Mark Ashton and C. J. Davis reflect on Archbishop Thomas Cranmer's impactful contribution of the "Book of Common Prayer," and how the Anglican church today should apply the principles which sanctioned its writing.
The authors helpfully provide a framework that both reformed and pentecostal church leaders should find useful in planning for the worship service.
The preacher and worship leader/team should not be working independently if the church is to be pointed to a unified direction - to that of Christ, God's redemptive plan and what is demanded of his adopted sons, etc. These meetings should focus on prayer rather than on administrative "arrowing" of responsibilities. Hopefully, the lead preacher is not be too afraid/proud to have his exegesis (or eisegesis) preparation examined (be it prior to or after the sermon). The preacher who takes on the stance that he is infallible and can preach no false message is treading in extremely murky waters.
From Pages 80-82 of Worship by the Book
It is helpful to have a meeting to plan and review services in order to learn from mistakes and to develop good practice. Obviously some churches do not have this opportunity, but where the person responsible for the Bible teaching and the person responsible for the music can confer and pray together, it will raise the quality of the services. If such a meeting can be weekly and can include one or two others, with draft outlines of the service prepared and circulated in advance, it will be better still. It is particularly important to assess the sermon and to consider how the rest of the service relates to it. Sermons should not be divorced from the context in which they are delivered. Every preacher benefits from hearing his sermons reviewed, and every service benefits from the preacher playing a part in its preparation.
Careful preparation need not rule out spontaneity. Open prayer, impromptu testimony, a "flow" of singing, and other forms of unscheduled congregational participation may be appropriate according to the culture of the congregation. It was to regulate rather than exclude such activity that Paul wrote 1 Corinthians 14. The planning group will want to weigh how such participation fits with the collective temperament of their congregation and how outsider-friendly it will be. The preacher will be able to suggest what will be the best congregational response to his next sermon: a time of silence, a time of open prayer, a time for repentance, discussion groups, questions to the preacher, an after meeting for those in need of an opportunity to respond to the gospel, or a time of counseling or prayer. Then the service leader need to have the freedom to change what has been planned when the time comes, within whatever prearranged guidelines are appropriate.
Together with planning, prayer is an important purpose of this meeting. If we believe that we are involved in planning something God has ordained (the gathering of Christians), for God's purposes (winning and building up disciples), and that this is his work (in which we are simply co-workers), we will make prayer a priority as we plan. It is a way of acknowledging the importance of church services and our dependence on God as the One who alone can build his church.
Every occasion when believers gather in the name of Christ is too precious an opportunity to be allowed to go by without care being taken over it. For those in isolated ministry positions with no colleagues to pray or plan with, it is a high priority to find someone who will share in this task. The best services are normally team efforts, demonstrating the corporateness of the Christian life. But a mistake we often make is to draw others in to help with the execution of the service rather than with the planning and preparation of the service. The isolated vicar will be more helped by hearing someone else's assessment of his last sermon and service than by someone leading next week's intercessions for him. It is the difference between asking someone to do something for us and to do something with us. Some ministers never manage to establish teams because they never allow anyone alongside them to become a genuine yoke-fellow, sharing both encouragement and criticism. It will be much easier to prevent services from being doctrinally off-beam or dull if we draw in others to help.
Friday, October 30, 2015
Clowney on Jesus transforming the second commandment
I have never seen this passage quite this way before. Jesus asks us, who do we belong to and whose image we bear. If it is God's, then the only appropriate response would be to give him our lives.
From pages 27 of: How Jesus Transforms The Ten Commandments
A true understanding of the second commandment must come as we look at Jesus, who transformed it. Jesus shows us the richness and depth of this commandment when he answers the hypocrites who ask him, "Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?" In response, Jesus asks to be shown a denarius, a coin used in paying Roman taxes. "Whose portrait is this?" he asks his opponents. "And whose inscription?" They were forced to reply, "Caesar's." As he always did in his responses to their provocation, Jesus avoids the trap and forces them to deal with the true meaning of God's law: "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's" is his stunning answer (Matt. 22:17-21).
In recognizing the authority of Rome, Jesus makes an enormous transition from Old Testament theocracy to a new notion of kingdom. But he goes much further in this simple
statement about a Roman coin. It becomes obvious that he is teaching us to give back to God what bears his image, just as people had to give back to Caesar the coins that bore his image. If Caesar gets a coin, what does God get? We give God back his image by giving him ourselves.
From pages 27 of: How Jesus Transforms The Ten Commandments
A true understanding of the second commandment must come as we look at Jesus, who transformed it. Jesus shows us the richness and depth of this commandment when he answers the hypocrites who ask him, "Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?" In response, Jesus asks to be shown a denarius, a coin used in paying Roman taxes. "Whose portrait is this?" he asks his opponents. "And whose inscription?" They were forced to reply, "Caesar's." As he always did in his responses to their provocation, Jesus avoids the trap and forces them to deal with the true meaning of God's law: "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's" is his stunning answer (Matt. 22:17-21).
In recognizing the authority of Rome, Jesus makes an enormous transition from Old Testament theocracy to a new notion of kingdom. But he goes much further in this simple
statement about a Roman coin. It becomes obvious that he is teaching us to give back to God what bears his image, just as people had to give back to Caesar the coins that bore his image. If Caesar gets a coin, what does God get? We give God back his image by giving him ourselves.
