Whoever You Are

I was reading Nehemiah 1 the other morning. (Again, shoutout to Jennifer Lane and her book HIStory in 366 Days; a year of daily devotions centered around our need and God's plan for redemption!) In the first verse of Nehemiah, we discover he is "the son of Hachaliah." Whoever he is. Nehemiah says he is, at the time, in Susa, a capital city of the Persian Empire. He has received word regarding the grievous condition of Jerusalem and its residents and longs for God's mercy. The next several verses --until the end of the chapter --are Nehemiah's confession on behalf of his people and his plea for God's favor: Nehemiah is preparing to go before the Persian king and request permission to return to Jerusalem and restore the city (and Judah's fear of the Lord).

So, what do we know about Nehemiah so far? He is the son of Hachaliah --whoever he is --and a follower of the God of Israel. He is, at the time, a subject of the king of Persia. BUT it is not until the end of chapter one, eleven verses in, and after we are shown that Nehemiah is a faithful servant of the Lord, that this is revealed:

For I was the king's cupbearer. (v. 11)

Nehemiah was not some ordinary exile struggling to adjust to life in a new country, working someone else's land, being daily harassed by soldiers or shunned at the local market. Nehemiah was not a priest without a temple or a politician without a constituency. Nehemiah lived at the palace of the king of Persia! He was in the monarch's presence daily. He tasted rich foods and likely rested his head on --well, more than a stone. His clothes were provided and maintained. He might not have been a royal, but he certainly would have lived like one. What sort of resume' wouldn't lead with that? Nehemiah's. Eleven powerful verses make it pretty clear, his identity was linked to his service --not to a king, but to The King. Sure, he's the son of Hachaliah --whoever he is --but from the very beginning of the account, his focus is on the state of God's people in God's city. His go-to is not his influence before the king or his political connections; his go-to is God. He humbles himself before the One who created the land on which Jerusalem was built. He humbles himself before the One who is sovereign over those who built the gates as well as those who burnt them. He humbles himself before the only One who can forgive and restore. He shares his plight with his employer but humbles himself before his God. He was the king's cupbearer... by the way. It was convenient he could obtain from his boss the right and resources to rebuild the city, but definitely not necessary. 

What if the king had not allowed him to go? Can you see Nehemiah prostrate before his ruler, begging for permission to return to Jerusalem? I can't. God put it on Nehemiah's heart to restore the glory of God's holy city for the glory of God, and God would provide whatever was necessary to carry out that work. Nehemiah was certain of that. He left behind the splendor of service to a king to lead his people in returning to The King. His claim to fame would not be as cupbearer, but as one whose identity was firmly fixed in obeying the God of Israel. 

What would you say is the most important part of your identity? Is it the fact you're a parent? Is it your degree? Is it the family in which you grew up, or even the church you attend? Is the most important part of your identity what you do to pay the bills or what you spend most of your time doing? When your book is closed, your story is written, do you want to be known among the world's arbiters, or do you seek the approval of The Master alone? Will you be recognized by the great sums you managed and the business relationships you developed, or will you be known for laying up treasure that moths and rust cannot destroy? Will your epitaph read "cupbearer"? "Daughter of Fred"? --whoever he is. Or will it boldly proclaim, "servant, laborer, child of God"? 

 

Midweek: The Difficulty of Ezekiel's Calling

Ezekiel, a man in exile, was called by God to speak to his fellow captives. Now, never mind the difficulty of convincing "stiff-necked" people who rebelled so fiercely against the Almighty, they had to be conquered by a fearsome enemy known for cruelty and debauchery --never mind convincing them you were sent by God and are speaking His words; but just imagine seeing some of the things God showed Ezekiel --dried bones in a valley rattling to life --and being ordered to do some of the things Ezekiel was commanded to do --eat a scroll, cut his hair with a sword. Really wild stuff, right? But God was desperately trying to get His message to the people He loved and giving them opportunity to earn the judgment that was coming their way, as well. For Ezekiel, however, his calling got real personal and even more difficult.

In Ezekiel 24:15-17, Ezekiel receives a devastating word from the Lord: God was going to take from him his wife. There's a larger point I want to make so, I'm just going to throw some of my lesser thoughts out there and you can mull them over at your convenience.

    1) Ezekiel was probably about thirty years old when he was called as a prophet. He prophesied for a little over twenty years or so. It seems his wife died shortly before the end of his ministry, making him a bit more than middle-aged. I'm sure they had plans. I'm sure they expected a long life together. But, for the sake of the rebellious people of God, Ezekiel lost the love of his life.

