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Mark 4:39

A Great Calm!

In Genesis chapter 1, we read that the earth was “formless and void.” These ideas perfectly describe a chaotic situation. Then God said, “Let there be light, and there was light.” (Genesis 1:3). He then proceeded to create categories. In Genesis 1:5, we read, “God called the light Day and the darkness he called Night. …And God made the expanse and separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse…And God called the expanse Heaven… God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas.” He then filled space with planets and stars. He filled the skies with birds, the seas with fish, and the land with plants and animals. In other words, he gave the categories content and brought order out of the chaos.  It resulted in a perfect environment of peaceful coexistence in the Garden of Eden with man entrusted with its care. This is called paradise!

Evolutionary Scientists argue that order (the complexities in the universe) came about by accident. Nobel laureate Ilya Prigogine, in his book “Order out of Chaos” argues that many complex systems have evolved into a high degree of order without the interference of a designer. Stuart Kauffman suggests a fourth law of thermodynamics which involves spontaneous self-sustaining, self-organizing systems.  One creationist observed that this 4th so-called law “would violate the second law of thermodynamics, which states everything in nature tends toward decay.” The law of decay has its roots in man’s sin. God brought order, man’s rebellion brought chaos again, and the earth was cursed.

Harry Reasoner concluded his book, “Before the Colors Fade” (Alfred A. Knopf, 1981), with a Catholic theologian’s definition of work: “Work is the effort of men and women to bring order out of the chaos left by original sin.” The problem with this is that man’s failure involves his inability to bring perfect order back into a chaotic world of sin and confusion.  But Jesus, the 2nd Adam, came to do just that. Many of His miracles were designed for us to see Him as the producer of order in the world. We read about one of these in Mark 4:39: “And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, ‘Peace! Be still!’ And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.”

I’m not convinced about global warming, but it sure does seem that there are many natural disasters today. It wasn’t long ago that Maui was destroyed by wind, fire, and water. Earthquakes, hurricanes, forest fires, and other natural catastrophes seem to be increasing. Maybe we’re better equipped to learn about them. This makes me pray the last verse in the bible more fervently. “Even so, Come Lord Jesus.” Not only does Jesus restore order from all the chaos in the world, but he also brings “great calms” into the lives of those who trust Him.  In his book, “The Loins Girded,” Knap says, “There is the storm of doubt that may make us shake within our deepest essence. We can control her as little as the howling wind. However, when the grace of Immanuel flows towards us to uphold us in the evil day, then it seems like our vexed soul may hear from the throne of majesty the word: ‘Peace, be still,’ and a great calm enters our innermost.”

 

Matthew 1:21, Various

What’s In A Name?

Everyone has a name. My name is Charles Elliott Larsen. The last name is obvious. It came from my father’s last name. I’m confident you understand this tradition. My middle name, “Elliott,” has a link to the past as well. Elliott was the last name of my maternal great-grandfather. My first name comes from my father. I’m Junior! You can look up names to find the dictionary meanings also. My name, Charles, means manly, courageous, and brave! There have been a few rare incidents in my life where I felt I lived up to that name, but not very often. I can recount more times when I failed. The only time my mother called me “Charles” was when she was mad at me. I knew I had been found out. I had not been brave, courageous, or manly at all, and I’d come with my head hung in shame. My wife’s name is “Kathy,” which comes from the word for “clean” or “pure.” She lives up to her name a lot better than I live up to mine. She got her name simply from the fact that her parents liked that name.

