A Boomer in the Pew

Is this cult language? Puritan Jeremiah Burroughs: "Learn to know that you are less than nothing"

2009-07-17T13:57:04-07:00

This post is part of a collection of posts, and joined in on-line interaction with scores of others, in the reading of Jeremiah Burroughs' "The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment".

Cult: a group of people having religious beliefs or practices regarded by others as strange or sinister.

When one begins to read the whole of the Bible, you are going to be faced with very uncomfortable, and challenging truths.

There have been many times that I have wondered if I am not this guy pictured above.

In my continued reading of "Rare Jewels", I have come across words that I cannot simply pass by. It is not my desire to mindlessly become a reader of this text. I will listen to his point of view, and then adopt it as my own, proclaim it to be sheer nonsense, but mindlessly passing by is not in my intent.

Burroughs contends that becoming a scholar of Christ is very difficult, no different than the child who might complain of learning their ABC's. The task before us is going to be hard.

Hear it from Burroughs:

"This is where Christ begins with his scholars, and those in the lowest form must begin with this; if you mean to be Christians at all, you must buckle to this or you can never be Christian. Just as no-one can be a scholar unless he learns his ABC, so you must learn the lesson of self-denial or you can never become a scholar in Christ's school, and be learned in this mystery of contentment. That is the first lesson that Christ teaches any soul, self-denial, which brings contentment, which brings down and softens a man's heart. You know how when you strike something soft it makes no noise, but if you strike a hard thing it makes a noise; so with the hearts of men who are full of themselves, and hardened with self-love, if they receive a stroke they make a noise, but a self-denying Christian yields to God's hand, and makes no noise."

Here are the words that have stopped me in my tracks for a few days, in learning what Burroughs might desire to teach us about self-denial:

I must learn that I am nothing.
I deserve nothing. I am nothing, therefore I deserve nothing.
I can do nothing.
I am so vile that I cannot of myself receive any good.
If God cleanses us in some measure, and puts into us some good liquor, some grace of his Spirit, yet we can make use of nothing when we have it, if God but withdraws himself.
We are worse than nothing.
If we perish we will be no loss.

Well...isn't that special!

Please continue reading...

Trust me, I am not applying for membership in the metal hat brigade, as illustrated above.

The great reformer, John Calvin, taught me that man's greatest vile, in the nostrils of God, is our pride. We the clay, would vain to instruct the Potter, or replace the Potter with gods of our own choosing, and are prone to go our own way, in spite of our Maker's instruction.

So first we must decide:

Do we believe in God, or not?
If so, then who should be running the show?
What does God tell us about ourselves:
1. In the Garden of Eden, we died.
2. 1. There was/is a physical death. We will all physically die some day.
  2. There was a spiritual death. We are all dead spiritually, without regeneration (the new birth).
3. In the Garden of Eden, because of this death, we became separated from God. All of us are subject to his holy wrath. All of us. Unless, we grab a hold of the Savior from God's wrath, Jesus the Christ.
Therefore, without Jesus Christ, hiding us, protecting us, justifying us, from the wrath of a infinitely, perfectly good God, then we are, and remain toast, and furthermore, potentially face eternity, screaming in torment, apart from God.

Therefore, without Christ, I am nothing. But for some reason, beyond my comprehension, God chose me, from before creation, to be snapped out of this worthlessness, this death, to become incomparably, beautifully robed in the righteousness of Christ.

So yes, I was nothing, and I have to keep beating my nature down with a holy stick, but thankfully, I have moved beyond less than nothing, to having great worth, to God, and I am hanging on to him with all my might, staying near the fountain of life, and holding to his promise to never let me go.

How about you? Are you worthless?

What are we to make of casting lots, and the Urim and Thummim?

2009-07-17T10:47:52-07:00

"Joshua Casting Lots to Divide the Promised Land", pen & ink, after the workshop of Raphael.

