Let's be Priests

Hello everyone! Guess what? I'm still alive!

Not only have I not written in a long time, but I also just recovered from having Chicken Pox, so I feel pretty happy to be alive and well.

That said, I have discovered a really cool Bible-reading-combo. If you are looking for something to read, I would suggest reading Malachi alongside Hebrews.

This post has nothing to do with Hebrews, but I am reading the two alongside each other currently, and it's pretty cool. Alright, let's talk about Malachi.

Today, I read Malachi 2:1-9.

And now, O priests, this command is for you. (Malachi 2:1)

Malachi, like the other Old Testament Prophets, was there to show Israel the harsh reality of what it meant to break covenant with God. In addressing the priests, he is speaking to the Levitical priests of the old covenant.

But Jesus did say,

Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. (Matthew 5:17)

Everything in the OT that was meant for the benefit of people who lived in that time, is also meant for our benefit. When I read, "O Priests, this command is for you," I thought of 1 Peter 2:9.

 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. (1 Peter 2:9)

So, Priests, read this for yourselves.

If you will not listen, if you will not take it to heart to give honor to my name, says the Lord of hosts, then I will send the curse upon you and I will curse your blessings. Indeed, I have already cursed them, because you do not lay it to heart. Behold, I will rebuke your offspring, and spread dung on your faces, the dung of your offerings, and you shall be taken away with it. (Malachi 2:2-3)

It's easy for Christians, (at least for me) to read this and think it sounds pretty harsh, and we're under grace, so it doesn't really apply to me. In dismissing the punishment, I dismiss the warning.

But think about it this way. If God felt strongly enough about a command that He would curse, rebuke, and humiliate whoever didn't follow it, would His feelings change? Maybe the standard is easier to live up to because Christ took the curse for us, but isn't it worth considering that the sin was bad enough to merit a curse in the first place?

Moreover, He specifically addressed the priesthood. If we are specifically called priests, we bear whatever responsibilities priests of the New Covenant should bear.

What is the responsibility He's warning about? That they did not "take it to heart to give honour to (His) name."

This is not a command that's unfamiliar to us, but it is one that we don't tend to talk about this seriously. We talk about giving God honour as a privilege, (which it is) but not as a responsibility with consequences. (which it also is)

In a more familiar-to-Christians passage, 1 Peter 2 says the same thing:  

"...a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light." (1 Peter 2:9b)

"O Priests, this command is for you. If you will not listen, if you will not take it to heart..."

I have been praying recently that Jesus would show me how to be closer to Him. It struck me so strongly when I read this, that I MUST take this seriously. If I claim to be a Christian, then I am claiming to be a priest, and what God required of priests, is now required of me.

So shall you know that I have sent this command to you, that my covenant with Levi may stand, says the Lord of hosts. My covenant with him was one of life and peace, and I gave them to him. It was a covenant of fear, and he feared me. He stood in awe of my name. True instruction was in his mouth, and no wrong was found on his lips. He walked with me in peace and uprightness, and he turned many from iniquity. For the lips of a priest should guard knowledge, and people should seek instruction from his mouth, for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts. (Malachi 2:4-7)

"My covenant with Levi," He describes as something founded on Levi's right understanding of God. This is what the priesthood is all about, and we would be foolish to call ourselves priests without understanding it.

Levi's right understanding of God, was this: That Levi feared God, that he stood in awe of His name, that he spoke truth, that he walked with God in peace and uprightness, and that by his influence, other people turned away from their sin.

This is held up as an example for all other priests to follow, concluding with this statement.

For the lips of a priest should guard knowledge, and people should seek instruction from his mouth, for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts. (Malachi 2:7)

As a priest, do your lips guard knowledge? Do people seek instruction from you? You are the messenger of the Lord of hosts.

I've heard the saying thrown around that "You are the only bible some people will every read."

In other words, you are the only messenger of the Lord of hosts some people will ever meet.

I looked back at 1 Peter to see if there were more parallels between the instructions given to Old Testament Levitical Priests and New Testament Christian Priests, and here is what I found.

Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation. (1 Peter 2:10-12)

Once, we were not a people. We were not priests. But now we are God's people, and His holy priesthood. Beloved, (this command is for you) I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. Instead, fear God. Stand in awe of Him. Keep instruction in your mouth, and no wrong on your lips. Walk with God in peace and uprightness among the Gentiles, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds, hear knowledge and instruction from the Lord of hosts, glorify God, and turn away from their iniquity.

This is my first post of 2020. This year, let's you and I take our calling seriously. Let's not just sing "All glory, honour, power is Yours, amen." But let's live, "All glory, honour, power is Yours, amen."

