For Such a Time as This

Posted: July 23, 2023 | Author: | Filed under: Fasting, Jesus, Lament, Obedience, Oppresssion, Purpose, Salvation, Sermons | Leave a comment

“For such a time as this!” This phrase goes beyond Carpe Diem – “seize the day” or being opportunistic. “For such a time as this” goes beyond small “p” providence. It is not fate – an impersonal, cosmic scheduler. It is not just destiny – an impersonal, predetermined course of events. The context of the phrase “for such a time as this” has to do with God’s rescue, deliverance, and salvation of us. And not just salvation of us as individuals, but whole families and a people for Himself. Therefore, when you think of “For such a time as this,” I want you to think about when Jesus saved you. Of course, to be accurate and follow Ephesians 1:4, your salvation was before the foundation of the world. God had you on His mind before creation! He foreknew you and has always had a plan for you! His predestination was the initiation of your salvation. It was like having plan – a road map to reach your destination. The activation of your salvation occurred when God sent His Son Jesus Christ to die for you and me on a Cross and rise again from the dead. The invitation of your salvation occurred when you heard the gospel of Jesus Christ. However, the consummation of your salvation occurred when you believed in Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. Your baptism was the declaration of your faith and pledge of allegiance to Christ. Someday when you go to heaven that will be the celebration of your faith and glorification of your body. I want you think about that phrase, “for such a time as this.” Do you remember when you got saved? That’s it, “For such a time as this.” And today, if you cannot say that you have that assurance of salvation then “for such a time as this.” Let’s read Esther 4 to find the backstory to where this precious phrase of salvation came from. Read Esther 4!

God made you for such a time as this. God made you for such a time as this through 4 principles we see in this passage. God made you for such a time as this to … 1) Finish the job others left undone (2:5; 3:1; 1 Samuel 15). Have you thought about that? God made you for such a time as this to finish the job others left undone. It is your turn to pick up the baton. We see this principle in the story of Esther. Let’s recap where we have come so far and I want to introduce you to a backstory. The writer of Esther has been dropping “Easter eggs” or clues throughout the story that we skipped over. The first is in Esther 2:5, “Now there was a Jew in Susa the citadel whose name was Mordecai, the son of Jair, son of Shimei, son of Kish, aBenjaminite.” Did you catch the clue? Kish and Benjaminite may be triggers for you. If you go back to 1 Samuel 9:1-2 (which was about 600 years earlier in Israel’s history), we read, “There was a man of Benjamin, whose name was Kish … and he had a son whose name was Saul.” Saul became Israel’s first king. He stood taller and was more handsome than any other man in the land. Mordecai was a direct descendent of Saul, maybe from the line of crippled Mephibosheth whom David protected (2 Samuel 21:6-7)? That is the first clue. The second clue is found in Esther 3:1, “After these things King Ahasuerus promoted Haman the Agagite.” Haman was an Agagite. Who were the Agagites? They were descendants of King Agag of the Amalekites, the ancient enemies of Israel, according to Exodus 17:8-16. God even made a promise in Exodus 17:14, “Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Write this as a memorial in a book and recite it in the ears of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.” So in Esther we find two opposing blue bloods of royal descent in Mordecai and Haman. But there is more. Check out 1 Samuel 15, especially verses 1-3 and 9: “And Samuel said to Saul, ‘The LORD sent me to anoint you king over His people Israel: now therefore listen to the words of the LORD. Thus says the LORD of hosts, I have noted what Amalek did to Israel in opposing them on the way when they came up out of Egypt. Now go and strike Amalek and devote to destruction all that they have. Do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey … But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep and of the oxen and of the fattened calves and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them. All that was despised and worthless they devoted to destruction.” Saul didn’t understand that selective obedience is still disobedience. Saul didn’t do the job God called him to do. He often took matters into his own hands. But fast forward. God raised up Mordecai. Mordecai didn’t take matters into his own hands by killing Haman, but he stood up against Haman and would not bow to him as we learned last week in Esther 3:5. As we continue on in the story of Esther, Mordecai finishes the job that Saul didn’t. This certainly does not give license for us to kill or even be violent to anybody, but we are sometimes called to finish a job others didn’t complete. Maybe you finishing the job means standing up against evil and not bowing the knee to a bully? Maybe you finishing the job means calling people to full obedience to God’s Word where it was half-hearted previously? Maybe finishing the job God has called you to means giving all that others held back for themselves? Maybe finishing the job God has called you is to patch up where others have compromised? Canadian Erwin Lutzer, retired pastor of historic Moody Memorial Church in Chicago says, “The church is to be in the world like a ship is in the ocean. But when the ocean begins to seep into the ship, the vessel is in trouble.”[1] “Like Israel in Babylon, our challenge is to impact the culture without being spiritually destroyed by it.”[2] Maybe finishing the job is not so much patching up prior compromises, but dealing with new attacks and heresies? God made you for such a time as this to finish the job others left undone (2:5; 3:1; 1 Samuel 15), which includes letting God help you rather than taking matters into your own hands. Pray first and seek God! He will help. This leads to a second principle we learn from Esther 4.

God made you for such a time as this to 1) finish the job others left undone and 2) lament and fast (4:1-3, 15-16). This is not the first time you have heard from this pulpit a call to lament and fast. When we face a problem, the default is complaining to other people. Most times, they can’t fix the problem, but only empathize. However, lament is redirecting our fears and frustrations in faith to God. Pastor Mark Vroegopdescribes “lament is how you live between the poles of a hard life and trusting in God’s sovereignty.”[3]Lament is what Mordecai and his fellows Jews, including Esther did when they faced genocide. Look at verses 1-3, “When Mordecai learned all that had been done (by Haman to create an irrevocable law to kill the Jews), Mordecai tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and ashes and went out into the midst of the city, and he cried out with a loud and bitter cry. He went up to the entrance of the king’s gate, for no one was allowed to enter the king’s gate clothed in sackcloth. And in every province, wherever the king’s command and his decree reached, there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting and weeping and lamenting and many of them lay in sackcloth and ashes.”  The unspoken recipient of the lament was not the citizens of Suza or the Persian people, but God. God is who we lament to! Many of you may not be aware that for the past couple of weeks, I have been battling Lyme disease. It was debilitating – high fever, chills, massive hives and welts all over my body, fatigue and muscle aches and weakness. I apologize I couldn’t spend much one-on-one time with you. However, this illness gave me the gift of focus, because as much as the doctors were trying to help, they couldn’t figure out was wrong with me. God knew. He ministered to me. God made you and I for such a time as this to lament and fast. To express with our bodies that there is trouble and we need to seek God in prayer. God made you for such a time as this, which includes calling others to seek God even if you didn’t immediately obey Him. 

What do I mean? Pastor Jason reminded us that Mordecai could and should have left with all the other returning Jews that began after Cyrus’s decree in 538 B.C (50 years earlier). There were multiple waves of returning Jews through the decades and Mordecai never joined one of those caravans heading back to Jerusalem and Judah. He stayed in Susa. He was what we would call today a late adopter. Maybe he passed his delayed responses onto his younger cousin Esther? We learn that Esther wasn’t quick to join the Jews in fasting, not fasting until verses 15-16. This is because in verse 4, she tried to convince Mordecai not to fast and to put back on some palace clothes rather than sackcloth.

Friends, maybe you have not immediately obeyed God either. God is giving us another chance today. I know you because you are not dead and in hell. You are still breathing. Check with your hand to see if you feel any breath coming out. However, do not delay. For such a time as this. It is time to obey – leaving that sinful practice behind or leaving that secret society where you try to get your sense of belonging. For such a time as this, it is time to surrender your life to Christ for salvation. It is time to get baptized. It is time to become a church member. It is time to start serving. It is time to stop co-habiting and get married. It is time to go public with your faith. Remember, up until this time, Esther was only known for her beauty, not her faith. “Apparently, no one in the court, including her own husband, knew that she was a Jew.”[4] God made you for such a time as this to lament and fast, which includes calling others to seek God even if you didn’t immediately obey Him in the past. God is so gracious and give us opportunity after we repent to teach His ways to transgressors (Psalm 51:13).  This leads us to the third principle we find in Esther 4.

