Tuesday, January 22, 2008
In Humility
Philippians 2:1-11
1/20/08 D. Marion Clark
Introduction
What cannot be gained as long as one tries to gain it? What seems the very symbol of weakness yet produces the strongest bond? What promises the very thing that it seems to repudiate?
So contains the irony of humility. To strive for it, makes it more elusive. To embody the weakness it conveys, produces great strength. To follow it leads to its opposite – glory. Let’s see what our passage has to teach us about this enigma called humility.
Text
So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy,
Verse 1 is the setup for the instruction Paul is about to give. He calls to mind for them what they possess in Christ – encouragement, love, participation in fellowship with the Holy Spirit, the affection and sympathy – i.e. the mercies – of God. Out of what they possess, out of what they experience from God, he wants them to direct their attention to one another.
And there is one other motivating factor - 2 complete my joy… Paul is speaking to the Philippian believers from his own loved-filled heart. As he says in 1:8: “God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus.” That word for the affection is the same as in 2:1. It literally means “bowels.” It is the ancient world’s way of saying, “Out of my deepest heart; I really feel what I am expressing.” So Paul truly cares about the welfare of his hearers, and he truly cares about what he is about to say, enough so that it affects his joy.
…by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.
Paul wants unity – the same mind, the same love, in full accord, of one mind. He had already expressed this desire in 1:27: “I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side…” He will entreat two women in the church to “agree in the Lord,” the same Greek phrase for “be of the same mind.”
I have to confess that this insistence on having the same mind has always baffled me for one simple reason – How can it possibly be done? I’m still trying to figure out how to convert all the Baptists in the congregation to the right view of baptism! I don’t want to touch eschatology. Then there are political and social perspectives across the spectrum. Appropriate music? I’ll let Paul Jones handle that one! I have enough to handle dealing with the different opinions about how to do ministry and run the church operations.
Other translations are helpful in bringing out the nuance of the Greek term for mind that is used here. The King James Version and the New International Version translate it as being “likeminded.” Paul is calling on us to have the same disposition or mindset. So when he tells the Philippians back in 1:27 to strive side by side with one mind for the faith of the gospel, he’s telling them to keep focused on their goal, which is to advance the gospel. He wants those Christian sisters in chapter four to remember their common cause and faith.
And he wants this like-mindedness to be fully owned – “being in full accord and of one mind,” or, more closely to the Greek, being one in soul and mind, that is, with one’s whole being. He wants this like-mindedness to be expressed through a likeminded-love. As they have experienced the love of God (see verse 1), so they are to express the same love to one another. So whether they are Republican or Democrat, Pre-mill or Post-mill, Paedo-baptist or Credo-baptist – whatever side of an issue they may each fall, they are to bear and express the same love. They are to value love in the same way; have the same intent to love each other in the midst of their differences.
But how? That is a tall order. Verses three and four present the necessary condition. 3 Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.
“Do nothing from rivalry or conceit.” They are to check their motives. One can do seemingly good things for the wrong motive. While Paul was in prison, there actually were teachers trying to show him up in their preaching of Christ (1:15-17). As hard as it is to believe, there were Christians back then who were prideful about their service for Christ and even wanted to receive more recognition than others.
It is the next clause that presents the key concept in achieving single-mindedness and is the most difficult to swallow: “in humility count others more significant than yourselves.” In humility count others more significant. He doesn’t say, “count others as significant as yourselves.” Count others more significant.
What is Paul getting at here? Are we to act as though each person is better than he really may be? Do we pretend that a brother has spiritual gifts that he in truth does not possess? Should we praise someone for a false talent? Should we commend a person for behavior that is embarrassing or sinful? Such responses would be falsehoods and thus cannot be his meaning. And nothing is more likely to lead someone to pride than to be praised for what he does not possess.
His meaning becomes clearer in the next verse: 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Count others as so significant, that you will be more concerned for their wellbeing than you will in protecting your own interests. To put it simply, care for each other. Care for one another’s soul. Care for the other’s relationship with his Lord.
Paul then adds the clincher. If some might be tempted to say that Paul is going too far in his demands, he points them to Christ.
5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
Think it is too much to be asked to place the interests of others before your own? Consider what Jesus did. He gave up the glories of equality with God. He, who was pure spirit, took on the limitations of flesh. He, who was highly exalted, made himself nothing. He, who was worshipped and served by multitudes of angelic beings, became a servant. He, who is eternal and who created life, submitted to shameful death on a cross. Why? Because he counted us more significant. He counted our salvation as more important that holding on to his glory.
Just such a mindset is what pleased his father. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Let’s recap. Go back to 1:27. Paul says, “I want you to stand firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel. You are going to go through tough times and face tough opponents, so it is essential to keep together. I will give you the key to staying together. Before I do, remember what you have in Christ – the encouragement and love. Now out of that blessing, focus on staying united. How are you going to keep focused? Count one another more significant. Care for each other as though the other was more important. That is the mindset your Lord had when he came to earth and died for your sins.”
Lessons
This is what the apostle Paul says to the Philippians. The centerpiece idea is expressed in verse 3: in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let’s think it through for ourselves. Is Paul’s view of humility realistic? Is this humility worth the effort? Is this humility attainable?
1. Is Paul’s view of humility realistic? Are we really to count everyone else as more significant than ourselves and so always act according to their best interests? The answer is yes, if we act with discernment. To act according to our brother’s or sister’s best interest is not the same as acting according to what interests him or her. The young woman who gives in to the physical entreaties of a young man, who claims that he needs such a response to be assured of her love, is not looking to his interests but really hers. We are not counting the other as more significant when we are enabling him to sin. That is not humility but self-interest. It may be the self-interest of trying to win affection or getting rid of an annoyance. It is not humility.
We also are not acting according to our brother’s best interest if we are not discerning about our limitations. You may have had the following happen to you. Someone needs your help. You help. He needs it again. You help again. But he keeps coming and coming and coming. You give and give and give, until you blow up at him. What started as a desire to be helpful turned into an occasion to sin and harm the very person you intended to help. What happened? You were not discerning of your limitations. You did not set the necessary boundaries needed so that you could be of real help to that person.
