RECIPE FOR CHAOS

If the whole Bible was made into a movie, some parts would be too graphic for any censorship board to handle. This morning, I read the last three chapters of Judges, a portion of Scripture that describes a series of unbelievably brutal and hideous events. The wanton bloodshed and sheer stupidity of people who were supposed to be God’s witness in the world – well, it blows the mind.

I think a lot of people have the wrong impression about the Bible. Some detractors seem to think that it’s dull and dry, full of pious do-gooders who are about a zillion miles removed from real life as the rest of us experience it.

Other people seem to think that the Bible is just a vast compilation of rules and laws that are designed to spoil everyone’s fun.

Truth is, the Bible gets right down to the nitty-gritty of life (in the three chapters I read this morning, the emphasis is very much on the gritty!)

The last verse of Judges reads like this: “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.”

Although that might sound good and noble, it was actually a recipe for disaster. Lawlessness and violence prevailed throughout the land because there was no consensus about what was right and what was wrong.

The Bible continues to speak powerfully to every generation. To ours, it shouts a warning about the consequences of neglecting God. Without the moral consensus that God provides, chaos is always going to reign. Either that or tyrrany and dictatorship.

There is much talk these days about domestic violence, bullying, sexual abuse, obesity, suicide and a host of other social issues. But the answer is not more legislation, more royal commissions, more expensive government committees. The answer is to be found in a national revival, a return to Christian faith and values. As long as the Bible is pushed aside as dull, irrelevant or socially constrictive, the rot will only continue.

Australia, and indeed every nation, needs to come back to Jesus.

TRYING TO SILENCE WHAT MAKES US UNCOMFORTABLE – A VERY OLD STRATEGY

This morning, over breakfast, I read a fascinating article in the recent VoxPoint newsletter about homosexuality and what is known as reparative therapy. A significant number of gays are seeking help to change because they are desperately unhappy in the homosexual lifestyle. Reparative therapy is a controversial psychological treatment aimed at helping such people to alter their sexual orientation.

The therapy is controversial because, if sexual orientation can change, then most of the propaganda from the gay lobby is summarily discredited. To say that “we were born this way” implies that we all must accept homosexuality as a normal, perhaps even God-given, state. The dogma that one is born either hetero or homo suits the agenda of the gay lobby.

The VoxPoint article mentioned a prominent American psychiatrist, Dr Robert Spitzer, who was professionally intimidated over several years because he published a major study showing that homosexual orientation could be changed. That was apparently an unacceptable conclusion, despite the evidence that he carefully presented.

Then I read on Facebook about a certain Professor Bengtsson who changed his mind about climate change and suddenly experienced rejection and intimidation from the academic community to which he had belonged all his working life. The negative pressure was so great that he became concerned even for his physical health.

Then, in my daily Bible reading, the next chapter to read was Acts 4 and I saw the same thing. Verse 2 talks of people “being greatly disturbed that [the apostles] taught the people and preached in Jesus the resurrection from the dead.” It was an uncomfortable truth because they thought they had gotten rid of Jesus and His teachings.

What was their response? Threats and intimidation. Same response as we see today when people speak out a truth that upsets certain apple carts. To me, resorting to such tactics is evidence of intellectual bankruptcy and insecurity. If some idea or ideology is wrong, counter it with truth, not with threats.

Praise God the apostles spoke up boldly, refusing to obey man rather than God. May all God’s people have such boldness!

THE REAL LORD’S PRAYER

John chapter 17 is the chapter that rightfully deserves the title "The Lord's Prayer".  Jesus, who is actually God incarnate, is about to end His earthly life. It is a crucial moment in history. So what would be the intimate thoughts of Jesus at that moment?  What concerns and desires would weigh upon Him? John 17 tells the story.

Some people have suggested that Jesus exper-ienced a moment of weakness at Gethsemane when He prayed for His cup to pass away but there is no hint of weakness here, only persistent and steadfast dedication.

The prayer is actually a combination of assorted prayers and declarations about His finished work. Ten times in the passage, we read the words "I have."  By reading verses 4, 6, 8, 12, 14, 18, 22, 25 and 26, we can see what Jesus considered to be His greatest accomplishments.  There is no mention in this prayer of miracles or signs and wonders (not that I would disparage such things in any way – I’m a true believer in miracles for today!)  But no, the prayer is not about miracles. Instead, v14 is typical of His statements within this prayer: "I have given them (the disciples) Thy Word..."