God made you for such a time as this to finish the job left undone, lament and fast and to 3) alert others to the problem (4:4-9). In verses 4-9, Mordecai has to the use the back channels to communicate to Esther of Haman’s evil law to commit genocide of the Jews. Back in Esther 3:9, we know that Haman was even willing to give to the king’s war machine 10,000 talents or 340,000 kilograms of silver worth conservatively over CDN $340 million today.[5] That amount for wiping out the Jews. Let that sink in. As OT Scholar Joyce Baldwin aptly wrote, “The betrayal of people in exchange for money has always been particularly repugnant.”[6] Think the Jewish holocaust of last century. 

Esther was afraid. She felt like she had lost her favour with the king. As verse 30 she says, “But as for me, I have not been called to come in to the king these thirty days.” Men who are in love with their wives have a hard time being apart 30 hours let alone 30 days. But it was in this time and before that God had been working in Esther. As my friend Ray Sawatzky once told me on a mission trip, “We need to remember that Esther had to prepare for ‘such a time as this.” Esther wasn’t aware of the laws being created against her own people. She lost her husband’s favour. We don’t know what we was doing. We can surmise that the Susa spa was pretty nice. Swimming and sweet fruit in the morning, afternoons of nails, hair and massage each day. Sounds good? But what if people are perishing? God made you for such a time as this to alert others to the problem, which includes encouraging the fearful and unfavoured.

Old Testament Scholar Barry Beitzel explains, “Mordecai reminded Esther that it would be more dangerous for her to say nothing to the king.”[7] She would still die, and she and her family would have missed out on being used by God for deliverance. Have we ever thought that at the moment of courage that it is not only our destiny that is at stake, but our family’s destiny as well? What if our kids and grandkids, our aunts and uncles, our cousins all lose out because of our lack of faith? Think about your neighbours and co-workers.  The next time you have a crisis of belief, picture each of your relatives and ask yourself: “Will my actions lead them to greater faith in the Triune God or not?” This is why alerting people to the problem is not as simple as let them know they tires need air or there is a problem at work or school. We have to explain to people that their biggest problem is sin and self. We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). We are all broken. We broke the world. That is the bad news. Do you want to hear the good news? We find it in the fourth principle evidenced in Esther 4.

God made you for such a time as this to 1) finish the job left undone, 2) to lament and fast, 3) to alert others to the problem and 4) to speak up for the oppressed (4:14-16). God made you for such a time as this to speak up for the oppressed. To see this, let’s zero in on the last phrase of verse 16 since we already read verses 14-15. Esther calls a fast and says, “Then I will go to the king, though it is against the law, and if I perish, I perish.” (v. 16) About that law, Bible Scholar Karen Jobes explains, “There were 7 men in the court known as the ‘king’s friends’ who were permitted ‘to see the face of the king.’ The contemporary historian of that era Herodotus explains that only 7 friends could enter the king’s presence unannounced, except when he was sleeping with a woman.”[8] But Esther wasn’t sleeping with her husband. She was neglected. She knew that to go to her husband king could mean something worse than her predecessor Queen Vashti’s banishment. It could have meant death for Esther. Some wives are in the same predicament today. What many wives could relate to is being second place. Joyce Baldwin puts it this way, “Other people often have easier access to her husband than a wife.”[9] May this never be true of us!

 But for Esther, “by declaring, ‘If I perish, I perish,’ Esther realizes that God cannot be manipulated, even by fasting.”[10] Is this not the same trusting attitude of following-God-come-what-may demonstrated by Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego when facing the fiery furnace? Those 3 friends of Daniel were examples to God’s people. Esther was advocating for God’s people. This is why Elyse Fitzpatrick believes, “‘If I perish, I perish’ are the words of Esther’s Gethsemane.”[11] It is acceptance of God’s will. You see, God made you for such a time as this to speak up for the oppressed, which includes being willing to die for them. This isn’t license to march into the Prime Minister’s Office demoing audience with him. 

But it raises the question: why would you die for the oppressed? Because Jesus did when you were oppressed – oppressed by Satan, sin and self. Here is where the similarity between Esther volunteering to die for her people and Jesus volunteering to die for us differs. Jesus volunteered His death before it was threatened and He actually did die for us. For such a time as this. Recall Galatians 4:4-5, “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.” And recall Romans 5:6, “For while we were still weak, at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly.” God made you for such a time as this to receive His Son and tell others about Him. Have you been looking for your purpose? You found it! For such a time as this!

[1] Erwin W. Lutzer, The Church in Babylon (Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2018), 47.

[2] Lutzer, 42.

[3] Mark Vroegop, Darks Clouds, Deep Mercy – Discovering the Grace of Lament (Wheaton: Crossway, 2019), 21.

[4] Karen H. Jobes, The NIV Application Commentary on Esther (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1999), 137.

[5] Source: https://silverprice.org/silver-price-per-kilo.html. Accessed July 20, 2023.

[6] Joyce Baldwin, Esther – An Introduction & Commentary (Tyndale OT Commentaries) (Leicester: Inter-Varsity Press, 1984), 78.

[7] Barry J. Beitzel, The NLT Study Bible (Carol Stream: Tyndale House Publishers, 2017), 841.

[8] Jobes, 132.

[9] Baldwin, 79.

[10] Barry G. Webb, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton: Crossway, 2008), 858.

[11] Elyse Fitzpatrick, The Gospel Transformation Bible (Wheaton: Crossway, 2013), 605.

Refusing the Powerful (Life without God and with God)

Posted: July 2, 2023 | Author: | Filed under: alcohol, Babylon, Canada Day, Exploitation, Gratitude, Israel, Jesus, Laws, Marriage, Oppresssion, Parties, Pride, Protection, Rules, Sermons, Sexual harrassment | Leave a comment

Finish this statement, “You have to fight for your right to ______.”[1]  But what if you party for your right to fight? That was the situation of a king who found himself in desperate times. The king’s name was Ahasuerus. He was better known by the name Xerxes. Probably made most famous by the movie 300 that I do not recommend to you. Xerxes makes an appearance in Daniel 9:1. “Ahasuerus took on the Greeks twice and was humiliated by them twice (in 480 and 479 B.C.).”[2] And so, he “created a party to unite his leadership and attract his war council”[3] because he needed more support for his campaign against the Greeks. If you recall from Nebuchadnezzar’s dream in Daniel 2, the Greeks were the predicted next empire to take over from the Persians. And Ahasuerus was trying to stop God’s decree. The book of Esther was written about 475 B.C so this places this story after a couple of humiliating defeats for Ahasuerus by the Greeks. Ahasuerus didn’t pray and seek God so he tried to fix his problem by what we all do without God, turn to our fellow humans. This is not unlike Vladimir Putin when he “sport-washed” the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics and distracted the world from his military takeover of Crimea from Ukraine. The party and fun times were cover for military advancement.

What does this story have to do with us? Are we going to learn how to party properly? Celebration is an area that we can grow in, especially on this Canada Day weekend. Maybe part of the problem is we try to mimic the world with food, fellowship, music, something silly sans alcohol? Today will help redefine good parties. This story in the Bible has a lot to teach us about strategy, wisdom-sourcing, excessive alcohol, sexual harassment, marriage relationships, and protecting one another, but most of all, it warns us what happens when God is not even an afterthought. Our messages at Temple have moral implications, but we aim at preaching about Christ here, so when God is not mentioned in a passage, that is a big clue that something is very, very wrong. If you have your Bibles, please turn to Esther 1 as we begin our summer series in the Book of Esther. This story is for the church living in Babylon. We have already studied this year 1 Peter and learned how to live as elect exiles in an increasingly hostile culture. We also studied the first 6 chapters of Daniel and learned how to be bold in Babylon. I forgot to show you Daniel’s selfie last week: https://twitter.com/modap_/status/1640263217963253761   Now, we aim to gain “confidence in God’s providence” with His timely rescues. If you don’t have a Bible, we would love to give you one. You can also pick up a background to Esther that will help you understand the book more at the Connect Desk. I also want to encourage you to save the dates for August 27 at 6 PM where will be teaching on the various views of end times called End Times Now as well as October 3 at 7 PM for the 2024 “Walking with Jesus” Israel/Egypt Study Tour trip information night. Let’s jump into Esther 1. Read Esther 1!

The story begins with King Ahasuerus having a party in “Susa, which was the king’s winter capital during the cold months.”[4] “The events of the Esther story span a period of about 10 years, beginning in the 3rd year of the king’s reign.”[5] You can see this chart that helps us keep straight the various kings. 

Compiled and Updated by Rev. Dr. Jonathan E. Stairs (June 23, 2023)

KINGS OF BABYLON & PERSIA[6]                      DATES OF REIGN        BIBLICAL REF.

