The Potter, the wheel and the clay: 9th August 2012. Devon UK

Perhaps one of the favourite promises for believers is that found in Paul's letter to the Romans.

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified. Rom 8:28–30 NKJV.

This seems like a catch-all promise that guarantees the sweet smile of success on all our days, but is it? With all 'legal' documents we have to examine carefully just who the document has in mind and just what it is promising. Are these verses some kind of undertaking that the whole of life is scripted and that God's will is always done?

Let's unpack it in a way similar to the way we worked on Monday. Who is this addressed to? What is its goal? and What is the modus operandi, the way of working?

To see who Paul has in mind will narrow the field considerably. It is addressed to those who are 'God-lovers'. The tense implies someone whose characteristic mood or mind-set is that they love God. Youngs Literal Translation refers to 'to those loving God' Rom 8:28 YNG. So this is not a verse that we can quote in a random fashion. It applies to those, only, who are 'God-lovers'. And it adds a further detail. It describes these 'God-lovers' and those whom God has called with a purpose in mind; those who are the called according to His purpose. Rom 8:28 NKJV. It is plainly referring to God-lovers but what is God's purpose? It is often presumed from these verses that the purpose is 'salvation' but a more careful reading of the promise shows it has another thought in focus; the purpose God has 'in mind' is that these 'God-lovers' would be conformed to the image of his Son. It is not their eternal security that this verse has in mind but their 'likeness to Christ'.

And God's means of achieving this 'purpose'? The verse reads like this; to those loving God, he works all things together for good. This is not saying that all events will somehow turn out for the best. It is not saying that God scripts all events. It is saying that God takes events and co-works those events for the 'good' of those who are loving him. It does not say that God ordained the famine or the war or the sexual assault. It simply says that God takes those events and for those who love God he weaves them together into something 'good'. The word translated 'works-together' is the Greek word synergy; he works them together, they are all in his hands, both the spinning wheel of events and the clay for which he has a destiny. Nothing is wasted in the lives of these people; their joys, their sorrows, their triumphs, their disasters… He holds it all together and pursues his 'purpose'; he will move heaven and earth to conform us to the image of his son. That is his definition of 'good'.

The God of the Promises: 7th August, 1012. Devon UK.

So today is scheduled to be the second of our Bible Studies on the Promises of God. I wanted to give some thought to the nature of the God who has determined to work his purposes through the fulfilment of his promises. What kind of a person would take this route?

We could know nothing of God unless he had chosen to reveal himself and the record of the Bible is just that. God revealing himself in this record of history and revelation. Often God revealed himself by his name. This may be a little difficult for us to see clearly, but God's names are not arbitrary identification labels, as so often our are. Each name is a personal revelation of his character. The names of God Almighty or Jehovah are not used accidentally in the Bible but as recorded insights into the character of God. If the first question is 'is there a God', the second must be 'what is he like?'

God told the people of Israel that he was going to reveal himself to them under the name of Jehovah. It was probably pronounced Yahweh, but we won't get distracted with that. The name was so special that God said anyone who used it with disrespect would be cut off from God's people. The people were so anxious to ensure that they did not misuse it that they almost stopped using it altogether. You will not find it in most modern translations. In the old King James version you will find it used just four times; Ex 6:3; Psa 83:18; Is 12:2; 26:4. In the American Standard Version of 1902 you will find it used 6777 times! From Exodus to Malachi the story is of Jehovah and his people. The people of Israel were intended to be the authentic 'Jehovah's Witnesses';

Ye are my witnesses, saith Jehovah, and my servant whom I have chosen; that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. Is 43:10 ASV.

When God 'introduced himself' to the people of Israel he gave the name by which they were to know him and signed his name to an amazing plan. With the meticulous care of a legal document he signed his name at the beginning and at the end of an amazing manifesto;

Wherefore say unto the children of Israel, I am Jehovah, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm, and with great judgments: and I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God; and ye shall know that I am Jehovah your God, who bringeth you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. And I will bring you in unto the land which I sware to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; and I will give it you for a heritage: I am Jehovah. Ex 6:6–8 ASV.