Of the eight requests made by Jesus in His prayer, two of them concern the glory of the Father and six of them are prayers for the disciples.

Jesus prayed that His disciples should be: a) protected (kept) through God’s name, v11; b) kept from the evil one, v15; c) sanctified by the truth, v17; d) united as one, v21; and e) that they would be with Him and see His glory, v24.

The other one, by the way, is found in v9 and is only a general prayer.

It is easy to see the fulfilment for some of these prayer points.  But consider v21.  Jesus prayed that His disciples should be one, in the same way as He and the Father are one.  It seems impossible, but the prayer of Jesus is proof that it WILL happen.

JESUS – EASY, RELAXED LEADERSHIP

We often focus, quite rightly, on the words of Jesus when we read the gospels. His words were (and are) life to all who will hear. But we can also learn from the way He interacted with His disciples.

For example…

In John 11:7, a few days after learning that His friend Lazarus was sick, Jesus says to His disciples: “Let us go to Judea again.” This comes across not so much a command as an invitation. It’s obviously more than a suggestion because we can see that going to Judea was His firm intention. But His leadership here is exercised in an easy, relaxed manner.

Genuine authority does not have to be exercised harshly or condescendingly , as one vastly superior speaking to ones vastly in-ferior. Jesus led by relationship, with warmth and respect.

In v8 it’s worth noting that the disciples felt comfortable enough with Jesus that they could question His wisdom. “Lord, are you sure about this? The people down there tried to kill you not so long ago!”

How many times, in our walk with the Lord, do we feel that His leading doesn’t make sense? We question His wisdom and look for excuses to disobey. Are you absolutely sure, God?

Does Jesus get upset when His disciples question His wisdom? Not at all. Rather than rebuking them for asking questions, He simply explains enough to give them assurance that He knows what He is doing.

Martha does a similar thing in v39 when Jesus commands that the stone be rolled away from Lazarus’ tomb. “Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days.” Again, Jesus simply calms her fears and reaffirms His command.

There are many other examples of this in the gospels. And I confess that I’m no better than these earliest disciples. I have often questioned God about what I felt He was saying to me. But, without fail, He gently reaffirms what He wants from me.

We can learn a great deal from Jesus and His easy, relaxed leadership style. He is not offended when we check (and double-check) His leading in our lives. He invites us to go with Him into exciting (sometimes frightening) new situations.”

WHAT IS GOD THINKING ABOUT?

OK, I’m only human. I cannot pretend to know what God thinks about all the time. He reveals Himself up to a point but there are some things which we cannot know at this present time.

Deuteronomy 29:29 says: “Some things are hidden. They belong to the LORD our God. But the things that have been revealed in these teachings belong to us and to our children forever. We must obey every word of these teachings (God’s Word version).”

Thus whatever God chooses to reveal is revealed for the purpose of our obedience. The Old Testament covenants were instituted with this in mind.

Deuteronomy 29:9 says: “Therefore keep the words of this covenant, and do them, that you may prosper in all that you do.” The New Covenant, instituted in Christ, is a whole new ball game, but this verse still holds true. There is blessing in the Covenant for us and no Christian would want to disqualify himself/herself by disobedience or by failing to live by God’s Word.

But, let’s face it. In the busy-ness of life, the covenant of God is not always uppermost in our minds. We push it into the background while we deal with whatever is more pressing. Not so with God. He is always mindful of His covenant with us.

 “He has given food to those who fear Him; He will ever be mindful of His covenant (Psalm 111:5).” This tells us what God is thinking about. He wants to bless us, and He has established Covenant for that purpose. So we may confidently assert that God is thinking about Covenant.

God will never forget the promises associated with His New Covenant. Nor will He suddenly decide that something else is more important, so that we get shunted down the divine priority list. He is always mindful of His covenant with us!

YOU MUST BE BORN AGAIN

The conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus, recorded in John’s gospel, chapter 3, is humorous in places but very enlightening overall. The term ‘born again’, which we hear so often, occurs only here and in 1st Peter 1:23.

Verse 8 says: “The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit."

