Preparing for the fulfillment
Commentary
If death is a closing of the eyes to the segment of life we play out this side of eternity, then like most rest which sleep ushers in, what has just been completed and closed off is swept away, at least for the time being. The "new" puts distance between itself and the "old." In this pericope the issues of what "was" and "what will be" are joined with the reference points being life and death. As has been pointed out earlier, the Old Testament does not have a full-blown doctrine, or understanding of eternal life involving a resurrection of the body until after the exile.
While in Babylon the Persian conception of the raising of the body that had been buried, and the bringing forth of that body into a time of conflict in which the forces of "light" and "darkness," "good" and "evil," would fight a war for ultimate supremacy, was incorporated into Jewish teaching as divine revelation. After that final battle the "judgment" came.
In it the "children of light" would overcome the limitations death had imposed and be gathered into a walled garden in which the Lord of Light sat enthroned. There, dressed in white robes, they would spend "forever" with him and each other. The name of that place in Persian was paradaesos. The "children of darkness," on the other hand, would be cast into a lake of fire. There their final destruction would be accomplished. This momentous event sent those who had made a "covenant" with destruction to their annihilation, just as those who had made a "covenant of life" with the Lord of Light would rise to live it out.
"Covenants with death (Isaiah 28:15ff.)" and "blazing fire, and darkness, and gloom, and tempest (Hebrews 12:18)," and people being saved by being gathered to "sit at table in the kingdom of God (Luke 13:29)" all sound the same notes in their own way about the separation of what "was" and what "will be" once death and judgment come. And each of them has its own notes of warning and hope to be broadcast for open ears while there still is time for choice-making by the human "targets."
What needs to be taken in and pondered is the assurance they bring that these moments are exceedingly crucial ones in which eternal decisions are being made. Rather than just stumble into them, and perhaps have them made for us by our negligence, we should snap up the opportunity to prepare eagerly, and courageously, and faithfully, for the fulfillment of the promises God has made to his people about what lies ahead when this "earthly vale of tears" is left behind!
OUTLINE I
Covenants, scourges and cornerstones
Isaiah 28:14-22
A. vv. 14-15. "Covenant with death" is what Isaiah calls the lifestyles of those rulers in Jerusalem who had led the parade away from the God who had given them the promised land, and everything else that sustained them, despite their unfaithfulness to him. "Covenants," in Hebrew berith, were deals literally "cut" between two willing partners. Each person negotiated the terms (the amount of "negotiating power" depending on the relative strength of the contracting parties) and each agreed to the terms to be performed. No one in such a covenantal relationship could later beg off by saying they did not understand the terms of what they were getting themselves into.What they "signed" they "bought," and for what those terms brought on them they were fully accountable. No whining about the outcome of the commitments made was accepted!
These individuals had made a "covenant with death." Although they may have thought the terms would not cost them as much. as they were to prove they would down the line, pay-up time was coming, and pay up they would. Sobering reality, isn't it?
B. vv. 16-19. Judgment came, and comes, and will come, to every human being on both sides of death. For those who have chosen to buy in with those things, forces and beings who bring destruction with them, those pay points are gruesome eventualities. Lies made a collapsible "refuge," and "darkness," in Hebrew sheol, the place where no light shined. Even in its most dense form ultimately it loses its power to conceal corruption and wrongly-placed link ups. It's no wonder that in binds like that "people weep and gnash their teeth!" Something to think about while there is time, isn't it?
C. vv. 20-22. God is coming to do the judging, an "alien work (v. 21b)" for a Lord whose "proper work" is to redeem, and rescue, rather than annihilate what he created in love. And he will be "wroth," filled with "passion, heated up." In Hebrew the term describes how deeply and intimately involved God is with those he made in his image. God is never a "disinterested observer." Hone in on that reality, and what a marvelous gift that is to have offered, and too often tragically rejected.
OUTLINE II
Worship, reverence and awe!
Hebrews 12:18-19, 22-29
A. vv. 18-19. In the Old Testament lesson for the day the focus was on those who made a "covenant with death." Here the writer speaks to those who are headed for a realm not of destruction, but one that cannot be touched by "a blazing fire, and darkness, and gloom, and a tempest." That is what comes from holding fast to the "covenant of life" God "cut" with them! The terms for that link up, you recall, were simple and uncomplicated, "I will be your God and you will be my people (Leviticus 26:12)." Each would give to the other all that they were, lovingly, loyally, permanently. The consequences of that covenant were to bring life rather than destruction.