ESV Study Bible Devotions

Joshua 14:2 - Their inheritance was by lot, just as the Lord had commanded by the hand of Moses for the nine and one-half tribes.

One of the most widely used Google search phrases, bringing folks to my blog, is "knowing God's will".

I suppose my title question is going to wind up a mystery, as I have turned up no definitive answers anywhere.

Sometimes, I wonder if the church at large doesn't just stay away from certain practices, in the Scriptures, because they are so easily abused. Please don't misinterpret that statement as support, one way or the other, for such practices, but merely an observation.

Here are a few interesting things to read on this subject:

a secular article on casting lots citing John Wesley, and Benjamin Franklin using lots to make important decisions.
In Exodus 28:30, God told Moses to have the Urim and Thummim, put in the priest's ephod. These remain somewhat of a mystery today, but tradition holds that they are something akin to a holy "yes", or "no". Here is an interesting article from the Jewish Encyclopedia on the Urim and Thummim.
Here is Dr. John Piper on the practice of drawing lots to determine God's will.
God warns Israel about the abomination of fortune telling, and divination.
A very interesting article from the Reformed Reader arguing that the Urim and Thummin is a "type" of Christ, light and perfection, and has been completely fulfilled in Christ.
Proverbs 16:33 - "The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord."
Acts 1:26 describes the disciples casting lots to replace the traitor Judas.
- The lots were probably marked stones that were placed in a pot and then shaken out (cf. 1 Chron. 26:13–16). This does not imply that people should cast lots to make their decisions today, for there is no such command in any NT letter or in any of Jesus' earthly teachings. The appointment of a twelfth apostle was a unique situation, a choice that was made by Jesus himself. In the rest of the NT, the elders and deacons and other church leaders are chosen according to decisions made by human beings, whether by an apostle or by others in the churches (see Acts 6:3–6; 14:23; 15:22; 2 Cor. 8:19; cf. 1 Tim. 3:1–13; Titus 1:5–9).

So, here's the question of the day:

When we need to decide whether we go this way, or that, might we turn to casting of lots, or the Urim and Thummim? Or, as many have proclaimed, these things died in Christ, and we are to seek our answers in the Scriptures, the Church, our appointed Elders, Prayer, and the indwelt Holy Spirit?

I look forward to your thoughtful responses.

Of Phylacteries and White Washed Tombs: But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!

2009-07-15T09:56:10-07:00

ESV Study Bible Devotions

Matthew 23:2-7,27-28,33 - “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat, 3 so practice and observe whatever they tell you—but not what they do. For they preach, but do not practice. 4 They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger. 5 They do all their deeds to be seen by others. For they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long,6 and they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues 7 and greetings in the marketplaces and being called rabbi by others. 27 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people's bones and all uncleanness. 28 So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness! 33 You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell?

Phylacteries, seen in this photograph, were a physical invention of the early Jews, to seek something that God designed to be a function of the heart. Instead, it wound up being a source of pride, "Look at me, see how holy I am, I wear phylacteries".

We must remember that Jesus Christ is God incarnate. Here, in the seven woes described in the 23rd chapter of Matthew, we must all feel the sting, and profoundly sharp words of our Christ.

He has no place, and is not interested in our outward religious appearances. He sees our heart. We may appear outwardly to be of a "religious" persuasion, but clearly these traditions, these outward signs mean nothing to God. It is the attitude of our heart that interests Him.

We all fall prey to these entrapments, in one way or another. Better to go to a secluded mountain, or in the quietness of our closets, then to think God is in anyway impressed with our trappings.

Ah pride, the great bane of our natures.

King David's Palace Found in Jerusalem?

2009-07-13T18:33:12-07:00

For centuries, scoffers have held forth against the Bible's authenticity from an archeological perspective. But over, and over it would seem that God has other plans for those who would sneer.

