Home

If a man vows a vow to the Lord, or swears an oath to bind himself by a pledge, he shall not break his word.  He shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth (Numbers 30:2).  

Enter Jephthah.

A "mighty warrior" and "the son of a prostitute" (Judges 11:1).

Hardly the description we would expect of a man of God.  Jephthah's brothers cast him out of the family because of his illegitimate status.  But God has a way of finding the outcast and turning the tables.  In time, the Ammonites were wreaking havoc on the Israelites.  They needed a warrior to lead them and deliver them from the oppressors.  Hmm. Where to find such a warrior?

O yeah, I remember, let's go get Jephthah!  After chiding them for mistreating him and using him only for what he can do for them (Judges 11:4-11), Jephthah cuts a deal and agrees to lead the fight against the Ammonites.

When the Ammonite king accused Israel of seizing his land unfairly, Jephthah recounts an accurate history of Israel's dealing with Moab and the Ammonites, refuting the king's false claims.  This also shows us that Jephthah is very familiar with the Pentateuch (Genesis - Deuteronomy), aka The Law.  Irony of ironies, at a time when most of Israel cares not for God's Law, an outcast son of a prostitute has obviously been reading and/or hearing the Law quite regularly.  So, the Spirit of God comes upon Jephthah to enable him to defeat the Ammonites in battle.  But just before he goes off to war, Jephthah makes a vow.  A tragic vow.

If You [God] will give the Ammonites into my hand, then whatever comes out of my house to meet me when I return in peace from the Ammonites shall be the Lord's, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering.

Good gravy!  What did he expect to come out of his house?  I guess, like many today, he lived with lots of animals?  Pets perhaps?  Hard to imagine, though, that the typical animal sacrifice, such as a goat or ox or sheep would be living inside Jephthah's home!  And yet, his vow stands.

And upon returning victorious from the battlefield, the first creature to rush out of his house to greet him is . . . his daughter.  Yikes!  And though some more liberal and/or squeemish scholars have tried to play down the text, it seems quite clear that Jephthah actually follows through and kills his daughter as a "sacrifice" to God.

Whoa.  Sickening.  What in the name of all things unholy are we to make of this?  Is this an endorsement of human sacrifice, in the Bible of all places?!  Was it right for Jephthah to make, much less keep such a vow?  A few points to guide our thoughts here:

• Jephthah's vow was rash.  Stupid.  And God, knowing how stupid we all can be sometimes, made a provision for such vows in Leviticus 5:4-13.  There the Lord commands a man who realizes he has made a rash vow to bring an appropriate sacrifice to the priest who would then offer it to make atonement for the sin of making a stupid vow.
• That Jephthah was familiar with the Law seems clear from Judges 11.  So we must assume he was well-versed in Leviticus 5.  The fact that he didn't follow the path of atonement for his rash vow provided so graciously to him by the Lord only shows us the depth of sin in Jephthah's heart. 
• Even if no such provision existed, why not cry out for mercy?  Why not ask God to accept your life in the stead of your daughter's?  This kind of love and compassion we see flow from Moses (Exodus 32:32).  But no such love resides in Jephthah's heart.  No!  He is a cold-blooded killer.  By murdering his daughter, he only adds to his guilt.  Two sins instead of one.  And human sacrifice is a sin that never even enters God's mind, it is so unthinkable to Him (see Jeremiah).
• The account of Jephthah only serves to reinforce the overall story line of the Book of Judges.  This is how bad things have gotten in Israel.  This is what it looks like when a people forsakes God.  When people do "whatever is right in their own eyes."  Even God's good Law gets twisted and turned into an occasion for evil.

So what lessons are there for us in the account of Jephthah?

1. God can use whomever He wants to do whatever He wants, even evil people to accomplish His good purposes.
2. The way we treat people matters.  Do we seriously think Jephthah's family abusing him and casting him out for something he had no control over (his birth mother) had no effect upon the trajectory of his life?
3. Knowing God's Word is not enough!  We must be given grace to be not just hearers, but doers of God's Word (James 1:22).
4. We should interpret Scripture with Scripture.  Jephthah had an epic fail precisely at this point.
5. When people neglect God's Word, reject His good rule, and forsake the worship of the One True God, a devaluing of human life is inevitable.  Little wonder, then, that America murders its children by the millions each year.  [Makes me wonder how pro-abortion advocates would view the account of Jephthah.  Would they recoil in horror at his child sacrifice?  While continuing to support Roe v Wade?]
6. It is, of course, commanded of us as New Testament believers in Jesus that we still be people of our word.  "Let your yes be yes and your no be no."  But we, too, must always fall back upon mercy when we realize we have uttered a rash vow, or made a promise we cannot keep.  We must confess that sin and plead over it the blood of Calvary, even as we seek grace to grow into people whose tongues are bridled by the Holy Spirit, that we might not speak rashly.
7. Jesus is light years better than Jephthah!  Jesus never spoke a rash word.  Never made a vow He did not keep, and all his vows were holy and good and pure.  He vowed to give His life for all of us stupid Jephthah's.  And He did!  What a Savior!                                