“In Scripture, names of people and places often have meaning. OT verses where such is the case are listed along with the appropriate meaning. Translators may transliterate names, transliterate with a footnote, transliterate with an explanatory, “which means,” transliterate with the meaning in parenthesis, or translate the meaning of the name.”[1] But when Jesus was named, it came directly from God and had a direct relationship with what his life mission would be. It came directly from God via the angel Gabriel. Matthew 1:21 says, She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

 The Angel told Joseph what to name the baby: “Jesus.” He would be given this name because he will save his people from their sins.” Jesus means “salvation.” There are no inconsistencies with Jesus and his name like those with me and my name. Acts 4:12 tells us that he is the only savior. It says, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” When Jesus, the only savior, saves, he saves completely. Hebrews 7:25 tells us, “He is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him since he always lives to make intercession for them.”  Further, we must not miss the fact that his complete, “to the uttermost” salvation is a personal, individual salvation that will never fail us. There will never be a time when His salvation is inconsistent. It’s always thorough and complete. Romans 10:9-10 tells us, “…if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” It doesn’t say “you might be” saved.  Unlike me, Jesus is always consistent in living up to his name. No one who believes in Jesus will be disappointed. The Romans passage goes on to say, “For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth, one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” Another verse, 1 John 5:13 (one of my favorites), explains the certainty that comes from trusting Jesus to fulfill the definition of his name. It says, “I have written these things to you who believe in the name of the son of God so that you will know that you have eternal life.”

[1] Sailer, William, J. Creighton Christman, David C. Greulich, Harold P. Scanlin, Stephen J. Lennox, and Phillip Guistwite. 2012. Religious and Theological Abstracts. Myerstown, PA: Religious and Theological Abstracts.

Malachi 1:7-8

Despising The Table Of The Lord

Malachi confronted the religious leaders in Israel for “despising” the name of the Lord. Their rebellion and disobedience to ways of worship set forth in the Scriptures were, according to Malachi, rebellion against God, Himself. But the religious leaders, rejecting even the prophet’s authority and confrontation, want to argue about what is right and what is wrong with their behavior. They want to know exactly what Malachi is accusing them of. So the prophet points out in detail how the religious leaders disrespect God and His Name. In Malachi 1:7-8 he says, “By offering polluted food upon my altar. But you say, ‘How have we polluted you?’ By saying that the Lord’s table may be despised. When you offer blind animals in sacrifice, is that not evil? And when you offer those that are lame or sick, is that not evil? Present that to your governor; will he accept you or show you favor?’ says the Lord of hosts.”

The priests offered “polluted food.” I think what Malachi means by “polluted food” is that the priests ignored the specific directions regarding sacrificial animals. The priests offered blind, lame, and sick animals as sacrifices to God. Not only did these animals represent disobedience to the law, but they represented gifts of lesser value. They kept the good ones for themselves and gave God what wasn’t of much real value. If these things were offered to secular leaders, they would not accept them, but you expect God to stay silent as you disrespect Him with such offerings. With Malachi as God’s spokesman, God doesn’t remain silent. When I was on recruiting duty in Detroit, Michigan, if you had a military vehicle signed out to you, you had to go through a training class. This was back in the late 70s. As I remember it, seatbelts were just becoming mandatory. I remember the instructor telling all the recruiters that if they had an accident, make sure they told the authorities you were wearing your seat belt. It didn’t matter whether we were wearing it or not. They were not really popular at the time. He said, “Only God and you know the truth. And God isn’t going to tell anyone.” This was the attitude the priests took about offering polluted sacrifices to the Lord. But in this case, the Lord did speak.

Malachi sounded extremely harsh when he accused the priests of “despising” the table of the Lord. It’s just a little white lie that no one cares about, the instructor at the Navy Recruiting station said. It’s just a broken leg, the priest said. It’s such a little thing. But little things like that never stay little. Peter Adam said. “They began by accepting worthless sacrifices, that then led to despising the table or altar on which the sacrifices were offered. The logic is that if the sacrifices are worthless, then the table must be worthless as well. So, they despise the gracious gift of God, the means by which sin is atoned for, and offerings are accepted. To despise God’s gifts is to despise God; to treat God’s gifts of grace as unholy is to reject the very means that God has provided for sins to be forgiven. And this attitude is then reflected in what they say and so communicated to others, priests and worshippers alike: ‘What a weariness this is,’ you say, and you sniff at me, says the Lord of hosts (13). We see here a spiraling moral decline, in which sin multiplies and intensifies.”[1] The sacrificial offerings were how God would bestow forgiveness for the people’s sins. Today, it’s the cross of Jesus Christ. The communion table represents the reminder that it was the worthy sacrifice of the Son of God, the shedding of that blood, that makes forgiveness possible for us today. To take the Lord’s name in vain, as it is done today, is to “sniff” at God and to despise the table of the Lord.