Let's take to heart to give honour to His name. Let's learn to fear God. Let's stand in awe of Him. Let's abstain from the passions of the flesh that are waging war on our souls, and instead let's fill our minds and words with the knowledge of God. Let's become priests who are worthy of the title. The kind that people come to for instruction, and follow into the presence of God.

Amen?

Is God Really in Control?

I have always had a hard time with the saying "God is in control."

A few months ago I had a conversation with a young man, who had dealt with issues I wouldn't have imagined, experienced things most people won't talk about, and arrived at a place of brokenness foreign to most broken people.

I looked sheltered, protected, and pampered, even to myself. I was almost afraid to speak for fear of saying something like, "God is in control." I put myself in his shoes, or at least I tried, and realized that those words that are meant to be a comfort would only be an insult to a hurting heart, even one that trusted Him. 

That night I read a story about a Rwandan woman whose son was killed during the Rwandan genocide, and how she faced his killer. Forgave his killer. And blessed his killer.

I put myself in her shoes, or at least tried to, and realized that though she trusted God, (unlike the aforementioned man) to say, "God is in control," would be nothing more than empty words, echoing in the mind of a person trying desperately to cling to something with meaning.

The next morning my dad got violently sick, and although I was concerned about him, I didn't realize til later he thought he wasn't going to make it. It awoke to me again the reality that I try not to think about, that my family consists of mortals, and eventually, someone I really love will die. I put myself in that place, and realized that though I would cling to Christ with everything I am, if someone told me, "God is in control," I would have a hard time not becoming angry with them.

“I have heard many such things; Miserable comforters are you all! Shall words of wind have an end? Or what provokes you that you answer? I also could speak as you do, If your soul were in my soul’s place. I could heap up words against you, And shake my head at you; (Job 16:2-4)

I read a book shortly thereafter called Making Sense Out of Suffering, and an article about the Armenian genocide, and I just find myself thinking, what is it about the phrase that I hate so much? It doesn't seem to comfort, though it should, it doesn't even seem to convict, though I would expect it to.

Do I not believe it? Am I actually so faithless that I cannot find comfort in God's sovereignty?

But then I realized that the word control implies initiative.

You can't be given control over a situation, nor can you just have it, control is taken. 

Authority is different.

I was at McDonalds one time, (where I work) and my coworker paid an order out wrong. My manager had authority over the situation, but I was the one who took control and told my coworker how to handle it. Together we solved the problem, and the manager didn't even have to get involved. 

If, when my coworker had started to freak out about it, I had said, "Don't worry, Manager S. is in control," this would not have comforted, since she barely seemed to be aware of the issue, much less doing anything about it. She certainly had the authority to step in and take charge, but she didn't, and it would have been useless to try to be comforted by the thought.

When a Team Leader is promoted to a Manager, they are given new authority in their workplace. They are not given control. You might say they are given the authority to take control.

Once given authority, an insecure manager might take control in every situation, but a discerning manager will, more often than not, equip people to handle hard situations by themselves.

I think the reason "God is in control," feels like such an insult both to suffering and to faith, is because it seems to say that God orchestrated every tragedy that occurs, and somehow had a hand in bringing about horrific pain.

Does it seem good to You that You should oppress, That You should despise the work of Your hands, And smile on the counsel of the wicked? (Job 10:3)

It is not God's way to give His people the ability to will and act, and then control their lives. 

So no, I suppose you could say that I don't believe God is in control. But only because I do not believe He always takes control.

God is not insecure, nor power hungry, nor uncaring. Like a good manager He stands close by, ready at a moment's notice to assist, but also like a good manager He teaches rather than takes over.

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. (James 1:5)

He may let us be pushed further than we think we can bear, but (unlike a McDonalds manager) He made us, and so knows much better than we how much we can take.

For You, O God, have tested us; You have refined us as silver is refined. You brought us into the net; You laid affliction on our backs. You have caused men to ride over our heads; We went through fire and through water; But You brought us out to rich fulfillment. (Psalm 66:10-12)

But that too is a hard thing to hear when life seems to have fallen apart. "He will not give you more than you can bear." It sounds more hopeful than truthful, and we're actually pretty skeptical creatures when it comes to hope without cause.

The truth behind the hope is not that He has control, but that He has authority, and if He sees that you are pushed too far, stretched too thin, or are falling too deep, He'll be right there to take control until He's satisfied that you can handle it again.

And the Lord said: “I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows. So I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and large land..." (Exodus 3:7-8a)

Dispair and blame come with the assurance that God is in control.

Comfort comes with the assurance that God is present, and He has authority.

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. (Psalm 46:1)

Of course, this is my interpretation of the bible and what I have seen and experienced. If you have a different point of view, I'd love to hear it!

