Israel took a king like the nations around them. This king took them away from God. Israel wanted a champion to go before them (1 Sam 8:5-7, 19-22). They did not want to be near God (Ex 20:19). God told Samuel that Israel rejected Him by choosing a king. People often want a champion, a man of God, no matter if he is false. It somehow makes our worship of God easier, we think.
God warned Israel that this champion would not treat the people well. He would enrich himself and tax the people (1 Sam 8:11-18). But Israel ignored that. This is how Saul and the kings that followed treated Israel. Paul told the Corinthians this is how the false apostles treated them, “If they bring you into bondage, take from you, devour you, beat you and exalt themselves, you bear it…” (2 Cor 11:20). Paul’s life was a complete contrast to these supermen.
This is why we need laws governing kings. Leaders of ministries also must be accountable to the law. People let them get away with all sorts of things, because they want a champion like the ministries around them. It is better to have God as our champion. He will not treat us like that. Having a leader is no compensation for knowing God yourself. But here we see one thing: Let us not want to be like the ministries around us. Let us ask God what He wants.
Wednesday, 7 July 2010
Tuesday, 6 July 2010
Sacrifice
The prophets then turned to what are some of the main issues in true worship. What is the true mindset that will honour God and protect us? The first part is to do with sacrifice. Though Solomon wrote many wise proverbs and prospered because of his father David, he did not understand God’s view of sacrifice. He did not understand that God did not delight in the temple in Jerusalem, but in the temple of His Son.
Initially God blessed the temple and Solomon for the sake of David. Solomon later turned the temple into an idol and brought judgement upon Israel. Ritual had overtaken faith. Solomon’s wisdom on diplomacy and riches became greater to him than the wisdom of God. He networked by marrying foreign wives. God said that this would lead to compromise and it did (Deut 17:14-20). Solomon, following in David’s successes, made Israel rich, but also brought Israel to ruin by his wisdom.
Initially God blessed the temple and Solomon for the sake of David. Solomon later turned the temple into an idol and brought judgement upon Israel. Ritual had overtaken faith. Solomon’s wisdom on diplomacy and riches became greater to him than the wisdom of God. He networked by marrying foreign wives. God said that this would lead to compromise and it did (Deut 17:14-20). Solomon, following in David’s successes, made Israel rich, but also brought Israel to ruin by his wisdom.
Monday, 5 July 2010
Moloch
The example of Moloch shows that God looks not only on the outward form of worship, i.e. whether we worship the true God outwardly, but He looks on who we worship in our heart. Who or what we worship in our heart is seen by our attitude, actions behaviour and life style. This was the prophet’s message:
Have you offered to Me sacrifices and offerings in the wilderness forty years, O house of Israel? But you have borne the tabernacle of your Moloch and Chiun your images, the star of your god, which you made to yourselves. Therefore will I cause you to go into captivity beyond Damascus, says the Lord, whose name is the God of hosts. (Amos 5:25-27).
The Lord said through Amos that though the children of Israel sacrificed to God in the wilderness their sacrifices were not actually to God, but to the gods of their heart. They observed the ritual of worshipping God in the wilderness with the tabernacle, but in their heart their mindset had not changed. God saw this and said that though they carried His tabernacle they were not actually worshipping Him.
They did not literally build an altar to Moloch or Chiun in the wilderness, but it was in their hearts, as was proved later. Solomon set up an altar to Moloch in Jerusalem. What was in the heart eventually came out. The prophet Amos lived later when Israel had built the altar to Moloch, but he said that this was in Israel from the beginning. They always worshipped God as the nations around them worshipped their gods.
Have you offered to Me sacrifices and offerings in the wilderness forty years, O house of Israel? But you have borne the tabernacle of your Moloch and Chiun your images, the star of your god, which you made to yourselves. Therefore will I cause you to go into captivity beyond Damascus, says the Lord, whose name is the God of hosts. (Amos 5:25-27).
The Lord said through Amos that though the children of Israel sacrificed to God in the wilderness their sacrifices were not actually to God, but to the gods of their heart. They observed the ritual of worshipping God in the wilderness with the tabernacle, but in their heart their mindset had not changed. God saw this and said that though they carried His tabernacle they were not actually worshipping Him.
They did not literally build an altar to Moloch or Chiun in the wilderness, but it was in their hearts, as was proved later. Solomon set up an altar to Moloch in Jerusalem. What was in the heart eventually came out. The prophet Amos lived later when Israel had built the altar to Moloch, but he said that this was in Israel from the beginning. They always worshipped God as the nations around them worshipped their gods.