We do no one good when we press ourselves beyond our abilities – whether it be a matter of being patient enough or skillful enough. Indeed, humility without discernment becomes yet another means of following our innate tendency to act for ourselves. But how can that be, you might ask. How can slaving for the interests of others be an act of self-interest? Because your real motive is to be thought well of, to win acceptance, or perhaps by glorying in how poorly treated you are, you think you can win favor with God. There are other more subtle motives, I am sure. The point is that humility must be coupled with discernment – discerning the true interests of others and the true motives of ourselves.
I should add one other matter in which we need discernment. Looking to the interests of others does not mean imposing ourselves into the affairs of everyone and anyone. We are to care about everyone, but we are to be discerning about the appropriate boundaries of others. Thus, if we have yet to build a relationship with a particular person who seems needy is some way, it probably is best to restrict our help to prayer. Perhaps we could refer our concern to someone who does that person well. Or perhaps we could first take the time to build a trusting relationship.
The bottom line is this: real humility will lead you to pay attention to the other person. You will pay attention to his need. You will pay attention to how he responds to help. You will make the effort to be respectful of him, which leads to the next question.
2. Is this humility worth the effort? Why must we be so careful with each other, especially as brothers and sisters in the Lord? Yes, we are to love one another, but shouldn’t we also expect more from each other? We have work to do for God’s kingdom. We have battles to win for Christ and plenty of opposition. A sergeant does not lead his soldiers into battle, taking the time to make sure he has not hurt anyone’s feelings. No, but a good sergeant takes the time to know his men precisely because he wants them to fight as a united team when the battle comes.
This is Paul’s point. No one knows better than he the level of opposition. And he knows that it is essential for Christians to “stand firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side” (1:27). There is a scene in the movie The Gladiator in which a motley collection of prisoners are thrown into the Roman Coliseum to battle against professional soldiers. They want to scatter, but Russell Crowe commands them to stay together. If they separate, they will be picked off and surely die. Christians have to work together. We have to fight the good fight of faith together.
The humility essential for striving side by side is worth the effort because the cause is of the highest value and the consequence of failing is of the greatest disaster. The cause is the advancement of the “faith of the gospel.” It is bringing life to the dead, light to darkness, hope to the despairing, and exalting the glory of our Lord and Savior. And the consequence of failing is shaming the gospel so that the Enemy is able to harden the hearts of many against the church that proclaims that gospel.
Remember what our Lord said was the identifying mark. He said in John 13:35, “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” Have that love and people who know who we are and what we are about. They might still reject our faith, but at least it won’t be because they think it is a sham.
Loving each other with humility is not only about putting up a united front; it is about survival. Pull a Christian out of fellowship and he will stumble. Why do many young people fall away from the faith when they go off to college? The primary is not that they encounter opposition, but that they encounter it alone. No one is standing by their side. No one is looking out for their interest. Oftentimes that is because the person does not want the fellowship. Whatever the reason, the result is the same. And understand, the tragedy is not that we lost someone for the cause, but that we lost someone for whom the cause is about. The cause of the gospel is salvation and the end of salvation is glorification. Each individual, whatever his circumstances may be now, has a future either of glory or of doom.
As C. S. Lewis eloquently expresses the matter:
The load, or weight, or burden of my neighbour’s glory should be lad daily on my back, a load so heavy that only humility can carry it, and the backs of the proud will be broken. It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare. All day long we are, in some degree, helping each other to one other of these destinations.
3. Humility is worth whatever effort for such a cause. But then, how realistic are we being? Is such humility attainable? When I look at the instruction given to count others more significant, and then look at the example given – Christ’s great work of humility, I must confess, I feel discouraged rather than inspired. How can I ever live up to the standard of Jesus Christ? If Paul had moderated his tone, I could handle it better: “To your best to get along. Try to treat each fairly. Do what you can to follow Christ’s example.” That’s the kind of language I want to hear, not this language of “same mind, same love, full accord, one mind, more significant.” Let up a little.
But, of course, letting up is what leads to letting down. We have got to give our all, but the good news is that what we have to give is what has already been given to us. Paul may be saying that very thing in verse 5. Our translation presents it that way: “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus.” Have what you already possess in Christ. Other translations have what the ESV places in a footnote, “Have this mind among yourselves, which was also in Christ Jesus.” In other words, emulate the mind that Jesus had. Whichever is the right translation, both ideas are taught in the letter. Why express so eloquently what Christ did, if he is not being set before us as an example?
But Paul lets us know where we can expect to find the ability to carry out the will of God. He opens the letter in verse 6 assuring believers, “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” And he will make clear who is doing that work: “it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure” (2:13). And God works in us in Christ. “filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ” (1:11); “God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (4:19). Christ is not a model set up to show what we cannot become. Where he goes, he leads that we may follow, and follow with all that he supplies for our strength. Humility is not an ideal that we despair of attaining. It is our possession to take hold of and to use for God’s glory and our neighbor’s blessing.
It is our possession to lead us to our destiny of glory. There is a reason Paul did not end what he had to say of Christ at verse 8. He made sure the rest of the story was told. Christ’s humiliation led to even greater glory because of the pleasure of God. And what awaits us as we follow our Lord in humility is what Paul describes elsewhere as the “eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison” (2 Corinthians 4:17).
Listen again to C. S. Lewis speaking of this glory that awaits the humble:
It is written that we shall “stand before” Him, shall appear, shall be inspected. The promise of glory is the promise, almost incredible and only possible by the work of Christ, that some of us, that any of us who really chooses, shall actually survive that examination, shall find approval, shall please God. To please God…to be a real ingredient in the divine happiness…to be loved by God, not merely pitied, but delighted in as an artist delights in his work or a father in a son – it seems impossible, a weight or burden of glory which our thoughts can hardly sustain. But so it is.
1/20/08 D. Marion Clark
Introduction
What cannot be gained as long as one tries to gain it? What seems the very symbol of weakness yet produces the strongest bond? What promises the very thing that it seems to repudiate?
So contains the irony of humility. To strive for it, makes it more elusive. To embody the weakness it conveys, produces great strength. To follow it leads to its opposite – glory. Let’s see what our passage has to teach us about this enigma called humility.
Text
So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy,
Verse 1 is the setup for the instruction Paul is about to give. He calls to mind for them what they possess in Christ – encouragement, love, participation in fellowship with the Holy Spirit, the affection and sympathy – i.e. the mercies – of God. Out of what they possess, out of what they experience from God, he wants them to direct their attention to one another.
