Jacob and Joseph: Pursuing Your Greatest Joy

Think of someone you dearly loved whom you have lost. What would you do to have that person back? Would you do anything? Anything?

This is the situation in which Jacob finds himself in Genesis 45 and 46. Imagine the scene: At 130 years of age, Jacob waits nervously for his eleven living sons to return with food from Egypt. For 22 years he has thought that his favorite son Joseph is dead. For 22 years he has mourned him. And much against his will he sent Benjamin, Rachel’s only other child, to Egypt. The sons have been gone for weeks now, perhaps for months. Jacob worries about their return. He sleeps fitfully, and wakes up at night thinking he should never have let Benjamin go. “He’ll never come back! He’ll disappear just like Joseph, and my last connection with Rachel will be gone! I’ll die in misery!”

But this day, he hears the donkeys arrive – his sons have returned! He goes out to meet them, and sees Benjamin right up front. Benjamin! Still alive! But before Jacob can reach him, before he can embrace him, all the sons cry out, “Father! Joseph is still alive, and he is ruler over all the land of Egypt!”

Jacob is stunned. “Joseph? Alive? And ruler of Egypt? Is this some type of cruel joke?”

But the brothers tell him the story – all the words of Joseph, as the text tells us. And they must confess their own part in the story – without accusations or argument. When Jacob hears their heartfelt confession and Joseph’s God-centered words – “It was not you brothers who sent me here but God” – Jacob realizes, “Those indeed are the words of my son.”

So he concludes (Genesis 45:28):

“It is enough; Joseph my son is still alive. I will go and see him before I die.”

Ask yourself: If you were to find out that that loved one you miss more than anything was alive, living a few hundred miles away, wouldn’t you rush there? Wouldn’t you go right away and see that person? That’s what Jacob feels. And that’s what he begins to do.

So Jacob travels with his family until they reach the southernmost tip of the promised land, Beersheba. To keep traveling toward Egypt will mean leaving the promised land. Evidently, Jacob is beginning to doubt the wisdom of that step. Genesis 46:3 tells us he is afraid to go down to Egypt.

What is he afraid of? We can speculate about many possible fears, but he fundamentally fears disobeying God!

The news about Joseph has caused Jacob to remember the greatness of his God. In recent years Jacob has allowed the difficult circumstances of his life to overshadow his trust in God’s sovereignty. But he knew God. He had wrestled all night with God, and in the end clung to Him, not letting go. He knew that holding on to God was more important than any danger he had to face. He knew God was worth more than all else.

And now, God has proved Himself once again to Jacob. God has kept Joseph alive despite Jacob’s years of doubt. God has watched over Joseph and miraculously exalted him in Egypt. Learning of God’s miraculous faithfulness has renewed Jacob’s faith.

But he is faced with a dilemma: Jacob has a strong desire to see Joseph – and would God really save Joseph, exalt him, and not want Jacob to go to him?

On the other hand: God sent Abraham out of Ur of the Chaldeans to “the land that I will show you” (Genesis 12:1). And then after Abraham arrived in Canaan, God told him, “To your offspring I will give this land.” (Genesis 12:7). God had promised Canaan to Abraham and his descendants – not Egypt. Indeed, God had brought Jacob’s mother from far away so that Isaac would not leave the promised land. And in Genesis 31:3 God had told Jacob himself to leave his father-in-law’s house and return to this land: “Return to the land of your fathers and to your kindred, and I will be with you.”

All of these memories would lead Jacob to think that he would be disobeying God, displeasing God, to go down to Egypt. But there is one more memory that would have underlined this danger more than all the others. When Abraham first came to Egypt, right after God told him He was giving him the land of Canaan, a famine occurred in the land. And Abraham did not seek God’s face, but disobeyed God, traveling where? To Egypt! Abraham feared the famine, did not trust God, and left the promised land – leading his wife into danger and almost into disaster (Genesis 12:10-20). Jacob does not want to follow this example.

So Jacob thinks: “I only want to go where God wants me to go. God has shown Himself to be loving and gracious and sovereign and good through bringing my son virtually back from the dead. Should I now presume to leave the land of my calling – the very land God promised to my grandfather and father, the very place he instructed me to enter – when God has shown his power, might, and love so clearly?”

Therefore, Jacob halts before leaving the promised land. He decides that his proper response to the revelation about Joseph is not to go to Egypt – the proper response is to worship God. So he does.

And God calls out to him in a night vision: “Jacob! Jacob!” Jacob is listening, and replies: “Here I am.” God continues:

Then he said, “I am God, the God of your father. (Genesis 46:3a)

That is, “I am the God of the covenant. I am the God who brought Abraham out of Ur. I am the God he disobeyed to go to Egypt. I am the God who will bring about the fulfillment of all my promises through your offspring.”

“Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for there I will make you into a great nation.” (Genesis 46:3b)

God had promised Abraham that he would make him into a great nation (Genesis 12:2). And now he tells Jacob that that promise will be fulfilled through Jacob in Egypt.

“I myself will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also bring you up again, and Joseph’s hand shall close your eyes.” (Genesis 46:4)

In Hebrew, there is a strong emphasis on “I.” We could translate this verse, “I, even I will go down with you to Egypt, and I, even I, will bring you up again.”

God is saying, “Jacob, there is no conflict between following your desire to see Joseph and your desire to serve me. I will fulfill both desires. Go! I am with you! I will bring you back! And your beloved son will be with you until your death. I will not take him away from you again.”

Jacob acts wisely here. He shows a willingness to part with what he wants most on earth to hold on to God. And God gives him both.

