Tag: God

Wrestling with God

by Matthew Stidham, posted in Genesis, Life

Last week our focus was on Abraham and the faithfulness God showed he and Sarah by keeping his promises even when they tried to take a shortcut.

This week we will talk about a difficult character to address: Jacob. Even from the beginning Jacob showed signs of who he would become as he exited the womb grabbing the heel of his brother. He’s given the name “Jacob” which means he grabs the heel. That’s an interesting little bit of information, but when you realize what he grabs the heel in Hebrew is an idiom for he takes advantage of, or he deceives, the story gets more interesting. Seriously, who would want to name their child “deceiver” when they are born?

As we look at the story of Jacob we find out he deceives and takes advantage of situations quite often. He extorts his brother’s birthright (Gen. 25:29-34), he stole his brother’s blessing (Gen. 27:5ff), he deceptively builds great herds and flocks from his father-in-law (Gen. 30:41-43), and the list goes on and on. Not exactly role model material in some ways.

And yet, in some ways he’s exactly who we should be. Our sermon this week will focus on Jacob wrestling with God. We’ll explore the details of the story Sunday, but for now I want you to consider if you ever find yourself wrestling with God about something? I would say most often those times of wrestling are brought on by our desires. We want something and initiate the wrestling in hopes of getting our way. In Jacob’s case it is God who initiates the wrestling.

Why would God physically wrestle with Jacob? 

That’s a great question to wrestle with ourselves. Jacob’s story is a strange one that ends in a strange way. But the episode ends with God changing Jacob’s name to Israel which means he struggles with God. Think about this for a moment. The entire nation of Jacob’s descendants came to be known as those who struggle with God. And that title applies to us as well since Scripture tells us we have been grafted into Israel (Eph. 2:11-22).

We’ll explore other points of this text on Sunday, but for now I want you to find peace if you are wrestling with God. Jacob persisted in wrestling with God because he wanted to receive a blessing. I pray that’s why you are wrestling with God, and that the blessing comes to you as well. 

We can wrestle with God, his promises, his purposes, his Word, and walk away blessed. Just as Jacob limped away we will be changed by the encounter, but if we are persistent in our wrestling we too can be blessed through the encounter.

(Sermon text for 9/22: Genesis 32:9-13; 22-30; Mark 14:32-36)

Daily Psalms – Psalm 82

by Matthew Stidham, posted in Divine Council, Psalms

Daily Psalm Reading – Psalm 81-85

Psalm 82 is a short psalm, but one that is debated as to its exact meaning. I’ll provide two summary explanations, the first as we traditionally view this psalm, and the second how the original readers would have likely understood this psalm. I intend later to do a more in depth analysis of this psalm and its implications on how we read the Bible, but today will serve simply to get us thinking.

The traditional reading of Psalm 82 goes something like this:

  • V. 1 states that God is present when his people gather together (“divine assembly”), and that he passes judgement upon false gods or idols (v. 1).
  • Vv. 2-4 scold the assembly for not pursuing justice in the world.
  • Verse 5 talks about the foolishness of idolatry…afterall, didn’t Paul tell us that idols aren’t anything anyway, sort of like what we read here?
  • V. 6-7 show that humans and false gods, or those who claim to be divine, will die like anyone else.
  • V. 8 calls for God to bring his judgement and acknowledges that God is over all nations, not idols.

There are variations to this view of Psalm 82, but this pretty much gives the gist of what is going on with this view. And I will say that nothing stated above is Scripturally inaccurate. God is the God of all…no idols or false gods compare. Our God will judge all. Israel failed time and again to bring about justice in the ways they dealt with others. Nothing said above is Scripturally inaccurate. What may be inaccurate is what we are missing by reading this psalm out of context with the worldview of ancient Israel, and the rest of Scripture.

If you are unfamiliar with the concept of the “Divine Council,” then this next section may really stretch your wineskins. I’m going to recommend a book up front, Unseen Realm by Dr. Michael Heiser, and you would also benefit from listening to a series of podcasts by The Bible Project called the God Series. There’s somewhere in the neighborhood of 24 hours worth of audio study and reflection on this concept. Again much more could, should, and has been said about this psalm in light of the Divine Council view. For now, I’m just cracking the door to a whole other way of seeing the Scriptures through the eyes of the ancients.

We need to lay a bit of understanding about this passage first. The Hebrew word elohim is a class of spiritual being. When you see “God” or “gods” in the text, it’s the same Hebrew word. This is a view of one elohim passing judgement upon other elohim. “God” is not a name, it’s a class of spiritual being. We tend to capitalize the “g” in God when we are referring to the God of the Bible, Yahweh (often notated in your bible as LORD).

