Death

Readings for today: 2 Kings 24-25, 2 Chronicles 36:1-21, Jeremiah 52

Warfare in the ancient world was much different than it is today. There were no Geneva Conventions. There were no “rules” of war that empires generally followed. There was no “international court” to appeal to for war crimes. No quarter was given to the local population. No steps were taken to protect non-combatants. No thought was given to those caught up in the conflict through no fault of their own. Prisoners were often tortured and executed in the field. Entire cities were razed to the ground. The goal was the complete annihilation of a culture. The eradication of the conquered kingdom from the history books.

We see a terrifying example of this in what happened to Judah when Babylon invaded. Judah had faced enemies before. In fact, the Egyptian armies had just defeated them in battle and levied a tribute but they left the kingdom of Judah largely intact. Babylon took a much different approach. They “burned the Lord’s temple, the king’s palace, all the houses of Jerusalem; and burned down all the great houses. The whole Chaldean army with the captain of the guards tore down all the walls surrounding Jerusalem.” (Jeremiah‬ ‭52‬:‭13‬-‭14‬ ‭CSB‬‬) It’s hard to wrap our minds around the complete destruction visited upon Judah by King Nebuchadnezzar and his armies. They left nothing standing. Not the Temple. Not the palace. Not any of the great houses. Not the walls. One gets the sense that there was nothing but rubble left by the time they were finished. Again, their goal was the complete and utter destruction of the Jewish way of life. They not only burned God’s Temple to the ground but they took everything associated with it to Babylon. All the furnishings. All the utensils. Everything the priests used to conduct any of the prescribed religious ceremonies. All gone. Not only that but they took the high priest and religious leaders and put them to death. The hope was to erase even the memory of God from the earth. They burned the king’s palace which was the seat of government. They took all the political and governmental leaders into exile. They took all the military men and leadership. They tore down the walls so as to leave Jerusalem completely defenseless. They wanted to make sure she never rose again to prominence in the region. The only people left were the poorest of the poor.

Why would God allow such a thing? Why did God not step in to save as He had done so often throughout Israel’s history? The answer is clear. Israel refused to turn to Him. Israel refused to trust Him. Israel refused to acknowledge His Lordship over their lives. Exile was therefore God’s righteous punishment. The wages of sin is death, whether personally and individually or corporately and communally. God allowed Israel to die so He might raise her once again. God allowed everything that marked Israel as a nation to die in order to turn her heart to Him again. God stripped away all she once held dear so that she would learn to treasure Him once again. This is the point of death. It’s not an end. It’s not final. It’s a temporary punishment that leads us to an ultimate reward if we look to God.

Readings for tomorrow: Jeremiah 41-44

Covenant

Readings for today: Deuteronomy 28-30

I have the privilege of walking with a lot of people from a lot of different walks of life in my work as a pastor. They give me the honor of sharing their lives with me. They share their successes and failures, their joys and sorrows, their happiness and heartbreaks with me. Some of them have experienced incredible transformation and triumph. Others seem to never get out of the spiral they find themselves in. Almost always, the key difference has to do with surrender to God.

It’s tempting to read through today’s verses and find “cause and effect.” If I do this, God will do this. If I obey, God will bless. If I disobey, God will curse. Conclusion? Obey and I will live. Disobey and I will die. However, we all know life is not that two-dimensional. It can’t be flattened out. Life is far more complicated because human beings are far more complicated. We are a mixture of all kinds of emotions and motivations that drive our choices and behavior. Who among us can truly say we make decisions with the purest of motivations? I don’t believe any of us can make that claim honestly. There is always a bit of selfishness involved even when we are at our most noble and godly.

The nation of Israel lived in a covenantal relationship with God. The covenant was not based on their obedience but God’s faithfulness. At the same time, there are blessings when we obey God. When we prioritize what He cares about. When we put Him first and worship Him alone. Does that mean all of us will experience health and wealth like the prosperity preachers promise? No. This is not a means to a worldly end. God cares far more about the state of our souls than He does the balance in our bank accounts. He cares far more about the people we are becoming on the inside than the outside. It’s not that God doesn’t care for our bodies. He does! And He will raise us physically from the grave in the resurrection! It’s just that God understands how temporary life in this world can be. Even at our best, we might live into our nineties or maybe one hundred. But our health will fail. Our wealth will eventually be useless to us. So why put our focus there? Focus instead on the higher things. The more important things. Like how our lives bring glory and honor to God. “The Lord will establish you as his holy people, as he swore to you, if you obey the commands of the Lord your God and walk in his ways. Then all the peoples of the earth will see that you bear the Lord’s name, and they will stand in awe of you.” (Deuteronomy‬ ‭28‬:‭9‬-‭10‬ ‭CSB‬‬) Bearing the Lord’s name. That’s the true blessing of obedience.

