Shhh! I Can't Hear You!

As time goes on, my husband and I are discovering the depths of "for better or for worse." We've done the richer-poorer thing, the sickness-health hurdles, but the better-worse challenge seems to be a bit different. The better-worse seems to come from within and seems to be grounded in the changes that occur in each of us as we grow older. For instance, as I age, I have grown even fonder of embracing the silence. I don't like loud noises. I'd rather do a crossword puzzle than watch TV. I like to read as Scott drives. And talking is more of an effort for me. Scott, however, has grown more talkative with age. His diminishing ability to hear means he speaks more loudly and requires me to repeat myself --often. He drives with the radio and likes to point out things along the way. And when he finds something on television we can both enjoy, he likes to talk over it. Sometimes I wonder when this will get better. Sometimes I pray it can't get any worse.

In 2 Kings 18, we find Hezekiah on the throne of Israel. Six years into his reign, the king of Assyria carried off the people of the northern kingdom of Israel and took their land. In the fourteenth year of Hezekiah's reign, Sennacherib, king of Assyria came to make a play for the rest of God's people, in Judah; he took possession of all of the fortified cities there. Hezekiah kowtowed, giving Sennacherib a large ransom, but it wasn't enough. Not long after, Sennacherib sent his officials to harangue Hezekiah for refusing further payment, for discussing with Egypt the possibility of an alliance, and for declaring his trust in God. This throng arrived, positioned themselves by the aqueduct in Judah, and began trash-talking. In Hebrew. So as to stir up the people. But the citizens did not become agitated or fearful; they did not try to pressure Hezekiah into surrendering to Sennacherib's demands. In fact, verse 36 tells us, the people remained loyal to their king, doing as he commanded:

But the people held their peace and answered him not a word; for the king’s commandment was, “Do not answer him. 

He'd given them an order, and they obeyed. Silently.    

Someone once said, "Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt." James, the brother of Jesus, devoted almost an entire chapter on the perils of a loose or wicked tongue. Movie theaters proclaim, Silence is golden. And Eve, confronted by the serpent's perversion of Scripture, responded with a perversion of her own. Would she not have been better served by keeping silent? Was there not something within her which perceived the serpent's guile and caused her to overstep, to add to what God had said as a means of shutting down the creature's overly critical accusation? Curt Thompson, in his book, The Soul of Shame, suggests the serpent's ultimate purpose was to disrupt the relationship between Creator and creation by creating doubt. Did God really say...? Eve hastily, boldly speaks so as to squelch the doubt that has crept into her own mind.

The people under Hezekiah's reign did not --Praise God! --doubt the ability of their king. And their king (at least, at this juncture) did not doubt the ability of his God. It may have seemed right to silence the dissenting voices of an enemy, to shout them down and tell them how wrong they were. But the people kept silent. 

Scripture exhorts us to speak, particularly when it comes to sharing the good news of salvation. But obedience to God's timing matters. Ecclesiastes 3:7 says there is a time to keep silence and a time to speak. It's important we are prepared to do both as God requires of us. To say it confidently, to say it truthfully, and to say it sweetly --even when we're called to repeat it again. 

      

Midweek: Ezekiel Fell on His Face

Recently, my husband read the book of Ezekiel for the first time. He described it as "intense." I thought that was a really nice way of putting it. It's been a minute since I've read the entire book, but my mind, like most people's, tends to go to end times, gem-encrusted wheels, acid trip sort of stuff. As I've previously mentioned (and recommended), I use Jennifer Lane's HIStory in 366 Days for my daily quiet time. The scheduled reading has taken me to the book of Ezekiel, and I've begun thinking more about the man.

When Ezekiel first writes of his experience, being called by God to prophesy to the exiles in Babylon, he introduces himself as an ordinary man given a vision of heavenly things: 

And above the firmament over their heads was the likeness of a throne, in appearance like a sapphire stone; on the likeness of the throne was a likeness with the appearance of a man high above it. Also from the appearance of His waist and upward I saw, as it were, the color of amber with the appearance of fire all around within it; and from the appearance of His waist and downward I saw, as it were, the appearance of fire with brightness all around. Like the appearance of a rainbow in a cloud on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the brightness all around it. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. ~ Ezekiel 1:26-28

His response was to fall on his face in the fear of the Lord, humility, worship. Hallmarks of a bondservant to the Lord, hallmarks which I often feel are not as thoroughly exhibited in my life as I'd like them to be. I ask myself, Do I fear God enough? properly? I don't mean something I summon up, but have I taken the time today to focus on just how worthy of my reverence He is? Do I fully comprehend His magnitude, His glory, His holiness? And have I responded accordingly to His character? The answer is No, and it will remain that until I am fully sanctified; only then will I be able to fear Him in perfect humility and worship Him in absolute truth.