And there is one other motivating factor - 2 complete my joy… Paul is speaking to the Philippian believers from his own loved-filled heart. As he says in 1:8: “God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus.” That word for the affection is the same as in 2:1. It literally means “bowels.” It is the ancient world’s way of saying, “Out of my deepest heart; I really feel what I am expressing.” So Paul truly cares about the welfare of his hearers, and he truly cares about what he is about to say, enough so that it affects his joy.
…by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.
Paul wants unity – the same mind, the same love, in full accord, of one mind. He had already expressed this desire in 1:27: “I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side…” He will entreat two women in the church to “agree in the Lord,” the same Greek phrase for “be of the same mind.”
I have to confess that this insistence on having the same mind has always baffled me for one simple reason – How can it possibly be done? I’m still trying to figure out how to convert all the Baptists in the congregation to the right view of baptism! I don’t want to touch eschatology. Then there are political and social perspectives across the spectrum. Appropriate music? I’ll let Paul Jones handle that one! I have enough to handle dealing with the different opinions about how to do ministry and run the church operations.
Other translations are helpful in bringing out the nuance of the Greek term for mind that is used here. The King James Version and the New International Version translate it as being “likeminded.” Paul is calling on us to have the same disposition or mindset. So when he tells the Philippians back in 1:27 to strive side by side with one mind for the faith of the gospel, he’s telling them to keep focused on their goal, which is to advance the gospel. He wants those Christian sisters in chapter four to remember their common cause and faith.
And he wants this like-mindedness to be fully owned – “being in full accord and of one mind,” or, more closely to the Greek, being one in soul and mind, that is, with one’s whole being. He wants this like-mindedness to be expressed through a likeminded-love. As they have experienced the love of God (see verse 1), so they are to express the same love to one another. So whether they are Republican or Democrat, Pre-mill or Post-mill, Paedo-baptist or Credo-baptist – whatever side of an issue they may each fall, they are to bear and express the same love. They are to value love in the same way; have the same intent to love each other in the midst of their differences.
But how? That is a tall order. Verses three and four present the necessary condition. 3 Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.
“Do nothing from rivalry or conceit.” They are to check their motives. One can do seemingly good things for the wrong motive. While Paul was in prison, there actually were teachers trying to show him up in their preaching of Christ (1:15-17). As hard as it is to believe, there were Christians back then who were prideful about their service for Christ and even wanted to receive more recognition than others.
It is the next clause that presents the key concept in achieving single-mindedness and is the most difficult to swallow: “in humility count others more significant than yourselves.” In humility count others more significant. He doesn’t say, “count others as significant as yourselves.” Count others more significant.
What is Paul getting at here? Are we to act as though each person is better than he really may be? Do we pretend that a brother has spiritual gifts that he in truth does not possess? Should we praise someone for a false talent? Should we commend a person for behavior that is embarrassing or sinful? Such responses would be falsehoods and thus cannot be his meaning. And nothing is more likely to lead someone to pride than to be praised for what he does not possess.
His meaning becomes clearer in the next verse: 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Count others as so significant, that you will be more concerned for their wellbeing than you will in protecting your own interests. To put it simply, care for each other. Care for one another’s soul. Care for the other’s relationship with his Lord.
Paul then adds the clincher. If some might be tempted to say that Paul is going too far in his demands, he points them to Christ.
5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
Think it is too much to be asked to place the interests of others before your own? Consider what Jesus did. He gave up the glories of equality with God. He, who was pure spirit, took on the limitations of flesh. He, who was highly exalted, made himself nothing. He, who was worshipped and served by multitudes of angelic beings, became a servant. He, who is eternal and who created life, submitted to shameful death on a cross. Why? Because he counted us more significant. He counted our salvation as more important that holding on to his glory.
Just such a mindset is what pleased his father. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Let’s recap. Go back to 1:27. Paul says, “I want you to stand firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel. You are going to go through tough times and face tough opponents, so it is essential to keep together. I will give you the key to staying together. Before I do, remember what you have in Christ – the encouragement and love. Now out of that blessing, focus on staying united. How are you going to keep focused? Count one another more significant. Care for each other as though the other was more important. That is the mindset your Lord had when he came to earth and died for your sins.”
Lessons
This is what the apostle Paul says to the Philippians. The centerpiece idea is expressed in verse 3: in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let’s think it through for ourselves. Is Paul’s view of humility realistic? Is this humility worth the effort? Is this humility attainable?
1. Is Paul’s view of humility realistic? Are we really to count everyone else as more significant than ourselves and so always act according to their best interests? The answer is yes, if we act with discernment. To act according to our brother’s or sister’s best interest is not the same as acting according to what interests him or her. The young woman who gives in to the physical entreaties of a young man, who claims that he needs such a response to be assured of her love, is not looking to his interests but really hers. We are not counting the other as more significant when we are enabling him to sin. That is not humility but self-interest. It may be the self-interest of trying to win affection or getting rid of an annoyance. It is not humility.
We also are not acting according to our brother’s best interest if we are not discerning about our limitations. You may have had the following happen to you. Someone needs your help. You help. He needs it again. You help again. But he keeps coming and coming and coming. You give and give and give, until you blow up at him. What started as a desire to be helpful turned into an occasion to sin and harm the very person you intended to help. What happened? You were not discerning of your limitations. You did not set the necessary boundaries needed so that you could be of real help to that person.
We do no one good when we press ourselves beyond our abilities – whether it be a matter of being patient enough or skillful enough. Indeed, humility without discernment becomes yet another means of following our innate tendency to act for ourselves. But how can that be, you might ask. How can slaving for the interests of others be an act of self-interest? Because your real motive is to be thought well of, to win acceptance, or perhaps by glorying in how poorly treated you are, you think you can win favor with God. There are other more subtle motives, I am sure. The point is that humility must be coupled with discernment – discerning the true interests of others and the true motives of ourselves.
I should add one other matter in which we need discernment. Looking to the interests of others does not mean imposing ourselves into the affairs of everyone and anyone. We are to care about everyone, but we are to be discerning about the appropriate boundaries of others. Thus, if we have yet to build a relationship with a particular person who seems needy is some way, it probably is best to restrict our help to prayer. Perhaps we could refer our concern to someone who does that person well. Or perhaps we could first take the time to build a trusting relationship.
The bottom line is this: real humility will lead you to pay attention to the other person. You will pay attention to his need. You will pay attention to how he responds to help. You will make the effort to be respectful of him, which leads to the next question.
