Wilderness Wanderings

May the favour of the Lord our God rest on us; establish the work of our hands for us—yes, establish the work of our hands (Psalm 90:17).

Growing up, the New Year was always ushered in with a reading of Psalm 90. Sometimes, just after mid-night, more often after breakfast on January 1. As a child growing up on a farm it was easy to relate to the petition of verse 17. But from an adult perspective, I realize there is more at stake then I could know as a child.

In the dead of winter, I didn't think about the sunshine and rains that would be needed for crops to grow during the warmer months. Nor did I fully understand the possibility of disease creeping into the barns infecting the pigs. Nor did I realize that fluctuations in the market impacted the price of pork and crops.

As a child, it seemed like a simple prayer. Yet, if God is sovereign then he rules over all these things. The prayer is a recognition that we are subject to many forces outside our control, many of them with evil intent. This prayer drives us to dependence on God, that he alone can establish the work that we do in this world. That without his providential care, all we do is a building on sand.

Forces at work within the economy are not always driven by people with righteous intentions. In fact, many players are downright selfish. Cheating and false accusations abound and some of it is aimed at God's people. This is a prayer that, despite the evil designs of godless people, God will cause us to prosper. When the righteous prosper, notwithstanding the intentions of bad players, these same people are shamed, and their evil schemes are exposed as malicious.

This is not a prayer that we win and others lose. That is not God's way. We prosper so that others can prosper with us. Our modern economy is based on the theory of scarcity: that there are not enough resources to go around. This model induces people to gather and horde as much as possible. As such, those with power and influence sit on heaps of resources when many others die of hunger.

Those who pray this prayer refuse to indulge in such ideas. We cannot pray these words while turning a blind eye to the needs of the poor. Read Isaiah 58 to see what God thinks of that. A prayer that God will 'establish the work of our hands' propels us to consider the community around us and how, if our work prospers, we can help others prosper as well.

As a child, I only envisioned this prayer within the context of our farm, not fully realizing what it all embraced. But now, I envision it for all of us who spend our days engaged is various activities. God does not pour down buckets of potatoes, rice and beans from heaven. No. He uses us to work in the marketplace, wanting our work to provide for many.

When you pray this prayer at the start of the week, consider how God might answer it?

As you journey on, go with the blessing of God:

Wherever God takes you this week, may He fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit and that you may live carefully—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity.

A Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings! The text is Psalm 58. Dive In discussion questions are below for further reflection!

To see this sermon in the context of the worship service it comes from, find it here on YouTube. Or, head to our website to connect with the worshiping community of Immanuel CRC: immanuelministries.ca

Dive IN

What are the Imprecatory Psalms?

How do we pray them?

1. Raw emotion: have you ever heard anyone pray like this?
2. Anger at injustice: name some injustices that you have seen
3. Directed towards God: why should we take this anger to God? Read Romans 12:19)

How does God deal with Injustice?

1. What happened at the cross?
2. Why do the gospel writers spend so much time on Jesus' suffering? (read Isaiah 53:4-5)

How should we respond to our enemies?

1. What are the keys of the kingdom?
2. What does Romans 12:20-21 have to say about this?
3. Two other things were mentioned about how Christians should respond to injustice.

It is good to praise the Lord and make music to your name, O most high, proclaiming your love in the morning and your faithfulness at night… (Psalm 92:1-2).

Christian teaching on Sabbath is frequently rooted only in the instructions given through Moses in the 10 Commandments. As such, this training is often reduced to as list of dos and don'ts. We focus on definitions of work and what kinds of work are permissible, and which are forbidden. In doing this we reduce the Biblical teaching on Sabbath to something either bothersome or irrelevant.

The Bible includes a profound and robust theology of Sabbath which, as the writer of Hebrews says, we enter by faith. And pardon the pun, we need to work at it to live it. This is not the work of survival in this world, nor is it works righteousness, but the work of faith. It is akin to the beginning of Peter's second letter. He writes that God has given us everything we need for a godly life and a host of great and precious promises too boot. Because we have all these things, we should make every effort to add to our faith goodness, knowledge, etc. The abundant life that Jesus gives us needs to be learned.

