Isaiah 59:1-2 Behold, the LORD’S hand is not so short That it cannot save; Nor is His ear so dull That it cannot hear. 2 But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, And your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear.

Isaiah 59:9-13 Therefore justice is far from us, And righteousness does not overtake us; We hope for light, but behold, darkness, For brightness, but we walk in gloom. 10 We grope along the wall like blind men, We grope like those who have no eyes; We stumble at midday as in the twilight, Among those who are vigorous we are like dead men. 11 All of us growl like bears, And moan sadly like doves; We hope for justice, but there is none, For salvation, but it is far from us. 12 For our transgressions are multiplied before You, And our sins testify against us; For our transgressions are with us, And we know our iniquities: 13 Transgressing and denying the LORD, And turning away from our God, Speaking oppression and revolt, Conceiving in and uttering from the heart lying words.

Sin separates us from God. Sin brings about injustice, unrighteousness, and darkness. We cannot overcome our sin or the sins of others.

Jesus is “the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). Jesus brings about justice and righteousness. Jesus is a light in the darkness (John 1:5).

The evidence of a life which is lived in submission to Jesus, is a desire and an effort to bring about justice and righteousness in this world.

When we live a life with Jesus as our Lord and savior, we are finally able to see the faint outline of what the world should be like. We have the opportunity to join God as co-creators in building a new creation.

We cannot see fully, but we can see a little by the light of Jesus.

Isaiah 42:1-4 “Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold; My chosen one in whom My soul delights. I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the nations. 2 “He will not cry out or raise His voice, Nor make His voice heard in the street. 3 “A bruised reed He will not break And a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish; He will faithfully bring forth justice. 4 “He will not be disheartened or crushed Until He has established justice in the earth; And the coastlands will wait expectantly for His law.”

This section is the first of the “Servant Songs” (Isaiah 42:1-9; 49:1-6; 50:4-9; 52:13-53:12). This introduction to the Servant character of Isaiah is quoted in Matthew:

Matthew 12:17-21 his was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet: 18 “BEHOLD, MY SERVANT WHOM I HAVE CHOSEN; MY BELOVED IN WHOM MY SOUL is WELL-PLEASED; I WILL PUT MY SPIRIT UPON HIM, AND HE SHALL PROCLAIM JUSTICE TO THE GENTILES. 19 “HE WILL NOT QUARREL, NOR CRY OUT; NOR WILL ANYONE HEAR HIS VOICE IN THE STREETS. 20 “A BATTERED REED HE WILL NOT BREAK OFF, AND A SMOLDERING WICK HE WILL NOT PUT OUT, UNTIL HE LEADS JUSTICE TO VICTORY. 21 “AND IN HIS NAME THE GENTILES WILL HOPE.”

This passage focuses on the Servant as the one who brings forth God’s justice. And this justice is an earthly justice. If we assume that the Servant is Jesus (based upon the passage in Matthew), we need to ask the question: how has Jesus brought about earthly justice?

It is too easy, and far too common, to assume that the justice established by Jesus has to do with heaven and hell, and life after death. This verse seems to insist that part of Jesus role was to bring about justice on this earth in the here an now.

My belief is that Jesus established the Church for this reason: to reflect the light of Christ to the world for the rest of time, and to bring justice into a very broken world. As Christians we are all responsible to work toward bringing about the justice described in this passage. None of us can fix everything; but each of us can work on fixing something.

How have you been called to establish justice in your world?

Isaiah 32:1-8 Behold, a king will reign righteously And princes will rule justly. 2 Each will be like a refuge from the wind And a shelter from the storm, Like streams of water in a dry country, Like the shade of a huge rock in a parched land. 3 Then the eyes of those who see will not be blinded, And the ears of those who hear will listen. 4 The mind of the hasty will discern the truth, And the tongue of the stammerers will hasten to speak clearly. 5 No longer will the fool be called noble, Or the rogue be spoken of as generous. 6 For a fool speaks nonsense, And his heart inclines toward wickedness: To practice ungodliness and to speak error against the LORD, To keep the hungry person unsatisfied And to withhold drink from the thirsty. 7 As for a rogue, his weapons are evil; He devises wicked schemes To destroy the afflicted with slander, Even though the needy one speaks what is right. 8 But the noble man devises noble plans; And by noble plans he stands.

