2. Faithful Love in the Old Testament
There’s a very important Hebrew word in the Old Testament.
Hesed.
It occurs 251 times. It’s primary meaning is love. A love that is faithful. A love that endures. The first time it’s used is in the story of Lot escaping the destruction of Sodom:
‘You have already been very good to your servant and shown me even greater love by saving my life, but I cannot flee to the hills, or disaster will overtake me and I shall die.’
Then Abraham uses it as he talks to his wife and half-sister, Sarah:
'So when God made me wander far from my father's home I said to her, "There is an act of love you can do me: everywhere we go, say of me that I am your brother." '
After that is used four times in the story of Abraham’s servant looking for a wife for his son Isaac. The servant travels to the old ancestral homeland of Abraham’s family, and prays hard before trying to find the wife intended by God for Isaac:
‘And he said, 'Yahweh, God of my master Abraham, give me success today and show faithful love to my master Abraham.’ (Gen 24)
Once Rebekah has been found he prays again:
‘Blessed be Yahweh, God of my master Abraham, for not withholding his faithful love from my master. Yahweh has led me straight to the house of my master's brother.’
Rebekah is willing, but her father Bethuel and brother Laban still need convincing. So Abraham’s servant says this:
‘Now tell me whether you are prepared to show constant and faithful love to my master; if not, say so, and I shall know what to do.’ [here a synonym is used: emet, meaning constancy or faithfulness]
They give their permission and the story ends happily ever after – Abraham’s servant takes Rebekah back to Isaac to be married.
Yahweh has close relationships with some of his people. Joseph is one of these. We read that, ‘Yahweh was with Joseph. He showed him faithful love and made him popular with the chief gaoler.’ (Gen 40)
Another was Moses. When Moses asked to experience being in Yahweh’s presence, this is what we read:
Then Yahweh passed before him and called out, 'Yahweh, Yahweh, God of tenderness and compassion, slow to anger, rich in faithful love and constancy, maintaining his faithful love to thousands, forgiving fault, crime and sin, yet letting nothing go unchecked, and punishing the parent's fault in the children and in the grandchildren to the third and fourth generation!' (Exo 34)
Yahweh is the God who revealed himself to Moses as the God who makes a covenant of love with His chosen people:
7 ‘Yahweh set his heart on you and chose you not because you were the most numerous of all peoples -- for indeed you were the smallest of all- 8 but because he loved you and meant to keep the oath which he swore to your ancestors: that was why Yahweh brought you out with his mighty hand and redeemed you from the place of slave-labour, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. 9 From this you can see that Yahweh your God is the true God, the faithful God who, though he is true to his covenant and his faithful love for a thousand generations as regards those who love him and keep his commandments, 10 punishes in their own persons those that hate him. He destroys anyone who hates him, without delay; and it is in their own persons that he punishes them.’ (Deu 7)
But the crowning glory of this word is its use in the songs of David and of the people of Israel, the book of Psalms. Here is a brief selection of the 128 occurrences in their songbook:
Kindness and faithful love pursue me every day of my life. I make my home in the house of Yahweh for all time to come. (Psa 23)
Each morning fill us with your faithful love, we shall sing and be happy all our days…
(Psa 90)
As the height of heaven above earth, so strong is his faithful love for those who fear him.
(Psa 103)
And in one Psalm the word is used as part of a refrain in each verse:
Alleluia! [Praise Yahweh] Give thanks to Yahweh for he is good, for his faithful love endures for ever.
Give thanks to the God of gods, for his faithful love endures for ever.
Give thanks to the Lord of lords, for his faithful love endures for ever.
He alone works wonders, for his faithful love endures for ever… (Psa 136)
My favourite is probably this one:
Blessed be Yahweh, my rock, who trains my hands for war and my fingers for battle,
my faithful love, my bastion, my citadel, my Saviour; I shelter behind him, my shield, he makes the peoples submit to me. (Psa 144)
It seems that Yahweh, the God who delights to have close relationships with His people, both Jew and non-Jew, enjoys it when we delight in Him and his faithful love for us. A God of wrath? Not by intention, only by exception.
(Quotes are from the New Jerusalem Bible).
Thursday, 29 September 2011
Is The God of the Old Testament a God of Wrath?
1. The Nature of the Bible
The Bible was not written by God.
Not quite.
It was written by many many human authors, who were inspired by God.
