Genesis 15:7-21: When God is Bound...

Presented to each the Nipawin and Tisdale Corps 07 October 2007 by Captain Michael Ramsay

To view the updated 19 March 2012 version, click here: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2012/03/genesis-15-7-21-when-god-is-bound.html

I know that some of you have been coming out to Thursday night Bible study. This has been a lot of fun as not only have we dug deeper into the Scriptures but in past couple of weeks people have confessed old pranks they have pulled and I’ve confessed all the difficulties that I have had adjusting my speed to the straight open stretches of roads here in Saskatchewan. I’m getting much better by the way…

All these stories of pranks and cars got me thinking back to my teenage years. At the church youth group I went to it wouldn’t be uncommon to have fifty kids out on any given Friday night and even more of us came out to the big events. And we had some big nights where we would have some good competitive events – and, I must confess, my team had this terrible habit of… winning - mostly because we paid more attention to the rules than the others.

For example, we had these events called KGB runs. They were these games where you started in the university forest and had to make your way back to the church at night without being caught by the leaders, who would catch you by ‘tagging you’ with a flashlight. So everyone would start walking and sneaking through the woods trying not to get caught but MY team we would sneak (yes) but right to the parking lot where one of us would leave our car and we would drive to just outside the church and walk in – no one SAID we weren’t allowed to drive.

So, of course, once the organizers caught on, at the next event like this, they have all the rules written out and among those rules are –not surprisingly- no cars are allowed and the borders of the game are well-defined of where we are and are not allowed to go.

So with the new rules in place and the leaders determined to catch is, we have a new plan, not too far into the forest we have stashed … really big flashlights. So then when the people who are ‘it’ see the flashlights they just assume we are on their team and our whole team walks safely in without being caught.[1]

Now the planners are making it their priority to make their rules so air tight that know one can possibly misapply them. As they get ready for the next big event, they even brag that their rules are ‘Mike-proof’

Well this next event was a car rally. You know what those are? You drive around the city and are given clues that you have to solve in order to figure out where you are going to drive to next and as you figure it out, you drive to the next location and get the next clue to figure out and so on.

The people who are planning this event, like I said, are determined to stop any creative problem solving. So we are given the rules that include the normal no breaking the law or speeding, –after all this is a church group. To enforce this, they have each of the drivers put our driver’s licenses in a sealed envelope. If the envelope is opened, they know that you were caught by the police. We then had to show we agree to the rules by signing the envelope, along with the leaders, and this big fancy agreement.

Well, we are winning, as usual coming near the end of the rally – and there is this open stretch of road – now you don’t get these so much in Victoria, so we open it up to speed for the finish line and… you guessed it. The red and blue lights come on behind us. The officer asks for my licence and I hand over the envelope.

So we arrive first and they give us the prize and as all the other teams come in, they can’t believe that we’d won again. But then the leader remembers, “Oh, I need your drivers’ licences’, so one by one each team puts their sealed envelopes on the table. And then it is my turn… They were bound to beat us eventually and this is how they did it. They made this big fancy agreement, we failed to live up to it and as a consequence we lost our reward.

If you’ll turn with me to our text today, Genesis 15:7 – 21, we’ll look at Abram’s big fancy agreement with God. This agreement (or covenant) is a very significant one for us as we have just finished studying Luke-Acts,[2] and for all Christians today because you see it relates back to the good news of Chapter 12 –from our readings this week, where God has already promised Abraham that all nations of the earth will be blessed through him and, as well, it looks forward to Chapter 17 where the symbol of circumcision is introduced (17:11).

The promise includes us here and now also, even though neither we, nor our nation existed at the time of this agreement (cf. John 8, Mark 3, Luke 3, Romans 2). Genesis 12:3 is the first time that the Gospel, the ‘good news’ (that all the nations of the world will be blessed through Abraham) is presented in scripture and it is here in Chapter 15 that God ratifies he promises about inheriting the promised land with a contract (v.18) and a strange and significant, symbolic covenantal act.

Now I should probably take some time to explain exactly what a covenant is and was. The Hebrew word for covenant here, berit[h], is the most common term translated 'covenant' in the Hebrew Bible: it appears 286 times making it quite an important word.[3] This word in all likelihood is also associated with the older Akkadian word ‘biritu’, which means literally “to fetter”, “to shackle” or to “bind” and when it is used in the sense it is here, it designates the beginning or the end of a contract.[4] The image then is of two people being fettered or bound together by this covenant.[5]

This particular contract, in the text before us today, is only one of three in the entire Hebrew Bible where God himself is bound[6] - the others are with Noah, (Gen. 17, Num. 25:12) and the Davidic covenant (II Sam. 23:5, Pss. 89:3, 28-29; 110:4) which we will come to in a couple of weeks.

The word image for us here then is clear. It is that of God, in this contract, actually shackling himself to a promise to Abram and in so doing, of course, not only is God bound to the promise but He is bound to the consequence of a broken covenant – which in this case –as we’ll see in a bit – is possibly even death (cf. Jer 34:18-20).[7]

Now let’s take a look at this whole contractual ceremony here because it is, well, peculiar. In verse 9, it is recorded that God asks Abram to bring him a number of different dead animals of varying (and mostly forgotten)[8] significance and has him cut many of them in half and Abram does.[9] And Abram stays by these bodies guarding them from other animals that want to eat them (v.11) and then he falls asleep into a ‘deep and terrifying darkness (v.12).’

Abram is terrified as the Lord approaches him and says, verse 13, “know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated for four hundred years. Wow, this is ‘good news’! (sarcasm) – Abram is terrified (v. 12) and the Lord meets him with the comforting words of, ‘your descendants will be slaves for 400 years.’

