Wilderness Wanderings

Again, the Lord spoke to Ahaz, "Ask the Lord your God for a sign, whether in the deepest depths or in the highest heights." But Ahaz said, "I will not ask; I will not put the Lord to the test." Then Isaiah said, "Hear now, you house of David! Is it not enough to try the patience of humans? Will you try the patience of my God also? Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel. He will be eating curds and honey when he knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, for before the boy knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, the land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste" (Isaiah 7:10-16).

Ahaz, king of Judah, has a problem. Two kings, Pekah and Rezin, have formed a military alliance designed to rase his kingdom to the ground, leaving Ahaz and his people shivering like leaves in the wind.

As a solution, Ahaz made alliances with Assyria and Egypt, bribing them with silver and gold looted from God's temple. Shoving the Lord and his altar aside, he set up an Assyrian altar in the temple courtyard. He even burned his own son on it. He did everything he could to help himself against this treat.

The prophet Isaiah caught up with Ahaz as he was inspecting his war instruments. The word of the Lord was for the king to do nothing; to be still and let God be God. "Be careful, keep calm and don't be afraid. Do not lose heart because of these two smoldering stubs of firewood. They have made their plots against you, but they will not succeed" (7:4).

Rezin and Pekah's schemes would fail. All that King Ahaz had to do was, nothing, to stand firm in faith, to trust the promise of God, to wait for the Lord who helps those who cannot help themselves. But "if you do not stand firm, you will not stand at all," warned Isaiah.

God even offered Ahaz a sign, to strengthen his faith. Ahaz may name his sign, and the Lord would grant it. But he refused; he would not put the Lord to the test. Though the king sounded pious, it was his pride speaking. If he received a sign, he would need to trust in the Lord and not in his political schemes.

Isaiah gives a sign anyway. The virgin (young woman) will conceive and bear a son and will call him Immanuel, which means "God is with us." Within nine months, Ahaz would know for certain that God was with them. And before the boy knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right (about 13 years), the land of the two kings he dreaded would be laid waste. And that is precisely what happened.

God uses Ahaz's faithlessness as an opportunity to give a sign of a yet greater event. The true deliverance of Jerusalem, the City of God, will come when a virgin conceives and bears a son, naming him "Immanuel."

"A virgin will conceive?", you ask. "That's impossible!" That is the point. The great sign that redemption is at hand would be something only God could do. Genesis 1 tells us that the "Spirit of God" hovered over the waters. Now the Holy Spirit hovers over the womb of the virgin Mary to launch the work of re-creation (Matthew 1:20).

The angel tells Joseph, Mary's betrothed, to name her son Jesus, because He will save his people from their sins. In Jesus, God has come to His people personally and permanently not just to save us from a human oppressor, but from the cruel oppression of sin and Satan.

What must we do to get this salvation? Isaiah gives the answer to Ahaz. Nothing. Just wait and receive. Watch what God is up to. The next month will include a great deal of preparation. Enjoy it all. But remember that God has done all the preparation for Christmas. As we trace this preparation through the Old Testament, remember that in the end, all we need to do is receive Jesus. Christmas is first and foremost, God's gift of redemption to us.

In the last days the mountain of the Lord's temple will be established as the highest of the mountains; it will be exalted above the hills, and all nations will stream to it. Many peoples will come and say, "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the temple of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths." The law will go out from Zion, the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. (Isaiah 2:2-3)

For the next while, we're going to be camped out in the book of Isaiah. Many Old Testament books hold inklings of the way God would eventually complete his work of redemption through Jesus, but none so thoroughly throughout as the book of Isaiah. So many bits and pieces of this book build bridges into the New Testament and give shape to the New Testament authors' understanding of Jesus—even of Jesus' own self-understanding when he begins speaking of his mission in the Gospel of Luke. Isaiah is a great place to marinate our Christian imagination in the season of Advent as we train our desires on Jesus.

Geography and topography play a significant role in Isaiah. The mountain of the Lord rises, rough places are made smooth, streams appear in the desert. All of these pictures of the physical world changing in particular ways and in particular places carry forward the poetic message of the prophet. Not so different from Baalam seeing the ruler and star rising from Judah, Isaiah sees the mountain of the Lord's temple rising, exalted above all other hills and mountains, drawing all nations to Jerusalem.

