Alley-O

Alley-O.  “The big ship sails on the Alley-Alley-O / On the last day of September.” This week brings in the last day of September and its melodious nursery rhyme. Especially in verses two and three, the children’s song sings of the canals and ports, perhaps in Manchester, England, where a cargo captain considers risking the rough sailing conditions, apparently pressed by his boss to meet contractual agreements to depart before October 1^st when long-haul shipping usually shuts down for the winter. Verse two warns: “The captain says that it will never, never do / On the last day of September.” Pressed by finances into folly, verse three laments: “The big ship sank to the bottom of the sea / On the last day of September.”

This old song was often part of our children’s bedtime routine, but never verses two or three. Those verses are so sad that modern editors didn’t even print them in newer editions of Mother Goose’s Nursery Rhymes. Conceivably, older generations of children were able to sing sad songs without spoiling the fun, especially if they lived in Manchester, England, where the big ships would sometimes sink on the last day of September. Songs normalize tragedy.

The point, however, for this last week of September is neither nostalgia nor cultural commentary, but the power of a proverb. The highly refined ability to organize, analyze, and summarize complex information into a simple, memorable, and replicable saying is frankly rare and vastly special, yet so modest that it welcomes anonymity and being lost to folklore. “Proverb is the wit of one, and the wisdom of many” (Lord John Russell). The wise make complexity look easy, though it never is. Every culture has proverbs, such as: “haste makes waste,” and “fortune favors the bold,” but it is the unique contribution of biblical proverbs to fuse true wisdom with the fear of the Lord. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight” (Prov. 9:10).

Biblical proverbs are sourced in revelation more than merely observation. While God affirms his wise sayings as the supreme examples of "wisdom from above” (James 3:17), the biblical and the cultural proverbs are not automatically antagonistic toward each other when common ground is shared. In fact, biblical writers occasionally acknowledge cultural proverbs as also coming from God, though indirectly and outside the process of the inspiration of Scripture. Paul comfortably knew and quoted from local poets (Acts 14:11-18; 17:22-28; Titus 1:12) without yielding to their authority. Solomon may have incorporated some proverbs from an Egyptian source, though Solomon clearly maintained editorial discretion. (Notice the “thirty sayings” in Proverbs 22:20, which seems to be an oblique reference to the thirty chapters of The Teaching of Amenemope, that loosely resemble Proverbs 22:17-23:14).

Using cultural proverbs is not theologically “wrong" if they are put to a better use. Even Egyptian gold comes from God’s mines, as Augustine of Hippo argued: “For, as the Egyptians had not only the idols and heavy burdens which the people of Israel hated and fled from, but also vessels and ornaments of gold and silver, and garments, which the same people when going out of Egypt appropriated to themselves, designing them for a better use” (On Christian Doctrine, Book II, Chapter 30). God’s wisdom, like God’s rain, falls upon both “the just and the unjust” alike (Matt. 5:45). Those who know God see him everywhere.

Jericho

Jericho. As is often the case, some of the subjects touched upon during our Sundays have a way of popping up throughout the week. It should not be a surprise that the same Jericho that has been in our summer sermon series in the book of Joshua appeared in last week’s international news. Part of this year’s 27 additions to the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Sites is the ruin of the ancient city of Jericho (https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/unesco-jericho-ruins-tell-es-sultan/index.html). You can read about how, at its unveiling ceremony for the prestigious UNESCO list, the United Nations officials snubbed Jericho’s official host nation, Israel, by stating that the award went to Palestine.

Nevertheless, the infamous wall can be seen in the news article, brushed away carefully of its dust and sand by the archeologists. Of course, the ruined wall that is visible today (dating from 10^th Century B.C.) is not the wall that fell at the trumpet blasts of the priests of Israel. The older wall was leveled in approximately 1400 B.C. Certainly, by the time of King David (reigned 1010-970 B.C.), Jericho was again populated (2 Sam. 10:5), though arguably without a fortified wall since there was an ominous curse placed on the fool who would venture to rebuild the city. “Cursed before the Lord be the man who rises up and rebuilds this city, Jericho. At the cost of his firstborn shall he lay its foundation, and at the cost of his youngest son shall he set up its gates” (Josh. 6:26). Sadly, in stride with the idolatrous reign of King Ahab (874-853 B.C.), a man named Hiel rebuilt Jericho as a fortified city despite the curse. Predictably, the curse prevailed. “In his days Hiel of Bethel built Jericho. He laid its foundation at the cost of Abiram, his firstborn, and set up its gates at the cost of his youngest son Segub, according to the word of the Lord, which he spoke by Joshua the son of Nun” (1 Kings 16:34). Jericho was also near to the site, just across the Jordan River, where Elijah skipped death and was translated into heaven (2 Kings 2:4).

