Proper 6
Preaching
Preaching and Reading the Old Testament Lessons:
With an Eye to the New
Israel in the Old Testament and the Christian Church are both understood in the scriptures to be the covenant people of God. As such, both of them are called by God to be his "holy nation" (Exodus 19:6; 1 Peter 2:9). To be "holy," according to the Bible, does not mean to be morally pure, however. Rather it means to be "set apart" for God's purposes. Both Israel and the church, having entered into covenant with God, are God's "set-apart" people. As the ancient oracle of Balaam puts it, Israel is "a people dwelling alone, and not reckoning itself among the nations" (Numbers 23:9). And as the Apostle Paul writes to the church, "Do not be conformed to this world" (Romans 12:2).
So Israel and the church, as God's holy people, are to live differently from the society around them, and they are to see situations and events differently than other people see them (cf. Leviticus 18:1-4). They live differently and they see differently, because they obey God and not human beings.
For example, a Christian does not follow the customs of society in marriage. One out of two marriages in our time ends up in divorce court; a Christian promises before God to love, cherish, and honor his or her mate "until death doth us part." In the same fashion, a Christian does not do just what "comes naturally." It is not natural to love your enemies and to pray for those who persecute you. A Christian does not view other persons as our power-ridden, materialistic society views the poor or the weak. A Christian understands that the meek shall inherit the earth and that God blesses the poor. Christians are a covenant, set-apart people, called to live according to God's will and not the will or desires of the world around them.
It is this quality of being set apart that we confront in the story of Naboth's vineyard in 1 Kings 21. Naboth is a poor peasant who has inherited a little plot of land that happens to lie next to the royal holdings of the evil King Ahab, who ruled the northern kingdom of Israel from about 869 to 850 B.C. Kings never have enough property, they think, so Ahab offers to buy Naboth's little vineyard. He even offers Naboth a fair price for the plot of earth. But that square of dirt represents Naboth's share in God's land promised to his covenant people. Naboth inherited it from his family. It was the gift of God to his forbears and to him. It represents Naboth's participation in God's gracious gift of the promised land. Naboth too is a recipient of God's fulfillment of his promise of land to Abraham. So Naboth will not sell the land, not even to the king. And Ahab understands Naboth's reason. After all, Ahab too is an Israelite, so he understands Naboth's refusal even if he does not like it. And Ahab sulks, like some disappointed child.
Ahab's wife, Jezebel, however, is a different breed. She's not a set-apart person; she's a Phoenician princess, a worshiper of the pagan god Baal and a persistent enemy of Israel's prophets and religion. God's promise of the land means nothing to her. She lives by the ways of the world. Power is her motto, and kings should have power. So she cynically uses Israel's own covenant law to bring about the death of Naboth. She pays two false witnesses to accuse Naboth of cursing God and king (cf. Exodus 22:28), because two witnesses of a crime were necessary according to the law (Deuteronomy 17:6; 19:15) and cursing God was a capital offense, bringing death by stoning (Leviticus 24:16).
That which covenant people know, but which Jezebel does not understand, is that there is a higher Power than that of state or king or society. Covenant people are sworn to obey that Power, but they also know that all people are responsible to him, for they know that the final King over this earth is God, and God holds all persons accountable. The result is that Elijah, the prophet of God, condemns Ahab and his dynasty to destruction, and Jezebel to death, a gruesome death that comes upon her after the dynasty has fallen (2 Kings 9-10). Our Lord of the covenant, who is the Lord of our universe, is not mocked (cf. Galatians 6:7), and those who defy him are destroyed.
That would be a terrible sentence for us all, wouldn't it, for what one of us has not disobeyed the will of our God and followed the ways of the world? "The wages of sin is death," writes Paul (Romans 6:23), and all of us deserve that death. But because of his wondrous mercy, God also pours out upon us, not only his judgment of death, but finally also his grace in Jesus Christ.
