Meeting God

Readings for today: Ezekiel 1-4, Psalms 31

(Picture: Modern day view of the river Chebar)

God shows up in the most unlikely of places. Though we tend to associate Him with beautiful cathedrals and magnificent churches, God makes His dwelling with the humble and lowly of heart. Ezekiel was such a man. Born to be a priest, he was carried off into exile with the other leaders of his people. He was a contemporary of Jeremiah and must have heard his preaching. Jeremiah often preached to the ruling class in Jerusalem. He may have even known the man personally. But now Ezekiel finds himself in exile. He lives with his people in a refugee camp. And he spends days down by the local water source, pondering all that happened. He must have felt the deepest of despair. He must have felt separated from God. He must have felt abandoned and alone and afraid. That’s when God shows up.

It’s a striking vision. One that has inspired all kinds of fantastical art throughout the centuries. Ezekiel sees a vision of God on His throne coming to be with His people in exile. And as stunning as the creatures are with their multiple heads and wheels within wheels, what would have struck Ezekiel the most is God’s faithfulness. After all, Ezekiel had been trained from birth that God’s dwelling place was in the Temple. The Temple was holy ground. The Holy of Holies in the Temple is where God’s glory dwelled. There was no precedent for God leaving the Temple. No historical record of God coming and going from the most holy place. All of Israel assumed that if one wanted to meet with God, one had to show up physically at the Temple and have the priest intercede for them. But now Ezekiel is in the worst possible place in the world. If you haven’t been to one, refugee camps are some of the worst places on earth. He’s living in abject poverty on the brink of starvation. There is nothing holy about his condition. No sacred ground for him to stand on. And yet, God is willing to meet him there.

Now think about Jesus. God could have sent Jesus to be born of a virgin in a palace in Jerusalem. God could have sent Jesus to emerge bodily from the Holy of Holies at the Temple. God could have done any number of things to reveal Himself to His people but what did God do? He came to a poor couple living in a backwater town in rural Israel. He met them in a common home and his first crib was a manger among the animals. His attendants were shepherds from the fields. Despite what you may have been taught, the wise men didn’t show up for a couple of years. In Christ, God was willing to meet us in the midst of everyday life in the most ordinary of circumstances.

Now think about your life. If your life is anything like mine, God often shows up in the most unlikely of places. He comes at the most unexpected of times. Just when I think I’ve reached my limit or hit rock bottom, I find Him there waiting for me. I don’t have to go to some special place nor do I have to touch some sacred relic to find communion with Him. I simply open my heart to Him. I open His Word and He speaks. I obey His commands and I sense His abiding presence.

Readings for tomorrow: Ezekiel 5-8, Psalms 32

Meeting God

Readings for today: Exodus 19-21

I try to imagine myself at the foot of Mt. Sinai. Coming face to face with the glory and power of God. Thunder. Lightning. Smoke. Fire. Clouds descending on the summit. It must have been an awe-inspiring sight. And then to hear the first words of God. Words of such grace. “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.” Before we get to any of the laws and commandments and rules for living, we learn about relationship. This God is our God. This God delivered us from bondage and oppression. This God set us free from slavery. Remember the Israelites didn’t really know this God. They hadn’t really spent any time with Him. All they had were a few stories handed down over generations. Now God is giving them a new story. Now God is forming them into a new people. Now God is renewing the covenant He first made with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and further defining the relationship He will have with them. 

I remember when I first met God. I too had been raised on the stories of God. Stories that had been passed down over the centuries. Stories in Sunday School. Stories from my parents. Stories of God’s faithfulness and God’s goodness. But then I came face to face with God on the campus of the University of Colorado in Boulder. Walking on the sidewalk one day reflecting on the Bible study I had attended the night before and suddenly feeling overwhelmed by God’s presence. Realizing for the first time in my life that Jesus was not just some story but an actual Person who wanted to have a relationship with me! On that day, Jesus gave me a new story. He adopted me into His family. He renewed the covenant and further defined the relationship He desired to have with me. My life has never been the same. 

Today’s reading represents a hinge point in the Book of Exodus. We move from sweeping epic to Israelite case law and it’s tempting to skip over this part. I remember my eyes glazing over during this section the first several times I read through the Bible in a year. Ha! However, if we slow down and read carefully, some wonderful truths are revealed. The laws God gives reveal His nature and character. They are similar and yet critically different than the laws of the nations around them. Almost all societies, even ancient ones, have laws prohibiting murder, stealing, lying, etc. Old Testament law is unique, however, in that it protects women, children, and families. It restricts revenge by instituting the principle of lex talionis - otherwise known as “an eye for an eye and a tooth for tooth” - thus making justice proportional. Furthermore, it makes slavery a voluntary arrangement. Available for those who cannot pay their debts. Freedom was a guarantee unless the slave himself chose otherwise. Protections were built in to prevent abuse and slave trading was punishable by death. “Whoever steals a man and sells him, and anyone found in possession of him, shall be put to death.” (Ex. 21:16) These are massive advances in human rights and set the nation of Israel apart from the other nations around them. 

This is exactly God’s point, by the way. Remember, in “Abraham” all the nations of the earth would be blessed. It will be through Abraham and his descendants (now starting to “outnumber” the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore) that the world will come to know Yahweh is God. Pharaoh’s already learned this lesson the hard way. Other nations now have the opportunity to learn from Israel. To model their own national life and laws after the Law of God. In giving Israel His Law, God is setting them up to serve as a light to the nations. An example to the Gentiles. He wants the nations of the earth to see what life looks like in His Kingdom. When Israel is faithful to the Law, the nations will flock to her. She will experience blessing and peace and prosperity. When she disobeys the Law, she will be judged and punished thereby continuing to serve God’s purposes as He makes an example of them in His wrath. The point of it all is that God is now in relationship with Israel and Israel with God. She is bound to Him through His saving grace and He will never let her go. 

The same is true for us today, friends. The church of Jesus Christ – made up of Jews and Gentiles together – is still being called to be the light of the world. The salt of the earth. As we lean into Christ, God’s law is written on our hearts and we become a new people. May the town of Parker, the wider Metro Denver community, and even the world see what life looks like in God’s Kingdom as they look to us!

Readings for tomorrow: 22-24