In the New Testament, Jericho was the place to where the character in the parable of the Good Samaritan headed before he was robbed (Luke 10:30). Jericho was visited by Jesus where he healed two blind men, one of whom was named Bartimaeus (Matt. 20:29; Luke 18:35). Jericho was also where the tax collector, Zaccheus, lived and climbed a tree to better see Jesus as he passed through on his way to the cross (Luke 19:3).

So, be careful what you study, for you may begin to see traces of it everywhere you look. The more you study, the more you see; the more you see, the more you want to study!

Wisdom from God

Wisdom From God. Information has never been so easily accessible, and knowledge has never been so readily available. In ten years, it is conceivable that such a claim could again be made. “Information itself is power,” wrote Sir Francis Bacon famously in Meditationes Sacrae (1597). Yet, with so many examples of informationally powerful know-it-alls, why is wisdom still so rare? It is because wisdom is not a by-product of collected data.

With one search, I can find out which viscosity of motor oil is best suited for a 5.3L V8 gasoline engine. Yet, on the bottle of that laboratory engineered motor oil it says in large letters, “DO NOT INGEST.” What kind of fool would even consider drinking motor oil to necessitate such a warning? Our surplus of knowledge cannot solve our deficit of wisdom. Information itself may be power, but wisdom does not always follow information. A smart fool is just as possible to find as an uneducated sage, whether Artificial Intelligence applies or not.

Wisdom is not built from data; it comes from God. Wisdom is not intellectually achieved, but spiritually received. In a real yet enigmatic sense, Jesus is the incarnation of the wisdom of God. “Because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption” (1 Cor. 1:30). Wisdom is derivative from our relationship to the “only wise God” (Rom. 16:27). We could not attain wisdom, so Wisdom obtained us.

God mercifully beats us at our own game, using the wisdom (so called) of the world to thwart the wise. “For it is written, ‘I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.’ Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe” (1 Cor. 1:19-21).

Alike Before the Lord

Alike Before the Lord. A well-established theme in the Bible is the plight and treatment, but also the wisdom and texture found in the life of the sojourner. One-hundred twenty times in the Old Testament, but only twice in the New Testament appear variations of the word sojourn. Yet of those two, one refers to Abraham’s physical descendants through Isaac as “sojourners in a land belonging to others” (Acts 7:6). Therefore, the only unique New Testament contribution to the subject of sojourning comes from Peter to the dispersed church, “Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul” (1 Pet. 2:11). From this, the New Testament does not set aside sojourning as obsolete but continues affirming it unchanged from Abraham.

The remaining Old Testament verses, which would form an excellent side-study, elevate the sojourner without marginalizing the native-born citizen. Past Noah, every patriarch was a non-native sojourner: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph and all his brothers, Moses, etc. Remarkably, however, God describes himself as “with” the sojourner (Lev. 25:23; Psa. 39:12), who “stands up” for them, “avenges” them when they are mistreated (Psa. 94:6, 16), “watches over” them (Psa. 146:9) and demands that his people do the same because “you were sojourners in the land of Egypt” (Exo. 22:21; 23:9; Lev. 19:34; Deut. 10:19; 23:7). Evidence of Job’s righteousness, and evidence of Judah’s unrighteousness, show forth in their treatments of the sojourner (Job 31:32; Jer. 7:6; Eze. 22:7, 29) like a litmus paper test.

Regarding capital punishment: “You shall have the same rule for the sojourner and for the native” (Lev. 24:22). Regarding the Passover: “You shall have one statute, both for the sojourner and for the native” (Num. 9:14). Regarding offerings: “You and the sojourner will be alike before the Lord. One law and one rule shall be for you and for the stranger who sojourns among you” (Num. 15:15). Regarding sin: “You shall have one law for him who does anything unintentionally, for him who is native among the people of Israel and for the stranger who sojourns among them” (Num. 15:29; see also the Cities of Refuge in Numbers 35).

