Micah 6:1-8: Red Flags In My Testimony

Listen to what the Lord says: “Stand up, plead my case before the mountains; let the hills hear what you have to say. Hear, you mountains, the Lord’s accusation; listen, you everlasting foundations of the earth. For the Lord has a case against his people; he is lodging a charge against Israel."

“My people, what have I done to you? How have I burdened you? Answer me. I brought you up out of Egypt and redeemed you from the land of slavery. I sent Moses to lead you, also Aaron and Miriam. My people, remember what Balak king of Moab plotted and what Balaam son of Beor answered. Remember your journey from Shittim to Gilgal, that you may know the righteous acts of the Lord.”

With what shall I come before the Lord and bow down before the exalted God? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of olive oil? Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God - Micah 6:1-8

To my mind, the "he said, she said" type of argument is the worst. Two people are involved in a disagreement, but there is no one else who can testify to what was said and what was done. Using the sublest of indicators, the jury is asked to estimate who is more likely to be truthful, especially in a case when one party claims egregious injury.

Israel has come before God and claimed injury by his hand. God throws up his hands and says, "My people, what have I done to you?" God searches for witnesses and asks Micah to question both sides: "Stand up, plead my case before the mountains; let the hills hear what you have to say. Hear, you mountains, the Lord’s accusation; listen, you everlasting foundations of the earth" The mountains and the hills are called upon to listen to both sides--God and his people--and to adjudicate between them. 

It isn't initially clear what the charges are, but they along the lines of "you place such a heavy burden for forgiveness." The accuser stands up and says, "With what shall I come before the Lord and bow down before the exalted God? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings...Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?" In essence, the accuser is asking how much he has to pay to get forgiveness and have God ignore the way they have been living. 

But God isn't playing a quid pro quo game with his people. He isn't looking for a bigger paycheck from his people. Instead he says, in his defense, that he hasn't asked for complicated rituals and big payoffs. His asks from his people were simple: "He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God." He will spend the rest of the chapter testifying how his people have avoided doing exactly these things: it was never about offerings. It was about respecting God as God.

I think this is a good metric for any Christian: if we start finding and justifying a way of acting that is not just, that is not merciful or is not humble it is a red flag that we have gone off the path and whatever reasoning we used to get there is wrong and damaging to our soul. Any red flags in my life?

2 Thessalonians 2:1-17: Only Christ is Right

Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers and sisters, not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by the teaching allegedly from us—whether by a prophecy or by word of mouth or by letter—asserting that the day of the Lord has already come. Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God.

Don’t you remember that when I was with you I used to tell you these things? And now you know what is holding him back, so that he may be revealed at the proper time. For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming. The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie, and all the ways that wickedness deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.

But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters loved by the Lord, because God chose you as firstfruits to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth. He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

So then, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold fast to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter.

May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word. - 2 Thessalonians 2:1-17

 "They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved." These words open a question in my mind: Why do they refuse to love the truth? There must be something unpalatable about the truth that people would refuse to accept it or the promises that come with it. It is somehow so repulsive that Paul has to remind the believers in Thessaloniki to "stand firm and hold fast" because they might perfer to give way and let go. 

What is it? I think it is the death to self. "Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me." (Matt. 16:24) There are dreams that must be placed on that cross--an exchange of my dreams for God's. And those magnificent dreams of God are often fuzzy, so distant and not made clear to us--so obscured that we trade them for the paltry hopes that we can see. We trade the feast promised tomorrow for the soup and bread that we can grasp now.

Then Paul talks about the future delusion of the world. When people follow after the "lawless one" we know what he is offering, maybe know it is a lie but rationalize that a lie we know is better than glorious future we don't know. But this lawless one lets us keep the illusion that we are in control, the illusion that it is our choice, never realizing that all of the so-called choices he gives are equally damning. Christ asks us to choose him, to admit that we have chosen badly, and follow him wherever he leads.

Acting this way--choosing a person rather than choosing a destination that we choose is really difficult because it means we don't get to be right. We don't get to be the hero of our own story. There is no more rationalization. We are failures-but failures who are deeply loved. 

We don't get to be right. Only Jesus gets to be right. That can be liberating or really upsetting. Every time we try to climb back in the throne and try to be the one who is right, we find it a loser's game.  

 

Psalm 145: If I really think God is great, I should probably say something

I will exalt you, my God the King; I will praise your name for ever and ever. Every day I will praise you and extol your name for ever and ever.

Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom. One generation commends your works to another; they tell of your mighty acts. They speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty—and I will meditate on your wonderful works. They tell of the power of your awesome works—and I will proclaim your great deeds. They celebrate your abundant goodness and joyfully sing of your righteousness.

The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love.

The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made. All your works praise you, Lord; your faithful people extol you. They tell of the glory of your kingdom and speak of your might, so that all people may know of your mighty acts and the glorious splendor of your kingdom. Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures through all generations.

The Lord is trustworthy in all he promises and faithful in all he does. The Lord upholds all who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down. The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food at the proper time. You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing.