There is a subtle difference. It means that the message is incarnate in the culture of whatever time the message was revealed in. In the case of Moses we’re talking about a long, long time ago. About 2,500 years. This is easily forgotten.
And Moses had an axe to grind, a people to lead, a fledgling nation to unite. So when we criticise his successor, Joshua, for genocide, we need to remember that if hadn’t been for that genocide there would have been no nation, no history of Israel, and no Messiah. How would that feel? What would that be like? It’s hard for us to imagine.
The Bible is written in all kinds of different genres. We have teaching (‘law’), prophecy, songs (‘psalms’), proverbs (‘wisdom’), parables (stories with a point), and letters, amongst others. None of these were written in a vacuum. Paul may have been aware that letter he wrote to, for example, the church in Corinth, was about to become scripture, but he still intended his message for that particular audience. Songs are not meant to be read but sung, or chanted. Parables are pithy sayings designed to make us think. They were designed to help us live. Practical stuff for us to mull over. Teaching is supposed to be followed – but like any good sermon, the teaching always gives us reasons for obeying. It is a mixture of divine wisdom from above, and grounded common sense.
Coming back to Moses, it is quite likely that his teaching was born from a life spent solving problems, as well as spending time in Yahweh’s presence in the Tent of Meeting. Eventually he appointed seventy elders to help him in his task. We can imagine him getting these elders together:
‘Hey, anything interesting happen today?’
And he would listen to them as they passed on the more interesting cases. From this wealth of experience Moses wrote some of the laws. Others were simply borrowed from the surrounding cultures, though adapted to fit Yahweh’s high standards of righteousness, justice, love and faithfulness (Psa 89:14).
So, when we sit down to read the Bible, we first need to take time to think ourselves into their time and their culture. Otherwise we may be guilty of jumping to conclusions.
The big issue, it seems to me, is this – do we take the authors’ views as God’s verbatim word to us now, as culturally conditioned, or something in-between?
By the way, this is how the Jews categorise their Bible, what we call the Old Testament:
• Genesis – Deuteronomy Teaching
• Joshua – 2 Kings Former Prophets
• Isaiah – Malachi Latter Prophets
• Psalms, Proverbs etc. Writings
The main difference is that what we blandly call ‘history’ is thought of as ‘prophecy’ by the Jews. This makes much more sense. Prophets spoke God’s word into the political situation they had to live in. If a leader (king) failed to follow God’s standards of righteousness, justice, love and faithfulness, they were eventually removed or replaced by someone who would. Or, rather, might.
More tomorrow...
The Bible was not written by God.
Not quite.
It was written by many many human authors, who were inspired by God.
There is a subtle difference. It means that the message is incarnate in the culture of whatever time the message was revealed in. In the case of Moses we’re talking about a long, long time ago. About 2,500 years. This is easily forgotten.
And Moses had an axe to grind, a people to lead, a fledgling nation to unite. So when we criticise his successor, Joshua, for genocide, we need to remember that if hadn’t been for that genocide there would have been no nation, no history of Israel, and no Messiah. How would that feel? What would that be like? It’s hard for us to imagine.
The Bible is written in all kinds of different genres. We have teaching (‘law’), prophecy, songs (‘psalms’), proverbs (‘wisdom’), parables (stories with a point), and letters, amongst others. None of these were written in a vacuum. Paul may have been aware that letter he wrote to, for example, the church in Corinth, was about to become scripture, but he still intended his message for that particular audience. Songs are not meant to be read but sung, or chanted. Parables are pithy sayings designed to make us think. They were designed to help us live. Practical stuff for us to mull over. Teaching is supposed to be followed – but like any good sermon, the teaching always gives us reasons for obeying. It is a mixture of divine wisdom from above, and grounded common sense.
Coming back to Moses, it is quite likely that his teaching was born from a life spent solving problems, as well as spending time in Yahweh’s presence in the Tent of Meeting. Eventually he appointed seventy elders to help him in his task. We can imagine him getting these elders together:
‘Hey, anything interesting happen today?’
And he would listen to them as they passed on the more interesting cases. From this wealth of experience Moses wrote some of the laws. Others were simply borrowed from the surrounding cultures, though adapted to fit Yahweh’s high standards of righteousness, justice, love and faithfulness (Psa 89:14).
So, when we sit down to read the Bible, we first need to take time to think ourselves into their time and their culture. Otherwise we may be guilty of jumping to conclusions.