What does this mean? Surely it cannot mean that those born of the Spirit are flighty and unpredictable like the wind. Surely it doesn’t mean that born again believers can never know where they have come from or where they’re going next!

Maybe Philip, in Acts 8, was a bit like that. But everyone who is born of the Spirit?

No, I think Jesus is saying that, from a human perspective, the process by which we are born again is a mystery. We may analyse it with our theological minds – I’ve tried to do that myself – but the subtleties are always going to elude us. It’s a bit like trying to explain in technical terms how Mary became pregnant.

Being born again is a work of the Holy Spirit, that much we can say. Therefore, we ought to be wary of telling anyone that getting born again is a human achievement. People can repent, come to Christ and give their lives to Him, but they cannot make themselves born again.

When Jesus says: “You must be born again,” therefore, He is explaining the only way of entering the Kingdom. As in, this is what has to happen before you can enter.

Isn’t it good that spiritual rebirth is entirely out of our hands?

WHEN DOES INDIVIDUALISM BECOME A PROBLEM?

In Deuteronomy 12:8, Moses issues a stern warning to the people of Israel: "You shall not at all do as we are doing here today—every man doing whatever is right in his own eyes.”

In this verse, and many others like it, God is speaking out against individualism. It's not that individual men and women have no choices, nor that they are somehow not valued as individuals. The problem arises when everyone in a given community does “whatever is right in his own eyes”. In other words, there is no accepted community standard of right and wrong.

Most of the great moral issues of our time can be traced back to the same attitudes that foster individualism. Do what you feel is right. Don’t let anyone tell you what you should do. It’s your life, so do whatever makes you happy. There’s no such thing as sin.

Hence we have people declaring that homosexuality is right in their own eyes, women insisting that an abortion is right for them at this time of their lives, and paedophiles finding ways to convince themselves that, for them, sex with minors is quite acceptable.

I used three examples in that last paragraph but some readers may consider the third to be in a totally different category. They may argue that paedophilia is universally recognised as unquestionably wrong, a terribly bad thing to do. Some might even be offended that I mentioned paedophilia in the same paragraph as homosexuality and abortion.

But the link is clear. In each of these examples, and countless others that I could have used, people are making choices based on what is right “in their own eyes”. Their choice. God, as our Creator, has the only legitimate right to explain what is right or wrong and, in a way, this is what the whole Bible is about. But mankind stubbornly says to God: “No way! We don’t believe in you and we’re not going to accept your definition of right and wrong.”

So, paradoxically, we see individualism working en masse, like when teenagers used to express their individuality by all wearing the same sort of jeans, haircuts, etc.

The verse I quoted at the beginning of this blog actually comes in a context of worship. Moses was saying that it’s not right, in the sight of God, for everyone to worship according to whatever is right in “their own eyes”. Multiculturalism says exactly the opposite but I’m not sure this is a message that too many Australians are willing to hear at this point of time.

As for me, and as for our local Christian communities, otherwise known as churches, we can (and indeed must) put aside whatever is right “in our own eyes” in order that we might do the will of God.

A SERVANT’S EXPECTATION

In Luke 17:7-10, we read about some hard-working servants who don’t expect thanks or gratitude for the work they have done.

“And which of you, having a servant plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, 'Come at once and sit down to eat'? But will he not rather say to him, 'Prepare something for my supper, and gird yourself and serve me till I have eaten and drunk, and afterward you will eat and drink'? Does he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I think not. So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, 'We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do.' "

This raises some uncomfortable questions. Is God saying that employers should expect their workers to do long hours for no extra reward? Is he saying that we shouldn’t bother to thank people for doing their duty? Although we can see how this passage may have been used this way in the past, it doesn’t seem to fit with modern wisdom about workplace relations.

I think we have to realize that this teaching is aimed at the disciples (and hence ourselves) as servants of God. It is not a lesson for employers or managers. The point is that God is not there to serve us; we are there to serve Him.

That’s obvious, right? Well maybe not so obvious to some Christians. They seem to think that God exists to help them fulfill their every dream, to have lovely, contented lives surrounded by all the material possessions and personal relationships that their hearts may desire.

Jesus makes it perfectly clear. The Kingdom is God’s, not ours. We must seek to do His will, not the other way around.

Everybody called to Christian service should have v10 as their trademark.  We will never be entitled to commend ourselves.  And our service to our Lord is never finished.  His needs come before our own.

