if God has no power over death. Paul says in verse 32, if it’s the case that the dead are not raised, then we may as well eat and drink our lives away, because tomorrow we might be dead, and inevitably life will be over.
But we know, you and I, that’s not the case. We know it’s a fact that Christ was raised from the dead, and therefore that we can expect resurrection at the end, just like Paul expected. Or if you didn’t know that, hopefully I’ve convinced you with Paul’s words here in 1 Corinthians. But what of it? If a Christian who doesn’t believe in the resurrection is pitiful, what does it look like when a Christian does let the truth of the final resurrection impact their life? How should the resurrection of all for judgment, and Christians for eternity, affect our life? To answer that question, let’s look at how it affected Paul’s life, because it did, profoundly. Verse 30, “As for us, why do we endanger ourselves every hour? 31 I face death every day—yes, just as surely as I boast about you in Christ Jesus our Lord. 32 If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus with no more than human hopes, what have I gained?”
That’s what it looks like to live as if you believed in your resurrection. Paul endangered himself every hour. He took risks. He faced death every day. After all, why not? So what if he dies – he’s going to be resurrected! Paul was beaten, flogged, imprisoned. People called him names, they blamed him for things he didn’t do. He got so many stones thrown at him once that people thought he was dead. People sneered at him, yelled at him, followed him around and poured scorn on him. But so what? When he died, he’s going to be resurrected!
If you live like you expect to be resurrected, you are going to be prepared to take risks! I don’t mean going bungee jumping or skydiving – although there’s no reason not to. While I was preparing this sermon, I watched the movie Master and Commander– a movie about a British warship and its captain and crew during the Napoleonic wars, so big sails, cannons, rigging, swashbuckling and the like. The thing that really struck me was the quite simple motivations of the regular crew. Most of them didn’t volunteer – they were press-ganged – forced into service on a naval vessel by people with clubs. And yet when an enemy ship came up close, it was their job to take up swords, clubs, whatever was available, and to storm onto the enemy ship and put their lives in danger to seize it, or at least defend their own ship. I was going to show a short scene from the movie depicting one of these battles, but in the end I decided it too gruesome for public viewing.
Why would someone be prepared to risk their life when they had been enslaved into wartime service? After the battle was over, the dead were prepared for burial, and this is the prayer that was read out – a typical prayer for burial at sea from the church’s prayer book at the time.
WE therefore commit their bodies to the deep,
to be turned into corruption,
looking for the resurrection of the body
(when the sea shall give up her dead,)
and the life of the world to come, through our Lord Jesus Christ;
who at his coming shall change our vile body, that it may be like his glorious body, according to the mighty working whereby he is able to subdue all things unto himself.
Their hope was in the resurrection. They knew that at the last day the sea would give up her dead. That was their hope, and they were prepared to live the lives of dashing adventure and naval heroism that was forced on them. And before you seek to casually dismiss the simple faith of the average seaman, I will point out, as my wife did to me, that every Sunday they had a church service on the ships, not to mention the large number of missions that were built to reach out to seamen, some of which still endure today.
So Christians should be involved in dashing acts of heroism aboard large boats because they believe in the resurrection? That’s not what I’m saying. What I am saying is that Christians should be prepared to take risks to serve God and live a godly life because we have the hope of a resurrection for ourselves. Is that what your life looks like? Do you take risks for God knowing that you can look forward to resurrection? Or do you live comfortably for yourself? Sure, you might not be in a position where people will throw stones at you or arrest you, as happened to Paul. But then isn’t that all the more reason to take a risk?
What kind of risks should we be taking? Well, if you’re like me, possibly the most frightening thing you can think of is to shamelessly proclaim Christ openly in every avenue of your life. If you’re like me, you’re afraid of sharing the gospel with people you know. If you’re like me, you’re afraid of even using Christian language. You might find it difficult to talk to non-Christian friends or family, whom you hold in high esteem, about Christian and spiritual things at all. Just two weeks ago I was afraid to tell a non-Christian friend of mine that I’ve been praying for him, for a back problem that he has. Why? Am I afraid that he’s going to have me arrested? Flogged? Throw rocks at me? Of course not! I am afraid that he will sneer. Just like those Greeks that Paul shared the truth of the resurrection with. They sneered. Having a friend think less of me is uncomfortable, and so I am afraid of my own discomfort.
So if you’re like me and you’re afraid of what other people think of you, then join me in taking hold of our faith in the resurrection, and let’s change our language so that it more accurately reflects what we believe. Tell people you’re praying for them (and then of course do it!). Deny yourself, and talk up Christ – give him the glory for the good things you might do. Maybe even take a risk and talk to one of your non-Christian friends about Jesus, and the resurrection at the last day. Will their name be in the book of life? Or will they be resurrected only to be judged for their actions and then thrown into the lake of fire, the second death, hell?
Remember, you’re not just taking this risk to prove to me or yourself or God that you have faith in the resurrection. It’s not a macho thing we’re talking about, a sort of muscle flexing exercise to show how rooted in our faith we are. Paul didn’t risk his life to show how faithful he was. He did it because he wanted to see people reached with the gospel. He wanted to serve his God as much as possible. His way of life was informed by his belief that if his death were to occur (which it inevitably did, at the hands of the Romans) that he was going to be resurrected at the last day. So let’s not speak more boldly about Jesus just to massage our own egos about how faithful we are. Let’s do it because we really want to see people saved, and we believe so strongly in the resurrection that we’re not afraid of death, let alone a little shame or sneering.
Because the fact is that the resurrection is a resurrection for everyone. Just as the resurrection is not just about Jesus, it’s certainly not just about you! Everyone is going to be resurrected. Everyone you have known. Everyone you know. Everyone you will ever meet is going to be resurrected on the last day, and they’re going to have to face their creator. What’s going to happen to them? Have a care for those people for whom the resurrection is not going to be a glorious event, but a fearful one. And remember this - when Paul was preaching about the resurrection in Acts 17, some of the Greeks scoffed and sneered, yes. But look at verse 32 again - some of them asked him to speak again. We live in a hardened country, but we worship a powerful God. If we are faithful to him and seek to glorify him, even simply with the words we speak, then he will be glorified, and people will be touched. People will be saved. And that’s just with our words! Imagine if all of us here really devoted our whole lives to Christ, as if we were afraid of nothing, because we were solidly hopeful of the last day resurrection! But one step at a time. Let’s all of us get at least these two things together this year. In 2009, let’s all be involved in regularly reading and studying the Bible – both on our own, and particularly with other Christians so that we will not be ignorant of our faith. Secondly, let’s seek to take risks as Christians hopeful of a resurrection, with at least our mouths, so that our fear of people’s sneering and the discomfort that might come will be countered by our hope in the resurrection. Let’s remember that our non-Christian friends too are going to be resurrected, and that for them it is not going to be a hopeful or pleasant experience. With their good in mind, let us honour God by taking risks in front of non-Christians.
The truth of the resurrection is a bright flashing light, it’s blaring music, it’s even a shocking electrode. But even so, you can still switch off from it and all too easily go to sleep. Stay focused on the truth, and start living your lives with your eyes set on the hope of the resurrection today.
Anyway, since I preached a sermon on Sunday, I thought why not stick it up here. Unlike my sermon, though, I can stick all my notes and the stuff I didn't end up saying (after I remembered not to just delete it! So there's not as much of that). Enjoy.
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1 Corinthians 15:12-34 and 35-58
The resurrection – a necessary truth
Fact – someone in Corinth was preaching that there was no actual physical bodily resurrection. This is understandable, because after all they did not have a timetable for what was going to happen, and upon seeing some of their number die without Christ having yet returned, the question would have been raised.
