Psalm 24:1-10

The King of Glory 

“The Lord owns the earth and all it contains, the world and all who live in it. For he set its foundation upon the seas, and established it upon the ocean currents. Who is allowed to ascend the mountain of the Lord? Who may go up to his holy dwelling place? The one whose deeds are blameless and whose motives are pure, who does not lie, or make promises with no intention of keeping them. Such godly people are rewarded by the Lord, and vindicated by the God who delivers them. Such purity characterizes the people who seek his favor, Jacob’s descendants, who pray to him. (Selah) Look up, you gates! Rise up, you eternal doors! Then the majestic king will enter! Who is this majestic king? The Lord who is strong and mighty! The Lord who is mighty in battle! Look up, you gates! Rise up, you eternal doors! Then the majestic king will enter! Who is this majestic king? The Lord who commands armies! He is the majestic king! (Selah)”

— ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭24‬:‭1‬-‭10‬‬

Subscript says David wrote it. I don’t know how well-attested it is, but I have no reason to doubt it at this point.

Three sections to the Psalm. First praises the LORD for acts of creation. He is supreme, reigning over all things. He owns the world and all its inhabitants. This dives into creation debate. I don’t have the list of all creation texts in front of me, but this is definitely one of them. Always interesting to see things like “established earth on the seas?” “Set foundation on waters” Some may argue for Gen 1 where there was water beneath and above firmament, but that can’t be both the oceans and some random waters out in space, as well as setting earth on literal waters. Much better to see these passages from ancient cosmogony. 

The question then becomes which passage is “normative,” and why did we select that one? Which one helps us understand all the others? And when we are done debating that and don’t end up anywhere, it’s probably best to reevaluate our entire thesis.

There are also elements here of God combatting the sea, establishing His reign over it, which aligns with other ancient theologies. Not that He takes the place of other gods in those myths, but He is over the waters, distinct from them, and far superior to any other god.

Part 2 of the Psalm. Who is allowed to ascend to the mountain? Most likely Zion/Jerusalem, as in the temple. So maybe this isn’t David, since the temple wasn’t built, yet. Deeds are blameless/motives are pure. Actions can have terrible motives. True worshipper from Israel will have pure heart and actions. 

Always remember this is poetry/wisdom literature, so the promise of vindication and reward is general. This may even be written/edited during time of oppression. May be sparking Israel back into obedience. Especially since Jacob’s descendants rarely were “characterized by purity” or “sought him”, this Psalm may be projecting better deeds/motives onto the people so they grow into maturity in the future.

Part 3 of Psalm: Look up gates/doors. Again, this could be finding hope in middle of pain/oppression. Obviously, personification. 

The king of glory/majesty will enter. He is the LORD of hosts/armies. He is a majestic king. He owns the world. He owns all the inhabitants. And He will come to rescue Israel, but their fellowship with Him is dependent on their obedience. 

We, too, serve this majestic King. He also seeks true worshippers with pure hearts and deeds. Look up. Hope is kindled as He reigns.

James 4:13-17

“Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into this or that town and spend a year there and do business and make a profit.” You do not know about tomorrow. What is your life like? For you are a puff of smoke that appears for a short time and then vanishes. You ought to say instead, “If the Lord is willing, then we will live and do this or that.” But as it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. So whoever knows what is good to do and does not do it is guilty of sin.”

— ‭‭James‬ ‭4‬:‭13‬-‭17‬‬

 The previous section attacks a number of errors that can creep into a church: friendship with the world (4:4), fighting/arguing (4:1), pride (4:6-7, 10), slandering (4:11). As is often the case, the major solution to these issues is an attitude of humility (4:6, 10).

James transitions from an instructional approach to a reasoning approach. “Come now.” This invites the reader to think about the things he/she might be saying.

Just look at that opening statement. The hypothetical person is assuming so much about their travels (not to mention James’ point about tomorrow even coming): They have the precise timing, the perfect place/ business location, temporary shelter, guarantee of profit. None of this is guaranteed. 

It would take more than a day to do all this, probably weeks or months. James reminds them (and us), we can’t even control one day. Not even one breath.

And more, everything that they have assumed is completely out of their control. They may be able to develop strategies or best practices or use past weather diagrams, etc, haha. But God is the only one who controls all things time and space related. If I can’t even control if I take another breath (outside of trying to breathe with my lungs one more time), then how stable can I really say my business model is, my family plan, my budget, my circle of friends??

And for someone who thrives on stability, this passage is a regular gut punch. Nothing is stable or secure or—here’s the key word—controllable. All must be trusted to the Sovereign.

James uses the famous mist analogy to teach about how long we have to live. Granted, their life expectancy was shorter than modern humans, but I don’t think that was the point. (Sarcasm) In light of eternity (and compared to an infinite God), any human life time is here for a second and then gone. (Sounds like we switched to Ecclesiastes. Which is a good place to insert that James is known for his wisdom literature connections.)

James 1:9-10 commanded the poor and the rich to boast. How come? Poor boasts in exaltation. Rich boasts in being brought low, and all of this is done “in Christ.” The point is that within the family of Christ, socio-economic status doesn’t matter (a key theme in James). Our identity is Jesus, and He is our only source of confidence/boasting. Nothing we do for ourselves is worth pretty much anything.

Boasting in arrogance. Probably not a general attitude of arrogance, but it is specific to the context. Their attitude about their plans for the future makes them arrogant. They had not considered God’s will, making them proud.

