A welcomed intrusion?

In our mens’ bible study we have been looking at what Jesus has to say on money and wealth. Those who know about these sort of things tell us that if we take all the words Jesus spoke as recorded in the gospels then put together He has more to say about money than any other topic. I can well believe it, after all you don’t get very far without it, do you?

In our study we have to date kicked into touch the so called ‘Prosperity gospel’, the idea that you can measure a man’s righteousness and standing before God by the size of his wallet and bank balance. Equally rejected is the other extreme where men and women abandon the material things of this world in some quest for inner spiritual enlightenment.

Scripture states clearly that ‘the earth is the LORD’s and the fulness thereof’ (Psalm 24:1) 

The ‘cattle on a thousand hills belong to the LORD’ (Psalm 50:10). By the same token so too do the vaults in a thousand banks.(Haggai 2:8). True, the farmers and bankers may not see this intrusion into their possessions in quite the same light but if all things belong to the LORD then whatever things we assign ownership to ourselves in this world are simply on loan to us from God.

I found an interesting case study which i would like to share here. It is the account in the gospel of Luke (chp 5:1-11) where Jesus has just started His ministry and is preaching along the shores of Galilee. Its recorded that He was being pressed on every side and in an attempt to get some space He steps into an empty fishing boat at the edge of the lake. No doubt Peter was a little bit puzzled and perhaps taken aback when Jesus climbed into his boat, his business asset, and when He asked him to put out a little into the water so that he could continue speaking to the crowds without the associated hassle.

It is recorded that Peter agreed though was he perhaps thinking to himself “What right does this man have to do this to me, its costing me time and money which in a small business like mine can make all the difference between staying financially afloat and going under” This is an interesting case where Jesus simply walks into Peter’s business and starts directing the business and making use of business assets for His own purposes!

When Jesus has completed his talk he then asks Peter to put the boat out and let the nets down. What is interesting is that when Peter remarks that they have already been fishing all night and have caught nothing but, nevertheless, if that is what he wished he would do so, he calls Jesus by the name επιστατα (pronounced ‘epistata’ a polite way of addressing someone as’Master’). When the nets go down they immediately run into a shoal of fish and the nets are so full of fish they need to quickly sub contract other local businesses to handle the catch.

Peter falls to his knees and declares to Jesus “Depart from me Lord for I am a sinful man”. Notice this time however he addresses Jesus as κυριος (pronounced ‘Kurios’ the Greek word for the divine name of God, YHWH)

Jesus replies to him ‘Don’t be afraid from now on you will be capturing men’. The Greek word translated as ‘capturing men’ is ζωγρεω , prounounced ‘zo-greo’. Its a word used to refer to fishing but also to the taking of men alive in a battle.

If this had been us perhaps the next thought would be to offer Jesus a partnership in the business. Of course we would need more boats and staff and would now be able to open that new store in Bethsaida. But what does it say happens next? “Having brought the ships to land, leaving all, they followed him”.

A similar incident occurs right at the end of Jesus’ ministry after He has risen from the dead and gone ahead into Galilee. In John 21:1ff we read that, presumably for want of something better to do Peter decides to go fishing and some of the disciples accompany them. They fish all night and again catch nothing. In the early morning Jesus stands on the shoreline and calls out ‘Children, do you have any food?’ They havn’t recognized Him yet and respond with a gruff “NO!”. “Throw the net out on the right side” the stranger adds once again telling the managing director how to run his business. Well with nothing to lose I suppose they agree and the net goes out and within moments it is bulging with so many fish that they need to get their competitors out to help. It is recorded that they caught 153 very large fish. I guess the fact the number is mentioned is an indication that it was a record catch Yet in spite of the large number the nets were not damaged.

No doubt the memories are jogged and they recognize the stranger instantly as Jesus and very soon they are on the beach around a fire sharing breakfast with Him.

As for the 153 fish well we don’t know for sure what happened. I would like to think that Peter, so pre-occupied with his Lord, shouts across to some young children playing to run up to the village and tell the locals ”Free fish for all down at the beach!” 

It’s not stated if Peter ever went fishing again or what happened to his business but we know that from that point on his ministry in the newly established church in Jerusalem takes all his energy and time he starts his new career path, ”capturing men alive”.

