By Jared Warner
Willow Creek Friends Church
February 25, 2024
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Genesis 17:1–7, 15-16 (ESV)
1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless, 2 that I may make my covenant between me and you, and may multiply you greatly.” 3 Then Abram fell on his face. And God said to him, 4 “Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. 5 No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. 6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you. 7 And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you.
15 And God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. 16 I will bless her, and moreover, I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall become nations; kings of peoples shall come from her.”
Today we go once again to Genesis. I have mentioned before that I love the Book of Genesis. If I were to rank my favorite books of Scripture, this book would be near the top. People often wonder why I say that because they know my background. I have a science background, not just science but life science. Because of that background and education, when I read Genesis, I read it a bit differently than some. Where some might see this book as equal to science. I do not, it is not because I do not believe that God created. I look at it differently because the people of this ancient era asked different questions than we do today.
We ask how we got here. They did not necessarily care about that question. They did not care because they faced drastically different challenges than we do today. We ask why and how we were created, where they wonder why life is so hard.
Even the most impoverished person in our community has a lifestyle abundantly better than anyone in ancient days. In ancient times, every day was a struggle for survival. Every moment of your day revolved around finding food, making clothing, and protecting your community from predators.
They did not bother with asking how we got here, they were more concerned with why. Why do we have to struggle for survival when it seems as if the animals are just eating? Why are certain plants edible while others might kill you. Why do snakes, bears, and the big cats seem to want to kill us. Why does the village of people a few days journey away constantly seek to destroy us while the one in the other direction seem so friendly?
We ask how, because living to tomorrow is not as much of a challenge. So, when the writers of Genesis composed their stories, we need to understand that we ask very different questions. We ask different questions, but there are powerful lessons to learn from this book. If we are able to look deeper, we find that there are times when their answers speak to the condition of our souls.
I want us to stop arguing over the first three chapters of Genesis and begin to look at the rest of the story. Genesis begins with the phrase, “In the Beginning.” That phrase should tell us something profound. Yes, there was a beginning. And it is important to know how that beginning emerged. But our textbooks in school are not written like this. Stories start with a phrase like that. Once upon a time, or long ago in a galaxy far away. The literary genre of Genesis is not written in the format of contemporary science, it is written as mythology.
That might scare us, because when we here that word, our minds are directed to the writings of ancient Greeks, the Egyptians, or the Nordic pantheons. We see story and myth, and we equate those writings with fiction and make believe. We as educated, enlightened people no longer need the superstitions of ancient mythology, we now want the truth. We misunderstand mythology when we take that approach. The point of mythology was to convey morality and provide an explanation for the things that were unexplainable.
Why do we have to struggle so much just to eat? Scripture tells us a story. God once created a beautiful garden filled with food to eat. We could eat to our fill, never going hungry once but there was one restriction. That tree of knowledge of good and evil was not to provide nourishment. Why do we now struggle to eat? It is because our forebear, Adam, we translate this as meaning man or mankind, but a more accurate rendering of the word Adam would be of earth or my favorite mud man. Adam, mud man, was told not to eat of that one tree, but he did not listen. And because of this God said we would struggle.
“Cursed is the ground because of you, in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face, you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust and to dust you shall return.”
This answer gives us not only an answer to why we have weeds and plants that can cause harm, but it also gives us an answer to our human condition. Why it is so hard to just live? But there is more to that story. Adam was not the only person given a curse. Eve, his wife, also faced judgement. God told her, “I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing, in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be contrary to your husband, but he shall rule over you.”
I thought about these over the past couple of weeks. I thought about them because I was not preparing a sermon, so I just studied out of my own curiosity. The word we often see translated as pain in reference to Eve, is labor, sorrow, or toil. The curse of Adam was labor, as was the curse of Eve. Eve was the mother of all living; her purpose was to bring or to bear life. But her name can also mean tent or village in some cases. Adam, the mud man, was to work the soil and bring or provide food. Eve was to create a village; she was literally supposed to be home. Not in the home, but to be home, or a sanctuary.
When the word Eve is used as a verb, it is in reference to bowing down and worship. This I find fascinating. Eve was to draw Adam back in an awe-inspiring manner. Adam would be drawn home in reverence, it was his joy to bring the food as it was Eve’s joy to be home. This union of life was not just marriage, but it is society. It is culture. It is why we are here. We can look at this and assign gender roles, but that is not the whole point. The point is that it requires work to provide the things for life. And it will be just as much work to build the relationships that will make a home.
Genesis goes on and speaks of two other events where life took a drastic turn. In the days of Noah, something happened that caused the wrath of God to grow. The sons of God found the daughters of men to be pleasing and they lusted for them and caused them to bear their children. This brought about the Nephilim, or the giants. These were men of great power. And they brought about corruption and filled the earth with violence. Sound familiar? War, the quest for wealth and influence. Charismatic individuals that take advantage of others to increase their own power? That quest for power caused global destruction.
