Monthly Archives: October 2019
“Concerning Our Portable God”
Judah was in exile in Babylon, and they wondered where God was. After all, had the LORD their God not dwelt in Jerusalem, in the temple? But now, they were a long way from home, a long way from their God. Jerusalem and the temple were in ruins.
There are times when we all probably feel that way at times: a long way from home, a long way from God. But are our feelings, were their feelings, reflections of reality? Feelings are real, but they do not always reflect reality.
The prophets of Judah and Israel were more about reality than they were about feelings. Certainly, the prophets had feelings, and those feelings often come out in their prophecies. But the prophets also realized—and taught—that the LORD God was not bound by our feelings.
God was also not bound by geography. The God who had created the whole of the universe was not about to be tied down to one location.
Now, before you say, “Well of course!” let me point out something: In the ancient Near East, the gods were almost always linked closely with particular locations. We sometimes fail to realize how radical Israel and Judah were at this point.
Ezekiel was one of the prophets of Judah. He was in exile in Babylon, along with many of the (now former leaders) of Judah. He was a priest, as well as a prophet. No doubt, he missed the temple a great deal.
But Ezekiel had a vision, and in that vision he was confronted with the portability of God.
“15Now as I looked at the living creatures, I saw a wheel on the earth beside the living creatures, one for each of the four of them. 16 As for the appearance of the wheels and their construction: their appearance was like the gleaming of beryl. And the four had the same likeness, their appearance and construction being as it were a wheel within a wheel. 17 When they went, they went in any of their four directionswithout turning as they went.” (English Standard Version)
How is with you and with me these days? Do we have a portable God, or do we have a “god” who is found only in a certain location?
And I’m not just asking about a geographical location. We often get stuck thinking that our God is stuck in a certain location, in more ways than simply geography. We need all kinds of portability, in order to experience God.
We need to cultivate temporal portability, for example. Too many of us say, “When I was in my teens (or twenties or thirties, or . . .), I was so spiritually alive. I had such a vivid sense of God’s presence in my life and my world. But now . . .”
You’re stuck. God isn’t.
We need to cultivate circumstantial portability. Many of us say, “When these were my life circumstances, I was so aware of God, but now . . .”
You’re stuck. God isn’t.
Being mired in our sludge takes many forms. However, whatever form it takes, it is all pretty sludgy.
One problem is that we all kind of like it when God is a local God. The problem is, God isn’t—local, that is. God is a portable God. The God of Ezekiel is a God who is with us, wherever we are.
God is faithful. However, God doesn’t stay put. God doesn’t necessarily transform where we are, at least not right away. But God is with us. And this portable God is a transforming presence.
“STAYING FRESH AND GREEN GOD’S WAY”
I am most definitely old now. So, I always take heart when I read Psalm 92:12-15.
“The righteous flourish like the palm tree
and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
13 They are planted in the house of the LORD;
they flourish in the courts of our God.
14 They still bear fruit in old age;
they are ever full of sap and green,
15 to declare that the LORD is upright;
he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.” (English Standard Version)
Derek Kidner comments (helpfully, but in a frightfully British manner) as follows:
“Instead of a static and obstructive permanence, hardly more desirable than the transience of verse 7, this is a satisfying climax. It is not the greenness of perpetual youth, but the freshness of age without sterility, like that of Moses whose ‘eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated’ (Deut. 34:7); whose wisdom was mature and his memory invaluably rich. It is a picture which bodily and mental ills must often severely limit, but which sets a pattern of spiritual stamina for our encouragement and possibly our rebuke.”[1]
In this read-through, I was stopped in my tracks by my own underlining. I had underlined verse 14, the bit about still bearing fruit in old age and staying fresh and green. However, I had not underlined verse 15, which spells out what verse 14 means. In other words, I was doing precisely what I tell my students not to do. I was reading without taking the context seriously.
So, I went back and read the entire psalm. It is not terribly long, so I am reproducing it for your listening (and living) pleasure:
“Psa. 92:0 A PSALM. A SONG FOR THE SABBATH.
Psa. 92:1 It is good to give thanks to the LORD,
to sing praises to your name, O Most High;
2 to declare your steadfast love in the morning,
and your faithfulness by night,
3 to the music of the lute and the harp,
to the melody of the lyre.
4 For you, O LORD, have made me glad by your work;
at the works of your hands I sing for joy.
Psa. 92:5 How great are your works, O LORD!
Your thoughts are very deep!
6 The stupid man cannot know;
the fool cannot understand this:
7 that though the wicked sprout like grass
and all evildoers flourish,
they are doomed to destruction forever;
8 but you, O LORD, are on high forever.
9 For behold, your enemies, O LORD,
for behold, your enemies shall perish;
all evildoers shall be scattered.
Psa. 92:10 But you have exalted my horn like that of the wild ox;
you have poured over me fresh oil.
11 My eyes have seen the downfall of my enemies;
my ears have heard the doom of my evil assailants.
Psa. 92:12 The righteous flourish like the palm tree
and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
13 They are planted in the house of the LORD;
they flourish in the courts of our God.
14 They still bear fruit in old age;
they are ever full of sap and green,
15 to declare that the LORD is upright;
he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.” (English Standard Version)
This entire psalm is not about the worshiper bearing fruit in old age. It is about the unchanging goodness of the LORD. The truth of verse 14 is dependent upon the truth of all the rest of the verses. So, if I want to bear fruit in my old age, I need to focus on God, not on me.
Now, since I was little, I have had a huge problem focusing on anything but my own precious little self. Perhaps I am alone in this, but I doubt it. And as long as I am self-preoccupied, I am missing an incredibly important point: Life is not about me. Not when I was young. Not when I was middle-aged. Not when I am old. Life is about God. Life is about others. And only if I take seriously God and others, can my life be fruitful, fresh, and green.
LORD, what can I do to celebrate
and proclaim your goodness to others today?
[1]Derek Kidner, Psalms 73–150: An Introduction and Commentary, TOTC 16; IVP/Accordance electronic ed. (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1975), 369.
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