The normal operating procedure of civil society in Israel—the very essence of the Law which goes beyond the letter of the Law—was “love the sojourner” (Deut. 10:19) or equally, “love your neighbor” (Lev. 19:18). Jesus joined this horizontal love for others, non-native sojourners as well as native-born brothers, with vertical love for the Lord as the apex of “all the law and the prophets” (Matt. 22:37-40). Fantastically and finally, with reference to his future judgment of humankind, Jesus said, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave me food, I was thirsty, and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked, and you clothed me, I was sick, and you visited me, I was in prison, and you came to me” (Matt. 25:34-36). God was a sojourner, too, what a thought! Treatment of the sojourner does not generate righteousness, but it does give evidence of righteousness imputed.

Admonish the Idle

Admonish the Idle.  True emergencies always run the real risk of casualties. Triage during an emergency certainly saves lives, but at a cost. To say Yes to one emergency requires the difficult decision of saying No or Wait to another. Grim, but technically accurate, not every patient survives. Physical life is an unavoidably fatal condition. Applying a cool-headed, emotionally detached, and predetermined method for making important decisions about life-threatening situations is a skill that few have but all need at least a few times in their lives. The combat medic on the battlefield, the triage nurse or attending physician in the emergency department, the EMT at the fire or police department make crucial decisions daily; decisions which do not correspond to the strict code of first-come-first-served.

Some patients are genuine emergencies, who “skip in line” past those who are acutely though marginally less ill or injured. Other patients in the ER may have serious pain, but whose pain is more chronic. They must wait behind the full-blown emergencies and quickly escalating crises that rush past them in the waiting room. Understandably every patient internally feels like the priority, however, external factors ultimately determine the kind of patient care given and its timing in extreme conditions. Sorting which one is which is very delicate, often thankless, highly criticized, and heavily scrutinized work. Triage (from French, trier, meaning “to sort”) requires specialized training and a certain untaught ability to handle and even harness stress into heightened effectiveness. The bleeding-heart type of person, who is overly empathetic to every sad case, simply won’t last long in triage.

Paul hints at a kind of applicational triage in the church. Everyone needs care at some point, but spiritual care is not a one-size-fits-all approach. Sorting must happen. “And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all” (1 Thess. 5:14). Paul specifically addresses the church collectively (“brothers”), which does not single out the elders or pastors. Of course, the elders and pastors are also church folks, so they are included, but spiritual care is not reserved for only the church’s leadership. All the saints are qualified by God and deputized by Paul to engage as spiritual caregivers.

Triage must accompany spiritual care. We must assess and then adapt to three aspects of scalable degrees in need: the individual, the urgency, and the underlying conditions. (1) Admonish the idle: warn, alert, instruct the undisciplined person in the congregation whose passivity has become a true problem. (2) Encourage the fainthearted: console, alleviate, befriend the despondent person in the congregation whose despair is debilitating. (3) Help the weak: cling to, hold, support the powerless person in your congregation who is ill, injured, or immature. But the constant for spiritual caregiving is always appropriate: (4) Be patient with them all.

Who Is Sufficient For These Things?

Who Is Sufficient For These Things?  In some ways, the Apostle Paul is like Moses. In other ways, he is an antithesis to Moses. Moses, of course, was Israel’s leader and law-giver during the Exodus and wandering years. Paul was a church leader and doctrine-explainer during the expansion years of the church’s first missionary journeys. Moses was rules-oriented, necessarily so. Paul was grace-oriented, emphatically so. Moses was zealous for the Lord, well educated, and yet murderous. Paul was zealous for the Lord, well educated, and murderous, too. Moses met God in a theophany in the burning bush and learned God’s name—“I Am Who I Am” (Exo. 3:14). Paul met God in a theophany on the road to Damascus and learned God’s name—“I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting” (Acts 9:5). Moses was sent on a mission by God to deliver the Hebrews. Paul was sent on a mission by God to evangelize the Gentiles.