If you have any kind of leadership position, then your actions affect other people. It does not matter how small the leadership position is, it has a dramatic impact on somebody else’s life. Before you act, consider what your impact will be.

When you act justly, it brings justice into other people’s lives. When you act rightly, you bring righteousness into the lives of these people. When you act hastily, you bring discord and error into the lives of other people. When you act foolishly, you bring folly into the lives of other people.

Your decisions and actions matter. They determine how you will impact the real lives of the people around you.

So be noble, be righteous, be courteous, be thoughtful, be considerate, be aware, be generous.

Don’t be a rogue, don’t be ungodly, don’t be fool.

Take the time to care about other people in everything you do.

Isaiah 29:15-21 Woe to those who deeply hide their plans from the LORD, and whose deeds are done in a dark place, and they say, “Who sees us?” or “Who knows us?” 16 You turn things around! Shall the potter be considered as equal with the clay, that what is made would say to its maker, “He did not make me”; Or what is formed say to him who formed it, “He has no understanding “? 17 Is it not yet just a little while Before Lebanon will be turned into a fertile field, and the fertile field will be considered as a forest? 18 On that day the deaf will hear words of a book, and out of their gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind will see. 19 The afflicted also will increase their gladness in the LORD, and the needy of mankind will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel. 20 For the ruthless will come to an end and the scorner will be finished, Indeed all who are intent on doing evil will be cut off; 21 Who cause a person to be indicted by a word, And ensnare him who adjudicates at the gate, And defraud the one in the right with meaningless arguments.

Someone once suggested to me that the definition of sin is “our efforts at self-salvation”; I thought that was a pretty good definition.

Sin is when we consider ourselves equal with the one who made us. Each of us has been created by a loving God, a God who how known us forever, and I continue to know us beyond the end of time. Surely I can not be arrogant enough to consider myself equal to God.

But too often I am deaf and blind; too often I am ruthless and I scorn. Too often I hide my plans from the Lord and act in darkness. When I do these things I put myself in danger of receiving God’s justice.

I am called to humble myself every day before my Lord and Savior. With this humility comes gladness in the Lord, and I am able to rejoice.

Here’s some stuff I came across this week*…

Have a great weekend!

*inclusion of items on this list does not necessarily suggest my approval of or agreement with the linked material. I just think they add to the conversation.

Isaiah 10:1-3 Woe to those who enact evil statutes And to those who constantly record unjust decisions, 2 So as to deprive the needy of justice And rob the poor of My people of their rights, So that widows may be their spoil And that they may plunder the orphans. 3 Now what will you do in the day of punishment, And in the devastation which will come from afar? To whom will you flee for help? And where will you leave your wealth?

God cares. God cares about the weak and destitute. God cares about poor and the disenfranchised. God cares about the broken and weary.

God cares, so we should care.

We should care about the laws of our nation and work to make sure that our country is working to care for those in need. We should care about the attitudes of our churches and work to make sure the church is actively working to help those in need. We should care about the attitudes of our families and make sure that we, on a persona level, are caring for the needs of another human being.

It is not enough to simple not abuse the destitute, we need to create opportunities for success. Some will take advantage of us, but it is better to be taken advantage of by hundreds than to fail to meet the needs of one.

Here’s some stuff I came across this week…

The Church Through the Ages

Have a great week!

Isaiah 3:8-15 For Jerusalem has stumbled and Judah has fallen, Because their speech and their actions are against the LORD, To rebel against His glorious presence. 9 The expression of their faces bears witness against them, And they display their sin like Sodom; They do not even conceal it. Woe to them! For they have brought evil on themselves. 10 Say to the righteous that it will go well with them, For they will eat the fruit of their actions. 11 Woe to the wicked! It will go badly with him, For what he deserves will be done to him. 12 O My people! Their oppressors are children, And women rule over them. O My people! Those who guide you lead you astray And confuse the direction of your paths. 13 The LORD arises to contend, And stands to judge the people. 14 The LORD enters into judgment with the elders and princes of His people, “It is you who have devoured the vineyard; The plunder of the poor is in your houses. 15 “What do you mean by crushing My people And grinding the face of the poor?” Declares the Lord GOD of hosts.

