Proverbs 3: September 2013

Proverbs 3 addresses, again, the general value of wisdom. Further, this chapter promotes not only the acquisition of wisdom but the application of wisdom.

 

Proverbs 3:9 speaks to the importance of putting God first in our material and materiel wealth. It’s not enough to pay lip service to the One who saved us, but we must acknowledge Him in our actions. The Hebrew concept of “first” incorporates both chronology and quality—an early crop that was low-quality would be passed over to give the on-time that is better. That would not, however, excuse the need to give before keeping. How we do that now is another discussion.

 

Proverbs 3:19 points out that ‘wisdom’ underlies the whole of creation. From this, I would gather that we can grow in our understanding of wisdom through studying all parts of creation. Science helps us—but we start into science acknowledging that we are seeking God’s wisdom. This has long been part of the two sources of understanding: the Special Revelation of God in Scripture and the General Revelation of God in Creation. Both are important.

 

Proverbs 3:29 reflects on the importance of building relationships with the people around us. You should not plot the demise of your neighbor. I would suggest that we who live under grace should also see the wisdom of seeking the benefit of our neighbors. How that works requires more than a blog post to consider.

Jesus Needs Something? John 4

John 4:4, in most modern translations, runs something like “Jesus had to go through Samaria.” It is one of the rare verses that I actually like better in the King James: “And he (Jesus) must needs go through Samaria.”

Nowhere else that I can find in Scripture do we see the Word of God express a need, even for Jesus. We see descriptions of Jesus sharing our weakness, we see a few times where Jesus demonstrates physical needs like hunger. Yet we do not see Jesus really needing anything at a deeper level.

Except for here. Here, we see Jesus must needs do something. He must needs go through Samaria. Why?

We need a little history to get that information clear for us. First, the reality on the ground was that the Roman Empire controlled everything in the region that we now call Israel, Palestine, Syria, Lebanon, and most of their neighbors. It was all one Empire, though the various administrative districts were different from one place to another.

National borders, however, are not everything. The Samaritans were one ethnic group, while the Jews who lived in the districts of Judea and Galilee were a different ethnic group. Now, back up the historical tree, there are several relationships between the two, but by the first century, these lines were pretty well sundered.

How sundered? Well, to get from Jerusalem to Galilee, one could either go through Samaria or go the long way. You cross the Jordan River, go through modern-day Jordan, then cross the river again farther north. It was a way to take an extra two days in travel, just to avoid a people group you did not like.

And the Samaritans, based on my reading of history, did not mind this arrangement, either. They were glad to be left alone.

In John 4, though, Jesus is headed from Jerusalem back to Galilee. The traditions of the time would have dictated that Jesus take the long way, but He needed something. He needed to break that tradition and make something else happen.

He needed the truth, the Gospel, Himself to not be restricted based on ethnicity. He needed to demolish the human tendency to build divisions and entrench those for generations.

The Gospel is greater than our divisions. The truth is more important than whose ancestors were born where.

So I raise to you this question:

Does Jesus still need something today? Or have we grown up enough?

Today’s Nerd Note: Ever looked at all the uses of “harvest” in the New Testament? Usually, the presentation of “harvest” is as if it’s a positive thing, but often the references to harvest seem to indicate that judgment is coming. Living in farm country, I would point out that this is an accurate view of harvest time. During harvest time is when the crops are judged: are these ready? Are these acceptable?

In this, we should consider this: the harvest is coming, and judgment will come. It is not for us to be the judges, but for us to prepare. For us to fertilize and plant, so that the crop is what it ought to be.

Book: God in Slow Motion

Note: Today’s Book is from Booksneeze.

Mike Nappa. The name means…well, not a whole lot to me. This man is not the flavor-of-the-month Christian author. Neither is he the latest-greatest-most-spectactularest preacher. Instead, he’s a man who has written books and finds other ways to fill his time and buy his groceries. His latest book is titled God in Slow Motion. It’s published by Thomas Nelson Publishers, and runs 206 pages in the paperback.

