Reflections on Donald Trump’s criminal conviction

Worship is not a substitute for obedience.

This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel says: “Go ahead, add your burnt offerings to your other offerings and eat the meat yourselves! For when I brought your forefathers out of Egypt and spoke to them, I did not just give them commands about burnt offerings and sacrifices, but I gave them this command: Obey me, and I will be your God and you will be my people. Walk in all the ways I command you, that it may go well with you.

But they did not listen or pay attention, instead, they followed the stubborn inclinations of their evil hearts. They went backward and not forward. From the time your forefathers left Egypt until now, day after day, again and again I sent you my servants the prophets. But they did not listen to me or pay attention. They were stiffnecked and did more evil than their forefathers.” (Jeremiah 7:21-26)

This is another of Jeremiah’s sweeping statements condemning the official religion in Jerusalem during the reign of Jehoiakim and shortly before the Babylonian invasion of 598 BC. The positioning of this word in Jeremiah 7 is highly significant. It follows Jeremiah’s Temple Sermon and his declaration that God was actually going to destroy his own sanctuary, as he had done at Shiloh.

Jeremiah was told to tell the people that the message from God was: “I will thrust you from my presence, just as I did all your brothers, the people of Ephraim” (Jer 7:15). He then received a personal command to stop praying for the welfare of the nation because God was no longer prepared to turn a blind eye to what they were doing. God could see whole families indulging in the worship of Astarte, the goddess of fertility – and actually doing these things openly in the streets of Jerusalem!

These things were provoking the anger of the Lord, but his wrath was primarily turned upon the religious leaders of the nation – the Temple priests and prophets who were allowing such things to happen openly, in sight of the Temple, without rebuke!

The people were provoking God’s anger, but his wrath was primarily turned upon the religious leaders of the nation.

Call to Obedience

This word from Jeremiah is directed to the priests who were responsible for the daily morning and evening sacrifices in the Temple. They were told not to bother with these ritual sacrifices any more – they were wasting their time, because God would no longer heed their prayers and petitions on behalf of the nation. They might as well eat the meat for themselves rather than burn it on the altar as “a pleasing aroma, an offering made to the Lord by fire” (Ex 29:41).

The presenting of a regular daily offering at the Tent of Meeting was a command given to Moses (Ex 29:38-45; Num 28:11-13). This practice was still being observed when David became king over all Israel, even before he established Jerusalem as his capital. When the Ark was recaptured from the Philistines we read, “David left Zadok the priest and his fellow priests before the tabernacle of the Lord at the high place in Gibeon to present burnt offerings to the Lord on the altar of burnt offering regularly, morning and evening” (1 Chron 16:39). When Jerusalem became the capital of the nation, this daily offering was transferred to Solomon’s Temple.

In the reading we are studying today, God reminded Jeremiah that the central command he had given to Moses was a call for obedience. The First Commandment was that the people of Israel should have no other God than Yahweh their Lord. This was of supreme importance. Obedience to the teaching given to Moses was far more important than offering sacrifices. The sacrifices were acts of worship during which prayers and petitions were offered, but worship was not a substitute for obedience.

God reminded Jeremiah that the central command he had given to Moses was a call for obedience.

Meaningless Offerings

Jeremiah, in accordance with prophetic tradition in Israel, gave little importance to the ritual of sacrificial practices. Back in the 8^th Century, some 200 years earlier, Isaiah had begun his ministry with a devastating attack upon the whole sacrificial system:

The multitude of your sacrifices – what are they to me?” says the Lord. “I have more than enough of burnt offerings, of rams and the fat of fattened animals…Stop bringing meaningless offerings!…Even if you offer many prayers, I will not listen…Stop doing wrong, learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed… (Isa 1:11-17)

In a similar vein, Amos lambasted the people in the northern Kingdom of Israel: “I hate, I despise your religious feasts; I cannot stand your assemblies. Even though you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them…Away with the noise of your songs!…But let justice roll like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!” (Amos 5:21-24).

Jeremiah said that there was a long history of the people failing to obey the commands of the Lord. He had sent them prophets to declare his word in every generation, ever since they left Egypt: “Day after day, again and again…But they did not listen to me or pay attention.” The people were doing just as their forefathers had done, relying upon the traditional ritual of religion carried out by the priests on behalf of the nation and thinking that they were thereby fulfilling the requirements of God.

The priests were at fault for not teaching the people that obedience to the commandments of the Lord was essential. They could not expect God to fulfil the promises of his covenant relationship with the nation unless this requirement of obedience to the Torah was fulfilled.

But the level of disobedience and refusal to listen to correction was so ingrained in the nation, due to it being institutionalised in their religion, that Jeremiah was told by God that neither the priests nor the people would listen to him. He was to say, “This is the nation that has not obeyed the Lord its God or responded to correction. Truth has perished; it has vanished from their lips” (Jer 7:28).

The priests were at fault for not teaching the people that obedience to the commandments of the Lord was essential.