This is great (sarcasm) and there is even more: look at the contractual ceremony here. After God tells Abram that his family will be slaves and then those who enslave them will be punished - at the same time that all this is happening, another people will be allowed to run wild in the promised land until their sin reaches its absolute full measure (v. 16). There will be 400 years of sin and 400 years of slavery and now, verse 17, “when the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and walked between the pieces [of the dead animals]. On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram… (vss. 17,18)”[10]

And this is interesting: the 400 years of sin and slavery are signs of the covenant or contract. They are not the contract itself. This section highlights a portion of the covenant and that portion states that his descendants will eventually possess this land that he is on.[11] And what is the sign that they will possess this land? The sign is that they will be in slavery for 400 years and - none of this sign will Abraham see ever actually see.[12]

Further, remember how we said that this is one of the few times in scripture where you will find that it is actually God who is bound by the contract. Here it is ONLY God who is bound by the contract. It is God (represented by a smoking firepot with a blazing torch[13]) who walks between the halves of the dead animals here – not Abram. This is interesting because in so doing, God says that he will pay the consequence for the broken covenant. He says he is bound and he will pay for it, if our interpretation of the ceremony is correct, with His own life. This ceremony has other parallels in ancient customs and literature but only in Jeremiah (34:18-20) in the Scriptures is this type of a ceremony mentioned and there it says:

"...all the people of the land, which passed between the parts of the calf; I will even give them into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of them that seek their life: and their dead bodies shall be for meat unto the fowls of the heaven, and to the beasts of the earth."

If the covenant fails after this ceremony, the one bound by it here, dies. This is serious and this is like the ceremony that God is voluntarily taking upon Himself here. And it says that Abram does believe Him (and the LORD reckoned it to him as righteousness, v.6) EVEN BEFORE the Lord goes to these great lengths to bind himself to his promise.

So then Abram believes God, even before God covenants up to even His own life. Abram believes God that he and Sarai will have kids and that they will inherit the promised land, and then God makes this deal that may EVEN risk His own life, and then Abram, at his wife’s insistence… has sexual relations with his wife’s slave. And she becomes pregnant. Aarrgg!

This is reminiscent of earlier in Genesis isn’t it?[14] There, Adam takes matters into his own hands at his wife’s prompting and she blames the serpent (Gen 3) and sin and death enter the world and here Abraham takes matters into his own hands and Sarah blames God (16:3) after God has just entered into this most serious covenant.

God has put a lot on the line. In the contract he may be bound, to die, if it is not kept…and instead of relying on God, Abram, a hero of Hebrews 11’s walk of fame, takes matters into his own hands…just like Adam…and just like the People of Babel who we looked at a couple of Chapters previous (Gen 11:1ff).

Well, what about us? Are we any more faithful[15] than Abram with God’s life on the line? Years ago, before I ever met Susan, I met a lady at a place I used to frequent. I felt the Lord prompting me to give her $500; she, I was led to believe, needed it to go up north and gain the custody of her infant son. I gave her the money – and that was a lot of money for me in those days – actually it’s a lot of money for me in these days too – but I give this stranger the money at what I feel at the time is the Lord’s prompting and she tells me she will meet me there again on a certain date with the money and – well – the time comes and goes and I continue to go to that place a few times over the next months still with faith but I confess each time this faith is intermingling with more doubts until it get to the point that I am thinking of calling friends of mine and tracking her down on my own, in my own strength, and retrieving the money. My thoughts drift from faith to frustration…

I also think of a friend of ours – I think Susan has told you his story – he is a godly man and the Lord taught me lots through him. Before I ever met him, he felt the Lord telling him to witness to one of his employees, to tell him the good news of Jesus Christ. He believes the Lord but he does not tell his employee and the next day, he hears that his employee is dead.

From the Bible again, remember the Israelites with Moses on the edge of this land promised to them by God. Ten of 12 spies come back saying that they are afraid; they don’t have faith and they won’t invade (Deut 1; Num 14). The Lord is angry and tells them that because they did not act in faith their generation would not inhabit the land; so the people get up early in the morning and say, “We know we have sinned, we’ll go do it now”…but it is too late…God is not with them…and they are defeated by their enemies.

And Abram, righteous Abram, now has chosen to act on his own instead of trusting God. God pledged his life so that we may have faith and faithfulness (Romans 1-3) but we are faithless many times over and what is the consequence of our faithlessness? God dies. God dies.

God is fettered and bound in this covenant for Abram. As a consequence of Israel’s sin in the dessert a whole generation dies outside of the promise and as a consequence of our sin today, God dies: Jesus dies on the cross.

God didn’t need to make this promise to us? He didn’t need to make this promise to Abram. Abram believed Him before He put his life on the line. But God did make this promise and the thing about God is that, even if we are unfaithful to our promises, He remains faithful (Romans 3:3,4).[16]

And look ahead in our text from Genesis with me, God is not unfaithful, and in Chapter 21, verse 2, it says, “Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised him.”

So now here it is…even though Abram may not have acted in a manner consistent with faith, ONLY God was bound here and as the covenant is fulfilled, God lives!

God promised children to Abraham and God provided children to Abraham. God promised that his decedents would inhabit Canaan after 400 years of slavery, and God provided that they inhabited the land after 400 years of slavery. Like the Apostle Paul says emphatically, centuries later, in his letter to the Romans, “What if some did not have faith? Will their lack of faith nullify God's faithfulness? Not at all! …( Romans 3:3,4)” No way. No! No! God is faithful even and especially when we are not!

God promised Israel that they would inhabit the land and, even though they were faithless at the border, God still fulfilled his promise a generation later.

My friend who did not pray with his employee the night before he died, went on to be a pastor and never forgot the lessons the Lord taught him that night in the whole time I knew him anyway.

And my other friend…the lady I met…just when I had almost given up hope that she would ever find me and return the $500, she did and that’s not the end of the story. Years later, I almost came to tears. I came out of my house and there she was with her son. He was now 5 or 6. She knew our tenants and was visiting them. The Lord let me meet her son – the Lord let me see how He used His $500 to help a child be raised by his mother. She, in her excitement at seeing me, grabbed her now school-aged son and said, “This is the man from the story I told you…” THIS child KNOWS the stories of the MIRICLES of GOD. Even though, after I believed I had my doubts, The Lord used even me to do His will.

And he rewarded me in such a way that day that I will never forget it.