Let’s dispense with a preliminary complaint about God in Slow Motion: endnotes. I know, it’s not his fault, and I know it’s because of e-books and page formatting for the publisher. So, while I severely dislike endnotes and long for footnotes, I’ll cope. Moving on…

Nappa’s work in God in Slow Motion is inspired by the idea of trying to look behind the normal speed of life and see what God is doing underneath it all. His inspiration, based on the introduction, is the work of Eadweard Muybridge to capture the view of a racehorse in motion. Muybridge’s work showed the reality of a racehorse at gallop: it does leave the ground. Further, it was the basis of this work that led to moving pictures in view.

Nappa, however, is not giving film history. Instead, he is interested in seeing how God is at work underneath, what is going on behind the stories. The views expressed by Nappa are within the bounds of orthodoxy: his Biblical work is fine, though he has not drilled deeply in the academic sense for God in Slow Motion.

The writing style is accessible: Nappa typically writes for a family magazine, so he has the tools to put God in Slow Motion smoothly in front of us. From a Biblical studies perspective, if you are familiar with the major stories of the Bible, you will not find new ground here.

You will find new ways to think about what God is doing from reading God in Slow Motion. I see no reason not to commend this work to you.

Disclosures: I received a copy of this book from Booksneeze in exchange for the review. In all honesty, I probably would have skipped it in the bookstore, but that would have been my life.

Proverbs 2: September 2013

Proverbs 2 establishes the reasons one should seek wisdom. I think we should recognize that there are three choices, but two lead the same place: the first choice is to choose folly. The second is to choose wisdom. The third is to make no choice and just drift. Only actively choosing wisdom furthers one’s cause. The other two choices go the same direction, though active choice of folly is more rapidly destructive.

 

Proverbs 2:9 illustrates exactly what’s wrong right now. People without the fear of YHWH are trying to establish justice, and you cannot establish justice without wisdom. And wisdom? It’s skill for living in fear of YHWH. So, where does that put you?

 

Proverbs 2:19 warns us that there is a point of no return. This is a reality in practically every school of philosophy and religion known to man: you reach a point of irretrievability. For the Christian, we believe that there is no point beyond redemption, other than death. However, that does not mean a life cannot be wasted beyond usefulness. Watch that point. As Thomas Thomas says, “Turn around when possible!”

Monday Thoughts

Well, typically Mondays are the sermon wrap-up, but I got that done yesterday. So, what about today? How about a few random thoughts:

1. I think that a dictator who uses chemical weapons is a major, major problem. I thought so in 2003, I think so in 2013. Ten years in, though, we know just how difficult it would be to actually remove that dictator and replace him with a viable democracy. We know clearly from Egypt and Libya the past two years that the first group arising out of the revolt are not going to be friendly to the United States nor to dissident and divergent viewpoints. With that in mind, I think jumping into Syria is a waste of time and effort. We will not commit the resources to actually getting everything done, and anything less will not actually impact the situation.

Unless the goal is to replace the current dictator with the Muslim Brotherhood so that they have the chemical weapons. And get another ambassador killed. No, all in all, there’s no upside here. We should see, though, the value in pursuing the elimination of all weapons of mass destruction from the face of the planet.

2. Something needs to change with the systems around college football. First of all, the idea is that someone can get an education paid for by playing ball. Not that someone can play ball while hanging out on a college campus. Second, there’s enough money rolling into the more famous programs that there should be a way to pass some back, legitimately, to the athletes that make the money come in. I liked the idea I heard on the radio last week: pool it, hold it until they graduate. Leave early, lose money. Third, the NCAA. They get their own thought.

3. The NCAA rulebook for eligibility and athletic programs is a microcosm of the American system and what’s wrong. I don’t have any evidence, but I bet originally the thought was “These are students, getting scholarships. That should be enough money, no professional athletes allowed.” However, people went looking for loopholes to win. So the rulebook started having to close the loopholes that individual honor should have been enough for.

