Jesus attracted many different kinds of people with his miracles, his care, and his words. Many of them were looking for the same thing you and I are looking for - the blessed life. How do we find happiness? How do we get fulfillment? How can we truly be satisfied?
Jesus' words on this shocked his listeners and they're just as shocking to our culture today. The way to be blessed? Well, start by acknowledging how little you have.
The very first miracle where Jesus showed his glory was making wine out of water when a wedding celebration ran out of the good stuff. Was this a random, unplanned moment? Was this a side quest in the real mission Jesus came for? If we look closely and reframe this story away from our context into the people’s who lived it, we just may find how this moment was instrumental in telling the world who Jesus is and exactly why he came.
God’s people had been waiting and holding their breath for the promised Messiah to come and rescue them. They all had different expectations of what to look for. When he finally came into the world, many could not see him because they were searching for something else. Yet, Jesus came just as promised. What are you looking for? What do you seek? Are you able to see the real Jesus and find the hope, joy, peace, and rescue you need?
The words of Jeremiah were given by God to prepare His people for exile. You're about to be taken into captivity, forced to live in a foreign land, ruled by an oppressive nation. What should you do? How should you live? God's words delivered through Jeremiah were shocking. Make it a home. Plant and tend to gardens. Enter into relationships and build families. In essence, continue the call given to humanity at the very beginning... whether you're in a garden of paradise or exiled in Babylon.
Have you ever been so happy you couldn’t help but to sing?
Sing! Rejoice! Because even though this world is broken, life is hard, and you have rebelled, God will come and sing over you with rejoicing — if you have humbled yourself and recognize your need for Him. He will rescue you like a mighty warrior. How amazing is it that God sings over His people?
God’s people were worshipping the gods of other nations along with the God of Israel. As Elijah said, they were hobbling between two crutches. God uses Elijah, his prophet, to show who the true God is during an epic showdown between Elijah and 450 prophets of Baal. It would seem Elijah would be outmatched, but really it was a battle between God and Baal - and Baal would prove to be no match at all for the true God.
God's people wanted a king, just like the other nations had. They wanted one who would represent them well. One who was tall, handsome, strong - a natural leader.
But God was their true King, and if He was going to give them a human representative it would be one who represented what He is like - not what the other nations were like. This is the context where we find the power struggle between Saul and David.
Israel had been rescued by God and finally entered into the promised land of rest. But it didn’t take long for them to rebel against Him and worship other gods. So, God would hand them over to their rebellion and let the gods they worshipped and the nations they longed for take them over. They would cry out for rescue so God would send someone as a judge over sin and the other nations. The people would rejoice, but again, it didn’t take long to repeat their rebellion.
They found themselves in an exhausting cycle: rescue, rest, rebellion, reaping the consequences, rescue… repeat. Who could come and break the cycle?
God’s people had been freed from slavery but had been wandering around the wilderness now for decades. To make matters worse, their leader Moses had passed away. Would this new leader, Joshua, be able to cut it? Would the people finally enter into the land promised to them long ago? Would they finally learn that it was not Moses or Joshua who would rescue them, but Yahweh himself who is their salvation?
Once God set His people free from slavery to Egypt, He showed His power to them and gave them a new way to live. In His ways. As His representatives.
These commandments were not just rules to follow. They were a liberating new way of life that would display God’s glory and goodness to the rest of the nations.
God has gone head to head with Pharaoh, perhaps the most powerful man in the world. Pharaoh brought all of his gods to the battle as well. God, the Lord of Israel, the Creator of all the universe, has been victorious every step of the way. Nine times, he defeats the gods of Egypt. Then He had one last blow to deal. Yet, even in the brutal discipline and judgment of God, He provides a way out. He gives an opportunity for not just Israel, but all who would trust in Him, to have death pass over them and lead them on to life.
Could you imagine going somewhere on vacation only to find yourself stuck there for the rest of your life? The vacation spot would turn into a prison. What if then the indigenous people who you once traveled to enjoy their culture begun to oppress you and your family, putting you to work for them, and replacing the once delicious culinary experience with bland food that serves only as sustenance for more work?
This is sort of what happens to Israel. They went to Egypt as a rescue from the famine. 400 years later their descendants still lived there as slaves. Who would come to rescue them? What about the promise God gave their ancestors of their own land in Canaan? In Exodus 1 & 2, we hear about a God who hears, sees, and knows. A God who has not given up on His people. A God of rescue.
If you read Genesis, and much of the Old Testament, you might come across this reoccurring theme: God calls a human to be His representative, that human fails or rebels against God, God disciplines but also makes a promise to continue. Then, He starts with another human.
Is God rebooting His plan over and over again until He finds the right human for the role? Or are we seeing a rerun episode of God doing what He has always done, continuing the plan He set forth from the very beginning?
As we look at the 12 brothers of Jacob (Israel), we find a great prospect for this lineage to continue through Joseph. However, Jesus one day would come through the tribe of Judah, the brother who betrayed Joseph for some silver. What is God up to?
