Tag: god's call

On the Lam(b) (Genesis 31:1-21)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment
Jacob Flees Laban, illustration from Bible Pictures and What They Teach Us, by Charles Foster, 1897

Jacob heard that Laban’s sons were complaining, “Jacob is now a rich man, and he got everything he owns from our father.” Jacob also noticed that Laban was not as friendly as he had been before. One day the Lord said, “Jacob, go back to your relatives in the land of your ancestors, and I will be with you.”

Jacob sent for Rachel and Leah to meet him in the pasture where he kept his sheep, and he told them:

“Your father isn’t as friendly with me as he used to be, but the God my ancestors worshiped has been on my side. You know that I have worked hard for your father and that he keeps cheating me by changing my wages time after time. But God has protected me. When your father said the speckled sheep would be my wages, all of them were speckled. And when he said the spotted ones would be mine, all of them were spotted. That’s how God has taken sheep and goats from your father and given them to me.

Once, when the flocks were mating, I dreamed that all the rams were either spotted or speckled. Then God’s angel called me by name. I answered, and he said, “Notice that all the rams are either spotted or speckled. I know everything Laban is doing to you, and I am the God you worshiped at Bethel, when you poured olive oil on a rock and made a promise to me. Leave here at once and return to the land where you were born.”

Rachel and Leah said to Jacob:

There’s nothing left for us to inherit from our father. He treats us like foreigners and has even cheated us out of the bride price that should have been ours. So do whatever God tells you to do. Even the property God took from our father and gave to you really belongs to us and our children.

Then Jacob, his wives, and his children got on camels and left northern Syria for the home of his father Isaac in Canaan. Jacob took along all his flocks, herds, and other property.

Before Rachel left, she stole the household idols while Laban was out shearing his sheep.

Jacob tricked Laban the Aramean by not saying that he intended to leave. When Jacob crossed the Euphrates River and headed for the hill country of Gilead, he took with him everything he owned. (Contemporary English Version)

Moving and changing are a part of life. Change and movement are built into all creation, from the seasons of the year to our physical bodies over time. Some changes and moves we deem as good, and others, not so much. Yet, whether good or bad, any switch or shift in life can be difficult to cope with.

Whatever the circumstance, God stands behind everything, working out good and divine purposes. There are times and seasons in our lives where we can get lost in our own stories. Ultimately, however, our transitions from one place to another are really about our individual stories fitting into the larger story of God.

Whenever we are unable to see how our own story and the story of God fit together, it’s an opportunity to exercise faith and trust in God. Listening to God, and responding to God’s call to move and change, will at times be difficult, due to the uncertainty of our future.

Jacob Urges Leah and Rachel to Flee from Laban, by Pieter Symonsz Potter, 1638

In today’s Old Testament lesson, Jacob has served his father-in-law Laban for twenty years. Now, he hears the call of God to move – and that move is both good and fraught with anxiety. Jacob and his family are on the lam, literally moving their lambs and sheep and everything they own to avoid pursuit and confrontation.

The principal actor and center of the story is not Jacob, but God. The narrative is primarily about God, with Jacob as the supporting actor in the story.

God was watching over and protecting Jacob. The Lord was following through on a promise of land and descendants given to Jacob’s grandfather, Abraham – to make him into a great nation so that all people-groups on earth would be blessed. 

So then, the story of Jacob is merely one piece in the grand unfolding drama of God’s redemption. This drama would eventually and ultimately find its fulfillment in the person and work of Jesus.

Jacob had in-law issues. His relationship with his father-in-law had always been tenuous, and was morphing into trouble. Laban’s attitude had changed toward his son-in-law, probably due to Jacob’s increasing wealth, and Laban’s decreasing assets.

So, God showed up and told Jacob to return to the land of his fathers. Along with the call to make a change came a promise of God’s continued presence with Jacob. The grace given to Abraham when calling him out of Ur was renewed with more grace when calling Jacob back to the land of his father and grandfather.  It is in God’s nature to be gracious and to heap grace upon grace.