And it’s why God is so quick to forgive when we fail and fall short. When Israel disobeys the covenantal commands and falls away, God offers them a way back through repentance and forgiveness and grace. “When all these things happen to you, the blessings and curses I have set before you, and you come to your senses while you are in all the nations where the Lord your God has driven you, and you and your children return to the Lord your God and obey him with all your heart and all your soul by doing  everything I am commanding you today, then he will restore your fortunes, have compassion on you, and gather you again from all the peoples where the Lord your God has scattered you. Even if your exiles are at the farthest horizon, he will gather you and bring you back from there.  The Lord your God will bring you into the land your ancestors possessed, and you will take possession of it. He will cause you to prosper and multiply you more than he did your ancestors. The Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the hearts of your descendants, and you will love him with all your heart and all your soul so that you will live.” (Deuteronomy‬ ‭30‬:‭1‬-‭6‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

Friends, there’s always an opportunity to choose life. It’s never too late to turn from sin. We are never too far gone. We are never without hope. The arm of the Lord is long and the reach of His grace is great. I love how Psalms 139 puts it, “Where can I go to escape your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there. If I fly on the wings of the dawn and settle down on the western horizon, even there your hand will lead me; your right hand will hold on to me. If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me, and the light around me will be night”  — even the darkness is not dark to you. The night shines like the day; darkness and light are alike to you.” (‭‭Psalms‬ ‭139‬:‭7‬-‭12‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

Readings for tomorrow: Deuteronomy 31-34

Pilgrimage

Readings for today: Genesis 47-50

Life is a pilgrimage. It’s a journey from birth to death and beyond. Like any pilgrimage, it is filled with highs and lows. Ups and downs. We love. We hate. We rejoice. We grieve. We hurt. We heal. We learn. We forget. We grow strong. We grow weak. Through it all, we are not alone. God is on the journey with us. From the moment, humanity was exiled from the Garden, God went into exile as well. He left His home to come to be with us. To come to dwell with us. To come on the pilgrimage with us. That’s the main message of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. It’s the story - in Abraham Heschel’s majestic words - of “God in search of man.” He seeks us out. He will not allow us to remain lost. He will not allow us to wander aimlessly forever. He reveals Himself in the glory of creation, creating a hunger in the hearts of all people for eternity. He reveals Himself in His Word, leading all people everywhere to salvation. And He promises to take all the experiences of our pilgrimage - good, bad, or otherwise - and use them to shape and form and fashion us into the image of Christ and draw us to Himself.

This is what God did for Jacob. The years of Jacob’s pilgrimage were hard. They were filled with all kinds of deception, conflict, grief, pain, heartbreak, and suffering. Jacob wrestled with God, not just down by a river one day but throughout his life. I can identify with him in that wrestling. I too have wrestled with God. I’ve wrestled with God over many things in my life. The days of my pilgrimage have not always been easy. I’ve lived in poverty. I’ve lived with an addict. I’ve lived with shame and guilt over decisions I’ve made or things I’ve done. I’ve had to fight and battle to get to where I am today. My body hurts every day. I live in fear that the neurological diseases in my family tree will one day catch up to me. My emotions are locked down deep and hard to access. But God has been with me every step of the way. He was with me even when I didn’t know Him or couldn’t see Him. He radically changed the course of my life in college. He has filled me and sustained me and strengthened me along the way. He has preserved me and provided for me and healed me and comforted me and blessed me. He has led me and guided me and used me to advance His Kingdom in the world in more ways than I can possibly count. As I look back, I am thankful. As I look forward, I am excited. As I think about where I am today, my heart is filled with gratitude.

How do you feel about your pilgrimage? Are you like Jacob? Are you disappointed as you look back? “My years have been few and hard and they have not reached the years of my ancestors during their pilgrimages.” (Genesis 47:9 CSB) Is that your assessment? You don’t measure up to those who came before you? Your life hasn’t been good? Your years have been few and hard and are passing too quickly? Or do you take a different view? Think about all God did for Jacob and yet not one word from him about any of it when he stood before Pharaoh. Think about all the promises God made Jacob and all the blessings He poured into his life and yet Jacob’s despair clouded his view and he couldn’t see it. Not here. Not at the end of his life. Don’t let despair cloud your view, friends! Spend time today reflecting on God’s love for you. God’s faithfulness to you. God’s promises to you and how He has fulfilled them in your life. Most of all, trust Him with what’s left of your pilgrimage.

Readings for tomorrow: No readings on Sundays