Field Sermon delivered on the Lord's Day, December 12, 2010

Greeting

I would like to welcome you who have come and assembled together in the name of living God; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. I bring greetings from our fellow pilgrims at our local church in Moscow. Come, let us humble ourselves before the Lord our God. Please pray with me.

Prayer

Father in heaven, accept us into Your presence this morning as we come to worship you, to hear Your word, and to be challenged and transformed by the power of Your Spirit. We come to You through the sacrifice of Your Son so that we might be made faithful servants by Your grace and power, through the advocacy of Him Who sits at Your right hand. Hear us, we pray, in Jesus name.

Amen.

The Text

Psalm 2

Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?

The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and against his anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.

He that setteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision.

Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure.

Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree: the Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.

Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth.

Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling.

Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little.

Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.

Amen.

Before I elaborate on the text this morning, I would like to make a short mention of historical significance that will, I believe, help us appreciate the text even more. Yesterday, I mentioned the fact that General Gage considered a good many of the Colonial preachers as ‘subversives’. From his perspective, this was certainly true. To lesser and greater degrees, many of the preachers in the colonies had argued from their pulpits against the policies of the British, insisting that they were unlawful and immoral.

I’d like to make mention here of one of those preachers: Pastor Peter Muhlenberg. Here is an excerpt from one commentator’s summary of Muhlenberg’s sermon and actions on January 21, 1776.

“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven,” Pastor Muhlenberg proclaimed, reading from Ecclesiastes 3. “A time to be born, and a time to die.... A time to weep, and a time to laugh.... A time of war, and a time of peace.” He stopped and looked at the people God had put in his care—hardworking farmers and their wives, merchants, recent immigrants. The tiny town of Woodstock, Virginia, was a long way from the fighting in the colonies of New England. And the Blue Ridge Mountains had kept its citizens from hearing the news of events in their own state in early January 1776.

“It is a time for war!” Pastor Muhlenberg declared. “And not only in New England. War has come to Virginia! The British have marched on our own city of Williamsburg, seizing our supply of gunpowder and munitions. Soldiers are entering private homes, homes just like ours.

“It is time for war! ‘We are only farmers,’ you may say. Patrick Henry has rallied five thousand men—farmers just like you—to fight back and drive the British out. It is time to act! Many of us came to this country to practice our religious freedoms. It is time to fight for those freedoms that we hold so dear. It is time for war!

“Let us pray.” With that, Pastor Muhlenberg bowed his head and offered the traditional closing prayer. Then, breaking with all tradition, while still standing in the pulpit, he began to remove his pastor’s robes and vestments. “I am a clergyman, it is true. But I am also a patriot—and my liberty is as dear to me as to any man. Shall I hide behind my robes, sitting still at home, while others spill their blood to protect my freedom? Heaven forbid it!

“I am called by my country to its defense. The cause is just and noble. I am convinced it is my duty to obey that call, a duty I owe to my God and to my country.”

With that, he threw off the final layer of his robes—and now stood before his stunned congregation in the full uniform of an officer of the Continental militia. He marched to the back of the church, declaring to all, “If you do not choose to be involved, if you do not fight to protect your liberties, there will soon be no liberties to protect!”

Just outside the church army drummers waited. At Pastor Muhlenberg’s command, they began to beat out the call for recruits. God’s conviction fell on the men of the congregation. One by one they rose from their pews and took their stand with the drummers. Some three hundred men from the church joined their pastor that day to fight for liberty.

You see, Muhlenberg, and others like him, believed that to live as consistent Christian men and preachers, they of necessity must resist the corrosion of their rights and the invasion of the British.

Our text this morning relates to the theme that these preachers ascribed to, that is: there is no barrier between the Lord of heaven, and the gates of politics on earth. Please pay particular attention to what the Word of God declares in this Psalm.

The first verse asks the two part question: Why do the heather rage, and imagine vain things? Another way of putting this would be to ask why they are irrationally riotous and engage in futile imaginations? Why do they wish to behave in such a manner that has no chance of success? Why do they believe they can alter reality by engaging in futile fictions? Yes, why indeed?

In verses 2 and 3, we see that the rulers and kings of the earth (presumably along with their constituents) believe that they can successfully hatch a plan of rebellion, and overthrow the authority and order put in place by God Himself and His anointed one. They figure they can break His shackles and His ropes that bind them from such rebellion. In effect they beckon and boast, “Come on! How can we not be successful?” The futility of such an effort does not even seem to dawn on them. They will organize, gather together, formulate their plans, execute them, and successfully overthrow the rule of God Almighty. There is no consideration of possible failure. They consider their effort to be invincible.