Then there was this story of a tower, that was built to make a name for a people. They wanted to build a mountain to the heavens so that humanity could dwell on the same plain as the gods. This angered God and he divided the people and confused their languages. But out of all the nations of the earth God allotted to the sons of God, he kept Israel as his portion. Israel did not yet exist. Egypt, Assyria, and Babylon all existed at that point in time. It is believed that Babylon is the very group that attempted to build that dreadful tower, and there are people that are searching for its ruins. But Egypt also manufactured mountains. These structures were used in worship and pointed to their various mythologies or stories of moral virtue.
This brings us to Abraham, and the covenant from the most high God.
It was from one of those ancient empires from which God called Abram. He came to this man. God made a promise that if he followed Him, he would give him land and number of his offspring would be greater than the grains of sand.
This goes back to the beginning. Why do we struggle, why do we fight? Why is life so hard? Life in ancient times was difficult. Food was scarce and land was important because it could provide the needed food. Abram did not have land. God came to him with a proposal. If you follow me, I will give you the land you need to provide for your family. He offered Abram hope.
It is from the land we obtain the resources we need for our lifestyles. Food, oil, lithium for our cell phone batteries all of this comes from land. Wars are fought over land, not just the land itself, but for the future possibilities that land can provide. My ancestors came to America because of the hope that could be found with land. Some of you made a similar journey maybe not for land itself but for the hope and possibilities for a future that land could provide. Abram was like us in that case. He had a desire for a better life. He needed land, he needed possibilities, he needed hope.
He made that journey. He followed God, and he still faced struggle.
God promised land, and he was a nomad. God promised offspring yet his wife was barren. At times he struggled so much that he left the land God promised because life seemed hopeless. He went to other lands seeking the resources he needed to survive. This led him to Egypt. But even more struggle followed him there.
God convinced Abram to return to the land he promised him. He looked around and became afraid that it would not be enough, so he sent his nephew away. God promised land, he promised offspring and influence. God promised, but Abram, this great man of faith, allowed fear to lead him again. As fear gripped him, he divided his family. He did not have children himself, but he had a nephew. He sent his nephew in one direction, and Abram would go in the other. Abram’s nephew soon found himself caught amid a battle.
Why do we struggle? We need resources, we need food. Land provides for those needs, and people are willing to fight to obtain those resources. Every tribe, every nation, every people group wants and needs land. They will do whatever they can to secure the possibilities land can provide. Lot, Abram’s nephew occupied land others wanted for themselves. And Abram was not there to help. He was soon over run, and all he had labored for was taken. Abram heard of this and came to assist his family redeeming Lot and his family.
That battle shook Abram. This offer of land, this present of hope was beginning to become blood-soaked work. It is after this battle, God came to Abram in a vision, telling him not to fear, because He will be his shield and reward. God renewed his promise, and in that vision, he took it to the next step. He made a covenant, or a sacrificial treaty, and again promised land and offspring.
Abram no longer worried about the land. In fact, he began to prosper. But the offspring was becoming a greater concern. He was getting older; his wife was getting older. God had promised a son, but that hope was vanishing with each passing day. Sarai suggested that they do what anyone in their situation and in that era of history would do. She offered her servant to be a surrogate. This household slave did bear a child for her master, but as with many relationships, jealousy crept in. And this jealousy threatened to rip the family apart.
Labor, the curse on Eve was an increase of toil and sorrow in the bearing of children and in the raising of children. Relationships take a great amount of work. It is never easy and at times we wonder if it is even worth it. Sarai saw that the slave was becoming the home of Abram, her husband. And Abram was focused on providing for his family. Distractions and obligations all threaten to pull our families apart. And we must work to maintain and overcome.
These stories are not just history, but they are teaching. They are wisdom and bread of life. They teach us why we struggle and why we should continue to strive. We long for land, for the potential of fulfilling our needs. We work and strive to make things happen. But what happens as we struggle through toward the goal that is set before us? We can lose sight of the larger picture.
There are times when I just move one Sunday to the next. Just one more message, one more week. We live paycheck to paycheck. Day to day. What are we really working for? Just one more meal?
Abram settled for one more meal. He settled for a child through a surrogate instead of relying on the promise of God to provide the heir through his wife. He got comfortable in existing and distracted from the promise.
And when he was ninety-nine years old God appeared again to Abram. “I am God Almighty, walk before me, and be blameless.” In all of today’s scripture there are only two imperative verbs or commands. The first is to walk before God. The second is to be blameless.
I want us to consider these for a moment. We might wonder why God appeared to Abram and spoke these words. Had Abram not walked? He left the land of his father and went to this land. He had lived ninety-nine years doing the exact thing that God had asked. Has he not been walking? This word, walk, is not the act of putting one foot in front of the other in forward momentum. In this sense walking is how we live. God had promised Abram land and a family, God is reminding Abram to continue in that life, to not give up, to remain loyal and to continue in that life. God is reminding him. Walk the walk, talk the talk. Live your life so that your words and actions resemble each other.
