In the Beginning - Pt.11

11 chapters; 11 posts! I didn't set out to produce this much, but what feedback there has been has been positive, so I trust that many others who read these weekly messages will have been helped by our thinking about these seminal chapters of the written Word of Almighty God, the Bible.

However, we are at the end - I have no wish to go through the various genealogies, important 'though they are in their own way - as we look at Gen.11:1-9: « Now the whole earth had one language and few words.  And as men migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. And they said to one another, "Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly." And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar. Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth." And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the sons of men had built. And the Lord said, "Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language; and this is only the beginning of what they will do; and nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. Come, let us go down, and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another's speech." So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city. Therefore its name was called Ba'bel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth; and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth. »

It was the Augustinian monk and founder of the Order, Augustine, who coined the phrase « Man proposes, but God disposes. » However, Solomon perhaps put it best in Prov. 19:21 : « Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of YHWH that will be established. » When we read this episode in the history of humanity, we realise just how true this is!

Notice the opening words - « ... one language and few words. ». As one who has lived in France for, now, seven years I would love that that situation could have continued! Of course, this unity of language of the whole human race followed from the unity of its descent from one human pair. 

In Gen.10:8, we discover that Cush, Noah's grandson, « … became the father of Nimrod; he was the first on earth to be a mighty man. ». We also discover, in 10:10, that he was a man of ambition, who established a kingdom, beginning with Babel, in the land of Shinar. This land was the setting for the record that we are now considering. By the way, Babel and Babylon are identical. The first is the transliteration of the Hebrew language word, the second is the Greek language equivalent.

Babel was the first centre of civilisation in the ancient, post-Flood, world. It was famed for its "ziggurats" - tall, wide-based, stepped towers; and its name even meant "gate of the gods". However, their gods were their own perceived cleverness and power - and how many counterparts they have today! In the Bible, Babel/Babylon is the type of society without God (see, e.g., Rev. 17-18). Here, the true God scorns the self-reliant pride of the inhabitants - their great power is actually so puny that He has to "come down" to see the city and its tower! Of course, Almighty God doesn't have to literally investigate what is happening in His universe. The language is used simply in order to make a point in anthropomorphic terms. I think, too, of the words of Psalm 2: 2-4 - worth looking up! 

This infamous project was, effectively, an arrogant « spitting in the face » of Almighty God. They wanted to « … make a name for themselves, ». Was this a follow-on from the first temptation of the satan, at which we looked earlier? They wanted it to be « a tower with its top in the heavens, » - to be   « like God »? It was certainly a revolutionary act! In Gen.9:1, Noah and his family were instructed to « Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth. ». These people wanted to stay, together, in one place. However, the firm establishment of an ungodly unity, the wickedness and audacity of men would have led to fearful enterprises. A society without God at its centre falls apart into communication breakdown, and international disputes - and we are seeing evidence of that in our own time!

« A society without God at its centre falls apart. » and so does an individual! Augustine also said that « Thou hast made us for Thyself, O God, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in Thee » A modern equivalent is «There's a God-shaped hole in every heart that only God can fill. » Those words are usually attributed to the 17th century French philosopher and mathematician, Blaise Pascal. Sadly, he didn't use those precise words! However, they are catchy enough, and are not far from what he did write: « There is a God-shaped vacuum in the heart of every man, and only God can fill it. »  If you are finding life to be heavy going; if you sometimes feel that you are coming apart at the seams; if you have reached the end of your tether; may I encourage you to turn to the One Who has, and is, the answer to even your situation? He may not remove the difficulty - but He will show you how to cope, and He will be right there with you!

In Matt.28:19-20 we have what is usually referred to as "The Great Commission" - the final words of the risen Lord Jesus to His disciples: « Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age. » (emphasis added). Those emphasised words apply to every situation in which any of His disciples find themselves. No other friend can make that promise, with such absolute assurance. Let Him fill that vacuum, and discover that He truly did come that you « ...  may have life, and have it abundantly. » (Jn.10:10).

Guidance - Pt.2

Last week, I introduced the concept of guidance in our human experience. I suggested that guidance, from Almighty God, can be very real - by those who don't even accept His existence, as much as for those who actively seek to follow Him. 

It is in the light of that statement that, this week, I want to consider the promise of such guidance. You see, this isn't simply some strange idea that I have thought up, all by myself!  I have actually found that it is assured throughout the written Word of God - the Bible.

For example, in what would surely be a strong contender for the title "the best-known part of the Bible", the 23rd Psalm, we find these words of the psalmist-king, David:

"He leads me beside still waters; He restores my soul. He leads me in the paths of righteousness, for His name's sake." (vs.2-3; emphases added). The promise of guidance.

