February 16 - Genesis 11 - Nehemiah 13 - "Pushing Uphill"

MPC 16th February 2020.

Phil Campbell

Got a quick quiz for you as we start out this morning. Answer in your head.

PUSHING UP HILL

Question 1. Why does multiculturalism so quickly turn to racism? When there's a new virus about?

2. Why does Facebook turn to Fakebook turn to envy book. In the first five minutes of scrolling. To the point where they now have to hide the number of likes our friends have got; for the sake of our mental health?

3. Why does Married at First Sight so often turn to spite at second sight? And we like watching it even more when it does?

4. Why is a husband so hard to live with?

5. Why... do you need to teach your kids obedience. And nobody ever has to teach them disobedience?

6. Why is the sky blue?

7. Why does power corrupt, and absolute power corrupt absolutely?

The answer to all but one of those questions, I reckon, has got to do with human hearts. That the centre of our being. That the core of our desires. Has a natural bias. The wrong way.

A tilt. So that doing the right thing is always like pushing uphill. And doing wrong. Is easy.

We're in God's story. A five part overview of the Bible.

CREATION

And last week we saw God made everything so good... until we decided that the one little thing that could be better would be if we could just make the rules for ourselves; and so everything came crashing down. The world we live in now. Where the biggest problem is us.

We saw a verse in Genesis 6 that summed it up, much like Doug's report card. Nothing good to say.

5 The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time.

Always. sloping down towards evil. Always our natural tilt. That. Is humanity.

If you missed Doug's talk last week, go back and listen online. It's worth it. We ended up outside the garden, humanity getting worse and worse, totally opposed to God. Excluded. From God's blessing.

Left with the question, who's going to fix it. And how?

COVENANT

So today. Episode 2. In our five part series. It's all about God's covenant with israel. And a whole lot of rules and laws that in the end... have plenty of promise. But ultimately don't fix the heart problem. Laws that constrain. But don't cure. The ultimate problem.

Genesis chapter 12; the start of a plan. The glimmer of a promise. A covenant. Between God. And the family of abraham.

A type of agreement shaped in its form like an ancient treaty with A great king. Which of course God is.

When we meet Abram, he's just an ordinary guy. Living in a place called Ur. When God steps in with a covenant.

A three part promise. To start with Abram. And rebuild. It's mapped out at the start of Genesis 12.

A promise that from Abram, God's going to build a great nation of people.

Which is tough to get your head around when you and your wife are both mid 70s and you've never had kids. More than that. This unlikely family is going to live as a nation in a land of their own. The promised land.

But biggest of all I reckon, the promise that in this world under God's curse of struggle and death; they're going to bring God's blessing again. Not just for themselves. But the world.

Like Eden all over again. But now a whole nation. Walking with God. And blessing the world.

And it's the story of those unlikely promises. That makes up the rest of the book. The unlikely descendants of the unlikely patriarch Abram. Which means father. Who in the end has to add an extra syllable to his name to make it mean father of many. Abraham.

Now that's a plan that's restated in Genesis chapter 18. And I want to show you a couple of key verses there.

Because they pick up on God's ultimate intention. In a world where hearts are inclined towards sin. In a world where our every imagining leans exactly the wrong way. Where our thoughts are so often temptations.

Here's what God's doing through Abraham. One family. That's going to be different.

First the plan again. Abraham will surely become not just a family but a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him.

And now the purpose. Behind the plan.

For I have chosen him so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the lord by doing what's right and just... so that the Lord will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him.

That's the deal. From Abraham, God's working on a project. A people of his own.

They'll be his covenant people. Right and just. And he'll be their God. Just the way it was meant to be from the beginning.

That's the plan.

The question is, how's it going to play out? Can I say to you at this point if you're a bit of a theologian. If you're a bit of a philosopher maybe. If you like reducing everything to principles. There are all sorts of theological questions you can ask about whether there's actually contingency in the covenant. Or whether it's conditional. Whether it's all from God's side or ultimately up to Israel... can I suggest to you, don't try to answer those questions too soon. And like any big book, the thing you do when you come to a question like that is you let the questions build up the tension in the narrative.

How's it going to go? Let's keep reading.

We're jumping ahead. A long way.

Descendants of Abraham. By the end of the book of Genesis. Famine in the promised land so they've come to Egypt for food.

Turn the page to Exodus - and look, it's worth actually flipping through a Bible with me if you've got one in your hand. Israelite refugees in Egypt now in such huge numbers that Pharaoh isolates them in detention centres making mud bricks.

And the epic story unfolds. Of Moses; who stands up and says let my people go. And God opens up the Red Sea. And leads them out.

You might know the story. Moses leads them round the wilderness. 40 years. To get back to the promised land.

Stopping in a Mount Sinai. Where God gives them his law; ten on stone tablets, and then 603 others that Moses writes down as well. In books like Leviticus. And Numbers.

Some of them very obviously rules about how to be right and just. Not killing each other. Telling the truth. Not racing off with your neighbour's wife.

Laws about priests and sacrifices. How to approach God.

And I've gotta say, these days, lots of those rules for ancient Israel don't even make sense to us.