2. Is this humility worth the effort? Why must we be so careful with each other, especially as brothers and sisters in the Lord? Yes, we are to love one another, but shouldn’t we also expect more from each other? We have work to do for God’s kingdom. We have battles to win for Christ and plenty of opposition. A sergeant does not lead his soldiers into battle, taking the time to make sure he has not hurt anyone’s feelings. No, but a good sergeant takes the time to know his men precisely because he wants them to fight as a united team when the battle comes.
This is Paul’s point. No one knows better than he the level of opposition. And he knows that it is essential for Christians to “stand firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side” (1:27). There is a scene in the movie The Gladiator in which a motley collection of prisoners are thrown into the Roman Coliseum to battle against professional soldiers. They want to scatter, but Russell Crowe commands them to stay together. If they separate, they will be picked off and surely die. Christians have to work together. We have to fight the good fight of faith together.
The humility essential for striving side by side is worth the effort because the cause is of the highest value and the consequence of failing is of the greatest disaster. The cause is the advancement of the “faith of the gospel.” It is bringing life to the dead, light to darkness, hope to the despairing, and exalting the glory of our Lord and Savior. And the consequence of failing is shaming the gospel so that the Enemy is able to harden the hearts of many against the church that proclaims that gospel.
Remember what our Lord said was the identifying mark. He said in John 13:35, “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” Have that love and people who know who we are and what we are about. They might still reject our faith, but at least it won’t be because they think it is a sham.
Loving each other with humility is not only about putting up a united front; it is about survival. Pull a Christian out of fellowship and he will stumble. Why do many young people fall away from the faith when they go off to college? The primary is not that they encounter opposition, but that they encounter it alone. No one is standing by their side. No one is looking out for their interest. Oftentimes that is because the person does not want the fellowship. Whatever the reason, the result is the same. And understand, the tragedy is not that we lost someone for the cause, but that we lost someone for whom the cause is about. The cause of the gospel is salvation and the end of salvation is glorification. Each individual, whatever his circumstances may be now, has a future either of glory or of doom.
As C. S. Lewis eloquently expresses the matter:
The load, or weight, or burden of my neighbour’s glory should be lad daily on my back, a load so heavy that only humility can carry it, and the backs of the proud will be broken. It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare. All day long we are, in some degree, helping each other to one other of these destinations.
3. Humility is worth whatever effort for such a cause. But then, how realistic are we being? Is such humility attainable? When I look at the instruction given to count others more significant, and then look at the example given – Christ’s great work of humility, I must confess, I feel discouraged rather than inspired. How can I ever live up to the standard of Jesus Christ? If Paul had moderated his tone, I could handle it better: “To your best to get along. Try to treat each fairly. Do what you can to follow Christ’s example.” That’s the kind of language I want to hear, not this language of “same mind, same love, full accord, one mind, more significant.” Let up a little.
But, of course, letting up is what leads to letting down. We have got to give our all, but the good news is that what we have to give is what has already been given to us. Paul may be saying that very thing in verse 5. Our translation presents it that way: “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus.” Have what you already possess in Christ. Other translations have what the ESV places in a footnote, “Have this mind among yourselves, which was also in Christ Jesus.” In other words, emulate the mind that Jesus had. Whichever is the right translation, both ideas are taught in the letter. Why express so eloquently what Christ did, if he is not being set before us as an example?
But Paul lets us know where we can expect to find the ability to carry out the will of God. He opens the letter in verse 6 assuring believers, “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” And he will make clear who is doing that work: “it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure” (2:13). And God works in us in Christ. “filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ” (1:11); “God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (4:19). Christ is not a model set up to show what we cannot become. Where he goes, he leads that we may follow, and follow with all that he supplies for our strength. Humility is not an ideal that we despair of attaining. It is our possession to take hold of and to use for God’s glory and our neighbor’s blessing.
It is our possession to lead us to our destiny of glory. There is a reason Paul did not end what he had to say of Christ at verse 8. He made sure the rest of the story was told. Christ’s humiliation led to even greater glory because of the pleasure of God. And what awaits us as we follow our Lord in humility is what Paul describes elsewhere as the “eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison” (2 Corinthians 4:17).
Listen again to C. S. Lewis speaking of this glory that awaits the humble:
It is written that we shall “stand before” Him, shall appear, shall be inspected. The promise of glory is the promise, almost incredible and only possible by the work of Christ, that some of us, that any of us who really chooses, shall actually survive that examination, shall find approval, shall please God. To please God…to be a real ingredient in the divine happiness…to be loved by God, not merely pitied, but delighted in as an artist delights in his work or a father in a son – it seems impossible, a weight or burden of glory which our thoughts can hardly sustain. But so it is.
Wednesday, January 02, 2008
I Forgot
Psalm 78:9-11
12/30/08 D. Marion Clark
Introduction
Here it is, another Sunday-after-Christmas, and I am preaching again and in the same psalm as I did the last two years. You may be thinking I forgot what I preached on! And I should make a plea here: do not embarrass my wife by asking her if she found irony in me choosing a title called “I Forgot.”
The truth is I find this psalm to be perfect for this time of the season – for it is a psalm of looking back so as to look forward, the very thing we do in this week of the year. Two years ago we examined the first eight verses, focusing on the obligation we have to pass on to the next generation what God has done. Then last year, looking at the end of the psalm, we considered the mixed reviews we would have gotten in accomplishing that task and how comforting it is to know of God’s faithfulness in keeping his promises. Our passage this year gives us insight as to why the Israelites stumbled in fulfilling their obligations and should give us some insight into our own stumbling.
Text
Verse 9 tells us: The Ephraimites, armed with the bow, turned back on the day of battle.
Who were the Ephraimites and what is this turning back they were guilty of? One of the twelve tribes of Israel, they had a promising beginning which led to prosperity and honor. Ephraim was one of the two sons of Joseph (Manasseh being the other), whom Joseph’s father Jacob adopted as his own, thus making them heads of half-tribes in place of Joseph.
Let’s go back to that promising beginning for Ephraim. When Joseph brought his two sons to Jacob to be blessed by him, Jacob switched the blessings by placing his right hand on the younger son Ephraim. When Joseph protested, Jacob responded that Ephraim shall be greater than Manasseh, and indeed become a “multitude of nations.” Ephraim’s tribe did rise to prominence. Joshua, who led the Israelites into the Promised Land, was an Ephraimite. When they entered into the land, it was in the territory allotted to Ephraim that the tabernacle of God was located at Shiloh. It was in Ephraim’s territory at Shechem where the first national assemblies were held. Thus, Ephraim became both the religious and political center for the nation. In practical terms, Ephraim became the first among equals among the tribes.
