Sermon Notes: The Tabernacle as a Royal Victory Palace

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A Royal Palace

Finally, the tabernacle is a royal palace, built with the materials plundered from the defeated Egyptians (Exod 12:35-36; 25:3-7).  In this way, the tabernacle is a memorial to the King of Israel’s victory over the king of Egypt.  Like the Arc D’Triumph that marked Napoleon’s greatest victory over his enemies, or like the way victorious coaches have their names assigned to gymnasiums and stadiums, so the tabernacle (later temple) served as a marker for the way the God of Israel defeated the surrounding nations. We see this aspect in a handful of ways.

Materials

First, notice that the materials that are collected are costly, beautiful, and fitting for a king.

25:3-7. This is the contribution that you shall receive from them: gold, silver, bronze, blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen, goats’ hair, tanned rams’ skins, goatskins, acacia wood, oil for the lamps, spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense, onyx stones, & stones for setting, for the ephod &  for the breastpiece.

It is easy to miss just how expensive these materials are: First, the amount of gold, silver, and bronze is amazing. “According to [Exodus] 38:21-31 approximately one ton of gold, four tons of silver, and two-and-a-half tons of bronze were used to make the tabernacle and its furnishings” (T.D. Alexander, From Paradise to Promised Land, 195).

Next, the dyed materials—blue, purple, scarlet—were not only the garments of royalty, they too were very rare and costly.  From where the priests served, the house was absolutely breathtaking.  It was meant to be.  The God of creation who is a master-builder and magnicifient artist, has called Israel to construct a house for him that is worthy of his glory.

Ark of the Testimony  

Not only are the materials royal.  The furniture is too.  In the Holy of Holies, sits the ark of testimony.  Overlaid with gold, this is God’s throne.  This is where he sits and rules over his people.  In fact, Exodus 25:16 records, “And you shall put into the ark the testimony that I shall give you.”  The covenant laid out in Exodus 20-23 was stored in the tabernacle, affirming God’s kingship in Israel and Israel’s absolute promise to obey all God’s commands. (For an in-depth discussion of the relationship between the covenant and the house of God, see Meredith Kline, The Structure of Biblical Authority).  Interestingly then, when Israel later rebelled against God, one of the greatest signs of his judgment was the destruction of the temple.

Moreover, in the New Testament, when the temple veil was torn, this was not only a picture of the access that New Testament believers have (Heb 10:19-25), it was a picture of God’s royal judgment upon Israel for their failure to keep covenant.

A Hint from ANE

Last, the pagan world surrounding Israel gives an interpretive context (by common grace) for understanding what the building of a temple signifies.  Jeffrey Niehaus makes this point very well in his book, Ancient Near Eastern Themes in Biblical Theology. In the Ancient Near East, like with Napoleon’s arch, temples were built at the end of military campaigns.  Niehaus records the words of one particular Egyptian leader,

[Ra] begat me to do that which he did, to execute that which he command me to do… I will make a work, namely, a great house [a temple], For my father Atum [Pharaoh].  He will make it broad, according as he has caused me to conquer (90).

We find this same pattern is in Scripture. In Exodus, God saves Israel out of Egypt, and has them build a victory palace.  In Samuel and Kings, God gives David the victory over the enemies of God, and he desires to build a house for God.  While God does not permit David to build God a house, his son Solomon does with the pattern revealed to David (1 Chronicles 28).  Then in the New Testament, Jesus comes promising to build a house for the name of the Lord one that the gates of hell cannot defeat (Matt 16:18).  What is he doing?  He is building a victory temple.  Consider Paul’s flow of thought in Ephesians 2, where he concludes,

Ephesians 2:19-22. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. (See my exegetical paper on Ephesians 2 for a more thorough explanation).

This is the message of Scripture: God who created a cosmic temple in which to dwell, set man in Eden in order to expand all over the earth.  Man sinned, and ruined that plan.  But God has sent a Second Adam to come and finish what Adam failed to do.

He has redeemed a people and he is now building a place.  And the question we must ask ourselves is this: Is that our story and our hope? Are you a living stone affixed in his temple, or are you trying to build your own–a house for your own name?  Are you worshiping the hero of God’s epic story who is building his victory memorial, or are you trying to create your own epic?  Rest assured, if you are looking to win the victory for yourself, you will lose out in the end.

Rather than finding joy in our own earthly successes, we must find joy in the promise of dwelling forever with the God of heaven.  We must cry with the Psalmist,

How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD of hosts! My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the LORD; my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God. Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, at your altars, O LORD of hosts, my King and my God. Blessed are those who dwell in your house, ever singing your praise! (Ps 84)

May that such longing for God’s dwelling place rule our hearts and govern our hopes!

Soli Deo Gloria, dss

Sermon Notes: The Tabernacle as God’s Meeting Place

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A Tent of Meeting

The holiness of God in his sanctuary is matched by the plan for God to meet with his people at the tabernacle.  Now to avoid confusion, it should be said that later, in Exodus 33:7-11 to be exact, there will be a tent constructed that is called the “tent of meeting.”  This is not the same thing as the tabernacle.  This is a temporary meeting place where Moses met with God, but this was only to last until the tabernacle was constructed.  Still, the purpose was the same—to meet with God.

In Exodus 25, there are two verses that make this meeting place explicit.

25:8. And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst.

