Tag Archives: Obedience

Chapter-a-Day

Chapter-a-Day Judges 11

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Molech or chemosh When [Jephtha] realized who it was, he ripped his clothes, saying, "Ah, dearest daughter—I'm dirt. I'm despicable. My heart is torn to shreds. I made a vow to God and I can't take it back!" Judges 11:35 (MSG)

The story in today's chapter is a horribly tragic event that is incredibly confusing in today's world. It's easy to walk away from the story scratching our heads and throwing our hands up in the air. Yet, God's message is like Aesop's stories. There is generally a reason the story has been told. We just have to find the clues.

The first clue is a theme that has been running throughout the book of Judges. The people of Israel have been in a continuous cycle of idolatry. Try as they may, they keep mingling God, Jehovah, with the gods and idols of the people around them. They keep falling into idolatry despite God's numero uno command in the Top Ten List of commands God gave them through Moses. At the beginning of Judges, the theme is announced and highlighted when God warns Israel not to get mixed up with foreign gods or "their gods will become a trap" (Judges 2:3).

In the midst of Jepthah's parley with the Amomnites (vss 14-27), he mentions their god, Chemosh and he sets up the battle as a clash of between Jehovah and Chemosh. Here, the second clue is revealed. One of the things scholars know about the ancient god Chemosh is that human sacrifice was used on special occasions to secure the god's favor. If bowing before idols is against the rules, then sacrificing humans to those gods is a downright abomination.

As soon as Jepthah's victory on behalf of Jehovah is complete, however, he makes a silly vow and ends up sacrificing his own daughter in a despicable, senseless act. Jepthah sacrifices his daughter to God the way the Ammonites would sacrifice someone to Chemosh (a.k.a Molech, pictured above). For all of Jepthah's high spirited talk, his actions reveal that his faith has gotten mixed up with the gods of the Ammonites. It' reminds us of what Jesus said of the people of Israel: "These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me." The moral of the story is revealed and points back to God's ominous warning at the beginning of the book: "don't get mixed up with other gods, or the consequences will be tragic."

Today, I'm thinking about the gods of this age and culture. I'm thinking about the god of sex, the god of money, the god of materialism, the god of convenience, and the god of self. I'm wondering how these gods have affected my relationship with God. How do my own actions reveal that my heart is incongruent with the words from my lips (and the words from my qwerty keyboard). 

Maybe I'm more like Jepthah than I care to admit.

Chapter-a-Day

Chapter-a-Day Judges 10

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Tom & Madison at Vikings game 111509 Then they cleaned house of the foreign gods and worshiped only God. And God took Israel's troubles to heart. Judges 10:16 (MSG)

I took my daughter to a Minnesota Vikings football game yesterday. They won the game, and we had a great time taking in the event. I was reminded, however, of a time in my childhood when I thought that it was somehow my fault whenever my favorite team lost the big game. Growing up in an era in which the Vikings lost four Super Bowls, I had plenty of opportunities to wonder what I did that made God punish me so.

I look back and shake my head at the notion. How selfish of me to think that my sins are so central to the cosmos, that a mere misstep in my ten-year-old existence would factor into the balance of power in the National Football League.

I have to admit, the book of Judges sometimes tempts me to revert back to that kind of silly thinking. There is so much time scrunched into so few verses. It feels like a constant stream of karma. The people worshiping other Gods and something bad happening. They repent and something good happens. It feels a bit like their faith is a lucky charm.

I don't think that my wrong doings make the difference in a football game. I don't believe in reducing God to a good luck charm or Santa Claus who will do whatever I want if I'm good enough. I do, however, think that my wrong doings have negative consequences. My faithfulness to God's message has positive consequences. My perpetual wrong doings have increasingly negative consequences, both spiritually and physically, for me and those around me. My obedience has increasingly positive spiritual and physical consequences (for me and those around me, but not for the Vikings).



Chapter-a-Day

Chapter-a-Day Exodus 37

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Bezalel made the chest. Bezalel made the Chest using acacia wood: He made it three and three-quarters feet long and two and a quarter feet wide and deep. Exodus 37:1 (MSG)

There is nothing more agonizing to a parent than the disobedience of a child. Whether it is out of defiance, neglect, or forgetfulness doesn't really matter. There is nothing that makes your heart sink more than when a child does not do what you ask him or her to do. And, there is a reciprocal effect when they are obedient. You're proud. You're grateful. You feel increased trust. You just want to pour out blessing on them.

As I read Exodus 37 this morning, my first impression was "this is one of those really boring chapters of God's Message that make you wonder 'why is it there?'". As I read through all that Bezalel did in making the chest, the table, the altar, and the lamp stand, it struck me that he made all the furnishings for God's Sanctuary just as he'd been instructed and just as God had prescribed. The message for me in Exodus 37 is not within the verses, but in the sum of the whole. God gave a description of how each piece of was to be made. Bezalel was obedient and crafted them just as God wanted them.

As I sit and think of my own children and what their obedience and disobedience make me feel, I'm struck by the reality that my own obedience and disobedience has affected my parents – and it affects my Father in Heaven. God has told us that he desires our obedience. I get it now more than ever.