The Divine Council helped Yahweh rule the nations. Yahweh is the God of Israel, but there was also a god of Babylon, a god of Canaan, etc. In other words, the nations and ruling bodies on earth have a spiritual elohim behind them. Read Genesis 6 with these eyes and see what you think. Again, this deserves much more than I am going to give here, but here is a brief summary of the Divine Council view of Psalm 82.

  • V. 1 shows our God (the divine name appears nowhere in this psalm), the supreme God among all gods (heavenly beings who have authority to rule portions of the earth). He pronounces judgement against their actions.
  • Vv. 2-4 recounts all of the failings that these governing gods have done. They haven’t promoted what the supreme God has commanded. The very things that Yahweh stands for in the Scriptures are being opposed by these gods.
  • V. 5 shows those who are oppressed and neglected by the gods have no direction…nobody to care for them. This lack of divine leadership has shaken the very foundations of the earth.
  • Vv. 6-7 show the Most High’s sentence against these guilty gods. They are all offspring of the Most High (Jesus being the only unique (begotten) Son – Jn. 3:16), yet they will die just like any other ruler. The same consequences for the rebellion of mankind now will fall upon the rebellion of the guilty in the Divine Council.
  • V. 8 is a call for our God, the supreme God, to bring this jugement to pass and rule over all nations.

The first response to the Divine Council reading of Scripture seems to be confusion about our God. “I thought there was only one God?” And Scripture contains verses like this:

Give thanks to the God of gods.
His faithful love endures forever.

Psalm 136:2 CSB

For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth—AS THERE ARE MANY “GODS” and many “lords”— YET FOR US THERE IS ONE GOD, the Father. All things are from him, and we exist for him. And there is one Lord, Jesus Christ. All things are through him, and we exist through him.

1 Corinthians 8:5-6 CSB – emphasis added

Even Scripture acknowledges there are other elohim/gods. But to us, there is only one God…or in other words, we only follow one elohim. The Elohim of elohim. We follow Yahweh alone.

So if you’ve stuck with me this far, I want to hear your take on this. Are you familiar with the concept of the Divine Council? Have you read Heiser’s book? What do you think of this understanding of Psalm 82, as well as Genesis 6? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

But whatever your take is, I hope this will at least get you to spend some time in God’s WOrd. Blessings to you today!

Daily Psalms – Psalm 76

by Matthew Stidham, posted in Psalms, Scripture

Daily Psalm Reading – Psalm 76-80

Thank you to those who have reached out over the last week. It was pretty crazy with travel and family commitments. But now we return to our (mostly) daily posts from Psalms. Today we focus on Psalm 76.

Psalm 76 is a song of peace and salvation, though it may not look like it upon initial reading. It’s easy to read about Zion here and think this song is only about Jerusalem, the promised land, or some battle fought there. But we forget that Zion serves as a symbol for God’s sovereignty in all times and all places. That includes the world we live in today, as well as the new heavens and new earth to come (Rev. 21:1-4).

With this view of the Psalm, we are introduced to a God who is sovereign and is on a mission!

There he shatters the bow’s flaming arrows,
the shield, the sword, and the weapons of war.

Psalm 76:3 CSB

Where God is sovereign (which is everywhere) he is in the business of peace. This includes caring after the widow, orphan, and foreigner (Deut. 10:18), but also includes ending, and eliminating war (Isa. 2:4). It is God who shelters us and shatters the enemies efforts.

In verse 6 the psalmist reminds us of God’s efforts in the past, specifically the Exodus when Israel couldn’t fight, but God fought for them hurling horse and rider in the sea (Ex. 15:1). We are reminded through verses 7-10 of God’s might and justice that cannot be stopped (“Who can stand before you?”). And finally the summarizing point of the psalm:

Make and keep your vows
to the LORD your God;
let all who are around him bring tribute
to the awe-inspiring one.
He humbles the spirit of leaders;
he is feared by the kings of the earth.

Psalm 76:11-12 CSB

We must respond to the fact that God is sovereign in all the world! This isn’t some nugget of knowledge to stash away in our brains for future use. This is a call to live our lives in submission to him. God’s sovereignty should affect our interactions with others, our approach to the world, our pursuit of peace, the way we lead, the way we govern, the way we worship…the list is endless. God’s sovereignty should touch every aspect of our lives. And if it doesn’t, then we are living in rebellion against God. I’d like to share a quote from the New Interpreter’s Bible Commentary on this psalm:

“…Psalm 76 is finally an invitation to live under God’s sovereignty (v. 11), to adopt God’s values and God’s ways (vv. 8-9). But to stand for justice and peace in a world filled with war and injustice requires a particular understanding of sovereignty. God’s sovereignty is exercised not as sheer force but as the power of love. The world does not understand this kind of power, but it is power nonetheless (see 1 Cor 1:25). The invitation in v. 11 is ultimately an invitation to respond to God’s love.”