Clowney on the Soul and the Body
From pages 24-25 of: How Jesus Transforms The Ten Commandments
Explanations of man's qualities as being the "image of God" are insufficient if they focus uniquely on the physical or intellectual aspects of our human nature. The New Testament makes clear that it is the soul of man, not his reasoning ability or his physical features, that makes him a person in the image of God. Scripture distinguishes between the soul and the body. Jesus said to the thief on the cross, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise" (Luke 23:43). Surely this has to mean that Jesus and the thief would be together apart from their bodies, since Jesus' body would remain three days in the grave. But is the soul the only part of man that is in God's image? Jesus rose from the dead in his body. He left the tomb and greeted Mary Magdalene on Easter morning. To demonstrate that his risen body was real, he ate a piece of fish, smiling, perhaps, as he chewed it. All of this seems to emphasize the importance of the body as a part of God's image. Can it be possible that the body is a part of the divine image in man?
This body—soul union and distinction is puzzling. Our souls or spirits may rejoice with the Lord apart from the body. Paul said, "I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body" (Phil. 1:23-24). Yet Paul also says, "We do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life" (2 Cor. 5:4). The Lord does provide a form in the intermediate state for his redeemed in heaven before the resurrection. We were not created as disembodied spirits. After God had said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness" (Gen. 1:26), he formed Adam "from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life" (Gen. 2:7). We are made body
and soul, and our redemption cannot be complete until the resurrection of the dead, when we receive our resurrection bodies (2 Cor. 5:4). Man in his body—soul created state is made in God's image. God chose to reflect himself in human beings, both male and female.
Explanations of man's qualities as being the "image of God" are insufficient if they focus uniquely on the physical or intellectual aspects of our human nature. The New Testament makes clear that it is the soul of man, not his reasoning ability or his physical features, that makes him a person in the image of God. Scripture distinguishes between the soul and the body. Jesus said to the thief on the cross, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise" (Luke 23:43). Surely this has to mean that Jesus and the thief would be together apart from their bodies, since Jesus' body would remain three days in the grave. But is the soul the only part of man that is in God's image? Jesus rose from the dead in his body. He left the tomb and greeted Mary Magdalene on Easter morning. To demonstrate that his risen body was real, he ate a piece of fish, smiling, perhaps, as he chewed it. All of this seems to emphasize the importance of the body as a part of God's image. Can it be possible that the body is a part of the divine image in man?
This body—soul union and distinction is puzzling. Our souls or spirits may rejoice with the Lord apart from the body. Paul said, "I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body" (Phil. 1:23-24). Yet Paul also says, "We do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life" (2 Cor. 5:4). The Lord does provide a form in the intermediate state for his redeemed in heaven before the resurrection. We were not created as disembodied spirits. After God had said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness" (Gen. 1:26), he formed Adam "from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life" (Gen. 2:7). We are made body
and soul, and our redemption cannot be complete until the resurrection of the dead, when we receive our resurrection bodies (2 Cor. 5:4). Man in his body—soul created state is made in God's image. God chose to reflect himself in human beings, both male and female.
Clowney on Jesus as the perfect sacrificial lamb of God
From pages 19-20 of: How Jesus Transforms The Ten Commandments
To do his redeeming work, Christ must be true God and true man. Jesus was therefore born of the Spirit in the womb of Mary. But incarnation is insufficient to redeem. When the Ten Commandments were given as the seal of the covenant agreement between God and his people at Sinai, the blood of sacrifice was sprinkled on the altar, on the law, and on the people. We have seen that the altar sacrifice was at the heart of the covenant. Israel's worship centered on the sacrifice as the substitute for the sinner. Isaiah picks up the theme of sacrifice in his prophecy, emphasizing especially the work of the suffering Servant, who takes the punishment for our sins. By his wounds we are healed, and he must pay the cost of redemption. Abraham was able to spare his son Isaac from the altar, since God provided a substitute, in the form of a ram caught in the bushes. Ultimately, however, there could be no substitute animal when the Father dealt with our sin. He could not spare his own Son, but had to deliver him up for us all. Jesus, God the Son in his human nature, can alone pay the infinite price of our redemption. Jesus is the Lamb of God: the Lamb given by the Father (Gen. 22:8; John 1:29; 1 Peter 1:19).
To do his redeeming work, Christ must be true God and true man. Jesus was therefore born of the Spirit in the womb of Mary. But incarnation is insufficient to redeem. When the Ten Commandments were given as the seal of the covenant agreement between God and his people at Sinai, the blood of sacrifice was sprinkled on the altar, on the law, and on the people. We have seen that the altar sacrifice was at the heart of the covenant. Israel's worship centered on the sacrifice as the substitute for the sinner. Isaiah picks up the theme of sacrifice in his prophecy, emphasizing especially the work of the suffering Servant, who takes the punishment for our sins. By his wounds we are healed, and he must pay the cost of redemption. Abraham was able to spare his son Isaac from the altar, since God provided a substitute, in the form of a ram caught in the bushes. Ultimately, however, there could be no substitute animal when the Father dealt with our sin. He could not spare his own Son, but had to deliver him up for us all. Jesus, God the Son in his human nature, can alone pay the infinite price of our redemption. Jesus is the Lamb of God: the Lamb given by the Father (Gen. 22:8; John 1:29; 1 Peter 1:19).
Clowney on God's two mountaintop revelations to mankind
Yahweh issued ten commandments in a terrifying revelation of himself on Mount Sinai, many years later on another mountain, he gives us only one commandment - to listen to his beloved son!
From pages 11-12 of: How Jesus Transforms The Ten Commandments
We have biblical background for the phrase "mountaintop experience." The Bible often speaks of mountains, and God marks his glorious presence by drawing his people's eyes upward to the mountains. Two mountaintop experiences frame God's revelation of himself to his people. The thunder and lightning of the Old Testament experience at Mount Sinai have been depicted in many a piece of art and in many a film. God's terrifying presence, the threat of death, the fearful quaking of the people—all these are physical signs of the importance of what happened on the mountain in the Sinai peninsula. God spoke, and declared his law to his people, revealing his person, his presence, and his commands.