Nebuchadnezzar[7]605-562 B.C.Dan. 1-4
Nabodinus556-539 B.C. 
Co-regent Belshazzar[8]550-539 B.C.Dan. 5, 7-8
Cyrus II (Cyrus the Great)[9]539-530 B.C.Is. 45:1; Dan. 10-12
Darius the Mede[10]538-536 B.C.Dan. 5:30-6:28
Cambyses II530-522 B.C. 
Bardiya522-522 B.C. 
Darius I (Darius Hystaspes or the Great)522-486 B.C.Dan. 9, Ezra 6
Xerxes I (Ahaseurus)485-464 B.C.Ezra 4:6; Esther; Dan. 9:1
Artaxerxes I (Artaxerxes Longimonus)*464-423 B.C.Ezra 4:7; Neh. 2
Xerxes II423 (45 days) B.C. 
Darius II* (Darius Nothus)423-404 B.C.Neh. 12:22
Artaxerxes II404-358 B.C. 
Artaxexes III358-338 B.C. 
Artaxerxes IV (Arses)338-336 B.C. 
Darius III (Darius Codomanus)336-330 B.C. 
Artaxerxes V[11]330-329 B.C. 

And this will help you place where we are in history[12]: 

586 B.C.            538 B.C.                  516 B.C.                  479 B.C.               458 B.C.            445 B.C.

Babylonian       Decree of            Temple Rebuilt       Esther as Queen      Ezra arrives       Nehemiah

Exile (Ezekiel)    Cyrus (Ezra 1)    (Haggai/Zechariah)       (Esther)            in Jerusalem     in Jerusalem

“Ahasuerus was a great builder and consolidated the Persian empire from India and Ethiopia.”[13]Rulers who expand their rule don’t just do it with weapons, but with wining and dining people to win people’s hearts. So Ahasuerus throws a party. “The 180 days were presumably not spent in continuous feasting but in festivities punctuated by sumptuous meals.”[14] Can you imagine having feast after feast for 6 months? Old Testament Commentator Joyce Baldwin explains, “The more lavish the king’s hospitality, the greater his claim to supremacy.”[15]

And this brings us to our big idea – without God, life declines to debauchery. According to the Oxford dictionary, “Debauchery is excessive indulgence in sensual pleasures” or we could just shorten it and say without God, there is excess. And let’s remember that excess is not success. Now immediately, some of you are thinking – here we go, the pastor is a party pooper. Christians can have no fun. I totally disagree. I believe Christians can have more fun without having regrets or a hangover the next day. Alcohol is used to “dull our insecurities,”[16] but as Christians our identity is found in Christ. It just comes down to who is at the party. Is God invited or not? Is God invited to your parties? He will come as an uninvited guest and watch everything just as Ahasuerus’ party is reported in God’s Word. King Belshazzar also found this out to be true in Daniel 5. But the interesting thing is that by inviting God, the party picks up the pace. Recall how when Jesus went to a wedding in John 2 that He turned water into wine – it actually turned out to be the best wine of the party! And this book was written in part to help Israel know the backstory and increase their joy for the Feast of Purim that was instituted from this story. God wants to come to your parties. Invite God into everything you do!

You see, Without God, parties express pride (v. 1-8). This is what we read in the end of Esther 1:3-4, “The army of Persia and Media and the nobles and governors of the province were before him, while he showed the riches of his royal glory and the splendor and pomp of his greatness for many days – 180 days.”This excessive party was all about pomp and pride to attract the military and elite of Persia. Why? Because God wasn’t invited. Parties that express pride don’t make room for God. God isn’t even mentioned. He is not even an afterthought. Without God, life declines to debauchery. If you could imagine a type of perversion, you would find it in Babylon and Persia. Pastor Kyle has renamed Persia, Perversia! How does a society become perverted? It happens when there is nothing else to live for because there is no fear of God. We just become consumers trying to grab all we can – living for our own pleasure. This never satisfies so we look for the next dopamine hit. However, that is when the law of diminishing returns kicks in, which is more immutable than the law of the Medes and Persians. The irrevocable law of the Medes and Persians can be overcome by God as we saw in Daniel 6 last week. And God’s law is this: pursuing pleasure for itself alone will be meaningless (Ecclesiastes 2:1-8). Instead, we are to delight in the Lord and the law of His Word (Psalm 1:2) Sadly, often we grab alcohol instead of God. Verse 8 records, “And drinking was according to this edict, ‘There is no compulsion.’ For the king had given orders to all the staff of his palace to do as each man desired.” Maybe this sermon will help to warn us against excessive alcohol. Let’s remember that we may try to control alcohol, but often it controls us. “The ancients believed intoxication put them in closer touch with the spiritual world.”[17]Instead, alcohol does not attract the right spirits. As believers we are to be controlled by the Holy Spirit. As Ephesians 5:18 commands, “Do not be drunk with wine, but be filled (controlled) by the Holy Spirit.” But alcohol is not the ultimate problem – pride is. Repeatedly, we have learned this year that “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” (1 Peter 5:5) Without God, parties express pride. It’s summer. We tend to party more. Will God be invited to our parties?

 With God, parties express gratitude! Parties express gratitude. God is no cosmic kill-joy, but the source of joy! You want God at your party! He brings the best and most fun. Through Jesus, He gives life filled with abundance and joy (John 10:10). With God, parties express gratitude. 

Without God, parties express pride and partners are exploited (v. 8-12)! King Ahasuerus in his drunken state decides to exploit his own wife and queen in front of all his men. Pride had turned to perversion. It wasn’t enough that Vashti would have struggled with finding her worth in her beauty after all her beauty treatments. “The beautiful Vashti, wearing her royal diadem, was a living trophy of his power and glory. The king sent 7 eunuchs to fetch her, perhaps the number needed to carry her seated in the royal throne.”[18]Joyce Baldwin thinks, “Vashti may have been required to appear naked.”[19] My wife Lori believes that Vashti refused because she was to come wearing the crown and nothing else and no respectable woman would do that for a husband with other men in the room. Or maybe it is better to think about the Veggie Tales© version of the story and Queen Vashti’s error was refusing to make the king a sandwich. 😊 Actually, the Queen was throwing a party of her own for the leading women, but she would not be party to men’s lusts. Just so we are not confused in our porn-crazed world that women are not to be shared. They are not property. They are not to be violated. They are not to be harassed. Women are to be honoured, respected and cherished. The Bible is making this point 2500 years before the “Me Too” movement. God’s Word was the leader in treating women with dignity and respect. As one of your pastors, if I may talk to all the sisters in Christ in the room and remind you that your worth doesn’t come from your outward beauty, but from the inner character found through Christ (1 Peter 3:3-4). This is hard to fight against when you are body shamed all the time. Because of this, women take great pains to make themselves beautiful. My wife remembers when she was a 12 year old girl and got her ears pierced. She had to wait until she was old enough to take care of them herself.  Her mom and her went to the jewelry store and the lady there prepared her ears by putting marks on them. The problem was the marks were not centered on her two ears and her mom could tell they were off-centered. So the employeetried to re-mark the spots. The thing about piercing both ears in little girls is that you have to pierce both quickly, otherwise only one will get done because the fear of the second one will kick in. Despite the realignment, Lori claims the piercings were still off-centered. Now, I am not against earrings, but I tell the story to remind you about the pain women go through even as little girls to obtain a certain standard of beauty. Can we try to lessen that pain by not exploiting our partners? Without God, partners, particularly women, are exploited.