But this is not the perception given to these hapless rebels by the God who rules heaven and earth. He initially responds with a divine version of “This must be a joke.” Surely this is brought on by the sheer ridiculousness of the plot, and the sadly misplaced confidence of the conspirators. The Lord laughs, and does so in a way that illuminates His grasp of satire.

This humor is short lived however. The Lord’s attitude changes and He responds with the severity that the rebellion warrants. He will speak to them, but will do so in His wrath, and He will vex them tangibly in His displeasure. This portion of this Psalm briefly parallels some of Psalm 18 where we are advised that God causes the whole creation to convulse and his spoken words to result in what is pictured as “hail stones and coals of fire” as He brings retribution on the enemies. This is very vivid imagery indeed.

In verses 6 and 7, God declares the immutability of His will. He has firmly set His king on Mount Zion. And that king is His only begotten Son, resurrected from the dead, the first born from that place (Revelation 1:5). Is there a more emphatic manner in which this could be stated or demonstrated?

Further, the Lord explains some of what He has bequeathed to His anointed, His Son, for an inheritance. He has given Him the heathen, even in the most forsaken parts of the world, for His subjects. These are those who plotted against Him, to overthrow His authority and rule. And they will subject themselves to Him either willingly, or under threat of divine retribution. (vs. 8-9) His power is supreme, and therefore cannot be successfully resisted, even by those who are determined to attempt it.

And what is the commentary of the last few verses? The author of the Psalm offers some advice to the rulers of the world. “Be wise”, he says. “Listen up and be instructed”, he advises. Here’s what to do.

Serve the Lord with fear. Understand that this is no game, and you cannot win by attempting to substitute your conspiracy for His rule.

Rejoice with trembling. Be joyous that you have not crossed far enough over the line to warrant complete destruction. At least, not yet.

Submit to the Son. Do not incur His wrath by refusing to do so. Take a long hard look at the consequences of rebelling. How can it possibly be worth it?

Blessed, says he, are they that put their trust in Him. This is a pretty appealing alternative.

This is the time of year where we commonly celebrate the Incarnation of Jesus. It is a reminder of the joy that the shepherds felt when the announcement of Jesus’ birth came to them by angelic messengers. This celebration is full of warm and sentimental images of the Baby in the manger, seemingly insignificant and helpless. This is all fine, but this is not the Biblical imagery of the resurrected Christ, who is Lord and King. He is the Conqueror of sin and death, and has been given all authority in heaven and over earth. He sits now at the right hand of God the Father, expectantly awaiting as His enemies are subdued one by one. “Political realities” do not affect Him in the least. First century Christians were sent to their deaths as they acknowledged a king superior to Caesar. One of the battle cries of our War for independence was “No king but Jesus”.

Let’s not let the worldly, conspiring rulers of this era fool us for one minute.

Amen.

Closing Prayer/Benediction

I Kings 8:27-30

But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded? Yet have thou respect unto the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication, O Lord my God, to hearken unto the cry and to the prayer, which thy servant prayeth before thee today: that thine eyes may be open toward this house night and day, even toward the place of which thou has said, My name shall be there: that thou mayest hearken unto the prayer which thy servant shall make toward this place. And hearken thou to the supplication of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, when they shall pray toward this place: and hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place and when thou hearest, forgive.

Amen.

Field Sermon delivered on the Lord's Day, June 13, 2010

Greeting

I would like to greet you this morning and invite you to come, hear the Word of the Lord, and to bow before His throne. He is God, there is no other.

Greetings also from the members of our local church congregation in Moscow, who also love the Lord and serve Him.

Prayer

Father in heaven, we are assembled here today in Your name and by no other authority. As You are King and Lord over all, we seek to submit ourselves, our hearts, minds, bodies, and souls. Teach and exhort, strengthen and try us according to Your own good purposes. May we hear the voice of our Great Shepard as we consider what Your word presents to us. Teach us through the person and power of Your Spirit, for we ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Sermon

Text: Matthew 4:1-11

“Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungered. And when the tempter came to him he said, If you be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.

But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, and saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.

Jesus said unto him, it is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.

Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and showeth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; and saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.

Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

Then the devil leaveth him, and behold, angels came and ministered unto him.”

In order to better understand this account of the temptation of Jesus, we first need to affirm and understand some basic facts concerning His nature and the Incarnation.

