Tag: Bible studies

Places Where We Are In The Bible

Places Where We Are In The Bible

Marissa

It’s been almost two years since I wrote an article about “The Action Words of Faith” used in Hebrews 11, but I can’t stop thinking about one of the things I noticed while doing that study. The faith chapter is all about heroes of faith, people that we look to as inspiring examples and people we can imitate in our walks with God. And you know who is listed first in that faith chapter? We are.

 But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the saving of the soul.

Now faith is assurance of things hoped for, proof of things not seen. For by this, the elders obtained approval. By faith we understand that the worlds were set in order at God’s command, so that the visible has its origin in the invisible.

Hebrews 10:39-11:3, NET

The first people mentioned in the famous faith chapter are “we,” the author and all the readers. None of us were there at the creation of the world, and so understanding God is the Creator is something we do by faith. That is just as true of us today as it was of first century Christians, and this “we” connects us modern readers to the ancient people of the Bible.

Even for those of us who understand the Bible is the word of God and that it is still relevant to our lives today, we sometimes struggle to see ourselves in the story. It is so far removed from us by time and (especially for Western readers) in terms of culture and what life looks like. But in many ways, people of the Bible were just like us, even the ones in the Old Testament. And there are many places in the Bible where God’s word speaks directly to us, not just to the original readers.

Image of earth from space overlaid with text from Heb. 11:3, TLV version: "By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen did not come from anything visible."
Image courtesy of NASA

Those Christ Prayed For

It shouldn’t surprise us that the Bible written thousands of years ago contains verses that speak directly to and include us. We can see evidence of God doing just that within scripture. For example, Old Testament books speak of the Messiah and of the New Covenant that would include Gentiles as well as native Israelites. God’s perspective isn’t limited by time.

John 17 is one place that I often see people point out modern believers being mentioned in the Bible. This is Jesus’s prayer right before His arrest and crucifixion. He’d just kept the Passover with His disciples and then, as He was waiting to die, He prayed for them and for us as well.

“I am not praying only on their behalf, but also on behalf of those who believe in me through their testimony, that they will all be one, just as you, Father, are in me and I am in you. I pray that they will be in us, so that the world will believe that you sent me.”

John 17:20-21, NET

Jesus was thinking about the church on into the future on the night in which He was betrayed. Future believers’ inclusion in God’s family was part of “the joy set out for him” as “he endured the cross, disregarding its shame” (Heb. 12:2, NET). God’s plan to grow His family and bring many children to glory includes believers of the past, present, and future and His Bible speaks to all those people, including us.

Image of four people walking into a church building overlaid with text from Rom. 6:1-2, 4, TLV version: "What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may abound? May it never be! How can we who died to sin still live in it? ... we were buried together with Him through immersion into death ... so we too might walk in newness of life."
Image by Pearl from Lightstock

Those Jesus Died For

In many of Paul’s writings, he is addressing a specific issue in a specific chruch. The book of Romans, though, is more general. He hadn’t yet visited this church personally and the letter contains a lot of foundational theology as Paul preached the gospel to the readers. As such, much of what Paul says in this letter applies to all people or all believers, and that includes us.

Consequently, just as condemnation for all people came through one transgression, so too through the one righteous act came righteousness leading to life for all people. For just as through the disobedience of the one man many were constituted sinners, so also through the obedience of one man many will be constituted righteous. Now the law came in so that the transgression may increase, but where sin increased, grace multiplied all the more, so that just as sin reigned in death, so also grace will reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

What shall we say then? Are we to remain in sin so that grace may increase? Absolutely not! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Or do you not know that as many as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore we have been buried with him through baptism into death, in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too may live a new life.

Romans 5:18-6:4, NET

I recommend reading all of chapters 5-6 for context, but let’s focus on these few verses. We are among the people who were condemned by Adam and Eve’s sin, and who are declared righteous by believing in Jesus Christ our Lord. And for those of us who are baptized and enter a covenant with God, we are among those who were baptized into Jesus’s death to live a new life freed from sin. Like Paul’s first-century readers, we are people Jesus died for and we have a reasonability to live in obedience, not sin, after we enter a relationship with God.