THE BIBLE REVEALS A SUPERNATURAL GOD

The statement in today’s title is not likely to raise many eyebrows. From cover to cover, with no hint of embarrassment, the Bible describes the ways in which God has supernaturally intervened in history. So we may say that God is Interventionist as well as Supernatural.

Do I need to prove this? Consider the Great Flood in the time of Noah. Consider Abraham’s wife becoming pregnant at 90 years of age. Consider Moses and the dramatic suspension of natural laws described in Exodus. Then Joshua, Samson, Samuel, Elijah, Daniel and Esther. Jesus, as God incarnate, healed the sick, raised the dead, and walked on water (when He wasn’t turning it into wine!) He taught His disciples how to do supernatural ministry and they went out and did it. Paul, in Romans 15:19, affirms that he had “fully preached the gospel of Christ” in signs and wonders.

OK so why go to all this trouble to demonstrate what we already know?

Because people are trying hard these days to make God fit into boxes formed by natural human reasoning. But a super-natural God, by definition, must be above all such reasoning.

So, on the one hand, we see modern scientists preaching that nothing can possibly lie outside the realm of science. They imagine that they can now dispense with God (or gods) completely. Now that they know so much about so many things, you see.

On the other hand, we see biblical scholars, working from a rationalist perspective, reading their bias back into Scripture and arguing that the Bible must now be stripped of all supernaturalism. Some Christian pulpits are now filled with empty platitudes about love and hope. God has been redefined as an insipid, powerless sympathiser with human suffering. A god who is nice and godly but lacking power (see 2 Timothy 3:5).

So the very people who like to discredit the Bible on the grounds that it portrays a supernatural God do so because they have already decided that supernatural has to fit with the natural. Hmm. Not hard to see the problem there. The problem is the assumption that nothing supernatural can exist.

The Bible, therefore, stands as a bold witness to a world that loves putting things in boxes where they can be mastered and controlled. Christians who live a supernatural lifestyle, through faith in a supernatural God, as revealed in the Bible, are literally living day by day in a realm that the rest of the world doesn’t think can possibly exist. No wonder, then, that they shake their heads and think we must be crazy.

LEADERSHIP LESSONS IN THE BIBLE

Last year, I read all the way through the Maxwell Leadership Bible, a New King James Bible with extensive notes by leadership guru, John C. Maxwell. Because it happened to be a year of especially intense review and assessment of my own leadership role, I read Maxwell’s comments with deeply personal interest.

The Bible can be profitably studied at several levels. It is a primary source for historical information and religious worldview but also for personal faith and devotion. But my reading last year dramatically highlighted what I already knew, that the Bible is also an absolutely outstanding study on leadership.

From Abraham to Moses, from Saul to David, from Isaiah to Nehemiah, and from Peter to Paul, the Bible depicts a vast spectrum of leaders in an intriguing array of leadership situations. Keys to leadership success are obvious to those with eyes to see, as are warnings about what can happen when leaders get off track. More than anything else, the Bible shows the potential of leaders who are willing to listen to God and assume a shepherding role over the people of God. In the New Testament, Jesus Himself promotes the concept of Servant Leadership (a concept which, unfortunately, has often been sorely neglected by Christians in positions of power).

Some verses in the Bible, ones that might easily be skimmed over, take on significant meaning when viewed from a leadership perspective. For instance, this morning I read about Moses and the children of Israel at Kadesh Barnea. Moses asked the king of Edom for permission to pass peacefully through his land. But the Edomites refused.

“Thus Edom refused to give Israel passage through his territory; so Israel turned away from him (Numbers 20:21).”

Leadership lesson here? There are times when you have to fight but there are also times when it’s best to simply turn away and find another way to achieve your God-given objective.

It’s only a minor point compared to the many other leadership lessons in Scripture but it could easily be the difference between success and disaster. In any case, it serves as a good example of pragmatic biblical wisdom in leadership matters.

NOT WELCOME HERE!

Visitors are very welcome in almost all Christian churches these days. In fact, we typically expend a lot of thought and energy in making our services attractive for potential new members.

In light of this, and the modern desire to always be in-clusive, Numbers 3:10 seems impossibly outdated.