Finally, Joseph and Jacob are reunited:

[Joseph] presented himself to him and fell on his neck and wept on his neck a good while. 30 Israel said to Joseph, “Now let me die, since I have seen your face and know that you are still alive.” (Genesis 46:29-30)

Jacob last saw Joseph when he was 17, going out to seek his brothers, dressed in his many-colored coat. He’s now 39, dressed in the robes of an Egyptian ruler. But this exalted personage is Jacob’s son! His beloved son! Dead, and now alive!

Jacob is content. Living with Joseph will be a joy; but now even death holds no fear.

Jacob had feared dying in sorrow (Genesis 42:38). Now, through the very trip he didn’t want Benjamin to take, Jacob is reunited with Joseph. He fears death no more.

What a joyous reunion!

Question: Is the reunion with Joseph Jacob’s greatest joy?

Jacob knows that the answer to that question is “No”. At Beersheba he was willing to give up this reunion. For Jacob knew a yet greater joy: The joy of knowing and following the God of the universe. The joy of fulfilling God’s purposes for his life.

Jacob knew this God to be:

  • The good, loving God, who always keeps His promises;
  • The merciful God Almighty who protected Joseph and miraculously exalted Him.

True joy can only be found in obedience to Him. To disobey the source of all good gifts is to seek pain eventually, not pleasure.

So Jacob’s greatest joy is found in following God, clinging to Him. God had granted him the great earthly joy of holding his son raised to life. But he knew: Having Joseph without God is no gain.

What about you? Your purpose in life is to glorify God. Your greatest happiness will come from fulfilling that purpose. We often must give up lesser pleasures to pursue greater ones. The path to your greatest joy can be paved with saying “No” to what seems good. Indeed, Jesus told His disciples:

If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it. (Mark 8:34-35)

If instead you try to hold on to what you think you need for joy in this life, you will lose – you will never attain the greatest joy of following Jesus.

As 17th century English pastor William Gurnall says,

A man never comes to enjoy himself truly, in any comfort of his life, till [he is] prepared to deny himself readily in it.

Are you prepared to deny yourself readily every comfort of your life?

God is not stingy – He doesn’t withhold something or someone from you just out of meanness, or to reserve it for Himself. If He withholds something from you, He does that for a purpose. If we give up a highly-desirable joy – even our greatest earthly joy, as Jacob was willing to do – we do so for the much greater joy set before us.

If your possessions, friends, or family members are more important to you than God, if they become idols to you, you will not enjoy them truly. You will not enjoy them fully. Indeed, those very idols will become to you a source of great pain. But if you accept them as God’s gifts to you – which he could easily take away at any time for your good – if you can see them as undeserved presents showered on you by One Who loves you more than you can imagine – then they can be sources of great joy.

Are you – like Jacob – willing to say no to some pleasures in order to pursue your greatest pleasure?

(Parts of this devotion were taken from a sermon, “True Joy and Self-Denial” on Genesis 45:16-47:27, preached November 14, 2004. Both text and audio of that sermon are available. The William Gurnall quote is from The Christian in Complete Armour, (Banner of Truth, 1964; originally published 1662-1665), Volume 1, p. 569.)

God’s Hand At Work

How does God work in our lives? How does He bring us to Himself?

Sometimes He works through a Damascus-road experience: Suddenly, in an instant, an enemy of Jesus becomes His follower (Acts 9).

Other times the work is slow and painful. There are steps forward. Then steps backward.

One such case is Jacob’s first wife, Leah.

Remember the story: Jacob flees from his brother Esau, who wants to kill him for tricking him out of his birthright and his father’s blessing.

Jacob leaves home, using the pretense of going to find a wife from among his relatives in order to get his father’s blessing for the journey. But when he meets his cousin Rachel, he sheds the pretense. This is the girl he must marry!

He agrees with Rachel’s father Laban that he will work seven years for her. When the time is complete, in the dark of the wedding night, Laban sends Rachel’s older sister Leah into Jacob’s tent. In the morning, Laban tells the irate Jacob that he can marry Rachel also the following week – if he will agree to work another seven years.

In this culture, children are vital and sons are especially important. Sons will provide security for their parents in their old age, and will inherit and manage the property. A wife who bears many children – particularly many sons – is highly honored. A wife who does not bear children is in danger of being replaced.

Leah clearly enters this marriage unwanted and unloved. But then, “The Lord opened Leah’s womb” (Genesis 29:31). She bears four sons in short order. Their names tell us what is going on inside Leah’s head.

First, she gives birth to Reuben – meaning, “See? A son!” – saying “Because the LORD has looked upon my affliction; for now my husband will love me” (Genesis 29:32).

What does this tell us about Leah? What does she want more than anything else? She wants her husband to love her!

In the booklet, “Marriage: Whose Dream?” Paul Tripp tells the story of a woman he was counseling:

I once was talking with a lady who had been married many years.

She was married to a person who, very honestly, I would have to say was a bad man. He was angry, controlling, and manipulative. He said and did hurtful things. She had dreamed of the ultimate husband, but she certainly hadn’t gotten him. Now she was so embittered by the blessings other women in her church enjoyed that she said she could no longer go to worship. She felt as if God had forsaken her, so much so that she couldn’t read her Bible or pray.

As I listened, I wanted her to understand her identity in Christ. I wanted her to know the love of the Lord; that God is a refuge and strength, an ever‑present help in trouble. So I started reading her passages that spoke of the amazing, abundant love of God, and in the middle of a verse she said, “Stop! Don’t tell me again that God loves me. I want a husband who loves me!”

And she pounded her fist on her chair as she said it.

That woman is seeking God’s gifts, rather than God Himself.

She doesn’t want God’s love. She wants God to provide her with a husband to love her.

Do you see how that is demeaning to God?

God becomes the genie whose gifts give us delight. His presence is not fullness of joy (Psalm 16:11). Rather, His gifts are fullness of joy.

