pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

Tag Archives: judgment


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Hope Even Then

Readings: Jeremiah 21-24

Jeremiah 23:3 – “I myself will gather the few remaining sheep from all the countries where I have driven them. I will bring them back.”

Today’s words from Jeremiah and God are mostly addressed to the kings and priests – the leaders. Zedekiah asks Jeremiah to go to God on their behalf because Nebuchadnezzar is besieging the city. God’s response is that God will join in the fight against Zedekiah and Jerusalem. God will send a plague, destroying them from within the city. They are told that surrender is the only way to live. Almost all will die instead.

Jeremiah elevates the correct behavior of kings. Administer justice and righteousness. Rescue the oppressed. Don’t mistreat the refugee, immigrant, orphan, or widow. Don’t spill innocent blood. Defend the rights of the poor and needy. Care well for the flock. Be fresh, good figs. Instead, the leaders chose to be evil, selfish, greedy, willful. God’s efforts will join theirs in scattering the flock.

Jeremiah also addresses the priests or “prophets.” They are telling lies and selling false security. They commit adultery with idols and teach in the name of Baal. God declares them no better than Sodom – a city completely destroyed by God because of their sin. The prophets have “destroyed the very word of God.” They too will join the kings and other leaders in exile, becoming objects of disgrace and shame.

We also find hope within these oracles and judgments. God still longs for the people to know and to love God. God’s love for them remains strong and steadfast. In 23:3 we read, “I myself will gather the few remaining sheep from all the countries where I have driven them. I will bring them back.” Thanks be to God for unfailing mercy and unending grace.

Prayer: Lord God, I am grateful for your standards and expectations. You call us to justice and righteousness, to mercy and compassion. You call us to love all people. You ask us to be who you are. It is good. Amen.


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Effort Matters

Reading: Ecclesiastes 9-12

‭Ecclesiastes 10:10 – “If an ax is dull and one doesn’t sharpen it first, then one must exert more force.”

Photo credit: Falaq Lazuardi

As we conclude Ecclesiastes today we begin with the remainder that the deeds of the righteous and wise are in God’s hands. Even so, death awaits us all. Chapter 12 alludes to our general decline as we age. The sun and light grow dark, people become afraid, and then “the human goes to the eternal abode.” The Teacher recognizes that there is a finality to this life.

But during our lives, the advice is to eat joyfully, to drink happily, to have oil for our heads, and to enjoy our “dearly loved spouse.” Even though all of our days are pointless, it is our part to play. So whenever we can, we should do these things with “all your might.”

The Teacher also recognizes that much is out of our control. The swift don’t always win the race. “Accidents can happen to anyone,” says the sage. When tragedy suddenly befalls us, we are like “fish caught in a net.”

Even so, we are encouraged to take pleasure in all of our years. Yes, there will be dark days. Yes, one day we’ll be called into account by God. And, yes, our deeds matter. The lazy – the cloud and wind watchers – won’t sow or harvest. Effort matters. In 10:10 we read, “If an ax is dull and one doesn’t sharpen it first, then one must exert more force.” Seek wisdom and knowledge and skill. Life will be better. Maybe, says the Teacher.

Ecclesiastes closes with a reminder to worship God and to obey the commands. It is what everyone must do, because, remember, judgment is coming. May it be so for you and for me.

Prayer: Lord God, in the grand scope of life, lead us day by day to enjoy life and all it has to offer. Put joy into the work of our hands and obedience into our hearts of faith. Amen.


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Paths Diverge Sharply

Readings: Proverbs 3

‭Proverbs 3:34-35 – “He mocks mockers, but he shows favor to the humble. The wise gain respect, but fools receive shame.”

Today’s reading first invites us to hold onto loyalty and faithfulness, to bind them on our necks, to write them on “the tablet of your heart.” In later years the Jews would write scriptures on pieces of paper and would place these in small boxes that they strapped to their forearms and foreheads. They knew that wisdom came through a relationship with God that was founded on God’s word. These phylactery boxes were visible reminders of God, much like the crosses and tattoos many Christians wear today.

Solomon reminds us, the sons and daughters, that wisdom brings happiness, long life, wealth, and honor. With wisdom, our work and our sleep is pleasant and peaceful. We are encouraged to hold onto sound judgment and discretion. Wisdom gives us the ability to think through things, to make good decisions. Wisdom also builds up in us humility as we learn more and more about trusting in God and not in self. These practices will bring “life” to our “whole being” – heart, mind, body, and soul.