“Appoint Aaron and his sons to carry out the duties of the priesthood. But any unauthorized person who goes too near the sanctuary must be put to death (New Living Translation).”
Do you get this? If you were an ancient Israelite out for a morning stroll and you got a bit too close to the building where your God is worshipped, you would have to die for your crime.

Other Bible versions see the crime in a different light. The Good News Bible says: “You shall appoint Aaron and his sons to carry out the duties of the priesthood; anyone else who tries to do so shall be put to death." In this case, the crime is not physically approaching the sanctuary, but falsely presuming to the role of priest.

The Amplified Bible spells this out even more clearly. “And you shall appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall observe and attend to their priest's office; but the excluded [anyone daring to assume priestly duties or privileges who is not of the house of Aaron and called of God] who comes near [the holy things] shall be put to death.”

In recent posts, I’ve tried to show that, while the Law of Moses can seem embarrassing to modern Christian sensibilities, it actually sets up a deliberate contrast for what was to come in Christ. This is another striking example. It was death to even approach the holy things of God if you were not an ordained priest or Levite. But now: “So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive His mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most (Hebrews 4:16 – NLT).”

Why this dramatic difference? Simple! Jesus was the perfect sacrifice who opened up the way for us. Now we have “…boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus (Hebrews 10:19).”

The Believers Bible Commentary says it this way.

“The mediation of the OT priests could not bring the individual sinner into close communion with God. He had to stay away from the holy things under pain of death (v. 10b). But now the mediation of the Lord Jesus Christ, our Great High Priest, gives us not only access to God but also boldness to enter into His very presence (Heb_4:16). This drastic change stems from that great event which lies between Numbers and Hebrews—the miracle of Calvary.”

So two quick conclusions. Firstly, churches who have an attitude of “Sinners not Welcome Here” are living under a superceded exclusion mentality. They are way out of line. But secondly, those of us who understand what Christ has achieved on our behalf can appreciate the amazing privilege that we have. Not only are we invited to approach, even right into the Holiest place of our Father God, we are elevated to the role of priests before Him. This means that we approach God, not on the basis of good works but on the basis that Jesus’ one Good Work has made us qualified.

Hallelujah! How can we not praise Him?

THE CHALLENGE OF LEVITICUS

OK, let’s admit it. As Christians, we read the book of Leviticus because it’s part of the Bible. But most of us skim-read because it contains tedious details of laws that applied to an ancient people far removed from our own experience.

In fact, some things in Leviticus can be downright embarrassing; like the list of people whose nakedness must not be uncovered, or the list of defects which would disqualify people from eating the holy bread.

I've tended to counsel new Christians to read the New Testament before tackling the Old. This is partly because I didn’t want them getting into Leviticus too soon in their Christian life. For years, I would read it with an attitude of: “Praise God I’m living under the New Covenant through Jesus!  I don’t have to follow all this stuff.”

But there is another way for Christians to read Leviticus.

The third book in the Bible sets up a system of holiness. Unclean things had to be dealt with. Sin had to be atoned for. Those who would represent God to the people had to be pure and holy. But we live in an age where people have lost the sense of the extreme holiness and majesty of God. Nothing is sacred in modern Western society. Nothing is held in reverence.

In Jesus, we have grace. The New Covenant far exceeds the Old. But the God we serve is the same God that Moses served. The God who refused to dwell among uncleanness only dwells with us because of the perfect sacrifice of Christ. The God who placed strict limits on who may approach Him in the tabernacle is the same God who now allows us into His presence by the new and living way that Jesus has made (Hebrews 10:20).

In the book of Leviticus, God commanded Israel to: “Be holy for I am holy” (11:44) but the same theme is carried over into the New Testament (1 Peter 1:16).  We conclude, therefore, that Leviticus reminds us that we serve a VERY holy God. The New Covenant in Christ Jesus in no way weakens the holiness of God or our obligation to live holy lives. The purpose of the New Covenant is to make it possible for us to live in such holiness.

UNBELIEVABLE!

It has been claimed, even by serious Bible academics, that the resurrection of Jesus was a sort of wish projection/ hallucination on the part of the early Christians. In other words, they so badly wanted it to be true that their imaginations ran away with them until they actually believed it.

