It was not by their sword that they won the land, nor did their arm bring them victory; it was your right hand, your arm, and the light of your face, for you loved them. – Psalm 44:3

Today’s Scripture Reading (August 31, 2013): Psalm 44

When James II ascended the throne of England and Scotland in February 1685, he came to the throne with some strange ideas. And one of them was the idea of religious equality. He had probably watched the religious wars take place in his own family between the Catholic faction and the Anglican contingent. So in 1687, James produced a document called The Declaration of Indulgence and commanded that the Declaration be read in all the congregations of the kingdom. The Declaration granted toleration to all Catholic and Protestant groups in the nation – as well as, at least in theory, toleration toward Islam, Judaism and paganism. It is strongly suspected that the Quaker Philosopher William Penn was the force behind the Declaration.

The move was not appreciated by the people. And in a little more than a year, James II would abdicate the throne of England during what is known as the Glorious Revolution. From a human standpoint, the Declaration of Indulgence was a horrible failure – one that took a king that enjoyed great favor from the people at the beginning of his reign, and transformed that king from being popular to being forced to leave the throne in disgrace - all because of a Declaration which provided freedom to all to believe as their heart would lead them. But the idea of religious tolerance proved to be a persistent idea, and today this questionable idea of King James II and William Penn is accepted without question. No war has been fought over the idea, even the Glorious Revolution is known as the Bloodless Revolution because there were very few battles fought during the course of the Revolution. But the idea could not be defeated.

The context of Psalm 44 seems to be the Babylonian exile. Verse 11 clearly gives us a picture of what the exile looked like. “You gave us up to be devoured like sheep and have scattered us among the nations.” (Psalm 44:11) During the exile many of the people were simply killed, and those who survived were scattered throughout the Babylonian Empire. And there was no way back to what had been. But the Psalmist reminds Israel that it was never the might of their armies that was the reason for the existence of the nation in the first place – it was the presence of God. When the Israelites first entered the Promised Land, it was not their military might that was in prominence – it was their willingness to follow the instructions of God. The first city that fell to Israel was Jericho, and not a shot was fired in taking the city. The people simply marched around the outside of the fortified city until the walls fell down.

The Psalmist reminds the people that if there was to be a return of the people of Israel to the land that God had promised to them, it would not be because of a military decision, but because God simply willed it. The people would be returned to their nation because of a will that was beyond theirs. The time would come when God would place it in the heart of a ruler of an empire to simply decree that the exile was over and that all the people could just go home in peace.

We might question the Declaration of Indulgence in our multi-ethnic world. There are those that might like to return us to a philosophical state sometime before someone thought of this strange idea of an equality between religions, but the idea of religious tolerance has released a missionary vigor on the world that would not have been possible without it. And for that reason I believe that God has simply willed it. It was an idea that could not be defeated – no military power could stand against it. God simply decreed it be so.   

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Psalm 45

By day the LORD directs his love, at night his song is with me — a prayer to the God of my life. – Psalm 42:8

Today’s Scripture Reading (August 30, 2013): Psalm 42

One of my memories of childhood is a late night discussion I had with my dad. I was upset. Nothing seemed to be going the way that I thought they should go. And in the night I just could not see the way out. Everything seemed to be hopeless. The advice from Dad on that night was that such decisions needed to be made in the light of day, because during the night, everything can seem hopeless. Tomorrow, things would probably look quite different. And he was right, in the light of the morning nothing seemed as hopeless as they did the night before.

One of the major recurring themes of the Bible is that life exists with rhythms all its own. It is the one aspect of the biblical literature that surprisingly some people seem to want to downplay. For a group of Christians, life seems to be intended to be a mountain top experience, and if that is not what you are experiencing, then you must be doing something wrong (often phrased as ‘there must be sin in your life.’) If you are depending on God, then God, your heavenly Father, wants to give to you all of the riches of his kingdom. Admittedly it is an appealing message. But it is a false one. Life has its own rhythms. And whether you are following God or not, you will have both good times – and bad.

It is something that even the people in the midst of the Biblical story failed to see. Some of their negative experiences were because of their sin, but as the story of Job explains, sometimes bad stuff just happens. And in the middle of the bad, what really matters is what it is that you do even in a negative situation.

The psalmist reminds us that God’s intention is simply to love us. And during the light of the day, we get that. When things are going right, when we feel that our needs are being met, when we are healthy and our energy is high, we understand that we are loved. We feel his love. But that is only part of life. The other side of the story is the night. And during the night the light disappears. We no longer see things as clearly as we do during the light of day. When night comes, things are not going right. Our health is not where we want it to be and our energy is low. But the Psalmist holds that even in the night, when I cannot see anything, God’s song is with me. And in the night, the song I can clearly hear.

The ebb and flow of life is normal. Night follows day just as day follows night. But when the night comes, we can listen and sing the song that God has placed in us. Because when I cannot see, I can still hear.    

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Psalm 44

Note: The VantagePoint Community Church (Edmonton) message "Hair Restoration" from the message series "An Epic Summer" is now available on the VantagePoint Website. Craig Traynor is the speaker. You can find it here.

Asaph was the chief, and next to him in rank were Zechariah, then Jaaziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, Obed-Edom and Jeiel. They were to play the lyres and harps, Asaph was to sound the cymbals … 1 Chronicles 16:5

Today’s Scripture Reading (August 29, 2013): 1 Chronicles 16

We are a culture that is attracted to certain personalities. It is evident in our favorite sports figures, but it goes beyond that. Even in the world of politics, the question of who we support often goes beyond the policies to the simple idea of whether or not we like them – whether we feel attracted to them and can trust them. In my part of the world we are currently heading for a civic election, and I have to admit that of all of the times that I am asked to vote, this is the hardest one because I often have no idea who the people are. How can I be asked to trust someone with my vote, when I have no way of knowing whether or not I can like them?

We are not immune to the phenomenon inside the church. Inside the church it is a matter of who we are willing to listen to – especially in the area of worship music. I have relatives (especially an aunt and an uncle) that love the Gaither’s – and so anything that comes from that the camp is immediately given attention – a trust has been earned. For me, it is more likely to be things that come out of the Passion camp (Louie Giglio.) The artists that come under that banner I want to listen to – they have earned my trust.

We trust because we see value. These are the leaders that have taught us something – and have ushered us into the presence of God. And it was no different in the days of David. This list is really a list of the top spiritual and worship leaders of David’s day. And at the head of the list is Asaph. Aspah had earned a reputation as a worship leader even in the days of David – even though he was the ancient equivalent of a modern day drummer. While David had written many of the Psalms in the Psalter, Asaph also made his contribution to the song book of the Jewish church. And it was Asaph that is chosen as the chief of those that would minister in front of the Ark of God. It was an honor given to a worship leader that had earned the trust of David and the people.

