God’s Wingman

Posted on April 19, 2023 by Pete

For many of us, we hear the name Boaz and we immediately think redeemer. If we’re NIV readers, we think kinsman-redeemer. And, as I’ve learned this morning reading in the CSB, if you’re a CSB reader Boaz is going to spark family redeemer for you. Boaz, the close relative who paid the price for Naomi’s field so that he could take Naomi’s widowed daughter-in-law, Ruth, as his bride. Boaz, the family redeemer who with Ruth birthed the line from which my Family Redeemer would be born.

But it’s not Boaz the redeemer who captures my imagination this morning, it’s Boaz the wingman.

When Ruth pledged her loyalty to Naomi (Ruth 1:16) it was more than just an over-the-top declaration of love for Naomi, it was also an over-the-top act of faith in Naomi’s God. And Boaz recognized that.

Boaz answered [Ruth}, “Everything you have done for your mother-in-law since your husband’s death has been fully reported to me: how you left your father and mother and your native land, and how you came to a people you didn’t previously know. May the Lord reward you for what you have done, and may you receive a full reward from the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for refuge.”

(Ruth 2:11-12 CSB)

Ruth’s determination to leave her people and her inheritance for a foreign land and no inheritance was to, in effect, trust the Lord God of Israel and place herself under the protection of His “wings.”

But God isn’t a bird. Nor is God material. God is spirit (Jn. 4:24). And so, if Ruth were to physically realize the refuge of God’s wings, God would need a wingman.

At midnight, Boaz was startled, turned over, and there lying at his feet was a woman! So he asked, “Who are you?”

“I am Ruth, your servant,” she replied. “Take me under your wing, for you are a family redeemer.”

(Ruth 3:8-9 CSB)

Boaz the family redeemer. Boaz the flesh and blood actualization of God’s protection. Boaz the wingman.

And as I chew on that, knowing that Boaz foreshadows the greater Family Redeemer, the Lord Jesus, I remind myself of the refuge I have found under Jesus’ wings.

A refuge by faith. A refuge found at His feet (Ruth 3:7). A refuge bought with a price (Ruth 4:9-10, 1Cor. 6:20). A refuge under the wings of the God who is spirit, actualized by the same God who came in the flesh (Php. 2:7-8). Wings of refuge freely extended by Jesus (Mt. 23:37). The Christ — the promised Son of God who was not ashamed to call me His brother (Heb. 2:11) — is my family redeemer and forever protector.

He will cover you with His feathers;
you will take refuge under His wings.
His faithfulness will be a protective shield.

(Psalm 91:4 CSB)

God’s wingman.

Because of grace alone. For His glory alone.

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This Life Only? Pity!

Posted on April 18, 2023 by Pete

Sitting back after my readings this morning and wishing that Naomi could have read Paul.

Bitter, she said, call me bitter! ‘Cause that’s how the LORD has made me. I once was full, but thanks to Him, now I’m running on empty. The LORD has opposed me. He knew what I wanted out of life and He said no, and instead has afflicted me. Don’t call me Naomi anymore. Call me bitter. (Ruth 1:20-21)

A widow before she should have been. Childless when once she hadn’t been. A foreigner in a foreign place feeling like nothing more than a has been. Call me bitter, she says. Heavy sigh.

Camp on Naomi’s dashed dreams and misery, and you kind of get it. Imagine what she had imagined her life to be — a loving husband, two adored and adoring boys with two beautiful wives, grandkids someday, perhaps — and then imagine what it was like to see such hopes and dreams vanish. Nothing to show for leaving her family and giving herself to that man. Zilch for the years of toil, for the times of sacrifice, for being uprooted to a strange land. Nada after two long pregnancies, two hard deliveries, and raising two rambunctious boys. Empty, Naomi says. I’m empty.

But then I read Paul and this pops.

If we have put our hope in Christ for this life only, we should be pitied more than anyone.

(1Corinthians 15:19 CSB)

This life only. That’s what I’m chewing on this morning.

As God’s people, if it’s about this life only, we should be pitied. If this is the main event, how miserable. If the prize is to found in the present, “we’re a pretty sorry lot” (MSG).

