I had a thought provoking conversation with a few friends over facebook and it led me to consider the biblical position on the matter of death, and how we reconcile the pain associated with death to the Sovereignty of God. The particularly thorny passage under consideration was Job 1:27 “The Lord gives and the Lord takes away, blessed be the name of the Lord” spoken by Job just after he has received debilitating report after debilitating report about the death of all his children and all his property. The matter under discussion was whether or not God indeed does “take away” life or whether this is more the work of evil powers at work.
I think the angles I'd like to approach the question of whether God 'takes away' would be the following, The goodness of God, the Sovereignty of God, The reality of the evil of Satan and his restraint by God and the place of life and death in the scheme of God. So, on the matter of the goodness of God, i feel that thats a vital starting point for appreciating his sovereignty. Whenever the issue of God's sovereignty presents us with problems like the one above, i.e. how can God "Take people he loves away" we have to step back and see that God is the greatest good there is. Psalms 107:1 urges us to "give thanks to the Lord for he is good" Psalms 31:19 asks, almost incredulously, "how great is your goodness that you have stored up for those who fear thee, which thou hast wrought for those who take refuge in thee". So in his love, and his goodness, he is without comparison. And since he does not change, then nothing he can do can be a deviation from these his holy attributes. So even when it appears that his actions, or his lack of action results in unpleasant consequences, i would submit that we shall soon find out when we see the king that he has not shifted neither to the right or the left from the greatest of outcomes in all his actions, his glory and that of his Son, slain for us. And even this is not an act of pride, for pride is sinful, and God cannot sin, the greatest good is indeed his glory, its the greatest good that we or he can work towards. Samuel mentions how the Israelites, are beneficiaries of God's great work in creation, the display of his glory "For the sake of his great name the LORD will not reject his people, because the LORD was pleased to make you his own" 1Sam 12:22.
Regarding the sovereignty of God, i recently read some challenging verse, still in the book of 1Samuel, Hannah, Samuel's mother prays what is probably the most revealing prayer unto the ambit of our Lord's power and control. 1Sam2:6 says "The Lord brings death and makes alive; he brings down to the grave and raises up." Jesus lays down his own life, only to take it back again, he stresses that no one takes it away from him, but he has the authority to lay it down himself, and take it up (John 10:18). The fact that he brings Lazarus back to life (John 11) as well shows that he “brings up from the grave” as the Hannah prayer states, I submit that the 1st part of the verse also gives a literal meaning to the power, and possibly the actions of our Lord.
Again, even in this, where our understanding starts to let us down, we have to return to our foundational truth. There is no greater good than God and his actions, so even in his bringing death and making alive, his intentions never have a shred of malice in them.
Job, in his final response to the LORD after questioning why calamity has befallen him, admits to God's sovereignty with one of the most morally challenging quotes of the whole bible. “I know you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted”. The difficulty in this statement is that, if true, will immediately lead to the qn of why bad things actually happen, why death happens if God's plans cannot be thwarted, and if he can do all things. My humble thoughts on this follow, and they are open to criticism and correction. In fact, such are more than welcome.
The tragedies we face, the pain, suffering and death are a consequence of our fall from grace, and the groaning of the earth that resulted from the curse it was put under in Genesis 1:17. At some point as well, Satan, after being hurled to earth following his battle in heaven, was given authority over this world. 2 Cor 4:4 calls him the god of this earth. Rev 13:7 states that all authority over every tribe, nation, language and nation was given to him. If this rings true, then what happens on earth is probably more accurately seen as the interaction between God's goodness and sovereignty and Satan's evil scheming and actions. We may ask where God is when Tsunami's hit Japan, but if we consider the real power and real evil of the ruler of this world, then maybe we should start to ask how it is that the very ground beneath our feet is not disintegrating this very moment. I'd submit that the mere fact that we live is because God restricts the power and evil of Satan over the earth (Hebrews 1:1 tells us that the whole universe is upheld by the word of Christ's power). Satan HATES man, he is the anti-thesis of God, he wants nothing but our destruction. John Piper put it as “Satan is on a leash”, controlled by God. That being said, I would understand the evil of Satan, and the sovereignty of God to mean that while only God can allow death,only he brings to the grave and brings to life, then God, for a time, allows Satan, in some cases to bring death, destruction and pain unto this world. So we could say, indirectly that God is taking ppl away, if he can surely stop Satan. But Why? How? Again, my understanding fails, and I run to my foundation of comfort.