Gideon.  Fleece.

The two words go together like butter and biscuits.

Gideon is one of the more well known of the Judges of Israel, for two main reasons:

1. His laying out the fleece to obtain confirmation from the Lord that he was to lead the battle against the Midianite oppressors.
2. The famous scene of God reducing his army to a mere 300 men, telling Gideon to cull all those who knelt and lapped water from a stream, rather than using his hand to bring the water to his mouth.

Rather than recount the entire story (it takes 3 chapters of the Book of Judges), I want to focus on the first point above, which tends to get the most attention in today's Christian circles.

How many times have you heard a Christian speak of "putting out fleece" when trying to discern God's will, or make a key decision in life?  I have not only heard it, I have tried to do it myself!  Now, by the phrase "putting out fleece" we do not mean we literally do what Gideon did.  We are not sneaking into the neighbor's pasture at night to sheer off some wool from his sheep so we can lay it on the ground outside our bedrooms at night.  (At least I hope you aren't.  That would just be weird and good luck even finding a sheep unless you live in a very rural area.)  What we mean, of course, is that we are asking God for a "sign."  We want the Lord to give us some obvious clue that can be ascertained by one of our five senses, most especially our audio-visual senses.  We want to see or hear something from God that will nail down for certain what He desires in regards to the situation we are facing.  And it matters not what kind of decision we are facing.  I have heard of Christians seeking a sign to help them choose a car off the dealer's lot, to pick which movie to watch on a Friday night, and to know if that girl I am dating is "the one."

But is this what we are supposed to have gleaned from the account of Gideon?  Is the big point or lesson of the life of Gideon really reducible to "seek a sign when making a big decision?"  I, like so many other Christians, once thought so.  But that was before I learned how to really study a Bible passage in its context in order to mine the meaning.  And it was before I learned some key differences in the way God chose to reveal Himself in the Old Covenant as compared to the New Covenant in Christ Jesus.

Gideon's putting out the fleece was an act of unbelief! 

You heard me correctly.  Gideon showed a lack of faith by demanding these repeated signs.  He is small-faithed.  His "show me a sign" method of discernment is not commended.  It is, rather, merely described by the author of Judges.

God had already told Gideon that he was to lead the battle against the Midianites (6:14).  And in response to Gideon's excuses (much like Moses), God even promised, "I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man" (6:16).  Even with such clear Divine guidance, Gideon immediately asked for a sign, which God mercifully obliged (see 6:17-24).

So when it comes time to muster the army, you would think Gideon has his marching orders and is full of courage.

Not.

He asks twice more for signs (wet fleece one morning and dry fleece the next).  And rather than strike Gideon dead for his unbelief and cowardice, the Lord kindly obliges.  Which leads to the whittling down of the army from tens of thousands to only 300.  Which leads to the great victory over the army of Midian (Ch. 7).

The grand result of all this was the humbling of Gideon, and the glory of God.  When Gideon first spies out the camp of Midian, what he hears brings him to worship (7:15).  When others in Israel get in on the hot pursuit of the fleeing Midianite army, then begin to grumble about Gideon not initially including them in the fight, rather than recount the whole story of God trimming his army down, and his laying out of fleece, he simply says, "What have I been able to do in comparison with you?"  Humble.  Willing to deflect the credit.  And as the war rages on, Gideon just grows stronger and stronger.  So much so that the men of Israel ask him to be their king (8:22).

I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you; the Lord will rule over you (8:23).

Gideon has gone from a whining, trembling idolater (see 6:13, 25-26) to a humble leader of men who gives glory to God Almighty!  Only a Holy Sovereign God could perform such a miraculous transformation.  And only our Lord could use such a little-faithed, weak-kneed man to accomplish His purposes.  Gideon is not great.  God is. 

And we see this same truth hammered home even in Gideon's final days.  It seems  Gideon just couldn't get over his fetish with signs.  He took the golden jewelry from his troops and made an ephod (this was something only the priest was authorized to use to discern God's will for His people).  Now, it doesn't seem his intention was to cause the people to commit idolatry by making the ephod.  He probably just wanted to attempt to give folks something to see a sign from God when making decisions.  Nevertheless, it backfired on him.  Big time!

