Does God need anything? Theologically we have been taught that God is self-existent, self-sufficient, and self-sustaining. He is omnipresent, omnipotent, omniscient, and immutable. He is perfect and entirely complete. God doesn't need anything. If that is true, then God doesn't need you. God doesn't need me. Oh yes, He loves us and cares for us and made us. We are designed by Him and are given life by Him. So we need Him. Every moment of our existence is dependent upon Him. I need Him for every breath. I need air and water and food and shelter and there is much research that says I need others. Babies raised with little or no human contact do not flourish; in fact many die. Isolated people do not mature well. We need some kind of companionship. If not we will invent a friend. Perhaps a volleyball named Wilson. We are very needy creatures. But we are often told God does not need anything. Two questions. One, does this jive with Scripture? Two, what are the consequences if we really believe this to be true?
Before we can proceed we need to define a key term. What does "need" mean? As stated above there are many things that I need. Oxygen, Water, and food, to name a few. God does not need these to exist. In that sense our theology is correct. But need is a broader term. I do not need my wife, Debbie, to exist. Should the Lord take her from me I can still choose to breath, eat, and live. However, after almost 38 years of marriage and 5 years of friendship before that, my life would have a huge hole in it if she were gone. I need her. I need her companionship, her understanding, her love, her council, her affection, her wisdom, and the list goes on and on. When she was in Thailand and when she was at our daughter's for a couple of weeks, I would wake up longing to see her face in the morning. When I came home at night the house was empty, with no one to share my day with or to tell me interesting retail stories from Hobby Lobby. I missed her and, yes, I needed her. I need my children and friends and so many other things on a personal level. My life might go on but it would be incomplete without my wife, my bride and my friends.
God calls Israel His wife. In Jeremiah 3:20 God says Israel is like an unfaithful wife. Israel commits adultery with other gods (See Jer. 3:8, 29:23 and Hosea 3:1 for examples). To commit adultery you have to be husband and wife. The victims of adultery are usually deeply wounded. For the one they are committed to, the one they needed, has been unfaithful. In reference to the assemblies of the New Testament we are told that we are the Bride of Christ. Messiah is the Bridegroom and we are His Bride. It is a picture John is inspired to use in Revelation. Rev. 21:1 says, "Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls ... talked with me, saying, 'Come, and I will show you the bride, the Lamb's wife". In Rev. 22:17 The Spirit and the bride say, "come". Come to the Bridegroom, come all who thirst, come to Messiah. I have performed a few weddings in my time and I have never heard any bridegroom ever say, "You know, I don't really need my bride; just going through the ceremony so I can say I did." Finally, in John 15:15 Yeshua, Jesus, tells the disciples they are no longer servants, they are His friends. You and I are friends of Messiah. We are the friends of God. If the Scriptures are accurate, then God needs me. He needs me so much He came to me, He called me, He died for me, He shed His blood to cover my sin so I could have fellowship with Him, He went to the cross, died and rose again so I can live with Him forever. I mean, it sounds like He really needs me.
But what if I decide that He really doesn't need me? What if I let these thoughts be overshadowed by my theology of God's self-sufficiency? If God doesn't need me, then I don't need to worry about time with Him. I mean, if He doesn't need to talk with me every day why bother Him? If He doesn't really need me why worry about the details of how I live? If He doesn't need me I can't wound Him. Well, maybe I can grieve the Holy Spirit (Eph. 4:30) but I am sure that's not the same as grieving a friend or my spouse, its not like God really needs my companionship. After all, He is God, and we know God doesn't need anything. If God does not need me we have a one sided relationship. I need Him for everything but He needs nothing from me. I have never seen a marriage, a wedding couple, or even friends, where that kind of relationship ever works very well. My God needs me. He needs to hear that I love Him, that He means everything to me. He needs to know I miss Him when I get too busy and that I am sorry for neglecting Him. He needs my time and my attention if this relationship with Him is to grow and to have the depth and intimacy we BOTH desire and need. If this is true with my wife and my friends, how is it any less true with the God who calls me His Bride, the wife of the Lamb, and His friend?