These ideas are all connected throughout James, even back to James 1. Trusting God believes that trials have a purpose. And in the midst of those trials, the rich and poor (1:9-11) re- late to one another well. They live in humility and serve one another to demonstrate their faith (2:14- 26). Boasting about my business plans and what I can accomplish is not relying on God or (perhaps) giving me a heart for serving others.

This is not really a call to say “God willing” after everything. Sometimes it feels appropriate, and I say it sometimes. This is a lifestyle of surrendering control. No detail of daily life lies outside the realm of needing Him.

Now the biggie. V. 17. How many times have we heard about sins of omission, and pick your favorite, whether not serving the poor, or not evangelizing enough, or not giving enough. All are necessary. All are fine (and in light of James, especially helping the poor would be considered “good.”)

So what’s the “good” in James 4? Is it all good things? It’s probably true that not doing any type of good displeases God. But James was probably thinking of something more specific. 

In light of chapter 1-2, is it only limited to seeing someone in need and not helping? Is this going back to works showing our faith? Perhaps, and I think we’re getting warmer, but it may be more related to this passage.

At least in this context, the right thing would be not to boast/brag or depend on riches. We should rely on God. And that’s the link to helping those in need from ch 2 and even leads into the next passage. If you know to help, and you don’t, that’s a problem. And it may reflect an attitude of pride/arrogance/boasting.

Esther 4:10-17

“Then Esther replied to Hathach with instructions for Mordecai: “All the servants of the king and the people of the king’s provinces know that there is only one law applicable to any man or woman who comes uninvited to the king in the inner court – that person will be put to death, unless the king extends to him the gold scepter, permitting him to be spared. Now I have not been invited to come to the king for some thirty days!” When Esther’s reply was conveyed to Mordecai, he said to take back this answer to Esther: “Don’t imagine that because you are part of the king’s household you will be the one Jew who will escape. If you keep quiet at this time, liberation and protection for the Jews will appear from another source, while you and your father’s household perish. It may very well be that you have achieved royal status for such a time as this!” Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: “Go, assemble all the Jews who are found in Susa and fast in my behalf. Don’t eat and don’t drink for three days, night or day. My female attendants and I will also fast in the same way. Afterward I will go to the king, even though it violates the law. If I perish, I perish!” So Mordecai set out to do everything that Esther had instructed him.”

— ‭‭Esther‬ ‭4‬:‭10‬-‭17‬‬

 I haven’t researched the customs of Persia beyond what Esther says here. It would be intriguing to read stories of kings accepting or rejecting the entrance of people with the scepter. This also lends credibility to the idea that Xerxes was not the best husband (just ask Vashti). I’ll wait until I discuss chapter one to rethink the “beauty pageant,” but the fact that he hasn’t asked to see his wife for 30 days shows what sort of arrangement this is. Definitely not the tender loving man, building a relationship that many young women desire. (Who knows what other women have entered his life for various reasons?)

4:14 is one of the most popular verses in Christian culture, and “such a time as this” has turned into Christianese at this point. There’s some debate regarding what Mordecai was referencing with “some other source/place.” Could be just a generic reference to God’s sovereignty—He can do anything. Some think it’s Jewish leadership or a revolt. I would think a religious person like Mordecai would steer clear of revolution or fighting for deliverance. (Of course, that is the solution at the end—self-defense, so apparently, there were enough Jews with weapons to deter Persians from annihilating them.)

The king’s command would eventually apply to Esther. She would die, because she would not be able to hide her ethnicity forever. 

“Who knows” is similar to Jonah 3 when the king questions if God’s decree on Nineveh would be conditional on their repentance or not. It’s worth a shot. Who knows? Mordecai is just throwing out the possibility. A lot has happened to bring Esther into the king’s palace…some of it bad, some of it horrific and tragic. Mordecai’s response is maybe all of this happened to save the lives of all the people.

It is a testament to faith, and we can certainly see sovereignty throughout. But this is also an example where narratives need to be heavily considered before brought over into modern life. Do I believe in sovereignty? More than many things. Do I know Romans 8:28? Yes (including vv 29-30). But if I’m talking to someone who has endured similar things to Esther, even achieving greatness in the midst of them, I will hesitate to say, “This or that is why God allowed tragedy to affect you. OR This path has led to this because God ordained/orchestrated it to happen just like this.” 

All things happen for a reason? Maybe, maybe not. I learned in my language studies that “reason,” can be backward looking (cause) or forward looking (goal). And I’m not in a position to nail down either one through logic or experience. Believing in sovereignty doesn’t give me authority to lay out exactly why things happened in His plan.

Evil is evil. Period. This world is filled with chaos and pain. “Reason” may not the best word for it. But I do know that God can use our chaos for good and His glory. (Obviously the debate wages why He would allow all the evil and suffering to begin with.)

Esther’s response is to fast and pray. All the Jews in the city do the same. Then she will enter the king with her life literally on the line. That’s courage. Faith. 

She is a tremendous example, even if my circumstances look way different. My language when discussing these things, though, needs to reflect my culture/beliefs/situation not her narrative.

