Victory

On this fourth Advent Sunday we celebrate with this:

Isaiah 40:9-11

Go on up to a high mountain,

    O Zion, herald of good news;

lift up your voice with strength,

    O Jerusalem, herald of good news;

    lift it up, fear not;

say to the cities of Judah,

    “Behold your God!”

Behold, the Lord God comes with might,

    and his arm rules for him;

behold, his reward is with him,

    and his recompense before him.

He will tend his flock like a shepherd;

    he will gather the lambs in his arms;

he will carry them in his bosom,

    and gently lead those that are with young.

This is not the start of a battle.  This is the end of the war.  

The victor returns with the reward (śāḵār) [the spoils of war] and the recompense (pᵊʿullâ) [what had been lost but now recovered].

John 6:38-40 

For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”

Our Lord was sent out with a task and he will fulfill it.

Savior

This third Advent week we start worship with:

Luke 2:8–14

And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. 

And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

The glory of the Lord was last seen by the prophet Ezekiel as it was leaving the temple (Ezekiel 10:4; 10:18-19; 11:22-23) just before Judah was taken into the Babylonian captivity.   

Imagine being the first to see a glimpse of its return; would it be for judgement or for rescue?  

Imagine the relief to hear that it signaled the advent of our "Savior" (sōtēr)!

Decree

On  this second week of Advent we begin worship with:

Luke 2:1-7

In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all went to be registered, each to his own town. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

This is the lifeless "stump of Jesse" that we heard about last week.  David's family line no longer reigned.  In fact, Joseph had to obey the distant decree of a foreign king and endure the disgrace of sleeping in the barn with the animals, when their place should have been among royalty.  

But a new shoot began to sprout about which Jesus himself said concerning the end times:

Matthew 24:32-34

“From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near, at the very gates. Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

While Caesar "decreed" (dogma) this inconvenient registration, the God the Father King Eternal is sovereign and we are under His Decree:

Matthew 24:35-36

“But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.

Righteousness

This first Advent week we begin worship with:

Isaiah 11:1-5 

There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse,

and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. 

And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him,

the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,

the Spirit of counsel and might,

the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.

And his delight shall be in the fear of the LORD.

He shall not judge by what his eyes see,

or decide disputes by what his ears hear,

but with righteousness he shall judge the poor,

and decide with equity for the meek of the earth;

and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth,

and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.

Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist,

and faithfulness the belt of his loins.

In today’s passage, nothing is left of Jesse’s kingdom.  It is a mere stump.  For this to work, God must act, and He does!

A new shoot comes forth and on Him, the Spirit (rûaḥ) rests (nûaḥ) [Listen to the rhyme].  This is not the inaction of resting.  It is the abiding presence that provides all that is needed for Him to take His rightful place as king - wisdom, understanding, counsel and might, . . . but He does not.

Instead His delight remained in the fear (yir'â) of the LORD (Yᵊhōvâ) [Again, listen to the rhyme] and He resisted the temptation to rule so that He could become our righteousness:

Matthew 4:8-11

Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written,

“‘You shall worship the Lord your God

and him only shall you serve.’”

Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.

Mercy

Today we begin worship with:

Psalm 119:103-104
How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my
mouth! Through your precepts I get understanding; therefore I hate
every false way.

In this section of the Psalm (Psalm 119:97-104), the Psalmist exclaims that because of God’s law, he is wiser (ḥāḵam) than his enemies, comprehends (śāḵal) more than all his teachers, and is more discerning (bîn) than those who are older. 

What could do this?

God’s law tells us how life should be led, how we are to act, and what we should do.  There is no better way. There is nothing more sweet than mercy (ḥeseḏ).

Psalm 119:64 

The earth, O Lord, is full of your steadfast love;
    teach me your statutes!

Rescued

 Today we start worship with:

Luke 15:7

Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner

who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no

repentance.

This parable was addressed to quote-unquote righteous persons, or at least to ones that thought they needed “no repentance”.  The Pharisees and scribes had been grumbling because Jesus would spend time with sinners (Luke 15:1-2).  Jesus was addressing them.

We know now that everyone needs repentance. 

