31 October 2011

Psalm 56, 57; Neh. 6:1-19; Rev. 10:1-11; Matt. 13:36-43

The letter sent to Nehemiah was meant to suggest that they would pass along this “intelligence” to the king who would presumably take immediate action based upon the information provided and would come against not only Nehemiah but all those who were rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. The enemies of the work even conspired with a man we suppose to be a priest, Shemaiah, to ruin Nehemiah. It is believed that Shemaiah, in furtherance of this scheme, had shut himself up to show that he believed his life to be in danger and that he would soon flee to the temple for sanctuary. He suggests that Nehemiah should also fear for his own life and that together they should go to the temple and lock the doors against their enemies. Nehemiah’s first response is that he is not a coward and then the Lord reveals the greater plot to him. If Nehemiah, a layman, entered the temple and locked the doors, it would certainly look to all the world that he had made a power play to control all, which would be difficult to explain both to the Jews and to the king. Fortunately, he listens to the Lord in this and the plot fails and the walls are completed. Unfortunately, that was not the end of the plots against him, there were those who continued to have communication and contact with Tobiah. To anyone who has ever pastured a church or led people, this is a familiar situation.

Jesus explains that among the believers there will be those who look true but who are in reality not members of the body of believers. The promise is that all this will be taken care of in the end, at the harvest. It is a hard thing to say that in any given church are those who simply are not part of the true body but that seems to be what Jesus is saying here. Even among His own small group of disciples, they will see that one is indeed not truly with them. How do we deal with that reality and that problem. Nehemiah and Jesus both were aware that some were not with them in spirit and yet they did not take action against those people, they left it to God, trusting that His will would be done. It doesn’t mean we should not confront this when it becomes a problem for the community, but it does mean that we leave the final judgment to the Lord.

Just as John is prepared to write what the “seven thunders” had spoken, he is stopped by a voice from heaven that tells him that the time has not yet come for this to be revealed to those who will read John’s words. This part of what John has seen and heard must be kept secret, it is for him only. As in the Gospel lesson, there will come a time when all is manifest but now is not that time for these words. John is give a scroll to eat, sweet to the taste but which turns bitter on the stomach. The Word of God is always sweet to us but it will come forth from John as prophecy of God’s judgment against nations and kings, it is not affirmation but instead bitter wrath. Judgment is real, even if we don’t see it and even if it is long delayed, even past this life.

30 October 2011

Psalm 24, 29; Neh. 5:1-19; Acts 20:7-12; Luke 12:22-31

In the midst of the rebuilding project an economic problem either arises or becomes more acute as the people focus their attention on the work of rebuilding. It seems most likely that this second explanation is the real one since the rebuilding of the wall took only 52 days. As the people spent their energy and resources on rebuilding rather than on economically productive labor, a bad situation became worse. There were issues of social injustice within the community that had to be addressed. Nehemiah may have signed up only for a construction project, he also had to deal with issues in the community that had probably been long-simmering. That the wives joined the protest in verse 1 tells us that the problem was particularly great. Some wealthier members of the community seem to have been taking advantage of the poorer members in violation of God’s law not to lend with interest to the poor. Some Israelites had been sold as slaves, again contrary to the law. The wealthy complained that the tax burden was great and they had no other choice. Nehemiah personally led the way by not asking for any support and providing for others from his own table. Leaders always need to show the way and uphold God’s way for the people. If the community was not formed according to God’s will from Scripture, the wall was ultimately an immaterial reality from His perspective. The “new” Jerusalem must be based on the Word, otherwise its civil existence was unimportant.

Jesus teaches an alternative way of life. God’s people should not be consumed with anxiety over the things of earth. Jesus promises that the Father will provide for our needs, we can move beyond the physical to the spiritual. Does that mean that physical things are immaterial? No, it means that we can trust the Father in those things and fix our minds, hearts and lives on higher things. We can love God and love our neighbor because the Lord loves us and will provide for our needs. We can then turn ourselves outward from self-obsession and begin to share what we have with others, the love of God. Have we reached that point in our walk with the Lord?

