grace and hell

Posted on April 22, 2014 by Jefferson Vann

042214

Matthew 13:36-43

36 Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples came to him, saying, “Explain to us the story of the poisonous weeds of the field.”

37 He answered, “The one who plants the good seed is the Son of Man.

38 The field is the world, but the good seed — these are the children of the kingdom. The weeds are the children of the evil one,

39 and the enemy who planted them is the devil. The harvest is the conclusion of the age, and the harvesters are angels.

40 Just as the weeds are gathered and burned up with fire, so will it be at the conclusion of the age.

41 The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers,

42 and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

43 Then the righteous ones will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him listen.

_________________________________________

grace and hell

The story of the poisonous weeds is all about hell – the destruction of all evil at the conclusion of this age when Jesus returns. Yet it also reveals the wonderful grace of our Lord.

1. His grace to you, believer, because there is still so much of the old you in your life. It is sometimes difficult for even you to tell which is which. Trust in the grace of the one who planted you. He will see to it that you are in the right harvest – that you will outlast your doubts and difficulties.

2. His grace to you, sinner. You have rejected the maker of all life, yet he has decided to give you time. He has every right to rid this world of its imperfections, and you have no right to question him. Yet, every morning you wake to the same sunshine and joy. Do not take that grace for granted. This age of grace has a conclusion. Seek him while it may be found.

3. His grace even to those who will reject him. God’s goodness will not allow a blight in his future harvest. His eternity will not be populated by the same mix of evil and good that it presently contains. In his grace he will allow all the poisonous weeds to be burned up. On judgment day, many will weep in sorrow over the fact that they rejected the gospel. Many will gnash their teeth in anger at the God who is condemning them to permanent death. But even these will understand that there is no room for them in an eternity where righteousness alone lives.

LORD, thank you for the grace behind your promise to rescue us from hell, and thank you for the grace of hell itself – the solution for the problem of rebellious sin in this world.

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another life

Posted on April 21, 2014 by Jefferson Vann

042114

Genesis 36:15-43

15 These are the leaders of the sons of Esau. The sons of Eliphaz the firstborn of Esau: the leaders Teman, Omar, Zepho, Kenaz,

16 Korah, Gatam, and Amalek; these are the leaders of Eliphaz in the land of Edom; these are the sons of Adah. 17 These are the sons of Reuel, Esau’s son: the leaders Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah; these are the leaders of Reuel in the land of Edom; these are the sons of Basemath, Esau’s wife.

18 These are the sons of Ohol-ibamah, Esau’s wife: the leaders Jeush, Jalam, and Korah; these are the leaders born of Oholibamah the daughter of Anah, Esau’s wife.

19 These are the sons of Esau ( that is, Edom), and these are their leaders. 20 These are the sons of Seir the Horite, the inhabitants of the land: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah,

21 Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan; these are the leaders of the Horites, the sons of Seir in the land of Edom.

22 The sons of Lotan were Hori and Hemam; and Lotan’s sister was Timna.

23 These are the sons of Shobal: Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho, and Onam.

24 These are the sons of Zibeon: Aiah and Anah; he is the Anah who found the hot springs in the wilderness, as he pastured the donkeys of Zibeon his father.

25 These are the children of Anah: Dishon and Oholibamah the daughter of Anah. 26 These are the sons of Dishon: Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran, and Cheran.

27 These are the sons of Ezer: Bilhan, Zaavan, and Akan.

28 These are the sons of Dishan: Uz and Aran.

29 These are the leaders of the Horites: the leaders Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah,

30 Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan; these are the leaders of the Horites, leader by leader in the land of Seir.

31 These are the kings who reigned in the land of Edom, before any king reigned over the Israelites.

32 Bela the son of Beor reigned in Edom, the name of his city being Dinhabah. 33 Bela died, and Jobab the son of Zerah of Bozrah reigned in his place.

34 Jobab died, and Husham of the land of the Temanites reigned in his place.

35 Husham died, and Hadad the son of Bedad, who defeated Midian in the country of Moab, reigned in his place, the name of his city being Avith.

36 Hadad died, and Samlah of Masrekah reigned in his place.

37 Samlah died, and Shaul of Rehoboth on the Euphrates reigned in his place.

38 Shaul died, and Baal-hanan the son of Achbor reigned in his place.

39 Baal-hanan the son of Achbor died, and Hadar reigned in his place, the name of his city being Pau; his wife’s name was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred, daughter of Mezahab.

40 These are the names of the leaders of Esau, according to their clans and their dwelling places, by their names: the leaders Timna, Alvah, Jetheth,

41 Oholibamah, Elah, Pinon,

42 Kenaz, Teman, Mibzar,

43 Magdiel, and Iram; these are the leaders of Edom (that is, Esau, the father of Edom), according to their dwelling places in the land of their possession.