Those Building on the Foundation

Image of a young woman reading a Bible, overlaid with blog's title text and the words, "It's amazing that we can read the Bible and see ourselves there among the people throughout time that God the Father and Jesus Christ think about and want to have join their family."
Image by José Roberto Roquel from Lightstock

When you start looking for words like “we” and “you” in Biblical writings, you see them all the time. In some contexts, it’s clear that the “you” being addressed is a specific person or group of people in the past. Sometimes the “we” clearly refers to the author and a few other specific people. But often, readers across time are being included in the “we” and “you” mentioned. Let’s look at an example in one of Paul’s letters.

We are coworkers belonging to God. You are God’s field, God’s building. According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master-builder I laid a foundation, but someone else builds on it. And each one must be careful how he builds. For no one can lay any foundation other than what is being laid, which is Jesus Christ. If anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or straw, each builder’s work will be plainly seen, for the Day will make it clear, because it will be revealed by fire. And the fire will test what kind of work each has done. If what someone has built survives, he will receive a reward. If someone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss. He himself will be saved, but only as through fire.

Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you? If someone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, which is what you are.

1 Corinthians 3:9-16, NET

Here, “we” refers to Paul and others who preached the gospel. “You” refers to all who are building on the foundation they laid, including us who are reading his words today. We get to read his letters, and through them Paul’s preaching about Jesus Christ becomes part of the foundation where we build our faith. What we build will be tested, just as believers throughout history and in the future were or will be tested. We are all–past, present, and future believers–part of the temple of God (and I’ve talked before about how the “you” in that verse is plural).

These are just a few of the places in the New Testament that speak directly to modern readers. I think it’s amazing when we can read the Bible and see ourselves there among the people throughout time that God the Father and Jesus Christ think about and want to have join their family.

Featured image by Claudine Chaussé from Lightstock

Song Recommendation: “Find us Faithful” by Let There Be Praise Singers

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Shared Article: “Zacchaeus Was Not a Heartwarming Story About a Short Man in a Tree”

Marissa

I’ve been thinking a lot about this article I read a few weeks ago, and I thought you might all enjoy reading it as well. I’d never thought about Zacchaeus’s story this deeply before. It’s so much more profound than I assumed just reading over it with 21st-century eyes.

“What Your Sunday School Never Told You – Zacchaeus Was Not a Heartwarming Story About a Short Man in a Tree” by She’s So Scripture. Read on Substack

From Foreigner to Family: The Story of Ruth and Us

From Foreigner to Family: The Story of Ruth and Us

Marissa

A few months ago, my parents gave my toddler a copy of The Character Builder’s Bible: 60 Character-Building Stories from the Bible. We’ve been reading it every day when we eat meals or snacks. One of the things I love about this book is that it actually has stories of women in it. Most children’s Bibles are collections of stories, and those stories are usually some combination of creation, Noah’s ark, David and Goliath, Daniel and the lion’s den, and Jonah and the whale. Some might have Joseph and his coat of many colors, or Moses and the Exodus, or some stories about Jesus, but there’s an appalling lack of even the most well-known Biblical women like Ruth and Ester. It’s so nice to be able to read a collection of Bible stories to my daughter with chapters on Miriam, Deborah, Ruth, Hannah, Ester, Mary, and Martha as well as all the wonderful stories about God working with men or with groups of people.

As I was trying to decide what to write about this week, my thoughts went back to the book of Ruth. We’d just reread the story in The Character Builder’s Bible, our pastor spoke on Ruth a few weeks ago in our local church, and I wrote about Ruth when I was doing my Judges 19-21 study. I’ve written about this book several times over the years, most notably in three Pentecost posts: Firstfruits From the Rejects, The Bridegroom’s Pledge, and Pentecost: A Time of Joyful, Spiritual Life. I thought today we’d focus on something else, though.

Page from The Character Builder’s Bible

Moabite Women

Ruth takes place during the time of Judges, and as we learn at the end of the Book of Judges one of the main problems during that time was that, “Everyone did that which was right in his own eyes.” (Judges 21:25, WEB). As we start reading Ruth’s story, we learn that what seemed right in the eyes of a man named Elimelech was to leave Bethlehem of Judah and move his family to Moab during a famine. They lived there for about 10 years, during which time Elimelech died, his sons married Moabite women, and then both sons died (Ruth 1:1-6). Moving during a famine sounds like a good idea, but perhaps not if you know the context of Israel’s history with Moab.