From aish.com:

"But the debunkers of Jewish biblical history got some bad news recently, when a spunky, dedicated archaeologist began her latest dig. Dr. Eilat Mazar, world authority on Jerusalem's past, has taken King David out of the pages of the Bible and put him back into living history. Mazar's latest excavation in the City of David, in the southern shadow of the Temple Mount, has shaken up the archaeological world. For lying undisturbed for over 3,000 years is a massive building which Mazar believes is King David's palace."

The article is a fascinating read, and seems to have all the suspense of a modern day novel:

"But as fast as new Jewish artifacts are being unearthed, Mazar is concerned that a great number are being destroyed.

As spokesperson for the Committee Against the Desecration of Antiquities on the Temple Mount, Mazar has for the past six years tried to alert the world to the vandalism being perpetrated by the Muslim Waqf, who have their own agenda of destroying remnants of proof of Jewish sovereignty in Jerusalem, and who consistently deny that there ever was a First or Second Temple.

According to agreements made between the Israeli government and the Waqf, to whom the Israelis handed control of the Temple Mount in 1967, the Arabs are not permitted to carry out independent works on the Mount without permission from the Israel Antiquities Authority. Over the years, however, there have been indications of the Waqf breaking this status quo, such as when they sealed up the ancient Hulda Gates entrance to the Temple Mount on the southern wall and buried the adjoining steps and ancient tiling, and the sealing of an underground water cistern that some rabbis thought would lead to the Temple foundations.

The greatest breech was discovered in 1999, when the Waqf bulldozed and then paved over close to 6,000 square meters of the ancient Temple Mount surface. Temple Mount artifacts were ripped from the Mount and secretly dumped in several places throughout Jerusalem, mostly in the Kidron Valley east of the Old City and also in the city dump. Over 100 truckloads of Temple Mount rubble, soil and artifacts were clandestinely removed."

It will be captivating to watch this story unfold.

HT: Justin Taylor, Gene Veith

Horror of Horrors: to be thrown out as a wedding crasher at God's Wedding Banquet

2009-07-13T07:56:59-07:00

The Parable of the Wedding Banquet. "The Guest without a Wedding Robe is thrown out", 1712 copper engraving, by Caspar Luiken.

ESV Study Bible Devotions

Matthew 22:1-14 - And again Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying, 2 “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son, 3 and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come.4 Again he sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, See, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast.’ 5 But they paid no attention and went off, one to his farm, another to his business, 6 while the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them.7 The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. 8 Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not worthy. 9 Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.’ 10 And those servants went out into the roads and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good. So the wedding hall was filled with guests.

11 “But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment.12 And he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. 13 Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ 14 For many are called, but few are chosen.”

This parable should make us all look very carefully at our lives. Very carefully!

Here's what I glean from this parable (note: I am not an expert, corrections welcome) :

Christ is speaking of a future day, his second coming
Christ sent out an invitation to his guests (Israel) but they refused to come.
Therefore, Christ invites everyone who will come. (Gentiles, everyone who will come)
Christ provided the guests with wedding garments. (Justification, the righteousness of Christ)
There are those at the wedding (Wedding Crashers), who presume to belong at the banquet, but do not possess the proper attire. (they said Lord, Lord, with their mouths, but Christ, the Holy Spirit, was not with them. True regeneration has not occurred)
Not having the proper attire (the effectual call, chosen, the elect), they are removed from the banquet, and thrown into hell.

This is a sobering parable. Being a devout atheist, and directly opposing God is one thing, but here we see those who believed they belonged, at the wedding feast, thrown out.

We must all ask ourselves a very important question: How can I know, for certain, that I am saved?

Please click the link above, and if necessary, do some careful soul searching.

Codex Sinaiticus: Oldest Complete New Testament is now On-Line

2009-07-12T16:33:14-07:00

"Codex Sinaiticus"

There has been a lot of hullabaloo, in theological circles, about this 4th century codex (ancient manuscript in book form).

It seems that history had the book in pieces, in various locations, and now, through the power of the Internet, these segregated pieces are once again together.

