God Is Treating You As Children When You Are Persecuted

It is becoming more and more difficult to be a Christian. That's not to say that this difficulty is the same in every country. Since I live in the U.S.A. I can only speak for us in this country. Here the challenge is to deal with hostility in a quite differing manner than in some other places. Here we face what the Hebrews writer calls hostility in a different way than say in a predominately Muslim country. Listen to what he says.

Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? "My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives." It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. - Hbr 12:3-8 ESV

The Greek language has a unique word for hostility, one used primarily in this letter and once in Jude. The word is anti-logia. It would be what we call contradiction or dispute. The primary manner by which we Christians face hostility here is by indirect contradiction. In other words, much of what we stand for is considered irrelevant or narrow-minded. Plenty of examples of this:

• Christians are anti-scientific. They are the idiots who claim that evolution did not happen when all of the rest of the world knows that it did. These dimwits claim that the world is only about 6,000 years old while all the rest of the scientific world knows that our planet is billions of years old. 

• Christians are anti-scientific in another way as well. They claim that the entire world was once covered with a flood that wiped out all mankind except one family. There is no evidence of this. None! And yet they hold to this silly little concept because their sacred book says something like that. 

• Christians insist on something they call a soul. Now we all know that this is an outmoded concept. We are nothing more and nothing less than biological machines that have evolved along with all other forms of life. And soon the day will come when we will be able to download this biological information into advanced computers, eliminating the need for outmoded human bodies. We won't need then to talk about souls or spirits—a medieval, non-scientific mental construct. 

• Christians insist that their's is the only religion. What nonsense that is. As any thinking person knows, all religions have something to contribute to the mankind's search for meaning and relevance. Consequently what is called for in these modern times is dialogue, open, honest dialogue and respect. Then we'll all learn from one another. 

I could go on and on to talk about how many in the upcoming generations are taught by their teachers and the media to view Christians as quaint and well-meaning at best. Above all they are sidelined in a way that says, "We'll put up with you as long as you don't interfere. But be sure that you stay out of the way. We have far, far more interesting and important things to do." 

This, I suggest, is what much of modern hostility is about. And, if you are a Christian committed to the Lordship of Jesus Christ and the authority of Holy Scriptures you know what I mean. We Christians in the U.S.A. are not hauled into court directly for being Christians and then thrown to the lions. No we have to deal with the lions in our workplaces, in our schools and even in our homes. There we are challenged, mocked and despised and then driven at times to weariness and exhaustion. We get so tired of having to take up yet another confrontation, another dispute. Why, why? 

The Holy Spirit's answer to all this is (in Greek) paideia. This was the whole training and education of children. It was the work of parents, mentors and teachers. It was the task of getting children to use their minds, deal with the challenges of making decisions in the right way. It was the task of correcting them so that when they make a mistake they learn from the mistake, grow from it and become better prepared the next time they face the challenge. This is why the LORD allows us to be attacked, vilified, mocked and despised. It is part of the paideia, the discipline and training the LORD is putting us through so that we might grow up. 

More on this next time. 

Genocide Or Justice?

One blasphemous website mocks the LORD God. The author writes,

Why would anybody worship the god of the Bible? He lies, cheats, and kills with impunity. But, he loves us! His mythical son Jesus is a little better, but he wants to torture people forever. The story of Jesus' crucifixion is a horrible story of human sacrifice, and Christians even celebrate it by ceremoniously drinking his blood and eating his body. This is ritual vampirism and cannibalism.

The site goes on to describe what it calls genocide commanded by the LORD as recorded in numerous places in the Old Testament. The author estimates that God killed roughly 33 million people, including many children! Why, he asks, would anyone want to worship such a God?

This is not a casual question. It is one that pastors often are asked. In my last post we looked at Elisha and the murderous bears. Let's look at another frightening slaughter commanded by the LORD, a story taught to every little child in Sunday School.

So the people shouted, and the trumpets were blown. As soon as the people heard the sound of the trumpet, the people shouted a great shout, and the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they captured the city. Then they devoted all in the city to destruction, both men and women, young and old, oxen, sheep, and donkeys, with the edge of the sword. - Jos 6:20-21 ESV

This is the well-known story of the fall of Jericho's walls after Joshua and his army had marched around the city for seven days, led on the final day by the priests and the ark of the covenant. The city and all within it was devoted to the LORD for destruction. The bloody massacre of everything alive followed. I'm confident that most Sunday School teachers do not invite their students to picture in their minds Israel's soldiers chopping and slashing through Jericho's women and children with their swords. Many similar stories of slaughter follow in the history of the Children of Israel's capture of the Holy Land (Num 31:7-17; Deut.2:33, 34; 3:6; 20:13-18; Jos 6:21, 24; 8:24, 25; 10:2-40;11:11-23; 1Sa 15:3-9; 27:8-11). How shall we respond to the atheists who mock us for worshipping such a God?