True Worship

It is a basic biblical teaching in the prophetic tradition of Israel that worship, however loud and exuberant, does not absolve the worshippers from obedience to the teaching that God has given. This is an instruction that ought to be heeded today!

Faithful attendance at church and participation in worship on Sundays does not absolve us from ungodly behaviour on weekdays – especially in the denial of justice and compassion in our human relationships.

This prophetic tradition also applies to preachers and teachers and worship leaders today. It is no use turning up the volume on our sound system if the teaching we are giving is contrary to biblical truth! If truth has ‘vanished from our lips’, we may be sure that the Lord will be saying, “Away with your songs! Walk in all the ways I command you that it may go well with you.”

This article is part of a series on the life and ministry of the Prophet Jeremiah. Click here for previous instalments.

Trust and obey: life lessons from the ministry of Samuel.

 In the sixth part of our series on the relevance of the message and ministry of the non-writing prophets for today, Pete Dye looks at Samuel.

The significance of Samuel as one of the great men of God is often unrecognised. In some ways he was second only to Moses as a leader of God’s people - Israel. Samuel was also the last of the judges, and the measure of his worth as leader is seen in the kingdom that emerged under Saul and then David.

After settling in their land, the 12 tribes had quickly become disgruntled and divided. The structure of their nation was falling apart. The judges, whom God raised up, were often only recognised by one tribe or group of tribes, and only briefly did they unite the people. It was a time which the writer of the Book of Judges summarised as: “In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit” (Jud 21:25).

Samuel's Early Years

Samuel's father, Elkanah, had been married to his mother, Hannah, for several years. They had no children, so Elkanah took another wife who was fruitful and bore him children. Although this provided Elkanah with what he desired it also brought division into his household.

Hannah, a godly woman, took her burden to the Lord and vowed that if he gave her a son, she would give him back to the Lord. The Lord answered her prayer and Samuel was born. Hannah fulfilled her vow and brought Samuel to the Lord. He lived in the house of the Lord under the tutelage of Eli, without his mother's closeness. Eli, his substitute parent, was ineffective as a father - as was demonstrated by the behaviour of his sons Hophni and Phinehas, who were wicked men.

In some ways Samuel was second only to Moses as a leader of God’s people.

Although, at first, Samuel did not recognise the Lord speaking to him, once he did he responded immediately and gladly. This marked out his life; he was a man who heard God clearly and was obedient to what he heard. One of the great needs of today is for men and women to do just this. God has provided us with his written word as a benchmark, but he also speaks clearly through the prophetic word, which must always be tested.

Intimacy with God

In many ways, Samuel was a shadow of our model, the Lord Jesus Christ. The Psalmist describes the Messiah as the one who says, “I desire to do your will, O my God” (Ps 40:8). Jesus had an open ear to his Father. Is this not the secret of any ministry that God blesses? It begins with this kind of intimate relationship with God.

The Lord was with Samuel and his early experiences set the tone for his life. As God spoke to him so Samuel was able to speak the word of the Lord clearly to the nation. It was more than just the word of the Lord, however! Samuel had an intimacy with the Lord as the Lord revealed himself through his word (1 Sam 3:19-21). The Lord showed Samuel in incredible detail what would happen, and then confirmed his word by its fulfilment. In that way, God let ‘none of his words fall to the ground.’ Should we be expecting that kind of prophetic word today?

As a young man, Samuel knew intimacy with God through prayer. Like Moses, he was a man who talked with God. His public praying was a reflection of the private relationship he had with God. Jeremiah 15:1 links Samuel and Moses in this respect: “Then the LORD said to me: ‘Even if Moses and Samuel were to stand before me, my heart would not go out to this people. Send them away from my presence! Let them go!’”

The people of Israel had reached a situation of utter disgrace before God. They had been under Philistine oppression and had lost the Ark of God in battle. They had never had authority from God to use the Ark in the way that they did, and it was only a sovereign act of God that made the Philistines return it.

Samuel was a man who heard God clearly and was obedient to what he heard.

Repentance

20 years were to elapse before the people turned to the Lord in repentance: “It was a long time, twenty years in all, that the ark remained at Kiriath Jearim, and all the people of Israel mourned and sought after the Lord” (1 Sam 7:2). During this time Samuel was able to speak to the nation clearly about God’s terms.

If there was a seeking after God from the heart, then there were things to do to express that repentance. He called the nation to cleanse itself from the false gods that had been tolerated and they responded to his call. They put away all their false gods and determined to serve the Lord alone (1 Sam 7:4). On this basis, Samuel could call the nation to come together.

The implication of Scripture is that this repentance was in part the result of Samuel's ministry. Although his words had come to Israel, his words had also come to God in prayer. At the right time, in this national gathering, he could pray publicly for the people of God. Scripture records that the Lord both heard and answered his prayer (1 Sam 7:9).

Is this not relevant to God’s people today? Are there not false gods worshipped by God’s people in modem Britain? There are gods of materialism that are avidly worshipped in the modern church. They may be more sophisticated than the Roth of Samuel's day, but just as insidious and destructive to the people of God. Samuel was straight with God's people. They had to serve God alone and his preaching had great effect.