No Ammonite or Moabite may enter the assembly of the Lord; to the tenth generation none of their descendants shall ever do so, for they did not meet you with food and water on the way as you came from Egypt, and furthermore, they hired Balaam son of Beor of Pethor in Aram Naharaim to curse you.

Deuteronomy 23:3-4, NET

In addition to the two incidents mentioned in this passage (Numbers 21-22), Moabite women enticed the people of Israel to worship their gods and commit sexual immorality (Numbers 25). That’s where Elimelech chose to take his family and that’s where his sons found wives. Not a great choice, or so you would think. If we didn’t know the rest of the story, we might think that the men’s deaths were God’s judgement for associating with Moabite women and that Orpah and Ruth were pagan seductresses. That would be an expected narrative. But the story takes a very different turn.

Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Listen to me! Each of you should return to your mother’s home. May the Lord show you the same kind of devotion that you have shown to your deceased husbands and to me. May the Lord enable each of you to find security in the home of a new husband.” Then she kissed them goodbye, and they wept loudly. …

Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law goodbye, but Ruth clung tightly to her. So Naomi said, “Look, your sister-in-law is returning to her people and to her god. Follow your sister-in-law back home!” But Ruth replied,

“Stop urging me to abandon you!
For wherever you go, I will go.
Wherever you live, I will live.
Your people will become my people,
and your God will become my God.
Wherever you die, I will die—and there I will be buried.
May the Lord punish me severely if I do not keep my promise!
Only death will be able to separate me from you!”

When Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped trying to dissuade her. So the two of them journeyed together until they arrived in Bethlehem.

Ruth 1:8-9, 14-18, NET

There’s no indication that either of the Moabite women were bad wives or that God was angry with Elimelech’s and Naomi’s sons for marrying them. The text doesn’t use the typical word for “taking” a wife, though; the verb used “means ‘to lift’ or ‘to carry’ [and] connotes the issues of Ruth and Orpah as other, as foreign women. This is the same verb used at the end of Judges in the scene where the Benjamite men ‘lift’ and ‘carry’ wives for themselves at the festival dance in Judges 21:23″ (Matheny, p. 299). It probably doesn’t mean Ruth and Orpah were taken against their will, but it does underscore their status as non-Israelites. It is very important to the story that we understand Ruth is a foreigner, and specifically the type of foreigner God said could not “enter the assembly of the Lord.”

Image of a group of people holding hands to pray together overlaid with text from Acts 10:34-35, NET version: "Then Peter started speaking: 'I now truly understand that God does not show favoritism in dealing with people, but in every nation the person who fears him and does what is right is welcomed before him.'"
Image by Claudine Chaussé from Lightstock

No Longer Foreign

Let’s skip ahead to the end of the book of Ruth. There, we learn that “Boaz was the father of Obed, Obed was the father of Jesse, and Jesse was the father of David” (Ruth 4:21-22, NET). Yes, the David we know as the greatest king of ancient Israel and a man after God’s own heart was the great-great-grandson of a Moabite woman. That’s certainly not in line with the pronouncement that no “Moabite may enter the assembly of the Lord; to the tenth generation none of their descendants shall ever do so” (Deut. 23:3-4, NET).

So Boaz married Ruth and slept with her. The Lord enabled her to conceive and she gave birth to a son. The village women said to Naomi, “May the Lord be praised because he has not left you without a guardian today! May he become famous in Israel! He will encourage you and provide for you when you are old, for your daughter-in-law, who loves you, has given him birth. She is better to you than seven sons!” Naomi took the child and placed him on her lap; she became his caregiver. The neighbor women gave him a name, saying, “A son has been born to Naomi.” They named him Obed. Now he became the father of Jesse—David’s father.

Ruth 4:13-17, NET

The Hebrew word translated “married” in this verse is לָקַח (laqakh), which is “The more usual idiom … ‘to take’ an Israelite wife rather than אשנ (‘to carry’) a foreign one” (NET translation note on Ruth 4:13; Matheny, p. 299). By the end of the narrative, Ruth is not treated as a foreign woman. Her son is treated as Naomi’s son, someone firmly part of the tribe of Judah. We shouldn’t see this as God going back on His censure of Moabite people, but as Him keeping another promise that He makes to everyone who enters a covenant with Him. The foreigners who lived among God’s people had the same laws and the same expectations, and could even partake of holy rituals like the Passover if they joined the covenant (Ex. 12:47-49; Lev. 19:33-34; 24:22).