But the tribe eventually fell out of its position, which Psalm 78 presents. Verse 60 notes that God “forsook his dwelling at Shiloh.” Though the tabernacle containing the ark of the covenant dwelt in Shiloh, the ark ended up in Judah, eventually settling in Jerusalem where the temple was built. God removed his favor upon Ephraim and shifted it to Judah. Where did Ephraim go wrong?
If you page back through your Bible, you will not find an episode of Ephraim warriors backing off from a battle. Actually, they were a bit quick about wanting to fight, even fighting against other tribes for not letting them join in their battles. But if you were to read in Judges, chapter 1, you would find Ephraim listed as one of the six tribes who failed to drive out the Canaanites from its territory. Ephraim failed to finish the battle. Its warriors did enough to take ground in the Promised Land; the tribe did well enough to be prominent. But it did not complete the race. Why?
To answer that question, let me take you back to another scene of blessing. This was the day when Jacob gathered his sons about him and gave each a blessing. Here is an exerpt of what he said of Joseph, which would also be the blessing for Ephraim:
23 The archers bitterly attacked him,
shot at him, and harassed him severely,
24 yet his bow remained unmoved;
his arms were made agile
by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob…(Genesis 49:23-24).
Note the image of Ephraim with a bow as in verse 9 of our passage. As this blessing indicates, Ephraim did not become cowardly in battle. It was not the attack of enemy archers that overcame its warriors. Something else led them to drop their bows of their own accord. The next two verses of our psalm explain the real problem:
10 They did not keep God’s covenant,
but refused to walk according to his law.
11 They forgot his works
and the wonders that he had shown them.
The Ephraimites’ downfall (and it was the problem of all the tribes as the psalm will show) was two-fold: they disobeyed God, and they forgot what he had done. Psalm 78 presents this connection of disobedience with forgetfulness. The psalm begins with the very act of remembering and telling the deeds of the Lord to the next generation so that they will not forget his works, but keep his commandments (v. 7). The shame of the old generation was that they did not remember God’s power by which he redeemed them from Egypt, and thus rebelled against God (v. 40-42).
They Disobeyed
Consider their disobedience in verse 10: They did not keep God’s covenant, but refused to walk according to his law. The grief of the Israelites’ disobedience encompasses more than mere breaking laws. Let me illustrate. When a patrol officer pulls you over for exceeding the speed limit, he typically treats you with indifference or even with pleasantness. You have broken the law, but he does not regard it personally. But when that same officer walks to the window and finds his daughter behind the wheel, it becomes another matter. And if that daughter had appeared to be a model driver with her father in the car; if she had promised him that he could count on her to set an example of good driving so as to make him proud…then her lawbreaking becomes all the more painful. She did not merely break the law; she disobeyed her father. She broke his trust and even shamed him because of their relationship.
The problem is not merely that God made laws that were broken, but that they were broken by his people with whom he had made a covenant. Here are the words God had Moses say to his people at Mt. Sinai before the giving of the law:
“You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. 5 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; 6 and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Exodus 19:4-6).
They were to be his treasured possession. He loved them, as his delivering them from bondage was intended to prove. They were to display to all the nations what it meant to belong to God. Listen to what Moses told them:
When your son asks you in time to come, ‘What is the meaning of the testimonies and the statutes and the rules that the Lord our God has commanded you?’ 21 then you shall say to your son, ‘We were Pharaoh’s slaves in Egypt. And the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. 22 And the Lord showed signs and wonders, great and grievous, against Egypt and against Pharaoh and all his household, before our eyes. 23 And he brought us out from there, that he might bring us in and give us the land that he swore to give to our fathers. 24 And the Lord commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God, for our good always, that he might preserve us alive, as we are this day (Deuteronomy 6:20-24).
Obeying God was not about being a good rule follower; it was about loving him; it was about affirming the covenant made with him that they belonged to him; that he was their God and they his people; that they loved the God who loved them first and delivered them from bondage through wondrous deeds. These laws were themselves a reminder of what God had done for them.
They Did Not Remember
Consider their failure to remember in verse 11: They forgot his works and the wonders that he had shown them. This failure is particularly galling considering what it is they forgot and how quickly. The psalmist lists God’s wonders done before their very eyes: the plagues in Egypt, dividing the Red Sea, producing water from a rock, daily provision of manna, and a miraculous massive flock of quail. And I should mention the pillar of cloud and of fire that was with them everyday and led them in their journey. These are not miracles they heard about. God performed them in front of them on their behalf. You would think such mighty deeds would make a lasting impression. And if not those, then the acts of discipline should have had an impact. Verses 31 and 34 speak of God killing them. Three times God sent a plague. Another time he sent poisonous serpents among them. And then there was the spectacular manner in which he sent judgment against Korah and his rebel cohorts, opening up the earth to swallow them and their families. Don’t you think the images would remain in their memory? How do you forget both the good and the horrifying?
And it did not get better with the next generation. All the adults who witnessed these deeds in the wilderness died before entering the promised land. It was their children, many of whom witnessed the same wondrous deeds, who inherited the land. They experienced God opening the waters of the Jordon; of his tearing down the walls of Jericho; of his giving them victory after victory against strong foes. These are the same people who swore to Joshua that…well, here is what they said to him:
"Far be it from us that we should forsake the LORD to serve other gods, for it is the LORD our God who brought us and our fathers up from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, and who did those great signs in our sight and preserved us in all the way that we went, and among all the peoples through whom we passed. And the LORD drove out before us all the peoples, the Amorites who lived in the land. Therefore we also will serve the LORD, for he is our God" (Joshua 24:16-18)
The sad but humorous response of Joshua to this “sincere” pledge reveals what was to come. He commanded them then to “put away the foreign gods that are among you.”
“Foreign gods? Oh, you mean these idols we keep. Gee, how did they get to be here? Sure, you can depend on us to get rid of them.”
They did not get rid of those idols and they passed down their addiction to these foreign gods along with their rebellious ways to their children. Thus, we read in verses 56-58:
Yet they tested and rebelled against the Most High God
and did not keep his testimonies,
57 but turned away and acted treacherously like their fathers;
they twisted like a deceitful bow.