Man of Integrity

Another feature of Samuel’s ministry was that he was a man whose judgment could be trusted. He never judged to please men of importance. He could be trusted and did not accept bribes. He was scrupulously fair. Sometimes good men can make bad judges, and some bad men can make good judges. Samuel was both a good man and a good judge. Even while Saul was king, Samuel was the supportive elder statesman who did not get in Saul's way. Samuel made a circuit of Israel; from Bethel to Gilgal and Mizpah and then back to his administrative seat in Ramah, Samuel would travel the land.

Samuel was straight with God's people - they had to serve God alone, not idols.

Our modern world, despite its sophistication, is full of dishonesty. This even affects the Church. The Christian in business and work a few decades ago would be known for his integrity. I believe that Christian standards are slipping. We have become too much like our culture in its dishonesty. Maybe God is calling us afresh through Samuel to live lives of transparent honesty and integrity before the world and in the Church. People respect that and feel safe with it, even if it makes them feel uncomfortable. We need Christian leaders with that same characteristic.

Sacrifice and Cost

There was also a cost involved in Samuel’s life and ministry. His mother had promised him to God as a Nazirite (1 Sam 1:11). And so he was, his life was totally consecrated to God from his days in the sanctuary at Shiloh under Eli until his death.

But it was never easy. He went through experiences that the modern psychologist would use to excuse unrighteous behaviour. He left home at an early age and may have felt rejected. He lost the sanctuary that had been his home at Shiloh when it was destroyed by the Philistines. He could so easily have become bitter because of this. Then his sons disappointed him. He had great expectations of them and made them judges, but they accepted bribes and did not follow his ways.

He was the leader of Israel, but was told by God to first anoint Saul, and later David, to be king. Samuel felt deeply rejected by this, and God had to point out to him that it was the Lord who was being rejected. Samuel was only rejected because he was God’s anointed representative. What an example to us as we excuse our behaviour because of our circumstances!

Samuel's home was at Ramah. He administered justice and built an altar to the Lord there. His home, his work and his worship were all in harmony. Some Christians manage to compartmentalise their lives. They can be keen Christians as far as church is concerned, and yet at work no-one knows that they are Christians. Sometimes they are different at home to how they are in church. Samuel was consistent and presents a tremendous challenge to us. His godly life and example were the means which God used to bring together 12 ungodly tribes into a nation that was one under the leadership of David.

We continue to explore the ministries of the non-writing prophets.

In part three of a series which looks at the relevance of the message and ministry of the non-writing prophets, Jock Stein considers the lessons that can be learned from the life of Deborah.

Deborah is not the only prophetess mentioned in the Bible but, she is the only woman who combined political and religious leadership. As such, her prophetic style is an important model, even though the judges in the Old Testament were transitional leaders between the patriarchs and the kings.

Deborah first appears in Judges chapter 4, during a period of oppression for Israel. The Israelites had sinned against the Lord by intermarrying with the Canaanites (Jud 3:5-6). They had also become increasingly dependent on the Canaanites for their trade and, indeed, their survival. As a consequence, the Lord had allowed them to be ruled by Jabin, a Canaanite king, and his general, Sisera. The Canaanites controlled the roads in the Esdraelon valley and had exercised this control for twenty years, during the twelfth century BC. Sisera and his 900 chariots used military technology to oppress the Israelites, until, that is, the intervention of Deborah.

Wife, Prophetess, Judge

Judges chapter 5, which is a song of triumph, celebrating the way that Israel defeated Sisera and came into freedom, gives us some useful background information. The people had been prevented from travelling and trading freely (5:6). They had been reduced to poverty (5:8), in contrast to the situation later on when the roads were re-opened (5:10). Sisera was hated, especially by women; his mother is pictured dreaming about the Israelite girls he and his men would capture (5:30), while the general statement found in 2:18 uses a word for oppression which implies rape.

Deborah is identified in Judges 4:4 as a wife, a prophetess and a judge; and in 5:7 as a ’mother in Israel’. Here, the Bible cuts right across the neat rules of Protestant conservatism and Catholic tradition. God raised up a woman who was a leader and a wife. She is also a model of team leadership — recognising the military authority of Barak, the Israelite general, but at the same time bringing him a command from God.

Against Barak, who had accepted the status quo of Canaanite oppression, Deborah opts for Godly rebellion. Barak defers to her judgment on condition that she goes with him. This is a clear indication of Barak’s recognition of Deborah's social and spiritual authority.

God raised up a woman who was a leader and a wife.

Two aspects of the prophetic ministry are linked with this story. First, the faithful listening to God and hearing from him; second, the faithful sharing of what he says. In Judges 4:6, Deborah sends for Barak and tells him what God has told her concerning what Barak is to do, along with the encouraging word that God would deliver Sisera into his power (4:7).

