Godgrown

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  Mark 9:36 am on December 29, 2010 Permalink | Reply  

  His Healing was His Curse 

  The rollercoaster of King Hezekiah’s life continues in chapter 39.  He has recovered from a life-threatening illness, he has overcome a seige of his capital city Jerusalem, and now in chapter 39 - he is faced with still a greater threat; himself.

  Upon hearing that Hezekiah had recovered, the King of Babylon sends Hezekiah his best wishes and a gift.  Not just a “get well card” but an envoy comes to Jerusalem and begins to get the royal tour of the city.  Babylon was the emerging power in the southeast, while Assyria was the bubble-Empire to the north.  Assyria was extending its reach far into distant lands, which included trying to wipe out Jerusalem and Babylon.  Now Babylonian ambassadors are in Jerusalem working to convince Hezekiah to join them in an alliance to overcome this dominant threat from the north.

  And Hezekiah seems oblivious to the seriousness of his situation!  He takes them around the town, showing the Babylonians ancient artifacts and special buildings and all the storehouses - letting their eyes see the piles of cash and the family silver. They note the combination locks on all the safes, and watch as Hezekiah pulls the extra set of car keys out from under the rock by the garage.

  Hey!  This seems idiotic Hez, don’t do it!

  True to form, his quick recovery from sickness in chapter 38 has brought him to pride.  Though he does respond to God’s healing with thankfulness, Isaiah clues him into the obvious notion that showing your treasures to other nations will lead to invasion and ruin!   Isaiah paints a picture for Hez, telling him of all the horrors to come.  His sons will become eunuchs in Babylon, all of the artifacts of his ancestors…ransacked…  And through this, Hezekiah is obtusely happy…

  Why? Because it won’t happen in his lifetime, not on his watch.

  Talk about missing it. How can a guy go from a desperate plea to God, watching God heal him from sickness, then focus so totally on himself when he’s given news of his country’s downfall?

  Unless – Hezekiah’s problem was his healing.

  Here’s the point:

  His healing was his curse. It made him selfish, prideful, obsessed with his own life. It is the story we see all over the Bible.  Abraham is given a promise from God, that he will be blessed, in order to be a blessing to others. God always uses the gifts he gives his children to give to others as well.  When you become obsessed with the gift, rather than the goal of the Giver, it consumes you – and you lose the gift in the process.

  I’ve heard it once said, “God’s greatest challenge is to love us without destroying us.” Meaning – God wants desperately to love us, and give us his love in infinite ways – but in receiving his love, we can quickly become convinced that its all about us – and not about him.  Much like a child pushes his mother away for favor of the toy truck he’s just been given.  For the child, the mother is now in the way of the real thing, my own needs.  This is what ultimately drives wedges in any relationship – and your relationship with God is certainly not exempt.

  “Seek the Lord while he can be found,” the Scriptures say.  Its not as if God is going to run off hiding anytime soon, this Scripture is about the short window of time your heart will be open to the raw love and power of God, and the propensity our hearts have toward settling for idols.

  Every time you receive a gift, remember: The gift of the receiver is to remain focused on the giver, to keep at the front of  your thoughts that it is about the love we share, not the things we get…

  

  
   

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  Mark 10:27 pm on December 1, 2010 Permalink | Reply  

  The Trees Can Breathe Easy 

  Kings and presidents and other national leaders are an interesting bunch.  They usually surround themselves with luxury, even as they say they are working and fighting hard for the “everyday people.”  They keep “yes men” nearby and shun those who are in complete disagreement with them ideologically.

  And when they write their memoirs, they rarely ever apologize - even for their most blatant mistakes!

  Perhaps that is why Isaiah writes what he does about the outgoing King of Babylon.  The King is filled with pride, and may be totally oblivious to the oppression he is enacting over all the peoples, and even over all creation!  Isaiah plays with words and imagery to construct an ironic taunt for the reigning King.  Isaiah writes this looking forward to a time after the King’s death – how pleasant!

