A biblical understanding of repentance.

Modern society is increasingly wracked by division and unrest - but why?

If the nation is in a mess, who is primarily responsible?

Fred Wright challenges the view that the Church has replaced Israel.

The old adage “a week is a long time in politics” is now laughable, as the political scene changes day by day and hour by hour.

Christians have a choice: apostasy and judgment, or faithfulness and preparation?

Surely the Lord would protect his own Temple…

This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: “Stand at the gate of the Lord’s house and there proclaim this message: ‘Hear the word of the Lord, all you people of Judah who come through these gates to worship the Lord. This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Reform your ways and your actions, and I will let you live in this place. Do not trust in deceptive words and say, “This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord!”’” (Jeremiah 7:1-3)

This is Jeremiah’s famous ‘Temple Sermon’. It is one of the most important declarations in his recorded ministry. It summarises the moral and spiritual state of the nation during the reign of King Jehoiakim, about the year 604 BC, before the Babylonian invasion of the land in 598 BC.

Challenging the National Belief System

Jeremiah was told to stand at the gate of the Temple, probably at the time of a major festival when crowds would be flocking to the Temple to witness traditional religious practices, which Jeremiah had already said were useless. The word of the Lord was “Your burnt offerings are not acceptable; your sacrifices do not please me” (Jer 6:20).

This was a major challenge, not merely to the religious establishment based at the Temple, but to the whole belief system of the nation. The belief in the inviolability of the Temple was a tradition that went back to the time of King Solomon and the Temple’s dedication. When he had completed building the Temple, Solomon called the whole nation to an assembly in Jerusalem where he declared that God had promised his father David that a temple would be built for the name of the Lord.

Solomon then offered a prayer of dedication, asking that when prayer is directed towards the Temple it would be heard by God and petitions would be granted. God’s response was “I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a temple for sacrifices” (2 Chron 7:12).

The belief in the inviolability of the Temple was a tradition that went back to the time of King Solomon.

This was accompanied by the pledge: “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 will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place. I have chosen and consecrated this temple so that my name may be there for ever. My eyes and my heart will always be there.”

If…

The belief became established that the presence of God in the Temple guaranteed its defence against all enemies. This was reinforced in the time of the 8^th Century BC Prophet Isaiah, who declared: “This is what the Lord says concerning the king of Assyria: he will not enter this city or shoot an arrow here. He will not come before it with shield or build a siege ramp against it. By the way that he came he will return; he will not enter this city, declares the Lord. I will defend this city and save it for my sake and for the sake of David my servant!” (Isa 37:33-35).

This tradition was celebrated in the Psalms sung in the Temple, such as, “For the Lord has chosen Zion, he has desired it for his dwelling: this is my resting place for ever and ever; here I will sit enthroned” (Psa 132:13-14). But the Temple priests and prophets in Jeremiah’s time failed to notice the previous verse in this Psalm, which imposed a condition, “If your sons keep my covenant and the statutes I teach them…”.

The Temple authorities also failed to recognise that the whole moral and spiritual situation in the nation was very different in Isaiah’s lifetime. When King Hezekiah received a threatening letter from Sennacherib, the Assyrian Emperor, insulting the God of Israel, both the King and the Prophet Isaiah spread the letter before the Lord in the Temple and cried out in prayer. Their prayer of faith was answered: “Then the angel of the Lord went out and put to death 185,000 men in the Assyrian camp” (Isa 37:36).

No doubt the Royal Temple authorities advising King Jehoiakim remembered what God had done to the Assyrian army and they were convinced that the same would happen to the Babylonian army. They were utterly convinced that God would never allow his presence in the Temple to be violated by a heathen army.

The Temple authorities were utterly convinced that God would never allow his presence in the Temple to be violated by a heathen army.

The Terms of the Covenant

Jeremiah’s great burden was that he appeared to be the only one who recognised that the promises given at the time of David and Solomon, and upheld during the time of Hezekiah, were made within the context of the covenantal relationship between the children of Israel and God.

The terms of the covenant went right back to the assembly at Mount Sinai when Moses received both the Ten Commandments and the Torah (Deut 4:10). From that time God’s protection was dependent upon the faithfulness of the nation to keep the commandments and to hold fast to his teaching. Jeremiah knew that the first commandment was absolute loyalty to God: “You shall have no other gods before me” (Deut 5:7).