Many years later on another mountain, in an incident recorded in the New Testament, God spoke again. The terrible, glorious, frightening, exhilarating cloud of the glory of God's presence once again overshadowed those on the mountain. Three disciples stood transfixed as they saw Moses, the scribe of the law, and Elijah, the representative of the prophets, speaking with Jesus. Moses, who had not been allowed to enter the Promised Land, found himself once again on the mountain with God. But this time, he was allowed to see the fulfillments of all that he had first on Mount Sinai. Instead often commandments, written on tablets of stone, and shattered at the foot of the mountain because of the people's sin, God uttered only one commandment—the true summary of the Law and the Prophets: "This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!" (Mark 9:7).
Jesus reveals the I AM God in the fullest possible way. The law is only a pale reflection in comparison. The Ten Commandments, God's first specific, verbal revelation of his nature to his people, help us to understand him and to understand Son, who is the fulfilment of that law.
From pages 11-12 of: How Jesus Transforms The Ten Commandments
We have biblical background for the phrase "mountaintop experience." The Bible often speaks of mountains, and God marks his glorious presence by drawing his people's eyes upward to the mountains. Two mountaintop experiences frame God's revelation of himself to his people. The thunder and lightning of the Old Testament experience at Mount Sinai have been depicted in many a piece of art and in many a film. God's terrifying presence, the threat of death, the fearful quaking of the people—all these are physical signs of the importance of what happened on the mountain in the Sinai peninsula. God spoke, and declared his law to his people, revealing his person, his presence, and his commands.
Many years later on another mountain, in an incident recorded in the New Testament, God spoke again. The terrible, glorious, frightening, exhilarating cloud of the glory of God's presence once again overshadowed those on the mountain. Three disciples stood transfixed as they saw Moses, the scribe of the law, and Elijah, the representative of the prophets, speaking with Jesus. Moses, who had not been allowed to enter the Promised Land, found himself once again on the mountain with God. But this time, he was allowed to see the fulfillments of all that he had first on Mount Sinai. Instead often commandments, written on tablets of stone, and shattered at the foot of the mountain because of the people's sin, God uttered only one commandment—the true summary of the Law and the Prophets: "This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!" (Mark 9:7).
Jesus reveals the I AM God in the fullest possible way. The law is only a pale reflection in comparison. The Ten Commandments, God's first specific, verbal revelation of his nature to his people, help us to understand him and to understand Son, who is the fulfilment of that law.
Thursday, October 29, 2015
Waltke on how Pagans look for signs
Waltke highlights some ways pagan people determine the mind of God:
Selected text from Pages 48-58 of Finding the Will of God
Pagans devised all sorts of special tasks to help them determine the mind of God. Each of these tasks included searching for some special sign given by the gods. The most popular was hepatoscopy, the study of the liver. Pagans believed that memory and intelligence resided in the liver, not the brain, and they created an entire course of study to read livers. The liver was the heaviest organ, and therefore if God was going to reveal His mind to man He would do so through the heaviest and supposedly most important organ. This may not be as incredible as it first sounds. Earlier in this century we had phrenologists, who studied the brain's wrinkles and protuberances to determine the character of the individual. Likewise the ancient priests studied the liver and intestines to determine the mind of the gods. They would sacrifice a sheep, and "read" the liver's shape to see what God had to say to them, much as a carnival gypsy might read your palm at the fair. One of the greatest kings of Assyria, Ashurbanapol, spent much of his life studying livers in order to divine the will of God. Most of the ancient texts offer explanations for reading the liver of a sacrificed animal, and they include special notations for encountering unique situations.
The ancients saw hepatoscopy as being particularly important, especially in times of war or famine. It was not unusual for a team of priests to slaughter a dozen sheep and study their livers, hoping to find similar signs in several animals. They felt that the use of many livers, with the work being done by a number of different priests, assured them of a measure of certainty in their work.
As silly as this may seem to us now, this was common practice and the people put much faith in it because they all recognized that there is a God, and they all wanted to communicate with Him. Since the shedding of blood and the very thought of life was wrapped up in a sacrifice, they thought this would offer them a sign from God. It was certainly more bloody, but theoretically not much different from a modern man or woman who asks God for a sign to guide them. Both are methods of divination that require God to work in a miraculous way to reveal His will.
Another method of looking for a sign was that of rhabdomancy, the use of arrows as a sign from the Lord. An example of this occurs in Ezekiel 21:21: "For the king of Babylon will stop at the fork in the road, at the junction of two roads, to seek an omen. He will cast lots with arrows, he will consult his idols, he will examine the liver." The king, unsure of which road his armies must take to conquer the holy land, uses three different forms of divination to make up his mind. There were various ways to use arrows in determining the will of God. The could be cast, or tossed, to see which way they pointed. This may seem like nothing more than an ancient equivalent of spinning a lottery wheel, and that would be a valid analogy. But the people of that day believed in the superintendence of the gods in all matters, so even the direction of dropped arrows could not be chalked up to mere chance. As a matter of fact, at least once in history a king turned his soldiers around and refused to attack the enemy because even though he had superior forces, the arrow's strongly suggested a retreat.
Teraphim, the use of idol images, is one other method of looking for a sign from God. Making sacrifices to idols was a common practice, and the people hoped to intercede for themselves and gain the favor of the gods. Scripture is very clear about how God's people are to respond to idols: "Do not turn to idols or make gods of cast metal for yourselves. I am the Lord your God" (Leviticus 19:4). We have a jealous God who does not want His people involved with any sort of idol worship. "All who make idols are nothing, and the things they treasure are worthless. Those who would speak up for them are blind; they ignorant, to their own shame. Who shapes a god and casts an idol, which can profit him nothing?" (Isaiah 44:9—10). Idols were usually statues of a god, sometimes in the form of an animal or other being, although Scripture makes clear that anything which inspires our devotion can be an idol. After trying to please the idol, questions would be asked of it and the people would await the idol's reply.