Lord grant us the grace to allow you full access to our wealth and possessions and when you intrude in our business affairs and our possessions that we might have the grace and humility to allow you to make use them as you please for your glory in kingdom building. May we always be gracious about our wealth and not arrogant, ever ready to share with those less fortunate than ourselves and bringing much glory to Yourself. Amen

 The Scribbling Scribe  23rd October 2009

A quarter of a shekel makes all the difference

Do you believe that God plans every step of your life? I know some people who believe that God has a perfect plan for their lives right down to the very last detail and that nothing can happen in their lives without God’s express permission. Equally however I know people at the other extreme who see life simply as a series of random events, good and bad, which happen to all and from which no-one is exempt.

I don’t know for sure where the truth lies but I do know that God is able to intervene in our lives in both the miraculous and the mundane to ensure that His purposes are fulfilled. There is also I believe sufficient evidence to support this from scripture.

The first example I found was that of Saul in the Old Testament in the days before he became king. It is stated that some of the family donkeys had wandered off and Saul’s father Kish asked his son along with a servant to go looking for them. (1 Sam 9:3)

Saul and the servant set off and they wander aimlessly for a day or two in search of the donkeys finding nothing. By the end of a couple of days Saul has had enough and says to the servant ‘Lets go home, by now father will have forgotten about the donkeys and will be more concerned for us’. The servant however determined not to give up co-incidentally remembers that there is a prophet in a nearby town and recommends that they go and ask him for some advise. Saul agrees but then subsequently discovers that there is nothing to give him as a gift, which was the custom in those days. It seems that they would have to give up on the idea when the servant suddenly calls out ‘Hang about a bit (or words to that effect) I have here in my pocket a quarter of a shekel. Lets give him that’.

Well there is no arguing with that and off they go to the city. On the way they meet some servant girls fetching water at the well and ask them for directions. These girls must have been experiencing a boring sort of day for in return they give a very longwinded set of instructions and diretions, oh and by the way the prophet is arriving today for a big feast in the town. How co-incidental!

So the pair of them servant set off and on entering the city who is the first person they see and to whom Saul just happens to ask for directions? None other that Samuel the prophet himself. By the end of the day Saul is annointed king of Israel.

You can argue that to the casual onlooker it seems to be nothing more than a set of random events and circumstances that bring Saul to Samuel together and prepare the way for the fulfillment of the purposes of God in Saul becoming the first king of Israel. The donkey’s just happening to get lost, Kish asking his son rather than a servant to go looking, the servant just happening to be well informed about the location of prophets in Israel and of course finding the quarter of the shekel in his pocket at just the right moment which kept them going when they would otherwise might have just given up and gone home.

Yet the truth of the events are revealed in 1 Sam 9:16 where God says to Samuel “I will send to you a man..”

Another similar sort of example is found in Genesis 37:13 where Jacob asks his son Joseph to go and check up on his brothers in Shechem. Off he goes and when he arrives at Shechem they have moved on to another location. Joseph would like the rest of us simply have given up and gone home when it is stated that ‘a man found him wandering in the field’. They get into conversation and it just so happens that this man somehow overheard the brothers saying they were going to Dotham a city nearby. Joseph takes the advice of the stranger and heads off into a life changing adventure.

Many years later we read in Genesis 45:6 when Joseph meets up again with his brothers ” God sent me on ahead of you ..” In both these incidents God is directing circumstances and events down to the minutest detail to ensure that His purposes are fulfilled.

I am reminded of Psalm 1:6 (right to left)

 כִּֽי־יֹודֵ֣עַ יְ֭הוָה דֶּ֣רֶךְ צַדִּיקִ֑ים the righteous – the way of – YHWH – is knowing – For

I like in particular the use of the verb יודע (pronunced ‘yothea’ ) in its particple form. The translation ‘is knowing’ is perhaps a little over the top but nevertheless captures the meaning of the verse very well, God watching over our ways in love and with the greatest attention to detail.

Lord, grant us faith to believe that You are near and watching over our lives. Nothing can overtake us that is not already know in advance to You, the LORD omniscient from everlasting unto everlasting.