25:22. There I will meet with you, and from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim that are on the ark of the testimony, I will speak with you about all that I will give you in commandment for the people of Israel.

While the meeting place plays a significant role in the life of Israel, it also helps Christians today to understand the kind of relationship that we have with God in and through Jesus Christ.  Let us notice three ways that the tabernacle in Exodus foreshadows Christ–the true tent of meeting.

Jesus is the True Tabernacle

That God instructs Moses to build this tabernacle foreshadows God’s loving desire to meet with rebellious humanity.  In this way, the tabernacle is an incredible source of encouragement.  God who dwells in heaven, has moved heaven and earth to reach down to us.  When we could not get up to him; he climbed down the ladder to get to us.

John sees this tabernacling impulse of God in Jesus Christ.  John 1:14, “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us… full of grace and truth.”  The word for “dwelt” is literally “tabernacled.”  In Jesus, we have a greater tabernacle, one made without human hands, in which the fullness of God dwells bodily (Col 2:9). Likewise, John says that Jesus is full of grace and truth, which also references Exodus, for in chapter 34, God “appears” to Moses and describes himself as a God as “abounding in steadfast love (grace) and faithfulness (truth).” 

When we read about the tabernacle, we cannot comprehend fully its significance without seeing that it is the shadow of the substance of Jesus Christ.  Yet, in the tabernacle, we don’t just have a general connection between the tabernacle and Christ, it also gets more specific.

The Incarnation

In Exodus 25, there are three kinds of furniture.  In verses 25:10-22, Moses receives directions for constructing the ark of the covenant.  In verses 23-30, a blueprint for the table for the bread of the presence is given; and in verses 31-40, the golden lampstand, otherwise known as a Menora is given.  Each are covered with gold and placed inside the residence of God.  Now while the gold speaks of the value and worth of the deity who inhabits this home, the three pieces of furniture—a seat, a table, and a light—were the common furnishing of the ancient Israelite.

When God comes to dwell with Israel, he assumes the same humble residence as those in the wilderness.  Though not incarnation in the New Testament sense of the term, this is a kind of incarnation that prepares the way for the true Immanuel.  His gracious condescension meets us where we are, and he becomes just like us.  He is not just a God transcendent.  He is a God close, personal, and as near as the hearing of his word.

We see the incarnation in another way as well.  On the inside of the tabernacle are beautiful colors—scarlet, blue, and purple.  Everything is covered in gold.  It shines forth the glory of God.  Yet, from the outside, the temple is drab.  The beautiful garments on the inside are covered by the black curtains of goats hair.  While the light burns eternal inside the tabernacle, all outside is dark.

Again this teaches us much about the life and ministry of Christ.  When he came to the earth, he did not come in power, glory, or beauty.  Rather, he became a common carpenter.  If you saw him in a crowd, he would not have had a radiant glow or a halo over his head.  He was plain and common.  He was human.  So common was his appearance that Isaiah can say, “He had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should rejoice him” (53:2).

This is the antithesis of our culture and the world at large.  In our world, image really is everything.  Have you ever see an ugly person on the news?  What about on the cover of a magazine?  On TV?  We are a culture who has confused glamour for beauty.  I would go so far as to say that we know little of  what true beauty is.  The tabernacle is a corrective for this.  God’s dwelling with humanity is beautiful.  Yet, from an earthly point of view it is unimpressive.  Such is the wisdom of God.

Atonement  

Not only does the tabernacle point us to Christ’s incarnation, it also foreshadows and explains his atonement.  We see this in the altar and the mercyseat.

The Bronze Altar.  Standing in the center of the courtyard, the priests could not enter the tabernacle without passing this giant altar.  As T.D. Alexander describes it, “this altar dominated the area in front of the tabernacle; it was half the width of the tabernacle (2.5 metres) and over 4 feet high” (T.D. Alexander, From Paradise to Promised Land, 200). It was constantly burning with sacrifices, and as Hebrews picks it up, it teaches us how much more valuable Christ’s New Covenant sacrifice was than all the sacrifices of the Old Covenant.

We have an altar from which those who serve the tent have no right to eat. For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy places by the high priest as a sacrifice for sin are burned outside the camp. So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood (Heb 13:10-12).

The Mercy Seat.  In addition to the altar that stands outside the tabernacle, there is the mercy seat that rests inside God’s inner chamber.  It was here that God dwelled, and significantly it was a place where mercy might be found.  Though a series of purification rituals were needed for the priest to come into the most holy place once a year on the day of atonement, it was nonetheless a place of mercy and grace in time of need (cf. Heb 4:14-16).

Significantly, the name “mercy seat” is translated in Greek by the word, hilasterion, which is the word translated in English as “expiation,” “propitiation,” or “atoning sacrifice” (see Graham Cole for an up to date, careful, and evangelical reading of hilasterion in the New Testament in his God the Peacemaker).  That the the mercy seat is the place where God’s wrath is removed and replaced with his favor is significant; more significant however, is the way in which that propitiation is procured.  It is by the blood of the lamb that is sprinkled on the throne of God.  In the Old Covenant, this atoning sacrifice permitted God’s people to dwell in his presence.  It protected Israel in the flesh from God’s anger breaking out on those in the camp.  However, in the New Covenant, Christ’s sacrifice does not merely atone for the flesh; it purifies the conscience as well.  Moreover, it is not applied to a shadowy tabernacle on earth; iti is applied to the heavenly altar in the throne room of God.  Thus, his sacrifice is far superior and finally efficacious.