God's people are never to be involved with idols. The prophet Hosea criticized the people of his day by saying, "They consult a wooden idol, and are answered by a stick of wood. A spirit of prostitution leads them astray; they are unfaithful to their God (Hosea 4:12), and Jonah adds, 'those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs' (Jonah 2:8). That's why the people of Israel were so reviled. Rather than worshiping the various gods of the pagan cultures, they held to their belief in the one true God. And when the nation turned away from worshiping God and began chasing after pagan deities, the country's problems began. "What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said, 'I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people'" (2 Corinthians 6:16).
The Bible tells us that when people bow down to worship an idol, they are actually worshiping a demon. "They sacrificed to demons," we read in Deuteronomy 32: 17, "which are not God—gods they had not known, gods that recently appeared, gods your fathers did not know." Paul, writing to the church at Corinth, teaches us that "the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to be participants with demons" (l Corinthians 10:20). Satan is behind all idol worship, since it is a means of turning people away from the true God. So any time an individual worships at an Idol, he is actually worshiping Satan. That's why Paul commends the Thessalonians for being people who "turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God" (1 Thessalonians 1:9), and why the apostle John warns his flock to "guard yourselves from idols" (1 John 5:21).
Any time a believer gets into a behavior pattern where they perform some activity to gain God's pleasure, then await His word through some obscure sign, I believe they are in very treacherous waters. Certainly Christians who use their Bible like a magic book, letting it fall open to a page and randomly pointing to a verse, come dangerously close to idol worship. And those who use a promise box, with various Scripture verses written on cards that are pulled out at random to speak to the need of the moment, behave like those involved teraphim. We should stay away from that sort of divination. We are no longer pagans, and we should have nothing to do with these pagan behaviors.
(text omitted)
Priests and other learned men believed they could determine the divine mind by reading the stars, and they created elaborate systems for doing so. The prophet Isaiah, writing to comfort the exiles in Babylon, mocks the astrologists in Isaiah 47:33: "Let your astrologers come forward, those star gazers who make predictions month by month." The premise behind astrology was originally that the stars, as the celestial home of God, would reveal His mind. Later the harmony of science led astrologists to believe that the eternal purposes of God would be evident in the message of the heavens.
Based upon the observations and the traditions of the centuries, astrologers claim that certain heavenly phenomena are synchronous with earthly circumstances. The movements of the planets are believed to influence the events of mankind. The heavens are divided into twelve sections, called "houses," and as the planets pass through each section they form geometrical patterns, known as "aspects," which exert a beneficial or troublesome influence. By plotting the signs under which a person was born, an astrologer creates a horoscope that summarizes the individual's personalities and tendencies. When this information is applied to a particular date, the astrologer claims to offer specific predictions regarding success, failure, warnings, opportunities, and the like.
Astrology gained much favor during the Hellenistic age, offering a supposedly more precise method of determining the will of God. The introduction of the Julian calendar made astrological computations easy, and people from all walks of life began to depend upon horoscopes. Emperor Tiberius made decisions in accordance with his horoscope, and intellectuals through the centuries have found astrology's claim of universal harmony appealing. However modern astronomy, in revealing the vastness of the universe, has shown the lack of information available to those drawing up astrological charts and the implausibility of anyone relying on them for important decisions.
Having said that, two York University professors have found that 45 percent of first year university students studying the liberal arts believe there is something to astrology, and that 20 percent have made at least one decision in the past year based on their horoscope. Even more astonishing is that 37 percent of those studying in the hard sciences at university hold some belief in astroloor, telling the researchers that astrologers can "predict one's character and future by studying the heavens." Michael De Robertis, who along with Paul Delaney conducted the study, said the survey reveals how science and mathematics courses in public high schools have failed. "In education we should be teaching students what real life is all about... They don't know that statistically there is nothing to (astrology) and there never has been anything to it."
(text omitted)
Scripture clearly warns against depending on astrologers and any other diviner. 2 Kings 17:16 warns of people who "forsook all the commands of the Lord their God and made for themselves two idols cast in the shape of calves, and an Asherah pole. The bowed down to the starry host and they worshipped Baal." Later in that same book we read of King Josiah ordering the high priest "to remove from the temple of the Lord all the articles made for Baal and Asherah and all the starry hosts" and to do away with the pagan priests, "those who burned incense to Baal, to the sun and moon, to the constellations and to all the starry hosts" (2 Kings 23:4-5). The prophet Jeremiah warns us, This is what the Lord says, do not learn the ways of the nations or be terrified by signs in the sky, though the nations are terrified by them, for the customs of the peoples are worthless" (Jeremiah 10:2-3).
One of the oldest forms of determining the will of God for an individual's future was by hydromancy, or using water to tell fortunes. If you remember the story of Joseph having a steward hide his cup in his brother Benjamin's sack, the cup itself was noteworthy. In Genesis 44:5 we read, "Is this the cup my master drinks from and also uses for divination?" His statement is sarcastic. The cup could not even reveal who stole it! The ancients, however, believed they could read the liquid left in a bowl, and that it would predict the future of the person who used it. It is the same principle as reading tea leaves or mixing tarot cards, believing that a person's "karma" somehow significantly influences all that he touches.
(text omitted)
Much of our modern new age religion is based upon this principle of divine influence in everyday articles. People who worship the earth, those who believe in reincarnation, and the growing interest in universal harmony all stem from this same idea that there is a mixing of the spiritual and the physical that can be attained by those who study it. Nearly all of the new age movement is focused on trying to attain some hidden knowledge of God, with the hope that the knowledge will change both the individual and the world. Books, tapes, and seminars preach a pantheistic message of finding supernatural power that fills the spiritual void of the individual.