Another notable name among this group of notable musicians is the name of Obed-Edom. While Obed-Edom was apparently a musician (he is listed as a man who played the lyre – a hand held instrument with probably either six or seven strings – and the harp), but it is likely that his inclusion on this exclusive list is not because of his musical talent. Obed-Edom was the owner of the home in which David had left the Ark of the Covenant for three months. He had earned the trust of David – and the trust of the nation. And there is really nothing more attractive than being someone that can be trusted.    

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Psalm 42

Then David said, “No one but the Levites may carry the ark of God, because the LORD chose them to carry the ark of the LORD and to minister before him forever.” – 1 Chronicles 15:2

Today’s Scripture Reading (August 28, 2013): 1 Chronicles 15

Mike Tyson says he is close to death. The problem has nothing to do with his boxing career. In 1987 at the age of 20, Tyson became the youngest boxer to hold the WBC, WBA and IBF heavyweight titles. At that point his future seemed to be incredibly bright. But Tyson himself admits that he is a Bad Boy. And that Bad Boy character meant frequent confrontations with the law and time spent in jail. What should have been an incredible boxing career ended up being a career that was marred - and wasted.

The reason for Tyson’s grim prognosis is related not to the Mike Tyson the Boxer, but rather Mike Tyson the Bad Boy. He has been guilty of abusing alcohol and drugs for most of his life. And now it is those same drugs that threatens Tyson’s life. He needs to get off of them. As of now, Tyson has been sober for only a few days. Oh, he admits that he has said that he was sober before and every word had been a lie. But now he is really sober, sober for maybe a little more than a week. And his intention is to stay that way because he still has a life to live and a new career as a boxing promoter to succeed at. And that will only happen if the former boxer can stay clean and sober.

If you question Tyson’s ability to keep his promise, you are probably in good company. To be brutally honest, one of the things that seems to keep us entertained is watching people fail at keeping their promises. Entertainment shows depend on the inability of public figures to learn their lessons and change their lives. And we tune in to watch every little indiscretion. No headline seems to draw our attention like the news of another celebrity that has fallen off the wagon. But if we are honest, we also realize that this inability is just an extension of our own – we too are guilty of being unable to stick to some of our decisions aimed toward a life change (and health clubs are making millions off of that one trait.)

David had learned his lesson. At one of the low points of his time as king, he had forgotten that only the Levites were allowed to carry the Ark. And that mistake had cost him the life of one of his valued warriors. But now things would be different. Now he would treat the God he served with the respect that that God demanded. And that was a lesson that the returning Israelites needed to understand as well. They had lost their nation because they refused to respect their God. David’s lesson had been repeatedly forgotten by his descendants through the generations. But it could not be forgotten any more. It was a lesson that the people needed to learn if they were going to survive. To live they would need to learn and never go back.

Personally, I am cheering for Iron Mike. But it might be that iron characteristic that will be his downfall. Because iron is hard to mold unless it is superheated. And even though Tyson believes himself close to death, the heat may not be high enough yet to allow Tyson to make a permanent change. But I hope that it is – because the world needs all of the characters that it can find – and Mike Tyson is definitely one of those.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: 1 Chronicles 16

And David knew that the LORD had established him as king over Israel and that his kingdom had been highly exalted for the sake of his people Israel. – 1 Chronicles 14:2

Today’s Scripture Reading (August 27, 2013): 1 Chronicles 14

Captain Ahab in Herman Melville’s “Moby Dick” clearly understood his purpose in life. He may not have frequently vocalized the purpose, although he does tell the crew of the “Pequod” early on in the voyage why he is there. But he also recognizes that in order to keep the crew together he would have to allow the crew at least the illusion of making money on the voyage. But money was not what the Captain is after. All he wants is the whale. Not a whale – the whale – the one known as Moby Dick and the one the captain blames for the loss of his leg. And so the voyage begins in search of the white leviathan known as “Moby Dick.”

Why am I here – the art of knowing our own reasons or purpose for being - is the question that I am afraid we don’t ask, at least not seriously. We are seldom curious about the reasons why we are in the positions that we occupy, and what kind of responsibility that we might have in the events that are happening around us. Too often we seem to believe that fate or happenstance is the reason why – or even more often that we are where we are totally because of our own efforts and therefore we are where we are for our own pleasure. But maybe the real reason why we do not ask the question “why am I here” is because ultimately deep down we believe that the question really has no answer. No one can know the reason why.

David disagreed. He knew why he was in the position that he now held. It was not because of his many talents or victories – although David had both. But when he was anointed king he had none of those things. He was nothing more than a little boy taking care of the sheep. And yet God had chosen him. Saul had been a king that seemed only want to serve his own desires. For David, God had raised him up to serve him and the nation. Life was not and could not be about David. This had to be about God and the protection of the people.

And that brings us back to the question – Why am I here? I think the answer is actually fairly easy to answer. We fulfill the purpose of our lives every time we are an encouragement to those around us. Jesus answered the question by stressing that we are to be salt and light for the world. We share in David’s purpose – we are here for the benefit of the people – all of the people – that gather around us. But that is one of the hardest things for us to learn. We might even accept that we are here for all of the people who are like us – those who believe the same as we do. But that was never David’s understanding of his purpose nor was it part of the instructions of Jesus. For David, he was there for the nation of Israel – both those who believed that he should be king and those who thought someone else would make a better ruler. And Jesus simply broadened the principle – he used the word “world.” No matter the race or religion, we are here to make this world a better place for all of us to live. We are here, in the very positions that we occupy, to be both “salt and light” for the world.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: 1 Chronicles 15

The ark of God remained with the family of Obed-Edom in his house for three months, and the LORD blessed his household and everything he had. – 1 Chronicles 13:14

Today’s Scripture Reading (August 26, 2013): 1 Chronicles 13

One of my favorite lines in C. S. Lewis’ “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,” concerns the nature of Aslan. Lucy is worried about this Aslan she is about to meet. Her first question is whether or not Aslan is a man. To her surprise, she finds out that he isn’t - he is a lion. And that only increases Lucy’s anxiety. She is not sure how she feels about meeting a lion. But her next question cuts to the heart of the matter – is he safe. The answer she receives is  - “Safe?” said Mr. Beaver; “don’t you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King …” Lucy is looking for safe, but that is not who Aslan is – Aslan is dangerous.

Life is full of dangers. And so we have built safety procedures to try and handle them. We lock chemicals away from our young children. We keep them away from the dangers of life until they are old enough to understand. We keep them away from driving cars until they are into their teenage years (although some would like that age to be raised) and we keep them away from the ability to buy cigarettes and alcohol for themselves until they are considered to be adults and hopefully able to handle the dangers. No one would go to a neighborhood banker in order to have an operation performed on their body. Life is full of dangers, but we do our best to manage them. Our hope seems to always be that life can be made safe. And so we carry that expectation into our relationship with God – we want him to be safe too, but that is just not in his nature.

