Fire From Heaven

"When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. And he sent messengers ahead of him, who went and entered a village of the Samaritans, to make preparations for him. But the people did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem. And when his disciples James and John saw it, they said, “Lord, do you want us to tell fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” But he turned and rebuked them. And they went on to another village." Luke 9:51-56

It is the pastime of every people and culture to reject their prophets. A lot of this has to do with the fact that prophets tend to be weirdos and zealots. There is also the truth that, ‘a prophet is never welcome in his hometown.’ But there is a deeper force at work here. Just ask Jeremiah (Jeremiah 20:3), John the Baptist (Mark 14:3-11) or John the Apostle (Revelation 1:9). People do not want to be told the truth. Maybe truth in the abstract 2+2=4 sort of sense, but not in the ‘you must not have your brother’s wife’ sort of sense. The first sort of truth helps us count our money. The second calls us to give our money to the poor. Prophets are, quite frankly, nuisances to our quiet lives of moral anonymity. So we shouldn’t be surprised that Jesus was rejected by his hometown, a Samaritan village, the Roman Empire, or enlightened postmodern culture.

Jesus was indeed, ”despised and rejected of men.” There are important lessons for us in these six verses. We tend to operate in one of two ways when we face the scorn and rejection of people. On one hand, I have a deep desire to please people and cannot bear to have anyone at odds with me. I want to be on everyone’s dance card at the ball. There is a strain of good here; it causes us to be careful with our words, attitudes and actions. We will watch ourselves as to not bring any unnecessary offense; that we are not being contentious or malicious toward those we are called to serve. But this can easily lead to an inability to speak truthfully and honestly in the face of sin . For many believers (especially pastors and church leaders), the fear of bringing offense can become a roadblock to speaking prophetically and biblically, as they ought. This is a real danger facing our increasingly latitudinarian evangelical church. In the face of such an ethos, the response of James and John in the passage at hand is a breath of fresh air. I concur with one commentator that “the genius for indignation has disappeared, and it is refreshing to see men who feel deeply any disrespect to Christ, any injury to his cause” (Charles Erdman, Commentary on Luke’s Gospel).

On the other hand we may tend toward an overzealous, hard and biting response to those who defy or reject us. This is the sin of the ‘sons of thunder,’ James and John, in our passage. Now, it is important to see that their desire for fire to consume the stiff-necked Samaritans is not entirely without biblical precedence. There are manifold examples of God striking down the rebellious and insolent. God has set his face against those who have opposed him. In 2 Kings 1:1-16, we see Elijah rebuke and call down judgment upon Ahaziah, the hard-hearted Samaritan king. Perhaps James and John were seeking the Messiah to operate with such prophetic authority against the Samaritan village. Note from the text as well that the Samaritans turned Christ and his band away, “because he was heading toward Jerusalem.” This is a reference not merely to the somewhat famous animosity between the Jews and the Samaritans, but to their opposition to his Messianic ministry and purpose. In this sense, the indignation of the disciples is understandable, however misplaced and inappropriate.

I have never asked Jesus to consume anyone with heavenly fire. (I have come close.) So I understand the brothers’ passion for their cause. As a pastor and preacher, I struggle greatly with opposition to my ministry. Much of my struggle, though, is not against principalities and powers, but with flesh and blood. And this is backward. If there is opposition because I am a fool, nave or tyrant, then such struggle is from God and for my good. If there is opposition because my ministry is like Jesus’ – full of power and truth, that penetrates the heart and provokes the hard conscience -- then this is from God and for the good of my hearers. So, I should not struggle against flesh and blood. I should not call down fire on those who oppose me. I should live sacrificially through the cross, as Jesus did, regardless of opposition and rejection.

And so, Jesus rebukes the brothers. We are provided with a living picture of the truth that “God did not send the son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world should be saved through him” (John 3:17). I find it interesting that perhaps the Samaritans’ foolish rejection of the living God only sped Him on His way to provide atonement for their sin. I find it interesting, as well, that Jesus does not rebuke the Samaritans here, but the disciples. It is a grievous thing to scorn the Messiah. But, it is a more grievous sin of the disciples that they should strive against the lost with anger and misplaced zeal, rather than with the grace and power of the gospel. The anger of men does not work the salvation of God (a loose paraphrase of James 1:20). Jesus’ rebuke, rather than concession to the disciples’ request, is a great grace to the Samaritans; for soon a day would come when the good news of Jesus’ work on the cross would be preached in their midst and there would be “much joy in that city” (Acts 8:8). Peter, John and Phillip would one day return to Samaria, “preaching the gospel to many villages of the Samaritans,” perhaps the very village of Luke 9.