(text omitted)
Those writing books on seeking the will of God by meditation or hallucinogenic drugs are getting rich. And the fable that man can somehow tell the future continues to intrigue the gullible.
Talking with spirits
God laid down the law with Israel:
"Do not practice divination or sorcery... Do not turn to mediums or seek out spirits, for you will be defiled by them" (Leviticus 19:26,31)
"Let no one be found among you who... practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord" (Deuteronomy 18:10-12).
"They practiced divination and sorcery and sold themselves to do evil in the eyes of the Lord, provoking him to anger" (2 Kings 17:17).
"When men tell you to consult mediums and spirits, who whisper and mutter, should not a people inquire of their God? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living?" (Isaiah 8:19).
The Bible rejects these pagan forms of divination because they imply some other spiritual power rules the universe than Israel's good, wise, and just God. He rules along the lines of justice, ultimately rewarding the good and punishing the evil. For Christians, Christ's active obedience satisfies God's demands of justice and the Holy Spirit enables them to live righteously and for Christ to live in them.
Throughout history men have turned to prophets, oracles, and seers to help interpret the signs of God. In our own day we have witnessed the rise in phony messiahs and spiritual charlatans who deceive many people, usually getting extremely wealthy in the process.
(text omitted)
With all of this interest in the supernatural, with all of this activity aimed at getting in touch with the will of God, it is amazing how few people seem at peace with the Almighty. The fact is all of this divination activity has done little more than confuse people. Meanwhile, a loving and patient God waits for His people to turn to Him in obedience.
- by studying the liver of sacrificed animals (hepatoscopy)
- by studying the direction of arrows (rhabdomancy)
- by making sacrifices to idols (teraphim)
- by watching the stars (astrology)
- by fortune telling (hydromancy)
- by talking to spirits
Selected text from Pages 48-58 of Finding the Will of God
Pagans devised all sorts of special tasks to help them determine the mind of God. Each of these tasks included searching for some special sign given by the gods. The most popular was hepatoscopy, the study of the liver. Pagans believed that memory and intelligence resided in the liver, not the brain, and they created an entire course of study to read livers. The liver was the heaviest organ, and therefore if God was going to reveal His mind to man He would do so through the heaviest and supposedly most important organ. This may not be as incredible as it first sounds. Earlier in this century we had phrenologists, who studied the brain's wrinkles and protuberances to determine the character of the individual. Likewise the ancient priests studied the liver and intestines to determine the mind of the gods. They would sacrifice a sheep, and "read" the liver's shape to see what God had to say to them, much as a carnival gypsy might read your palm at the fair. One of the greatest kings of Assyria, Ashurbanapol, spent much of his life studying livers in order to divine the will of God. Most of the ancient texts offer explanations for reading the liver of a sacrificed animal, and they include special notations for encountering unique situations.
The ancients saw hepatoscopy as being particularly important, especially in times of war or famine. It was not unusual for a team of priests to slaughter a dozen sheep and study their livers, hoping to find similar signs in several animals. They felt that the use of many livers, with the work being done by a number of different priests, assured them of a measure of certainty in their work.
As silly as this may seem to us now, this was common practice and the people put much faith in it because they all recognized that there is a God, and they all wanted to communicate with Him. Since the shedding of blood and the very thought of life was wrapped up in a sacrifice, they thought this would offer them a sign from God. It was certainly more bloody, but theoretically not much different from a modern man or woman who asks God for a sign to guide them. Both are methods of divination that require God to work in a miraculous way to reveal His will.
Another method of looking for a sign was that of rhabdomancy, the use of arrows as a sign from the Lord. An example of this occurs in Ezekiel 21:21: "For the king of Babylon will stop at the fork in the road, at the junction of two roads, to seek an omen. He will cast lots with arrows, he will consult his idols, he will examine the liver." The king, unsure of which road his armies must take to conquer the holy land, uses three different forms of divination to make up his mind. There were various ways to use arrows in determining the will of God. The could be cast, or tossed, to see which way they pointed. This may seem like nothing more than an ancient equivalent of spinning a lottery wheel, and that would be a valid analogy. But the people of that day believed in the superintendence of the gods in all matters, so even the direction of dropped arrows could not be chalked up to mere chance. As a matter of fact, at least once in history a king turned his soldiers around and refused to attack the enemy because even though he had superior forces, the arrow's strongly suggested a retreat.
Teraphim, the use of idol images, is one other method of looking for a sign from God. Making sacrifices to idols was a common practice, and the people hoped to intercede for themselves and gain the favor of the gods. Scripture is very clear about how God's people are to respond to idols: "Do not turn to idols or make gods of cast metal for yourselves. I am the Lord your God" (Leviticus 19:4). We have a jealous God who does not want His people involved with any sort of idol worship. "All who make idols are nothing, and the things they treasure are worthless. Those who would speak up for them are blind; they ignorant, to their own shame. Who shapes a god and casts an idol, which can profit him nothing?" (Isaiah 44:9—10). Idols were usually statues of a god, sometimes in the form of an animal or other being, although Scripture makes clear that anything which inspires our devotion can be an idol. After trying to please the idol, questions would be asked of it and the people would await the idol's reply.
God's people are never to be involved with idols. The prophet Hosea criticized the people of his day by saying, "They consult a wooden idol, and are answered by a stick of wood. A spirit of prostitution leads them astray; they are unfaithful to their God (Hosea 4:12), and Jonah adds, 'those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs' (Jonah 2:8). That's why the people of Israel were so reviled. Rather than worshiping the various gods of the pagan cultures, they held to their belief in the one true God. And when the nation turned away from worshiping God and began chasing after pagan deities, the country's problems began. "What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said, 'I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people'" (2 Corinthians 6:16).