And Gideon made an ephod of the gold and put it in his city in Ophrah.  And all Israel whored after it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and to his family (8:27).

Wow.  Idolatry is never far from men's hearts.  Which is why we must tread very lightly in the matter of seeking signs.  God's Word (the Bible) is sufficient to equip us "for every good work" (2 Tim 3:16-17).  It is highly significant that after casting lots to select Matthias to replace Judas (which notably happens before the Holy Spirit comes to indwell believers at Pentecost), we do not see the church leaders ever again making decisions using those Old Covenant, "sign-type" methods.

And evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah (Jesus as recorded in Matthew 16:4).

Jesus has come.  Jesus has lived righteously in our place.  Jesus has died for our sins.  Jesus has risen.  Jesus has ascended to heaven and poured out the Spirit on His Church.  The eye-witness testimony to Jesus has been completed.  We have all we need to make godly decisions, be they big or small.

Let us not be small-faithed like Gideon; for our God has already spoken!         

Deborah.  The only female judge of Israel.  A prophetess who spoke God's words to Israel. 

Hero of all feminists, evangelical or otherwise!  Some well-meaning brothers and sisters in Christ have tried to use the story of Deborah (Judges 4-5) to justify ordaining women as elders and preachers.  My intent here is not to tackle such issues, though I do want to insist that whatever we are to make of Deborah, we cannot interpret her role in such a way that it directly contradicts the clear teaching of the New Testament regarding the formal teaching office of the church being reserved for only men (1 Tim 2:8-15).  God cannot speak out of both sides of His mouth, and the principle of Christ-like male headship in the home and church is firmly ensconced in the New Testament (1 Cor 14:33-34; Eph 5:22-33; 1 Tim 3:1-2; 2 Tim 2:1-2; Titus 1:5-9).

Indeed, even the story of Deborah holds up the Divine expectation for men to lead and protect women!  The commander of the army of Israel is mocked by Deborah for not being willing to obey God and go to war with Sisera and his iron chariots unless Deborah went with him.  This is not godly male headship.  Putting a woman in harms way is never extolled as a manly virtue in the Bible.  In response to his cowardice, Deborah says,

I will surely go with you.  Nevertheless, the road on which you are going will not lead to your glory, for the Lord will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman (Judges 4:9).

We are supposed to audibly gasp. 

Original Bible readers would have.  Unheard of, that a commander of warriors would need a woman to go out to war with him.  I realize this view is horribly unpopular and even mocked and derided by our overly-feminist culture today.  But it is the view of the Bible, especially in Old Covenant Israel (note the mocking tone of Isaiah 3:12, for example, when speaking of women ruling over Israel).

And yet Deborah is not the only hero of this story.  We might expect she means that God will deliver Sisera into her hand.  After all, she does strike us as a very strong and perhaps even physically imposing woman!  She shows no hesitation at all about going into battle with Barak.  I served in the Marine Corps with just such women.  Physically able and trained well.  I respected them and have no issue at all with women being physically fit, or using athletic skills on the fields of play,  etc.  But all that aside, God surprises us as we keep reading the account of Judges 4.

Sisera's army is smashed.  And he escapes on foot, finding refuge (or so he thinks) in the tent of a woman named Jael.  Jael gives him milk to drink and hides him under a carpet.

But Jael the wife of Heber took a tent peg, and took a hammer in her hand.  Then she went to him softly and drove the peg into his temple until it went down into the ground while he was lying fast asleep from weariness.  So he died (4:21).

Well shut my mouth!  The fierce warrior-leader of iron chariots was taken down by a housewife.  So now we have two amazing women doing the work men should have done, all for the greater glory of God; for God has always been and will always be the only true Hero of the Bible:

So on that day God subdued Jabin the king of Canaan before the people of Israel (4;23).

And Deborah's song (Judges 5) exalts God as she repeatedly sings, "Bless the Lord!"  She mentions her role.  And she even mentions Barak's role.  But humanly speaking, it is Jael's role that takes center stage in the song:

Most blessed of women be Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, of tent-dwelling women most blessed . . . she sent her hand to the tent peg and her right hand to the workman's mallet; she struck Sisera; she crushed his head; she shattered and pierced his temple.  Between her feet he sank, he fell, he lay still (5:24-27).