There is another link here, between prophecy and interpretation, which in the New Testament is more often left to the whole church; God tells Deborah not only what is going to happen, but who is going to make it happen, i.e. Barak. It is vital for anyone with a prophetic gift, and for church leaders, to distinguish between prophecy and interpretation. Here, however, Deborah is given the interpretation – how to make it happen – as part of the message.

The Providence of God

Not only do we have a woman in a key leadership role, but the key player in the subsequent drama is also a woman.

After Barak has led his ten thousand troops without armour into battle against Sisera’s well-equipped army, we are told that the Lord threw the enemy into a panic. At this point Sisera flees and takes refuge with an ally of King Jabin – Heber the Kenite. However, Heber’s wife Jael has her own ideas: she pretends to befriend the exhausted Sisera, gives him hospitality, and then, while he is asleep, drives a tent-peg into his skull. When she subsequently presents Barak with the dead general, another of Deborah's prophecies is fulfilled; “the honour will not be yours, for the Lord will hand Sisera over to a woman.”

Judges 5:4 and 5:20-21 tell us that a storm and consequent flash-flooding of the Kishon wadi were responsible for the rout – thus proving that the Lord, and not Baal, was God of nature. The whole story demonstrates the providence of a God whose design includes the ‘random’ effects of weather and migration (4:11). Today, scientists use the term ‘chaos theory’ to help them understand how chance and order are not incompatible. In other words, you do not have to choose between a world of fate, where free-will is an illusion, and a world of chance without any meaning.

Two aspects of the prophetic ministry are linked with this story: the faithful listening to God and hearing from him, and the faithful sharing of what he says.

This is a return to the biblical view which is beautifully illustrated in story of Deborah. It is especially important for young people to discover this, as so often at secondary school the curriculum gives them the lie that science is about facts and the real world; while religion is just about ideas and imagination.

Responding to God’s Call

Chapter 5 is, in fact, one of the earliest hymns recorded in the Bible. It is a celebration of what God has done for and among his people, and therefore combines the evangelical with the charismatic. It joins the rock and the reality — a good model for Christian song writing of today!

In context it was, of course, the way that people learnt their history. The Old Testament is divided into three sections — the law, the prophets and the writings - and included in the six  books of the ‘earlier prophets’ is the book of Judges. The reason for this is important.

For the Hebrews, prophecy was concerned with what God was doing - what God did became history, so history was included under the overall heading of ‘prophecy’. Judges 5, then, was given as a ‘prophetic song' which celebrated a God who was alive and did real things in the world. It also challenged the people of God: Zebulun and Naphtali answered his call and risked their lives (5:18). The tribe of Reuben was split (5:15), while Dan and Asher simply kept out of the way (5:17).

This raises a question which each of us should face — when we are faced with a challenge or difficult situation through which God is speaking to us. How do we respond to God's call today?

For the Hebrews, prophecy was concerned with what God was doing - what God did became history, so history was included under the banner of ‘prophecy’.

Deborah had a palm tree named after her (4:5). This might not seem such a great mark of recognition. The modern equivalent, however, to the ‘place of judging’ would be the city hall or Court of Appeal. Clearly she was greatly honoured in the nation. Deborah has made her mark in the inspired record of Scripture, and is an encouragement to both women and men to seek the word of the Lord, and to expect that word to have power in the political as well as the personal world.

Deborah's example reminds us that all those who have committed their lives to God, whether male or female, can have a transforming influence upon the political and social life of their nation.

Originally published in Prophecy Today, Vol 13(6), 1996.

The subject of God's judgment is a tricky one for Christians and as such it is often avoided - but what does Scripture teach us?

The subject of judgment is a tricky one for Christians and as such it is often avoided, lest we put people off God by positioning him as vindictive, just waiting for an opportunity to trap us in our errors and pour out his wrath.

The Bible teaches us that God is pure and holy and unable to compromise - yet also full of compassion and love. He will shake the nations if necessary - or leave us to our own devices, like the father in the parable of the prodigal son. Yet, also like this father, he mourns for his child and desires redemption and restored relationship.

Through a full and balanced reading of Scripture we come to know the emotions of our God that bring mercy balanced with justice in the context of judgments that can shock, punish, bless or restore individuals and nations.

Judgment in Hebrew: mishpat

When we talk of 'judgment', what do we actually mean? The Hebrew word for judgment is mishpat. It is a word with legal connotations, meaning a verdict (either favourable or unfavourable). Judgment of God is not only associated with woe and punishment – it can also be to do with blessing. Simply put, biblical 'judgment' refers to the judicial decisions God makes as he interacts with mankind. Our closest analogy is a court of law where a judge sums up the evidence and makes a decision concerning right and wrong, justice and mercy.

This, however, is an insufficient picture, because it sets God into a framework of constantly presiding over a law court. His relationship with mankind is deeper than that, being founded on pure love and desire for fellowship with the people he created. God as judge is active in his responses to the world situation - not passively judging from afar.

