God made it clear from the beginning that we have a formidable enemy. He quickly brought that enemy out into the open too, so we know its purpose and tactics, or “schemes” as Paul called them in 2 Corinthians 2:11, and how easily our enemy can “outwit us” (same verse).
Which is why the story of Jacob’s twelve sons and what happened to them is so relevant for us today, because what they fell for identifies both the problem and the solution – which never change.
The problem was simple to identify. In Paul’s words in Ephesians 2:2, there is what he called “the ruler of the kingdom of the air” – a power at work in our realm (the air) – “who is now at work in those who are disobedient.” And getting us to disobey is easy, illustrated by Adam and Eve so easily disobeying God’s instructions, and then the grim story of Israel constantly falling for the gods of the nations around them, leading up to the time Jesus arrives, when what’s left of the Israel of old is a mess of demon possession, disease and despair.
But into that mess – and in particular into the area of Jacob’s son Naphtali, where the “darkness” as Isaiah called it was at its worst – came Jesus with the solution. The solution being, in his words: “The kingdom of God is near,” Mark 1:15. So now we have two kingdoms, “the kingdom of the air” and the “kingdom of God.” The first is where we already know the problem lies, but in the second we have the solution.
And the solution offered by the kingdom of God is clear: it’s to nullify the lure of the gods, or as Jesus phrased it to Paul, to switch people “from the power of Satan to (the power of) God,” Acts 26:18. Which, as we’re learning in our world today, is desperately needed, because the lure of the gods created by “the power of Satan” is creating the same mess of demon possession, disease and despair.
But what Jesus has his church understand is that the kingdom of God being “near” means God’s provided a way of breaking the lure of the gods. But how can that be done when people have already been lured into disobeying God and landed themselves in Satan’s grip? Well, that’s where the “good news” kicks in, because in Jesus’ words what God offers is “forgiveness of sins” – cancelling out the disobedience – “and a place among those who are sanctified (or cured) by faith in me” (Acts 26:18). From lure to cure. From the lure of Satan to the cure of Jesus – the cure being faith in him, “Faith in his word and power”….(next blog)
Buck To Basics 