With God, partners are also served! With God, we see our partners as ones we serve and sacrifice for as Christ did for us. “In stark contrast to King Ahasuerus, the leadership of Jesus was motivated not by His own personal fears and anxieties, but by the needs of those He governs as king of the universe.”[20]

Without God, parties express pride and partners are exploited and rules oppress (v. 13-22). Without God, rules oppress. They are actually ridiculous. Look again what the menace Memucan says in verses 16-18, “Then Memucan said in the presence of the king and the officials, ‘Not only against the king has Queen Vashti done wrong, but also against all the officials and all the peoples who are in all provinces of King Ahasuerus. For the queen’s behaviour will be made known to all women, causing them to look at their husbands with contempt, since they will say, ‘King Ahaseurus commanded Queen Vashti to be brought before him and she did not come.’ This very day the noble women of Persia and Media who have heard of the queen’s behavior will say the same to all the king’s officials, and there will be contempt and wrath in plenty.” Men, would such a law work? Ladies, would such a law work? I think the law would bring contempt and wrath in plenty. Sadly, the times I have foolishly tried to make a rule for my wife to follow because I thought I was large and in charge in my home, that oppressive rule was not followed. And thank the Lord I don’t have a milquetoast for a wife! Joyce Baldwin explains the problem with Memucan’s thinking, “This took little account of female psychology. Women do not as a rule support one another as readily as men in taking concerted action.”[21] They don’t fall into line like dutiful soldiers. “Ahasuerus needed his men to obey his commands as they went to war, but in his own palace he could not even get his own wife to obey.”[22] Scot McKnight has the Biblical perspective, “I believe in a wife submitting to her husband, but I don’t believe the husband ever has the right to demand it. In fact, I know that when I am worthy of submission, my wife submits and when I am unworthy of it, she does not. My responsibility as a husband is to be worthy.”[23] Of course, wives are to submit to their husbands when husbands are not violating God’s Word, but it is easier to submit when the husband is sacrificing for his wife.  Without God, rules oppress.

But with God, rules protect. As one preacher said, “When God says, “Don’t! He means don’t hurt yourself!”[24] One can start to appreciate the protection that God’s laws provide.So what happens if we recognize God? We keep our eyes locked on Jesus. Instead of living life without God, we live with Him. Without God, parties express pride, partners are exploited and rules oppress; with God, parties express gratitude, partners are served, and rules protect! Life with God means joy, harmony and freedom. So friends, which is it going to be, life without God or with Him through Jesus Christ?

[1] Beastie Boys Song, “Fight for Your Right,” (Universal Records, December, 1986).

[2] Joyce Baldwin, Esther – An Introduction & Commentary (Tyndale OT Commentaries) (Leicester: Inter-Varsity Press, 1984),  56.

[3] Karen H. Jobes, The NIV Application Commentary on Esther (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1999), 60.

[4] Barry J. Beitzel, The NLT Study Bible (Carol Stream: Tyndale House Publishers, 2017), 836.

[5] Jobes, 59.

[6] Adapted from ESV Study Bible (Wheaton: Crossway, 2008), 1587 & 813.

[7] The most well-known Babylonian King who exiled the Jews to Babylon in 586 B.C. His pride led to his insanity and losing his kingdom until he repented and was restored.

[8] Belshazzar was Nebuchadnezzar’s son and is known for being the king when God’s “hand” was written on the wall after using the gold vessels from the Temple in Jerusalem and worshipping them.

[9] Though the Achaemenid dynasty began in 705 B.C., the Persian Empire did not begin until Cyrus II or Cyrus the Great as he was called conquered the Babylonians. Cyrus was half-Persian and half-Median.

[10] Darius was appointed viceroy over Babylon by his nephew Cyrus II and was most famous for being tricked and throwing his friend Daniel into the Lion’s Den.

[11] Last of the Achaemenid kings and was defeated by Alexander the Great.

[12] The timeline is taken from Wallace P. Benn & R. Kent Hughes, Ezra, Nehemiah and Esther: Restoring the Church (Preaching the Word) (Wheaton: Crossway, 2021), 15.

[13] Baldwin, 56.

[14] Barry G. Webb, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton: Crossway, 2008), 853.

[15] Joyce Baldwin, Esther – An Introduction & Commentary (Tyndale OT Commentaries) (Leicester: Inter-Varsity Press, 1984), 55.

[16] Quote from Jason Elliotson (June 28, 2023).

[17] Jobes, 68.

[18] Jobes, 67.

[19] Baldwin, 60. 

[20] Jobes, 89.

[21] Baldwin, 62.

[22] Jobes, 68.

[23] Jobes, 91.

[24] This quote has been attributed to both Warren Wiersbe and James MacDonald.

Be Thankful that God Deals with Bad Leaders

Posted: October 9, 2022 | Author: | Filed under: Abortion, Assisted Suicide, Authority, Cannibalism, Communion, Discipline, Euthanasia, God, Jesus, Justice, Leadership, Oppresssion, Prophets, Spiritual Gifts, The Lord's Supper | Leave a comment

What are you thankful for this Thanksgiving?  __________, how would you finish this statement? God, I am thankful for …

This year I am thankful for something new. My gratitude comes from Micah 3! We know from 1 Thessalonians 5:18 that we are to “give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus in you.” So in Micah 3 we are going to learn to be thankful that God deals with bad leaders. Maybe you have never thought about this before? But to be thankful that God deals with bad leaders is an act of faith and justice. It actually produces hope when in you are oppressed or at very least, discouraged with the way things are going in your country, in your company or in your church. Please turn in your Bibles to Micah 3! We are continuing our series in Micah. We learned in the first week in Micah 1 & 7 that we must wait for God to make things right and in the second week we focused on Micah 1:8-16 that we need to lament our losses and the lost (and this goes beyond the Blue Jays losing yesterday and being bounced from the playoffs). The third week we were warned about wealthy oppressors in Micah 2:1-5! Two weeks ago, we learned about how God’s words do us good if we are walking uprightly. Last week from Micah 2:12-13 we learned that God promises that He will gather His people, breakthrough barriers and lead His people. God made these promises because He loves us and because it would form an apologetic. “How could the nations think Jehovah to be a merciful God if He gave His people over to the hands of their enemies?”[1] This week we are going to learn to be thankful that God deals with bad leaders. We are not thankful for bad leaders. We are thankful that God is a higher authority and He holds leaders accountable. Some of you might be asking can’t we go back to Micah 2:12-13 and all the good promises of God instead of focusing on bad leaders on a holiday weekend? However, isn’t this how life works and why the Bible is so relevant? You go from joys to sorrows all in one day and you can’t plan for every injustic. The Bible speaks to both. Let’s read Micah 3. Read Micah 3! 

Micah 3 is tough to read! It paints a disgusting picture of what was going on with Israel’s leaders. Essentially Israel’s leaders were performing acts of cannibalism. When we think of cannibalism, what do we think of? Maybe we picture a violent tribe in some remote jungle that uses cannibalism to terrify their enemies? Or we think of a deranged killer like Jeffery Dahmer who killed 17 men and boys and ate all them in Milwaukee area in the 1980’s?  Or we may think about the Uruguayan Air Force Flight # 571 plane crash on a cold Andes mountainside where all the food was gone and so the survivors ate their dead fellow passengers for 2 months, but did so in silence because of the shame?[2] These are the images that comes to mind when thinking of cannibalism, but not God’s covenant people who had all of God’s laws. Theonomies don’t work without a heart change. You would think that Israel would be the last place on earth you would find cannibalism. And yet, this is exactly what we read about in Micah 3:1-3, “And I said: Hear, you heads of Jacob and rulers of the house of Israel! Is it not for you to know justice? You who hate the good and love the evil, who tear the skin from off my people and their flesh from off their bones, who eat the flesh of my people, and flay their skin from off them, and break their bones in pieces and chop them up like meat in a pot, like flesh in a cauldron.” “The Israelite leaders cannibalized God’s people.”[3] They were like the female praying mantis who devours her mate – a femme fatale that benefits from her prey. They were sharks, which can be cannibalistic. One scholar describes the Israelite leaders actions as, “The behaviour of a wild animal that has no conscience, but only a desire to quickly meet its hunger.”[4]  But they weren’t animals; they were to be shepherds. They had the law written on their hearts and scrolls! And even if Micah is using this is a metaphor, it is still horrible. And sadly, not the last time such language was used of God’s people, “A 9th century Christian monk named Abbo, excitedly tells us that the head of his monastery Ebolus ‘was capable of piercing seven men with a single arrow; in jest he commanded some of them to be taken to the kitchen” (in other words, to be eaten for dinner!).’”[5] I say this not to hide our sordid history as God’s people, but to remind us God, Guns, Guts and Glory is not found nor endorsed in the Bible. Might does not make right.