Then the conclusion of the song: "So may all your enemies perish, O Lord!"  Well, praise God.  What foreshadows we see here.  The head-crushing language harkens back to Genesis 3, doesn't it?  There God promised a seed (male offspring) of Eve would crush the serpent's head.  And Jesus came "to destroy the works of the devil" (1 John 3:8), and to "destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil" (Heb 2:14).  On the cross, Jesus "disarmed the rulers and authorities, putting them to open shame by triumphing over them" (Col 2:15).  We see much of our Savior in Sisters Deborah and Jael, don't we?

And we get glimpses through them of the great leveling of the playing field that was coming.  That day has come.  The day when all who trust Christ alone for salvation, male, female, slave or free, are "all sons of God" and "heirs according to promise" and "an heir through God" (Gal 3:26, 29; 4:7).  Judges 4-5 point us forward to the day when "The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet," O church (Rom 16:20).  What a day, when we will all gather around God's throne from every tribe, tongue and nation and see Satan sink between our feet! 

The story of Deborah and Barak and Jael remind us that no man or woman, no matter how strong and heroic, can put the tent peg through the temple of the true enemy of our souls.  Sure, there are lots of other "lesser lessons" regarding manhood, womanhood, Old v. New Covenant, physical v. spiritual warfare, and so on.  But we dare not miss the Big Lesson.  The Big Hero.  Who Stands Over it All.

For if Deborah and Barak and Jael could stand before us and speak directly to us and sing for us today, they would no doubt shout, "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain!"  For by His death and resurrection life, death itself finally dies.

Who could have guessed that pegs driven through the Son of God could be the very means by which a peg is driven through the temple of Satan, the world, and our sin? 

 

Having now set the backdrop with the first three posts in this series, let's take a look at a few judges.  Some well-known.  Others not so much.

Othniel. 

Not so well known.  But since he is the first named judge in the Book of Judges, we should expect to perhaps see a foreshadowing of things to come.  And indeed we do.

But when the people of Israel cried out to the Lord, the Lord raised up a deliverer for the people of Israel, who saved them (3:9).

Lesson #1 - Salvation, deliverance is for God's special, chosen people.  Notice the repetition of the phrase "the people of Israel."  This deliverance had nothing to do with Israel's merits.  They were committing flagrant idolatry!  Yet in compassion God sent a savior to them.  Are you making a bee-line now for John 3:16?  Or Romans 5:8?  Or Titus 3:1-8?

Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother.  The Spirit of the Lord was upon him, and he judged Israel.  He went out to war, and the Lord gave Cushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand (3:10).

Lesson #2 - Deliverance comes by the Spirit of the Lord.  This pattern will hold in Judges.  It is the Holy Spirit of God that empowers and enables these men to accomplish the deliverance and feats of greatness.  Indeed, nothing truly great in the spiritual realm happens apart from the all-powerful presence of God who is Spirit (John 4:24).  Jesus said, "You must be born again . . . born of the Spirit" (John 3:1-8) if you would enter and enjoy His kingdom.

Lesson #3 - Deliverance demands a warrior who is able to conquer our evil tyrants.  Our captors must be taken captive.  The strong man must be bound (Luke 11:14-23).

So the land had rest forty years (3:11).

Lesson #4 - Deliverance from our Oppressor brings peace.  Rest.  We cannot help but think of the words of our Savior, can we?  "Come to Me, all who are burdened and heavy laden and I will give you rest" (Matt 11:28).

Then Othniel the son of Kenaz died (3:11).

Lesson #5 - Othniel is not the Messiah.  He is not the longed for King who would conquer all the enemies of God's people forever.  By God's power, Othniel handled an earthly king, but could not vanquish Satan, nor finally satisfy the wrath of God against the sins of Israel.  Othniel went the way of all sinners.  "For the wages of sin is death" (Rom 6:23).  Like so many judges, as we shall see, his deliverance was temporary.  But what Israel really needed, and what we still really need today, is a Deliverer who can conquer ALL our spiritual enemies: our sin nature, the devil, and the God-hating world around us.

Othniel was great.  But he's no Jesus.  Not even close!             

Leadership Matters.

Big Time.

A seminary professor once told me "Nothing of consequence happens in the church apart from leadership."  I thought that was a bit hyperbolic.  Surely people do not need leaders that badly.  Do they?

Well, over a decade of gospel ministry experience and pastoring now confirms my Prof's pithy prophecy.  And so does the Bible.  God has ordained leaders to shepherd His people, to teach His people the Scriptures, to cast vision for His people, and to call His people to account.

The crazy sin cycle of Judges (see last post) was due primarily to a leadership failure.