The Bible tells us that when people bow down to worship an idol, they are actually worshiping a demon. "They sacrificed to demons," we read in Deuteronomy 32: 17, "which are not God—gods they had not known, gods that recently appeared, gods your fathers did not know." Paul, writing to the church at Corinth, teaches us that "the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to be participants with demons" (l Corinthians 10:20). Satan is behind all idol worship, since it is a means of turning people away from the true God. So any time an individual worships at an Idol, he is actually worshiping Satan. That's why Paul commends the Thessalonians for being people who "turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God" (1 Thessalonians 1:9), and why the apostle John warns his flock to "guard yourselves from idols" (1 John 5:21).
Any time a believer gets into a behavior pattern where they perform some activity to gain God's pleasure, then await His word through some obscure sign, I believe they are in very treacherous waters. Certainly Christians who use their Bible like a magic book, letting it fall open to a page and randomly pointing to a verse, come dangerously close to idol worship. And those who use a promise box, with various Scripture verses written on cards that are pulled out at random to speak to the need of the moment, behave like those involved teraphim. We should stay away from that sort of divination. We are no longer pagans, and we should have nothing to do with these pagan behaviors.
(text omitted)
Priests and other learned men believed they could determine the divine mind by reading the stars, and they created elaborate systems for doing so. The prophet Isaiah, writing to comfort the exiles in Babylon, mocks the astrologists in Isaiah 47:33: "Let your astrologers come forward, those star gazers who make predictions month by month." The premise behind astrology was originally that the stars, as the celestial home of God, would reveal His mind. Later the harmony of science led astrologists to believe that the eternal purposes of God would be evident in the message of the heavens.
Based upon the observations and the traditions of the centuries, astrologers claim that certain heavenly phenomena are synchronous with earthly circumstances. The movements of the planets are believed to influence the events of mankind. The heavens are divided into twelve sections, called "houses," and as the planets pass through each section they form geometrical patterns, known as "aspects," which exert a beneficial or troublesome influence. By plotting the signs under which a person was born, an astrologer creates a horoscope that summarizes the individual's personalities and tendencies. When this information is applied to a particular date, the astrologer claims to offer specific predictions regarding success, failure, warnings, opportunities, and the like.
Astrology gained much favor during the Hellenistic age, offering a supposedly more precise method of determining the will of God. The introduction of the Julian calendar made astrological computations easy, and people from all walks of life began to depend upon horoscopes. Emperor Tiberius made decisions in accordance with his horoscope, and intellectuals through the centuries have found astrology's claim of universal harmony appealing. However modern astronomy, in revealing the vastness of the universe, has shown the lack of information available to those drawing up astrological charts and the implausibility of anyone relying on them for important decisions.
Having said that, two York University professors have found that 45 percent of first year university students studying the liberal arts believe there is something to astrology, and that 20 percent have made at least one decision in the past year based on their horoscope. Even more astonishing is that 37 percent of those studying in the hard sciences at university hold some belief in astroloor, telling the researchers that astrologers can "predict one's character and future by studying the heavens." Michael De Robertis, who along with Paul Delaney conducted the study, said the survey reveals how science and mathematics courses in public high schools have failed. "In education we should be teaching students what real life is all about... They don't know that statistically there is nothing to (astrology) and there never has been anything to it."
(text omitted)
Scripture clearly warns against depending on astrologers and any other diviner. 2 Kings 17:16 warns of people who "forsook all the commands of the Lord their God and made for themselves two idols cast in the shape of calves, and an Asherah pole. The bowed down to the starry host and they worshipped Baal." Later in that same book we read of King Josiah ordering the high priest "to remove from the temple of the Lord all the articles made for Baal and Asherah and all the starry hosts" and to do away with the pagan priests, "those who burned incense to Baal, to the sun and moon, to the constellations and to all the starry hosts" (2 Kings 23:4-5). The prophet Jeremiah warns us, This is what the Lord says, do not learn the ways of the nations or be terrified by signs in the sky, though the nations are terrified by them, for the customs of the peoples are worthless" (Jeremiah 10:2-3).
One of the oldest forms of determining the will of God for an individual's future was by hydromancy, or using water to tell fortunes. If you remember the story of Joseph having a steward hide his cup in his brother Benjamin's sack, the cup itself was noteworthy. In Genesis 44:5 we read, "Is this the cup my master drinks from and also uses for divination?" His statement is sarcastic. The cup could not even reveal who stole it! The ancients, however, believed they could read the liquid left in a bowl, and that it would predict the future of the person who used it. It is the same principle as reading tea leaves or mixing tarot cards, believing that a person's "karma" somehow significantly influences all that he touches.
(text omitted)
Much of our modern new age religion is based upon this principle of divine influence in everyday articles. People who worship the earth, those who believe in reincarnation, and the growing interest in universal harmony all stem from this same idea that there is a mixing of the spiritual and the physical that can be attained by those who study it. Nearly all of the new age movement is focused on trying to attain some hidden knowledge of God, with the hope that the knowledge will change both the individual and the world. Books, tapes, and seminars preach a pantheistic message of finding supernatural power that fills the spiritual void of the individual.
(text omitted)
Those writing books on seeking the will of God by meditation or hallucinogenic drugs are getting rich. And the fable that man can somehow tell the future continues to intrigue the gullible.
Talking with spirits
God laid down the law with Israel:
"Do not practice divination or sorcery... Do not turn to mediums or seek out spirits, for you will be defiled by them" (Leviticus 19:26,31)
"Let no one be found among you who... practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord" (Deuteronomy 18:10-12).