The first thing to notice in what we see as a humorous story about a preacher going on so long that someone falls asleep in a window and then falls out is in the first verse of the reading, “On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread…” This is the earliest evidence that the new community had made a change in the pattern of worship from Judaism. They were meeting on the first day of the week, the day of the Resurrection, rather than the seventh day. The remainder of the story is straightforward but Paul seems to have spent the entire night in talking with the church. A new community had been formed, however, distinct from the old community and it would be formed around the breaking of bread in remembrance of the death and resurrection of Jesus. That action breaks down social distinctions and says we are sinners saved by grace alone, every one of us. The community of the redeemed is one not of walls but of grace and love.

29 October 2011

Psalm 55; Neh. 4:1-23; Rev. 7:4-17; Matt. 13:31-35

Chapter 3 of Nehemiah is a recitation of those who worked on the wall. The important thing is that Nehemiah had each man and family work on the wall where they lived and worked, the part of the city where they were invested most. We may be scattered about in our churches today but the original pattern for Anglican churches was the parish model based on geography. Where you lived was where you went to church and ministered in that locale, it is an important concept and one we should struggle to sort out in our context. In chapter 4 Nehemiah faces opposition first from the two mentioned earlier who, as the work progresses are joined by others and then the families of the Jews working and living in Jerusalem begin to come and attempt to get them to leave off the work. Was there persecution for them because of the work in the city? Finally, Nehemiah arms the people against the possibility of attack, half were always prepared to fight and the others worked with one arm in order to be prepared for a fight. They were spread all over the city so he stationed sentries with trumpets to sound the alarm if there were an attack and all could come to that trumpet and join in the fight. Through it all we see Nehemiah praying and enjoining the people to the work for the glory of God and promising that He would protect them and fight for them.

When Zerubbabel began the work on the temple, the prophet Zechariah said, for the Lord, “For whoever has despised the day of small things shall rejoice, and shall see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel.” We like to measure things by their size, we have proven time and again that we are incapable for accurately seeing things. Jesus compares the kingdom of God to a mustard seed and to leaven for dough. In both cases these things seem insignificant and yet what they produce is far beyond their size. We need to understand this principle and to be like Nehemiah, trusting in the Lord for the outcome, knowing that in His hands what is small and insignificant today can be a great thing.

The 144,000 are sealed, twelve thousand from each tribe of Israel, and then the scene immediately shifts to a great multitude that cannot be numbered from every nation, tribe, language and people on earth singing praises to God and to the Lamb for salvation. The first group seems like a large number, a great Biblical number of twelve times twelve thousand but even that group seems insignificant in light of this larger throng. The destruction of the earth is for their sakes, those who have suffered in this life will rejoice in the new creation where there is neither suffering nor sighing, justice will be done.

O Thou fount of blessing, purify my spirit;
Trusting only in Thy merit,
Like the holy angels who behold Thy glory,
May I ceaselessly adore Thee,
And in all, great and small, seek to do most nearly
What Thou lovest dearly.

Tune

28 October 2011

Psalm 40, 54; Neh. 2:1-20; Rev. 6:12-7:4; Matt. 13:24-30

Nehemiah was a close confidant of the king, one trusted with overseeing the wine and therefore one who had to be trustworthy as he had the ability to poison the king. He was expected always to be joyful simply because he was in the presence of the king so the sadness of his heart was to be overcome by virtue of being with the king. For his countenance to be downcast could prove costly to Nehemiah thus his response, “Let the king live forever!” Before he made his request known to the king, he prayed (v. 4). The king granted Nehemiah’s request after he made his return date certain, the king wanted him back, this was not permanent. Right at the outset we see opposition outside the came with Sanballat and Tobiah, the villains of the book. Nehemiah doesn’t start anything until he has sized up the problem for himself. He spent three days in Jerusalem prior to inspecting the situation and then didn’t tell the officials what was in his heart or that he had the king’s permission and favor in the matter. He kept his own counsel.

