Jared Longshore's Blog, page 20

The Pickle God Puts Us In

Introduction

Starting a project is one thing, and finishing it is another. For this reason, the wise preacher said that the end of a thing is better than its beginning (Ecclesiastes 7:8).

Summary of the Text – Haggai 1:1-15

At the decree of Cyrus, 50,000 exiles returned to Jerusalem in 539 B.C. They quickly got to work laying the foundation of the temple and the altar. But the work slowed as the people began to mind their own affairs. Darius I came to rule the Persian Empire. And in his second year, 520 B.C., some nineteen years after the exiles returned, God spoke to His people in Jerusalem by the prophet Haggai. The Lord spoke particularly to Zerubbabel, the governor, and Joshua, the high priest, noting that the people said the time had not come that the LORD’s house should be built (v. 2).

To this sentiment, the LORD asked if it was time for His people to live in paneled houses while the temple lay in waste (v. 4). He told them to consider their ways for they had sown plenty but reaped little. They ate and drank but were not full. They clothed themselves but remained cold. And they earned money only to have it fall through the hole in their wallets (v. 6). Again, He tells them to consider their ways (v. 7). If they would haul down the wood from the mountain and build the LORD’s house, then He would take pleasure in it and be glorified (v. 8). That would fix the problem they faced, which was God blowing away all of their profit to the wind (v. 9). Why would God do such a thing? Because they left His house in waste while they each ran off to see to their own house instead (v. 9). They had bitten the hand that feeds, and the result was no rain, no corn, no wine, no oil, no milk, no steak (v. 11).

The governor, priest, and all of the people obeyed the voice of the LORD and feared Him (v. 12). God replied by saying that He was with them (v. 13). Then, the LORD stirred them and twenty-three days after the LORD’s rebuke, you could hear the sound of construction on the temple mount in Jerusalem (v. 14).

Unfinished Business

This is an age-old story of unfinished business. The man started well, but something went awry. Ah, the lot of being temporal creatures. We must start, endure, and finish. The Galatians stumbled in the same way these returned exiles did—”Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth?” (Galatians 5:7).

In the case of the exiles, you have to remember what they had accomplished. They had come a long way out of Babylon. Then, of course, they had established the foundational thing, the temple foundation itself. And they had the most essential thing. The altar, from which the seraphim, like our Lord, cleanse the lips of men. These were not exactly prodigal sons rolling around with the pigs. They had given to the building campaign. But they had grown slack and distracted.

Prophetic Mercy

God interrupted them. And it is the kindness of the Lord to be so deep into our business. There they were, neglecting the Lord, painting the house, carrying on with their weekly routine, and up walks Haggai with all of his questions, “Hey, why do you work so hard only to lose your money?” The quicker you call Nathan’s feet blessed when he walks up to you to remind you about your Bathsheba, the better off you will be. The welcomed rebuke is distinctly Christian. The only people who can do it are those who have had their sins forgiven and know it.

Why No Steak?

The LORD asks the question and answers it. After telling them they have toiled and reaped no fruit, He asks, “Why?” The answer is because His house lies waste (v. 9). Here is a central truth: This is God’s world and He brings the growth. More to the point is the word from Solomon, “Honour the Lord with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: so shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine” (Proverbs 3:9-10).

Honor comes from the heart. The text does not say, “Slip the Lord a twenty and you will receive twenty-five in return.” You will get nowhere pulling the Lord’s lever like some divinity slot machine. The point is that you must honor Him top to bottom, lips and pocketbook, children and business, from Dan to Beersheba. When you do, the Lord sends the blessing rain. When you don’t, He turns off the faucet.

God’s Method of Operation

Our passage displays a clear method for God’s operation. He delivered His Word of correction (v. 1-11). The people obeyed in fear (v. 12). The LORD assured them of His presence (v. 13). He stirred them to work (v. 14). His way is: Word, Obedient Fear, Presence for Blessing, Work. There are multiple ways to jumble things, but one major error is to look at joyful and flourishing saints and seek to emulate their good works apart from obedient fear. Do that and you will end up in just the situation in which the returned exiles found themselves. You will neglect the LORD, His kingdom, and His Christ for the sake of your own affairs. The reason those saints are so joyful and productive is that they hear the Word and obey in fear.

That fear is only found in the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the glorious one. Away from Him is darkness, obscurity, lack, the bottomless void. But, look to Him and it is transformation, from one degree of glory to the next (2 Corinthians 3:18).

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In Which the Father Swears an Oath

Baptism is not only a sign of the forgiveness of sins, it is a sign of the forgiveness of sins in Christ. This should not surprise us for there is no other way to receive the forgiveness of sins than to receive them in Christ. This sacrament is a sign of that very reality. It is a sign of the new covenant in Christ’s blood in which God our Father swears an oath to us, saying, “I am your God and you are my people.” We observe this sacrament knowing that He who has promised is faithful, and He will surely save.