And isn’t that the same for all of us? Jesus died on the cross because of our sin. Jesus died because of our faithlessness but God is faithful to His promises and Jesus is alive. Jesus rose from the dead! Jesus defeated death. He died for us and he rose again. Nothing we do can change that! Now all we need to do is not reject him.

So then let’s not be like that generation of Israelites who rejected his invitation to the promised land and died in outside of the promise. Rather on this day of thanksgiving let us be thankful for to God for his sacrifice, inherit the promise, and come to and delight in the free gift of eternal life.
[1] These three stories are based on real events.
[2] These sermons are available on-line: www.sheepspeak.com
[3] G.E. Mendenhall. “Covenant.” In The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible, edited by George Arthur Buttrick. (Nashville, Tennessee: Abingdon Press, 1962), 715.
[4] G.E. Mendenhall, P. 715.
[5] Michael Ramsay, “Berit[h].” In the Journal of Aggressive Christianity.
[6] G.E. Mendenhall, P. 718.
[7] Death is the penalty meted out to those who violate this ceremony the only other time it is recorded as being enacted in the scriptures: Jeremiah 34:18-29. See Sarna, Genesis, PP. 114-115, Terence E. Fretheim, The Book of Genesis, 446. cf also, Anet, p.532 and John H. Sailhamer Abraham and the covenant (15:1-21).
[8] Terence E. Fretheim, NIB, P. 446.
[9] John H. Sailhamer Abraham and the covenant (15:1-21)

[10] The fire and the smoke are interesting symbols here. They cast the reader’s mind ahead to the fire and smoke with which God led the Israelites out of Egypt and to this same promised land. Those who have been studying Acts along with us will also note the pillars of fire that settled above the peoples heads in Acts II, which may or may not be making reference to the Exodus and by extension this passage as well.
[11] The Holiness Code in Leviticus (esp. Lev 25), as well as the prophecy of Amos (esp. 3-4) and numerous other portions of scripture testify that yes indeed the Lord was faithful in fulfilling this agreement but as the covenantal talks are re-opened with future generations who are looking for a permanent territorial blessing for their genetic offspring, it is granted to them albeit with conditions (pertaining to caring for the poor and the land) which they did not fulfill (cf. Gen 18:19; 26:5; Amos 3:1-2; Lev 25:2; 26:34-35; cf. also N.T. Wright, “Romans and the Theology of Paul,” Pauline Theology, Volume III, ed. David M. Hay & E. Elizabeth Johnson, (Minneapolis: Fortress, 1995): 37.) The blessing to the nations (12:3) that was offered through Abraham, however, still stands to this day. Remember also that the messianic prophecies to David are not tied to the physical land (2 Samuel 7) and of course are ultimately fulfilled in Christ. We should neither forget that God that he can raise up decedents of Abraham from stones if need be (cf. John 8:31-41; Hebrews 11:8-12). and indeed he does graft all the nations into the promises of Abraham (cf. Matthew 3:9, Luke 3:8, John 8, Romans 11). It is also interesting in this passage that God promises on his own life that Abraham’s decedents will receive this land; Abraham’s decedents are unfaithful and God pays with the life of his Son.
[12] Compare this to Moses’ sign the LORD is speaking to him (Exod 3:11-12) and the sign of the Lord’s faithfulness re: the provision of his people around the sabbatical year and the year of jubilee (Lev 25:19-20).
[13] This does cast our minds tangentially ahead to the pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire with which God will later lead the Israelites around the desert.
[14] Cf. Chapter 11. This is the chapter where Abram is introduced. He is introduced ironically enough after the people from the city of Babel are dispersed for (pridefully) taking matters into their own hands.
[15] I am using the term ‘faith’ in the rest of this document in a manner that is consistent with the so called ‘New Perspective on Paul’
[16] Cf. N.T. Wright, “Romans and the Theology of Paul,” p. 37. See also NT Wright, “The Law in Romans 2.”

Acts 23: 1-11: Punch in the Mouth ('The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day)

Presented to each the Nipawin and Tisdale Corps 23 September 2007
and the Swift Current Corps on 31 July 2011 and 14 June 2015
by Captain Michael Ramsay

to view the updated version, click here: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.ca/2015/06/acts-231-11-punch-in-face-2015.html

There’s a children’s book by Judith Viorst entitled “Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day”[1] Have you ever had one of those days, where it doesn’t matter what you do you just seem to get in trouble? … I remember grade 2.

Now grade two admittedly was not my finest hour. It seemed that I was a permanent member of the detention club. And I remember one day, I just couldn’t win for losing. It was my birthday and many of the grade twos were coming to my party after school so we were told, ‘no dawdling’. We had to be home right after school.

Well, Mrs Leung gave me a detention – and it wasn’t even my fault! You see, Clinton had been chewing gum in school. Now, I hate gum. He gets in trouble for it and he tells Mrs. Leung that he isn’t actually chewing GUM; he is chewing his cheek. She believed him! I thought it was a strange thing to do - chew your cheek so, like any curious 8 year-old, I have to try it and, of course, … And Mrs. Leung catches me and says “Michael no chewing gum” and I say, “I’m not – I’m chewing my cheek” (which I was) and do you think she believes me NOOOO! So I have a detention after school on my birthday and it wasn’t even my fault!

Now, it is my birthday so Mrs. Leung has pity on me and lets me get out at the regular time and this would be fine except two friends of mine in the class – Wade and Clinton – go and get detentions and Mrs. Leung isn’t going to let them go. So sure I get out at the normal time but we all have to wait anyway.

Well, so there we are waiting just INSIDE the exterior door for Wade and Clinton – and now apparently there is a rule that you are not supposed to wait INSIDE the school for anyone – you have to wait OUTSIDE. So guess what? Wade and Clinton finish serving their time and are on their way out of detention hall only to find out that the rest of us our now on our way into detention…so much for getting home on time for my birthday party! But that is not the end of the story either!