The Bible asserts authoritatively that Jesus Christ is God. He is referred to in a number of ways that show this. The opening of John’s gospel account declares that He is the eternal Word, who has always been God in His nature, co-dwelling with the Father and the Holy Spirit. This is the foundational understanding of the Trinitarian doctrine declared in the scriptures. John further explains that this eternal Word, this person of the eternal God, was fashioned into flesh through His birth via a woman, and displayed the glory of the Father as the only begotten Son. He lost none of His nature in the incarnation. Yet he walked among us as a man.

This, of course, raises a number of questions concerning the temptation of Jesus in our text today. For instance, if Jesus is God, could the temptation be real and not a mere pantomime to make a point? The author of the New Testament book of Hebrews answers this question head on. “For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succor them that are tempted.” (Hebrews 2:18) And again in chapter 4:15 he says, “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.” These statements necessitate the fact that the temptations we are looking at were real temptations, and not hypothetical.

Let’s examine the nature of the temptations themselves.

Note that the first two temptations are taunting demands for proof of Jesus’ identity. To paraphrase them, “If you are the Son of God, prove it. And here is the proof required.” Notice that the devil wants to shift the responsibility of proof to Jesus, and allows no inquiry as to the legitimacy of his demand for proof. This is an even more profound and bizarre demand when we consider that the devil is a created being actually brought into existence by Jesus himself. They knew each other from the beginning point of the devil’s existence, and that particular knowledge was present at this account of the temptations. Of course, the devil’s rebellion and fall substantially altered the relationship between the two, but didn’t alter the knowledge of who the other was. Here is the devil, once again assuming the position of superiority, rebelliously making demands for proof.

The first temptation is an obvious one. Jesus had been fasting for forty days and nights. He would have been in a state of hunger and physical weakness. The devil appeals directly to His weakened condition. “How about some bread made out of stones?” This is something Jesus could do, the mere rearranging of atoms into something that would satiate His real, personal need. Yet He would have to submit to the tempter’s juggernaut, meeting his requirements for demonstrable proof.

How does Jesus respond? He responds with the authority of recorded Scripture, and with an application that the tempter didn’t anticipate. “It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” Jesus quotes Deuteronomy 8:3, showing that life is predicated on, and maintained by more than morsels of food.

The second temptation is a little more subtle. The tempter quotes Scripture back to Jesus, citing a portion of Psalm 91, where the Lord promises to watch over and protect those who seek Him. The problem with the devil’s approach is that he quotes this as if it completely isolated from the rest of God’s revelation, and as if these promises actually indicate that they are absolute for every situation. However, in the same collection of Psalms, various authors express their concerns over their enemies’ abilities to harm them, as well as various frustrations that the wicked sometimes have the upper hand. So, as we take note of this, it is obvious that the tempter’s lack of overall context perverts the actual place of these promises, and how they should be appropriated. So the devil’s temptation is essentially one dealing with the credibility of God’s promises, and the level of trust in them. “Go ahead,” he says, “Jump. God has promised He will never let harm come to you.”

Jesus refutes this twisted logic, again adding overall Scriptural basis and context, “…it is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God,” here quoting from Deuteronomy 6: 16. In short, God’s promises are not to be presumed upon, and men are forbidden to arbitrarily press the limits of His sovereign authority. It is also plainly obvious that faith is required in order to please the Lord, and efforts to prove, in a theoretically absolute manner, any precept about Him from a basis other than faith will be futile. He requires faith.

The third temptation deals with the desires of political power and its attendant wealth. “Here,” says the devil, “I will give you all of this. Just one condition. Fall down and worship me.” At first blush, this seems to be the most incoherent of the three temptations. After all, Jesus (with the Father and the Spirit) created everything that exists. It continues to exist by virtue of the power of His declaration. In numerous places, Scripture declares the message that “the earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof; the world and they that dwell therein.” So if the cosmos belongs to God by virtue of it being His creation, He, as creator, has inherent title to it. Further, the Creator is obviously superior to that which He creates. This is apparently lost on the tempter, a created being. The Lord has never, in any place or time, conveyed ultimate rule and authority to any other being.