This is a core principle in our Friends’ belief. To walk before God is to live a life of integrity and humility. It is to live our lives bringing honor to God. There is more to walking than just walking. This is the second command, be blameless.
The first command focuses on a relationship between God and Abram, or us. The second, being blameless, focuses on the relationships we have with others.
It is at this point that this story takes a different turn. And that turn is found in the very name of Abram.
Abram means exulted father. Up to this point in Genesis Abram is longing for the land and the potential life that land could offer him and his offspring. He is an honorable father. He is taking care of his family. He is living day by day content. But that is not the extent of why Abram is in this story. God made the covenant with Abram for a reason he would provide land and a family, but this land and family comes with a price, he would not only be the exulted father, Abram. He would now be called Abraham, the father of nations.
Abram is the walk. Abraham is the be blameless. Our lives and our lifestyles are not merely for ourselves, they are to encourage everyone around us. Our walk, our loyalty to God will be a blessing to our families, but we are not only living for our families. We are the offspring of Abraham; we are heirs to the nations. We are here, at this time and in this place for a reason. That reason is to be blameless.
This is an interesting concept. On the surface we might think that it simply means that we should be good people. That is true, we should be good people. But there are several good people that participate in activities that could contribute to blame. There were many good people that participated in a culture of slavery. These good people may have seen the inhumanity of slavery and they themselves may not have participated directly, but did they actively participate in the abolition of that vile practice? There were many good Germans that lived within the Third Reich, but their lack of opposition to the inhumanity of that system did not eliminate them from blame. There are good Russians, good Palestinians, good Ukrainians, good Israelis, there are even a few good Americans. But all these good people carry blame, because we live in nations and among people with unclean lips as the prophet Isaiah says. Walk and be blameless.
To be blameless means that we should strive for our families’ well-being, as well as the well-being of the family down the street or on the other side of the globe. If we stand here and say that we were endowed by our creator with certain unalienable rights, those rights apply not only to us but to all people. We are not blameless if we limit others from the same opportunities that we ourselves enjoy. Walk and be blameless. Work and labor not only to provide opportunities for our children, but for all children. There is power in that name change within scripture. Abram became Abraham. Sarai became Sarah. God gave them an identity, and he gave them a purpose.
Why are we here? We are here to Love God, Embrace the Holy Spirit, and to Live the Love of Christ with others. We are here to walk before God and be blameless. We are here to encourage the children within our community to walk the walk, and we are here to encourage everyone around us to recognize the need for change. Why are we here? We are here to give hope to the hopeless, health to the sick, encouragement to the brokenhearted. We are here to walk. And we are here to show the love of God through our words and action.
Do you earnestly seek to maintain a life in fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ? Do you practice the daily reading of scriptures in your families, giving time for waiting upon the Lord? Are you watchful not to be unduly absorbed by temporal affairs? Are you careful to avoid places and activities inconsistent with a Christian character?
Do you love one another as becomes the followers of Christ? Are you careful of the reputation of others? When differences arise do you make earnest efforts to end them speedily?
Are we walking before God? Are we blameless?
By Jared Warner Willow Creek Friends Church April 28, 2024 Click here to join our meeting for worship Click to read in Swahili Bofya kusoma kwa Kiswahili Acts 8:26–40 (ESV) 26 Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Rise and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to…
By Jared Warner Willow Creek Friends Church April 21,2024 Click here to join our Meeting for Worship: Click to read in Swahili Bofya kusoma kwa Kiswahili 1 John 3:16–24 (ESV) 16 By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.…
By Jared Warner Willow Creek Friends Church April 14, 2024 Click Here to Join Our Meeting for Worship Click to read in Swahili Bofya kusoma kwa Kiswahili Psalm 4:1–8 (ESV) 1 Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have given me relief when I was in distress. Be gracious to me…
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By Jared Warner
Willow Creek Friends Church
February 11, 2024
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2 Kings 2:1–12 (ESV)
1 Now when the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven by a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. 2 And Elijah said to Elisha, “Please stay here, for the Lord has sent me as far as Bethel.” But Elisha said, “As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel. 3 And the sons of the prophets who were in Bethel came out to Elisha and said to him, “Do you know that today the Lord will take away your master from over you?” And he said, “Yes, I know it; keep quiet.” 4 Elijah said to him, “Elisha, please stay here, for the Lord has sent me to Jericho.” But he said, “As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they came to Jericho. 5 The sons of the prophets who were at Jericho drew near to Elisha and said to him, “Do you know that today the Lord will take away your master from over you?” And he answered, “Yes, I know it; keep quiet.” 6 Then Elijah said to him, “Please stay here, for the Lord has sent me to the Jordan.” But he said, “As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So the two of them went on. 7 Fifty men of the sons of the prophets also went and stood at some distance from them, as they both were standing by the Jordan. 8 Then Elijah took his cloak and rolled it up and struck the water, and the water was parted to the one side and to the other, till the two of them could go over on dry ground. 9 When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, “Ask what I shall do for you, before I am taken from you.” And Elisha said, “Please let there be a double portion of your spirit on me.” 10 And he said, “You have asked a hard thing; yet, if you see me as I am being taken from you, it shall be so for you, but if you do not see me, it shall not be so.” 11 And as they still went on and talked, behold, chariots of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. 12 And Elisha saw it and he cried, “My father, my father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” And he saw him no more. Then he took hold of his own clothes and tore them in two pieces.