You see Wade and Clinton are waiting for the rest of us and guess what? They decide to wait for us INSIDE the school – so guess what…we all wind up spending the first part of my Birthday in detention hall

Well, more than ½ an hour later we all show up for my party…it was just like the children’s book says, “a Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.”

In Acts, today, up to and including Chapter 23, you will notice that Paul has been having a little bit of a run like that himself.

In Chapter 16, as we read about last week Paul winds up in detention in Philippi and again in Thessalonica after being attacked by a mob there and again in Berea all in Chapter 17. By Chapter 19 Paul is in the centre of a riot in Ephesus and by Chapter 21 he is now in Jerusalem again and arrested again after being attacked again by still more mobs. Paul really seems to be having “a Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad” time of it.

Now Paul is arrested when he is spreading the good news. But it is not the gospel that gets him in trouble with the secular authorities really. They are just trying to keep the peace and save his life. The gospel is getting Paul in trouble with some of the religious leaders.[2] It is they who God delivers Paul from, through the Romans.

Paul is saved[3] but the Romans really have no idea why the religious people want to kill him;[4] so, they keep him under a full, armed guard. He is in the custody of the Superpower of his day[5] and because they do have a vested interest in keeping the peace and because he is a Roman citizen himself, they REALLY want to find out exactly what he has been accused of here; so, they order the Sanhedrin to convene to try to shed some light on the situation.

Now in our text today then, Chapter 23, it opens with this fact-finding hearing with the Sanhedrin and the Sanhedrin (you’ll note from your ‘Sermon Helps’ in the bulletin) is a council of the chief priests of Judaism. They are the Jewish authority.

So with the occupying Roman authorities looking on as official observers, the trial begins. Paul begins. He looks straight at the Sanhedrin (23 vs. 1) in his opening statement and says, “My brothers, I have fulfilled my duty to God in all good conscience to this day.”[6] … and then the High Priest (vs. 2) orders someone to punch him in the mouth. What?

The Romans are asking, ‘what’, too, I’m sure; when I first read this I was asking, ‘what’? So I turned to my reference books and poured through Acts to see if I could find out what Paul said that was so offensive. Yeah… No luck. All I can guess is that they perceived Paul as misrepresenting God in some way here – but that is just a guess – however, we do know that whatever it is, it obviously offends Ananias,[7] the High Priest, so much that he gets someone to punch Paul in the mouth.

Now Paul, as we already said, is apparently not really having a particularly good day and so he does not maintain his usual composure under pressure.[8] He lashes out at the High Priest – this is pretty bold – he says, verse 3, “God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! You sit there to judge me according to the law, yet you yourself violate the law by commanding that I be struck!” and look at what happens after this in verses 4 and 5: Those who are standing near Paul said, “You dare to insult God’s high priest?” Paul replies, “Brothers, I did not realize that he was the high priest; for it is written: ‘Do not speak evil about the ruler of your people.’ (Exodus 22:28; cf. also Hebrews 13:16; Romans 13:1, 5; Titus 3:1)

So… now… this is interesting: Paul says that he doesn’t realize that he is the High Priest. Unlikely, I think. Paul is a Jew. Paul is a Pharisee. Paul is a Roman citizen in Roman custody. Even if the Romans didn’t tell him that he was to be in front of the Sanhedrin, which they probably would, Paul would know where he is and Paul would know that the High Priest usually chairs the Sanhedrin.

It would be like us winding up in front of the Supreme Court of Canada, and looking at the person in the wig and the black robes in front of us and after insulting her saying, “Oh, I didn’t realize that you were the judge. Far be it for me to insult the judge.” I think he knew and I think he is being intentionally sarcastic here.[9]

But, however, when he is reminded of the Priest’s authority, he certainly doesn’t push it any further. Luke is painting a portrait of Paul in Acts as ‘a good Jewish boy,’ and this is what he is conveying at this juncture – that Paul will defer to Ananias’ authority.

Whether he is sarcastic in his approach or not (and he may not be) he certainly ceases insulting authority here when confronted and acknowledges God’s directive (of Exodus 22:28) that we do not speak evil of those in authority over us.[10]

And this I think is important for us.[11] For what do we do when people in authority over us attempt to limit our freedom of religion and in so doing symbolically punch us in the mouth – and let’s not kid ourselves this is happening more and more in our society. I think of when the Swissair flight crashed in the Maritimes not too many years ago.[12] The Jewish, Muslim, and Aboriginal/New Age clergy/spiritualists were all allowed to invoke the name of their supposed deities at the ceremony but the Christians were prohibited from mentioning Christ. This is a punch in the mouth by those in authority over us.[13] More recently during the official Canadian 9/11 ceremonies that religious right of expression was denied again.

I think also of the atheists in central Canada, who have literally been spying on meetings of city counsellors to make sure that they don’t catch anyone praying. If they do, they punch them in the mouth, they call the authorities who enforce the ‘no praying’ legislation.[14]

There has already been talk on parliament hill even – some of you will remember - about deeming the Bible hate-literature.[15] Susan mentioned last week that whenever we see Christians portrayed in the media or by the American (our days’ Superpower) entertainment industry, it seems to be only in a mocking or belittling fashion. And I have heard stories recently and stretching back almost 20 years now, as well, of people standing up for their Christian beliefs and being kicked out of classes or even whole university faculties,[16] or even worse!

I think also personally of my time working in schools in BC. We were told not to mention Christ in the classroom. We were involved in a tutoring outreach to children in Vancouver’s DTES, among other places, and our tutors were told not mention Christ in the public schools and we didn’t….

People, from other faith perspectives, I witnessed myself, are free to mention and even invite children to partake in their traditions in the classroom and secular-atheism certainly does seem to have a privileged spot – more and more so everyday. And with this privilege extending more and more to the secular humanists, like in Ontario, don’t think the atheists won’t drag you before the courts and have you punched in the mouth for disagreeing with their religion.

This persecution is happening - but what can we do about it? Really, what can we do about it? What can we do, particularly when it is from those in authority over us – such as school boards, municipal, provincial, and federal governments? What can we do when the authorities order us to be punched in the mouth? What can we do?

