A Prelude to Immanuel: The Call to Faith

I recently heard Christmas music while pumping gas.

Obnoxious. 

Mr. 3-levels-of-bright-blue-icicle-lights-12-doors-down-on-the-right

Seriously?      

Maybe I'm just a purist when it come to Holiday sequencing.  

With all the Christmas decor, music, and signage displayed before Turkey Day I’m almost reluctant to speak of the Immanuel prophesy mid-November.  Even so, over the next 2 weeks I'll be looking at Isaiah 7-12 paying specific attention to the Immanuel child and where it fits within both Isaiah and the overall story of salvation.  Your graciousness is appreciated.    

Isaiah 7:1-9 

King Ahaz was lost in a maze of his own doing.
A maze outlined by his carnal exploits, pagan deities, and godless leadership.

Surprisingly, the True King was still pursuing Ahaz.
In the maze, God was still speaking.

Notice two things with me.

First, note where God sent Isaiah to meet Ahaz.

The prophet received detailed instruction to meet the king at a very specific point - an aqueduct (7:3). Though an odd place to rendezvous with royalty, the water supply held great significance given the king’s socio-political circumstance.1

With the coming siege the aqueducts represented Ahaz’s very survival.  Jerusalem's water supply was his greatest point of strategic vulnerability.   The conduits signified the king's most intense fear.

Under the threat of a raging army, we might even feel sympathetic.
But as Scripture often does, we’re invited further into the story.
We’re invited beyond the obvious and encouraged to observe the narrative.

Looking further, the aqueducts represent the apex of Ahaz’s rebellion and the futility of sin’s natural progression (James 1:14-15).  The sum total of Ahaz’s vain pursuits, idolatrous wanderings, and sinful cravings had finally caught up to him.  Life was crumbling and it was too big to manage.

Facing such dread, Ahaz grew manic.
Ahaz knew his empire was crumbling, he had no resources.
The king imploded.
Rather than exercising faith Ahaz was shaking in fear (7:2).

I asked you to note the where, because the where is important.
It shouldn’t be surprising that the aqueduct is where God spoke.
At the very place that represented Ahaz’s lifelong, futile rebellion Isaiah shows up.

God does this.  He’ll show up and speak opportunity into the very place of our self-imposed calamity.  At the very place where our sinful choices and crumbling life intersect God's gracious voice is often heard.  Out of the chaos we create, His clarity is offered.

Second, note what God told Isaiah to say (7:4-9).

Beginning with four imperatives Isaiah instructs Ahaz to exercise faith in the True King of Judah (7:4).

Be careful. Rebellion makes us careless.
Do not presume upon divine mercy.

Be quiet. Rebellion creates inward, anxious churning.
Choose silence.

Do not fear. Rebellion makes the circumstantial problem seem great.
God is greater.

Do not be faint. Rebellion conceals the only viable option.
Choose to obey and live.

Following the last imperative came an incredible prophecy. Isaiah tells Ahaz that in 65 years Northern Israel will be utterly destroyed (7:6-9a), the very nation threatening Judah would crumble.  God gives the king every opportunity to stand firm in faith (7:9b).

Firm in faith, turn from iniquity and standing in righteousness.
Firm in faith, live in the freedom afforded through faithful obedience.

God speaks at our aqueducts.  Too many times I've found myself fretting over self-imposed chaos.  The natural progression of my idolatry led me, and at times my family, to places God never intended.  Places of confusion, heartache, and loneliness.  Even so, my story is that God is faithful to show up.  In these places, He mercifully offers clarity to repent and the freedom of forgiveness.    

Only be careful.  Be quiet.  Do not fear.  Do not be faint.
The Enemy has been defeated.
Sin has no power over you.  Turn to Him and live.
Let us be found firm in faith.  

Blessings.  

1.  The socio-political landscape of Ahaz's consisted of Assyria and everyone else.  Undoubtedly this was a tough time to rule.  From Nineveh, her capital city, Assyria threatened the ancient near east to a degree that few superpowers had. 

Scripture states that Syria and Northern Israel formed a coalition among the smaller countries, presumably in order to keep the Assyrians at bay (2 Kings 16; 2 Chronicles 28).  King Ahaz refused to enter their partnership, a move that led the neighboring countries to rise against Southern Israel.  Their intent was to dethrone Ahaz and install a king that would seemingly partner against Assyria (Isaiah 7:1-2, 4-6). 

Ahaz knew his enemies were near; it was only a matter of time before the Syro-Ephraimite coalition would arrive.