I was excited to be able to speak about Elijah this week. I have always liked this particular character in scripture. He was probably my hero when I was a child. It was Elijah that caused me to believe in the awesome power of God.
I might need to give some context to that. Most of you know that I was raised on a farm in North Central Kansas. I lived on the high plains of Kansas, or the short grass prairies. Ecologically this is significant. When most people consider the prairies, they think about waist high grass that looks like a vast green ocean as it stretches out toward the horizon, rolling over the hills, and making waves as the wind blows. That was not where I grew up. The High Plains were dry, the natural grass could get tall but not like the tall grass prairies of Eastern, Kansas. Where I grew up the primary native grass was Buffalo grass. If you know anything about grass, which I do since that was my career for several years. Buffalo grass is a hardy drought tolerant grass that grows close to the ground. The reason this grass was prominent in the high plains is because it is dry. The high plains are not quite a desert, but it might as well be.
I grew up in this dry land. In many of the dryer parts of Kansas, like the southwest areas, it is possible to use irrigation, but that was not an option where I grew up. There were too many hills and not enough water.
When you grow up in an area where your very existence revolves around getting just enough rain at the right time, you pay attention to things like the weather. I learned to read the weather map early in my life, and although I do not have the formal education, I could probably make it as a city meteorologist.
When I was a child, we had an intense drought. I remember many years, where I would ride in the combine with my grandpa, where he would just shake his head as he harvested wheat. The wheat was so short and thin that the yield would not cover the cost of the fuel required to harvest it, and not nearly enough to provide for a family. The 1980’s for northern Kansas was not good.
The first time we hear about Elijah in scripture is when he predicts a drought. I grew up during a drought, so this character in scripture attracted my attention. He stood before king Ahab, and he said, “As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years except by my word.”
I have been a bible nerd for a long time. I read about Elijah early in grade school. And I would read about him often. For several years this drought plagued Israel. When an arid land has below average rain, famine and poverty quickly follow. People have to make a drastic choice, do I save the grain to plant next year, or do I feed my family?
After Elijah predicted the drought, he went and lived by a brook. While he was there, God provided his needs. Twice a day the ravens would bring Elijah meat and bread. I always found this fascinating. The first thing that I always thought about is ravens were considered unclean, yet God used them serve Elijah his meals. The second thing that caused me to ponder was how did these ravens get bread? The land was in a drought and the people did not have much food to spare, yet the birds were finding bread enough to feed themselves and a prophet of God.
Eventually the drought became so intense that the brook no long contained water. I have watched and seen rivers run dry. It is a depressing sight. When they flow everything is green and life seems to have hope. But when a river, when a primary source of water shrinks to a stream, and then stops flowing altogether, despair can set in.
When the brook dries out, Elijah is urged by God to walk completely through the Kingdom of Israel, over the border into Lebanon where he is to find a widow and her son to live with. I want us to just for a moment consider what is going on in that story. God commanded Elijah to immigrate. He urged him to cross the northern boarder and to go live in that nation. He went, and he lived with a widow, but Sidon was also facing hardship at that time. The widow did not have much to offer.
Elijah calls out to her asking for a morsel of bread. She answered his call by saying, “As the Lord your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. And now I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it and die.” Elijah tells her not to fear and to go make the bread for her last meal, but to make a little cake for him first, and with the remainder she can feed her and her son. If you remember the story, the widow always had enough flour and oil to eat because God blessed her for her hospitality. God will provide for those that help others.
Elijah enjoyed the hospitality of this widow for a long time, but while he lived with them her son died. This greatly troubled Elijah, and he cried to God, “O Lord my God, have you brought calamity, even upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by killing her son.” He then, in his grief, stretched his body over the boy three times, and prayed, “O Lord my God, let this child’s life come into him again.” God heard the prayers of this prophet and the boy was raised to life again.
Elijah was a prophet for the poor farmer living in a drought. After God restored life to the boy, God called Elijah back to Israel, back to the king’s court. The drought had lasted three years. The king of Israel was an evil guy. When the famine struck the land, he sent his steward out to find all the places where there might be some water, and when these places were found, he had the royal horses and mules taken to these springs. The land was in extreme poverty. The people were starving, and the king was more concerned with his horses.
Last week I made the distinction between the perspective of various religious worldviews. I mentioned how many of the polytheistic religions saw humanity as servants to the gods, where the view of the Hebrew faiths see humanity not as servants, but as image bearers. This is the difference at play. When we see the person beside us as fellow image bearers we should have compassion because we are equal. When we see the world in hierarchy where there are masters and servants, and the king being the one given divine rights to rule, there is no compassion. The king takes what he needs, and the people must struggle on what is left behind.