Jacob heeded call of the Lord and began laying plans to move back to Canaan. But how to tell his family about this? What are his wives going to say? After all, he’s talking about moving away with teenagers still in the tent.

With some anxiety, Jacob called his wives, Rachel and Leah, out to the fields to talk. Jacob laid out the story of himself and Laban, which he framed more as a contrasting story between God and Laban:

  • Laban’s attitude changed, whereas God’s attitude does not change. God is not fickle.
  • Laban was unreliable, reneging on promises, but God is reliable and trustworthy, keeping divine promises.
  • Laban kept changing his mind, yet God stays the same, yesterday, today, and forever.
  • Laban saw only self-interest; however God sees everyone and shows solidarity with the oppressed.

This same God is concerned for us and will not renege on promises. God is providentially working out a good  agenda and concern for this earth, and we can bank on it.

The response from Jacob and Rachel to Laban was some tricky thievery. Jacob stealthily took his family and ran away from the situation. Rachel straight up stole Laban’s household gods.

(Note: Old Testament narratives do not usually tell us whether something is bad or good but instead allows the story to unfold and speak for itself so that we can see the ethics working out). 

Jacob and Rachel had a less than stellar response to God’s grace. We do not know exactly what the household gods are, or why Rachel stole them. What we do know is that there was a bit of pagan practice mixed in with worship of the one, true God.

Our circumstances will forever be changing, and God may ask us to move and go do something somewhere else. Yet, no matter the situation, and how different our surroundings may become, God does not change, and is here with us; and, at the same time, is continually moving to accomplish good purposes.

Loving God, you have made the whole of human life in your image; each one of us shaped in love. Your goodness is ever-present within us all. Yet, there is so much evil and pain in our world; it comes at us from every direction.

Teach us how to rediscover your love within us and to use that love as a force for good. Help us to turn our hearts toward the world in hope, praying for each other and regarding each other as a treasure, so that we might be the light which darkness can never overcome, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Come Away with Me (Song of Songs 2:8-15)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment
Song of Songs No. 19, by Egon Tschirch, 1923

Ah, I hear my lover coming!
    He is leaping over the mountains,
    bounding over the hills.
My lover is like a swift gazelle
    or a young stag.
Look, there he is behind the wall,
    looking through the window,
    peering into the room.

My lover said to me,
    “Rise up, my darling!
    Come away with me, my fair one!
Look, the winter is past,
    and the rains are over and gone.
The flowers are springing up,
    the season of singing birds has come,
    and the cooing of turtledoves fills the air.
The fig trees are forming young fruit,
    and the fragrant grapevines are blossoming.
Rise up, my darling!
    Come away with me, my fair one!”

My dove is hiding behind the rocks,
    behind an outcrop on the cliff.
Let me see your face;
    let me hear your voice.
For your voice is pleasant,
    and your face is lovely.

Catch all the foxes,
    those little foxes,
before they ruin the vineyard of love,
    for the grapevines are blossoming! (New Living Translation)

Spring is the season of love, the time of coming together and enjoying one another’s presence.

God is love. God is calling us. God wants to be with you.

There is a reason why so many people in this cruel and calloused world are unloving and unkind: They are unaware that God loves them, desires to be with them, and is calling out to them. 

If we neither believe nor know God’s infinite love and desire for us, then our words and our actions will reflect more of hate than love. God really truly does want to be with you and me. This is crucial. Do not forget this. Believe it. Live it. Enjoy it. Know it. Tell it to yourself until you are thoroughly bathed in it, because it is more wonderful than any ‘70’s sappy love song could ever describe it.

I believe the small Old Testament book of Solomon’s Song of Songs too often gets a weird hermeneutical spin of literalism from modern-minded simpletons. For nearly all of history, this poetic ode to love was understood as an allegory of divine love for humanity – and the believer’s reciprocal response.

Song of Songs No. 8, by Egon Tschirch, 1923

When Scripture says I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine, and that his desire is for me, it is a wonderful way of communicating that God’s love for us is not abstract, distant, or detached. (Song of Songs 6:3, 7:10) 

The truth is: We belong to God. The Lord’s desire is for you and me. God has an intense and overpowering longing for you. Let the deep desire of God for you shape and form your thoughts so that fear is replaced with faith; loneliness with enjoyment; the fickle nature of others with satisfaction; praying as duty with praying because I want to be with the God who loves me so much.