When you wake up tomorrow, before you attack the day, remember this, God needs you. He needs to hear your voice. To know you love Him and want to talk to Him throughout the day. When Debbie went to Thailand she left an envelope with a collection of notes so I could read one each morning. I still treasure those notes. God has given us a whole collection of letters and notes and songs and stories for us to read and be encouraged by His Words. He misses you when you are too busy to read His love letters. He misses you when you are too busy to pay attention to Him. He is wounded and grieved when you act like He doesn't need you.
He is a needy God. So are you meeting His needs or grieving His heart?
Friday, March 27, 2015
Wednesday, March 11, 2015
Should Christians Use the "F---" Word?
Words. They are a most useful means of communication. Even unspoken gestures and body language are translated by our brains as words or at least concepts that can be translated into words. What I have noticed, over the passing of time, is how effective the enemy of our soul has been at robbing the meaning of words. Of making the words of the divine profane. Profanity more than surrounds us; it permeates our culture and has infected the Body of Christ. We have acquiesced or outright accepted the Deceiver's ploy without a fight. It has touched your life and you are speaking far more profanity than you are aware. It is more than the proliferation of cursing and foul language. Most of us avoid the "F" word and give some passing cringe at the Lord's name being slandered or used in vain, but we are calloused or simply naive if we think that covers the subject. The profane saturates social media and flows freely from the keyboards and pens of those who claim to be followers of Messiah. As Matthew 12:36 reminds us, "But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment." If this is so, then we need to take a closer look at our words.
To begin with, it would be well to get some words defined. Profanity or the use of profane words are words most followers of Christ would want to avoid. You know, those coarse words or "dirty" words mom told us not to say. Most English dictionaries simply say profanity is not showing reverence or saying things that are offensive. The Hebrew word translated profane is chalal. It means to defile or pollute, but at its core it means to treat what is sacred as common. As we see in Lev. 22:32 “You shall not profane My holy name, but I will be hallowed among the children of Israel. I am the LORD who sanctifies you," Don't treat my name, which is holy or set apart, as common. The LORD who sanctifies you and makes you holy is not to be treated as common. Number three of the Ten Commandments warns to not take the Lord God's name in vain. Don't treat it as common so that it is robbed of its holy meaning. It is not an empty word; it refers to the sacred and omnipotent Creator and ruler of the universe. The phrase, "Oh my god!" has lost all real substance. The sacred has become common. It is profane. The Greek, bebalos, has a similar meaning. to be unhallowed or common. 2 Timothy 2:16 calls us to, "shun profane and idle babblings, for they will increase to more ungodliness." Shun common, empty, idle babblings, for who really wants to give God an account of those things?
The point is simply this: Don't turn what God has declared or referred to as sacred or set apart for His purpose as common or as an empty word. Let's take a few examples. "Oh my God!" is not usually a cry of worship. The phrase has become common. It is profane. "Damn it!" rarely brings the image of the lake of fire or the final judgement of a Holy God. "What the hell!" Same issue. No vision here of a final separation from the God of love and mercy while suffering torment. (By the way I don't think God is fooled by "gosh", "darn", or "heck" as replacements. The world knows what they replace and doesn't draw them to revere a Holy God). I don't want to leave out "Heavens to Betsy". I am not sure what that means, but I am pretty sure my Grandmother talked of heaven that way. And how about the dreaded "F" word. How can that offend God? How about Hebrews 13:4 ,"Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge." God designed sex. When He "fearfully and wonderfully" made us, He put those nerve endings where He did on purpose. Sex is a holy thing. Something set apart for Marriage. Not for fornication or adultery. The "F" word is slang for the intimate union designed by God for a man and woman to share in marriage. The prolific use of the "F" word and other slang expressions for the act of love has made the act empty, has taken God's sacred meaning and made it common. Not sure what God thinks with American's obsession with male bovine feces but there must be other ways to express ourselves.
