Part 6, King Ahaz (Part 5, Feb 3)

God sent three boys to king Ahaz, whose names were meant to aid the young king’s faith and trust in God’s power and care – with a warning attached too, though, that “If you do not stand in your faith, Ahaz, you will not stand at all,” Isaiah 7:9. 

But there’s no indication in the story that Ahaz saw any significance in the names of these three boys. Instead, 2 Chronicles 28:22, “In his time of trouble King Ahaz became even more unfaithful to the Lord.” And rather than put his trust in God, Ahaz “sent messengers to the king of Assyria” in 2 Kings 16:7, asking him to “Come up and save me” from those “who are attacking me.” 

And to win the king’s favour Ahaz stripped the temple and the royal palace of all their silver and gold and sent the whole lot to the king as a gift (verse 8). Sounds like the major drug companies today, lobbying those in power and influence for favourable treatment and open support for their products by massive bribes of money. It worked a treat during the pandemic. It did for Ahaz too, because “The king of Assyria complied by attacking Damascus (the capital of one of Ahaz’s attackers) and capturing it” (verse 9). 

Ahaz then visited Damascus himself and while there he was deeply impressed by the design of an altar (to a god), and so much so he “sent a sketch of it to Uriah the priest (back home) with detailed plans for its construction” (verse 10). And when it was finished, Ahaz not only offered all the usual burnt, grain and drink offerings on it, he also pushed the bronze altar at the temple out of the way and placed his altar in the prominent position instead (verse 12-14). 

And in 2 Chronicles 28:24 -25, he “shut the doors of the Lord’s temple and set up altars at every street corner in Jerusalem. In every town in Judah he built high places to burn sacrifices to other gods and provoked the Lord to anger,” believing these fake gods would help them instead (verse 23). 

During the rest of his miserable 16 year reign in Jerusalem, he not only “sacrificed his son in the fire” (2 Kings 16:3), he “offered sacrifices and burned incense at the high places, on hilltops and under every spreading tree” (verse 4) – all of which were pagan practices. 

So why would God go to all that trouble of sending three children as signs to boost Ahaz’s trust in him, if none of them meant anything to him, and Ahaz trusted in fake gods instead?…(part 7, Feb 17)  

The Holy Spirit’s job is to keep us on track with everything Jesus taught (John 14:26, 16:13-15), and install everything that Jesus is in us, so that we become more and more like him (2 Corinthians 3:18). 

But what if there are things that conflict with what we’ve always thought was God’s will – that we’ve made sacrifices sticking to as well – and now we’re being asked to change our thinking and maybe accept something different? 

It happened to Peter in Acts 10. He got this vision where he “saw the skies open up. Something that looked like a huge blanket lowered by ropes at its four corners settled on the ground. Every kind of animal and reptile and bird you could think of was on it. Then a voice came: ‘Go to it, Peter – kill and eat,’” verses 11-13.

Peter was shocked: “Oh, no, Lord. I’ve never so much as tasted food that wasn’t kosher.” But the “voice came a second time: ‘If God says it’s OK, it’s OK,’” verses 14-15. But it went totally against what Peter had grown up with, on two counts: he’d never eaten any of the foods defined as “unclean” in Leviticus 11; plus he’d grown up believing Gentiles were unclean. But now he was being told to eat unclean foods as a lesson “that I should not call any man impure and unclean,” verse 28. 

So the Holy Spirit was teaching Peter something that conflicted with Peter’s conscience. And it really rocked Peter back on his heels. He “was still thinking about it” three verses later, but he couldn’t come up with any satisfactory answer. Peter simply didn’t get it.    

But it wasn’t his job to get it. It was the Spirit’s job, because the Spirit was now Peter’s guide, not his conscience – just as Jesus said back in John 16:13, that “when the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth.” So it was the Spirit’s responsibility to sort Peter’s mind out, and enable him to override his conscience. Peter couldn’t do that, but the Spirit could.