To a people who will soon go into exile, Isaiah writes a message of hope that declares a radically different word than the proclamation of death that will come elsewhere across these pages. "In the last days" God will bring all his promises to fulfillment, even if now for a moment things seem bleak and hopeless. Even though the temple of Jerusalem will be broken down in days of war and conquest—it will not always be so. God himself will rebuild and raise his temple to a place of prominence throughout the world.

It reminds me of Jesus' words in John 12 from a sermon a few weeks back—he said "when I am lifted up, I will draw all people to myself." Jesus himself becomes the new temple—the new place where heaven and earth meet—the temple that was torn down and rebuilt in three days through his death and resurrection. When this temple is lifted up, the nations come streaming in. The Spirit goes out into the world carrying the word of the Lord through women and men from all nations who have been redeemed and sent by Jesus—they themselves being temples of the Holy Spirit. In this way, through the church and its members like you and me, the ways of Jesus are taught and lived throughout the world.

These are those last days. Right now in you and me through the power of the Spirit and in the name of Jesus, this prophecy is fulfilled. What a glorious vision! And yet we know it's still not yet complete, not in fullness. So while we work we also wait: Come Lord Jesus, come.

A Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings! The text is Luke 1:1-25 from the New International Version of the Bible. 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. Do you struggle with waiting? What are you waiting for?
2. How can you practice this difficult discipline of during the Advent season?
3. How do you see the story of Israel aligning with your own story?
4. What prayers seem unheard by God?
5. In what ways do you need God to do the impossible in your life?

"'The Lord declares to you [David] that the Lord himself will establish a house for you: When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with a rod wielded by men, with floggings inflicted by human hands. But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever'" (2 Samuel 7:11-16).

King David has been granted rest and security as king in Israel. His enemies are defeated, and he has built himself a city and a palace. As he looks around his city from the roof of his new home, he realizes something is missing. There is no home for Israel's God. His presence still resides in a tent, the dwelling of a nomad, someone who has no place on earth to call his own.

So, David, desiring to be a good and grateful king, proposes to build a temple. He confers with Nathan, God's prophet, who concurs. But God declines. Since he rescued Israel from Egypt, he has been content to live in a tent with his pilgrim people while he secured their rest. Not once has he even mentioned a royal house of "rest" for himself.

Moreover, God has not finished his work. He will establish a house for David, a dynasty for the sake of his people's rest. Listen again to our text, "I will raise up your offspring to succeed you…and I will establish his kingdom…and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with a rod wielded by men, with floggings inflicted by human hands. But my love will never be taken away from him… Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever'".

There are seeds here that will grow throughout the Old Testament until they blossom in Jesus Christ, the full glory of which we will not see till the new creation. It's a valuable exercise to trace the development of these crumbs through scriptures. What seeds do we find here?

First, the everlastingness of God's kingdom. The work God does through Jesus will never end. It will outlast all earthly kingdoms. It is this hope which fortified Israel though the Babylonian exile and the dark centuries there after. It is pictured dramatically throughout the book of Daniel and is elaborated on in Isaiah. This is the hope of the church, through all our self-made crises and times of persecution. Despite our efforts at sabotage, God will continue using his church to build his kingdom.

Second, it is here that we find the first hints that Israel's true shepherd will be God's Son. I will be his father, and he will be my son. This becomes literally true in the Incarnation. The man, Jesus of Nazareth, is also Son of God. We may be used to this expression, but it was so radical and considered so blasphemous, that it got Jesus crucified.

There is even more here. To paraphrase John, "to us who do receive him, to us who believe in his name, Jesus gives the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God" (1:12-13). God is not content with one Son. He desires a family. Through Christ, we become daughters and sons. The Kingdom of God is populated not by subjects or servants, but by children.

Third, rest. David and Israel have rest from their human enemies. But God does not. And even for David and Israel, this rest is temporary. God desires to give forever rest to his people. Rest from our spiritual enemy, the devil. This is the deep understanding of Sabbath that the writer of Hebrews draws out in chapter 4. The Heidelberg Catechism summarizes what Sabbath means: "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).

David's son will build God a temple, but God will not rest from his work. Jesus tells us that God continues to work (John 5:17). He will not rest till his kingdom is fully established, sin and evil have been vanquished and shalom invades the entire cosmos. Then, and only then, will God rest. You can count on this!