If it’s about this life only, then bitter is all there is if it doesn’t get better. Unfulfilled and empty is all we’ll have when our expectations are unrealized and eradicated. If our hope for the good life rests solely in this life, then we are to be pitied.

But guess what, it isn’t about this life only. It’s not about our hopes and dreams here and now. It’s about a future hope and a coming day. A hope that for most of us will be realized by passing through death’s dark veil. A hope for life we can barely imagine this side of the grave. Eternal life. Life to the full. A life we get to sample now but are yet to realize fully.

Life found in Christ, the risen Son of God. Life found through Christ, the risen Savior of the world. Life found one day soon with Christ, the coming King of heaven.

Hope in this life only? Pity. This life only? How bitter.

But hope in a life yet to be fully experienced? Life promised in the Father’s faithful word? Life founded on the Son’s finished work? Life tasted even now, amidst the disappointment, through the Spirit’s faithful witness? Now that’s life!

Life by His grace. Life for His glory.

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The Difference Phinehas Makes

Posted on April 17, 2023 by Pete

It would seem that chapters 17 through 21 could just have easily been chapters 3 through 7. Who knew?

Hovering over and diving a bit into the final chapters of Judges this morning. And a small detail turns upside down how I’ve always read Judges.

Then the Israelites inquired of the Lord. In those days, the ark of the covenant of God was there, and Phinehas son of Eleazar, son of Aaron, was serving before it. The Israelites asked, “Should we again fight against our brothers the Benjaminites or should we stop?”

The Lord answered, “Fight, because I will hand them over to you tomorrow.”

(Judges 20:27-28 CSB)

I’ve always read Judges chronologically, that what was recorded in the last chapters of Judges occurred after the events of the earlier chapters. And so, I’ve read the closing chapters of Judges as a testimony of just how bad things continued to get after Samson’s death. That the examples recorded of over-the-top idolatry and a priesthood free-market economy (Judges 18-19); and of the Sodom and Gomorrah like debauchery (Judges 20); and of a tribe of Israel almost becoming a non-entity (Judges 21-22) were to show how, despite God’s repeated intervention over centuries, the moral climate in Israel had continued to go from bad to worse. But apparently things were already worse at the beginning of Judges, that time when Joshua’s generation passed and “another generation rose up who did not know the LORD or the works He had done for Israel” (Jud. 2:10).

How do we know? Because of Phinehas son of Eleazar, son of Aaron. The presence of Phinehas makes a difference.

This grandson of Aaron was the priest serving during the events recorded in these latter chapters of Judges after Samson. But he was also the priest who accompanied Joshua during the conquest of the promised land some 250 years before Samson (see Joshua 22). So Judges 17 through 21 probably occurred within 10 or 20 years of Joshua’s passing. Thus, the repeated theme of these latter chapters, that “in those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what seemed right to him” (Judges 17;6, 18:1, 19:1, 21:25), really is the over-arching explanation for everything recorded in Judges.

So, what difference does it make? For me at least, it takes a dark, dark cloud that especially hung over the latter part of the book and moves it directly over the entire book. It adds a depth of understanding for just how corrupted Israel had become so quickly after entering the promised land. A generation which knew neither the works of the LORD, nor had heeded Moses’ command to know the word of the LORD, had become a generation so far from the LORD.

It makes a difference because when I read about all the idolatry in the first chapters of Judges it now reminds me that with such idolatry comes sickening debauchery. That worshiping the gods of this world result in adopting the anchor-less morals of the world, leading to engaging in unimaginable practices of doing whatever’s right in one’s own eyes. That giving ourselves over to idols is in essence giving ourselves over to the flesh.

But it also makes a difference for me because the darkness of this cloud, which now overshadows Judges from the beginning of the book, emphasizes even more the grace and patience of the God who repeatedly sought to discipline His people towards repentance. A God who did not allow the near complete decimation of one tribe of Israel to become the deserved outcome for all the rebellious tribes of Israel. A God who, even in the midst of such utter moral and religious decay, was still working in the hearts of individuals to bring about his kingdom (can’t wait to get to the book of Ruth).

So, maybe next year, if I remember, I’ll read Judges 17 through 21 before reading Judges 3 and marvel again at God’s persistence and patience in protecting His people as He sought to bring His people to repentance.

