Tag: god’s justice

Human Plans vs. Divine Plans (Micah 2:1-13)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
The Prophet Micah Preaching, by Peter Gorban, 1990

Woe to those who plan iniquity,
    to those who plot evil on their beds!
At morning’s light they carry it out
    because it is in their power to do it.
They covet fields and seize them,
    and houses, and take them.
They defraud people of their homes,
    they rob them of their inheritance.

Therefore, the Lord says:

“I am planning disaster against this people,
    from which you cannot save yourselves.
You will no longer walk proudly,
    for it will be a time of calamity.
In that day people will ridicule you;
    they will taunt you with this mournful song:
‘We are utterly ruined;
    my people’s possession is divided up.
He takes it from me!
    He assigns our fields to traitors.’”

Therefore you will have no one in the assembly of the Lord
    to divide the land by lot.

“Do not prophesy,” their prophets say.
    “Do not prophesy about these things;
    disgrace will not overtake us.”
You descendants of Jacob, should it be said,
    “Does the Lord become impatient?
    Does he do such things?”

“Do not my words do good
    to the one whose ways are upright?
Lately my people have risen up
    like an enemy.
You strip off the rich robe
    from those who pass by without a care,
    like men returning from battle.
You drive the women of my people
    from their pleasant homes.
You take away my blessing
    from their children forever.
Get up, go away!
    For this is not your resting place,
because it is defiled,
    it is ruined, beyond all remedy.
If a liar and deceiver comes and says,
    ‘I will prophesy for you plenty of wine and beer,’
    that would be just the prophet for this people!

“I will surely gather all of you, Jacob;
    I will surely bring together the remnant of Israel.
I will bring them together like sheep in a pen,
    like a flock in its pasture;
    the place will throng with people.
The One who breaks open the way will go up before them;
    they will break through the gate and go out.
Their King will pass through before them,
    the Lord at their head.” (New International Version)

One of the reasons the Daily Lectionary has been giving us a generous portion of prophetic and divine judgment, is that Advent is upon us. In other words, Jesus didn’t just show up in a vacuum. Christ came in his incarnation because the world needs him. The time was ripe for the Lord to come.

We were in slavery under the elemental spiritual forces of the world. But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. (Galatians 4:3b-5, NIV)

Sin is like a humungous rat’s nest that’s been intertwined with the human heart. You cannot simply destroy the nest without also destroying the heart. It takes painstaking attention and patience to undo the connection. And it requires such consummate skill that only God has the combination of motivation, endurance, and ability to do the job.

Perhaps you, like me, are weary of sin’s presence in this world – not to mention having to deal with it daily within the shadows of our own hearts. To keep going, we need God. Secularism cannot help us here, because secular answers cannot offer us good and permanent directives for life.

What’s more, even our religious institutions and faith communities have become, for many, a source of grief instead of hope. Churches can be wracked with sin as much, or more, than any secular system. Though religion ought to help connect us with our true selves, it too often causes us to stray from our authentic self.

Religious bodies too often wed themselves with secular bodies, and encourage us toward extreme independence. Thus, we forget that our real destiny is to live in community within a larger human context – to contribute to the whole of humanity, and in turn, be enriched by others.

This situation is one of the reasons God sent the prophets to warn the people and call them back to a healthy and holistic way of life, connected to the divine and to one another in vital and joyous community.

Any time we put our emotions and energy into dogmatic and parochial concerns – instead of focusing on the ethical, philosophical, and mystical branches of our shared humanity with God – then we, at best, become useless to the great needs of this world, and at worst, contribute to its downward spiral of destruction.

The prophet Micah, along with his fellow prophets, warned and lamented that the people are abandoning the soul of Holy Scripture – keeping up appearances of holiness, while actually planning to take advantage of others for self-centered purposes.

Religious faith in the prophet’s day, as well as our own, is continuing to wane because its biblical foundation is being undermined – not by liberal or progressive theologians, as much as conservative and fundamental adherents who lose sight of Scripture’s spirit and gospel, in favor of hardline law.