As followers of Messiah, the Son of God, and those who claim that Yahweh is the one true God, our language is riddled with profanity. Making the sacred common. One last word to consider is "awesome". Deut. 7:21 “You shall not be terrified of them; for the LORD your God, the great and awesome God, is among you." Thirty to forty times, depending on your translation, God, or what He does, is referred to as awesome. It means to be filled with awe at who He is and what he does. It is a remarkable word of worship and reverence. It is not about pizza or a car. It is not about the winning goal or how your girlfriend looks. We have made the word empty of its intended reverence. We have, in truth, made it a profane term. Robbed of its association with God, it is a popular use of profanity. Having made what was connected to One Holy just something common.
A final thought or two. Have you ever exclaimed, "Oh my Allah!" or "Mohammed Prophet!". How about "Oh Buddha" or hit your thumb with a hammer and yelled "My Vishnu, that hurts!". Why don't we treat the Muslim, Buddhist, and Hindu deities with the same disrespect as the Jewish and Christian God? Could it be that the Devil doesn't care? He is the master deceiver so he deceives us into thinking God doesn't care. It's just slang. You know a colloquialism, I don't really mean anything by it. And that is the point. The words God gave to warn us and to draw us to Him have lost their punch, be it hell or damnation, there is no real meaning.Thus, there is no fear, there is no warning, there is no reason to repent or draw near to God. Our own profane use of words about sex, eternity, and honoring the Awesome God who loved us, died for us and delivered us from sin and death has left us with empty words. Just how vain do we take the name of the Lord our God? Maybe Commandment Three just doesn't matter any more. Or maybe it matters way more that you think. Just what will you say when you see the Lord and go through your "idle word" report?
To begin with, it would be well to get some words defined. Profanity or the use of profane words are words most followers of Christ would want to avoid. You know, those coarse words or "dirty" words mom told us not to say. Most English dictionaries simply say profanity is not showing reverence or saying things that are offensive. The Hebrew word translated profane is chalal. It means to defile or pollute, but at its core it means to treat what is sacred as common. As we see in Lev. 22:32 “You shall not profane My holy name, but I will be hallowed among the children of Israel. I am the LORD who sanctifies you," Don't treat my name, which is holy or set apart, as common. The LORD who sanctifies you and makes you holy is not to be treated as common. Number three of the Ten Commandments warns to not take the Lord God's name in vain. Don't treat it as common so that it is robbed of its holy meaning. It is not an empty word; it refers to the sacred and omnipotent Creator and ruler of the universe. The phrase, "Oh my god!" has lost all real substance. The sacred has become common. It is profane. The Greek, bebalos, has a similar meaning. to be unhallowed or common. 2 Timothy 2:16 calls us to, "shun profane and idle babblings, for they will increase to more ungodliness." Shun common, empty, idle babblings, for who really wants to give God an account of those things?
The point is simply this: Don't turn what God has declared or referred to as sacred or set apart for His purpose as common or as an empty word. Let's take a few examples. "Oh my God!" is not usually a cry of worship. The phrase has become common. It is profane. "Damn it!" rarely brings the image of the lake of fire or the final judgement of a Holy God. "What the hell!" Same issue. No vision here of a final separation from the God of love and mercy while suffering torment. (By the way I don't think God is fooled by "gosh", "darn", or "heck" as replacements. The world knows what they replace and doesn't draw them to revere a Holy God). I don't want to leave out "Heavens to Betsy". I am not sure what that means, but I am pretty sure my Grandmother talked of heaven that way. And how about the dreaded "F" word. How can that offend God? How about Hebrews 13:4 ,"Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge." God designed sex. When He "fearfully and wonderfully" made us, He put those nerve endings where He did on purpose. Sex is a holy thing. Something set apart for Marriage. Not for fornication or adultery. The "F" word is slang for the intimate union designed by God for a man and woman to share in marriage. The prolific use of the "F" word and other slang expressions for the act of love has made the act empty, has taken God's sacred meaning and made it common. Not sure what God thinks with American's obsession with male bovine feces but there must be other ways to express ourselves.