58 For they provoked him to anger with their high places;
they moved him to jealousy with their idols.
Lessons
What a sad history. What a poor example these people were. Don’t you wish you could shake your heads at them and say, “How could you? How could you so easily forget? How could you turn away from a God who performed such miraculous deeds?”
But we should understand that the Israelites are not being held up as exemplifying unusual human behavior. The trouble with the Israelites is not that they are particularly bad, but that they are particularly human. Let us consider then lessons we may learn from those who are kindred spirit with us.
1. It is natural for the human heart to follow whatever most suits its needs for the moment, to ask “what have you done for me lately,” especially when under trial. And the Israelites had their share of trials. They could say to us, “You wander about in a desert for a few weeks living off water rations and then tell us how well you remember great miracles. You tell me that you would not question why you were delivered by miracles in order to live in unbearable conditions. And that manna from heaven – tell me how great you think it is when that is all you have to eat day after day, year after year. And have you ever waited forty years for anything? In a desert? And then when you get to your promised home, you must spend years more fighting hand-to-hand combat to obtain your inheritance? You tell me then how well you would remember God’s great deeds.”
Can you relate? You who years ago experienced miraculous like conversions – are you able to live off of that great work, or do you grow weary with the tediousness of making a living and the trials that inevitably come? Do you find it a bit difficult to maintain your faith and your allegiance to God, even though you have your own pillar of God’s presence in the weekly worship and Bible study and other forms of fellowship? Can you sympathize with the Israelites who thought deliverance from Egypt meant entering quickly and lastingly into the Promised Land of peace and prosperity? When you joyfully turned your life over to Christ, did you bargain that years later you would be struggling in your marriage, dealing with children who reject your faith, or embittered with disappointments? Are you surprised to find the appeal of idols irresistible as you turn to money or power or sex or any number of other gods you cling to to provide you with security and satisfaction because an invisible God no longer is sufficient. When we read the sorry history presented in Psalm 78, we should not be wagging our heads in disbelief, but trembling, knowing that these people model the tendency of our hearts, which leads to our next lesson.
2. It is the heart that must be changed, Scrooge notwithstanding. You know the story of how Scrooge turned from being the model of mean spiritedness to that of generosity, and all because of the visit of three spirits. Scrooge received what the rich man wanted done for his brothers after he had been sent to hell. In Jesus’ parable, the rich man asks Abraham to send the poor man Lazarus from the dead to his brothers to warn them, just like Jacob did for Scrooge. As he said, “If someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.” But Jesus gave his answer through the lips of Abraham, “If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead” (cf Luke 16:19-31).
What more did the Israelites need to experience in order to turn to him? How many more miracles? What do we think is necessary for us? If only God would make my life better – get me a good job, make my kids obey, change my spouse, give me a spouse, take away my temptations – then I could do a better job of living for him. If only God would send good fortune to my neighbor, or take away good fortune, if only God would do what I think is necessary for my neighbor, then I know he would have faith and repent.
Let the lesson be clear – it is not the circumstances of life, however miraculous they may be, that will change anyone’s heart; rather it is the work of the Lord in the heart. Ezekiel gives the prescription for heart change: “And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. (36:26-27).
Pray, whether it be for yourself or anyone else; pray not for spirits to appear, but for the Spirit of God to work within the heart.
3. Consider further the interplay of memory and obedience that the psalm presents – they are inseparable. As we remember what the Lord has done for us, so we will obey his commandments. And as that memory fades, so are we likely to stray from obedience. We cannot maintain obedience merely from the sense of duty or from a personal moral code. We will fail or turn legalistic and embittered.
Why does memory fade? Time is a factor, but the real culprit is the tendency of the heart to disobey. As James points out in his letter (1:22-25), the lack of doing what the Word of God says makes us forgetful of that very Word. The trouble with the Israelites was not time impeding their memory – they had manna and the pillar of cloud and of fire everyday. It was the combination of enduring trial and of being tempted by the ways of their neighbors. They wanted to turn to other gods. Forgetfulness can make us disobedient; but disobedience can likewise make us forgetful.
4. This is the poor example of the Israelites in Psalm 78. Let’s close with the good example presented in Psalm 77. Here, too, is a person struggling with trial, feeling God as distant. In his despondency, what does he do? Read beginning with verse 11:
11 I will remember the deeds of the Lord;
yes, I will remember your wonders of old.
12 I will ponder all your work,
and meditate on your mighty deeds.
13 Your way, O God, is holy.
What god is great like our God?
14 You are the God who works wonders;
you have made known your might among the peoples.
15 You with your arm redeemed your people,
the children of Jacob and Joseph.
In his moment of weakness, he remembered. And note what it was. He did not think about his own personal experiences. He remembered the story of redemption, of how God redeemed his people from bondage. Do you remember the story of redemption? However you look back on this year, do you look back to the greater redemption than the psalmist ever knew – that mighty deed by which our Lord delivered his people from the bondage of sin and death? And when you look forward, can you see beyond your personal hopes and pleasures to the hope of the redemption story – that our Redeemer will return, and we will live without trial either outward or inward. The day will come when the only memory lapse we will have is that of pain and sin. And it will come, for we have the testimony of God’s Word; we have the seal of the Holy Spirit who dwells within us; we have the promise of our Deliverer who will not forget us, nor will ever disobey his Father.
As yet another year comes to a close, recall the deeds of your God that brought you redemption. Look to the great work yet to come when your Redeemer appears. Look past your temporal troubles and above your temporal hopes to the great redemption that cannot be lost and the future glory that cannot be taken away. Come, Lord Jesus.
12/30/08 D. Marion Clark
Introduction
Here it is, another Sunday-after-Christmas, and I am preaching again and in the same psalm as I did the last two years. You may be thinking I forgot what I preached on! And I should make a plea here: do not embarrass my wife by asking her if she found irony in me choosing a title called “I Forgot.”
The truth is I find this psalm to be perfect for this time of the season – for it is a psalm of looking back so as to look forward, the very thing we do in this week of the year. Two years ago we examined the first eight verses, focusing on the obligation we have to pass on to the next generation what God has done. Then last year, looking at the end of the psalm, we considered the mixed reviews we would have gotten in accomplishing that task and how comforting it is to know of God’s faithfulness in keeping his promises. Our passage this year gives us insight as to why the Israelites stumbled in fulfilling their obligations and should give us some insight into our own stumbling.