For three years, the land thirsted for moisture. And Ahab’s steward went through the land looking for places to water his master’s livestock. And on one of those journeys he came across Elijah. The steward was a Godly man, he knew who Elijah was, and he also did what he could to protect the various prophets of God. This steward’s name was Obadiah. When Obadiah saw Elijah he feared for his life and the life of the prophet. The king blamed Elijah for the famine. In the king’s eyes, it was Elijah that caused the drought, not his own wickedness or his lack of empathy. Obadiah wanted to protect Elijah, but Elijah had another plan.
This is when Elijah challenges the prophets of Baal do a duel. They go to Mount Carmel and 850 of the various priests of the Canaanite religion face off against Elijah. They build an altar to their god, they cry out and demand that their deity light the sacrificial fire. All day they cut themselves, they cry, they scream to the heavens. Elijah even gives them encouragement saying that they should yell louder, because maybe Baal is asleep or possibly in the restroom. Yes, this is one reason why I loved this story as a kid.
The priest of Baal and Asherah cried, but there is no answer. Finally, Elijah had enough. And he prepares his sacrifice. He has those that were appointed to assist him to dig a trench around the altar, a trench large enough to contain two seah of seed. We might not understand how big that is, but it is approximately four gallons. Elijah directs his assistants to fill four jars of water and to dump it on the altar, three times.
We are not told how much water this would have been. But the trench that was dug around the altar could hold four gallons and that trench was filled with water. This was a drought ridden land, and they just dumped water directly onto the ground, so much water to fill a trench that could hold four gallons. And the water stood in that trench. One website I looked at said that they probably used just over three gallons. I have lived through a drought and I know how quickly the ground can soak up water, this was most likely jars that held significantly more water. They were potentially like the water jars used by Jesus when he turned water to wine at the wedding. I would venture to say that these were jars that each held twenty gallons of water, used for ritual cleaning, so I think they dumped 240 gallons of water on Elijah’s altar.
The assistants dug the trench, and they dumped the water on the ground. I am sure the people watching, watched with horror in their eyes as Elijah wasted such a valuable commodity. Then Elijah, turned and prayed.
“O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word. Answer me, O Lord, answer me, that this people may know that you, O Lord, are God, and that you have turned their hearts back.”
The priest of Baal cried to their gods all day, and Elijah says a few words. With those words fire came down from heaven and burned the sacrifice, the stones of the alter, and completely evaporated the water. Elijah then commanded the people to seize the priest of Baal, and told Ahab to go home to wait for rain.
Soon the rain did come to the land. And After the rain came Elijah ran for his life, because he had humiliated the evil queen, and the people killed all her prophets. He ran to hide in a cave. He had just witnessed the most amazing thing I can imagine, and he sat in a cave in deep despair.
God meets with Elijah in that cave. The Lord asks what he is doing. Elijah answers, “I have been very jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away.”
God then tells Elijah to go out and stand on the mountain because he will meet with him. There was a wind that tore blew that ripped rocks from the mountain face. There was an earthquake that shook the very foundations of the earth. Then there was a fire that rushed across the drought stricken land. God was not in any of those things that we would call acts of God. The after the fire there was a stillness, and it was in the stillness that Elijah met with God on the mountain.
Shortly after this, Elijah leaves the cave and meets with Elisha. Elijah just walks up to him while he is driving the oxen on a plow, and he puts his cloak upon him, and keeps walking. Elisha dumbfounded at why some man would just toss his coat on him while he was working runs after Elijah, and upon seeing who it was, he says “Let me kiss my father and mother, and then I will follow you.” When he comes back to Elijah, he offers the oxen as a sacrifice, and they share the meat with the community. We are told that there were twelve yokes of oxen. A yoke is stretched between two animals, so there were twenty-four oxen offered that day. I do not know why he needed that many oxen to pull a plow, but that is a lot of meat. And from that moment on Elisha follows the great prophet.
It is thought that Elisha followed Elijah for around ten years. They watch battles fought, they spoke truth to power, and brought kings to repentance. They watched as those kings again turned from God in their pursuit of wealth and power. During this time several prophets emerged, joining Elijah mission. This group became known as the sons of the prophets. This guild of Godly men could have been an actual organization, or it might have been simply an organic fellowship of like-minded people. But as Israel was turning toward Baal, it was these prophets that went around encouraging the nation to return to God. No matter what their actual makeup was they did correspond.
Today, our scripture reading comes from the end of Elijah’s ministry. I spent the time building to this so that we could understand what was going on. Elijah, had taken on an entire nation. He looked into the very eyes of the devil and watched as God provided a victory.
I so wanted to be like Elijah. When kids would pick on me in school, which they would often do, because I was a nerd not only a bible nerd. My nickname was the Scientist. I would go out at recess, gather sticks, and I would ask God to show them that he was real, and that I was not just a nerd. I begged God to reveal Himself by starting those sticks on fire. Looking back on it I am glad God never answered that prayer in the manner I wanted him to because I would have been kicked out of school.
