Text:Two things I ask of you; deny them not to me before I die: Remove far from me falsehood and lying; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me, lest I be full and deny you and say, “Who is the LORD?” or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God. (Pr 30:7-9, ESV)
Context, Context, Context: These words from Agur are found near the closing of the Book of Proverbs. He asks of God two things:
Distance from deception
Daily bread
Teaching: Proverbs is part of the Wisdom Literature. Its goal is instruction in godly wisdom for daily life. This petition from Agur demonstrates a godly posture of looking to God for sanctification. Specifically, he asks of God to give him a life that is not associated with lies/deception, and to just sustain him/give him enough/his ‘daily bread.’
Encouragement: One of the greatest temptations we face in this life is to gain the world and forfeit our souls. The wise person will battle against that folly. The wise person will seek to inculcate a life unassociated with deception and instead by characterized by transparency and honest. And he will look to the Lord for his daily bread, knowing that luxury oftentimes is a slippery slope into libertinism.
Text: Thus says the Lord to me, “Go and buy a linen loincloth and put it around your waist, and do not dip it in water.” So I bought a loincloth according to the word of the Lord, and put it around my waist. And the word of the Lord came to me a second time, “Take the loincloth that you have bought, which is around your waist, and arise, go to the Euphrates and hide it there in a cleft of the rock.” So I went and hid it by the Euphrates, as the Lord commanded me. And after many days the Lord said to me, “Arise, go to the Euphrates, and take from there the loincloth that I commanded you to hide there.” Then I went to the Euphrates, and dug, and I took the loincloth from the place where I had hidden it. And behold, the loincloth was spoiled; it was good for nothing. (Jer 13:1-7, ESV)
Context, Context, Context: Jeremiah was God’s man to call out the sin of the nation. The people were idolaters, worshiper of Baal, self-centered pagans. Only a relatively faithful remnant of believers kept the faith in the one true God. And Jeremiah had the formidable task of calling his own people back to God, back to righteousness. Not an easy mission. God commanded Jeremiah to execute an object lesson whose message would be overt.
Encouragement: Once again, Jeremiah faithfully executed his mission from God. The soiled loincloth was just that—soiled—after Jeremiah retrieved it from the river. Like the cloth, the nation had become soiled. They were dirty; they needed to be cleaned. Yet they refused. Again, think about the battle to trust the Lord that Jeremiah was enduring. This mission he’d been given was a far cry from the false gospels peddled in our day from the prosperity preachers, who look like they spend more time in front of their mirrors than in the Scriptures. But God was gracious, you see. How? By sending his servant, the prophet Jeremiah, with the only truth sufficient to clean the soiled garments of our sins. God is gracious, but God is simultaneously holy. Those two attributes must both be understood about the unchanging God of Scripture.
Introduction: It’s one of those verses that drives me crazy when it’s ripped from its context. It comes from the Gospel of John. It’s John 15:13 (ESV): “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.”
Context, context, context: It’s often referenced at military funerals (of which I’ve officiated hundreds, if not more), so I know the text. But what drives me mad–bonkers, in fact–is that there’s seldom given any context, at least when I’ve heard it. What was happening when it was said by Jesus? Who was present? What was the environment? Why was it said? To whom? For what purpose? And perhaps most of all, how does it fit within the metanarrative of the entire history of redemption? How does it fit within the whole of salvation history, per Scripture?
Answers:
What Was Happening: Jesus, God the Son incarnate, was speaking with his students, the disciples, in the upper room. He spoke metaphorically of a vine and branches. Some branches are pruned and discarded. Why? Because they didn’t bear fruit. They were false; they were pretenders, fake Christians (Jn 15:2). Others remain and bear fruit. Those are the Christians, those who bear godly fruit (Jn 15:5).
Who Was Present? Jesus’ disciples.
What Was the Environment? Upper room. This is Jesus’ final discourse (7/7). Last words are often replete with signficance.
Why Was It Said? Because Jesus was teaching those who would believe about discerning the true from false, the genuine from posers.
To Whom? Jesus’ disciples, 11 of whom were Christians.
For What Purpose? To equip the saints–them and us.
Big Picture: How does it fit within the entire narrative? Well, in short, Jesus (God the Son incarnate) is teaching that, until the end, we will always battle imperfection. Let me illustrate: Jesus had 12, right? But even there, a devil (Judas) was in the midst. This world is fallen. (We are unwise to dismiss the reality that the camel often has his nose inside the tent.) Judas Iscariot was the treasurer, and greed was one of his sins. His heart wasn’t in it (i.e., in Christ as Lord). Therefore, his ‘fruit’ was what one should expect: betrayal, lip service, posturing, etc.