Thus we conclude today with the statement in Hebrews 9:12-14, that depends heavily on sacrificial system established in Exodus.

[Christ] entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh,how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.
Soli Deo Gloria, dss

Sermon Notes: The Tabernacle as a Holy Abode

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Yesterday, we considered how the tabernacle served as a typological model meant to instruct Israel and us about God’s world, God’s plans for salvation, and what it means for the Creator to dwell with his redeemed creation.  Today, we will look at the way  God’s house is a holy abode.

In Exodus 25:8, Moses records God’s statement, “Let them make me a sanctuary…”  The word here means holy place.  Everything about the house of God is intended to stress his holiness.  From the arrangement of the curtains to the selection of the building materials, everything about the tabernacle shows how closer proximity to the holy of holies demands increased purity and holiness.

Holy of Holies, Holy Place, and Courtyard

The first thing that shows the holiness of God is the floor plan of the tabernacle, along with the series of curtains that separated Israel from God.  Exodus 26 explains these dimensions. So that looking down on the tabernacle, you can see a courtyard 150 feet long, 75 feet wide.  This courtyard was surrounded by a fence (7.5 feet high).  The gate was on the East (like the garden of Eden), and upon entering the courtyard, the Levites would be confronted with a massive bronze altar (7.5 ft wide, 4.5 feet high) and a bronze basin for washings.  Describing this holy space, T.D. Alexander writes,

Separated from the rest of the Israelite encampment, the courtyard was set apart as a holy area; only the tabernacle, in which God dwelt, was considered to be more sacred… Just as Moses set a boundary around Mount Sinai to prevent the people from coming into the divine presence (19:12-13, 21-24), so the courtyard fence prevented them from approaching God inadvertently… Without the courtyard buffer zone, it would have been impossible for [Israel] to dwell in safety close to the Lord (T.D. Alexander, From Paradise to Promised Land, 197).

So at the first-level, God’s holiness is seen in the separation between the priests and the people.  Next we come to the tabernacle, itself. At the end of the courtyard was the house of God.  In it were two sections—the holy place and the most holy place.  Again these correspond to the pattern on the mountain, and the pattern of access typified in Exodus 24.  When Moses met with Israel, the people remained in the camp, the priests came half-way up the mountain, and Moses alone entered the cloud (24:1-2).  

The Screen and the Veil

Next, we see how the screen and the veil add to the idea that God’s presence is separate from man.  Exodus 26:31-37 reports,

 Then you shall erect the tabernacle according to the plan for it that you were shown on the mountain. “And you shall make a veil of blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen. It shall be made with cherubim skillfully worked into it. And you shall hang it on four pillars of acacia overlaid with gold, with hooks of gold, on four bases of silver. And you shall hang the veil from the clasps, and bring the ark of the testimony in there within the veil. And the veil shall separate for you the Holy Place from the Most Holy. You shall put the mercy seat on the ark of the testimony in the Most Holy Place. And you shall set the table outside the veil, and the lampstand on the south side of the tabernacle opposite the table, and you shall put the table on the north side. You shall make a screen for the entrance of the tent, of blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen, embroidered with needlework. And you shall make for the screen 5 pillars of acacia, and overlay them with gold. Their hooks shall be of gold, you shall cast 5 bases of bronze for them.

When we unpack this passage, the holiness of God’s dwelling space is stressed by the screen that separates the courtyard from the Holy place in verse 36, as well as, the veil that separates the holy of holies from the holy place.  On the veil that protects the most holy place, there are cherubim—angelic beings who live to praise God around his throne.  These are not on the screen.  The difference between the veil and the screen is one more evidence, that approach to God’s throne room should not be taken lightly.

Gold, Silver, and Bronze

Likewise, as you move towards God’s dwelling place, the value of the materials changes.  Notice, the fence at the outside has silver hooks (on top) and brass bases; the screen has gold hooks and brass bases, and the veil has gold hooks and silver bases.  It is also worth nothing that because of these bases, the curtains of the  tabernacle don’t really touch the ground—again this stresses the holiness of God’s dwelling place, and by extension, the holiness of God. 

What might we learn from all this?

It is worth asking at this point, what are the implications of this holy space.  Let me suggest two things.

First, God dwells in unapproachable holiness, and we as covenant-breaking sinners  do not have natural access to him.  Truthfully, I wish someone would have told this to me when I was 17.  Wrongly, I had the impression that because God was a loving father, he was pleased with me and happy for me to come to him.  The tabernacle says otherwise.  God is pleased with absolute holiness.  This doesn’t change in the New Testament, either.  Jesus says that we must be perfect (Matt 5:48); Hebrews declares, without holiness, no one will see the Lord (12:14).

God’s unapproachable holiness has points of access.  At the same time that God’s dwelling place shouts “Holy, Holy, Holy!” It also promises gracious access.  Notice that in the fence there is gate.  In the screen there is an opening.  And in veil there is a way to enter.  What does this teach us about God?  Simply this: We cannot come to him on our own terms or in our own names, but through priestly mediation and a system of sacrifice, God has made a way to come behind the veil.

More specifically, from the people of Israel, there is a chosen people—the Levites—who can enter the courtyard.  In the courtyard, there is an altar to make burnt offerings, sin offerings, and peace offerings; as well as, a basin for cleansing.  These make possible access into the holy place.