This too, evidence of His immeasurable grace. This too, for His all-deserved glory

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This I Know

Posted on April 14, 2023 by Pete

Hovering over 1Corinthians 13 this morning. And experiencing a myriad of mixed emotions.

Initially, there’s a warm and fuzzy feeling of processing again those “love” verses (1Cor. 13:4-8a) as the aspiration of so many newlyweds at the altar. But stare into the mirror of those verses for but a few minutes longer and don’t be surprised if there emerges the ugly reflection of knowing how often and how short you’ve fallen from living out this kind of love. And then the dread of connecting that failure to the prophesied futility of speaking eloquently and heavenly, yet sounding just like a noisy gong and a clanging cymbal. Of having faith to move mountains yet it being counted as nothing. Of possessing all things and yet, in the end, of having nothing. Heavy sigh!

But blessed are the poor in spirit, for they will see the kingdom. Blessed are those who thirst in the arid land of their recognized sin, for they will receive living water flowing from Calvary’s cross. Blessed are those who continue to stare into those verses and see them fade as a reflection of self and give way to the light of One who is Savior. The One who perfectly embodies the love that never ends. The One who gave Himself out of such love. The One who has forever connected Himself with us in accordance with such love. The One who lives now in us and through us, patiently making more perfect that love in us, as He increases, and we decrease.

And I remember again hearing for the first time those love verses read in a way I had never heard them read as Mr. Schoberg opened his bible at the Lord’s Supper one Sunday morning . . .

Jesus is patient, Jesus is kind. Jesus does not envy, is not boastful, is not arrogant, is not rude, is not self-seeking, is not irritable, and does not keep a record of wrongs. Jesus finds no joy in unrighteousness but rejoices in the truth. He bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Jesus never ends.

And chewing on this first part of the chapter readies me for something in the latter part.

Have had now a couple of conversations over the last week on making sense of how hard life is. Of struggling with the sovereignty and engagement of God in light of the suffering and injustice around us. And this pops from the page this morning:

For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I will know fully, as I am fully known. 

(1Corinthians 13:12 CSB)

Now I know in part. I’m tempted to want to judge God as to how well He’s deploying His sovereignty, but fact of the matter is, now I know in part. I don’t have any idea of how much I don’t know what I don’t know. And yet, just like my parents in the garden, I think I can eat some fruit and be like God, knowing what He knows, thus qualified to second guess what He does.

There will be a day when I fully know, but today’s not that day. The fact of the matter is, at best I see in a mirror dimly (NKVJ) — literally, I see obscurely, encountering frequently enigmas and riddles. At best I know in part. That’s it.

But in that part I know, I know Jesus. And Jesus is patient. And Jesus is kind. And Jesus in me will enable me to bear all things, believe all things, hope all things, and even endure all things. ‘Cause Jesus never ends. I may know in part, but part of what I know is that Jesus never fails (NKJV).

Yes, Jesus loves me. THIS I KNOW. For the bible tells me so.

By His grace. For His glory.

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Accountability Ignored

Posted on April 13, 2023 by Pete

Okay, not sure why this hits the radar this morning. Not sure that my application is warranted. But here’s what I’m chewing on as I hover over Judges 13 through 15, something that clearly involves a very complex parent/child dynamic.

I’m back in Judges. I’m back to considering the pitfalls of power. And what jumps off the page are Samson’s parents.

Unable to conceive a child, they are visited by the angel of the LORD and told they would have a son, and a pretty special son at that (Judges 13). A son who, from birth, God would set apart for Himself so that he would “begin to save” Israel from the oppressive power of the Philistines that had ruled over Israel for 40 years. But what catches my eye this morning is the degree to which the scriptures make sure that we know that Samson’s parents stay pretty engaged in his life as he rises to power.

Samson went down to Timnah and saw a young Philistine woman there. He went back and told his father and his mother, “I have seen a young Philistine woman in Timnah. Now get her for me as a wife.”

But his father and mother said to him, “Can’t you find a young woman among your relatives or among any of our people? Must you go to the uncircumcised Philistines for a wife?”

But Samson told his father, “Get her for me. She’s the right one for me.”