Paul was punched in the mouth. And Paul did not shrink from persecution he declared unequivocally that he is not ashamed of the Gospel (Romans 1:16,17)– He did not avoid persecution at all from even within his own religious community - and don’t be so naïve as to believe that our communities are any more unified or less likely to persecute us than the Sanhedrin of Paul’s day. But here’s the thing… how did he stand up to the persecution? What did Paul do when he was punched in the mouth by those in power? He quoted scripture saying that you should not speak evil of those in authority (vs. 5) and then – after his initial outburst - he did not.

So this is the dilemma isn’t it? I know Christian friends of mine (some who are clergy) who have strong feelings – for instance, as we discussed in the Thursday night Bible study – about such issues as gay marriage, abortion, and the prosperity gospel.[17] And as their religious authorities, their denominations, developed different viewpoints, well I confess that I nodded while they were speaking evil of those in authority over them.

But what did Paul do because his leader ordered him punched in the mouth? This is neat actually. He isn’t distracted by the punch, instead, just like we were reading last Sunday in Adult Sunday School[18] (Acts 16:6-10) – he is listening to God and looking for God’s direction in what to do.[19] He is not looking to his attackers, he is looking to what God is doing and what does he see? Verse 6 – he sees opportunity to be delivered from his persecutors and he sees opportunity to proclaim to Gospel some more. He neither shrinks from persecution nor is he distracted by disobeying those in authority here. He keeps his eyes on Jesus and sees opportunity to proclaim to Gospel.

Look at verse 6, it says:
Then Paul, knowing [or noticing, NRSV] that some of them were Sadducees and the others Pharisees, called out in the Sanhedrin, "My brothers, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee. I stand on trial because of my hope in the resurrection of the dead." [This is true. He stands on trial for just that: proclaiming that Jesus rose from the dead and that He is the Christ for whom we have been waiting] 7When he said this, a dispute broke out between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. 8(The Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, and that there are neither angels nor spirits, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all.)
9There was a great uproar, and some of the teachers of the law who were Pharisees stood up and argued vigorously. "We find nothing wrong with this man," they said. "What if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?" 10The dispute became so violent that the commander was afraid Paul would be torn to pieces by them. He ordered the troops to go down and take him away from them by force and bring him into the barracks.
Isn’t that neat? God delivers him. Paul keeps his eyes on Jesus. He isn’t distracted by the actions of others. He doesn’t attack the authorities or hide behind his Roman citizenship, which he could. He defers to the Jewish authorities over him and he is delivered by God through the Roman authorities over him. Paul was, like the holy scriptures say we should be, as wise as a serpent and as gentle as a dove (Matthew 10:16). He did not respond to a punch in the mouth with a punch in the mouth (Exodus 21:24, Matthew 5:38). He defers to the authorities and God delivers him AND lets him proclaim the gospel.

And what should we do? Should we mock, malign, and speak evil of our leaders, our bosses, our families, when they punch our beliefs in the mouth? No. We should rather be as wise as serpents and as gentle as doves and look to the Lord and see what we notice.

Back to a story I was telling you earlier. When I was teaching with the Salvation Army in Vancouver schools. We obeyed the authorities. We did not speak evil of those who we felt were persecuting us and we did not mention Christ in the classrooms. We did however build relationships with teachers, parents, and students alike. We did however invite the students to our facilities. We did however get invited into the homes of students and their parents and we did get to present the gospel and we did however see many of them invite Christ into their lives. The Lord is good.

We did not speak evil of those over us. We did not disobey the authorities after their ‘punch in our mouth.’ We were not distracted by them. We kept our eyes on Jesus and we were delivered in order to present the gospel and halleluiah, many of our students were delivered unto salvation.

And it is the same here in Tisdale[20] today, we are servants of the Lord. He knows our predicaments and situations and so then instead of being distracted by and then maligning our attackers –whomever they may be - our leaders, our bosses, our families, –when we are punched in the mouth, we should rather keep our eyes on the Lord and see where he is leading for he will never leave us nor forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). Let us all turn our eyes upon Jesus.

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[1] You can read an on-line version at: http://www.kennedy-center.org/programs/family/alexander/
[2] It is they -the religious leaders- who are afraid. It is they who think that he is leading people away from God. It is they that want to stop the spread of the gospel. It is they who are trying to kill him.
[3] And he is not only saved by them but also from them: 22:25 states that he is actually spared a beating by the Romans themselves by identifying himself as a citizen of that Superpower - Rome. Superpowers tend to grant special privileges to there own. Through all this then and the occupying Roman armies save him.
[4] I always find this an interesting parallel to today where in our news countries, who like to think of themselves as religious, are often the most addicted to violence. I also find it interesting that a nation that most of the world considers to be Christian has the highest consumption of violent and pornographic images, the highest percentage of its people behind bars, and among the greatest income disparity between the rich and the poor.
[5] As he was in the custody of the Superpower of his day and he would probably be almost as vulnerable as the people in Guatanamo, Abu Garib and other such terrifying places in our world today - except that he has the foresight to speak up and let them know that he’s one of them.
[6] See 20:18-21, 26-27; 24:16; Rom 15:19b, 23; Philippians 3:6b; 2Tim 4:7 for similarly bold claims made by the Apostle Paul.
[7] Ananias the son of Nedebaeus was as high priest from A.D. 48-58 and was known for his collaboration with the occupying forces, avarice and liberal use of violence. When the rebellion against Rome began in 66, the nationalists burned his house and forced him to flee to the palace of Herod the Great where he was found hiding in an aqueduct and was killed along with his brother Hezekiah (cf. Josephus War II).
[8] Contrast this to what Peter reports about Christ’s actions in front of his accusers (1Pe 2:23) : When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.
[9] Cf. Theodore Zahn, Die Urausgabe der Apostelgeschichte des Lucas [Leipzig: Deichert, 1916], p. 763.
[10] cf. Ecclesiastes 8:1-3; but see also 1 Chronicles 21:6 where Joab does not heed David’s disobedience of God’s command; this is not a matter of denying God, but it is an ethical dilemma that Joab faced concerning obedience to God’s commands versus a godly man’s commands: David after all was a man after God’s own heart, 1 Kings 11:4
[11] The Apostle Paul teaches unequivocally that “it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience” (Romans 13:5) and further that “everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established” (Romans 13:1; see also Titus 3:1).
[12] Cf. The Ethics Centre 2000, 156-158.
[13] Cf. United News 1999, rockies.net/~united/united/articles/ 9810news.html
[14] Sheep Speak Commentary: Christian Persecution (Part 1), Jan 26, 2007.
[15] This was a concern mentioned around a piece of legislation (particularly relating to some of the language around people’s natural objection to certain kinds of sexual expression) from which Svend Robinson garnered a lot of publicity.
[16] I can readily think of two testimonies that I have heard of this – one of a friend of mine in university and the other of a high school student that I just heard word of the other week.
[17] The former two, I think of friends of mine in the Anglican and United traditions. The latter example I think of various members of Canada’s new Conservative party who transferred a billion dollars in tax revenue from the poorest in society to the wealthiest. Cf. Matthew 25:31-46 and see also the NCR’s comments (http://ncrcafe.org/node/1296) which were referred to in the Sheep Speak Commentaries of September 10th and September 20th.
[18] Now those who have been studying the book of Acts along with us will be familiar with the acts of the Holy Spirit and the resurrected Christ to date. We know about all those who have been saved. We remember, from Acts 16, particularly, how Paul, Silas, and Timothy are becoming quite intentional about listening to the Spirit –even to the point where he does not preach in places where God doesn’t want him to do so.
[19] Even after Paul has had his big fight with the other believing Pharisees and then with Barnabus (Acts 15) who was the one who took a chance on Paul when no one else would (Acts 9:27ff). Even after all this, he is listening to God.
[20] Or Nipawin, SwiftCurrent, or wherever you happen to be, I’m sure.

