The Hawks Are Gathered

Seek and read from the book of the LORD:  Not one of these shall be missing; none shall be without her mate.  For the mouth of the LORD has commanded, and his Spirit has gathered them. -- Isaiah 34:16

The context of Isaiah 34 appears to be the certainty of God’s wrath falling upon the descendants of Esau in retaliation for Edom’s animosity and frequent treachery toward their Semite cousins in Israel.  Judgment will fall and the land of Edom will be turned over to the various wild beasts and birds for there will be no human inhabitants to trouble or disturb those creatures. 

Looking at verse 16 from this perspective, we see that the Spirit of God will gather all those creatures to overrun and inhabit the desolated territory.  There are numerous prophecies alluding to this so a person can go through the Scriptures and see that each creature listed will indeed be present with its mate, ready to multiply in the absence of human dwellers. 

Or, consider the birds and beasts as manifestations of the prophetic word.  We can find these words in the “book of the LORD”.  None of God’s words will fall to the ground to be lost or fail.  Each word He has spoken will have its “mate” – its fulfillment.  The Holy Spirit works to gather those words into the Holy Scripture – so that we may trust it to be truly the word of God.  But He also works to bring about the complement, to cause the word to come to pass. 

If an owl or a hawk, a porcupine or a hyena is used by the Spirit to fulfill and complete the word of God, are we thinking too highly of ourselves and those around us if we think that He is working in us to build the kingdom, to accomplish His will and to live out His truth in this world?  The Word is alive in His people. 

An owl, being a creature of instinct, will tend to follow the opening that is before it apart from hesitation caused by caution.  We, as creatures of intellect, imagination, and will, made in the image and likeness of God, may choose to rebel against the Spirit’s urgings.  Kind of a sad thought, isn’t it?  I suspect there are many, unaware of the Spirit’s work among them, thinking to do their own will, who end up furthering the purposes of a God they disdain.  Origen says that Christ was put on the Cross by God, by man, and by the devil, but the intentions were vastly different. 

Whether we are aware of it or not, the Lord has called to us and spoken to us about our destiny, in Scripture, in circumstances, and from the lips of those around us.  If we are willing to follow Him, not one of those words will be missing from our lives and each will be present with its fulfillment. 

Mixed Messages

For the Levites left their common lands and their possessions and came to Judah and Jerusalem, for Jeroboam and his sons rejected them from serving as priests of the Lord.  Then he appointed for himself priests for the high places, for the demons and the calf idols that he had made – 2 Chronicles 11:14-15 (NKJV)

It might be considered ironic that Jeroboam had been chosen by God to lead the ten northern tribes of Israel as a result of the apostasy of Solomon and his son, Rehoboam.  Jeroboam quickly became enamored of his own power and position.  Rather than trusting God who had put him on the throne, holding to the truth and traditions of Moses and the Patriarchs, Jeroboam wanted a nation that was loyal to him alone. He decided that he was not content with being an obedient servant of the One True God nor was he willing to allow another power to possibly rule over his people and divert their devotion from him.  He would exalt himself above God.

We can read in Isaiah 14:12-21 about the fall of one called Lucifer – the light-bearer, “son of the morning”.  This depicts, as it were, a rebellion in heaven, but it has a general application in every place and in every age, indeed, perhaps in every human heart.  Pride is the original sin.  If I say that I can go my own way and do what I want, though it hardly sounds sinister and certainly not diabolical, it is exactly that when it is the attitude I take with regard to God. 

I don’t doubt that many in the northern kingdom were happy to see those stick-in-the-mud traditionalists leave for Judah.  Those priests and Levites probably thought they were special just because of their tribe and what was in the old scrolls.  Why, they probably wrote that themselves and said it was from Moses.  And anyway, who was Moses?  Times have changed.  Those Levites needed to check their privilege. 

The people of the breakaway tribes also knew that Rehoboam who ruled Judah and Benjamin was far from perfect himself.  Had not God rejected him as their king? 

This is something I think we all have to watch, too, with regard to the church, the cultural, politics, and government.  If God puts someone in charge, are we obligated to obey the rules?  Are the rules now God’s will?  Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God (Romans 13:1).  There are those who will demand that Christians adhere to this.  Yet, obviously, if an authority is acting contrary to God’s will, demanding, as the government may do these days, that we violate our conscience and disobey Christian principles, we are obligated to not obey.  

The rabbi Gamaliel gave this advice to the religious leadership of his time regarding the followers of Jesus the Nazarene, “So in the present case I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone, for if this plan or this undertaking is of man, it will fail; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You might even be found opposing God!” (Acts 5:38-39).  A little while before this, Peter and John had summarized the position of Christians across all epochs: Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard (Acts 4:19-20).