I think a helpful perspective in understanding this matter is in consideration of the true place of death and life in God's plan. The gospel of Christ is simply stated in Romans 6:23 “For the wages of Sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” The worst thing about death, is not the physical pain, or the mourning of those left behind, but that death, in a world without Christ, is a final, ill-fated separation from God. Our world is fallen, and imperfect, but the Lord still acts to keep this short life bearable, in the least. Death, without Christ spells judgment for man, which means that God not only holds back the devil on a leash, but God unleashes his wrath on the rebels that we are. All this flowing from his perfect justice and holiness, he cannot tolerate sin, indeed Habbakuk 1:13 tells us that his eyes are too pure to even deign to look upon evil. Hebrews 10:31 gives a frighteningly clear expression of what a death without Christ spelt for man “It is a frightful thing to fall into the hands of the living God”
But what does life, and death mean for the Christian? Relying on the perfect sacrifice of Christ means that the Christian life is devoid of the guilt of sin, since the sacrifice has been paid in full. Satan is called the accuser of men, who accuses them before God day and night. (Rev 12:10) But we have a high priest who lives to intercede for us before God every time we sin (1John 2:1). The Christian life is a life without guilt before the holy God. Life on earth is a continual pursuit after personal holiness as we seek to know God more intimately, eagerly awaiting our final adoption as sons (Romans 8:23).
What does death mean for a Christian? Before Christ, death was the judges gavel banging down condemning man to a fiery grave of the wrath of the holy God. But he is good, oh so good, and he is loving. So much so that he came down, took on the form of a poverty stricken man, and died our death, suffering the wrath of God, multiplied countless times over for all the sins of the believers the world-over. He came down, to suffer more than any sinner shall ever suffer in hell. And he rose again, so that we are justified, fully. (Romans 4:25). So now, death to the Christian, is the passageway to our true home, our true citizenship (1 Peter 1:1). Death has turned from being a certain condemnation to being the greatest transition for the Christian, talk about being more than a conqueror! Paul says that he “desires to depart and be with Christ which is better by far” (Phi1:23) and the saints in Hebrews 11 were willing to go through gruesome suffering and death for God. They were “stoned, sawn in two and put to death by the sword – in a world not worthy of them” The book continues to say that “these were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised [as Christ was yet to come] God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.”
So death is indeed a time of grieving, but like all things pertaining to the saints, God has used it for the greatest good (Rom 8:28). If we want to see the perfect outworking of God's plan for his people, unaffected by the evil of Satan and the imperfection caused by our sin, Revelations 21:4, the happiest of endings gives the full picture of what we hope for. And is the hope that we should all hold on to, “Now the dwelling of the Lord is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people and he will be their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will be no more crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. He who is seated on the throne said “I am making all things anew.”
Blessed be the name of the Lord. Can't wait to worship alongside you Mark, and all those who have gone before me. I shall surely mourn now, but I shall rejoice that you lived in Christ, who has conquered the grave, and thus, so shall you.
Dedicated to Mark Roux, can't wait to see you again brother
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Some thoughts on the life of Moses
When God appears in the burning bush, he sends Moses to bring the children of Israel out of the oppression of Egypt. (Exodus 3:10). Moses is deeply hesitant to do so, he asks “Who am I that I should go to Pharoah and bring the Israelites out of Egypt? (Exodus 3:11) to which God gives what should really be assurance enough, “I will be with you. And this will be a sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain” (Exodus 3:12).