David seemed to be looking for the same Aslan as Lucy was. He was looking for a God who was safe – but that was not the nature of God. God was dangerous – but he was good. David’s problem was that even though everything was laid out in front of him, he had missed it. The first duty of every king was to know the will of God - a will that had been laid out in the first five books of the Bible – the Torah or Law. But in his handling of the Ark of the Covenant, David had proved that he had failed in that knowledge. The procedures had all been written down, but David had ignored the writings.

And so David decides that it is time to leave the Ark of the Covenant at the home of Obed-Edom. He was not sure he wanted a dangerous God anywhere near where he was. Obed-Edom on the other hand was from a Levitical family, and he knew how the Ark was to be handled. The result was that he was blessed. For three months the Ark of the Covenant was in his living room. And when the king did come back for the Ark to carry it into the tabernacle in Jerusalem – he would learn from Obed-Edom about the proper way to handle the Ark. Obed-Edom proved what the Beaver’s had been trying to tell Lucy – Aslan (God) is not safe – but he is good. And we should not expect him to be anything else.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: 1 Chronicles 14

Note: The VantagePoint Community Church (Edmonton) message "The Plea" from the Message Series "An Epic Summer" is now available on the VantagePoint Website. Kevin Green is the speaker and you can find the talk here.

… they were armed with bows and were able to shoot arrows or to sling stones right-handed or left-handed; they were relatives of Saul from the tribe of Benjamin … - 1 Chronicles 12:2

Today’s Scripture Reading (August 25, 2013): 1 Chronicles 12

In the relative short span of my life the map of our world was been significantly redrawn. I have a globe in my house that I have owned since I was in grade school. But the map in many areas the globe does not reflect current reality of our world. In many areas, especially in Eastern Europe and Asia the borders have changed – and when the borders have remained the same, the names have often changed. Ethnic groups that have been combined to form a single nation for generations have decided that there are more things that separate them then there are reasons to stay together.

It is not an argument that I am unfamiliar with. I am a Canadian. And Canada remains in many ways a politically divided nation. The obvious division in the nation is along language lines. For those from multi lingual cultures, the fact that Canada is divided along English and French lines might seem to be ridiculous. But the cultural differences go much deeper than just language. But that is not the only division in Canada. There is also an East – West divide in the nation. This is a cultural divide, but it is also a monetary one. During the last half century it has been a discussion between the resource rich west, the politically and human resource rich central region, and the poorer eastern areas of the nation. Every once in a while it is the Western Separatists that raise their heads. But whether it is the French or the Western Separatist’s the question is always the same – what common ground do we have with Canada? Do we really have common goals that we are working towards?

It was the same question that Sheba the Benjamite asked the tribes of Israel late in the reign of David, what part do we have in David – what goals do we share with him? Or maybe – how are we similar to David? And because of the comments of Sheba, we are told that all of Israel rebelled against the king. The only soldiers that stood shoulder to shoulder with David were the members of his own tribe – the descendants of Judah. But Chronicles indicates that for a number of Sheba’s relatives, that question had already been answered. The survival of the nation depended on Israel having the best king possible. And David knew that the survival of the nation depended on his having the best soldiers at his side – even if they were the former relatives of the king that had tried so hard to end his life.

I have to admit that I do worry when nations divide because they are somehow not able to settle their differences. If our goal is really a prosperous nation filled with strength, it would seem that that goal can only be fulfilled when diverse people groups come together to pursue a common objective. The demand that we all become carbon copies of each other only guarantees weakness. There is strength in diversity. And that was something that Sheba failed to understand, but that both David and his mighty men seemed to innately know.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: 1 Chronicles 13

The Jebusites who lived there 5 said to David, “You will not get in here.” Nevertheless, David captured the fortress of Zion—which is the City of David. – 1 Chronicles 11:4b-5

Today’s Scripture Reading (August 24, 2013): 1 Chronicles 11

It seems almost absurd to suggest it, but the deteriorating weather in and around Normandy in June 1944 might have been the weapon that the Allied Forces needed for the D-Day invasion to be a success. At the time, the bad June weather was thought to have been a disaster. There were only ten days each month when the invasion could happen. And the bad weather almost cancelled the June invasion Normandy. Evidence obtained after the war indicates that even the German high command considered an invasion of Normandy in the bad weather of June 1944 impossible. As a result, when the invasion started they were not prepared. The bad weather that almost cancelled the mission became one of the reasons why the mission ended up being a success – and what was impossible suddenly became possible.

It seems to work that way more often than we might want to admit. Something that is thought to be impossible, if attempted, suddenly becomes possible. A wall that is thought to be impossible to climb is left undefended, so if someone can find a way to climb it, it becomes a way in. Whatever it is that is thought to be impossible, sometimes becomes the key weakness that the enemy needs to win the battle.

The Jebusites were sure that their city could not be taken. Their walls were high and easily defended. There was even a source of water inside the walls. They had stores of food and so they could withstand a long siege. The Jebusites believed that all of this made their city, Jebus, not worth the trouble of trying to take. David could put the city under siege for a while, but eventually he would get bored and go away and trouble someone else.

Chronicles cleans up the story, but everyone who would have read the history would have remembered what had happened. The wall really could not be scaled, but the sewer lines of the city had been left unprotected. And David and his mighty men would climb into the city that way. What was impossible, suddenly became possible. It was not a pretty fight, but Jebus fell - and became Jerusalem – the City of David.

The importance of the story was a reminder to those who were returning to Jerusalem of the importance and the history of the city. The heroes of the nation had risked their lives to take the city, and now it was their turn to risk their lives so that the City of David could be rebuilt. There were those around them that were sure that the rebuilding of the city was an impossible task, but even the impossible is sometimes possible – we just have to see the situation in way that no one else does.

Tomorrow’s Reading: 1 Chronicles 12

Saul died because he was unfaithful to the LORD; he did not keep the word of the LORD and even consulted a medium for guidance … - 1 Chronicles 10:13

Today’s Scripture Reading (August 23, 2013): 1 Chronicles 10

Once upon a time there was a tortoise. And one day the Tortoise was having a conversation with a Hare. Now the Hare knew that it was one of the fastest animals around, and definitely faster than the slow Tortoise. So the Hare loved to tease the Tortoise because the Tortoise was so slow. Now the Tortoise, tired of being the butt of all the slow jokes, proposed a solution – a race. Now, on the surface a race between a Tortoise and a Hare seems ridiculous. Of course, we have heard and have told the story many times. And we know how the story ends. The Hare, confident of his victory falls asleep under a tree, and the Tortoise plods on past the sleeping speedster eventually winning the race. And there is a moral attached to the story. One that we have repeatedly taught and one that plodders everywhere need to hear – slow and steady wins the race.

Of course, the story is not true – at least as we see truth. But the story has achieved mythical status. There has never been a conversation between a tortoise and hare; no race has ever been proposed. But there is a truth that is found in the moral of the funny little story. Steadiness in the things that we do is important. It is not always the quick that win, sometimes the plodders that are persistent at a task can be winners too.  And so the myth becomes important. A myth is not necessarily an untrue story, but it is always a story to which an important truth in the form of a moral has been attached.