Fact – you cannot say that Christ was resurrected, but that no one else will be. Resurrection is an all or nothing affair. If you say there is no resurrection for us, then that means there is no resurrection for Christ. If God can raise Christ, why not us too?
Fact – without the resurrection, there is no eternal hope for Christians. Our hope is merely pinned to this life, and that is truly pitiable.
Fact – without the resurrection, Christianity is meaningless. There is no salvation from sins.
Fact – the resurrection is a key doctrine of early Christianity. The apostles and Paul and the other early preachers like Sosthenes (remember him? He co-authored this book) have been preaching resurrection as a key part of the gospel. It is the third main point of Paul’s gospel summary in vs 4, “He was raised on the third day, according to the Scriptures.” If they can’t be trusted to preach the truth on a core part of the gospel, than that’s bad enough. But if this pivotal part of the gospel is not true, then Christianity as a whole falls down.
Fact – resurrection is a necessary step in God’s plan for our eternity. It is the key to Christ’s victory over all things, which includes death.
Fact – people were being baptized for the dead. Paul’s main point here is not about this practice per se, but rather that it points to a necessity for a resurrection of all people.
Conjecture – We don’t know what this means. It could mean that the same people who were preaching no resurrection were also following baptism for the dead.
Fact – Paul risks his life daily for the gospel. Why would he do that if the only thing to be valued is this life? If that were all he had to look forward to, then why not enjoy this life as much as possible and cling to it tenaciously?
Fact – Paul ends with a warning about ignorance and bad company. We must know all of the core doctrines of Christianity, so that we can recognize when someone is speaking against them. The resurrection, for Paul, is absolutely key to the gospel. Without it, Christianity is nothing. Dropping the resurrection from the faith strips it of its power, makes it useless. We can’t risk that! It’s hard enough being a Christian and standing up for what is right, without having our faith undermined by people who, whether on purpose or by accident, are preaching things that are not in keeping with the core doctrines of Christianity.
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Starting at verse 20, “But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.” Just as the firstfruits of your crops were offered as a sacrifice to God in the Old Covenant to show that God had claim to all of it, Jesus is the firstfruits of the resurrection, to show that God has claim to all life. Jesus was resurrected to show us the model for what is to come for us all. Verse 21, “For since death came through a human being, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a human being. 22 For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.” The resurrection of the dead is made to completely cancel the penalty of sin. Sin kills, but Jesus saves from death. Since we don’t suddenly become invincible when we’re saved, that means that there must be another answer to death. There is – it is the resurrection of us all. Verse 23, “But in this order: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him.” We even get told when our own resurrection will be – when Christ returns! Jesus is coming back (another key part of the Christian faith), and when he does, we will be resurrected just as he was – bodily, from the dead. Verse 24, “Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. 25 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.” So the way it goes is basically Jesus returns; destroys all dominion, authority and power; everyone is resurrected, and that’s it – this earth is then no more. What does Paul mean by dominions and authorities and powers? Verse 26, “The last enemy to be destroyed is death.” Death is a power that is set up against God, so it must be done away with like all other powers set up against God’s plan. Death is destroyed by resurrection. Paul then finishes with a clarification, verse 27 “For he "has put everything under his feet." [c] Now when it says that "everything" has been put under him, it is clear that this does not include God himself, who put everything under Christ. 28 When he has done this, then the Son himself will be made subject to him who put everything under him, so that God may be all in all.”
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Big Idea: The resurrection is a linchpin to the Christian faith. Without it, Christianity is worthless.
Impact: If we are not living our lives with the resurrection in mind, then our faith is pointless.
That means taking risks, like Paul risking his life every day.
That means valuing our eternal life over our current life.
That means valuing other people's eternal lives.
Big Idea: The linchpins of the Christian faith are always under attack.
Impact: Our faith can become useless if we are ignorant.
That means knowing the tenets of our Christian faith.
That means knowing what the core doctrines of Christianity are.
It means combating those who would seek to undermine or mislead people into thinking otherwise.
Sermon 1 Words
How long do you think it would take to get to sleep if you were lying in an uncomfortable position on a particularly uncomfortable couch? What if you had a powerful light flashing regularly straight in your eyes, and your eyes were taped open so you couldn't look away from the light? What if there was also loud blues music blaring at you? Finally, what if you also had an electrode strapped to your leg that zapped you regularly every few seconds, making your leg spasm? You might think that you would never get to sleep under such strained conditions.
Well, in 1960, a professor called Ian Oswald put a number of people in that exact position, and timed how long it took them to go to sleep. He put a brain scanning machine on them to measure when they fell asleep (since their eyes were taped open). Anyone care to guess the results? All the people in the experiment fell asleep within eight to twelve minutes.
So to make it even harder, he sat his subjects at a table, and told them to hit their elbows on the table and clap their hands in time with the music. Now, these people didn't fall into an extended period of sleep. Instead, their brains would regularly shut off, and they would have spells of sleep that would last between 3 and 20 seconds. Their heads would bow, and their actions would stop for a few seconds, and then they would wake up and keep going as if nothing had happened. One of the subjects had 52 of these micro sleep pauses in only 25 minutes, although he could only remember pausing once.
How did these people manage to go to sleep at all, during the flashing lights, the loud music, the electrodes zapping, and even while clapping and banging their elbows? Because everything that was happening to them was happening on a regular basis, and everything they were doing they were doing on a regular basis, and so eventually their brains shut down and ignored it. You might have experienced this while driving a car on a long ride down a straight, boring country road. This experiment proves that no matter how invasive or shocking (pardon the pun) something is, as humans we can eventually get used to it and ignore it. The common saying is “familiarity breeds contempt”, and we all know it's true.
It can get that way for us as Christians. As Christians, we believe some pretty incredible things to be true. But to hear us talk about them sometimes, you would think that we thought they were totally blasé. Even worse than familiarity and indifference, there are some things in the core of the Christian gospel that can get left aside, not even mentioned, or worst of all, they can be dismissed as irrelevant or as unnecessary. In the Corinthian church, this is what some people were doing with one of the most important, core beliefs of the Christian faith – bodily resurrection from the dead. Some people were saying that there was no resurrection from the dead, and worse yet, others were believing them.
So Paul jumps on this problem in chapter 15 of 1 Corinthians. He doesn't mince words here, the issue is too important. He repeats himself, it is so important. To understand this part of 1 Corinthians, we need to understand why the resurrection of the dead is so important to the Christian faith, why it is a necessary belief for Christians to have. So what does a Christian mean when we talk about resurrection? No doubt the first thing that your mind goes to is the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. That is the gospel, as Paul put it in 1 Corinthians 15 starting at verse 3, “that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures” and a bunch of people saw him.
But that is only the beginning of the Christian belief about the resurrection. We don't believe that it stops with Jesus three days after his burial. No, we believe that everyone will be resurrected from the dead, in order to face judgment. That is what Paul is talking about here in 1 Corinthians – the resurrection of all people for judgment, and for the Christian, eternal life.
Paul says that people in the church at Corinth have been saying that there will be no resurrection of people from the dead. And those people exist in the church of today! There are Australian churches that would say that they think resurrection is a spiritual metaphor, a story used to paint a picture of our relationships with God, or with each other, or something. We don't know what those in Corinth were saying, but we have a few clues about why they were saying it. The Greek mindset was to try and understand what was going on in the world around them. It's a very similar mindset to that of our scientific view of the world, except they looked to philosophy rather than science. To them, the idea of a resurrection from the dead sounded implausible. We get a taste of the Greek attitude to resurrection in Acts 17. “A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to dispute with [Paul]. Some of them asked, "What is this babbler trying to say?" Others remarked, "He seems to be advocating foreign gods." They said this because Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection.” Later in verse 32, it says, “When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered.”