And, despite all the evidence, some Bible “scholars” like to think that the “truth” about Jesus was gradually added to and distorted by faithful believers, until the “legend” of the resurrection finally became established as fact, maybe in the second or third century AD. (By the way, 1 Corinthians 15:3-7 completely refutes this theory.)

Lots of theories have been suggested to explain away the resurrection of Jesus, all of them starting with the assumption that the Gospel version of what happened is UNBELIEVABLE.

I love the fact that the Gospel writers were so honest about their own initial reluctance to believe. Consider Mark 16:9-14.

“Now when He rose early on the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven demons. She went and told those who had been with Him, as they mourned and wept. And when they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe. After that, He appeared in another form to two of them as they walked and went into the country. And they went and told it to the rest, but they did not believe them either. Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen.”

Clearly, this was no wish projection. The first disciples found it extremely hard to believe, as do many skeptics even today.

The testimony of those who have met Jesus doesn’t make other people automatically believe.  When the evidence mounts up sufficiently, some people will flick the switch inside from unbelief to belief, but others, like Thomas, will not believe until they experience the risen Jesus for themselves.

God Himself has purposed that believing is always a choice.  He could easily force men, women and children to admit that He is real, and therefore that Jesus is the only way to eternal life, but that’s not His way.  He gives us the choice to believe but the choice will not last forever.  The Bible clearly warns that Jesus will return to reward those who believe and rebuke those who have, right to the end, refused.

GOD’S WISDOM IN GIVING US FOUR GOSPELS

Almost everyone knows that the Bible contains four versions of the gospel story – Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Not so well known are the subtle differences between them and the way this four-fold witness demonstrates the amazing wisdom of God.

Anyone who has ever done a Bible School course will know that Matthew, Mark and Luke are known as the synoptic gospels, meaning that they look at the story of Jesus in the same way, with large amounts of detail in common. But closer inspection reveals that they do, in fact, look at things differently.

Matthew seems to write with a Jewish readership in mind. He picks up on a lot of instances where Jesus fulfilled Old Testament Scriptures. Mark is more of an action gospel, seemingly suited for a Roman audience. Luke, who was Greek and addressed his gospel to a Greek man called Theophilus, brings out more of the human side of the story, including more about Jesus’ interactions with various women.

All three, therefore, proclaim the message of the Gospel in ways that different types of people can relate to. As I said, this points to the amazing wisdom of God.

The Gospel of John, perhaps surprisingly, is written to help Christians believe (John 20:31). Putting it another way, to give believers a strong foundation for believing.

I find it fascinating that, after two thousand years, all the little differences between the four gospels have survived. It must have been tempting to “correct” the apparent contradictions. Details about where He said this or that, the order in which things happened, the exact way events transpired on Resurrection Morning. The fact that we can still explore these challenging little differences proves the honesty of the gospel records and the reverence with which they have been handled through the centuries.

There is a principle in Scripture that everything is established by two or three witnesses (Deuteronomy 19:15, Matthew 18:16). The fact that we have four gospels (the first one plus three corroborating witnesses) shows that our Heavenly Father wants us to know that the witness is true.

Scholars who dissect and compare the gospels, only to deny the authenticity of various passages, fail to see the big picture. The evidence for authenticity lies in the fact that four different gospels bear witness to each other and to the ultimate truth of the message of our salvation.

NOT WHAT YOU WOULD EXPECT

The Bible contains many fascinating examples of human responses that are not what you would expect. There is a magnificent realism in the way human interactions are recorded. Good literature never portrays men and women as one-dimensional cardboard cut-outs but uses their actions and words to reveal interesting psychological layers.

The Bible, by this criteria, is great literature. But, in the Bible, psychological realism is not a literary device. Things are written the way they are because they happened that way, and because the Holy Spirit inspired the writing of them.

In 2 Samuel 13, we read the story of King David’s son Amnon, who loved his half sister Tamar and contrived to rape her. When the act was over, his reaction is not what you would expect. Verse 15 says that, after having raped her, he hated her more than he had ever loved her. Psychologists and experienced counselors can explain this but the Bible simply records it.

When Jesus performed amazing miracles, such as healing a man’s withered hand in a synagogue (Mark 3:1-5), the very next verse reports that “the Pharisees went out and immediately plotted with the Herodians against Him, how they might destroy Him. “ Not what you would expect, unless of course you factored in the callousness of sin and the hardness of human hearts.