Moses then asks, “What shall I answer to them who ask 'What is the name of he who sends me'?” (Exodus 3:13) whereafter God reveals himself as “I AM WHO I AM” the name by which he shall be remembered for generations (Exodus 3:14) and speaks for another 6 verses about how the Israelite leaders will listen to him (Exodus 3:18), and how the Egyptian king shall not believe him, so he shall perform mighty acts to prove his power and thereafter he shall let the Israelites go. (Exodus 3:19-20). Moses then replies to this most holy monologue, in which God reveals himself by his name for the first time in history (indeed not even Abraham, Isaac or Jacob had this privilege (Exodus 56:3)) with the following shocking question, “What if they dont believe me or listen to me and say 'The LORD did not appear to you'?” (Exodus 4:1) With all due respect to this great man of God,had he not been listening to what God had just been saying???
But our Lord is indeed slow to anger, and abounding in love (Exodus 34:6) and responds to this qn by showing his miraculous power to Moses, turning his staff into a snake and back into a staff (Exodus 4:3) and turning his hand leperous, and back to normal (Exodus 4:6&7) and telling Moses “if they do not believe you or pay attention the first miraculous sign, they may believe the second” then advising him to take some water from the Nile and pour it on the ground where it will turn to blood (Exodus 4:8-9).
And what is Moses' reply to this display of power in response to his previous unbelief? “O Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant, I am slow of speech and tongue.” (Exodus 4:10) The LORD continues in his amazing patience, replying in what is obvious, “Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the LORD?” (Exodus 4:11) and then gives him the same assurance of his presence and help through this task that he begun with, which at this point should surely have been enough to convince this,our great Old Testament author “Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say”. His response? “O LORD, please send someone else to do it.”(Exodus 4:13) Little wonder that the next verse says that the anger of the LORD burned against Moses, and he met him on his way and almost killed him (Exodus 4:24).
Now, interestingly, and this convinces me that some need to SEE the power of God to place their trust in him, after performing some HECTIC miraculous signs in Egypt, the Moses who leads the Israelites out of Egypt is a radically changed man. As they are chased by Pharoah and his army of his best horsemen, trapped between the Red Sea and the advancing enemy, the Israelites mourn, asking if they have been brought out to die in the desert because there weren't enough graves in Egypt, to which Moses replies one of the most oft-repeated phrases in all of the bible, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The LORD will fight for you, you need only be still.” (Exodus 14:13-14) What a transformed leader.
So conformed was this former doubter into the image of his master, and so thirsty was he for a greater experience of the LORD that he had the audacity to ask to see the glory of God, prefacing this breathtaking request with a display of his desire for his will, “If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favour with you.”(Exodus 33:13) then in verse 18,“Now show me your glory!” God, the same God we serve, was so impressed by this request, fueled by this desire, that the next day, he proclaimed his name before Moses and caused all his goodness to pass before him. What a sight! This is the same God we serve today, the same God who may convict you as you read this to thirst after him as Moses did, the same God who wants our single-minded desire to be to see him in all his glorious goodness at the end of our days in worship.
I would be remiss to fail to mention one of the most challenging lessons from the life of Moses that tends to be overlooked. It touches on the matter of depression and its debilitating effect on the christian perspective, and the faithfulness of God to come to our aid when we are at our wits end. When the children of Israel grumble for the umpteenth time, tired of the manna they eat, and asking for meat,he asks of the LORD “Why have you brought this trouble on your servant?What have I done to displease you that you have put the burden of these people on me...I cannot carry all these people by myself; the burden is too heavy for me. If this is how you are going to treat me, put me to death right now-if I have found favour in your eyes-and do not let me face my own ruin” (Numbers 11:11-15).