As followers of Messiah, the Son of God, and those who claim that Yahweh is the one true God, our language is riddled with profanity. Making the sacred common. One last word to consider is "awesome". Deut. 7:21 “You shall not be terrified of them; for the LORD your God, the great and awesome God, is among you." Thirty to forty times, depending on your translation, God, or what He does, is referred to as awesome. It means to be filled with awe at who He is and what he does. It is a remarkable word of worship and reverence. It is not about pizza or a car. It is not about the winning goal or how your girlfriend looks. We have made the word empty of its intended reverence. We have, in truth, made it a profane term. Robbed of its association with God, it is a popular use of profanity. Having made what was connected to One Holy just something common.
A final thought or two. Have you ever exclaimed, "Oh my Allah!" or "Mohammed Prophet!". How about "Oh Buddha" or hit your thumb with a hammer and yelled "My Vishnu, that hurts!". Why don't we treat the Muslim, Buddhist, and Hindu deities with the same disrespect as the Jewish and Christian God? Could it be that the Devil doesn't care? He is the master deceiver so he deceives us into thinking God doesn't care. It's just slang. You know a colloquialism, I don't really mean anything by it. And that is the point. The words God gave to warn us and to draw us to Him have lost their punch, be it hell or damnation, there is no real meaning.Thus, there is no fear, there is no warning, there is no reason to repent or draw near to God. Our own profane use of words about sex, eternity, and honoring the Awesome God who loved us, died for us and delivered us from sin and death has left us with empty words. Just how vain do we take the name of the Lord our God? Maybe Commandment Three just doesn't matter any more. Or maybe it matters way more that you think. Just what will you say when you see the Lord and go through your "idle word" report?
Monday, March 2, 2015
Tired of the Snow and Cold? Just Curse God and Die!
As I write this post it has "warmed up" to 17 degrees, but it will soon return to those single digits and then back below zero. I do remember the winter of 1980 in Wichita, KS, when the chill factor was minus fifty something. There were also 3 winters at Cornerstone University when the Grand Rapids campus, having no trees, allowed a chill factor that was brutal. So with all the discomfort that life and nature dish out, if you are a believer, why not just curse God and die? Wasn't that Mrs. Job's advice in Job 2:9? Hey, when life gets difficult spout off at God with some awful diatribe and maybe He will just kill you. It is possible that is what Job's wife meant, but perhaps not. Even though many a message has been preached espousing the godless action of Mrs. Job, maybe she isn't quite the bad person she has been made out to be. True she has lost as much as Job, save the physical distress, so it could be she berated Job in anger and bitterness. But, maybe she speaks out of love and concern.
The Hebrew word translated curse is barak. The word also appears in Job 1:11 and 2:5 where Satan is challenging God about His care for Job and says if Job would lose his tangible blessings, he [Job] would "curse you [God] to your face". God gives Satan permission to afflict Job but Job's integrity stands firm. As Job sits in the ashes in agony covered with painful oozing sores, Mrs. Job looks upon his pain and says, "Do you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse God and die" (Job 2:9). Job responds, "you speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?" (Job 2:10). Seems pretty obvious why the court of public opinion finds Mrs. J guilty. But wait, perhaps we have misunderstood some of the words here. The word barak is indeed translated curse here in Job; but 304 other times it is translated "bless". Along with salute, praise, kneel (as in submit to a higher authority), congratulate and yes, one time, blaspheme. Now, we can't just go by numbers to determine the intent of the original author. However, with the vast number of "bless" translations, it would be prudent to see if other possibilities exist. Maybe even ones that not only fit, but may be be more accurate. We might even find a Biblical solution to vindicate Mrs. Job.
A few thoughts.
The word barak is used most often in God blessing his children or His creation. As in Aaron's blessing in Numbers 6:24, "The LORD bless (barak) you and keep you." But there are times we bless God, "Bless God in the congregations, the Lord, from the fountain of Israel" (Psalm 68:26). Or "Bless the Lord, O my soul" (Psalm 103:1). Of the dozens of times God's people "barak" the Lord or God, Job 2:8 would be the only one where it is not bless. It would be the only time one of God's children would agree with Satan and encourage someone to "curse" God. Not impossible, but perhaps improbable.