The story of Saul and his reign had been told and retold through the generations. It was a true story in the way that we understand truth – it really happened. But as the story is told in Chronicles, it now also becomes mythical. A moral has been attached. Saul failed for two reasons – he refused to keep the word of God that had come down to him and he had consulted a medium for guidance. The second sin had magnified the first. Not only had Saul disobeyed God, but he had tried to justify his disobedience by going to a medium for advice. His hope was that the medium would be able to overturn the will of God. And so this is the myth that was now attached to the story of Saul. And now it is the moral that has become the truth that needs to be taught.

And so the myth is born. What had simply been true became more than true. The story had become a model for us to follow. Just like slow and steady wins the race, we also need to recognize the moral imperative of the story of Saul – one that teaches us that there is no one who is a greater authority than God, and that obedience to him is our ultimate responsibility.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: 1 Chronicles 11

… being stationed at the King’s Gate on the east, up to the present time. These were the gatekeepers belonging to the camp of the Levites. – 1 Chronicles 9:18

Today’s Scripture Reading (August 22, 2013): 1 Chronicles 9

One of the hardest things to do when something is taken from us is to move on past what has been lost. Whenever there is a death, there is a period of time when nothing changes in the house. His clothes still hang in the closet where they have always been.  The book that he was reading stays on the bedside table. When a child is taken away, no matter what the reason was, often the room of the missing child stays exactly the way that the child left it. Years later the suggestion of changing the room into an exercise room or a sewing room is unthinkable. This was the place where the child laughed and played and slept – and lived. For years parents cling to the expectant hope that one day the child would return – someday the room will once again find its use as the child returns to live in it once more.

I think I often miss the same sense of mourning for Israel. As the people of Israel moved once more to their home land – and once more they began the rebuilding process of the their holy city – everywhere they looked they found reminders of what it was that was no longer available to them – reminders of what it was that had been taken from them – what they had lost.

So the Chronicler picks up his pen and he starts to describe the New Jerusalem. And on the East side of the city was the King’s gate. He describes the placing of the gate, and the gatekeepers that were stationed there. The Chronicler reminds us that this was the “King’s Gate.” It was a gate reserved for the King to enter the temple area. And part of the job of the gatekeepers at this particular gate was to make sure that no one else but the King would enter the temple through this gate. There was a reserved sign that kept everyone but the king away from the gate. For this reason, the gate was important, so only the best of the best of gatekeepers need apply.

But the Chronicler gives us some more important information. The gatekeepers manned the King’s gate even to the day that the Chronicler was writing down the story. And what is interesting about that is that the Chronicler was telling the story from after the return of the exiles from Babylon back to Israel – and at this present time there was no king. Scholars surmise that the King’s Gate was probably sealed – there was no one alive that possessed the credentials to walk through the gate. It was boarded up – and yet still the gatekeepers kept watch on the unused gate. So the gate became a reminder of all that had been lost – and of the hope that someday, someone would appear at the Eastern Gate with the appropriate credentials to come in – it was the hope that someday the King would return.  

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: 1 Chronicles 10

The son of Jonathan: Merib-Baal, who was the father of Micah. – 1 Chronicles 8:34

Today’s Scripture Reading (August 21, 2013): 1 Chronicles 8

Maybe one of the strangest elections in the United States history was the election of George W. Bush to the position of President of the United States. It just does not happen often - or ever – that a son is elected to the same office that was once held by the father.  (In Canada there is a similar event possibly on the horizon with the presence of Justin Trudeau – the son of former Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau – on the next ballot for Prime Minister of the country. And I think that there are possibly two reasons for this. Maybe the most important factor is that the kids have watched first hand their fathers (or mothers) run the nation. And after watching the toll it took on them, why would they want to become leaders like their parents (just look at the picture of an incoming president and compare it with one taken as they are leaving office – there seems to be more aging through their term than can be explained by the number of years that they have spent in office.) And most of our kids are smart and they see that one fact and simply are not sure why they would want to be president (I am not sure what that might say about George W. or Justin.) But on the other side, being in a position of power means that we build up enemies – and that often prohibits our children from coming into power.

In the past, and really in our not too distant history, it was not just political enemies that would prohibit an election of a child. Often the family was murdered to stop them from taking political office. Less than 100 years ago Tsar Nicholas II of Russia and his entire family were executed for no other crime than being the ones with best claim to the Russian throne. And today all you need to remember the story of those final days in Russia is a single name. Maybe it is Nicholas II, or maybe it is simply the name of Anastasia, Nicholas’ youngest daughter. But simply their name brings back the entire story. With a single name we remember both the Tsar and his executed family – and the firing squad that took their lives in the basement of a house.

For Israel, they would have remembered a story simply with the names of Jonathan and his son Merib-Baal. Jonathan was King David’s childhood friend – and was himself a prince. He was the son of Saul and rightful heir of the throne of Israel. Both King Saul and his son were killed in battle on the same day. It was the day that David would continue his long prophesied rise to power as King of Israel. And in this case, it was the enemies of Israel that did the job of removing those closest in line with the throne. But after David had ascended to power, he conducted a search for someone from the house of Saul and specifically from the house of Jonathan. In this day and age it would not have been unheard of for the new king to search for the ones that might have a claim on the throne so that they might be executed. In this way the crown would be made secure for the one that now wore it. But that was not David’s purpose. He wanted to simply show kindness to the family of his dead friend.

And so Merib-Baal was found (we know him better by the name Mephibosheth.) Now, Merib-Baal was crippled. The story that is told is that on the day that his nurse heard of the death of his father Jonathan, she dropped the child forever leaving him crippled. It might have been thought that this act was a kindness – after all, a lame prince would be no threat to the throne. But for David, Merib-Baal was a chance for David to honor his friend. And kindness was shown to the house of Jonathan by a great King so that rather than the memory of the house of Saul being erased from the annals of Israel, as the captives returned home to Israel they can trace the descendants of the house of Saul through days of the reigns of the kings of Judah.       

Today’s Scripture Reading: 1 Chronicles 9

Three sons of Benjamin: Bela, Beker and Jediael. – 1 Chronicles 7:6

Today’s Scripture Reading (August 20, 2013): 1 Chronicles 7

The term “genocide” did not exist before 1944. It was not that the action of genocide was unknown; we just did not have a name for it. And it was not until 1996 that someone finally described the process of genocide. According to Gregory Stanton, the President of Genocide Watch, there are eight stages of the genocide process. The process starts with Classification – the task of dividing people into us and them. The second stage involves Symbolization – the act of forcing symbols onto one group of people. Stage three is Dehumanization – the group identified as ‘they’ is now described as something less than human. The next stage of the process is Organization – the dominant group begins to form a way to round up and persecute the group of people that are already described as less than human. Stage five is Polarization – propaganda begins to be disseminated throughout the general populace describing the target group. Stage six is Preparation – it is at this moment that the over whelming reason and need for extermination of the people group begins to be broadcast. They are blamed for some social problem of the culture and the only way through the problem is if these people can be removed. The next step is the actual Extermination of the people. But the last step might be the most important. Stage eight is Denial. Denial is summed up as the belief that no wrong was ever committed. The perpetrator of the action does not see that any crime was committed. It was all very necessary. And it might be that it is the overwhelming truth of this final step that makes genocide so hard to see – and has made the concept of genocide an idea without a term to describe it - at least until 1944.