Some of them sneered. That's what happens when you talk to a lot of people today about the idea of a resurrection. They sneer. They say things like, “That's just what those silly people in ancient times believed in. No-one would believe in something so preposterous now, not since we know so much about science and the human body.” So some people try and remove resurrection from Christianity, to try and make it more palatable to the modern scientific mindset. Some people say Jesus 'swooned' on the cross, and that he didn't die, but survived being crucified then stabbed in the stomach and being put in a grave for three days. Others say he died, but returned as a ghost to pass on some last-minute information, as if that’s more believable.
The Bible does not accept such nonsense. Jesus Christ died on a cross outside Jerusalem. To make sure he was dead, some soldiers jabbed a spear into him. Roman soldiers may not have had brain scanners and heart rate monitors, but they knew when someone was dead. Ancient people weren't stupid. Then they threw him in a grave and blocked it with a big stone. We know that. But sometimes we forget that God also raised him from the dead on the third day. Oh, we don't forget, sure. But do we actively remember? When we celebrate communion, we remember the body and blood of Christ sacrificed for us to pay for our sins. But do we also faithfully remember the resurrection? Or has it become for us a regularly flashing light that we can so easily ignore? The death of Lord Jesus, Christ, Son of God, is of ultimate importance to the Christian faith. But if you forget the resurrection, then in reality you are just worshiping Spartacus. You're just worshiping any criminal (or innocent) who was crucified and died. If there's no resurrection of Jesus Christ, there is no salvation. In verse 17 of 1 Corinthians 15 Paul says, “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.” Christ's resurrection is the stamp, the guarantee, the proof that he has the power over sin and death. Anyone can say that. Anyone can die on a cross. Some people even do miracles. But without resurrection, without that declaration from God that, “Yes, Jesus has power to cancel sin and its deathly stranglehold”, Jesus' death is meaningless.
But resurrection is more than just Christ on the third day to the Christian faith. That's what these Corinthians were perhaps trying to say –only Jesus for resurrection, no-one else. But you simply can't have Jesus being resurrected and then stop there. Paul says that to them, verse 12, “If it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised.” Paul took this as them speaking against the gospel that he had preached, and that the Corinthians had believed. Now some of them were trying to fiddle with it so that it made more sense, was more acceptable to the Greek view of life. But you can't have it both ways - either Christ was raised from the dead, and so will we all be, or no-one is raised, not even Christ. Resurrection is either a fact or it is not.
Our faith is built on this foundation – that on the last day, we will be raised from the dead in bodily form. Paul gives the Corinthians some important corrective teaching on that here in this chapter. I won’t go into it now – I’ll be looking at the ins and outs of resurrection in my next talk. Sufficed to say that the resurrection of everyone from the dead upon the return of Jesus Christ (another vital tenet of the faith), so as to defeat death, is part of God’s plan to bring ultimate glory to himself.
Sometimes I think we, as Christians, have lost sight of the fact that bodily resurrection is a key part of God’s plan and of our hope for the future. Perhaps we think about spirits floating around with angel wings and harps, or we think of ghosts or disembodied spirits, or some other Hollywood fantasy. I don't know what you think. I will bet that we don't think too much about it at all. This should be a challenge to us. Our faith is useless to us if we are ignorant of it. We must know the tenets of our faith so that we can recognize when people are talking garbage about it. We must know the tenets of our faith so that we base our hope on unshakeable ground. We should be seeking the truth. What good does it do us to be confused or mislead about our faith?
How much do you know about your faith? Are you always strengthening your knowledge of the foundational tenets of the gospel? “How can I do this?” you might ask. Do you read your Bible regularly? And I don’t mean read it like a story book. I mean really read it, study it, learn from it, absorb it? Do you pause when you don’t understand something, and try to puzzle it out, or look for answers? Do you attend a regular bible study, so that you can look into deeper questions you may have about Bible passages, or theological ideas, or how to apply this gospel to your life, or perhaps help others who could learn from your experience in the faith? I hope everyone here does those things. If you’re not reading the Bible regularly, and reading it with a mind to understanding it and learning from it, I cannot encourage you enough to start now. It is of highest importance that we are all increasing our awareness of the gospel, and the most obvious way of doing that is through studying the Bible, both ourselves individually and together in groups. Group study is particularly important – after all, if you make a mistake and come to a wrong conclusion at home by yourself, who will correct you? But in a group, you can sharpen each other’s understanding, like iron sharpens iron.
The Corinthian church had people in their midst who were questioning a key tenet of the Christian faith – the resurrection of the dead on Christ’s return. Paul’s message to them about this inadequacy is harsh, in verse 33, “Do not be misled: "Bad company corrupts good character." Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning; for there are some who are ignorant of God—I say this to your shame.” A mix of ignorance and bad company had become a shameful problem with the Corinthian church. Don’t let it become a shame to you, or your church. Make sure that you are equipped to be knowledgeable of God, and not ignorant, and liable to be swayed by the bad company of the incorrect.
The resurrection of all people for judgment is a huge, shocking claim to make, as much today as it was in ancient Greece. But to us, especially if we've been in churches a while, it can become blasé or even forgotten. Familiarity breeds contempt, our brains go to sleep. We can't afford for that to happen, and so Paul's words are to shake us awake. He says that if Christ has not been raised, “Those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. 19 If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all others.” The Christian faith does not promise merely a relationship with God for this life, and then nothing at death. If it did, then we would be truly pitiable, says Paul. All those Christians who you have known, who you have lived under the teaching and encouragement of, and who are now dead, that would be the end for them. If that’s the case, what’s the point of living a good Christian life? A life dedicated to God is worthless if God has no power over death. Paul says in verse 32, if it’s the case that the dead are not raised, then we may as well eat and drink our lives away, because tomorrow we might be dead, and inevitably life will be over.
But we know, you and I, that’s not the case. We know it’s a fact that Christ was raised from the dead, and therefore that we can expect resurrection at the end, just like Paul expected. Or if you didn’t know that, hopefully I’ve convinced you with Paul’s words here in 1 Corinthians. But what of it? If a Christian who doesn’t believe in the resurrection is pitiful, what does it look like when a Christian does let the truth of the final resurrection impact their life? How should the resurrection of all for judgment, and Christians for eternity, affect our life? To answer that question, let’s look at how it affected Paul’s life, because it did, profoundly. Verse 30, “As for us, why do we endanger ourselves every hour? 31 I face death every day—yes, just as surely as I boast about you in Christ Jesus our Lord. 32 If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus with no more than human hopes, what have I gained?”
That’s what it looks like to live as if you believed in your resurrection. Paul endangered himself every hour. He took risks. He faced death every day. After all, why not? So what if he dies – he’s going to be resurrected! Paul was beaten, flogged, imprisoned. People called him names, they blamed him for things he didn’t do. He got so many stones thrown at him once that people thought he was dead. People sneered at him, yelled at him, followed him around and poured scorn on him. But so what? When he died, he’s going to be resurrected!
If you live like you expect to be resurrected, you are going to be prepared to take risks! I don’t mean going bungee jumping or skydiving – although there’s no reason not to. While I was preparing this sermon, I watched the movie Master and Commander– a movie about a British warship and its captain and crew during the Napoleonic wars, so big sails, cannons, rigging, swashbuckling and the like. The thing that really struck me was the quite simple motivations of the regular crew. Most of them didn’t volunteer – they were press-ganged – forced into service on a naval vessel by people with clubs. And yet when an enemy ship came up close, it was their job to take up swords, clubs, whatever was available, and to storm onto the enemy ship and put their lives in danger to seize it, or at least defend their own ship. I was going to show a short scene from the movie depicting one of these battles, but in the end I decided it too gruesome for public viewing.