Isn’t this the case with Leah? She acknowledges God’s hand in giving her a son, and that’s good – as far as it goes. But she does not treasure God. In essence, she doesn’t even treasure the son God has given her. She treasures her husband’s withheld love. And so she’s miserable.

Leah bears two more sons and it doesn’t get any better:

She conceived again and bore a son, and said, “Because the LORD has heard that I am hated, he has given me this son also.” And she called his name Simeon. Again she conceived and bore a son, and said, “Now this time my husband will be attached to me, because I have borne him three sons.” Therefore his name was called Levi. (Genesis 29:33-34)

That attachment doesn’t happen. Sons do not produce the love from Jacob Leah so desires

But finally, with her fourth son, we see a different Leah:

And she conceived again and bore a son, and said, “This time I will praise the LORD.” Therefore she called his name Judah. (Genesis 29:35)

Do you see the difference? She does not see this child as a tool by which she will achieve her desires. Instead, she simply praises God for what He has given.

So ask yourself:

  • Are you more like Leah after the birth of Reuben, or Leah after the birth of Judah?
  • Are you excited about what God’s gifts will enable you to enjoy?
  • Or are you first and foremost simply thankful to God for His gracious gifts?

Unfortunately, Leah does not live day by day in a state of praising God. But at least after the birth of Judah, Leah shows us how to respond to God’s gifts. This is one step to becoming a man or woman of God: Acknowledging God as the source of all that is good in our lives, and praising Him for it.

Not pining after what we don’t have, but rejoicing in the God who is working together all things together for our good and His glory.

For God is behind all that happens – in this story and in our lives. He is behind Leah’s pregnancies. He is behind Rachel’s barrenness.

He is in control.

But like us, those in the midst of the story have a hard time seeing His hand at work.

William Cowper wrote these wise words about such times:

God moves in a mysterious way
His wonders to perform;
He plants his footsteps in the sea,
And rides upon the storm.

Deep in unfathomable mines
Of never-failing skill,
He treasures up his bright designs,
And works his sovereign will. . . .

Blind unbelief is sure to err,
And scan his work in vain;
God is his own interpreter,
And he will make it plain.

God moves in His mysterious ways Leah’s life. By God’s grace, she is becoming a woman of God.

The next paragraphs show us Leah still has a long ways to go. Hers is not a Damascus Road experience.

But God in His wisdom is at work, via a long, slow process. Leah has taken an important step.

So consider those you love. Those you have witnessed to – both those who have not come to faith, and those who have professed faith but seem stalled, seem to be floundering.

God moves in mysterious ways. Pray for the sovereign God to continue the process, to guard these loved ones from hardening of heart or making shipwreck of their faith. Trust in His sovereign hand to work all things together for the good of His people – including you! – and the glory of His Name. And then play your role – your role in the sovereign plan of God – so that you yourself might be one of the mysterious ways that God makes your loved one a man or woman of God.

So check, first, your heart: Is God your treasure?

Second, check your faith: Do you trust God is at work?

Third, check your actions: Pray, and consider: What would God have me do in the lives of these I love?

(Parts of this devotion were taken from a sermon, “The Making of a Man of God” on Genesis 29:31-31:55, preached August 29, 2004. Both text and audio of that sermon are available.)

Knitted Together in Your Mother’s Womb

Today is the 42nd anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Roe v Wade decision, removing virtually all state restrictions on the destruction of the unborn in their mothers’ wombs.

With that in mind, consider these thoughts on David’s Psalm 139, verses11-16:

If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,” even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you. (Psalm 139:11-12)

David acknowledges that there are times when he wonders: Can I be hidden from God? Can I go voluntarily where He can’t see me? Can I be forced to go anywhere where He won’t watch over me? David realizes the answer is no. No darkness can hide us from God. All is light to Him.

David then explains this further, considering the first dark place we all experience: The womb:

For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth.  Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them (Psalm 139:13-16).

In the womb, absent any light, God knitted you together. You are a remarkably complex being, and God fashioned every aspect of that complexity in the darkness of your mother’s uterus. He saw all, and like a master weaver He intricately and carefully wove the fibers of fabric that make up your being just the way He wanted. More than that: He had planned out your life – every day – even when you were just the merging of two cells.

Can we then take this fabulous creation and rip it apart – in the name of convenience?

We can and must understand and care for women caught up in the trauma of an unexpected and undesired pregnancy. We can and must show compassion and provide help for those who can’t imagine carrying a child and giving birth. (For an example of such understanding and compassion, see this video from the Pregnancy Resource Center of Charlotte).

But every one of the unborn is made in the image of God, knitted together by Him, created for His glory. Who are we to choose which ones shall live, and which ones shall never be born? Who are we to decide which remarkably complex being will become full grown, and which will be tossed out as medical waste?

We cannot hide from God – nor does anything hide us from Him. He sees us. He watches over us. He knows us. Every one – including all the unborn. And their mothers. And their fathers.

He is a just God – He will not let any sin go unpunished. Yet He is a gracious and compassionate God, abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, forgiving iniquity, rebellion and sin (Exodus 34:6-7) – all through the sacrifice of Jesus, the Son God knit together in Mary’s womb.

So walk in the light as He is in the light. And may God be pleased to grant us as a country both repentance for the tens of millions of unborn who have died these last decades, and compassion for the frightened women facing unplanned pregnancies.

God Opposes the Proud

James tells us: “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6).

But who is proud?

Consider some obvious biblical examples

  • Haman, rejoicing in the favor of the king and (he thinks) the queen, is full of pride (Esther 5:11-12).
  • Nebuchadnezzar, surveying his domain and exulting in his power, is full of pride (Daniel 4:29-30).
  • The Pharisee, thinking highly of his religiosity while looking down at the tax collector, is full of pride (Luke 18:10-12).
  • Herod, delighting in the people calling him a god, is full of pride (Acts 12:20-23).