In the ancient world if you commanded a large enough army, common procedure was to simply lay siege upon desired territories.  With no sizeable militia to engage invaders, the smaller city would eventually surrender.  It was often gruesome.  With no water and no food, the surrounded city would regularly resort to unthinkable measures merely to survive (Deuteronomy 28:52-59).

With no reliable water source flowing naturally into Jerusalem, the system of aqueducts was crucial for the city’s survival.  The chances of enduring a siege are drastically lowered if your chief water supplies are beyond the city’s protective wall and your aqueducts are above ground, susceptible to enemy tampering.  Defeat was imminent.    

And in this corner....

The Golden Age of Wrastlin'

Rowdy Roddy Piper, The Iron Sheik, Nikolai Volkoff
Hulk Hogan, Superfly Jimmy Snuka, The Junkyard Dog, Andre the Giant

I'll just say it.  During the mid-80's  WWF was at its height.  I can still hear Mean Gene's voice booming through the TV, delivering quality suspense and unscripted drama.

I was convinced it was all real.  Of course they would get into the ring, go round-n-round, pounding each other, then do it all over again next week.  It was most certainly real.  Real sweat, real muscles, real men engaged in real battles.  

Somewhere along the line I began to grow suspicious.  No way those WWF no-names lose to the WWF superstars every week.  Why don't they have ultra cool signature moves like the mainstays?  Why on earth do the no-names wear those plain tights with zero personality?

Eventually it all began to feel fake, even scripted...

but I didn't care, I was sold.  Wrestlemania was just too well done and Hulkamania was irresistible.  After all, canned or not, Hogan's three "demandments" we're still core principles to shoot for.

We wrestle not with flesh and blood.

The apostle Paul probably wouldn't have cared for WWF.  I get the sense he was too serious.  Joyfully serious, but serious nonetheless.  Maybe not Paul but The Sons of Thunder would've loved it.  By their nickname, they understood pageantry.

No matter, Paul reminds us in Ephesians 6 that we are all involved in a lifelong wrestling match.  We battle not against flesh and blood but against forces that desire nothing more than to cause us imaginable ruin, heartache, and loss.  This wrestling is far from scripted and it doesn't hinge on personal bravado or a cool stage name.

We win solely buy submission.

I love how James 4 puts it, "Submit yourselves therefore to God, resist the devil and he will flee from you.  Draw near to God and He will draw near to you...humble  yourselves before the Lord and he will exalt you".  If I push my way or my agenda, I lose.  If I crave my base desires more than God, I am not submitting.  If I care more about my idols and the immediate sense of gratification they grant, I will not win.  If I go round-n-round with God, I will be overran.

Going round-n-round with God.

In Isaiah 7 we read of king Ahaz going round-n-round with God to the point that God grew weary.  In many ways, chapter 7 is a small window into the life of an ancient man lost in the age old struggle.  Would the king submit his will to the true King of Israel or would Ahaz continue down his rebellious path?  Would Ahaz respond to God's last efforts to offer mercy or would the king seal his fate and the fate of his people?

In the next couple days or so, I'll post with regard to Ahaz and his place in the book of Isaiah.  Until then I thought it important to highlight the theme of wrestling because far to often this portion of the book, specifically the Immanuel prophecy in 7:14, is quickly stripped from its context and taken directly to the gospels. In doing so, we rarely give thought to the text's immediate message for king Ahaz and all who would read his story.

We are right to read that the Immanuel child means "God with us" but with king Ahaz may we not be so quick to assume God is with us for salvation.  I encourage you to take time and read chapter 7-8:10.  Give attention to the overall tone of the section, the prophetess' role, the name of her son Maher-shalal-hashbaz, and the part Assyria is to play in God's movements toward Ahaz and his people.

As we work our way through the book, lets wrastle well. As we consider Ahaz may we be reminded of the futility of going round-n-round with God. May we somberly consider the deceptive nature of sin and whatever our circumstances, however great the temptation, may we slow down and submit ourselves daily to the One who is able to save our souls.

Blessings

"The" Lord of Hosts

The Ohio State University

Some might not appreciate NFL players introducing themselves before primetime games, I happen to like it.  Having followed the Green Bay Packers for years I’ve grown fond of hearing the various starters identify their alma mater.  But I must say two players in particular stand out.  Both AJ Hawk and Ryan Pickett maintain the Buckeye tradition of identifying their school with a certain measure of grandeur.  As with all OSU players in the NFL they simply emphasize the definite article when associating themselves with the university.  