The Hebrew language is more verb-orientated than noun-orientated - the Hebrew words for judging and judgments imply action. Unlike human judges, who endeavour to stand back from the circumstances presented to them in order to make an impartial decision, God interacts with his creation with his own righteous agenda, working to bring about his own purposes.

Nevertheless, it is important for us to know that judgments of God can be favourable or unfavourable, depending on the circumstances of our walk with him.

God is active and involved in the world situation, not passively judging from afar.

Judges Appointed by Moses

God also gives his people some responsibility to make judgments themselves. For instance, Moses appointed judges. The Hebrew word for these judges is shophatim, derived from the same root word as mishpat. Exodus 18 contains the account of the appointment of these first judges from the elders of Israel.

Moses was to "teach them the statutes and laws, and show them the way in which they must walk and the work they must do" (18:20) and the elders were to "judge the people at all times ...every small matter they shall judge...the hard cases they brought to Moses" (18:22, 26) who stood before God for the people (18:19).

Some disputes were to be settled as in a court of law, but this was just a part of the picture. The main purpose of the judges was to help the people of God to understand how to walk with him, according to his teaching (Torah). The picture is of people desiring to have a close walk with God and wanting to get it right. The elders settled the simpler interpretations of Torah and Moses, who was the intercessor for the people, took the hardest cases to God.

In Moses' time, judges were appointed to help the people understand how to walk closely with God. They wanted to get it right.

With this picture in the background, we can begin a balanced study of what else the Bible says about the judgments of God. We can also form an idea of God's vision for justice and mercy for all nations.

The Big Picture

God's first decision (judgment) regarding the world was to create it! Into the world he placed people with free wills. How he weighed up the risks and the consequences is not in our ability to understand, but his decision was made with the logic of Heaven.

The first consequential judgment came at the Fall, when God judged to send mankind forth from Eden into this imperfect world environment. Our need to struggle against sin and to experience sickness and all other evils is a consequence of God's judgment on Adam's and Eve's sin. Additionally, that same satan that tempted Adam in the Garden of Eden and Jesus in the wilderness (Matt 4) is allowed by God to tempt us too (James 1:13-15, 4:7-10, Luke 22:3, 22:31).

God has decided that this will remain the condition of the world until the time he returns and brings in a new heaven and a new earth, as described in the Book of Revelation. We may not understand this fully, but we must accept the nature of this world's imperfections, both physical and spiritual, and – crucially - discover God's purposes in them. Indeed, how mankind responds to these circumstances gives rise to further judgments from God.

The Great Flood

The Great Flood at the time of Noah indicates the seriousness of our need to seek God and follow his ways. The consequences of mankind using their free will to walk away from God brought the judgment of the Flood.

Yet what was in God's heart when he "was sorry that he had made man on the earth" (Gen 6:6)? Scripture says that "he was grieved" (Gen 6:6). This is the same God who looked on his creation and judged "that it was very good" (Gen 1:31). The judgments of God well up out of the emotions of his pure heart. The results can be catastrophic - but God suffers too.

God's judgments well up out of the emotions of his pure heart. The result might be catastrophic for humans – but God suffers too.

Covenants and Conditions

When God made covenants with Noah, Abraham, Moses, and David, and through Jeremiah, he established parameters for his judgments.

One of the 'biggest' words in the Bible is if. God's covenants with Noah and Abraham placed responsibility upon God himself. There were no ifs. God's decision (judgment) was to ensure seedtime and harvest for all generations so that he could draw a covenant family to himself, whatever it would take for him and for us to accomplish this.

Yet conditions for human beings were also made clear within this overall plan - especially in the covenant made with Moses – conditions not for ensuring its ultimate fulfilment (God's responsibility), but laying out the consequences for their obedience and disobedience within it. So, up until the coming of Messiah, Deuteronomy 27 and 28 were the conditions for God's covenant with Israel. These passages are full of ifs: blessings for obedience and consequences for disobedience.

Studied carefully, we can discern that God will bring about growing hardship for his people if they disobey the terms of the covenant, bringing initial signs in the physical environment and eventually, if necessary, even removing them for a time from their Promised Land. Later, the Prophets were sent to remind Israel of the covenant and interpret the signs of judgment around them (eg see Amos 4, which can be read alongside Deuteronomy 27 and 28).

In the Mosaic covenant God laid out conditions for his people – blessings for obedience and curses for disobedience.

Yet, always remember the heart of God for his people. It was not with a vindictive attitude that God sent his people to exile in Babylon. The tears of Jeremiah over fallen Jerusalem (read the Book of Lamentations!) are a prophetic insight into the sadness of God. This sadness can be contrasted with the joy of God over his people when his judgments have brought blessing (reflected wonderfully in many Psalms and in the Song of Songs).

Removing Protection

When God sent Israel into captivity, he took away the nation's protection and allowed their enemies to prevail. He always takes responsibility (read Habakkuk, for example); he ensured that those who were used to sift Israel were themselves to be judged (see, for example, Ezekiel 35). But this principle of taking away protection is a key to understanding many of God's corrective judgments in the world today, as well as in the history of Israel (eg Num 14:9; Ezra 9:9; Ps 64; Isa 25:1-4, 30:13).