But genocide is an ancient idea. And it is a story that is told regularly in the Hebrew Bible (the Old Testament.) In fact, in modern times the existence of genocide all through history, including in the Hebrew Bible, is one of the reasons why detractors of the Bible refuse to believe in a loving God. Unfortunately, it is a good argument against a loving God.

Part of what we need to remember is that while the message of the Bible is eternal, it was originally written for a specific time and space. To totally remove the Bible from the time in which it was written is a guarantee that we will misunderstand its message. And the time in which the Bible was written was a day in which genocide was common – even within the tribes of Israel.

For the Israelite standing at the end of the Babylonian Captivity, to read about these three sons of Benjamin was to tell a story. Genesis tells us a different story. Benjamin had ten sons. A few verses after this list in Chronicles we are reminded of five of Benjamin’s sons, but here there are only three. And there is a reason. Benjamin was almost exterminated – genocide almost became a reality of the tribe’s existence. And if it were not for the intervention of God, Benjamin would have disappeared then and there. But instead, a few people survived. Not the descendants of ten sons of Benjamin – or even five – but the descendants of three sons of Benjamin. The list served as a reminder of the great dangers of genocide – and the great mercy of a God that was willing to step in and stop the killing.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: 1 Chronicles 8

Jozadak was deported when the LORD sent Judah and Jerusalem into exile by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar. – 1 Chronicles 6:15

Today’s Scripture Reading (August 19, 2013): 1 Chronicles 6

I sometimes wonder why we somehow expect that we will live our lives without stress. I mean, we will quit smoking as soon as we find that period of no stress, or maybe it is that diet that we are going to start, just as soon as things quieten down a little around us. The problem is that that is not the way life works. Once this stress passes, there will be another one coming – and maybe a little sooner than we really want it.

I recently preached on the story of David and Goliath, and one thought has stuck with me. David’s resume for going to fight against the giant was what he had done in private – when the stress was on and the lion and the bear attacked – and absolutely no one would ever know what it was that David had done. The truth is that our character is revealed in the midst of our most stressful times – not in the least stressful times. Who we are is never formed in the quiet moments of life, but rather in the midst of the stressful ones. And it is not just our own character development that hangs in the balance. There are others watching exactly what it is that we are doing when the pressure is on.

Jozadak was not in a good situation. He was the son of Seraiah. And at the time of the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonian Empire, Seraiah was the High Priest at the temple in Jerusalem. Seraiah was taken captive with his son, Jozadak, and then exiled to Babylon. But Babylon had a practice of executing the high officials of the lands that they conquered – and in this case that would include the High Priest of the temple in Jerusalem. Seraiah was executed soon after father and son reached the land that would be their new home. In a very short period of time, Jozadak went from being the son of the High Priest living in Jerusalem to being an orphan living with the exiles in Babylon. The rest of his life would be spent within the Babylonian empire – Jozadak would never see the sights of home ever again. It is hard to imagine a more stressful situation.

But Jozadak was not alone. Jozadak would have a son, and his son’s name was Joshua. And while  Jozadak’s father was the last High Priest of the temple in Jerusalem before the Babylonian Captivity, Jozadak’s son Joshua was destined to be the first High Priest of the temple in Jerusalem after the captives would finally return. And everything that Joshua would learn about God and the formation of the character that would be required for the position of High Priest would be learned from Jozadak in Babylon – in the midst of all the stress that Jozadak suffered there.

Stress is simply a part of life. And if the important lessons of life have to be learned in the non-stressful moments, then they may never be learned – by us, or by the eyes watching us.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: 1 Chronicles 7

So the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria (that is, Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria), who took the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh into exile. He took them to Halah, Habor, Hara and the river of Gozan, where they are to this day. – 1 Chronicles 5:26

Today’s Scripture Reading (August 18, 2013): 1 Chronicles 5

In the early 1980’s the Canadian Rock Band “Rush” released the song “Distant Early Warning.” The song seems fairly cryptic in nature but it basically deals with the idea that in our current world, threats often come from afar, where in the past a secure border often meant that you were surrounded by friends while your enemies were far away. But at the end of the song, a name is spoken - “Absalom” - seemingly without any connection with the rest of song. It was probably not until the early 1990’s that the mystery of the mention of “Absalom” was solved. Neil Peart, the drummer and lyricist for the trio, mentioned in an interview that he had always liked the name “Absalom” and wanted to include it in the song, but that he also was never really sure what the name meant. So he had his wife do some research and found that the name was from the Bible, that Absalom was the son of King David, but that it was not a happy story. Absalom killed his half-brother (for raping his sister) and then tried to wage war against his father for control of the Kingdom. Absalom lost and was killed by David’s mighty men, against the wishes of David. And for Peart, the lament of David for his rebellious son, after his son’s death, was the ultimate moment of compassion and grace. And since compassion was a main theme of the song, it seemed like it might be an appropriate way to end the song.

 

We sometimes need to be reminded that while the action of Chronicles encompasses the history of Israel and Judah; the words were being composed from a time at the end of the Babylonian Captivity. Judah was just starting their journey back home. And the message of the writers of the book was really “may this never have to happen again.”

 

So the author(s) go back to the beginning and watch for the early warning signs that Israel and Judah both seems to miss. And this passage is a reminder of the first captivity – one of the early warning signs. The Northern Kingdom was the recipient of the first captivity. Specifically the captivity concerned the nations that decided not to cross the Jordan River into the land that had been promised to Israel. They had made their homes on the East side of the Jordan River. And they would be the first of the tribes of Israel to disappear. Ten years later the rest of the tribes of the Northern Kingdom would follow their brothers into exile – in fact, they would go to precisely the same cities and towns as the ones involved in the first captivity. Later, Judah would go through three of its own captivities. But from where the writer of Chronicle stands, this story does not end in despair and disgrace – rather it ends with another moment of incredible grace and compassion - as God brings his people back home.  

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: 1 Chronicles 6

The men whose names were listed came in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah. They attacked the Hamites in their dwellings and also the Meunites who were there and completely destroyed them, as is evident to this day. Then they settled in their place, because there was pasture for their flocks. – 1 Chronicles 4:41

Today’s Scripture Reading (August 17, 2013): 1 Chronicles 4

In 1994, the Tutsi people of Rwanda were just about wiped out by their Hutu neighbors. Estimates of the death toll in Rwanda over the 100 days of insanity range from 500,000 to 1,000,000 people – as much as 20% of the total population of the nation lay dead by the time the anger of a nation subsided. History will recall the genocide as the result of a longstanding ethnic competition between the minority Tutsi, who had been in a position of power in the nation for centuries, and the majority Hutu’s. But the real story possibly went a little deeper than that. The Hutu’s were just one example of a people group that had been labeled as the descendants of Ham – and therefore under a curse and worthy of mistreatment. But in 1994, the so-called descendants of Ham rose up to violently claim their place on the world stage.