Still one more link at least connects Paul and Moses, which squeezes into a single word: sufficient. Moses, balked in God’s presence at the task God gave to him. “But Moses said the Lord, ‘Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and of tongue’” (Exo. 4:10).

When the Old Testament was translated from Hebrew into Greek, eloquent was rendered by the same word that Paul used when he considered the task God gave him to do, sufficient. “Who is sufficient for these things?” (2 Cor. 2:16). Paul repeated the word three more times in the next paragraph, too. “Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, who made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life” (2 Cor. 3:4-6).

Just as God validated and yet overruled the tension that Moses felt between his capacity and God’s calling, Christ also validated and yet overruled the same tension that Paul felt. “Then the Lord said to [Moses], ‘Who has made man’s mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now, therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak’” (Exo. 4:11-12). “But he said to [Paul], ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness’” (2 Cor. 12:9).

God does not eliminate the weakness but enters it. We know God’s power in a perfected, mature, and fully balanced sense when his grace meets our weakness at faith.

Ahaziah

Ahaziah.  The Hundred Years’ War between France and England (1337-1453) and the subsequent War of the Roses, which involved the squabbles of royal succession in England (1455-1487), can claim no bragging rights for complicated storylines. The knot of kings and queens in Israel and Judah in the mid-9^th Century B.C., tangled by name duplications, assassinations, usurpations, and a curious mixture of the Greek way to count years versus the Jewish way, unilaterally seizes the prize for complicated storylines! Yet, it seems that the more one studies it, the more one gags upon its bile.

The ancient nation of Israel was intractably divided following its Civil War (931 B.C.) during the abysmal reign of Rehoboam (931-915 B.C.). The ten tribes in the north separated from Jerusalem to become Israel. The two tribes in the south reduced to Judah. Israel and Judah, despite their historic brotherhood, hated each other. Neither kingdom was good, but the northern kingdom of Israel was noticeably worse in terms of their kings. The low tide line of morality in Israel seemed to coalesce around the reign of Ahab and Jezebel, who flaunted their worship of Baal and Asherah. God promised to judge them (1 Kings 21:23-24).

Jezebel died a horrible death for her sins (1 Kings 21:23). Ahab died an unlikely death, too, for his sins (1 Kings 22:34). But the rot of Ahab and Jezebel continued for many years to infect Israel and contaminate Judah. Ahaziah, son of Ahab and Jezebel, was crowned in 854 B.C. A weak and inconsequential ruler, Ahaziah reigned only two years, because, like his parents, he died a supernaturally unnatural death associated with his worship of Baal (853 B.C.). But Ahaziah’s sister, Athaliah, married the king of Judah, Jehoram—which was also the name of the next king of Israel after Ahaziah (sometimes shortened to Joram). Indicative of his lawlessness, Jehoram (of Judah) killed six of his younger brothers (2 Chr. 21:4). Athaliah apparently already had a son, Ahaziah (named for her brother, the short-lived king of Israel), from before marrying Jehoram (of Judah), who was now the heir-apparent in Judah. When Jehoram (of Judah) was also assassinated, Athaliah placed Ahaziah (of Judah) on the throne (2 Kings 8:26). He was twenty-two years old and only reigned one year (841 B.C.). Yet, she advised Ahaziah (of Judah) “in doing wickedly” (2 Chr. 22:3), which is to say, she trained her son in his grandmother’s (Jezebel) idolatry. When Ahaziah (of Judah) was killed by Jehu (of Israel) while visiting his uncle Jehoram (of Israel), Athaliah killed everyone left in the royal family at Jerusalem who might have had a claim to the vacated throne of Ahaziah—her grandchildren!—so that she could usurp the throne of Judah herself (2 Chr. 22:10) in 846 B.C.

But Jehosheba, the daughter of Jehoram (of Judah) and stepdaughter of Athaliah, who had married the high priest, Jehoiada, secretly rescued her infant nephew (Jehoash, shortened to Joash) from Athaliah’s assassination attempt (2 Chr. 22:11). When Joash was old enough to be crowned king, the priests who guarded Joash killed Athaliah (2 Chr. 23:15). Thus, all of Ahab and Jezebel’s allies were judged; the wound closed, somewhat.

The complicated storylines of the kings and queens of Israel and Judah are difficult to follow but easy to summarize: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15).