Malachi 1:1-14

“What follows is divine revelation. The word of the Lord came to Israel through Malachi: “I have shown love to you,” says the Lord, but you say, “How have you shown love to us?” “Esau was Jacob’s brother,” the Lord explains, “yet I chose Jacob and rejected Esau. I turned Esau’s mountains into a deserted wasteland and gave his territory to the wild jackals.” Edom says, “Though we are devastated, we will once again build the ruined places.” So the Lord who rules over all responds, “They indeed may build, but I will overthrow. They will be known as the land of evil, the people with whom the Lord is permanently displeased. Your eyes will see it, and then you will say, ‘May the Lord be magnified even beyond the border of Israel!’” “A son naturally honors his father and a slave respects his master. If I am your father, where is my honor? If I am your master, where is my respect? The Lord who rules over all asks you this, you priests who make light of my name! But you reply, ‘How have we made light of your name?’ You are offering improper sacrifices on my altar, yet you ask, ‘How have we offended you?’ By treating the table of the Lord as if it is of no importance! For when you offer blind animals as a sacrifice, is that not wrong? And when you offer the lame and sick, is that not wrong as well? Indeed, try offering them to your governor! Will he be pleased with you or show you favor?” asks the Lord who rules over all. But now plead for God’s favor that he might be gracious to us. “With this kind of offering in your hands, how can he be pleased with you?” asks the Lord who rules over all. “I wish that one of you would close the temple doors, so that you no longer would light useless fires on my altar. I am not pleased with you,” says the Lord who rules over all, “and I will no longer accept an offering from you. For from the east to the west my name will be great among the nations. Incense and pure offerings will be offered in my name everywhere, for my name will be great among the nations,” says the Lord who rules over all. “But you are profaning it by saying that the table of the Lord is common and its offerings despicable. You also say, ‘How tiresome it is.’ You turn up your nose at it,” says the Lord who rules over all, “and instead bring what is stolen, lame, or sick. You bring these things for an offering! Should I accept this from you?” asks the Lord. “There will be harsh condemnation for the hypocrite who has a valuable male animal in his flock but vows and sacrifices something inferior to the Lord. For I am a great king,” says the Lord who rules over all, “and my name is awesome among the nations.””

‭‭Malachi‬ ‭1‬:‭1‬-‭14‬ ‭ 

Have you ever experienced a situation that just made the room stop in silence and made everyone ask, What just happened? Maybe there’s a room full of people (classroom, auditorium, restaurant), and you may or may not notice someone is abnormally quiet. Their mood may change throughout the course of the event.

Someone happens to say just the wrong thing. And the person explodes. That happened to be the worst day ever for whatever reason, and they go off about who knows what. (And they could have very valid reasons). But now everybody’s a jerk, can’t do anything right, and should just leave them alone. 

Then there’s an awkward silence after the individual storms out and glances back and forth that say, “What just happened?”

This also happens on a city or national level. Every city that has a massive shooting is forced to take a step back and sacrifice their differences with each other for a while and just stand in shock for a second. 

9/11 was the shock of my generation to many Americans. And though the military was forced to react quickly, the reaction of the populace was “Woah. What was that? And why did it happen? Because that can’t happen again. What just happened? We need to do whatever we can to make sure that doesn’t happen again.”

And we know that real tragedies can lead people either toward a dependency on God or harden them to accepting God, because after all how could a loving God allow something so catastrophic? We see that back then, and we see it now every day. The problem of evil and suffering is always going to be a hang up for a lot of people, and I don’t blame them. 

But what about those who belong to God? What about those called by His name and are in a relationship with Him? That relationship clearly does not mean we escape hardship. We are still going to have “What just happened?” events that don’t make sense. 

Yet, in between those times I wonder, how is our worship to our God? When you right now think of the majesty and glory of God, and the quality of worship He receives from you, do the two correlate very well? Or does your worship of God, through your singing, through your service, through your fellowship, through your prayer reflect a skewed view of God, a higher view of yourself than deserved, and are you offering God second or third best?

Israel had the same problem, and we see this in the book of Malachi. He teaches two main truths about God that will free us from this mindset that God is only worth halfhearted worship.

First, Israel had a huge, “What just happened?” moment. We call it the exile. Sure, they disobeyed the law for years and worshiped false gods, but they were in a covenant relationship with the one true God. What was there to fear? Well, the covenant for one thing, which said if you disobey, I’ll send you into exile. So after hundred of years of mercy, God was faithful to His Word, and He allowed them to be captured, and cities destroyed, and the temple leveled. Horrible circumstances for God’s people. But how could this happen? Wouldn’t God’s name be blasphemed? Doesn’t matter. Israel needed to be disciplined. So 70ish years later and in three stages, they were able to return. The temple was rebuilt, but it wasn’t nearly as beautiful. The walls around Jerusalem were rebuilt. So they were back and functioning, but things were nearly as good as before. And the collective mindset is sideways glances back and forth, “What was that? Let’s make sure that doesn’t happen again.”

And so Israel was certain to try to follow the rules this time, but their confidence in God’s love was not as strong. And when you focus on doing the right things without loving God and knowing that He loves you, you’re going to start messing up. 

Let’s gain some encouragement from Malachi 1.

Read vv. 1-5. 

See, the first thing God reminds them of is His love for them, but they don’t believe Him. 

Did you see that in v. 2? “How have you loved us?” And God answers with a history lesson way back in Genesis with the two sons of Isaac: Jacob and Esau. One son turned into the nation of Israel. The other son became the nation of Edom. And God says, I chose you, Israel, to love, and make a covenant with and give my law and protect. Edom, I have destroyed. They were wicked, and I punished them, and even though they tried to rebuild, they will never be prosperous. And even though they came from the same father, I chose to love you. You didn’t do anything to earn my blessing. And here you are, after these hundreds of years of my faithfulness to you as a people, and asking, “How do we know that you love us?”

And because they don’t believe Him, their service to Him is affected. Then why are they even serving Him? Obligation? Fear? Tradition? All of which are not bad in their own right, but if there is no proper foundation of love in a relationship, it is no relationship. 