"They practiced divination and sorcery and sold themselves to do evil in the eyes of the Lord, provoking him to anger" (2 Kings 17:17).
"When men tell you to consult mediums and spirits, who whisper and mutter, should not a people inquire of their God? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living?" (Isaiah 8:19).
The Bible rejects these pagan forms of divination because they imply some other spiritual power rules the universe than Israel's good, wise, and just God. He rules along the lines of justice, ultimately rewarding the good and punishing the evil. For Christians, Christ's active obedience satisfies God's demands of justice and the Holy Spirit enables them to live righteously and for Christ to live in them.
Throughout history men have turned to prophets, oracles, and seers to help interpret the signs of God. In our own day we have witnessed the rise in phony messiahs and spiritual charlatans who deceive many people, usually getting extremely wealthy in the process.
(text omitted)
With all of this interest in the supernatural, with all of this activity aimed at getting in touch with the will of God, it is amazing how few people seem at peace with the Almighty. The fact is all of this divination activity has done little more than confuse people. Meanwhile, a loving and patient God waits for His people to turn to Him in obedience.
Waltke on suffering, hunches, violence to Scripture and special revelation
Many of us pentecostals tend to ask for God to solve our problem more than we desire for a greater measure of surrender to his will. Maybe we try to ask God to bend his will so that he can answer our prayers and fulfil our desires. We even try to quote Scripture in the manner that we think it means to us, perhaps even searching through multiple bible translations to find one that is most in line with what the text to say.
I have done an extensive study throughout Scripture about "asking God for a sign," covering about ten main passages, and I find it difficult to conclude that the normative experience supports such actions. There are probably a handful of passages I would like to add to the study, but I am quote certain that they would affirm rather than rebut my interim take on the matter. If you would like a copy of study, just contact me for it and I'll be happy to share it.
From Pages 35-38 of: Finding the Will of God
The problem of suffering, such as Abel's, leads to think that either (a) there is no God, and life is merely a pathetic Joke, or (b) God is a cruel and arbitrary God who cares nothing for the people dearth, or (c) God is powerless, or (d) God is alive and at work in our lives, but we do not completely understand Him. It takes faith to believe in the latter; something many people refuse to do. But the Bible is clear, and according to Romans 1 nature itself evidences, that God is alive and powerful, that He loves us, and that He has a plan for everyone. Being far beyond what our finite minds can comprehend, we do not know everything about Him nor are we able to always discern His plan. Yet my faith continues in Him. As Job put it, Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him."
That's why my following of God is based upon my relationship with Him, rather than on a special "sign." Rather than looking for some sort of wrapped spiritual package from the Almighty, I want to rely upon my closeness to Him. So when I wonder about which job offer to take, I don't go through a divination process to discover the hidden message of God. Instead I examine how God has called me to live my what my motives are; what He has given me a heart for, where I am in my walk with Christ; and what God is saying to me through His word and His people.
I have observed Christians making major decisions based upon this faulty notion that God has a hidden will that He wants them to discover, and it has often led to disaster. One couple I know quit their jobs and went into a specialized ministry based on a "hunch" that God wanted them to make a change. I certainly believe the good Lord gives us desires and inclinations, but we need to examine our motives behind them. Instead the couple should have spend time discussing their love for God. When you clarify your love for God, and you stand right and clean before Him, it becomes much easier to see how the desires of your own heart match up to those of God. It is certainly cheaper and easier to say, "I've got a feeling," but it lacks the necessary depth and relationship that the Lord uses to shape His people.
Too many have used the "hunch" method to rationalize poor decisions or to excuse their carnal living. "God told me to buy this expensive home even though it is beyond my financial ability" is certainly convenient for assuaging the conscience, but it also happens to run in direct contradiction to God's own Word as given to us in the Bible. This sort of cheap reasoning requires no character development. God doesn't change you; you simply change your mind. "Wisdom" in the Old Testament is a character trait, not simply thinking soberly. People with wisdom have the character whereby they can make good decisions. They don't have to rely on faulty logic.
Not only is the logic of many Christians faulty, but their exegesis is terrible. Countless times I have heard people quote Proverbs 3:5-6 as their basis for divining God's will: Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths." Many people read the word "direct" and assume that verse means God will give them special direction in the everyday decisions of life. But that Hebrew word literally means to "go straight," so a sound exegesis will reveal that if you will trust God you will not go outside the bounds of what the book of Proverbs teaches. When it says that "He will direct your path," it does not mean God will offer you special revelation, but that He will make your track right because you are living your life in accordance with the words of Proverbs. Using a verse as a magic incantation does not mean God is obliged to hand you an answer to your problem. That is simply not true to Christian experience. Receiving a message from God is nearly always in conjunction with having a loving heart toward God. The Spirit of God in your life, together with the influence of the Word, illuminates the thoughts of the Lord. As you put God's Word into practice, He establishes your thoughts so that you participate in His eternal plan.
Any time you take the Bible out of context you destroy the intent of His word. That's why you cannot take instances of God's special revelation and make them normative for the Christian experience. Paul saw a great light, fell to the ground, and was blinded when he met Jesus Christ. It was an amazing encounter, but if we try to make that the norm for all new Christian experiences we leave most believers out of the kingdom of God. By the same token, the apostle Paul took the gospel message to much of Asia Minor without ever having a divine intervention. When he did experience a special revelation, seeing a vision of a man calling him to Macedonia, he obeyed. But the special revelation of God was a rare and unique experience, even for Paul.
