Word of Salvation – June 2024
The God In Whom We Trust
Sermon by Harry Burggraaf, B.D. on 2Chronicles 20:5-15
Scripture Reading: Luke 1:67-80; 2Chronicles 20:5-15
Book of Worship: 509; 360; 326; 27:1,4,6; 159
Introduction:
Today we explore the word of God as we find it in 2Chronicles 20. The last book in the Hebrew Bible. It’s a re-telling of the story of Israel outlined in Samuel and Kings. The book begins with the genealogies from Adam to Abraham and tracks through the main events in the history of God's old covenant people.
But it’s not just a historical record. It is sermonic, it's preaching. The intention is to foster a right relationship between God and his people. There is a Pastoral purpose to this book. Read it and you see that it reveals a consistent pattern: failure and judgement, grace and restoration. Read the book in one sitting you see a pattern that is almost a formula:
'So and so did was right in the eyes of the Lord
– so there’s blessings and peace.
'So and so did what was evil in the sight of the Lord
– so there’s curses and disaster.
It’s a great book because it is about real people, real faith, in real situations – warts and all stories. Like our lives. We want to live in way that pleases God, generally. But we muck up. Chronicles is about people who fail and then find the grace of God.
The passage we are about to explore is about Jehoshaphat. He must have impressed the author because he’s given four chapters. Okay, he made some silly decisions and stupid partnerships, but generally he’s praised for being a good king.
Keep in mind that he’s a king of Judah, the southern nation, around 870BC (King Ahab is ruler in Israel up north). A huge army of Moabites, Ammonites, Meunites is about to invade and attack (the Middle East hasn't changed much has it?)
So what do you do? Call a prayer meeting? Not a bad idea. Not just a little thing in the lounge room, or the Session room though. A National prayer meeting, people from all over the country, gathered in the Temple court.
2Chronicles 20: 5-15 is the prayer of Jehoshaphat.
Three key phrases stand out:
vs 5 - 'are you not the God...?'
vs 7 - 'did you not drive out...?'
vs 12 - 'will you not judge them...?'
It raises the question:
What is God like?
An Australian comedy film is the last place you'd expect a serious discussion of what God is like, but ‘The man who sued God', does exactly that. Billy Connelly, the comedian, plays a failed lawyer, turned fisherman. One day his fishing boat is struck by lightning and sinks. He hopes to claim the insurance money to buy a new boat only to be told that lightning is ‘an act of God’ and insurance doesn't cover ‘acts of God’. So he decides to sue God. He serves writs on God's representatives, the leaders of the churches and the synagogue.
It leaves the churches and the insurance companies with a real dilemma.
Is there really such a thing as 'an act of God"? Or is it just a handy device that insurance companies use?
If not then the insurance companies have been perpetuating a fraud and they should pay out claims for lightning, flood, storm and earthquake etc. Millions of dollars. Is God really the type of God who just zaps boats with lightning... and cities with earthquakes... and houses with floods? Is this really the God churches want people to believe in? If God is not like that then insurance companies have been misrepresenting God and they can be sued for false advertising.
In the context of a silly comedy you get this thoughtful discussion of theodicy (is God the source of evil and bad things, or, is God responsible for the 'dicey' things that happen in life), something with which theologians have grappled for centuries.
I don't want to give away the ending of the film, but along the way there is this wonderful defence by the Catholic cardinal – that yes God seems to allow lightning and disasters and landslides, but we see him best in the warmth of relationships, the care of a mother for her child, the good things that people do. He is a loving, caring God. This is the God he knows.
What is God like?
When Christmas comes around again there will be the usual presentations of the Christmas story. There’s a story that tells how there was a Christmas presentation where the play was largely a monologue by Joseph. Moments after the birth of Jesus he has the baby in his arms and with all the warmth and wonder of a new father he playfully muses about how much Jesus looks like his mother, Mary.
Then he pauses and in all seriousness whispers, "I wonder what your father looks like...?”
It has been the question of artists, scholars, theologians, musicians, writers throughout history: 'I wonder what your Father looks like.' 'Who are you God?' 'What are you like?'
