Wisdom is Calling

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In Proverbs 8, Solomon gives wisdom a voice. He personifies wisdom as a woman who is describing herself and the benefits we can receive if we follow her advice. Some of the things we can learn about wisdom from this monologue are—Wisdom is the application of truth and righteousness (vss. 7-8). Wisdom is more valuable than silver, gold, or precious jewels (vss. 10-11). Those who follow wisdom experience blessings and peace (vss. 18-21), and they receive life and favor from God (vs. 35). Just and righteous kings rule with wisdom (vss. 15-16). And God created all things through wisdom (vss. 22-31).

In summary, one could deduce from this Proverb that wisdom is the right application of truth and humbly doing the right thing at all times. It should be valued above even the most precious things such as silver or gold. And, when followed, will bring honor, blessing, peace, and order to their life instead of chaos, fear, or stress (see Matt. 7:24-25).

So, where can we find wisdom if wisdom is so precious and should be sought after? Solomon answers that question in Proverbs 9:10. He says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” The next question is what does he mean by “the fear of the Lord”? Are we supposed to be afraid of God if we want wisdom? No, but to understand what Solomon means we need to examine the word “fear” more closely.

The word translated “fear” in this passage is the Hebrew word yirah and it has a wide range of meanings. It can mean having dread or terror from something such as when Israel was afraid of God when He appeared on the top of Mount Sinai (Ex. 20:18-19). Some feel this type of fear is self-centered because the focus is on “what will happen to me?” This is exactly Israel’s response to the Presence of God— “But do not have God speak to us or we will die” (Ex. 20:19).

The word yirah, however, can also mean to revere, be in awe, respect, or worship. In this case, the emphasis is not on what happens to the person, but on God’s glory, power, and majesty. And, instead of causing us to draw away from God as it did with Israel, it compels us to move closer to Him and motivates us to please Him like Moses (Ex. 20:21). When we encounter the power and glory of God, it humbles us and brings us to repentance because we recognize our sinfulness in the presence of His holiness (Job 42:1-6), but it also fills us with an awe-inspired love for God. We desire to grow closer to Him and learn from Him. We recognize that His laws are for our benefit because they teach us how to live, and a wise man out of this fear (awe, respect, reverence) for the Lord will put them into practice.

This type of fear of the Lord can be developed and I would challenge you to begin to discipline yourself to grow in the fear of the Lord and wisdom. First, pray for God to put a hunger in your heart to experience the Presence of God (Matt. 5:6). Ask Him to give you a passion for more of His glory (Ex. 33:18). Then, when you read your Bible, don’t read it merely to gain information about God. Instead, read it with the fear of the Lord. Read it with awe, wonder, and reverence (Ps. 19:7-11) as you sit down with the Almighty Creator of the Universe and listen as He speaks to you. Following this, go through your day with the fear of the Lord. Worship the Lord as you think about His power and glory (Ps. 63:1-4) and realize that He is always with you so that you want to please Him in everything you do (Col. 3:22).

Wisdom is calling, encouraging us to develop a true fear of the Lord that will make us aware of His awesome glory and will put a hunger in us to draw closer to Him. She then helps us apply God’s word to our lives so that we can find true life, blessing, honor, and favor from God. Will we listen?

Why All The Laws

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When reading the Old Testament, especially the Torah- the five books of Moses, it is easy to get bogged down in all the rules, rituals, and regulations we see. Many of us will look at them as restrictive and outdated. And, since they have no application for our life today, why bother reading them? After all, we are a New Testament church, so the Old Testament laws don’t apply to us, right?

Actually, they do. In fact, the laws of the Old Testament form the foundation of our faith in the New Testament. We need the Old Testament to understand what God is doing in the New Testament, so it is important to have a proper perspective about the Old Testament and why all the laws are there. One of the best places to start is in our understanding of the word Law. When we think of laws, we think of rules that restrict and punish. However, the Jews don’t see it that way. In the Old Testament, the word that is often translated into the word Law in English is the Hebrew word Torah. This word can mean law, but it is more often looked at as direction or instruction.

God did not give Israel His laws (Torah) to restrict them but to instruct them in a way that will allow them to experience His blessings. He was giving them guidelines on how to live in a way that will bring “shalom”: peace, wholeness, and completeness. His purpose was not to place them under legalistic bondage to rules, but instead to help them enjoy the freedom that comes from a relationship with Him. In fact, God’s goal throughout the Bible is reconciliation: to restore everything to the way He originally intended it to be.

