13 November 2010
Psalm 87. 90; Joel 3.9-17; James 2.1-13; Luke 16.10-18

The people are urged to prepare for battle, it will be the order of the day. Plowshares are to be beaten into swords for everyone will be engaged in this final effort to defeat the enemy, there will be no plowing, only war. It seems that all the world is converging on what the prophet calls the valley of decision, mustering for the final battle to determine the future not only of Jerusalem but the world at large. Will God be the victor? The decisive answer is “Yes.” There will be a pure Jerusalem, undefiled and holy with no “strangers” coming in, those who are not of the covenant will not enter her gates. As we see Jerusalem today with the mosque in her center where the temple once stood, it is easy to see how the longing for this day would pervade the thoughts of the Jewish nation, dispersed among the nations.

The desire to serve both God and man has been the bane of our existence most of the history of the world. The prophets continually note this problem in calling the people to return to the Lord. Even those who note the religious observances such as tithing and fasting comment that these are done with one eye towards material blessing in return for observance rather than honest love of God and gratitude for His blessings. We can be grateful for what we have in order to encourage God to give more for which we can be grateful. Greed isn’t a 20th century phenomenon and it isn’t a merely worldly preoccupation, we must constantly be on guard against it, always prepared to walk away from the world in order to run to the things eternal. The temptation is always there to seek the things of the world and give God the hindmost.

James warns against partiality. We do this all the time. The Old Testament also warns against it and it does so on two bases, no partiality because someone is rich and none to the poor. In some theological systems today we hear that God particularly cares for the poor but that isn’t the case, there is nothing godly or noble about being poor just as being rich is not a particular sign of God’s blessing in our lives. Today we seem to go one way or another with our theology. Either we can see God’s blessing in our wealth or we can see God’s love for the poor and prefer one or the other. We are commanded to look beyond those externalities to see people not economic circumstances. Job is an excellent case in point. When he was wealthy people thought it was because he was righteous and when he lost everything it was clearly because he was unrighteous. He was the same man the day before he lost it all as he was the day after but was judged differently by men.

So teach us to number our days
that we may get a heart of wisdom.
Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love,
that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us,
and for as many years as we have seen evil.
Let your work be shown to your servants,
and your glorious power to their children.
Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us,
and establish the work of our hands upon us;
yes, establish the work of our hands!