Not what it seems

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You, your, employer, your church, your mosque, your synagogue, and your government have staked out one or two positions that is guarded like Rover’s latest and biggest bone.  Ignoring all the ruins of powerbrokers from antiquity, you may think a free lunch is around the corner and keep inventing clever ways to explain the elephant in the room.   More often than not the image of intelligence, squeaky clean progress, and favour with God is not what if seems.

So easy to say amen without thinking

At Golgotha

That man, supposed criminal, showing the signs of physically assault by the law, is not dying to save the Jewish nation from Roman justice.  Things are not what they seem.

Returning from exile in Gentile lands

Those restored Judeans, returning from Persia, supposedly having learned to  respect the Gentile world,  are not showing the love of God to their neighbours.  Things are not what they seem.

What happened to the forever residence?

A popular song in the Israelite songbook, #23, ends with an affirmation about dwelling in God’s house forever but the house has practically vanished.   Yahweh himself promised to put his name in the house Solomon built forever. 



Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Psalms 23:6

YAHWEH’S NAME FOREVER

Then he set the carved image of Asherah that he had made, in the house of which the Lord said to David and to his son Solomon, “In this house and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen from all the tribes of Israel, I will put My name forever.

2 Kings 21:7

Is God really a spirit who requires truth in the inward parts of humans?  Is he a deity revelling in sacrifices, offerings and regulations of natural human processes?  What are the operations of the levitical priesthood when there is no tabernacle or temple?  There are very likely  explanations of these situations that lean towards “not what it seems”.

On stone while the hearts were ineligible

The covenant was not in the hearts of the people. If it was its terms would have been met.  David sang about hiding God’s word in his heart to prevent sin.  People sinned whether they promised to be obedient or not. God wrote the covenant on stone not because the words are permanent – they give way to a New Covenant – but because there were no hearts to receive it and the covenant of Sinai was not and is not the means for making peace between God and humanity, for making humans God’s house.

NO HEART PRESENT

Oh that they had such a heart in them, that they would fear Me and keep all My commandments always, that it may be well with them and with their sons forever!

Deuteronomy 5:29