The Hero of Our Love Story
The first time I read "To Kill A Mockingbird" in high school, I really didn't like it. Maybe I was too young to completely understand it's meaning and significance, or maybe I was just bitter because it was a required reading. However, I have since then rediscovered the story, and now I love it. I thought to myself, Was this the same book I read back then? Why did I despise it so much then when I love it so much now?
I think the same thing about the books of Jeremiah and Ezekiel in the Bible. I used to think of them as sad, sad stories about God's anger being poured out on Israel and the nations that despised Him. The past two weeks, I have re-read the stories and rediscovered something quite miraculous: they aren't sad stories; they are love stories! I used to read them and only see God's anger and punishment. I wondered how to justify the "good" God that I know with this wrathful, vengeful God that is portrayed in the prophecies of Jeremiah and Ezekiel. Then I realized that I was reading them out of context. In reading the whole story of the Old Testament, I began to see the story as a whole instead of small snippets. I began to see God's character in Jeremiah and Ezekiel in a new light and with a new perspective.
What I used to see as a story of destruction and anger is really a story of romantic and passionate pursuit.
From the very beginning, God has been in loving pursuit of a relationship with His people. He created them in His image and fashioned them for His glory. Then, He chose Israel out of all the nations of the world to be His selected people. "Selected" in this sense doesn't mean He loved them more than anyone else. It does not mean that He favored them while hating other people groups, but rather that He chose them to be His ambassadors. He wanted to express His love to the world, and He chose Israel to be the people to do it. It is kind of amazing when you think about it. God could have chosen any way to reveal Himself to the world (He could have written it across the sky if He wanted), but He chose to use His people - first Israel and now the church - to reveal Himself to the people of the world.
God made many efforts to show Israel that He had specially chosen them to be His people. He gave descendants to barren Sarah. He promoted Joseph from the bottom of pits and prisons to the second in command in Egypt. He led the Israelite people out of slavery, across the Red Sea, and out of the hand of their Egyptian enemies. He lead them through the desert, providing them with water from a rock, food from the sky, and a guiding pillar of fire and cloud. He even gave them His specific law so that they would know how to best act in a relationship with Him.
But then, after all this, they blew it.
Once Israel had settled down in the land that God promised to them, they went after other gods. They accumulated riches and became proud and content. They stopped looking after the poor. They neglected justice. The put their trust in kings, princes, and other nations for protection and wealth. To put it simply, they put their hope in many things apart from God, and they forgot about Him and His law.
So God's heart broke. His chosen people were seeking satisfaction apart from Him, and He knew they would never find it there. So He did what He needed to do to get their attention and to gain back their love.
He destroyed the nations and plundered Israel. He left them desolate and bare. He stripped them of their idols so that they would begin to see that the things in which they trusted would put them to shame. He was not lashing out in anger and crushing Israel just because He could. He was a lovesick Father who would go to great measures to show His people just how much He loved them and desired a relationship with them. Acting out of justice and steadfast love, His purpose was not only to punish them for their sin of idolatry and forgetfulness, but also to destroy the things in which they put their trust in order to show them that He is the only one worth trusting. He is the only one that remains when all else fails.
The story told in Jeremiah and Ezekiel has taught me one thing: I cannot put my hope in anything else but the Lord. Not my new job, not my career. Not my bank account or how much money I make and spend. Not how many friends I have or what other people think of me. I cannot even put my hope in my car, my computer, my calendar, or my to-do list. I can only put my hope in Jesus. Everything else will flat-out fail or put me shame or leave me empty and hopeless.
The next time someone challenges you with the matter of the "angry, wrathful God of the Old Testament", maybe you just need to retell the story. After all, it is not really a story of unjust revenge, but of the steadfast love of a God who romantically pursues His people. God, in His love and justice, destroyed the things that Israel trusted in - the nations they depended on and the peaceful security and comfort of their lives in Jerusalem -in order to draw them closer to Himself. Having been stripped bare and desolate, they were then able to call on the name of the Lord, which is a perfect set-up for God to sweep in and save the day, which He promises to do. He is the hero of the story - a God who saves the day, a God who never disappoints us when we put our hope in Him.
This is a crazy thought, but maybe we need to pray for God to destroy the things we put our hope in, the things that make us feel safe and comfortable apart from Him. They will only fail us anyway, but Jesus never will. When we are stripped bare and desolate of the idols in our lives, we can authentically call on the name of the Lord, which sets the stage perfectly for Him to step in and save the day. And He always will because He is the hero of our Love Story.