The Lord is righteous in all his ways and faithful in all he does. The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them. The Lord watches over all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy.

My mouth will speak in praise of the Lord. Let every creature praise his holy name for ever and ever. - Psalm 145

 

Praise is the natural outcome of experience. When someone does something extraordinary, it is not only normal to praise that person, it would be weird if there was no praise. In fact, you might begin to doubt  the gift was truly extraordinary, the giver generous or the recipient grateful.

The write of this psalm cannot get his mind around the greatness of God. "Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom" To be "unable to fathom" means that one does not have a way to measure something because it is too much or too big. The psalm could stop right here because the writer is saying he doesn't know how to measure God's vastness and goodness.

God's greatness is too good to be contained in one person or, for that matter, in one generation. "One generation commends your works to another; they tell of your mighty acts." When God's greatness is acknowledged generation after generation, we get an idea of its magnitude. One of the things I enjoy about church history is seeing sketched out on its pages how God has been active year after year. Christianity is not innate. It is passed along to children, grand-children, nephews and neices. The fact that Christianity survives is a testimony to the praise-worthiness of God who continues to inspire and draw people to him. 

The psalm claims that God's greatness is to big to understand. But he encourages us to go ahead and try. It says: "They [generations of God's people] speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty...They tell of the power of your awesome works...They celebrate your abundant goodness and joyfully sing of your righteousness."

Then the psalm says, if that's not enough, then creation will rise up to fill in the gap in praise: "They [the works of God] tell of the glory of your kingdom and speak of your might, so that all people may know of your mighty acts and the glorious splendor of your kingdom."

Then the psalm goes on to list several ways that God is great: "The Lord is trustworthy...The Lord upholds all who fall...The Lord is righteous...The Lord is near...The Lord watches over all..."

Then the psalm brings it home to me:  If I really think God is great, then I should probably say something about him to other people. "My mouth will speak in praise of the Lord." Do I keep quiet about the greatness of God that is evident to me? And what does that say about what I really think about God?

Haggai 1:15-2:9: Still Here and Still at Work

On the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month.  In the second year of King Darius, on the twenty-first day of the seventh month, the word of the Lord came through the prophet Haggai: “Speak to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, to Joshua son of Jozadak, the high priest, and to the remnant of the people. Ask them, ‘Who of you is left who saw this house in its former glory? How does it look to you now? Does it not seem to you like nothing? But now be strong, Zerubbabel,’ declares the Lord. ‘Be strong, Joshua son of Jozadak, the high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land,’ declares the Lord, ‘and work. For I am with you,’ declares the Lord Almighty. ‘This is what I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt. And my Spirit remains among you. Do not fear.’

“This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘In a little while I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. I will shake all nations, and what is desired by all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory,’ says the Lord Almighty. ‘The silver is mine and the gold is mine,’ declares the Lord Almighty. ‘The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house,’ says the Lord Almighty. ‘And in this place I will grant peace,’ declares the Lord Almighty.” - Haggai 1:15-2:9

'For I am with you,’ declares the Lord Almighty. ‘This is what I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt. And my Spirit remains among you. Do not fear.'

What does it look like when God is with you? I think that we--especially Americans--view the signs of God with us and "success" in a certain way: a story with a reconciliation, a big comeback win and a happily ever after. But this story, the disappointment when the exiles returned to a much diminished temple, reminds God's people that God is not slow and God isn't on our schedule. We need to leave God's reputation in God's hands.

I don't like that because it doesn't look good for God. Many times if I am thinking this, I am really saying that I don't like this because it doesn't look good for me or my group or my family. That is, I have staked so much on God's looking good that when he looks bad I look bad. And I don't want to look bad. It has stopped being about God and started being about me. We need to leave God's reputation in God's hands. 

Many of the psalms and prophets try to motivate God with this. "If you don't do something, God, people will ask what kind of God are you?" Unfortunately for me, God's answer is, "I can wait for the better outcome. I am not anxious and you shouldn't be anxious either."

I admit, I need encouragement some times. I am not that patient or confident. So I ask for the small sign, even if its not the whole enchilada, at least a taquito to hold me over. As the Lord says to Haggai, "And my Spirit remains among you." He's still here and still at work. 

1 Timothy 2:1-7: God Includes All Who Disagree With God

I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people—for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all people. This has now been witnessed to at the proper time. And for this purpose I was appointed a herald and an apostle—I am telling the truth, I am not lying—and a true and faithful teacher of the Gentiles. - 1 Timothy 2:1-7

"...who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth." 

There are a lot of "all" words in these verses. "made for all people", "all those in authority", "all people to be saved", "ransom for all people" and "mankind" (i.e. all people) Kings, leaders and Gentiles seem to be questionable, in the minds of some people. They are immoral, ignorant and headed in directions that are diametrically opposed to the way of God. There is temptation to just write people like this off, saying they get what is coming to them--that if we just ignore them, they will ultimately get what they deserve. But Paul flips this around. Rather than ignoring or isolating these people, he has been appointed to engage with them. In doing so, he is doing helping fulfill Jesus' own mission: "as ransome fo all people"

Part of that engagement is praying for the leaders in all ways: "petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving" That is, we pray for what we know or imagine are the struggles of the leaders. 