Note: of course the sermon varied somewhat depending on time and place.

Acts 10&11: Chocolate Cake - Devotional Thought

This devotional thought was presented to the Nipawin Leadership Team and Tisdale Corps Council meetings on the week of September 2nd.

We have all had the opportunity to read through the book of Acts together these past couple of weeks. I just wanted to open up today by sharing some devotional thoughts on Acts chapters 10 and 11 for us.

Do you remember the story of Peter and the Cornelius? Here is Peter, not only a good synagogue-going person but also a devout follower of Jesus and one day he has a dream. It is a most peculiar dream. One day he dreams of all these foods that he is not supposed to eat - now I am not talking about chocolate or cake or things that were bad for his diet - but I am talking about things that, in his day, good people who followed God wouldn't touch because well, they were just that; they were good, God-following people.

So Peter has this dream and in his dream the Lord's voice from heaven has asked him to eat this stuff three times. Now Peter isn't stupid and he not too long ago had just been caught denying Jesus three times before the rooster crows (Matt. 26:15, Mark 14:72, Luke 22:61), if you remember, and he is not going to race into any rash decisions here about this kind of thing; he shows the Lord that he is faithful to his Jewish covenant and declines the invitation three times. This is not what is wanted here though and this is not what the dream, it turns out, is about at all.

This passage not about dietary laws and what foods a good follower of Jesus will or will not eat and Peter should actually know this because he was there when Jesus fulfilled/abolished the dietary laws (Mark 7:19) by declaring all foods clean. Peter knows that what the Lord's voice is saying here is true that he should 'not call anything impure that God has made' he knows that. This is not here a new piece of information. But there is something else here.

What Peter and the resurrected Jesus are talking about here is something much more profound than diets. They are discussing the salvation and role of the Gentiles. You see the Jews had not thought to this point that the Gentiles, as they were, could be saved. They knew always that salvation was possible for them; Judaism always had proselytes. There were always people converting to Judaism but here in Cornelius' household, we have God-fearing people who are not like the regular synagogue-goers.

You see with every other Gentile to this point who converted/repented/changed, they all started to dress like the Jews, pray like the Jews, talk like the Jews, eat like the Jews and the men were even circumcised like the Jews - they joined the religion on Judaism's terms.

But now, however, there are people who do not eat like them, do not look like them, do not act like them and who are already in a relationship with God. How can that be? They don't dress like the Jews, pray like the Jews, talk like the Jews, eat like the Jews, and the men aren't circumcised like the Jews and yet they have already received the gifts of repentance and the Holy Spirit.

My question that I am going to leave us with - that we're not going to answer today is - who are these 'Gentiles' in our society that don't dress like us, pray like us, talk like us, eat like us, and otherwise act like us and how do we ensure that we are following God's Spirit in extending His mission to them like Peter did after his dream?

Acts 15:1-19 - The Chihuahua Barks Again

Presented to each the Nipawin and Tisdale Corps 09 September 2007
Presented to Swift Current Corps of The Salvation Army 26 May 2013
by Captain Michael Ramsay

Calvin and Hobbes: this image from http://calvinandhobbes.awardspace.com/#ch900321

I have a friend of mine, Cory, back on the Island where I used to live, who is a hunter. Every once and a while, he would get a deer or a moose and would give us some great venison sausages or steaks or something – it was nice.

Well, one day Cory meets me for coffee and he is really excited; he tells me that he has won the goat lottery.

Great …you won a goat?’ I ask.

‘No.’ He then explains what he means to me. You see there are only so many mountain goats so hunters buy raffle tickets and the winners are allowed to hunt for goats and this year Cory won so he invites me to go with him.

Now back then Cory and I were both a little bit out of shape and the thing about mountain goats is that mountain goats tend to like to live at the top of… mountains; so away we go up to the top of the mountain and we are really starting to feel it. It is tough work. It is a bit of a hike. We are tired.