And this is the realm we’re now living in, where the Holy Spirit is tuning our minds to understand the truth of Scripture, as in the case of Lydia, a faithful conscience driven Jew in Acts 16 who, when faced with Paul’s radically different teaching, the “Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message,” verse 14. 

So when conscience conflicts with Spirit, the Spirit can sort us out. 

 The Greek word for “church” in the New Testament is ekklesia (pronounced ek-lay-see-ah), as in Acts 11:26, when “for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church (ekklesia).” 

Ekklesia was in use, however, long before the Christian church came into existence. It described the citizens of a city being called together by the local council to a public place to deliberate legal, political and business matters relevant to their city. In other words, an ekklesia was a wide open communal discussion on very practical matters. It was not a religious word at all, and yet this word was used for (and by) the church. 

Why? Well, the two root words of ekklesia – ek meaning “out of,” and the verb kaleo meaning “to call” – nicely fit the description of Christians being called out of the world. And being called out to meet together in a public place also fitted in nicely with meeting together as Christians. 

But there was more to ekklesia than that, because in its original and familiar Greek meaning it described people in a community being summoned from their homes to assemble in a public place for – note – open discussion and debate on important and relevant issues. 

And it wasn’t just discussion and debate among the leaders either; it included everyone in the community. Which is what we find the church doing in Acts 15. A “sharp dispute and debate” had arisen over whether Gentiles should be circumcised” (verses 2-3), so the church assembled together, heard the evidence, after which “the whole church” (verse 22) agreed on what to do.

This was ekklesia in its full Greek sense in action. It includes lots of open discussion on relevant issues covering a wide range of different opinions and perspectives, and coming to conclusions that satisfy all involved. 

Compare that to churches today, where denominational tradition and denominational hierarchy rather heavily decide what’s what, with little to no input asked for from the members. I doubt the Bereans in Acts 17, however, would have put up with that. When Paul and Silas arrived in Berea with their interpretation of the Old Testament scriptures, the Bereans “with great eagerness examined the scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true” (verse 11). They were all for open discussion and debate to get to the truth of Scripture they could all happily agree with. 

In ekklesia, then, the early Christians found a word that reflected what we as Christians are called out of the world for. It’s to meet together to learn, discuss and debate what Scripture says and how it applies to us personally in the world we find ourselves in.

The way things are going lately it’s like watching a chess game being played out by those obsessed with power. 

And like chess pieces they each have their strategic strengths. Some of the players, for instance, are like the queen in chess, the most powerful piece on the board, because they believe it’s by overwhelming military might and scary weapons that the game will be won.    

Others believe it’s not by might that you win, but by cunning. They’re the tricky knights on the board, because their ability to jump over other pieces on the board can catch even the most powerful by surprise. Globally, they can get the jump on the powerful, for instance, by promoting themselves as “saviours” of the people, so millions of people follow them willingly, rather than being forced to.   

For others, it’s not by might or cunning that you win, but by coming across as righteous. They’re the bishops on the board, who knock down the other players by virtue signalling all their faults. Castigate the powerful for their greed until they wilt in shame.  

But then there are the castles, or rooks, on the board, that build their castles in the air, their fantasy new world order that captures the imagination of leaders who then impose this ludicrous ideology on their people by dismantling their nations’ history, culture and tradition piece by piece, and bringing in their fantasy utopian reset instead. 

And whether they’re doing this consciously or unconsciously, or with a conscience or without, is not for me to judge, but in their obsession for power all the players in the game make their tactics obvious, so that even the lowly among us can recognize them. And so we should, because we’re the little pawns on the chess board who have to bear the brunt of these people’s egos as they sacrifice and discard us in their play for power. 

But their obsession to win has also made them blind to one rather simple fact, that God “raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age, but also in the one to come,” Ephesians 1:20-21. 

Hey, fellas, we’ve already got a “king of the world” – and a king forever too – so it’s a rather pointless game you’re playing, isn’t it? 