Likewise, Sabbath rest is a gift God gives, like the land of promise in the Old Testament. Yet, it is also something we need to enter by faith and work for, just as the Israelites had to defeat their enemies before they could settle into the land and enjoy its fruits. Sabbath is more than just a day free from the frenetic pace of modern life. It is a way of life in which "every day of my life I rest from my evil ways, let the Lord work in me through his Spirit, and so begin already in this life the eternal Sabbath" (Heidelberg Catechism A 103).

Psalm 92, "a psalm for the Sabbath day" (NIV heading) shows us the way. The work of Sabbath faith begins and ends with declaring the love and faithfulness of God. This is what Eugene Peterson called "unselfing". It's the difficult spiritual work of getting ourselves off the throne of our lives and allowing God to sit there. With resolve, we refuse to make live about ourselves, rather, we set out to pursue the kingdom of God.

Sabbath is a discipline equipping us to think about the direction of our lives. It reminds us that creation ended with Sabbath, Sabbath were interrupted by human rebellion, yet history will culminate in the eternal Sabbath. Our practice of Sabbath should usher us into this grand story that God is directing. It is the discipline of passing back to God the conductor's baton of our lives.

Better than anything else, it helps us appreciate and understand what all our living is for. Put simply, Sabbath discipline introduces us to God's own ways of joy and delight. As Peter says, we are given everything we need to experience the divine life of love and peace.

Celebrating these attributes of God does not guarantee a life free of hardship and pain and stress. No. We are declaring by faith that God's work and providential care of this world, and of us his children, goes well beyond what we can see and experience. Sabbath is the discipline of learning to trust in this God and to live in hope of what we cannot yet see.

As you journey on, receive Jesus' invitation into this rest:

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls (Matthew 11:28-29).

Then the exiles who had returned from captivity sacrificed burnt offerings to the God of Israel: twelve bulls for all Israel, ninety-six rams, seventy-seven male lambs and, as a sin offering, twelve male goats. All this was a burnt offering to the Lord (Ezra 8:35).

Ezra 8 records a second group of exiles returning from Babylon. This group is led by Ezra who has diligently studied the law of God and the leadership Moses gave to Israel. This journey from Babylon echoes the journey from Egypt, following the pattern Moses laid down.

The most significant is the gathering of the Levities. This tribe remained faithful while Israel prostrated herself to the golden calf (Exodus 32). Thus, they were set apart to special work for the Lord. In his final prayer, Moses offered these words regarding Levi: "he watched over your word and guarded your covenant. He teaches your precepts to Jacob and your law to Israel. He offers incense before you and whole burnt offerings on your altar" (Deuteronomy 33:9-10). Knowing this, Ezra will not leave Babylon without an escort of Levites.

Under Moses the Levites cared for the ark and tabernacle, under Ezra, the temple money and articles. He ensures proper stewardship of God's holy belongings by scrupulously measuring and counting the items at both beginning and end of the journey.

The gathering for sacrifices is also a result of this careful attention to the law of Moses and echoes Israel's original entrance to the land. This careful attention to the number and types of sacrifices indicates the Israelites identify as God's covenant people and desire to be faithful.

Behind Ezra's actions is the hand of God. We see God providing capable Levites (18) and giving a safe journey (23, 31). Also, the donated items are all accounted for in Jerusalem (34) and the king's orders result in assistance from the government officials.

As God redeemed Israel from Egypt, he is now redeeming them from Babylon. As God, through Moses, called Israel to be faithful, he now, through Ezra, calls for faithfulness. The sacrifices indicated Israel's intention to leave behind the ways of Egypt and Babylon and embrace the ways of God.

Both these redemption stories point forward to the greater redemption in Jesus Christ. Jesus is greater than both Moses and Ezra. He is the greatest and the final Levite. Not only does he teach us God's way, he is God's way, giving us His Spirit to lead us in the way of faithfulness.