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Time for the Priests to Priest

One of the duties laid upon you as God’s people is that you would be His priests. This was promised all the way back in Exodus 19, when God told Moses that Israel would be a kingdom of priests. And this truth is picked up in the New Testament in 1 Peter where we are called a royal priesthood. We should remember that this priestly calling is a high one, and a high calling comes with high stakes. You must not assume that, since you are priests, all will be well with you no matter what you do. Hophni and Phineas were both priests, and they died at the hands of the Philistines because of their unfaithfulness. We must not end up like them. We must do what faithful priests do. But what exactly do faithful priests do?

The answer is that they intercede, particularly in light of God’s promises and His people’s shortcomings. Take Moses for example. He comes down from Mount Sinai, hearing that Israel has already forsaken the LORD. God told Moses that He would consume them in His wrath. But, Moses sought the Lord, that He would not consume them and rather that He would remember His covenant. This same Moses disciplined Israel severely, grinding up their golden calf, scattering it in water, and making them drink it.

Learn from Moses. He did not make excuses for Israel. He wasn’t a pushover. He did not forsake Israel when they failed. And He did not fret. Rather he went before the Lord on their behalf, asking God to fulfill His covenant promises to them. Things weren’t looking good at the moment. But that’s OK. That’s just the time for priests to priest.

You are a kingdom of priests. So when things go awry, intercede for one another.

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Courteous Words or Hard Knocks

“And peace, Eustace. Do not scold, like a kitchen-girl. No warrior scolds. Courteous words or else hard knocks are his only language.”

C. S. Lewis, The Last Battle

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Not Saved by Ideas

The advent of our Lord reminds us to forsake all attempts to disembody Christianity. Our Father in heaven did not save us by ideas. He saved us by His Son. Our Father did not send us principles and notions from heaven. He sent us a child out of the womb of the virgin. And the name of this human is the truth. 

Consider these things as we come to this table. We have not come to participate with the idea of our Lord. We have not even come to participate with the bodiless Son of God, as if we lived in the days of Abraham and Moses. We have come to Mount Zion, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to Jesus, the Godman, the mediator of the new covenant. The advent of our Lord demands that we know what time it is. The Son of God has become man. He is still man. And this world has been radically changed.

Scripture says that this bread which we break is a communion of the body of Christ. When the unbelieving Gentiles sacrificed at their altars in Corinth, they genuinely fellowshipped with devils. Likewise, when you come to this table, you genuinely fellowship with the man born in Bethlehem two thousand years ago. Though you have not seen Him, you love Him. Though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him and rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory (1 Peter 1:8).

So what are you to do? Eat in faith. Drink believing in Immanuel, the Son of Man who is with us even now. And as you do, glorify God in your body. Work for Him and with Him. Labor to love one another by Him. And look with faith to His appearing on the last day. By faith, you’ll see that the light of that appearing is already shining. So come in faith and welcome to Jesus Christ.

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Like Noah

When Peter spoke of Noah and his family in the days of the flood, he said that “eight souls were saved by water.” He added that New Covenant baptism is the like figure to God’s deliverance of Noah by water. We, like Noah, are saved by water. Noah and his family were delivered from a world in rebellion. And baptism signifies and seals this very deliverance for Christians today. God’s covenant promises are always received by faith. And this is our confidence. This salvation, according to Peter, is “by the resurrection of Jesus Christ: who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God (1 Peter 3:21-22).

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Like the Knotted Robe of a Galilean

Since we live in the new covenant era, Peter says we must gird up the loins of our minds. “Gird up your loins” refers to tucking a long robe into the belt in order to be ready for physical activity. But this phrase is not applied to clothing by Peter, but to the mind. So take a moment of honest self-examination: How are the loins of your mind?

You can go wrong in at least two ways. On the one hand, your mind could be hanging loose like some unfurled Israelite brick-layer on the third hour of a 30-minute lunch break. This error means your mind is undisciplined and unsteady. You’d rather go get a tooth pulled than have to face off in one of those Bible sword drill contests. And when the world, the flesh, and the devil run a three-man blitz on you, your mind lacks the training to stay in the pocket, make your reads, and complete the pass.

On the other hand, there is the error of having the loins of your mind wound up like the knotted robe of a Galilean who just finished break dancing in a tornado. You have not hit the mark simply because your mind churns from one anxiety to the next. The goal is a girded mind, not one wound so tight it cuts off circulation to the frontal lobe.

The solution to both of these errors is meditation upon God’s Word. You can possess a sober mind that is ready for the next fiery trial. But there is no other way than this: Hear the Word, Believe the Word, Obey the Word.

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Without Nook or Cranny

I’m afraid there’s no niche in the world for people that won’t be either Pagan or Christian.

C. S. Lewis, That Hideous Strength

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You Will Have to Find Someone Else to Pity

This table is a reminder that there is something greater than this earthly life. Here we are reminded of what the prophet Isaiah says, “It pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief” (Isaiah 53:10). Take that in honestly. The I AM saw fit to bruise the Son, to put the son to grief. If there is nothing greater than this life beneath the firmament, then that text is entirely unreasonable, unfathomable, and wretched. But there is more than life beneath the canopy that is stretched out above our heads.