I know of many people who would read this passage and say, “America better watch out, if our country doesn’t turn back to God we will be destroyed.” I think that is a horrible misapplication of the text.

The nation Israel was a nation set aside by God as God’s special people. Israel was to follow the law of God and obey God in everything; in return Israel would receive God’s favor and blessing. The United States is not a nation set aside by God as God’s special people. The United States (or any other country for that matter) is not equivalent to the nation of Israel in this passage.

There is an equivalent institution; the Church. While I think it is destructive for us to read this passage from Isaiah and plug our country into this prophesy, I think it is very helpful to read this prophesy and plug in our contemporary Church.

Think about these words:

For the Church has stumbled and has fallen, Because their speech and their actions are against the LORD, To rebel against His glorious presence. The expression of their faces bears witness against them, And they display their sin like Sodom; They do not even conceal it. Woe to them! For they have brought evil on themselves. Say to the righteous that it will go well with them, For they will eat the fruit of their actions. Woe to the wicked! It will go badly with him, For what he deserves will be done to him. The LORD arises to contend, And stands to judge the Church. The LORD enters into judgment with the elders and princes of His people, “It is you who have devoured the vineyard; The plunder of the poor is in your houses. “What do you mean by crushing My people And grinding the face of the poor?” Declares the Lord GOD of hosts.

Recently I have listened to too many church leaders who have replaced the Gospel of Christ with a gospel of politics. Too many churches who have plundered the poor and not cared for their needs. Too many churches who have named the sins of the lost, but failed to reach out with the forgiveness of Christ.

The Church is God’s special people; don’t repeat the mistakes of Israel.

Deuteronomy 19:2-6 you shall set aside three cities for yourself in the midst of your land, which the LORD your God gives you to possess. 3 “You shall prepare the roads for yourself, and divide into three parts the territory of your land which the LORD your God will give you as a possession, so that any manslayer may flee there. 4 “Now this is the case of the manslayer who may flee there and live: when he kills his friend unintentionally, not hating him previously– 5 as when a man goes into the forest with his friend to cut wood, and his hand swings the axe to cut down the tree, and the iron head slips off the handle and strikes his friend so that he dies– he may flee to one of these cities and live; 6 otherwise the avenger of blood might pursue the manslayer in the heat of his anger, and overtake him, because the way is long, and take his life, though he was not deserving of death, since he had not hated him previously.

The Israelites are taking a step away from an “eye for an eye” mentality and toward a mentality of “love your neighbor”.

Is justice based upon out come or intent? In an outcome based justice system, if I accidentally kill or cause the death of another, then my life should be forfeited. In a justice system based on intent, my life is only forfeit if my intention was to kill another; there may still be consequences for unintentional action, but death is not one of those consequences.

Is your sense of justice based upon outcomes or intentions? How does this affect your view of society, politics, capital punishment, war, and discipline?

Should you work toward changing your sense of justice?

Romans 15:1-2,7 Now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of those without strength and not just please ourselves. 2 Each of us is to please his neighbor for his good, to his edification… 7 Therefore, accept one another, just as Christ also accepted us to the glory of God.

We have a responsibility to look out for those who are being trampled upon, those who are forgotten, those who are in need. Each of us has a responsibility to “bear the weaknesses” of those around us.

Christianity is not an individualist faith. Christianity is not just about my relationship with God. Christianity is about the family of God. I am to care for my brothers and sisters; I am to care for my potential brothers and sisters. More succinctly, I have some responsibility for everyone I meet. I am not ultimately responsible for their choices and circumstances; but, I am responsible for bearing some of their weaknesses.

Romans 13:1-2 Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves.

Is this a command all Christians are to follow? Is it true that God establishes our leaders and authorities? Are Christians forbidden to oppose authority?

Many Christians I know take this passage to be an instruction that Christians are to obey, honor, and serve their government. Many Christians use this passage as a basis for “Just War Theory” and for political activism.