There is also the consideration of Hebrew poetry. Unlike other poetry, Hebrew parallels ideas rather than rhyming words. We see that often in the Psalms where there is the reduplication of ideas. Psalm 45:1 "...I recite my composition concerning the king. My tongue in the pen of a ready writer." The same idea expressed with different words. Proverbs is full of contrasting ideas and plays on words. "The wise woman builds her house, but, the foolish pulls it down with her hands" (Proverbs 14:1). God also uses similar words to make a point, as in Isaac's name being similar to the Hebrew word for laughter because Sarah laughed. Is God doing that in Job? Satan predicts that Job will curse God to His face, Job does not; instead Mrs. Job actually encourages him to bless God. Is she cursing, as Satan desires, or is God poking Satan with her request for Job to submit, to kneel, to praise, to bless God and die. End the suffering and seek God's end of life. A poetic play on words to show her heart felt desire to see her beloved's pain come to a close. She asks if he will continue to hold onto his integrity or innocence rather than asking for the pain and suffering to end. Should he suffer and seem guilty or bless God and die with a measure of honor remaining? Job, by the way, borrows his wife's thought and will not admit to his accusers any guilt, "Far be it from me that I should say you are right; till I die I will not put away my integrity (or claim of innocence) from me" (Job 27:5). For Job a life of pain is better than a death with a possible appearance of guilt. Doesn't mean that is how Mrs. Job saw things. However, seeing a blessed end to her husbands great suffering may be her highest priority at this point.
We also need to look at Job's response. She calls, pleads, asks, for him to look for the release of death. Job responds in verse 10 "You speak as a foolish one speaks. Shall we accept good from God but not adversity?" Job does not say she is foolish. Rather he seems to suggest that her words are out of character. How about this speculation? "You are speaking like someone foolish would speak. That is not like you. You have stood with me during the times of good and the family God graciously gave us. You accepted God's dealings with us then, but now you want to refuse His hand upon us? It all came from Him and He can be trusted in the good times and the times of adversity." There is nothing else heard from Mrs. J as Job (and his wife) endure the accusations of his "friends". You know, those who have God all figured out, good stuff equals righteousness, bad stuff equals sin. However, God does not fit in anyone's box. If we fast forward to chapter 42 God rebukes Job's counselors, calls for them to offer sacrifices and has Job pray for them. Job is vindicated. We find God restores Job's earthly possessions, and then some. Mrs. Job is there to love him and birth seven sons and three daughters, daughters whose names are recorded in God's Word for eternity. It was said that there were none in the land so beautiful. I wonder if they took after their mother?
Now it could be that Job's wife was bitter and vindictive. It could be that this is a very odd use of the word barak. It could be she agreed with Satan and told her beloved husband, in the midst of his loss and pain, to curse God and die. After all it was her loss as well. She could be the only human in all of Scripture to use the word as a curse rather than a blessing toward God. However, she stays. She is still with him at the end. She still gives birth to his ten children and enjoys their restored fortunes. She also enjoys the renewed "blessings" from God. Job's friends are rebuked by God; she never is. Maybe God has a better view of Job's wife than most commentators and preachers. Maybe we need to rethink our view of this remarkable woman who stood by her suffering husband amidst the horrific assault on his integrity by so-called friends. Just some things to ponder. As for me, well, I think maybe this wounded woman has gotten a lot of bad press. What do you think?
The Hebrew word translated curse is barak. The word also appears in Job 1:11 and 2:5 where Satan is challenging God about His care for Job and says if Job would lose his tangible blessings, he [Job] would "curse you [God] to your face". God gives Satan permission to afflict Job but Job's integrity stands firm. As Job sits in the ashes in agony covered with painful oozing sores, Mrs. Job looks upon his pain and says, "Do you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse God and die" (Job 2:9). Job responds, "you speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?" (Job 2:10). Seems pretty obvious why the court of public opinion finds Mrs. J guilty. But wait, perhaps we have misunderstood some of the words here. The word barak is indeed translated curse here in Job; but 304 other times it is translated "bless". Along with salute, praise, kneel (as in submit to a higher authority), congratulate and yes, one time, blaspheme. Now, we can't just go by numbers to determine the intent of the original author. However, with the vast number of "bless" translations, it would be prudent to see if other possibilities exist. Maybe even ones that not only fit, but may be be more accurate. We might even find a Biblical solution to vindicate Mrs. Job.
