Moses reminds the people of the discipline of the Lord in
order that they might commit themselves to following and obeying His Word. He reminds them of the plagues against Egypt,
the events of the Red Sea, and also the discipline they have experienced these
past forty years for their disobedience in not entering the Land as well as the
particular instance of the rebellion of Dathan and Abiram. Why does he single out that one event? That one was a challenge to Moses' leadership
and I wonder if he isn't noting this for Joshua's sake, that the people will be
reminded that God anoints a particular leader and will not make this mistake
again. They represent the quarrelsome and
murmuring spirit that so often beset the people. Moses certainly speaks highly of the Land,
God's concern and provision for it, there is an Edenic quality to this
description.
Jesus gives three parables of the kingdom, each with a focus
on the surpassing worth of the kingdom in comparison with everything else one
might possess. If we believe those
parables to represent the truth of the value of the kingdom and the relative
meaninglessness of all else then why do we work so diligently and passionately for
that which is not the kingdom and set our kingdom activities on the back burner
till these other things are done? When
Jesus goes to Nazareth he is acknowledged as possessing great wisdom and doing
mighty works but that isn't what the people focus on. They are more interested in fitting what they
see into what they know. They know who
He is, the son of the carpenter who grew up in their midst. They see wisdom and works and instead of
changing what they know in light of what they see, they attack the problem the
other way around. Is there room in your
worldview and plausibility structures for Jesus to be more? That is the problem in the liberal wing of
the church, they know something of science and Jesus as the incarnate Son of
God, born of a virgin, worker of miracles, bodily resurrected from death,
doesn't fit so they come up with more plausible explanations.
John hears the voices of seven thunders speaking and is
preparing to take down what he has heard when suddenly the voice from heaven
tells him not to write this down, this part of the revelation is not for public
consumption. There are some things that
are to remain a mystery, we cannot look into and know all things. Afterwards he is told to get the open scroll
from the angel who stands with one foot on the sea and one on the land, with a
rainbow about his head and legs like pillars of fire and a face like the
sun. He doesn't sound particularly
approachable does he? In spite of that
fearsome appearance, John tells him to give him the scroll. Like the scroll given to Ezekiel it tastes
good but then turns the stomach bitter, the words are words of reproach, not
encouragement. We sometimes need to hear
where we are falling short rather than being patted on the back.
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