Romans 3:23

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

This was a lesson that Abraham had to learn.  He pleaded with God to save the city of Sodom for the sake of his nephew Lot.  Even as the number decreased from 50 down to 10, God’s answer was always the same.  If righteous were found, God would withhold His wrath (Genesis 18:22-33).  In the end, righteous were not found and only a few were found willing to leave.  Only Lot, his wife, and his two daughters took advantage of the angel’s warning and his wife famously turned back and received the just penalty (Genesis 19:15-29).

Heaven rejoices when the warning is heeded, when the sinner is rescued.

Image

 Today we begin worship with:

Genesis 1:27

So God created man in his own image, 

in the image of God he created him; 

male and female he created them.

It is lost in English that this is a song!  

This act of creation is connected (In English "So") to the previous verb "to speak" ('āmar).  This triumphant song follows God's decision and design to share His image with mankind.

Genesis 1:26a
Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. 

And verb "make" (ʿāśâ) is not one-time, simply for Adam, but continuous.  God decided that each generation should reflect Him.

We should ask ourselves daily how well we are holding that mirror.

Righteousness

This week we begin worship with:

Matthew 5:6

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they

shall be satisfied.

Yes, righteousness (dikaiosynē) is the state of being right with God, but God does not make us wait for it.  In fact, two other Beatitudes do not have the familiar “shall be” phrase.  They, the first and the last (Matthew 5:3,10), say we are citizens in the Kingdom of God.  We need not hunger for that!

Our verse rather speaks of our intense desire that we, personally, live a life in which we are the “living sacrifice” (Romans 12), which is summed up as:

Romans 12:18

If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.

How then shall we be “satisfied” (chortazō)?  The word describes the shepherd’s task of grazing the flock so they fatten for slaughter. So in the first sense we will become the sacrifice we desire. 

But secondarily we will also see the righteousness of God executed in justice.

Revelation 19:11

Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war.

Law

 Today we begin worship with:

Romans 8:1-2

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ

Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus

from the law of sin and death.

Not even a little bit (oudeis).  In Christ there is nothing that condemns us. 

Right now (nyn). While most of the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:1-10) point to a future blessing, the first and last bless us instantly with citizenship in the Kingdom, when we acknowledge we need the Spirit of life and are willing to be persecuted for that citizenship.

With this new citizenship comes a new law.  Death is no longer on the throne.  The life-giving Spirit reigns instead.  Ironically, we are then asked, as part of this citizenship, to sacrifice ourselves, but not in death, rather in life.

Romans 12:1

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

Gaze

Today we begin worship with:

Psalm 11:4, Habakkuk 2:20

The LORD is in his holy temple; the LORD’S throne is in heaven; his eyes see, his eyelids test the children of man. 

The LORD is in his holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before him.

Back in the day, we as kids would challenge each other who could hold their breath the longest and who would keep their eyes open the longest.  The first one to breathe or blink would lose.

These verses describe God as ever with His eyes open.  Job's complaint included:

Job 7:17-19

What is man, that you make so much of him,

    and that you set your heart on him,

visit him every morning

    and test him every moment?

How long will you not look away from me,

    nor leave me alone till I swallow my spit?

Job felt examined so closely that he did not have a moment outside His gaze.

But this Psalm is not a complaint.  

At camp, we know the day at the beach is ending when the lifeguard announces with their bullhorn that they are going off-duty and that if you swim, you swim at your own risk.  

God does not go off-duty, and in this Psalm David was enjoying his protective gaze.

Psalm 11:1,7
In the Lord I take refuge;
how can you say to my soul,
    “Flee like a bird to your mountain,
For the Lord is righteous;
he loves righteous deeds;
    the upright shall behold his face.

Veil

 This morning we begin worship with:

Isaiah 25:8

He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the LORD has spoken.

The two previous verses describe how this is to be done:

Isaiah 25:6-7

On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples

    a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine,

    of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined.

And he will swallow up on this mountain

    the covering that is cast over all peoples,

    the veil that is spread over all nations.

    He will swallow up death forever; 

No longer will the wailing sound of mourners be heard.  The veil of death will be removed to reveal a feast for His people.  

The reproach (ḥerpâ) that has been the constant derision from our enemy will be removed and replaced with honor as we take our seat at the table.