Moreover, there is Exodus 28-29 a designated high priest  who will go before the LORD once a year in order to make atonement for Israel (Leviticus 16).  In all this, God reveals that he does not relax his holy standards, but neither does he leave his people to perish under the weight of his law.  He is terrifyingly pure but also unfathomably tender.

Bringing this forward, the tabernacle prepares the way for Jesus Christ, our superior access.  He is the the way, the gate, the door to the Father.  Jesus who is as pure and holy as the inner chamber of the tabernacle comes outside of the courtyard, into the polluted world, and makes clean not only the Levites.  He comes and makes clean people from every tongue, tribe, language, and nation, such that Revelation 5:9-10, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.”

Praise God for his perfect provision of a way into his inner chamber.  May his tabernacle–in shadow and substance–teach us afresh of God’s sublime holiness and boundless grace.

Soli Deo Gloria, dss

Sermon Notes: The Tabernacle as a Typological Model

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When we think about the tabernacle, the first thing to realize is that it is more than meets the eye.  In other words, the tabernacle is built to show off theological, cosmological, and Christological truths–just to name a few.  Today, lets consider a couple of these things. 

1. A Portable Mountain of God

First up, the tabernacle’s three sections—the courtyard where the people would bring sacrifices, the holy place (the first section in the tabernacle) where the priests would work, and the holy of holies where the high priest would enter once a year on the Day of Atonement, all correspond to the pattern that Moses saw on the mountain.  A few verses prove this:

25:8-9.  And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst.  Exactly as I show you concerning the pattern of the tabernacle, and of all its furniture, so you shall make it.

25:40.  And see that you make them [Mercy Seat, Table, Golden Lampstand] after the pattern for them, which is being shown you on the mountain.

 26:30. Then you shall erect the tabernacle according to the plan for it that you were shown on the mountain. (cf. The Bronze Altar, 27:8)

 God gives Moses a vision and instruction of this tabernacle, so that Israel can see beyond it to the throne room of God—remember, most of the people never went inside, so this information has a curb appeal because of the mysterious of God’s tent.

2. The Cosmos

Second, in general and in detial, the tabernacle which is God’s earthly dwelling place with Israel is simultaneously constructed in a way that represents all creation.  Gregory Beale has proven this thesis in his book, The Temple and the Church’s Mission: A Biblical Theology of the Dwelling Place of God.  More succinctly, T. D. Alexander has followed Beale with his more popular treatment, From Eden to New Jerusalem: An Introduction to Biblical Theology. For our consideration, let me mention a couple verses. 

Ps 78:69.  He built his sanctuary like the high heavens, like the earth, which he has founded forever.  Clearly, this proves in a single verse the connection between the tabernacle and the construction of the universe. However, you will also find in Scripture those places where Scripture describes the reverse–the universe is God’s macrocosmic temple.

Psalm 104:1-6.  Bless the LORD, O my soul! O LORD my God, you are very great! You are clothed with splendor and majesty, covering yourself with light as with a garment, stretching out the heavens like a tent. He lays the beams of his chambers on the waters; he makes the clouds his chariot; he rides on the wings of the wind; he makes his messengers winds, his ministers a flaming fire. He set the earth on its foundations, so that it should never be moved. You covered it with the deep as with a garment; the waters stood above the mountains.

 The significance of this microcosmic-macrocosmic temple is simply that what God does in Israel has cosmic significance.  God’s goal is much larger than a singular sanctuary in the Middle East; it prepares the way for Christ and the garden-temple that is revealed in Revelation 21-22.

3. Eden

Not only is Moses given a vision of God’s mountain throne and the cosmos which he upholds, what we learn in the construction of this tabernacle is the way it points back to Eden.  Notice a couple of connections.

  1. Gold in the tabernacle goes back to the gold that existed in Eden (Gen 2:11-12; Exodus 25:7, 11, 17, 31; cf. 1 Kings 6:30)
  2. The Menorah points back to tree of life (Gen 2:9; 3:22; Exod 25:31-35); the bread of God’s presence corresponds to the food provided by God in the garden (Gen 2:17).
  3. Angels embroidered on the Veil reflects the angel who dwelt outside Eden (Gen 3:24).
  4. That God would dwell and even walk in the midst of Israel is Eden-like (Gen 3:8; 26:12).

Significance

Now the question arises: Why does this matter?  Let me suggest two reasons.

Typology.  Each of its elements is meant to represent something else—it is like a giant object lesson for Israel and for us.  In fact, verse 40, which is quoted in Hebrews 8:5, actually uses the word “type” (typon, LXX). Thus, to understand the furniture of Exodus 25 and the tabernacle itself (26), courtyard (27), we must appreciate its symbolism and typology. (We will explore this more in the days ahead.

Telos.  Since the purpose of the tabernacle is typological, it is also eschatological.  It does point back to Eden, but even more it points ahead to a permanent rest in the land.  This is prefigured in Israel’s entrance into Canaan, but even more it foreshadows the work of Christ and the dwelling he promises in the age to come.

Thus, if you know the Bible well, you know Rev 21:22 says that in the end there will be no temple in the city, but that doesn’t deny an eternal cosmic temple.  What is a temple, but the dwelling place of God.  And what Revelation teaches is that at the end of the age the God who dwells in heaven, will again dwell with man on earth; and not just in one box-shaped tabernacle.  All creation will be his dwelling place.  The glory of God will cover the earth.