If we reject the protection of God, or if he himself removes it, we are vulnerable to the dangers of the world and of our unseen spiritual enemies, and also the consequences of our own sin and foolishness.

The judgment of God, therefore, is often outworked when he takes his protection away, so that we discover our need of him. We are in a fallen world, subject to temptation and the results of evil all around – but remember that this is the world where God sent Adam and Eve because of their own rebellion against him. In a way, then, we can bring judgment on ourselves by rejecting the protection of God. This applies to belief in Jesus too, and the invitation to eternal life through faith in him (John 3:18).

Conditions for Israel

There is always a way back - even for a nation. It is not God's desire to punish, but to redeem. Solomon prayed to God when the Temple was consecrated; God answered and gave conditions for the restoration of Israel, even if they were scattered across the earth. The prayer and God's response (2 Chron 6-7) should be read in full - carefully.

There is always a way back – even for a nation. God's desire is not to punish, but to redeem.

The verse that is well-known is 2 Chronicles 7:14, "If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves, and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sins and heal their land." The history of Israel (whether within God's blessings or curses) depends on their living by faith and obedience according to the Torah given through Moses. Yet, even at the extremity of God's judgments, God has covenant promises which means he will never abandon them completely.

Though the above show God's character, compassion and forgiveness and therefore give hope to any nation, the context of the passage is a promise directly for Israel as God's chosen nation. Sometimes we of another nation would like to read it as directly to us, but that would mean that we have a covenant with God like Israel has. We must not take this lightly or become fanciful and confused. The principles for any nation are found in Jeremiah 18.

Conditions for Any Nation

Jeremiah was shown at the potter's house that, like a potter re-modelling clay, God could re-model even a Gentile nation. The promise was similar to 2 Chronicles 7:14 but subtly different. We might think that we could read 2 Chronicles 7:14 as being that if Christians pray earnestly then God would heal their land. However, Jeremiah 18:7-10 requires that the nation as a whole repents and seeks God. Of course Christians can intercede, but ultimately the nation must come to God as a whole.

Rather than 2 Chronicles 7:14, it would be more realistic for Christians to place their hope in and quote "If that nation against whom I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I thought to bring on it" (Jer 18:8).

Nevertheless, the God of judgment is also a God of redemption and signs of his judgment always come with hope. Indeed, we can see God's judgments as having the purpose of redemption, being designed to turn hearts back to him.

God's word contains promises of hope to both Israel and to Gentile nations – his judgments always have the purpose of redemption.

Favour Before Woe

This is "the year of the Lord's favour" (Isa 61:2; Luke 4:18-19) and not yet "the day of vengeance of our God" (Isa 61:2b). This is the period of God's covenant purposes when he is holding out a hand of mercy to all that will turn to him from any nation.

When this phase of God's purposes for redemption is over, his promised judgments will be termed woes because they will have the purpose of punishment rather than refinement. This is what we find in Revelation 18. Though this day will come we are not there yet! This is important to remember because the way we understand the judgments of God influences the way we understand his character.

Justice and Mercy

The weeping of Jeremiah over Jerusalem, recorded in the Book of Lamentations, is echoed in the weeping of Jesus over Jerusalem (Luke 19:41-44) and is to be borne in mind as we read Luke 21 and Matthew 24. The judgments of God, first on Jerusalem in 70 AD, and on Israel in exile since then, and the mighty signs and judgments in the world and on all nations are necessary. They are in the context of a gathering from all nations of God's covenant people as the Gospel goes out. James understood the balance in God's heart when he wrote "mercy triumphs over judgment" (James 2:13).

This points us to the Cross of Jesus Christ where, in the judgment of the Father, the Lord took all the pain of the sin of the world upon himself. (Selah – pause and reflect)

Furthermore, the immense happenings in this world described by Jesus in Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21 are not so much judgments, but signs of the Lord's return (Matt 24:3). We draw near to the momentous climax of this world's existence – no wonder there is such a shaking! Such is needed to draw mankind's attention to God and his covenant purposes.

The immense shakings going on in the world are not so much judgments as signs of the Lord's return.

Without compromise God is moving through history, gathering his community who will experience the reverse of the Fall, whilst the wider consequences of human sin bring us to the climax of history - Jesus' return and God's final judgment of all people.

The Prophetic Task

So what is God doing and why? Well, we need only glance at current world affairs to know that God is not careless about our world and is working out his own purposes – including his chief goal of preparing a people of his own for the time of Jesus' return.

Though his ways are beyond our full understanding, we can gain insights that are sufficient for our day-to-day lives. Let us as a prophetic people be sure to understand the heart of our God so that we can truly understand the times and know what must be done.

Part of the prophet's task is to correct the opinions and attitudes of God's people and their leaders. Examples of such correction may be found in all the Old Testament prophetic books - Edmund Heddle's study this week focuses on Malachi.