But there is other subtlety at work here. Jesus came into this world with an express mission and purpose; to provide the redeeming atonement for the sins of men. The process of accomplishing this was also expressly ordained. The path to victory lay through the suffering of the cross. This was a path that any rational being would find difficult, or even undesirable. Yet this was the only possible route for the salvation of sinful men. No atonement, no forgiveness of sins. The devil was trying to offer Jesus a painless alternative to accomplish the position that He already held, but without the salvation of men. The account of Jesus’ agony in the garden just prior to His arrest and crucifixion is no fabrication. This temptation was a diversionary tactic the devil was seeking to employ. Only there was one small, but significant, problem. He was requiring Jesus to deny the Father as the only true God, and idolatrously worship a substitute. A very clever bait and switch. “Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve,” Jesus responds. (Deuteronomy 10:20) To fall to this temptation would be to deny the very person of God, His own status as the second person of the trinity, and to condemn all of mankind without hope of redemption. Only the Lord God is worthy to be worshiped and obeyed. And Jesus was willing to submit to the ordained method of accomplishing redemption despite what He knew He would have to endure. The author of Hebrews explains this in the following manner, exhorting us to “… (look) unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Chapter 12:2)

So, what can we gain in practical application as we ponder these things?

First, we should understand that temptation is universal. Even Jesus was tempted, yet without falling to sin. Living in a world that has not yet been fully transformed and restored guarantees that we, ourselves, will be subject to temptations of various sorts.

Second, we have been given the means to oppose and rebut these temptations. We have been given the inspired Word of God in Scripture, and the Word of God incarnate in Christ. But we need to take special care that we do not fall to the error of viewing particular portions of this declaration in isolation from the overall context of the total revelation He has given to us. Used properly, the Word of God is a potent defensive weapon.

Third, we need to recognize that temptation works in concert with the nature of the worldly system. The apostle John wrote, “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world”. (I John 2:16) We need to scrupulously avoid the traps that are set for us that come with appealing and worldly facades. We need to be able to see past the disguises to the essence of the matter. We can only do this if we understand Scripture in the same context as Jesus.

We need to also consider what James says in Chapter 1 of his letter. “…every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. Do not err, my beloved brethren.” We need to be familiar with the nature of and enticements that temptation presents to us. Temptation takes root in the fertile ground of our culpable hearts. In the end, what looked appealing brings forth deadly consequences. No wonder we are advised to always be vigilant.

We are, I believe, engaged in the greatest struggle of our lifetimes. The contest is over whether godly and just government, and the liberty it helps to foster, will continue to exist in this land. To ensure that it does, it means that we must rely on the God to Whom the whole creation actually belongs. As we continue to seek means and methods to bolster and reestablish liberty in our nation, we need to be very, very cautious that we not fall to any of the worldly temptations that appear in our path, or appear to be expedient or helpful. We need to avoid biting on the bait of convenience, compromise, and the lure of power lest we find, suddenly, that the hook concealed in it is set in our jaws. We need to appeal to God to help us as we seek victory in a just cause. May He deliver us from all evil. Amen.

Closing Prayer/Benediction

Psalm 91

He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.

Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler. Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.

A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee. Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked. Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation; there shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone. Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.

Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honor him. With long life will I satisfy him, and show him my salvation.

Field Sermon delivered on the Lord's Day, May 9, 2010

Greeting

I would like to welcome all of you this morning, who have joined with us to hear the Word of the most High God, creator of all the earth and heavens. Please accept the warmest greetings from the members of our home church in Moscow who also trust in Christ Jesus.

Opening Prayer

Heavenly Father, hear our prayer this morning as we come to be instructed by Your Word. Open our eyes, ears, hearts, and minds that we might more fully understand your ways, and the magnitude of Your mercies. We ask this in the name of Jesus, Your Son, by whom Your mercies are extended to us. Amen

Sermon

    And it came to pass, when Solomon had finished the building of the house of the LORD, and the king's house, and all Solomon's desire which he was pleased to do, that the LORD appeared to Solomon the second time, as he had appeared unto him at Gibeon. And the LORD said unto him, I have heard thy prayer and thy supplication, that thou hast made before me: I have hallowed this house, which thou hast built, to put my name there for ever; and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually. And if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked, in integrity of heart, and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded thee, and wilt keep my statutes and my judgments: then I will establish the throne of thy kingdom upon Israel for ever, as I promised to David thy father, saying, There shall not fail thee a man upon the throne of Israel. But if ye shall at all turn from following me, ye or your children, and will not keep my commandments and my statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve other gods, and worship them: then will I cut off Israel out of the land which I have given them; and this house, which I have hallowed for my name, will I cast out of my sight; and Israel shall be a proverb and a byword among all people: and at this house, which is high, every one that passeth by it shall be astonished, and shall hiss; and they shall say, Why hath the LORD done thus unto this land, and to this house? And they shall answer, Because they forsook the LORD their God, who brought forth their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and have taken hold upon other gods, and have worshipped them, and served them: therefore hath the LORD brought upon them all this evil. (I Kings 9:1-9)