He does not lead us in sacrifice, He is our sacrifice. He gave his own life that we may live. "There is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all" (1 Timothy 2:5,6).

Under Moses and Ezra, Israel needed to make the journey to the promised land, with lethal hazards along the way. Jesus makes it for us. By faith in him, we are already citizens of God's kingdom and our entrance and place in the Promised Land is guaranteed. Praise the Lord!

Consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you; each of you is to return to your family property and to your own clan (Leviticus 25:10).

We love distinctions. We separate sacred from secular. We divide work from worship.

In these Monday devotions, I have been attempting to bridge the gap, to help us integrate our work with our worship and to see all of life as sacred. Work is worship and worship is work. Of course, work is understood to be more than income earning activity. It is our response to God's command that we steward and develop his creation. A command that did not cease with our rebellion but in Christ we are restored to re-engage in it.

The Bible does not understand these distinctions. Consider the year of Jubilee (Leviticus 25). It was a year of joyful liberty for Israel. It all began when a great horn was sounded. The rumbling note called all workers to put down their tools, to engage in the cancelling of economic debts, to release slaves and debtors, to return farmland to the original owners and to a year of resting; even the land enjoyed a sabbath.

Was this year economic or spiritual devotion? Was it part of Israel's liturgical calendar or was it the end of the fiscal year? Was it sacred or secular? Was it worship or work? It was both and. The Israelites did not recognize our distinctions.

Christians have tried all kinds of ways to apply the Year of Jubilee into the modern context. Based on this chapter, there have been myriad unsuccessful attempts to convince richer people in the world to forgive the debts of poor nations. While filled with good intentions, they misuse Jubilee, which was an internal event within Israel, not a matter of international relations.

Should Christians then just ignore the year of Jubilee? No. Let me suggest two things. First, Jubilee is clearly an anticipation of the New Creation. Jubilee is primarily about the cancelling of debts. This puts us in the place of those who had debts forgiven. Entrance to the New Creation is only through the blood of Christ by which our sins are cleansed. It puts us on the receiving side of Jubilee.

Secondly, we take up the prayer of Psalm 90, Let the favour of the Lord our God be upon us, and prosper for us the work of our hands—O prosper the work of our hands! (17). The favour of God is never given for the sake of the receiver. If we receive from God, God intends for us to pass it on. That is why being forgiven by God is always connected to the forgiveness we extend our debtors. Forgiven people experience a taste of the final Jubilee. God laid this foundation in his call to Abram, "I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing" (Genesis 12:2).

This is how we bridge the gap between the sacred and the secular, between work and worship. At the beginning of the day, we pray for God's favour. We ask that his grace flows through us to our family, our co-workers, our neighbours and all the strangers we encounter. And then, even our income earning labour can be a source of Jubilee.

As you journey on, go with the blessing of God:

Wherever God takes you this week, may He fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit and that you may live carefully—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity.

A Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings! The text is Psalm 110. Dive In discussion questions are below for further reflection!

To see this sermon in the context of the worship service it comes from, find it here on YouTube. Or, head to our website to connect with the worshiping community of Immanuel CRC: immanuelministries.ca

DIVE IN

Who's Who?

1. The Lord
2. My Lord
3. Enemies
4. Troops
5. Who is drinking from the brook?

What's Your Favourite Psalm

1. Gospels
2. Acts
3. Hebrews

Why Was It the Favourite Psalm?

1. King
2. Priest
3. Troops
4. Prayer

The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God (Psalm 92:12-13).

Last summer, I committed to preparing a devotion on Sabbath keeping each Friday. Since, it's popular topic these days, I have gathered enough resources to stimulate my thoughts for several years worth of Fridays. But sometimes I wonder if I was correct in discerning the need for extended treatment on this discipline.