The parable of the wheat and weeds tells us that we are a mixed bag in the church and in that it is no different from Jesus’ words that some will come at the end and say they have done things in His Name and He will say, depart from me, I never knew you. The weeds looked like wheat until the time for harvest came and then they produced no grain. A wise man knew that in the end it would all get sorted out, in the growing season there was always a risk of pulling up the wheat with the weeds. Patience is not typically our strong suit, we want to make decisions now rather than waiting for the proper time when we can get it right. The Lord is patient and sometimes that is painful for us but His timing is always exactly the right timing. The people of Jerusalem, for instance, had waited many years before Nehemiah came to rebuild the walls.

The judgments of God are poured out on His creation, that which was perfect, which He said was very good. He brings ruin on creation because of us, what we brought into perfection, sin and death. The judgment first brings fear on the inhabitants of earth, small and great alike, cowering in fear to be hidden from Him, knowing that no one can stand in the day of His judgment. Four angels hold back the winds from the corners of the earth, can you imagine the sound of this stillness? Then comes the proclamation from another angel to wait and bring no further destruction on the earth until the remnant is sealed on the forehead. Wait, the most difficult word in our vocabulary.

Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
All Thy works shall praise Thy Name, in earth, and sky, and sea;
Holy, holy, holy; merciful and mighty!
God in three Persons, blessèd Trinity!

Tune

27 October 2011

Psalm 50; Neh. 1-1:11; Rev. 5:11-6:11; Matt. 13:18-23

Nehemiah is approximately 65-70 years after the rebuilding of the temple. The Jews had a temple but they were vulnerable to their enemies as the city had no wall for protection. Nehemiah was eager for news of the city and yet when he hears of its condition he is heartbroken. He is a man with a good job, cupbearer to the king, one of the trusted associates of the king, and yet his heart is with his own people and in their distress he too is distress because he loved Jerusalem. We have no idea whether he had ever even been there, but we deeply identifies with its shame. His response is to pray, something we see again and again in this book. He prays two specific things, confession of sin, both of the nation and his own family’s contribution to that reality, and then he calls on God to do as He had promised in the covenant. Nehemiah’s prayer is based in God’s promise that when His people, called by His Name, would repent and return to Him, He would restore them. He is counting on the greatness of God and the covenant faithfulness of God. The Lord is able to do what he asks and is bound by the covenant and His own lovingkindness to do these things.

Jesus explains the parable of the sower to the disciples. The seed is all good but the ground on which it fell was varied and the condition of the soil made all the difference in the world as to what it produced. Can you see your own life story in the parable? As I mentioned yesterday I sometimes see all the above in my life, depending on the circumstances. It is hard to avoid the reality that we are not always ready to receive the good Word in season. In Judaism it was considered sinful for two Jews to be talking about anything other than the law, it demanded their constant attention. In Christianity, too often, those who take the Name of Jesus are inattentive to the Word and neglect its study, much less discussion with one another. How wonderful if we all loved the Word as David did when he wrote Psalm 119.

"To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!" That is either the end of history because of blasphemy, ascribing worship in heaven to anything or anyone other than the One who sits on the throne, or it is a game-changer. The response of the creatures was “Amen!” and the elders fell down and worshiped. Everything changes at this moment, the work of the Lamb for salvation is complete, now judgment begins with the summoning of the plagues by the four living creatures as the Lamb opens the first four seals. Finally, as the fifth seal is opened, the martyrs cry out for justice for the shedding of their blood. They are given white robes and told that such time has not yet come, there is more blood that will be shed before this is complete. Do our hearts cry out for justice for those who are persecuted for their faith, who die daily for Jesus? Do we identify ourselves with these in prayer?

Holy, holy, holy! though the darkness hide Thee,
Though the eye of sinful man Thy glory may not see;
Only Thou art holy; there is none beside Thee,
Perfect in power, in love, and purity.

Tune