“AJ Hawk, the Ohio State University”.  

A definitive statement is made, a specific pedigree is identified, and a certain class is established.  Make no mistake, they are part of the Ohio State University.     

One finds a similar introduction in the pages of Isaiah.  In a pyrotechnic display like none other, God shows up in chapter 6 and allows himself to be introduced (6:1-4): 

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts”. 

Amid Israel’s debauchery a definitive statement is made.  God is holy.  Apart from all the pagan deities, the gods before whom Israel prostituted herself, God alone is distinct in essence and character.  In the middle of Israel’s moral failings a certain class is established.  God is the Lord of Hosts.  He commands an innumerable army, a number of angelic beings intent on executing the divine decrees.  

The Almighty is not to be trifled with.1  He is the only true God.

“Isaiah the prophet, the one of unclean lips” 

In the face of such sheer power and moral purity there was but one response, dread.  Isaiah knew he was guilty and that utter destruction would rightly befall both he and his countrymen.2  They were bound together in their perpetual rebellion and against this backdrop of God’s moral excellence they were undone.

But then something bizarre occurs (6:6-8).  Unmerited grace and divine initiative move toward Isaiah and atonement is secured.  With broad brushstrokes Isaiah captures central themes of our eternal salvation.  From God's benevolent hand we, along with the prophet, discover divine grace, respond to the divine initiative, and are invited into His unfolding plan for mankind.

Yes, Isaiah would discover that his job within God's economy would be a tough one (6:9-13).  His contemporaries would ignore his message and ultimately face divine judgment for their sin.  Yet while Isaiah's peers may have overlooked God's reclamation project, chapter 6 lays a groundwork of hope that will be developed throughout the entire book of Isaiah.

1. Be hopeful: God’s divine glory will one day fill the earth (6:3).3  Israel’s sin had not thwarted God’s redemptive purposes and Isaiah’s vision anticipated a future day when God’s unique glory would be manifest to all peoples.  The idea of God’s glory being revealed in the future is developed throughout Isaiah, culminating ultimately in the coming Messiah (Isaiah 40:3-5; John 1:14).
2. Be hopeful: the holy seed will still stand (6:13).  The imagery of 6:11-13 is rich, portraying the entire nation being scorched with divine judgment.  Yet as one looks out upon the land, a lone stump remains.  The stump is defined as the holy stump, David's holy seed that will still one day flourish and bear fruit (Isaiah 11:1).  Though God would severely punish the nation for her sin (chapters 7-39), there was still reason to maintain hope.  Somehow the nations would be blessed through Israel, the covenants made to the forefather's will stand.  

Hopeless.  

A new Navy scandal.    

A mysterious girl found in Greece.

More talk about twerking. 

School shooting in Nevada 

All of these were mentioned to one degree or another while I was in the gym this morning.  The networks daily remind us that things are not right, our world is undone.  But may we be reminded that God is the Lord of Hosts.  As we await the day when all things are made new, may we not be numbered among the Israelites who trifled with the King but may we stand with Isaiah.  May we stand declaring that God's glory has been revealed to all nations and that one Day every knee will bow and tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God our Father.   

Blessings.  

FYI, Sunday night as the Packers take on the Vikings...be pullin' for the Pack and listen for the player announcements!  

1.  Along with the angelic chant, note Isaiah's use of contrasts to communicate the overwhelming nature of God:  

• The mere hem of the King’s robe is enough to fill the temple (6:1).  If the bottom of the royal garment creates such a spectacle, what would God’s actual presence command? 

• The mere sound of the angelic attendants rocked the throne room (6:2-4).  If the voice of the created help could create such uproar – how much more could we expect if God himself spoke?

2.  Along with the “woe” of 6:5, note 5:8,11,18, 20, 21, 22.  Effectually, Isaiah is lumping himself into the same fate as the nation.

3.  I prefer the footnote afforded through the ESV translation, this wording captures the future tense of 6:3.  Isaiah anticipates a day when God's revelatory glory will be made evident to all peoples.  

  

Spoiler Alert!

Whore. 

The word offends our sensibilities. 

No matter your era, it just sounds filthy.

Sodom.  Gomorrah. 

Infamous cities. 

Debauchery untold.

Why such seedy terms when describing the people of God? 

Isaiah wastes little time setting his agenda: Judah was lost in her sin.  Amid layers of base indulgence, political jockeying, and competing ideologies she had repeatedly prostituted herself with surrounding deities and pagan practices (1:10-17, 21-31; 2:6-4:1; 5:1-30).

