I’m blogging through our sermon series, “Living God’s Story” and this message focused on the story of Joshua, entitled “Taking the Land” (Josh. 1-6). You can listen to it here.

The book of Joshua is a fun read … if you are an Israelite. They take the land that God had first promised to Abraham and they start settling … finally. The captivity is over, the wandering is over – the Israelites have land! And now they can begin this essential next chapter of becoming the nation and people that God has called them to be.

All is good, right? Well not exactly. The problem is that people were living in Canaan prior to the Israelites. They would be called the Canaanites (and of course there were countess indigenous sub-groups that would be identified throughout Joshua, Judges, and pretty much the rest of the Old Testament. Make no mistake, it’s a violent story and we as present-day readers cannot imagine how this is God’s will.

Which seems like a fitting time to introduce this particular week’s question on the back of the “scrapbook page” (which is really cool. Each week we have one. One side offers you a place to take notes and on the back as a variety of things including that sermon’s “storyline”, links for further discussions and reflection, suggested readings and it offers some type of response). So this week’s question was ”When has God asked you to do something you were afraid to do? How did you respond? What situation in your life today requires courage?”

I think confronting the violence issue in the Old Testament takes a lot of courage. Many “reading the Bible through the year resolutions” reading plans have stopped over the questions created from these texts. For most, they seem to contradict our idea of the God of love that we’ve been accustomed to hearing. For others, like the New Atheists, these texts confirm their suspicions that religion is inherently violent. I think many life-long believers choose to skip over this passage because we’re afraid of what giving strength to possibly lingering doubts. In some sense, we choose to remain in the wilderness of confusion or in the captivity of doubt.

Now, I cannot claim that we will able to resolve all our doubts … in this life. But I do think we can encounter God in a more beautiful and personal way when we have the courage to engage them. Regarding the seemingly divinely-appointed violence in the Old Testament, theologians have offered a number of insights but in my opinion, the most helpful has been the thoughts that this is part of the mystery of God. It’s mysterious to us for at least two reasons: one, we simply do not have all the empirical knowledge of the world at the time and two, I have always appreciated the notion that “God’s ways are higher than our ways” which leads me to outline a couple of the responses generally given to this issue.

It is usually said that the ancient world was more violent and immoral than we can comprehend. When God uses Israel to destroy these wicked civilizations, it was not only to fulfill the promise to Abraham but also to judge the wicked. I’ve warmed up to this thought over the years and Robert Wright’s The Evolution of God has ironically helped me in understanding the ancient world (If you could not tell from the title, it is not a “Christian” book).

I cannot help but think of the wickedness of the world. I find myself thinking of the poor Afghan woman who was raped by her husband’s cousin and jailed for adultery! I find myself thinking that she is sadly among many who face these types of injustices. I think of trafficking, bondage-labor, political corruption, church corruption, collegiate sports corruption and I am afraid to imagine the scandals that we will never know of. I also cannot help but think of how I contribute to it as well, whether by intentional action or lack of involvement. It’s a scary though if it is true that the ancient world had even less accountability and even more wickedness.

Another explanation usually mentioned is that just as God chose to send a flood, the plagues, the snakes, similarly, God chose to send the Israelites to destroy the wicked Canaanite civilization. This is part of God’s divine sovereignty for this specific time. Certainly I am not saying that we should pray that God would send something like a sci-fi movie doomsday scenario like a conquering alien species to “judge us” but it’s good for us to remember that evil has has existed all throughout human history. Further it’s good for us to remember that God is at work somehow in all of this and He works in these “mysterious ways.”

I can tell you that every seminarian, pastor, academic and countless others has wrestled with the issue of the violence in the Old Testament among many others. My point is to challenge all faithful readers of Scripture to seek the courage that God gives Joshua to keep thinking, learning and praying on these difficult matters. I do believe God has some type of a “promised land” that will satisfy our questions, skepticisms and curiosities and further will give us the peace, joy, truth and love that we seek. And I believe that is found in the hope of Jesus.

As always feel free to comment, push back, add or express your thoughts here.

If you have been following this blog, you know that it’s been quite the year for us – new baby girl, moved to the Boston area for a new position and through the craziness, we’ve been enjoying a wonderful transition. In the big picture perspective, all is well, I cannot complain (but that doesn’t mean I won’t :) In truth, things are good but one of the biggest lessons I’ve learned is gaining perspective from the tougher seasons of life and so this year, I’ve been reflecting on the virtues gained from those times.

As I said in my sermon last week, had you told me at the start of 2008 that I’d be driving a minvan home with 3 kids, I would have thought you had the wrong guy (to say it politely). Going through infertility did not just make Susan and I promise to never take children for granted. More so, it brought us closer together, which made for a stronger marriage and now a better home for our family. Initially this problem was a challenge for us to get through together, as the years went on, we saw it as something much more, this may be our reality which forced us to ask each other, “Are we enough for each other?” Through the years, we have met couples who have been through similar types of challenges and tragedies and they were encouragement to us and I hope these words are an encouragement for those who may be in need, especially during this holiday season.