The disciples obeyed their calling to preach the good news in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the uttermost part of the world, but they did so as they were given an opportunity. There are few instances of divine intervention like that of Philip being transported to a new location. And when God did miraculously intervene and lead someone to a special task, it was significant enough to be recorded in Scripture. I do not think we can take special circumstances and make them the norm by which we live our lives. Special revelation for guidance was not the normal apostolic experience. And at the time it was received (by Paul, by Philip, by Peter as he lay on his roof), it was not being sought. God intervened to change the course of their lives in a dramatic way, not simply to tell them to alter their plans a bit. Special revelation came at a time when God wanted to lead them apart from the normal ways in which His people make choices.
There is no place in the New Testament where we are taught to seek a special revelation, and the practice may actually lead to disobedience if it causes Christians to neglect the everyday opportunities life brings us to wait for a special word from the Lord.
Having said that, I do believe in special revelation, and I think too many conservative scholars have no place for God's special intercession because they have no control over it. We can't force God to talk, yet sometimes He completely surprises us and talks anyway.
I have done an extensive study throughout Scripture about "asking God for a sign," covering about ten main passages, and I find it difficult to conclude that the normative experience supports such actions. There are probably a handful of passages I would like to add to the study, but I am quote certain that they would affirm rather than rebut my interim take on the matter. If you would like a copy of study, just contact me for it and I'll be happy to share it.
From Pages 35-38 of: Finding the Will of God
The problem of suffering, such as Abel's, leads to think that either (a) there is no God, and life is merely a pathetic Joke, or (b) God is a cruel and arbitrary God who cares nothing for the people dearth, or (c) God is powerless, or (d) God is alive and at work in our lives, but we do not completely understand Him. It takes faith to believe in the latter; something many people refuse to do. But the Bible is clear, and according to Romans 1 nature itself evidences, that God is alive and powerful, that He loves us, and that He has a plan for everyone. Being far beyond what our finite minds can comprehend, we do not know everything about Him nor are we able to always discern His plan. Yet my faith continues in Him. As Job put it, Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him."
That's why my following of God is based upon my relationship with Him, rather than on a special "sign." Rather than looking for some sort of wrapped spiritual package from the Almighty, I want to rely upon my closeness to Him. So when I wonder about which job offer to take, I don't go through a divination process to discover the hidden message of God. Instead I examine how God has called me to live my what my motives are; what He has given me a heart for, where I am in my walk with Christ; and what God is saying to me through His word and His people.
I have observed Christians making major decisions based upon this faulty notion that God has a hidden will that He wants them to discover, and it has often led to disaster. One couple I know quit their jobs and went into a specialized ministry based on a "hunch" that God wanted them to make a change. I certainly believe the good Lord gives us desires and inclinations, but we need to examine our motives behind them. Instead the couple should have spend time discussing their love for God. When you clarify your love for God, and you stand right and clean before Him, it becomes much easier to see how the desires of your own heart match up to those of God. It is certainly cheaper and easier to say, "I've got a feeling," but it lacks the necessary depth and relationship that the Lord uses to shape His people.
Too many have used the "hunch" method to rationalize poor decisions or to excuse their carnal living. "God told me to buy this expensive home even though it is beyond my financial ability" is certainly convenient for assuaging the conscience, but it also happens to run in direct contradiction to God's own Word as given to us in the Bible. This sort of cheap reasoning requires no character development. God doesn't change you; you simply change your mind. "Wisdom" in the Old Testament is a character trait, not simply thinking soberly. People with wisdom have the character whereby they can make good decisions. They don't have to rely on faulty logic.
Not only is the logic of many Christians faulty, but their exegesis is terrible. Countless times I have heard people quote Proverbs 3:5-6 as their basis for divining God's will: Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths." Many people read the word "direct" and assume that verse means God will give them special direction in the everyday decisions of life. But that Hebrew word literally means to "go straight," so a sound exegesis will reveal that if you will trust God you will not go outside the bounds of what the book of Proverbs teaches. When it says that "He will direct your path," it does not mean God will offer you special revelation, but that He will make your track right because you are living your life in accordance with the words of Proverbs. Using a verse as a magic incantation does not mean God is obliged to hand you an answer to your problem. That is simply not true to Christian experience. Receiving a message from God is nearly always in conjunction with having a loving heart toward God. The Spirit of God in your life, together with the influence of the Word, illuminates the thoughts of the Lord. As you put God's Word into practice, He establishes your thoughts so that you participate in His eternal plan.
Any time you take the Bible out of context you destroy the intent of His word. That's why you cannot take instances of God's special revelation and make them normative for the Christian experience. Paul saw a great light, fell to the ground, and was blinded when he met Jesus Christ. It was an amazing encounter, but if we try to make that the norm for all new Christian experiences we leave most believers out of the kingdom of God. By the same token, the apostle Paul took the gospel message to much of Asia Minor without ever having a divine intervention. When he did experience a special revelation, seeing a vision of a man calling him to Macedonia, he obeyed. But the special revelation of God was a rare and unique experience, even for Paul.
The disciples obeyed their calling to preach the good news in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the uttermost part of the world, but they did so as they were given an opportunity. There are few instances of divine intervention like that of Philip being transported to a new location. And when God did miraculously intervene and lead someone to a special task, it was significant enough to be recorded in Scripture. I do not think we can take special circumstances and make them the norm by which we live our lives. Special revelation for guidance was not the normal apostolic experience. And at the time it was received (by Paul, by Philip, by Peter as he lay on his roof), it was not being sought. God intervened to change the course of their lives in a dramatic way, not simply to tell them to alter their plans a bit. Special revelation came at a time when God wanted to lead them apart from the normal ways in which His people make choices.
There is no place in the New Testament where we are taught to seek a special revelation, and the practice may actually lead to disobedience if it causes Christians to neglect the everyday opportunities life brings us to wait for a special word from the Lord.
Having said that, I do believe in special revelation, and I think too many conservative scholars have no place for God's special intercession because they have no control over it. We can't force God to talk, yet sometimes He completely surprises us and talks anyway.
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