There is a wonderful irony in this passage that compels and comforts me in the face of rejection. James and John asked Jesus to send fire down upon the Samaritans and received a rebuke from their master instead. The apostles would soon see the purpose in that rebuke. It wasn’t that Jesus wanted his disciples to wink at sin, or that he took lightly the hard hearts of the Samaritans. It wasn’t that he wants us all to ‘just get along’ and not be harsh with one another. It wasn’t that he wanted to give the disciples a lesson is godly Christian character. The rebuke was part of a sovereign plan. This plan would not come about through the disciples’ angry judgments, or indignant struggles against flesh and blood. This plan would come through the work of the cross, which Jesus had set his face resolutely toward. The irony is that James and John’s request would indeed be granted by Christ. But it would come through a detour around this village and via the destination of the cross. Jesus would bear the judgment owed to the hard-hearted Samaritans, so that those hearts might one day be melted through the power of the Spirit…like fire from heaven.

Drinking New Wine

And they said to him, “The disciples of John fast often and offer prayers, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours eat and drink.” And Jesus said to them, “Can you make wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days.” He also told them a parable: “No one tears a piece from a new garment and puts it on an old garment. If he does, he will tear the new, and the piece from the new will not match the old. And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled and the skins will be destroyed. But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. And no one after drinking old wine desires new, for he says, “The old is good.” Luke 5:33-39

It is difficult to understand how bizarre Jesus was to the first century Jews and Jewish leadership. We can be pretty hard on the Pharisees and scribes, and for good reason. The gospel writers do indeed cast these guys in a pretty bad light. Jesus had very hard words for the Pharisees and scribes, calling them at different times: ‘sons of snakes,’ ‘tidy tombs,’ ‘blind guides,’ liars, hypocrites and thieves. We need to be careful, though, that we not point a bony self righteous, pharisaical, finger at the Pharisees. I think a broader intention of the Spirit’s purpose in presenting the Pharisees to us is so we might point the finger at ourselves. The best villain in a story is one deeply hated not simply because he is a caricature of evil out there, but the embodiment of evil in here-- in our own heart and in our own soul.

Luke draws us into Jesus’ incredible public ministry beginning with his rejection in Nazareth, the deliverance of a demonized man in Capernaum, the healing of Simon Peter’s mother-in-law and many others, the calling of the disciples, the cleansing of a leper, the healing of a paralytic, and the salvation of tax collectors and sinners. We are meant to be a bit breathless at the glorious display of Messianic power and grace by the time we get to the different exchanges between Jesus and the Pharisees in 5:21, 30 and 33. We are also meant to be angered by the unbelief and hardness of heart in these leaders who should be hailing Jesus as Messiah and Lord, not calling him a blasphemer or wondering why he is feasting with sinners. How can they ask questions about fasting while the blind see, the lame walk and the captives are freed?

I am reminded of a worship service several years ago that was particularly sweet. There was an outpouring of grace and an acute awareness of the Spirit’s power and the Savior’s love that night. As people sat in the sanctuary in prayer, and as others trickled out in quiet reverence, a man walked briskly up to me and told me that he was offended by how loud the music was. I stood there deeply disappointed as the cold water of his criticism dripped off me.

The essence of what the Pharisees are asking Jesus in Luke 5:33 is, “Why aren’t you doing it the way things used to be done?” There is another question buried in there as well: “Why aren’t you doing things the way there supposed to be done?” And a third: “Why aren’t you doing things the way we do them?” The truth is, we all ask these questions in different ways and in different contexts. Why is the music so loud? Why are their hands raised? Why is he talking to her? Why is she wearing that? What’s with the robes and organs? That service was too long. That service was too short. I didn’t like …I am concerned with …Go ahead and fill in the blanks.
We must be careful here. I believe the lesson in Luke 5 is not, ‘don’t judge people in worship’. That lesson is found in Scripture, and we must heed it. There is also a time for discernment; for a wise, Spirit-filled testing of the spirits. There are appropriate times and opportunities to ask questions about how we worship and how we live. But this is not the truth being pressed in upon us here.