It pleased the LORD to bruise the Son because the Son’s soul was made an offering for sin. When Jesus’ body was broken, more was going on than the physical. His soul, unlike ours, was perfect, righteous, and suitable to the altar. It was a pleasing sacrifice to the LORD and in that sacrifice, wonders were realized.

Through the breaking of that bread and the pouring out of that wine, Christ Himself saw His seed (Isaiah 53:10). If this world were the end of the matter, then Christ’s death would mean that He would never see His seed. But, in truth, it was Christ’s death that guaranteed He would see His seed.

Through that bread broken and poured-out wine, Christ prolonged His days and the days of His people (Isaiah 53:10). If this life is all there is, then that cannot be. Christ’s days were shortened not lengthened. But, what do you know, there are days on the other side of the grave.

Through that bread offering on Calvary and in those burst wineskins, the pleasure of the LORD prospered. The LORD’s pleasure was that Christ would justify you, so that you could attend the wedding feast that will carry on world without end. And this He has done.

So if in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most to be pitied. But, come to find out, it is not only in this life that we have hope in Christ, so you will have to find someone else to pity. Come in faith and welcome to Jesus Christ.

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Seed to Soil: Bill Frank Cooper

My grandfather was one of the most steadfast and immovable men I’ve known. So my thoughts have gone to a passage of Scripture that speaks to those qualities. The text is 1 Corinthians 15:50-58. These are the words of God:

“I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.”

My grandfather (1932-2024) was born in deep Alabama in a shotgun house, so named because its simple and tiny rectangular layout was such that you could stand in the front door and fire a shotgun out of the back door without hitting any walls. He was the youngest of six children, birthed in the cool of a November evening by his mother after she had been working in the fields all day. That mother, who was born in 1905, would have each child say his or her prayers at night one my one, “As I lay me down to sleep I pray the Lord my soul to keep.” And then each child would say good night to each sibling by name. That mother would also bake them biscuits in that shotgun shack in the sweltering Alabama summer. In the cold winters, she would take bricks from the fire, wrap them in a towel and put them at the foot of the children’s beds to keep their feet warm. My grandfather laughed as he recalled his mother’s policy for settling conflict among the children. If a skirmish of sorts arose, she would require them to hug and kiss each other, a point that grandaddy remembered was not well-received by certain members of the family. My grandfather would go on to join the military and jump out of perfectly operational airplanes as a paratrooper.

He married a woman who has done him no lack of good. She set her heart to serve the Lord and she set her hands to work in a manner that is downright intimidating to most modern women. They look in awe at Joann Cooper, marveling at feminine glory and wifely skill that modern men would give their right arm to obtain. Scripture speaks to the sanctifying influence a wife can have on a husband. And by God’s grace Joann did this for Bill, she won him through good works and obedience. She won him without a word. Bill and Joann raised a family. Bill provided for his household. And in later life often had his arms full of grandchildren and great grandchildren.

He was a steady man who loved with an old school love, the kind that valued sacrifice over sentimentalism and competency over personality. In that he is a model for us all.

The passage from the apostle Paul says that stability is an otherworldly virtue. Which is to say, it is a distinctly Christian virtue. It is often called fortitude. And we could use a few doses of that virtue right about now. But the text says therefore be steadfast, immovable, and always abounding in the work of the Lord. The point is that you cannot get the immovable piece apart from what comes before, namely, the trumpet will sound and the dead will be raised imperishable. That truth is what makes a man immovable.

But what about pagan strength? Genghis Kahn knew how to ride a horse long and hard. Alexander the Great could swing a sword and knew nothing of the Christianity I speak of and he knew nothing of the morality that marked my grandfather. But that is simply to say there will always be knockoffs of the genuine article. It is not denial of real dollar bills to say there are counterfeit bills.

In another place, Paul says that if in this life only we have hope in Christ, then we are of all men most to be pitied. I can think of no man less interested in your pity than my grandfather. I dare say if you came to him offering a bowl of pity, he would kindly thank you for stopping by and politely tell you that you would have to find someone else to pity. Where does that attitude come from? It comes from knowing that it is not only in this life that we have hope in Christ. If this brief life on earth really is all that there is, then indeed, bring on the pity. Bill Cooper is gone and that is the end of the story. But, in fact, there are days on the other side of the grave. There is hope in Christ for this life, and there is hope in Christ for the life to come. It is in that faith which says, “Where, O death, is your sting? Where, O grave, is your victory?” it is in that faith of our father, grandfather, and great grandfather, that we will find fortitude, resilience, and unflinching kindness.

It is in that faith that we commend him body and soul into the loving arms of our Savior.

As we await the day when we see our brother Bill again, we commit his body to the ground out of which we were formed. As he shares in the life of our resurrected Lord, we commit his spirit to the care of our Father in heaven. Knowing that the grave is but a rich soil out of which he will rise again, we commit grieving family and friends to the care of the body of Christ. And we commit ourselves to follow our Shepherd, who leads us through the valley of the shadow of death into the glorious life after death.

Bill Cooper recounts early years in Alabama.

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