"And Joshua, the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of 110 years" (Judges 2:8).

Joshua was the undeniable leader God had ordained for His people to conquer the Promised Land.  But Joshua did not just appear out of nowhere!  He was identified, raised up, and poured into by Moses (see Num 27:18-23; Deut 1:38; 3:28; 31-34).  God ultimately commissioned Joshua to be the new leader, but we dare not neglect the fact that Moses had personally invested in him for over forty years! 

But we see no such transfer of leadership with Joshua.  He dies.  And that's it.  No new leader is introduced, and as far as we can tell, he did not do for another man what Moses had done for him.  For all of his battlefield prowess, Joshua was, in the end, a leadership failure.  He did not raise up and train a new leader, much less new leaders.

"And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers.  And there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord or the work that he had done for Israel" (Judges 2:10).

This is Leadership Failure #2.  And it is even worse than Joshua's personal failure to pass the baton.  The Jewish parents who conquered the land did not obey the Great Shema of Deuteronomy 6: "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.  You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.  And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.  You shall teach them diligently to your children."

They did not love the Lord with all their hearts, therefore they did not think it all that important to pour God's Word into the hearts, minds and lives of their children.

Parenting Matters.

Big Time.

So, pastors and church leaders, how are we doing in training the next generation of leaders?  Parents, how are you doing in teaching your children the Word of God?  As one well-known preacher has said, "The church is always just one generation away from losing the faith."  May God help us!  God strengthen our hands!  God embolden our hearts!  God give us resolve to love You most, and live for You first.  And that will propel us to raise up leaders.

"And what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also" (2 Timothy 2:2).

"Fathers [parents], do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord" (Eph 6:4).

• God saves and preserves His covenant people.
• His people sin against Him.
• God judges His people for their sin.
• His people cry out for help.
• God gives mercy and restores His people.
• Repeat process starting at Point #1.

This is what many scholars have called "The Judges Cycle."  This is exactly the pattern we see repeated throughout the period of history covered by the Book of Judges.

Early on, we read, "And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and served the Baals" (2:11). "So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel and he gave them over to plunderers who plundered them" (2:14).  "Then the Lord raised up judges who saved them out of the hand of those who plundered them" (2:16).  "For the Lord was moved by pity by their groaning because of those who afflicted and oppressed them.  But whenever the judge died, they turned back and were more corrupt than their fathers, going after other gods . . . they did not drop any of their practices or their stubborn ways" (2:18-19).

So right away, we learn some massive truths:

1. God is good and merciful beyond compare.  "All day long I have held out My hands to a disobedient and contrary people" (Romans 10:21).
2. People are sinful to the core and unable by their own volition to break sinful habits.  "Everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin" (John 8:34).
3. God judges sin.  "For we know Him who said, 'Vengeance is Mine; I will repay.' And again, 'The Lord will judge His people.' It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God" (Hebrews 10:30).
4. Our rescue from the bondage of sin relies solely upon God's mercy.  "But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to His mercy" (Titus 3:4).
5. The deliverance of human judges is insufficient; We need a better Judge / Deliverer!  "But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet.  For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified" (Hebrews 10:12-14).

There is a whole lot of gospel in the Book of Judges!  God give us eyes to see and ears to hear and hearts to love and obey the gospel truth being so obviously fore-shadowed in Judges.

But the question that should haunt us as we read the first few chapters of Judges is "How did all this happen in the first place?  What brought about this crazy Judges Cycle anyway?"

Stay tuned . . .

Recently a friend and brother in Christ began texting me some questions on things he had been reading in the Book of Judges.  After rejoicing that my brother was reading Judges, and praying that the Lord would increase his tribe in the church I pastor, I set out to provide a few responses to his inquires.  Responses, I trust, that were faithful to God and His Word.

The Book of Judges is not the easiest to sort out.  Let's face it.  It was a crazy time in Israel.  It was an in-between time in Israel.  The Promised Land had been conquered (at least most of it) under Joshua's leadership.  The nation of Israel was a theocracy - a people under the Kingship of God Himself.  But humanly speaking they were organized tribally, like a confederacy of sorts.  And they were a people under Law-Covenant.  No earthly kings or prophets were yet reigning or proclaiming in the nation of Israel.  And yet there were challengers and challenges rising up against them (those pesky Canaanites not conquered by Joshua) seemingly at every turn.  So, yeah, it was a different epoch of history for sure.  And keeping this all in mind will help us rightly interpret the events and people of the Book of Judges.