The question about fasting is in many ways like the question of the Samaritan woman about what mountain God’s people should worship on. God is not concerned with mountains; outward forms of worship, such as fasting or feasting; or with days and months and seasons (Col.2:16-17). With the coming of the Messiah, and the inauguration of a new covenant, the ‘new wine’ is poured out -- where the law is written upon the heart (Jer.31:33), the heart of stone is turned to a heart of flesh (Ezek.36:26), and where we are washed with pure water (Ezek.36:25). And the new wine was flowing everywhere in this inaugural season of Jesus ministry. The wine flows and brings healing. The wine flows and opens the eyes of the blind. The wine flows and opens the hearts of tax collectors and sinners. The wine flows and crushes the power of demons. The new wine fills us with a whole new perspective, a whole new mind, a whole new heart, a whole new life. And the old questions, the old concerns, and the old constraints are ‘exploded’ by the power of the Spirit, the new wine of Jesus. With the power of the Spirit’s work, with the transforming grace of the Savior, we come to see all these questions as completely and entirely secondary.

As I read of the Pharisees trying to pour the new wine into their old, stretched and tired wineskins, I think of my own self righteous, Pharisee heart. I think of how much of my time and energy is consumed with self-oriented concerns, questions and conflicts. I too often have measured and gauged the new wine of God and tried to contain it in my own flesh-fashioned vessels. I think of how sad it was that Jesus and his disciples are feasting and celebrating while the Pharisees are trying to affix these new patches of Spirit-filled worship to their old worn out jeans.

Jesus wants me to come inside with the disciples, tax collectors and sinners, and eat the feast he has set before me. He has given me a fresh, new heart -- ready to stretch and flex and grow as he calls me to drink deep of the new wine.

Strange Providence

The Book of Esther

It is a strange thing that the book of Esther is in the Bible. This historical narrative is very different than many of the other 66 books of inspired Scripture. There is no mention of God, no mention of the Law, no mention of Israel, no mention of worship, and no mention of prayer. It is a distinctly ‘Jewish’ book because of its prominent theme: the deliverance of the Jews (who are mentioned some 38 times in the book) from the hand of vile Haman and the tyrannical rule of Xerxes. Nonetheless, there is a good deal of ‘moral ambiguity’ in the story, such as the disturbing idea that Mordecai would allow his niece (whom he was raising as his daughter) to become a concubine and plaything of a pagan king . There is the dubious nature of Mordecai’s insistence that Esther not make it known that she is a Jew. What are we to make of Mordecai’s indignant defiance of Haman’s demand for honor (there is no biblical reason, necessarily, that Mordecai could not bow before Haman) which sparks the whole crisis in the first place? And what of the brutal slaughter of the enemies of the Jews in chapter 9? How are we to treat this difficult verse, “the Jews struck all their enemies with the sword, killing and destroying them, and did as they pleased to those who hated them” (9:5)? And this is not to mention the historical difficulties the book presents, there being very little external evidence to support the story. It is difficult to pinpoint when all this occurred and find compelling archaeological evidence which might verify its claims.

Have I provided you with enough distrust of God’s Word yet? I know , I know. None of this was presented in the movie, “One Night With the King” (I won’t waste time with the ridiculous veggie tales story- but I will ask, why is it ok to twist and fabricate God’s Word for our children? Just a question…) In fact, in that strange quasi-evangelical-hollywood-esque portrayal of the book of Esther, Xerxes is a hunky dude with a lot of charm and a hankerin for postmodern notions of love and romance. The real Xerxes, or Ahasuerus (which sounds a lot like ‘king headache’ in Hebrew)- as he is called in the text, was an awful, vile, twisted tyrant who was as incompetent as we was impulsive and as violent as he was foolish. But, he had a way with motivating his subjects (he buried hundreds of slaves up to their necks for the animals to snack on their heads for not completing a highway in time), threw a great party (a 187 day feast we read about in chapter 1), and was quite a fierce warrior from all accounts.