Oh, how we need a vision of God singing over us with joy! Yes, God loves you that much! Grab a hold of what the prophet says:

The Lord will take delight in you with gladness.
    With his love, he will calm all your fears.
    He will rejoice over you with joyful songs. (Zephaniah 3:17, NLT)

Even the most unlovely of people are made lovely through God’s persistent and pursuing love for them. You are being wholly seen every single day by the infinite gaze and eternal compassion of God, who watches our every step with delight.

Christianity does not “happen” simply by knowing some beliefs about God, as if it is a mere contractual signing-off on a doctrinal statement. Rather, Christianity “happens” when individuals experience the white hot burning love of God in Jesus Christ. 

Jesus came not only for those who skip church and only occasionally read their Bibles. Christ came also for the hard-hearted prick, the immoral adulterer, the strung-out addict, the terrorist, the murderer, and for all those caught in bad choices and failed relationships. 

“I have not come to call respectable people, but outcasts.” (Matthew 9:13, GNT)

“Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life.” (Matthew 28:19, MSG)

“You will be witnesses for me.” (Acts 1:8, GNT)

“Love each other in the same way that I have loved you.” (John 13:34, GW)

All Christ’s words and actions are because of the Lord’s intense desire to love the world, and to love it through the divine beloved people of God.

God’s love is never based on our performance, or how good we look to others; it is never conditioned by our moods. The love of God only looks longingly at you and me with the potential of what we can become in Christ and cares for us as we are. It is a world-altering revolutionary thought that God loves me as I am and not as I should be. 

God has shown us how much he loves us—it was while we were still sinners that Christ died for us! (Romans 5:8, GNT)

Despite the erosion of church attendance, the majority of people still believe God exists. Conversely, however, many people do not believe God really loves them. We are in a crisis of love. People need to know the God who is pure Love. They need to hear and heed the call to come away with God.

Christianity never begins with what we do for God to make ourselves lovely. Christianity always starts with what God has done for us, the great and wonderful love that exists for us in Christ Jesus.

It wasn’t so long ago that we ourselves were stupid and stubborn, easy marks for sin, ordered every which way by our glands, going around with a chip on our shoulder, hated and hating back.

But when God, our kind and loving Savior God, stepped in, he saved us from all that. It was all his doing; we had nothing to do with it. He gave us a good bath, and we came out of it new people, washed inside and out by the Holy Spirit.

Our Savior Jesus poured out new life so generously. God’s gift has restored our relationship with him and given us back our lives. And there’s more life to come—an eternity of life! You can count on this. (Titus 3:3-8, MSG)

All the wrong turns in the past, the mistakes and the moral lapses, everything that is ugly or painful, all melts in the light of God’s acceptance and love for us.

If the consuming passion of Christ’s followers is not showing God’s love, then we have lost both our mission and our first love of Jesus. Perhaps we must let time evaporate, as we bow at the foot of the cross, and experientially know the great love of God in Christ for us and for the world.

May it be so, to the glory of God.

A Divine Calling (Jeremiah 1:4-10)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment
The Prophet Jeremiah by Marc Chagall, 1960

The Lord gave me this message:

“I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb.
    Before you were born I set you apart
    and appointed you as my prophet to the nations.”

“O Sovereign Lord,” I said, “I can’t speak for you! I’m too young!”

The Lord replied, “Don’t say, ‘I’m too young,’ for you must go wherever I send you and say whatever I tell you. And don’t be afraid of the people, for I will be with you and will protect you. I, the Lord, have spoken!” Then the Lord reached out and touched my mouth and said,

“Look, I have put my words in your mouth!

Today I appoint you to stand up
    against nations and kingdoms.
Some you must uproot and tear down,
    destroy and overthrow.
Others you must build up
    and plant.” (New Living Translation)

“Don’t let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity.”