The Book is named "Judges" because of the men (and a woman) whom the Lord raised up during this period of history to defend Israel from her oppressors and rescue her from God's own righteous judgment.  These "judges" acted more as military leaders, and sometimes as civic leaders.  God used them to restore peace to His people.  Some are famous.  Think Samson.  Others obscure.  Think Shamgar.

Rather than pontificate on all the daily news events around the globe (goodness knows there are plenty of bloggers out there giving us amazing biblical insight into all of that), I want to just use this blog in the weeks ahead to help my few readers grapple with this Book of the Bible called Judges.  I want to help us rightly judge the Judges.  Learn to appreciate the truths and treasures God has tucked away in the sometimes insane folds of this Book.  Soak up truths about God, about mankind at his worst and best, about the Law Covenant, about redeeming grace, and about the Gracious Redeemer.  It's all there, plus some!

May God grant us the eyes to see wondrous things in His Word.  Even in the Book of Judges.

 

Texas is bearing more than her fair share of heartache and suffering these days.

Just a month or so ago, we watched in horror as Houston was submerged in hurricane flood waters.  And now, we mourn with Texans who lost precious loved ones in a senseless act of murderous violence against worshipers gathered at First Baptist Church of Sutherland.

What are we, as Christians, to say to such things?  How are we to process and think about such loss of life?

Well, first, we must know what not to say and what not to think.  For instance, we must not think what an atheist would think.  And we must not say what an atheist would say.  Since there is no god, there really cannot be any objective definition of evil.  Humans are cosmic accidents.  A surprisingly well-organized coagulation of atoms, evolved from lower life forms over billions of years.  So, nothing we can do to stop those "lower animal genes" from sometimes expressing themselves.  And really no way to place blame.  Though Darwinians and atheists might not like to admit it, if they follow their worldview to its logical (or illogical) conclusions, they have nothing of substance to say to grieving Texans right now, except perhaps "better luck next time."

And we must not say or think what some Eastern religions, or a New-Ager or a Christian Scientist might think and say.  All of life is really just an illusion.  Pain and suffering aren't really real.  The best you can hope for is to be reabsorbed back into the universe someday where you will be blissfully "non-existent."  This kind of religious non-sense is only more hurtful to the husband mourning the loss of his wife who was pregnant with their first child.

And we must not think or say what a follower of Islam or some warped versions of Christianity might think or say.  God is judging Texans for their sin and rebellion.  They are only getting what's coming to them.  The Bible Book of Job serves as a massive trumpet blast warning against this very myopic  and shallow theological view of the world.

And we must not think or say what some liberal versions of Christianity or Judaism might think or say.  God is not sovereign.  He's not actually in control of all things and has to react to these tragedies as best He can.  But, have no fear, He's pretty good at bringing something good out of these messes.  Maybe there's some lesson in it for you Texans?

And we must not think or say what some genuine, well-meaning Christians think or say when they ascribe everything to human free will.  God is just letting human freedom run its course.  God will not violate or override a person's will for any reason.  Well, mass numbers of Christians believe this, but this theology is not biblical nor is it comforting.  If God is sovereign and has all power, why would He not just prevent this act of evil?  Does God really value human will / freedom so highly that He prefers to allow mass murders rather than overriding an evil person's will?  Make no mistake, friends, what happened in Sutherland yesterday was not an act of "free" will.  Rather, it was an obvious display of the enslaved will of a fallen, lost person living apart from the rescuing grace of Christ.

"He who commits sin is a slave of sin" (Jesus as recorded in John 8:34).

So, what should we Christians think or say?  Well the theology of suffering given to us by God in the Bible is actually a complex weaving together of God's absolute sovereignty and man's sinful will and man's accountability before God.  Of Divine judgment against mankind's sin and of mysterious Divine Providence working all things for the good of His chosen, beloved, redeemed people.  Of hell deserved by all people and of abundant mercy lavished on undeserving sinners who cry out to Jesus for forgiveness.  Of fallen humanity filled with evil and the all-eclipsing glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.  We dare not approach these terrible events arrogantly, as if we have this all figured out.  This was the monumental mistake of Job's friends!  We know so little of how God exercises His sovereign will in this world.  We don't have all the answers we like to think we have.  But we know enough of who God has revealed Himself to be in the Person of His Son, Jesus, to sustain us through any crisis.

Jesus addressed such matters directly in Luke 13.  Some keen theology students approached Him inquiring about some recent tragedies.  Pilate had slaughtered some poor Galileans and spilled their blood on the temple altar.  And a tower had fallen on eighteen people in Siloam, killing them.  Jesus' viewpoint is perfect and instructive:

"Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered in this way?  No, I tell you; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.  Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them; do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem?  No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish" (Luke 13:2-5).