Creative Commons photo courtesy of Flickr and ArchieMcPhee

Chapter-a-Day

Chapter-a-Day Exodus 15

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Ticker tape parade. And the people complained to Moses, "So what are we supposed to drink?" Exodus 15:24 (MSG)

Since I was a teenager I've held a number of leadership positions for groups large and small. It's always fascinating for me to watch and experience group dynamics. I've exerienced first hand how quickly you can feel a shift in the winds of popularity and approval. I can see the same thing in today's chapter.

The 15th chapter of Exodus spends 21 verses describing the victory song of the Israelites. Can you imagine how Moses must have felt as the Red Sea parted to save them, then fell in to destroy their enemies? Can you imagine the praise that was heaped on him by the people at the post-game pep rally? Even as the people praised God, they knew Moses was the man God ordained as their head coach. 

"Moses is the MAN!" "Way to go, MO!" "Mo! Mo! Mo! Mo! Mo!"

Then, three days and two verses after the most miraculous victory in recorded history, the honeymoon is over. People are thirsty and the waters of Marah weren't fit to drink. In three days Moses approval rating plummets from all time high to unforseen lows.

Crowds are fickle. Popularity is fleeting. Those who build their lives on the approval rating of their family, friends and peers will experience the life draining insanity of that roller coaster. God's words to Moses at the end of the chapter were a timely reminder for Moses, for Israel, and for us. Whether you are riding a wave of popularity or trudging through a valley of criticism, God's call is the same: Listen to me, and obey.

Creative Commons photo courtesy of Flickr and Jery McNutz

Chapter-a-Day

Chapter-a-Day Exodus 10

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Water pitcher. He said, "I'd sooner send you off with God's blessings than let you go with your children. Look, you're up to no good—it's written all over your faces. Nothing doing. Just the men are going—go ahead and worship God. That's what you want so badly." And they were thrown out of Pharaoh's presence. Exodus 10:10-11 (MSG)

There are two refillable water pitchers in our refrigerator so that there is always cold water ready and available. The rule of the house is: if you empty one of the pitchers, you go to the filtered water spicket at the sink and fill it up, then place it behind the other full pitcher so that the pitcher with cold water is readily accessible for the next person who wants water.

There is nothing more frustrating than to get to the fridge, open it and reach for the water pitcher to find that there are about two molecules of water left in the bottom. "It's not technically empty!" I can hear a teenager reasoning in the back of my head. "There's still water in it! RIGHT THERE! TWO MOLECULES RIGHT THERE AT THE BOTTOM!" (For the record, my wife would be giving me "that look" right now; the "you're such a hypocrite" look. Okay, maybe I've been guilty of leaving the water jug empty a time or two.)

The truth is that we all like to approach the rules on our own terms. There are so many examples in my life that I, like Pharaoh, have tried to set the terms of obedience with God. In my heart I'll agree to do just so much. It's not quite what God is asking, but I reason that it's part way so that should be good enough. I know God wants total obedience, but I'm sure he'll take what I'm giving because it's more than most people give. I know I'm supposed to fill the water jug when it's empty so that the next person has a full jug of water to enjoy, but it's technically not completely empty.

Silly Pharaoh. Silly me. Obedience is not negotiable.

Creative Commons photo courtesy of Flickr and Mark Strozier

Chapter-a-Day

Chapter-a-Day Exodus 7

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Yet Pharaoh was as stubborn as ever—he wouldn't listen to them, just as God had said. Exodus 7:13 (MSG)

Back when I was in college I had a boss who said that he read through the Bible every year and it was "different" every time. "Not because the Bible changed each year, but because I changed each year," he explained.

The last time I read through the book of Exodus was several years ago. Since then, I've had a lot of experiences in the corporate world and have become a business owner. So, it's interesting to read about the negotiations between Moses and Pharaoh from the perspective of workforce management. Pharaoh had good reason to be stubborn. The Hebrews were cheap labor, and as we all know the Egyptians were known for their rather over-the-top building projects. The idea of letting them take a three-day weekend would wreak havoc on national productivity. Letting them leave the country would be an economic disaster. Pharaoh's stubborn heart may have been a spiritual problem, but it also was grounded in economic and political expediency.

Obedience to God often sends us swimming against the tide of political correctness, worldly wisdom, and popular opinion.

The river of God flows upstream

Chapter-a-Day

Chapter-a-Day Exodus 4

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[Moses] said, "Oh, Master, please! Send somebody else!" Exodus 4:13 (MSG)

The most crucial tasks in life are rarely easy, and seldom do I feel confident and up to the challenge. The most crucial tasks come down to the realization that no one else is going to do it, and if it's going to be done, it's up to me to do what needs to be done.

I read through the chapters that tell the story of God calling Moses, and I'm struck by how honestly the story is told. Moses was no superhero and he certainly didn't believe in himself. In fact, Moses was reluctant to follow God, nor did he have a willing spirit.

Following God is not always an easy path. Even Jesus said the path to life is narrow, and the gate is small. Sometimes, it comes down to swallowing fear and taking that first step.