I won’t answer all the questions I raise here. I raise them all simply to lead you to the ultimate theme of the book of Esther: the strange and glorious providence of God. The book opens with a pagan fratboy of a king ruling over a drunken, chaotic empire. God’s people are introduced in chapter two as exiles in this pagan and godless land in the person of the lovely Esther who seems tragically caught in a web of sin and destruction. We are meant to ask some important questions as we read. We are meant to ask the questions that faced the exiles of Babylon (which is the historical period of the narrative, circa 486-465 B.C.). These are the questions of all who wander as ‘aliens and strangers’ in a seemingly godless and chaotic world. Where are you God? Why don’t you speak? Why don’t you act? What is to become of your people? Why do the righteous suffer and the godless prosper? If you are all powerful, why won’t you reveal your power now? Real exiles feel such questions. And, by God’s grace and inspiration, the book of Esther was given to all such exiles. That they may see the invisible hand of providence in all circumstances through the eyes of faith. That they may continue to call upon the name of the God, though he seems silent and distant.

The theologian Louis Berkhof defines the doctrine of divine providence in this way, “the cooperation of the divine power with all subordinate powers, according to the pre-established laws of their operation, causing them to act precisely as they do.” That’s a good definition, but maybe you are still scratching your head. So I’ll let the Heidelberg Catechism speak on this doctrine as well:

Providence is the almighty and ever present power of God by which he upholds, as with his hand, heaven and earth and all creatures and so rules them that leaf and blade, rain and drought, fruitful and lean years, food and drink, health and sickness, prosperity and poverty- all things, in fact, come to us not by chance but from his fatherly hand. (Catechism Q/A #27)

The book of Esther makes this glorious doctrine known. It seems that Persia is ruled by a godless tyrant. But, this is not so. Xerxes is under the mighty hand of God to serve his purposes in the world for his own glory. Vile Haman rolls the dice to choose a day on which the Jews might be destroyed. But, ‘though the lot is cast in the lap, every decision is of the Lord’ (Prov. 16:33). What an awful situation that Esther is in, but we soon discover that ‘she has come to the kingdom of Ahasuerus for such a time as this’ (4:14). We see over and over again that God confounds the plans of men and turns the tables on the evil. The book is urging us to be of good courage in the struggle against sin and the plans of the wicked, “for we walk by faith and not by sight” (2 Cor. 5:7).

In this book we see mighty men brought low. We see orphans become heroes. We see ordinary people face extraordinary struggle and become portraits of God’s redeeming love and prevailing grace. The book begins with a godless feast, with each man ‘doing as he desires’ in the kingdom of this world. The book ends with a triumphant remnant of warrior exiles feasting and worshipping their wonderful God who has, “turned their sorrow into gladness and their mourning into a celebration; that they should make days of feasting and gladness, days for sending gifts of food to one another and gifts to the poor” (9:22).

Aren’t you glad for the strange books of the Bible? Aren’t you glad for the strange, yet wonderful, providence of our God?

Feeling Overwhelmed?

Nehemiah 2:9-20

Tuesdays are often rough for me. Mostly because I have to get up at around 5:15 am to be at Elder prayer. I know you might wish you had a pastor who is always up at 5 to pray, but you don’t . Sorry. Another reason I believe Tuesdays are hard is because they are begun with the heaviness of the prayer needs of the church body. I know you might wish that you had a pastor who is always full of smiles and mirth, who doesn’t get ‘down’ because of the burdens of spiritual warfare, but you don’t. Sorry. Tuesdays are rough as well because they often feel relentless in their pace. We pray for the church from 6 to 7, the pastors meet from 7 to 9, the staff meets from 9 to 10 or so, then I meet with individual pastors and staff from 10 till lunch. Now, when I say ‘rough’ what I mean is really ‘overwhelming’. There is just so much to do, so many people who need to be met, ministries that need planning, crises that need resolving, books that need studying, sermons that need preparing, emails that need corresponding, mail that needs shuffling. (Not necessarily in that order.) You might say, “Erik, dude, you need to reschedule some of those things!” But, that’s not the point.

I read of the account of Nehemiah’s night journey to inspect the walls of Jerusalem and wonder what it was like for him to stand at the rubble and consider the task that God had laid before him. It had to be overwhelming. I’m sure he must have said with the Apostle, ‘who is sufficient for such things?’ (2 Cor. 2:16) He was to lead the exiles out of Babylon, he was to rebuild the wall, establish worship, and fight the enemies both without and within the camp. He was called to be a politician, prophet, pastor, teacher, general, builder, reformer, and man of God. What an overwhelming prospect.