Wow.  How humbling.  We must have compassion on those suffering, for we are no different than they.  No more or less deserving of any good thing from God's hand than they.  All deserving of God's wrath.  All in need of God's mercy.  Truly, "it is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed" (Lamentations 3:22).

So, while we are still given breath by God, let us renounce our sin and cast ourselves upon the mercy of Jesus the Messiah.  And let us pray that suffering Texans will find God true to His promise to be "near the brokenhearted" (Psalm 34:18).  And let us trust that Holy Spirit God will, as He comforts those grieving, exalt the Lord Jesus who is a "Man of sorrows, acquainted with grief" (Isaiah 53:3).  And may more and more Texans come to know and rejoice in the hope that in Christ Jesus, death loses its sting and grief is never hopeless (1 Cor 15:55; 1 Thess 4:13).

This is what we think and say as followers of the Lord.  And as we wrap our arms around the suffering, and walk alongside our mourning neighbors, we exclaim through tear-stained eyes with the Apostle John, "Come quickly, Lord Jesus!" (Rev 22:20)

 

Fear is an often misunderstood emotion and concept among Christians.

I distinctly remember teaching a Bible study several years ago.  My passage had as its theme the fear of the Lord.  This is a common theme in the Bible.  There's no escaping it.  Anyway, about 2/3 of the way through the study, an older brother raised his hand, red-faced, and popped off his question:

"I thought we're supposed to love God.  I thought we're supposed to serve God out of love, not fear."

He was visibly irritated.  But his color returned as I began to answer as gently, lovingly, fearfully and faithfully as I knew how.

What this brother had done is to bifurcate or divide love and fear into two mutually exclusive or contradictory categories.  It's a common malady among us westerners.  We love to compartmentalize our lives, me included.  It seems to simplify things a bit for us in our hectic schedules.  So, we pour our "love syrup" into one square of our life's waffle, and our "fear syrup" into another square.  And the two squares are poles apart.

But the Bible does not make such a division.  God does not treat fear of Him and love of Him as if they are incompatible or mutually exclusive.  We know this for one simple reason.  God commands us to do both!

"You shall fear only the Lord your God" (Deut 6:13).

"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might" (Deut 6:5; Matt 22:37).

My family and I have recently been reading through Exodus together.  I love how we see the lesson of proper fear being taught by God to Israel.  After the death plague of the first-born, Pharaoh finally lets the people of Israel go free.  But he changes his mind and begins to pursue them.  Israel is on the shore of the Red Sea.  Egypt's mighty army is closing in fast, chariots-a-rolling.

"As Pharaoh drew near, the sons of Israel looked and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they became very frightened; so the sons of Israel cried out to the Lord" (Ex 14:10).  

Fear.  Fear of man.  But we can surely understand Israel's concern at this point!  This does not look good.  And they begin to complain and grumble against God and Moses, expressing their desire just to go back to slavery in Egypt.  But God redeems them with a mighty hand and parts the Sea.  When Egypt pursues, the sea swallows them up, and God is glorified by both Egypt and Israel.

"When Israel saw the great power which the Lord had used against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord, and they believed in the Lord and in His servant Moses" (Ex 14:31).  

Again fear.  But this time it's fear of the Lord.  And faith in the Lord.  Fear and faith then are clearly not mutually exclusive.  God had begun to transform Israel, you see, at the level of their fear.  They moved from fear of man and circumstances, to fear of God.  Blessed change!  And after giving the Ten Commandments, God through Moses again expresses His desire for Israel to properly direct her fear:

"Do not be afraid; for God has come to test you, and in order that the fear of Him may remain with you, so that you may not sin" (Ex 20:20).  

Do not fear.  Fear.  Which one is it, Lord?  Yes.  It's both.  In context, Israel feared God would utterly destroy them in wrath.  But God reassured them through Moses that His intention toward them was gracious.  They were to fear Him in a way that drove them to love and obey and trust Him.  Fear done rightly keeps us from sin (Prov 16:6).

But fear of God's wrath is also commendable.  God Himself commended this attitude in Israel (Deut 5:28).  Anyone who does not fear God's holy wrath against sin is a fool (Prov 1:7).  Even the thief on the cross beside Jesus understood that much (Luke 23:40).

And Jesus understood it too.  In ways we cannot ever.  This is surely what the agony of Gethsemane was about - fear of God's holy wrath against sin.  As the Eternal Son of God, Jesus knows full well what He is about to endure.  More than you or I can ever fathom, Jesus knew, "It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God" (Heb 10:31).  So He sweat blood.  Now, when's the last time you and I ever feared God so greatly?