But here was Ezekiel, on his face before God. And God tells him to stand (2:1). Just go back to Adam and Eve for a minute. They'd sinned, disobeyed God's command not to eat of the tree in the center of the garden. It just so happened 😉the tree was The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. And their eyes were opened, and they knew that they were naked (Genesis 3:7). What did they do? They immediately sought to cover themselves. They immediately felt vulnerable, exposed. When we fall on our faces before the Lord, the very act of it covers our most susceptible places, the private areas we normally cover and our hearts. We instinctively try to modulate our vulnerability, hide our weaknesses. But God spoke to Ezekiel: Son of man, stand on your feet, and I will speak to you. Stand! To stand before a holy, perfect, almighty God with one's most secret places exposed... Take a minute to think about that. Your most deeply hidden thoughts laid bare. The truth of your heart --those days you don't want to pray or sing or even smile, the bitterness toward God for taking your child, jealousy, doubt, lust, all of it --boldly positioned, eye-to-eye before the God who is a consuming fire. Could you stand? I can't imagine that any of us could. We'd ball ourselves up so tightly, weeping and crying out for God's mercy. Don't look! But for the blood of Jesus Christ! 

It is the Holy Spirit who stands Ezekiel on his feet and God begins to reveal the plans He has for this man, plans to face a hardened and rebellious people. 

And that's where we'll stop for today. I'll leave you with some time to think about this man. Forget for a moment the visions and object lessons that were a part of his commission, and focus on the man. A man out minding his business by the river, remaining faithful to his Lord while being exiled far from home; a man whom God would use in some very unconventional and grievous ways to deliver a message to a people who refused to listen, but God longed to save.   

More on Ezekiel next Wednesday!

Application May Vary, but Truth Remains

When I began writing Broken to Breathless, it was a means to express my gratitude for all God was doing for me at the time. Since then, it has become something of an outlet also. As I discover truths in my quiet time, on my walks, or as I just "do life", I share them with you: it provides a means of documenting them, celebrating them, and opening the floor for discussion, if you are so inclined. Today, I want to show you the breath, the life of God's word. You see, over the past several days a passage of Scripture has come to my attention in some pretty unexpected and unalike ways. So, first, the passage:

And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able; for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men? For when one says, “I am of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not carnal?

Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one? I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor.

For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, you are God’s building. According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. ~ 1 Corinthians 3:1-11

And, quickly, the varied contexts in which it was presented: a Bible study entitled "What Does It Mean to Be Spiritual?", a class aimed toward married couples, and a child's devotional. By all appearances, these three opportunities seem to have nothing in common but God's word. Perhaps that is the point.

At the Bible study, we examined the immaturity of divisions in the body of Christ. We serve communion at the rail. We serve communion in our seats. It seems crazy, but humans will human, and we allow these sorts of things to be a breeding ground for strife. Spiritual Christians reject immaturity. In the class we looked at the opposite side of the coin: the importance of maturity. The teacher gave the analogy of someone with twenty years of experience interviewing for a new position: they were turned down because the interviewer determined "it was one year of experience twenty times." In all those years, the person had not done what was necessary for growth in their career. Marriage is the union of two Christians --hopefully --moving toward maturity; but what happens in the interim can be difficult to navigate. Mercy is critical. Lastly, the devotional our son and I read examined the passage in terms of our efforts to share Christ with others: we are not held responsible for the outcome of our labor; our responsibility is to pray God's truths sink deeply into the hearts of those with whom we share them.

One passage, multiple applications, and all true. Psalm 119:105 says God's word is a lamp unto the feet of those who read and obey it; a light to their path. In all circumstances. In our personal growth, in our relationship with those in our home, and in our obedience to the Great Commission beyond our doors. The steadfast pursuit of maturity, with mercy, and always in prayer is the way we live our lives to the glory of God, and the living, multi-faceted word of God is our handbook. Thanks be to God!