A healthy fear of who He is as the Almighty able to squash me at any moment— so I better straighten up— mindset is good, but I better be comfortable in resting in the fact that He loves me, and I love Him. OR what? My service to Him is going to be second rate at best. My worship, my prayers, my evangelism, my study of His word is going to be flippant if I do it, and it’s going to be half-hearted. And that’s how Israel struggled, too.

Themes in vv. 6-14:

Despising God’s name (v. 6, 12)-How? Offering polluted food upon the altar. 

So because they glad to be back home and have a temple, they are living the normal life of a Jew again. But they’re still recovering from the exile. They don’t fully believe that God is on their side or that He is worthy of the highest praise. And so their worship is sort of blah. God says you are despising my name. What are they doing?

Offering polluted offerings (blind, sick animals; v. 8, 13, 14)

I have this nice fat, healthy lamb, but you know, is God really worth that anymore? I have to sacrifice because it’s required or else He might punish me, so I’ll give Him something, but I can’t give the mean ol’ boss my favorite, or the best, or the fattest. 

God says two things in response: I’m going to go backwards. Second, He says,

God’s name great/ feared among the nations (v. 11, 14): This is speaking of something future from Malachi’s perspective. Since Israel was still not treating God with the obedience and respect and love that He deserved, they would be set aside, and the gospel would be sent out to the Gentiles. Now, that was always the plan, even back in Genesis 12. God told Abraham that He would be a blessing to all the nations. Israel’s rebellion would not thwart that plan, and God’s point here is that His majesty and His kingship is so great, that the nations will worship Him, and they will fear Him despite Israel’s failures. 

But, first, His number one advice is until then …

Just shut the doors of the temple (v. 10). Stop fooling around. I don’t want your sacrifices, if this is what I get. If you seriously can’t see all that I’ve done for you, and you doubt my love; if you seriously don’t see my as the majestic King that I am; and if the best you can offer is a sick lamb, then just shut the whole thing down. I’ll wait until my name is feared and praised among the Gentiles.

Flip on over to 2 Chronicles 28. We actually hear of the temple activities being shut down before Israel went into exile. But it wasn’t anything like this. This is a king of Israel who made a terrible decision. READ vv. 1-4. Jump down to vv. 22-25. So we have Ahaz here at one of Israel’s lowest points before Hezekiah comes on the scene, one of Israel’s high points, actually shutting down the temple in order to elevate the idol worship and set up altars to the foreign gods. We saw him already completely paganized with offering his own children. This is a wicked dude, and now in Malachi, God says, Israel, your half-hearted, lame lambs your trying to sacrifice to me, just keep it. Shut the doors, because it’s meaningless to me. It’s about as valuable as Ahaz setting up idols. 

I don’t want you serving and praising me simply out of tradition or obligation. I want you to know that I love you. And I want you to love me. And I want you to know that I am your King, and that I have been faithful to you for hundreds—at this point, almost a thousand— years. I’m committed to you as a people because I love you, and until you recognize that, and until you love me and are going to enter into a healthy, respectful, honoring, committed, yet heart-filled relationship with Me, then forget it. 

And the parallel with modern Christianity isn’t too hard to see here. Why do you pray or not pray? Why do you read your Bible or not? Why do you serve others? I’ve asked this before, but when you come to church, what is your attitude; what is your focus? Where is your heart? When you approach Jesus and this Christianity mindset, and when you think of God, what are you offering to Him, your best or second or third rate service? Because He doesn’t want that. He doesn’t deserve that. He’d rather you don’t give Him anything than give Him a lame or sick lamb. Just don’t sing if you’re going to be thinking about lunch or going back to sleep or other things you have to get done the whole time. 

Just don’t serve if you’re going to be looking to get paid or use it as blackmail or use it to look better than someone else who didn’t do anything. You know these are just a couple ways that demonstrate that we are going through motions because we know it’s right, but our relationship with God is off kilter. 

But when we recognize how committed, faithful, and loving He is (1) and how majestic, Sovereign, and worthy He is as our King (2), we will recognize a heart change within ourselves and a willingness to offer Him our best. Then we can be part of that Gentile number who praises and fears and glorifies His name, as the God who loves His children, provides for them, cares for them, and is so worthy of our true and free worship.

The Problem of God and Evil/Suffering

 Note: As I have said elsewhere, I am no philosopher. When it comes to origins of thoughts or ideas, or cause/effect arguments, even logical fallacies, I am no expert. And this topic certainly cannot be covered in a meager blog post. Volumes of books already exist, and we haven’t scratched the surface. It’s obviously highly debatable, but hopefully something below will help.

Much of the philosophy side is adapted from the videos on my Resources Page from William Lane Craig. I don’t agree with Dr. Craig on all things, and I honestly don’t understand much of what he says. But these videos at least offer a starting point to the discussion.

            The reality is that whether you’re a skeptic or been a believer for many, many years, many people will continue to struggle with this issue of evil, pain, and suffering and God. We say, How can this happen? A middle schooler’s going to wonder, How can people bully me and get away with it? How can my mom have this disease? We hear of the latest shooting and think, How can all these people get killed? How can this hurricane ruin so many people’s lives? The problem of evil and suffering devastates so many people’s view of God, and if you ever talk to somebody about Jesus these days, it’s bound to come up. 

            When somebody argues against God with the problem of evil and suffering, their logic is usually something like this:

1.      God and evil cannot co-exist.

2.      Evil surrounds us.

3.      Therefore, God cannot exist.

This seems pretty sound at first glance, right? Well, this would be correct, if each of the first two steps were completely accurate. The only one that needs tweaking is the first one.