We need light – not the dark negations of those who insist on remaining religious masters of extremely small worlds. We must pay attention to, and cultivate, the vineyard of the Lord. Let the faithful concern themselves with clarifying the important elements of religion, such as the nature of prophecy, the Holy Spirit, redemption, and the sanctification of individuals and the community.

As long as we only absorb ourselves with one’s personal piety and one’s small group of cronies, and ignores the common good of all persons, and justice in the world, refusing to look beyond the end of one’s nose, then we will continue to turn away from the prophetic utterance we already have within Scripture. And we will have no ability to discern nor hear the modern day prophet when they speak.

Micah the prophet made a specific charge against his fellow citizens who were powerful businessmen. They spent their time devising schemes to get possession of land from small farmers. Much like the big corporation today, the ancient business people carried out their schemes because they had the financial backing, political influence, and judicial power to do it.

In response, God devises his own plans to thwart the evil machinations of greedy and powerful persons. Micah was supremely confident that the wrongs in this world would eventually be made right; he firmly believed that a sovereign and just God would handle it.

Also, much like today, the greedy business persons and corporations simply dismiss all this God-talk as irrelevant; calamity will not overtake them. But keeping God out of sight and out of mind doesn’t mean that God isn’t there. They will have to give an account for their unethical business practices.

It seems, as in the day of Micah, that our contemporary situation is not so different. Much of the world’s institutions, corporations, and governments are so out of touch with religion and religious ethics, that if a charismatic person comes along proclaiming a gospel of injustice, the business leaders would hire that person on the spot.

Lord, have mercy.

Injustice Makes Everything Weird (Zechariah 11:4-17)

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

This is what the Lord my God says: “Shepherd the flock marked for slaughter. Their buyers slaughter them and go unpunished. Those who sell them say, ‘Praise the Lord, I am rich!’ Their own shepherds do not spare them. For I will no longer have pity on the people of the land,” declares the Lord. “I will give everyone into the hands of their neighbors and their king. They will devastate the land, and I will not rescue anyone from their hands.”

So I shepherded the flock marked for slaughter, particularly the oppressed of the flock. Then I took two staffs and called one Favor and the other Union, and I shepherded the flock. In one month I got rid of the three shepherds.

The flock detested me, and I grew weary of them and said, “I will not be your shepherd. Let the dying die, and the perishing perish. Let those who are left eat one another’s flesh.”

Then I took my staff called Favor and broke it, revoking the covenant I had made with all the nations. It was revoked on that day, and so the oppressed of the flock who were watching me knew it was the word of the Lord.

I told them, “If you think it best, give me my pay; but if not, keep it.” So they paid me thirty pieces of silver.

And the Lord said to me, “Throw it to the potter”—the handsome price at which they valued me! So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them to the potter at the house of the Lord.

Then I broke my second staff called Union, breaking the family bond between Judah and Israel.

Then the Lord said to me, “Take again the equipment of a foolish shepherd. For I am going to raise up a shepherd over the land who will not care for the lost, or seek the young, or heal the injured, or feed the healthy, but will eat the meat of the choice sheep, tearing off their hooves.

“Woe to the worthless shepherd,
    who deserts the flock!
May the sword strike his arm and his right eye!
    May his arm be completely withered,
    his right eye totally blinded!” (New International Version)

Injustice makes everything weird. Leaders who treat others with dishonor and disrespect are only looking to take advantage of people for their own selfish purposes. Unfortunately, such leaders try and make their leadership appear as if they care about the people they lead – even though they really don’t. This is what makes a group of people led by a charlatan feel insecure, confused, and unsure about things.

Today’s Old Testament lesson is a rather confusing allegory of ancient Israel’s history. Despite God’s desire to lead the people in righteousness and justice, many (if not most) of the leaders oppressed them.

As a sign of what was going on, and what was about to happen, the prophet himself was called to lead the people. He shepherded a flock that was marked for slaughter. The shepherds before him were only concerned about their financial bottom line and fleecing the sheep.

When the prophet took over, he used the shepherd crooks of “Favor” and “Union,” indicating that he was concerned to extend grace and form unity around what is right and just. Although the wicked shepherds were forced out from their leadership, the prophet became exasperated in caring for the sheep.