AJ Jacobs set out to write a book called The Year Of Living Biblically. Where he sets out on the quest of following the Bible as literally as possible. For a year. Every rule. Like the one in Exodus 23:19, that says, "You're not allowed to boil a young goat in the milk of its mother."

He says, some of the rules are tough. Like not lying. Or not checking my emails on the Sabbath day of rest.

But he says, at last - an easy one. He says, "I think - with a little willpower and a safe distance from farms - I can make it for a year without boiling a baby goat in its mother's milk."

Although he says, my friend John suggested if the worst comes to the worst I can boil the baby goat in its aunt's milk instead of its mother's. Thanks John!

Modern Jews have expanded that rule to say no milk with meat. Which means no cheeseburgers. But look, the reality is there are 613 different rules and laws that all go to being God's separate and distinctive people. Different from everyone else. Israelite don't wear clothes made of two different fibres. Simply as a reminder that they're meant to be distinctive and unmixed people chosen, you'll remember, to "keep the way of the Lord by doing what's right and just... so that the Lord will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him."

All those laws. Given to Moses. As they head for the promised land.

And so as they're about to cross the River Jordan and take the land, Moses stands; and delivers... a blistering sermon.

We're in the book of Deuteronomy. Chapters 29 and 30. And he puts the options. As you're coming in to the land promised Abraham, there's a stark choice.

Either be the people God's called you to be.

Or not.

The kind of sermon your mum used to give as you were about to go into grandma's. Behave yourselves and don't break the Wedgwood. Or I'll send you back to the car.

That's Moses in Deuteronomy 29 and 30.

Can I ask you to turn to it. The passage we read before. And pick up in chapter 29 verse 19, don't think you can just do what you like. And think you're safe. Don't think you can just worship the Gods of the other nations and there won't be consequences. Don't think you can just go your own way. And keep living in the promised land.

And so if one day, says Moses, and so one day, in the future, if people are standing there looking at a smoking ruin. If one day, people are asking, "What happened here?" You'll know what went wrong.

HIROSHIMA

Lou and I were in Hiroshima a few years ago. Ground zero. Right under where the bomb exploded. There's the framework of this one building that was left standing. Everything else flattened. And all around, at strategic places, there were plaques. Explaining what had happened. And why.

Moses says, put this on the plaque. Deuteronomy 29 verse 25:

It is because this people abandoned the covenant of the Lord the God of their ancestors, the covenant he made with them when he brought them out of Egypt. They went off and worshipped other gods and bowed down to them... Which is why in great wrath the Lord uprooted them from their land and thrust them into another land, as it is now.

Now remember. They're not even in the promised land yet. But that's the warning from god through Moses. That's the threat.

They'll either live with God as their God under the blessings of the covenant. Or they won't. And live under the consequences. outside the land.

Again, can I encourage you as Bible readers when you come to a point like that, so full of promise... to ask the question, which future do you reckon it's going to be? Given what we know about their hearts? If it was you there. How do you reckon you'd go?

Remember, we're in episode 2. Of a five episode epic. It's too soon to call. And that's the hanging question. We don't know the answer because we haven't read that far. But you might have a suspicion.

Sounds to me like Moses - as he makes this speech in Deuteronomy - sounds like Moses isn't particularly optimistic. As we follow his words into Deuteronomy chapter 30.

Because it's all about what to do. When things go wrong.

My Dad used to say to me when I was a little kid, I still remember it. He must have thought I was heading for a life of crime. But he said to me always remember, no matter what you do wrong. You can always come home.

Which in a way is just a great thing for a dad to say

Listen what God says to Israel. Through Moses. And if you can, follow it in your Bible. Our key passage.

When all these blessings and curses I've set before you come on you and you take them to heart wherever the Lord your God disperses you among the nations, and when you and your children return to the lord your God and obey him with all your heart and with all your soul according to everything I command you today then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes and have compassion on you and gather you again from all the nations where he scattered you. Even if it's the most distant land under the heavens. He'll bring you back. To the land of your ancestors. And you'll prosper again.

But more important of all, verse 6, then, I'll change your hearts.

I'll circumcise your hearts. Which is a particularly Jewish way of putting it. Every male descendant of Abraham was circumcised to mark them as part of the tribe.

Now. In the future. After they've been smashed and scattered because of their unfaithful wrongly inclined hearts. When they finally learn their lesson and come back, then God's going to mark them out as different not because of their physical circumcision. But by their changed hearts.

Read the words in verse 6. Because if you're frustrated by that heart inclination problem I've been talking about, it's a real glimmer of hope.

The Lord your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live.

All you've got to do Israel, is turn back to me. With all your heart and soul. And obey these covenant laws I'm giving you through Moses as if you really mean it. And then I'll change your hearts. So you can.

Which is, when you think about it, a kind of chicken and egg situation.

Sounds reasonable in one way. Except. For the inclination of their hearts. Which when the worst comes to the worst, could be a problem! So how's it going to go?

Turn the page in your Bible and it's the book of Joshua. The story of taking the promised land. The 12 tribes of Israel. Taking their appointed places.