Cannibalism is horrendous and certainly not the image we want on a weekend with turkey and all the fixings as we sit down at the family table. So how can we still be thankful in all circumstances? Instead of evil being covered up, God brings it to the light. This is why there are three blessings we take away from Micah 3. The first blessing is: Be thankful to God who … 1) Sees evil leaders (v. 1-3) God sees evil leaders and this should make us grateful. God does not ignore evil. He does not cover it up. He exposes it. He sees it! And He sees the worst of it. When someone is being abused, one of the turning points in their help and healing is when somebody believes them. God sees the evil. He sees the evil done by you and to you. This has helped me when I have experienced evil. To know that God was there and protected me enough not to die. He knows people’s pain as they are oppressed. He expects leaders to be responsible and treat people right, which is why a pressing question in verse 1, “Is it not for you to know justice?” This is an important question and also helps us to focus in on God’s target audience. When I say that we should be thankful to God who sees evil leaders, you might immediately imagine and apply this to despots like Vladimir Putin of Russia or Kim Jong-un of North Korea or even a government official in our country who has not only allowed, but promoted abortion, euthanasia, and sexual identity confusion. God sees all leaders, evil or otherwise, but He locks in on those who associate themselves with His name while doing evil. God’s prophets and pastors are His primary target audience – not politicians. These Israelite leaders were supposed to represent the character of God and instead they are cannibalizing the community of God. This is unthinkable! They were the religious leaders. They were the pastors, elders, deacons and Sunday School teachers of Micah’s day.

It is sad to admit, but throughout history there have been times that God’s people, the Jews and also Christians, have committed horrendous acts of violence in the name of God. For example, in the 5th century, a famous bishop Cyril cited the church in Alexandria, Egypt to strip, brutalize and then burn the remains of a famous female teacher of philosophy named Hypatia.”[6] I say this not to hide the church’s abuse, but to declare it to be wicked and be thankful that God will deal with evil leaders.

Most leaders if given time will hurt us, unintentionally. Maybe I have, for which I sincerely apologize! However, the leaders in Micah’s day sought to devour those they led. “Instead of being in a theocracy under God’s law, Israel became an oligarchy under tyrants.”[7] God saw them and He still sees evil leaders. God is using the “Church Too” movement to be day of reckoning for those leaders who abuse church goers. They aren’t getting away with it. We too must stand up for justice. As one Bible scholar remarks, “Since God and most people watch what leaders do and have great expectations of their selfless service, it essential to stand firmly on the side of justice if one wants to continue in a leadership position.”[8] I sure want to be on the right side of justice because God sees all my actions. God is my first and foremost accountability partner. God sees all that we say and do. Can we be thankful for this truth? 

Of course, let’s also examine our own lives. Many of us lead others or at least exert influence over them. Are we taking advantage and benefiting off those we are trying to lead in our homes, in our companies, in our schools and even in our churches? Maybe we are not taking a full bite out of people, but we slowly nibble off layer after layer with our guilting and shaming people? Maybe we taking advantage of family members financially? Maybe we are abusing our spouses and children? This may not be physically eating our loved ones, but our anger or harsh words eats away at their souls. God sees this!

 God sees evil leaders, but the good news is that He doesn’t turn a blind eye to it. The second blessing that we can be thankful to God for is that He 2) Silences evil leaders (v. 4-7). These evil leaders had been powering up over their people. They were large and in charge. But there came a time when they recognized their own need for God. What does God do? (BE SILENT FOR 10 SECONDS) Surprisingly, He doesn’t just give them quick mercy. He is silent! Crickets! Verse 4 declares, “Then they will cry out to the LORD, but He will not answer them; He will hide His face from them at that time, because they have made their deeds evil.” The people had to hide from their leaders’ abuse, now God is hiding from the leaders, not because He is afraid, but so that the leaders would be afraid. They were to fear God, but they didn’t, so they would go through a crisis without the Lord’s help. 

These leaders did not watch their life or doctrine closely. Look at verse 5, “Thus says the LORD concerning the prophets who lead my people astray, who cry ‘Peace’ when they have something to eat, but declare war against Him who puts nothing into their mouths.” These false prophets with an “e” were all about false profits with an “i.” As long as they were fed by robbing from the bellies of their people, their message was “peace.” But when the people could and or would not give the leaders what they wanted, the prophets’ nasty side came out spewing messages of damnation. “These false prophets usually did not give negative messages, but they would give negative messages … when they were not paid.”[9] How much money their hearers gave determined their mood and message! Their message was “Peace” during prosperity and “a declaration of war” during austerity. They guilted people into giving. But God does not want His money to be given back to Him as a guilt offering, but as a thank offering. (Leviticus 7:14-15; 22:29; Psalm 56:12-13; 2 Corinthians 9:7) 

God does not let this manipulation slide. He silences these false prophets and will silence the false prophets of today. Have you noticed that the prosperity gospel preachers did not do so well during the pandemic? Bible Scholar Water Kaiser foretold why, “Placebo preachers are never in high demand when the times turn tough and issues become critical.”[10] Kaiser calls them “placebo preachers” because they give you something you think will bring healing, but has no lasting effect. So God deals with these “placebo preachers.” Look at verses 6-7, “Therefore it shall be night to you, without vision, and darkness to you, without divination. The sun shall go down on the prophets and the day shall be black over them; the seers shall be disgraced, and the diviners put to shame; they shall all cover the lips, for there is no answer from God.” “By taking away their gift, God removes the source of their illicit gain.”[11] It would also serve as a reminder. Imagine Bad Prophet Bob loses his gift and his neighbour comes to him and says, “What are the numbers for the lottery? I’ll give you a 30% cut on the winnings.” Bad Prophet Bob now has to tell his neighbour that he has lost his gift of prophecy. Bad Prophet Bob loses his prophet status and his profit earnings. We need to remember that abusing the gifts of God could mean losing gifts from God (at least temporarily). 

But some of you might be thinking about Romans 11:29 where the Apostle Paul makes this universal statement, “For the gifts and calling are irrevocable.” This verse helps explain why some people who are grossly in sin are still bearing fruit in their ministry. I first learned about this in a little book by Gene Edwards entitled A Tale of 3 Kings: A Study in Brokenness. Edwards uses Romans 11:29 to explain how King Saul started prophesying on the way to kill his son-in-law and future King David. Romans 11:29 explains why some Christian leaders could be leading people to Christ while leading a double life of moral failure. Spiritual gifts still bear fruit because they were a work of God. But here in Micah 3:6-7, God promises to take the gift of prophecy away from the prophets. Notice in verse 7, “they shall cover their lips.” “The very area of their abused gift”[12]is covered over. God silences evil leaders. God does not break Romans 11:29. God as the Giver can do what He likes with the gifts He gives. He still owns them. To put it in the context of what we are learning in Freed Up, think of a credit card. Who owns this credit card? It has my name on it so I own it, right? Actually, the credit card company owns the credit card and loans it to me to use. They hope that I will default on my loan so that I will have to pay interest charges. Let’s be clear: the credit card in your wallet or on your phone is owned by the credit card company. This is why if the credit card company thinks that it is being used fraudulently, they will put a hold on the card and freeze any transactions without asking the cardholder. The company will protect their name and assets. Has that ever happened to you? Now think about this: God owns everything in the universe including your spiritual gifts and loans them to you and I to use for His glory. When they are not being used for His glory or worse, to harm people, He not allow us to use them. He puts a hold or freeze on our gifts. This is especially true if you are spokesperson for God. God silences evil leaders. Are you using the gifts God has given you for doing good and for His glory? This is the second blessing we learn from Micah 3. The first being God sees evil leaders.

There is a third blessing from Micah 3. We need to be thankful to God who: 3) Sends His Spirit to convict and correct (v. 8-12). Look at Micah 3:8, “But as for me, I am filled with power, with the Spirit of the LORD, and with justice and might, to declare to Jacob his transgression and to Israel his sin.” Micah is filled with the Holy Spirit. Micah is filled with God’s Spirit, not just given a spiritual gift. “Fear does not immobilize Micah and favouritism does not guide his teaching.”[13] He is filled with the Holy Spirit. And one of the jobs of the Holy Spirit is to convict people of sin. In Micah’s day, the Holy Spirit brought charges of transgression and sin by Jacob (aka Israel). This job of conviction by the Holy Spirit has expanded since Jesus came to earth. John 16:8 records Jesus’ words, “And when He comes, He will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness: concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me; concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father and you will see Me no longer, concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.” “Justice has always been a central characteristic of God.”[14] The Holy Spirit runs point for the Trinity on God’s work of justice. We need justice for there to be salvation, otherwise sin and evil would be ignored. God’s justice was most demonstrated at the Cross when He didn’t turn a blind eye to sin, but paid for your crimes and my crimes. Justice was served and mercy took over. Aren’t you thankful to God that He sends His Spirit to convict of sin? Without Him, we would never know forgiveness and mercy; we would still be under condemnation. 