_______________________

another life

The Edomites produced many great leaders, and these had a significant impact on their world before the glory days of Israel. For some people, all they hope for is to be like that – to make their mark upon their world, and then to fade away into memory. God wants more from us. He wants us to have true significance. That is one reason that his plan for us includes a resurrection unto eternal life. No matter how important a life is, it is still only a shadow, destined to pass away quickly.[1]

Perhaps you are at a point in your life where you are beginning to see that you are not going to make the kind of mark on this world that you thought. That can be disappointing. But it helps to realize that the LORD has called you to another life – a truly significant one. Compared to what you will be, your whole life now is simply a dress rehearsal.

LORD, help us to make every day count, but if we face the disappointment of days of insignificance, remind us of your promise of another life – a resurrection life.

[1] Job 8:9; 14:1-2; 1 Chronicles 29:15; Psalm 144:4; Ecclesiastes 6:12.

Posted in Esau, eternal life, hope, resurrection | Tagged | 1 Comment

we become the message

Posted on April 20, 2014 by Jefferson Vann

042014

Matthew 13:31-35

31 He entrusted another parable to them, saying, “The kingdom from the sky is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and planted in his field.

32 It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is largest of the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”

33 He told them another parable. “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all permeated.”

34 All these things Jesus said to the crowds using stories; indeed, he said nothing to them without a story.

35 This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet: “I will open my mouth with stories; Using them I will utter what has been hidden since the foundation of the world.” _________________________________________

we become the message

As Jesus tells these stories, it soon becomes evident that the referent of the seed morphs into something else. At first, the seed is the word of God, which is how Luke records Jesus explaining it.[1] That message is received well by some soils (lives), and not so well by others. But those lives who receive the seed are transformed into it. We become the message. We expand with it, and become permeated with it. That is why Jesus can also say – without contradiction – that the good seed is “the children of the kingdom.”[2] Once he gets the divine message into us, we become the divine message for others.

Elsewhere, Jesus uses the mustard seed as a symbol of faith,[3] but here he uses it as a symbol of evangelism. His point is that once empowered by God’s message, even the smallest of lives will become larger than life. No one should underestimate her capacity to impact the world for Christ and his kingdom.

The yeast now becomes the message, and once it is worked into the lump of dough, it permeates it entirely. That is how discipleship works. Christ’s kingdom is first a part of your existence, but it grows within you, and soon becomes inseparable from the rest of you. You never cease being you, but you do change.

LORD, as we become your message to the lost, help us to submit to the change, so that the lost may hear your message of grace in us clearly.

[1] Luke 8:11.

[2] Matthew 13:38.

[3] Matthew 17:20; Luke 17:6.

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true blessing

Posted on April 19, 2014 by Jefferson Vann

041914

Genesis 36:1-14

These are the generations of Esau (also known as Edom).

2 Esau took his wives from the Canaanites: Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite, Oholibamah the daughter of Anah the daughter of Zibeon the Hivite,

3 and Basemath, the daughter of Ishmael, the sister of Nebaioth.

4 And Adah gave birth to Eliphaz for Esau; Basemath gave birth to Reuel;

5 and Oholibamah gave birth to Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. These are the sons of Esau who were given birth to for him in the land of Canaan.

6 Then Esau took his wives, his sons, his daughters, and all the members of his household, his livestock, all his animals, and all his property that he had acquired in the land of Canaan. He went into a land some distance from his brother Jacob.

7 This was because their property was too much for them to live together. The land of their travelings could not support them because of their livestock.

8 So Esau settled in the hill country of Seir. ( Esau is Edom.)

9 These are the generations of Esau the father of the Edomites in the hill country of Seir.

10 These are the names of the sons of Esau: Eliphaz the son of Adah the wife of Esau, Reuel the son of Basemath the wife of Esau.

11 The sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, and Kenaz.

12 (Timna was a concubine of Eliphaz, Esau’s son; she bore Amalek to Eliphaz.) These are the sons of Adah, Esau’s wife.

13 These are the sons of Reuel: Nahath, Zerah, Sham-mah, and Mizzah. These are the sons of Basemath, Esau’s wife.

14 These are the sons of Oholibamah the daughter of Anah the daughter of Zibeon, Esau’s wife: she gave birth to Jeush, Jalam, and Korah for Esau.