Revelation 21:16 makes this so clear in the light of Exodus 25-40.  John records that the city of God that comes down from heaven is 12,000 stadia (1380 miles) in length, width, and height.  It is a perfect cube–just like the holy of holies.

So to understand Revelation 21, we must read it with Exodus 26, and what we see is that at the end of the age, the whole earth will be as holy as the holy of holies.  So the goal of God is not a 15x15x15 golden box in Israel.  His goal is a perfect, purified world where he dwells with his redeemed.  This is what Exodus teaches us.

It beckons for a temple not made with human hands, even as it is given to Moses for the construction with human hands.  Exodus points beyond itself and leads us to see that Jesus is the builder of this better tabernacle, and if we care at all about what God has done in Christ and/or is doing, we must see look carefully at the details of the tabernacle.

May God give us eyes to see his design in this ancient tabernacle and hearts that long for the temple that is to come!

Soli Deo Gloria, dss

From Zoloft to Zion: Why Your Sadness Might Be Your Salvation

/ davidsschrock

[This article originally featured in our hometown newspaper, The Seymour Tribune]

Do you remember the Zoloft commercials?  They were the anti-depressant ads that featured a cute little cartoon blob, experiencing the emotional transformation that Zoloft promised millions of Americans.

At the ad’s conclusion, they quipped “When you know more about what is wrong, you can make it right.”  That is a true statement.  You cannot offer a solution without properly diagnosing the problem.  But it presupposes that sadness is wrong.  But what if it isn’t?  What if sadness is exactly right, and it tells us that something else is wrong?  Like a fever that indicates the body is fighting something, might not sadness be an emotional equivalent?

In our country, most people probably don’t think so.  Ten billion dollars is spent on Zoloft, Cymbalta, and other products every year.  In effect, freedom from sadness seems like a constitutional right.  Yet, the Bible has a different take on sadness.

In Jeremiah, the weeping prophet records Israel’s sadness.  He writes, “Judah mourns, and her gates languish; her people lament on the ground, and the cry of Jerusalem goes up” (Jer 14:2).  But apparently, this intense sorrow is not the result of a chemical imbalance.  It is the result of sin.  God has caused his people to suffer grief, so that they might return to him.

For God, sadness is meant to lead us in search of a Savior.  It is not simply a bodily disease to be medicated; it is a condition of the soul that cries out for help.  Such inward longings are not abnormal.  Rather, in a world ravaged by sin and death, sadness is ultra-normal.  Moreover, the Bible commends contrition and makes great promises to those who are sad. 

Isaiah 57:15 says, “I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite.”  Psalm 34:18 promises, “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted
and saves the crushed in spirit.” Psalm 51:17 too, “a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.”  Jesus words concur.  “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.”  

Friend, if you are plagued with sorrow and inexplicable sadness, there is great hope! The gospel is not for shiny, happy people.  It is for downtrodden, discouraged souls.  And it promises that for all who find Christ, they will find in him fullness of joy and pleasures evermore (Ps 16:11).  The next time you are sad, don’t run from your sadness.  Run to your Savior!

Soli Deo Gloria, dss

Ten Cultural Christs

/ davidsschrock / 4 Comments

Jesus asked Peter in Matthew 16:13 the most important question in the Bible when he queried, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”  How we answer that question is of eternal importance.  Sadly, many “Christians” today would have trouble defining who Jesus is because Jesus has been co-opted to promote so many different agendas.

Indeed as Stephen Nichols shows in his fascinating cultural study, Jesus Made in America, Jesus has become a commodity in the United States where he helps candidates gain voters and Hollywood sell movies.

Accordingly, in addition to presenting a positive view of Jesus when we teach the doctrine of Christ–as I begin to do tonight–it is just as important to show false Christs that have garnished favor in our Christian sub-culture.

What follows are ten “Cultural Christs” that are intentionally caricatured to highlight the false ways Christ has been portrayed.  There are surely others.  I would love to hear if you think these could be improved or added to.