Encouragement: There is a wisdom inextricable from realism. We need to have the honesty to admit the fallenness of human nature. We fail; I fail; we all fail. Let’s call it what it is: sin. That won’t win friends and influence people, but it’s nonetheless true. There are many posers. Many. But those whom God loves, He disciplines. He prunes us. Why? So that we’ll bear more fruit. So that we’ll learn. So that we’ll be faithful. Jesus is sacrifice incarnate.
Bottom line up front: In what patterns does the Lord delight? How should those attributes shape Christians?
Text: Thus says the LORD: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.” (Jer 9:23-24, ESV)
Context: Jeremiah was prophesying about the fall of Judah. He had indicted the corruption of the religious leaders and priests. He had indicted the recalcitrance and hardheartedness and moral rebellion of the people. Jeremiah was a truth-teller. But being a prophet entailed the prophet’s reward: persecution. And yet, Jeremiah remained faithful. And what did Jeremiah say here that the Lord delights in? Three things:
Steadfast love
Justice
Righteousness
Encouragement: Lots of folks talk a big game about commitment, about love, about doing the right things. But where’s the evidence? We all make our theology visible. That is unavoidable. When people say that it’s difficult to know a person’s theology, I disagree. It’s clear to know: watch their life. Do they submit to the authority of Scripture? Is there humility in their lives? Is there a pattern of spiritual disciplines? Is there depth of biblical maturity? Do they serve a local church faithfully? Do they seek to edify and encourage the saints? Are they steadfast, just, and righteous? We’re not looking for perfection; we’re looking for direction. Is their pattern one of steadfast commitment or is it just talk, talk, talk? I have a few select people in my circle that I look up to—those worthy of imitation. They’re not talkers; they’re doers.
We are blessed to keep our granddaughter this weekend. CJ is a natural at it all. I am not. What’s the ‘it’? Grandparenting a seven-month-old. CJ excels in feeding and bathing her. She burps her. She rocks her. She plays with her. It’s beautiful to watch. I’m less than graceful at it all. I can’t seem to ever get her comfortable when holding her. The times I do fairly well are when I take her with me outside to the burn barrel and hold her as I piddle in the yard. And she seems to like it when I water the trees. But I’ll take it all. It’s beautiful to see her smile when we sing ditties and nursery rhymes and see her eyes light up when we call her name.
I drove to the store in town to purchase a medication but the store didn’t have it, so I returned empty-handed. On the way down the hill, lots and lots of deer were munching on grasses that had turned a bright green after today’s rain. You can see the doe up close here, then another standing over her right shoulder, and see another one bed down in the trees behind them both.
I read Powers’ excellent novel Bewilderment over the last two days. It was one of those books that’ll remain with me. It’s a visceal tale of a father-son relationship in a universe that is indeed bewildering. The dizzying stupidity and greed of politics and government bureaucray, the destruction of the earth, the seemingly endless levels of human vanity and stupidity . . . and yet, the possibility of depth and of human connection. Truly a remarkable book. It reminds me of McCarthy’s The Road, one of the most powerful novels I’ve ever read.
I have another day’s events scheduled for in the morning. I have to drive to a faculty meeting for one of the universities where I teach English. But then, I long to return to see this beautiful granddaughter, to her amazing grandmother, and study more of Ecclesiastes before I herald the truth to the saints of Christ Covenant Church (3cs-canton.org) Sunday morning,
Text: “Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him” (2 Tim 2:3-4, ESV).
Context, Context, Context: The apostle Paul was writing this epistle to his son in the faith, Timothy, in the mid-60s of the 1st century A.D. And Paul had one overarching theme: perseverance.
Reason for Writing: Why did God inspire Paul to write this epistle about perseverance? Because hardship and trials are to be expected. They’re inseparable from soldiering—especially if we are Christians. We have our commander’s mission, but Christians are likewise called to honor the Lord in everything we do, and in the manners in which we serve. Our character should redound to the glory of God. We are to be salt and light amidst the moral decay and cultural rot.
Our aim, Paul writes, “is to please the one who enlisted him” (2 Tim 2:4, ESV). In our parlance, we might say this is nothing other than mission focus. It’s being on guard against mission creep, where distractions and loss of focus can threaten to derail us from keeping the main thing the main thing.
Encouragement: In another epistle, the same apostle Paul wrote, “And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up” (Gal 6:9, ESV). All this comes from a man who counted the costs, finished the race, and inherited the crown fashioned by the greatest Commander. Let us persevere in the mission and in the great commission.