Why would someone be prepared to risk their life when they had been enslaved into wartime service? After the battle was over, the dead were prepared for burial, and this is the prayer that was read out – a typical prayer for burial at sea from the church’s prayer book at the time.
WE therefore commit their bodies to the deep,
to be turned into corruption,
looking for the resurrection of the body
(when the sea shall give up her dead,)
and the life of the world to come, through our Lord Jesus Christ;
who at his coming shall change our vile body, that it may be like his glorious body, according to the mighty working whereby he is able to subdue all things unto himself.
Their hope was in the resurrection. They knew that at the last day the sea would give up her dead. That was their hope, and they were prepared to live the lives of dashing adventure and naval heroism that was forced on them. And before you seek to casually dismiss the simple faith of the average seaman, I will point out, as my wife did to me, that every Sunday they had a church service on the ships, not to mention the large number of missions that were built to reach out to seamen, some of which still endure today.
So Christians should be involved in dashing acts of heroism aboard large boats because they believe in the resurrection? That’s not what I’m saying. What I am saying is that Christians should be prepared to take risks to serve God and live a godly life because we have the hope of a resurrection for ourselves. Is that what your life looks like? Do you take risks for God knowing that you can look forward to resurrection? Or do you live comfortably for yourself? Sure, you might not be in a position where people will throw stones at you or arrest you, as happened to Paul. But then isn’t that all the more reason to take a risk?
What kind of risks should we be taking? Well, if you’re like me, possibly the most frightening thing you can think of is to shamelessly proclaim Christ openly in every avenue of your life. If you’re like me, you’re afraid of sharing the gospel with people you know. If you’re like me, you’re afraid of even using Christian language. You might find it difficult to talk to non-Christian friends or family, whom you hold in high esteem, about Christian and spiritual things at all. Just two weeks ago I was afraid to tell a non-Christian friend of mine that I’ve been praying for him, for a back problem that he has. Why? Am I afraid that he’s going to have me arrested? Flogged? Throw rocks at me? Of course not! I am afraid that he will sneer. Just like those Greeks that Paul shared the truth of the resurrection with. They sneered. Having a friend think less of me is uncomfortable, and so I am afraid of my own discomfort.
So if you’re like me and you’re afraid of what other people think of you, then join me in taking hold of our faith in the resurrection, and let’s change our language so that it more accurately reflects what we believe. Tell people you’re praying for them (and then of course do it!). Deny yourself, and talk up Christ – give him the glory for the good things you might do. Maybe even take a risk and talk to one of your non-Christian friends about Jesus, and the resurrection at the last day. Will their name be in the book of life? Or will they be resurrected only to be judged for their actions and then thrown into the lake of fire, the second death, hell?
Remember, you’re not just taking this risk to prove to me or yourself or God that you have faith in the resurrection. It’s not a macho thing we’re talking about, a sort of muscle flexing exercise to show how rooted in our faith we are. Paul didn’t risk his life to show how faithful he was. He did it because he wanted to see people reached with the gospel. He wanted to serve his God as much as possible. His way of life was informed by his belief that if his death were to occur (which it inevitably did, at the hands of the Romans) that he was going to be resurrected at the last day. So let’s not speak more boldly about Jesus just to massage our own egos about how faithful we are. Let’s do it because we really want to see people saved, and we believe so strongly in the resurrection that we’re not afraid of death, let alone a little shame or sneering.
Because the fact is that the resurrection is a resurrection for everyone. Just as the resurrection is not just about Jesus, it’s certainly not just about you! Everyone is going to be resurrected. Everyone you have known. Everyone you know. Everyone you will ever meet is going to be resurrected on the last day, and they’re going to have to face their creator. What’s going to happen to them? Have a care for those people for whom the resurrection is not going to be a glorious event, but a fearful one. And remember this - when Paul was preaching about the resurrection in Acts 17, some of the Greeks scoffed and sneered, yes. But look at verse 32 again - some of them asked him to speak again. We live in a hardened country, but we worship a powerful God. If we are faithful to him and seek to glorify him, even simply with the words we speak, then he will be glorified, and people will be touched. People will be saved. And that’s just with our words! Imagine if all of us here really devoted our whole lives to Christ, as if we were afraid of nothing, because we were solidly hopeful of the last day resurrection! But one step at a time. Let’s all of us get at least these two things together this year. In 2009, let’s all be involved in regularly reading and studying the Bible – both on our own, and particularly with other Christians so that we will not be ignorant of our faith. Secondly, let’s seek to take risks as Christians hopeful of a resurrection, with at least our mouths, so that our fear of people’s sneering and the discomfort that might come will be countered by our hope in the resurrection. Let’s remember that our non-Christian friends too are going to be resurrected, and that for them it is not going to be a hopeful or pleasant experience. With their good in mind, let us honour God by taking risks in front of non-Christians.
The truth of the resurrection is a bright flashing light, it’s blaring music, it’s even a shocking electrode. But even so, you can still switch off from it and all too easily go to sleep. Stay focused on the truth, and start living your lives with your eyes set on the hope of the resurrection today.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Joel chapter 2
vs 11
Whether this is a real army, or an army of locusts, the message is that it is God's army or locusts.
This has got to bring you down. I mean, if it's God's army, who's going to stand up against it? No-one, that's who.
vs 12
The thing is, here, that although this verse says "Return to me," the book never really makes it clear that Israel has turned away. It never outlines what the people have done wrong. I should point out that the Hebrew word for 'return' can also mean 'turn'. I will admit that a lot of the time it means 'return', but then a lot of the time Israel is being told what they did wrong too.
This makes the (uninspired) headings of the NIV and TNIV interesting as I pointed out before in chapter one - one says there is a call for "Repentance" (NIV), and one says a call for "Lamentation" (TNIV). Lamentations aren't necessarily repentant. You can lament the bad stuff that's happening to you even though you didn't deserve it to happen - Job and Ecclesiastes teach us that these things are possible.
And since we don't know when Joel was written, we can't really say, "Oh, well, Israel was doing this specific bad at that time". Although, as many people point out and I freely admit, Israel sucked mega at doing what God wanted, so inevitably they were cruising for a bruising for something. My point is that if you want people to repent, you generally tell them what they did wrong. Joel does not. Not ever, if you read this as "turn" and not "return".
vs 13
Of course we all know that in times of lamentation and mourning, the Israelite would tear their clothes in half and put ashes on their head and wear sackcloth and all sorts of things. This is not a call for some sort of invasive and obviously fatal cardio surgery. It is in fact using heart (probably bowels) for an idiom regarding the emotions, feelings and such.
What God is looking for in all this is a lamentation of the heart for the bad things that's happening. If the people return (or turn) to God, it is possible that he will even save them from the oncoming calamity that is the Day of the Lord - whether it be another oncoming locust plague, or the most devastating day of judgment at the end of time.
vs 14
Not only could they be saved from bad, but they could even get a blessing - although you notice what that is, only offerings to give to God. I say 'only' because I mean 'nothing but'. After all, this should be the most important thing to them, and the thing over which they mourn and lament.
vs 15
And so this is what they are instructed to do - hold a sacred assembly so that the whole nation can fast and mourn and wail and call out to God for his mercy.
vs 16
Everyone is to come - there is nothing so important that you should complete it before coming to mourn - not even a wedding should get in the way!
vs 17
As is done many times in the Bible, the priests are to mourn not because they are getting punished (or just served by the nastiness of life), but because God's name will not ultimately be glorified by this occurrence. If all God's people perish, then it is of no glory to God, for it would be expected that he would save them, not wipe them out.