(Judges 14:1-3 CSB)

Now I don’t know a lot about ancient courting/engagement dynamics, but I’m going to assume the level of engagement by Samson’s parents in helping him pick a life partner is appropriate. He goes home and says he’s found “the one.” They question whether she’s really “the one” as they know God’s command (Deut. 7:3-4) and Joshua’s warning (Jud. 23:7-13) to not intermarry with the people of the land. They seek to hold Samson accountable for his feelings with the facts. But Samson wouldn’t have it.

Read on in Judges 14, and not only is Samson coming to age as to his feelings for the opposite sex, but he’s also becoming aware of his own body and the strength it possesses. He goes down to Timnah to see his fiancé, along with his mother and father, and at some point, when he’s alone on the journey, he’s ambushed by a young lion and he tears it apart with his bare hands. And the Spirit ensures the record shows specifically that “he did not tell his father or mother what he had done” (Jud. 14:5-6). He had told them of his passion and didn’t like their counsel, now he chooses to keep from them his power — perhaps because he didn’t want them speaking into that as well. The accountability structure which could have been in place through his parents is weakened by his lack of transparency.

Then, on the return trip to Timnah for Samson to marry his bride, he visits the sight of the lion carcass and eats honey from a beehive built within it. A violation of his holy, set apart state before God. Eating anything unclean was forbidden (Jud. 13:7). Not only does he eat of the honey, but he also gave some to his father and mother to eat (who accompany him again). And again, the Spirit makes sure we know “he did not tell them that he had scooped the honey from the lion’s carcass” (Jud. 14:9b). Not only has his accountability been kept in the dark, but now it is defiled as well.

Is Judges 14 about power and the need for accountability? Probably not. But is there a secondary application here? I wondering . . .

Last mention of Samson’s parents in Judges is after Samson starts playing reckless games with the Philistines and sets them up with a wager and a riddle. The Philistines threaten the newlywed’s bride to get the answer for the riddle or die. Samson’s response to her after her persistent questioning of him?

“Look,” he said, “I haven’t even explained it to my father or mother, so why should I explain it to you?”

(Judges 14:16b CSB)

I’ve ignored my God-given accountability, Samson says in effect, why should I be accountable to anyone else?

Mom and dad, engaged by God, but kept in the dark by their son.

Accountability ignored. Accountability defiled. Accountability unable to do its job of holding a leader accountable.

Hmm . . . something here to noodle on?

I’m thinkin’ . . .

By God’s grace. For God’s glory.

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He Loves the Place!

Posted on April 12, 2023 by Pete

It’s not that it’s unfamiliar to me, but this morning it struck me as unusual. After all, the LORD loves people not places, doesn’t He? His affection is sourced in grace not geography, isn’t it? So how come the LORD loves Zion?

The city He founded is on the holy mountains.
The LORD loves Zion’s city gates
more than all the dwellings of Jacob.
Glorious things are said about you,
city of God.
Selah

(Psalm 87:1-3 CSB)

The psalm is about a place. The entire song about a city. This morning I’m chewing a bit on why God is so enraptured with this city on a hill. After all, isn’t the meta-mission of scripture about redemption? Loving on the lost? Why’s this mega-affection on a locality?

Immediate thought? ‘Cause it’s about presence and power. The place of God’s presence and the seat of God’s power. In Zion was the temple, the place where the glory dwelt, the place of God’s earthly presence. In Jerusalem was the throne, the throne of David, the epicenter of a promised kingdom of earth which would be the glorious reflection of the kingdom of heaven. The LORD loves Zion’s city gates as He anticipates that day when all who enter them, all who are born in them, would know the presence of God and the power of His kingdom. Psalm 87 must be looking forward to a future day, the day of the King’s reign.

And as I noodle on it a bit more, while perhaps not as glorious as Zion, YET, there’s another place where God’s presence is found and His power is active. Actually, many places. Every place where God’s people gather as the church, God’s holy temple, God’s seat of power. And the LORD loves the church.

She isn’t what she’s gonna be, but she is the dwelling place of God by the Holy Spirit (Eph. 2:21-22). She isn’t as glorious as she wants to be, but one day He will present her to Himself “in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or anything like that” (Eph. 5:27).

The LORD loves the church.

He loves the people. And, wherever they gather, He loves the place!

For there, in their midst, is found His glory. For there, in their midst, is seen His authority.