New Interpreter’s Bible Commentary – Vol. III, pg. 514

We have been invited to stand with God, or stand against him. To live under his reign, or in opposition to it. The choice is ours. To quote the old hymn, “What will your answer be?”

DAILY PSALM – PSALM 121

by Matthew Stidham, posted in Psalms, Scripture

Daily Psalm Reading – 121-125

I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
    where does my help come from?
My help comes from the LORD,
    the Maker of heaven and earth.

Psalm 121:1-2 NIV

Saturday night in our family devotional we discussed Romans 14:7-8. The question I asked of my family was, “What is our only hope in life and death?” Answer: Our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Yesterday as I gathered to worship with my church family, I was reminded of these verses. We sang a newer song called In the Harbor (All Will Be Well) where I was reminded once again that we have no hope unless we are anchored in the Lord.

This morning begins the songs of ascent in our psalm reading. The first song of ascent, Psalm 121 reminds me once again that my help comes from Yahweh.

This psalm is antithetical to diest view. If you are unfamiliar with the term, deists believe there is a divine being, but he is completely removed from the world and has nothing to do with it. A popular illustration of this view is this god as a clockmaker. He makes the clock, winds it, sits it on a shelf, and has nothing more to do with it. This is not our God!

Each phrase of the psalm reminds us of Yahweh’s involvement in our lives. He won’t let our foot slip (v. 3), he watches over his people (v. 4), he gives us shade (v. 5), keeps us from harm (v. 6), watches over our lives (v. 7), and will do so forever more (v. 8).

Don’t believe the lie that God is in retirement, no longer in the God business, or not involved with us in any way. That view is inaccurate and unscriptural! He is the only source of our hope. He is the only one who cares for and sustains us. Without him we would be nothing, but in him we have everything we need. As the old song says, “There is a God, He is alive, in Him we live, and we survive.”

My prayer is that we all see God at work in our lives, in our families, and in our communities today. Look for him, for he is there!

Daily Psalms – Psalm 112

by Matthew Stidham, posted in Psalms, Scripture

Daily Psalm Reading – Psalm 111-115

The most common command in all of Scripture is “do not fear.” Psalm 112 is a juxtaposition of fear.

Praise the Lord.
Blessed are those who fear the LORD,
    who find great delight in his commands.

Psalm 112:1 NIV

What does it mean to fear the LORD, especially when we’re commanded so often to not fear? Are we supposed to cower, afraid that this all powerful God is just waiting to smite us? Perhaps if we are enemies of God this is an appropriate “fear,” but not for those who love him and have committed their lives to him.

One of the definitions of this word is “to stand in awe of, reverence, honor…” The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom (Ps. 111:10), and it’s the end of all other fear. As John reminds us God is love (1 Jn 4:8), and perfect love drives out all fear (1 Jn 4:18).

If we are right before God we will not be fearful of our lives before him, but we will stand in awe and reverence before him knowing full we we are not deserving. Proper “fear” before Yahweh will lead to caring for the poor and seeking justice (Ps. 112:5, 9). Proper “fear” of Yahweh leads us to fear nothing else! (v. 6-8). To “fear the LORD” is to love him with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, and to love our neighbor as ourselves (Mk. 12:29-31).

I have known far too many Christians that face the end of life terrified of the end for fear of what God might do. This is not the “fear” we are called to. We are to live boldly in the grace we have received, and fearlessly serve our Lord in the midst of a world that hates him. The fear of the LORD drives out all fear. The fear of the LORD enables us to do what we cannot do on our own.

If you are a child or God, washed in the blood of Jesus, you have no reason to be terrified. But you are called to fear the LORD!

Daily Psalms – Psalm 106

by Matthew Stidham, posted in Psalms, Scripture

Daily Psalm Reading – Psalm 106-110

Psalm 106, in many ways, is the “other side” of Psalm 105. Where 105 calls us to recount the blessings that God has given us, Psalm 106 calls us to acknowledge our sins by telling the story of our failures.

We have sinned, even as our ancestors did;
    we have done wrong and acted wickedly.

