The Lord promises to send both the early rain and the late
rain that they may gather up the “grain, wine and oil.” These three were symbolic of prosperity and
all were dependent on those rains. If
you have ever been in a country where there are rainy seasons and dry seasons
you can appreciate how important it is that the rains come. Prior to the rain everything is dry and dusty
and in desperate condition. As soon as
the rains begin, new life begins to reveal itself, nature awakens in every way
and hope is restored. Baal worship was
centered on sympathetic magic, temple prostitutes and sexual rites designed to
excite Baal to his own sexual activities with his consorts which then provided
rain for the crops, he was a fertility god.
The Lord promises that if His people are obedient to His laws, including
the laws governing sexual relations, He will provide the rains. In the region, there was always going to be a
temptation to hedge your bets and worship Baal as well so that rain would come
down on the earth for prosperity. The
sexual ethics of Baal worhippers and those who worship Yahweh were markedly
different.
Can you imagine a day where someone sinned against you seven
times and each time came and asked your forgiveness? Wouldn’t you grow a bit suspicious and less
likely to forgive them each time? Jesus
said we are supposed to forgive every time if that ever happens to us. Sadly, I wish I only sinned against the Lord
seven times in a day, I need more forgiveness than that and I really do mean it
when I make confession. We can chase
after other gods, gods that promise prosperity, gods that promise happiness,
gods that promise all sorts of things, and neglect to worship Him at all, even
though He is the source of all that we have and all that we are. If we don’t, if we deny ourselves as during
Lent, we think we should get extra credit for our denials and keeping to
Him. Even that reveals our hearts, what
they really want. Is He and the life He
gives enough for us or are we still restless?
In Christ, we are new creations. A new creation should have a new nature, a
new set of desires, a new focus. In all
these ways we should be remarkably different from the world around us. The world should notice us because we are
different. Our ethics should be
different, our actions, our language, everything. What does the world see when it sees the
church today? In his song, Wedding
Dress, Derek Webb wrote, “So could you love this bastard child, Though I dont
trust you to provide. With one hand in a
pot of gold. And with the other in your side.
'Cause I am so easily satisfied, By the call of lovers so
less wild. That I would take a little cash.
Over your very flesh and blood.” Sadly, Derek did worse, he committed adultery
in his marriage, but this, still is the confession of a man who is trying to be
real about sin. By the way, David, the
great king, a man after God’s own heart, the Psalmist whose work we cherish,
committed adultery too. Should we tear
the Psalms from the Bible?
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