The church, such as she is, is an outpost of the kingdom of heaven. A precursor to Zion of the future.

As such, she’s worth singing about.

Singers and dancers alike will say,
“My whole source of joy is in you.”

(Psalm 87:7 CSB)

A work in progress? Certainly. Worthy of praise? Evidently. A place you want to be? Absolutely!

For the LORD loves the place where His glory dwells, His power is apparent, and His people are present.

By His grace. For His glory.

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Three Years

Posted on April 11, 2023 by Pete

Another reading in Judges. Another story of power. Power in the world’s way. And what’s caused me to pause this morning is that it seemed to work, and seemed to work for a pretty long time — three years. Three years, that’s what I’m chewing on this morning.

The seat of judge over Israel was vacant after the death of Gideon (aka Jerubbaal). If they were looking for someone to fill it from the immediate family, there were 71 sons fathered by Gideon to choose from (Judges 8:30-31). Judges 9 tells the story of one of those sons, Abimelech. The son who decided to be “proactive” and not leave things to chance.

Some would have considered Abimelech a lesser son as he was born of one of Gideon’s slaves and not one of his many wives (Judges 8:31). Nevertheless, he possessed the bloodline to take over the family business of judging Israel. He just needed a little support. So, he goes to the people of his mother’s clan who lived in Shechem and politicked them to win their favor. Not only was he kin, but he also appealed to logic and pragmatics — the logic of the world, the pragmatics of the ways that make sense to men.

“Is it better for you that seventy men, all the sons of Jerubbaal, rule over you or that one man rule over you?”

(Judges 9:2 CSB)

One guy calling the shots, or seventy (not that anybody was campaigning for the 70)? A quarterback or a committee? What makes more sense, asks Abimelech. And the way of the world says, “One of course. And who better than someone from our tribe?” So, they finance Abimelech to hire some mercenaries, and Abimelech & Co. go to the city of Gideon’s people, and they kill all but one of Gideon’s sons — only Jotham, the youngest, was able to hide and escape the slaughter (9:4-5).

Then all the citizens of Shechem and of Beth-millo gathered together and proceeded to make Abimelech king at the oak of the pillar in Shechem.

(Judges 9:6 CSB)

His dad was a judge over Israel who served faithfully. Abimelech would be king over Israel and came to power treacherously. And, it seemed to work. At least for three years.

When Abimelech had ruled over Israel three years, God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the citizens of Shechem. They treated Abimelech deceitfully, so that the crime against the seventy sons of Jerubbaal might come to justice and their blood would be avenged on their brother Abimelech, who killed them, and on the citizens of Shechem, who had helped him kill his brothers.

(Judges 9:22-24 CSB)

God is not mocked; what a man sows he will eventually reap (Gal. 6:7). God who is just will ensure justice. Vengeance and vindication are His (Deut. 32:35-36).

Though for three long years Abimelech’s worldly way of securing power seemed to have worked, God, in His timing, would work behind the scenes to take down the house of cards Abimelech had built by the wisdom of man and by the blood of his brothers. If there’s a big idea in Judges 9 it might be that God never ceases to work among His people, thus, in the end, justice will prevail.

But like I said, I’m noodling on what it was must have been like to watch worldly ways apparently “win.” For three years Abimelech ruled over Israel. For three years the power he had sought he had attained. For three years his treachery was untouched. For three, long years Jotham, the surviving brother, survived as Abimelech prospered. Three anniversaries passed as Jotham remembered that day when he suddenly went from having a large family to not having any family at all, all because of the man who would be king — the man who in fact was king. The man who had wielded power in a worldly way and who seemingly had won.

But God is not mocked. Vengeance is mine says the Lord (Rom. 12:19). So, for three years Jothan would need to find rest in knowing the sovereign God was also a just God and justice would, some day, prevail.

Waiting isn’t easy. The flesh doesn’t take well to waiting, especially when it comes to suffering injustice. There’s a reason patience is the fruit of the Spirit. It’s also the fruit of faith, of trusting God with all our hearts and leaning not to our own understanding (Prov. 3:5-6).

And that’s true power. The power of God available to the people of God if we’ll but wait on God.

By His grace. For His glory.

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Our Strength. God’s Power

Posted on April 10, 2023 by Pete

The story’s about power.