The big issue, it seems to me, is this – do we take the authors’ views as God’s verbatim word to us now, as culturally conditioned, or something in-between?
By the way, this is how the Jews categorise their Bible, what we call the Old Testament:
• Genesis – Deuteronomy Teaching
• Joshua – 2 Kings Former Prophets
• Isaiah – Malachi Latter Prophets
• Psalms, Proverbs etc. Writings
The main difference is that what we blandly call ‘history’ is thought of as ‘prophecy’ by the Jews. This makes much more sense. Prophets spoke God’s word into the political situation they had to live in. If a leader (king) failed to follow God’s standards of righteousness, justice, love and faithfulness, they were eventually removed or replaced by someone who would. Or, rather, might.
More tomorrow...
Monday, 1 August 2011
Moses – Freedom to Serve (Part 2)
Freedom means a different kind of life v5
We once had a landlord who told us, “I don’t think God would ever do no one no ‘arm”. There are different views of God. That's a view of a passive God who wishes all well. It's not quite accurate. In the Narnia book 'The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe', one of the children asks:
“Is Aslan quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion.”
“That you will, dearie, and no mistake,” said Mrs. Beaver. “If there’s anyone who can appear before Aslan without their knees knocking, they’re either braver than most or just plain silly.”
“Then he isn’t safe?” said Lucy.
“Safe?” said Mr. Beaver, “Don’t you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? Of course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.”
Before God could use Moses, Moses had to realise something about God – God is Holy. He is other, separate. There is no one like him. As we come to worship the LORD we stand on holy ground. Worship isn’t just going through the motions, a bit of singing, some prayers we all say ‘Amen’ to. It is coming into the presence of the LORD. And as we do that we may sense fear, a holy fear:
It’s good to be afraid. 1:17, 21 midwives feared God more than Pharoah. God rewarded them with families of their own.
Words spoken to the Israelites as thick darkness covered Mnt Sinai (cf v12): Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.” Exo 20:20 NIV (!). Something of a paradox. We need not be afraid, because our fear of the LORD will keep us from sinning. Then we will have no fear of punishment. Jim Graham: ‘Where there are good morals, there we find good morale.’
The freedom the world offers is in fact slavery and results in an ever-decreasing sphere of spiritual involvement and influence. The freedom Christ offers us is true freedom. We find freedom in listening to the voice of the Holy Spirit, and living in obedience to that voice, if it is confirmed by the teaching we find in the Bible.
Many religious groups are based on fear. We have a relationship based on love, and freedom to serve. This means a change in our attitudes and lifestyle.
And there have to be rules. Society needs rules. Exodus had rules about, for instance, whether you can kill a burglar who breaks into your house (not if it’s daylight!) or what to do if someone is in debt to you (let him work for you until the debt is paid off then give him his freedom). Without rules we end up with chaos – as we found out in Pizza Hut last week!
Are you living a life of freedom? v8-10
Having said that, the Christian life is not a life of drudgery, of keeping to rules, of ‘being good’. Story: when I became a Christian (doing more washing-up). Who is the author of salvation? (God). Not us. God is the agent, the author, the initiator, the beginning and the end of our salvation. Where can we find out about that salvation? (In the Bible). God is the one who saves and redeems. He brought his people out of slavery to freedom. Moses tried on his own, and failed. With the help of the Great I AM, he succeeded. Are you doing this faith thing on your own? Or have you plugged into the endless reservoirs supplied by Yahweh, I AM? I mentioned Stalin earlier. His predecessor, Lenin, once said, ‘It is true that liberty is precious – so precious that it must be rationed.’ Freedom in Christ is not rationed! ‘It is for freedom that Christ has set us free... ’ Gal 5:1. See Col 2:9-17.
This leads to freedom from sin, and freedom to serve. Freedom to be holy. To be part of God’s chosen people. Do you know yourself to be part of God’s people? Do you know you are set free? Are you able to serve?
Jesus has a manifesto. It’s written in the Bible. It’s not like polititians’ manifestos (promise now, don’t pay later). Jesus’ keeps to his words, always. Do you know where his manifesto is? It’s in Luke chapter 4.