Proverbs 25:2 says it’s “the glory of God to hide things, but the glory of kings to investigate them (or search them out).” So God set up his creation like a treasure map, with all sorts of things to be discovered, and he gave us the abilities to find them.  

The sciences are the proof of it, because science is really just the discovery of all the things God inserted in his creation from the beginning, and scientists are the ones with the curiosity and the skills to search them out. God created the laboratory, and scientists are his lab technicians bringing his creation to light – to their glory as well as his.

It puts science on a hugely high pedestal, because if it wasn’t for men and women spending thousands of hours educating themselves on the intricacies and workings of the physical world, where would we be now? What if electricity had never been discovered, for instance? So the good parts of our history are very much the “glory” of those who set their minds to learn.  

Like those who set their minds to learning about the human immune system, and how it operates when hit by viruses. Because they knew when the Covid virus hit what it would do, and what treatments would be effective against it. These were the true scientists who based everything on evidence, observation, proper testing, trial and error, consultation with peers, and consensus – and not rushing to any conclusions or treatments unless all those steps had been taken. That, as Proverbs 25:2 says, is the glory of kings, or experts in their field; it is to investigate, search, and experiment to tease out what God put into his creation for our benefit.  

During the pandemic, then, we looked to our scientists to lead the way. Unfortunately, those with the purse strings and political agendas peddled a poorly based “science,” that has since proved to be disastrous for millions of trusting people. But it highlights a huge lesson, that those in power can easily pull the wool over our eyes if we aren’t educated. 

It’s our glory to investigate and search things out, because that’s what God designed us to do, and there were hundreds of voices during the pandemic who were making predictions about the future of the virus and the effects of poor science in treating it – that have since proved to be extremely accurate. It is to their glory that they shared their expertise, despite censorship and loss of job, because they spared thousands of people from making uneducated decisions.

This Psalm is for those like me who find it hard to believe how the most callous and cruel leaders are able to stay in power, even when caught out in lies, scandals, blatant profiteering, hate speech, and bullying their people into submission. 

Because Psalm 73 echoes the same thoughts. Asaph, who authored this Psalm and twelve more in what is considered the darkest part of Psalms, shared the same view of those in power, or “at the top,” verse 3 (The Message). He envied “the wicked who have it made, who have nothing to worry about, not a care in the whole wide world,” verses 3-4. Just like those today who fly all over the world in their private jets, pontificating about saving the planet while abusing the environment themselves. But somehow they get away with it, and carry on without a care in (or for) the world. The same callous hypocrisy Asaph witnessed.    

Fortunately, the Holy Spirit had Asaph write this Psalm, exposing these people for who and what they are. They are “pretentious with arrogance,” they’re “pampered and overfed, decked out in the silk bows of silliness (lunacy). They jeer (scoff at us underlings),” and “bully their way with words,” and yet, verse 10, “People actually listen to them – can you believe it?” Same as today, when tyrants are treated like gods and saviours. 

Asaph’s reaction was to ask in verses 11-12: “What’s going on here? Is God out to lunch? The wicked get by with everything; they have it made, piling up riches.” Ring any bells about drug companies of late? But “when I tried to figure it out” – as to why God was letting it happen – “all I got was a splitting headache.” Probably a lot of lost sleep too, wondering just how lunatic things would yet become (verse 16).  

“UNTIL…” 

Oh, you mean there’s a way of handling this? A way of not curling up in a corner and giving up? Well, according to Asaph in verse 17, it was when “I entered the sanctuary of God, then I saw the whole picture: the slippery road you’ve put them on, with a final crash in a ditch of delusions. In the blink of an eye, disaster! We wake up and rub our eyes….and there’s nothing to them, and there never was,” verses 18-20. 

God blew away the fog of despair, by opening Asaph’s eyes to his world, the real world where no one gets away with anything. God became real to Asaph, because Asaph was real with him.       