Let’s rephrase it in two parallel sentences to see where the skeptic needs to be challenged.

1.      An all-powerful, all loving God exists.

2.      Suffering exists.  

The atheist is going to say that these statements describe contradictory realities. Is this true? Are these contradictory statements of reality? No, not really. I am married. I am single. Those are contradictory. So the problem in their logic is with some unstated, underlying assumptions that are being made. Here’s the first one.

            If God were all-powerful, He could create any world He wants.

This is true, but what if God’s infinite wisdom prefers a world that allows for free-will? Then He is not the only one making the choices. Even though He is in control and sovereign over what happens, He does not force people to choose what is right or good. And therefore, God did create the world that He wanted, but that does not necessarily mean that His power is responsible for the pain we see today.

            If God were truly loving, He would want to stop evil from happening.

Again, this falsely puts us inside the mind of God. How can we possibly know what He wants? And how can we possibly know what is best? We simply have no idea as limited, finite human beings how an isolated incident can have a sort of ripple effect throughout history. The intended effect may not emerge with the result God intended for centuries and maybe on the other side of the world. And since we cannot know all the possibilities or even probabilities, we are in no place to judge the goodness or character of God.

This assumption is really sort of selfish. It pictures our existence as one big house, and God is our owner, and we are His pets. And His mission is to make our life enjoyable and happy and pleasant. But His goal, in fact, according to Christian doctrine is not our happiness; it’s that people would know Him and enjoy Him for all of eternity. Of course, that does not mean that everything bad that happens is a punishment for sin or a call for people to turn to God.

And we see small examples of pain’s being used for good every day. Have you ever gone to the dentist for a cavity? Did you ever have a bone reset or a shoulder put back in place? It was painful, right? But that pain was used for a much better purpose. That’s an overly simple illustration and not intended to relate to any or all of your life experiences.

Now, what would happen in the mind of the atheist if the problem of evil and suffering vanished? What would happen if all that existed were good things and God? Would they turn to Him then? No? How come? Because their pride has led them to take credit for their good life. And their pain has hardened their heart against Him instead of becoming dependent upon Him.

Go read Romans 1 some time. This is exactly what happens all throughout history. Pride ruins mankind, not pain and evil and suffering.

Does the Bible offer any answers on the purpose of pain and suffering, tribulation and trial? Sure, it does. Here are just a few passages on God’s Use of Suffering:

            James 1:2, 12; Count it joy when you meet trials, for the testing of faith produces steadfastness or endurance. It continues to say that you will be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

            2 Corinthians 12:7; Paul’s thorn in the flesh was given to him for what reason? To keep him from becoming conceited.

            Romans 8:28-30; All things work together for the good of the believer, which is growth toward Christlikeness and ultimately glorification.

            2 Cor 1:3-4; We are comforted in affliction, so that we can comfort those who are in any affliction.

           We know these passages. We may even have them highlighted in our Bibles or on our Bible apps. We know that God in His wisdom sees what’s best, but for some reason it’s still so difficult to accept a situation when we face it. It’s still so difficult to have faith. 1 Peter 5:6 commands that we “Humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God.” Contextually, it means during the trial, you accept the situation and stop trying to escape it. It means instead to fall on your knees in prayer. It means to pull a Job in chapter 40 and simply put your hand on your mouth and stop talking back. There are things we simply don’t understand.

        God’s wisdom always knows better than we do.

            And we know that. And you know, to some extent, so does the world. We can be armored with something very similar to what I’ve just covered with you. Answering their objections. We have abundance evidence for the reliability of the Scriptures, the existence of God, the resurrection of Jesus. And sometimes we enter these conversations with them, and we think, How can they not see? What’s wrong with my presentation? I’m never trying again. No, nothing’s wrong with you. First, Satan has blinded them.

            But you know, I have been a Christian for over 20 years now, and I’ve been to school for what seems like much longer than that. I’ve been in church longer than that, I know. So sure, I may be able to argue for Christianity. I may be able to defend my faith and the existence of God and the resurrection of Jesus. 

9 out of 10 people don’t have a problem with God or Christianity because of logical problems, or Christianity just sounds silly. We have evidence. When we enter conversations, we absolutely need to be prepared with evidence and be able to reason with people. But I’ve heard it over and over and over.

If you’ll just listen and let them talk past their first ten minutes of “logic and reasons,” which they probably got from the internet somewhere or the History channel’s latest special, there’s a story. 

There’s the emotional problem of pain and suffering. 

There’s a shooting. There’s the pandemic. There’s a famine or drought around the world. There’s sex-trafficking or maybe something more personal: a death in the family or a bad diagnosis, sometimes from 20 or 30 years ago. Guess what? They’re absolutely right.

They’re hurt, and no amount of logic and 10 reasons why Jesus rose from the dead is going to persuade them, though they need to hear that. Save that for later.

1.      First step: Listen to them.                  

2.      Second step: Give them a hug and cry with them.

3.      Third step: Try to relate with them with a story of your own.

4.      Fourth step: Point them to God’s true character. See, God is good and loving. And He is not some distant angry God hurling pain onto His minions for no reason. He entered our world of suffering. He was willing to face death and even hell for our sake! Why? So that we—the one’s who caused all this mess to begin with—could escape and overcome this evil world and enjoy Him, the greatest good and ultimate fulfillment forever. So this puts the problem of evil in a whole new light, because in a world with just evil and suffering and no God, we have no hope. But God is the only answer to the problem.

5.      Fifth step: Maybe they’ll reach a place to talk about Jesus. He is the source of that hope. The incarnation, ministry, death, and resurrection shows Immanuel in the most absolute sense. 