Seven times, the words ring out like the peal of a great bell; I will.., I will.., I will.., I will.., I will.., I will.., I will.., God declared his will with absolute clarity… and put his name to it.
This is the 'kind' of God who stands behind his promises. A God who cannot lie and has staked his name and reputation on his power to deliver what he has promised.

And the New Covenant is better than this! Take each one of these seven declarations and transpose them into the language of reality of the better covenant. It is little wonder that the writer to the Hebrews writes…

But now

He (Christ) has obtained a more excellent ministry,

inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant,

which was established on better promises.

Heb 8:6–7 NKJV.

The Promises of God: 6th August 2012, Devon UK

This week I am part of the New Life Conference at Rora House in Devon UK. This is a multi-purpose site which includes a local church and conference facilities. It is a beautiful spot and the rolling Devon hills provide a backdrop for a week's residential, mostly camping, conference where people will gather from many nations. We have looked forwards with anticipation to the prospect of a week's worship and fellowship; and now its here!

I am leading four morning Bible studies on the theme of 'The Promises of God'. What a topic! On average I would think there are a dozen on each page of the Book! So where do we begin and what shall we leave out?

For this morning's session I intend to look at the whole nature of God and his promises. Why does God use the pattern of 'promises'? If God is almighty and there is nothing he cannot do why go through the patterns of promises, why doesn't God just do it! If he wants something he is fully able to just do it; surely that would be more efficient? Well it might be more efficient but for God the journey is as important as the arriving and God has determined that his greatest purposes will be achieved, not in spite of, but through a living partnership with his people.

There is a famous verse that may help us.

For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us. 2 Cor 1:20 NKJV.

It's quite a complicated verse and needs a little unpacking. It is really saying that all that God has promised to do rests in the safe hands of his Son. He is the guarantor that God's purposes will be accomplished. That's the 'all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen' part of the package.

Then there's the part which says to the glory of God' so we know where this verse is heading. All things are to be accomplished for the 'glory of God'. An old writer once wrote that 'God's glory and man's good are so inter-twined that whatever prospers the one prospers the other'. Man's joyful fulfilment depends on God being given his right place in our thinking and in our universe.

But look at the last ingredient… 'through us' . Really, are we part of this amazing story? Yes. God will not impose his salvation on human beings, that would be to distort what it means to be 'a human being'. God has settled his 'modus operandi'; his way of doing things. The channel that he has chosen to use is 'human beings'. This unique part of his creation has been described as an amazing mixture of 'dust and destiny' and so we are. God's purposes are to be achieved by grace, through faith… and so God has set himself to fulfil his purpose of grace through the believing co-operation of his people. I may be a 'nobody' but in God's plan and purpose I am to be a significant nobody!

I am Abraham's Servant

Now isn't this cheating? Surely this isn't God speaking but rather Abraham's servant? (Gen 24:34) Well, yes it is but Genesis 24 is the culmination of 3 amazing chapters in the Book of Genesis. There is a theme and pattern which surely cannot be accidental. Let's take a look and see if we can justify adding this 'self-revelation' to the list.

Genesis 22. Moriah and The 'Sacrifice' of Isaac.

This chapter tells the amazing story of the lengths that Abraham was prepared to go to in order to please God, or does it? Here is the clue to its interpretation;

Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” Then He said, “Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” Gen 22:1–2 NKJV.

Now if we remind ourselves that the name Abraham means 'Father of a multitude' and take notice of the phrase 'your son, your only son…' we shall discover that we are reading the account of 'a father who is resolved to offer his only son… as a sacrifice.' Does that sound like a familiar story line?

How old was Isaac? Jewish tradition says that Isaac was 21 years old but the next date we are given is in Genesis 22:1 where we read that Sarah was 127 years old. If we recall that Sarah was 90 years old when Isaac was conceived we can calculate that Isaac was 36 years old when Sarah died. No one really knows how old Isaac was when 'father and son' made their journey to the place of sacrifice but I have a strong suspicion that he was 33 years old! You will guess my reasoning.