  6 You struck the people with endless blows of rage

  and held the nations in your angry grip

  with unrelenting tyranny.

  7 But finally the earth is at rest and quiet.

  Now it can sing again!

  8 Even the trees of the forest—

  the cypress trees and the cedars of Lebanon—

  sing out this joyous song:

  ‘Since you have been cut down,

  no one will come now to cut us down!’

  9 “In the place of the dead there is excitement

  over your arrival.

  The spirits of world leaders and mighty kings long dead

  stand up to see you.

  10 With one voice they all cry out,

  ‘Now you are as weak as we are!

  Think about your own life.  Think about the ways in which you unknowingly enact oppression on others.  How are the people treated who grew your coffee beans you had in your cup this morning?  How did you treat your kids before sending them off to school?  How many trees had to be cut down in order for you to function at your job yesterday?

  Will trees say of you when you are gone, “Now there is no one to cut us down?”

  Will the earth breathe a sigh of relief when you’re not around anymore polluting it?  Will others be glad to see you gone?  If you have influence (and I’d say if you can READ THIS you have influence enough,) think carefully about how that influence impacts the lives of others.

  It could make all the difference when people read your memoirs!

  
   
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  Mark 8:23 am on November 18, 2010 Permalink | Reply  

  We are Not at Peace with Ourselves 

  I enjoyed going through the book of Hebrews – and together with my MICRO community, I am planning to prayerfully read through the prophet Isaiah as part of our MICRO Rhythms.  I believe Isaiah will be a fantastic book to read through together this Advent Season.  Will you join me in welcoming the Suffering Servant, our Messiah?

  Intro to Isaiah

  Author, Place and Date of the Text:

  The text itself says that it was written during the time of kings that would have situated the writing somewhere in the mid Eighth Century BCE. Isaiah, son of Amoz is the assumed author – those many scholars think that 3 different writers wrote this text. The first author may have actually come from Isaiah, while living in pre-exilic Judah, 2nd Isaiah may have been written while in Exile in Bablyon.  Then chapters 56-66 are sometimes connected with 3rd Isaiah, someone who wrote prophecy down while living in Jerusalem, after the Babylonian exile.  The issue for me comes down to whether or not 1) it matters theologically that God used 1 or 3 authors to write this text (I do believe it would matter rhetorically).  And 2) If God speaks to a person about specific future events.

  Text:

  I love Isaiah for its unique and rich language. Its powerful imagery and meaningful message about true devotion to God through loving our neighbor.  It is poetry – flowing chiastic structures to fill the Jewish mind with delight and deep meaning.  But it is also a book filled with real threats and dire consequences.  The civilizations of mankind hang in the balance during this critical point in human history – and God seems to intervene, not through Kings, but through Isaiah – a voice crying out in the wilderness!  – Pleading with people to turn away from destruction and seek God’s life.

  Isaiah 1

  The first chapter of Isaiah in many ways sets up the rest of the book.  It moves from national warnings of destruction because of disobedience and false worship.  God speaks through Isaiah powerfully in this chapter – and turns in v26 to begin speaking of using his punishment of Israel to purify her, and restore her to global beauty – a people that all peoples can look up to.  It feels hopeful, and encouraging, even if the “punishment” is spoken of as if it’s a foregone conclusion.

  It would seem as if the major offenses from Israel to God is their continual practice of the occult (sacred oaks, v29) and the rich making up for their social injustices by giving lavish gifts to God in worship, hoping God would not notice. In the meantime, the orphan and the widow remain unprotected – and the priests and judges seem to go after bribes rather than mediate for all people.  In short – God looks at how the command to “love your neighbor as yourself” is intricately linked with “Love the LORD your God.”  I would guess that this has huge implications for our societal systems in place today.

  Thomas Merton once said, “We are not at peace with others because we are not at peace with ourselves, and we are not at peace with ourselves because we are not at peace with God.”

  There is a strong link between loving neighbor and loving yourself and loving God.