Let the light shine: Matthew 5:14-16

Jesus says, All of you, disciples, are the light. Actually, you are a city of light—on a hill. Weary travelers can look off in the distance and know where to go. They can know where their destination is. They can know where to rest. On a dark night, out in the country, a city on a hilltop would shine super bright. This is the equivalent of rounding a bend on today’s road and seeing a skyline lit up with all the lights. 

Why? Why should we shine? The purpose statements are given in v. 16.

(1) So they may see your good works and do what?

(2) Glorify your Father in heaven.

 

Okay, so I shine my light, and people see it, and God gets glory, but did you catch that? What is my light? I am supposed to “Let my light shine,” which is what people see. What do people see in that first purpose statement? My good works. My good works should be on full display. How are you doing there? Poor? Mediocre? Good? Excellent? Are you a 20-watt bulb or a 100? Are you looking for opportunities to serve others, to be obedient, to live a pure life?

Here’s the connection that I want to make. Because when you display a life of good works in the middle of a world of hurt and pain and suffering, you may just give someone an opportunity to glorify God.

When you say, “Hey, I know you’re probably bitter right now. I understand. Your dad just got diagnosed with this. Or your best friend just completely left you out in the cold. Or you wrestle with anxiety, but can I do anything for you? Can I help you with anything? Because when I was angry and when I was suffering, my God helped me. And He came and served me in my deepest need, and so I feel like I can share some of His compassion towards you.”

And when you actually mean that, and you become the hands and feet of Jesus, they may just go, “Wow, I am still angry, but I’m just willing enough to give God a chance. Could He really be that good?”

“Yea. Yea, He is. Let me show you how we can praise Him, even if we don’t understand Him.”

By letting our light shine through good works, we may be able to soften the emotional problem with God and the existence of suffering. 

 

Jonah 4:1-11

“This displeased Jonah terribly and he became very angry. He prayed to the Lord and said, “Oh, Lord, this is just what I thought would happen when I was in my own country. This is what I tried to prevent by attempting to escape to Tarshish! – because I knew that you are gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in mercy, and one who relents concerning threatened judgment. So now, Lord, kill me instead, because I would rather die than live!” The Lord said, “Are you really so very angry?” Jonah left the city and sat down east of it. He made a shelter for himself there and sat down under it in the shade to see what would happen to the city. The Lord God appointed a little plant and caused it to grow up over Jonah to be a shade over his head to rescue him from his misery. Now Jonah was very delighted about the little plant. So God sent a worm at dawn the next day, and it attacked the little plant so that it dried up. When the sun began to shine, God sent a hot east wind. So the sun beat down on Jonah’s head, and he grew faint. So he despaired of life, and said, “I would rather die than live!” God said to Jonah, “Are you really so very angry about the little plant?” And he said, “I am as angry as I could possibly be!” The Lord said, “You were upset about this little plant, something for which you have not worked nor did you do anything to make it grow. It grew up overnight and died the next day. Should I not be even more concerned about Nineveh, this enormous city? There are more than one hundred twenty thousand people in it who do not know right from wrong, as well as many animals!””

— ‭‭Jonah‬ ‭4‬:‭1‬-‭11‬‬

What exactly displeased Jonah? Final verse of chapter 3 says that God’s response to Ninevehs’ repentance was to relent, not to judge/destroy them. He showed mercy. Jonah is now very angry. 

This is why Jonah is one of the most read minor prophets. Regardless of the historical debates, the narrative itself grabs us. It’s relatability is overwhelming. Emotions are flooding the characters, and they well up in us as well. It’s remarkably simple to place ourselves in the story and ask, “How would I respond?” 

Assyrians are the most feared/ruthless peoples of the day. They have and will be attacking Jonah’s people just like they have done to all the other surrounding nations. So these are national and religious enemies. God promised judgment—Israel would be rescued from even the threat of danger—and now God offers mercy. What do I think when “the worst person or group of people” (of course, in my own opinion) receives mercy?

Of course, the real message of the book of Jonah is that if Assyria can receive mercy, then God may just have enough grace and compassion for others living around Israel or among Israel.

I’m going to go ahead and call Jonah’s bluff. He didn’t go to Nineveh because he knew God would forgive? Maybe. This is the main message of Jonah. God is gracious, compassionate, slow to anger. Jonah knew all of this. So why get angry when God is true to His character??

But I still think Jonah ran away to save his own neck. 

And now Jonah wants to die because he’s so upset?!?! I’ve seen enough complaints on social media about kindness, goodness, and compassion towards certain groups of people that comes close to this. The entitlement is through the roof, but I also know there are hundreds and thousands of faithful, serving people who would sacrifice anything for anyone regardless of background or choices made.

Jonah goes east…never a good direction. Adam and Eve kicked out east. Cain exiled east. Israel exiled to Babylon which is east. East is bad. 

Jonah is illogical. He knows God’s decision. He has described God’s character, but he’s still hoping for some fire and brimstone. Meanwhile, he’s in love with a plant.

Back to “appoint/ordain.” God ordains things throughout the book (from ch. 1, the storm, the fish). Now the plant, the east wind, the worm. He is moving in sovereignty to stir Jonah’s heart.

Jonah complains again about the dead plant and wants to die, allowing God to question his motives.

Haven’t studied enough about the size of Nineveh. 120,000 may be accurate or making some other point. Needs more research. This also relates to Jonah’s three day journey in ch 3. This is obviously a capital city, but cities were built differently and obviously not as big as modern cities. 