Not only did Infertility make our marriage stronger, it also demanded that I confront some of my own issues. I remember being jealous of not being able to go Christmas-shopping for my own kids. I still went to Toys R’ Us and bought presents for others but there was a resentment that always needed to be confronted. There was nothing wrong with what I wanted, but as everyone knows, resentment gets rooted in the heart and reveals itself in other ways. While this isn’t a how-to post in overcoming that, I do find myself grateful for the encouraging words of friends, the soul-searching and the prayer. I’m still not sure I can honestly say that our infertility made me a better person, but the lessons learned have made for a healthier perspective.

Another aspect of life that I find myself thinking about these days is the idea that the first five years of my ministry eventually made me a s pastor. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger right? Well that’s only a half-true. This is a passing thought from another reflection that I have not posted but I mention it today because the Lord did taught us much from those years. As I mentioned in the first post of this series, I learned lessons of speaking, leadership, etc. But what I am really grateful for is that those years made it clear that ministry is about “other people” and if you can’t understand that, change careers. Without sounding overly-dramatic, I’d be in denial if I didn’t admit to considering that option (in fact, I was even presented with a more lucrative career-change) but as it turned out, I really believed in this calling. I find myself grateful for this experience these days.

To those that find themselves in a tough season whether with family, ministry, vocation, life-trajectory, I hope these words offer some encouragement. There is still so much to go in life, indeed there will be tough times ahead (I know this will be true for us as well), but may we gain from them and may they lead to joyful times too.

Finally, if we can spend some time in our Thanksgiving offering prayers for those that are struggling today. May we pray for the grieving, the diseased, the depressed, the long-term unemployed, the heartbroken. Today my prayers are also with those in Egypt. Though I am thankful, I fervently pray thet God’s Kingdom be on earth as it is in heaven.

I’ve been blogging through our sermon series, “Living God’s Story” and have found myself a few messages behind. Today’s post is about the story of the Israelites wandering through the wilderness in their rebellion. The central point of the sermon was God goes with us even when we choose to go into the wilderness. When we repent, He graciously leads us back to His place and purposes. You can listen to the message, “Wilderness Wandering” here.

One troubling aspect for many of us in the in the wilderness wanderings is when God “sends” poisonous snakes into the camp. “Sends” are in quotes because there is discussion on whether God “allowed” the snakes to enter the camp (as if they were previously registered and already on their way) or “send” as if God intentionally directed them there. As uncomfortable as it is to admit, I tend to think the latter. The commentators I trust have interpreted that word as “send” or with something that demonstrated God’s choosing. Further, this is not metaphorical, they are real snakes doing what they do, like biting people and infecting their prey with venom. God later provides a solution to this but not before some people perish.

Of course, if I was God, I would have made sure no one perished. I would have provided even more sign posts in the wilderness. I would have spoken louder to them. Each night, I would have dazzled them with Disney-esque fireworks so not only would they know that there was a God, but that they would like me too. That’s right, I would have had the angels prepare analysis of what worshippers are looking for and then I would have marketed myself to them. You gotta give the people what they want. You just can’t trust people with so much free-will, they always squander it.

Ok, you get the point, I wouldn’t have made a good deity. And I find this is always the catch with such difficult passages of Scripture. Why send the poisonous snakes?

Here’s what I think we are to learn from the passages:
One, God does punish those He loves. Under this interpretation, the snakes are for punishment. This does not mean that every time there is an earthquake, hurricane, plane crash, or any other tragedy that God “sent” them. I think we need to be careful in our assumptions and so unless God declares, “Tim, I created the pothole that would flatten your tire the moment before you drove into it. Next time don’t tail gate the ladies headed to the Bible study – they are my servants.” If God said that, I would likely try to go to that Ladies Bible Study but you get the point.

Second and even more interesting to me, is that this does not become a reoccurring punishment system with God. He doesn’t say later, “You better knock it off or I’ll send the snakes back. Or maybe this time, I’ll send scorpions …” Though God does continue to punish those He loves as He deems necessary, He does not do so in what I feel is a predictable, systematic way. I think we have to be careful here because there tends to be a lot of bad theology that results from this. I hope I am not guilty of this as well. Not every bad thing is from God. In this case, He chose to do send the snakes, He chose to proclaim He that He did this and though I am “uncomfortable” with it, I trust His sovereignty.

Third, God is merciful. It’s incredible to me that the punishment is quickly provided by a solution. God instructs Moses to build a bronze serpent. Anyone bitten can look to it and be healed. Jesus later references this powerful scene and I find it incredible (John 3:14-15). Incredible, because it’s another example of God not only not giving up on us but offering a life-giving solution.