    2) God calls Ezekiel's wife "the desire of his eyes," and says He will remove her with one stroke. Ezekiel loved his wife; they had, apparently, quite a passionate relationship. And in a flash, she was gone. I spoke to the people in the morning, and at evening my wife died (v.18). The magnitude of Ezekiel's grief is hard to grasp.

    3) And, his grief. Ezkiel was forbidden by God from any sort of public mourning. He was to "sigh in silence." Not only did he lose his wife for the sake of these stiff-necked people, he couldn't even grieve! How hurtful it must have been to have his love for his bride come into question!

And this is where we head back to the point I want to dig into a bit more deeply. In the first chapter of Ezekiel, God shows His prophet some pretty marvelous things, and Ezekiel fell on his face in awe of his God. (We explored this in my first post about Ezekiel two weeks ago, Ezekiel Fell on His Face.) God told Ezekiel to stand. How unworthy he must have felt! How he must have longed to hide himself! What came to me was the account of Adam and Eve in the garden, separated by sin from their relational Father, naked and hiding. God, who once walked with His children in a garden, was now too awesome, too fearsome for them to stand before in confidence. They were painfully aware they missed the mark; they were ashamed and tried desperately to cover themselves.

In thinking of the relationship between Ezekiel and his wife, I'm reminded of that initial freedom of two, meant for one another, made for one another, committed to one another, and being without shame. Our society has so perverted the gift of marriage with promiscuity and lack of commitment that it's almost hard to understand the importance of exclusivity and saving oneself for another. Only because of the covenant of marriage --a covenant made before and with God --are we able to stand unclothed in body and soul without shame before another human being. We stand before our spouse knowing that we are fully loved --not perfectly, but fully --and our most intimate secrets are safely kept with another human being who shares their vulnerability with us. There is no need to protect ourselves. Ezekiel lost the bride of his youth, the desire of his eyes, the one who stood before him unguarded and he before her.

It is only because of Jesus' work on the cross that we can stand before a holy God without shame or condemnation. Our Bridegroom will never leave us of forsake us; He is with us always. And He is the confidence we have. Our relationship with Him is symbolized in the covenant of marriage but will endure forever. As God called out His message to His people Israel through a widowed prophet, He longs for those who have turned away to return to Him now. Unashamed, pardoned, loved, and safe before His throne.  

Adherence to the Law by the Grace of God

Have you ever used one of those fitness apps or devices? This convenient, inflexible program meticulously records health-related details: blood pressure, weight, activity, sleep, etc. There is a not-so-terrible mission behind it all: quantification for the purpose of better health and better living. Take more steps today than you did yesterday! Get more sleep than you did last night! Stay healthy! Good numbers are equated with good health, and good health is, of course, equated with a good life. But there's something of a dark side: Take a day off, grab a treat, and watch your numbers suffer. Nothing like heavy-handed restriction to engage folks in the practice of wellness! The device that sits on the wrists of my family and friends is little more than a legalistic little tyrant. Some are crippled by its judgment, while others have become calloused and ignore it altogether. Neither choice is helpful and its mission goes unaccomplished.     

The law of the Lord has been perverted in much the same way. This is nothing new: God, through Solomon warns, There is nothing new under the sun (Ecclesiastes 1:9). When the law, the rules become your god; when specifics and boxes checked become the things you worship, perversion has occurred. Going back to the aforementioned gadget, if its numbers are meant to give us a picture or a path to good health with the objective of improving our life, we take those numbers as a part of a whole, the means to an end; not the end itself. Changing these criteria for the better will improve one aspect of my life, but they are not life as a whole. God's people, Israel, looked at the criteria God had given them and made adherence to it their god. Finger pointing and added benchmarks were the result; heavy burdens laid on the people. Others wearied of trying to keep up and simply gave up, following the practices of nearby religions instead or merging the practices of Mosaic law with other ideas in a wholly undefined syncretism. The same is true today. Again, mission unaccomplished. So, why did God write things like the Ten Commandments? Why were there so many laws in the Book of Leviticus? Am I saying we are free from obeying them?

Well, there were laws given that were specific to the circumstances of God's people at the time; laws for living as a nation and laws for living without things like refrigeration and toaster ovens; laws meant for their protection in an ancient agrarian society that was, for a period, nomadic and would eventually be called upon to fight some pretty fierce enemies. I'm not getting into the woods with those things, but the law of God's word is generally viewed as having three purposes: a rule, a mirror, and a curb. 

