Emphasis Preaching Journal

Like the four Gospels, each giving a unique perspective on
the life of Christ, so Joshua and Judges give somewhat different
accounts of the conquest of the land of Canaan. The story in
Joshua is one of lightning attacks, stunning victories, and
relatively rapid conquest. In Judges we read of a much slower,
more deliberate and difficult process. While Joshua pictures them
as maintaining some separation from their new neighbors, Judges
is full of accounts of the Israelites commingling with them. In
Joshua there seems to be considerable unity among the tribes. By
contrast, petty jealousies and disunity are common from the
perspective of Judges.



In today's lesson we read of a people of God who still do
not get it right. They have again been disobedient and are
suffering the consequences. Now that they were settling into the
pattern of an agricultural people, in contrast to the stark life
of the wilderness, the fertility gods of the Canaanites must have
been intensely attractive to them. And they yielded to the
attraction.



But grace abounds. A stubborn God will not give up. Now help
comes through the leadership of a woman, Deborah, and her chief
officer, Barak. As for Deborah, she is clearly a charismatic
person. While that could be said of all judges and prophets, the
fact that she was a leader in a thoroughly male-dominated society
only underscores more emphatically that she was a person of
unusual wisdom, energy, and skill. One cannot preach on this text
without some reference to the "Song of Deborah" in the chapter
that follows, where her skill as a public orator is made obvious.



Deborah stands in the company of great women leaders of the
ages. While she appears to emerge out of nowhere, it is likely
that she comes to prominence at this moment out of years of
personal spiritual and intellectual development and growth. She
has been alert and responsible, listening to the voice of God for
herself and her people. Respect for her powers of good judgment
was no doubt well-established in the community by this time. Like
Queen Esther, she has "come to royal dignity for just such a time
as this" (Esther 4:14).

Hosea 11:1-4, 8-9



Though he preached at the same time -- the eighth century
B.C. -- and to the same people -- the northern kingdom of Israel
-- the tone of Hosea's prophecy is quite different from that of
Amos. Amos is much thunder and lightning and little rain; Hosea
is some thunder and lightning, but mostly rain. There is a note
of personal care and compassion in Hosea that is missing in Amos.
And that accent is seen nowhere in the prophecy more poignantly
than here in chapter 11. Little wonder that some have called this
one of "the greatest chapters in the Bible."



The grief and disappointment of a loving parent are
described in the opening lines. How many stories can any pastor
tell about families where an abundance of love and grace has been
answered by a child who brings nothing but shame and dishonor to
the parents. Yet, those same parents keep loving and loving and
loving -- looking down the road in hope that the errant child
will come to his senses, praying year in and year out that a
change will come. And how can any parent not be moved by the
description in verse 3! "It was I who taught Ephraim to walk .."
We recall those first steps, the look of surprise on the face of
our son or daughter and the sheer delight we felt in seeing this
important stage of development.



It goes on: "I was to them like those who lift infants to
their cheeks." If you have known it, you can still feel it --
the wonderful sensation of soft baby skin on your leathery cheek.
And still more: "I bent down to them and fed them." Human infants
are the most vulnerable for the longest period of all young
creatures. They are absolutely dependent on the constant care and
nurture of a loving parent. And so, says Hosea, it is with God.
How can a people turn their back on so kind and generous a One as
God?



And still more in verses 8 and 9! "How can I give you up? My
heart recoils within me ...." It seems that the heart of God, no
matter how broken and disappointed, cannot abandon these people.
We may have known parents who we thought had every right to give
up on a child. But how many actually do? Very few. We are
reminded of the word of the Psalmist: "If my father and mother
forsake me, the Lord will take me up" (27:10). Yes, even if we
could imagine such a thing, God's love is deeper.



1 Thessalonians 5:1-11



This lesson continues what can be described as the
"exhortation" section of the letter to the Thessalonians,
beginning with chapter 4. The phrase "we ask and urge you in the
Lord" (4:1) is a strong one. The tendency to fall asleep, to lose
interest, to be negligent is a threat to this church. When Paul
writes of those who speak of "peace and security" he may be
recalling for them the words of Jeremiah when he condemned those
false prophets who preached "Peace, peace" when there was no
peace. As in that earlier time, those who persist in believing
that they can build on false security will be in for a surprise.
God's judgment cannot wait forever.



The phrase "day of the Lord" (v. 2) also has Old Testament
antecedents. In popular thinking it was associated with
deliverance and renewed prosperity. But prophets like Amos gave
the idea a different cast, suggesting that for those who are not
alert the "day of the Lord" will bring darkness and judgment.



The military image from the Letter to the Ephesians is also
recalled here for the Thessalonian believers. Whether it be Boy
Scouts who are reminded to "Be Prepared!" or military units in
combat whose number one task is to be alert, the illustration
fits well. Those engaged in battle cannot afford to be off guard
for even a moment. And so, says Paul, it must be for believers in
any age. We never "have it made," never can say we have
"arrived," never can claim final victory in this life.





Having said all this about preparedness, Paul once again
avers that the outcome depends not on us but on God. "God has not
destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation" (v. 9). Yes,
we must be alert. But it is not our vigilance that brings the
final victory. God will see to the final outcome. We,
unfortunately, may find ourselves on the wrong side of that
outcome if we do not "keep awake and be sober" (v. 6).



It is well to take note of the contrasts in this text
between being asleep and awake and between darkness and light.
Waking and light, of course, are closely related. As one grows
older and finds it more difficult to sleep for long hours, the
passing of the night and the coming of a new day are greeted with
more delight and excitement than was the case earlier in life. It
has become my favorite time of the day. It is a time of
excitement and high sensitivity, a time for hope and renewal.
That should be our attitude and hope for the coming of the Lord.