I think the same thing about the books of Jeremiah and Ezekiel in the Bible. I used to think of them as sad, sad stories about God's anger being poured out on Israel and the nations that despised Him. The past two weeks, I have re-read the stories and rediscovered something quite miraculous: they aren't sad stories; they are love stories! I used to read them and only see God's anger and punishment. I wondered how to justify the "good" God that I know with this wrathful, vengeful God that is portrayed in the prophecies of Jeremiah and Ezekiel. Then I realized that I was reading them out of context. In reading the whole story of the Old Testament, I began to see the story as a whole instead of small snippets. I began to see God's character in Jeremiah and Ezekiel in a new light and with a new perspective.
What I used to see as a story of destruction and anger is really a story of romantic and passionate pursuit.
From the very beginning, God has been in loving pursuit of a relationship with His people. He created them in His image and fashioned them for His glory. Then, He chose Israel out of all the nations of the world to be His selected people. "Selected" in this sense doesn't mean He loved them more than anyone else. It does not mean that He favored them while hating other people groups, but rather that He chose them to be His ambassadors. He wanted to express His love to the world, and He chose Israel to be the people to do it. It is kind of amazing when you think about it. God could have chosen any way to reveal Himself to the world (He could have written it across the sky if He wanted), but He chose to use His people - first Israel and now the church - to reveal Himself to the people of the world.
God made many efforts to show Israel that He had specially chosen them to be His people. He gave descendants to barren Sarah. He promoted Joseph from the bottom of pits and prisons to the second in command in Egypt. He led the Israelite people out of slavery, across the Red Sea, and out of the hand of their Egyptian enemies. He lead them through the desert, providing them with water from a rock, food from the sky, and a guiding pillar of fire and cloud. He even gave them His specific law so that they would know how to best act in a relationship with Him.
But then, after all this, they blew it.
Once Israel had settled down in the land that God promised to them, they went after other gods. They accumulated riches and became proud and content. They stopped looking after the poor. They neglected justice. The put their trust in kings, princes, and other nations for protection and wealth. To put it simply, they put their hope in many things apart from God, and they forgot about Him and His law.
So God's heart broke. His chosen people were seeking satisfaction apart from Him, and He knew they would never find it there. So He did what He needed to do to get their attention and to gain back their love.
He destroyed the nations and plundered Israel. He left them desolate and bare. He stripped them of their idols so that they would begin to see that the things in which they trusted would put them to shame. He was not lashing out in anger and crushing Israel just because He could. He was a lovesick Father who would go to great measures to show His people just how much He loved them and desired a relationship with them. Acting out of justice and steadfast love, His purpose was not only to punish them for their sin of idolatry and forgetfulness, but also to destroy the things in which they put their trust in order to show them that He is the only one worth trusting. He is the only one that remains when all else fails.
The story told in Jeremiah and Ezekiel has taught me one thing: I cannot put my hope in anything else but the Lord. Not my new job, not my career. Not my bank account or how much money I make and spend. Not how many friends I have or what other people think of me. I cannot even put my hope in my car, my computer, my calendar, or my to-do list. I can only put my hope in Jesus. Everything else will flat-out fail or put me shame or leave me empty and hopeless.
The next time someone challenges you with the matter of the "angry, wrathful God of the Old Testament", maybe you just need to retell the story. After all, it is not really a story of unjust revenge, but of the steadfast love of a God who romantically pursues His people. God, in His love and justice, destroyed the things that Israel trusted in - the nations they depended on and the peaceful security and comfort of their lives in Jerusalem -in order to draw them closer to Himself. Having been stripped bare and desolate, they were then able to call on the name of the Lord, which is a perfect set-up for God to sweep in and save the day, which He promises to do. He is the hero of the story - a God who saves the day, a God who never disappoints us when we put our hope in Him.
This is a crazy thought, but maybe we need to pray for God to destroy the things we put our hope in, the things that make us feel safe and comfortable apart from Him. They will only fail us anyway, but Jesus never will. When we are stripped bare and desolate of the idols in our lives, we can authentically call on the name of the Lord, which sets the stage perfectly for Him to step in and save the day. And He always will because He is the hero of our Love Story.
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