But Samuel was ministering before the Lord—a boy wearing a linen ephod. Each year his mother made him a little robe and took it to him when she went up with her husband to offer the annual sacrifice. Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, saying, "May the Lord give you children by this woman to take the place of the one she prayed for and gave to the Lord." Then they would go home. … And the boy Samuel continued to grow in stature and in favor with the Lord and with people. … I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, who will do according to what is in my heart and mind. I will firmly establish his priestly house, and they will minister before my anointed one always. (1 Samuel 2:18-20, 26, 35)

When Luke writes his gospel, he opens with stories about Jesus's birth and adolescence. Particularly, Luke tells us that Jesus "grew in stature and favor with the Lord and with people." It's a direct quote from this story. What does Luke mean by it? Well, he means the same thing that's meant here in the story of Samuel. Namely, that Jesus matured. As Samuel did. Not just growing old and getting big, but also growing mature in the kind of character and competence that builds trust and community with God and people.

As Samuel grew in stature, the priesthood grew with him—from a shrunken farse of a shell under Eli and his immature, rebellious boys—to a full-embodiment of faithfulness. The annual gift Samuel receives from his mother of a custom-tailored priestly robe is a sign of this continual growth-into-maturity as a priest and as a man of God. By the close of chapter 3, Samuel has become an adult who has become known throughout all of Israel as a mature man of God who hears and speaks the Word of God for the people.

It is this growth to maturity, not just in stature—which is easy to do—but also in favour with God and people which is much harder to do, that Luke attributes from Samuel to Jesus and implicitly invites us into as well. Of course, this invitation grinds against one of the most significant undercurrents of our culture that tells us never to grow up and to pursue our youthful whims and desires above all else and unto whatever end. But if we are to follow Jesus, there is no other way but then to grow up.

We are invited to grow up in terms of character: a willingness to commit, submit, and apprentice oneself to Jesus and to obedience to him. It is a growing up in terms of the fruit of the Spirit: like love, patience, and self-control. It is the ability to keep boundaries and rhythms of faithfulness, like Sabbath, marriage vows, even one's word in the more day-to-day run of life. It is the willingness to confess and to forgive. It is putting our anger aside to show what may be an uncommon and underserved love and compassion, instead. These are marks of maturity that we see in the life of Samuel and of Jesus and that also mark out our growing more deeply into the image of God.

Many scholars scratch their heads as to why Luke included stories of the young Jesus at all. But I think this is the reason. Luke wanted to show how important it was that Jesus grew up to maturity so that we would know the pattern to follow as we too, seek to grow up into Christ. Even more importantly, Luke wanted to show how Jesus, like Samuel before him, would be a fulfillment of that word of God to Eli about a faithful priest that God himself would "raise up" to maturity and establish forever.

"I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near. A star will come out of Jacob; a scepter will rise out of Israel… He will crush the foreheads of Moab…" (Numbers 24:17)

These are the words of the fabled prophet, Balaam. The guy with the talking donkey. He had been hired by King Balak of the Moabites to curse Israel. Moab, of course, had heard the story of Israel and its God—how Israel's God had defeated the Egyptians and set his people free, how God had provided for that people in the desert. And now that people was knocking on his own doorstep. So Balak wanted them cursed.

But Balaam was unable to curse them. In fact, God increasingly opened Balaam's eyes to see that this people was blessed by God. In fact, God so opened Balaam's eyes that Balaam began to see even greater things than these. In words that resonate deeply with Jacob's blessing for his son Judah in Genesis 49, Balaam begins to see—ever so faintly—a ruler to come. Not now, and not near—but definitely from this people. A ruler who would, much to Balak's terror and dismay, crush Moab.

The Israelites would eventually come to see this prophecy as a looking forward to King David, even as the blessing of Jacob over Judah in Genesis was. Indeed David did subject the Moabites to Israel. But slowly the hopes of another king in this same line of David also grew—hopes of a Messiah and saviour of Israel who would rule with the kind of perfect justice and righteousness that the scriptures had always envisioned, but which no king had ever yet lived—fallen, sinful, and human as they were. So Balaam's distant vision took on more weight.

