Extraordinary Ordinary - Part 3
June 12, 2022Today's message was given by Pastor Travis Deatherage. A video of the message is here. "God makes the ordinary extraordinary." Today, Travis focused on getting from stirred to committed. Click here for the Conversation Starter for the week that TimberCreek Church provided.
Among many other good points, Pastor Travis noted that committing to Christ often comes with a cost. There are numerous accounts in the Torah that demonstrate this lesson. None may surpass the story of Abraham, Sarah, and their son Isaac. Abraham passed the test God put before him regarding Isaac, but at the cost of Abraham and Sarah's marriage. It is quite clear in the text that Abraham and Sarah separated and lived in distant cities from each other after the Isaac episode. Only at Sarah's death do we see Abraham traveling to where she lived in order to mourn her and get a burial plot for her (and the family). See Genesis 22:19 for Abraham's whereabouts, Beersheba, and Genesis 23:2 for Sarah's whereabouts in Hebron (in Canaan). It should not surprise anyone that Sarah wasn't OK at all with Abraham going to sacrifice her son. Why doesn't the Torah come out directly and say they were separated? Unknown. Maybe because it was too painful to say out loud. Following God has its costs.
Travis notes that Peter takes Jesus aside and "rebukes" Him (saying there's no way He's being killed). Jesus says, basically, get thee behind me Satan. The Torah is perfectly comfortable with arguing with God, but also to a point. The name "Israel" literally means "struggle with God." And we see the patriarchs argue with God all the time. For example, Abrahama argues with God about saving Sodom, "if 50 righteous people can be found there." He finally gets God down to 10, but that's it, end of discussion. The "to a point" has been reached. See Genesis 18:22-33. In the Torah, and throughout the Bible, you generally better be arguing on behalf of others, not yourself. This questioning, I think, is in keeping with pedagogical reality. One learns by asking questions. One also learns by repetition.
Another point Travis made is that we often ask, "what's in it for me?" This smacks of dealmaking with God. I do x for you, you do y for me. The Torah is not big on making vows with God, in any form. The Torah deals with one form of deal making in the Nazarite law (Numbers 6). Here the person wants to engage in a form of asceticism, self-denial, austensibly to get closer to God. God says, in effect, if you must, OK, but here are the rules. And you better hold up your end! And at the end, bring a sin offering to Me, for I see this vow and your behavior like a sin.
There are, however, "arrangements" with God. They're called covenants and usually are between God and groups of people or all people. They come in two forms: unconditional and conditional. An example of an unconditional covenant is God's covenant spoken to Noah (Genesis 9). "I won't destroy the world by flood again." There is no requirement on the part of humankind. Note, however, that God promises only not to destroy the world by flood again. That leaves the door open a bit. He also didn't say He would protect the world from humankind destroying it. But I digress. The covenant with Moses is conditional. You do A and I'll do X, you do B and I'll do Y (Deuteronomy 11), blessings and curses.
Deals with God are pretty risky anyway. If in the distance you see tons of smoke coming up from your home's area, you say, "please God, don't let it be my house." But hold on. You're actually praying that it be someone else's house. Tread carefully making deals with God.
Bonus
Who sold Joseph into slavery? The literal translation of Genesis 37:28 reads, "Midianite traders passed by and they pulled him out of the pit and they sold him to the Ishmaelites for 20 shekels of silver and they (Ishmaelites) took him to Egypt." It was not his brothers who sold him into slavery.
Who actually stated the lie that Joseph was killed by a wild animal? Not the brothers, it was Jacob, Joseph's father! See Genesis 37:33. Though, in all fairness, the brothers set him up to think that.