When I refer to Sabbath keeping, I am thinking about more than some sort of Sunday observance, including attending a Christian worship service, even though these things are almost always beneficial. Sabbath keeping is a deeper and richer theme which reaches back to the creation story before the fall and forward to the return of Christ when all evil will be eradicated from God's realm. It refers to lives governed by a deep trust in God's providential care. It is about people who deliberately pursue righteousness, discovering as they go that flourishing, which is so much more than material wealth, is a by product of righteousness.

Sabbath keeping involves pausing from the regular events of life to discover how unrighteous attitudes, desires and actions have been creeping into our lives. It means rooting out the ways in which our trust has moved away our God. I believe that for the Christian community to be a godly witness in our society, we must learn anew such practices. Why?

Consider that the average Canadian today enjoys a standard of living that even royalty of past ages would be jealous of. Roughly 2 000 000 millionaires populate our land. Yet, this prosperity has not led to increased enjoyment. By many measures, we are less happy than decades ago.

The result of material success appears to be the break down of families and increased loneliness. Despite some having too much, others have too little. Regularly, folks spend the night sleeping on our church property and Neighbour-2-Neighbour is helping more people, not less.

Many of us are slaves to our schedules which keep us running from morning till night leaving us stretched and stressed to the breaking point. We compile impressive resumes and accumulate so many possessions our basements, garages and closets overflow into off site storage lockers. To keep going we turn to pharmaceutical enhancers and stimulants—some legal and some not. As a culture we excel at ignoring that exhaustion, hypertension, obesity, anxiety, insomnia are signs that something is terribly wrong.

Sabbath keeping has long been the Christian antidote to this terrifying and erratic way of life. The culture we live in has lost control, if it ever had it. People are desperate to bring order to life. In this context Christians declare "that I am not my own, but belong-body and soul, in life and in death-to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ" (HC A1). Sabbath keeping is leaning into this truth and discovering that in his hands we are safe. He controls; we don't need to. Further, we declare that our covenant God is able to provide for us "because he is almighty God; he desires to do this because he is a faithful Father" (HC A 26).

Let's continue learning how to be Sabbath keepers in this cultural moment.

As you journey on, receive Jesus' invitation into this rest:

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls (Matthew 11:28-29).

For Ezra had devoted himself to the study and observance of the Law of the Lord, and to teaching its decrees and laws in Israel (Ezra 7:10).

The book of Ezra began with God moving the heart of Cyrus, king of Persia, to provide for the people of Israel to return to Jerusalem. Once there, they began rebuilding the temple of God with finances from the royal treasury. It's curious that this book was given the name Ezra, even though the man Ezra doesn't show up till here.

Of course, the Bible's main task is to tell us about God, not folks like Ezra. Here, we get a glimpse into the nature of God, who seems mischievous, in the best sense of that word, of course. Ezra is introduced this way, "Ezra came up from Babylon" (7:6).

What was Babylon? Well, Babylon was the city of the emperors who tried to eradicate Israel. The stories of Esther and Daniel tell us just how strong the enmity towards the Jews was. It wasn't just Israel, but Israel's God that was the issue. This God needed to be dethroned.

But now, out of this Babylon comes Ezra, who "had devoted himself to the study and observance of the Law of the Lord, and to teaching its decrees and laws in Israel". So, while Daniel and his friends were being persecuted by the establishment and while Haman was scheming against the Jews, God had a secret agent studying his law in Babylon. And when the time was right, he emerges and travels to Jerusalem fully prepared to teach this law to the returned exiles.

And the story gets even better. He has a letter from King Artaxerxes in his back pocket which includes this, "And you, Ezra, in accordance with the wisdom of your God, which you possess, appoint magistrates and judges to administer justice to all the people of Trans-Euphrates—all who know the laws of your God. And you are to teach any who do not know them" (7:25).

From out of the city that tried to annihilate God's people, the king sends forth someone who has the capacity to teach the ways of God to this new community which is re-establishing the worship of God in Judea.

So, what happens when Ezra finally arrives in Jerusalem? Will the returned exiles accept this newcomer? According to Nehemiah, the people eagerly and attentively listened to the word God from daybreak till noon (Nehemiah 8:1-3).

