Today's reading from the One Year Bible Chronological Reading Plan is Micah 6-7, 2 Chronicles 32:1-8, 2 Kings 18:13-37, and Isaiah 36.
Two sermons are available from Micah 7 by John Piper:
Parenting With Hope In The Worst Of Times and
When I Fall, I Will Rise.
Micah 6 talks at first about how much God has done for Israel and how far from Him they have strayed. Many of us will recognize Micah 6:8 as a song that we've sung in church. "He has shown thee, oh man, what is good and what the Lord requires of thee. To act justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God." It's a pretty short list, but man, it's a tough one to stick to on a day-in, day-out basis. I like what the 2nd sermon above says about chapter 7 verse 9:
Do you see this in verse 9? An amazing verse from God's Word this morning!
I will bear the indignation of the Lord
because I have sinned against him . . .
There's brokenness and contrition and remorse—"I have sinned against God! And I will not try to defend myself or in any way lessen my guilt. I will bear the indignation of the Lord. He has every right to be angry with me. I put my hand upon my mouth and my back to the rod. For I have sinned against the Lord of glory, and I am ashamed."
But then look at the next two lines of verse 9:
. . . until he pleads my cause
and executes judgment for me.
There's boldness and confidence and ruggedness—"God will plead my cause. God will execute judgment for me."
I have sinned against him, and so I am broken beneath the his holy indignation. But this very God—this very same angry God—will soon plead my cause, he will take my side and vindicate me, and so I am bold in his grace. Broken under his indignation, bold in his grace.
What is so remarkable and helpful about this verse is that it keeps these two things so close together. Many of us feel that we can't live this way—keeping these two things so close together. If we think of God as angry with us, we collapse in despair. If we think of God as gracious to us, then we feel there is no place for brokenness and remorse. And so today we tend to separate what the Bible keeps together.
The message today, then, is this: Let's keep these things together! When we sin, let's accept the indignation of God and not deny it or hide ourselves from it. But not only that: when we sin, let's be bold and believe that this very God will soon plead our cause and vindicate us in justice. That's today's message: in your experience of God keep together what God has joined—brokenness and boldness.
The story we read afterwards about Hezekiah and the representatives from Assyria made me think of the church, or Christianity, vs. the world. You have the Christian community (your church or your Christian friends) telling you:
"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged because of the king of Assyria and the vast army with him, for there is a greater power with us than with him. With him is only the arm of flesh, but with us is the LORD our God to help us and to fight our battles."
Or something to that effect, befitting the situation. Then you have the world telling you:
Make peace with me and come out to me. Then every one of you will eat from his own vine and fig tree and drink water from his own cistern, until I come and take you to a land like your own, a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive trees and honey. Choose life and not death!
Or in other words "Make it easier on yourself! Following all those rules and being good all the time is too hard! Take what you want and have it now! Nevermind storing up treasures in heaven! Who says there is a heaven anyway?"
It seems at first that you're getting the good stuff when you turn away from Christ and follow the world, but soon the flavours begin to taste like dust and the colours wear off and you see what is really underneath -- desolation, despair, hopelessness... bondage.
Tomorrow's passage: 2 Kings 19:1-19, Isaiah 37:1-20; 2 Chronicles 32:9-19; 2 Kings 19:20-37; Isaiah 37:21-38; 2 Chronicles 32:20-23.
Or for less flipping: 2 Kings 19:1-37; Isaiah 37:1-38; 2 Chronicles 32:9-23.
2 comments:
Great post Miriam.
I love the thought of purposefully keeping the two together - the justified wrath of God and the wondrous unmerited grace He pours out on us.
So true. I know that I tend to separate the two as well. It seems inconceivable to consider the two as anything but separate but that is just it...God makes it possible for wrath and grace to exist together.
As a parent, I am very concerned about the message of the world vs following God's plan and I find myself telling my kids about the importance of not taking the easy way out. Sometimes it seems like it is easier but the consequences later on are usually not worth it. It's also a message I need to remind myself about too :)
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