The Hamites have lived since the days of Noah under a biblical curse. And cultures have been quick to label their enemies as descendants of Ham – and because they were descendants of Ham they were a people that were worthy of destruction. During the days of slavery in the United States, the argument was made by Bible believing people that all black people groups were the descendants of Ham. It was this idea that gave Biblical legitimacy to the idea and the practice of slavery. Slavery was a biblically just concept because the descendants of Ham stood under a curse.

We do not really know if the Hamites that were within the borders of Judah during the days of Hezekiah were really the descendants of Ham or not. But the reality found in this verse is that the people of Judah used the idea of the curse of Ham as one reasons for the extermination of a people group. This story also indicates that even as late as the days of Hezekiah (which was close to the end of the history of the Kingdom of Judah) it is possible that the Promised Land still had not been totally taken by Israel. Within the borders of the kingdom there were still people groups living in the land that had neither been assimilated into the nation nor were in any other way under the control of the king.

It might be that we could understand the use of the curse of Ham in a pre-Christian society. But the use of the curse of Ham after the time of the Cross, especially by Christian nations is unthinkable. Paul makes this thought clear. “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole” (Galatians 3:13.)   

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: 1 Chronicles 5

The sons of Pedaiah: Zerubbabel and Shimei. The sons of Zerubbabel: Meshullam and Hananiah. Shelomith was their sister. – 1 Chronicles 3:19

Today’s Scripture Reading (August 16, 2013): 1 Chronicles 3

A year ago I had laser surgery done on my eyes. I only needed glasses for distance, but when I went on vacation a year ago and flew into our vacation hotspot after four hours on the plane, I went to get my glasses but they were not there. We waited until everyone was off the plane and then we tore apart the seat and checked all over the floor of the plane, but my glasses were simply gone. Now, luckily I had a pair of prescription sun glasses with me. and so for the rest of my vacation I wore my sunglasses whenever I needed glasses and I had to explain every time that I walked into a restaurant why it was that I felt that I needed to wear my sunglasses inside their dimly lit food establishments. So when I arrived back home, I felt I had a choice – either buy another pair of glasses or do something so that I did not need glasses anymore.

But when I went in for my first appointment to evaluate my eyes for surgery, I realized that I was going to have to make a choice. They could operate on my eyes so that I did not need distance glasses anymore, but I would need reading glasses. Or I could have an operation that would leave me with mono-vision, basically that means that one eye would be perfect for distance and one eye would be perfect for reading. To be honest, that idea did not make any sense to me. I understand the value of binocular vision. I have two eyes that help me see this world the way it needs to be seen. It is one thing to see with one eye, but two eyes help me see the world more fully.

Often when we have two accounts of a story we are just getting a fuller view of what the story is trying to tell us. And sometimes there are disagreements between the stories, but all that means is that we are getting a slightly different view of the action.

So, Zerubbabel in this passage is said to be the son of Pedaiah. The problem is that Haggai calls Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, the older brother of Pedaiah. So once again we are left with a choice. Either this passage is simply wrong and the names are messed up, or maybe the Zerubbabel in 1 Chronicles 3 is a different Zerubbabel than the one that is mentioned in Haggai 1:1, but that would mean that there would be two first cousins in the royal family that had the same name. But then we would have to explain why Chronicles mentions this Zerubbabel and not the one that would be the son of the Governor of Judah and the successor of the throne of Israel had the nation not been defeated by Babylon.

Or another option is that the two passages give us a fuller story of who Zerubbabel was. And the most likely explanation for the discrepancy is that the Zerubbabel was the son of Pedaiah. But it was Shealtiel that was the successor to the throne – and in this time the possessor of the governorship of the Babylonian province of Judah. But Shealtiel had no son to succeed him, and so he adopted his nephew. Zerubbabel still had royal blood in him (he was a son of King David,) but he was not in succession to the throne of Israel until his uncle adopted him. By the way, Matthew agrees with Haggai and calls Zerubbabel the son of Shelatiel – and this adopted son not only becomes a part of the ruling line of Israel, but also becomes an ancestor of Jesus.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: 1 Chronicles 4

... the sixth Ozem and the seventh David. – 1 Chronicles 2:15

Today’s Scripture Reading (August 15, 2013): 1 Chronicles 2

If you are a follower of a sports team, you probably recognize that teams often have some weird traditions. For the Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League, they pride themselves in being the Sea of Red – actually that is wrong – it is the C of Red. Fans often come to the stadium wearing Red Jerseys – and those that cannot get into the stadium, especially in playoffs, wear their Red Jersey downtown in an area known as the Red Mile. It is the part of the character of the fans, the team and the city. But if you go to a game, especially maybe as an American, you might notice something. When the Star Spangled Banner is sung in this Canadian City, the fans tend to punctuate the song in two places. The first is in the opening line of the song. When words “O say can you see” are sung, the fans scream the word “see” -  and when the singer gets to the words “and the rockets’ red glare,” the fans scream one more time, this time punctuating the word “red.” But the words do not mean the same thing to the fans of the Calgary hockey team that they do to most American’s that sing the song. The words simply underscore something that is important to the team’s fans – the C of Red.  

 

Words can carry meanings that were never intended by the original authors. But words can also be crafted carefully to give a particular meaning. Most of the writers of the bible carefully chose their words to give meaning – including in this seemingly innocuous list of names. The problem with this list is that we have a bit of a conflict – namely from other passages of the Bible we know that David was the eighth son of Jesse, not the seventh.

 

So scholars have looked for an explanation for the discrepancy. One explanation is that one of the sons of Jesse had already died and left no children and therefore he had been left off of the list. Another explanation is that of the eight sons of Jesse, one son had actually been and an older grandson.

 

But there might be a better explanation. Ancient histories were not written with same idea of objectivity that a modern history is written with. In ancient times the writers knew something that we have unfortunately forgotten – that the idea of objectivity is really just a myth. So the ancient histories were written with the purpose of instilling meaning. And in the ancient world there was an intense meaning in numbers. Many of the numbers in the Bible are symbolic in nature – even if to modern ears they are not objectively true. This passage might be simply illustrating that concept. Jesse had eight sons. But the author of the history wanted his audience to understand the importance and perfection of Israel’s king David. And seven is the number of perfection and completion – so David becomes the seventh son of Jesse – and for both the writer and the early reader, the perfect son and the perfect king.

 

For the curious, an ancient writing called the Midrash gives us the identity of the missing son, His name is Elihu, and the Midrash places Elihu at number seven – and David back in his familiar position, and to the modern understanding objectively true position, of being the number eight son of Jesse.       