It also seems that the media is somewhat confused, and therefore a little off in its reporting of this historic event.

Here is the website for Codex Sinaiticus (lots of interesting history), and here is a blog post from Dr. Dan Wallace (Dallas Theological Seminary) clearing up some of the confusion.

5 Kings in a Cave: A Portrait of Absolute Holy Fear

2009-07-12T08:10:22-07:00

"Five Canaanite Kings hiding in a Cave", Edward Gurden Dalziel.

ESV Study Bible Devotions

I love the ability of photography, and paintings, to freeze frame life, and force us to consider with our imaginations, a particular moment in time.

Here we see the five Amorite Kings hiding in a cave at Makkedah. The five of them joined forces to punish Gibeon for making peace with Joshua, and the Israelites.

Subsequently, Joshua comes against them and begins the destruction of their forces. Amazingly, God "threw down large stones from heaven" on them, and more were killed from God's hailstorm then were killed with Joshua's swords.

To further drive holy fear into their hearts, Joshua commands the sun, and the moon, to stand still so that they had enough daylight to complete this wholesale destruction.

As these kings witness their complete helplessness before God, and their warriors being easily destroyed, they run and hide in this cave. Joshua sees them run into the cave, chases them down, and rolls a large bolder in front of the cave, trapping the five kings.

And here we see Dalziel's depiction of the trapped kings. You can see them rubbing their hands, exhausted, and talking among themselves. What must it be like to be trapped in a cave with holy God fighting against you? You know you are completely helpless, and you suspect your end is near. Is there still a remnant of defiance in the two kings in the background?

After Joshua completes his task of wiping out this army, he turned his attention back to these kings. They were hauled out of the cave, laid on the ground, and Joshua commanded, "Come near; put our feet on the necks of these kings." Then the kings were struck to death, hung on a tree for all to see, and then, at the end of the day, thrown back into their cave, and sealed for all eternity.

One of the errands of the Old Testament is to teach us a proper view of our God. He is to be feared! Woe to those who stand against him outside of his kingdom, and foolish be the child of God who dreams that God does not discipline his children.

Jesus taught us "And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell." (Matthew 10:28)

A proper "fear of the Lord" is required in our view of holy God. Again, the post-modern view of "Bono in a bathrobe", as though Christ were merely a good man is a dangerous view. Christ also told us that many will cry Lord, Lord, in the final days, and he will cast them away.

Oh family, oh reader, in all your getting, get your name in the Lamb's book of life. You do not want to find yourself in a future version of this cave.

Does God ever change his mind?

2009-07-11T11:06:16-07:00

"The Gibeonites deceived Joshua", 1728 engraving, Abraham de Blois.

ESV Study Bible Devotions

It seems that we have another mystery on our hands here. At least a mystery to me.

In Deuteronomy, God told the Israelites that when they came into the promised land, they were to destroy all, not intermarry, and removed them from the land.

Yet, we see Rahab, and her family preserved, and now the whole Gibeonite tribe. And, to further the confusion, both of these situations involved a ruse of some sort.

I wonder what God is teaching us here. Clearly his mercy is in view, but did he change his mind?

Does God ever change his mind? I have seen many examples of you do this, then I (God) will do that.

But did God change his mind here with the Gibeonites, from his command with Moses?

My wife and I are having a big hubbub today over one of our sons. We are a step-family, I laid a law down with my son, a line was crossed, and I, in this case, didn't hold down my law.

Now my wife is upset because I didn't hold down the law. When a law is laid down, am I to always, in all circumstances, enforce it? Was my heart manipulated? Did I see real positive change, and rightly dispense grace?

Certainly I am not God, and certainly I am not privileged with his view into the heart. I can only do what I think is best, and certainly deeply listen to my wife's words.

But, these episodes with Rahab, and the Gibeonites, sure has me scratching my head. I will continue the journey to see if I find any answers.