There is power in leaving the book open with question. We don’t get Jonah’s response. Did he stop complaining or double down on his position. The book of Jonah is the Prodigal Son story of the OT. There the Father invites the elder son into the party because his love has been constant, and we don’t get the response of the other son. Did he go in, or did he stay outside and sulk?

The point of that passage is the same here…over one sinner who repents there is (and should be) rejoicing. God’s mercy is for all. And before God we all need equal measures of grace and compassion.

Jonah 1:1-17

 “The Lord said to Jonah son of Amittai, “Go immediately to Nineveh, that large capital city, and announce judgment against its people because their wickedness has come to my attention.” Instead, Jonah immediately headed off to Tarshish to escape from the commission of the Lord. He traveled to Joppa and found a merchant ship heading to Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went aboard it to go with them to Tarshish far away from the Lord. But the Lord hurled a powerful wind on the sea. Such a violent tempest arose on the sea that the ship threatened to break up! The sailors were so afraid that each cried out to his own god and they flung the ship’s cargo overboard to make the ship lighter. Jonah, meanwhile, had gone down into the hold below deck, had lain down, and was sound asleep. The ship’s captain approached him and said, “What are you doing asleep? Get up! Cry out to your god! Perhaps your god might take notice of us so that we might not die!” The sailors said to one another, “Come on, let’s cast lots to find out whose fault it is that this disaster has overtaken us.” So they cast lots, and Jonah was singled out. They said to him, “Tell us, whose fault is it that this disaster has overtaken us? What’s your occupation? Where do you come from? What’s your country? And who are your people?” He said to them, “I am a Hebrew! And I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.” Hearing this, the men became even more afraid and said to him, “What have you done?” (The men said this because they knew that he was trying to escape from the Lord, because he had previously told them.) Because the storm was growing worse and worse, they said to him, “What should we do to you to make the sea calm down for us?” He said to them, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea to make the sea quiet down, because I know it’s my fault you are in this severe storm.” Instead, they tried to row back to land, but they were not able to do so because the storm kept growing worse and worse. So they cried out to the Lord, “Oh, please, Lord, don’t let us die on account of this man! Don’t hold us guilty of shedding innocent blood. After all, you, Lord, have done just as you pleased.” So they picked Jonah up and threw him into the sea, and the sea stopped raging. The men feared the Lord greatly, and earnestly vowed to offer lavish sacrifices to the Lord.” 17 (2:1) The Lord sent a huge fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the stomach of the fish three days and three nights.

— ‭‭Jonah‬ ‭1‬:‭1‬-‭17

The story of Jonah is so fascinating, and it’s really the OT equivalent of the Prodigal Son (or Luke 15). Because the point of both passages is whether God’s people will rejoice or sulk when God offers mercy to the worst of sinners. Yet, the grand emotion and shock factor is often restricted in conversation because people first want to debate whether this is historical or not. Or rather, they want to make sure everyone knows Jonah was actually swallowed by a whale/large fish. If you believe otherwise, then you are the worst of sinners and need to repent.

Of course, there are arguments on both sides, and there are counterpoints on both sides. Just because Jesus talked about Jonah in the fish’s belly, this is not a slam dunk argument. It’s a good argument, but it doesn’t seal the deal. Both sides talk about genre and contextual clues about how to read the book, so it depends on who you like to read and who’s more convincing. If you want to believe that it must absolutely be historical or else the Bible is a bunch of lies, that’s fine. If not, have at it. When it comes to intense debates like this, yes, I have thoughts, but when I see scholars—and not just their academic work, but also good, solid Christian men and women—disagree in conclusions, I say, “Ok, let’s move this down the hierarchy of important things to seize doctrinally.” It’s ok to disagree here.

Another important debate is the date of Jonah, or for that matter authorship. Most conservative dating/writings will have this during the life of the prophet, sometime around the reign of Jeroboam II (the key is before Nahum). Others will find this odd, because Nahum is not too long after Jonah lived, and the mercy of God in Jonah then “disappears” or “runs out” and the promised judgment comes in full force. Nahum promises and delivers some serious destruction on Nineveh.

The more progressive/liberal (I honestly don’t know what the point is of using terms like this anymore, because it just seems like enemy markers) approach is to date Jonah much later, like in the exile/post exile period. Then when God promised judgment in Nahum, it happens. But when Israel is wrestling with the character of God post exile (see Malachi), and how they should interact with their surrounding nations, and how God’s sovereignty is still intact, the book of Jonah was written.

Assyria was long gone by then, but they were known as the most ruthless empire when they were around. Sticking hooks up noses. Parading through streets naked. Perhaps I’ll post articles sometimes about their tactics. This is precisely why Jonah would say “Umm, I don’t think my going there would be a great idea. Hard pass.”

Whether the story happened in time of Jonah, or the story was created makes the same point. God is the type of God that offers forgiveness to the most cruel enemy the Jews ever faced in their history to that point. Would His people be willing to continue their mission of being a light to the surrounding nations? 

Some more points from this first chapter: Chapters 1-2 use the word “down” multiple times for Jonah. Hebrew has it more visibly than English. He goes down to Joppa. He goes down into the ship. He sinks into the sea. Pretty soon seaweed is around his head (whether metaphorical or real). It’s fantastic imagery of his rebellion against God.

Multiple times throughout the book, God appoints things: the storm, the fish, the plant, the worm (ch 4). And all these things are way more obedient than Jonah. In fact, whenever we read “the word of the Lord came to a prophet” in the OT, we always hear of the prophet speaking some terrible judgment against someone or doing some crazy stunt. Not Jonah. He runs away. This is absurd, and we want to stay engaged with the text to see what happens and why he has done this.