Idolatry was to be seen everywhere in Judah - not only in the countryside where people worshiped the local Baals, but there were idols to foreign gods at every street corner in Jerusalem. Even worse than that; there was idolatry to be found in the Temple itself.

Jeremiah’s Temple Sermon dismissed the popular chant, “The temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord!” With devastating precision, he outlined the six sins of Jerusalem that were offensive to God which abrogated the protection that God had promised if the nation remained faithful to his commandments and his teaching. God’s blessing, his protection and prosperity, were all dependent upon the faithfulness of the nation and its leaders in keeping the covenantal relationship established in the time of Moses.

God has not changed! What was true in the time of Jeremiah is still true today. But will the nations learn the lessons of history that are clearly recorded for our benefit?

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

Royal address reveals what the nation has lost in 75 years.

As the nation pauses this week to mark 75 years since the Normandy landings, remembering the enormous sacrifice and great courage of so many thousands in order to secure the freedom of so many more, it is fitting to revisit the address made to the nation on 6 June 1944 by Britain’s monarch, King George VI.

His speech, from which both the Queen and Prince William quoted during their addresses this week, did not shy from acknowledging the help and providence of God, and the importance of humble, nation-wide prayer. It illuminates something of the faith that suffused Britain at that time, and reveals something of what we have lost in the years since.

King George VI’s address to the nation

6 June, 1944

“Four years ago, our Nation and Empire stood alone against an overwhelming enemy, with our backs to the wall. Tested as never before in our history, in God's providence we survived that test; the spirit of the people, resolute, dedicated, burned like a bright flame, lit surely from those unseen fires which nothing can quench.

Now once more a supreme test has to be faced. This time, the challenge is not to fight to survive but to fight to win the final victory for the good cause. Once again what is demanded from us all is something more than courage and endurance; we need a revival of spirit, a new unconquerable resolve. After nearly five years of toil and suffering, we must renew that crusading impulse on which we entered the war and met its darkest hour. We and our Allies are sure that our fight is against evil and for a world in which goodness and honour may be the foundation of the life of men in every land.

That we may be worthily matched with this new summons of destiny, I desire solemnly to call my people to prayer and dedication. We are not unmindful of our own shortcomings, past and present. We shall ask not that God may do our will, but that we may be enabled to do the will of God: and we dare to believe that God has used our Nation and Empire as an instrument for fulfilling his high purpose.

I hope that throughout the present crisis of the liberation of Europe there may be offered up earnest, continuous and widespread prayer. We who remain in this land can most effectively enter into the sufferings of subjugated Europe by prayer, whereby we can fortify the determination of our sailors, soldiers and airmen who go forth to set the captives free.

The Queen joins with me in sending you this message. She well understands the anxieties and cares of our womenfolk at this time and she knows that many of them will find, as she does herself, fresh strength and comfort in such waiting upon God. She feels that many women will be glad in this way to keep vigil with their menfolk as they man the ships, storm the beaches and fill the skies.

At this historic moment surely not one of us is too busy, too young or too old to play a part in a nationwide, perchance a worldwide, vigil of prayer as the great crusade sets forth. If from every place of worship, from home and factory, from men and women of all ages and many races and occupations, our intercessions rise, then, please God, both now and in a future not remote, the predictions of an ancient Psalm may be fulfilled: "The Lord will give strength unto his people: the Lord will give his people the blessing of peace."”

How to pray in a time of upheaval.

The nations of Europe are still reeling from the results of the EU parliamentary elections. It is not only Britain that has produced surprise results; all over Europe people have expressed their frustration with the establishment and looked for alternatives. The battle for power between Macron and Merkel may now be in full swing, but in both their countries voters have expressed their discontent with their rulers and their desire for change.

In Britain the Brexit battle continues relentlessly with more Conservative hopefuls throwing their hats into the ring to be the next Prime Minister – even though the role is a poisoned chalice. No doubt each of them thinks they could do better than Theresa May, who bravely went to Brussels this week to greet other crestfallen leaders facing uncertain futures.