St. Paul to St. Timothy (1 Timothy 4:12, NLT)

I write to you, young people,
    because you are strong
    and the word of God abides in you,
        and you have overcome the evil one. (1 John 2:14, NRSV)

Young Jeremiah had an unusual calling from the Lord. It wasn’t to reach thousands with a life-giving message of hope and encouragement; the call was to declare destruction to an unjust people who believed they were fine, thank you very much.

It was a calling that would have been a huge challenge for the most seasoned of veteran prophets. But God called the young Jeremiah. This was his first crack at being a prophet of the Lord; and it was a doozy of a call!

Yet, when it comes to God’s call, age really means nothing. That’s because the Lord equips whomever the Lord wants to empower. Young or old makes no difference. All that’s needed is a willingness to submit to the voice of divine calling.

And to Jeremiah’s credit, the lengthy prophecy bearing his name in the Bible is a testament to his sense of call and straightforward obedience to it.

There is, and always has been, a divine/human cooperative in the world. God, of course, could do everything without humanity’s assistance. But it’s never been that way. Throughout the entirety of Holy Scripture, the Lord calls and empowers people for service.

On the one hand, this may seem like some strange convergence which, on the surface, is sure to end in some screw-ups and failure. Yet, on the other hand, this cooperation between Creator and creature gives people, at the least, a sense of ownership in the world; and, at the most, a powerful opportunity to bless the world with divine gifts of speaking and service.

Although Jeremiah was called to (mostly) pronounce doom, it’s first and foremost a message of justice. The Lord is concerned for the common good of all persons, not just some. Yahweh is not about to be forever idle whenever certain segments of humanity go rogue and harm their fellow sisters and brothers with unjust ways.

The Prophet Jeremiah by Marc Chagall, 1968

What’s more, the Lord delights in using people whom society at large might deem less than usable.

Now remember what you were, my friends, when God called you. From the human point of view few of you were wise or powerful or of high social standing. God purposely chose what the world considers nonsense in order to shame the wise, and he chose what the world considers weak in order to shame the powerful. He chose what the world looks down on and despises and thinks is nothing, in order to destroy what the world thinks is important. (1 Corinthians 1:26-28, GNT)

If God can use a donkey to communicate a message, then it’s likely that the Lord can enable any person on earth to speak words of justice – no matter if they’re young, uneducated, or underprivileged – and make the older, educated, and privileged look like jack asses. (Numbers 22:22-35)

For Christians everywhere, every believer has been called by God to proclaim the gospel of grace. The Word has come to us in Christ, in the flesh (John 1:14). Jesus is the primary and ultimate revelation of God’s Word to us.

God has also set the Church apart to serve as proclaimers of God’s Word to the nations. The Great Commission and the Great Commandment summarize our call to ministry. (Matthew 22:37-40; 28:19-20)

Yahweh’s intentional purpose was for Jeremiah to proclaim God’s word. That’s also God’s intentional purpose for the Church; the Lord puts God’s words in the church’s mouth. Christians proclaim the Word, which we know most fully and experience most personally in Jesus Christ.

With our words, perspectives, attitudes, relationships, and actions, God’s Word flows through us to the world. As believers, we know that gospel proclamation will accomplish God’s purposes.

We trust that God is empowering us to effectively proclaim God’s words with effectiveness so that all the earth may be renewed and blessed.

Most High God, you knew each of us before we were ever born. And so, you know us better than we know ourselves. Your divine power is already there, deep within us. As you call forth that power, enable us to respond with submission, obedience, and willingness to speak words of justice, love, and grace to a world in need of hope and betterment, through Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh, in the strength of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Promise and Pilgrimage (Genesis 12:1-7)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment

The Lord said to Abram,

“Leave your land,
your relatives,
and your father’s home.
Go to the land that I will show you.
I will make you a great nation,
I will bless you.
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you, I will curse.
Through you every family on earth will be blessed.”

So Abram left, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was 75 years old when he left Haran. Abram set out for Canaan. He took along his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all the possessions they had accumulated and the servants they had acquired in Haran.