God created man to have an intimate relationship with him forever. Sin, however, shattered that relationship, and everything God has done since then has been for the purpose of restoration. Therefore, whenever we read the rules about cleansing, purification, and holiness—especially when we read verses that direct us to be holy as God is holy (Lev. 11:44)—we need to read them with the understanding that following these instructions will help reconcile us back to God and bring “shalom” in our relationship with Him.

We may sometimes feel that God demands that we be holy because He cannot be around anything that is not holy. We might even get the impression that God would somehow be contaminated if anything unclean was to ever enter His presence as though He had an immune deficiency and had to protect Himself in a sterilized environment. However, the truth is, is that God is not requiring us to be holy for His benefit, but for ours. We, as sinful men, cannot enter the presence of a holy God and survive (Ex. 33:20). So, again, God’s instructions on holiness are not to restrict us, but to allow us the freedom to be reconciled to Him and experience shalom in our relationship with Him once again.

The same is true regarding the instructions on how we treat one another. Whenever we read passages such as Leviticus 18-19 that deal with sexual relationships, honoring parents, treating the poor and our neighbors fairly and with respect, and being honest in our business practices, we need to again keep in mind that the reason for all these regulations is to reconcile our relationship with each other. When we put these guidelines into practice, we remove conflict and bring peace to our relationships with others. We also demonstrate to the world the character of God and what it is like to live in His Kingdom.

The regulations regarding the sacrifices are put in place so that, on those occasions when we do sin and our relationship with God or man is broken, we have the means to seek forgiveness and restoration. They are there, again, to reconcile and bring us back to a place of peace in our relationships. The festivals are also intended to help in our relationship with God for they are opportunities to remind us of who God is and how He has provided for our needs. They allow us moments to reflect, refresh, and reconnect with our Lord. All the commandments, then, regarding purity and holiness, the regulations for the sacrifices, and the rituals of the festivals are there to bring reconciliation: to restore our relationships with God and with each other. The goal of them all is to bring shalom: peace and wholeness to our lives and allow us to experience the freedom that comes with living under the blessings of God. Therefore, I would encourage you to not look at the “laws” of God as rules designed to restrict and hold us in bondage. Instead, whenever you read the Old Testament, remember that these “laws” are guidelines that will bring reconciliation and freedom.

You Have a Purpose

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Anyone who has been around the church at all has undoubtedly heard the stories about Joseph: his dreams, the special coat given to him by his father, his brother’s jealousy that led them to sell him to merchants heading to Egypt, becoming a slave to Potiphar and ending up in prison without reason, his interpreting Pharaoh’s dreams which led to him being exalted to a high position in Egypt, and how he was reconnected to his family and saved them from the famine by bringing them all down to Egypt (You can read these stories in Gen. 37-50).

All the events of Joseph’s life have all the makings for an exciting soap opera—dysfunctional family setting, jealousy, seduction, mystery, revenge, and many other plot twists. However, I think the most interesting thing about Joseph’s life is found in Gen. 45:4-8 when Joseph reveals to his brothers that he is not angry with them for selling him as a slave because everything that happened was a part of God’s plan. He tells them “do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you…. So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God” (Gen. 45:5,8).

God made a promise to Joseph’s great-grandfather Abraham that his descendants would be enslaved in a strange country for 400 years after which He would deliver them and bring them to the promised land of Canaan (Gen. 15:13-16). Joseph was the key to the fulfillment of that promise. Therefore, everything that happened to Joseph—both the good and the bad—was part of God’s plan to get him where he needed to be to fulfill God’s purpose. These events also helped prepare Joseph for the work God was calling him to do. The enslavement, the seduction by Potiphar’s wife, and the wrongful imprisonment all helped build his character and his faith in God because Joseph could see that God was with him through it all (Gen. 39:2-6, 21-23). He could also see that nothing that happened to him was by chance or accident but was all part of God’s purpose for his life.

Many years ago, I attended a leadership seminar during which we were asked to make a timeline of our life. We were to list the major events of our life on a chart—both good and bad. We were then asked to identify the historical and cultural setting into which we were born, our family influence that helped shape our personality and moral sense, and the skills and talents we were born with or that we acquired over the years. Finally, we were asked to look at all the events and experiences of our life to see how God had been working and preparing us for the purpose He has for our life.