Let no foreigner who has joined himself to Yahweh speak, saying,
“Yahweh will surely separate me from his people.” …

“Also the foreigners who join themselves to Yahweh
to serve him,
and to love Yahweh’s name,
to be his servants,
everyone who keeps the Sabbath from profaning it,
and holds fast my covenant,
I will bring these to my holy mountain,
and make them joyful in my house of prayer.
Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar;
for my house will be called a house of prayer for all peoples.”

Isaiah 56:3, 6-7, WEB

The story of Ruth, alongside words from the law and prophets, teaches a lesson about how God deals with people that didn’t really sink in until the New Testament times (Acts 10:34-35). God worked almost exclusively with ancient Israel in the past, but He always desired all people to become part of His family. He really doesn’t care what your ethnic background is; the moment you join the covenant and commit to following Him, you are one of His people.

Joining God’s Family

Image of a woman holding a Bible and standing on abandoned train tracks, overlaid with blog's title text and the words, "The Bible tells us Ruth is a Moabite not to shame her, but to glorify God for transforming her life and welcoming her into His family, the same way He does for all of us."
Image by Kristen McDow from Lightstock

The Biblical narrative treats people as if the history described in its pages belongs to all of us. We are all reflected in the story of God’s dealings with people in some way. Either we are the people chosen to be part of the covenant who were unfaithful to God, and whom He redeemed back to Himself when He died on the cross for us (Israel and Judah) or we are the people outside those covenants who are graciously loved and included in God’s people if we choose to follow Him (Gentiles). And, symbolically, sometimes we’re both (see “Two Paths into God’s Covenant Community”). Many of us are like Ruth–people who were not originally part of God’s covenants, but have now been welcomed into His family.

Therefore remember that formerly you, the Gentiles in the flesh—who are called “uncircumcision” by the so-called “circumcision” that is performed on the body by human hands—that you were at that time without the Messiah, alienated from the citizenship of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who used to be far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. …

And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near, so that through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer foreigners and noncitizens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of God’s household, because you have been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. In him the whole building, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

Ephesians 2:11-13, 17-22, NET

Whatever we were before following God, when we commit to Him at baptism and agree to live by the terms of His covenant of grace, we become part of His family. Just like it didn’t matter any more if Ruth was a Moabite woman because she’d joined herself to God and demonstrated exceptional character, our backgrounds don’t matter anymore either. The only reason to even bring them up would be to give glory to God for transforming our lives so completely. The Bible tells us Ruth is a Moabite not to shame her, but to glorify the God who sheltered her under His wings because she trusted Him. He welcomed her into His family because she loved Him, the same way He does for all of us.

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Song Recommendation: “No Longer Slaves” by Jonathan David and Melissa Helser

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Revisiting Psalm 126

Revisiting Psalm 126

Marissa

A couple years ago, shortly after giving birth to my daughter, I wrote a blog post about Psalm 126. I found myself back there again recently as I was looking for short psalms to read to my almost-two-year-old. We have a children’s Bible that we read together, and I also like to pick a verse for the week that we read every day. Last week, we read most of Psalm 126.

When Yahweh brought back those who returned to Zion,
we were like those who dream.
Then our mouth was filled with laughter,
and our tongue with singing. …
Yahweh has done great things for us,
and we are glad. …
Those who sow in tears will reap in joy.
He who goes out weeping, carrying seed for sowing,
will certainly come again with joy, carrying his sheaves.

Psalm 126:1-2, 3, 5-6, WEB

For me, the most striking part of this Psalm is the ending verses. When we plant seeds we don’t always know what the outcome will be. Will they grow? Will bugs eat them? Will a storm wash them away? It might be hard to plan when we’re feeling down, especially that uncertainty threatening to crush hope that the seeds will grow. But if we don’t plant seeds because we’re scared of what might happen, then we won’t get any harvest. So you plant even though you might be sad now and even though you’re not sure what will happen.

It’s the same way with our lives. Except for those who love God, the outcome is certain. Everything will eventually “work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose” (Rom. 8:28, NET). When we “sow” into our lives today there is a rich reward in the future and a certainty of joy.