The Scribbling Scribe 22nd October 2009

Cut by the Rock

In a recent blog ‘Speak to the Rock’ I had posted some comments on what has become known as “the incident at Meribah” related in Numbers 20:12-14 where Moses demonstrates by his actions disrespect for Christ in the presence of the children of Israel. When asked by the LORD to “speak to the rock” that it would bring forth its waters he chooses rather to address the people directly in a very self righteous manner and at the same time with a provocative gesture striking the rock twice with his staff.

In so doing Moses seeks to take for himself glory for the provision of the waters that subsequently gushed forth.  I can’t help but think of the words that Jesus Himself would many centuries later speak to the lost sheep of Israel “Whoever honors me honors Him who sent me” and by the same token whoever dishonours Jesus Christ dishonours the Father that sent Him into this world. God was immediately displeased with Moses for his action and as a consequence he is denied the privilege to lead the people of God into the land of promise.

That privilege of crossing the Jordan and claiming the land in fact goes to Joshua, the servant of Moses. The Hebrew name Joshua translates into Greek as Jesus and whatever opinion we may have of the LXX (the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament, that would have been in wide circulation in the times of Jesus), the significance of the words from Matthew 1:21 ‘You shall call his name Jesus (Hebrew Joshua) for He shall save his people from their sins” and the parallel with this well known Sinai desert story would not have  been lost on those first century Jews and God fearing Gentiles alike.

The apostle Paul also develops this idea even further writing in the letter to the Corinthians concerning the children of Israel in the desert. Christ was with the Israelites in the desert and He was both the bread (manna) from heaven that fed them and the spiritual rock that followed them quenching their thirst during their journey:

“And drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ” (1 Cor 10:4)

I came across another reference to this story at the end of Psalm 114 where it is written:

הַהפְכִי הַצוּר אֲגַם־מָיִם חַלָּמִישׁ לְמַעְיְנוֹ־מָיִם׃

 “Who turned the rock into a pool, the hard rock into springs of water” (Psalm 114:8)

This psalm is a celebration of the deliverance of the people of God from Egypt and the signs and wonders that accompanied that deliverance. When reading the passage I was immediately struck by the use of the term ‘hard rock’.  On digging a little deeper I find that the Hebrew word translated as ‘hard’ is חַלָּמִישׁ (pronounced hal-lamish) and has the meaning of a sharp rock, or flint to be more precise.

In the LXX the word has been translated into Greek as ἀκρότομον (pronounced ‘akrotomos’). It’s a word not found in the New Testament but it does occur in a few occasions in the Old Testament in one or two revealing passages. One of which is Joshua 5:2 where God commands Joshua to circumcise the men of Israel. Note that the knives to be used in the act of circumcision were to be made not with metal but with flint (ἀκρότομον)

“At that time the LORD said to Joshua, “Make flint knives and circumcise the Israelites again.”  So Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the Israelites at Gibeath Haaraloth” (Joshua 5:2)

Circumcision was the sign of the covenant God had made with Israel. To make the process as quick and as painless as possible of course a very sharp instrument was required.

In the early days of the church many of the Jewish believers were still demanding adherence to the ritual of circumcision for the gentiles that had believed in Christ and been converted to the new ‘Way’. Paul however argued against this stating:

“No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code” (Romans 2:29)

The requirement for the believer therefore is still circumcision, but a circumcision of the heart performed by Christ through the Spirit. He is also the means, that sharp rock by which that circumcision is administered. It is unquestionably a painful exercise, and I am speaking here of the separation of the heart from the lusts and desires of this world that compete with God for a place on the throne of our hearts!

The Christ presented in today’s modern liberal society is often presented as a smooth, rounded stone that fits comfortably in the hand or pocket but this is not representative of the Christ found in the scriptures. He is sharp like a flint and when an individual truly encounters Christ it will be an uncomfortable experience with the individual most certainly experiencing the incision of his sharp edge in their life.

However let us not forget that the same sharp rock that cuts the heart in circumcision is the same sharp rock that poured forth pools of refreshing water in the desert place to sustain the children of Israel in their journey to the Promised Land. He is the same spiritual rock and it is the same living water we drink that Jesus Himself speaks of:

“Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him” (John 7:38)

 

“Lord grant us inwardly your grace and endurance as the sharp rock of circumcision cuts into our hearts to separate us from the worldly desires and lusts of this passing age that we with circumcised hearts as a sign of the new covenant may enter your kingdom and become true citizens of heaven worthy to bear Your Name”