Going through this exercise helped me realize that, just as with Joseph, nothing happened to me by chance. God had/has a purpose for my life and everything that happened to me was part of the process of getting me where I needed to be and building my character so that I can fulfill that purpose.

The same is true for you! If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, you are a special part of the Body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:12-31). God never intended for His followers to come to church and just sit, being mere spectators while others do the work of the ministry. He designed each of us to serve according to our gifts (1 Peter 4:10-11). He has a place for you and a role for you to fulfill. Therefore, He is working through the circumstances of your life (good and bad) to prepare you for that role.

I would encourage you to briefly examine your life. List all the events and experiences of your life and look at how God used those experiences to build your character and develop your skills: to shape you into the person you are today. If you do this, you will also recognize that nothing that happened to you was by chance but was all part of God’s plan to bring you to the place you needed to be. And, just like Joseph, you will realize that you have a purpose!

The Gates of Hell Shall Not Prevail

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I’ve known for a long time the importance of reading Scripture in its context. Whenever we read a passage, we should always look at the verses before and after to understand the flow of thought. We should also research who is writing, the individuals to whom they are writing, and the reason they are writing to fully appreciate the meaning of the passage. Only when we understand the historical, literary, and cultural context—when we can see how the recipients received and understood the message, can we apply it to our lives today. However, I have recently come to realize the need to include the geographic context in my study of a passage of Scripture. It is important to know where an event took place because it can have some bearing on the meaning of the text, especially when the location is clearly noted in the passage.

One example of this is in Matthew 16:13-20. This is the passage where Jesus asks the disciples who people say he is. After listing several names, Jesus then asks them whom they say he is. Of course, Peter speaks out and makes the declaration that he is “the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matt. 16:16). Following this, Jesus says, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matt. 16: 17-18 ESV).

Of course, this is a very familiar passage of Scripture. I have read it and taught from it many times. However, I never paid attention to an important item in verse thirteen which brings a whole new understanding to Jesus’ words. At the beginning of this passage, we are told that Jesus went to the district of Caesarea Philippi. I believe that Matthew added this information because he wanted us to know that it was not by accident that Jesus asked this question at this location. He chose Caesarea Philippi as the place to make his declaration. Why?

Caesarea Philippi is about twenty-five miles north of Galilee. Just outside the city is a large cave carved out of a sheer cliff face. In the Old Testament times, this area was the center for Baal worship, however, following the conquest of Alexander the Great, it was dedicated to the worship of Greek fertility gods, particularly the god Pan. At the mouth of the cave, archeologists have found a temple, shrines, a courtyard for rituals, and niches for statues related to Pan.

Worshippers of Pan and other fertility gods believed that the cave created a gate to the underworld where the gods lived during the winter and returned to the surface each spring. To entice the gods to return each spring, the worshippers engaged in all kinds of detestable sexual acts. To these pagan worshippers, the gods traveled to and from the underworld through this cave which they called the gates of hell.

Over the years, there has been much discussion on what Jesus referred to when he said, “on this rock I will build My church.” Was he talking about Peter whose name sounds like rock in Greek? Was he referring to Peter’s confession of Jesus as the Messiah? I admit that I was never really sure what He meant by the phrase either. But now I believe that when Jesus made this statement he turned around and pointed to the large cliff in which the cave was carved. He then declared that on THAT rock: the center of pagan idolatry, debauchery, and spiritual darkness he was going to build his church. He was stating that he was going to reclaim territory Satan had taken as his own and was restoring it to God’s original purpose for the Kingdom of God. And, pointing to the cave entrance, Jesus announced that even the Gates of Hell—all the authority of Satan—cannot stop it.

I believe Jesus was using the cliff and cave at Caesarea Philippi as a backdrop to announce to Satan that his time was up, and that Jesus was beginning the work of restoring all things. I also believe that he was giving a challenge to his disciples. Gates are defensive structures. So, when he said that the gates of hell will not prevail against the church, he was telling his disciples (and us) that the church should not be hiding from evil. Instead, we should be storming the gates of hell and, through the authority we have in Jesus Christ (Matt. 16: 19), building the church in the places most filled with spiritual darkness and moral corruption. We should be reclaiming our cities for the Kingdom of God knowing that “the gates of hell shall not prevail against it!”

Who Are You?