Each religion is an attempted answer to that question. In many ways it is one of the central themes of the Christmas story.
Anyone who is serious about God asks that question. 'What are you like?'
Remember Moses, faced with the difficult task of leading millions of people to a new land – ‘Lord show me your face!'
The first disciples, after Jesus calls them to follow, ask: 'Where are you staying? Where do you live? Not just, what suburb is your house in, where's your bachelor pad?', but who are you, what's your origins?
Jesus must have been tempted to answer – ‘You'd never believe me if I told you'. And as the disciples got to know him better, the persistent request – ‘show us the Father'.
As we reflect on the prayer of Jehoshaphat, we realise that he asks essentially the same question.
'God, now that we're in trouble, enemies are about to crush us, our very existence is at stake – who are you?'
And his prayer is a wonderful exposition in answer.
A knowledge of God's character
'Are you not...?’
How was Jehoshaphat going to complete that prayer? What was he looking for? How would you complete that question?
I suppose that if you ask a dozen people, chosen at random, to fill in the blanks after ‘are you not...?' you would get a dozen set of responses each reflecting the situation or context of their life, their hopes, their fears, their needs, their passion, their anxiety.
Prayers are always situational. They reflect the shape of the moment in the life the person praying.
There's a lovely anecdote of some kids playing in the street. Suddenly there is shouting, arguing, scuffling. One of the smaller boys is standing with his fists clenched, confronting the bigger neighbourhood bully. He shouts out what sounds like a war cry, "I come to you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel". The poor bully, who has never heard the story of David and Goliath, or been to the same Sunday school lesson as the little boy had that morning, runs off in fright at such a terrifying formula.
For the little boy 'are you not...?' is completed with – the God who will protect me, the God who is more powerful than you, the God who fights my battle.
You know that's exactly Jehoshaphat’s response.
"Are you not the God who is in heaven? You rule over the kingdoms of the nations. Power and might are in your hand. No one can withstand you."
Surrounded by hostile armies and overwhelming odds Jehoshaphat has this dazzling revelation, this inspiring conviction of God's sovereignty, of God's power, of God's omnipotence.
And it's confirmed by Jahaziel, standing in the praying crowd, as the spirit of God comes on him. 'Listen Jehoshaphat, don't be afraid or discouraged, this battle isn't yours, it's the Lord's, you won't even have to fight it, because the enemy will destroy itself.'
Any question about who God is must begin with the character of God as he is revealed in the scriptures. For Jehoshaphat it was the sovereignty of God that most spoke to his situation. God's absolute authority and his rule over creation.
We need a deep understanding and knowledge of the sovereignty of God, not just as a doctrine, but as a living experience.
As James Boice says in his wonderful book, 'The Sovereign God'...
“True freedom is only possible when we are willing to accept God's absolute rule over our lives and when we allow him to make us into all that he would have us to be.”
* A realisation of God's sovereignty allows us to worship. Who would want to worship anything less than a sovereign God?
* A realisation of God's sovereignty gives comfort in the trials, temptations and sorrows of life. We can't know all God's purposes but with Jehoshaphat we DO know that the battle is not ours but his. He has the power to overcome the worst situations.
* A realisation of God's sovereignty gives a deep sense of security. If God is for us, who can be against us?
A working memory
But God's sovereignty is only one aspect of his character. To a person dying of cancer. Or someone who is disgusted with their failures. Or someone who's bottom has fallen out of their life. Or someone who's just seen their family killed by a terrorist bomb. Or someone who's fed up with the church, the sovereignty of God may not mean much at the time.
A response that would speak more to the question 'Who are you?', might be
– 'Are you not good?'
– 'Are you not caring?'
– Are you not forgiving?'
– 'Are you not just and compassionate?'
And to all those questions the overwhelming testimony of scripture is yes, yes, yes, a resounding yes!
The testimony of Micah - "Who is a God like you, who pardons and forgives transgressions... You do not stay angry for ever, but delight to show mercy; you will again have compassion on us" (Micah 7).