But there are also less obvious biblical examples, where pride manifests itself more subtly.

Consider Job. Is Job proud?

Job is a righteous man (Job 1:1). He has avoided sexual immorality, not only in act but also in desire (Job 31:1, 9-12). He has been generous, helping the poor (Job 31:16-22). He was wealthy, but did not trust in his riches (Job 31:24-25).

Yet God allows Satan to afflict him. Job suffers terribly. His friends tell him he suffers because of his sin.

Job knows better. Compared to other men, he is good. He is righteous. God Himself has said so! (Job 1:8). If God were to apportion suffering according to the measure of a man’s sinfulness, Job would not suffer.

When Job protests against his friends’ accusations, he initially echoes God’s statement about himself. But then he goes further – and here pride comes in. He demands from God the opportunity to defend himself. In effect, he asserts that God has done wrong by having him suffer. While his perplexed cries to God in the midst of despair are right, proper, and necessary (for example, Job 30:27-31), his assertion that God would have to give way before the logic of his case is prideful (see, for example, Job 23:3-7).

This truth comes out more clearly in the last several chapters of Job. Elihu – who himself is infected with pride (Job 36:4)! – concludes his speech with these powerful and true words, even as God begins to manifest Himself in thunder and whirlwind:

“God is clothed with awesome majesty.  The Almighty — we cannot find him; he is great in power; justice and abundant righteousness he will not violate.  Therefore men fear him; he does not regard any who are wise in their own conceit.” (Job 37:22b-24)

Then God speaks, reprimanding Job – who has indeed been wise in his own conceit:

“Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?  Dress for action like a man; I will question you, and you make it known to me. Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding” (Job 38:2-4).

After Job says he cannot speak before such majesty (Job 40:4-5), God asks him:

Will you even put me in the wrong? Will you condemn me that you may be in the right?  Have you an arm like God, and can you thunder with a voice like his?  Adorn yourself with majesty and dignity; clothe yourself with glory and splendor.  Pour out the overflowings of your anger, and look on everyone who is proud and abase him. Look on everyone who is proud and bring him low and tread down the wicked where they stand. (Job 40:8-12)

Note: God says that He is right and just. He is acting from His very nature when He brings low the proud and treads down the wicked.

Job knows that he himself has spoken in prideful ways. He therefore repents. He acknowledges that he has not really understood God’s greatness, power, and righteousness. By despising himself, he is acknowledging his pride:

I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. . . . I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you;  therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes.” (Job 42:3b, 4-6)

Job’s pride is very different from that of Nebuchadnezzar or the Pharisee or Herod or Haman. Indeed, he did not consider himself prideful until God confronted him.

This type of pride is especially dangerous because we so often pretend that it is not pride. This pride manifests itself:

  • Whenever we think we are not getting what we deserve
  • Whenever we think we have been good and righteous and hardworking and God is not coming through
  • Whenever we are upset that someone else got the promotion we thought we deserved
  • Whenever we are hurt that another person – in the school, in the church, in the family, in the workplace – is receiving more recognition or attention than we are
  • Whenever we are jealous of gifts that others have which we do not have

So check your heart. Pride is a subtle, infectious sin. Learn from Job. For God opposes all types of pride – but He gives abundant grace to the humble.

 

 

 

 

How Sovereign is God?

How sovereign is God?

That is: What does God control through His sovereign will?

Scripture tells us:

  • Even the tiniest bird doesn’t die apart from His hand (Matthew 10:29)
  • You don’t even lose a hair from your head apart from His knowledge and will (Matthew 10:30)
  • He controls the moon and what we now know are trillions of stars in millions of galaxies (Psalm 8:3)
  • But He also keeps a man from having sex with a woman in his harem (Genesis 20:2-4)
  • He performs mighty deeds, obvious miracles, like parting the waters of the Red Sea so that the Israelites can pass through on dry ground (Exodus 14)
  • but He also speaks in a still, small voice to bring about His purposes (1 Kings 19:11-12).

God controls all things – major and minor, intergalactic and microbial, global and personal.

He works all things according to the counsel of his will (Ephesians 1:11).

Specifically, He controls the desires of the most powerful of men:

Proverbs 21:1 The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD; He turns it wherever he will.

Daniel 4 gives us a specific example of such turning. Nebuchadnezzar, king of the mighty Babylonian empire, the greatest ruler of his day, Is surveying his city, delighting in his power and accomplishments. While the king is boasting in his pride, God turns not only his heart but also his mind – Nebuchadnezzar becomes mad, and acts like an animal until he acknowledges “that the most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom He will” (Daniel 4:32). In other words: Nebuchadnezzar will remain crazy until he knows that he deserves nothing. He is emperor by God’s grace, not because of His breeding or intelligence or military prowess.

Nebuchadnezzar does come to his senses. He recognizes God’s sovereign power and praises Him:

Daniel 4:37  Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, for all his works are right and his ways are just; and those who walk in pride he is able to humble.

So, the Bible claims that God is that sovereign. He controls all things – even kings’ hearts, even generals’ hearts, even presidents’ hearts.

Do you believe that?

Have you come to acknowledge what Nebuchadnezzar had to be forced to acknowledge?

We are beginning a series on the book of Esther. This book is unusual: It is the only book in the Bible that never mentions God explicitly. God is not the stated subject of any sentence.

Partly for this reason, some have questioned: Should Esther really be a part of Scripture? Shouldn’t every book in the Bible actually mention God? Is this just a book about Jewish nationalism?

Indeed, such were the questions that early church leaders wrote commentaries on every other book of the Bible prior to writing a commentary on Esther. The earliest known Christian commentary dates from around the year 700.