  

The text today illuminates us concerning Solomon’s second audience with the Lord, as He revealed Himself to Solomon. This account follows immediately after the dedication of the Temple in Jerusalem, and event of extreme significance and importance. This temple, as a significant practical and typological element of importance, was to establish the name of the Lord within the boundaries of Israel, and as a beacon to call the unbelieving world to faith in the Lord. The primary purposes of the temple were pretty straightforward. It was established as the singular, formal place where God had promised to meet with mankind. It was the only place where the offerings for the atonement of sin would be accepted. It was established as an emblem that, if any would turn their prayers and petitions toward the God that it represented, that He would hear their supplications. Under the administration of the Older Testament it represented, in its beauty and complexity, what the Messiah would powerfully and fully accomplish in His substitutionary death many centuries in the future, the act which inaugurated the New Testament.

The Hebrew Israelites were the covenanted people of that period. God had chosen them from all of the tribes of the earth to bear His name among all of the inhabitants of the world, and to bid them all to believe and be joined in this saving covenant with the Lord. Being chosen as such, they were afforded the benefits of the covenant that God made with them, these benefits being consistent with the stated articles of the covenant. This was all based on the mercy, grace, holiness, and justice of God, and His favorable disposition toward them. His stated promises were all good. There were, however, conditions associated with them. They must believe, and obey what He commanded of them. And this was to be the natural consequence of a people who received and understood the magnitude of the grace He had shown and given to them. These conditions also had a variety of consequences associated with them, and the covenant articles made it very plain as to what would happen if they became rebellious and disobedient to them. This gives us the contextual background for the account we have before us today.

In this encounter, the Lord affirms that He had heard Solomon’s supplications that he had presented upon the formal dedication of the Temple, that He would indeed place His name, eyes and heart there continually. He was promising to be in their midst, and therefore confirming their witness to the unbelieving nations that God Almighty, Himself, was beckoning them to come and partake of the salvation He grants. This was no small privilege (as recognized by the apostle Paul in Romans, Chapter 3, where he expounds on this).

The Lord then reconfirms his promise to David, that He would establish his heirs as leaders and rulers. But there are conditions and stipulations associated with this promise. Solomon and his posterity are charged with the requirement to:

           

-walk before the Lord: that is, to humbly acknowledge the creator/creature distinction, and accept the authority and will of God as it is manifest in divine revelation and providence.

-walk in integrity of heart: this requires absolute honesty with God and yourself.

-walk in uprightness: that is, to walk in conformity to the objective standards that God Himself has established. This should banish all forms of arbitrary morality.

-to hammer this point home, this standard is explicitly explained in His commandments, statutes, and judgments. What does true holiness and righteous conduct look like? The answers are given in these.

But what is contrariwise promised if the leaders and people choose to depart from the Lord and rebel against His goodness and standards and assimilate the fictitious standards and practices of idols and idolatries? He promises to cut them off, and cast away the symbol of His abiding in their midst (the temple), and to make a proverbial mockery out of them because of their rebellion and thanklessness concerning His mercies. The reasons for their demise will be as obvious as the nose on a man’s face, or by simply connecting the dots. It will be obvious that they, as a people, treacherously and treasonously, thought that they could double-deal with God and get away with it. Why would all of this evil fall upon them? Because they lacked an appreciation and thankfulness concerning what God had delivered them from, and had forsaken the Lord, preferring empty, impotent, and dead idols.

Now, keep in mind that this was all revealed to Solomon during one of the most successful, prosperous, and glorious times that would occur in the entire history of Israel. While neither David nor Solomon were perfect men, God had enabled them to conquer the land He had given to them for a possession, and established Solomon’s reign in peace with a great degree of prosperity. As a people, they were enjoying high times and an immense abundance. How could things go wrong?

Yet things did go wrong. Anyone familiar with the rest of history of Israel knows that what followed were generations of trouble. While there were some brief moments where the leaders and people repented, the basic path of the whole culture was a downward spiral that ended in a destruction of the nation, and its remaining inhabitants being carried away to exile in Babylon. Not a very pretty ending is it?

So why is this important to us? Good question. In I Corinthians, Chapter 10, the apostle Paul insists that we pay attention to the history of the Older Testament, drawing from the similarities of events that are recorded there. He notes that mankind, even those who are in covenant with Christ, frequently suffer from what he calls “common temptations” (vs.13). He concludes with the admonition, “Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry”. (vs. 14)

What are some of the legitimate comparisons we can make in regards to the principles that are inherent with the text we have been examining?

