Rich Toward God!!!
Reflections: All three of today’s passages have to do with the main ingredient in our relationship with God, trust! The psalmist reflects on the covenant God made with David to make an everlasting kingdom with them. As part of the covenant, God gave them the law, which if they did not listen to they would be punished. But notice it says “I will never take my love from them”. God, like a good parent, disciplines His children to bring them back; but His love is unconditional. God will not go back on His part of the Covenant, though at times we go back on ours, in the form of disobedience, which is basically just a lack of trust.
Then, we see why Joshua was such a great leader and why he was chosen to lead the people. Right before he gets ready to lead the men in for the conquest, God realizes that the next generation of men have not been circumcised, since they were wandering around and were born in the wilderness. So he commands Joshua to prepare “flinty knives”, can you say “ouch”! Can you imagine how this new order for the camp went over? But we see Joshua’s faithfulness to God’s call, and his ability to put God and where God is leading above all else trusting that it is God is leading the men. We hear a lot about Joshua 6 with the song many of us sang in Sunday School, “Joshua fought battle of Jericho, Jericho, Jericho. Joshua fought the battle of Jericho, and the walls came tumbling down!” But we don’t always hear about the obedience/trust Joshua had before they went in to battle as he circumcised the men, and then waited until they were healed to go forth.
As we raise up a new generation of young men and women to fight the battles of our day, we must set them apart for God’s work in an intentional way. Our young people need to know they are special and that their baptism completely covered them with the grace of God, so that they may be set apart for God’s purposes in the world today. They need to know the great cost that was paid for them on the cross, as they were purchased and redeemed to be used by God to be ambassadors of the Good News to their friends/peers.
Finally, in our gospel lesson in Luke, Jesus teaches on the danger of material possessions. It is not that Jesus is against frugality or saving, but against hoarding. Hoarding is putting a trust in what you have over and above God. In the desert, God gave the Israelites daily bread to teach them to trust in God’s provision each day. Notice too it was not the man’s accumulation of wealth, but his attitude toward it. He reasoned, “I will build bigger barns so I can take it easy and eat, drink and be merry!” We never retire from doing God’s work! Part of trusting God is each day is asking God, “What is your will to be done in my life today?” Maybe God wants you to give a substantial portion of what you have to someone else. As we trust that everything is God’s anyways, we will not have the “build a bigger barn” mentality. We realize that everything we have is on loan and that we will give an accounting for all we have been given one day!
In the end, Luke tells us to be “rich toward God”! This means all of our investment of time, possessions and gifts should be to the end of what would God want us to do with all He has given us! As we are “rich” toward God we will be ready to give an accounting at any time!
Psalm 89:30-37
30 “If his sons forsake my law
and do not follow my statutes,
31 if they violate my decrees
and fail to keep my commands,
32 I will punish their sin with the rod,
their iniquity with flogging;
33 but I will not take my love from him,
nor will I ever betray my faithfulness.
34 I will not violate my covenant
or alter what my lips have uttered.
35 Once for all, I have sworn by my holiness—
and I will not lie to David—
36 that his line will continue forever
and his throne endure before me like the sun;
37 it will be established forever like the moon,
the faithful witness in the sky.”
Joshua 5,6
5 Now when all the Amorite kings west of the Jordan and all the Canaanite kings along the coast heard how the Lord had dried up the Jordan before the Israelites until they[a] had crossed over, their hearts melted in fear and they no longer had the courage to face the Israelites.
Circumcision and Passover at Gilgal
2 At that time the Lord said to Joshua, “Make flint knives and circumcise the Israelites again.” 3 So Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the Israelites at Gibeath Haaraloth.4 Now this is why he did so: All those who came out of Egypt—all the men of military age —died in the wilderness on the way after leaving Egypt. 5 All the people that came out had been circumcised, but all the people born in the wilderness during the journey from Egypt had not. 6 The Israelites had moved about in the wilderness forty years until all the men who were of military age when they left Egypt had died, since they had not obeyed the Lord. For the Lord had sworn to them that they would not see the land he had solemnly promised their ancestors to give us, a land flowing with milk and honey. 7 So he raised up their sons in their place, and these were the ones Joshua circumcised. They were still uncircumcised because they had not been circumcised on the way. 8 And after the whole nation had been circumcised, they remained where they were in camp until they were healed. 9 Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.” So the place has been called Gilgal to this day. 10 On the evening of the fourteenth day of the month, while camped at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho, the Israelites celebrated the Passover. 11 The day after the Passover, that very day, they ate some of the produce of the land: unleavened bread and roasted grain. 12 The manna stopped the day after they ate this food from the land; there was no longer any manna for the Israelites, but that year they ate the produce of Canaan.
The Fall of Jericho
13 Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, “Are you for us or for our enemies?” 14 “Neither,” he replied, “but as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.” Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, “What message does my Lord have for his servant?” 15 The commander of the Lord’s army replied, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.