Sunday, 4 July 2010
Mindset Change
Israel never really changed this mindset. They never really got it out of their system. They came out of Egypt, but Egypt did not come out of them. Mindset change is so important. We can change to the right religion, to serve the true God, but still serve Him with our old mindset. Unless this mindset is also changed, it will bring us back to serving our old gods, whether these gods be witchcraft or materialism.
They feared the Lord and served their own gods, after the manner of the nations whom they had carried away from thence. (2 Kings 17:33).
When Assyria carried Israel away from Samaria, they brought in foreign peoples to populate the land. Lions ate them and so they asked about the gods of that land so that they could appease them. They were told the Lord of Israel is the God of that land. So they feared (meaning they appeased by ritual) the Lord, but still walked in the ways of their own gods.
World view
A common mindset of religion is appeasement. This leads to ritual and spiritual warfare, rather than to love and truth. It leads to sacrifice: heathen type prayers that Jesus spoke of (Matt 6:7), fasting and sowing of seeds. It believes that personal cost and effort will bring deliverance. It does not lead to repentance, because payment is the focus, not change. This mindset hinders the transformation of people, families and nations.
We once visited Roman temple ruins in England. The museum authorities salvaged old prayers Romans inscribed on stones. They inscribed a prayer (all of which were either for healing, prosperity, promotion, or against an enemy) and then tied money to it and put it before the god. The similarity of this with practice today struck us. This was their only focus in “prayer”. This is the mindset that the prophets of Israel faced.
No matter how much Christian doctrine we have, our cultural mindset (world view) will not change without new birth. We will go on believing in curses and in humans that change to animals and in witches that can fly. We will believe that this is the cause of our problems, rather than our stealing, lying and fornication. We will believe any lie told us by spiritists, because of our fear of death.
No teaching can change this mindset. No amount of “prayer” can change it. No Christian doctrine can change it. There is only one way a person can leave his culture behind and be renewed in the spirit of their mind – new birth. Only then do we love the truth more than a lie. Only then are we crucified to the world: our culture (Gal 6:14).
We have seen thousands of people trained diligently for many years in the word of God and found that this alone cannot renew the mind of a man. Only when we are touched in our heart by the Spirit of God and renewed in our inner man, will we not be bound by our culture. All people in all cultures are the same, because of the nature of man and the nature of religion.
The prophets pointed out the problem. Jesus Christ came to fix it by giving us a new heart. The prophets warned Israel not to follow the ways of the nations around them. This is where we are most likely to stray, by copying others.
When the Lord your God shall cut off the nations from before you, where you go to possess them and you succeed them and dwell in their land; take heed to yourself that you are not snared by following them, after they are destroyed from before you; and that you enquire not after their gods, saying, How did these nations serve their gods? even so will I do likewise. (Deut 12:29-30).
The issue here was not just the idols the heathen served, not just their evil practices of child sacrifice, but the root of their religious mindset. The issue with human nature is that we do not like being different. It makes us feel that there is something wrong with us, that we do not measure up. So we look at those around us and lean from them instead of learning from God. This was one of Israel’s greatest problems.
This is why they wanted a king, to be like the nations. They started off worshipping God with the mind of the people around them, before eventually taking their idols as well. In Judges and throughout Kings they worshipped God on every green hill as the heathen did (1 Kings 14:21-24). God knew that in following these ways they would turn away from Him. He told them not to in His law, but Israel did not hear.
They feared the Lord and served their own gods, after the manner of the nations whom they had carried away from thence. (2 Kings 17:33).
When Assyria carried Israel away from Samaria, they brought in foreign peoples to populate the land. Lions ate them and so they asked about the gods of that land so that they could appease them. They were told the Lord of Israel is the God of that land. So they feared (meaning they appeased by ritual) the Lord, but still walked in the ways of their own gods.
World view
A common mindset of religion is appeasement. This leads to ritual and spiritual warfare, rather than to love and truth. It leads to sacrifice: heathen type prayers that Jesus spoke of (Matt 6:7), fasting and sowing of seeds. It believes that personal cost and effort will bring deliverance. It does not lead to repentance, because payment is the focus, not change. This mindset hinders the transformation of people, families and nations.
We once visited Roman temple ruins in England. The museum authorities salvaged old prayers Romans inscribed on stones. They inscribed a prayer (all of which were either for healing, prosperity, promotion, or against an enemy) and then tied money to it and put it before the god. The similarity of this with practice today struck us. This was their only focus in “prayer”. This is the mindset that the prophets of Israel faced.
No matter how much Christian doctrine we have, our cultural mindset (world view) will not change without new birth. We will go on believing in curses and in humans that change to animals and in witches that can fly. We will believe that this is the cause of our problems, rather than our stealing, lying and fornication. We will believe any lie told us by spiritists, because of our fear of death.