From daybreak to noon! That puts perspective to the words of the Psalmist: Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light on my path (119:105). The scriptures don't become a lamp and light just because we want them to; for that to happen, we need to make the commitment to know them.

Revivals in the church include a renewed commitment to studying the scriptures. Paul tells us that "these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did (1 Corinthians 10:6). Things like the forty-year wilderness wanderings with Moses and the Babylonian exile. I don't think I need to say anything more.

As you journey on, go with the blessing of God:

May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you, wherever he may send you. May he guide you through the wilderness, protect you through the storm. May your day end with rejoicing at the wonders he has shown you. May you rest in his provision as he brings night, and then new dawn.

A Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings! The text is Psalm 96 & Matthew 28:16-20. Dive In discussion questions are below for further reflection!

To see this sermon in the context of the worship service it comes from, find it here on YouTube. Or, head to our website to connect with the worshiping community of Immanuel CRC: immanuelministries.ca

1. Key Phrase:
2. What has God been doing sin the world fell into sin?
3. Why does God bless people?
4. What impact does worship have on worshippers?
5. What is the heart of Christian worship?
6. Why do you think that worshippers are sent on Jesus' mission?
7. What encouragement is given at the end of Matthew's gospel? Why does it matter?

For surely your enemies, Lord, surely your enemies will perish; all evildoers will be scattered (Psalm 92:9).

Growing up, my family rested on Sundays. As farmers, we needed to ensure our animals were sufficiently cared for. This work rarely took more than an hour in the morning and another in late afternoon. Much of Saturday was set aside for preparation, both on the farm and in the house. Often, by mid-afternoon everything was ready and we slowed down. We didn't go out Saturday nights; we went to bed early. Sundays we rested. But it was the preparation that made it possible.

This was a good rhythm. When I started in ministry, like most pastors, Monday was my Sabbath. However, when our children started school, I began to take Saturday's off so that we could do family stuff. I still take Saturdays off. I have discovered that it is good to take a day to clear my head. I'm feel refreshed on Sunday mornings. Saturday is my prep day by not working.

This matter of preparation for Sunday has largely disappeared. I think we should recover it. Recently, I came across the phrase, "Sabbath worship is the week's fulfillment and inspiration". It suggests that Sabbath ought not to be an interruption in our lives, but rather the main event, both our source and our goal.

Our text is a move in that direction, which comes to fuller expression in the book of Hebrews and is articulated well in the Heidelberg Catechism. It teaches us that one purpose of the Sabbath day is "that every day of my life I rest from my evil ways, let the Lord work in me through his Spirit, and so begin already in this life the eternal Sabbath" (A 103).

Our text anticipates this eternal Sabbath when all God's enemies are no more. For many Christians today, Sabbath keeping has become family time and/or not work time. These things are good, but they do not give us Sabbath. Sabbath is moving away from evil, by being justified by the blood of Christ, purified by the Word of God and by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. What would happen if we saw this as the focus of our lives? What if longing for the eternal Sabbath, in which evil is fully vanquished, was our highest goal?

As Hebrews tells us, this kind of living is entered by faith and the obedience that faith evokes in us. The Israelites missed out on this rest because they did not believe God could give it to them. They rebelled against Moses and God, refusing to go into the promised land. Now we are encouraged not to miss out on that rest, but rather to commit our lives to entering it.

Can we find the way? Here, the writer of Hebrews introduces Jesus as the greatest high priest. He has gone before us by entering heaven. His nail scarred body sits beside the throne of God. There, Jesus never ceases to intercede for his people. The way is open, we may enter boldly.

We are invited to see Sabbath rest not as an interruption to our self-focused lives. Rather, it refocuses us and becomes our fulfillment and inspiration. When we long for the end of evil, especially in our own lives, Sabbath keeping will not be duty but delightful. It will be an anticipation of the eternal Sabbath. What attitudes and practices need to change to embrace this kind of Sabbath rest?

As you journey on, receive Jesus' invitation into this rest:

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls (Matthew 11:28-29).