[1] Adam, Peter. 2013. The Message of Malachi: “I Have Loved You,” Says the Lord. Edited by Alec Motyer and Derek Tidball. The Bible Speaks Today. England: Inter-Varsity Press.

Zechariah 1:15-17, Psalm 32

The Joy Of Forgiveness

Israel had suffered at the hands of all its enemies. They indeed brought their problems on themselves when they turned away from the God of their fathers. Even though God was angry with His own people, the evil of the nations around them aroused even deeper anger. He promises to turn His wrath away from Israel and spend it on the nations that cursed His people. He will once again have mercy on Israel. He will once again restore their glory and prosperity. Thus, the Lord, recognizing the plot of His own people, speaks comforting words again to them again and again, reassuring them that they are his chosen people. Zechariah 1:15-17 tells us, “And I am exceedingly angry with the nations that are at ease; for a while I was angry but a little, they furthered the disaster. Therefore, thus says the Lord, I have returned to Jerusalem with mercy; my house shall be built in it, declares the Lord of hosts, and the measuring line shall be stretched out over Jerusalem. Cry out again, Thus says the Lord of hosts: My cities shall again overflow with prosperity, and the Lord will again comfort Zion and again choose Jerusalem.’”

God had promised to bless those who bless Abraham’s descendants. He also promised to curse those that cursed Abraham’s descendants. Assyria and Babylon had conquered Israel and subjected them once again to slavery. When God brought Israel back to their own lands, the nations that were already there continued the persecution of Israel. As He witnessed this, God declared mercy on Israel and restoration of its former glory and prosperity. Their sins would be forgiven, and they would be restored to God’s favor once again. With God’s favor comes prosperity. The word is not used here of prosperity in the financial and material way but of joy and peace and comfort. God wants to bless repentant people with joy.

Repentance is followed by forgiveness with God. Forgiveness will change one’s future for the good. It is a reason for great celebration. Psalm 32, written by David after he confessed his sins, is all about the joy of forgiveness.  He opens his psalm of joy with “Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.  Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.” Allen Ross, my Hebrew professor, writes about Psalm 32, “The distinctive message in this passage is the great joy and relief that comes from being forgiven, and this is presented in stark contrast to the spiritual depression and sorrow under divine discipline that comes from stubbornly refusing to confess sin. In view of the great sorrow for unconfessed sin, and the great joy of forgiveness, the psalmist appeals to the people to avoid the mistake he made and seek the LORD’s forgiveness. Thus, the second half of the psalm takes on a didactic tone—it is the urgent advice from one who learned the hard way.” Ross concludes his study on the Psalm with this comment: Having experienced divine chastening and then forgiveness for sin, the psalmist encourages others to seek the LORD who deals graciously with sinners because the bliss of forgiveness is life-changing.”[1]

[1] Ross, Allen P. 2011–2013. A Commentary on the Psalms 1–89: Commentary. Vol. 1. Kregel Exegetical Library. Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Academic.

Haggai 2:1-5, Ezra 3:12-13

Do Something!