Thus, he destroyed the shepherd staffs – symbolizing God’s rejection of the flock. The owners of the flock paid the prophet thirty shekels of silver, which were then thrown into the potter’s field. New Testament readers will immediately connect this to Judas Iscariot. All of this is a demonstration of the wealthy trying to try pay off God for them not properly shepherding the sheep.

God, however, raised up another worthless and evil leader who shepherds the flock through oppression and injustice. For which the Lord then curses such leadership.

Yes, it’s all a convoluted affair – which is typically what sin does to everything and everyone it touches. Sin messes with and mucks up people to the point that they don’t know which way is up.

What makes it all even more complicated is the reality that the sheep are just as bad as their shepherds. The people got the leaders they deserved. So, the prophet had the unenviable task of watching over a group of people marked for divine judgment.

But, of course, not every single individual is guilty. Some are true victims who don’t deserve any of the injustice that was happening. And that is the very sad thing about the presence of unrighteousness, wickedness, and injustice – that good people, trying to do the right thing, have to endure such suffering of both body and soul.

And the prophet became a victim of the flock. No amount of money can make up for people who treat their leader poorly by refusing to accept the shepherd’s genuine care, clear warnings, and true counsel.

It’s a sad situation whenever people become so stubborn and self-centered that they are unable to receive good things when offered to them. The only thing people have to look forward to, in such a situation, is divine rebuke and retribution.

There are things much more valuable than money. Honor, respect, dignity, listening, obedience, wisdom, humility, righteousness, justice, and salvation are vitally important and needed – and of greater worth than any sort of financial sum.

Wolves are kept at bay by faithful shepherds who are concerned for the flock. This is how God leads and cares for people. So, evil shepherds who fleece the flock, as well as wicked sheep who oppress their shepherds, are especially heinous to God.

A flock who detests a good shepherd will end up getting a predatory tyrant for a leader, as a means of both divine judgment, and as a way of weaning people back to good leadership. Suffering at the hands of bad shepherds has its root cause in a failure to value and respond properly to the loving care and discipline of the ultimate and true Good Shepherd of the sheep.

It is impossible to be in right relation with God apart from listening to and obeying God’s Word. No matter who we are – whether leader or follower, shepherd or sheep – all must consider the worth of justice and the evil of injustice in navigating the world we live in. For injustice, indeed, makes everything and everyone a creepy sort of weird.

O God:
Give me strength to live another day;
Let me not turn coward before its difficulties or prove recreant to its duties;
Let me not lose faith in other people;
Keep me sweet and sound of heart, in spite of ingratitude, treachery, or meanness;
Preserve me from minding little stings or giving them;
Help me to keep my heart clean, and to live so honestly and fearlessly that no outward failure can dishearten me or take away the joy of conscious integrity;
Open wide the eyes of my soul that I may see good in all things;
Grant me this day some new vision of your truth;
Inspire me with the spirit of joy and gladness;
and make me the cup of strength to suffering souls;
in the name of the strong Deliverer, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

The Trouble Is Turned (Esther 7:1-10)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment
The Coronation of Queen Esther, from the 1617 Scroll of Esther, Ferrara, Italy.

So the king and Haman came to have dinner with Queen Esther. On the second day, while they were drinking wine, the king asked Esther, “What is your request, Queen Esther? It will be granted to you. And what would you like? Even if it is up to half of the kingdom, it will be granted.”

Then Queen Esther answered, “If I have found favor with you, Your Majesty, and if it pleases you, Your Majesty, spare my life. That is my request. And spare the life of my people. That is what I ask for. You see, we—my people and I—have been sold so that we can be wiped out, killed, and destroyed. If our men and women had only been sold as slaves, I would have kept silent because the enemy is not worth troubling you about, Your Majesty.”

Then King Xerxes interrupted Queen Esther and said, “Who is this person? Where is the person who has dared to do this?”

Esther answered, “Our vicious enemy is this wicked man Haman!” Then Haman became panic-stricken in the presence of the king and queen.