Life is overwhelming. Ministry is overwhelming. God’s purpose and calling upon us is overwhelming. I take a few lessons from Nehemiah 1-2 as I consider the overwhelming nature of ministry and life in general.

First, we find that it is impossible to face the struggles of life in our power. The calling, the equipping, and the doing of it must come straight from the sovereign of the universe. Nehemiah tells us in 2:12, “And I told no one what my God had put into my heart to do for Jerusalem”. God put this overwhelming calling before Nehemiah. Nehemiah wasn’t contriving these things. It wasn’t his pet agenda. It wasn’t his own ‘vision’. All this was by the word of God through the prophet. All this was by the design of God. And God led Nehemiah in the dead of night to see that this was a God sized task. I think of one of my favorite verses from the letters of Paul, “To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me” (Colossians 1:29). Paul places the work of ministry soundly in the hands of our all powerful and gracious God, yet he doesn’t remove the means by which God accomplishes this work, namely, us.

Second, note where it is that Nehemiah goes when he is faced with the devastation of Jerusalem and the trouble that faces God’s people. In Neh. 1:4 we find Nehemiah weeping, mourning, fasting, and praying. God thunders in His grace and power in such places. If you think God’s right arm flexes in your comfort, then you are one who needs desperately the story of Ezra and Nehemiah. God works wonders through these men, not primarily in their building and working, but in their prayer and fasting. I believe that I will not know the goodness and grace of God without the daily reality of the overwhelming nature of ministry driving me to my knees. God overwhelms me so that I might run to the words of Jesus, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor. 12:9). If you are not overwhelmed in ministry and in the calling and demands of God upon your life, then perhaps you are not in a good place. It is a hard lesson, but still wonderful and glorious, to learn ‘affliction without being crushed, confusion without despair, persecution without being forsaken, being struck down but not destroyed’. Great men and women of God do not accomplish great things without these lessons.

Lastly, we see the response of Nehemiah after his night journey to Jerusalem. He is resolute in his proclamation of God’s purpose for his people, “Come, let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer suffer derision” (2:17). Nehemiah rallies the people behind God’s cause, and he faces down the naysayers with the truth of God’s promise, “the God of heaven will make us prosper, and we his servants will arise and build, but you will have no right or portion in Jerusalem.” He is steadfast in the cause that God has placed before him and unwavering in his fight against those who oppose it.

Learn these three things from Nehemiah 1-2:

Be overwhelmed by the call of God through the gospel and know that it is a work of grace or nothing at all!

Fall on your knees and beg for the Lord’s help and power if you are to accomplish anything of value for the kingdom!

Rise up, anoint your face with oil and be glad! God is for us, who can be against us?

Tuesday is looking better already.

The Hand of God: for good or for wrath?

My comments today are not drawn from today’s reading, but a few verses back in chapter 8 verse 22:

“The hand of our God is for good on all who seek him, and the power of his wrath is against all who forsake him.”

Ezra boldly, and perhaps a bit proudly, asserted this powerful truth before the King Artaxerxes. Now, with a dangerous passage to Jerusalem before them, Ezra’s bold claim will be put to the test. After having made such a bold claim regarding the power of God, and the righteousness of your cause, do you dare ask a pagan King for assistance on your journey? If the hand of God is for your good, do you need to ask for a pagan cohort’s protection?
This causes me to ask a few questions of this text:

1. What does ‘the hand of God’ mean?

2. What is meant by ‘God is for good’ in such a statement? Must everything go swimmingly for us if God is for us?

3. If not, how do we understand the ‘good’ of hard, yet providentially ordained circumstances, from the ‘wrath’ of God against those who are disobedient and wicked? (Put another way, aren’t there many who are receiving wrath for disobedience, all the while claiming it is providential goodness through hard circumstances? Aren’t there many who see providential struggles which are for their good, who see such hard circumstances as God’s ‘wrath’? How do

4. How do we stand in such truths? How do we maintain a firm position in the truths of God’s goodness to the righteous, while walking in humility in light of our sins and failures?