Context? The Judges cycle: Israel sins; Israel is judged through enemy oppression; Israel cries out; God sends a judge to deliver them; there is peace until Israel again idolatrously abandons God; repeat cycle. Specifically, the context is Judges cycle, round five. The oppressor? Midian. The deliverer? Gideon. The point of it all? Like I said, power. Particularly, whose power?

The Lord turned to [Gideon] and said, “Go in the strength you have and deliver Israel from the grasp of Midian. I am sending you!”

He said to Him, “Please, Lord, how can I deliver Israel? Look, my family is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my father’s family.”

“But I will be with you,” the Lord said to him. “You will strike Midian down as if it were one man.”

(Judges 6:14-16 CSB)

Go in the strength you have. That’s what caught my attention this morning. Even though he was the youngest son in the weakest family of his tribe, Gideon had strength. He had vitality. He had ability. He brought something to the table. God says to Gideon, the reluctant deliverer, “Go in the strength you have.”

Doing battle is about power. And, at a certain level, it’s about our power. God could have dealt with Midian apart from Gideon, but He chose not to. Instead, He enlisted Gideon. Gideon and his strength, however that stacked up to others in Israel, however that stacked up against the enemy.

It then get’s a little comical in a way. At least I find it so.

Gideon thinks, if it’s gonna be about my strength, let’s use some of that strength to rally some troops. So he sends messengers throughout Manasseh, and Asher, and Zebulun, and Naphtali calling others to join him for the battle (Judges 7:35). And they come. 32,000 come (7:3b). Okay, maybe now Gideon’s feeling a bit better about going in the strength you have. Sure, he’s still out-numbered by over 4-to-1 (Judges 8:10), but he doesn’t know that. What he does know is that he has a lot more strength than he initially had. Now he’s ready to go in the strength you have.

Yeah, but it’s about power. Our strength, sure. But God’s power.

The Lord said to Gideon, “You have too many troops for Me to hand the Midianites over to them, or else Israel might elevate themselves over Me and say, ‘I saved myself.'”

(Judges 8:2 CSB)

I want you to go in your strength, says the Lord God, but I don’t want you to forget that you go in My power. I want you to win the battle, but I don’t want you to believe that you won it apart from Me. So the Lord whittles Gideon’s army of 32,000 down to just 300 fighting men (8:7). Now Gideon’s out-numbered 450-to-1. And now, according to the Lord of Hosts at least, Gideon has those Midianites right where God wants them.

We are to fight the good fight (1Tim. 6:12, 2Tim. 4:7), but the battle is the Lord’s (1Sam. 17:47). We’re to bring everything we have into the ring of our supernatural wrestling match (Eph. 6:12), but we do so knowing that His power is made known in our weakness (1Cor. 12:9). The victory is sure, but there’s no boasting in our ability to secure it. Any victory we know is to be regarded as victory in Jesus, and in Jesus alone.

Yup, it’s about power. Our strength. God’s power.

By His grace. For His glory.

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Good News in the Midst of Bad Stuff

Posted on April 6, 2023 by Pete

Met someone for coffee yesterday, someone I had only met casually before. This was to be our first “real conversation.” And real it was.

We could have talked about March Madness and the college basketball that had just finished. Or, we could have talked Mariners and the baseball season which was just beginning. Instead, pretty quickly he wanted to talk about why, if God had something that was so good, did those who follow Him have to deal with so much stuff that was so bad?

This is gonna be quite a coffee, I thought to myself. And it was. ‘Cause we talked about Jesus and the dynamics of faith. We talked about good news in the midst of bad stuff.

That conversation may been the filter that set up what caught my eye this morning as I entered into the book of Judges.

These are the nations the Lord left in order to test all those in Israel who had experienced none of the wars in Canaan. This was to teach the future generations of the Israelites how to fight in battle, especially those who had not fought before. These nations included the five rulers of the Philistines and all of the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites who lived in the Lebanese mountains from Mount Baal-hermon as far as the entrance to Hamath. The Lord left them to test Israel, to determine if they would keep the Lord’s commands he had given their ancestors through Moses.