In the country of the Gadarenes (Mark 5) Jesus set a man free from a whole legion of demons. Based on reactions recorded elsewhere in the Gospels, you would expect the people of the region to respond by bringing all their sick and demon-oppressed friends and relatives to Jesus. But no. They literally begged Him to leave their region. Why? We could speculate as to why this community reacted the way it did. All we are told is that they were afraid.

I could easily provide countless other biblical examples of human responses that are not what you would expect.

The point is that human nature is accurately and incisively portrayed in Scripture. And no wonder. Hebrews 4:12,13 tells us that “…the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.”

God thoroughly understands all the sinful responses of humanity. And because He understands, He has provided a Saviour, Jesus Christ our Lord.

GIVING GLORY AND STRENGTH TO GOD?

Psalm 29 begins with these words: ” Give unto the LORD, O you mighty ones, Give unto the LORD glory and strength.” (New King James Version)

Sounds fine… until you stop and think about it. How can anyone give glory and strength to God who is already infinite in these things?

I see at least three possible answers to this.

Firstly, the word 'give' can also mean ‘ascribe’. If we ascribe glory and strength to God, we don't actually give Him anything but we acknowledge the strength and glory that He already has. 

Secondly, it can mean that our praise to God somehow enhances Him in the eyes of others around us. As we testify of the goodness and power of God in our lives, there’s a sense in which His glory and strength grow into hearts that may not have acknowledged these things before. Hence - more glory for God.

“For all things are for your sakes, that grace, having spread through the many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God (2 Cor 4:15).”

But thirdly, it can also mean that we bring the best of our glory and strength and lay it all down before Him. Not that our glory and strength adds anything to God, even if we are, as David suggests, “mighty ones”. We bow in awe before this God. Rather than big-noting ourselves, we give our best to Him in an act of adoration and worship.

People of this world seek and love glory, the admiration of others. The promise of God is infinitely better because, in Christ, we get to be partakers of His glory in the final wash-up of all things (1 Pet 5:1,4).

THE THING ABOUT FRUIT

Jesus had a thing about fruit. He was always looking for some. He once said: “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit (John 15:2).”

The morning after His dramatic entrance to Jerusalem, riding on the colt of a donkey, Jesus saw a healthy looking fig tree by the side of the road. Hoping to find some fruit, He went over to it but alas, there was none to be found. Only leaves. So Jesus cursed the tree and it quickly withered away (Matt 21:18,19).

I always thought that was something of an over-reaction, especially since it was not even the season for figs (Mark 11:13).

Fruitlessness in people made Jesus really angry but He often expressed this anger vicariously, in parables.  In Luke 13:6-9, the owner of a vineyard gets angry with a fig tree that bore no fruit for three years. “Cut it down. It's just taking up space in the garden.”

In another parable, the wicked vinedressers, the owner sends servants to collect the fruit but they kill the servants and refuse to hand over the fruit. The parable ends with the landowner destroying those vinedressers and employing new ones who would give him the fruit when it was due (Matt 21:33-41).

Fruitless fruit trees and trees that only bore bad fruit are harshly judged in Scripture. John the Baptist said: “And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire (Matt 3:10).”

God has every right to expect our lives to produce good fruit, especially when all we have to do is to abide in the good vine that is Christ (John 15:4).  If we do not produce good fruit, God says that the Kingdom will be taken from us and given to others who will produce fruit (Matt 21:43).

I suspect that we sometimes read the gospels through a salvation lens, as if salvation was the only thing that mattered. But a more honest reading shows that God is looking for fruit. Next week, God willing, we will consider more about what it means to bear good fruit for the Kingdom of God.

GRUESOME AND POINTLESS?

The death of John the Baptist, as recorded in the gospels, comes across as especially gruesome and pointless.

If anyone should go down in history as a fearless, strictly faithful man of God, it was John. But we find him languishing in prison until, one day, without warning, a soldier comes to the prison, pulls out his sword and – just like that – slices off John’s head. If that’s not bad enough, John’s head is then placed on a food-serving platter and presented trophy-like at a birthday party.

Why? Because a pretty young girl with a vengeful, scheming mother performed a dance for an unscrupulous, power-crazed would-be king.

A holy man’s life snuffed out for little more than a party trick.