First, let’s look at this phrase, ‘the hand of God’. There is that ‘plain meaning’ of this phrase that we should be able to get right off the bat. The ‘hand of our God’ is metonymy- part for the whole- expressing the reality that God is directly working in some situation or another. He is displaying his power and purpose in some particular circumstance. We find this phrase (it is especially popular in Ezra- 7:6, 9,28; 8:18,31; and in Neh. 2:8,18) reveals a very special and evident working of God’s providence on behalf of his people. There are times when God is at work in ‘extraordinary’ ways, His power is seen and understood in a peculiar and ‘heavy’ way.

You might ask, “Isn’t God always displaying his power and purpose in all circumstances?” And the answer is yes. God’s hand is always at work, his power is always being manifested in ALL things, and nothing is outside his sovereign reach. That is, in a sense, what Ezra is speaking about in his words to Artaxerxes: God is at work in all things – for the good of those who seek him and for wrath against those who forsake him. All things are designed for either one purpose or the other- the good of his people, or the punishment of the wicked. He was calling Artaxerxes to recognize God’s power, either in blessing or in judgment, as paramount. Each of these things – the blessing of his people, and the punishment of the wicked- are ultimately good, no matter how dark the circumstance may be or how difficult it is to accept God’s wrath against the wicked. They are both ultimately good for the same reason: all things are designed by God, ordered by God, and done by God for one purpose, for ‘the praise of his glorious grace’(Eph. 1:9). His glory is His own ultimate purpose and design. The Apostle Paul says, and we all know it by heart, “we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).

And this leads us to the second question. Does God’s good intention for us always mean that things will go ‘well’ for us? Now, ready yourself, because people don’t like this answer. But, it is the answer of Scripture. In one sense the answer is yes, if by ‘well’ you mean: ‘all things will be for the glory of God’. But, of course, this is often not what we mean. We often mean that we will have the job we want, make the money we need, have good health, and raise kids that don’t embarrass us. We mean ‘well’ or ‘good’ in the worldly sense. But the purpose and design of God is that all things will be ‘well’ for us, when it is for His glory. And all things for His glory are good and ultimately for our joy. Consider the immediate context of Paul’s rather famous words of Romans 8:28. He is speaking of ‘the sufferings of the present time’ (8:18), he speaks of ‘the whole of creation groaning’, he speaks of the reality of the created – and fallen – world’s ‘bondage to decay’, he speaks of a ‘hoping in the unseen’, of the ‘Spirit helping us in our weakness…interceding with groaning too deep for words’. Later in 8:35 he speaks of being ‘more than conquerors’ through ‘tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, danger, and sword’. Can all this be spoken of as ‘good’? Can we see all of this as ‘the hand of God’? As his ‘blessing’? Indeed we can, we must, when all is seen from the redemptive purposes of God to bring glory to himself through all things, especially through us and our struggles in this world.

Next we might ask how we know the good of God’s hand from the judgment and wrath of God against evil. In one sense, when we are redeemed by God to be ‘to the praise of his glorious grace’, then we can know that we have moved from judgment to life. Paul tells us in Romans 8:1 that ‘there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus’. In and through the work of Christ, “God is for us, who can be against us”? All struggles are for our good, even if they might be his discipline for a season.

As those whose faith is in a mighty and powerful God, we are called to humbly trust that these bold claims we make are true in the face of seemingly insurmountable situations. How do we live in such ‘bold humility’? I think we find the answer in Ezra 8:23, “so we fasted and implored our God for this, and he listened to our entreaty”. A constant theme in Ezra and Nehemiah is this theme of fasting and pleading with God. Ezra 9-10 is filled with cries of confession and repentance over sin, brokenness in the face of abounding wickedness, and humble pleading in a season of overwhelming struggle and affliction. These returning exiles of Ezra/Nehemiah are seeking God through his Word (cf. Neh. 8 and the reading of the Law), seeking God through prayer and fasting, and seeking God through humble yet courageous faith. They model for us the believer who is equipped supernaturally to ‘read God’s providence’ in a special and unique way. And even when the work of God seems inscrutable, these bible filled, fasting and supplicating people are able to leave the mystery of God’s design in His own hands.

And so we boldly proclaim that as we seek the Lord his hand his with us, all the while humbly warning a lost and rebellious generation that His just anger awaits those who refuse and forsake him.