(Judges 3:1-4 CSB)

You read the opening chapters of Judges and it quickly becomes apparent that what should have been “Operation Occupy the Land” devolved quickly into “Operation Share the Land.” The land had been given to them as the Lord had promised. Theirs was to continue to move into it by evicting the previous inhabitants. Though warned against living side by side with the previous owners of the land, Israel quickly went from “could not” defeat their enemies because of iron chariots to “did not” remove their enemies because of apparent inconvenience (Jud. 1:19-21). And so, the Lord left the nations in order to test Israel.

He left opposition and struggle in their lives to see how they’d respond. Testing them not in order to “pass or fail” them, but testing them in order to prove them, assay them, purify them. His objective was not to show them up as having fallen to failure, but to teach them how to fight by faith. How to stand amidst the struggle. How to practically enter each day trusting the God who had brought them into the land to enable them to actually possess the land.

Had they allowed it to be so, the struggle could have been redemptive. The suffering used to secure their salvation. Their difficulty a road to knowing in a deeper way their Deliverer.

I told my first-time coffee friend that while I didn’t know the why of bad stuff in the lives of good people, I did know the what. The ultimate prize is always Jesus. A deeper trust in Him leading to a deeper relationship with Him. God allowing our faith to be tested so that we might prove the sufficiency of His grace for all our trials and the reality of His power in all our weakness. Daily battles making real His eternal promises.

And that’s good news in the midst of bad stuff. Amen?

By His grace. For His glory.

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We Will Worship the Lord

Posted on April 5, 2023 by Pete

This year I’ve switched to the CSB translation of the bible for my reading plan instead of the ESV I’ve used for the past several years. And this morning, what a difference it makes.

“Therefore, fear the Lord and worship Him in sincerity and truth. Get rid of the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and worship the Lord. But if it doesn’t please you to worship the Lord, choose for yourselves today: Which will you worship—the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living? As for me and my family, we will worship the Lord.”

(Joshua 24:14-15 CSB)

I’m guessing that for many of us that last sentence in verse 15 rings a bell of familiarity. Yet, something’s different. Chances are that you learned that “me and my family” part a bit differently.

“But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”

(Joshua 24:15b ESV . . . and NIV and NASB and NKJV)

Other than Peterson’s MESSAGE bible, of the translations I go to for cross-referencing, the CSB is the only one that goes with “worship” rather than “serve.”

Hmm. . . starts me chewing on the difference — or not — between serving the Lord and worshiping the Lord.

Our western church culture might have us immediately associate worship with singing rather than serving. You know, we go to church, and we worship, we hear the word preached, we give our offering, then we go home. So, what’s the CSB implying by using the word “worship” synonymously with “serve”?

The context of Joshua’s charge is Joshua’s final address to the Israelites, the people of God, those who have entered the promised land and divvied up their promised, God-given inheritance. The over-arching topic of this final address is obedience and loyalty to God (Joshua 23:6-8, 11, 16). So, in the midst of an exhortation to obedience, Joshua talks about “serving” God above all other gods. Or, as the CSB would have us process it, “worshiping” God above all other gods. Who we serve is who we worship. Who we say we worship will be verified by who or what we serve.

Seems in line with Paul’s exhortation to the Romans.

Therefore, brothers and sisters, in view of the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your true worship.

(Romans 12:1 CSB)

True worship goes beyond singing. It’s certainly not less than continually offering a sacrifice of praise, the fruit of our lips (Heb. 13:15), but it is equally certainly so much more. True worship, worship that is in Spirit and truth (John 4:24), is worship that involves the whole body — all its faculties, all its extremities, all its activities. True worship is evidenced in an authentic desire to be obedient. True worship is manifest when all that we do we do for the glory of God (1Cor. 10:31).

As for me and my house, we will worship the Lord. Easy, if all I’m thinking about is participating in the “prelims” on a Sunday morning before the message. A little more challenging if it’s about serving God 24/7. It’s downright intimidating if it’s about presenting my body as a living sacrifice.

Yet, it’s absolutely possible through the power of the gospel which gloriously saved me and now patiently sanctifies me. As it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me (Gal. 2:20). No longer I who serve, but WE who serve Him together. No longer I who worship, but the Spirit who worships through me.

We will worship the Lord. Me and Jesus in me. Me and the Spirit through me.

Me, by God’s grace. Me, for God’s glory.

Amen?

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