Text
Verse 9 tells us: The Ephraimites, armed with the bow, turned back on the day of battle.
Who were the Ephraimites and what is this turning back they were guilty of? One of the twelve tribes of Israel, they had a promising beginning which led to prosperity and honor. Ephraim was one of the two sons of Joseph (Manasseh being the other), whom Joseph’s father Jacob adopted as his own, thus making them heads of half-tribes in place of Joseph.
Let’s go back to that promising beginning for Ephraim. When Joseph brought his two sons to Jacob to be blessed by him, Jacob switched the blessings by placing his right hand on the younger son Ephraim. When Joseph protested, Jacob responded that Ephraim shall be greater than Manasseh, and indeed become a “multitude of nations.” Ephraim’s tribe did rise to prominence. Joshua, who led the Israelites into the Promised Land, was an Ephraimite. When they entered into the land, it was in the territory allotted to Ephraim that the tabernacle of God was located at Shiloh. It was in Ephraim’s territory at Shechem where the first national assemblies were held. Thus, Ephraim became both the religious and political center for the nation. In practical terms, Ephraim became the first among equals among the tribes.
But the tribe eventually fell out of its position, which Psalm 78 presents. Verse 60 notes that God “forsook his dwelling at Shiloh.” Though the tabernacle containing the ark of the covenant dwelt in Shiloh, the ark ended up in Judah, eventually settling in Jerusalem where the temple was built. God removed his favor upon Ephraim and shifted it to Judah. Where did Ephraim go wrong?
If you page back through your Bible, you will not find an episode of Ephraim warriors backing off from a battle. Actually, they were a bit quick about wanting to fight, even fighting against other tribes for not letting them join in their battles. But if you were to read in Judges, chapter 1, you would find Ephraim listed as one of the six tribes who failed to drive out the Canaanites from its territory. Ephraim failed to finish the battle. Its warriors did enough to take ground in the Promised Land; the tribe did well enough to be prominent. But it did not complete the race. Why?
To answer that question, let me take you back to another scene of blessing. This was the day when Jacob gathered his sons about him and gave each a blessing. Here is an exerpt of what he said of Joseph, which would also be the blessing for Ephraim:
23 The archers bitterly attacked him,
shot at him, and harassed him severely,
24 yet his bow remained unmoved;
his arms were made agile
by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob…(Genesis 49:23-24).
Note the image of Ephraim with a bow as in verse 9 of our passage. As this blessing indicates, Ephraim did not become cowardly in battle. It was not the attack of enemy archers that overcame its warriors. Something else led them to drop their bows of their own accord. The next two verses of our psalm explain the real problem:
10 They did not keep God’s covenant,
but refused to walk according to his law.
11 They forgot his works
and the wonders that he had shown them.
The Ephraimites’ downfall (and it was the problem of all the tribes as the psalm will show) was two-fold: they disobeyed God, and they forgot what he had done. Psalm 78 presents this connection of disobedience with forgetfulness. The psalm begins with the very act of remembering and telling the deeds of the Lord to the next generation so that they will not forget his works, but keep his commandments (v. 7). The shame of the old generation was that they did not remember God’s power by which he redeemed them from Egypt, and thus rebelled against God (v. 40-42).
They Disobeyed
Consider their disobedience in verse 10: They did not keep God’s covenant, but refused to walk according to his law. The grief of the Israelites’ disobedience encompasses more than mere breaking laws. Let me illustrate. When a patrol officer pulls you over for exceeding the speed limit, he typically treats you with indifference or even with pleasantness. You have broken the law, but he does not regard it personally. But when that same officer walks to the window and finds his daughter behind the wheel, it becomes another matter. And if that daughter had appeared to be a model driver with her father in the car; if she had promised him that he could count on her to set an example of good driving so as to make him proud…then her lawbreaking becomes all the more painful. She did not merely break the law; she disobeyed her father. She broke his trust and even shamed him because of their relationship.
The problem is not merely that God made laws that were broken, but that they were broken by his people with whom he had made a covenant. Here are the words God had Moses say to his people at Mt. Sinai before the giving of the law:
“You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. 5 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; 6 and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Exodus 19:4-6).
They were to be his treasured possession. He loved them, as his delivering them from bondage was intended to prove. They were to display to all the nations what it meant to belong to God. Listen to what Moses told them:
When your son asks you in time to come, ‘What is the meaning of the testimonies and the statutes and the rules that the Lord our God has commanded you?’ 21 then you shall say to your son, ‘We were Pharaoh’s slaves in Egypt. And the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. 22 And the Lord showed signs and wonders, great and grievous, against Egypt and against Pharaoh and all his household, before our eyes. 23 And he brought us out from there, that he might bring us in and give us the land that he swore to give to our fathers. 24 And the Lord commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God, for our good always, that he might preserve us alive, as we are this day (Deuteronomy 6:20-24).
Obeying God was not about being a good rule follower; it was about loving him; it was about affirming the covenant made with him that they belonged to him; that he was their God and they his people; that they loved the God who loved them first and delivered them from bondage through wondrous deeds. These laws were themselves a reminder of what God had done for them.
They Did Not Remember
Consider their failure to remember in verse 11: They forgot his works and the wonders that he had shown them. This failure is particularly galling considering what it is they forgot and how quickly. The psalmist lists God’s wonders done before their very eyes: the plagues in Egypt, dividing the Red Sea, producing water from a rock, daily provision of manna, and a miraculous massive flock of quail. And I should mention the pillar of cloud and of fire that was with them everyday and led them in their journey. These are not miracles they heard about. God performed them in front of them on their behalf. You would think such mighty deeds would make a lasting impression. And if not those, then the acts of discipline should have had an impact. Verses 31 and 34 speak of God killing them. Three times God sent a plague. Another time he sent poisonous serpents among them. And then there was the spectacular manner in which he sent judgment against Korah and his rebel cohorts, opening up the earth to swallow them and their families. Don’t you think the images would remain in their memory? How do you forget both the good and the horrifying?
And it did not get better with the next generation. All the adults who witnessed these deeds in the wilderness died before entering the promised land. It was their children, many of whom witnessed the same wondrous deeds, who inherited the land. They experienced God opening the waters of the Jordon; of his tearing down the walls of Jericho; of his giving them victory after victory against strong foes. These are the same people who swore to Joshua that…well, here is what they said to him:
"Far be it from us that we should forsake the LORD to serve other gods, for it is the LORD our God who brought us and our fathers up from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, and who did those great signs in our sight and preserved us in all the way that we went, and among all the peoples through whom we passed. And the LORD drove out before us all the peoples, the Amorites who lived in the land. Therefore we also will serve the LORD, for he is our God" (Joshua 24:16-18)
The sad but humorous response of Joshua to this “sincere” pledge reveals what was to come. He commanded them then to “put away the foreign gods that are among you.”