Joy and Weeping in the Already and Not Yet

But many of the priests and Levites and heads of fathers’ houses, old men who had seen the first house, wept with a loud voice when they saw the foundation of this house being laid, though many shouted aloud for joy, 13 so that the people could not distinguish the sound of the joyful shout from the sound of the people’s weeping, for the people shouted with a great shout, and the sound was heard far away. Ezra 3:12-13

Ezra records the events of the rebuilding of the temple as if they were happening at breakneck speed. Indeed, compared to the languishing away of an entire generation of God's people over 70 years in captivity, the events that have occurred since Cyrus' wonderful edict should startle and amaze us. Some 43,000 Israelites have risen up, stirred up in fact by the Lord, to return to Jerusalem for the rebuilding of the Temple. We are not sure how long it has been since the waves of exiles began their return, but 3:1 tells us that when the seventh month came, Jeshua the priest, and Zerubbabel, one of the leaders of the Israelites, re-established covenant worship in Israel with the rebuilding of the altar, the offering of sacrifices, and the observance of the feast of booths.

In 3:8, Ezra tells us that in the second month of the second year of their return to Jerusalem, Jeshua and Zerubbabel re-establish the Levitical priesthood 'to supervise the work of the house of the Lord'. Once the foundation of the Temple is laid, all the people gathered for worship and praise.

Ezra now records a very interesting element of ‘this world’ worship. At the point of praise over the mighty acts of God, there is a loud weeping over the sins of the past, over the glory that was once upon these foundations in Solomon's Temple. We read that 'the people could not distinguish the sound of the joyful shout from the sound of the people's weeping'. Until we are with the Lord in the new heavens and the new earth, there is always the mixture of joy and weeping, happiness and sorrow, praise and lament in the worship of God's people.

We live in an age of vain sentimentality -- particularly in our evangelical Christian sub-culture. I have often poked fun at 'Christian' radio that is constantly urging us to be 'positive and encouraging'. There is certainly some good here, especially when most of the garbage on the dial is anger, lust, greed and banality. But we should be careful that the only notes we strike are in that 'positive and encouraging key'. In this we miss (or at least we choose to ignore) a good portion of the whole counsel of God's Word. Consider our Psalm for today, Psalm 30, which is filled with that mixture of praise and lament:

To you, O Lord, I cry,
and to the Lord I plead for mercy:
"What profit is there in my death, if I go down to the pit?
Will the dust praise you? Will it tell of your faithfulness?
Hear, O Lord, and be merciful to me!
O Lord, be my helper!"

Yet, it moves from lament and pleading for mercy, to this:

You have turned for me my mourning into dancing;
you have loosed my sackclothand clothed me with gladness,
that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent.
O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever!

There is 'a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance'. God has begun his great redemptive work of grace in our lives. His kingdom and power are indeed 'already' here. We can bask each day in his goodness. We could spend each moment singing his praises, our hearts filled with joy. His salvation has come in the person and work of Jesus Christ. If the Israelites returning to Jerusalem could glory in the foundation that was laid, how much more can we glory from this side of the cross, having seen Jesus, 'the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature' (Heb. 1:3). But, there is also the reality that we are 'strangers and aliens' on the earth, we still 'sojourn in Meshech and dwell in the tents of Kedar' (meaning we are still 'wilderness wanderers').

Consider as well our reading today from Mark 8. It is a glorious passage of the mighty miracles of Christ. We should praise and worship Christ as we consider his works in Mark's gospel account. At the same time, there is the painful reality in all these acts of the presence of sin: the hungry crowds, the unbelieving Pharisees, the blind and the lame, the foolishness of the disciples, the impending cloud of the death of the Messiah. Of course, with the coming of Christ, 'the time is fulfilled, the kingdom is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel' (Mark 1:15).

At the same time, that time has 'not yet' come. At that time, God will 'wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more'. Until that time, there is still sin and death, grief and mourning, crying and pain. The 'former' things have not yet passed away. In Ezra 3, as in all times where there is both joy over the blessings of God and sorrow over sin and death, the chord of sorrow over 'former things' was struck by those seasoned Israelites in the worship service, as were the notes of joy and praise.

I think of my prayers for our new little girl, Chloe Eloise. As I consider the wonders of this gift of God to us, and to the world, my heart is filled with joy and with praise. But, there is always that note of uncertainty, of lament, as I lay my child before the throne of grace. Will she live to be an old woman with a whole lifetime of service to God? Or will she be taken away by the mysterious hand of providence as a child? What joys await us on this journey as a family? But, then again, what sorrows? Will Chloe grow up to serve and love the living God through Christ her Savior? Or will she turn away from the grace of Christ and give into a life of rebellion and enmity towards God? My prayers are always fraught with fear, anxiety, and pleading with God for mercy.