Like Israel, our nation was founded on the notion of being in covenant with the God of the Bible, and that this covenant has an impact that applies beyond merely personal concerns. Jesus’ own summary of all of Biblical law is to “Love God, and love your neighbor as yourself”. This has ramifications far beyond sentimentality and emotional responses.

While Israel was founded by overt, divine decree, our nation was founded by divine providence: that is, the working out of God’s purposes in a manner not entirely revealed by inspired pronouncements, but according to His will as revealed in history, and in a manner not contradictory to His explicit revelations. This means that, because the nation was founded upon a specifically biblical notion of being in covenant with Christ, that we are accountable to that covenant.

Like Israel, the evidence continues to accumulate that we, like they, seem to have lost our way with the passage of time. We no longer appear to acknowledge where our standing before God comes from. Nor do we credit His goodness in the deliverances, liberty, and abundance we have enjoyed. We think we are ‘special’, but we seem to want to be just like the other, idolatrous nations. We have ceased to be thankful and have become presumptuous. Somewhere along the way we lost our vigilance, giving way to complacency and lethargy, and learning a refined way to shift the blame to “them”. Are we not, as evidence suggests, caught in a similar downward spiral?

Do we, as individuals want to be saved, receive His grace and mercy, and be freed to live in the true liberty of His Spirit? Then we must flee to Christ, as he is the only one who can save us. Do we, as a nation, want to be reestablished as a place where grace, truth, and justice abide as signature elements of our society? Then we must reject the idolatries of our times and return to Christ, willingly submitting ourselves and our culture to Him.

Let us remember the place that we have fallen from, and repair to the Lord in humility and repentance. Let us reject the wisdom of this world, and submit ourselves anew to Him, walking in obedience, in faith, to His commands. Let us pray that we, and our nation, would be reestablished in the righteousness that comes only from Christ. We started well, let us finish well also. Amen.

Closing Prayer/Benediction

This is a portion of Solomon’s prayer at the dedication of the temple. Be mindful of the fact that the temple, under the Old covenant administration, represented “God with us” in a real and tangible way. This is the interpretation of the name “Emmanuel” which is applied to Jesus.

“But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded? Yet have thou respect unto the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication, O Lord my God, to hearken unto the cry and to the prayer, which thy servant prayeth before thee today: that thine eyes may be open toward this house night and day, even toward the place of which thou hast said, My name shall be there: that thou mayest hearken unto the prayer which thy servant shall make toward this place. And hearken thou to the supplication of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, when they shall pray toward this place: and hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place: and when thou hearest, forgive." (1 Kings 8:27-30).

Field Sermon delivered on the Lord's Day, ???, XX, 2010

Greeting

Welcome in the name of our Lord, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, by Whom all things have been created and by whose Word they are upheld and maintained. I also bring you warm greetings from those at our home church in Moscow. We gather here to worship Him and hear His Word that we might respond with faith at the hearing of it, and with obedience consistent with that same faith.

Prayer

Father in heaven, we thank You that You have not forsaken us and left us entirely to our own understanding and devices, but have spoken clearly through Your Words of declaration in the Scriptures, and more particularly through the life, death, and resurrection of Your only Son, Jesus. Cause us here today, by the power of Your Spirit, to hear, know, believe, and obey that which You have commanded and given to us, washing, nourishing, and granting us strength by that Word, and by that Spirit, for we ask it in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Sermon

Today I have a fairly lengthy text to present to you, the 8^th chapter of I Samuel, so I ask you to bear with me, and give particular attention to this portion of the Word of God.

1Sa 8:1  And it came to pass, when Samuel was old, that he made his sons judges over Israel.

1Sa 8:2  Now the name of his firstborn was Joel; and the name of his second, Abiah: they were judges in Beersheba.

1Sa 8:3  And his sons walked not in his ways, but turned aside after lucre, and took bribes, and perverted judgment.

1Sa 8:4  Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel unto Ramah,

1Sa 8:5  And said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.

1Sa 8:6  But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the LORD.

1Sa 8:7  And the LORD said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them.

1Sa 8:8  According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt even unto this day, wherewith they have forsaken me, and served other gods, so do they also unto thee.

1Sa 8:9  Now therefore hearken unto their voice: howbeit yet protest solemnly unto them, and shew them the manner of the king that shall reign over them.

1Sa 8:10  And Samuel told all the words of the LORD unto the people that asked of him a king.