Against such betrayal the central tension of Isaiah emerges: had Israel blown it for everybody?  Would God’s plan for redemptive history be chucked because His chosen nation kept turning tricks?

Spoiler Alert.  I love spoilers.  I try to keep from reading below the bold, italicized lettering but I can't help myself.  A well-constructed story creates a tension far too much for me to bear.  Hunger Games.  Saw the movie.  Janna wanted to purchase the next book and slowly digest the plot.  I, on the other hand, went straight home and devoured spoilers.  

Till 1:30 am.     

Knowing how the story of redemption unfolds often keeps us from sensing the many facets of narrative tension in the OT.  Understanding God did uphold the covenant and redeem the nations through Christ far too often leads us to presume He would.  We then tend to read the OT without detecting the accumulative tension within redemption’s story. 

For sure, Israel had royally blown it.  Her unique heritage as a kingdom of priests had been marred by her repeated harlotry.  The very nation charged with bringing divine truth to the world had been charged with adultery.1  They’d stooped to an all time low.  Sodom and Gomorrah low.  Israel had now become the very enemy of God (1:24-26; 5:24-25).

Tension mounts.  How would God respond to the crisis?  Would He uphold His plan to redeem the world through Israel or would God choose to simply abandon mankind to their mess?  

Isaiah doesn’t resolve this conflict quickly, in fact with 66 chapters the prophet meanders towards a conclusion.  Still yet, the reader encounters unmistaken cues along the way.  Road marks that allow us to understand where Isaiah is taking us, reassurance that there is still hope for the nations.  Somehow, in spite of Israel, God will still work to make all things new.

As an outline nerd, I have to see the book in order to get a feel for it:

1. Hope in peril: will the covenant hold? (1:1-6:13)
2. Hope through the fire: God will both judge and restore David’s house (7:1-39:8)
3. Hope found in ransom: God will bring salvation to the nations (40:1-55:13)
4. Hope fulfilled in future glory: God will establish Mount Zion (56:1-66:24)

Certainly judgment would come upon Judah.  She was due.  Even so, God’s plan to shower His grace upon all peoples had not been thwarted.  Even in the opening chapters when Isaiah is announcing judgment, listen closely and you’ll catch encouraging cues.  Indeed, the prophet foretells of a day when God’s grace is experientially evident as the nations encounter the fullness of Zion (2:1-5):

It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be establish as the highest of the mountains, and shall be lifted up above the hills; and all the nations shall flow to it, and many peoples shall come, and say: “Come let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.”  For out of Zion shall go the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.  He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide disputes for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.  O house of Jacob, come, let us walk I the light of the Lord.

While all men of all places and times are repeatedly making a royal mess of things, there is still hope.  God has not abandoned us.  Put simply, God extends a call to come walk in the light of the Lord.  In heeding Him, we find immeasurable hope because God's love has been poured into our hearts and we know that in Christ our hope for eternity will not disappoint (Romans 5:1-5).  

Blessings!  

1. It is essential to note that at every major covenant God made with Israel, there was a focus upon outreach.  Israel was to stand as a beacon of divine truth and opportunity for all peoples and the covenants with her forefathers clearly stated as much.  Abraham was promised that through him all the nations of the world would be blessed (Gen 12:3).  At Mount Sinai the people understood that they were to be a kingdom of priests, mediating revelation to all peoples (Ex 19:6).  David saw the succession of his throne to be divine instruction for all mankind, for through his throne all the nations would find peace (2 Sam 7:19ff).  With each major covenant the nation of Israel understood her role as the divinely appointed dispenser of revelation.  The scope of which would reach the entire world.     

We Didn’t Start the Fire…

By the fall of 1989 Billy Joel captured airwaves with his third Billboard number 1, We Didn’t Start the Fire.  As the story goes, the lyrics were compiled soon after a young adult quipped that Joel’s youth was uncomplicated and that the musician simply could not relate with the sociopolitical uncertainty of the 80’s.  From the young man’s vantage point the 50’s and 60’s were perceived as the simpler, more stable era. 

We didn’t start the fire, it was always burning since the world’s been turning…

Against an incredibly cool backdrop of flames, Joel challenges the young man’s perception by marching through the more noteworthy events of his age.  With each passing line Joel highlights an unsettling truth: the world has always been in flux.  From atomic weapons to Ole’ Miss and Civil Rights, from Red China to Stalin and Fidel Castro, with every spin on its axis the world churns an uneasy measure of madness.