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: 1 Chronicles 3

Adam, Seth, Enosh ... – 1 Chronicles 1:1

Today’s Scripture Reading (August 14, 2013): 1 Chronicles 1

It is often said that history is written by the victors. The idea of an objective historian is really an impossibility – every one of us approaches history with our own bias. And we interpret the events of history in a way that makes some kind of sense to us. So as we look at history books of 1 and 2 Chronicles, one of the first things we have to be willing to do is recognize the bias with which they are written. The two books of Chronicles were originally a single book. And the book itself is a history book, but a bit of an unusual one. There is absolutely nothing new in this history book. It is simply a retelling of the biblical story, but this time the retelling is from the other side of the Babylonian Exile. It was a version of the history of Israel with all of the biases of the returning captives – the ones who were finally coming home after their stay in a foreign land. It was not new history, but it was in some ways a new telling of the story.

And so the story of Israel starts where every story should start – at the very beginning. The historian starts with Adam and Seth and Enosh. With each of these names comes a story – and a bias. One of the significant differences is that the only descendant of Adam that is listed is Seth. And Seth was the youngest of the three boys that we know about. Cain was the oldest, and second in line would have been Abel – and then Seth. Of course, part of the history that is quietly missed is that Cain murdered Abel, and removed both of the older male descendants of Adam from the line of Israel. It would not be the last time in the history of Israel that the younger son would take precedence over the older siblings. God’s plan was a different plan from the one usually followed – it was Seth over Cain, Isaac over Ishmael, Jacob over Esau, Joseph over his elder brothers, and even the most storied king of Israel, David, was the youngest of eight brothers. While the rest of the world was following the lead of the eldest male, Israel was finding a different way.

For the fresh returnees from a forced stay in Babylon, this take on history was important. It meant that God was willing to find a different way to success. Israel had not been a world power for many generations – and the people dreamed of a return to the success that the nation had once known, especially under the rule of David. And all of their dreams were possible if they would only recognize the character of the God who raises the weak over the strong, elevates the humble above the proud, and allows even the younger brothers to take precedence over their elder counterparts.

For us, that means that our Creator and Sustainer continues to be a God that is willing to move in unusual and counter cultural ways. The whole Christian belief in the power of love itself depends on a willingness to believe that God sees this world in a very different way from the way that we do. That in the end love is not weak – love really will win.     

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: 1 Chronicles 2

... praise him with the clash of cymbals, praise him with resounding cymbals. – Psalm 150:5

Today’s Scripture Reading (August 13, 2013): Psalm 149 & 150

I am a child of what has been called the Worship Wars. Early on in my life the style of worship around me was seen to be an issue. When I was in Junior High (or now Middle School) I was attending a church that had a midweek service. Every Wednesday night the church gathered for a time of worship. The younger kids gathered at the church for a “Boy Scouts” or “Girl Guides” like program called “Caravan.” The older kids, my age, gathered for their own church service – done our way and with our music, and the adults were gathered upstairs in a hall for their service. And one day my Youth Pastor got an idea. Let’s have a contest for attendance of the midweek services – youth against the adults. Over a month’s time, we will take attendance and the service that had the greatest percentage increase in attendance wins. And the prize was that for one night both groups would gather together for a night of worship as chosen by of the winner. In other words, if the adult won we would gather for a night of Southern Gospel Quartet music. If the kids won it was going to be a night of Rock and Roll (or at the time what we called Contemporary Christian Music.) We were pumped. And we won. And almost immediately the adults started to tell the teens that they were not going to come to the night of worship.

All the way through the worship wars was the idea that God would not ordain the use of Rock Music with its heavy use of drums and rhythm based instrument in worship of him. There seems to be a level of reserve that is needed in the worship of God. Some people really believe that it is of the devil to let choruses replace the hymns. According to this group of people the hymns carry God’s stamp of approval while choruses do not. And I do believe that Jesus uses the hymns, but I know he also uses the more contemporary music – in fact, I think God uses the noises that we make.

So the Psalmist writes that we are to praise God with loud cymbals. There is very little music in a cymbal. Literally this passage says that we are to praise God with the cymbals of hearing, which just means cymbals that can be heard a long way off. And if that was not enough, the Psalmist writes that we are to praise God with the resounding cymbals – again literally the cymbals of shouting. As if the cymbals of hearing or cymbals that can be heard a long way off was not enough, we are going to add to the cymbals of hearing the cymbals of shouting.

What worship is not about is the music. To be brutally honest, I really don’t care what the musical style is that you may enjoy. But if you like the hymn’s – then sing them loud. There should be no reserve in our worship. When the church gathers to sing, the neighborhood should know it. Praise should always be shouted – and heard a long way off.   

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: 1 Chronicles 1

Praise him, you highest heavens and you waters above the skies. – Psalm 148:4

Today’s Scripture Reading (August 12, 2013): Psalm 148

In the ancient world, the people believed in what has become known as a three tiered universe. There was the earth, and there was the space above the earth termed the heavens, which because of its blue color and the fact that rain fell from the sky was originally thought to be filled with water, and then there was the space under the earth. We are not sure how long this three tiered universe belief lasted, but it probably was not as long as we might think. We are a curious group, and soon we just needed to answer the questions that we had about what it was we were seeing in the sky.

How long the human race actually believed in a three tiered universe might be an open question, but even today we use the terminology of the three tiered universe. Heaven is up and Hell is down even though we know full well that the world is round and then the direction we are indicating when we point up is different depending on the time of day and even where in the world it is that we are standing. The three tiered terminology is seared into our emotions even though we know intellectually that the three tiered model is untrue.

This psalm was written either during the time of the Babylonian captivity or at the close of the captivity. And the Psalmist uses a three tiered description of creation in his praise. This has raised the question of whether the Psalmist believed in the three tiered model, or was he just using poetic language to get a point across. One of the criticisms about people that read and use the bible is that we often ignore the genre present – we seem to believe that every passage of scripture is written in the same way – and that is probably a dangerous way to read any literature.

But the evidence in this case is that the Psalmist is using poetic language of a three tiered universe. As much as many people seem to want to ascribe scientific truth to passages like this, it is just unlikely that that was even what the author was intending. Seven hundred years before the Babylonian captivity, Babylon had already amassed a great deal of knowledge about the stars and the planets. And two hundred years before the captivity, scientists were already using internal logic to predict the movement of the planets. In Babylon, and in most of the world, the time of belief in the three tiered universe was already past.