Tory leadership hopefuls. PA/PA Wire/PA ImagesUndoubtedly the Lord is fulfilling his promise to shake all the nations! The prophecy in Haggai 2 includes shaking the physical universe as well as the structures and foundations of the nations. I’ve quoted it many times, but it is so central to contemporary issues that we need to keep it in the forefront of our discussion of what’s happening today:

This is what the Lord Almighty says: in a little while I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. I will shake all nations, and the desired of all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory, says the Lord Almighty. (Hag 2:6-7)

I know that our political masters don’t recognise that God has any place in what is happening among the nations, but God actually laughs at their stupidity and blindness. It would do all our leaders good to read Psalm 2 and meditate on it for a few minutes each day before they open their mouths in public.

The plain fact is that God is not only in charge of the climate upheavals that are causing such anxiety to many people (witness the unprecedented 500 tornadoes that have ripped through the USA just in the past 30 days¹), but he is also allowing the incredible levels of uncertainty and anxiety in the social and political lives of the nations.

Undoubtedly the Lord is fulfilling his promise to shake all the nations!

Admitting the Problem

If we share the beliefs of the biblical prophets, who saw the hand of God in everything that happened around them, we have to ask: why is God shaking everything? – from our weather patterns to the major institutions in society: our familiar high street stores, our banks and post offices, our social services and our health services, our political parties and even our churches, where we see ‘For Sale’ notices on great old buildings where our parents were married and their children were blessed.

With all the familiar things in life being shaken, it is small wonder that the levels of mental health problems are overwhelming our health authorities. In Britain we have such a crisis of mental health that even Royalty have joined in to share their stories in an attempt to reassure the public that there is really nothing wrong - that we all have times when our minds are sick, when we are unable to think clearly and give way to our fears and anxieties.

When are we going to wake up to the fact that there is something seriously wrong, and we ought to be concerned? We ought to be asking major questions about what is happening in our lifetime. Why is there such dissatisfaction, such anger, such disagreement and such division in society? The dissatisfaction is not just among the deprived who envy the rich and the powerful. It is also among those who have plenty and who have good jobs and homes and cars and multitudes of gadgets, none of which gives them real satisfaction.

The uncomfortable truth is that there is something in our human nature, put there by the God of Creation, that makes us long for a relationship with the Creator. We are lonely in the universe without any connection with its Maker. But, collectively, Europeans have abandoned that connection. They have chosen to discard their spiritual heritage and to go it alone, so they are at the mercy of the spiritual forces of darkness that roam the universe and plague its occupants.

When are we going to wake up to the fact that there is something seriously wrong, and we ought to be concerned?

Deserving of Judgment

In Britain the European Parliamentary election (that we did not want!) has dramatically highlighted the division in the nation. We may expect to see an increase in conflict during the next five months as those who are determined to prevent Britain leaving the European Union intensify their activities.

As we get nearer to the deadline of 31 October and the parliamentary battle advances, it will be reflected upon the streets. The worst possible outcome would be the revoking of Article 50 and a second referendum, which would undoubtedly inject further hatred and violence into the public sphere.

Let’s face the facts: we are part of a nation richly deserving judgment. Every working day a black bag full of babies is taken out of the back door of our hospitals and thrown into the incinerator. We are just like the Moabites, who threw their babies into the fire - a heinous sin that God roundly condemned.

The latest sin is the grooming of our children, which is a national act of child abuse! Just last month an Education Bill was nodded through our Parliament, too occupied with Brexit to study it carefully, which brainwashes juniors and presents pornography to senior students; even advocating ‘threesomes’ for getting the most exciting sexual experience – with cartoon illustrations.²

We may be near the final point of depravity described by Paul:

Since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity…they invent ways of doing evil… (Rom 1:28-32)

Nevertheless, there is still a powerful remnant of Bible-believing Christians in Britain who could stand in the gap between God and the coming disaster if they were fully aware of the situation and understood how to pray into it.

There is still a powerful remnant of Bible-believing Christians in Britain who could stand in the gap between God and the coming disaster if they were fully aware of the situation and understood how to pray into it.

How to Pray

We must not ask God to stop shaking the nations just because we don’t like what’s happening today. We have to recognise why God is shaking the nations.

It surely has to be to warn the nations that we are heading for self-destruction, and that only repentance and turning that can save humanity from unbelievable disaster. Perhaps it was with this in mind that Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit, saying: “When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment” (John 16:8).