We are exhausted actually but I tell you that the view from the summit is just beautiful. One of the most beautiful things in the world. It is our reward for struggling and making it all the way to the top. You can see all the summits and valleys around, and the untouched land. You can see the majesty of God reflected in His creation. As we are sitting there absolutely exhausted from our hike and enjoying the beauty of the scene, Cory turns to me and says, “You know, Mike, we are probably among the first people to ever climb this mountain.” And at that moment bounding in front of us comes …a Chihuahua – a Chihuahua, and a five year-old, and a four year-old, and a 3 year-old… who, by the way, didn’t seem to be near as tired as we were from climbing the mountain. Next came the parents and a parade of tourist - So much for being the first ever people at the top of the mountain.

Now Cory is feeling a little embarrassed for saying that we were the first to ever reach this spot and then at that exact moment having the Chihuahua appear. So we quietly pick up our stuff and walk a few steps away from the crowd and I, in my most comforting voice, say, ‘Cory, you know, I bet we’re the first people to ever step here, on this spot.’ I laugh – and then I duck as Cory’s mood from switches quickly from awe and wonder to wanting to throttle me. And that is not entirely unlike our text today. If you’ll turn with me to Acts 15.

You see just like with Cory and I viewing God’s untouched creation and Calvin seeing the first Robin of Spring, the church here is excited to see God’s wonder as the gospel is spreading among Jews and Gentiles alike - but now comes our Chihuahua (Acts 15:1) in the form of some men from Judea and, it says in verse 2, that there is no small dissention and debate.

This then is a pivotal moment in a pivotal chapter in the book of Acts. Now, remember a couple of weeks ago when we began studying Acts. Remember the momentum and the success. It was truly amazing. When Peter first stood up to address the crowd in Acts I, there were one hundred and twenty of them. Then on one day, the day of Pentecost, 3000 more were added to their number. By the end of the second chapter of Acts, everyday the Lord was adding to their number the people being saved. It was like a wave of salvation sweeping over the land [or an undefeated football season for… your favourite team.]

I remember before I began work for The Salvation Army, I worked for the association of international schools. It was a great job. I got to be like Santa Claus. You see we gave our schools all kinds of gifts: resources, conferences, passes to restaurants, recreational and sporting activities [Lion’s games] all for free. Because of all this, you know that whenever I show up at the door with my gifts, I never have to wait to see anyone. All the staff are eager to see what is in my bag of goodies. Good news spreads fast.

Of course it takes us a little while to be accepted like that. At first we are on the phone all the time trying to drum up business but then -fairly quickly - schools do recognise the good news. They see that these are really FREE gifts and they are saved - time and money - and many that we had never targeted for membership are NOW calling us to ask if they can join? They hear our good news and are coming to us to be saved - time and money.

And this is exactly what is happening in Acts up until this point in the text: as you have been reading along you will have noticed that even though Peter and the evangelists are only approaching fellow Jews and proselytes,[1] about the good news of repentance and salvation, an interesting thing is happening,[2] uncircumcised gentiles are also hearing this good news are wanting to be saved.

You may have noticed from our homework this week that in chapter 10 (verse 44) it says that the Holy Spirit comes to the Gentiles, just like it came upon the Jews in Acts 2, and in 11:18 it records that God gives the Gentiles repentance. The evangelists are only intentionally telling their fellow Jews the good news (see 11:19-10) but all of a sudden other people, different people, start to hear this good news and repent; they change their whole way of thinking (cf. Gen 12).

Now, when people in Jerusalem hear all this (11:20), they send Barnabus and Paul to see what was going on and before the end of chapter 13 a shift in the mission is recorded (cf. Acts 2).

In Acts 13: 43-55 it says…many of the Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas…AND…almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. [But] When the [non –believing] Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and talked abusively against what Paul was saying. Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly [This is the important part, they said:]

(Vs 46:) “We had to speak the word of God to you first. Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles. [IT IS FROM THIS POINT ON THAT THEY INTENTIONALLY SHARE THE GOOD NEWS WITH THE GENTILES] (Vs 47:) For this is what the Lord has commanded us: “ ‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’” - When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad…and all who were appointed for eternal life believed.

So everyone is accepted and now it is understood that even the Gentiles are accepted into fellowship.[3] This is exciting. This is the background for Acts 15.

The fact that everyone can be saved is as breath taking as rarely seen mountains and the first Robins in spring. But with this vision comes the Chihuahua barking and friends laughing, ‘what should we do with these Gentiles? (Acts 15:1,5)’

This is the question to which the council in Jerusalem is trying to discern God’s answer here and the people in our text have different opinions. In verse one, it says that some believe that “unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved.” They must become Jews. Paul and Barnabus disagree (verse 2) so they go to Jerusalem to ask the apostles and elders which view is right.

Aside: Now this is interesting because when they got to Jerusalem they right ran into (verse 5) some of the believers who said, “The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to obey the Law of Moses.” Now part of what makes this interesting is that these are believers and these believers are Pharisees – did you notice that? Some Pharisees here [who were often Jesus opponents in life] are saved.” They are believers and they are still Pharisees.[4]

You see the Pharisees are not bad guys. A Pharisee is, among other things, a Jewish person who believes in the resurrection of the dead – and Jesus was resurrected from the dead[5] - but here we have Pharisees disagreeing about ‘what to do with these Gentiles’[6] and this is very important – they want to see the gospel spread.

We have read in our readings to this point that the Lord has blessed the evangelistic efforts of the apostles beyond what would possibly be anticipated. Everyone at this council is pleased by that. They are pleased that more people are joining their congregation. Everyone wants to see these Gentiles saved and everyone is glad that they are being saved. So what’s the problem with these Pharisees?

Well, it is this. Remember that Jesus was a Jew. Remember that the only people (prior to chapter 13) that the evangelists were approaching were Jews. These Pharisees understand that Jesus is the Messiah and that salvation comes through the Jews (cf. Ro 1:16-17). So now that these Gentiles are saved, the Pharisees, expect that they will also become Jews.[7]

After all if you are saved, they reason, you will want to become a Jewish proselyte,[8] be circumcised, follow the Torah and God’s law and there are many Gentiles who already do – like for instance the Ethiopian that you would have read about in Chapter 8,[9] or the Gentiles worshipping in the Temple in Acts 1 and 2.