To comprehend all this we must have some background. The principle cited to Israel by Moses applies:

"Do not say in your heart, after the LORD your God has thrust them out before you, 'It is because of my righteousness that the LORD has brought me in to possess this land,' whereas it is because of the wickedness of these nations that the LORD is driving them out before you. Not because of your righteousness or the uprightness of your heart are you going in to possess their land, but because of the wickedness of these nations the LORD your God is driving them out from before you, and that he may confirm the word that the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. Know, therefore, that the LORD your God is not giving you this good land to possess because of your righteousness, for you are a stubborn people. - Deu.9:4-6 ESV

What was so wicked about these nations in Canaan? Their polytheism, the worship of numerous gods and goddesses stood at the root of an utterly immoral and depraved population. Sacred prostitution, child sacrifice and snake worship abounded. Consider some of the gods, what was taught about them and how they were worshipped.

The word El is a generic name for 'god' in the Semitic languages of the time (Hebrew and Ugaritic). It was applied to the God of Israel by Joshua: The Living God, Joshua 3:10. In the Canaanite religion the god El was the head of their pantheon. Their gods reflect influences both from Egypt to the west and Mesopotamia to the north and east. This region was the site of numerous wars fought by the nations of these regions to control the land. Further, since the great bulk of the populace lived an agrarian life great emphasis was upon the fertility of the crops, their flocks and, of course, of humans. So we have many myths about how to please the gods and obtain their blessings and protection. Samples include:

<—Asherah - Mother goddess, wife of El, Queen of heaven. Her images were found in forests, carved on living trees or in the form of poles beside altars at the side of roads. Many references throughout the OT refer to Asherah images and condemn worship of the goddess (Isa.17:8; 27:9; Jer.17:2; Micah 5:14).


Ashtoret (Hebrew) goddess —> of fertility sexuality and war, known also among the Greeks as Astarte or Aphrodite and among the Romans as Venus or Diana. Among Phoenicians and Babylonians she was Ishtar, courtesan of the gods, worshipped in a cult involving sacred prostitution. Many other goddesses could be mentioned. As Israel settled into the land Moses sternly warned them about the practice of having intercourse with women or men devoted to these goddesses. He does, in fact, use a word we translate as 'holy' (qadesh), when referring to women and men set apart to serve as prostitutes.

None of the daughters of Israel shall be a cult prostitute (qadeshah), and none of the sons of Israel shall be a cult prostitute (qadesh). - Deut. 23:17 ESV

Baal - lord, master, son of and successor to El, Lord of heaven, god of rain, storm and thunder, giver of fertility. He fights with Mot (god of death, drought and adversity) to revive the land. 108 times the OT refers to the Baals (e.g. Exod.14:2; Num 22:41; Num 25:3; Num 25:5; Jos 11:17; Jos 12:7; Jdg 6:25; Jdg 6:28; Jdg 6:30; Jdg 6:31-32 ESV).

Moloch - one of the baals or lords. The primitive title of this god was very probably "king" (melech in Hebrew) the consonants of which came to be combined through derision with the vowels of the Hebrew word bosheth, "shame". The chief feature of worshipping this god was to put a fire inside the god's metal image with outstretched hands. When the idol was red hot a child would be put between the hands and burnt. The worship of this god continued long after Israel occupied the land. One special centre of such atrocities was just outside of Jerusalem, at a place called Tophet ("place of abomination"), in the valley of Gehennom. According to 1 Kings 11:7, Solomon erected a high place for Chemosh (Kemosh in Hebr.) the abomination of Moab and for Molech the abomination of the Ammonites, "on the mountain east of Jerusalem." On this account Solomon is at times considered the monarch who re-introduced the impious cult into Israel. Thus in the NT one of the words for hell is gehenna - after the valley of Gehennom (Matthew 5:22,29,30). 

We could go on and on about the many gods worshipped in this land, including Reshep - god of plague and the underworld, Shulman -god of health, Koshar or Hothar - god of crafts, Marqod - god of dance, Yaw - god of sea and river, Yarikh - god of the moon, etc. 

The point to all of this is that Canaan was totally and radically idolatrous. This worship of false gods touched every aspect of marriage, home, family, the raising of children, culture, economy, travel —everything they said and thought and did. For 40 years they had heard of the Israelites out in the wild places, the people whom the LORD God had delivered from slavery in Egypt. In Jericho only the prostitute Rahab accepted the stories and put her and her family's life into the hands of Israel and Israel's God. Thus she was spared to become an ancestor of Jesus Christ (Joshua 6:17,25; Matt. 1:5). 

Let atheists mock the true God. Let them accuse God of genocide or whatever they want. Like us all they will stand before God to give an account of their unbelief, their self-centered pride and their idolatrous worship of human intelligence. The story of Jericho and others like it are given to warn us that there is but one God. No others will be nor may be permitted to rival Him. Those who mock Him and worship idols will surely perish and die and will be separated eternally from Him and from all hope. 

But ours is also a God of mercy and forgiveness. In spite of it all He would have none perish. For this reason our LORD took upon Himself our human flesh and offered up His life in our place. We who put our trust in Him and in His sacrifice are surely forgiven and do indeed inherit life eternal (John 3:16-18; Romans 5:8; 2 Corinthians 5:19-21; 1 John 4:10).