“Foreign gods? Oh, you mean these idols we keep. Gee, how did they get to be here? Sure, you can depend on us to get rid of them.”
They did not get rid of those idols and they passed down their addiction to these foreign gods along with their rebellious ways to their children. Thus, we read in verses 56-58:
Yet they tested and rebelled against the Most High God
and did not keep his testimonies,
57 but turned away and acted treacherously like their fathers;
they twisted like a deceitful bow.
58 For they provoked him to anger with their high places;
they moved him to jealousy with their idols.
Lessons
What a sad history. What a poor example these people were. Don’t you wish you could shake your heads at them and say, “How could you? How could you so easily forget? How could you turn away from a God who performed such miraculous deeds?”
But we should understand that the Israelites are not being held up as exemplifying unusual human behavior. The trouble with the Israelites is not that they are particularly bad, but that they are particularly human. Let us consider then lessons we may learn from those who are kindred spirit with us.
1. It is natural for the human heart to follow whatever most suits its needs for the moment, to ask “what have you done for me lately,” especially when under trial. And the Israelites had their share of trials. They could say to us, “You wander about in a desert for a few weeks living off water rations and then tell us how well you remember great miracles. You tell me that you would not question why you were delivered by miracles in order to live in unbearable conditions. And that manna from heaven – tell me how great you think it is when that is all you have to eat day after day, year after year. And have you ever waited forty years for anything? In a desert? And then when you get to your promised home, you must spend years more fighting hand-to-hand combat to obtain your inheritance? You tell me then how well you would remember God’s great deeds.”
Can you relate? You who years ago experienced miraculous like conversions – are you able to live off of that great work, or do you grow weary with the tediousness of making a living and the trials that inevitably come? Do you find it a bit difficult to maintain your faith and your allegiance to God, even though you have your own pillar of God’s presence in the weekly worship and Bible study and other forms of fellowship? Can you sympathize with the Israelites who thought deliverance from Egypt meant entering quickly and lastingly into the Promised Land of peace and prosperity? When you joyfully turned your life over to Christ, did you bargain that years later you would be struggling in your marriage, dealing with children who reject your faith, or embittered with disappointments? Are you surprised to find the appeal of idols irresistible as you turn to money or power or sex or any number of other gods you cling to to provide you with security and satisfaction because an invisible God no longer is sufficient. When we read the sorry history presented in Psalm 78, we should not be wagging our heads in disbelief, but trembling, knowing that these people model the tendency of our hearts, which leads to our next lesson.
2. It is the heart that must be changed, Scrooge notwithstanding. You know the story of how Scrooge turned from being the model of mean spiritedness to that of generosity, and all because of the visit of three spirits. Scrooge received what the rich man wanted done for his brothers after he had been sent to hell. In Jesus’ parable, the rich man asks Abraham to send the poor man Lazarus from the dead to his brothers to warn them, just like Jacob did for Scrooge. As he said, “If someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.” But Jesus gave his answer through the lips of Abraham, “If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead” (cf Luke 16:19-31).
What more did the Israelites need to experience in order to turn to him? How many more miracles? What do we think is necessary for us? If only God would make my life better – get me a good job, make my kids obey, change my spouse, give me a spouse, take away my temptations – then I could do a better job of living for him. If only God would send good fortune to my neighbor, or take away good fortune, if only God would do what I think is necessary for my neighbor, then I know he would have faith and repent.
Let the lesson be clear – it is not the circumstances of life, however miraculous they may be, that will change anyone’s heart; rather it is the work of the Lord in the heart. Ezekiel gives the prescription for heart change: “And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. (36:26-27).
Pray, whether it be for yourself or anyone else; pray not for spirits to appear, but for the Spirit of God to work within the heart.
3. Consider further the interplay of memory and obedience that the psalm presents – they are inseparable. As we remember what the Lord has done for us, so we will obey his commandments. And as that memory fades, so are we likely to stray from obedience. We cannot maintain obedience merely from the sense of duty or from a personal moral code. We will fail or turn legalistic and embittered.
Why does memory fade? Time is a factor, but the real culprit is the tendency of the heart to disobey. As James points out in his letter (1:22-25), the lack of doing what the Word of God says makes us forgetful of that very Word. The trouble with the Israelites was not time impeding their memory – they had manna and the pillar of cloud and of fire everyday. It was the combination of enduring trial and of being tempted by the ways of their neighbors. They wanted to turn to other gods. Forgetfulness can make us disobedient; but disobedience can likewise make us forgetful.
4. This is the poor example of the Israelites in Psalm 78. Let’s close with the good example presented in Psalm 77. Here, too, is a person struggling with trial, feeling God as distant. In his despondency, what does he do? Read beginning with verse 11:
11 I will remember the deeds of the Lord;
yes, I will remember your wonders of old.
12 I will ponder all your work,
and meditate on your mighty deeds.
13 Your way, O God, is holy.
What god is great like our God?
14 You are the God who works wonders;
you have made known your might among the peoples.
15 You with your arm redeemed your people,
the children of Jacob and Joseph.
In his moment of weakness, he remembered. And note what it was. He did not think about his own personal experiences. He remembered the story of redemption, of how God redeemed his people from bondage. Do you remember the story of redemption? However you look back on this year, do you look back to the greater redemption than the psalmist ever knew – that mighty deed by which our Lord delivered his people from the bondage of sin and death? And when you look forward, can you see beyond your personal hopes and pleasures to the hope of the redemption story – that our Redeemer will return, and we will live without trial either outward or inward. The day will come when the only memory lapse we will have is that of pain and sin. And it will come, for we have the testimony of God’s Word; we have the seal of the Holy Spirit who dwells within us; we have the promise of our Deliverer who will not forget us, nor will ever disobey his Father.
As yet another year comes to a close, recall the deeds of your God that brought you redemption. Look to the great work yet to come when your Redeemer appears. Look past your temporal troubles and above your temporal hopes to the great redemption that cannot be lost and the future glory that cannot be taken away. Come, Lord Jesus.