Lutheran Option:
2 Samuel 11:26--12:10, 13-15
In the story of his sin with Bathsheba, King David, who ruled over Israel from 1000 to 961 B.C., experienced a measure of God's grace. Kings in Israel were subject to the covenant law of God (cf. Deuteronomy 17:18-20), and that law was summarized in the Ten Commandments: "You shall not kill. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness. You shall not covet ... your neighbor's wife" (Exodus 20:13-17). Because of his unholy lust for Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah the Hittite, the great king David of Israel broke every one of those basic laws of God.
The prophet Nathan confronted David with his sin in what was a masterful sermon. After arousing David's anger with the story of the rich man who stole the poor man's little lamb, Nathan whirled on David and accused him, "You are the man!" David deserved death for his lustful coveting and adultery with Bathsheba, for his robbery of her, for his deceitfulness and finally murder of Uriah. And David recognizes his sin (2 Samuel 12:13); that is at least a first step in his repentance. But sin does not go unpunished by God, and it always has its consequences. David does not die, but the child he has fathered by Bathsheba does die for David's sin, and that undoubtedly added to David's remorse. When we repent of sin, our eyes are often opened to see the terrible consequences we have brought on others by our sinful conduct.
Nevertheless, David continues on the throne, but that continuance is solely a gift of God's grace. David does not deserve to continue to rule Israel. He is an adulterer and a murderer, and if we read his story in 2 Samuel, we find that he is also a terrible father to his sons. Nevertheless, by the grace of God, his rule becomes the greatest in Israel's history, and he becomes the forerunner of the davidic Messiah.
But David too, like Ahab later, is subject to the rule of God. The power of the state is not greater than that of God's power. And the power of any individual cannot loose them from their responsibility to the one God who rules over all the affairs of earth. God's judgment but indeed, also, God's grace are supreme in this world of ours. They were supreme over the lives of Ahab and David, and they are supreme over ours.
We are God's covenant people, sworn to trust and obey him in all the affairs of our lives, sworn to live by his will and not by the will of our sinful society. We therefore are not to trust finally governments or human ways or customs of the society around us. We are called to trust and obey God above all other demands. But the only thing that makes that possible for us is finally the mercy of God, shown to us in our Lord Jesus Christ. In Christ we find forgiveness for our errant lives. Because of him we are condemned not to death for our sin, but are given the gift of eternal life. Finally the action of God toward us sinners is one of over-ruling and undeserved mercy. And the God of the covenant, though he will not be mocked, is above all, the God of love. Surely, such astounding love calls forth our love and obedience in return.
So Israel and the church, as God's holy people, are to live differently from the society around them, and they are to see situations and events differently than other people see them (cf. Leviticus 18:1-4). They live differently and they see differently, because they obey God and not human beings.
For example, a Christian does not follow the customs of society in marriage. One out of two marriages in our time ends up in divorce court; a Christian promises before God to love, cherish, and honor his or her mate "until death doth us part." In the same fashion, a Christian does not do just what "comes naturally." It is not natural to love your enemies and to pray for those who persecute you. A Christian does not view other persons as our power-ridden, materialistic society views the poor or the weak. A Christian understands that the meek shall inherit the earth and that God blesses the poor. Christians are a covenant, set-apart people, called to live according to God's will and not the will or desires of the world around them.
It is this quality of being set apart that we confront in the story of Naboth's vineyard in 1 Kings 21. Naboth is a poor peasant who has inherited a little plot of land that happens to lie next to the royal holdings of the evil King Ahab, who ruled the northern kingdom of Israel from about 869 to 850 B.C. Kings never have enough property, they think, so Ahab offers to buy Naboth's little vineyard. He even offers Naboth a fair price for the plot of earth. But that square of dirt represents Naboth's share in God's land promised to his covenant people. Naboth inherited it from his family. It was the gift of God to his forbears and to him. It represents Naboth's participation in God's gracious gift of the promised land. Naboth too is a recipient of God's fulfillment of his promise of land to Abraham. So Naboth will not sell the land, not even to the king. And Ahab understands Naboth's reason. After all, Ahab too is an Israelite, so he understands Naboth's refusal even if he does not like it. And Ahab sulks, like some disappointed child.