Matthew 25:14-30



It has been suggested that the only difference between a
deep rut and a grave is about five feet. In other words, one can
die long before one dies. The difference is alertness and full
use of one's gifts and faculties. Many studies now show that the
capacity to learn actually can increase over the years, provided
that the limits are continuously challenged. We are made to grow.
Every new chapter of life, including the difficult ones, can be a
time for deepening of faith, a time for new adventure, a time for
sharpening our powers of alertness.



The problem with the one-talent person in our text is fear
of the unknown. He is frozen by life's worst phobia -- the fear
of the future. Uncertainty of what will happen immobilizes him
into playing it safe, into doing nothing. He is too cautious, too
afraid of what it might cost him if he takes a risk. Along with
his caution, there is an underestimation of his worth. For all
who overestimate their worth, there are at least as many who are
plagued with doubt and uncertainty about the gifts God has
entrusted to them. And they tend to think that they are therefore
less responsible than others who, in their judgment, are more
gifted. It surely is true that from a mountaintop any position we
hold looks small, no matter how large a circle we may cut in our
business or community. How much more the case with those who
think that with what they see as their most ordinary job or their
small place in the community they have no particular status. But
in the eyes of God we are not measured by the same standards. We
are judged, purely and simply, by how well we use the gifts God
has given and by our alertness to the opportunities God brings to
us every day.



Another problem for the one-talent person is a
misunderstanding of time. He does not "reckon with a day of
reckoning." He thought there would be plenty of time to do
something with his talent, plenty of time before the owner of the
estate would return. He was wrong. Ask recently-retired persons
if their concept of time has changed and they will tell you that
it has indeed been altered dramatically. Those anticipated long
years of work in one's chosen occupation, years that at times
seemed to stretch on and on, have suddenly come to an end. If
they have not used those years well, they are full of regret.
But, on the other hand, if they have used them well they will
tell you that, like the two- and five-talent persons in the text,
they are full of excitement and hope for the years to come.


Suggestions For Preaching



Before he himself embraced the Christian faith, some of C.
S. Lewis' friends were converted. At first Lewis thought this
would lead to their intellectual stagnation. Now that they were
Christian, he thought they would dry up mentally and be content
with simple, canned answers to the great questions of life. Until
then, that had been his experience in the church. He saw
believers who stopped thinking, who preferred to play it safe,
who risked little. What amazed him was that the new faith of his
friends actually freed them for new challenges. He found them to
be more alert and engaging than ever.



As we come nearer the end of the church year our preaching
should become all the more passionate. If we really believe the
message of these lessons for the day it cannot be make us more
urgent in the pulpit. Do we have forever to act? Are there no
risks to be taken? Are we responsible for what God has given?
Does God really have the last word? And, if so, how will that
conviction have its impact on how we live? Ask these questions as
you prepare your message for the day. Ask them first of yourself.
Ask them of those to whom you will preach. Take your text to the
pulpit on Saturday. Imagine those who will sit in the pew the
next day. It will surely make a difference in how you preach.


FIRST LESSON FOCUS
By James A. Nestingen

Judges 4:1-7



The trouble with life is the way it complicates convictions.
The God of the promise is supposed to be polite, keep a safe
distance and, above all, respect human autonomy. And women, when
they finally do get power, are supposed to bring a kinder,
gentler dimension to things.



The trouble is that this text simply won't cooperate. For
openers, it says that when Israel's willpower failed them once
more,". the Lord sold them into the hand of King Jabin of
Canaan" (v. 2). If that wasn't bad enough, when he finally
started practicing some inclusiveness in the selection of judges,
God raised up a warrior named Deborah and backed her up with one
Jael who literally nailed her enemy! Effective, undoubtedly, but
not kinder or gentler -- not by a long shot.



The standard way out of passages associating God with an
evil turn is to invoke the causal nexus. There are circumstances
where one thing really does lead to another -- the abused, for
example, generally though not always become abusers. So, the
explanation goes, God doesn't really intervene to actually sell -
- instead, he simply lets the one thing that normally leads to
another follow course. The people in their infidelity let down
their guard; King Jabin and his 900 chariots swept in and took
over.



It's cold comfort, if any at all. Whether God put his people
on the auction block and actively sought bids or simply allowed
someone to carry them away, the effect is still the same: Jabin
wins the day, more than that, the twenty years while God's people
live under the rod. Active or passive, dealing with such
policies is risky business. Unbelief has consequences.



Deborah could very well be one of them, though Jael was
tougher. She was a judge, charismatically endowed with the gifts
of discernment and prophecy. So people sought her out for the
resolution of difficulties. Wisdom in human relations also gave
her authority in matters of national leadership.



So Deborah prophesied against Sisera, possibly a Philistine,
who was in charge of Jabin's army, calling upon Barak to gather
the forces to take Sisera on. The Canaanites had a clear
technological advantage, sending chariots against unmounted men.
But the good Lord and Deborah took away the advantage with a
torrent of rain, leaving the chariots stuck in the mud.



Sisera made his getaway, but not for long. When he ran into
Jael's tent and fell asleep, hiding in the carpet, she dispatched
him with what she had on hand, a tent peg, mallet-driven, in the
temple. It was a rude way to die, but that's what you get when
you assume that the good Lord wouldn't hurt anybody, that women
can't handle leadership or the odd enemy.