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to release the oppressed,
to proclaim the year of the Lord's favour.” [quote of Isa 61:1]
Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, 21 and he began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
Jesus also proclaims freedom for the oppressed, today. We may not be under some kind of economic yoke of oppression, but many in the world are. What are we doing to help release them from their slavery? Let’s begin to have a world-perspective today!
What about the spirtually-oppressed? Those enslaved to fears to do with folk practices – charms, amulets, the evil-eye? When will they hear the Good News about Jesus Christ, who can free them from all of that?
Ultimately we find freedom in being part of God’s people, with our eyes fixed on heaven. He brings us into a land (Kingdom of God) of liberty:
My country, ‘tis of thee
Sweet land of liberty,
Of thee I sing:
Land where my fathers died,
Land of the pilgrim’s pride,
From every mountain-side
Let freedom ring. (America, 1831)
Do you feel:
• at peace?
• free?
• are you resting in Christ?
• able to serve?
• If you’re already serving have you run out of steam, because you’re doing it in your own strength?
We once had a landlord who told us, “I don’t think God would ever do no one no ‘arm”. There are different views of God. That's a view of a passive God who wishes all well. It's not quite accurate. In the Narnia book 'The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe', one of the children asks:
“Is Aslan quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion.”
“That you will, dearie, and no mistake,” said Mrs. Beaver. “If there’s anyone who can appear before Aslan without their knees knocking, they’re either braver than most or just plain silly.”
“Then he isn’t safe?” said Lucy.
“Safe?” said Mr. Beaver, “Don’t you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? Of course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.”
Before God could use Moses, Moses had to realise something about God – God is Holy. He is other, separate. There is no one like him. As we come to worship the LORD we stand on holy ground. Worship isn’t just going through the motions, a bit of singing, some prayers we all say ‘Amen’ to. It is coming into the presence of the LORD. And as we do that we may sense fear, a holy fear:
It’s good to be afraid. 1:17, 21 midwives feared God more than Pharoah. God rewarded them with families of their own.
Words spoken to the Israelites as thick darkness covered Mnt Sinai (cf v12): Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.” Exo 20:20 NIV (!). Something of a paradox. We need not be afraid, because our fear of the LORD will keep us from sinning. Then we will have no fear of punishment. Jim Graham: ‘Where there are good morals, there we find good morale.’
The freedom the world offers is in fact slavery and results in an ever-decreasing sphere of spiritual involvement and influence. The freedom Christ offers us is true freedom. We find freedom in listening to the voice of the Holy Spirit, and living in obedience to that voice, if it is confirmed by the teaching we find in the Bible.
Many religious groups are based on fear. We have a relationship based on love, and freedom to serve. This means a change in our attitudes and lifestyle.
And there have to be rules. Society needs rules. Exodus had rules about, for instance, whether you can kill a burglar who breaks into your house (not if it’s daylight!) or what to do if someone is in debt to you (let him work for you until the debt is paid off then give him his freedom). Without rules we end up with chaos – as we found out in Pizza Hut last week!
Are you living a life of freedom? v8-10
Having said that, the Christian life is not a life of drudgery, of keeping to rules, of ‘being good’. Story: when I became a Christian (doing more washing-up). Who is the author of salvation? (God). Not us. God is the agent, the author, the initiator, the beginning and the end of our salvation. Where can we find out about that salvation? (In the Bible). God is the one who saves and redeems. He brought his people out of slavery to freedom. Moses tried on his own, and failed. With the help of the Great I AM, he succeeded. Are you doing this faith thing on your own? Or have you plugged into the endless reservoirs supplied by Yahweh, I AM? I mentioned Stalin earlier. His predecessor, Lenin, once said, ‘It is true that liberty is precious – so precious that it must be rationed.’ Freedom in Christ is not rationed! ‘It is for freedom that Christ has set us free... ’ Gal 5:1. See Col 2:9-17.
This leads to freedom from sin, and freedom to serve. Freedom to be holy. To be part of God’s chosen people. Do you know yourself to be part of God’s people? Do you know you are set free? Are you able to serve?
Jesus has a manifesto. It’s written in the Bible. It’s not like polititians’ manifestos (promise now, don’t pay later). Jesus’ keeps to his words, always. Do you know where his manifesto is? It’s in Luke chapter 4.
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to release the oppressed,
to proclaim the year of the Lord's favour.” [quote of Isa 61:1]
Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, 21 and he began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
Jesus also proclaims freedom for the oppressed, today. We may not be under some kind of economic yoke of oppression, but many in the world are. What are we doing to help release them from their slavery? Let’s begin to have a world-perspective today!