1Sa 8:11  And he said, This will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you: He will take your sons, and appoint them for himself, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and some shall run before his chariots. 

1Sa 8:12  And he will appoint him captains over thousands, and captains over fifties; and will set them to ear his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and instruments of his chariots.

1Sa 8:13  And he will take your daughters to be confectionaries, and to be cooks, and to be bakers.

1Sa 8:14  And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your oliveyards, even the best of them, and give them to his servants.

1Sa 8:15  And he will take the tenth of your seed, and of your vineyards, and give to his officers, and to his servants.

1Sa 8:16  And he will take your menservants, and your maidservants, and your goodliest young men, and your asses, and put them to his work.

1Sa 8:17  He will take the tenth of your sheep: and ye shall be his servants.

1Sa 8:18  And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king which ye shall have chosen you; and the LORD will not hear you in that day.

1Sa 8:19  Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, Nay; but we will have a king over us;

1Sa 8:20  That we also may be like all the nations; and that our king may judge us, and go out before us, and fight our battles.

1Sa 8:21  And Samuel heard all the words of the people, and he rehearsed them in the ears of the LORD.

1Sa 8:22  And the LORD said to Samuel, Hearken unto their voice, and make them a king. And Samuel said unto the men of Israel, Go ye every man unto his city.

It has become fashionable in our modern times to consider that the Bible is a “religious” book, which is to maintain that it only speaks to “religious” and/or “spiritual” issues. This attitude therefore attempts to relegate the content of scripture to the ethereal, never to touch down on earth in any authoritative or meaningful manner. However, this is simply not the case. The Bible addresses every significant aspect of life, and is far from the Gnostic premises of exclusive “other worldliness”.

As a consequence of this contemporary Gnosticism, many wish to maintain that the Word of God has nothing to do with, or say anything about, the whole area of politics. Many wish to maintain that “religious” concerns are over here (on one side) and political matters are way over here (on the far opposite side). Nothing could be farther from the truth. Every system of politics rests on an inherently religious basis regardless of protestations to the contrary. Therefore, competing political systems should be understood as representing competing religious systems. This is inescapable.

To simplify this concept, we should be reminded of the fact that whatever a man sows in his garden, or society, is exactly what he should expect to reap. You do not reap grapes from star thistle seeds, no matter how hard you may try.

In our text today we have the biblical definition of tyranny as delivered by the prophet Samuel to the children of Israel. We would do well to note that this was a revolution against the governmental system that had been ordained for this people, recorded in the books of Exodus, Deuteronomy, and Leviticus. As pastor Samuel Langdon rightly noted in a sermon in May of 1775:

“The Jewish government, according to the original constitution which was divinely established, if considered merely in a civil view, was a perfect republic.  The heads of their tribes, and elders of their cities, were their counselors and judges….  Counselors and judges comprehend all the powers of that government, for there was no such thing as legislative authority belonging to it, their complete code of laws being given immediately from God by the hand of Moses.”

This is what the Jewish nation was rejecting, and fomenting a complete replacement of.

I want to draw your attention to a number of the important statements in the scriptural text itself.

First, the substitutional system they were demanding would be characterized overwhelmingly by “taking”. Their new “change” would implement a government that would require (and allow) the following.

1. The taking of their sons for the use of the king. This would be, in effect, a form of conscription for the personal benefit of the king as well as providing for the manufacture of the weapons of war and a standing army. “He will take your sons, and appoint them for himself, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and some shall run before his chariots. And he will appoint him captains over thousands, and captains over fifties; and will set them to ear his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and instruments of his chariots.” (vs. 11-12) This was something unheard of in their previous estate. Previously, they had relied on what we would call “militia”.

2. The taking of their daughters to be impressed as servants for the king’s table and pageantry. “And he will take your daughters to be confectionaries, and to be cooks, and to be bakers.” (vs.13) This sort of thing was antithetical to a variety of prohibitions against forced servitude declared in the Laws of God.

3. The notion of private property would be abolished. “And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your oliveyards, even the best of them, and give them to his servants.“ (vs. 14)

4. The new system would include the redistribution of wealth from those who were the producers to the king and to those whom found the particular favor of the king. This would establish a politically privileged class. “And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your oliveyards, even the best of them, and give them to his servants. And he will take the tenth of your seed, and of your vineyards, and give to his officers, and to his servants. And he will take your menservants, and your maidservants, and your goodliest young men, and your asses, and put them to his work.”  (vs. 14-16)

5. A new system of taxation to support the new apparatus would be established to maintain all of this, and would arrogate the status of the new state to that of ‘godhood’ by demanding at least parity with the true God by taking 10% (or more) in taxes to be levied on the people. “And he will take the tenth of your seed, and of your vineyards, and give to his officers, and to his servants… He will take the tenth of your sheep: and ye shall be his servants.” (vs. 15, 17) Remember that the tithe that God requires of His people is 10%.