But although God is not mentioned, He is present in all that happens – in every event recorded in the book. In Esther, God acts providentially – that is, He works behind the scenes. So at the time, it’s rarely clear that He Himself is actually acting. But by the end of the story, it is abundantly clear that only God could have orchestrated all the recorded incidents to bring about the salvation of His people.

Now, consider our own era. Isn’t it much like the time of Esther?

  • Like Esther and Mordecai, we are recipients of great, precious, ancient promises. But, like them, we don’t know how those promises apply to us specifically.
  • Like Esther and Mordecai, we are faced with dangers, with ambiguities, with a lack of an obviously right choice – and yet we must act. We must make decisions.
  • Like Esther and Mordecai, we don’t see God parting the Red Sea or sending fire down from heaven to consume an offering; we don’t hear God speak from Mt Sinai or witness Jesus walking on water or risen from the dead. Like them, we must walk by faith, not by sight.

So the characters in this book face situations much like ours. Esther is thus highly valuable to us.

The fundamental message in Esther is this:

God is sovereignly working out His grand plan of redemption for the glory of His Name, through all events that happen.

In this book we see multiple examples of God at work, often in seemingly minor and personal matters. But in the end, through these small acts of providence, God saves His covenant people from genocide.

The lesson for us must be: God continues today to work sovereignly, even through minor events in our lives, to bring about His good, perfect, and pleasing will.

So if we belong to Him, we can step out with great confidence, praying that God will use us no matter how great our past sins, no matter how bumbling our efforts. We cannot mess up God’s plan.

For as the Apostle Paul tells us, God works all things together for good for those who love Him, for those whom He has called. And if we are in Christ, nothing can ever separate us from His love (Romans 8:28, 37-39).

[This devotion is taken from the introduction to last Sunday’s opening sermon in the series Esther: The Miracle of Providence. Follow the link to download or listen to the audio of the sermon.]

 

In the Beginning

In the beginning of 2015, let’s reflect on beginnings:

Genesis 1:1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

So begins the Bible. So begins this creation, this eon. But Scripture also tells us:

John 1:1-3 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.

Jesus is God, and was in the beginning with God. Distinct, yet one.

See the same distinction and unity in Revelation:

Revelation 21:5-6a  And he who was seated on the throne [that is, God] said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”  And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.”

God is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end.

Yet in the next chapter Jesus says:

Revelation 22:12-13  Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay everyone for what he has done.  I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.

Jesus is the beginning and the end. Distinction, yet unity.

Furthermore, this One with God, who was God, through whom all things were made, became man, became a created being:

1 John 1:1-3  That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life–  the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us–  that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.

John and the other disciples handled Jesus – they felt His muscles, they saw Him sweat, they heard Him snore. He is the eternal life; He is the source of life; He is the Way to life; and He became man to bring life to His people.

In the beginning, God created the world for a purpose – a purpose that He is certain to bring about:

Isaiah 46:8-10  “Remember this and stand firm, recall it to mind, you transgressors, remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me,  declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose.’

And what is that purpose?

Revelation 4:11  “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”

Psalm 19:1  The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.

Isaiah 40:25-26   To whom then will you compare me, that I should be like him? says the Holy One.  Lift up your eyes on high and see: who created these? He who brings out their host by number, calling them all by name, by the greatness of his might, and because he is strong in power not one is missing.

Isaiah 43:6b-7  Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth, everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.”

He created all things – and mankind in particular – for His glory, for His praise. All creation displays Who He is. This is the purpose for which we were made in the beginning.

Expanding on this idea, the Apostle Paul emphasizes that the Church fulfills God’s purpose for humanity:

Ephesians 1:3-6  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.

Ephesians 3:8-11  To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles [that is, to the nations] the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things, so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord.

From the beginning, He created us, He chose us, He predestined us for adoption, to the praise of His glorious grace. And that praise will come not only from redeemed mankind, but also from “rulers and authorities in the heavenly places” – spiritual beings – who will see God’s glory in us, in the church, and praise Him.

So the psalmist sums up the proper response of all creation to God, their glorious Creator:

Psalm 148:1-5, 11-13  Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD from the heavens; praise him in the heights!  Praise him, all his angels; praise him, all his hosts!  Praise him, sun and moon, praise him, all you shining stars!  Praise him, you highest heavens, and you waters above the heavens!  Let them praise the name of the LORD! For he commanded and they were created. . . . Kings of the earth and all peoples, princes and all rulers of the earth! Young men and maidens together, old men and children!  Let them praise the name of the LORD, for his name alone is exalted; his majesty is above earth and heaven.

So may we, at the beginning of 2015, fulfill God’s purpose for us from the beginning of time: May Christ Jesus be our increasing joy, may we praise Him from redeemed hearts, and may we magnify His Name in love and faithful witness to those around us.

Mary: A Woman of Humble Faith

This time of year we read of Mary magnifying God; we sing of Mary holding the baby Jesus.

But put yourself in Mary’s shoes. A young woman, probably about sixteen years old, planning to be married to the local carpenter, looking forward to a quiet life in a backcountry town.

Sure, she and her fiancé are descendants of King David – but there are lots of descendants of David. And there hasn’t been a king in this line for hundreds of years. Augustus Caesar is king, and Herod is his regent.

Mary’s quiet life is shattered when the angel Gabriel appears, crying out, “Greetings, O favored One, the Lord is with you!” (Luke 1:28). Mary is frightened – the usual response to angels in the Bible. And she is confused. She has no idea how she is especially favored – how she is a recipient of grace.

