No Other Gods

“You shall have no other gods before me.”

That was the first commandment God gave Israel at Mt. Sinai. When we think about those words in context, it should be a no brainer; why would they want any other gods? Every single Israelite knew nothing except life in Egypt, and the dozens of gods of the Egyptians. They were monotheistic, but the Egyptians behind them and the Canaanites before them were polytheistic. The Lord knew the temptation would come to follow the gods of the pagans around them, but think for a minute about what Yahweh had done for them.

First, He led them out of slavery. We know about the Ten Plagues sent to the Egyptians, but don’t forget that Israel was spared from the plagues. That action of God showed He could handle Israel’s enemies and at the same time be their protector. Second, God did not leave them on their own after the tenth plague, but instead supernaturally guided them as a pillar of cloud by day and fire by night. Third, when Pharaoh was bearing down on them, God parted the Red Sea for Israel, then drowned Egypt by sending the water back down.

On the way to the Promised Land Israel was attacked by the cowardly Amalekites, who tried to pick off the women and children and elderly. These lifelong slaves who knew nothing of war were able to fend off the professional pirates, for as long as Moses’ arms were in the air, Israel was victorious over Amalek. God continued to provide for them by sending manna from heaven and water from a rock. So when He began the Ten Commandments by saying to have no other gods besides Him, it should have been an easy decision. The gods of the Egyptians were humiliated by Yahweh, and the Israelites would do well to keep their trust in Him.

The provisions of God in our own lives might not always seem as miraculous, but James reminds us that every good gift in our lives comes from Him (1:17). When we remember that He keeps our hearts beating and our lungs breathing, and the million other blessings in our lives, why would we want any other god besides Him? If Jesus is not the Lord of your life, call out to Him today for the greatest gift of all—the salvation of your soul. If you have already been saved, thank Him for the many blessings in your life today.  

The Horizon

Charles Spurgeon once told the about “the man who preached so well and lived so badly that when he was in the pulpit everybody said he ought never to come out again, and when he was out of it they all declared he never ought to enter it again.” The pastor is rightly expected to practice what he preaches, but the admonition to holy living is not limited to the man in the pulpit; all Christians should understand they are called to live a life that is set apart. 

That is why Paul wrote to the Corinthian believers to “come out from among them and be separate…and do not touch the unclean thing (2 Corinthians 6:17).” The Greek work translated as separate is haphorizo, from where we get our English word horizon. While we may typically think of the horizon as referring to something off in the distance (as in “something good is coming over the horizon”), that is not what the word means. According to the dictionary, horizon is “the line or circle that forms the apparent boundary between earth and sky.” The horizon, then, is what separates two things. 

Followers of Jesus have been called to be the horizon—completely separate from the world. I believe the church never has more to offer the lost world than when the church looks least like the world. Pastors in particular and Christians in general seem to be embracing this tendency to look like the world instead being the horizon. But separation isn’t limited to just the negative; it is not only about what we are separated from, but also what we are separated to. In Romans 1:1 Paul introduced himself as an apostle “separated unto the gospel of God,” and it is the same word haphorizo again. We need to be the horizon, separated from this evil world, and set apart in a positive way to live our lives for the Father. Let’s be that something good people can see over the horizon.

The Wrong Perspective

The Florida Gators softball team was a contender to win the National Championship (as usual), but a bad call doomed them in the Women’s College World Series. The Gators were leading UCLA 4-1, but the Bruins loaded the bases with only one out. A fly ball popped up near the third base dugout served as the second out, and the runner on third tagged up and headed for home; the throw from the short stop to the catcher was in time, and the runner was tagged out two feet from home plate, ending the scoring threat.

Except the home plate umpire called her safe. The next pitch was a three-run homer that gave UCLA a 5-4 lead instead of a 4-1 deficit. The problem was the ump was way out of position, having darted toward third base to make sure the runner properly tagged up. When the tag at home was applied, the umpire was sprinting towards the action but was unable to see what happened. It was an egregious blunder that spoiled Florida’s season, and college softball has not yet adopted a replay system.

The umpire was trying to do his job, but he was out of position and left with the wrong perspective. When we have the wrong perspective we make wrong decisions. We usually end up with the wrong perspective when we view life horizontally instead of vertically. It is much easier to view life from our perspective, but it takes maturity to see things from God’s point of view. When things do not go our way we may be tempted to become upset, or even blame God, but the wise Christian learns that many of our inconveniences are opportunities to grow, to become more like Jesus, or to minister to someone else.

James wrote that believers should “Count it as pure joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness (1:2).” If you are going through a hard time right now, try to find a lesson that can be learned, or a way to use it to help someone else. If you find yourself having a pity party, maybe you just have the wrong perspective.

Bigger Than the Boogie Man

When we interpret the Bible it is important to get inside the mind of the human author of a passage, as well as the minds of the original audience. Much of the language of the prophets and psalmists, for example, assumes the reader understands certain things. If I were to use an expression such as “Get out of town,” you would probably understand that to mean something like “You’re kidding!” No one would think I was commanding the reader to pack a bag and get on a bus; I am assuming that the expression is understood, and is not to be taken literally.