However, there is a theological landmine we must not step on. It is found in Micah 3:9-11, “Hear this, you heads of the house of Jacob and rulers of the house of Israel, who detest justice and make crooked all that is straight, who build Zion with blood and Jerusalem with iniquity. It heads give judgment for a bribe; its priests teach for a price; its prophets practice divination for money; yet they lean on the Lord and say, ‘Is not the LORD in the midst of us?’ No disaster shall come upon us.” The Bad Prophet Bobs in Micah’s day taught that one can do whatever they want including profiteering and there would be no consequences. They were all under grace.  “It is a common problem for people to presume God is for them and will graciously protect them from all danger, based on some true biblical information.”[15] This is a dangerous doctrine. But trying to abuse grace does not happen today, does it? Sadly, this heresy is still alive. It is why we have an ancient prophetic book like Micah to warn us of this heresy. It is also why we must confront one another when we see sin. It is why we must actively engage with justice issues here on earth. “Unfortunately, it seems the more liberal the church, the more they care about social and political justice issues on earth outside of the church.”[16] Let’s not punt our sense of justice for the new heavens and new earth. Let’s confront evil and wickedness whether it can be found. Otherwise, what could happen to the temple in Micah’s day, could happen to Temple Baptist Church as verse 12 describes, “Therefore because of you Zion shall be plowed as a field; Jerusalem shall become a heap of ruins, and the mountain of the house a wooded height.” “The temple just became simply as structure on a hill.”[17] The Spirit of God had left. Friends, let’s join Jesus on His journey of justice. One Bible teacher encourages, “Our being Christian today will be limited to two things: prayer and doing justice among men.”[18] Let’s join Jesus on His journey of justice. It is the way to be thankful to God for dealing with bad leaders.

And as we think about Jesus, we see how He is contrasted with these evil leaders. Rather than eat the flesh of His sheep like the evil leaders did, Jesus gave His flesh for our salvation. Recall what Jesus said in John 6:53-56, “So Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise Him up on the last day. For my flesh is true blood and my blood is true drink. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me and I in him.” You see, according to Micah 3:10, the evil leaders were building “Zion with blood and Jerusalem with iniquity.” Jesus is building His New Jerusalem with His blood and with integrity. As we now have communion where we ourselves eat and drink, the question is: are you thankful and are you eating the flesh of the Son of Man and drinking His blood? Are you trusting in Christ alone for salvation? He sees evil; He silences evil and He sends His Spirit to convict and correct so that we would be brought to repentance and faith in Him. Before you come to the tables, maybe you need surrender a bad leader or difficult person to God? Or maybe you have been a bad leader and you have abused the gift that God has given you? Is the Holy Spirit convicting you? Confess your sin to God and find mercy! The cross is the where God’s justice and mercy kiss.

[1] Charles Spurgeon, Daily Treasure (Leyland, England: Evangelical Press Books, 2021), 296.

[2] Source: https://www.history.com/news/miracle-andes-disaster-survival. Accessed October 4, 2022.

[3] Russel Meek, Today in the Word – Volume 34, Issue 11 (Chicago: Moody Publishers, November 2021), 12.

[4] Gary V. Smith, The NIV Application Commentary on Hosea, Amos, Micah (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2001), 490.

[5] John Dickson, Bullies and Saints (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, Kindle Edition, 2021), 172-173.

[6] Dickson, 120.  

[7] Bruce Waltke, Obadiah, Jonah & Micah (Downers Grove: Intervarsity Press, 1988), 165.

[8] Smith. 446.

[9] Smith, 491.

[10] Kaiser, 51.

[11] Waltke, 163.

[12] Waltke, 162.

[13] Smith, 442.

[14] Smith, 495.

[15] Smith. 448.

[16] Smith, 479.

[17] W. Brian Aucker, ESV Study Bible (Wheaton: Crossway, 2008), 1701.

[18] Smith, 501.

Are You Willing to Live with the Consequences?

Posted: June 26, 2022 | Author: | Filed under: Adultery, Avarice, Bible, Communion, Cross, Environment, Generosity, Integrity, Jesus, Justice, Money, Oppresssion, Parsimony, pleasure, Sex | Leave a comment

Guy Paul Morin! Maybe that name sounds familiar? “It was October 1984, when tragically a nine year old girl was murdered in Queensville, Ontario just south of Lake Simcoe. The Police quickly focused on Guy Paul Morin because he was odd and played a clarinet. (As an aside, we at Temple do not think clarinet players or other musicians are weird. You are weird for thinking musicians are weird.) Back to Guy Paul! This tunnel vision by the police led to a wrongful conviction of Guy Paul Morin. Eleven years later, he was acquitted after new DNA evidence exonerated him from the crime. He never got back those years in prison. A commission entitled the Kaufman Commission investigated the wrongful conviction of Guy Paul.”[1]

There are a lot of commissions now a days to investigate crimes and misdemeanours that have far reaching affects in our society. Some of these commissions are current and getting lots of press. Some of us just ignore them. I would remind you though that these commissions can be effective when not politicized. Commissions fight against the cancel culture. They fight against covering up the dark spots of history and aim at history not repeating itself. We Christians should not buy into the cancel culture. Why? Because the Bible is not a cancel culture book! It tells all the sordid details of its characters so that we would learn to avoid their same mistakes. Another recent book Bullies & Saints would be a good example of all those details in church history. However, the Bible is not a book of morals. It teaches about the evil in the world and the solution for evil found in something, or better yet, Someone. That Someone is God the Son come down to earth. He didn’t deny evil happened, but paid the ultimate price for it with His life, memorialized at the Cross, and now offers us grace to cover over, not cover up, our sins. The Cross was God’s ultimate Truth and Reconciliation commission. The truth is we have committed crimes and misdemeanours in breaking God’s law and yet God has reconciled through Jesus Christ. The Cross did more than put forth recommendations, but through it, God has changed us from the inside out so that we no longer need to live in guilt.

            However, being no longer guilty does not mean that there are not consequences for our actions. Please explain this to your Muslims friends and neighbours because that is a falsehood being perpetuated that Christians can do whatever they want and God lets them off with it. The Bible makes it very clear there are consequences for our sins and we are to take sin very seriously because God does. God sent His best through Jesus Christ to deal with our sin. The Bible does not teach that grace cancels our crimes, just our guilt. We may pay for those crimes on earth with imperfect justice. This penalty is on the horizontal level. It helps bring justice on a human and relational level. However, every sin we commit against our fellow humans is also a sin against their Creator and our Creator. This is why sin is always against God and not just His image-bearers. Sin has not only a horizontal effect, but also a vertical effect. Case in point is David, who prayed to God in Psalm 51:4, when confessing his sin of committing adultery with Bathsheba and killing her husband, “Against You, and You only have I sinned and done what is evil in Your sight.” David understood that his worst crime was against God. The Bible still teaches that there are consequences for our actions. And there is no better passage that describes this than Job 31. Please turn in your Bibles to Job 31! I have to tell you right now that Job 31 is completely weird when you first hear it, so I better give you some background first. 

Let’s start at the beginning with answering the question who is Job? Job was the richest and most righteous person in the Ancient Near East. He lived sometime between Noah and Abraham. In the story, Job spends his days not living out the payoffs of being a great business man, but by praying for his children and making sacrifices for them if they had sinned. What a reminder to pray for our children day, even when they are adults. One day Satan comes to put “God on trial.”[2] As God suffers attack, so do we! And in Job’s case, in one day Job lost everything – his business, his employees, his family and after that he lost his health. He also lost his peace of mind and his security of being able to count on what he thought was God’s justice. Job even thought he lost his relationship with God. His friends and Job started a sort of “commission” on God’s justice. They wrestled with retributive justice. They asked, “who is innocent?” and “Who is to blame?” Job’s “friends” thought they knew the answer – nobody is innocent, especially Job, who must have sinned greatly because all of the suffering he was experiencing. But Job was blameless. Sadly, by this point in the story, Job has been found guilty by his friends. In chapters 29-30, Job describes what he did do so as to defend his good character. And in Job 31, Job describes what he didn’t do so as to defend his good character. However, Job is not only speaking to his friends who make up the jury. Job is appealing to God as his judge. You see, Job never lost his faith. He believed to the end that we must love God even when we can’t see His goodness![3]Do you and I love God when we cannot see His goodness? And will we fear God that we are willing to live with the consequences of not following Him? Let me drill that point home with us. Will we follow God and His ways even when it’s hard and we can’t see His goodness? Lots of people don’t! Will you and I? Job 31 will help us! Let’s read Job 31 in order to take God so seriously that we would be willing to live with the consequences of not following Him. Read Job 31!