The testimony of the Psalms - "As a father has compassion on his children so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him, for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust." (Psalm 103).
The testimony of Matthew - "Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life... I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll live freely and lightly." (Matthew 11).
To know with Jehoshaphat that God is sovereign is essential for Christian living. But we also need the assurance that he is good, caring, benevolent. Sovereignty can be threatening – it needs a gentle face.
There's a wonderful section in CS Lewis' Narnia series where two of the children in the story ask about Aslan, the Lion. CS Lewis uses Aslan, the Lion, as an allegory for Jesus.
Susan and Lucy ask Mr and Mrs Beaver about Aslan. 'Is he a man?' asks Lucy.
“Aslan a man? Certainly not..! I tell you he is the King of the wood and the song of the great Emperor-beyond-the-Sea. Don't you know who is the King of Beasts? Aslan is a lion – the Lion, the great Lion."
"Ooh!" said Susan. "I'd thought he was a man. Is he quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion."
"That you will, dearie, and make no mistake," said Mrs Beaver, "if there's anyone who can appear before Aslan without their knees knocking, they are either braver than most or else just silly."
"Then he isn't safe?" said Lucy.
"Safe?" said Mr Beaver. "Don't you hear what Mrs Beaver tells you? Who said anything about being safe? Of course he isn't safe. But he is good. He's the King I tell you."
The sovereignty of God can be threatening, overwhelming, even dangerous. But God IS good. Not safe, but good.
For Jehoshaphat the goodness of God is demonstrated by what he has done in the past. It needs memory.
'Did you not..." – give us this land, – hear us when we cried in distress, – save us in the past. He lists the crisis God has brought them through.
So much of the Old Testament is people remembering the good things God has done for them.
– Joshua in his farewell address to the nation;
– Nehemiah in the dedication of the temple;
– most of the book of Deuteronomy,
– Stephen in Acts 7.
Remember, remember how good God is. Faith needs a good memory. How good is our memory of God's faithfulness and love and compassion and care?
When we feel weak and exhausted;
When we think God doesn't care;
When we're disappointed with God;
When we feel abandoned, lonely;
When the threats from outside just seem too overwhelming;
When the temptation is too powerful;
When we see other people's lives around us fall apart
– we need the eyes of faith to say 'did you not...?',
Lord I remember what you've done in the past; you've taken us through this before and can again.
A confident hope.
Faced by overwhelming odds and difficulties Jehoshaphat reflects on the character of God - 'are you not...?'
He remembers God's care and goodness in the past – ‘did you not...?'
Finally he rests in a confident hope that God will provide again – vs.12 'will you not...? ...we do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you.'
His hope is in the future provision of the God he can trust.
When Jehoshaphat prays he was of course expecting God to help him in his battle against these surrounding enemies. He was praying for victory in a literal battle. The clash of chariots and the thrust of swords.
When he said, 'will you not judge them?' he meant the Moabites and all the other enemies. And God gives him this wonderful word of assurance. 'The battle is not yours, but mine. Don't be afraid. Go out and face them and I'll be with you.'
I suspect Zechariah's song of praise was a little the same. 'Praise be to the Lord because he has redeemed his people... Salvation from our enemies', the Romans who occupied Palestine.
But of course the battle is far broader than that. It’s cosmic in scope. And God's answer to Jehoshaphat's 'are you not...?', 'did you not...?', 'will you not...?' is a cradle and a cross. And his answer to Zechariah is a far greater rescue and salvation. The reconciliation of the whole cosmos.
If we want to know what God is like we must look at and know Jesus. We cannot know God unless we know and experience God in human skin, in Jesus.
Our confident hope is in the fact that the enemy has been defeated at Calvary and that one day Jesus will return to bring complete shalom.
Sometimes our present situations can cloud our knowledge and experience of God. Life is so difficult, so troubled, so painful, so complex that God seems distant. Like the Billy Connelly character, we might even feel like suing God.
Who are you, God?
But Jehoshaphat's prayer reminds us...
– God is sovereign,
– God is holy
– God is the same, yesterday, today, forever.
The battle is his, and the victory is assured.