After the fire…

1 Kings 19:11-12 NRSV
He said, “Go out and stand on the mountain before the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.” Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake; [12] and after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer silence.

Author Ruth Haley Barton suggests that the wind, earthquake and fire can be seen as metaphors for the inner chaos that has broken the prophet Elijah and has sent him on a desparate quest to find God again. Speaking of her own “cave on the mountain” she says:

“Am I really worth anything if I’m not out there constantly proving myself? Who am I when I’m not busy doing things that tell the world who I am? Why is it so hard to stop the frantic pace of my life even when I know it’s hurting me and those I love? What do I do with this pain and sadness? What is true and real in my relationship with God and what is really illusion – things I would like to believe are true but really aren’t? Is God really enough to satisfy the loneliness, the emptiness, the longing of my soul?”

From “Invitation to Solitude and Silence” by Ruth Haley Barton, pages 79-80

I identify strongly with these words…I think many of us will! We are forced to face up to our hidden false patterns of thinking and being and doing, once the very absence of God has brought them to the surface. After the fire we wait for God to speak, and that waiting can be a terrible thing. As we wait in silence, a place of longing, expectancy and hope, then maybe, just maybe we are in a place where God can reach us, can speak to us and refocus our lives on our relationship with him. That’s when we remember who we really are…

Malachi part 2 – “THE STAGE IS SET”

Malach – the messenger

Malachi bridges the gap between the Old and New Testaments, and gives us an insight into the future of Israel.

Read: Malachi 3: 16-18 and 4: 5-6

And so we come  to my final reflection on the minor prophets.

Zechariah and Malachi have both encouraged the people of Israel. They have reminded them that however bad things may seem, God has not given up on his chosen people, and there will always be a small number, a remnant, who will faithfully continue to worship God and live his way. Micah tells them that God has not forgotten his promise to come in person and sort things out once and for all, and to watch out for  the return of the prophet Elijah, who will come announcing the imminent arrival of the Messiah.

And so they watch and wait as history happens.

Around 400 years come and go. Israel becomes a minor territory in a succession of powerful Empires. The Persians are conquered by the Greeks, under Alexander the Great. After his death his Empire is divided up between his generals, and first Ptolemy, followed by Seleucis founded dynasties that included the territory formerly known as Israel.

The Seleucid King Antiochus IV, begins to try to systematically destroy Judaism. He burned the scriptures, banned circumcision and Temple worship of Yahweh, and, in 167 BC sets up an altar to Zeus in the Temple and sacrifices a pig…an unclean animal to the Jews. This is a bridge too far, and sparks a Jewish rebellion, led by the Maccabee family, who succeed in ousting the Seleucids and led to a period of Jewish independence that lasted about 100 years, under the Hasmonaean dynasty.

Just when everything was looking great, the great wave that was becoming the Roman Empire rolled in. In 63 BC, the Roman general Pompey besieged Jerusalem. He overthrew the defenders, massacred the Temple priests and marched into the Holy of Holies itself. Judaea became part of the Roman province of Syria.

Then Herod, an Idumean from south of Judaea, took control of Jerusalem, with support from the Romans, and became king. He nominally converted to Judaism and built a magnificent Temple in Jerusalem as well as a temple for Emperor worship in Samaria. All this comes at a cost, and so the people were oppressed and heavily taxed.

Still ruled by a pagan Empire, people continue to watch and wait for the Messiah, and look eagerly for the return of Elijah to prepare hearts and minds for his coming.

Then, a few years after King Herod’s death in 4 BC, in round about 30 AD, something happened…

“In those days John the Baptist came to the Judean wilderness and began preaching. His message was, [2] “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near. ” [3] The prophet Isaiah was speaking about John when he said,

“He is a voice shouting in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the LORD’s coming! Clear the road for him!’” Matthew 3:1-3 NLT

Creation held its breath. The stage was set.

Waiting is tough, especially when we’re carrying a vision or a promise that we believe God has given us, and we’re impatient to see it happen. In the end, it comes down to how much we trust God to do what he says he’ll do. Can we take the long view…maybe we’re called to carry that vision, that hope, that promise, but not see it fulfilled in our own lifetime. Ask God to teach you how to faithfully carry what he’s given you and to pass it on so that hope is kept alive.

Malachi part 1 – “THE LAST WORD?”

Malachi – the messenger

Malachi is the last of the Old Testament prophets, but he’s not God’s last word to the human race.

Read: Malachi 3: 1-4 and 16-18

About 100 years have passed since the return from Exile and worship has been going on in the rebuilt Temple in Jerusalem for some time. Malachi, whose name simply means the messenger, is prophesying to the people in this context. The book begins with Malachi’s reminding the people just how much God loves them, but the people are not convinced. Despite being back in the land and having rebuilt the Temple, many of God’s promises through the earlier prophets have not been fulfilled. Israel is still under the rule of Persia and the Messiah has not come.

Through a series of disputes, God demonstrates to the people that the fault is on their side, not his. In many ways, they are the same old Israel, constantly returning to the sins and unfaithfulness of the past.

In the first two chapters God focusses on the ways they have broken the Covenant, the solemn agreement between them and God that goes back to the Exodus and Mount Sinai.

Insincere worship, a corrupt and negligent priesthood (the Levites), unfaithfulness in marriage, and growing injustice are all symptoms of a wayward people and a broken Covenant.

So, once again God promises that he will come in person to sort things out, and it will be a tough time for all those who are unfaithful to him. God will put them on trial, and it will be like coming through fire as the people are purified and refined.

Before he comes, God says, he will send another messenger (a play on Malachi’s name) to prepare the way for him, an echo of the prophecy of Isaiah 40: 3-5:

“Listen! It’s the voice of someone shouting, “Clear the way through the wilderness for the LORD! Make a straight highway through the wasteland for our God!

[4] Fill in the valleys, and level the mountains and hills. Straighten the curves, and smooth out the rough places.

[5] Then the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all people will see it together. The LORD has spoken!”

There’ll be more about the future of Israel and the coming messenger in the next episode.

In the meantime, Malachi is God’s last word to the people, and like all the prophets before him the people continue to ignore the message as God reaches out in love. Something better is needed…God’s final word…Jesus.

“Long ago God spoke many times and in many ways to our ancestors through the prophets. [2] And now in these final days, he has spoken to us through his Son. God promised everything to the Son as an inheritance, and through the Son he created the universe. [3] The Son radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God, and he sustains everything by the mighty power of his command. When he had cleansed us from our sins, he sat down in the place of honour at the right hand of the majestic God in heaven.” Hebrews 1: 1-3 NLT

Am I being faithful to God in every area of my life? Where do I need the Holy Spirit to teach me faithfulness? Ask God to give you the desire to live his way in all things.