Like the priests and Levites giving up their homes and their possessions among the northern tribes, we have decided to become citizens of another kingdom.  While we remain in this world, we are not of it. Some of us in various places on the planet are asked to surrender our lives because we will not turn from the truth.  Christians have been persecuted, tortured, abused, imprisoned and killed because they would not renounce the Lord.  Even in this country, in our modern, enlightened and oh-so-tolerant age, Christians are penalized for refusing to bake a cake or take pictures or otherwise participate in and endorse something that the Bible says is wrong.  It is pretty mild compared to having one’s head removed, but it is annoying nonetheless, and it is likely a sign of worse things to come. 

Not everything that God allows is God’s will.  Some things that start out as God’s will may easily end up being perverted and twisted by man’s will and man’s arrogance.  Truth wins in the end, but many fall in the battle.  Fear not.  It is not Valhalla nor virgins that wait for the entrance of the faithful witness, but a robe of righteousness, a martyr’s crown, and a word from the lips of the Lord Himself, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant … enter thou into the joy of thy lord.”

When God is Unreasonable

Jesus said to them, My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work. -- John 4:34

I have been reading through Lewis’ Space Trilogy again.  About halfway through Out of the Silent Planet, I realized that I am not the same person who read these books so many years ago.  Back then I rated Out of the Silent Planet very highly, in part because it is a good science fiction novel – the best of the three in that regard.  Originally, Perelandra was not available to me – I was too broke to buy them, and I was getting them from the library, so I read That Hideous Strength out of order.  I thought it was good and had a lot of good ideas, but I have come to realize, having since read The Abolition of Man, that I did not fully appreciate Lewis’ vision.  When I got around to Perelandra, I was disappointed.  It seemed very contrived and not all that well-written. 

I finished OotSP a couple of weeks ago.  The re-reading did not change my opinion.  It is a good science fiction novel, but I see it now primarily as a setup for what is to come.  It gives us a new perspective on the war in the heavenlies of which we are a part.  I started Perelandra with some trepidation only to find that I was getting a lot that I had not gotten before.  Thirty or so years have added quite a bit to my experience and understanding. 

Perelandra's plot turns on a temptation that recapitulates that of Eve by the Serpent in Eden.  The protagonist, philologist Elwin Ransom – modeled, it is thought, onTolkien, is present during the temptation and observes the process.  He is even able to interject arguments into the debate between the tempter and the subject of the temptation.  Unlike the biblical presentation of the temptation and fall in Eden, the subject in Perelandra successfully resists the tempter repeatedly.  However, the diabolical agent never stops, and the trial wears on over many days.  This leads to the climax which, so long ago, I dismissed as a failure on Lewis’ part.  I was wrong. 

Anyway, I wanted to talk about one of the devil’s points in his attempt to lure the subject into disobedience.  He says that the prohibition God had placed on Perelandra’s version of humanity is unreasonable, and that it really makes no sense.  He then argues that if God has proclaimed such an irrational ban His intent must be for the subjects to realize the absurdity of it and disobey.  In other words, God will be pleased if they disobey Him and “think for themselves”.  I’m not doing the strand of the debate in the novel full justice.  As is the case in Screwtape, Lewis undermines the devil best by being his most able advocate. 

The subject does not fall for this particular line of reasoning, seeing, instead, that, as Ransom explains: 

In all these other matters what you call obeying Him is but doing what seems good in your own eyes also.  Is love content with that?  You do them, indeed, because they are His will, but not only because they are His will.  Where can you taste the joy of obeying unless He bids you do something for which His bidding is the only reason?

A lot of us will say that we ought to obey God because He knows best, and that is certainly true.  We can say, like the song, that we’ll understand it better by-and-by.  That is true, too.  Yet, love acts all the time not for sense but for joy.  We do silly things to please the ones we love here on earth.  As children, we obey our parents both because we know they are wiser and because we want them to know we love them.  I can tell you, too, that, as a grandparent, I sometimes do things, not because they are particularly wise but solely to see the grandchildren laugh.  Sometimes I set them to tasks that will, if they follow through, make us both laugh. 

Imagine making God laugh with our irrational obedience. 

On Maps

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.  For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror.   For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like.  But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.  -- James 1:22-25

I have always had a fascination with maps.  I used to draw my own when I was a kid.  The child in all of us probably likes treasure maps with 'X marks the spot'.  GPS is really nice, but it does not hold the same mystery as a map.  And that's the thing about a map, it shows you the way but it's not the same as going there.  You can imagine the adventures you might have traveling the trail marked out with strange place names.  Even on the maps I have of this settled and civilized and fenced in country, there are road-less gaps and spaces, where, if you are going to go, you won't be riding in a Cadillac.      