A few years ago a foolish evangelical leader dismissed the teaching of penal substitutionary atonement in which the Father poured his wrath upon his son, as cosmic child abuse. If he had read Genesis 22 more carefully he would not have made such a reckless statement. Twice the account gives us a little progress marker; Gen 22:6, 8. They went both of them together. In the scenes that open before us we see 'father and son' united in their mission. The father did not impose his will on a juvenile Isaac but father and grown son journied 'together' on their mission to the land of Moriah. Isaac means 'laughter' and he was the apple of his father's eye, his daily delight.

Now that you have the key follow the story yourself and let its truths soak into your soul.

Genesis 23. Machpelah and the Hiding Place.

Why would God give over a whole chapter to the purchase of a burial plot? Well it has significance in the first real-estate owned by the family of Abraham but I think there is another significance. Sarah had died and Abraham wanted a place where …I may bury my dead out of my sight. Gen 23:4 NKJV. The phrase is used twice; Gen 23:4, 8.

In sophisticated societies we have lost much of the horror of death. Many who read these words will have seldom seen a corpse and perhaps none will have seen the horrors of putrefaction that visit an unburied body. We need to see that 'death' and its consequences are repulsive to God. Death is not 'a friend' in Bible language, it is the 'last enemy'. (1 Cor 15:26.) Death and its accompaniments are the result of sin, and not even the memory can be allowed to remain in God's presence.

Abraham, the father, pays the price to purchase a safe repository where 'death and its consequences' can be 'hidden from my sight'. There is a parallel. The death of Christ has provided a means whereby God can 'hide dead things from his sight.'

Genesis 23. Nahor and the Bride.

Let's follow the tracks.

1. Genesis 22. the Father's sacrifice of the Son.
   
2. Genesis 23.The Purchase of a Hiding Place for Sin and Death.
   
3. Genesis 24. A Bride for the Son who has passed through Death.

Can you see a pattern here?

Abraham's servant is a picture of the Spirit sent on a mission by the Father to seek out a bride for the Son who has passed through death. It is very possible that the 'servant of Abraham' is actually Eliezer from Gen 15:2 NKJV, but it should not surprise us that in Genesis 23 he acts anonimously. He is the self-effacing agent of the Father's will who has little to say of himself but whose mission is to declare the will of the Father and the attractions of the Son.

Listen to his cameo description of Isaac. He is the Father's Son to whom the Father has given all that he has. Gen 24:36 NKJV. See the commission with which the Servant is entrusted; And if the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will be released from this oath; only do not take my son back there.” Gen 24:8 NKJV. See how she receives this emissary and responds to his approach; Gen 24:17–19. See how gentle he is in his approach to the potential Bride and how the Servant gives her the tokens of the Father's good intentions. Gen 24:22. And see how in addition to all these sure indications of the will of God the Servant still awaits her full hearted consent; Then they called Rebekah and said to her, “Will you go with this man?” And she said, “I will go.” Gen 24:58 NKJV.

And then see how he leads her safely to her Bridegroom and watches as she prepares to surrender herself to the Father's Son; Then Rebekah lifted her eyes, and when she saw Isaac she dismounted from her camel; for she had said to the servant, “Who is this man walking in the field to meet us?” The servant said, “It is my master.” So she took a veil and covered herself. Gen 24:64–65 NKJV.

The story is delightful but its revelations of the character of the Servant are even more so. How gentle and tender are the Spirit's ways with those he is bringing to the Son. He will tell you little of himself until you are safely in the embrace of the Son.

Olympic Ambitions?

Our fascination with the Olympics is no new thing. The Games were part of the culture of the 1st century and they serve as a rich source of metaphors for several New Testament writers, especially Paul. We sometimes need to dig a little to spot some of the references but they give us a wonderful glimpse into the mind-set of early Christians.

One word which is easily overlooked is the word sometimes translated as ‘strive’;

And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. 1 Cor 9:25 KJV.

To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. To this end I also labor, striving according to His working which works in me mightily. Col 1:27–29 NKJV.

I’ve gone with the old KJV in the first of these references here to pick up the word ‘striving’. It is a vivid Olympic picture. In Paul’s day there was just a ‘first prize’ of a laurel wreath; no silver or bronze. That’s what he means when he calls the prize ‘a corruptible crown’. The laurel or bay tree victor’s crown was a very temporary award, unless you added it to the soup!