Here we go…

  1.  The Therapeutic Jesus… soft & soothing, helps you improve your self-esteem thru positive-thinking
    Followers of this view minimize sin and treat religion as a pick-me-up to get through the week.
    Motto: You can have your best life. (Big Smile)
  2. The Life Coach Jesus…will give you the tips and tools to succeed in whatever you do.
    Followers go to Jesus for personal interest—CEO Jesus, Touchdown Jesus, Matchmaker Jesus
    Motto: I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Phil 4:13)
  3. The Mr. Rogers Jesus… loves kids, morality, and helping you do the right thing.
    Followers go to church, do good, vote values, and help their neighbors.
    Motto: Won’t You Be My Neighbor?
  4. The Warrior Jesus… is uber-macho and can be confused with William Wallace or Jack Bauer.
    Followers (male) rage against feminized pictures of Jesus, mistake ‘manliness’ with godliness.
    Motto: My Jesus Can Kick Your Jesus Butt.
  5. The Social Gospel Jesus… improves society through increasing social justice and meeting needs.
    Muting the gospel, these followers build houses, feed the poor, and fight AIDS for Jesus.
    Motto: Preach the Gospel and if necessary use words.
  6. The Politico Jesus… promotes idealistic activism, and it comes in two varieties.
    Riding an elephant, he fights against tax hikes, abortion clinics, and for prayer in schools.
    Riding a donkey, he promotes care for the environment and equal rights.
    Motto: God Bless the United States of America.
  7. The Wristband Jesus… becomes a Christian talisman. The presence of Jesus junk fights sin.
    Followers adorn themselves with Christian paraphernalia and focus on living life for Jesus.
    Motto: What Would Jesus Do?
  8. The Rock Band Jesus… builds his church with fun activities and cool music.Followers live for Christian concerts, camps, and other lively events.
    Motto: Jesus rocks!
  9. The WordPress Jesus…is hyper-orthodox and fights against theological error.
    Followers love reading books, debating theology, and publishing rants online.
    Motto: Love the Lord your God with all your MIND.
  10. The Love Wins Jesus… rejects intolerant religionists and just loves everybody for who they are.
    Followers question authority, objective truth, judgment, and institutional religion, but love open-mindedness.
    Motto: God is love; everything is Spiritual.
In each of these caricatures there are elements of truth, but often truth out of proportion or in need of other qualifying biblical dimensions.  Most importantly though, each of these false christs fails to keep Jesus in the biblical storyline.  It highjacks Jesus for the needs of some other cause and puts him in a story that is not God’s story.  Thus, in order to rightly understand who Jesus is as the Christ, the Son of the Living God, we are again pressed to return to the Scriptures and mine out who he is from Genesis to Revelation. This is the task of the pastor, the Bible teacher, and every Bible-believing Christian.
May God give us illumination as we see Christ in Scripture and may he show us how our culture has shaped our views of Jesus, so that we might have a more clear view of who he is, because as we see him, so we become like him (1 John 3:2).
Soli Deo Gloria, dss

God is a Wise Lover: A Helpful Illustration from R. L. Dabney on the Wisdom and Benevolence of God

/ davidsschrock

In his Systematic Theology, 19th C. theologian, R.L. Dabney, provides two helpful illustrations explaining how our infinitely good God can at times, for reasons left unknown to us, constrain the excellencies of his love for purposes of greater good. In the first illustration, he writes,

“For instance a philanthropic man meets a distressed and destitute person. The good man is distinctly conscious in himself of a movement of sympathy tending towards a volition to give the sufferer money. But he remembers that he has expressly promised all the money now in his possession, to be paid this very day to a just creditor. The good man bethinks himself, that he “ought to be just before he is generous,” and conscience and wisdom counterpoise the impulse of sympathy; so that it does not form the deliberate volition to give alms. But the sympathy exists, and it is not inconsistent to give other expression to it. We must not ascribe to that God whose omniscience is, from eternity, one infinite, all embracing intuition, and whose volition is as eternal as His being, any expenditure of time in any process of deliberation, nor any temporary hesitancy or uncertainty, nor any agitating struggle of feeling against feeling. But there must be a residuum of meaning in the Scripture representations of His affections, after we have guarded ourselves duly against the anthropopathic forms of their expression.

Hence, we ought to believe, that in some ineffable way, God’s volition, seeing they are supremely wise, and profound, and right, do have that relation to all His subjective motives, digested by wisdom and holiness into the consistent combination, the finite counterpart of which constitutes the rightness and wisdom of human volition. I claim, while exercising the diffidence proper to so sacred a matter, that this conclusion bears us out at least so far. That, as in a wise man, so much more in a wise God, His volition, or express purpose, is the result of a digest, not of one, but of all the principles and considerations bearing on the case. Hence it follows, that there may be in God an active principle felt by Him and yet not expressed in His executive volition in a given case, because counterpoised by other elements of motive, which His holy omniscience judges ought to be prevalent.”[1]

In this way, Dabney offers a plausible explanation of the way God’s manifold perfections may check his omnipotent love.  Some may revolt at such a display of God, but I think it preserves God’s unfathomable wisdom, his holy nature, and his absolute deity, that is over and above our own understanding.
God is God and we worship him truly only when we marvel at the depth of riches, wisdom, and knowledge.  As Paul exclaimed,
“Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor? Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?  For from him and through him and to him are all things.  To him be glory forever. Amen” (Rom 11:34-36).
Soli Deo Gloria, dss

[1] R.L. Dabney, Systematic Theology (1878; reprint: Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1985), 530.

A History Lesson on Hyper-Calvinism

/ davidsschrock / 1 Comment

In 2006, Ergun Caner preached a message called “Why I am Predestined not to be a Hyper-Calvinist!”  His message at the Thomas Road Baptist Church confused the differences between Calvinism and Hyper-Calvinism, and finished with a deplorable illustration where Caner suggested that in heaven he would stand up and declare the rightness of his views.

For the record, in heaven, Calvinist-Arminian debates will be over and only One Person who will be standing, and it won’t be Ergun Caner.  Everyone, including Liberty’s former dean, will be bowing to the One who is the Lamb that was slain for peoples from all nations, and Christians from all soteriological persuasions.

Nevertheless, Caner’s polemical message is just one of many places where Hyper-Calvinism is confused with Calvinism, a term that Carl Truman has more recently suggested is “profoundly unhelpful” (see his article on the subject, “Calvin and Calvinism“).  It seems that more often than not, when someone denigrates Calvinism, they do so by confusing it with many of the tenets of Hyper-Calvinism.

A bit of historical clarification is in order–especially, if we care about the Golden Rule and loving others enough to understand their position.