The prophecy of Malachi provides a clear illustration of how wrong ideas and mistaken habits on the part of the Children of Israel were corrected by the prophet, as he faithfully sought to get them to see things from God's point of view.

It is not certain whether the word 'Malachi' (which means 'my messenger') is a proper name or is the editor's title for an anonymous book (perhaps suggested by Malachi 3:1). This prophecy belongs to the period of Nehemiah's governorship, probably between his first (445 BC) and second visits (433 BC) to Jerusalem.

Two of the issues Nehemiah had sought to deal with are given prominence in Malachi. These were, first, neglect in sustaining the Temple services and the payment of tithes, and secondly, the divorcing of Hebrew wives and intermarriage with foreign women (Neh 10:37-39; Mal 3:8-10; Neh 13:23-27; Mal 2:11-16).

The framework of Malachi consists of seven dialogues between God on the one hand and Israel and her priests on the other (Mal 1:2; 1:6; 1:7; 2:13, 14; 2:17; 3:7 and 3:13). In these verses we note the recurring and prominent phrase, "But you say".

Two issues of the people's wrongful behaviour are given prominence in Malachi: neglect of Temple sacrifices and tithing, and divorcing and intermarriage with foreigners.

The Intimate Character of Malachi's Prophecy

This prophecy begins with the simple declaration on the part of God, "I have loved you." During the ensuing conversation the personal pronoun referring to God, namely 'I', occurs 35 times. The personal pronoun referring to Israel, namely 'you', occurs 48 times. Within a total of 54 verses in this prophecy, the name for God (ie 'Lord') occurs 35 times, and in 24 of these instances the whole phrase 'the Lord of Hosts' occurs.

This so-frequent repetition of the pronouns 'I' and 'you' stresses the vividness of the personal encounter that is taking place between God and his people, an encounter unequalled in any other prophetic book of the Old Testament. The pattern of the Malachi prophecy consists of an accusation on the part of the prophet followed by the people's reply of injured innocence. This calls forth the response of the Lord through his prophet correcting their mistaken ideas.

Malachi's prophecy is a vividly personal dialogue between God and his people, the people protesting innocence and the Lord correcting them.

The Day of the Lord

The seven dialogues of this prophecy are set against the background of the Day of the Lord. This event provides a solemn, or as Malachi puts it, a dreadful eventuality (Mal 4:5) as the setting for the dialogues. The prophet exclaims, "Who can endure the day of his coming?" and contemplates it further in the words, "Surely the day is coming, it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and the day that is coming will set them on fire."

Malachi predicts the coming of a forerunner in advance of that awesome event: "See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes." He sees the wicked being trodden under the feet of those who revere the Lord: "The wicked will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day when I do these things." But in contrast, those who fear the Lord will escape the coming day of judgment. God says of them, "They will be mine...in the day when I make up my treasured possession" (Mal 3:2; 4:1; 4:5; 4:3; and 3:17).

The Hebrew word translated 'treasured possession' is segullah, which is the word used by Moses in Deuteronomy 7:6, "The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the people on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession." Malachi wanted the people of Israel in his day to be God's special folk, a people for his very own.

This was also the desire of Paul in his letter to Titus and of Peter in his first letter (Ti 2:14; 1 Pet 2:9). This should still be our ambition today. However, the people of Malachi's day were failing to judge their own behaviour and outlook, and so it was necessary to let them see themselves from God's point of view.

The people of Malachi's day were failing to judge their own behaviour and outlook, so it was necessary to let them see themselves from God's point of view.

So then, Malachi records the process in the following seven dialogues:

1. Failing to Love God for Himself

"'I have loved you', says the Lord. But you ask, 'How have you loved us?'" (Mal 1:2). It is as if they were saying, "We have seen no evidence of your love." Surely only those with hearts of stone could be oblivious of God's love for his covenant people. After the 70 years of exile, God had brought them back from Babylon and was establishing them in their own land.

In addition to past blessings they were a people with a future, guaranteed by the Almighty God himself. But we learn from Jesus that love can grow cold (Matt 24:12). Part of a prophet's task is to re-awaken the love of God's people.

2. Failing to Honour God's Name

"'If I am a father, where is the honour due to me? If I am a master, where is the respect due to me?' says the Almighty. 'It is you, O priests, who show contempt for my name'" (Mal 1:6). This time the accusation is addressed specifically to the priests.

Malachi makes it clear that God's name is great. "Great is the Lord - even beyond the borders of Israel!" (Mal 1: 5). But he warns that they would be cursed "because you have not set your heart to honour me" (Mal 2:2). There were some who revered his name, and upon them the sun of righteousness would rise with healing in his wings (Mal 4:2).

It is commonplace for the names of God and of Jesus to be blasphemed on television, and pointless blasphemy plays a major role in the ordinary conversation of both men and women. Another part of the prophet's task is to encourage young and old to fear God and to be careful they do not use his name in vain (Deut 5:11).

Part of the prophet's task is to reawaken the love of God's people, and to encourage them to fear the Lord and not to use his name in vain.