The word translated ‘strive’ is ‘agōnizomai’. It is the word from which we derive ‘agony’ but the focus of the original word is not on pain but on effort. It means to enter a context and to strive with strenuous zeal. It is the fierce concentration of the athlete who has a single goal in view. The rest of the world hardly exists for him. I recall seeing, on the TV, Linford Christie win the 100m in 1992. His focus was almost frightening. He didn’t even blink; I'm not sure he even breathed!

In this sense Paul was an Olympian. Not for him the Christian cruise. His mission statement, if he ever had one, was not ‘chill’ but ‘exert’ every scrap of ransomed energy to achieve the goal. And his goal was surprising. For him, the goal was ‘every man perfect in Christ Jesus’. Modern preachers have become very twitchy over the word ‘perfect’. They fear the unreality of ‘perfectionism’ but the opposite danger is just as real; ‘im-perfection-ism’. That’s the notion that we are nothing more than redeemed sinners and we had better get used to the idea. The belief that we are condemned to spend this life as a ‘divided man’ is growing in popularity again. Paul, however, believed that a man or woman could be 100% for God 100% of the time.

How do we stand with the gospel for today? Can God save us to the ‘uttermost’, 100% of the time or if not what percentage do we think will satisfy Him? Mind you, Paul was very clear how he expected to see this through; his trust was not in his own energy and resolution but in the ongoing miracle of the indwelling Christ. His banner was ‘Christ in you, the hope of glory’ and his methodology was ‘striving according to His working which works in me mightily.’

If we have the victor (Greek: nike) living on the inside why should we fail in our Olympic efforts?

The Gentle Commandment

There is an old story told about a farmer who rolled an ostrich egg into the chicken coop with the words; "that's just to encourage you!" It is the kind of encouragement we probably feel when we read of God's next self-revelation to Abraham; And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, Jehovah appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am God Almighty. Walk before me, and be thou perfect. Gen 17:1 ASV. More modern versions sometimes substitute the word 'blameless' for the older 'perfect'; I am not sure it is much more of a comfort.

How can we possibly react to a word from God which says 'be perfect'? If that commandment stood alone it would be crushing, but it doesn't. It is the culmination of another of God's wonderful self-revelations. God's word to Abraham does not begin with 'be perfect' but with 'I am God Almighty'. The word deserves a little examination.

This title or self-revelation of God became the prevailing revelation of the patriarchs. God's later words to Moses make this very plain; and I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, as God Almighty; but by my name Jehovah I was not known to them. Ex 6:3 ASV. If it was in the 'role' of God Almighty that God began his work with the fathers of the nation of Israel it may repay us to look more closely into the meaning of the phrase.

The Hebrew for this self-revelation is El Shaddai and is usually translated as 'God Almighty'. It conveys the idea of a God who is omnipotent, a very muscular God. This is an honest translation but there is another possibility. The Hebrew word 'shad' is the word for a woman's breast. It is the suckling's place of all-sufficiency and safety. There is at least one verse in the Bible where both words are used together; Even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee, And by the Almighty, who shall bless thee, With blessings of heaven above, Blessings of the deep that coucheth beneath, Blessings of the breasts, and of the womb. Gen 49:25 ASV. It seems that what God was revealing to Abraham was not just a masculine almightiness but a gentler all-sufficiency.

This is not to emasculate God. Paul once referred to himself as a mother feeding her own children at her breast; ...though we could have made demands as apostles of Christ. But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children. 1 Th 2:6–7 ESV. And the point that Paul is making is that he and his fellow labourers were 'gentle'; it is an adjective not often associated in our minds with apostolic labours. It harmonises with a unexpected testimony of David to God's dealings with him; “You have also given me the shield of Your salvation; Your gentleness has made me great. 2 Sam 22:36 NKJV.

If the command to 'be perfect' comes from the macho strength of a muscular God we may not find ourselves 'encouraged' but what if it comes from the God of tender all-sufficiency? Now, how shall we respond?

There is another level of this God's command that we must consider. The All-Sufficient God did not simply command Abraham to 'be perfect' but commanded him to 'walk before me and me perfect'. God's pattern for Abraham's 'perfection' or 'blamelessness' was not the idealism of some man-made standard of perfection. Rather it was the insistence that Abraham walked, step by step, as the All Sufficient God directed him. Such a man may not meet standards set for him by others or even by himself, but others are not the judges whose standards Abraham must meet. Abraham is only responsible to God. Phew, what a burden that can lift from a weary soul!