B. vv. 22-27. The place of the meeting is not one veiled in darkness, but a "festal gathering ... the assembly of the first-born who are enrolled in heaven." (Greek paradesos, a transliteration of the ancient Persian term for the walled garden of the Lord of Light.) Note that the covenant binding God and those gathered there is the "new" one "meditated" by Christ (cf. Jeremiah 31:31-34). For a fuller treatment of the "new covenant" in the Old and New Testaments see my The New Covenant In Jeremiah and The Covenant-Treaty Tradition in the Ancient New East, (New World Press). The results of that relationship are joy and eager reunion.
C. vv. 28-29. Gratitude is the response that leads the emotions, and "acceptable worship," "reverence" and "awe" are what naturally leap from it. Not service done to win the entry to eternity. That has been given as a gift! But faithfulness active in love, as an overflowing sign of what is in our hearts for a God whose will all along has been to have us with him forever.
OUTLINE III
When the knock comes
Luke 13:22-30
A. vv. 22-23. The message of Jesus was not delivered in a corner somewhere, and then heard there only by appointment! He took his ministry "on the road," looking for his audience, not waiting for them to come to him. That has been in character for God since time began. He came to Adam and Eve "in the garden in the cool of the day," and to Abraham camped by the oak at Mamre, and to Isaiah at worship in the temple, and to others ... God knows to how many others and only God knows where, when and how! But he goes his way "through towns and villages, teaching ..." still.
B. vv. 24-27. Not everything Jesus teaches makes him a welcome guest. His hard sayings, and this is one of them, often lost him followers rather than attracted them to him (cf. John 6:60-71). But the truth is the truth ... and the truth is what we need to hear even when we itch to hear what we wished the truth could be, reworked by us! Life involves choices, and choices have consequences, and you need to make the right ones, even if they are difficult ... like having to squeeze your body through a door made for a contortionist!
C. vv. 28-30. Choices made cannot be undone after the end line of life is reached. As Paul wrote, "Now is the acceptable time; now is the day of salvation (2 Corinthians 6:2)." Knowing that the offer has been made by God to enter the kingdom is not enough. Accepting it and holding on to the One who has the key to that realm is the only way through the "door" that divides it from time and earth. Some who hear it late will be found there, and some who heard it early on will be absent, shut out by their recalcitrance. It will be a "strange" mixture of folks we will find there ... but a glorious band set for an indescribable future together with the Lord and all those who surround him.
While in Babylon the Persian conception of the raising of the body that had been buried, and the bringing forth of that body into a time of conflict in which the forces of "light" and "darkness," "good" and "evil," would fight a war for ultimate supremacy, was incorporated into Jewish teaching as divine revelation. After that final battle the "judgment" came.
In it the "children of light" would overcome the limitations death had imposed and be gathered into a walled garden in which the Lord of Light sat enthroned. There, dressed in white robes, they would spend "forever" with him and each other. The name of that place in Persian was paradaesos. The "children of darkness," on the other hand, would be cast into a lake of fire. There their final destruction would be accomplished. This momentous event sent those who had made a "covenant" with destruction to their annihilation, just as those who had made a "covenant of life" with the Lord of Light would rise to live it out.
"Covenants with death (Isaiah 28:15ff.)" and "blazing fire, and darkness, and gloom, and tempest (Hebrews 12:18)," and people being saved by being gathered to "sit at table in the kingdom of God (Luke 13:29)" all sound the same notes in their own way about the separation of what "was" and what "will be" once death and judgment come. And each of them has its own notes of warning and hope to be broadcast for open ears while there still is time for choice-making by the human "targets."
What needs to be taken in and pondered is the assurance they bring that these moments are exceedingly crucial ones in which eternal decisions are being made. Rather than just stumble into them, and perhaps have them made for us by our negligence, we should snap up the opportunity to prepare eagerly, and courageously, and faithfully, for the fulfillment of the promises God has made to his people about what lies ahead when this "earthly vale of tears" is left behind!
OUTLINE I
Covenants, scourges and cornerstones
Isaiah 28:14-22
A. vv. 14-15. "Covenant with death" is what Isaiah calls the lifestyles of those rulers in Jerusalem who had led the parade away from the God who had given them the promised land, and everything else that sustained them, despite their unfaithfulness to him. "Covenants," in Hebrew berith, were deals literally "cut" between two willing partners. Each person negotiated the terms (the amount of "negotiating power" depending on the relative strength of the contracting parties) and each agreed to the terms to be performed. No one in such a covenantal relationship could later beg off by saying they did not understand the terms of what they were getting themselves into.What they "signed" they "bought," and for what those terms brought on them they were fully accountable. No whining about the outcome of the commitments made was accepted!