And it is this glorious, unfathomable love of Christ that now drives out our fear of God's hot wrath against our sin.  This in context is precisely what the Apostle John gets at when he writes, "Perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love" (1 John 4:18).

Jesus feared for us!  Jesus bore the wrath for us!  For those whom He has redeemed by His blood on the cross, it is a sign of weak faith to fear God's punishment in hell on us.  Why?  Because Jesus took our hell on the cross.  And God can now no more send us to hell than to send His Holy, Risen and Reigning Son back onto the cross.  And that ain't happening (Heb 7:23-28).  We're saved to the uttermost!  His sacrifice is once for all!

And now maybe we can see more clearly how proper fear of God drives us to love Him more deeply.  I do fear God.  I fear displeasing Him.  I fear dishonoring His Holy name.  I fear misrepresenting Him.  And when I think on Calvary, I tremble.  I tremble at a love so great for such a worm as I.  I tremble that all the wrath my sins earned was poured out on the Righteous One.  But I fear not that that wrath will somehow find me.  God is not a God of "double jeopardy."  Has He said and will He not do it?  (Num 23:19; John 3:16)

As the amazing hymn by Keith and Kristyn Getty proclaims:

"What a love!  What a cost!  We stand forgiven at the Cross."

God help us fear rightly.  God help us love rightly.  God help us believe rightly.  For when by God's amazing grace the right kind of fear, love and faith come together, we are hot on the trail of Christ-likeness.  

        

I was in a waiting room and began to read the March cover story of National Geographic (available here) when I came across the following two sentences,

“In this bewildering world we have to decide what to believe and how to act on that. In principle that’s what science is for.”

Immediately I came to a full stop. The first sentence had penetrated into the depths of the truly profound. Few questions are more important then deciding what to believe and how to act, but what is the answer that National Geographic gives… Science. Allegedly Science is the answer, science is the savior. The article went on to ask the question Why Do Many Reasonable People Doubt Science? The assumption behind the whole article is that the scientific consensus is completely trustworthy and therefore truth. The author is astounded that anyone could doubt what he simply calls “Science.” He speaks as if Science is its own being. For the author Science has clearly replaced God and is it self the source of truth. For example, mocking the biblical account, the caption for the image above taken at the Creation Museum which shows a dinosaur with Adam and Eve, I read, “Science holds that Earth is 4.6 billion years old, that all life evolved from microbes, and that modern humans first appeared 200,000 years ago—65 million years after dinosaurs died out.” Really, as if all scientists agree. As if any scientist has actually proven any of those false claims. He goes on to write boldly that, “Evolution actually happened. Biology is incomprehensible without it.” Wow, apparently it’s been impossible to study life until Darwin gave us his theory. No, just because something is the scientific consensus does not mean it is true. Science doesn’t hold any opinions, but rather specific scientist hold particular views and many scientists disagree with one another.

Sheepishly he admits that, “Scientific results are always provisional, susceptible to being overturned by some future experiment or observation.” But then quickly the author assures the reader that, “Science will find the truth. It may get it wrong the first time and maybe the second time, but ultimately it will find the truth.” The producers of National Geographic are frustrated and quite honestly confused that everyone does not just simply trust without reservation the conclusions of fallible scientists who are continually revising their views.

I am so thankful that we have not been left to try and figure out what to believe and what to do without the divine revelation. God has spoken! He tells us what is true and what we are to do and to believe. In contrast to the imperfect word of man that is always in need of updating, we have been given the perfect and unchanging, infallible, inerrant, sufficient and authoritative Word of God. The Bible is completely trustworthy and in it we find the truth. The scripture does not eventually get to the truth after failed attempts. To the contrary it is only truth. It has no mistakes, no errors!

Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. Proverbs 30:5

Forever, O LORD, your Word is firmly fixed in the heavens. Psalm 119:89

The Law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul;  the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. Psalm 19:7

The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever. Isaiah 40:8

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17

For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. 2 Peter 1:21

Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. Matthew 4:4

I am very thankful for Science in general and specifically the work of scientist, but the scientific consensus never can or ever will take the place of the Bible. God has spoken and in His Word we learn what to believe and how to act. So whether a stranger at Starbucks or a scientific newsmagazine mocks the teaching of the Bible, “Then shall I have an answer for him who taunts me, for I trust in your Word.” Psalm 119:42

For more on why you can trust the Bible let me recommend Taking God at His Word.