So Gabriel continues, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God” (v30). The word translated “favor” is often translated “grace” in the New Testament. The same Greek expression is used more than 40 times in the Greek translation of the Old Testament commonly read in the first century. For example, both Noah and Moses are said to have “found favor” with God (Genesis 6:8, Exodus 33:17). Always, as in the case of those two men, when someone finds favor with God, it is undeserved. Mary is not full to overflowing with grace; rather, she is undeservedly favored by God. Gabriel is telling her, “Mary, God is graciously giving you a privilege far, far beyond your deserving.”

The angel then explains this grace in v31-33.

And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.

The Jews have been waiting hundreds of years for the promised Son of David to arise and reign. Mary now hears the startling message: Her son is to be the long-awaited Messiah. She, a young girl from nowhere, is chosen by God to mother the Messiah who will reign forever.

Mary believes the angel. She does not doubt. But she is confused. She asks in v34, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” She’s saying, “I don’t get the biology here.”

Gabriel tells her it will be a miracle:

The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy- the Son of God. (v35)

God will cover her, He will fill her, He will perform a miracle – and she will then give birth to the Holy One, the Son of God.

Gabriel then graciously gives Mary a sign she can check out of God’s power at work: Her barren, elderly cousin Elizabeth is pregnant. So “nothing will be impossible with God” (v37). Even for Mary to become pregnant without ever having sexual relations with a man.

It’s at this point that I want you to put yourself in Mary’s shoes. How could Mary have reacted?

She could have said, “What? Me? Pregnant? What will Joseph think? What will my parents think? Can’t you just leave me alone and pick some other girl?”

Does that sound familiar?

That’s more or less how Moses responded to God’s call at the burning bush (Exodus 3).

But Mary instead says, “I am the servant [or “slave”] of the Lord. Let it be to me according to your word” (v38).

Mary receives great grace from God – the privilege of bearing the long-awaited Messiah. It is a great privilege. But it is also a great upheaval. It is completely out of the blue, completely unexpected. All her plans, all her dreams, now changed.

But young Mary responds with great faith and wisdom.

Mary knows she will become pregnant soon, so verse 39 tells us she “went with haste” to Elizabeth. No one else is likely to believe her story that her pregnancy is God’s work.  She wants to share her joy with the one person she knows who has experienced something similar.

When Mary arrives and greets her cousin, John the Baptist in utero leaps, and Elizabeth exclaims that Mary is blessed among women. She concludes by explaining why she is honoring Mary – and thus why we should honor her: “Blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord” (v45).

Elizabeth honors her:

  • Not because she was perpetually a virgin, for Scripture says no such thing
  • Not because she is co-mediatrix, for Scripture says that is impossible, there is only one mediator between God and man
  • Not because she is full of grace, overflowing with merit that we can tap into, for Scripture says, “There is no one righteous, no not one”

Rather, we should honor Mary because she is a woman of faith. She believes. She acts on that belief. Her plans were turned upside down. And yet she followed God faithfully.

She then expresses her response to God’s work in a marvelous song. For our purposes here, just note a few sentences:

Verse 46-47: “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.”

How can Mary magnify the Lord? Isn’t He already as big as he can get? As John Piper helpfully notes, we can magnify God the way a telescope magnifies stars. The stars are incredibly large, yet look tiny to us. Telescopes help us to see them closer to the size they really are. So Mary praises God, giving Him a portion of the worship He truly deserves.

And note that Mary magnifies the Lord through her joy. She could have responded to Gabriel by moping and saying, “Oh, well, I guess if that’s God’s plan I just have to go along. I can’t fight against Him. But I sure wish I could have lived out the quiet life I had planned.” That would have diminished God rather than magnifying Him.

Instead, she sees that God has lifted her out of the mundane, and given her grace for a great task. So she rejoices, and magnifies His Name.

She explains why she is so joyful in God in v48-49:

For he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name.

God could have ignored a young girl from an obscure town. But He looked at her. He graced her with His favor.

Look at how Mary returns to this theme at the end of her song:

He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;
he has brought down the mighty from their thrones
and exalted those of humble estate;
he has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent empty away (v51-53).

God is the only strong one! He always takes weak ones – like Mary, like Esther, like David, like Daniel – and exalts them, showing that He is the source of their strength. He always takes the proud, the mighty – like Pharaoh, like Nebuchadnezzer, like Jezebel, – and humbles them, showing that their power is nothing.

Worldly power, worldly accomplishment, worldly pride are all nothing. Indeed, to the extent that they make us think we do not need God, they are worse than nothing: they are dangerous.

God always keeps His covenant, He always shows mercy. But He shows that mercy only to the humble – to the one who admits he needs God’s mercy.

As Mary sees this – as she sees that she deserves nothing from God, but like so many throughout history, she receives great mercy from Him – she overflows with joyous praise.

She could have bellyached. She could have focused on all her plans gone awry. At this point she doesn’t even know how Joseph will respond. But she rejoices in God Her Savior. She humbles herself. And magnifies God.

What about you?

Will you humble yourself? Will you admit your need for Him?

Will you thus magnify God?

He who is mighty, He who is faithful, He who expresses covenant love to His people, will do great things for you too.

You might say, “I’m not chosen to be the mother of Jesus. I’m not chosen to do anything important – so how does this apply to me?”

God has given you a task, a vital task. You are like Mary, in that no one else can perform your task.

Furthermore, like Mary, you will only accomplish God’s task by setting aside some of your own plans.

Mary found favor with God. But finding favor with God did not lead to an easy life for her – and it won’t for you.

Always, like her, we need to live a life of humility, rejoicing in God our Savior, even as He upsets our plans and leads us through suffering. For He has looked with care at your humble estate, and has chosen to use you for His good, wise purposes.

This is true for every person who is part of God’s covenant people. We all can know for sure that He has done great things for us, and will continue to do them in the future.