3. Failing to Respect God's Sacrificial Offerings

"You place defiled food on my altar. But you ask, 'How have we defiled you?' You bring blind, crippled or diseased animals, is that not wrong?" (Mal 1:7,8). It was essential that an animal be in perfect condition before it could be offered as a sacrifice (Deut 15:21). Only so could the Levitical sacrifice foreshadow the perfect sacrifice that would one day be offered.

But on a lower level altogether, Malachi asks the pertinent question, "Try offering them to your governor. Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you?" Only the best is fit for God, and another part of the prophet's task is to speak out on God's behalf against cheap religion or against offering him only second best.

4. Failing to Keep God's Law

The particular law which the prophet has in mind is the marriage covenant. "You weep and wail because he [God] no longer pays attention to your offerings or accepts them with pleasure from your hands. You ask why? It is because the Lord is acting as the witness between you and the wife of your youth...though she is your partner, the wife of your marriage covenant" (Mal 2:13, 14). The prophet is showing that God does not approve of husband and wife breaking faith. This phrase occurs again and again in verses 10-16.

God's attitude to the violation of promises made during the wedding vows is expressed tersely: "I hate divorce" (mercifully, he does not say "I hate divorcees"!). Behind this statement is revulsion at the action of the men in abandoning now-ageing wives in order to marry the daughters of a foreign god.

As well as caring for these rejected wives, God is concerned that the children should be a 'godly offspring' (Mal 2:11, 15). Today, far too many children are left with only one parent. Contemporary prophets do well to encourage the Lord's people to support those who labour under the handicap of having to bring up their children single-handed, rather than to deepen their sense of rejection with thoughtless judgmentalism.

Another part of the prophet's task is to speak out on God's behalf against cheap religion and offering him only second best.

5. Failing to Understand God's Providential Overruling

"You have wearied the Lord with your words. 'How have we wearied him?' you ask. By saying, 'All who do evil are good in the eyes of the Lord, and he is pleased with them', or, 'Where is the God of justice?'" (Mal 2:17). "But now we call the arrogant blessed. Certainly the evildoers prosper, and even those who challenge God escape" (Mal 3:15).

The problem of the prosperity of the wicked has puzzled prophets and psalmists down the ages (Job 21:7-13; Ps 73:1-12; Jer 12:1). The argument runs like this: if there is a God of goodness, he would long ago have intervened to deal with the awful situations in which God's people find themselves. Meanwhile, law-breakers go on enjoying themselves and so the very existence of an omnipotent and caring God is called into question.

But God was listening and was sick of hearing people complain about his moral government of the universe. Prophets need to remind God's people constantly that he hates grumblers. He is on the throne and what he does is best.

6. Failing to Pay the Lord's Tithe

"'Return to me, and I will return to you,' says the Lord Almighty. But you ask, 'How are we to return?' Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. But you ask, 'How do we rob you?' In tithes and offerings" (Mal 3:7,8). The people of God were suffering because pests were devouring their crops and their vines were casting their fruit. This was God's way of showing them that they were neglecting to pay their tithes and to provide for the maintenance of the Temple services.

The attitude we adopt to our money and the way we use it is a key to our commitment to God. But no doubt it came as quite a shock to God's people in the time of Malachi to be told that they were actually robbing him. If they were anything like some of his people today, they would have produced as many excuses as there were individuals. But God wanted to bless them (he always does!) and was willing to open the floodgates of heaven and to pour out such an abundance of blessing they would not have room for it.

Prophets have to assure the people of God that they lose nothing by giving but that they lose everything when they are mean. One of the most encouraging aspects of the house-church movement has been its more mature approach to giving, and the consequent blessing that has been poured out on them. How sad that the traditional churches still insult the Lord with fundraising gimmicks and stunts to persuade people to part with their money! Are you a robber?

Prophets have to assure the people of God that they lose nothing by giving but lose everything when they are mean.

7. Failing to Sustain a Costly Commitment

"'You have said harsh things against me,' says the Lord. Yet you say, 'What have we said against you?' You have said, 'It is futile to serve God. What did we gain by carrying out his requirements, and going about like mourners?'" (Mal 3:13,14).

Most people have at some time or other indulged in spells of complaining, querying the point of living a life of prohibition and restriction. We appear to gain nothing by carrying out religious duties and living soberly. Religion seems such a drag! But such whole-hearted devotion need not array itself in the dark clothes of mourners at a funeral (Mal 3:14). The prophet, rather, likens the experience of the wholly committed to the gambolling of calves just released from the stall (Mal 4:2).

So let the prophet show us religion from God's point of view. It is joyful, vigorous and care-free. It speaks of release, freedom and deep satisfaction. Even when our pathway takes us through disappointment and sorrow, we can share the experience of the "one who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross" (Heb 12:2). We would do well in future to help others and ourselves make a habit of looking at things from God's point of view.

Finally, it is the role of the prophet to show us religion from God's point of view: not as dark and dreary duty, but as joyful and vigorous freedom.