Elisha And The Murderous Bears

In the early years of my pastoral ministry I was called to comfort a young family whose 3-yr. old had fallen into an open cistern and drowned. I was not well prepared for the task. I still remember the tears and anguish of that young couple as they berated themselves for their negligence.

Many questions arise at the death of a child besides guilt. One that keeps coming up is this. Why did God do it? Or why did God allow this to happen? What does the Bible have to say about this? Is God indeed behind the death of some children?

There are numerous stories in the Bible about children dying before their parents. Along with those stories there are many questions about why God permitted or even commanded these deaths. Were I to look at all the stories one by one we'd be at it for the next several months. Instead I'll look at but a few examples that will aid us in interpreting the others and provide some answers to these frightening questions.

For today let's look at Elisha and the murderous bears!

He went up from there to Bethel, and while he was going up on the way, some small boys came out of the city and jeered at him, saying, "Go up, you baldhead! Go up, you baldhead!"

And he turned around, and when he saw them, he cursed them in the name of the LORD. And two she-bears came out of the woods and tore forty-two of the boys   (2 Kings 2:23-25). 

Forty-two small boys torn to shreds by two bear sows! How terribly frightening. How do you explain this? An act of God? Nature gone awry? First some background.

Elisha ('God saves' in Hebr.) was God's chosen successor to the great prophet Elijah (1 Kings 19:8-21). After being called to follow Elijah, Elisha went with the prophet to the eastern side of the Jordan river where Elijah was suddenly separated from him by chariots and horses of fire and caught up into heaven in a whirlwind. As he was lifted up, Elijah dropped his mantle, confirming Elisha's call to be his successor. With that cloak Elisha parted the waters of the river and walked back over. The sons of the prophets who saw all this affirmed God's choice, saying, "The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha." Shortly afterwards Elisha miraculously turned the bad water of Jericho into good with a new bowl of salt, further confirming God's choice (2 Kings 2:1-22).

Now to the text.

Elisha was God's chosen prophet. The choice was confirmed by the other prophets and by the miracle of turning bad water into water sweet and useful. Like Moses and Aaron of old, Elisha spoke for the LORD. His words were God's words (Exodus 7:1-2; Deuteronomy 18:18-19). To mock and revile him was to mock and revile the LORD whose representative he was.

Who were these "small boys"? The Hebrew words (qatan na'ar) can refer to small boys, but may even refer to young men of about twenty (Genesis 34:19) or servants (2 Kings 5:20). The NKJV and the NIV call them 'youths', the ASV 'young lads'. They could well have been a gang of teenagers. We all know how they can be when out of control.

What was this about calling him "you bald head"? The prophet Isaiah speaks God's curse upon the haughty daughters of Zion with their outstretched necks, wanton eyes, mincing about, tinkling with their feet. They will loose their fine anklets, headbands, crescents, pendants, bracelets, scarves, headdresses, amulets, sashes, perfume boxes, amulets, signet and nose rings, festal robes, mantles, cloaks, handbags, mirrors, linen garments, turbans, veils, perfume, wavy hair and rich robes.  Instead the women will rot, be forced to wear sackcloth, and be branded as slaves with heads shaved bald. This was to be God's curse upon their prideful unbelief, greed and disobedience (Isaiah 3:14-26).

In that sense, these boys were not merely mocking Elisha for having a bald head—we don't even know that he did. They were calling down a curse upon him, asking God to turn him into a slave with a shaved head.

And beyond that they cried, "Go up, go up!" They had heard about this Elijah flying up to heaven. "OK, old baldy, let's see you do it. Up, up and away, like smoke into the air (Genesis 19:28). Fly, baby, fly if you can! You're a prophet after all and prophets are supermen who can fly. Go for it. Up, up and away!"

With their japes they joined the people who had mocked the LORD God during the ministry of Elijah. Perhaps you know the story of how Elijah confronted and destroyed the prophets of Baal at Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18:20-46). Mockery of the LORD and taking His name in vain was widespread in those days, as it is in ours. This story was but another example of it by the youth of Jericho. They were not merely mocking a man. They were making fun of the LORD Himself and they needed to know the consequences of this blasphemy. This was serious business. They and their families must learn that there is no other God and that by such sacrilege they invite His wrath down upon them (Deut. 5:11).

So the wrath came as they had dared God to give them. Elisha turned and cursed them in the name of the LORD and the LORD sent the bear sows out upon them. Surely there were many others gathered at the time, others who fled the frightful beasts, but these 42 lads did die in the malay.

This story, like so many others in the Bible, reminds us sinners that we must all one day stand before the judgment seat of God to give account of our lives, deeds and words. This story, like others, calls us all, little boys and girls, young or old men and women, to turn from our sinful ways, to fall before our God to beg for His mercy and forgiveness. To such there is always good news. We have an Advocate who pleads on our behalf before the throne of God and even now speaks to us forgiveness, life and hope (1 John 2:1-2).