The View from the West Mesa

Jeremiah 30-31 provides the hope – the promise that YHWH will come to claim Israel as His; He will call them and collect them from the far ends of the earth. Here, in this book of doom and certain destruction and exile – which Israel have to endure – are these chapters full of promises of redemption. In these two chapters it is clear that YHWH, despite bringing judgment on her, has every intention of gathering her back together. Why? Because He has promised to be God, and He will be. He is steadfast in an eternal sense, never losing sight of her no matter what. If you’ve ever raised kids, you know this place. Sometimes the frustration and disappointment is such that in the moment you’re ready for the cops to come get this kid. But even then, underneath, and certainly after the smoke has settled, it’s OK. Having the kid with you is more important than focusing on the poor behavior. Good parents don’t give up on their kids, even when it might see...

This Sunday's sermon text was the short story of the firey serpents in the wilderness. This is another in the long litany of Israel's failure to fully trust her God and her God-given leaders, in this case Moses. Again. Prior to this chapter we have had the story of Moses getting fed up with the whining and in turn whining to YHWH about the whiners. Moses wants to know why God has saddled him with these people. He argues that he didn't ask for this, he didn't birth these people, so why in the world is he being expected to be responsible for them?! God's response is a rather benign, "OK, pick yourself some helpers and let them help." Later, YHWH will Himself become fed up. So much so that he says to Moses, "Tell you what, how 'bout I wipe these folks out and start over with you as the Father of the Nation?" Moses is being offered Abraham's place! We might think that Moses would jump at the chance, given his previous complainin...

The Ten Commandments are the epitome of "the Law," and the Law we are told was done away with when Jesus arrived. No more Law, just the grace offered by God through Jesus. Often then, we simply avoid or read over these sorts of passages, relegating them to a bygone age that is no longer applicable to the church. We are wrong to do so. The Exodus version of the Law comes shortly after Israel's escape from Egypt. But not just that. It comes after complaints and the provision of food and water by God, and after the battle with Amalek. During this battle, Israel gains the upper hand as long as Moses' hands are held up. If he lets them down, Amalek gains the upper hand. This is an odd arrangement, but it is intended to demonstrate that it is Israel's God that wins this battle. And it must be because Israel is not a cohesive nation. She is simply been led out of captivity and fed in the wilderness; she does not have fully trained army and cannot defeat Amalek on he...

Second sunday in Lent -- we are a quarter of the way through this period of reflection and reorientation. How are you doing? The text for this Sunday from the Jewish Scriptures comes from Genesis 17, YHWH's reiteration of His promise to Abram. Abram and Sarai have been waiting for a quarter century and have made at least two mistakes along this journey. So YHWH decides the time has come despite these less than faithful episodes and He is prepared with three new names. Abram will be called Abraham and Sarai will be called Sarah. He doesn't ask them to try on these new names to see if they like them. He just announces them. The third new name? God's. Maybe because of their doubting, God here says his name is El Shaddai - God Almighty. Usually we think of a mighty god at the head of an army, or causing earthquakes, or striking people with plagues. Not here. Here, this mighty God is going to use His might to keep His promise and grant a child to an old man and a barren old wo...