Some of that colorful language makes its way into Scripture. While we take the Bible literally (as in “literally true”), we also need to recognize figures of speech that should not be taken literally. Consider Psalm 74:12-15:

For God is my King from of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth. You divided the sea by your strength; you broke the heads of the sea serpents in the waters. You broke the heads of Leviathan in pieces, and gave him as food to the people inhabiting the wilderness. You broke open the fountain and the flood; you dried up mighty rivers.

Did God actually break the heads of sea serpents? Did He break Leviathan (a dinosaur) into pieces and feed him to people? When did He dry up mighty rivers? And why would He?

Interpreting the colorful language of the Old Testament is like observing an oil painting; get too close and you will miss the big picture. We need to step back and ask, “What is the author trying to say?” With Psalm 74 we do well to know that Mesopotamian and Canaanite literature frequently elevated their gods based on how they handled the forces of chaos. A classic example is how the ancient god Marduk rose in power after defeating the goddess of the ocean (in the text Enuma Elis). Against this backdrop Asaph described God in Psalm 74 as a destroyer of the feared sea serpent and Leviathan (most likely a plesiosaur), a deity strong enough to dry up a mighty river. The sea serpent might not mean much to us, but this would be like telling a child today, like the VeggieTales have, that “God is bigger than the boogie man.”

What is the author trying to say? God is all-powerful, at the absolute top of the pecking order; beside Him there is none else. There is no reason to fear because if God is for us, who can be against us? We should certainly want to know that we are on God’s side.  

Biblical Paradoxes

While the Bible is one book, it is composed of many types of literature. It is rich in literary genres and figurative language, a lot of which is lost in translation. Hebrew parallelism, for example, permeates the Old Testament but loses some of its effect in English. In Jesus’ teaching we see that He enjoyed the use of parables (or extended similes) to make His point, but He also utilized the paradox. Here are four paradoxes from the Gospels:

If you want to be first, you have to be last (Matthew 20:16). This paradox came at the end of a parable commonly referred to as the parable of the workers in the vineyard. Jesus’ point is that we are all saved the same way—by grace through faith—and not based on our own efforts. If you are trying to earn God’s favor by outworking everyone else, you are missing the point.

If you want to be a leader, you have to be a servant (Matthew 20:26). This statement came after the mother of John and James requested that Jesus make her sons leaders in the kingdom. Many leaders pride themselves on their leadership ability, but Jesus has no room for leaders who are not willing to humble themselves. If you think a task is beneath you, you aren’t qualified to lead.

If you want to be exalted, you have to be humbled (Luke 14:11). Too many times we see people who so desire the praise of man that they embarrass themselves in their bid to get it. Jesus’ illustration about the man taking a seat of honor at a wedding, only to be humiliated when he is asked to move, is humorous but indicative of many who want to be exalted; Jesus said it is better to take a seat in the nosebleeds and wait to be asked to move to the VIP section than to take the opposite approach. 

If you want to live, you have to die (John 12:25). The greatest paradox is that life comes through death. It is only when we die to this evil world that we experience life with God now, and dying to this life leads to eternal life in the world to come.

The beauty of these biblical paradoxes is they are more than just memorable literary devices; they are actually good doctrine as well. Jesus was doing more than using flowery language, He was telling us how to really live our lives. If your life makes too much sense, if you are not living a life of paradox, maybe you are not living right.

Beeline for the Cross

Charles Spurgeon is credited with saying, “I take my text and make a beeline for the cross.” His point was that no matter what his Sunday morning text, he found a way, sooner rather than later, to use it to preach Christ crucified. Some have objected to this homiletical approach, including pastor and author Thabiti Anywabile, who wrote, “Spurgeon was wrong. We’re not to take a text and make a bee-line to the cross…He was no expositor and he seemed to make a bee-line away from the text, which is not the same thing as making a bee-line to the cross[1].”

It is an interesting debate to be sure. I happen to align with Spurgeon, believing that any given text, in some form or fashion, has a Christological element to it. A study on the end times and Revelation can be used to make sure the audience is ready for the end of their own lives; a message on the Ten Plagues can draw a line from the Passover lamb to Jesus, the Lamb of God; a sermon on the days of Creation can be used as a reminder that Jesus recreates us at salvation. Every text makes a beeline to the cross. Consider these three terms theologians are now using to categorize the texts of Scripture:

First, a text can be christocentric, meaning Christ is at the center of the text. A passage about the crucifixion, the resurrection, or the miracles or parables of Jesus would fall into this category. These texts obviously make a beeline to the cross. There are also christotelic texts, which comes from the Greek word telos (“end or completion”). These are Old Testament passages that find their final completion in Christ. Preaching on David could lead to the Son of David; Adam can lead to the Second Adam; Moses can lead to the “greater prophet;” Melchizedek could lead to the High Priest; Israel can lead to “spiritual Israel” under the New Covenant. Finally, there are christiconic passages. These are texts that can be used to identify a similar trait in Jesus (they are icons of Jesus). The Fruit of the Spirit can be used to show that Jesus is love, joy, peace, patient, etc. The works of the flesh can show that Jesus is not those things.

I believe preachers should be like Spurgeon, that “Prince of Preachers,” and use every text to make a beeline for the cross. This means that every Christian can read their Bible for themselves and see Jesus on every page. He is the Word made flesh, so it is no wonder we see Him in all the words of the Bible.  

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[1] http://thefrontporch.org/2016/02/about-that-beeline-to-the-cross/