Elisha and these Sons of the Prophets, had spent a decade walking through Israel. They faced off with the practitioners of the pagan Canaanite religions. They spoke boldly. They watched God do many amazing things. And now things are about to change.
Elijah tells Elisha, to stay in Gilgal because the Lord is sending him to Bethel. Elisha refuses this and follows Elijah to Bethel. When they get to that place the sons of the prophets come out of the town to meet Elisha, and they say to him, “Do you know that today the Lord will take away your master from over you?” And Elisha responds, “Yes, I know it; keep quiet.”
Elijah then pleads with Elisha, to remain again at Bethel, because the Lord is telling him to go to Jericho. Elisha says to his teacher, “As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.”
They approach Jericho and again the sons of the prophets come out to meet Elisha. These also speak to him saying, “Do you know that today the Lord will take away your master from over you?” Again, Elisha responds, “Yes, I know it; keep quiet.”
Elijah for a third time says encourages Elisha to remain as he continues his thirty-mile journey to the Jordan. Elisha for a third time responds with the same words, that he will never leave his teacher alone. And this time fifty of the sons of the prophets walk with the duo.
Elijah walks to the Jordan, he takes off his coat and rolls it up. He hits the water with the bundle and the waters part, just like it did for Joshua when he entered the promised land. As the waters part leaving behind dry land, Elijah and Elisha walk out of that land of Promise, into the wilderness.
They reach the far bank, leaving the other sons of the prophets on the other side. Elijah then turns to his apprentice. For years, they had walked and served together. And Elijah says, “Ask what I shall do for you, before I am taken from you.” Elisha looks at his teacher, and responds, “Please let there be a double portion of your spirit on me.”
What is Elisha asking? Is he greedy for power? No, the double portion is what is given to the eldest son upon the death of the father. The double portion is given because it is the responsibility of the eldest to be the safety net that provides for the family’s future security. Elisha is saying to Elijah, that he fully accepts the responsibility that was offered to him. Elisha looks at his master and says I am willing to walk, I am willing to lead, I am willing to encourage those men across the river just as you encouraged me.
Elijah looks at his apprentice and informs him that he has asked for a hard thing. It is hard to live a life honoring God. It is difficult to treat others as image bearers of God even though they reject the very notion that they were created in that image. A righteous and Godly lifestyle is difficult because the kingdoms of mankind and the desires of men’s hearts are often perverted from the ways of God. Yet, Elisha looks at his master teacher and says, “as the Lord lives I am willing to walk that walk.”
We face struggles and hardships. We look out around us, and we wish that God would show his awesome power to the world so that they would believe. We even cry out telling those around us that if we do not change our course we will surely face calamity. What do we learn from today’s passage?
God is not in the feats of power. God is not in the mighty earthquake or wildfire. The Lord is in the stillness.
“Yes, I know it; keep quiet.” Is the answer that Elisha repeats to the sons of the prophets. He is not telling them to shut up. He is not avoiding the topic of his teacher’s departure. Elisha is telling them where they will find God during the absence of their beloved leader.
“Yes, I know; keep quiet.” This is the anthem I encourage us to take as we leave these walls. It is the banner I hope we carry as we interact with those within our community that wonder and worry about the election and the wars around the world.
As Psalm 46 says:
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling.
Selah
There is a river whose steams make glad the city of God, the holy habitations of the Most High. God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns. The nations rage, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts. The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Selah
Come, behold the works of the Lord, how he has brought desolation on the earth. He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the chariots with fire.
“Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”
The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Selah
“Yes, I know; keep quiet.” Elisha encourages us as sons and daughters of prophets and God. Be still, and walk in His light.
By Jared Warner Willow Creek Friend Church April 07, 2024 Click here to join our Meeting for Worship Click to read in Swahili Bofya kusoma kwa Kiswahili Psalm 133:1–3 (ESV) 1 Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity! 2 It is like the precious oil on the head, running down…
By Jared Warner Willow Creek Friends Church March 31, 2024 Click here to Join our Meeting for Worship Click to read in Swahili Bofya kusoma kwa Kiswahili Isaiah 25:6–9 (ESV) 6 On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich…
By Jared Warner Willow Creek Friends Church March 17, 2024 Click here to join our Meeting for Worship Click to read in Swahili Bofya kusoma kwa Kiswahili Jeremiah 31:31–34 (ESV) 31 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of…
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By Jared Warner
Willow Creek Friends Church
August 15, 2021
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John 6:51–58 (ESV)
51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” 52 The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” 53 So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. 55 For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. 56 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. 57 As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate, and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.”