So the Pharisees’ viewpoint is not unusual by any stretch - [it reaches here from Jerusalem to Antioch and back] – and though it is well intentioned, it rings in Paul and Barnabus’ ears like sarcastic remarks about a barking Chihuahua.

Paul and Barnabus see the view from the mountain. They see that people – like Cornelius[10] – have received the gifts of repentance (11:18; cf. also15:12) and of the Holy Spirit (10:45).

As Peter says himself of the Gentiles, in our text today, in 15:8-11:

God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. He made no distinction between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith. Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear?

No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.”

This is neat too because Peter recognises what the Spirit of God is doing. He recognises that the promise made to Abraham that all nations would be blessed through him and the later expectations of a Messiah, whose rule would last forever, are now fulfilled (cf. 2 Samuel 7; Psalm 72; Isaiah 9:6).

Remember Peter is there when the Holy Spirit descends upon the Jews at Pentecost. The Holy Spirit brings Phillip to baptize the proselyte Ethiopian and the Holy Spirit descends upon the Gentiles with Cornelius. The Holy Spirit comes to the Jews, the proselytes, and the Gentiles.

Peter knows that it is not by our effort that people are saved anymore than the first Robin of Spring comes from our efforts. He sees that we don’t need to DO anything for people to be saved. Jesus already DID it. –‘it is by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ that we are saved.’ ALL ARE ALLOWED TO REPENT, ACCEPT JESUS AND BE SAVED.

So do you see what the difference in the two points of view is and what Peter is getting at here? The believing Pharisees here know that the world will be saved through the Jews. They just think that only the Jews will be saved[11] (cf. Acts 10, 11) - the Pharisees think that in order to receive this salvation one must actually BE a Jew.

They believe that the only way to be saved by a Jewish Messiah is to become a Jew. And it is this assumption that is the barking in Paul and Barnabus’ ears here. Because, like Peter, they see with their own eyes (15:3-4) that this is not true. We know that people ARE saved without adherence to the Torah. We know that the same Spirit is descended on uncircumcised Gentiles as descended upon Law abiding Jews and we know - as Paul’s letters in the NT speak about plainly and frequently (cf. Ro 3) - that the adherence to the Law doesn’t save anyone. Only Jesus does that.

So at the conclusion of this conference they decide NOT to burden the gentiles with all the rules and regulations of the Jewish law. Halleluiah. They DON’T have to act like Jews to be saved. They can still be Gentiles.

This is Great! But what does it mean for us today, two Centuries and a continent away?

Well, what I think it means for us in Nipawin is…I think this text is begging us to ask ourselves who are these Gentiles in our community? Who are the one’s to whom the Spirit may be speaking and some in the churches might not be accepting.

I saw something that really troubled me this week. I saw this sign downtown, behind the Army Centre. It made me sad; It said ‘out brown skins’ - I wondered are these ‘brown skins’ any more popular in our churches in this town than the Gentiles were in the temple? Judging by the statistics, it doesn’t appear that way. When I was at court supporting a friend this week, I saw many poor people sitting outside the courthouse smoking– have we shared the gospel with them.

In reading this text, I’ve been asking myself this week, who is the ‘gentile’ equivalent in our society that we should be standing up for?[12] I think it is these people (the ‘brown skins’ and smokers in front of the court house on Wednesdays) some of who are already saved and – none of who, sadly, are in our congregation today.

My question for us is this: The Holy Spirit is available to everyone – are we?

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[1] People who were not born Jews but who have been circumcised converted to Judaism. The congregations who were the original audiences for this sermon had a glossary of terms provided for them. We have also been studying the Word together and have established some prerequisite knowledge but not everyone does his/her homework.
[2] Christianity is a fulfillment of Judaism. The 12 disciples were all Jews and now the evangelists were telling their fellow Jews and proselytises that they no longer needed to wait for the Messiah, the law has been fulfilled.
[3] Gentiles were to share in the promises to Israel is a recurring theme of the OT (cf. Gen 22:18; 26:4; 28:14; Isa 49:6; 55:5-7; Zeph 3:9-10; Zech 8:22).
[4] Also of interest about this passage is that Paul, the one in conflict with them, is a Pharisee himself.
[5] As opposed to the Sadducees, who did not believe in the resurrection of the dead.
[6] Some of the viewpoints represented here are reminiscent of the so-called, ‘Jewish-Christians texts (The Gospel according to the Hebrews, The Gospel of the Nazoraens, The Gospel pf the Ebionites).’ Cf. also Andrew Gregory, ‘Jewish-Christian Gospels’ in the EXT Vol 118, No. 11, Aug. 2007. pp: 521-529.
[7] Cf. Richard N. Longenecker. The Expositor's Bible Commentary, Pradis CD-ROM:Acts. Book Version: 4.0.2: It is the “conviction of Judaism was that Israel was God's appointed agent for the administration of these blessings—that only through the nation and its institutions could Gentiles have a part in God's redemption and share in his favor. And there seems to have been no expectation on the part of Christians at Jerusalem that this program would be materially altered, though they did insist that in these "last days" God was at work in and through Jewish Christians as the faithful remnant within the nation. In the experience of the church, all Gentiles—with but one exception—who had come to acknowledge Jesus as Messiah had been either full proselytes or near proselytes (God-fearers).”
[8] A person of non-Jewish ethnicity who converted to Judaism is referred to as a proselyte (God-fearer).
[9] The role of the Spirit in this event should not be mineralized; it is important that the Spirit is involved with the repentance and baptism of the Jews (Acts 2), the proselytes (Acts 8), and the Gentiles (Acts 10).
[10] It, of course, was Peter rather than Paul who was present when Cornelius actually received the gift of the Spirit.
[11] Circumcision is a key outward expression of this as well as a symbol of adherence to Judaism and Islam. It originates from the divine covenant with Abraham.
[12] In the evening, after having heard this sermon, my wife brought Titus 1:13-14 to my attention: Even one of their own prophets has said, “Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons.” This testimony is true. Therefore, rebuke them sharply, so that they will be sound in the faith.