God empathises with this emotional turmoil of Moses and takes of the Spirit that is upon Moses and places it on 70 of the leaders that they may assist him in the work (Numbers 11:17). However, scope how the depression affects Moses' perspective, when God tells him that he shall provide meat for the people of Israel (Numbers 11:18), Moses once again regresses to his previous unbelief, “Here I am among 600 thousand men on foot, and you say, 'I will give them meat to eat for a whole month!' Would they have enough if flocks and herds were killed for them? Would they have enough if all the fish in the sea were caught for them?” This, from the man who parted a sea through the working of the LORD. God's response is similar to his previous one at the flaming bush, “Is the arm of the LORD too short? You will now see whether or not what I say will come true for you.” May we tattoo this statement onto our heads to look upon it every morning in the mirror so that we never doubt the promises and power of our LORD.
It seems this period of depression and unbelief doesn't fully depart from Moses, as at Meriba, where the waters were bitter, God tells Moses and Aaron “Take the staff, and you and your brother Aaron, gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community so that they and their livestock can drink.”(Exodus 20:8) But look closely at Moses' wording and actions as he does this, “So Moses took the staff from the LORD's presence, just as he had commanded him. He and Aaron gathered the assembly together in front of the rock and Moses said to them, 'Listen, you rebels, must WE bring you water out of this rock?' Then Moses struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out and the community and the livestock drank”
Must WE bring you water out of this rock? And where in the command was he asked to strike the rock? Listen to the reaction of the LORD and the consequence of Moses's actions. “Because you did not trust me enough to honour ME enough to honour me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I will give them.” (Exodus 20:12). Wow, I am SO challenged by this, how many times do I decline to declare the LORD as holy in my daily life, how many times do I shy away from honouring him to the world.
Moses, this man of the LORD, was declared faithful in all of God's house, more than any of the prophets, and God was pleased to talk with him face to face, without riddles(Numbers 12:6-8) but lets remember to learn from his mistakes, his pride and his folly, and let them convict us to strive for greater and greater holiness in pursuit and desire of the LORD in our lives.
Be blessed,
hUNJA
Moses then asks, “What shall I answer to them who ask 'What is the name of he who sends me'?” (Exodus 3:13) whereafter God reveals himself as “I AM WHO I AM” the name by which he shall be remembered for generations (Exodus 3:14) and speaks for another 6 verses about how the Israelite leaders will listen to him (Exodus 3:18), and how the Egyptian king shall not believe him, so he shall perform mighty acts to prove his power and thereafter he shall let the Israelites go. (Exodus 3:19-20). Moses then replies to this most holy monologue, in which God reveals himself by his name for the first time in history (indeed not even Abraham, Isaac or Jacob had this privilege (Exodus 56:3)) with the following shocking question, “What if they dont believe me or listen to me and say 'The LORD did not appear to you'?” (Exodus 4:1) With all due respect to this great man of God,had he not been listening to what God had just been saying???
But our Lord is indeed slow to anger, and abounding in love (Exodus 34:6) and responds to this qn by showing his miraculous power to Moses, turning his staff into a snake and back into a staff (Exodus 4:3) and turning his hand leperous, and back to normal (Exodus 4:6&7) and telling Moses “if they do not believe you or pay attention the first miraculous sign, they may believe the second” then advising him to take some water from the Nile and pour it on the ground where it will turn to blood (Exodus 4:8-9).
And what is Moses' reply to this display of power in response to his previous unbelief? “O Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant, I am slow of speech and tongue.” (Exodus 4:10) The LORD continues in his amazing patience, replying in what is obvious, “Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the LORD?” (Exodus 4:11) and then gives him the same assurance of his presence and help through this task that he begun with, which at this point should surely have been enough to convince this,our great Old Testament author “Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say”. His response? “O LORD, please send someone else to do it.”(Exodus 4:13) Little wonder that the next verse says that the anger of the LORD burned against Moses, and he met him on his way and almost killed him (Exodus 4:24).