As with any passage of the Bible, we need to be sure we are reading Romans 13:1-2 in context. Paul’s argument here is a continuation of what he began in the previous chapter when he wrote: “Present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”

Reading Romans 13 in the light of Romans 12 it seems that the correct understanding of 13:1-2 is that we, as Christians, have less interest in the kingdoms of earth than we have in the Kingdom of Heaven. If our rulers are treating us unfairly, so what? We have a God who will car for us. If we have a government that overtaxes us, so what? It was all God’s to begin with. We are not to be conformed by the customs, powers, and authorities of this age.

Rather than being concerned about the rulers and authorities of this age, we are to be concerned with loving God, loving our neighbor, and sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I would argue that none of those things can be done through politics and none of those things can be done through government.

Romans 13:1-2 is not a call to blindly support our government; rather, it is a call to let the powers of this earth do their thing. If they are not contradicting Jesus, let them have their way. We are called to work in the service of the Kingdom of Heaven.

“However, Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, had no sons, only daughters; and these are the names of his daughters: Mahlah and Noah, Hoglah, Milcah and Tirzah. They came near before Eleazar the priest and before Joshua the son of Nun and before the leaders, saying, ‘The LORD commanded Moses to give us an inheritance among our brothers.’ So according to the command of the LORD he gave them an inheritance among their father’s brothers.”

The takeaway I get from this story is that the Lord was more concerned with caring for all of the people than with conforming to the social norms. God’s goal is to take care of God’s people, society can figure itself out.

The enemy has come to an end in perpetual ruins, and You have uprooted the cities; the very memory of them has perished. But the LORD abides forever; He has established His throne for judgment, and He will judge the world in righteousness; He will execute judgment for the peoples with equity. The LORD also will be a stronghold for the oppressed, A stronghold in times of trouble; and those who know Your name will put their trust in You, For You, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek You.

Evil has perished, is perishing, and will perish in the future at the hand of our righteous God. The inherent evil in our world will perish. The systemic evil in our societies will perish. The evil we allow in our hearts will perish. But those who know the name of the Lord and put their trust in that name will not be forsaken as the destroyed cities of the enemy were forsaken.

God is a God of justice. God enabled the bringing about of justice in the past. God will bring about ultimate justice in the future. But we live in the present and are called to be God’s agents of justice in our world. “The Lord also will be a stronghold for the oppressed. A stronghold in times of trouble”. We are to be examples of Christ to the world around us. If we are not being a stronghold for the oppressed and troubled then we are perpetuating evil and we make ourselves an enemy of the Lord.

O let the evil of the wicked come to an end, but establish the righteous; for the righteous God tries the hearts and minds.

If this is going to be your prayer you should make sure that you are actually among the righteous. Most of us think we are righteous. Most of us think we are pretty good people. Most of us think we have a better understanding of God than the people we disagree with. I would suggest that it is better to focus on God trying our hearts and minds than to focus on God bringing the wicked to justice.

When you read the story of the oppression of the Hebrew people under the direction of Pharaoh and his foreman, who do you identify with? If you are like most people I know you identify with the oppressed Hebrews. But in the real world are we the oppressor or are we the oppressed? Do our actions cause the suffering, disempowerment, and belittlement of other human beings?

I would argue we (North American) Christians are more likely to be playing the role of the Egyptians than the role of the Hebrews. It would be good to spend some time considering ways we may be complicit in human suffering, ways we may be enabling human enslavement, ways we are disempowering humans, ways we are entertained by human belittlement. Then we need to focus on ways to correct these behaviors.

This passage in a nutshell: Judah has three sons. Tamar marries the oldest son Er who does some unspecified evil in the Lord’s sight and the Lord takes his life. Tamar then marries the second son Onan so that Er might have a descendant. However, Onan does not want his child to be Er’s descendant so he sleeps with Tamar, but commits coitus interruptus. The Lord sees this as an evil thing so he kills Onan as well. Judah then promises Tamar his third

It seems that Joseph learned his lesson from when he was younger. When he is interpreting dreams his focus has shifted from what he can do and how he will be blessed to what God is capable of doing. God has blessed Joseph with a great gift and with tremendous insight; when he focuses that gift on what God can do he and the people around him are blessed. In this case Joseph notes that it is not he who is able to interpret the dream, but it is God.