    A rule: God's laws give the blueprint for the life we are able to live when believers allow themselves to be governed by the Holy Spirit. It shows us how to honor the God we worship and what the standard of being holy as our God is holy looks like. 

    A mirror: When we consider a holy, perfect God, and experience our own inability to achieve that holiness and perfection, we see ourselves more rightly. Without a list of criteria to meet, we can feel pretty good about ourselves. The law is that criteria and our true state is woefully inept (at the least), wicked at its core. This is our need for a perfect Savior.

    A curb: Societies throughout history have thrived when they have obeyed God's laws. Call it pragmatic, but the law of God is good for all of humanity. Obedience to it staves off the reign of darkness across the globe.

So, yes, we should obey God's law. Yes, we should want to obey the commands of our King. No, they did not become obsolete when Jesus paid our debt on the cross. And no, they do not offer us salvation or guarantee a relationship with Jesus Christ. Praise God, His people today are offered the ability to live under the grace of God by the mercy of God poured forth at the cross. By His grace, we receive the Holy Spirit who enables us to obey His precepts and become holy in heart and conduct. Our infractions are no more calculated on some spiritual scale than our good deeds are tallied to establish our worth before Him. His children are freed to delight in His law, giving thanks for perfect boundaries set not by a legalistic tyrant but by a loving God. And His work will be brought to completion. Of that we are assured!

Rather Than Yield to Temptation...

There's an old bumper sticker: Lead me not into temptation: I can find it myself. What expert navigators we can be at times! Many of us are familiar with the part of the Our Father which asks of the Lord, Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil (Matthew 6:13); but how many of us really know what we are asking of Him? How many of us share the same sentiment as that bumper sticker: Why would God lead me into temptation? I am pretty adept at finding sin all on my own. And if James 1:13 clearly states that God cannot be tempted, nor does He tempt any person, why would He lead us to a place of temptation? Isn't that the same thing as someone setting up another to be robbed? Both are guilty of the crime, aren't they?

First of all, let me just share what an incredible statement of helplessness this request is. Sometimes we are going about our day, doing the same things we are accustomed to doing --sort of mindlessly, I must say --and we find ourselves in a traffic jam that isn't usually present. What is this all about? We didn't know it was before us. We had no way of knowing. Sometimes the same is true of the temptations that face us. We have no idea that someone is going to do something so out of character or so offensive we feel compelled to respond in an equally out of character or offensive way. We are tempted. We didn't see it coming. We didn't put ourselves in that predicament; we were simply going about our day as we usually do. But our Shepherd, who knows the end from the beginning, was well aware of it all. And, not that He was intentionally provoking us to yield to our flesh, but we can rely on Him to know the way. This is our admission that we don't know what will befall us throughout the most mundane of days, but, Dear Jesus, we rely on You to know the way. We yield our path and our activities to Your great wisdom.

Secondly, the Greek word rendered "temptation" is peirasmos which means both an allurement and a trial or test. So, in asking God not to lead us into temptation, and enticement that would dishonor Him and potentially cause us harm, we are not asking Him to suspend some regular activity (for, again, He tempts no man), but we are asking Him to lead us in the ways that would bring Him glory alone. We no longer want to walk the way we used to walk, in ways that made us susceptible to sin; in ignorance and independence; in foolishness. Lead me, Lord God, in Your ways and not in the way I used to walk. Lead me as I choose to avoid those things to which I was once drawn. 

And, in asking God not to lead us into peirasmos, trial or testing, we are making our petition for His mercy. Imagine waking up, your head pounding, your body aching; you've come down with the flu, but you have determined to power through it. You have errands to run and things that must be accomplished. As you go out to start your car, you miss a step; you hear a SNAP! and your ankle begins to swell immediately. You will have your rest, but you've surrendered to it the hard way. Which of us would not rather learn a lesson or have their faith strengthened by obedience to the Scriptures rather than enduring a long and painful proving. The key here, of course, is that we must learn our lesson in ways that do not require some hard discipline from our Heavenly Father. Father God, I surrender to learning all You have for me without necessitating the use of great trial. Please spare me this and soften my heart to receive Your teachings.

Do we know the way to temptation? By all means, we do. But God, in His great mercy, through Jesus Christ, has not only opened the way of communication through which we petition His guidance and mercy, but has Himself become the way by which we can endure whatever should befall us, our Deliverer. It is through Him and by Him our hearts are prepared to receive His words, and our lives are changed to reflect the integrity and strength of Jesus' character. By the power of His Holy Spirit, we yield to imitate His holiness rather than yield to temptation.