In verses 27-35 we find some warnings followed by the outcomes of choosing evil or of choosing wisdom and of walking in a relationship with the Lord. The warnings: don’t harm your neighbor, don’t accuse for no reason, don’t envy violent people. Those who choose these paths are cursed, detestable, mocked, and shamed. Those who choose the path of wisdom are close friends with God, are blessed, shown favor, and gain respect. The best choice is clear. The two paths diverge sharply. “My son, [my daughter,] don’t forget my instruction.”

Prayer: Lord God, your ways are good, just, right. Your heart is full of love, grace, compassion, mercy. You give provision for those in need, peace for those who are troubled. Lord, fill us with your wisdom so that we too can be these things lived out in the world today. Amen.


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The Ebb and Flow

Reading: Psalm 119:89-176

‭Psalm 119:159 – “Look at how much I love your precepts. Make me live again, LORD!”

The first half of Psalm 119 painted a picture of a new and growing faith. In verses 89-176 we find a more mature faith, one that quickly turns to God, one that expects God to act on behalf of the faithful. The overarching theme of these 11 sections can be summed up in today’s key verse: “Look at how much I love your precepts. Make me live again, LORD!” Much like Job, the psalmist wrestles with the good/reward, bad/punish framework of the ancient faith. We wrestle with this too.

This wrestling can be found in verses 126-127 and in 165-166. In the first the psalmist almost demands God’s actions because others have “broken” God’s law and because he or she loves the law more than gold. In verse 165 the statement is made that the faithful enjoy peace and do not stumble. Then in 166 the psalmist says, “Lord, I want your saving help.” I’m good, God. You should save me!

Throughout these sections we also find a consistent theme of loving God’s law and being angry at or hating those who don’t love God’s law. We see this played out in the New Testament too as the religious leaders clashed with Jesus and then with his followers. They couldn’t stomach how Jesus ate with and touched sinners. We too can be a bit like this. We can look down our noses at those who aren’t acting or believing like we act and believe. We can struggle with brothers and sisters in Christ who seek to minister to “those” people.

Overall these sections of Psalm 119 paint an accurate picture of our faith – for good and for bad. We sincerely want to know, understand, and live out God’s will and ways. We can judge and demand. And we can find ourselves as the psalmist did in verse 176: “I’ve wandered off like a sheep, lost.” And we can pray as the psalmist prayer: “Find your servant because I haven’t forgotten your commandments!” No, likely they’re just conveniently misplaced. Lord, help us.

Prayer: Lord God, the ebb and flow is part of the journey. The call to love the least wrestles with our inclinations towards judgment and condemnation. How fickle we are too. So, yes, help us Lord to know you more, to love you more completely, to serve more steadfastly. Continue to gather us back in. Shepherd us on your path. Amen.


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Down, Down, Down

Readings: 1st Kings 12, 1st Kings 13, 1st Kings 14, 1st Kings 15, 1st Kings 16

1st Kings 14:8 – “I tore the kingdom from David’s house and gave it to you. But you haven’t been like my servant David.”

In today’s five chapters we see the unfolding of God’s judgment against Solomon’s house and against Israel. Rehoboam follows Solomon and has an opportunity to begin well. But immaturity leads to a split in the kingdom. Jeroboam becomes king of Israel, the ten northern tribes. Rehoboam rules Judah – made up of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. Egypt attacks a weak Judah and carries off all of the wealth that Solomon had gathered.

In the north Jeroboam sets up two places of worship – alternatives to Jerusalem – each with its own golden calf. He appoints his own priests and sets up his own religious festivals (that mirror the traditional festivals.) A man of God comes to him and warns him of the outcome of his sin, twice demonstrating God’s power. The man of God is tricked by another prophet and he dies a tragic death. Jeroboam continues in his evil ways. His son gets sick and he sends his wife, in a disguise, to the prophet Ahijah. He tells her the son will die and he tells her that all of Jeroboam’s house will die too.