So: Are you within that covenant? Are you a recipient of God’s promises?

You can be. That’s why Mary became pregnant:  For your everlasting joy.

Fear the Lord. Be humble. Acknowledge your sinfulness. See Mary’s Son as your treasure. Admit that you have been proud, exalting yourself, your own plans, your own thoughts. Admit that you have diminished God. Admit that you have thus violated the reason for your existence.

Repent. Turn. Seek joy in Him. See Jesus as one who became man, lived the life you should have lived, and died to pay the penalty for sins. See Him as the One who reigns today, who will return to bring in His eternal Kingdom.

Then, like Mary the woman of faith, rejoice in God your Savior. Find joy in humility – and thus magnify the Lord.

 

Ferguson and Race

On August 9, Officer Darren Wilson shot and killed Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. Wilson is white. Brown was black.

Was that shooting racially motivated?

In the summer of 1975 I worked in a program for disadvantaged high school students at an historically black university, Johnson C. Smith in Charlotte. Late one evening I was washing my clothes in a public laundromat. No one else was present. The door was open as there was no AC and it was blazing hot. A group of five guys walked by, noticed me, and yelled racial slurs through the door. A few minutes later they came back, hyped up the racial slurs, started tossing some of my clothes in the air, and then, when I leaned over to gather the clothes, slammed me against the washing machines and hit me in the face. My left eye tooth pierced my upper lip. I was able to get away and run out of the laundromat (perhaps only because the perpetrators were not completely sober).

There was no question in my mind that this event was racially motivated: I was the only white person anywhere along Beatties Ford Rd that evening, and I was the one beaten; the racial slurs were many.

Later that evening, however, after the hospital and the police, I met with my African-American boss and colleagues. They were sympathetic and helped in numerous ways.

But they also assured me race had nothing to do with this. I was alone and vulnerable. A group of thugs walked by and took advantage of that vulnerability. The same can happen – and did happen regularly – to African-Americans.

Most of my white friends said the opposite: This was an example of racial violence.

Who was right?

The point is this: We hear of a crime or a tragedy, and immediately was interpret the facts through the lens of our societal assumptions: Policemen are our friends, protecting us from criminals, or the police are instruments of the oppressive forces of society, taking advantage of their power to abuse us and harm us. Society is fair, and you get what you work hard for, or society is rigged against us and with rare exceptions we can’t advance.  Whatever our societal assumptions might be – and there are many more possibilities – we tend to interpret events in a way consistent with those assumptions.

So what was the true interpretation of this minor incident in 1975?

Undoubtedly, had I been 6’9” and 250lbs instead of 5’8” and 135lbs, this incident would not have happened. In that sense, it was my stature rather than my race that led to the beating.

But what if I had been my actual size, but African-American? Would it have happened just the same, only without the racial slurs?

We’ll never know.

Take that tentativeness to your interpretation of the Michael Brown tragedy in Ferguson. Remember the warnings of Scripture:

Proverbs 18:13 If one gives an answer before he hears, it is his folly and shame.

Proverbs 18:17 The one who states his case first seems right, until the other comes and examines him.

There were many – many of all shades on the political spectrum –who gave answers about the meaning of the Michael Brown tragedy before they heard from all of those involved. There were many who jumped on one eyewitness account or another and, ignoring other eyewitness accounts, said, “This is what happened! See, here is more evidence that my view of society was right all along!”

What then should this tragedy prompt in us?

First, prayer: Prayer for those involved, prayer for the grand jury presently meeting (which may have reported by the time you read this), prayer for genuine justice to be done, prayer for healing of the racial divide that still stains our country, prayer for fellow believers not to be used by politicians of any persuasion, but to test all through the lens of Scripture.

Second: Acknowledge and recognize the facts of the case and of our society. Here are a few:

  1. There are markedly different eyewitness accounts of what happened, stated by people who are trying to be truthful.
  2. The police in Ferguson at a minimum have made numerous procedural errors.
  3. The powers of the state have been used against many African-Americans for hundreds of years.
  4. Similarly, for many years, state institutions and even many churches taught that African-Americans were an inferior type of humanity. (I once flipped through a book, published in the early 1900s, which included a chapter entitled, “Can the American Negro love?”)
  5. Much has changed with regard to racial oppression in this country in the last sixty years, but horrible incidents of abuse of power occurred during the lifetimes of many of us. And some such incidents continue today, regardless of whether or not Michael Brown’s shooting is one of them.
  6. The church of Jesus Christ must stand up for the weak and powerless. As God says in Psalm 82:3-4, “Give justice to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute.  Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”

Third: Be humble. Talk to others whose initial take on this tragedy is different than yours. Listen to each other. Don’t give an answer before you hear. Ask both white and black friends about past experiences of being the victims of apparent racial violence. Ask both white and black about past cases of apparent unfairness in school or in the workplace. Ask those from other countries about their own very different experiences with ethnic or racial tension and oppression.

The point is not to magnify anyone’s victimhood. The point is to avoid being manipulated by politicians, to be able to understand another’s perspective, to appreciate the facts and experiences that influence how we interpret events like Ferguson – and to overcome the sin of hubris that leads us to judge others and to exalt ourselves.

May God be gracious to give us ears to hear, and so to grow in our union with one another and with Him.

Go Therefore and Disciple All Nations

Jesus is Risen!

He Lives!

He was crucified, dead, buried – but death could not hold Him down!

He was raised because of our justification!

These are the great truths of Jesus’ resurrection.

But after telling us of the resurrection, Matthew does something curious. He skips ahead from that first Resurrection Sunday to Jesus’ encounter with His disciples in Galilee.

