7 August 2010
Psalm 87, 90; Judges 9:22-25,50-57; Acts 4:32-5:11; John 2:13-25

Shechem plays a central role in the rise and the death of Abimelech. It was the place in the land where Abraham first offered worship. It is also the city where the rape of Dinah, the daughter of Jacob, occurred in Genesis 34. It is the place of the Samaritans. In yesterday’s reading we saw that the men of Shechem cooperated with Abimelech in his plot to kill his brothers and today we see that those who have acted treacherously in the past can be counted on to do so in the future. Trusting such people when it suits your ends should tell you all you need to know about them, they cannot be trusted, they are wicked. Abimelech here meets his end there and in the end of the reading we are told that the Lord also brought the curse of Jotham from yesterday’s reading on the men of Shechem.

The temple had been turned into a market place. The goods being bought and sold there were those animals needed for sacrifice and the money changers weren’t there to change currency like Forex, they were there to change money from hard currency to temple currency. All this activity of making a buck was taking advantage of the faithful who had come from afar for the Passover festival. They didn’t bring animals with them on the chance that they may not pass muster for sacrifice. These animals were pre-approved and certified and sold at a premium. The temple tax had to be paid in a specific currency so the money changers were there to provide that service for a fee. Jesus was enraged at what they had done to worship, crowding out the Gentiles from the outer courts and scamming the worshippers here for the festival. The works that Jesus did during the festival caused many to “believe in his name” and yet because He knew their hearts He would not reveal Himself fully to them. Amazingly, we will see Him reveal Himself to someone in chapter 4 of John’s Gospel after revealing that He knows her completely.

Common ownership of property is not a principle of Scripture. It was, however, one of the characteristics of the earliest church in order to provide mutual support for all the people who believed in Jesus. Their understanding of the world was shaped by the belief that this was all coming to an end soon with Jesus’ return anticipated at any moment. Does that give us a pass on the way we have our own possessions or should it be instructive on how we are to live? The world is passing away so why do we work so hard at owning a share of what is passing away? It isn’t wrong to own anything but we are called to a different way of understanding ownership and possessions. They are to be in the service of the One who has entrusted them to us. Annanais and Sapphira sinned by lying about the sale, not by keeping some of the proceeds. They pretended to have given all the money to the church when, in fact, they had kept some. Peter’s rebuke is for the lie, not the decision to keep some back.

O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
for his steadfast love endures for ever.
O give thanks to the God of gods,
for his steadfast love endures for ever.
O give thanks to the Lord of lords,
for his steadfast love endures for ever.