The remnant that returned to Judah after their captivity in Babylon faced many enemies in the land. The task assigned to them was daunting, and their detractors in the land made it even more difficult. They were afraid of the Canaanites and the Samaritans that occupied the land. All this opposition may have contributed to the fact that the new Temple did not measure up to the one Solomon had built, and the people lost motivation to work on something that seemed, in their eyes, to be lacking in so many ways. Instead of focusing their attention on rebuilding the Temple and the worship system to the Lord, they turned their attention to their own homes and their own situations to provide security for themselves and their families. This sounds very much like the normal thing to do, but it wasn’t why God brought them back to the land of their forefathers. He wanted them to reestablish the worship of the one true God. Haggai 2:1-5 tells us, “In the seventh month, on the twenty-first day of the month, the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet: Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to all the remnant of the people, and say, ‘Who is left among you who saw this house in its former glory? How do you see it now? Is it not as nothing in your eyes? Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel declares the Lord. Be strong, O Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land, declares the Lord. Work, for I am with you, declares the Lord of hosts, according to the covenant that I made with you when you came out of Egypt. My Spirit remains in your midst. Fear not.”

 Ezra, who led one of the migrations back to the land for the purpose of rebuilding the temple, spoke about this disappointment of the older generation. In Ezra 3:12-13, he says, “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, 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.”

 There is always opposition. It doesn’t matter how good you are at your job or how successful you’ve been. There will always be those who will oppose you and detract from your efforts to be productive. The temptation is always to settle back and live a private life concerned only about your own affairs, build your own houses if you will. Doing something, they say, is always better than doing nothing. Your task might not be as glorious and famous as Solomon’s was, but it is important to you. God has not deserted you.  Haggai constantly reminds them that God is with them and that the presence of His Spirit should embolden us to move on with our lives. “Be strong!” He exhorts them because God is with them just as He was with their ancestors of old. Just as He was with Moses at the Red Sea, He is with them as they rebuild a lesser Temple. He is also with us as we pursue the duties and deeds that God lays before us today. We can’t do everything, but we can do something. Like the man walking along the beach after a storm throwing starfish that washed up back into the sea. An observer said, “You won’t be able to save every starfish.” The man replied, “True, but I can save this one.”

 

 

 

 

Zephaniah 1:12-13

A Matter Of The Heart

Zephaniah prophesied the economic collapse of Jerusalem. The marketplaces will be vacant, and the comings and goings of tradesmen will stop. Business will be at a standstill, and hard times will fall on everyone because of their apostasy. They have fallen from faith and confidence in the one true God who cares for them all. He is the God that protects them from harm and blesses them with good things. They have taken matters into their own hands and then denied the existence of God. They blame God for not acting for either good or bad. God did not come to their aid when they thought He should have. God did not destroy their enemies as they thought He should have. They became bitter with God. They thought they could harbor ill will for God because He did not act like they wanted Him to. They could hide such attitudes from God. But God searches our hearts. Zephaniah warns the people of this danger and tells them they can’t hide from God. In Zephaniah 1:12-13 he says, “At that time, I will search Jerusalem with lamps, and I will punish the men who are complacent, those who say in their hearts, ‘The Lord will not do good, nor will he do ill.’ Their goods shall be plundered, and their houses laid waste. Though they build houses, they shall not inhabit them; though they plant vineyards, they shall not drink wine from them.”

 God doesn’t do what I think he should do. He doesn’t judge evil but allows the wicked to prosper. He doesn’t reward the faithful but allows them to be persecuted. I’m unhappy with how God operates, and I give up on expecting anything from Him. This is the character of a bitter heart. Harboring bitterness with God is the sure way to live dissatisfied lives. I think this is why Paul tells us to “get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice” (Ephesians 4:31).  The writer of Hebrews tells us, “See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many” (Hebrews 12:15). Bitterness, someone has commented, is like cancer. It eats away the host. Harry Emerson Fosdick was a famous Baptist preacher who focused his preaching on Love. He said, “Bitterness imprisons life; love releases it. Bitterness paralyzes life; love empowers it. Bitterness sickens life; love heals it. Bitterness blinds life; love anoints its eyes.”[1]