Then he goes beyond this to describe the "peaceful and quiet lives" citizens should live under these leaders. That is, our default posture is not rebellion but peace. Like Jesus said, "Blessed are the peacemakers." because they are creating an environment where growth and health are possible, not just for themselves but also for those around them. 

Then he says that he is a true and faithful teacher. That is not a role that can be achieved from a distance. Sure, you can convince your buddies how smart you are. But Paul wasn't appointed to preach to his buddies. Rather to those who explicitly were not his buddies, the Gentiles. 

 When I read the words "all" in these verses, I am reminded how ambitious God's plan of rescue is for the world and how much he must love all the people, even those who flaunt their disobedience or apathy. Grant that we could have the same attitude, even with those we disagree with.

Psalm 79:1-9: One Hurt By My Sin

O God, the nations have invaded your inheritance; they have defiled your holy temple, they have reduced Jerusalem to rubble. They have left the dead bodies of your servants as food for the birds of the sky, the flesh of your own people for the animals of the wild. They have poured out blood like water all around Jerusalem, and there is no one to bury the dead. We are objects of contempt to our neighbors, of scorn and derision to those around us.

How long, Lord? Will you be angry forever? How long will your jealousy burn like fire?

Pour out your wrath on the nations that do not acknowledge you, on the kingdoms that do not call on your name; for they have devoured Jacob and devastated his homeland.

Do not hold against us the sins of past generations; may your mercy come quickly to meet us, for we are in desperate need. Help us, God our Savior, for the glory of your name; deliver us and forgive our sins for your name’s sake. - Psalm 79:1-9

 "How long, Lord? Will you be angry forever? How long will your jealousy burn like fire?"

It is interesting how the author characterizes God's motivation in allowing the fall of Jerusalem at the hands of their neighbors. He calls it "jealousy"--"how long will your jealousy" burn. Is God the spurned lover who retaliates in a rage? And, following this line of thinking, is God going to respond to my sinfulness in the same way, in being angry at me?

Jealousy is a term about relationships--the relationship between lover and the beloved. The author uses this term--jealousy--to describe how God feels. Not the emotion of a static deity, but the emotion of a God who loves his people with an incredible amount of emotion. God is angry when we follow other voices--voices "that do not acknoledge" God. Voices that we like better than the voice of God himself. On one hand, he is angry that we are so easily tempted by other voices or even the sound of our own voice. On the other hand, he has no sympathy to those who deluded us and lead us astray. Jealousy is not the word for enemies, it is the word for lovers who choose another. 

God loves us with an intensity, so intense that the God of the universe is hurt by what we do. His love is too great to let us walk away. Love that desires nothing more than a restored relationship. 

When I think of God as someone hurt by my sin rather than a list of rules that I have broken, I think I am coming closer to the truth which ought to govern my life.

Jeremiah 8:18 - 9:1: Watching a Train Wreck

You who are my Comforter in sorrow, my heart is faint within me. Listen to the cry of my people from a land far away: “Is the Lord not in Zion? Is her King no longer there?”

“Why have they aroused my anger with their images, with their worthless foreign idols?”

“The harvest is past, the summer has ended, and we are not saved.”

Since my people are crushed, I am crushed; I mourn, and horror grips me. Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then is there no healing for the wound of my people? Oh, that my head were a spring of water and my eyes a fountain of tears! I would weep day and night for the slain of my people. - Jeremiah 8:18 - 9:1

 "The harvest is past, the summer has ended, and we are not saved."

This is the tragedy of the redeemed. We rest in the solace of the fact that we are forgiven, and the urgency of repentance recedes from our consciousness. But this apathy is killing us and we idley pursue other things to fill up the emptiness inside. These things to take the place in our hearts that only God can fill are frustrating and even angering to God who cares for us. It is like the relationship between a drug user, his drug of choice and the parent who watches him gradually destroyed by his addiction. We are the addicts, chasing temporary solace while God sits by.

In these cases, what should God do to motivate us? Is he helpless in this case because of the magnitude of his mercy? No, he is not, but he knows that the solution requires bringing us to a place where we want him more than those other "gods" which we have tried to use to bring meaning, security and control in our lives. Sometimes we don't even realize that we have done this, this settling for the grace of lesser gods. Sometimes we think God is still there, to rescue us, even when things go wrong and even when we've been effectively ignoring his direction.

In these verses, God lets the other things that his people have been depending on, the land, the city, the temple all to fall away. Some of his people think that God would be upset, but not that upset. So they wait. But then God doesn't respond quickly. They fall into despair and that despair is heartbreaking to those watching this trainwreck of a nation: "Since my people are crushed, I am crushed"

Is God looking at me and watching a trainwreck of a person, slowly wasting away on a diet of insubstantial and meaningless God-substitutes? I hope not and when I slide that way, I pray he will not need to have to withdraw the same way he did to his people to get my attention.