_______________________

true blessing

This chapter contains mostly genealogical information about Esau and his descendants. It explains how his family became prominent in the land of Seir, and eventually possessed all the land. The Israelites in Moses’ day would call them the Edomites. Esau’s descendants were chiefs and kings long before Jacob’s descendants were. They were blessed, but they were not the blessed. Likewise, you will probably meet many who are richer and more prominent than you may become in this life. Do not worry. The future will show who the truly blessed are.

The truly blessed are the eternally blessed. Our evaluation of our identity and status needs to take into account the forever promises of God. When that happens, we can look at all the wealth and happiness of the world around us, and thank the LORD that he has blessed others, while at the same time being uniquely grateful for the eternal blessings we will experience through Christ.

LORD, we trust you to keep all your promises to us. The prosperity and fame of those outside your covenant will not deter us from keeping it.

Posted in discernment, Esau, future | Tagged | 1 Comment

when bad seed crops up

Posted on April 18, 2014 by Jefferson Vann

041814

Matthew 13:24-30

24 Another story he set before them went like this: “The kingdom from the sky may be compared to a man who planted good seed in his field,

25 but while his men were sleeping, his opponent came and sowed poisonous weeds[1] among the wheat and went away.

26 So when the plants came up and produced grain, then the poisonous weeds appeared also.

27 And the workers of the master of the house came and asked him, ‘Master, did you not plant proper seed in your field? Then why does it have poisonous weeds?’

28 He said to them, ‘An opponent has done this.’ So the workers said to him, ‘Do you want us to go and gather them now?’

29 But he said, ‘No, when you gather the poisonous weeds you might root up the wheat along with them.

30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the harvesters, Gather the poisonous weeds first and tie them in bundles to destroy by burning,[2] but gather the wheat into my barn.'”

_________________________________________

when bad seed crops up

This story focuses on the fact that the world contains many who appear to be citizens of the coming kingdom but are not. It has an eschatological element (because of the future harvest it depicts). But Jesus told the story to his disciples because they would lead a church which would sometimes find it difficult to distinguish itself from the world around it. The field is not the church, but the world. It would contain a great number of “good” “decent” sinners, who would reject the gospel. They would look a lot like the wheat that the Master planted, but would be inwardly poisonous. His instruction to his disciples was for them not to try and rid the world of those “good” “decent” sinners. The future harvest will show them for what they really are.

LORD, help us to focus on spreading the message of the gospel, and not to worry about trying to get rid of those who reject it. You have that covered.

[1] zizánion: “a particularly undesirable weed resembling wheat and possessing a seed which is poisonous” (Louw-Nida Lexicon).

[2] katakaío: “to destroy something by burning” (Louw-Nida Lexicon); “destroy by fire, consume by fire” (Friberg Lexicon).

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death not a gateway

Posted on April 17, 2014 by Jefferson Vann

041714

Genesis 35:16-29

16 Then they traveled from Bethel. When they were still some distance from Ephrath, Rachel went into labor, and she had hard labor.

17 And when her labor was at its hardest, the midwife said to her, “Do not fear, because you have another son.”

18 And her soul was giving out (for she was dying), so she called his name Ben-oni;[1] but his father called him Benjamin.[2]

19 So Rachel died, and she was buried on the way to Ephrath (also known as Bethlehem),

20 and Jacob set up a monument over her tomb. It is the monument of Rachel’s tomb, which is there to this day.

21 Israel traveled on and pitched his tent beyond the tower of Eder.

22 While Israel was still living in that land, Reuben went and had sexual relations with Bilhah his father’s concubine. And Israel heard of it. Now the sons of Jacob were twelve.

23 The sons of Leah: Reuben (Jacob’s firstborn), Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun.

24 The sons of Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin.

25 The sons of Bilhah ( Rachel’s servant): Dan and Naphtali.

26 The sons of Zilpah ( Leah’s servant): Gad and Asher. These were the sons of Jacob who were born to him in Paddan-aram.

27 And Jacob came to his father Isaac at Mamre, or Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had traveled.

28 Now the days of Isaac were 180 years.

29 And Isaac stopped breathing and died and, was gathered to his people, old and full of days. And those who buried him were Esau and Jacob, his sons.

_______________________

death not a gateway

The deaths of Rachel and Isaac are described in this passage. Rachel’s soul gives out from the strain of her last childbirth. Isaac just stops breathing from old age. There is not the slightest hint in these passages that their real person survived the ordeal. They really died. Their deaths was not the gateway to other lives. Their deaths were the end of their lives. Any promise of a future life would depend not on some immortal soul within them. In fact, it describes Rachel’s soul as giving out. It could no longer live. No, any promise of new life that these saints had would depend on the resurrection power of God. He does not rescue us through death, he will rescue us from it.