The king was furious as he got up from dinner and went into the palace garden. But Haman stayed to beg Queen Esther for his life, because he saw that the king had a terrible end in mind for him. When the king returned from the palace garden to the palace dining room, Haman was falling on the couch where Esther was lying. The king thought, “Is he even going to rape the queen while I’m in the palace?” Then the king passed sentence on him, and servants covered Haman’s face.

Harbona, one of the eunuchs present with the king, said, “What a coincidence! The 75-foot pole Haman made for Mordecai, who spoke up for the well-being of the king, is still standing at Haman’s house.”

The king responded, “Hang him on it!” So servants hung Haman’s dead body on the very pole he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the king got over his raging anger. (God’s Word Translation)

“Let nothing disturb you, let nothing frighten you. All things are passing away: God never changes. Patience obtains all things. Whoever has God lacks nothing; God alone suffices.”

Saint Teresa of Ávila (1515-1582)

I sometimes half-jokingly say to people that it’s important for me to keep busy so that I stay out of trouble. The truth is, however, that I tend to find myself in trouble a lot – whether I’m busy, or not. The same could be said for the Jewish people.

If you are anything like me, you have experienced, on more than one occasion, of feeling like you are in a circumstance that’s like quicksand. It’s as if you are stuck with no way out. Queen Esther found herself in such a situation. Through no fault of her own, she was thrust upon the stage of being the intercessor between life and death, salvation and elimination. 

The wicked Haman, a high official to the king of Persia, had it out for the Jews. So, he orchestrated a devious plan to do away with them once and for all – even building a gallows on his own property in the anticipation of hanging one of them on it. That’s how much the guy hated Jews.

The King, Haman, and Esther, by Rembrandt van Rijn, 1660

But God, who is always awake and alert to whatever is happening in this world, had their backs. Even though the book of Esther does not once pronounce the name of God, the Lord’s influence and divine sovereignty are evident throughout the entirety of the story. 

God seems to specialize in hard cases, and in people who keep getting into trouble, despite their good intentions. And through providential means, the Lord inevitably gains the glory, and God’s people are wonderfully saved from circumstances well beyond their ability to save themselves.

Esther, a Jewish girl who became part of the king’s harem, and then the king’s wife and queen, humbly and prayerfully entered the king’s presence on behalf of her people, the Jews. Even though she was exalted to such a status, there was still the very real possibility that taking such an initiative would get Esther into deep trouble.

Yet, because of divine providence superintending the whole affair, the tables were turned, with the Jews being joyously delivered; and Haman literally finding himself at the end of his rope, on his own gallows. 

Prayer, sensitivity to God, and the humility to listen, undergirded Esther’s decision and courage to step out and act on behalf of her people. 

Especially when it comes to trouble, prayer is not optional equipment for the believer, but absolutely essential to facing each and every difficult situation. That’s because it is God, not us, nor any of our skill or ingenuity, that ultimately brings deliverance. 

Saving ourselves from impossible situations and dire circumstances is way above our pay grade; only God can bring true deliverance – the kind that genuinely changes people so that divine purposes are accomplished.

Our discouraging situations, hard cases, difficult people problems, and vexing trouble – whatever the situation – God has your back, and delights to answer our desperate pleas for help and deliverance. 

Like me, you may find yourself in trouble. But you can also find yourself with all the power of heaven behind you; and with an answer to your prayer that is beyond what you can even think or imagine.

Loving God, your Son Jesus Christ came that we might have life and have it abundantly. We humbly ask that you pour out your blessing upon our nation. Where there is illness, bring your healing touch; where there is fear, strengthen us with the knowledge of your presence; where there is uncertainty, build us up in faith; where there is dishonesty, lead us into truth; where there is discord, may we know the harmony of your love. This we are to bold to pray through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit are one God, now and forever. Amen.

Facing Racism (Numbers 12:1-9)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment
Moses and his wife Zipporah, by Flemish painter Jacob Jordaens, c.1650

When they were in Hazeroth, Miriam and Aaron criticized Moses on account of the Cushite woman whom he had married—for he had married a Cushite woman. They said, “Has the Lord spoken only through Moses? Hasn’t he also spoken through us?” The Lord heard it. Now the man Moses was humble, more so than anyone on earth.