We then shift back to Judah, where Rehoboam is doing evil in God’s eyes. They worship foreign gods and engage in illicit sex with the cultic prostitutes. Rehoboam dies and his son Abijam rules three years, doing evil in God’s eyes. His son Asa rules next. Asa is our one bright spot. He removes the prostitutes and the idols. He even removes his grandmother from her position as the queen mother. She was an idol worshipper. But he allows the shrines to remain and he forms an alliance with Aram.

We shift back to Israel as Nadab rules. After two years Baasha kills him and all of Jeroboam’s house. He rules 22 years, doing evil in God’s eyes. Jehu the prophet comes and warns him of his downfall. Things do not change. Zimri assassinates Baasha and then kills all of his household. Zimri rules for seven days. Omri the general leads next, for 12 years. Evil increases under Omri. His son Ahab rules next. Ahab does even more evil than anyone before him. He worships Baal and Asherah. The stage is set. The low point has been reached in Israel. It is time for God to return to the scene in full force.

Prayer: Lord God, one after another after another do evil in your eyes. Down, down, down goes Israel and Judah. A moment of light and hope comes, then Israel goes further down the slope. Yet we know the end of the story. Thank you for that. It’s needed with readings like today’s. Amen.


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Lift Our Praises!

Reading: Psalm 96

Verse 7: “Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength!”

Psalm 96 begins with a call to sing to the Lord, to praise his name and to declare his glory. This call fits well with this season of Advent. In our carols and praise songs we find much joy in our singing this time of the year. The next stanza is a reminder. The psalmist warns of the idols of other nations. This too is a good reminder in this season when we can overspend and overindulge.

In verse 7 we read, “Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength!” To ascribe is to “regard a quality as belonging to.” Glory and strength, splendor and holiness – certainly qualities that are central to God’s character. It is always a good thing to praise God for these qualities and to offer our thanksgiving for the ways that we can reflect these to the world. This too is an act of worship and praise.

The remainder of the Psalm mostly focuses on rejoicing and praising the Lord who reigns. The heavens, the earth, the seas and all in them, the fields, the trees – they all join in the celebration and worship. All of creation joins the chorus! Tucked within these last four verses are also reminders of God’s judgment. Yes, one day God will judge us all in equity and truth. These things too are part of the Advent season.

This day may we lift our praises to God. May we rejoice in our God who reigns over all of creation!

Prayer: Lord God, we praise you first because we are fearfully and wonderfully made. We rejoice in your goodness and grace, in your love and mercy. Guide us to live these out today and every day as one of our acts of worship. Amen.


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Criteria

Reading: Matthew 25:31-46

Verse 45: “Whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.”

Today’s passage takes us to the end of this world as we know it. Jesus is sitting on the throne or on the judgment seat. In the opening verses we read that “all nations” will be gathered before him. Jesus will then separate those destined for heaven from those destined for hell. Even if we die before this day, we will still be judged worthy or unworthy of heaven.

It is interesting to me that both the sheep and the goats address Jesus as “Lord.” To me it feels like more than a polite title. It feels like even the goats thought they were worthy of inclusion in heaven. So what then is used to separate one from another?

In verses 35 and 36 Jesus lays out the criteria. In his own words it is whether or not one fed the hungry, gave drink to the thirsty, invited the stranger in, clothed the naked, cared for the sick, and visited the imprisoned. Both groups want to know when they saw Jesus hungry, thirsty… The answer is pretty much the same to both the sheep and the goats. They each saw Jesus in “the least of these” – the outcast, the leper, the Samaritan, the tax collector, the woman at the well… Some chose to have compassion and to act to meet needs. Others did not.

The challenge of this passage is to ask where we fit. To which herd do we belong? Maybe we’d like to tell ourselves that this is just one of the many criteria that Jesus will use to judge us worthy or not. But what if it is the only criteria that he uses?

Prayer: Lord God, change my heart, O God. Raise up a compassion in me that sees and responds to needs consistently, not just when convenient or easy. Yes, change my heart, O God. Amen.


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Hear the Invitation

Reading: Ezekiel 34:20-24

Verse 22: “I will save my flock, and they will no longer be plundered. I will judge between one sheep and another.”