  • We don’t hear about road His encounter with two followers on the road to Emmaus
  • We don’t hear about Thomas’ doubts
  • We don’t hear of Jesus asking Peter three times, “Do you love me?”

Instead, Jesus and the disciples meet, Jesus gives Great Commission – then the end of the book.

Is this, perhaps, anticlimactic?

No. This fits perfectly with Matthew’s emphases throughout this Gospel.

Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are not comprehensive biographies of Jesus. None attempts to tell us everything Jesus said or did. They don’t even attempt to tell us all the important things Jesus said or did.

Rather, each is presenting to us certain themes, certain truths about Jesus: His life, His ministry, His work. And by the Holy Spirit each selects material to support those truths.

So Matthew, carried along by the Holy Spirit, completes this book powerfully, highlighting many of his major themes, and leaving us with a commissioning to follow.

So let’s look to see how this brief text – 5 verses, 94 words in the ESV – is a culmination of Matthew’s portrayal of Jesus.

Here Matthew highlights 8 themes from throughout the book: Two vital truths, four commands (which we will consider under five headings), and one promise:

  • Vital Truth 1: Human Weakness
  • Vital Truth 2: Jesus’ Authority
  • Command 1: Go
  • Command 2a: Disciple
  • Command 2b: Disciple the Nations
  • Command 3: Baptize
  • Command 4: Teach them to Obey All I Have Commanded
  • The Promise: His Presence

(more…)

David and Goliath

David and Goliath by Andrew Shanks

[Andrew and Laura Shanks were part of Desiring God Community Church while he was studying at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary from 2005-2008. Now pastor of Fontaine Baptist Church in Martinsville, VA, Andrew has just published Echoes of the Messiah: Finding Our Story in God’s Story. This is an excerpt from Chapter 4: Triumphing Over God’s Enemies: Echoing the Messiah with David. You can read more of Andrew’s writings at AndrewShanks.com. He and Laura also plan to join us for worship this Sunday.  – Coty]

The battle between David and Goliath . . . is perhaps the most spectacular parallel between David and the Messiah in the whole David saga. And yet it is rarely recognized as such. . . .

Timothy Keller has pointed out that the real lesson of the story in 1 Samuel 17 is that we all need a Davidic hero to rescue us from our enemy. From this perspective, the story becomes fairly obvious. The people of Israel are encamped before their enemies, the Philistines, who are primarily represented by their champion, the gargantuan Goliath. This larger-than-life enemy has terrified the people of God into immobility with his constant blasphemies and threats. He and his horde are on the brink of overrunning the Israelites, slaughtering them, and enslaving the survivors (1 Sam. 17:3-11). The Israelites and their pet king don’t know what to do.

Then a new champion arises. David, upon his arrival, is immediately outraged at the blasphemies of the pagan giant and determines to silence him (1 Sam. 17:26). The fact that no one else in the entire nation of Israel seems capable of dealing with Goliath does not deter David. His confidence does not lie in the strength of the military or even in his own prowess. His confidence lies in the pleasure of the Lord. He says to King Saul, “The Lord, who delivered me form the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine” (1 Sam. 17:37). When face-to-face with his opponent, David reiterates the same assurance (1 Sam.17:45-47). The key element in David’s confidence is his belief that God will always act in such a way as to vindicate his own glory. David was not acting out of a desire for personal glory, but out of a desire to see God glorified and his people strengthened.

As Keller eloquently demonstrates, the story of David and Goliath is a lesson, not about what great things we can do in the power of the Lord, but about what great things God’s champion will do in our place. In other words, as we read the story of David, the giant-slayer, we should not identify ourselves with David, but with David’s brothers and the people of Israel as a whole, who cowered behind the battle lines, paralyzed by fear, and impotent against their enemy. Such is the state of all humanity in the face of sin and death. We are incapable of doing anything to save ourselves from slavery to sin, and our defeat at the hands of our enemy, the devil, seems certain. But it is at just this moment that our Davidic hero appears. Jesus Christ walks firmly out to take his stand between us and our foe. He rescues us from slavery and defeats the enemy in our place. This divine Hero does not triumph through battle, however, but through submission and death. This is the real story of David and Goliath. And the reason we can see this lesson, this parable in the David saga, is that God orchestrated these events for this very purpose: so that we could look back in wonder and delight at the Messianic reverberations as they echo throughout redemptive history and particularly in the stories of men like David. . . .

The real David – the biblical David – went to war. He didn’t go to war because he loved violence. He went to war because he loved God. David fought Goliath because Goliath was so blaspheming the God of Israel that he had the entire Israelite army convinced that their God was not capable of defeating their enemy. David wouldn’t stand for that. He loved the glory of his God so much that he chose to put his life on the line to prove God’s strength. And he trusted in God’s pleasure in him so much that he was assured of victory. That’s what it came down to for David. He loved the glory of God, and he knew that God took pleasure in him because of that. That’s what made David a man after God’s own heart. . . .

It is precisely here that we must be very careful when it comes to the lessons we derive from the story. On the one hand, we, like David, are called upon to mimic the Messiah in his role of giant-slayer. Our communities, like David’s, are being confronted with giants that need to be slain. . . . The Apostle Paul instructs us how we should prepare for this battle: “Take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm” (Eph. 6:13). We must, indeed, go to war.

But notice: . . . All of these tools of war craft are connected to effects of the gospel itself. In other words, when we go to war, our very weapon is the finished work of Jesus Christ. At the end of the day, it is not we who slay the giants, but Jesus. On the battlefield of life our proper role is not that of the heroic general, but of the faithful foot soldier. Until we learn to rely on our divine Champion, we are destined for defeat. Jesus is the true giant slayer.

From A.P. Shanks, Echoes of the Messiah: Finding Our Story in God’s Story (Rainer Publishing, 2014), p. 80-86.