Image of ___ overlaid with text from Romans 12:11-12, NET version: "Do not lag in zeal, be enthusiastic in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, endure in suffering, persist in prayer."
Image by WhoIsLikeTheLord Studio from Lightstock

Praise for God’s Goodness

The end isn’t the only part of Psalm 126, though. The first part talks about what happens after you get the harvest of joy that follows a season of weeping while sowing. Let’s take a look at those verses in a different translation this time to get a slightly different perspective on what the Psalmist is saying (since Hebrew is a very different type of language than English, reading multiple translations helps us understand the fullness of Old Testament verses).

When the Lord restored the well-being of Zion,
we thought we were dreaming.
At that time we laughed loudly
and shouted for joy.
At that time the nations said,
“The Lord has accomplished great things for these people.”
The Lord did indeed accomplish great things for us.
We were happy.
O Lord, restore our well-being,
just as the streams in the arid south are replenished.

Psalm 126:1-4, NET

God told ancient Israel that if they did not obey His commandments, they would be taken captive by their enemies. They disobeyed, and were punished exactly the way that God said. It was a season of weeping, but then God rescued them! He brought them back from captivity in Babylon to the land of Israel. It was so amazing that the people thought they were dreaming. The harvest of joy had arrived, and look what they did: “we laughed loudly and shouted for joy” and said “the Lord did indeed accomplish great things for us.”

When we make mistakes, God wants to restore a relationship with us. He wants to forgive us, keep us in covenant with Him, and give us eternal life. Psalm 126 is in many ways a picture of salvation: we strayed from God, He brought us back, and we ought to rejoice!

Living Changed Lives

Image of a man sitting on a beach at sunset, overlaid with blog's title text and the words, "Psalm 126 is in many ways a picture of salvation: we strayed from God, He brought us back, and we ought to rejoice!"
Image by Aaron Kitzo from Lightstock

I wonder sometimes if we take God’s forgiveness and the process of salvation for granted. It is so easy for us to ask God for forgiveness under the New Covenant. No need to travel to a physical temple, no need for animal sacrifices. We just need to go to Him in prayer through the name of Jesus Christ, who died for our sins.

Now this is the gospel message we have heard from him and announce to you: God is light, and in him there is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him and yet keep on walking in the darkness, we are lying and not practicing the truth. But if we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we do not bear the guilt of sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. But if we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous, forgiving us our sins and cleansing us from all unrighteousness.

1 John 1:5-9, NET

It is so simple, yet so profound at the same time. We should be so grateful for this incredible gift that every renewed mercy makes us laugh, shout for joy, and proclaim the great things God has done for us. God’s great faithfulness gives us hope (Lam. 3:21-23) and that hope, alongside a recognition of His wonderful gifts, can help us cultivate joy. It should also change our entire lives.

Therefore, since we have been declared righteous by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have also obtained access into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in the hope of God’s glory. Not only this, but we also rejoice in sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance, character, and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

Romans 5:1-5 NET

Really wrapping our minds around God’s incredible gifts can make us rejoice even in suffering because that suffering (the sowing in tears) helps us grow and moves us forward toward our hope (the reaping in joy). There is “an inheritance imperishable, undefiled, and unfading … reserved in heaven for you!” (1 Pet. 1:4, NET). That is such good, good news that it “brings you great joy, although you may have to suffer for a short time”(1 Pet. 1:6, NET). We don’t see Jesus face to face yet, but we “believe in him, and so you rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy, because you are attaining the goal of your faith—the salvation of your souls” (1 Pet. 1:8-9, NET). With God’s wonderful plan of salvation playing out in our lives every day, we have so many reasons to sing His praises!

Featured image by Pearl from Lightstock

Song Recommendation: “Sheaves” by Karen Peck & New River

Click here to learn more about these books or to order a copy.
The Good Shepherd, The Lamb of God, and the Lion of the Tribe of Judah

The Good Shepherd, The Lamb of God, and the Lion of the Tribe of Judah

Marissa

I’ve been collecting sheep and shepherd verses for putting together a new 30-day scripture writing plan. As I started sorting these verses, I was struck by the description of David as a shepherd for God’s people, then God’s scathing words for human leaders that followed Him, then by the arrival of an even greater Good Shepherd who was Lord of all and a descendent of David.