Thus, enter Kevin DeYoung and Peter Toon. This week, DeYoung, a Michigan pastor, has proffered a brief explanation of the difference between Hyper-Calvinists and those who take seriously the Reformed doctrines of grace.  He points to Peter Toon’s book,  The Emergence of Hyper-Calvinism in English Nonconformity 1689-1765, as a helpful though dense book on the matter, and he shows a number of ways that well-intentioned but errant men slipped from the warm, evangelical Reformed Orthodoxy to the anti-evangelistic notions of Hyper-Calvinism.

DeYoung quotes Toon at length to spell out the greatest differences:

[Hyper-Calvinism] was a system of theology, or a system of the doctrines of God, man and grace, which was framed to exalt and honour and glory of God and did so at the expense of minimising the moral and spiritual responsibility of sinners to God. It places excessive emphasis on the immanent acts of God–eternal justification, eternal adoption and the eternal covenant of grace. In practice, this meant that “Christ and Him crucified”, the central message of the apostles, was obscured.

It also often made no distinction between the secret and the revealed will of God, and tried to deduce the duty of men from what it taught concerning the secret, eternal decrees of God.

Excessive emphasis was also placed on the doctrine of irresistible grace with the tendency to state that an elect man is not only passive in regeneration but also in conversion as well. The absorbing interest in the eternal, immanent acts of God and in irresistible grace led to the notion that grace must only be offered to those for whom it was intended.

Finally, a valid assurance of salvation was seen as consisting in an inner feeling and conviction of being eternally elected by God. So Hyper-Calvinism led its adherents to hold that evangelism was not necessary and to place much emphasis on introspection in order to discover whether or not one was elect. (144-45)

According to such views, most Reformed thinkers today are far, far removed from Hyper-Calvinism.  In fact, the most articulate defenders of the doctrines of grace are often the greatest champions for biblical missions and evangelism–just read Let the Nations Be Glad.  

For those who have thought much on this matter, or read blogs or books on the subject, it is often the case that there is more heat than light, and that often titles and terms are misused.  Toon’s explanation and DeYoung’s synthesis, however, provide a helpful distinction between these two historical movements in Church History.

For believers on both sides of the theological fence, rightly understanding the difference between Reformed Theology and Hyper-Calvinism is imperative for rightly dividing the Word of Truth and protecting the church from unnecessary division caused by pejorative labels and misrepresentation.

For those who have ears to hear, DeYoung’s thoughtful blog post, “The What and Why of Hyper-Calvinism” provides much help in discerning truth from error, and recognizing the difference between Hyper-Calvinists and the seriously Reformed.   It is vital reading for anyone thinking on these things.

Soli Deo Gloria, dss

 

Holy War in the Bible: Before, During, and After the Battle

/ davidsschrock

Exodus 15 is the first of many accounts in the Bible of “Holy War,” where God himself is the Divine Warrior.  Explicitly in Exodus 15:3, we learn that God is called “a man of warrior” or “a warrior,” however, this is just the tip of the iceberg.  The Bible, both the Old and New Testaments, is filled with imagery devoted to this theme of God as warrior.

Tremper Longman and Daniel Reid both completed independent studies on this theme in 1982, and came together in 1995, to provide a comprehensive review of this biblical motif in their book God is a Warrior.  In the historical narratives and legal books of the Old Testament they show a consistent pattern of God’s activity before, during, and after these holy battles.  They are worth outlining to help us see the variegated uniformity by which God “warred” for Israel.

Before the Battle

Seeking God’s Will: Before the battle, God made known his will to his people and their leaders.  In Joshua 5:13-15, the commander of the army of the LORD appeared to Joshua and instructed in God’s battle plan for defeating Jericho.  Likewise, in 1 Samuel 23:1-6, David inquires of the Lord to discern his military movements regarding Keilah and the Philistine army.  By contrast, Israel fails to inquire of the Lord in Joshua 9 when they encountered the deceitful Gibeons.  Consequently, Israel fails to defeat this nation.

Spiritual Preparation: Sacrifice is an important act of preparation before going to war.  This is evident in 1 Samuel 13 when Saul fails to wait upon Samuel to come and offer sacrifices to the Lord.  Saul’s sacrifice is illicit not because of the occasion or the act, but because of the person offering it.  Likewise, in Joshua 3-5, Israel consecrates itself before going to war with Jericho (3:5).  Moreover, Uriah the Hittite is shown to be more spiritually-minded than David when he refuses to go home and have relations with his wife.  As a man dedicated unto holy war, Uriah refused to subject himself to uncleanness (see Lev 15:16-18 for explanation).  Instead, he was maintaining purity for holy war—unlike his royal betrayer, David.

Ritual Cleanness: Holy war also esteems two ostensibly mundane laws in Deuteronomy.  Because God as Divine Warrior encamps with Israel, the people of Israel are forbidden to defecate in the camp and they must purify themselves if they have a nocturnal emission (23:9-14).

In all of these ways, we learn how God is leading the people of Israel into battle.  But his instructions are not only for preparations leading up to holy war.  He also fights with the people of Israel.

During the Battle 

Numbers and Weapons Technology:  In Israel’s history, God often sets them in disadvantageous places, in order to display his power.  Israel flees (and fights) Egypt with no weapons.  God reduces Gideon’s army from thirty-two thousand to three-hundred.  In the battle between David and Goliath, we again see how the Lord fights for his people despite their weakness.  Only for a short period of time in Israel’s history (e.g. the United Kingdom) does Israel have great military might.  In all other periods, Israel is the underdog who is defended by the Lord.