LORD, thank you for the resurrection and the life, who is Jesus Christ. On him we place our hope. He is our destiny.

[1] Ben-oni = son of my sorrow, or son of my (last) strength.

[2] Benjamin = son of my right hand (full strength).

Posted in Isaac, Jacob, mortality, resurrection | Tagged | 1 Comment

when good seed goes wrong

Posted on April 16, 2014 by Jefferson Vann

041614

Matthew 13:18-23

18 “So listen to the parable of the planter:

19 When anyone hears the message about the coming kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been planted in his heart. This is what was planted along the path.

20 As for what was planted on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the message and immediately receives it with joy,

21 yet he has no internal root, so stays true for a while, but when troubles or opposition arise on account of the message, he falls away right then.

22 As for what was planted among thorns, this is the one who hears the message, but the worries of the age and the untrustworthiness of riches choke the message, and it becomes unfruitful.

23 As for what was planted on good soil, this is the one who hears the message and understands it. He really bears fruit and produces, in one case a hundred times as much, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”

_________________________________________

when good seed goes wrong

The evidence seems to suggest that the first major evangelistic campaign of the Jesus and his disciples was less than successful. Although the witness to Jewish Galilee was accompanied by powerful miracles, the region ultimately rejected the good news of the coming kingdom. This is why Jesus condemned the major cities who had been the recipients of that evangelistic campaign.[1]

Part of what Jesus is doing here, with his explanation of the parable of the planter, is defending the evangelistic work against possible charges that it – or the message itself – is to blame for the failure. All the seed (at least in this parable) is good, proper seed. Neither the planter nor his methods are at fault.

No, the fault of failed evangelism in this case is with the recipients. They had three major defects which rendered their soil incapable of producing a harvest.

  1. They lacked the understanding necessary for the truth to remain.
  2. They lacked the internal fortitude to withstand the pressure of opposition.
  3. They lacked the wisdom to focus on their future, and were distracted by present worries and passions.

LORD, as your servants, we pray for a good harvest in all our evangelistic efforts, but if that does not happen, help us to trust you and keep proclaiming the message.

[1] Matthew 11:21-24.

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another new start

Posted on April 15, 2014 by Jefferson Vann

041514

Genesis 35:1-15

And God said to Jacob, “Get up, go up to Bethel and live there. Make an altar there to the God who appeared to you when you had escaped from your brother Esau.”

2 So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, “throw away the foreign gods that you are keeping and purify yourselves and change your clothes.

3 Then let us get up and go up to Bethel, so that I may make there an altar to the God who answers me in the day of my stress and has been with me wherever I have gone.”

4 So they gave to Jacob all the foreign gods that they had, and the rings that were in their ears. Jacob buried them under the oak tree that was near Shechem.

5 And as they set out, a terror from God fell upon the cities that were around them, so that they did not attack the sons of Jacob.

6 And Jacob arrived at Luz (also known as Bethel), which is in the land of Canaan, he and all the people who were with him,

7 so he built an altar there and called the place El-bethel, because there God had revealed himself to him when he had escaped from his brother.

8 And Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died, and she was buried under an oak below Bethel. So he called its name Allon-bacuth.[1]

9 Then God appeared to Jacob again, when he came from Paddan-aram, and blessed him.

10 And God said to him, “Your name is Jacob; but your name will no longer be called Jacob, but Israel will be your name.” So he called his name Israel.

11 And God said to him, “I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply. A nation and a company of nations shall come from you, and kings shall come out of your own loins.

12 The land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac I will give to you, and I will give the land to your offspring after you.”

13 Then God ascended from him in the place where he had spoken with him.

14 And Jacob set up a memorial in the place where he had spoken with him, a memorial of stone. He poured out a drink offering on it and poured oil on it.

15 So Jacob named the place where God had spoken with him Bethel.

_______________________

another new start

The incidents at Shechem had unnerved Jacob, and he was ready to start anew with his relationship with the God of his fathers. He could not escape his past, but he could make a new effort to grasp his future. That happens to us as believers many times. God does not forsake us when we fail him. He loves us so much that he sacrificed the life of his only Son on a cross for us. He is ready for us when we are ready for him.

Child of God, have you gotten yourself in another tight spot? Have you embarrassed yourself by how selfish you have acted, and by how reckless you have lived. Perhaps you are ready for yet another new start. Rest assured, God is where you left him. He is at your Bethel, and he wants to bless you. Bury all those foreign gods that you have let distract you from your relationship with him, change your clothes, and set course for Bethel again. It is not too late.

LORD, forgive us for being distracted again. We want you, and only you. Help us to make a clean break, and start anew.

[1][1] Allon-bacuth = the oak of weeping.