Why would God allow such a travesty? Doesn’t God look after His own? Is life so cheap? Jesus tried to make some time to mourn for John when He heard the news (Matthew 14:13) but, on this occasion, He was unable to escape the crowds who needed Him.

If anyone deserved an honourable burial, with trumpets, eulogies and great fanfare, it was John. But it was not to be.

I think also of Dietrich Bonhoeffer who, just a few weeks before the death of Hitler and the end of the Second World War, was hanged, and his naked body disposed of like so much rubbish from the kitchen.

The Bible does not promise that our good deeds will receive due recognition in this life. Nor does it promise that we will receive honour from men.  Rather, it promises honour and rewards in a Kingdom that is yet to come.  An honest reading of the Bible, therefore, steels us for persecution and ridicule, while simultaneously filling us with a supreme, all-conquering hope for a glorious future, ushered in with the words: “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

The Bible thus provides the ideal balance of solemn warnings for this life and promises for a future life.  Servants of God find in its pages both the courage to face incredible difficulty and abundant reason to live positively.  We learn to appreciate the grace and comfort of God’s presence along the way and the sense that none of it is ever in vain.

THE POWER OF UNITY

“Come, let us build us a city and a tower whose top reaches into the sky, and let us make a name for ourselves.” So said the people who built a great city and a massive tower on the plains of Shinar, later called Babel (Genesis 6:4).

God created man to be creative, so imagination and initiative were not the problem here. The problem was that their great plans were all about their own glory, and because they didn’t want to obey God’s command to go into all the world. They wanted to stay together, patting themselves on their collective backs for their great achievements.

But these people had discovered an important principle – the principle of unity.

“And the Lord said, Behold, they are one people and they have all one language; and this is only the beginning of what they will do, and now nothing they have imagined they can do will be impossible for them (Genesis 11:6 – Amplified version).”

Virtually unlimited potential awaits any group of people who share a common purpose and a united way of speaking.

The story of Babel always gets me thinking about the disciples of Jesus on the Day of Pentecost. They were “all with one accord in one place (Acts 2:1).” Totally united as one. The Holy Spirit came upon them, with fire and with strange new tongues, with the result that they were equipped to go into all the world with the Gospel.

The disciples had the same sort of unity, but they were living for the glory of God, not the glory of man. They did what the men of Babel were unwilling to do and, eventually, went into all the world as Spirit-filled, tongues-speaking missionaries.

Of course, the person who says: “I’m an individual, I’ll do whatever I please” is acting in the opposite spirit. Whether in church or in society as a whole, God calls for unity in obedience to His commands. Rampant individualism works against the collective progress of any group. One accord unity, on the other hand, allows for great strides toward truly great achievements.

SKELETONS IN THE GENEALOGY

The first chapter of the New Testament (Matthew 1) lists the genealogy of Christ, going back as far as Abraham. Normally, in the ancient world, such lists would only mention the men, but Matthew lists five women: Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba (obliquely referred to as “she who had been the wife of Uriah”) and Mary.

None of these women bore their children in what could be considered normal circumstances. Tamar became pregnant to her father-in-law, Judah, after posing as a prostitute. Rahab was described as a prostitute in Jericho (although Josephus calls her an inn-keeper). Ruth was a widow from a foreign nation. Bathsheba bore her son as a result of adultery. And Mary? Well, she bore her first son while she was still a virgin!

Rahab, by the way, could not have been the actual mother of Boaz, there being some 400 years gap in the history. This is an example of a genealogy that lists ancestors. We might read it as “Salmon was the ancestor of Boaz by Rahab”.

There are lots of theories as to why Matthew would omit famous Hebrew matriarchs like Sarah, Rebecca and Rachel and include Tamar, Rahab, Ruth and Bathsheba instead. Here’s my theory.

Matthew’s inspired purpose in writing his gospel was to show that Jesus was the Messiah, the Christ. But His mother was not even married when He was conceived. How could that be from God?

No problem. There were plenty of unusual marital situations among the ancestors of Jesus. God is well able to outwork His purposes, even through strange and diverse circumstances. Perhaps Matthew included these women to answer Jews who questioned the credentials of Jesus to be Messiah.

And the lesson for us? Mistakes, abuse, adversities, these things cannot prevent God from working His will for us. He is well able to make: “all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28)