What about the spirtually-oppressed? Those enslaved to fears to do with folk practices – charms, amulets, the evil-eye? When will they hear the Good News about Jesus Christ, who can free them from all of that?
Ultimately we find freedom in being part of God’s people, with our eyes fixed on heaven. He brings us into a land (Kingdom of God) of liberty:
My country, ‘tis of thee
Sweet land of liberty,
Of thee I sing:
Land where my fathers died,
Land of the pilgrim’s pride,
From every mountain-side
Let freedom ring. (America, 1831)
Do you feel:
• at peace?
• free?
• are you resting in Christ?
• able to serve?
• If you’re already serving have you run out of steam, because you’re doing it in your own strength?
Moses – Freedom to Serve (Part 1)
Introduction
What comes into your head when I say the word ‘Moses’? Leader? Law-giver? Redeemer? Burning-bush? Bricks without straw? ‘Pharoah’? ‘Miracles’? ‘Passover lamb’? For me it’s this: ‘Go down, Moses, way down Egypt land, tell old, Pharoes, let my people go!’ A ‘spiritual’ - song sung by African-American slaves.
God wants people to be free 2:24
We have seen and heard the appalling news from horn of Africa. And of course from Norway. Poverty and oppression.
Poverty and oppression -- the two are often linked. But God sees, and God cares 2:24-25, 3:7 . He was in special relationship with the Israelites through their ancestors Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the patriarchs. (Though God is a God who delights to bring liberty to all peoples: ‘"Are not you Israelites the same to me as the Cushites?" declares the LORD. "Did I not bring Israel up from Egypt, the Philistines from Caphtor and the Arameans from Kir?’ Amos 9:7). But here we see God about to make another covenant with His people: `You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself. Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.' These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites." In Exodus 19:4-6 we see that freedom and obedience are linked.
God Calls us to a place where we are free to serve v4
Once before Moses tried to lead the Israelites. It all went badly wrong. He wasn’t at all in a place where he could serve God by leading the Israelite people.
The dark side of leadership: most leaders have a dark (driven) side to them. One thinks of Stalin – ‘Gaiety is the most outstanding feature of the Soviet Union’(!), or Hitler – ‘One realm, one people, one leader’ . Moses was no exception. He liked to take charge, to take matters into his own hands. When things didn’t work out he ran. It took him 40 years of life spent in the Midian desert before he was ready to hear God’s call to be a servant-leader of the Israelite people. Have you got anything you need to be released from before you can serve?
And he felt very unworthy of this call:
‘Who am I?’ v11 It’s not a bad sign to feel insecure. It keeps us from pride (though a very low self-esteem can also be a sign of pride, or lack of faith).
‘I am with you’ v12 Reassurance from the LORD. The I AM (Yahweh – used to be Jehovah.) of the Bible – personal God. God who relates. God who remains the same – a loving, faithful God. Have you met him? Do you know him? Are you resting in God who you know loves you?
‘I am with you’. The I AM of the Bible is with us. It is our enemy who needs to fear. His fear should be of biblical proportions!
What comes into your head when I say the word ‘Moses’? Leader? Law-giver? Redeemer? Burning-bush? Bricks without straw? ‘Pharoah’? ‘Miracles’? ‘Passover lamb’? For me it’s this: ‘Go down, Moses, way down Egypt land, tell old, Pharoes, let my people go!’ A ‘spiritual’ - song sung by African-American slaves.
God wants people to be free 2:24
We have seen and heard the appalling news from horn of Africa. And of course from Norway. Poverty and oppression.
Poverty and oppression -- the two are often linked. But God sees, and God cares 2:24-25, 3:7 . He was in special relationship with the Israelites through their ancestors Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the patriarchs. (Though God is a God who delights to bring liberty to all peoples: ‘"Are not you Israelites the same to me as the Cushites?" declares the LORD. "Did I not bring Israel up from Egypt, the Philistines from Caphtor and the Arameans from Kir?’ Amos 9:7). But here we see God about to make another covenant with His people: `You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself. Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.' These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites." In Exodus 19:4-6 we see that freedom and obedience are linked.
God Calls us to a place where we are free to serve v4
Once before Moses tried to lead the Israelites. It all went badly wrong. He wasn’t at all in a place where he could serve God by leading the Israelite people.