The March: God’s word gave great instructions on how Israel was to march.  They were broken into ranks just like an army.  Numbers counts the number of military men, demonstrating that Israel was primarily depicted as a warring nation.  They were the army of the Lord.  He dwelt in their midst.  He dwelt in the center of the their military campground.  And he traveled with in the midst of Israel’s battalion.

The Ark:  Central to the military nature of God’s dwelling with Israel was the way that the ark was incorported in warfare.  The ark was the “mobile symbol of God’s presence” (40).  Wherever Israel went, it went.  It was carried into battle and was presumably present in all military campaigns, even though it is not uniformly mentioned in all accounts.  For a time it was even lost because of its (wrongful) use in battle.

The Combatants:  The combatants at YHWH’s disposal were his angelic host, as seen in the incident with the Syrian army in  2 Kings 6, and the natural elements of creation.  In Exodus 14, Joshua 10, and Judges 5, creation fights for YHWH.  Furthermore, in the prophets, God’s word depicts creation withering under the oppressive judgment of God (cf. Nah 1:2-6; Hab 3:8).

After the Battle

Praise: Finally, we see in God’s holy war, a pattern of praise.  After the Red Sea crossing (Exod 15:1-21), Moses records a song of praise for God’s victory over Egypt.  Again, in Judges 5, the song of Deborah resounds with praise for God who liberated Israel from their oppressors.  Interestingly, the command to sing a “new song” seems to be a technical term for new divine victories.  As it is used in Isaiah, Psalms, and Revelation it calls God’s liberated saints to praise him for his victorious salvation.

Plunder: In addition to praise, there is plunder.  God receives the spoils of war, and anyone who wrongfully takes away God’s spoils is subject to lethal punishment (e.g. Achan in Joshua 7).  Yet, God often in other instances takes the spoils of war and shares them with his people.  To the victor, goes the spoils and while these spoils are always dedicated unto the Lord and sometimes off limits to his people.  In his generosity, he often shares his plunder with his people.  Sadly, in the case of Achan, his stolen booty is a premature grasp at what God was going to give to his people in just a few short days (see Josh 8:27).

This chronological pattern is a helpful way to think about warfare in the Bible.  It shows that warfare is not an accidental or tangential idea, but rather it is at the very heart of what God is doing with his people Israel.  Moreover, it functions typologically to help us see the way in which Jesus Christ, himself, is a divine warrior, one whose entire life consecrated him for battle.  His death on the cross was the battle where God was with him (Immanuel) even as the wrath of God was poured out upon him.  And finally, his death achieved the plunder and praise.  In other words, the three phases laid out by Longman and Reid helpfully display the glory of Christ’s own holy war.

It is worth our time to consider the violent acts of war in the Old Testament because they set the stage for the peace-making work of Jesus Christ on the cross–a peace-making achieved through bloodshed.  Indeed, the beauty of the gospel radiates from the fact that Christ has made peace with sinners by once and for all defeating all the forces and factors that separated man from God.  Through his penal substitution he canceled the effect of the law, he paid the penalty for sin, and he defeated Satan, the great enemy of God and his people.  His is a victory over sin and Satan, and for that we will forever sing a New Song unto the Lord.

Soli Deo Gloria, dss

What do you do on Thursday evenings?

/ davidsschrock

[This article was originally featured in our hometown newspaper, The Seymour Tribune under the title “Mother’s Lessons Key in Founding of Church.”  For clarification: This article is for parents and especially mothers, encouraging them to redeem the time wisely and to invest their lives in eternal things.  Its main point is not meant to be about the founding of the Methodist Church, even though that is an important point.]

In the eighteenth-century, Susanna Wesley, a mother of ten, spent Thursday evenings with her son, John. As she did with all her children, she spent time reading the Bible, praying, and introducing John to the gospel of Jesus Christ. What must have seemed at times like a mundane routine would, in time, have global significance and eternal impact.

You see, John Wesley grew to become the fiery evangelist and founder of the Methodist Church. Converted as an adult, Wesley’s heart was “strangely warmed” when the kindling of God’s word, which Susanna had stockpiled into his heart on Thursday nights, was set ablaze by the Holy Spirit. Under God, Susanna’s commitment to planting seeds each week was rewarded with an everlasting orchard.

So what are you doing this Thursday evening? Will you spend your time in something as significant as Susanna Wesley? Or will it just be another evening of work, play, or online chatting?

Considering Susanna’s model makes us think differently about how we spend our time.

First, Susanna was a Christian who made it her business to work with the most valuable (and eternal) commodities in the world—namely God’s Word and the souls of men and women. Second, as a mother, Susanna spent ample time with her children—shaping their character, interpreting life from a Christian worldview, and speaking grace into their lives. Third, she established a weekly pattern to discuss the gospel of Jesus Christ with her children. Not knowing the results of her labors, but praying and persisting, she relentlessly kept Christ in front of her children, believing that God would honor her evangelistic efforts.

The result?

At 35, John Wesley was converted, and from there this evangelist led countless souls to Christ, men and women who will give eternal praise to God for the fact that Susanna Wesley took Thursday nights to meet with her son.

May we consider Susanna’s life and imitate her faithfulness.

Soli Deo Gloria, dss