14 November 2010
Psalm 66, 67; Hab 1.1-2.1; Phil 3.13-4.1; Matt 23.13-24

I don’t get it. I have been praying and praying and you won’t answer me. What I see in front of me is wrong and my judgment is based on the Word of God but God won’t right the situation. Have you ever felt that way? We can sometimes see what makes no sense of our theology (knowledge of God) and wonder how to resolve the paradox. Habbakuk sees that things aren’t as they should be and asks God why He won’t act. The Lord’s explanation is that He is acting, what the prophet sees is in fact God’s action of judgment on the people. The Lord’s reply also indicates that He knows the character of this nation He is using at present. It is that very nature that makes them a perfect tool to use but He is not affirming their rapacious and self-sufficient nature. The prophet’s response is to say, I will keep my eyes open to God for understanding, I will seek to understand from the Lord alone. A wise choice.

Our judgment tends to be cloudy at best. The scribes and Pharisees here are condemned for failures of understanding and judgment. Their values are misplaced. Everything points ultimately to the Lord, the only thing of value since all else is created by Him and therefore less than Him. The values of the leaders here are exposed. They seemingly value material things rather than spiritual things, the gold of the temple, the gift in the temple, they even tithe of their spices, a tenth of all possessions/assets. Jesus points away from these things to the larger issues of value and import, holiness, justice, mercy and faithfulness. What preoccupies you?

Paul keeps his eyes on the prize, eternal life. He has his values and priorities in order and encourages the Philippians to do the same. We know from Paul’s life that the man, once converted, kept things in proper perspective. He never wavered in his commitment to the task and mission he had been given. He was willing to suffer anything for the cause of Christ and never seemed to care for materialism, he had learned to be content in any circumstance. We know from 2 Corinthians that he endured hardships almost no one could and yet he persevered in faithful obedience to God’s call. He is an example to us all.

Come and hear, all you who fear God,
and I will tell what he has done for my soul.
I cried to him with my mouth,
and high praise was on my tongue.
If I had cherished iniquity in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened.
But truly God has listened;
he has attended to the voice of my prayer.
Blessed be God,
because he has not rejected my prayer
or removed his steadfast love from me!