The dark side of leadership: most leaders have a dark (driven) side to them. One thinks of Stalin – ‘Gaiety is the most outstanding feature of the Soviet Union’(!), or Hitler – ‘One realm, one people, one leader’ . Moses was no exception. He liked to take charge, to take matters into his own hands. When things didn’t work out he ran. It took him 40 years of life spent in the Midian desert before he was ready to hear God’s call to be a servant-leader of the Israelite people. Have you got anything you need to be released from before you can serve?
And he felt very unworthy of this call:
‘Who am I?’ v11 It’s not a bad sign to feel insecure. It keeps us from pride (though a very low self-esteem can also be a sign of pride, or lack of faith).
‘I am with you’ v12 Reassurance from the LORD. The I AM (Yahweh – used to be Jehovah.) of the Bible – personal God. God who relates. God who remains the same – a loving, faithful God. Have you met him? Do you know him? Are you resting in God who you know loves you?
‘I am with you’. The I AM of the Bible is with us. It is our enemy who needs to fear. His fear should be of biblical proportions!
Thursday, 28 July 2011
The Children of Abraham
NT Wright says:
'What then is this vindication, this dikaiosis? It is God’s declaration that a person is in the right; that is, (a) that their sins have been forgiven, and (b) that they are part of the single covenant family promised to Abraham.'
http://www.ntwrightpage.com/Wright_New_Perspectives.htm
Many Muslims get hung up over the Jewish terminology in the Bible. Phrases like 'salvation is from the Jews' (John 4:22) are particularly difficult. Why 'from the Jews'? Why not 'from the Arabs'? Any Muslim would be far happier with the latter statement.
But if NT Wright is correct, then justification, or vindication as Wright calls it, is not only to do with our individual relationship with God, but also to do with our membership of the community of believers that goes right back to Abraham. And we need to remember that Abraham was the father, in physical terms, of not only Isaac but of Ishmael too (the ancestor of the Arabs). In spiritual terms he is the father of us all. Either way the Arabs are included in the grace of the gospel, and need not fear exclusion on the basis of race. The only condition of becoming a believer is being able to state, with Paul, that 'Jesus is Lord'. Since Muslims acknowledge Jesus as a prophet, it is only a small step to also believe in him as king.
The more extreme followers of a militaristic form of Islaam need to be careful, however.
'The united multi-ethnic church is a sign of God’s healing and remaking of the cosmos and also thereby a sign to Caesar and his followers that his attempted unification of the world is a blasphemous parody.' (ibid.)
The attempted unification of all earthly powers into an Islaamic Ummah ('community') with Sharia being enforced on all citizens is a modern-day parody of the multi-ethnic people of God. This, we must resist, by boldly stating 'Jesus is Lord'. No earthly leader, king, or system is above Jesus.
'What then is this vindication, this dikaiosis? It is God’s declaration that a person is in the right; that is, (a) that their sins have been forgiven, and (b) that they are part of the single covenant family promised to Abraham.'
http://www.ntwrightpage.com/Wright_New_Perspectives.htm
Many Muslims get hung up over the Jewish terminology in the Bible. Phrases like 'salvation is from the Jews' (John 4:22) are particularly difficult. Why 'from the Jews'? Why not 'from the Arabs'? Any Muslim would be far happier with the latter statement.
But if NT Wright is correct, then justification, or vindication as Wright calls it, is not only to do with our individual relationship with God, but also to do with our membership of the community of believers that goes right back to Abraham. And we need to remember that Abraham was the father, in physical terms, of not only Isaac but of Ishmael too (the ancestor of the Arabs). In spiritual terms he is the father of us all. Either way the Arabs are included in the grace of the gospel, and need not fear exclusion on the basis of race. The only condition of becoming a believer is being able to state, with Paul, that 'Jesus is Lord'. Since Muslims acknowledge Jesus as a prophet, it is only a small step to also believe in him as king.
The more extreme followers of a militaristic form of Islaam need to be careful, however.
'The united multi-ethnic church is a sign of God’s healing and remaking of the cosmos and also thereby a sign to Caesar and his followers that his attempted unification of the world is a blasphemous parody.' (ibid.)
The attempted unification of all earthly powers into an Islaamic Ummah ('community') with Sharia being enforced on all citizens is a modern-day parody of the multi-ethnic people of God. This, we must resist, by boldly stating 'Jesus is Lord'. No earthly leader, king, or system is above Jesus.