If I am reading the Psalms right, God calls his people to lament. He beckons us to come with our fears and cares. And in such pleading and striving against the world, the flesh and the devil, he comforts me. His comfort does not seem to come with a slap on the back and a nudge under my chin ('Be positive! Be encouraged!'), but with an embrace mingled with sovereign mercy and almighty power. This embrace says, 'I am God and there is no other!' This embrace says, 'Trust me with your life and with your little ones, for I am good.' This embrace says, 'weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes in the morning.'

At such times of sovereign care, it is difficult to distinguish tears of mourning from tears of joy. And this is the way our gracious Lord would have it until his hand wipes the tears away.

The Straight Story

Ezra 1: 1-4

We live in an age of cynicism and doubt. Interesting, seeing as how it is the 'information age' and all that. The deal seems to be, that the more the secular mind knows, the less it believes. Worse than this are the current fads sweeping the church which glory in doubt and cynical unbelief. The purveyors of these new movements call it, 'glorying in the mystery', or some such nonsense. Not that there isn't mystery. Of course there is. But mystery in the Scriptures is different than just lazy, foggy, and jaded thinking. Mystery is where humanity leaves off and divinity steps in. The mystery is that God's ways are not our ways, and his thoughts are higher than our thoughts. The mystery is that there are 'secret things' belonging to God. But there are 'revealed things' as well. A lot of them. A whole book full. A universe full, in fact. The Scriptures tell us that Jesus and his gospel is the 'mystery revealed'. Because God has revealed himself in this way, we able to speak truthfully, and honestly. We are able to give people the straight story.

Ezra gives us the straight story. And what makes this straightforward narrative so striking is the most incredible and unbelievable nature of what he says:

1. His narrative is an account of fulfilled prophecy.
2. Jeremiah spoke the word of the Lord.
3. Cyrus (the most powerful leader in the world) is an instrument of the Lord.
4. Aftern 70 years of devastation, exile, apostasy, sin, compromise, syncretism, and separation, God is fulfilling his covenant promises to His people.

The post/modern mind, whatever that is -perhaps better to say the skeptical, unbelieving mind -should consider a few things:

1. Now, if this prophecy is fulfilled, then God's word is true and must be regarding as truthful (and not just a 'story' with some good principles that we try to glean amidst all the archaic foolishness).
2. If Jeremiah spoke 'the word of the Lord', then we discover that God does indeed speak authoritatively and truthfully, through the organic inspiration of the writers of Scripture.
3. Cyrus was 'stirred up' in his spirit by God. God is sovereign over the universe and over the destinies of men, and over the kings of the world (1:2). God is no pawn to our individual wills, it seems to be rather the opposite here in the prologue to Ezra's book (see also 1:5).
4. God has a redemptive plan, driven by a deep and abiding covenant love, all of history moves along its lines and toward its consummation.

These striking statements by Ezra, and their attending implications, are put forth simply and without much fanfare. This is primarily because Ezra and God's people are full of faith. While they no doubt are filled with joy and awe at God's work- they are not surprised. This is what God said he would do! This is who God is! No doubt, as we read on, the naysayers will come. Doubters will cast aspersions. The enemies of God and of truth will fight his work and the work of his people. But, these things will not be said of God's faithful, covenant keeping people. Those who are full of faith will continue in trust of their prophecy fulfilling, truth revealing, sovereign and faithful Master. And they will keep on with a sword in one hand and the trowel in the other (Neh.4:17-18).

So, let's be filled with the faith and hope of Ezra in a day of unbelief and skepticism.
Let's be like Ezra- unafraid and unshaken by the mysteries about us, but certain in the straight story of the good news of Jesus Christ. Through this good news we are able to join the exiles - "remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ" (Eph. 2:11-13). By the sovereign grace of God, our hearts have been stirred up to put our faith and trust in God. And we proclaim the straightforward truth of His word, in all of its incredible glory. The unbelief of our age does not curb our zeal, but rather should provoke and promote a passion to share the truth, the straight story of God's glorious gospel.