As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend. (Proverbs 27:17)

According to My Righteousness

You might be tired of hearing me say that I am struggling. I seem to be struggling emotionally a lot. In fact, I am a little sick of it myself. But I have been realizing over the past little while that everyone's journey is different, some struggle more than others, and it is not about what people think of me, but what God does.

But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7)

This being said, I have been struggling. Part of my struggle is that I want to be near to God, I want to be close to Him, but when it comes down to it in my day, there are two options, read the bible or play a game, I choose play a game. And then I get mad at myself for that at the end of the day, and the next day goes the exact same way.

One day I was feeling the burden of this very badly, so I picked up my bible and read Psalm 18. (without knowing what it was about first)

In case you don't know Psalm 18 by memory, it starts like this, 

I will love You, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised; So shall I be saved from my enemies. The pangs of death surrounded me, And the floods of ungodliness made me afraid. The sorrows of Sheol surrounded me; The snares of death confronted me. (Psalms 18:1-5)

I was feeling this. In the same words I used when talking about this to my cousin, "This is me." The struggle was feeling like the pangs of death because I knew if I did not seek God I would fall away from Him. I knew I was choosing death over life. I kept reading,

In my distress I called upon the Lord, And cried out to my God; He heard my voice from His temple, And my cry came before Him, even to His ears. (Psalms 18:6)

Since I was relating so well to the earlier part, I took this part to heart. I had called out to God in my distress. He had heard me.

 Then the earth shook and trembled; The foundations of the hills also quaked and were shaken, Because He was angry. Smoke went up from His nostrils, And devouring fire from His mouth; Coals were kindled by it. He bowed the heavens also, and came down With darkness under His feet. And He rode upon a cherub, and flew; He flew upon the wings of the wind. He made darkness His secret place; His canopy around Him was dark waters And thick clouds of the skies. From the brightness before Him, His thick clouds passed with hailstones and coals of fire. The Lord thundered from heaven, And the Most High uttered His voice, Hailstones and coals of fire. He sent out His arrows and scattered the foe, Lightnings in abundance, and He vanquished them. Then the channels of the sea were seen, The foundations of the world were uncovered At Your rebuke, O Lord, At the blast of the breath of Your nostrils. (Psalms 18:7-15)

Wow. This part just reminded me how mighty and powerful God is, and this wrath that it is describing here, is not something you want to mess with. AND, this anger is on my behalf. That was the craziest part, because of the struggle that I was having, God was angry.

He sent from above, He took me; He drew me out of many waters. (Psalm 18:16)

Again, I was translating this to myself.

  He delivered me from my strong enemy, From those who hated me, For they were too strong for me.They confronted me in the day of my calamity, But the Lord was my support. (Psalm 18:17-18)

AGAIN, this was exactly how I felt. "For they were too strong for me," was practically my own thoughts on paper. I was too weak to fight this. But then there was a promise, "But the Lord was my support."

He also brought me out into a broad place; He delivered me because He delighted in me. (Psalm 18:19)

He delights in me! Me! Even though I was struggling to just seek Him, He still saved me because He delighted in me. This was making me so grateful, so amazed, so in awe...but then, I read the next part.

The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness; According to the cleanness of my hands He has recompensed me. (Psalm 18:20)

Come on. The whole reason I was struggling in the first place was because I was NOT righteous. All of the previous happiness caused by the other verses was shattered. It only got worse.

For I have kept the ways of the Lord, And have not wickedly departed from my God. For all His judgments were before me, And I did not put away His statutes from me^. I was also blameless before Him, And I kept myself from my iniquity. Therefore the Lord has recompensed me according to my righteousness, According to the cleanness of my hands in His sight. (Psalm 18:21-24)

I don't know what made me think this, I guess it was God, but all of a sudden I remembered someone saying the words, "Jesus is my righteousness."

I read verse 24 again with that perspective, as though when it says 'my righteousness,' it is saying 'Jesus.'

That was so amazing. And so true. That was the whole purpose for which He died, so that we would not have to be recompensed according to our own righteousness because our righteousness would never be enough.

Look back at those verses, 21-24, read them all again with that thought. That is what I did. As though the things he is claiming are things Jesus is claiming of Himself. It is all totally true.

By the time I got to the bottom I was overwhelmed with a new sense of gratefulness, that Jesus would die to be my righteousness. And when I read the end of verse 24 again, According to the cleanness of my hands in His sight. I remembered another saying that I have heard many times, that when Jesus is your savior, when God looks at you He doesn't see sinful you, but perfect Jesus.

When He looks at me, He sees clean hands, and a pure heart, because that is what My Righteousness gave me.