Wednesday, 20 July 2011
Articles on MIT
I've just uploaded a couple of articles on M Idiom Translation to google docs. You will need to have permission to view them - write to me at yishayogly@gmail.com and I'll set it up for you. Here are the links:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1DefpcgYoEzaBKOpWNVAPcUXaFK1KzyVwIrhee9pV70I/edit?hl=en_US
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1p7eEpSDGMuYVLO0J_1xKTzVjcBesFQHHN87Mjh3gDyw/edit?hl=en_US
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1DefpcgYoEzaBKOpWNVAPcUXaFK1KzyVwIrhee9pV70I/edit?hl=en_US
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1p7eEpSDGMuYVLO0J_1xKTzVjcBesFQHHN87Mjh3gDyw/edit?hl=en_US
Wednesday, 8 June 2011
Those Pesky Foreigners! (Exodus 12)
When the Lord brought the Israelites out of Egypt, it turns out that there were non-Israelites among them! This is a wonderful preview of how it would be in the New Age (of the NT) when God would create one man/race out of the two (Jew and Gentile):
11 Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called "uncircumcised" by those who call themselves "the circumcision" (that done in the body by the hands of men)-- 12 remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ. 14 For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, 15 by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, 16 and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. Ephesians 2 NIV
And when the Israelites celebrated the passover feast, in haste, to remember how they had been brought out of Egypt in a big hurry (hence naan bread being the only bread available! The first curry houses in the world?!), there would have been some foreigners eating it with them. But those who took part in the feast had to be circumcised to show that they were counted as being among God's people. This means that today, despite our eagerness to include one and all, we do need to remember that as we gather for communion, it is believers that are welcome. Those with circumcised hearts, as Paul puts it in Romans 2.
Take a moment to read Exodus 12, especially verses 43-51:
43 Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, "These are the regulations for the festival of Passover. No foreigners are allowed to eat the Passover lamb. 44 But any slave who has been purchased may eat it if he has been circumcised. 45 Hired servants and visiting foreigners may not eat it. 46 All who eat the lamb must eat it together in one house. You must not carry any of its meat outside, and you may not break any of its bones. 47 The whole community of Israel must celebrate this festival at the same time. 48 "If there are foreigners living among you who want to celebrate the LORD's Passover, let all the males be circumcised. Then they may come and celebrate the Passover with you. They will be treated just as if they had been born among you. But an uncircumcised male may never eat of the Passover lamb. 49 This law applies to everyone, whether a native-born Israelite or a foreigner who has settled among you." 50 So the people of Israel followed all the LORD's instructions to Moses and Aaron. 51 And that very day the LORD began to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt, division by division. Exo 12 NLT
11 Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called "uncircumcised" by those who call themselves "the circumcision" (that done in the body by the hands of men)-- 12 remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ. 14 For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, 15 by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, 16 and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. Ephesians 2 NIV
And when the Israelites celebrated the passover feast, in haste, to remember how they had been brought out of Egypt in a big hurry (hence naan bread being the only bread available! The first curry houses in the world?!), there would have been some foreigners eating it with them. But those who took part in the feast had to be circumcised to show that they were counted as being among God's people. This means that today, despite our eagerness to include one and all, we do need to remember that as we gather for communion, it is believers that are welcome. Those with circumcised hearts, as Paul puts it in Romans 2.
Take a moment to read Exodus 12, especially verses 43-51:
43 Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, "These are the regulations for the festival of Passover. No foreigners are allowed to eat the Passover lamb. 44 But any slave who has been purchased may eat it if he has been circumcised. 45 Hired servants and visiting foreigners may not eat it. 46 All who eat the lamb must eat it together in one house. You must not carry any of its meat outside, and you may not break any of its bones. 47 The whole community of Israel must celebrate this festival at the same time. 48 "If there are foreigners living among you who want to celebrate the LORD's Passover, let all the males be circumcised. Then they may come and celebrate the Passover with you. They will be treated just as if they had been born among you. But an uncircumcised male may never eat of the Passover lamb. 49 This law applies to everyone, whether a native-born Israelite or a foreigner who has settled among you." 50 So the people of Israel followed all the LORD's instructions to Moses and Aaron. 51 And that very day the LORD began to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt, division by division. Exo 12 NLT
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