No teaching can change this mindset. No amount of “prayer” can change it. No Christian doctrine can change it. There is only one way a person can leave his culture behind and be renewed in the spirit of their mind – new birth. Only then do we love the truth more than a lie. Only then are we crucified to the world: our culture (Gal 6:14).
We have seen thousands of people trained diligently for many years in the word of God and found that this alone cannot renew the mind of a man. Only when we are touched in our heart by the Spirit of God and renewed in our inner man, will we not be bound by our culture. All people in all cultures are the same, because of the nature of man and the nature of religion.
The prophets pointed out the problem. Jesus Christ came to fix it by giving us a new heart. The prophets warned Israel not to follow the ways of the nations around them. This is where we are most likely to stray, by copying others.
When the Lord your God shall cut off the nations from before you, where you go to possess them and you succeed them and dwell in their land; take heed to yourself that you are not snared by following them, after they are destroyed from before you; and that you enquire not after their gods, saying, How did these nations serve their gods? even so will I do likewise. (Deut 12:29-30).
The issue here was not just the idols the heathen served, not just their evil practices of child sacrifice, but the root of their religious mindset. The issue with human nature is that we do not like being different. It makes us feel that there is something wrong with us, that we do not measure up. So we look at those around us and lean from them instead of learning from God. This was one of Israel’s greatest problems.
This is why they wanted a king, to be like the nations. They started off worshipping God with the mind of the people around them, before eventually taking their idols as well. In Judges and throughout Kings they worshipped God on every green hill as the heathen did (1 Kings 14:21-24). God knew that in following these ways they would turn away from Him. He told them not to in His law, but Israel did not hear.
Saturday, 3 July 2010
True Religion
A main task of the prophets of the Old Covenant was to reveal God’s heart on true religion. We cannot look at the prophets without considering this part of their message, because it formed a major part of their ministry. Understanding this message is central to understating God and His ways. This message is very relevant today, because it deals with the very nature of man in religion, which has not changed.
The prophets spoke a lot on the nature of false religion. The nations that were in Canaan, before Israel entered, practiced false religion. The issue was not just the false gods they served, but the whole mindset in which they served them. If we see the issue only to do with the graven images themselves and not about the whole world view, we miss the main part of what the prophets said.
The nations around Israel had a sacrifice/ritualistic approach to religion, which did not emphasise truth, justice and integrity. People thought that how they lived did not matter, so long as they could make it up through fulfilling the ritualistic appeasement worship required by the gods. Ritualism fosters corruption. It also fosters superstition and fear and thus brings into bondage.
The prophets spoke a lot on the nature of false religion. The nations that were in Canaan, before Israel entered, practiced false religion. The issue was not just the false gods they served, but the whole mindset in which they served them. If we see the issue only to do with the graven images themselves and not about the whole world view, we miss the main part of what the prophets said.
The nations around Israel had a sacrifice/ritualistic approach to religion, which did not emphasise truth, justice and integrity. People thought that how they lived did not matter, so long as they could make it up through fulfilling the ritualistic appeasement worship required by the gods. Ritualism fosters corruption. It also fosters superstition and fear and thus brings into bondage.
Friday, 2 July 2010
Realised Eschatology
Clement Dodd wrote on realised eschatology, as did others like him. They make many good points. Most of what Dodd says is correct, in seeing that the kingdom of Christ came when Jesus came 2,000 years ago. The critical truth to see is that Jesus is our eschaton. In Him all God’s promises are realised and He lives in us. This is what Paul taught in Gal 2:20. We are already at the marriage supper of the Lamb.
In Luke 11:20 Jesus said, “If I cast out demons by the finger of God then is the kingdom come to you.”. The kingdom is present in the person of Jesus, the King. But then Jesus said at the Last Supper that the kingdom would come before He would next drink wine, meaning it was coming very soon (Luke 22:18). This is Christ coming to live in us at Pentecost. He is the kingdom and He has come to His church.
Dodd showed from the New Testament, especially from John's Gospel, that that apocalyptic kingdom is already present in the ministry of Jesus and the apostles. Dodd claimed that the apocalyptic prophecies of the kingdom have already been fulfilled in the ministry of Jesus.
There is no doubt that the early disciples believed that the kingdom came at Pentecost. Pentecost was definitely a parousia of Christ. However, over-realised eschatology does not recognize the resurrection at the end of this world as the final consummation of the kingdom and is contrary to scripture and the main church creeds.