(Next ‘Psalm Sunday’ – Psalm 2)

The JOB… 

Jesus’ last words to his original disciples in John 14 to 17 are like bells banging away in our heads as his chosen disciples now. And so clear are their sound: bong – “Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me.” And bong – “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching.” And bong – “the Holy Spirit will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.” 

So, “class time” for disciples is learning what Jesus taught. The Greek word for disciple ties in with that too; it’s mathētēs (mah-thay-tace), meaning “learner.” It was also the word used for “apprentice.” So, being a disciple in its original, first century sense, was about learning from a skilled or renowned teacher – pictured rather nicely for us by the attitude of Mary in Luke 10:39, who “sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said.” 

And when her sister Martha muttered that Mary wasn’t helping with food preparation, Jesus’ answer in verses 41-42 is enlightening too: “Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” 

So what was this “one thing” that would “not be taken away” from Mary? Jesus explained in John 6:27, when he said: “Do not work for food that perishes, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.”  

What Jesus taught, then, went much deeper than “life lessons,” or platitudes, or “self-help” advancement in wisdom. What he taught was assigned by God the Father, and not for just this life either; these were teachings that would stay with a person forever. They’re the bread and butter of eternity. Learn what Jesus taught and we’re already experiencing eternity. 

And Jesus really nailed this down for his disciples, that, first of all, “My teaching is not my own. It comes from him who sent me,” John 7:16. And secondly, “whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me (to teach you) has eternal life. He has crossed over from death to life,” John 5:24.

“Class time” with Jesus, then, is setting us up for eternal life in this life now.

(“The JOY” was on Jan 28)

Part 5, King Ahaz, Isaiah 7 (Part 4, January 27)

Youth was not on the side of King Ahaz. He was 20 years old, facing a terrifying threat to himself and his entire nation – much like the global threat of a highly contagious virus that we’ve experienced. And he fell to pieces. He was totally consumed by fear, so much so he couldn’t think of any solution, including even turning to God. 

But God turned to him. Which I’ve wondered about, because why doesn’t God intervene with our political leaders too? Or is it that what God did with Ahaz was meant for our leaders as well? It’s there in Scripture for them to read, and all they need do to see if it works for them is – well, try it. And why not? Who knows, something quite spectacular might happen, because God likes spectacular, as we see in this story. 

But God’s being very gentle with Ahaz to begin with, by getting his message to Ahaz through youngsters and their names. A nice touch with Ahaz being a young man himself. So the first youngster’s name meant A Remnant will Return, to reassure Ahaz his nation would not be destroyed, and the name of the second youngster was God with us, to reassure Ahaz he wasn’t alone. 

But it was more than that, because with this second youngster God included a promise, “that the land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste,” Isaiah 7:16. It would be solid proof that God was with them, because the problem would be solved without any of them having to lift a finger. 

To back that promise up God sends a third little boy to Ahaz, Isaiah’s second son, a lad called Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz (Isaiah 8:1-4). The boy’s name meant Quick to the plunder, swift to the spoil, and it too contained a promise, that “Before the boy knows how to say ‘My father’ or ‘My mother,’ the wealth of Damascus and the plunder of Samaria will be carried away by the king of Assyria.” Problem solved, Ahaz. The mighty power of Assyria will swoop down on these two kings threatening you, and strip both their nations, Israel and Syria, of all their wealth so they will no longer be any threat to you. 

So that’s three little boys now, whose names all clearly meant that Ahaz had nothing to fear. The key question now was, “Would Ahaz believe it?” – because there was still that nagging warning back in Isaiah 7:9, that “If you do not stand firm in your faith, Ahaz, you will not stand at all.” 

(continues Feb 10) 

So why did people pour out “from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan” to hear John the Baptist and “confess their sins,” Matthew 3:5-6? 

None of them had received the Holy Spirit yet, but they felt a deep need to own up to their guilt, seek forgiveness, and wash away their past and start anew. So what made them do that, when it wasn’t the Holy Spirit? 