It's a hard mindset to get into.
vs 18
This is translated in the past tense. Is it really in the past? Well, let's trust the translators and say it was. So then, does this signal that there was a time of national mourning and lamentation, and that they were saved from a day of the Lord, rather than The Day of the Lord?
vs 19
If this is really in the past, did Israel "never again become an object of scorn for the nations?" Nah, bollocks. Of course they did. Many, many times since Joel was written, no matter how late a date you tkae on it. So I think we might be looking at a less obvious tense here - perhaps like a prophetic perfect, where you read it into the past because you are so sure that this is what God will do? Or perhaps this is God's word to the people who face the real Day of the Lord?
vs 20
That for one gives you an idea of just how big a swarm it is (if it's locusts), or just how far ranging the armies against them were (if it's armies).
vs 21
Again, see how it talks in the past tense about God's actions? Either it's saying that he will do, and it's so sure he will do that he has done - or it's talking about God's past great actions as a guarantee for his future ones. That's also fair.
vs 22
How often does God prophesy to animals? Here he is obviously speaking about the renewal of the land after the locust attacks. But now notice the tense - it's happening, rather than having happened.
vs 23
Rain is just one of those things we know we've got bugger all control over, and so God uses it to illustrate his blessing on the people. Of course, rain is also highly important to an agricultural society whom can starve it there's a long enough drought.
vs 24
All these things are those which were given up in sacrifice. But there won't just be enough for sacrifice, there will be plenty for everyone. When God rains down blessings, he does it in spades.
vs 25
Now here is an interesting reference to time - when it talks about the four locust swarms, it is possible that they were facing now their fifth year of a locust plague (as in the four that had been hadn't been all in the one harvest, but had been spread out over the years). That would totally suck. I can't prove it, but it does say that years plural were taken away by the locusts.
vs 26
Again, a promise about "never again". I don't know what you do with these, but I see them as somewhat problematic. "Never again - until I do it again"? Or are we, as some people would probably want to read it so as to separate themselves from such troubles, reading now a promise of the eternal future? Certainly the "eat and have plenty" sounds much more like it refers to the present time when they are hungry.
vs 27
Now, of course that's a lot easier to read as a last days thing - when God is really in Israel. But the point is that people should know God is in Israel when he saves them from the fifth straight year of locust plague, shouldn't he?
Perhaps this is what is called by some people the dual prophetic perspective - or what I'd call double dipping - where the prophet is talking about two things, the immediate problem, and a final end times thing too.
vs 28
Now, I can pretty much guarantee that this didn't happen to Israel. So this is certainly some future vision going on. It's really a great vision. And we know when it happened too - in Acts 2, I think. At least, Peter recognises it as such, and I think we can all agree with him. The Spirit of God for the masses. It's unheard of in the OT.
vs 29
As was pointed out in an rather good sermon I listened to recently, this Spirit outpouring knows no gender or social fabric. And that was preached by a chick, so that proves it.
vs 30
This doesn't sound quite so happy and fun. But it certainly would focus everyone on the end of days.
vs 31
And it will be a dreadful day, for most people. I for one want box office seats for that spectacle, but I don't know that they're on offer this millenium. Here's hoping.
vs 32
Because, see, even here in the OT God promises that not everyone will be punished on the great day of badness. Thankfully for us, we can read Zion and Jerusalem figuratively, because if we couldn't we'd be boned.
Whether this is a real army, or an army of locusts, the message is that it is God's army or locusts.
This has got to bring you down. I mean, if it's God's army, who's going to stand up against it? No-one, that's who.
vs 12
The thing is, here, that although this verse says "Return to me," the book never really makes it clear that Israel has turned away. It never outlines what the people have done wrong. I should point out that the Hebrew word for 'return' can also mean 'turn'. I will admit that a lot of the time it means 'return', but then a lot of the time Israel is being told what they did wrong too.
This makes the (uninspired) headings of the NIV and TNIV interesting as I pointed out before in chapter one - one says there is a call for "Repentance" (NIV), and one says a call for "Lamentation" (TNIV). Lamentations aren't necessarily repentant. You can lament the bad stuff that's happening to you even though you didn't deserve it to happen - Job and Ecclesiastes teach us that these things are possible.
And since we don't know when Joel was written, we can't really say, "Oh, well, Israel was doing this specific bad at that time". Although, as many people point out and I freely admit, Israel sucked mega at doing what God wanted, so inevitably they were cruising for a bruising for something. My point is that if you want people to repent, you generally tell them what they did wrong. Joel does not. Not ever, if you read this as "turn" and not "return".
vs 13
Of course we all know that in times of lamentation and mourning, the Israelite would tear their clothes in half and put ashes on their head and wear sackcloth and all sorts of things. This is not a call for some sort of invasive and obviously fatal cardio surgery. It is in fact using heart (probably bowels) for an idiom regarding the emotions, feelings and such.
What God is looking for in all this is a lamentation of the heart for the bad things that's happening. If the people return (or turn) to God, it is possible that he will even save them from the oncoming calamity that is the Day of the Lord - whether it be another oncoming locust plague, or the most devastating day of judgment at the end of time.
vs 14
Not only could they be saved from bad, but they could even get a blessing - although you notice what that is, only offerings to give to God. I say 'only' because I mean 'nothing but'. After all, this should be the most important thing to them, and the thing over which they mourn and lament.
vs 15
And so this is what they are instructed to do - hold a sacred assembly so that the whole nation can fast and mourn and wail and call out to God for his mercy.
vs 16
Everyone is to come - there is nothing so important that you should complete it before coming to mourn - not even a wedding should get in the way!
vs 17
As is done many times in the Bible, the priests are to mourn not because they are getting punished (or just served by the nastiness of life), but because God's name will not ultimately be glorified by this occurrence. If all God's people perish, then it is of no glory to God, for it would be expected that he would save them, not wipe them out.
It's a hard mindset to get into.
vs 18
This is translated in the past tense. Is it really in the past? Well, let's trust the translators and say it was. So then, does this signal that there was a time of national mourning and lamentation, and that they were saved from a day of the Lord, rather than The Day of the Lord?
vs 19
If this is really in the past, did Israel "never again become an object of scorn for the nations?" Nah, bollocks. Of course they did. Many, many times since Joel was written, no matter how late a date you tkae on it. So I think we might be looking at a less obvious tense here - perhaps like a prophetic perfect, where you read it into the past because you are so sure that this is what God will do? Or perhaps this is God's word to the people who face the real Day of the Lord?
vs 20
That for one gives you an idea of just how big a swarm it is (if it's locusts), or just how far ranging the armies against them were (if it's armies).
vs 21
Again, see how it talks in the past tense about God's actions? Either it's saying that he will do, and it's so sure he will do that he has done - or it's talking about God's past great actions as a guarantee for his future ones. That's also fair.
vs 22
How often does God prophesy to animals? Here he is obviously speaking about the renewal of the land after the locust attacks. But now notice the tense - it's happening, rather than having happened.
vs 23
Rain is just one of those things we know we've got bugger all control over, and so God uses it to illustrate his blessing on the people. Of course, rain is also highly important to an agricultural society whom can starve it there's a long enough drought.
vs 24
All these things are those which were given up in sacrifice. But there won't just be enough for sacrifice, there will be plenty for everyone. When God rains down blessings, he does it in spades.
vs 25
Now here is an interesting reference to time - when it talks about the four locust swarms, it is possible that they were facing now their fifth year of a locust plague (as in the four that had been hadn't been all in the one harvest, but had been spread out over the years). That would totally suck. I can't prove it, but it does say that years plural were taken away by the locusts.
vs 26
Again, a promise about "never again". I don't know what you do with these, but I see them as somewhat problematic. "Never again - until I do it again"? Or are we, as some people would probably want to read it so as to separate themselves from such troubles, reading now a promise of the eternal future? Certainly the "eat and have plenty" sounds much more like it refers to the present time when they are hungry.
vs 27
Now, of course that's a lot easier to read as a last days thing - when God is really in Israel. But the point is that people should know God is in Israel when he saves them from the fifth straight year of locust plague, shouldn't he?