Intro: Currently at church, I’m beginning a 12-week series through the Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes. For many years, it has been my favorite book of the Bible. Why? To some degree, it is because it is literary and poetic in genre. It’s not a straightforward narrative of a battle, or crossing a body of water, or healing a leper, or epistolary literature about how the New Testament church is to be governed. None of that. Ecclesiastes is part of the wisdom literature. It’s more nuanced. It’s written by a man who went from hero to zero many times, and then back again—Solomon. Solomon was wise beyond his years. He gained unprecedented wealth and reign. People traveled just to come see Solomon’s Temple, his riches, his kingdom, etc.
Segue: But then you get a book like Ecclesiastes. And what you find there is a series of mood pieces and reflections upon a life that has seen many highs and many lows. In Ecclesiastes 1, for example, we read the following:
I said in my heart, “I have acquired great wisdom, surpassing all who were over Jerusalem before me, and my heart has had great experience of wisdom and knowledge.” And I applied my heart to know wisdom and to know madness and folly. I perceived that this also is but a striving after wind.
For in much wisdom is much vexation,
And he who increases knowledge increases sorrow (Eccl 1:16-18, ESV)
Teaching: The paradox is striking. Here’s Solomon, wise beyond all other men, and we would think his mood would be one of joy. His heart, he writes, “has had great experience of wisdom and knowledge” (v. 16). And yet he found that they—though noble and proper pursuits—were also vanity/wind/hebel (Hb.). Even in wisdom, Solomon was well acquainted with sorrow. Because he saw into the heart of the matter, he grieved over it. That’s what he means by, “And he who increases knowledge increases sorrow” (v. 18b). It’s much more convenient to skate upon the surface of life, to doomscroll from one image to another, to plug your ears with earbuds conveying only the views with which you agree. Postman wrote years ago a wonderful book, Amusing Ourselves to Death. I have found it prophetic. How? Well, we’re living in a time when many have entertained themselves into imbecility. Ask a person what shade of red lipstick Taylor Swift is wearing today, and he or she would be engaged. But ask a person the last deep book he/she read, and enjoy the hum of crickets.
That’s what Solomon’s driving at; he understands viscerally the fallenness of the world—that wisdom entails more than a taste of sorrow, because human fallenness is the most empirically verifiable reality. Solomon knew it, and that’s part and parcel of wisdom—learning to admit the reality of fallenness in this world.
Encouragement: Learning to live with the paradox of wisdom is less easy than one might wish for. There is wisdom in hoping for good from ourselves and others. At the same time, however, there is wisdom in being realistic about human nature and knowing the condition of the flocks with which we are dealing.
There’s a great narrative in the Old Testament book of Joshua that resonates with Soldiers. It is found in Joshua 6. It teaches many fundamental theological doctrines but what I want to focus on here is simple: the value of quiet consistency.
Context, Context, Context: Reading things in their proper context is essential. The big picture overview of the book of Joshua is that it’s set in the 1400s B.C. It centers upon Israelite conquest of Canaan, the so-called promised land. The book as a whole is about God’s covenant faithfulness and the Lord himself is the ultimate Warrior-King.
Quiet Consistency: Joshua was the human typology of the warrior-king-leader of a covenant people, those who believed. It had nothing to do with race or tribalism. It had everything to do with those who believed God versus those who did not. God commands Joshua to “march around the city” of Jericho for six days (Josh 6:3). Then on the seventh day, Joshua and the others are to “march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets” (Josh 6:4). A battle strategy? Hmmm. Most of us, especially military types trained in tactics, techniques, and procedures might have balked: “Really, Lord? This is the plan?”
But that was God’s order. The people obeyed. They blew the ram’s horn, marched, marched, and marched some more. On the seventh day, they marched around Jericho seven times and shouted, and the wall of the city collapsed. Rahab and her family, those who believed God, were spared.
Encouragement: Regardless of how many times I read this history, I am struck at what God reveals about the importance of obedience and trust in him. This divine battle plan overturns any boasting in human military strategy. It’s a way of showing that what is required of the Christian is trusting the Lord rather than trusting human machinations. It’s about quiet obedience in a godly direction.
When I got home after work, CJ had prepared one of my favorite meals–breakfast for supper. Scrambled eggs with onions, crispy bacon, biscuits, and grits. She poured grits over my eggs, I added my Cholula, crunched up the bacon, and I was in heaven.
We ate, chatted about the day she had and I had had, watched a program we both enjoy, and then I said, “I’m going to go hike a bit.”
“Okay, love.”
I laced up my hiking boots and struck out for the hills. They did not disappoint. I walked the ridges and then made my way down to a creek, and then back up the hills to our home.
MIND & MATTERS 