Alexa

I have never been too good at using technology, but it recently occurred to me that I have robots doing my bidding. About a year ago we brought Amazon’s Alexa into our house. Alexa is there at a second’s notice to answer any question, remind us of things, set alarms, play music, and a host of other things. Depending on how much a person wants, Alexa can turn on your lights, coffee makers, or even lock your doors, all at your command. I was laying in bed on Sunday afternoon, and not wanting to get up to let the dog out, I said, “Alexa, drop in on Reagan.” At that point I basically had an intercom system where I can hear my daughter and she can hear me (and the government can hear us both, I’m sure). Before I could ask her to let the dog out, I could hear her saying, “Alexa, what time is it?”

It struck me how much we rely on technology to do things we can easily do ourselves. My children don’t even appreciate how new this all is, how quickly our world is changing. Remember telephones? We used to use them to call people. If you had a question, you dialed a person’s number and if they answered, you talked over the phone. Now we text or use some other messaging service. With my iPad open I can just say, “Hey Siri, send a text.” Once I dictate the message, it is sent and I just wait on a reply. I heard a radio host recently talk about how rude it is to call people. There is nothing worse, she said, then the sound of a phone ringing, because the only people who call are unsolicited telemarketers. 

Language is also changing. Every day there is a new list of words we can’t say. If you said it last week, no problem; if you say it today, your show is cancelled. The world is changing at an alarming rate. Some of this change is good, some is bad, and some is neutral, but it is changing quickly. 

If all this change unsettles you, I have a good reminder: God’s Word is eternally unchanging. While some liberals may try to reinterpret this or remove that, the Bible is settled and the canon is closed. I love Psalm 119:89, which succinctly says, “Forever, Oh Lord, your Word is settled in heaven” We can trust its timeless truths because it is settled and sealed in heaven. God’s Word is unchanging because He is unchanging. Of Himself God says, “I am the Lord, I do not change (Malachi 3:6),” and the author of Hebrews adds that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today, and forever (13:8).” 

Our constantly changing world may leave us unsure of how to speak or how to act in society, but God’s unchanging Word gives us assurance on how to speak and how to act. If we build our lives upon the foundation of the Bible, we are going to be just fine. Though all other ground may be sinking sand, on Christ and His Word—the solid rock—I will stand

History Books

I have always been a history nerd. When I was in school US History was my favorite subject, and I still love to read biographies and even textbooks. I like to see how some events impact events that come later. For example, the Kennedy assassination affected the war in Vietnam, which affected Nixon and Watergate, which continues to affect the presidency today. We can also see how global events during the Cold War era set the stage for the ongoing War on Terror. Reading history books helps connect these dots for people like me who were not around when those events were current.

History books were much different in the Ancient Near East. Our English Bibles contain a grouping we call the historical books (they are the Former Prophets and the Writings in the Hebrew Bible), which are the books of Joshua-Esther. These books give us a good history of the conquest of Canaan, the days of the judges, the days of the kings, the divided kingdom, captivity, and the return from exile. The books follow the pattern of the history books of their time, which greatly differs from history books in the west.

Western history books are chronological and natural. They present events in the order they occurred, and they provide a natural explanation for everything in history (there are no miracles; God does not intervene). Conversely, ANE history books blame or credit the gods for everything, and their history is cyclical, not chronological. That is why we read things like, “In the third year of Josiah.” Everything was measured in terms of the cycle of seasons, sun/moon, or changing kings. If anything disrupted these cycles it was believed the gods must have been upset; if the rain didn’t fall, the crops didn’t come, or the cattle didn’t reproduce, the gods must have been punishing the people. The problem was, they didn’t know why the gods were angry or what they needed to do in response. The gods were fickle and could change on a whim.

The Old Testament, in contrast, presents Yahweh as being an unchanging God who only operates in accordance with His expressed word. He made covenants with Israel, and they dictate all of His actions. God is faithful, not fickle. Although the Mosaic Covenant does not apply to us, the new covenant cut in Jesus does. We do not have to wonder what God thinks or guess how to please Him. We do not need to hope He will keep His promises of forgiveness, adoption, or a home in heaven. We have a host of history books that demonstrate the unchanging nature of our faithful God, so we can rest assured that He will keep His promises to us.

“I am the Lord. I change not.”

Malachi 3:6

God Doesn't Change

If you see something, say something. That is a fairly common mantra of law enforcement in post-9/11 America, but it doesn’t always work out in practice. For example, a recent Ohio middle schooler was suspended for seeing something, but failing to say something; a fellow classmate pointed a toy gun at him at school, and the eleven year old was punished because he did not want to be a snitch. Conversely, a middle schooler in Alabama was punished for seeing and saying something; on the ride home from school he overheard students talking about bringing a gun to school, so he dialed 911 on his cell phone. The bus was soon surrounded by law enforcement, and when it was determined that the students in question were discussing Nerf guns, the would-be Good Samaritan was suspended for causing “needless panic and chaos.”

One of the great things about America is state and local governments are allowed to make most of their own laws, deciding what works best for their people. A downside to that is there is often no universal law, so situations like the one mentioned above can happen. One of the great things about God is that He does not change, and His laws do not vary from person to person or state to state. Hebrews 13:8 describes Jesus as “the same yesterday, and today, and forever.” Malachi quotes God as saying, “I am Yahweh, I do not change (3:6).” The things we read about God in His word are just as true today as they were to the original audience (understanding them in their natural context and literary genre, of course). We do not need to worry that tomorrow we will wake up to discover that God is no longer slow to anger or abounding in mercy; there is no danger that God will relinquish His title as Judge of all the Earth or Abba Father.

Not only is it good news that God will not change in His nature or character, it is also true that His plan of salvation is likewise fixed. God will not suddenly institute a works-based salvation or religious ritual system in order for us to earn eternal life. It has always been, and will always be by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8-10). It matters not whether we live in Ohio or Alabama; we do not need to check with our local councils or churches to see what we must do to be saved. The answer to that question is as true for us 21^st Century Americans as it was for that 1^st Century Philippian who asked it: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved (Acts 16:30-31).”