Some other pagan magicians from foreign nations, like Balaam was, would eventually see the star of this king rise. Because—as Balaam saw already back in the book of Numbers—the rising star and scepter of this Messianic king from Israel was always about more than just Israel. This rising ruler would be visible to the nations. But just how would he crush his enemies? Just how would he rule? From the book of Numbers—while we begin to see and behold him—the vision remains too distant and future to really tell. For that, we journey further on into the scriptures that prepare the way of the Lord.

Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, "Abraham!" "Here I am," Abraham replied. Then God said, "Take your son, your only son. He is the one you love. Take Isaac. Go to the place called Moriah. Give your son to me there as a burnt offering. Sacrifice him on the mountain I will show you" … Abraham had his son Isaac carry the wood for the burnt offering. He himself carried the fire and the knife. And the two of them walked on together. Then Isaac said to his father Abraham, "Father?" "Yes, my son?" Abraham replied. "The fire and wood are here," Isaac said. "But where is the lamb for the burnt offering?" Abraham answered, "God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son" (Genesis 22:1-2, 6-8).

This is a difficult story. Any honest believer will wrestle with it. For decades, Abraham had waited for the promised son. What kind of test is this, that he is now asked to sacrifice this child? Despite our horror, the faithful have found that this passage 'prepares the way' for God's Messiah. It is one of the most vital.

The story is structured in three cycles. Three times, there's a summons to Abraham - first by God, then by Isaac, and then by the angel of God. Three times, Abraham answers, "Here I am." Three times, a response. At the centre of these three is Abraham's trembling reassurance to Isaac: "God himself will provide" - literally, "God himself will see to it."

This is the heart of redemption story: "God himself will see to it."

As is often the case, art can impart what explanations cannot. This scene is depicted in the Golgotha Chapel of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the heart of Jerusalem. It's the site traditionally associated with the crucifixion of Jesus. One wall of the chapel features an immense mosaic of this scene: Abraham, knife in hand; Isaac, atop an altar; a ram caught in a thicket of bushes. But on the adjacent wall, there's a mirroring mosaic: Jesus, nailed to the cross, being raised in the air. There's an identical thicket in that mosaic, but no ram.

God himself will see to it.

This dark story, in the end, foreshadows another journey taken untold centuries later. Jesus of Nazareth - Son of Abraham and Son of God - would walk into that same mountain range, with wood on his back, and make the dreadful three-day journey into death. This is the lengths to which the divine Love would go for the sake of the world, for you, for me.

God himself will see to it.

After God provides a ram for the sacrifice, Abraham names that mountain: Jehovah Jireh, "The LORD will provide." It was not Abraham, and it is not us, who make the sacrifice for redemption. No. It is God himself. The lamb took the place for the son. And the Lamb of God took our place. He offers himself! What pain in the heart of the Trinity. What love!

As Charles Wesley once wrote, "And can it be that I should gain an interest in the Saviour's blood? Died he for me who caused his pain, who caused his bitter death? Amazing love! How can it be that you, my Lord, should die for me?" (Amazing Love).

God himself will see to it.

Or as Shane and Shane penned, "Behold the man upon a cross, my sin upon His shoulders. Ashamed, I hear my mocking voice call out among the scoffers. It was my sin that held Him there until it was accomplished. His dying breath has brought me life; I know that it is finished" (How Deep the Father's Love).

John said, "Look! The Lamb of God! He takes away the sin of the world! (John 1:29). Did John understand what sacrifice that would require? Probably not. But we do. And in faith, we look at that cross, at that Son and we say not, 'God himself will see to it', but, 'God himself has seen to it'.

So the Lord God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, "Cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel."

Today we begin our Advent series of devotions as we prepare once again to meet our Lord—our salvation and hope—at Christmas. "But it's not advent yet!" you might reply. And, you'd be right. It's not quite advent yet. But our series will take us through many of the Old Testament texts that "Prepare the Way of the Lord," our advent devotional theme. There are more of these texts than we have space for in the regular season of advent, so we have decided to begin early. That, and if we would have continued with the Psalms we would have found ourselves in the Psalms of Ascent, something we thought we'd save for after Christmas.

So, here we are—beginning Genesis at a text that the church has long seen as the first inkling of the good news that God had a saviour in mind.

The first transgression of humanity has just taken place. Adam and Eve reached for more than they were given, they sought to become God rather than have a relationship with God, they fell short of what they had been created for. Ashamed, they ran away from God and hid.

