Tag: Jeremy Martin

Remembering God’s Care

Exodus 15-16

Psalm 1

Matthew 15

Devotion by Jeremy Martin (TN)

            In our Ex 15: 1-20 reading today, we find the Israelites flushed with joy (and probably a bit surprised and amazed) at their very recent miraculous escape from Pharoah’s army through the Red Sea.  The song that Moses and the Israelites sang, which is beautiful, highlights their joyous wonder and details the miraculous hand of God in their redemption.  Then they walked for 3 days to the well of Marah (Ex 15:22-27) and began a pattern which would repeat pretty regularly throughout the book: complaining and whining.  Kind of like us, right?  How many times in your life has God done something miraculous and then within days or weeks you’ve completely forgotten about it and moved on with your life?  It sounds painfully familiar because at heart most of us are exactly the same.  God will do something utterly and completely miraculous, and we celebrate it and praise Him, and then forget about it and are looking for our next blessing.  Why are we like that?  How can we act differently? (There are some practical answers towards the end, if you want to skip down)

            So after God once again miraculously cared for them by giving them water to drink, predictably, the sons of Israel once more started grumbling (Ex 16:2).  God then began to provide for His people, and did so for 40 years (Ex 16:35) from this point, until they came to the promised land.  In the morning he gave them manna, a miraculous bread from heaven, and in the evening he gave them meat (in the form of quail) (Ex 16:13-14).  During these 40 years of provision, the Israelites where physically and spiritually trained in the concept and keeping of the Sabbath (Ex 16:22-29).  There is a neat description of the texture and taste of manna in Ex 16:31. 

            I have 2 very large dogs (Bo and Luke): they’re very sweet, very large, and very pushy.  I’ve had them now for about 7 years, they’re good boys (mostly).  I bring them up only to make a point.  Every day I’ve had them, I have fed them the exact same dog food, in the exact same portions, twice a day.  Do you know how they react?  They LOVE it.  Every single time, it’s like they just won the lottery, like they got the family pass to Disneyland and it’s Christmas morning, they are SO excited.  Bo does standing jumps up in the air about 4′ high from the moment I go to the back to get the food until the moment I put it down for them, and Luke wags his entire backside so hard that he’ll knock you over if you get in the way (I have this on video, it happens daily).  They are SO happy and just excited and grateful to get that same exact dog food, in that same exact bowl, at the same time daily.  Then when they are done, they come lick my face happily (and for a bit longer than I’m usually comfortable with) while wagging their whole bodies to let me know how much they appreciated the food.

            So what about you?  When God gives you your daily provision, every day, do you show Him how grateful you are?  Do you do standing jumps 4′ in the air and wag your whole bottom?  Do you then go and lick God’s face repeatedly in thanks (figuratively, of course)? Think about it.  Most of us would be more along the lines of the ancient Israelites “Ugh, manna and quail AGAIN??!“, while completely overlooking the fact that we have been provided for.   Our creator, the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and you gives us blessings every day.  I urge you, as I urge myself; jump for joy, wag your tail, kiss the hand of the Almighty who has given us such abundant blessings undeservedly.

PRACTICAL STEPS

  1. Pray when you wake up.  Gush.  Get on your hands and knees and thank God that you woke up today, that He has seen fit to grant you another day of life.
  2. Look at your blessings, consider how ALL of them come from the hand of God (Ps 24:1)
  3. Look at the sky in the morning, and praise God that He’s given us, His children, such a beautiful playground to live in.
  4. Breathe in, Breathe out.  That is the breath of life that God put inside you, thank Him for it.
  5. Love the people you meet, God created them too, they are your brother/sister and it pleases Him when you acknowledge this.
  6. When you struggle, thank God for refining you and strengthening your spirit.  Ask for his help if you are failing.
  7. When you eat anything, thank God.
  8. When you bathe, thank God for the cleansing water.  Ask Him to cleanse your heart as well.
  9. When you go to bed, thank God for the day He gave you, and you’re still alive.  Ask for forgiveness if you’ve failed in any way to please Him, and then wake up in the morning and do better.
  10. Glorify God at all times, in everything you do, in every thought you have, in every action you take.  Diminish your “self” and enlarge God’s spirit within you.