Last week I encouraged us all to look at the study of scripture not as a task, but as an adventure. A journey of exploration and discovery. When I think of this sort of thing my mind is often filled with images from various stories, I have either read or watched on a screen. It is a journey of exploration or a quest. When I think of it as a quest my mind is immediately drawn to the story of King Arthur and the knights of Camelot. I am not a great scholar in the matters of the Arthurian lore, if I want to be totally honest most of my knowledge of Arthur comes from Monty Python, but there is a quest. A quest is more than a simple journey of exploration, when you are sent on a quest your intention is to find or achieve the task set before you. In the case of the Arthurian legends the quest was for the Holy Grail, the cup of Christ, the cup that brings life.
The quest image is what I want us to consider today. Those individuals that are on a quest will not stop for any reason. They are driven to obtain the completion of the quest or to die trying. The reason behind this drive is the understanding that the completion of the quest has great benefit. We have heard of medical researchers that have been pursued their research with a quest type of fervor. They do this because they once knew someone or were possibly related to someone that contracted a disease. That individual they knew either lived in constant pain or suffering, or perhaps they died because the doctors did not know what to do. These researchers saw this happen and something inside of them flipped a switch and everything in their lives changed. They were almost duty bound to find the cure, and they would give their lives to achieve that goal.
That is the type of drive I want us to have when we approach scripture. I want us to look at the words on the page and see them not as good words, but as the words that give life.
There is a problem with this. The words of scripture were not written in English or Swahili. They were written in a language that very few of us really know. And we all know that sometimes things can be lost in translation. At times there are not good words in one language that can fully express what we would like to say so we use the next best thing, but when we use that word, we lose something. We will often see the word love in English, but that word could be several different words in the biblical Greek text. It could be one of four different words that convey a deep affinity but are acted out in a different manner. If we do not take that into account, we risk misinterpreting or misunderstanding how this exceedingly important word should be expressed in our lives.
We are on a quest. Our quest is to know what scripture says because these are the words revealed by the Spirit to teach us of the Word. They are the words given to us to convey the knowledge or wisdom of God. What is said in this book shows us what life with God is and reveals to us how we fit into that life. We are, just like King Arthur, given the quest to find the holy grail, the cup or the vessel that brings life.
We are called to this quest but often we are met with challenges. Many of us have started to read scripture, but we often get to a point where we do not understand what we are reading and we are discouraged and we stop. We look at the pages and it no longer appears to be the grail we seek, but instead it becomes a chamber of secrets. We do not understand so we step back in fear that we might unleash some terrible heresy that will condemn us and entrap those we care for. We stop pursuing the quest we once began and we leave it to those that are stronger or wiser. We then put our trust into those stronger and wiser individuals. This is not entirely bad. Even Arthur that legendary king had companions that assisted him on his quest. The key there is that we assist, we do not walk the path for you. Each of us must walk our own pathway, we each must take that journey ourselves, but the journey is more enjoyable when we have friends to walk with.
Today, as we walk the pathway toward that vessel of life, we come to one of those areas that will often cause people to stumble and stop their journey. It is not surprising even during the days of Jesus many struggled with the words Jesus spoke. John chapter six is a turning point for the ministry of Jesus. Prior to this the questions were largely to determine if they should embrace the teachings of Jesus. Yes, there were times that there were misunderstanding, but by in large those that asked questions were seeking clarification. They were not thrilled with Jesus’ approach, but they could not outright reject what he had to say. But somewhere within this chapter things change.
On the surface we may not really notice what changed. We might simply see some people following Jesus because he has the power to make bread. We can understand this. Who would not want to follow someone that could provide for their basic needs of life? I will be totally honest, if I was offered a job where housing and meals were included with my salary, I would probably take the job. The rule of thumb we are often taught in our society is that we should not spend more than thirty percent of our income on housing. Thirty percent. That is basically one third of our paycheck goes toward keeping rain from our heads while we sleep. The next largest expense in our life is food. In the United States we spend on average six percent of our income on food. On average in the United States right from the start we thirty-six percent of our income is spent on just keeping our immediate needs covered. This ratio unfortunately is not static. The less you make the greater the percentages are and the more income you have the smaller the percentages are. If we were to look at the value of the home of the wealthiest individual in America, the amount spent on their housing each month would be far below thirty percent, where it would be common for many low-income families to be spending over half of their income on rent alone. For many Americans they are required to spend most of their income on supplying the basic needs of life. If I were to be offered a job where these basics of life were provided along with a salary, I would most likely take the position because likely the salary offered would be greater than the amount left over after I paid for the basics of life.
The people were following Jesus because they sought the benefits. That is not faith it is survival. And there is nothing wrong with survival, many of us trust God because we live in a survival mode, we have needs and we do not know where to get them so we have no other option but to trust that God will provide. But what happens when we can provide for ourselves?
The tribes of Israel wondering through the desert were provided with manna from heaven. Their needs were provided for, but as soon as they entered the land of promise that manna stopped coming from the sky and they were required to survive off the produce of the land. In the desert once the grumbling generation had died, all that were left were those that only knew the provision of God. They entered the land with faith, but gradually over time the faith of Israel diminished as they saw themselves as their own provision.