Perhaps this is what is called by some people the dual prophetic perspective - or what I'd call double dipping - where the prophet is talking about two things, the immediate problem, and a final end times thing too.
vs 28
Now, I can pretty much guarantee that this didn't happen to Israel. So this is certainly some future vision going on. It's really a great vision. And we know when it happened too - in Acts 2, I think. At least, Peter recognises it as such, and I think we can all agree with him. The Spirit of God for the masses. It's unheard of in the OT.
vs 29
As was pointed out in an rather good sermon I listened to recently, this Spirit outpouring knows no gender or social fabric. And that was preached by a chick, so that proves it.
vs 30
This doesn't sound quite so happy and fun. But it certainly would focus everyone on the end of days.
vs 31
And it will be a dreadful day, for most people. I for one want box office seats for that spectacle, but I don't know that they're on offer this millenium. Here's hoping.
vs 32
Because, see, even here in the OT God promises that not everyone will be punished on the great day of badness. Thankfully for us, we can read Zion and Jerusalem figuratively, because if we couldn't we'd be boned.
Wednesday, January 07, 2009
Delayed
An odd delay - I have only so much time in my mornings, and with two sermons coming in the following weeks, I have to focus on the sermons, which are not on Joel.
The delay comes because of processing power - my backup laptop takes so long to load each window that it leaves me only so much time to do things!
The delay comes because of processing power - my backup laptop takes so long to load each window that it leaves me only so much time to do things!
Tuesday, January 06, 2009
Joel Chapter 2
vs 1
Apparently, Israel had an early warning system for the Day of the Lord. Sort of like an ancient Tsunami system - where once it goes off, it's really too late to do anything about it.
vs 2
Obviously the Day of the Lord is not a time of happy fun puppets. It's dark, and foreboding, and nasty. It is a time of judgment, after all. It's the New Testament that paints the end of days as good for believers, but even then Revelation paints a pretty stark picture of "It will be good... eventually."
vs 3
Even though this description sounds like a real army, I'm not so sure. In fact, the pictures in Joel 2, in my opinion, fluctuate between a bunch of locusts and a bunch of army. The link of the fire here to the fire in chapter 1 is not lost on me. But it's hard to make distinctions about what goes where. Sufficed to say that, whether it's a locust plague yet to come, or an army yet to come (what we might call as "a Day of the Lord") or whether it's the final time of judgment (that's "the Day of the Lord"), it's not going to be pretty.
vs 4
Because there is now a list of comparisons to an army, that makes me think that it's locusts. You don't really describe cavalry as galloping along like cavalry. Not unless you suck at describing things.
vs 5
Chariots don't leap over mountains.
So why the army metaphors (similes, mostly?)? I guess the difference between a locust plague and an army is that armies don't just spring up and go rampaging for no reason, with no leadership. By calling these locusts an army of God, it is putting the leadership and responsibility for them at God's feet. God takes responsibility for bad stuff that happens. If he didn't, then we'd have to believe that stuff 'just happens', and that's stupid.
vs 6
That goes for both armies and locusts, I suppose.
vs 7
So we're still on locusts then.
vs 8
I'm being fairly casual and flippant about this, but if I were in a mud brick house that suddenly got swarmed by a billion of these suckers, I would freak the hell out. Locusts are huge. I remember Stephan's dad had one encased in resin. Big, scary looking sucker. One of them in the house would be bad enough - it's like a rat - you can't just step on it or hit it with a thong. Imagine millions of them. Eew.
vs 9
I would be earnestly praying for flyscreens at this point.
vs 10
The idea of the sun dimming because there's a huge cloud of insects about to land on your town is scary. The fact that the cloud is so big that it blocks out the sun and the moon (that is, it goes all day and night) - well, I think I'd be going pretty nuts about then.
The thing is, people survive locust plagues. When you compare it to an army, sure there's something you can do (get out there and fight them) but when an army invades your town, they can burn it to the ground. And kill your family.
Ancient life sucked.
Apparently, Israel had an early warning system for the Day of the Lord. Sort of like an ancient Tsunami system - where once it goes off, it's really too late to do anything about it.
vs 2
Obviously the Day of the Lord is not a time of happy fun puppets. It's dark, and foreboding, and nasty. It is a time of judgment, after all. It's the New Testament that paints the end of days as good for believers, but even then Revelation paints a pretty stark picture of "It will be good... eventually."
vs 3
Even though this description sounds like a real army, I'm not so sure. In fact, the pictures in Joel 2, in my opinion, fluctuate between a bunch of locusts and a bunch of army. The link of the fire here to the fire in chapter 1 is not lost on me. But it's hard to make distinctions about what goes where. Sufficed to say that, whether it's a locust plague yet to come, or an army yet to come (what we might call as "a Day of the Lord") or whether it's the final time of judgment (that's "the Day of the Lord"), it's not going to be pretty.
vs 4
Because there is now a list of comparisons to an army, that makes me think that it's locusts. You don't really describe cavalry as galloping along like cavalry. Not unless you suck at describing things.
vs 5
Chariots don't leap over mountains.
So why the army metaphors (similes, mostly?)? I guess the difference between a locust plague and an army is that armies don't just spring up and go rampaging for no reason, with no leadership. By calling these locusts an army of God, it is putting the leadership and responsibility for them at God's feet. God takes responsibility for bad stuff that happens. If he didn't, then we'd have to believe that stuff 'just happens', and that's stupid.
vs 6
That goes for both armies and locusts, I suppose.
vs 7
So we're still on locusts then.
vs 8
I'm being fairly casual and flippant about this, but if I were in a mud brick house that suddenly got swarmed by a billion of these suckers, I would freak the hell out. Locusts are huge. I remember Stephan's dad had one encased in resin. Big, scary looking sucker. One of them in the house would be bad enough - it's like a rat - you can't just step on it or hit it with a thong. Imagine millions of them. Eew.
vs 9
I would be earnestly praying for flyscreens at this point.
vs 10
The idea of the sun dimming because there's a huge cloud of insects about to land on your town is scary. The fact that the cloud is so big that it blocks out the sun and the moon (that is, it goes all day and night) - well, I think I'd be going pretty nuts about then.
The thing is, people survive locust plagues. When you compare it to an army, sure there's something you can do (get out there and fight them) but when an army invades your town, they can burn it to the ground. And kill your family.
Ancient life sucked.
Sunday, January 04, 2009
Joel chapter 1
vs 11
And your livelihood is gone. And the food you were going to feed to your children is also gone. There wasn't a farming safety net. This punishment of God means children die.
vs 12
All the fruits that are mentioned here are summed up in the last sentence - the joy of people. There's no chocolate - fruit is the old chocolate. Fruit was the flavour sensation of the ancient world.
It's also the thing you could still live on in the times when cultivated land wasn't available - you could go and pick wild fruits at least. But now even this is gone.
vs 13
A time of mourning and repentance is called for by the prophet among those who work the temple. The TNIV interestingly uses the subheading 'Call for Lamentation', where the NIV used 'Call for Repentance'. That's the thing - Joel never links this stuff to any actions done by Israel. You can look at other prophets and see them denouncing Israel for doing this and that, not doing the other, and et cetera. But not here.
Anyway, the reason for lamentation is that now the sacrifices that they apparently were making could no longer be made.
vs 14
This is all that is left to do. Can't grow anything. Can't harvest anything. Can't sacrifice anything. There's now nothing left to do but to hold a sacred assembly and have everyone in Israel come to the temple and cry out to God. If nothing else, this will at least teach the lesson of reliance on God rather than ability to farm, the Land itself, or the sacrifices themselves.
vs 15
I don't mean to criticize, but "Alas for that day!" is not really a fabulous translation in my eyes. I mean, that may well be what it says. But what does that mean?