There are many times in my life when I have taken credit for what God is doing. As a pastor it easy to look at weekly attendance as a scorecard of how well you are doing. Obviously if attendance goes up it’s because I am awesome, or if attendance goes down it’s because people don’t understand me. However, that is a poor way to look at what God is doing. I am not capable of leading a church, but God is capable. Throughout life we need to recognize on a daily basis that we are dependent upon God. If we ever think we are doing it ourselves God will teach us that we are wrong. God taught Joseph to depend on Him by subjecting him to slavery and two years of imprisonment. Hopefully we will learn our lessons a little sooner.

Genesis 34 is a fascinating story of brothers defending the honor of their sister. Dinah is raped and her rapist asks to marry her. Jacob’s sons say that if the entire city is circumcised then the man can marry their sister Dinah. The town is circumcised and two days later while their wounds are still fresh Jacob’s sons go through the camp and slaughter the men.

The character of Jacob is brought further into question in this passage. He is far more concerned of how the region will now view him and his household than in defending his daughter. His plan had been to keep quite and pretend the whole rape thing never happened. Jacob is not a great guy. Jacob’s sons give a good response to their father by asking, “Should he be allowed to treat our sister as a harlot?”

There is a theme of justice in this passage. Jacob was unwilling to seek justice on behalf of the weak in his community (his own daughter). Jacob’s sons sought out justice for the weak sister who was harmed by the powerful neighbor. In our context we are not called to kill rapists but we are called to focus on justice and we must work to protect those who are in a weaker position.

The following is a copy of an opinion piece I wrote for my local paper.  It was run on Thursday, January 15, 2009.

This Sunday, January 18, 2009 will be named, by executive proclamation, “National Sanctity of Human Life Day”. This day is set aside to recognize that each life has inherent dignity and matchless value. As a nation we are called to defend the weakest and most vulnerable members of our society. All Americans are called to commit to respecting and protecting the life and dignity of every human being.

This Sunday many individuals and congregations will take time to honor “National Sanctity of Human Life Day”. Many churches will preach sermons and pray prayers recognizing that life is sacred. If you participate in this day, I applaud you for celebrating that life is a sacred gift. However, I beg you to remember that the sanctity of life does not end at birth.

“But God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and the livestock that were with him in the ark”

In the flood narrative Noah is on the ark for a long time; aimlessly drifting with no land in sight. There is no where to go. There is nothing anyone or anything on the ark can do except wait and trust that God will provide for them. “But God remembered Noah”. God did not forget those on the ark, but that does not mean that God gave them an instant escape. God had provided the ark to begin with, then God provided for them and kept them safe while they were on the ark, then God provided for them until they could depart from the ark.

If we listen to God, God will provide for us in advance of the disasters that strike our lives. If we trust in God , God will give us strength, endurance and patience to weather the disasters that strike our lives. If we give thanks to God, we will keep near to God after the disasters that strike our lives.

Sometimes it seems as though life is an endless series of traditions. Every nation, culture, tribe and family engages in a wide variety of traditional and ritualistic behavior. These traditions are passed from generation to generation. Often the original meaning of the tradition is lost and the ritual may change over time, but there is something about repeating a familiar act that is comforting to each of us.

When I was a boy growing up, one of my family’s thanksgiving traditions was to sit around the television on thanksgiving eve and watch “The Mouse and the Mayflower.” This short cartoon told the story of the pilgrim’s crossing the Atlantic Ocean on the ship Mayflower all through the eyes of a small mouse. I am not going to argue the historical accuracy of the cartoon, but I mention it because approximately one third of the way into the movie the pilgrims sing a song called, “Elbow Room.” This song spoke specifically about the cramped quarters on the ship, but it also spoke metaphorically about the pilgrim’s hope to find a space in the New World where they could be free to follow their spiritual leadings. As we study how religion was imported into the American colonies in the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, it becomes apparent that many people and people groups came to the colonies in search of “elbow room.”