But, no sooner had sin and death entered the world than God entered too. God sought out his beloved children, and while there was punishment and exile in store for their sins, there was also grace. Just because this bit of Genesis constitutes the section of our faith and scriptures we refer to as "the Fall" does not mean that the power and reality of God's "Creation" and "Redemption" do not still flow through these verses at the very same time.

God comes to his children: searches them out. He calls them back to honesty in this relationship between Creator, Creature, and Creation. "What is it you have done?" God asks. Adam and Eve respond with admission that something has gone wrong, but neither of them can own up to their own part in it. The blame is passed on to others. So comes punishment, curse, and exile.

But with it, also a veiled promise. Not always will the snake get the upper hand. Through the woman's offspring will also come one who will, in the words of Paul "crush Satan" underfoot (Romans 16:20). Many long years would pass with the snake striking at our heels before this promise would finally be made reality. But the promise was made, nevertheless. And God keeps his promises.

For a lovely depiction of this small slice of Gospel in Genesis, you can find an illustration given by Sr. Grace from a monastery in Iowa by clicking here.

A Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings! The text is John 20:19-23 from the New International Version of the Bible. 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. What experiences have you had in which hope motivated you, kept you going? Why is hope important?
2. How have you experienced belonging to God? What things rob you of the confidence portrayed in Revelation? How can you help others gain certainty of their place in God's fellowship?
3. What are you working for? What is most important? What kind of treasures have you fixated on? What can you do to move towards a healthier perspective on earthly treasures?
4. Whom do you serve? (Take a few days to answer this question). Why serve God today? What does serving God look like for you?

"I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways. I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word…Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law" (Psalm 119:15, 16, 18).

Even though this is a very long psalm, we offer only this one meditation based on it. Many of us have found ourselves daydreaming as we tried to read through the whole song. It's a psalm that we should not try to conquer but chew on slowly in bite size pieces.

Let's begin by noticing that, for the Christian, this psalm helps us in handling the Scriptures. It offers us some postures of the heart and mind that improve how we use the Word of God. Like this psalm, Scripture is not for us to conquer, but to savour until it conquers us. Here are five postures towards the Bible.

TRUST THE WORD OF GOD Repeatedly, David expresses his belief that the Scriptures are true. He believes in them. He trusts in their reliability. Not as in a science textbook, of course.

He means that God reveals Himself truthfully in the Bible. Here, we learn who God is, his long-range plans, his deep and abiding love for us and for all he has created. We are invited to respond to him in love and shown how to love.

STUDY THE WORD OF GOD David doesn't just believe the Word; he is a student of the Word. He learns it, he seeks it, he memorizes it, and regularly meditates on it.

If the Bible is worth trusting, it is also worth studying. Its not just a matter of the head, but of the heart. The Word is like a seed that gets planted in soil. We cannot always see its fruit immediately. Study the Word and tend it in your heart and mind but leave the results up to God.

USE THE WORD OF GOD Believe it. Know it. Rely on it. In times of trouble, the Bible shows us God's faithfulness. It encourages us in perseverance when we are tired. We are shown the way of gracious responses to ungracious people. It teaches us both how to handle stress and how to celebrate and enjoy life.

DELIGHT IN THE WORD OF GOD David takes things one step further than we might expect. It's not just that he trusts, studies, and uses the Word of God. He has affection for it. He has a deep emotional affinity towards it.

David has passion, zeal, and excitement for the commandments of God. He loves them not because he is a closet legalist, but because they reflect God's own nature and character. He loves God's law because he loves God. His delight is contagious.

OBEY THE WORD OF GOD The prior four postures of the heart towards the Scriptures naturally lead to this. David repeatedly expresses his desire to obey God's law. He wants to follow it, keep it, and fulfill it.

We do not keep the law to earn salvation. We obey out of love for God. Check out John 15. Jesus himself was very much about "obeying the law." Jesus delighted in keeping his Father's law. He embodies all five of these characteristics and asserts that if we love him, we will obey him.

Embodying this prayer does not happen quickly. Think about a mother hen sitting on her eggs. What is she doing? Its not a trick question; she is sitting on her eggs. Nothing more, nothing less. One might say that she is wasting her time. She isn't doing anything. Nothing is happening.

For 21 days the eggs look the same, until they don't. Like David, sit on the Word, and one day… well, you'll see.