            I’ve went on a bit long about our OT reading this morning, but I would be absolutely remiss if I didn’t point out a couple things in our Matt 15 reading.  When the pharisees confront Jesus about some legalistic violations, Jesus calls them out (Matt 15:3) and points out the difference between honoring God with your heart and just “going through the motions”.  It’s important to note that the traditions of men are not necessarily the commandments of God, we need to honor God and love him in our hearts.  If we’re not doing any of the things we do daily as rituals out of pure love for God, then we too are missing the whole point. 

            I have a friend who believes firmly (and I don’t disagree) that “unconditional love towards the Father” is in itself perfect religion lived properly.  I humbly suggest that some of the daily rituals suggested above may help us to refocus our attention and gratitude to where it belongs.  May God bless you and lead you, and touch your heart with His spirit.

Reflection Questions:

  1. Do you (figuratively) wag your tail and lick the hand that fed you, every time you get food?  Why or why not?
  2. God physically and spiritually trained his children the Israelites to keep the sabbath every week for 40 years.  Do you think it was important to him?
  3. Should we keep the Sabbath nowadays?  No cheating by repeating whatever you were told by someone else: look it up in scripture, use your own words to answer, and show your work.

Prayer:

Father God, THANK YOU! You have provided for my every need, every day, and given me far beyond what was needed.  I have not deserved it, I have not earned it, but you have been a gracious and loving God to me anyway.  Lord God please forgive me, help me to love you with that same fierce love that you have loved me with since I was born, and teach me the depths of your awesome love.  Thank you for life, and breath, and all things.  Please guide me and be with me, in Jesus’ name, Amen.

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Shaliah

*Exodus 3-4

Proverbs 27

Matthew 12

Devotion by Jeremy Martin (TN)

            When we start Exodus 3, the Israelites have been demoted from a position of honor to a position of slavery (Ex 1).  Moses was born into these turbulent times and through a series of miracles survived and was promoted to a position of authority, and then fled when he was near 40 and remained in exile for 40 more years (Exodus 2, Acts 7: 23-30).  This puts Moses at the spry young age of about 80 years old when the story of the burning bush kicks off in Exodus 3.  This is one of the most important stories and chapters in the entirety of scripture for a couple different reasons: firstly,  for the first time the concept of  “shaliah” is indisputably revealed to us in scripture, and secondly God reveals himself to a human (Moses) by name for the first time in recorded history.  There are a few chapters in Genesis where the concept of Shaliah can be strongly inferred, but this is the first time I’m aware of that it’s plainly revealed. 

            If you are not familiar with this concept,  understand it is absolutely critical to understanding scripture.   You are apt to get a number of scriptures wrong if you don’t view them from the perspective of it’s original authors, that is to say, the ancient Jewish people. This is what wikipedia states about the Law of Shaliah (it is a legal term):

( Quoting Wikipedia) “In Jewish law, a shaliaḥ (in Hebrew : שָלִיחַ or pl.שְלִיחִים , sheliḥim (pl) or sheliah, literally “emissary” or “messenger”) is a legal agent. In practice, “the shaliaḥ for a person is as this person himself.” Accordingly, a shaliaḥ performs an act of legal significance for the benefit of the sender, as opposed to him or herself. “

            This concept is shown to us clearly in scripture by comparing and contrasting Ex 3:2 to Ex 3:4.  “And the angel of Yahweh appeared to him in a blazing fire…And Yahweh saw that he turned aside to look, so God called to him from the midst of the bush…” (LSB translation).  In essence, the messenger that God sends (be it angel, donkey, or human) speaks with the full authority of God, as if they are God.  So when “the word of The LORD” comes to the prophets and they speak, they are speaking with the full authority of the Most High God.  When God placed His name in the angel leading the Israelites in Ex 23:20-21, He explained to them that this angel spoke with His authority.  When the donkey spoke to Balaam, through the “angel of Yahweh”, it states clearly that “Yahweh spoke” (Number 22:22-28).  The one speaking was not the donkey, not the angel, but The LORD (YHVH) Himself (through His agent).  This is why it’s so critical to understand Shaliah, because the one who is sent by God speaks with the full authority of God.  This does not make the messenger mysteriously transform into God, but God lets us know that this messenger is speaking with the full authority of God so we’d better listen up. 