I told you this passage was weird. Maybe a clue to why Job would say these things is found in Job 31:23 in the version of The Message: “The fear of God has kept me from these things— how else could I ever face him? If Only Someone Would Give Me a Hearing!” Job repeats this thought in verses 35, “Oh, that I had one to hear me! (Here is my signature! Let the Almighty answer me!) O that I had the indictment written by my adversary.” Job was willing to give a signed affidavit to his innocence. Just wanted to know what he did wrong. What is Job saying? Bible scholar Francis Anderson explains, “Job uses a legal tactic called an oath of clearance in the form of a negative confession. The procedure was well-known in the ancient courts. A crime could be disowned by calling down a curse on oneself if one had not committed it.” [4] This was like us saying when accused of a crime, “Here’s my DNA! Check the surveillance cameras! Take my computer and phones! Do a forensic search of my internet history! And if you find anything, then lock me up and throw away the key. Give my spouse to another, my kids to be raised by their future step-parent. And also take all my money so I can’t make an appeal. I know that I am innocent that I will risk my reputation, my privacy, my family and my riches to prove it.” 

By the time Job 31 rolls around in the “commission,” Job was desperate. He had no lawyer seen standing with him. He was willing to take the witness stand himself. He is willing to put God on the defensive almost like he was “accusing God.”[5] This was not like today when a persuasive prosecutor can convince a jury or judge and get a wrongful conviction like what happened to Guy Paul Morin. Justice is not always served here on earth, which is why Job makes his appeal to heaven! And we should too! Job still believes God is righteous and is not only his hope for a fair trial but for Job’s acquittal. Do we have such a faith in God – seeking His justice? As great preacher Charles Spurgeon said, “When men doubt the righteousness of God, their own integrity begins to waver.”[6] But Job kept his integrity, which is why Job wants a thorough investigation. There are areas of Job’s life that he is willing to be put under the spotlight. In broad categories, Job welcomes inspection into his thought life (v. 1-4), his words (v. 5-8), his sex life (v. 9-12), his work life (v. 13-15), his financial life (v 16-25), his religious life (v. 26-28), his hospitality ( v. 31-32), his integrity (v. 33-34) and his neighbourhood & environment (v. 38-40). We will examine those in a minute. For now, let’s agree that no one would actually let themselves be this investigated to this degree unless they believed they were truly innocent. Would you or I let people poke around in our lives that much? We might break out into a cold sweat if people saw our banking transactions or downloaded videos on our phones. The amazing thing about Job was that he was not under the law. He was not a Jew! He lived before the law that Moses received from God. Job had a law that was greater that was written on his heart. According to Romans 2:15, every human has this as well. We can’t use the excuse we don’t know the Bible or the Law. God has given us a conscience. Job understood this even if it was thousands of years ago. “Job not only argues his complete innocence in all these areas, but he goes even further by declaring that his conduct has exceeded mere obedience to the letter of the law, and that he has been faithful to its very spirit.”[7]

So permit me to explain these areas and may God put a spotlight on our lives, not so that we are exposed and embarrassed, but reminded to live right before Him. Do we fear God or people more? Are we willing to the live with the consequences for not following Him? Some of us might say today – “Consequences! What consequences?” Let’s look at the consequences Job was willing to experience and see how relevant they are to our own lives.

Let’s start where Job starts with this thought life, specifically lust. In Job 31:1, Job has made a covenant with his eyes not to look at a young woman. (And let’s not get legalistic about age. I suspect Job would not look lustfully at older women too as he is a man at least in mid-life having adult children). Notice some translations use the word “virgin” as the ESV translates. This was most likely because Job starts his defence with making a covenant to be not only live pure, but be countercultural. He was not going to take another wife or concubine as many of the patriarchs did in that day. They were polygamists to generate economic and political alliances as well as having large families to create a loyal workforce. Even though his wife wasn’t entirely supportive, Job was resolute not to lust. Recall how Job’s wife recommended to him after those horrific days of loss, “Curse God and die!” (Job 2:9) We men can sulk when our wives are not supportive and not meeting our needs. We can forget that our wives may be hurting as well, suffering from their own heartbreaks. So no matter if we are male or female, we can turn to sex, lust and pornography to try to fill our heart-longings for desire, connection and acceptance. This is so prevalent today because porn is so readily available on the internet. It’s free – monetarily – but there is a cost – a massive cost. You can lose your marriage, the respect of others, your ministry, your testimony and your peace of mind. But notice what Job is concerned about the most? He doesn’t just make a covenant with his eyes as a discipline or act of the will. This wasn’t just Job avoiding being on the Me, Too list of his day! Job had a greater desire for his purity. Check out verse 2, “What would be my portion from God above and my heritage from the Almighty on high?” Job immediately thinks about his relationship and reward from God. Job wanted to be on God’s list of the righteous and to see God. Jesus would put it this way in Matthew 5:8, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” This is one of the best strategies I have learned to fight lust and porn in my life. When I am tempted to stray, I pray! And I pray this prayer, “God, You made this person beautiful and in Your image. Thank you! Please care for all their needs and save them with the gospel of Jesus Christ.” It’s hard to pray for somebody and just after them at the same time. Prayer awakens us to treat others with dignity as fellow image-bearers who could be family someday living with God and us in the new heavens and new earth for all eternity. I also recall Psalm 16:11 to fight lust, “You have made known to me the path of life: in Your presence there is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” This verse teaches us delayed gratification. Why have a momentary pleasure here on earth that will then result in earthly and eternal consequences when we could have pleasures forevermore? This is not to say that there are 70 virgins awaiting us in heaven as our Muslims believe or many sex partners as the Mormons believe, but that God has something better for us than fulfilling our lusts now. We must ask ourselves: are we willing to live with the consequences of lust? It will destroy our intimacy with God and our spouse! Living the porn again[8] cycle is an affront to being born again – born again by the Holy Spirit through Jesus Christ!

Job invites the microscope to be used on with his thought life and then continues with the next area of dishonesty or more broadly, fact checking his words in verses 5-8! “If I have walked with falsehood and my foot has hastened to deceit; (Let me be weighed in a just balance, and let God know my integrity!) If my step has turned aside from the way and my heart has gone after my eyes, and if any spot has stuck to my hands, then let me sow and another eat.” In other words, Job was saying he welcomed the consequence of being unproductive and hungry if he was dishonest. Job saw the natural consequences of lying – a lack of productivity and a lack of sustenance. You lie, you most likely lead to you losing your job. If not today, in the future, when it all comes out. And if you lose your job, you don’t eat. Interestingly, the first lie we humans ever believed had to do with eating forbidden fruit. Are we willing to live with the consequences of dishonesty? I must remind you: losing your integrity and reputation for honesty is often hard to recover from.

The next area of investigation was Job’s sex life and whether he had committed adultery as seen in verses 9-12. This area is the most shocking. Job makes some outlandish and even unthinkable statements. Job said in verse 9 that if he was enticed to cheat, then his wife should grind or serve (NIV) another and bow down or sleep (NIV) with another. If Job was under the Hebrew law and he committed adultery, it would have meant stoning for him first and then his wife would be stoned for committing adultery with the man Job was passing her onto. Adultery was a capital crime because it literally has to deal with blood and breaking blood lines. It is one of the most serious crimes against God and our families. Verses 11-12 makes this clear, “For what a heinous crime; that would be an iniquity to be punished by the judges; for that would be a fire that consumes as far as Abaddon, and it would burn to the root of all my increase.” Job was essentially saying, “A one night stand should cause me to lose all I gained through my years of working.” It is not worth it. Maybe you are on the verge of destroying your life through sex? You about to let the flames of desire escape the fireplace in your marriage and burn your house down. God wants to bring you back from the brink of destruction. Don’t do it. Don’t misunderstand. I beg you in the name of Jesus Christ! “Job was not actually trying to exploit his wife or thought his wife would find love again in the arms of another. He was so confident of his innocence that he expresses what would be the most humiliating punishment for a man in the ancient world to endure.”[9] “He knows of no worse humiliation than disgrace to his wife; for a woman of his household to be shamed would have been the worst blow his own honour could suffer.”[10] Job would never call a curse on himself or his wife unless he believed he was absolutely innocent. To push one’s spouse to another’s bed shows contempt for one’s own body. Does not Ephesians 5:28 say, “In the same way, husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself”? Are we willing to live with the consequences of adultery and the horrible devastation it causes us in losing our spouse, kids and friendships we have and most of all, our closeness with the Lord? 