These sailors would have been somewhat used to storms but nothing like this. Their superstitions led them to Jonah, and even they had more faith at this point. Jonah’s speech is such a lie. I worship YHWH. Yeah. At least, he confessed that much. 

Small debate whether his willingness to be thrown overboard was contrition or more running. It was better to drown than go to Nineveh. 

NET has vowed to offer sacrifices. Not sure these sailors converted to Judaism or anything, and hopefully they waited to reach land before building a fire. But God’s power over the storm clearly showed them whom to fear.

This opening chapter sets the stage for everyone responding to YHWH correctly (even creation), except Jonah. And if I knew the Ninevites, I would probably be in the sea with Jonah,  too. But hopefully by ch 4, I wouldn’t be complaining as much. Hopefully.

Habakkuk 2:6-20

 ““But all these nations will someday taunt him and ridicule him with proverbial sayings: ‘The one who accumulates what does not belong to him is as good as dead (How long will this go on?) – he who gets rich by extortion!’ Your creditors will suddenly attack; those who terrify you will spring into action, and they will rob you. Because you robbed many countries, all who are left among the nations will rob you. You have shed human blood and committed violent acts against lands, cities, and those who live in them. The one who builds his house by unjust gain is as good as dead. He does this so he can build his nest way up high and escape the clutches of disaster. Your schemes will bring shame to your house. Because you destroyed many nations, you will self-destruct. For the stones in the walls will cry out, and the wooden rafters will answer back. The one who builds a city by bloodshed is as good as dead – he who starts a town by unjust deeds. Be sure of this! The Lord who commands armies has decreed: The nations’ efforts will go up in smoke; their exhausting work will be for nothing. For recognition of the Lord’s sovereign majesty will fill the earth just as the waters fill up the sea. “You who force your neighbor to drink wine are as good as dead – you who make others intoxicated by forcing them to drink from the bowl of your furious anger, so you can look at their genitals. But you will become drunk with shame, not majesty. Now it is your turn to drink and expose your uncircumcised foreskin! The cup of wine in the Lord’s right hand is coming to you, and disgrace will replace your majestic glory! For you will pay in full for your violent acts against Lebanon; terrifying judgment will come upon you because of the way you destroyed the wild animals living there. You have shed human blood and committed violent acts against lands, cities, and those who live in them. What good is an idol? Why would a craftsman make it? What good is a metal image that gives misleading oracles? Why would its creator place his trust in it and make such mute, worthless things? The one who says to wood, ‘Wake up!’ is as good as dead – he who says to speechless stone, ‘Awake!’ Can it give reliable guidance? It is overlaid with gold and silver; it has no life’s breath inside it. But the Lord is in his majestic palace. The whole earth is speechless in his presence!””

— ‭‭Habakkuk‬ ‭2‬:‭6‬-‭20‬‬

Lengthy passage to get context for v. 14. Habakkuk is an interesting little book. Need to reread or watch a brief introduction to overall themes and purpose/historical context, but I believe Habakkuk is defending God’s justice. 

Overall question is How in the world can God be just when Babylon is going to attack Jerusalem? Do You even know those people? They’re awful.

The first half of chapter 2 says, Yes, God knows them, but Israel must be disciplined for their disobedience, per the covenant they made with YHWH. Those who are proud and haughty will be punished/oppressed, but those who go through this faithfully will be delivered.

The rest of the chapter says that exile is not the end of the story. God may use the Babylonians to fulfill His purposes, but He will ultimately humble them as well.

Those who use violence and torment for their own gain will be brought low. The verses of nakedness most likely refer to parading victims of war through streets without clothes. 

God would vindicate His people and cause Babylon to pay for her wickedness. God was/is not dead. Whether the Jews or the Babylonians—I’m not sure at first glance who was saying YHWH was powerless when Jerusalem fell.

But through Habakkuk, God confirms that He is no lifeless idol. No one can limit His power to a meaningless piece of wood or stone. And when He acts, as v. 14 would say, the whole world will take note. The last verse says the earth is speechless at His presence. He will act on behalf of His people when the time to return to the land came. 

He is a powerful and good God, even when it seemed like discipline and wrath surrounded them. He is just and He would make all things right. 

Some Old covenant truths here, but also need to understand their perspective vs. general truths. Definitely some timeless principles in here about sovereignty, power, faithfulness, and goodness.

James 1:17-18

 “All generous giving and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or the slightest hint of change. By his sovereign plan he gave us birth through the message of truth, that we would be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.”

— ‭‭James‬ ‭1‬:‭17‬-‭18‬‬

Not sure if v. 16 goes with what comes before or what comes after. Could be a transition thought.

I don’t see at first read how these thoughts go with the idea of a person struggling with sin/temptation and being accountable for his own fall (i.e., don’t blame God). Could be a strong paragraph break but need to read more on James.

NET makes good point that the very act of giving as well what is given comes from God. He is good. He is generous. Next phrase may give some of us pause. “No turning or change.” That’s one of the biggest accusations against God in Bible. Shift from OT to NT or even between passages. Could be that how we experience God changes. 

Lights is a planets/stars term. Bodies move and create shadows of darkness/light as they turn. God does not turn. He remains steady/constant. Perhaps one of the most important traits of good fathers: consistency. 

And He is sovereign. Gave life to early believers (and by extension us) so we can offer more life to the rest of creation. His plan is always to create and continue giving gifts. 

Our plan is sometimes to self destruct. Maybe that’s the connection with preceding thoughts.