Choices

Readings for today: Joshua 15-18

God’s promises are always sure. Always true. Always good. In the Book of Joshua, God makes it clear that His great desire is for His people to dwell secure in the land He had promised them. At the same time, God’s people are not perfect. They are not faithful. They are not whole-hearted in their devotion. Their strength fails. Their resolve weakens. Their obedience is not complete. The result is an incomplete conquest. A delay in the fulfillment of God’s promise. Does this mean God has failed? Absolutely not! It means God has remained true to Himself. True to His plan and purpose for the world. True to the creature He first made in His image.

In the beginning, God gave human beings dominion over all He had made. We were created to work the “garden” that is this world. We were created to cultivate and help it flourish. We were entrusted with this responsibility. We were given agency so we might freely choose to serve God with all our hearts, souls, minds, and strength. We were given a will that was free which means our choices are real and result in real-life consequences. So when human beings in places like Israel and Gaza fail to resolve ancient tribal differences, it breaks out into open war. When human beings conduct experiments with dangerous pathogens, it breaks out in deadly pandemics. When human beings live beyond their means in unsustainable ways, it disproportionately impacts the global poor. When human beings funnel money intended for national development into their personal coffers, it destroys families and lives for generations.

Israel was entrusted with the Promised Land. Each tribe allotted a specific portion by lot. They were to conquer that territory and drive out the pagan inhabitants. But Israel failed in her mission. They were unsuccessful in their attempts to fully subdue the land. They allowed certain Canaanite tribes to co-exist. And even though they forced them to do hard labor, they were setting the stage for future uprisings and conflict. From this point forward, Israel would struggle to remain faithful to God. Struggle to resist the temptation to worship other gods. Struggle to maintain their control over the land. Struggle to rest in the promise of God. Again, this is not because God somehow failed. Not at all! It is Israel who failed to remain faithful thus setting a pattern for generations to come.

You and I are no different. Created in God’s image. Given dominion over all God has entrusted into our hands. Our time. Our talent. Our treasure. Our influence. How are we stewarding all God has given us? How are we laying hold of the promise of God for today? How are we walking in obedience even in the midst of our current cultural crises? The choices we make in this cultural moment carry real consequences for good or for ill. The agency we exercise is real as is the responsibility we bear for ourselves, our families, our neighbors, and the human race as a whole. What tone are we setting for future generations? What legacy are we leaving to our children and grandchildren? When they look back at this moment in history, what will they say? Will they see Christians responding with faith over fear? Peace amidst all the anxiety? Grace in the face of all the outrage and judgment? Sacrificial love in a world full of selfishness and greed? You and I will be held personally and corporately responsible for how we respond in this moment. May we respond like Christ.

Readings for tomorrow: Joshua 19-22

Covenant Faithfulness

Readings for today: Ezekiel 16-18, Psalms 35

A few weeks ago, I stood with a couple before their community of family and friends as they exchanged their marriage vows before the Lord. I encouraged them, as I always do, to live in covenant faithfulness with each other. To build the kind of deep intimacy where nothing is hidden and everything shared. To hold nothing back and have no secrets. To be naked and unashamed before the Lord as they build their life together. Of course, we all know many marriages fail to live up to this high standard. Life in this world has a way of pulling us apart even from those we love most. Pressure, distractions, not to mention the ever present corruption of sin all conspire to separate what God has joined together. The same is true in our relationship with Him.

Ezekiel 16 is one of the rawest, most graphic chapters in the Bible. It depicts God as the faithful husband who finds His bride bleeding and broken and abandoned to die in the wilderness. He raises her. Feeds her. Comforts her. Blesses her. She flourishes under His tender loving care. Eventually, He weds her in a beautiful ceremony. Covering her nakedness with His garment of love. (Think about what we read in the Song of Solomon and compare it to this chapter.) For a time, the couple is happy. She is content with her husband. But soon, she begins to take His love for granted. Her eye begins to wander. She gets distracted. She chases after other gods. She commits spiritual adultery. The revelation Ezekiel is given in this chapter are graphic because they depict the utter heartbreak and anger of God. Like any husband, He is angry and feels betrayed by His bride’s unfaithfulness. I’ve walked with many husbands and wives over the years through marital counseling and there is nothing quite like the betrayal of adultery. It is brutal and almost impossible to come back from. But Israel doesn’t just commit adultery once. She makes a pattern of it. Going from the Egyptians to the Assyrians to the Babylonians. She offers herself in covenant faithfulness to whoever seems to be the strongest and most powerful. God, her husband, will not be mocked. He judges her for her unrighteousness. He judges her for her unfaithfulness. He judges her for breaking His heart over and over again.

Like any husband, God has every right to reject Israel forever. She has broken the covenant and He could choose righteously to walk away. But God is faithful. He is faithful to His vows even when we are not. He is faithful to His promises even when we push Him away. He is faithful to His love even when we reject it. So what does God, our great Husband, do? Listen again to His words from Ezekiel 16, “For this is what the Lord God says: I will deal with you according to what you have done, since you have despised the oath by breaking the covenant. But I will remember the covenant I made with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish a permanent covenant with you. Then you will remember your ways and be ashamed when you receive your older and younger sisters. I will give them to you as daughters, but not because of your covenant. I will establish my covenant with you, and you will know that I am the Lord, so that when I make atonement for all you have done, you will remember and be ashamed, and never open your mouth again because of your disgrace. This is the declaration of the Lord God.” (Ezekiel‬ ‭16‬:‭59‬-‭63‬ ‭CSB‬‬) Yes, God will not give Israel a pass. He will not simply overlook her sin. But in an act of unbelievable faithfulness, He is the one who will make atonement for them. He is the one who will re-establish His covenant with them. He is the one who will bring them back into His home, back into His heart. What great faithfulness! There simply are no words.

Readings for tomorrow: Ezekiel 19-21, Psalms 36