Psalm 106:6 NIV

While harm can come from ruminating on our failures, acknowledging them in recognition of God’s grace is important. Here the Psalmist starts with praise (v. 1-3), petition (v. 4-5), confession (v. 6), and then begins the story.

The first episode recounts God’s salvation. Even though Israel forgot forgot Yahweh, he did not forget them. He saved them out of slavery and defeated the Egyptian army. Israel saw the might of Yahweh and believed! (v. 6-12)

From here the psalmist recounts many of the episodes that led to Israel’s exile. “How did we get here?” This is the confession that the psalmist makes: Yahweh asked us to do these things and time after time we did not. But that’s not the end of the story!

Once again the psalmist returns to the grace of Yahweh, and tells of his goodness, mercy, and future favor.

Many times he delivered them,
    but they were bent on rebellion
    and they wasted away in their sin.
Yet he took note of their distress
    when he heard their cry;
for their sake he remembered his covenant
    and out of his great love he relented.
He caused all who held them captive
    to show them mercy.

Psalm 106:43-46 NIV

How does this captivity come to an end? It isn’t anything that the people do, but the unmerited favor of God. It is God’s faithfulness to his covenant! Our faithlessness does not nullify God’s faithfulness! (Rom. 3:3-4) He is faithful! And because of God’s faithfulness, we have hope in him for salvation!

Save us, LORD our God,
    and gather us from the nations,
that we may give thanks to your holy name
    and glory in your praise.

Psalm 106:47 NIV

Once again, we end on a petition for rescue, not for our own benefit, but for bringing glory to Yahweh in praise. He alone is our hope. He alone is our salvation. He alone rescues us, and so we give thanks to him in praise.

It is good to tell our story. It is good to remember our past. How did we get here? Where are we going? These questions recall God’s continued blessings and our continued need for them. We must never think we have “arrived” in our walk with God, but always remember, analyze, and adjust our walk as we move forward. Yahweh is good and faithful. Don’t forget this. Live accordingly.

Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,
    from everlasting to everlasting.
Let all the people say, “Amen!”
Praise the Lord.

Psalm 106:48 NIV

Daily Psalms – Psalm 100

by Matthew Stidham, posted in Psalms, Scripture

Daily Psalm Reading – Psalm 96-100

Today let us step away from the crazy of life, and simply worship our God! Yahweh is to be praised today, and every day!

Joy and gladness should fill our hearts because Yahweh is our God! He is our shepherd and we are under his care, now and forever more. Let us draw near to him in thanksgiving.

Such a short and simple psalm, but one that we all need reminding of. In a society that preaches to us to do our own thing, and it’s all about you. Psalm 100 reminds us of that it isn’t all about us, it’s all about God! Don’t pull away from God; draw near in praise and thanksgiving.

Blessings.

Daily Psalms – Psalm 95

by Matthew Stidham, posted in Psalms, Scripture

Daily psalm reading – Psalm 91-95

Psalm 95 is one which many of us can “sing,”, or at least the first two thirds of it. Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord (vs. 1-5), and Come, let us worship and bow down (vs. 6-7) have both been set to music many different times, and made their way into many congregations in the 90’s and early 2000’s.

But our familiarity with the psalm usually stops there. Verses 7b-11 really don’t lend themselves to modern song as much as the beginning of the psalm, and yet they’re vital to understanding the importance of this work.

I think the story is familiar to most who have read the Hebrew Scriptures, even if the names are not. In Exodus 17 the Israelites are traveling through the desert being lead by Yahweh when they settle in a place called Rephidim. There the Israelites needed water. But instead of asking Yahweh for water (keep in mind he has already done amazing miracles before them), they grumbled against Moses and questioned the reality of Yahweh’s presence among them!

Yahweh tells Moses and the elders of Israel what to do. They take a staff and strike the rock at Horeb and water poured forth. Now read the words of Moses:

And he called the place Massah and Meribah because the Israelites quarreled and because they tested the Lord saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”

Exodus 17:7 NIV

Yahweh had set them free from slavery by crippling Egypt through 10 powerful plagues, parted the Red Sea for the Israelites to cross on dry land, destroyed Pharaoh’s army, led them with a pillar of fire and cloud, appeared to them on Mount Sinai…I could keep going. Yahweh appeared everywhere, and constantly took care of them, and yet when they needed something they doubted his presence?

It’s really easy for us to sit here and cast stones towards the Israelites wondering how they missed the presence of God in their lives. And yet we do the same thing, don’t we? We have the most prosperous and existence in all of human history, and when something doesn’t go our way we question his presence as well.