I guess you can't put.
And so we see the link between a time of distress and heartache and the Day of the Lord. It's certainly not near in a temporal sense, not for the people Joel's talking to. Rather, it becomes near when you are experiencing bad stuff. There's a funky terminology for this writing style that Hebrew uses, but I don't remember it.
vs 16
Interesting to think of the sacrifices that are given to God as representing "joy and gladness". But they do. I mean, unless it was a sin offering, you partook in the sacrifice yourself. The Hebrews did not have any false notions about God eating a bit of the sacrifice, or leaving some for him or anything like that. You poured some out, you at the rest with the priests. But now they can't.
vs 17
I dare say that, unless the locusts came equipped with battering rams, there is either some hyperbole, or the granaries just happened to be in a state of disrepair. Or perhaps there's something I don't know - like granaries break when they're emptied of grain or something.
The point being that the food stores, which you would normally use to get through a time of famine, are also gone.
vs 18
I read this somewhere, that animals in the OT suffer almost human-like, and are talked about in that fashion a fair bit. Think of the cattle in Jonah, if you want a clearer example. The reason that was given in this book (LaSor) was that since the Hebrews didn't make clear distinctions between animate and inanimate, and people and animals, that they were comfortable with poetic devices that crossed this line, and that this served to demonstrate the interrelatedess of these things, especially when it comes to sin taking its toll on people and on the Land and animals.
Or, you could say that it's just to assure those of us who are thinking "But they've got animals to eat, right?" that even the animals are in a poor way because of the locusts.
vs 19
Now this and verse 20 confuse me. Where did fire come from? Since when did locusts bring fire? I guess you could say two things - firstly, that the description of locusts sounding "like the crackling of fire" later on is being referenced here, or that the focus has changed, and we are now talking about an actual army. Is there ever an actual army talked about in Joel? Hard to say, really.
vs 20
Again, where did the water go? Locusts may drink a bunch of water, this may be something I am simply unaware of. And again, we have the fire. Since I'm fairly sure locusts ate the pastures, perhaps that answers my earlier question. But I don't know if it's that simple (are the prophets ever that simple?). It is possible that Joel is foretelling of a coming attack from an army that is actually like locusts in their destructiveness. Could this be a pre-exile warning?
Dunno.
And your livelihood is gone. And the food you were going to feed to your children is also gone. There wasn't a farming safety net. This punishment of God means children die.
vs 12
All the fruits that are mentioned here are summed up in the last sentence - the joy of people. There's no chocolate - fruit is the old chocolate. Fruit was the flavour sensation of the ancient world.
It's also the thing you could still live on in the times when cultivated land wasn't available - you could go and pick wild fruits at least. But now even this is gone.
vs 13
A time of mourning and repentance is called for by the prophet among those who work the temple. The TNIV interestingly uses the subheading 'Call for Lamentation', where the NIV used 'Call for Repentance'. That's the thing - Joel never links this stuff to any actions done by Israel. You can look at other prophets and see them denouncing Israel for doing this and that, not doing the other, and et cetera. But not here.
Anyway, the reason for lamentation is that now the sacrifices that they apparently were making could no longer be made.
vs 14
This is all that is left to do. Can't grow anything. Can't harvest anything. Can't sacrifice anything. There's now nothing left to do but to hold a sacred assembly and have everyone in Israel come to the temple and cry out to God. If nothing else, this will at least teach the lesson of reliance on God rather than ability to farm, the Land itself, or the sacrifices themselves.
vs 15
I don't mean to criticize, but "Alas for that day!" is not really a fabulous translation in my eyes. I mean, that may well be what it says. But what does that mean?
I guess you can't put
And so we see the link between a time of distress and heartache and the Day of the Lord. It's certainly not near in a temporal sense, not for the people Joel's talking to. Rather, it becomes near when you are experiencing bad stuff. There's a funky terminology for this writing style that Hebrew uses, but I don't remember it.
vs 16
Interesting to think of the sacrifices that are given to God as representing "joy and gladness". But they do. I mean, unless it was a sin offering, you partook in the sacrifice yourself. The Hebrews did not have any false notions about God eating a bit of the sacrifice, or leaving some for him or anything like that. You poured some out, you at the rest with the priests. But now they can't.
vs 17
I dare say that, unless the locusts came equipped with battering rams, there is either some hyperbole, or the granaries just happened to be in a state of disrepair. Or perhaps there's something I don't know - like granaries break when they're emptied of grain or something.
The point being that the food stores, which you would normally use to get through a time of famine, are also gone.
vs 18
I read this somewhere, that animals in the OT suffer almost human-like, and are talked about in that fashion a fair bit. Think of the cattle in Jonah, if you want a clearer example. The reason that was given in this book (LaSor) was that since the Hebrews didn't make clear distinctions between animate and inanimate, and people and animals, that they were comfortable with poetic devices that crossed this line, and that this served to demonstrate the interrelatedess of these things, especially when it comes to sin taking its toll on people and on the Land and animals.
Or, you could say that it's just to assure those of us who are thinking "But they've got animals to eat, right?" that even the animals are in a poor way because of the locusts.
vs 19
Now this and verse 20 confuse me. Where did fire come from? Since when did locusts bring fire? I guess you could say two things - firstly, that the description of locusts sounding "like the crackling of fire" later on is being referenced here, or that the focus has changed, and we are now talking about an actual army. Is there ever an actual army talked about in Joel? Hard to say, really.
vs 20
Again, where did the water go? Locusts may drink a bunch of water, this may be something I am simply unaware of. And again, we have the fire. Since I'm fairly sure locusts ate the pastures, perhaps that answers my earlier question. But I don't know if it's that simple (are the prophets ever that simple?). It is possible that Joel is foretelling of a coming attack from an army that is actually like locusts in their destructiveness. Could this be a pre-exile warning?
Dunno.
Saturday, January 03, 2009
Joel chapter 1
vs 1
So, this is what we know about Joel. It isn't much. Who is he? Who's his dad? No idea. When did he write? Who was king? No idea. I would say that because his father is mentioned that he could be a somebody (perhaps from Jerusalem). Also, the temple is mentioned a fair bit, so that's relevant. But as for dating, no idea.
Thankfully, it doesn't really matter, because what he says is so general as to be not in need of a date. The only thing a date would help, I reckon, would be working out the stuff about the armies.
vs 2
I suppose it hasn't? It's easy for us to look back and say nothing like this happens anymore. Of course, that's bollocks. Since 2001 (WTC and 9/11), we've had New Orleans, Tsunami, a neverending drought in Australia, and a global financial crisis. Not to mention war in Afghanistan and Iraq, and Sudan, and Zimbabwe. Bad stuff still happens in this world. Yes, we in the west with a job and some financial security are okay. But even in Australia and the USA there are people who are now bankrupt with no homes and no job thanks to recent events.