Now, interestingly, and this convinces me that some need to SEE the power of God to place their trust in him, after performing some HECTIC miraculous signs in Egypt, the Moses who leads the Israelites out of Egypt is a radically changed man. As they are chased by Pharoah and his army of his best horsemen, trapped between the Red Sea and the advancing enemy, the Israelites mourn, asking if they have been brought out to die in the desert because there weren't enough graves in Egypt, to which Moses replies one of the most oft-repeated phrases in all of the bible, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The LORD will fight for you, you need only be still.” (Exodus 14:13-14) What a transformed leader.
So conformed was this former doubter into the image of his master, and so thirsty was he for a greater experience of the LORD that he had the audacity to ask to see the glory of God, prefacing this breathtaking request with a display of his desire for his will, “If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favour with you.”(Exodus 33:13) then in verse 18,“Now show me your glory!” God, the same God we serve, was so impressed by this request, fueled by this desire, that the next day, he proclaimed his name before Moses and caused all his goodness to pass before him. What a sight! This is the same God we serve today, the same God who may convict you as you read this to thirst after him as Moses did, the same God who wants our single-minded desire to be to see him in all his glorious goodness at the end of our days in worship.
I would be remiss to fail to mention one of the most challenging lessons from the life of Moses that tends to be overlooked. It touches on the matter of depression and its debilitating effect on the christian perspective, and the faithfulness of God to come to our aid when we are at our wits end. When the children of Israel grumble for the umpteenth time, tired of the manna they eat, and asking for meat,he asks of the LORD “Why have you brought this trouble on your servant?What have I done to displease you that you have put the burden of these people on me...I cannot carry all these people by myself; the burden is too heavy for me. If this is how you are going to treat me, put me to death right now-if I have found favour in your eyes-and do not let me face my own ruin” (Numbers 11:11-15).
God empathises with this emotional turmoil of Moses and takes of the Spirit that is upon Moses and places it on 70 of the leaders that they may assist him in the work (Numbers 11:17). However, scope how the depression affects Moses' perspective, when God tells him that he shall provide meat for the people of Israel (Numbers 11:18), Moses once again regresses to his previous unbelief, “Here I am among 600 thousand men on foot, and you say, 'I will give them meat to eat for a whole month!' Would they have enough if flocks and herds were killed for them? Would they have enough if all the fish in the sea were caught for them?” This, from the man who parted a sea through the working of the LORD. God's response is similar to his previous one at the flaming bush, “Is the arm of the LORD too short? You will now see whether or not what I say will come true for you.” May we tattoo this statement onto our heads to look upon it every morning in the mirror so that we never doubt the promises and power of our LORD.
It seems this period of depression and unbelief doesn't fully depart from Moses, as at Meriba, where the waters were bitter, God tells Moses and Aaron “Take the staff, and you and your brother Aaron, gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community so that they and their livestock can drink.”(Exodus 20:8) But look closely at Moses' wording and actions as he does this, “So Moses took the staff from the LORD's presence, just as he had commanded him. He and Aaron gathered the assembly together in front of the rock and Moses said to them, 'Listen, you rebels, must WE bring you water out of this rock?' Then Moses struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out and the community and the livestock drank”
Must WE bring you water out of this rock? And where in the command was he asked to strike the rock? Listen to the reaction of the LORD and the consequence of Moses's actions. “Because you did not trust me enough to honour ME enough to honour me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I will give them.” (Exodus 20:12). Wow, I am SO challenged by this, how many times do I decline to declare the LORD as holy in my daily life, how many times do I shy away from honouring him to the world.
Moses, this man of the LORD, was declared faithful in all of God's house, more than any of the prophets, and God was pleased to talk with him face to face, without riddles(Numbers 12:6-8) but lets remember to learn from his mistakes, his pride and his folly, and let them convict us to strive for greater and greater holiness in pursuit and desire of the LORD in our lives.
Be blessed,
hUNJA
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