Now the rulebook is so out-of-control, no one can really keep up with it. There’s a job or two at every major college that is just about following NCAA rules. There is talk of seceding from the NCAA to start over with fewer rules. Why? Because if you have no individual honor, conscience, or ethics, there are too many rules needed to keep you in line.

Now, take a look at the legal system of the United States. We’re following the same path: a law for everything. Sometimes 2.

4. Crockpots are awesome. I was wondering how people lived before the crockpot, and then it clicked: they lived slower and threw a pot on the fire in the morning. They didn’t need a crockpot. Duh.

5. Some fast food workers deserve more money, but legislating it across the board is foolish. Further, some fast food workers should be seeking advancement. Of course, since we’ve been outsourcing jobs like a big dog, especially since the 1990s, there’s nowhere to advance. You can’t replace career-type jobs with fast food jobs and have the economy hold up. Doesn’t work. And some people saw this coming with NAFTA and other free trade agreements.

6. If I were the commissioner of baseball, I would shorten the season to make sure the end of the World Series was mid-October. A shorter regular season would increase fan attention and reduce injury. Oh, and I’d ban Alex Rodriguez until Pete Rose’s ban is over.

7. Labor Day evokes mixed emotions. I know the good done by unions, like using real gas alarms in coal mines instead of birds or the 5-day work week. I also know that when I worked for UPS, all the union really seemed to want was my money—they had a full-time guy who lived off union dues (making more than most of the employees) and spent his days helping people who really deserved to be fired get their jobs back. Labor is what makes the country great, organized labor has done great things, but at times it really is as corrupt as organized politics.

Proverbs 1: September 2013

We return to the first chapter of Proverbs. The opening chapter establishes Solomon’s authorship and commends wisdom to the reader. I do not exactly where I come down with Solomon’s authorship: did he write all of the proverbs in Proverbs or are some proverbs in Proverbs proverbs that he knew from others and therefore recorded in Proverbs?

 

My belief in the Divine Inspiration of Scripture makes this a secondary question: all that is present is intended by, and protected by, the Sovereign God of all. One can take Proverbs 1:1’s “Of Solomon” legitimately either way. Some of the book, one is hard-pressed to think Solomon wrote it himself. Either that, or he forgot it later. Especially the parts about women.

 

Proverbs 1:9 reminds us the value of wisdom. It is not merely a private value, but is visible just like fine jewelry. What should we pursue? The wisdom. Let that decorate our whole life.

 

Proverbs 1:19 points out that violence is not a smart way to achieve gain in this world. One may have short-term benefits, but it will ultimately destroy you. I wonder how this should be considered by those who spend time entertaining through violence.

 

Proverbs 1:29 tells us that Solomon saw no disconnect between knowledge, wisdom, and fear of God. This is abundantly evident here, and should be remembered by us all. Knowledge ought to strengthen our faith, and it is not to be feared.

Sermon Wrap-Up for September 1

No evening sermon this week. It’s our annual Hibbard Cookout at church, marking another year in Almyra.

Also, if you note any audio or video problems, please let me know.

Morning Audio Link is Here

Video:

The Only Barrier for the Holy Spirit

1: The need for God to work

I. World

II. Church

III. Personal / Family

2. Acts 8

I. Prior religious dispute is no barrier (Samaritans)

II. Ethnic differences are no barrier (Ethiopians)

III. Persecution is no barrier (Antioch)

IV. Prior paganism is no barrier (Samaritans again!)

V. Personal profit? That's a barrier: God shares His glory with no one! (Simon Magus)

A. It is the nearest form of idolatry

B. This is a space where the Spirit God is not unableto work

C. Instead, He is unwillingto work

3. What do we do?

I. World

II. Church

III. Personal / family