The point is, I suppose, that this book recalls a great tragedy, and that people are to remember the severity of the bad thing being described.
vs 3
The severity can also be measured by the fact that it is something you'd pass on to your kids. Sort of a once in a generation type event. Like a world war or 9/11, I guess.
vs 4
To an agricultural society, four plagues of locusts in one season is the equivalent of nuclear winter. Nothing survives that. Of course, we don't know what the descriptions of the locusts really mean, but sufficed to say that they were described four different ways. For all we know, Joel was the David Attenborough of the Hebrew world, and he was using their proper scientific names.
vs 5
New wine is sweet, fruity, delightful. It replaces the old wine, too, because the old wine has generally been drunk. Without it, there is no wine, and that means nothing for drinkers to drink. It simply wouldn't happen in a globalised society. But imagine if Saudi Arabia invaded the world (hehe, what a stupid turn of phrase) and banned alcohol. That's kinda the most likely situation. The fact is that even the lowest drunk bum is effected by this - no beer and no tv makes Homer something something.
vs 6
It's described as an army, but to me it's obviously locusts. I mean, it's not as if Israel was invaded by four armies during some period of history that we've conveniently forgotten about. I think if Israel had been invaded, and Joel was talking about it, for one he'd have more to talk about than "no wine", and for two we'd be able to date him better.
vs 7
That's what locusts do. It's a pretty correct description, far better than a description of what an army does to your vines. The whiteness of the branches indicates total stripping - that plant will die. There will be nothing left, and farming will have to start over from nothing.
vs 8
I think it's still the drunks being called to mourn here. It might be a general call, I guess, but it would be sitting pretty lonely in between 7 and 9. The other option is that it is starting off the mourning of priests in vs 9. It's hard to tell, both with Greek and Hebrew, when ideas start and end. I would personally go for this verse capping the drunk.
vs 9
This is the next stage, then, of the impact study. The religious life of the temple has been halted, because all agricultural stock is gone. There is nothing to offer at the temple. Now, this is very important, because offerings are part of the covenant (read Leviticus, or just take my word for it).
But it raises an important theological implication too. God could have stopped the locusts. God could have sent the locusts, or they could have just come in the normal, quite unlucky, scheme of things. But the fact is that God demands that the sacrifices continue, but has allowed the method by which they are to continue to be taken away. That makes following his orders somewhat problematic. How does God divorce himself from this responsibility? Does he divorce himself from it at all? He is, after all, using this incident as a demonstration of a truth about himself and the coming judgment. If you think about the inevitability, the inescapability, and the downright nastiness of this situation, then you get a fair feeling of what judgment's going to be like.
vs 10
Without fields, there is no agriculture. This I think is still focused on sacrifice offerings (grain, wine, oil). But the first two things are more earthy - without fields, without fertile ground, there is not life, to society, no civilization. There is no LAND! The promised land of God is dry and barren, so much so that it doesn't even provide enough to give sacrifices to God and let Israel starve! What does that say about the situation Joel is speaking into!
No land, and hence no people. If the land is a waste, what is the point of being God's people?
So, this is what we know about Joel. It isn't much. Who is he? Who's his dad? No idea. When did he write? Who was king? No idea. I would say that because his father is mentioned that he could be a somebody (perhaps from Jerusalem). Also, the temple is mentioned a fair bit, so that's relevant. But as for dating, no idea.
Thankfully, it doesn't really matter, because what he says is so general as to be not in need of a date. The only thing a date would help, I reckon, would be working out the stuff about the armies.
vs 2
I suppose it hasn't? It's easy for us to look back and say nothing like this happens anymore. Of course, that's bollocks. Since 2001 (WTC and 9/11), we've had New Orleans, Tsunami, a neverending drought in Australia, and a global financial crisis. Not to mention war in Afghanistan and Iraq, and Sudan, and Zimbabwe. Bad stuff still happens in this world. Yes, we in the west with a job and some financial security are okay. But even in Australia and the USA there are people who are now bankrupt with no homes and no job thanks to recent events.
The point is, I suppose, that this book recalls a great tragedy, and that people are to remember the severity of the bad thing being described.
vs 3
The severity can also be measured by the fact that it is something you'd pass on to your kids. Sort of a once in a generation type event. Like a world war or 9/11, I guess.
vs 4
To an agricultural society, four plagues of locusts in one season is the equivalent of nuclear winter. Nothing survives that. Of course, we don't know what the descriptions of the locusts really mean, but sufficed to say that they were described four different ways. For all we know, Joel was the David Attenborough of the Hebrew world, and he was using their proper scientific names.
vs 5
New wine is sweet, fruity, delightful. It replaces the old wine, too, because the old wine has generally been drunk. Without it, there is no wine, and that means nothing for drinkers to drink. It simply wouldn't happen in a globalised society. But imagine if Saudi Arabia invaded the world (hehe, what a stupid turn of phrase) and banned alcohol. That's kinda the most likely situation. The fact is that even the lowest drunk bum is effected by this - no beer and no tv makes Homer something something.
vs 6
It's described as an army, but to me it's obviously locusts. I mean, it's not as if Israel was invaded by four armies during some period of history that we've conveniently forgotten about. I think if Israel had been invaded, and Joel was talking about it, for one he'd have more to talk about than "no wine", and for two we'd be able to date him better.
vs 7
That's what locusts do. It's a pretty correct description, far better than a description of what an army does to your vines. The whiteness of the branches indicates total stripping - that plant will die. There will be nothing left, and farming will have to start over from nothing.
vs 8
I think it's still the drunks being called to mourn here. It might be a general call, I guess, but it would be sitting pretty lonely in between 7 and 9. The other option is that it is starting off the mourning of priests in vs 9. It's hard to tell, both with Greek and Hebrew, when ideas start and end. I would personally go for this verse capping the drunk.
vs 9
This is the next stage, then, of the impact study. The religious life of the temple has been halted, because all agricultural stock is gone. There is nothing to offer at the temple. Now, this is very important, because offerings are part of the covenant (read Leviticus, or just take my word for it).
But it raises an important theological implication too. God could have stopped the locusts. God could have sent the locusts, or they could have just come in the normal, quite unlucky, scheme of things. But the fact is that God demands that the sacrifices continue, but has allowed the method by which they are to continue to be taken away. That makes following his orders somewhat problematic. How does God divorce himself from this responsibility? Does he divorce himself from it at all? He is, after all, using this incident as a demonstration of a truth about himself and the coming judgment. If you think about the inevitability, the inescapability, and the downright nastiness of this situation, then you get a fair feeling of what judgment's going to be like.
vs 10
Without fields, there is no agriculture. This I think is still focused on sacrifice offerings (grain, wine, oil). But the first two things are more earthy - without fields, without fertile ground, there is not life, to society, no civilization. There is no LAND! The promised land of God is dry and barren, so much so that it doesn't even provide enough to give sacrifices to God and let Israel starve! What does that say about the situation Joel is speaking into!
No land, and hence no people. If the land is a waste, what is the point of being God's people?
Thursday, January 01, 2009
Lazy
It's new year's day, I'm tired, and I've finished Hebrews. I have sermons to write. So forgive me if I don't comment on anything today. Not that anyone reads this.
I just looked back at my first post (first Bible study post anyway). That was on 31 July 2006. Since then, I've looked at almost every NT book (except Matthew, Mark and Revelation), 20 psalms, Ruth, Malachi and the topic of work.
Okay, so it's now 1 January 2009, so that might seem slow. But the point is I've done it. True, not every single day. But it has helped me to keep on track and read the Bible meaningfully. I mean, just say I'd read the Bible in a year, or two years, or even three years (I'm only 7 months away from 3 years), would I be in a better position of understanding then than I am now? Would I have as useful a resource (questionably useful maybe, but for me it's probably more useful than for you, because they're my thoughts)?
Once again, I thumb my nose at The Man. I'm keeping it real.
I just looked back at my first post (first Bible study post anyway). That was on 31 July 2006. Since then, I've looked at almost every NT book (except Matthew, Mark and Revelation), 20 psalms, Ruth, Malachi and the topic of work.
Okay, so it's now 1 January 2009, so that might seem slow. But the point is I've done it. True, not every single day. But it has helped me to keep on track and read the Bible meaningfully. I mean, just say I'd read the Bible in a year, or two years, or even three years (I'm only 7 months away from 3 years), would I be in a better position of understanding then than I am now? Would I have as useful a resource (questionably useful maybe, but for me it's probably more useful than for you, because they're my thoughts)?
Once again, I thumb my nose at The Man. I'm keeping it real.
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