Immediately, the Lord said to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, “You three go out to the meeting tent.” So the three of them went out. Then the Lord descended in a column of cloud, stood at the entrance of the tent, and called to Aaron and Miriam. The two of them came forward. He said, “Listen to my words: If there is a prophet of the Lord among you, I make myself known to him in visions. I speak to him in dreams. But not with my servant Moses. He has proved to be reliable with all my household. I speak with him face-to-face, visibly, not in riddles. He sees the Lord’s form. So why aren’t you afraid to criticize my servant Moses?” The Lord’s anger blazed against them, and they went back. (Common English Bible)

I have three observations about today’s Old Testament lesson I want us to notice and lift-up, because they are crucial considerations for us in our present world.

First, the older siblings of Moses – Miriam the eldest and Aaron the other brother – had a problem with their sister-in-law (whose name was Zipporah). She was a Cushite. Cush was an ancient country which encompassed present day northern Sudan and much of Ethiopia in Africa. In other words, Zipporah was black, and Miriam and Aaron were critical of their little brother for marrying her.

Second, although having a black sister-in-law was the real issue, Miriam and Aaron confronted Moses not about this, but went after him concerning his role as a prophet. In other words, the siblings engaged in the age-old practice of ostensibly presenting a concern which was not really the matter on their hearts.

Third, the omniscient God knew what was happening. God was fully cognizant of Miriam and Aaron’s cloak-and-dagger attack at Zipporah through her husband Moses. The Lord was incensed with this coup attempt because it was unjust, unfair, ungodly, and frankly, racist. And so, the text states that God, with divine anger aroused, “immediately” addressed the situation.

Racism is insidious. It tends to get expressed most often through the methods similar to those used by Miriam and Aaron by criticizing another somewhat related issue. So, I offer the following questions with as much humility from Moses I can muster:

  • Are we aware of our own inheritance of centuries, and even millennia, of dominance language which keeps other human beings docile and subservient to another’s authority?
  • Have we chosen to challenge points of order and procedure in the attempt to marginalize certain persons?
  • Are we detached from our own needs, and so, unable to listen well?
  • Is there secret fear in our hearts, believing that we must maintain our hegemony, or else there will be chaos?
  • Is the goal for others to become like us, as if we were the Borg who talk about how resisting us is futile?
  • Are we willing to do the hard work of pulling out our own roots of racial segregation and injustice?
  • Do we want cheap diversity or true solidarity?
  • Will we work toward creating a new liberated humanity, championing equity in all things for all people, instead of attempting to sanitize existing systems?

For far too long, too many individuals, institutions, and even faith communities, have relied upon individualism and anti-structuralism; and it has not served us well in addressing our contemporary problems. Individualism sees only individual racist words and actions and is blind to systemic issues. It views social problems as merely a reflection of broken relationships, and, so, again, makes it impossible to see the systemic nature of our racialized society.

Anti-structuralism (not addressing racism as an organizing structure) is the assumption that racism is only individual racial prejudice and hatred. Thus, the approach in dealing with racism is to always be on the lookout for “bad racists.” This avenue, however, diverts attention from upholding biblical justice, forming policies of liberation, and establishing equitable care and opportunity for the common good of all persons.

As a historian, I tend to view things through historical lenses. So, I resonate deeply with the late twentieth-century essayist James Baldwin when he said, “White people are still trapped in a history which they do not understand; and until they understand it, they cannot be released from it.”

I want my history to be with Moses and freedom. I want God to show up and put racism to an end. I want to be part of the solution, and not the problem. I want justice and fairness to flow like a river that never runs dry.

Lord, Jesus Christ, you reached across ethnic boundaries between Samaritans, Romans, and Jews. In your earthly ministry you offered fresh sight to the blind and freedom to captives. Gracious Savior, help us to break down walls and barriers in our community; enable us to see the reality of racism and bigotry; and free us to challenge and uproot it from ourselves, our faith communities, our society, and our world. Amen.