Continuing with the prophet Ezekiel today he first addresses those who are harming the flock. In verse 20 God declares that there will be judgment of “the fat sheep and the lean sheep.” The fat sheep are bullying the lean sheep. They shove and goad those with less power, less voice, less everything. In New Testament terms, the fat sheep are not loving their neighbors. They are, in fact, doing just the opposite. The rich and powerful are plundering the weak. God promises, though, to save the whole flock – the fat and lean alike.

Yes, God’s promise is to all the sheep. God promises both salvation and rescue. God foretells a time of judgment to come. These gifts from God are for all people. Some have accepted God’s grace and have entered into a personal, saving relationship with the Lord. Others sense God’s presence and can feel God reaching out to them but haven’t yet accepted the invitation. The open invitation remains there today. Our question is this: Who do we know that needs to once again hear the Invitation that Christ offers to all people?

Our Old Testament passage closes with the promise of a new king, of one from the line of David. Ezekiel isn’t speaking of the actual King David – he lived about 400 years before Ezekiel. He is speaking of one who will come from David’s line, from the root of Jesse. Ezekiel is speaking of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He is speaking of the hope of all the world, the Messiah.

Prayer: Lord God, you are ever reaching out, ever seeking to walk in relationship with your creation. Thank you for the connection we have, for the relationship that daily guides our living. Use us to help others to know you as Lord and Savior, coming to know the power of salvation and the gift of grace. Amen.


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Accountability

Reading: Romans 14:1-12

Verse 10: “You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister? Or why do you treat them with contempt?”

Photo credit: Ditto Bowo

Our Epistle reading begins with the directive to accept others without passing judgment. I’m not sure if the first or second is harder to adhere to. Maybe both are an equal struggle as they are so closely related. This seemed to be the case for the church in Rome. It remains a big struggle in many of our churches today.

In what Paul terms “disputable matters” these Christians are struggling to allow for understandings and practices that are different from their own. The Gentile Christians thought their faith was “stronger” because they didn’t have to follow all of these rules to maintain their relationship with Jesus. Thus, they viewed the Jewish Christians as “weak.” The Jews, for example, only ate vegetables as a way to keep the Jewish food purity laws concerning meat. It was hard to find meat that they were sure was kosher in that pagan culture of Rome. The Gentile believers saw this as a weakness of faith because they themselves could eat anything and still be right with God.

Paul reminds all of those in the church that “none of us lives to himself [or herself] alone.” Instead, he insists, “we belong to the Lord” – both in life and in death. With these truths in mind, Paul then asks these two pointed questions: “You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister? Or why do you treat them with contempt?” He reminds us that if Jesus submitted to the point of death on a cross, then we should submit to unity in spite of minor differences in understanding and practice. He closes with a sober reminder: one day we will all come before the judgment seat. May our accounting of how we treated our brothers and sisters in Christ bring glory to God.

Prayer: Lord God, it’s so easy to slip into judging and looking down on others. It’s an area of weakness for me. Jesus set the example – engaging others as equal, worthy, beloved, valued. Build up my inner being and remove my weakness so that I can better live like Jesus. Amen.


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Claimed and Fulfilled

Reading: Psalm 80:17-19

Verse 17: Let your hand rest on the man at your right hand, the son of man you have raised up for yourself.”

The second part of Psalm 80 speaks of one who will bring hope to Israel. This is a deep longing in the nation. The Israelites are familiar with God raising up leaders – Abraham, Moses, Joshua, David, Solomon, Gideon, Samson, Deborah, Esther, Isaiah, Jeremiah… There is a long list of men and women called by God, guided by the Spirit, and empowered by God to lead. And when you look at the long list of people called and used by God, there is great diversity.

As we read these words of the Psalm, we do so as many have for almost 2,000 years. We read these words through the lens of Christ. We do so because Jesus claimed and fulfilled these words and many others written in the Old Testament. Jesus came from and returned to the right hand of God – to the judgment seat. Christ was the incarnation of God, raised up by God through the Holy Spirit from a virgin and from the line of David.

In the giving of self, of blood, of life, Jesus restored our relationship with God and provided a means for this to happen again and again. In Christ, God’s face did shine upon humanity, revealing the depth of God’s love, mercy, and grace. Through Jesus Christ, we are saved. Thanks be to God!

Prayer: Lord God, thank you for the reminder today of how you fulfilled these words and promises for the salvation of the world and for my salvation. Jesus Christ is the hope of the world and the hope of all who love you. Amen.