These individuals had made a "covenant with death." Although they may have thought the terms would not cost them as much. as they were to prove they would down the line, pay-up time was coming, and pay up they would. Sobering reality, isn't it?
B. vv. 16-19. Judgment came, and comes, and will come, to every human being on both sides of death. For those who have chosen to buy in with those things, forces and beings who bring destruction with them, those pay points are gruesome eventualities. Lies made a collapsible "refuge," and "darkness," in Hebrew sheol, the place where no light shined. Even in its most dense form ultimately it loses its power to conceal corruption and wrongly-placed link ups. It's no wonder that in binds like that "people weep and gnash their teeth!" Something to think about while there is time, isn't it?
C. vv. 20-22. God is coming to do the judging, an "alien work (v. 21b)" for a Lord whose "proper work" is to redeem, and rescue, rather than annihilate what he created in love. And he will be "wroth," filled with "passion, heated up." In Hebrew the term describes how deeply and intimately involved God is with those he made in his image. God is never a "disinterested observer." Hone in on that reality, and what a marvelous gift that is to have offered, and too often tragically rejected.
OUTLINE II
Worship, reverence and awe!
Hebrews 12:18-19, 22-29
A. vv. 18-19. In the Old Testament lesson for the day the focus was on those who made a "covenant with death." Here the writer speaks to those who are headed for a realm not of destruction, but one that cannot be touched by "a blazing fire, and darkness, and gloom, and a tempest." That is what comes from holding fast to the "covenant of life" God "cut" with them! The terms for that link up, you recall, were simple and uncomplicated, "I will be your God and you will be my people (Leviticus 26:12)." Each would give to the other all that they were, lovingly, loyally, permanently. The consequences of that covenant were to bring life rather than destruction.
B. vv. 22-27. The place of the meeting is not one veiled in darkness, but a "festal gathering ... the assembly of the first-born who are enrolled in heaven." (Greek paradesos, a transliteration of the ancient Persian term for the walled garden of the Lord of Light.) Note that the covenant binding God and those gathered there is the "new" one "meditated" by Christ (cf. Jeremiah 31:31-34). For a fuller treatment of the "new covenant" in the Old and New Testaments see my The New Covenant In Jeremiah and The Covenant-Treaty Tradition in the Ancient New East, (New World Press). The results of that relationship are joy and eager reunion.
C. vv. 28-29. Gratitude is the response that leads the emotions, and "acceptable worship," "reverence" and "awe" are what naturally leap from it. Not service done to win the entry to eternity. That has been given as a gift! But faithfulness active in love, as an overflowing sign of what is in our hearts for a God whose will all along has been to have us with him forever.
OUTLINE III
When the knock comes
Luke 13:22-30
A. vv. 22-23. The message of Jesus was not delivered in a corner somewhere, and then heard there only by appointment! He took his ministry "on the road," looking for his audience, not waiting for them to come to him. That has been in character for God since time began. He came to Adam and Eve "in the garden in the cool of the day," and to Abraham camped by the oak at Mamre, and to Isaiah at worship in the temple, and to others ... God knows to how many others and only God knows where, when and how! But he goes his way "through towns and villages, teaching ..." still.
B. vv. 24-27. Not everything Jesus teaches makes him a welcome guest. His hard sayings, and this is one of them, often lost him followers rather than attracted them to him (cf. John 6:60-71). But the truth is the truth ... and the truth is what we need to hear even when we itch to hear what we wished the truth could be, reworked by us! Life involves choices, and choices have consequences, and you need to make the right ones, even if they are difficult ... like having to squeeze your body through a door made for a contortionist!
C. vv. 28-30. Choices made cannot be undone after the end line of life is reached. As Paul wrote, "Now is the acceptable time; now is the day of salvation (2 Corinthians 6:2)." Knowing that the offer has been made by God to enter the kingdom is not enough. Accepting it and holding on to the One who has the key to that realm is the only way through the "door" that divides it from time and earth. Some who hear it late will be found there, and some who heard it early on will be absent, shut out by their recalcitrance. It will be a "strange" mixture of folks we will find there ... but a glorious band set for an indescribable future together with the Lord and all those who surround him.
