Sometimes it is hard to fit two prophetic words
together. In yesterday's lesson from
Isaiah we saw this incredible vision of Yahweh being worshipped in Egypt and
Assyria and receiving His blessing along with Israel. Today, Joel sees what seems to be the exact
opposite. The Lord announces He is going
to restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem and judge the nations who have
oppressed them, taken them away captive and divided up the Land He apportioned
to His people. He invites them to
prepare for battle and bring it on with the promise it will not go well for
them. So, Isaiah sees harmony among the
nations concerning Yahweh and Joel sees judgment only on those nations. What we see now is that both are indeed
right. Portions of all nations will
worship and know the God of Israel but portions also will not. Within these countries there are some who are
faithful to Yahweh but the nations themselves war with His children, both
Jewish and Gentile children. There will
come a day just like the one Joel saw as we saw in the book of the Revelation,
judgment falls on those encamped against God's people and then the great
judgment, followed by the fulfillment of the vision of Isaiah where all tribes
and languages and peoples and nations will be represented in the heavenly city.
Why do the Pharisees test Jesus concerning divorce? Typically, when they ask a question it tells
us that there is some underlying tension in rabbinic teachings. In this case, one rabbi, Hillel, allowed easy
divorce in keeping with Deuteronomy 24.1-4 where if a man finds "some
indecency" in his wife he can simply write a certificate of divorce and
send her away. Another contemporary
rabbi, Shammai, required gross indecency such as adultery before such action
could be taken by a husband. The
Pharisees want to know where Jesus stands on the issue and His answer pushes
the matter back beyond a debate over Deuteronomy to an understanding of the
original intent of God, before sin entered the picture. That intent was that marriage was an
indissoluble bond. Everything after that
is an accommodation to a sinful world. It
should have saddened them to come this realization. The disciples reaction is cynical, if there
is no possibility of divorce then no one should get married. Jesus says that if you make the kingdom a
priority then don't marry but don't abstain because God's law is too onerous,
it isn't. The church needs this teaching
today more desperately than ever.
Did you notice how Peter addressed the people? They are the "elect exiles of the
Dispersion." They are first, elect,
chosen by God to be His people. They are
then also exiles, a reminder that nowhere on earth do we find our true home. They are then also in the dispersion. They are, like the people of Israel,
scattered over the earth but that is a good thing, it is a part of the
fulfillment of the commandment to share the Good News to the ends of the earth. It is important for us to embrace this
identity in order to properly rejoice in the eternal inheritance we have
awaiting us. It is when we fail to
accept this reality that we find ourselves in trouble. When we make peace with earth and seek our
inheritance and our place here we lose our ability to truly rejoice because in
the world we will never find peace and joy.
We are to be a light to lighten the Gentiles as we sojourn here. We are called to be distinct from the world,
a different value system, different priorities, praying always with Jesus those
few simple words but praying them with all our heart, "Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."
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