            Job welcomed the investigation into his thoughts, his words, and his bedroom (a place that 55 years ago Prime Minister Elliot Trudeau[11] said the state had no place being because he himself was sleeping around.[12] Funny, actually not so funny, how the state has interfered more with the bedrooms of Canadians ever since, redefining marriage, making other deviant sexual practices a state of pride and then trying to mitigate the consequences of sexual immorality through abortion. Isn’t it ironic that the current prime minister and son of the first Trudeau in power is now speaking into sex lives of other countries’ citizens and their striking down abortion laws?)  The next area of investigation Job welcomed was oppression in verses 13-15. Long before we had our current labour laws, Job cared for his employees. He did not oppress them! He did not traffic them. Look at verses 13-14, “If I have rejected the cause of my manservant or my maidservant, when they brought a complaint against me, what shall I do when God rises up?” Job knew he was accountable before God for his employees. Such accountability is better than accountability to our shareholders or clients. Imagine you wake up tomorrow and first thing you do when you are commuting to work is acknowledge, “God, You are my boss and I work for You today.” You don’t even need to put on your vehicle that “Your boss is a Jewish carpenter!” Just pray it before work, during work and even after work as you hand your employees and co-workers back to God, especially when you encounter trouble at work. Do you seek God for wisdom at work? I believe this would help us treat the workers God created and put beside you in loving and right ways. What a difference that would make. Are we willing to live with the consequences of oppression? Your work life will suffer greatly if we try to dominate rather than serve our co-workers!

            The next area is our financial life, particularly our stinginess or miserliness (v. 16-23). This is a lack of generosity! It is being tight-fisted! Look at verse 16, “If I have withheld anything that the poor desired, or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail.” Causing the eyes of the widow to fail means to cause her to “lose her desire for living.”[13] We can so discourage people when they are in need and we have the resources to help them and they know it. We could just call it selfishness rolled up by greed like a joint at a Cannabis shop. It blows smoke in our neighbours’ eyes. My friends, are we willing to live with the consequences of miserliness and not helping the poor and needy? To be Scrooges? Think about how crime increases because we do not care for those in need so they feel they have no other choice but to steal. Sure, they are still responsible for their actions, but what preventative actions are we taking besides our cameras, alarms and security systems. The food bank is down 40% in donations over last year and has increased in serving another 200 families more a month. They now serve 1000 families/month in our city. You can donate to them. Better yet, serve at the Food Bank and other agencies caring for the poor. Stop at our Connect desk after the service and we will have somebody contact you and direct to you a way you can help.

            Lust, dishonesty, oppression, and miserliness are areas of Job’s life that he welcomed inspection. There was also avarice as he describes in verse 24, “If I have made gold my trust or called fine gold my confidence.” Are we willing to live with the consequences of trusting in the security of our savings and retirement investments? The economy is so unstable. This is no place to put our confidence. Our confidence has to be in the Lord, not in our net worth. 

            Avarice is a type of idolatry as it seeks to find security and comfort in our resources. Job expands upon this by welcoming an inspection not only into his finances but also his religious or spiritual life. Money and religion are often closely related. When Job states in verse 26, “If I have looked at the sun when it shone or the moon moving in splendor, and my heart has been secretly enticed,” he wasn’t concerned that he was going to become addicted to astronomy. He was worried about becoming a sun or moon worshipper. This is why he says in verse 27, “…and my mouth has kissed my hand.” To “kiss the sun” was to worship a god.[14] These is made clear in verse 28, “This also would be punished by judges, for I would have been false to God above.” Are we willing to live with the consequences of worshipping other gods? They will enslave us.

            So far Job has welcomed inspection into his thought life, his speaking life, his sex life, his work life, his financial life, and his religious life. Next Job welcomes inspection into his hospitality life. Look at verses 31-32, “If the men of my tent have not said, ‘Who is there that has not been filled with his meat? (The sojourner has not lodged in the street; I have opened my doors to the traveler).” We could call this the sin of parsimony. Maybe we are trying to live pure, watch what we say, be good employees, manage the money God has entrusted to us and are committed to church, but we have failed to be hospitable. Are we going to live with the consequences of not being hospitable and missing out on being enriched by others in our lives? Haven’t we learned yet the terrible outcomes of loneliness these past two years? Loneliness doesn’t necessarily cause mental illness, but as Pastor Louie Giglio, who struggled with a mental breakdown, says, “Loneliness acts as a vice-grip for mental illness.”[15] Louie’s transparency has helped many. Just being hospitable and telling people they are not alone and Jesus can bring light to darkness may save a life. Remember, when Jesus was dying on a cross, one of His closest friends was committing suicide.[16] Jesus cares and died for all sins including suicide. Are we really willing to live with the consequences of not caring for others? We are commanded to practice hospitality (Romans 12:13). When are you going to invite your neighbours over this summer?

            Job has been an open book and welcomed a thorough investigation into his life. But we all have blind spots. This is why in verses 33-34, he invites the commission’s CSI unit into the deep corners of his life, “if I have concealed my transgressions as others do by hiding my iniquity in my heart, because I stood in great fear of the multitude, and the contempt of families terrified me, so that I kept silent and did not go out of doors.” Job wants to be checked even to his motivations, particularly whether he was a people pleaser or lived in fear that he would not go outside. Maybe that describes some of you still living in fear of COVID? Be of good courage! God is with you! For others, are you willing to live with the consequences of trying to please people and actually never pleasing them? We can only please one person and that is God! And we please God by trusting Him (Hebrews 11:6). And for others of us, are you willing to live with the consequences of not dealing with the messiness of people’s lives and confronting sin? Of becoming a recluse? Isolation is no way to live!

            Lastly, Job invites inspection into his environmental life. Look at verses 38-39, “If my land has cried out against me and its furrows have wept together, if I have eaten its yield without payment and made its owners breathe their last, let thorns grow instead of wheat, and foul weeds instead of barley.” Job was concerned about exploiting his environment and particularly harming his neighbour and their property. According to Genesis 1:26, God’s first task for us human beings was to care for and take dominion over the earth. Are we going to continue to live with the consequences of not taking care of our environment and neighbours?            But what if we are not like Guy Paul Morin and Job? What if we are guilty and paying the consequences? I want to remind us that Jesus became a curse for us when we were cursed. Galatians 3:13 reminds us of God’s mercy, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us – for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree.” The Communion Table is a reminder of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of the Cross. The Communion Table is a place to find help when we can’t deal with the consequences of our sins. Our sins require too great a consequence to bear. Right now, as we sing “I Need Thee” would you please take the time to not only pause and ask yourself whether you are willing to live with the consequences of your actions but confess those sinful actions to God?

[1] Source: https://lop.parl.ca/sites/PublicWebsite/default/en_CA/ResearchPublications/202077E. Accessed June 23, 2022.

[2] Quote from my wife Lori Stairs

[3] A great overview of Job can be found at Tim Mackie and Jon Collins, Job – The Bible Project: https://bibleproject.com/explore/video/job/. Accessed February 11, 2022.

[4] Francis I. Anderson, Job – An Introduction & Commentary (London: Inter-Varsity Press, 1976), 238.

[5] J. Vernon McGee, Job – Thru the Bible Commentary Series (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1991), 150.

[6] editor James M. Renihan & author C.H. Spurgeon, Daily Treasure – 366 Daily Readings from The Treasury of David (Leyland: EP Books, 2021), 187

[7] Mike Mason, The Gospel According to Job (Wheaton: Crossway, 1994), 317.

[8] I am borrowing the title of Mark Driscoll’s book Porn Again Christian (Mars Hill Church, 2009).

[9] Daniel J. Estes, Job – Teach the Text Commentary Series (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 2013), 189.

[10] David J.A. Clines, Job 21-32 – Word Biblical Commentary (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1989), 1018.

[11] Source Canadian Broadcasting Corporation: https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/1811727781. Accessed June 24, 2022. 

[12] This is well documented: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/pierre-trudeau-and-his-many-women/article791993/. Accessed June 26, 2022.

[13] Clines, 965.

[14] Anderson, 243.

[15] Louie Giglio, “I’m Not Okay … But Jesus Is” sermon, https://youtu.be/kg2BoUjtvY0, 2020.

[16] Ibid.