It is a matter of the heart. “The word heart occurs over 600 times in the Old Testament and at least 120 times in the New Testament. The extensive use of the word heart in all its varied implications places it in a position of supreme importance in Biblical psychology.”[2] God isn’t that impressed with how much we know. He doesn’t care about how much we have. A person’s popularity, celebrity status, or anything else cherished in the world finds God indifferent. Wiersbe writes, “The Lord wasn’t impressed with Solomon’s royal splendor, for the Lord looks on the heart and searches the heart. It was Solomon who wrote, ‘Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life,’ yet in his old age, his own heart was far from the Lord. Since the discovery of the circulation of blood by William Harvey in the 17th century, everybody knows that the center of human physical life is the heart. But what’s true physically is also true morally and spiritually. We are to love God with all our hearts and receive His Word into our hearts. God wants us to do His will from our hearts. If our heart is wrong toward God, our entire life will be wrong, no matter how successful we may appear to others.”[3]

[1] Water, Mark. 2000. The New Encyclopedia of Christian Quotations. Alresford, Hampshire: John Hunt Publishers Ltd.

[2] Chafer, Lewis Sperry. 1993. Systematic Theology. Vol. 2. Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications.

[3] Wiersbe, Warren W. 2002. Be Responsible. “Be” Commentary Series. Colorado Springs, CO: Victor.

Habakkuk 1:6-7

God Judges Nations and People

God’s people are struggling with the prosperity of the wicked. But God calls them to trust Him, and He will resolve the injustices in His own time. As a matter of fact, He will deal with the problem in a way that you might not ever consider. As Assyria was prospering and threatening the peace and stability of God’s people in the Northern Kingdom, Habakkuk explained that there was another kingdom that He was raising up to bring His judgment on Assyria. It will be thorough. Habakkuk uses the rest of Chapter One to describe the army from the south that he is raising up to bring judgment on the Assyrians in the north. He begins his description of them in Verses 6 and 7. He says, “For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, who march through the breadth of the earth, to seize dwellings not their own. They are dreaded and fearsome; their justice and dignity go forth from themselves.”

 I believe the word “Chaldeans” is another way of referring to the Babylonians. This is the kingdom that will conquer the southern kingdom under King Nebuchadnezzar over a hundred years later. They are vividly described as bitter people. That is, they are fierce and cruel towards those that they conquer. They are hasty. They are impetuous in their decisions and rapid in their movements and don’t take time to consider the concerns of others. They are terrible and dreaded people. The people of the nations are seized with terror and dread whenever the armies of the Chaldeans approach them. They are self-exalting in that they dignify themselves. They are self-willed. They will do whatever they want to do without any moral or ethical restraint. They are strong enough to force their will on anyone and do so with rampant disregard for others.

This may have sounded like good news to the northern kingdom of Israel at the time. I guess we all long for the defeat of our enemies. It might sound good to them under their current circumstances, but in the long run, it was actually bad news. Guzik observes, “We understand the idea of something ‘too good to be true,’ but that isn’t what God is talking about here. This is something ‘too bad to be true,’ a work of judgment so astounding that Habakkuk would have a hard time believing it.”[1] God allows man’s wickedness and violence to reign in the world. He destroyed the world in Noah’s day because of the violence, but now He works specifically with individual nations. No one can answer for God’s ways! I’ve tried to, but never come out with a satisfactory answer. His ways are not our ways. His thoughts are not our thoughts. What God chooses to do, God chooses to do. Why did he make us with two arms instead of three? I don’t know, but He did. Why does he use wicked nations to accomplish his will? I don’t know, but He did. Barber acknowledges, “What history revealed in the case of the Chaldeans has been practiced numerous times since. All one need to do is reflect upon the activities of Germany at the beginning of World War II or of Russia in more recent years. Poland, Holland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and Afghanistan have suffered in much the same way as Judah of old. Although God has seemingly permitted such unbridled aggression to go unpunished, the fact remains that God eventually calls each nation to account for its actions.”[2] This applies to the individual as well. The author of Hebrews reminds us that we will all die. After which will come the judgment.