A Progression of Shepherds

David was an incredibly important Biblical figure. He was the youngest of his brothers, just a shepherd boy from the tribe of Judah, and yet God made him a war hero and Israel’s greatest king (1 Sam. 17:12; 2 Sam. 7:7-9). He plays an important prophetic role as well. One of the ways that Jesus was identified as the Messiah was as “David’s son” (Mark 12:35-37; John 7:42; 2 Tim. 2:8). There are even indications that David will rule as a prince once again in the kingdom of God, after Jesus’s second coming and the resurrection of God’s people from the dead.

As we read through the Bible as a whole, one of the things that David’s story does is highlight the failures of leaders who came after him. The Lord “chose David his servant, and took him from the sheepfolds; from following the ewes that have their young, he brought him to be the shepherd of Jacob, his people, and Israel, his inheritance” (Ps. 78:70-71, WEB). After that, though, most of the kings are described as people who did not walk in the ways of their father David. By the time we get to the prophets Jeremiah and Ezekiel, God had set Himself against the human shepherds of His people.

“Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture!” says Yahweh. Therefore Yahweh, the God of Israel, says against the shepherds who feed my people: “You have scattered my flock, driven them away, and have not visited them. Behold, I will visit on you the evil of your doings,” says Yahweh. “I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them, and will bring them again to their folds; and they will be fruitful and multiply. I will set up shepherds over them who will feed them. They will no longer be afraid or dismayed, neither will any be lacking,” says Yahweh. “Behold, the days come,” says Yahweh,    “that I will raise to David a righteous Branch; and he will reign as king and deal wisely, and will execute justice and righteousness in the land.”

Jeremiah 23:1-5, WEB

This is one of the prophecies that revealed that the Messiah would be a descendant of David. For more scathing censures of human leaders who failed His people, you can read God’s words in Ezekiel 34. Here again, God calls out the human leaders for their failures and promises to personally intervene. The shepherds cared for themselves instead of the sheep, a sharp contrast to the coming Shepherd, Jesus Christ.

The Lord Yahweh says: “Woe to the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves! Shouldn’t the shepherds feed the sheep? You eat the fat. You clothe yourself with the wool. You kill the fatlings, but you don’t feed the sheep. You haven’t strengthened the diseased. You haven’t healed that which was sick. You haven’t bound up that which was broken. You haven’t brought back that which was driven away. You haven’t sought that which was lost, but you have ruled over them with force and with rigor.

Ezekiel 34:2-4, WEB

But he was pierced for our transgressions.  He was crushed for our iniquities. The punishment that brought our peace was on him;    and by his wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray. Everyone has turned to his own way; and Yahweh has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, yet when he was afflicted he didn’t open his mouth. As a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and as a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he didn’t open his mouth.

Isaiah 53:5-7, WEB

“‘For the Lord Yahweh says: “Behold, I myself, even I, will search for my sheep, and will seek them out. … I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I will cause them to lie down,” says the Lord Yahweh. “I will seek that which was lost, and will bring back that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick; but I will destroy the fat and the strong. I will feed them in justice.”’ … I will set up one shepherd over them, and he will feed them, even my servant David. He will feed them, and he will be their shepherd. Yahweh, will be their God, and my servant David prince among them. I, Yahweh, have spoken it.

Ezekiel 34:11, 15-16, 23-24, WEB

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”

John 10:11, NET

The failed shepherds–leaders of ancient Israel and Judah–fed themselves and starved the flock. They ignored the diseased and refused healing to the sick. They didn’t seek out the lost. In contrast, Jesus gave His life and endured suffering to feed, heal, and save. He let those human shepherds pierce, crush, punish, and oppress Him the way they’d done to His sheep for so many years, then emerged from the grave as the Lamb slain as a sacrifice and the powerful Lion of the tribe of Judah.

Image of a shepherd with a flock of sheep overlaid with text from Ezekiel 34:11-12, NET version: "For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: “Look, I myself will search for my sheep and seek them out. As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his scattered sheep, so I will seek out my flock. I will rescue them from all the places where they have been scattered on a cloudy, dark day.”
Image by Ahmed DRIDI from Pixabay

The Ruling Lion and Sacrificial Lamb

David is never called a lion. He fought lions as a shepherd boy (1 Sam. 17:34-37) and he was from the tribe of Judah, which Jacob called “a lion’s cub” in his prophecies about his sons (Gen. 49:8-10), but he is not compared to a lion. This is a bit surprising to me, since “lion of Juda” seems like an obvious title to give a respected war hero turned king, especially with the promise “The scepter will not depart from Judah” being in the same prophecy (Gen. 49:10, WEB). If people at the time did say that about David, it isn’t recorded. Biblically, “lion of the tribe of Judah” is a title reserved for David’s son and Lord.