We didn't start the fire, no we didn't light it, but we tried to fight it.

Considering our current state, are things much different?  From government furloughs to chemical warfare, from apartheid to Ariel Castro, nagging global and domestic challenges demand honest evaluation – fight it we may, but the burning simply will not cease.  No matter the era, mankind has a habit of getting in its own way.

Against such an intense backdrop, where might the nations turn? 

Perhaps no other book in the OT answers this question more clearly than Isaiah.  In short, the book extends hope to the nations.  Writing within his unique historical setting the prophet Isaiah invites us to look beyond mere sociopolitical circumstances and see the scope of God's plan for mankind.  We're invited to peer into God's purposes not as sterile observers but as passionate participants, people of faith who are seeking to live honorably before our Creator and Sustainer.  

To a degree we’ve experienced the message of Isaiah, attend any church and the book of Isaiah will speak prominently on both Christmas and Easter.  Images of the virgin born Immanuel child and the Suffering Servant rightly inform our Holy Days, but how are we to consider the prophet in his entirety?  What exactly is God saying that took 66 chapters to spell out?  

Over the next several weeks I hope to share a few thoughts on the matter.  As the entries will likely be more devotional in nature, my prayer is that we come face to face with the Hope of all nations.  That our hearts find refreshment and our faith emboldened as we address a world ever churning for that peace which surpasses human understanding. 

Blessings!

Because you know its a cool video,  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFTLKWw542g

Stop and Think

"It sort of makes you stop and think doesn't it"

Recently I came across an article written by Robert Lupton entitled "Asking the Right Questions About Serving".  I highly recommend it to anyone considering local or global ministry initiatives.  Essentially it addresses and informs the "whys and hows" of our Christian service.

Should the principles within the article interest you, might I also suggest that you read the book "When Helping Hurts" by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert.  I'm using the aforementioned text in an elective for our church beginning July 22nd, great book concerning gospel centered social engagement.    

Below are some of the article's "take aways" :

A few suggestions to avoid mission toxicity.  Mission projects can be genuinely redemptive.  The best ones are joint ventures with mature, indigenous ministries that understand both the culture and healthy cross-cultural partnering.  A few reality-tested principles provide a “code of conduct” to guide invited volunteer guests toward sensitive, mutually transforming relationships:

•  Never do for others what they can do for themselves (teach a man to fish).

•  Limit one-way giving to emergencies (most needs are chronic, not crisis).

•  Employment, lending, investing are best (use grants sparingly as incentives).

•  Subordinate self-interests to the interests of the poor (is this for our good or theirs?).

•  Listen to what is not being said (many needs are not immediately voiced).

•  Above all, do no harm.

Grace and Peace


http://communitiesfirstassociation.org/2012/07/03/asking-the-right-questions-about-serving/

Another African American President, The Pulpit, and the Status Quo

Glad to see the Southern Baptist Convention voted in Fred Luter as its first black president. On many levels this would seem encouraging, if not monumental. I suppose to a certain extent I agree. 

Still yet, the answer to the ongoing fragmentation of the evangelical church will not be found in a man that serves a one year term - the answer rests in the much less glamourous position of the pastorate.

In the pulpit, specifically through the teaching of the Word, is where hope truly rests. Through captivating minds around the grand narrative of scripture the church will find both the rationale and motivation to break down the systematic, cooperate sin that she often unwittingly perpetuates.

I once heard a pastor say that racially homogenous churches are simply a cultural phenomena that leadership must simply deal with.

Reading between the lines: blacks will be with blacks and whites will be with whites, cultures gravitate toward on another and instead of sifting through the historical and varied motivations for such fragmentation - just deal with it. Lead existing churches to tow this line. Plant new churches that will preserve this line. After all the main mission is to see souls saved.

The preacher casually shrugged this perpetuation off as if it were not in fact a gospel issue, insinuating that he could continue to proclaim the gospel from the pulpit while allowing systematic racism and cultural elitism to persist in the pew.

While there is much that could be said to the ongoing diminishment of the good news - I couldn't say it any better than these guys so I won't try. This link doesn't cover the entire issue but it does a wonderful job of touching on the high notes.http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/conference-messages/race-and-the-christian#/watch/full

Men, lead well.

Celebrate Luter's momentary platform but realize that it is the platform of the pulpit that will actually see the gospel's power come to fruition throughout the church.

Grace and Peace