Summary
This chapter has reviewed three themes:
1. The term last-days should be understood in its Hebrew biblical context and not in a 21st Century mindset. The term end-times does not describe the Second Coming of Christ but the transition from the Old to New Covenants.
2. Matthew 24 should be interpreted according to the same texts and phrases found in the Old Testament and not by a Hellenized mindset foreign to the disciples at the time.
3. The terms New Heaven and New Earth speak of the gospel era which now is, climaxing at the end of this age with the Second Coming of Christ and eternity.
In Luke 11:20 Jesus said, “If I cast out demons by the finger of God then is the kingdom come to you.”. The kingdom is present in the person of Jesus, the King. But then Jesus said at the Last Supper that the kingdom would come before He would next drink wine, meaning it was coming very soon (Luke 22:18). This is Christ coming to live in us at Pentecost. He is the kingdom and He has come to His church.
Dodd showed from the New Testament, especially from John's Gospel, that that apocalyptic kingdom is already present in the ministry of Jesus and the apostles. Dodd claimed that the apocalyptic prophecies of the kingdom have already been fulfilled in the ministry of Jesus.
There is no doubt that the early disciples believed that the kingdom came at Pentecost. Pentecost was definitely a parousia of Christ. However, over-realised eschatology does not recognize the resurrection at the end of this world as the final consummation of the kingdom and is contrary to scripture and the main church creeds.
Summary
This chapter has reviewed three themes:
1. The term last-days should be understood in its Hebrew biblical context and not in a 21st Century mindset. The term end-times does not describe the Second Coming of Christ but the transition from the Old to New Covenants.
2. Matthew 24 should be interpreted according to the same texts and phrases found in the Old Testament and not by a Hellenized mindset foreign to the disciples at the time.
3. The terms New Heaven and New Earth speak of the gospel era which now is, climaxing at the end of this age with the Second Coming of Christ and eternity.
Thursday, 1 July 2010
Realized, Non Realized
There is a tension between realized and non-realized eschatology. There is an already, not yet tension. We have already come to the city of the living God (Heb 12:22), not as Abraham who saw it afar off. We have already passed from death into eternal life. But we still await the full manifestation of His kingdom when He puts down all enemies (Heb 13:14).
Peter’s admonition that we look for the new heavens and new earth means that we should give diligence to live by the values of the redemption that God has already brought us into. We are not of this world. We live by the values of the kingdom of God and by this hope we purify ourselves in this world (1 John 3:1-3). Peter’s admonition is just like the many admonitions in Hebrews, or in Paul’s epistles. We have not yet arrived. We have not yet finished our race.
Heb 6:5 says that the powers of the world to come are already present. We are in the New Heaven and New Earth now, which will be fully manifested at the end of this world, when God removes the curse. This full manifestation is the New Heaven and New Earth that Revelation 21 speaks of. It is the church, which we have entered now through Christ and which is eternal.
We do not use this already/not yet concept wrongly, to suggest:
1. Sin is not yet overcome.
2. Satan is not yet overcome.
3. That we are still under the Old Covenant.
Heb 12:22-23 says we that have come to the heavenly Jerusalem and Heb 13:14 says that we seek the city to come. This seeking is the full vindication of our faith, our hope fulfilled in the resurrection and not the fulfilment of the New Covenant rest which we already entered (Rom 8:24-25). The same can be said for 2 Pet 3:13 where we have already entered the New Covenant but actively await the full vindication of Christ’s authority for the church on earth and in eternity.
Peter’s admonition that we look for the new heavens and new earth means that we should give diligence to live by the values of the redemption that God has already brought us into. We are not of this world. We live by the values of the kingdom of God and by this hope we purify ourselves in this world (1 John 3:1-3). Peter’s admonition is just like the many admonitions in Hebrews, or in Paul’s epistles. We have not yet arrived. We have not yet finished our race.
Heb 6:5 says that the powers of the world to come are already present. We are in the New Heaven and New Earth now, which will be fully manifested at the end of this world, when God removes the curse. This full manifestation is the New Heaven and New Earth that Revelation 21 speaks of. It is the church, which we have entered now through Christ and which is eternal.
We do not use this already/not yet concept wrongly, to suggest:
1. Sin is not yet overcome.
2. Satan is not yet overcome.
3. That we are still under the Old Covenant.
Heb 12:22-23 says we that have come to the heavenly Jerusalem and Heb 13:14 says that we seek the city to come. This seeking is the full vindication of our faith, our hope fulfilled in the resurrection and not the fulfilment of the New Covenant rest which we already entered (Rom 8:24-25). The same can be said for 2 Pet 3:13 where we have already entered the New Covenant but actively await the full vindication of Christ’s authority for the church on earth and in eternity.
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