Another brought the same gentle, freeing, revelation; ...no one knows the Son except the Father. Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him. Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Matt 11:27–29 NKJV

Esau have I hated...

I was not sure I could handle this in the brief compass of a blog but my morning readings brought me to Genesis 36 and the long list of the generations of Esau, and I felt I could not let it pass without comment. You may need to read this more than once!

Jacob and Esau were together for Isaac's funeral in the last verse of the previous chapter and then we launch into this long list which ends with the words; These were the chiefs of Edom, according to their dwelling places in the land of their possession. Esau was the father of the Edomites. Gen 36:43 NKJV. Esau and his people are the subject of some troubling verses in Paul's epistle to the Romans;

(for the children not yet being born, nor having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works but of Him who calls), it was said to her, “The older shall serve the younger.” As it is written, “Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated. Rom 9:11–13 NKJV.

What does that mean? Does it mean that God predetermined that Esau would be damned, as some have interpreted it and set his predestining approval on Jacob? Is this 'calling' to salvation or to service?

Let's see if we can unpack it a little. First we need to observe that the quotation from Malachi is God's comment on the 'people of Esau' and not on the individual. The context makes this very plain;

The burden of the word of the LORD to Israel by Malachi. “I have loved you,” says the LORD. “Yet you say, ‘In what way have You loved us?’ Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?” Says the LORD. “Yet Jacob I have loved; But Esau I have hated, And laid waste his mountains and his heritage For the jackals of the wilderness.” Mal 1:1–3 NKJV.

The prophetic words of Malachi came 1000 years after Esau had been laid in his grave. They are a summary of Esau/Edom's history not a predestining of their future.

The contrast between love and hate needs a comment too. Notice how these verses use the ideas of 'love' and 'hate';

And he went in also unto Rachel, and he loved also Rachel more than Leah, and served with him yet seven other years. And when the LORD saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb: but Rachel was barren. Gen 29:30–31 KJV.

This is a Hebrew way of expressing strong preference and was sometimes used in the divorce formula of the day. In Malachi, in the language of the hearers, God is strongly declaring where his heart is fixed… he is not pre-dooming the descendants of Esau to damnation.

In fact neither of the verses quoted by Paul relates to 'salvation' but to life's destiny and experience. When God strengthened Pharaoh's heart to stick to Pharaoh's line, it was God empowering Pharaoh to stick to his choice. (Ex 4:21) And again, it had nothing to do with salvation but with life's experience. The Hebrew word translated 'harden' has a primary meaning of 'to strengthen'. God empowered Pharaoh to make his own choices and to stand by his own convictions.

So how are we to see the 'generations of Esau' chapter? One of Esau's wives was actually a daughter of Ishmael. (Gen 28:9) This is a dangerous mixture of 'blood-lines'. The people of Esau, the Edomites, set themselves against the people of Israel and it brought inevitable retribution upon them. The Edomites serve as a symbol or type of 'the flesh'; they behaved in the same attitude as Esau before them, putting the satisfying of their fleshly appetites before any thought of spiritual progress. (Heb 12:16)

There is one detail in their genealogies that attracted my attention particularly;

Chief Dishon, Chief Ezer, and Chief Dishan. These were the chiefs of the Horites, according to their chiefs in the land of Seir. Now these were the kings who reigned in the land of Edom before any king reigned over the children of Israel: Gen 36:30–31 NKJV.

It is interesting that those who symbolise the flesh opted for kings long before the people of Israel. Israel had no kings until the times of the Judges and even then, at its beginnings, it was symbolic of their refusal to put their trust in the leadings of the Spirit. (1 Sam 8:6–7) Those who reject the leading of God for their own self-centred choices are sowing a dangerous seed.

For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. Gal 6:8 NKJV.

The old Victorians had a saying; "sow a thought and reap a deed, sow a deed and reap a habit, sow a habit and reap a character, sow a character and reap a destiny". Those old Victorians had many faults but sometimes they saw things very clearly.