Luke 12:13-21
The Parable of the Rich Fool
13 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” 14 Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” 15 Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.” 16 And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. 17 He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ 18 “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. 19 And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’ 20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ 21 “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”
Restore me, and I will return, because you are the Lord my God. Jeremiah 31:18
It is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. Galatians 2:20
Lord Jesus, we are blessed both by your faith in us and our own faith. We place our complete trust in you. Hear our prayers. Amen.
Then, we see why Joshua was such a great leader and why he was chosen to lead the people. Right before he gets ready to lead the men in for the conquest, God realizes that the next generation of men have not been circumcised, since they were wandering around and were born in the wilderness. So he commands Joshua to prepare “flinty knives”, can you say “ouch”! Can you imagine how this new order for the camp went over? But we see Joshua’s faithfulness to God’s call, and his ability to put God and where God is leading above all else trusting that it is God is leading the men. We hear a lot about Joshua 6 with the song many of us sang in Sunday School, “Joshua fought battle of Jericho, Jericho, Jericho. Joshua fought the battle of Jericho, and the walls came tumbling down!” But we don’t always hear about the obedience/trust Joshua had before they went in to battle as he circumcised the men, and then waited until they were healed to go forth.
As we raise up a new generation of young men and women to fight the battles of our day, we must set them apart for God’s work in an intentional way. Our young people need to know they are special and that their baptism completely covered them with the grace of God, so that they may be set apart for God’s purposes in the world today. They need to know the great cost that was paid for them on the cross, as they were purchased and redeemed to be used by God to be ambassadors of the Good News to their friends/peers.
Finally, in our gospel lesson in Luke, Jesus teaches on the danger of material possessions. It is not that Jesus is against frugality or saving, but against hoarding. Hoarding is putting a trust in what you have over and above God. In the desert, God gave the Israelites daily bread to teach them to trust in God’s provision each day. Notice too it was not the man’s accumulation of wealth, but his attitude toward it. He reasoned, “I will build bigger barns so I can take it easy and eat, drink and be merry!” We never retire from doing God’s work! Part of trusting God is each day is asking God, “What is your will to be done in my life today?” Maybe God wants you to give a substantial portion of what you have to someone else. As we trust that everything is God’s anyways, we will not have the “build a bigger barn” mentality. We realize that everything we have is on loan and that we will give an accounting for all we have been given one day!
In the end, Luke tells us to be “rich toward God”! This means all of our investment of time, possessions and gifts should be to the end of what would God want us to do with all He has given us! As we are “rich” toward God we will be ready to give an accounting at any time!
Psalm 89:30-37
30 “If his sons forsake my law
and do not follow my statutes,
31 if they violate my decrees
and fail to keep my commands,
32 I will punish their sin with the rod,
their iniquity with flogging;
33 but I will not take my love from him,
nor will I ever betray my faithfulness.
34 I will not violate my covenant
or alter what my lips have uttered.
35 Once for all, I have sworn by my holiness—
and I will not lie to David—
36 that his line will continue forever
and his throne endure before me like the sun;
37 it will be established forever like the moon,
the faithful witness in the sky.”
Joshua 5,6
5 Now when all the Amorite kings west of the Jordan and all the Canaanite kings along the coast heard how the Lord had dried up the Jordan before the Israelites until they[a] had crossed over, their hearts melted in fear and they no longer had the courage to face the Israelites.
Circumcision and Passover at Gilgal
2 At that time the Lord said to Joshua, “Make flint knives and circumcise the Israelites again.” 3 So Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the Israelites at Gibeath Haaraloth.4 Now this is why he did so: All those who came out of Egypt—all the men of military age —died in the wilderness on the way after leaving Egypt. 5 All the people that came out had been circumcised, but all the people born in the wilderness during the journey from Egypt had not. 6 The Israelites had moved about in the wilderness forty years until all the men who were of military age when they left Egypt had died, since they had not obeyed the Lord. For the Lord had sworn to them that they would not see the land he had solemnly promised their ancestors to give us, a land flowing with milk and honey. 7 So he raised up their sons in their place, and these were the ones Joshua circumcised. They were still uncircumcised because they had not been circumcised on the way. 8 And after the whole nation had been circumcised, they remained where they were in camp until they were healed. 9 Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.” So the place has been called Gilgal to this day. 10 On the evening of the fourteenth day of the month, while camped at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho, the Israelites celebrated the Passover. 11 The day after the Passover, that very day, they ate some of the produce of the land: unleavened bread and roasted grain. 12 The manna stopped the day after they ate this food from the land; there was no longer any manna for the Israelites, but that year they ate the produce of Canaan.
The Fall of Jericho
13 Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, “Are you for us or for our enemies?” 14 “Neither,” he replied, “but as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.” Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, “What message does my Lord have for his servant?” 15 The commander of the Lord’s army replied, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.
Luke 12:13-21
The Parable of the Rich Fool
13 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” 14 Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” 15 Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.” 16 And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. 17 He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ 18 “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. 19 And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’ 20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ 21 “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”
Restore me, and I will return, because you are the Lord my God. Jeremiah 31:18
It is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. Galatians 2:20
Lord Jesus, we are blessed both by your faith in us and our own faith. We place our complete trust in you. Hear our prayers. Amen.
Comments
Post a Comment