A few thoughts.
The word barak is used most often in God blessing his children or His creation. As in Aaron's blessing in Numbers 6:24, "The LORD bless (barak) you and keep you." But there are times we bless God, "Bless God in the congregations, the Lord, from the fountain of Israel" (Psalm 68:26). Or "Bless the Lord, O my soul" (Psalm 103:1). Of the dozens of times God's people "barak" the Lord or God, Job 2:8 would be the only one where it is not bless. It would be the only time one of God's children would agree with Satan and encourage someone to "curse" God. Not impossible, but perhaps improbable.
There is also the consideration of Hebrew poetry. Unlike other poetry, Hebrew parallels ideas rather than rhyming words. We see that often in the Psalms where there is the reduplication of ideas. Psalm 45:1 "...I recite my composition concerning the king. My tongue in the pen of a ready writer." The same idea expressed with different words. Proverbs is full of contrasting ideas and plays on words. "The wise woman builds her house, but, the foolish pulls it down with her hands" (Proverbs 14:1). God also uses similar words to make a point, as in Isaac's name being similar to the Hebrew word for laughter because Sarah laughed. Is God doing that in Job? Satan predicts that Job will curse God to His face, Job does not; instead Mrs. Job actually encourages him to bless God. Is she cursing, as Satan desires, or is God poking Satan with her request for Job to submit, to kneel, to praise, to bless God and die. End the suffering and seek God's end of life. A poetic play on words to show her heart felt desire to see her beloved's pain come to a close. She asks if he will continue to hold onto his integrity or innocence rather than asking for the pain and suffering to end. Should he suffer and seem guilty or bless God and die with a measure of honor remaining? Job, by the way, borrows his wife's thought and will not admit to his accusers any guilt, "Far be it from me that I should say you are right; till I die I will not put away my integrity (or claim of innocence) from me" (Job 27:5). For Job a life of pain is better than a death with a possible appearance of guilt. Doesn't mean that is how Mrs. Job saw things. However, seeing a blessed end to her husbands great suffering may be her highest priority at this point.
We also need to look at Job's response. She calls, pleads, asks, for him to look for the release of death. Job responds in verse 10 "You speak as a foolish one speaks. Shall we accept good from God but not adversity?" Job does not say she is foolish. Rather he seems to suggest that her words are out of character. How about this speculation? "You are speaking like someone foolish would speak. That is not like you. You have stood with me during the times of good and the family God graciously gave us. You accepted God's dealings with us then, but now you want to refuse His hand upon us? It all came from Him and He can be trusted in the good times and the times of adversity." There is nothing else heard from Mrs. J as Job (and his wife) endure the accusations of his "friends". You know, those who have God all figured out, good stuff equals righteousness, bad stuff equals sin. However, God does not fit in anyone's box. If we fast forward to chapter 42 God rebukes Job's counselors, calls for them to offer sacrifices and has Job pray for them. Job is vindicated. We find God restores Job's earthly possessions, and then some. Mrs. Job is there to love him and birth seven sons and three daughters, daughters whose names are recorded in God's Word for eternity. It was said that there were none in the land so beautiful. I wonder if they took after their mother?
Now it could be that Job's wife was bitter and vindictive. It could be that this is a very odd use of the word barak. It could be she agreed with Satan and told her beloved husband, in the midst of his loss and pain, to curse God and die. After all it was her loss as well. She could be the only human in all of Scripture to use the word as a curse rather than a blessing toward God. However, she stays. She is still with him at the end. She still gives birth to his ten children and enjoys their restored fortunes. She also enjoys the renewed "blessings" from God. Job's friends are rebuked by God; she never is. Maybe God has a better view of Job's wife than most commentators and preachers. Maybe we need to rethink our view of this remarkable woman who stood by her suffering husband amidst the horrific assault on his integrity by so-called friends. Just some things to ponder. As for me, well, I think maybe this wounded woman has gotten a lot of bad press. What do you think?
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