This brings us to today’s passage. Again, we begin this week where we ended last week. “I am the living bread that came down from heaven.” Jesus says. “If anyone east of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”
This is where contention emerges. This is where most of us become confused as well. We have a basic understanding of bread. We even understand that Jesus by connecting himself with the manna from heaven is telling us that God is the true source of our provision. But we struggle with the last phrase of that verse. “And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”
The religious leaders disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” In their mind Jesus has just presented something profoundly vile. Cannibalism? Yet, Jesus lets them continue in this line of thinking, even though they have misunderstood the words he has spoken. What is the flesh that Jesus gives?
Last week I mentioned the peace offering. I mentioned that this is the one type of offering where the people giving the offering were invited to participate in it. The offering included bread and flesh. A portion of the bread was given to God to be burned on the altar, and the remaining bread was to be eaten by the worshipers. Then the animal was ritualistically slaughtered and choice pieces of the body were given to God on the altar, and the remaining meat was given back to the worshiper to be eaten and shared in a celebration of peace with God. This offering represented intimacy between God and the people. It represented God sharing a meal with his people. And when we share a meal together there is peace and friendship.
Jesus says that he is the bread, but changes the wording a bit, morphing the bread away from bread the basic staple of life, into flesh the more luxurious aspect of the meal. In the United States, we have a skewed understanding of nutrition. We, by in large, have access to a balanced diet. We do not always take advantage of this access but it is there. We may not have a high protein source of food at every meal but we will most likely have at least one meat a day. In many areas of the world the availability of meat is scarce. To have meat at a meal in this ancient time was a celebration, it was a sign that the worshiper trusted God enough to share the meat.
Jesus turns from the bread to the flesh of the meal. We can look at the Olympic metal counts and see how important the availability of meat is to the physical success and well being of a culture. But I want us to keep in mind the sacrifice or the offering image. The worshiper is bringing the bread and the flesh. In our minds we are the ones that offer worship, we are the ones that come to God with our petitions and our praise. This is no different from the teachings of those ancients in Israel. Many of them believed that if only we were more righteous Messiah would come. They would dedicate their lives and lifestyles merit God’s favor, with the hopes that the kingdom of God would come.
Jesus says that I am the living bread, and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh. Remember that the bread of worship was a symbol of the wisdom from God, Jesus is saying that he is the source of that wisdom when he is saying that he is the bread of life. He is the source of wisdom. But there is more, John begins his gospel account with, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” The Word being spoken of is the term logos. Logos is knowledge or wisdom. This term logos was symbolized in the bread of worship. John goes on to say that through this divine wisdom, logos, everything was created, and nothing was created without this wisdom. Then in verse 1:14 John wrote, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
The wisdom of God became flesh. The bread of God became the flesh of God. And that flesh became the peace offering that brings mankind and the divine back into the right relationship. Jesus is the peace offering.
Jesus by speaking those words were telling the religious leaders that their righteous labors were empty. They were rituals performed with empty hopes because the focus was not on the proper place. They were providing offerings from the economy of mankind. The things that we can do and create. What are the deeds of men in relation to the creator of the universe? What is our gold and currency to a being that in a breath can speak the entire world and everything within into existence? Their rituals were empty because they were focused on themselves. We are good enough and God should want to eat with us. The reality is God provides the bread and the meat. God became flesh and lived among us, not because we were good enough but because he loved us anyway. He came full of grace and truth.
Jesus loves us anyway. If we were to look at all the sacrifices, all the rules, and all the laws we can see one thing. We are completely unable to stand before God. The sacrifices were not there to take away the sins, but they were there to keep the impurity of humanity from infecting the places set aside for God. The things labeled unclean many times were things that we have absolutely no control over, and in many cases were human functions that God created within us. Is a child born with a deformity destined for hell? No, but they were not able to come into the sanctuary of God because they were a symbol of the imperfection of humanity brought about from the sin of our first parents. Jesus loves us anyway. We are imperfect, and God knows this so God provides what we cannot give ourselves. We cannot make peace so he does it for us.
The religious leaders still grumble, because Jesus tells them that those that ate the bread of the sacrifices still died. But those that eat the flesh of Christ, the bread that came down from heaven, will live forever. Those that rely of themselves will remain in the same state that they have always been in. But what if we turn? What if we were to take on or eat the flesh of Christ. What if we become like Christ and begin to live within his wisdom? That is what it means to eat the flesh of Christ. It is not necessarily eating but becoming putting on his lifestyle or armor as Paul tells us. When we put on Christ or partake of his life he stands where we cannot for us. His perfection redeems our imperfection. And our imperfection and weakness become his strength. I stand here not in my own strength; this is the last place I want to stand in myself. I know who I am. But I stand because I know that of Christ overcomes. I was once dead, I once lived without a relationship with God, but through Christ I have been changed. I now have peace with God. In Christ I now have friendship with God. And God has sent me on a quest to explore the wonders of who He is.
Will you join the quest and sit at the table he is calling you to? We do not bring anything to the table, but there we do have to respond. God has made peace with us through Christ but we must accept the gift of grace and turn to him. Will you?
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