In Psalm 25: 8ff we read: 

"Good and upright is YHWH; therefore He instructs sinners in the way. He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble His way. All the paths of YHWH are steadfast love and faithfulness, for those who keep His covenant and His testimonies.  For Thy name’s sake, O YHWH, pardon my guilt, for it is great. Who is the man that fears YHWH?   Him will He instruct in the way that He should choose." (emphases added). The promise of guidance.

The 32nd Psalm contains this clear promise:

"I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go;" (v.8; emphasis added) The promise of guidance.

When we look at Psalm 48, the message is even more clear:

"... this is God, our God for ever and ever. He will be our guide for ever." (v.14; emphasis added). The promise of guidance.

Through the prophet Isaiah, God also promises guidance for His people:

"I will lead the blind in a way that they know not, in paths that they have not known I will guide them." (42:16; emphases added)                                                                                                                               "... He who has pity on them will lead them, and by springs of water will guide them." (49:10; emphases added).                                                                                                                                                        "... YHWH will guide you continually," (58:11; emphasis added). The promise of guidance.

And, lest any should be thinking that such guidance only applies to the Children of Israel, God's guidance is also promised in the pages of the New Testament.

The apostle John, recording Jesus' last discourse with His disciples before He was crucified, writes these words of the Master:

"When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth;", (16:13; emphasis added). The promise of guidance.

Paul, writing to the early believers in Corinth, is able to proclaim:

"... thanks be to God, Who in Christ always leads us in triumph," (II Cor.2:14; emphasis added). The promise of guidance.

But perhaps the greatest promise of all, is what is referred to as "The Great Commission", given by the Lord Jesus, just before He ascended to the Father:

"All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age." (Matt.28:18-20; emphasis added).

And, of course, because these are the promises of Almighty God, we may depend upon them. They become, indeed, not merely promises (that may be broken!), but assurances! Wasn't it Albert Schweitzer who once remarked that if Jesus Christ was the Gentleman he believed Him to be, then he ought to be able to take Him at His word!? Jesus is, of course, much more than a "Gentleman"!

The promise of guidance - implicit, and explicit throughout God's own Word. But we must not forget that these promises are made to those who are, indeed, His people. Does that include you? I hope so - and I hope that you will read the next part of this little series on "Guidance".

Until next time.

The mind of God.

In his letter to the early disciples of Jesus, in Rome, the apostle Paul asks the rhetorical question: "... who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been His counselor?" (11:34; see, also, I Cor.2:16).

It would appear from newspaper reports, that the answer to that question is the pop singer, Elton John.

In yesterday's Daily Telegraph, we read his words, spoken on the Sky News' Murnaghan programme: "If Jesus Christ was alive today, I cannot see him, as the Christian person that he was [sic] and the great person that he was, saying this could not happen,"   "He was all about love and compassion and forgiveness and trying to bring people together and that is what the church should be about."

Perhaps the singer should be made aware that, whatever else he is, he is neither a theologian nor one with an understanding of either the Christian faith, or the Greek language of the New Testament!  Permit me to correct some of his erroneous assumptions:

1. Jesus was not a "Christian person".  He was born into the Jewish faith; He lived His earthly life as a Jew; He died as a Jew - indeed, the inscription that Pontius Pilate had placed on the cross read, in three languages: "Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews." (John 19:19).
2. Jesus was not merely a "great person".  He was, and is, Almighty God.
3. It is true that Jesus was "about love and compassion and forgiveness".  However, He was also about sin, and justice, and keeping God's Law.
4. That same Law, that Jesus upheld, makes it quite clear that the homosexual lifestyle adopted by Elton John is an abomination.
5. The 'love' that Jesus was "all about" is, in the Greek language of the New Testament, 'agape'.  The 'love' to which Elton John is obviously referring is the Greek word 'eros'.  The two are as different as chalk and cheese!  'Eros' is sexual love that is, as often as not, little more than physical lust.  'Agape' is the unconditional love of Almighty God - described by my own former minister, spiritual mentor, and personal friend, the late Rev George B.Duncan, as "a minimum of emotion, and a maximum of evaluation".
6. What "the church should be about" is summed up in what is known as 'the Great Commission'.  It comes from the very lips of the resurrected Jesus: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age." (Matt. 28:19-20).

Of course, Elton John is entitled to his choice of lifestyle.  He is even entitled to promote that lifestyle although, thankfully for the future of the human race, it is a miniscule percentage who allow themselves to be drawn into its perversion.  What he is not entitled to do is to claim, or even infer, that the Lord Jesus would approve of it.  The whole of the written Word of God says differently.

Elton John should also be made aware that the Jesus Whom he so readily 'uses' promised that He would return to judge the world.  On that Day, Elton John may not be smiling!