            This concept is repeated constantly throughout scripture but a lack of understanding of this concept, along with the introduction of a number of popular Greek philosophies later on, have caused numerous misinterpretations of scripture and much confusion amongst believers.  That concept carries over into the New Testament as well.  Jesus states in the book of John about 42 times that God sent him: he is not only the Messiah prophesied, but the man chosen to be the Shaliah of God.  The title “Christ” in Greek means “The Anointed One”, and we see from the OT that you are anointed by God from among men, so every time you see “Jesus Christ” in scripture, it is an affirmation that Jesus of Nazareth was the prophesied messiah, the anointed one, the man chosen by God to be his Shaliah.  Christ is a title, not a name, and it affirms Jesus’ humanity every time it is spoken while at the same time affirming that he speaks with the authority of God.

            Exodus 3 is one of my favorite chapters in the bible.  In it, God clearly reveals himself through his agent (Shaliah, we just talked about that) by name to a human being, for the first time recorded in history.  This is both awesome and humbling: that the creator of all things would reach back out to we who bear His image in another attempt to draw us closer to Him speaks to the never ending mercy and lovingkindness of our heavenly Father.  While there is some debate as to the proper pronunciation of the most sacred name (YHVH: is it Jehovah, or Yahovah, or Yaweh….?), the fact remains that He chose to reveal his identity to us, and that is wonderfully beautiful.  Some people say that every breath that we breathe, in and then out, whispers the name of God.  Try it, and visualize the name.  That is also wonderfully beautiful, and seems to me like an amazing “made by” stamp like you might see on the bottom of a fine piece of pottery, but in our very breath.      Praise God!

            Personally “The LORD” really bothers me.  Most of your Bibles will say something in the preface notes to the gist of “…and honoring tradition, all references to YHVH (the actual transliterated name of God) have been translated as “The LORD””.  This is a horrible mistranslation, as has led to a whole lot of terrible confusion and mistaken identity later.  Let me be very clear: GOD HAS A NAME.  He reveals it to us, and gives us a command, in Ex 3:15: “And God furthermore said to Moses, Thus shall you say to the sons of Israel, ‘Yahweh, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’  This is my name forever, and this is My memorial-name from generation to generation.”  (LSB translation).  Did you know that in the Old Testament, the actual name of God is used almost 7,000 times?  Why have we stopped using it when we pray or worship?  Think about it. 

Reflection Questions:

  1. If you had seen the burning bush, would you have turned aside to go investigate or would you be too busy with work/school/life?
  2. How many times in a week do you think that God is trying to get your attention to tell you something important?  Of those times, how many times do you stop and listen?
  3. Do you call on God by name when you pray or worship?  Why, or why not?
  4. When you breathe in and out, and listen closely, do you hear the name of God?

Prayer

Blessed be the Lord God Yahovah, creator of the the heavens and the earth, who has made all things and us with them, who causes the sun to go down and the sun to rise, and all things to be made anew every day.  Lord God, renew me today, help me to listen when you are trying to get my attention.  Open my eyes so I can see you, and my ears so I can hear you.  I thank you in your son Jesus’ name, Amen.

Side Note: A brief mention of 1 of the 2 verses in the Old Testament that baffled me a bit: Ex 4:24 has always confused me.   If God had wanted to kill something, it would die, period.  In my Bible currently, I have a handwritten note by Ex 4:24 that says “possible confusion among the host?”.  I think this is one of 2 verses in the Old Testament that tend to point out that in some very rare instances, and in some minor matters, there may be some level of miscommunication amongst the Shelihim (legal agents of God; the story of Balaam is the other).  This is absolutely inconceivable if it were the most high God performing the actions directly, but becomes understandable if beings lower than God are acting on their own perceptions but with God’s authority,  particularly if there are multiple agents in play simultaneously.  Just a theory.

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