6. Basic personal freedoms would be all but abolished. There would be the termination of any form of basic self determination. Arbitrary abridgements of these rights would become the norm. “He will take the tenth of your sheep: and ye shall be his servants.“  (vs. 17 and others) What do we call a system in which your property, wealth, children, indeed your very life, are all subject to such arbitrary power that assumes authority over all of these? Slavery.

7. The new government would include a revision of their system of judicial review, and likely a revision of their judicial code. “That we also may be like all the nations; and that our king may judge us, and go out before us…” (vs. 20)

Not a very pretty picture is it? Do you think we could find any parallels today in the modern world? How about in our nation? How about in our counties? Maybe in our towns and cities?

So where did this impulse come from? The text itself answers this question.

The first thing that we should note is that there was a generational discontinuity between Samuel and his sons. His sons did not follow faithfully in the footsteps of their father and had perverted and corrupted the system of justice that was in force. This was not a failure of the system, but rather was a moral failure in Samuel’s sons and their contemporaries. Nonetheless, the people cited this as one favorable point in arguing for their revolution.

Secondly, it appears that the people of Israel were impressed by the governmental systems of the pagans that surrounded them. These are what they pointed to as the ‘new’ paradigm which they wanted to follow. They wanted to be just “like them”. Perhaps they believed that these alternate systems were “cool” or “progressive”. They certainly were novel compared to the system that God had given to them.

Third, and most significantly, this was a consequence of their defection from faith in the Lord Himself. Samuel was told by God not to take this too personally, as he was merely a representative, a stand in, for the Lord. The people really didn’t want to serve God any more, and had already (at that time), rejected Him as their King. They wanted a substitute who would be more like them. Never mind all of the privileges and benefits they had received from God. They already had a history of being resistant and stiff-necked in relationship to the Lord and to the covenant which He had ordained for them, and this revolution was the fruit of their lack of repentance.

Fourth, this would be a formulation of what we now call the ‘nanny’ state. Note that they were not only desiring a ruler to make a public show, but one that would take care of them by fighting their battles for them (as particularly stated), and it is implied that they expected to be well taken care of in other ways. Thus, this was a creation of a god-state to replace the true and living God.

Verse 18 anticipates the future of this agenda. It predicts a time in which the people would wake up to the magnitude of this error and realize that this mistake had cost them far more than they had anticipated or imagined. Why, they would even be driven to cry out to God for deliverance! They are forewarned of the consequences. God warns them that He would not listen to them in that day just as they had refused to hear Him and his prophet. This is not a declaration or a threat of absolute abandonment, as subsequent history demonstrates, but certainly an indication that God would be in no hurry to respond to their despondency. This is a history lesson we should be prepared to pay acute attention to.

We also should be asking ourselves questions about the causal nature of our present miseries. Could it be that we, like the Israelites of old, have forsaken the living God, and traded His benefits (both temporal and eternal) in for an unfaithful and unfruitful pagan model? If so, what should we expect? Do we have a basis to believe that we deserve anything different than those of whom we learn of in this text? If this is the case, if we have forsaken the Lord and His ways, we should diligently, faithfully, and sincerely confess our sins to our Lord and King, repent of our infidelity, and hope in His great mercies. We do not know whether it is too late. I don’t believe it is, and I hope that it is not. But we must respond in a way that pleases God, and not ourselves.

May we find grace in the sight of the Lord.

Closing Prayer

This is a prayer written by David, while he was hiding in a cave, on the run from Saul, the first king (and tyrant) after the revolt we have just considered.

Psalm 142

I cried unto the Lord with my voice; with my voice unto the Lord did I make my supplication. I poured out my complaint before him; I shewed before him my trouble. When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, then thou knewest my path. In the way wherein I walked have they privily laid a snare for me. I looked on my right hand, and beheld, but there was no man that would know me: refuge failed me; no man cared for my soul. I cried unto thee, O Lord: I said, Thou art my refuge and my portion in the land of the living. Attend unto my cry; for I am brought very low; deliver me from my persecutors; for they are stronger than I. Bring my soul out of prison that I may praise thy name: the righteous shall compass me about; for thou shalt deal bountifully with me.