Well, it had to be their conscience, right? God had given them the Law, so they knew right from wrong. And all through their history they were constantly being faced with either blessings for obedience or punishment for disobedience. And sometimes, when they knew they were way out of line, and the punishment was severe, they repented. They knew they were guilty and they accepted it. Having a conscience, then, that enabled that to happen was a wonderful gift from God.  

But their sad history showed that conscience wasn’t enough to create either constant or permanent change. Even after the Jews were carted off into slavery for their rebellion against God, their conscience wasn’t enough to permanently correct their attitudes after they returned. And it stayed that way up to the time John the Baptist turned up. 

But what was the point of John the Baptist turning up and stirring up their conscience, when their history had already proved a guilty conscience never creates permanent change? 

Because it was preparation for “one more powerful” than John, who would “baptize them with the Holy Spirit and fire,” Luke 3:16, which to John was “good news” (verse 18). Good news, yes, because at last, the solution had arrived to conscience not being sufficient. 

The solution was Jesus “asking the Father to give us another Counsellor,” John 14:16 – “the Holy Spirit,” verse 26, “whom the Father will send in my name (acting on my behalf),” who, John 16:13-14, “will guide you into all truth….by taking from what is mine and making it known to you.” And how the Spirit does that is by “living with you and in you,” John 14:17. The Spirit who’s always with us now lives what Jesus taught in us, enabling constant and permanent growth and change – something the Israelites never accomplished without the Holy Spirit. We are fortunate, then, to have the Spirit as our guide, not our conscience.  

Note: For those who haven’t received the Holy Spirit and rely on their conscience to moderate their behaviour, God honours that too (Romans 2:14-15). But it’s only by the Spirit that we “participate in the divine nature,” enabling us to “escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires,” 2 Peter 1:4.

(Feb 9 – “When conscience conflicts with the Spirit”) 

My wife makes her own bread, from scratch. She has her own “starter” made from flour and water that sizzles away producing all the necessary goodies for bread to rise, and all she has to do is “feed” the starter with a touch more flour when it’s bread-making time, chuck some of the starter and salt in her homemade bread mix and that’s it, no added yeast or any artificial or chemical additives needed.  

And that’s what stirred the title, because store bought bread requires additives, not only to replace parts of the original grain that were removed, but also for shelf life. And what a pity, because tasty, nutrient rich bread comes from the raw grain, and only water and salt are needed to bring it out.    

Which stirred the thought, “Does this apply to Christianity too?” Because the “bread of life,” as Jesus called it, came from the raw grain of his teaching (John 6:63), but over the centuries Christianity has picked up an awful lot of additives, that have separated Christians. It’s a fascinating study seeing the differences these additives have made, because we now have thousands of Christian denominations that can differ widely in their traditions, rituals, interpretations of Scripture, and their formats when meeting together. 

And it’s these differences that have become the identifiers of each denomination. So instead of a church simply being “Christian,” it becomes Catholic, or Protestant, or Pentecostal, or Evangelical, etc. And if you wish to be a member of any of these churches, then you’re expected to take on the things they do that identify them as different to the other churches.  

All sincerely based on a desire to obey God, I assume, but the Pharisees in their desire to obey God came up with all sorts of additives that they expected their followers to obey too. But these additives weren’t commanded by God. They were simply “the traditions of men,” Mark 7:8. And, unfortunately, they took priority over the word of God (verse 13). 

So, when saying the word, “Pharisee,” it’s their added required traditions that are more likely to come to mind first. What a pity. But isn’t it the same today? When asked if we’re Christian, for instance, and we answer, “Yes,” the next question so frequently asked is: “Oh yes, and what church do you go to?” – because it’s become so important nowadays to identify Christians by their denominational identifiers and additives.

We’ve done it to ourselves, unfortunately, which is such a pity, because in Christianity no additives of any sort are needed (John 6:63).