Posted in commitment, discipleship, Jacob, relationship with God | Tagged | 1 Comment

spiritual sensitivity

Posted on April 14, 2014 by Jefferson Vann

041414

Matthew 13:15-17

15 For this people’s heart has become insensitive, and with their ears they hear only with difficulty, and they have closed their eyes, on the odd chance that they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and come back, and I would heal them.’

16 But your eyes are being blessed, because they now see, and your ears, because they now hear.

17 Honestly, I am telling you, many prophets and righteous people looked forward to seeing what you now see, but they did not see it then, and to hearing what you now hear, but they did not hear it then.

_________________________________________

spiritual sensitivity

The crowds of Jewish Galilee had made their choice. They were now rejecting Christ and his message, although they had had the most intense evangelistic exposure anywhere at any time. Jesus explains that they had become insensitive in their hearts. They had chosen to blind their eyes to all those manifestations of the Holy Spirit – the healings and deliverances. They would listen to Jesus’ words, but they did so with difficulty, as if they had already taught themselves what he was going to say. So they would not respond to his challenges. If they would correspond to any of the paths in Jesus’ parable, it would be either the hard, rocky ground, or – for some of them – the thorny ground.

Anyone with any religious experience can become that way. We can judge everything we hear and see on the basis of our past experiences. Faith in Christ and his coming kingdom is all about being open to change, and expectant of something new. We need to be open to what the Holy Spirit wants to do now, and what he is going to do next. Without that spiritual sensitivity, we might lose out on something vital.

LORD, forgive us for being ignorant of what you want to say, even as we read or listen to your words in Scripture. Give us spiritual sensitivity.

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consequences of avenging a rape

Posted on April 13, 2014 by Jefferson Vann

041314

Genesis 34:13-31

13 But sons of Jacob answered Shechem and his father Hamor treacherously, because he had defiled Dinah, their sister.

14 They said to them, “We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to a person who is uncircumcised, because that would bring shame on us.

15 We will agree with you on this condition – that you will become like we are by every male among you becoming circumcised.

16 Then we will give our daughters to you, and we will take your daughters to ourselves, and we will dwell with you and become one people.

17 But if you will not listen to us and be circumcised, then we will take our daughter, and we will go away.”

18 Their words seemed good to Hamor and Hamor’s son Shechem.

19 And the young man did not delay to do the thing, because he wanted Jacob’s daughter. Now he was the most privileged of all his father’s house.

20 So Hamor and his son Shechem came to the gate of their city and appealed to the men of their city, saying,

21 “These men are at peace with us; let them dwell in the land and trade in it, for behold, the land is large enough for them. Let us take their daughters as wives, and let us give them our daughters.

22 The men will agree to dwell with us to become one people on this condition- that every male among us is circumcised like they are circumcised.

23 Will not their livestock, their property and all their animals be ours? let us agree with them, and then they will live among us.”

24 And all who went out of the gate of his city listened to Hamor and his son Shechem, and every male was circumcised, all who went out of the gate of his city.

25 On the third day, when they were still sore, two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, took their swords and came against the city while it felt secure and killed all the males.

26 They killed Hamor and his son Shechem with the sword and took Dinah out of Shechem’s house and went away.

27 Those sons of Jacob went to the place of the slain and plundered the city, because they had defiled their sister.

28 They took their flocks and their herds, their donkeys, and whatever was in the city and in the field.

29 All their property, all their little ones and their wives, all that was in the houses, they captured and plundered.

30 But Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have brought trouble on me by making me stink to the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites and the Perizzites. My numbers are few, and if they gather themselves against me and attack me, I shall be destroyed, both I and my household.”

31 But they said, “Should he have treated our sister like a whore?” _______________________

consequences of avenging a rape

Two wrongs do not make a right. The rape of Dinah by Shechem was inexcusable. But the treachery of Jacob’s sons in insisting that the men of the town be circumcised – only to weaken them so that they could attack and kill them – was also wrong on so many levels. Fast forward into the future and you will see some of the consequences of this tragedy:

1. Simeon and Levi had taken it upon himself to avenge Dinah’s rape by murdering the inhabitants of Shechem. They would both lose the inheritance due to the oldest and it would go to Judah instead (Reuben would lose this privilege for another reason).

2. Jacob was right in assuming that this event would cause lasting enmity between his family and the Canaanites and Perrizites.

3. Some of the Israelites who would return to possess this land were actually descendants of the Shechemites (29).

LORD, help us to see that there can be lasting consequences when we insist on getting even with those who have wronged us.

Posted in depravity, discernment, Jacob, responsibility | Tagged | 1 Comment