Ahab's wife, Jezebel, however, is a different breed. She's not a set-apart person; she's a Phoenician princess, a worshiper of the pagan god Baal and a persistent enemy of Israel's prophets and religion. God's promise of the land means nothing to her. She lives by the ways of the world. Power is her motto, and kings should have power. So she cynically uses Israel's own covenant law to bring about the death of Naboth. She pays two false witnesses to accuse Naboth of cursing God and king (cf. Exodus 22:28), because two witnesses of a crime were necessary according to the law (Deuteronomy 17:6; 19:15) and cursing God was a capital offense, bringing death by stoning (Leviticus 24:16).
That which covenant people know, but which Jezebel does not understand, is that there is a higher Power than that of state or king or society. Covenant people are sworn to obey that Power, but they also know that all people are responsible to him, for they know that the final King over this earth is God, and God holds all persons accountable. The result is that Elijah, the prophet of God, condemns Ahab and his dynasty to destruction, and Jezebel to death, a gruesome death that comes upon her after the dynasty has fallen (2 Kings 9-10). Our Lord of the covenant, who is the Lord of our universe, is not mocked (cf. Galatians 6:7), and those who defy him are destroyed.
That would be a terrible sentence for us all, wouldn't it, for what one of us has not disobeyed the will of our God and followed the ways of the world? "The wages of sin is death," writes Paul (Romans 6:23), and all of us deserve that death. But because of his wondrous mercy, God also pours out upon us, not only his judgment of death, but finally also his grace in Jesus Christ.
Lutheran Option:
2 Samuel 11:26--12:10, 13-15
In the story of his sin with Bathsheba, King David, who ruled over Israel from 1000 to 961 B.C., experienced a measure of God's grace. Kings in Israel were subject to the covenant law of God (cf. Deuteronomy 17:18-20), and that law was summarized in the Ten Commandments: "You shall not kill. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness. You shall not covet ... your neighbor's wife" (Exodus 20:13-17). Because of his unholy lust for Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah the Hittite, the great king David of Israel broke every one of those basic laws of God.
The prophet Nathan confronted David with his sin in what was a masterful sermon. After arousing David's anger with the story of the rich man who stole the poor man's little lamb, Nathan whirled on David and accused him, "You are the man!" David deserved death for his lustful coveting and adultery with Bathsheba, for his robbery of her, for his deceitfulness and finally murder of Uriah. And David recognizes his sin (2 Samuel 12:13); that is at least a first step in his repentance. But sin does not go unpunished by God, and it always has its consequences. David does not die, but the child he has fathered by Bathsheba does die for David's sin, and that undoubtedly added to David's remorse. When we repent of sin, our eyes are often opened to see the terrible consequences we have brought on others by our sinful conduct.
Nevertheless, David continues on the throne, but that continuance is solely a gift of God's grace. David does not deserve to continue to rule Israel. He is an adulterer and a murderer, and if we read his story in 2 Samuel, we find that he is also a terrible father to his sons. Nevertheless, by the grace of God, his rule becomes the greatest in Israel's history, and he becomes the forerunner of the davidic Messiah.
But David too, like Ahab later, is subject to the rule of God. The power of the state is not greater than that of God's power. And the power of any individual cannot loose them from their responsibility to the one God who rules over all the affairs of earth. God's judgment but indeed, also, God's grace are supreme in this world of ours. They were supreme over the lives of Ahab and David, and they are supreme over ours.
We are God's covenant people, sworn to trust and obey him in all the affairs of our lives, sworn to live by his will and not by the will of our sinful society. We therefore are not to trust finally governments or human ways or customs of the society around us. We are called to trust and obey God above all other demands. But the only thing that makes that possible for us is finally the mercy of God, shown to us in our Lord Jesus Christ. In Christ we find forgiveness for our errant lives. Because of him we are condemned not to death for our sin, but are given the gift of eternal life. Finally the action of God toward us sinners is one of over-ruling and undeserved mercy. And the God of the covenant, though he will not be mocked, is above all, the God of love. Surely, such astounding love calls forth our love and obedience in return.