[1] Guzik, David. 2003. Habakkuk. David Guzik’s Commentaries on the Bible. Santa Barbara, CA: David Guzik.

[2] Barber, Cyril J. 1985. Habakkuk and Zephaniah. Everyman’s Bible Commentary. Chicago, IL: Moody Press.

Nahum 1:10-11

Triumph Over The Muck Of Life

Nahum wanted the Ninevites to know that there was a judgment from God coming to them if they did not do as the previous generation did when Jonah came to preach to them. He wanted them to repent and turn from their plans to invade God’s people. But the nation of Assyria and its many counselors just confused things to the point that it was impossible to straighten them out. It’s like a rolled-up ball of Christmas lights. It’s easier to throw them out and get new ones than straighten out the ones we have. Not only do the counselors add to the confusion, but they have also become so decadent that they cannot think for themselves. Nahum tells them in Chapter 1, verses 10-11, “For they are like entangled thorns, like drunkards as they drink; they are consumed like stubble fully dried.  From you came one who plotted evil against the Lord, a worthless counselor.” One commentator argues, “This must be one of the most difficult texts in the Old Testament. No satisfactory translation of the passage has been offered to date.”[1] So many different opinions have been offered that this passage has been dubbed “hopelessly corrupt.” The writer goes on and says, “Although numerous conjectures have been put forward, none has met with scholarly consensus or proved to be entirely satisfactory.”

All the images seem to imply a profound hopelessness. You cannot untangle thorn bushes. You cannot deal with a drunkard in the middle of his drunkenness. You cannot unburn the stubble when it’s consumed by fire. The commentator continues, “The point of the comparison in all three seemingly unrelated cases is that of total consumption: the bush by its thorns, the drunkard by his drink, the stubble by fire.” It does seem to focus on the “impossibility of God’s enemies ever rising again after He has judged them.” He will make a complete end, a total destruction, of those that destroy His people. Those that set their hearts on the total destruction of God’s people will themselves face total destruction.

This is seen very often in the Bible and in History. God had promised to bless the people that bless His people. He also promised to curse the people that curse His people. The cursing here has to do with the idea of total destruction. In human relationships, it’s akin to murder. The total elimination of the one that I hate. Pharaoh tried it and drowned in the red sea. As McDowell observes, the Book of Esther tells us of another attempt, “A plot to destroy the Jews was made by an evil man named Haman, who was eventually hanged when his plot backfired. The Jews were allowed to avenge their enemies, and this victory was celebrated with the establishment of the Feast of Purim to be observed in commemoration of their being saved from total destruction.”[2] Nahum is warning the Assyrians that there will be no recourse if they carry out their plans to destroy Israel utterly. They did not listen, and it didn’t take long for Babylon to conquer and destroy them. Babylon, of course, followed the same fate. We could move on through the history of man’s attempts to destroy the Chosen people of God. Hitler, with the Nazi hate for Jews, is another attempt that ended with their own destruction. I like what Ralph Davis said about God fighting for His people. Elsworth quotes him in his commentary on Joshua, “Dale Ralph Davis says of this passage: ‘… the writer wants us to see that it is Yahweh who is the fighter; he is the warrior, he is the victor who crushes the enemy.’ He proceeds to say, ‘It is too bad much of the church has lost this vision of God or Christ as the warrior who fights for his people.… No mild God or soft Jesus can give his people hope. It is only as we know the warrior of Israel who fights for us (and sometimes without us) that we have hope of triumphing in the muck of life.’”[3]

[1] Patterson, Richard D., and Andrew E. Hill. 2008. Cornerstone Biblical Commentary, Vol 10: Minor Prophets, Hosea–Malachi. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.

[2] McDowell, Josh. 1997. Josh McDowell’s Handbook on Apologetics. Electronic ed. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson.

[3] Ellsworth, Roger. 2008. Opening up Joshua. Opening Up Commentary. Leominster: Day One Publications.

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