31 Posts from Andrew Murray's 31 Day Meditation: Waiting on God

2009-07-10T18:20:36-07:00

I have now finished Andrew Murray's 31 day devotional "Waiting on God", and thought I would capture a few finals thoughts, as I put this series in the archives.

Contrary to many Christian thinkers, the Scriptures are replete with references that life on this earth, living in a fallen world, with fallen creatures, will bring many trials, tribulations, and sufferings.

Suffering is inescapable. Given this, it serves us well to seek God's advice when we encounter these periods, or find our friends, and family in these sufferings.

This book has become a very special text to me, and I am most grateful to Andrew Murray for helping me reshape my thinking in this regard.

Before this text, my expectation was, "God, get me out of here". But, it would seem, this is part of life, and God uses, and can even be glorified in our trials.

As of this writing, I would say that I have not found the peak of this particular period of trial in my life. I long for it. I feel weary, but now I have a most trusted friend in this text to refer to, and help me to better have a holy view of our sufferings.

I highly recommend this text to anyone who is in a period of prolonged suffering.

Please continue on to see a listing of my 31 posts from Murray's "Waiting on God"...

31 Posts from Andrew Murray's 31 Day Meditation: Waiting on God

Why I chose this 31 day meditation

Preface

Day #1 - The God of our Salvation

Day #2 - The Keynote of Life

Day #3 - The True Place of the Creature

Day #4 - For Supplies

Day #5 - For Instructions

Day #6 - For All Saints

Day #7 - A Plea in Prayer

Day #8 - Strong and of Good Courage

Day #9 - With the Heart

Day #10 - In Humble Fear and Hope

Day #11 - Patiently

Day #12 - Keeping His Ways

Day #13 - For More than we Know

Day #14 - The Way to the New Song

Day #15 - For His Counsel

Day #16 - For His Light in the Heart

Day #17 - In Times of Darkness

Day #18 - To Reveal Himself

Day #19 - As a God of Judgment

Day #20 - Who Waits on Us

Day #21 - The Almighty One

Day #22 - Its Certainty of Blessing

Day #23 - For Unlooked-for Things

Day #24 - To Know His Goodness

Day #25 - Quietly

Day #26 - In Holy Expectation

Day #27 - For Redemption

Day #28 - For the Coming of His Son

Day #29 - For the Promise of the Father

Day #30 - Continually

Day #31 - Only

Grabbing God's ankles and striving to let go of everything else

2009-07-10T07:31:48-07:00

Andrew Murray's "Waiting on God" (Day #31) - Only.

Psalm 62:5-6 - For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him.
6 He only is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress; I shall not be shaken.

I have spent untold hours reading, and studying God's word in the past three years. My own Damascus road event, if you will.

Our culture would have us believe that man is inherently good. Further, our culture would believe that our path to God is our ability to be good, at least more good then bad, and then God will find us pleasant in his eyes, and grant us into the rewards of eternal relationship in heaven.

The great problem with this thinking is that it is a lie. It is not true. Furthermore, if you read the Bible you will find God speaking directly against this falsehood. We are selfish, prone to wander from God, and each desiring to seek our own way.

As we continue to read, and understand God's holiness, this becomes increasingly apparent as we see ourselves in comparison with perfect holiness.

From this point a desperation begins to set in as you begin to understand your true nature. And here it is that we begin a right relationship, a right understanding, and how desperately we need God to protect us from not only the onslaught of the world, but of our own selves.

Thankfully, God tells us that he will never let his true children go. Once you are truly in his hand, you will remain there. The paradox is that even so, we are still trapped in this earthly shell, and the temptation to run off is ever present.

Therefore, the true saint will daily hide in God's shadow, hang near the spring of everlasting life, and seek to grab hold of God's ankles.

The temptations of the world, and of our selves are great.

Oh God, during these times of my spiritual youth, please keep me shackled close to you. And, oh my soul, wait only on God, my rock, and my salvation.