The admonition of this psalm is for us to worship Yahweh, to declare his praises, to acknowledge that everything around us is his because he made everything! When we understand that he has made and cares for everything, won’t he care for you as well? Aren’t you just as valuable to him as anything else he has made? Isn’t he our Good Shepherd?

Today, if only you would hear his voice…

Psalm 95:7b NIV

Are you listening for God’s voice today? Are you seeking his presence? He is with you, and will never leave you. Worship recenters us on that. Remembering the Creator cares for the creation does that as well. We can have peace and trust his provision, if only we will hear his voice. Blessings.

Daily Psalms – Psalm 77

by Matthew Stidham, posted in Hebrews, Psalms, Scripture

Daily Psalm Reading – Psalm 76-80

Today we spend our time reflecting on Psalm 77; a psalm that recounts what God has done for his people, and asks him to move once again on their behalf.

We often believe that faith is blind. It is not.

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.

Hebrews 11:1 NIV

It is true that faith is in something we cannot see, but that doesn’t mean there is no proof. We may not know where we’re going, but we know how we made it to the present. That’s a bit like what the psalmist is doing here.

Israel knows that God has done great things in the past, and now in their time of need they are pleading with him, and trusting him to move yet again. This is an example of faith in God for the future in light of the past. Faith is not blind.

Most of the stories in the Bible involve God showing his power in order to help his people have faith. Take the life of Jesus for instance. No miracle of Jesus is ever about the miracle, but rather to provide evidence that their faith was warranted. They always point to Jesus’ authority to do whatever he was doing. (See Matthew 9:6)

This psalm begins by pleading with God for help, interspersed with remembering how God interceded in the past (v. 3-6). The end of the psalm reflects on specific ways God moved in the past (v. 16-20). And right in the middle is faith in action: looking toward the future, but evidenced in the past.

Then I thought, “To this I will appeal:
the years when the Most High stretched out his right hand.
I will remember the deeds of the LORD;
yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago.
I will consider all your works
and meditate on all your mighty deeds.”

Psalm 77:10-12 NIV

As we wait for God to move powerfully in our lives (as he may very well be doing already), let us keep our faith rooted in his mighty acts of the past. Let us plead for God to do great things now and in the future through his people, and expect nothing short of the great things he has already accomplished through them.

May God be praised now and forever more! Amen.

Daily Psalms – Psalm 73

by Matthew Stidham, posted in Psalms, Scripture

Daily Psalm Reading – Psalm 71-75

Our reading today concludes Book 2 of Psalms and enters Book 3, of which Psalm 73 is the beginning. Here we focus on the psalms “of Asaph.” Psalm 73 is a wonderful reminder for us today who struggle with the same fault that the psalmist admits: envy over the unrighteous.

But as for me, my feet had almost slipped;
I had nearly lost my foothold.
For i envied the arrogant
when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

Psalm 73:2-3 NIV

This is a big theme throughout the Proverbs especially, but also in Psalms. “Ill-gotten gain” is condemned repeatedly, and yet we still admire seeing wealth on display, no matter how it’s gotten, for some reason. We are drawn to the illusion of wealth and luxury, that it will somehow fix our problems. In reality, it amplifies our problems.

But back to the main point, we think about money so much, and yet we don’t think about money as much as we should. Dr. Jenn Hale Christy had a very thought provoking podcast on this topic recently where she asked us to consider what we’re actually doing with our money. We blindly throw our money into investment accounts, but do we actually know what we are investing in? Is our retirement savings coming to us through “ill-gotten gains?”

The psalmist talks about all the present-moment advantages that these wicked people seem to have: no struggles, healthy, easy life. But when we renew our focus on God we begin to see things clearly. The illusion of the wicked lifestyle begins to fall.

When I tried to understand all this,
it troubled me deeply
till I entered the sanctuary of God;
then I understood their final destiny.

Psalm 73:16-17 NIV

This is one of the many reasons why worship is so important. When we worship God it recalibrates our hearts to follow him. In his excellent book, You Are What You Love: The Spiritual Power of Habit, James K. A. Smith reminds us that the entire world is a liturgy; everything we do is worship of something, and forms us into the image of that something. Gathering with believers in worship of our God refocuses and reshapes us into who he wants us to be. He is the one who loves. He is the one who guides. He is the one who saves.

Yet I am always with you;
you hold me by my right hand.
You guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will take me into glory.
Whom have I in heaven but you?
And earth has nothing I desire besides you.
My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart
and my portion forever.

Psalm 73:23-26 NIV