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In Genesis 25- 35, the biblical narrative focuses on Jacob’s life, and, if you have spent any amount of time in church, I’m sure you have heard some of these stories. You’ve probably heard that Jacob and Esau were twins and at the time of their birth, Esau was born first, but Jacob was grasping Esau’s heel as he was born, thus he was given the name Jacob which comes from a root word that means to seize the heel, circumvent, supplant. The suggestion is that this is a person who will trip someone by the heel, undermine or usurp someone, or deal craftily with them. In Jewish culture, names were very important because a person’s name was a reflection of their character. And, in this case, Jacob definitely lived up to his name.

It was not long after the story of their birth that we are told how, when Esau returns tired and hungry from a trip, Jacob deceives Esau into selling his birthright for a bowl of stew. Later, we also learn how Jacob tricks his aging father, Isaac, into giving him the blessing of the firstborn instead of giving it to Esau, the rightful recipient of the blessing. We know that Esau then becomes so angry that he threatens to kill his brother when their father dies forcing Jacob to flee to his mother’s homeland.

As the story continues, we learn that Jacob meets and falls in love with Rachel, but he must work for her father, Laban, for seven years before he can marry her. When the time comes for them to be married, Laban deceives Jacob and gives Rachel’s older sister, Leah, to him as his wife instead of Rachel. Jacob now must work another seven years for Laban so he can marry Rachel, the one he loves. Jacob is now on the receiving end of lies and deception from his father-in-law, Laban, and ends up working for him for twenty years.

In the end, we read that God blesses Jacob with twelve sons and a daughter, many male and female servants, large flocks of sheep, and many camels and donkeys. Jacob was a very rich man when God told him to return to his homeland. Of course, going back meant he had to meet Esau and he was afraid of what Esau might do. On the way home, one evening Jacob has his famous encounter with a “man” (a messenger from God). He wrestles with him all night until the man blesses him and changes his name from Jacob to Israel. Following this, Jacob meets Esau, and the two brothers are reconciled.

This is a very short synopsis of the events covering these ten chapters, but I wanted to present this overview to share an important point from Jacob’s life. From his birth, Jacob was labeled a heel-grabber, a cheat, a deceiver, or a usurper. In fact, every time someone called his name, he was reminded of this label. Is it possible that having heard it so much as he was growing up, he eventually took on the character of the label he was given? I don’t believe he was called Jacob because he was a deceiver. Instead, I believe he became a deceiver because that is what he was called.

I also believe that having been on the receiving end of deception from Laban, Jacob realized that he needed to change. He no longer wanted to be the old Jacob. But when the time came to make restitution from his past regarding Esau, he struggled with fear and the old manipulator started to rise up (Gen. 32:1-21). It wasn’t until he wrestled with the messenger from God that the old Jacob was finally broken, and his name was changed. When he left, he was no longer Jacob, the deceiver, but he was now Israel, the overcomer (Gen. 32:28).

What about you? Is there a name that you were labeled with? Did you grow up hearing that you were ugly? Worthless? No good? A troublemaker? Have you struggled with fears, anger, addictions, or sins that you could never seem to overcome so you gave up thinking that that is who you are, and you will never change? Have you allowed these labels or thoughts to keep you in bondage to insecurities, feelings of inadequacy, helplessness, and hopelessness? Have you even begun to doubt if God can really love you or if you have any value to the Body of Christ?

Like Jacob, if we hear these labels often enough, we begin to believe them. We believe that is who we are, and that belief affects our behavior—we do what we believe. Therefore, if we have been told that we are worthless, then that is how we will see ourselves, and that is how we will behave. Our lives reflect who we believe we are. We behave like “Jacob” because that is the name we have been given: that is our identity.

However, also like Jacob, that label can change! The Bible tells us that if we surrender our life to Jesus Christ, we are a new creation. Our old life with its names and labels is gone, and we are a totally different person (2 Cor. 5:17). Paul even addresses this in one of his letters to the church at Corinth. After listing several sins such as immorality, greed, idolatry, drunkenness, etc., he adds “And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Cor. 6:11). What Paul is saying in these letters to the church is that no matter what you were in the past, that is not who you are now. We may have to wrestle in prayer over the old self, fears, sins, or addictions, but once we have surrendered to the Lordship of Jesus Christ and been touched by the Spirit of God, we are changed. We are no longer a sinner, but we are now a saint and an overcomer. And if anyone tries to put that old label on us, we can simply tell them, “My name is not Jacob anymore. My name is now Israel!”