So I began weeping bitterly because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. Then one of the elders said to me, “Stop weeping! Look, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, has conquered; thus he can open the scroll and its seven seals.”

Then I saw standing in the middle of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the middle of the elders, a Lamb that appeared to have been killed. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. Then he came and took the scroll from the right hand of the one who was seated on the throne.

Revelation 5:4-7 , NET

The juxtaposition of the Lamb of God slain for our sins and the Lion of the tribe of Judah taking up the ruling scepter helps us understand Jesus’s multifaceted roles. He is both sacrifice and king. None of the failed human shepherds can stand against Him when He comes as a lion to take His place as the good shepherd (Jer. 49:19; Hos. 11:10).

Image of a lion and lamb digitally edited to appear made of clouds in a blue sky, overlaid with blog's title text and the words, "The contrast between shepherds that oppose God's work and King David as a shepherd highlights Jesus's role as Good Shepherd, the Lamb slain to save His people, and the powerful Lion of the Tribe of Judah."
Image by Jeff Jacobs from Pixabay

For Yahweh says to me,
“As the lion and the young lion growling over his prey,
if a multitude of shepherds is called together against him,
will not be dismayed at their voice,
nor abase himself for their noise,
so Yahweh of Armies will come down to fight on Mount Zion and on its heights.
As birds hovering, so Yahweh of Armies will protect Jerusalem.
He will protect and deliver it.
He will pass over and preserve it.”

Isaiah 31:4-5, WEB

One of the things I love about this study is that it reinforces how nuanced Biblical imagery is. Jesus is the Good Shepherd, but not every image of shepherds is positive. The contrast between shepherds that oppose God’s work and the Good Shepherd (who is God) highlights Jesus’s role as David’s successor and a greater shepherd. Lion imagery can be used for people who oppose God, even including the devil, but it’s also used to show Jesus conquering all those foes. We can be very grateful for our savior Jesus the Messiah, who is the Good Shepherd, the Lamb of God, and the Lion of the Tribe of Judah.

Featured image by Jeff Jacobs from Pixabay

Song Recommendation: “Lamb of God” by Twila Paris

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The Danger of Self-Righteous Blindness

The Danger of Self-Righteous Blindness

Marissa

Last week, I sent myself a message consisting of Matthew 21:28-32, Romans 2:28, and Ezekiel 18 with the note “New blog post idea.” I wish I’d given myself a few more notes about what I was thinking, because I don’t remember why I wanted to write about those verses together. I still don’t remember my original idea, but as I read them now the main things that strike me are the importance of just doing what God says and the danger of blinding yourself to ways you fall short of that goal.

At the core, Christianity is very simple: love God and love your neighbor. The plethora of commands in the Bible are all elaborations on how to love God and love our neighbors (Matt. 22:35-40; Rom. 13:8-10). We just need to believe what God says, and then do what He tells us to do. It’s people who make it complicated. We like to add things, or ignore things, or rationalize around things with a “but that can’t really be what God meant, right?” Then, if we are not careful, we can convince ourselves that we’re right while in reality we’re blinded to the truth that we’re in the wrong.

Now after Jesus entered the temple courts, the chief priests and elders of the people came up to him as he was teaching … Then he said to them …

“What do you think? A man had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ The boy answered, ‘I will not.’ But later he had a change of heart and went. The father went to the other son and said the same thing. This boy answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but did not go. Which of the two did his father’s will?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, tax collectors and prostitutes will go ahead of you into the kingdom of God! For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him. But the tax collectors and prostitutes did believe. Although you saw this, you did not later change your minds and believe him. …

I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.”

Matthew 21:23. 27, 28-32, 43, NET

The chief priests, elders, and Pharisees realized Jesus was speaking this and other parables about them (Matt. 21:12-46). Rather than seeing their problem, though, they wanted to arrest and kill Him. They proved His words true by continuing to refuse to repent and believe. They thought they were already righteous because they said they were doing what God wanted even though Jesus told them they were wrong. In reality, it was the people who knew they were sinners, then repented and changed, that were doing God’s will.