 

It is impossible to reduce the truth to words.  We can speak the truth, but it always exceeds our ability to fully express it.  We are always reduced to metaphors and comparisons.  The truth is ineffable.  Knowing this, that reality is always going to evade capture and confinement in our language and equations, are doctrines and dogmas of any use to us?  How is that we can know the truth if we cannot communicate it?

As we’ve noted before, George MacDonald quoted one particular verse several times in his fictional works:  So Jesus answered them, My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me.  If anyone's will is to do God's will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority (John 7:16-17).  

The only way to know the truth is to act upon the truth, obey the Word, and put into practice what we see is right.  Only when we operate in accordance with and obedience to whatever revelation we have will more be given to us.   It is only in doing God’s will and desiring to do His will that we have understanding.  We can know and recite all the doctrines of the Church, but this form of knowledge leads only to guilt and condemnation or spiritual pride and self-righteousness.  We must live the truth. 

Since we are frail in our flesh, it is often the case that darkness overtakes us on the road.  Clouds may obscure the sun, and we find that we have missed our way.  We don't need to wander about lost and ask other lost people for directions because we do have guidance readily available.  Scripture and our creeds and our dogmas are the maps and the compasses and the sign posts that will put us back on the right track and help us hold a true course.  As much as we value, adhere to, and trust in these helps, we are not foolish enough to confuse our compass with the pole to which it points. 

“What do you think? A man had two sons. And he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’  And he answered, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he changed his mind and went.  And he went to the other son and said the same. And he answered, ‘I go, sir,’ but did not go.  Which of the two did the will of his father?”  (Matthew 21:28-31)

Ye Are Gods

For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one origin. That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers … -- Hebrews 2:11

St. Augustine, commenting on Psalm 2, said, "God makes of sons of men sons of God, because God hath made of the Son of God the Son of man."   

Obviously, we need to have respect for God and not be presumptuous.  At the same time, though, Scripture gives us reason to think that our God is a loving, caring, even playful Father.  The phrase “have one origin” is often translated simply “of one”.  Both Christ and man come of the same source and, in the Incarnation, God took on the nature of humanity.  Moreover, from the very beginning man was made in the image and likeness of God, that is, man was given the same nature, only bound and finite as opposed to infinite.  Adam was supreme in his sphere, under his Father. 

The Fall corrupted us to the extent that God could no longer have communion or walk with man, except in the case of a few specifically chosen individuals.  We are all, however, reconciled by the Cross wherein the fallen nature is nullified, the nature of Christ Himself is imparted to us, and we are accepted in Him.     

Just thinking what comes next scares me because it traverses a very high, narrow and precarious path.  The abyss that yawns at the edge of the trail calls constantly to the arrogant, appealing relentlessly to our innate hubris.  You can be as gods, it says.  Throw yourself off the top of the temple, it says.  If, nonetheless, we overcome our spiritual vertigo and keep walking on this ledge, the reward is great. 

Jesus could have had an earthly kingdom.  He knew it.  His disciples sensed it, and they kept expecting it and hounding Him about it.  Right up to the end, the Lord could have said, Enough!  He could have stepped out and taken over.  A lot of people thought He should have done that, and even today, there are many who cannot seem to understand why He went through what He did.  Jesus walked that ledge. 

The world doesn’t have to be such a bad place – if we understand that it is temporary and transitory. It is the living edge of creativity.  Life is meant to be poured out, not hoarded.  There is no reason to live in fear.  We don’t welcome suffering, but we can’t allow ourselves to be held back by it either.  We don’t have to “make something of ourselves” or seek fame and fortune.  We refuse to throw ourselves down and become magicians.  Instead, we throw ourselves into the arms of the Lord; we abandon ourselves to God.  We are no longer in bondage to the fear of death or anything else. 

No matter how much of your life you pour out, the vessel is never going to be emptied.  This jar of clay will be emptied, broken, and eventually left behind like the husk of a seed sown, but a new and more capacious receptacle awaits us.  

If that all that is true, how do Christians “burn out”?  It happens.  It’s happened to me, and I can speak only for myself.  I was pouring from the wrong source.  I listened to the siren-song of the abyss, and I had a mighty rough landing.  It’s a long, hard climb back up.  It’s been made harder, perhaps, by the bombardment of media and popular culture and what we might call the Oprah-fication of the Church. 

Despite all the difficulties, we are the children of God.  He is our Father.  As we surrender to Him, absolutely and unconditionally, the Lord Himself will lead us safely along that precipice to our place of rightful inheritance and authority.  Accept no substitutes.