All Christians in the Western nations can see (if they open their eyes) that our civilisation is crumbling. But we have yet to realise that there are no political solutions to the problems facing humanity! Only God can heal the nations! But the greatest fault lies in the blindness of the Church, whose silent leaders do not declare the word of the Lord with the first call to Christians to repent. The writing is on the wall and judgment is already starting at the household of God.

As we approach the season of Pentecost, we should all be praying for a fresh outpouring of the Spirit of God to open eyes that are blind and bring a fresh spiritual awakening – beginning with ourselves.

References

1 Read more at Sky News.

2 This can be seen online, though I will not give the link here.

A meditation on Proverbs 28:2

In the last few days I have found myself pondering this verse in the book of Proverbs: “When there is moral rot within a nation, its government topples easily. But wise and knowledgeable leaders bring stability” (Prov 28:2 NLT). It seemed particularly striking in the context of the political turmoil currently engulfing Britain and a number of other countries at the moment.

Of course, it is dangerous to apply Old Testament passages to any modern political system. The world has changed: no modern nation is like ancient Israel and I doubt that any politician would be elected in a modern democracy if they promised to ‘rule like King David’.

Nevertheless, despite the vast gulf of time and culture between that world and ours, there is much in the wisdom of the Old Testament that is profoundly relevant to 21^st-Century politics. Let me suggest that this verse has three truths.

The simplest truth first: stability is a good thing. Revolutions may be very exciting but after you’ve taken a country apart it takes a long time to put it back together again. Stability may not make headlines and isn’t the most exciting of political goals but it is a condition that allows law and order to exist and allows everybody to get on with their lives.

The Old Testament illustrates the value of stability as it recounts the history of God’s people after Solomon’s death. The northern kingdom, which increasingly drifted away from the worship of the one true God, had a turbulent history in which it was ruled by a long string of monarchs whose reigns were almost always brief, brutal and bloodstained. In contrast the southern kingdom, with a faithfulness to God’s covenant and the line of King David, had much greater stability and peace.

In the New Testament we see that Paul – whose experience with Roman rule was far from happy – could write, “Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity” (1 Tim 2:2 NLT). Stable times of peace are worth seeking.

There is much in the wisdom of the Old Testament that is profoundly relevant to 21^st-Century politics.

A second truth concerns the character of those who lead us. This side of heaven a sinful human race will always need people to lead and govern: without leadership we would have tyranny. Yet precisely because the role of leading a nation is a hard task, we must pray that those who rule us are indeed ‘wise and knowledgeable’.

In the Bible that phrase does not refer to the possession of a high level of intelligence or an advanced educational qualification (although there’s nothing wrong with either) but more to a humble and reverent attitude of mind that respects God and his law. In a world controlled by the media, it’s not easy for the modest, God-fearing individual to rise to the top but God is perfectly capable of ensuring their promotion. Let’s pray that this would happen more often.

The third point is that the morality of a people affects how they are governed. This seemingly simple truth – the spiritual version of ‘a nation gets the leader it deserves’ – is profoundly important. It’s very tempting in times of instability to look to politicians for the answer, something encouraged by the way that in any crisis there is never a shortage of individuals who, with a minimum of modesty and a maximum of confidence, put themselves forward as those who will deliver the nation from its ills. Yet history provides very few examples of leaders who have genuinely put everything right. On the contrary, there are many cases where the coming to power of a political leadership has led either to widespread disillusionment or to a dictatorship.

The teaching in this proverb and elsewhere in the Bible is that what really determines the fate of nations is not the individual at the top but the people themselves. Politics alone can’t truly fix a nation; God and godliness can.

Politics alone can’t truly fix a nation; God and godliness can.

There’s a fascinating and apparently true story that when Billy Graham visited Camp David in the 1960s, the then US president Lyndon Johnson said to him, “Billy, you ought to be president of the United States. If you do run, I’d like to be your campaign manager.” It was an offer that Billy rejected then, and continued to do so in the years ahead. He felt to seek political office would be to fall far short of his appointed task as evangelist. He also knew the truth of this proverb: the best way of effectively changing a nation is not by changing leaders, but by altering what people believe.

If you are genuinely called by God to be a politician, then I wish you well and I’m very happy to pray for you. But in the meantime, I’m going to stick to my calling of preaching the good news of Jesus. True and lasting change begins at the bottom and not the top.

Revd Canon J.John

Director, Philo Trust

www.canonjjohn.com / Twitter: @Canonjjohn

Reprinted with permission.