Image of a man reading the Bible overlaid with text from 1 Cor. 6:9, 11, NET version: "Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? ... Some of you once lived this way. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God."
Image by Matt Vasquez from Lightstock

Hypocrisy and Unrighteousness

Paul was still dealing with this attitude years later, when he wrote Romans. Now, though, the divide wasn’t between the Jewish elite and those Jews they considered too terrible of sinners for God to want them. Paul had to address the idea that Jewish converts to Christianity were in some way better than Gentile converts. As with the hypocrites Jesus dealt with, this attitude was especially egregious when the people who thought they are better/more righteous than everyone else didn’t even bother to obey God.

And do you think, whoever you are, when you judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself, that you will escape God’s judgment? Or do you have contempt for the wealth of his kindness, forbearance, and patience, and yet do not know that God’s kindness leads you to repentance? But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath for yourselves in the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment is revealed! He will reward each one according to his works: eternal life to those who by perseverance in good works seek glory and honor and immortality, but wrath and anger to those who live in selfish ambition and do not obey the truth but follow unrighteousness. … For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous before God, but those who do the law will be declared righteous. …

For a person is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision something that is outward in the flesh, but someone is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is of the heart by the Spirit and not by the letter. This person’s praise is not from people but from God.

Romans 2:3-8, 13, 28-29, NET (bold italics mark a quotation from Ps 62:12; Prov 24:12)

It’s not enough to know what God says or to be part of a generational community of faith. You have to actually do what God says and practice what you preach. Then, you’ll truly be one of God’s people no matter what your background was. God wants wicked people to repent and live righteously. He wants righteous people to continue in their righteousness.

When We Judge God Instead of Hearing Him

Image of a man sitting on the beach at sunset, overlaid with blog's title text and the words, "People who think their righteousness entitles them to preferential judgement while others' unrighteousness should be punished no matter what do not understand the gravity of their own sins or the wonderful gift of God's mercy."
Image by Aaron Kitzo from Lightstock

God and His people have had disagreements about what He expects of us for millennia. When you distance yourself enough to think about it, it’s laughable that people would think they have a better idea of how to follow God than He does. And yet, we still charge Him with having unreasonable or unjust expectations. One of the clear places this happens is in Ezekiel 18. Here, God addressed ancient Israel’s belief that a son should be punished for his father’s iniquity, as shown by the proverb, “The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge” (Ezk. 18:1-2, 19). God said not to use that proverb anymore because it is His judgement that individuals are responsible for their own sins, not for those of their family members (Ezk. 18:1-20). Then, God elaborated on how He judges wicked people who repent and righteous people who fall away (Ezk. 18:21-32).

When a righteous person turns back from his righteousness and practices wrongdoing, he will die for it; because of the wrongdoing he has done, he will die. When a wicked person turns from the wickedness he has committed and does what is just and right, he will preserve his life. Because he considered and turned from all the sins he had done, he will surely live; he will not die. Yet the house of Israel says, ‘The Lord’s conduct is unjust!’ Is my conduct unjust, O house of Israel? Is it not your conduct that is unjust?

Ezekiel 18:26-29, NET

I think the attitude of those Israelites who didn’t want wicked people forgiven or formerly righteous people punished is the same as those that Jesus addressed in Matthew and Paul addressed in Romans. God “will judge each person according to his conduct” (Ezk. 18:30,. NET), but people who fall into this trap want Him to judge them generously and others harshly. They think their righteousness entitles them to preferential judgement while the unrighteousness of others should be punished no matter what they might do to grow and change. They don’t understand the gravity of their own sin nor the wonderous gift of God’s mercy offered to sinners.

Humility is essential for walking with God. We need humility to recognize the severity of our own sins, acknowledge our need for Jesus’s sacrifice, listen to God’s commands, strive to obey Him the way He wants us to, and continue repenting and turning back to Him when we miss the mark. Humility also helps us recognize we are no better than anyone else, and to adopt God’s attitude towards wicked people. He doesn’t want anyone to die, but would far rather they repent and live (Ezk. 18:23; 1 Tim. 2:3-4; 2 Pet. 3:9). That should be our attitude as well. Knowing that we are recipients of God’s incredible forgiveness, grace, and mercy, we should hope and pray that more people receive those gifts and rejoice–not judge–when they do.

Featured image by MarrCreative from Lightstock

Song Recommendation: “Jesus, Friend of Sinners” by Casting Crowns

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