They arrived in Canaan, and Abram traveled through the land to the oak tree belonging to Moreh at Shechem. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “I’m going to give this land to your descendants.” So he built an altar there to the Lord, who had appeared to him. (God’s Word Translation)

Abram (later having a name change to “Abraham”) knew quite a lot about new beginnings.

It isn’t every day that the Lord comes along and completely upends a person’s life. Abram had lived his entire life in the same city, Ur, in Chaldea (present day Iraq). By all accounts, Abram was completely fine living where he was living. He had neither the ambition nor need to leave his home city.

The Lord, however, had other plans for Abram. And they were radical plans. This was no rearranging of the furniture; it was a wholesale life-altering change. Ur was an important cosmopolitan city, a trade center, located at a pivotal point where the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers run into the Persian Gulf. Thus, Ur was a wealthy city, the citizens enjoying a level of comfort unknown in other parts of Mesopotamia.

Actor Eddie Albert as the out of place city lawyer trying to make it in the country on “Green Acres” which aired on CBS from 1965-1971

So, Abram being called to move from the city and go to some unknown place in the west would be something like growing up in Manhattan, New York and being called by God to head for Brewster, Nebraska – which is pretty much in the middle of nothing. It makes “Green Acres” look like a night out at the opera.

The Lord’s First Promise to Abram

It wasn’t all unknown change; there was a promise attached to the call. Having every family on earth blessed through you is a really big promise. There was a lot riding on Abram’s response.

Perhaps there was some pushback on Abram’s end of things. But we don’t have any record of it if it even happened. Instead, we get a simple statement telling us that he left, just as the Lord told him to do.

Lest we think Abram had some incredible relationship with the Lord before this call came, we need to think again:

“This is what the Lord God of Israel says: Long ago your ancestors, Terah and his sons Abraham and Nahor, lived on the other side of the Euphrates River and served other gods. But I took your ancestor Abraham from the other side of the Euphrates River. I led him through all of Canaan and gave him many descendants.” (Joshua 24:2-3, GW)

The One true God wasn’t even on Abram’s radar. He was merrily serving the pagan gods of Sumer, seemingly without a care in the world. It wasn’t as if Abram was bored watching old reruns of “Green Acres” and wishing for a change. And it sure wasn’t because he was attuned to knowing anything about Yahweh.

Whatever went down between Abram and the Lord was likely so compelling that Abram left willingly and without any pushback.

The Lord’s Second Promise to Abram

To travel from Ur of the Chaldees to the land of Canaan is an approximate distance of 800 miles. That’s slow going when you’re traveling in a caravan by donkey and camel. It took a while to get to the land that the Lord had in mind for Abram.

Once there, God gave Abram another promise: The land that he reached will be his home, the new land, the Promised Land. It would be yet another 500+ years before Abram’s descendants took full possession of that land and the promise realized.

Abram had a lot of time to consider and reflect on the Lord’s calling and promises. And that is precisely why pilgrimage is so very important. Yes, the destination is significant; yet it is the journey itself that really matters.

Pilgrimage

Those who put their strength in you are truly happy;
    pilgrimage is in their hearts. (Psalm 84:5, CEB)

Abram journeys into the unknown by Yoram Raanan

The way of pilgrimage is for all, like Abram, who walk in faith and patience, awaiting the fulfillment of God’s promises.

By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. 

By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country… for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God…. Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born as many as the stars of the sky — innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore.

These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. 

For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland. And truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return. But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them. (Hebrews 11:8-16, NKJV)

Each day, we have the opportunity to be pilgrims, walking by faith, exercising patient hope, persevering in love for one’s fellow humanity.

Just because we live in a microwave society which values speed and customer service above all else, doesn’t mean our religion has to follow suit. The best things in life are slow in coming; they require a great deal of blood, sweat, and tears.

Go ahead and enjoy an episode or two of “Green Acres;” just remember to listen when the Lord calls and go to make disciples of all nations.

All-powerful God, you always show mercy toward those who you love, and you are never far away for those who seek you. Be with your servants on this pilgrimage and guide their way in accord with your will. Amen.