Fast forward to the book of Judges. Which on one level is the story of hero leaders like Gideon. And Sampson. But in the background is really the story of Israel being sucked into idol worship. Over and over again.

The book of Ruth. A glimmer of hope. In an unlikely family line that leads to the genealogy of a future king named David.

Two books of Samuel. Telling the story of how that shepherd boy David rises through the ranks to become king. A man after God's own heart. And yet. Who profoundly fails.

It's worth flipping the pages with me just to get a feel of how the Old Testament works. Maybe you've never done this before.

The first book of Kings. Picks up the reign of Solomon. Who in spite of his wisdom in writing good proverbs. Totally screws things up. A civil war. Chapter 11. Israel splits into North and South.

The ten northern tribes keep the name Israel. The two southern tribes. Take the name Judah. And keep the city of Jerusalem.

But worse than that. Solomon marries foreign wives. Who bring with them their foreign gods. And Solomon is sucked in to breaking rule number 1. No. Other. Gods. But. Me.

And so do almost all the kings who follow him. With just two exceptions. And so by the end of 2 kings... it happens.

First in the year 722 BC, the northern tribes are crushed by Assyria. Taken into exile. Gone.

Then 150 years or so later... 587 BC. Judah. Crushed. Exiled to Babylon. Where the survivors famously sat by the river and wept. According to Boney M. And the book of Lamentations. That's what they're lamenting about.

And then Nehemiah. Finally, as Babylon decrees they can go home. Helping rebuilt the Jerusalem wall. But mainly. And this is what his book's really about. Praying that the people of Judah who come back will really repent. And take God seriously from the heart. So God will do what he promised and circumcise their hearts.

But by the end of the book of Nehemiah. They're back into the same-old same-old. Most specifically, and Nehemiah just can't believe it; marrying into the pagan tribes around them. And bowing down to their gods. Just like Solomon did. All over again.

And so we're left with the question. Where will we ever find an Israel that's prepared to turn back to God and obey; heart and soul? And so bring God's blessing again?

Because that's the hanging promise in Deuteronomy 30. What's it going to take. To turn the tide?

Maybe even if there was just one Israelite like that. wholehearted. In obedience. Maybe a king in the line of David, who didn't fail?

By the time you get through the story of the Old Testament it's pretty clear it's going to need a miracle. To turn things around. And that's exactly the miracle we're going to see next week. In episode 3.

WHAT'S THE HOPE?

But for today, let's pull a few threads together. And see if there are some helpful conclusions.

Number 1. We make a mistake if we read the Old Testament and we think that the answer to the human heart problem is more religion and rules.

COVENANT

Presbyterians, through the generations, have sometimes tended to think that way. And look, if you're someone keen to honour the Bible, if you want a life of living Biblically, maybe you think that's what you need to do. Even though we're what the Bible calls Gentiles and not Jews.

But the first covenant didn't work. In making Israel righteous then. And it doesn't work now. We'll see why when we look at Hebrews chapter 8 in Episode 4.

And so ultimately even though you can open random pages of the Old Testament and there are plenty of rules and laws; the big story is the story of how the first covenant didn't work. To change hearts. And that episode. Episode 2. Is now over.

Episode 3 is Christ. And if you've been around a while you'll probably know he's the answer to the need for a proper Israel. He's going to be the answer to new hearts. To change from the inside. Rather than laws from the outside. As he unleashes God's Spirit.

More of that in episode 4.

I want to close by sneaking a look ahead in the New Testament to Acts chapter 15, where there's confusion about exactly this question. How people like us, the Gentiles, fit in.

Because we were always meant to. To share the promise of blessing. But the question is, do we share it by going all the way back to episode 2 and the old covenant of rituals and laws. And some thought that's exactly what we needed. Huge debate.

They've come from Judea to Antioch and there's a meeting; to argue it out. And then some of the believers who are from the party of the Pharisees, who you might know were always big on rules; they say:

The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to keep the law of Moses.

And the apostles and the elders, they meet for a while. And they say, no. That was back in episode 2.

I want you to look carefully at their words. Acts 15. From verse 7. And again, this is jumping us forward across the next two episodes. A preview.

After much discussion, Peter gets up and says this. He says gentiles have been hearing the gospel. And God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. He did not discriminate between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith. Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of Gentiles a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors have been able to bear? No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.

HEART

Point made. If you want to straighten up your heart problem, leave the past. In the past. The law. Didn't fix hearts. But Jesus, by the Spirit, does.

Which is, according to Peter, the only way. For hearts to change. Not by laws. Or rules. Or self discipline. Or trying harder. Or being more religious. Or being more "woke" and getting all politically correct. None of it fixes the heart problem. But Jesus does. You'll need to stick around for the next few weeks to see how it all plays out. But the point is, this is a long story. But it's actually personal. It's about my heart. And your heart. It's a long story. But by the end, people like you and me actually get to be in it. Which when you realise you've got a heart problem, is actually great news.

Table of Contents

PUSHING UP HILL

CREATION

COVENANT

HIROSHIMA

WHAT'S THE HOPE?

COVENANT

HEART