But the fact that the belief in how the universe was arranged had already changed did not steal the power of the three tiered universe description from the poets. For the poet, up was up and down was down – it may not have been intellectual truth, but it was emotional truth. And emotional truth has always been powerful in literature (and especially in poetry.) So the Psalmist uses the emotional language of the three tiered universe to reinforce the idea that everything will eventually praise God.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Psalm 149 & 150

The LORD builds up Jerusalem; he gathers the exiles of Israel. – Psalm 147:2

Today’s Scripture Reading (August 11, 2013): Psalm 147

The floods in Southern Alberta in late June 2013 caused more damage than any storm in the recent memory of the area. Usually a dry and arid place, the unusually heavy rains swelled the rivers and the normally dry land had no idea of what to do with the water. Some of the towns were almost wiped off of the map. And the damage to the City of Calgary was extensive. Some events that had been planned at the Saddledome – the major arena in the city and the home of the Calgary Flames Hockey Club which was filled with water to the eighth row of the bowl seating – had to be moved to different venues. And right now the hope is that the arena can be rebuilt before the start of the National Hockey League Season - which Is less than two months away. But while the Saddledome upgrades are hoped to be on the fast track – much of the rest of the flood damaged area is on a much longer schedule. The reality is that the rebuilding process seldom goes as quickly as we might like – and usually comes with many hidden problems.

 

After the destruction of Jerusalem in 587 B.C.E. Jerusalem laid empty for almost fifty years. Then the exiles slowly started to return to the city. The first group of exiles returned to Jerusalem in 538 B.C.E. under the leadership of Zerubbabel, the reigning prince of the Davidic line who would serve as the Babylonian Governor of the now Province of Judah. It would be under his leadership that the rebuilding process would begin – starting with the temple. The next group of exiles would not arrive until 457 B.C.E. with Ezra and then again in 445 and 434 B.C.E during the time of Nehemiah. The process of rebuilding that started with the temple, continued with the city and then the walls and the gates. Rebuilding from the destruction was not immediate – it took time to return Jerusalem even to a shadow of the city that it had once been.

 

For the returning exiles, the process probably seemed like the process was taking too long. In their minds they could not imagine how it could ever be complete. But the psalmist reminded the returning exiles that the rebuilding was never in their hands in the first place. It was God that was in charge of the rebuild – and all that they needed to be was obedient to the God that they served.

 

Disasters of all kinds are an ever present reality in life. Some of them might be minor problems, and others might be major catastrophes – but either way God needs to be part of the rebuild. Rebuilding takes time, and the process has challenges that we are never expecting. But God knows every part of the journey that we need to take. And he can be a big part of the rebuilding process. 

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Psalm 148

Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD their God. – Psalm 146:5

Today’s Scripture Reading (August 10, 2013): Psalm 146

For the nations of Eastern Europe, politics seems to have been an exercise in the suppression of a national expression of identity. The suppression of national identity was integral to the smooth development of the nations, especially in the Eastern Bloc countries and within the Soviet Union itself. All national expression had to be suppressed in order for the Union as a whole to move forward. But when the Soviet President, Mikhail Gorbachev, tried to revive the lagging Soviet economy in the mid 1980’s, part of the plan was to allow a process of increasing liberalization in the Union. What might have been a surprise to Gorbachev and the rest of the brain trust at the top of the Soviet Union political ladder was that this political liberalization resulted in an increase in the national expression of the member countries and the recognition of ethnic diversity in the region. The effect reached outside of the Soviet Union and into the neighboring countries. The rise of new nations had begun; the new nations were actually ancient ethnic based countries that had not been heard from in generations. And the map of Eastern Europe and Western Asia slowly began to be redrawn.

During the years of the Babylonian Captivity, the national expression of Israel had to be suppressed. After all, that was the purpose of the captivity in the first place. Taking the people captive and removing them from their home was supposed to help in the process of taking the people of Israel and producing out of them good Babylonian citizens. And there is evidence that the process worked very well – at least on the surface. If we take Daniel as a case study, while he never dropped his belief in God, Daniel rose to high office in the Babylonian government – and later in the early days of the Median Empire was a key official in that government. Daniel is the only Biblical source that shows the Emperor Nebuchadnezzar in good light. A chapter in the book of Daniel (Chapter 4) is even written by the Babylonian ruler. Daniel did many great things for the Babylonian Empire – he lived most of his life in Babylon and died in what is now known as Iraq (or possibly Iran.) Daniel, the Israelite prophet, was an honored citizen of the Babylon. And there is some evidence that when the repopulation of Israel became a possibility, there were a number within the captives that had no desire to go back to their ancestral homeland. The only home they had ever known was in Babylon.

And it is during this time that we see a subtle shift in language. God is no longer the deity over Israel – he is the God of Jacob. The terminology had always been there, but now the God of Jacob, or the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob began to make more sense than the God of Israel. Israel as a nation no longer existed, and the national expression of the people of God had been successfully suppressed by their captors.

But it is important to also recognize that even though their national expression had vanished for a time, their belief in one God remained. Daniel again serves as an example of a captive that could lose his national identity but not his belief in God. The people may have been slowly changed into good Babylonian citizens, but they remained servants of the one true God – the God of Jacob.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Psalm 147

He remembered us in our low estate His love endures forever. – Psalm 136:23

Today’s Scripture Reading (August 9, 2013): Psalm 136

I have been watching the old 1990 political thriller “House of Cards.” It is the story of the politically rich and powerful in Britain – and their quest to become even more rich and powerful. The story hovers around the political ambitions of Francis Urquhart, the antihero of the story. For Urquhart, all that matters is power. Urquhart comes to see himself as the king of the nation – which becomes clear when he has to deal with the king who is sitting on the throne. Those who lack the power of Urquhart are only meant to be stepped on – and no one has more power than Francis Urquhart. Lying, political intrigue and murder are only some of the things that Urquhart is guilty of – and none of it he seems willing to stop. His single ambition becomes not the concerns and needs of the nation, but his own pursuit of political power.

 

The story itself is fiction, but the plot line behind the story is very real. Even the church has not been exempt from people that have chased office only to increase their own political power. And history tells the frequent struggles between the kings of the empires and the popes of the church as they tried to prove which one of them was really the more powerful. And it was normally the common person that paid the price for the battle over power.

 

It was this battle for power that provides the backdrop for this Psalm – and the powerful difference that separated God from the local power mongers of this world. As the history of Judah closed, there were very few nations who had less power than Judah. If it was a ladder that needed to be climbed, the chosen people of God occupied the bottom rung. They no longer had anyone that they could call king; and their highest political leader in the nation answered to some other power. No one had the power to decide the future of the nation. Down was not an option only because the nation could not get any lower. And yet, even there, God heard their cries – and he remembered his people.

 

This may have been one of the things that we have trouble mastering as a people. We echo the ambitions of Francis Urquhart, we want to climb ever higher. Even the architecture of our churches sometimes come to resemble the Tower of Babel as they stretch ever higher trying to reach toward the very dwelling place of God. And yet the truth that we know of God is that he hears us in our lowest moments – he understands us when we are standing on the bottom rung of the ladder, barely standing off of the ground. Even Jesus said that “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth” (Matthew 5:5.) With those words, maybe the bottom rung of the power ladder is not such a bad place to be after all.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Psalm 146

Note:  The VantagePoint Community Church (Edmonton) message Arky, Arky" from the series "An Epic Summer" is now available on the VantagePoint Website.  You can find it here.