(This sermon is part of Dr. Manuel's sermon series: "What is Foremost?" Links to
each of the sermons in the series will be found here as they are posted.)
When we encounter something out of the ordinary, it can be somewhat... confusing.
When the Israelites leave Egypt, they are not an indomitable military. Far from it, they are more like an undisciplined mob.1 While they have some fighting men, these are a lightly armed, probably poorly trained, and certainly untested militia. Moreover, the majority of the group is primarily civilians and livestock, difficult to maneuver and difficult to defend. Although God redeemed the Israelites, He could not now leave them to fend for themselves and to find their own way. They would need His direction and protection, protection He would give in a variety of ways, including...
* XXXIV The Foremost Confusion
...which is...
God describes the task of conquest in vv. 20-21 as having two parts:
God has used all manner of natural resources to deal with the enemies of His people...6
While God may use obfuscation on His enemies, He treats His friends to clarification. Paul highlights the advantage his readers have, especially in what they know, how God brings them clarity (even certainty) instead of confusion. New Testament writers mark such an understanding by a term that indicates more than simple awareness of the facts. The Greek word for extra-ordinary knowledge is knowledge that is over and above,10 superior to what is available to most people. This extra-ordinary knowledge is often manifest in the special awareness we have of God and His will.
What most people know about God is not very much and is often not very accurate. In contrast, as a child of God, you are in a position to know Him, and know Him well, far better than your unbelieving friends or relatives. This is the potential Paul recognizes and prays his readers at Colosse will also recognize.
Unfortunately, few people take the opportunity to know God in this way. Because they do not view obeying God to be in their interest, they never get beyond the fact of His existence. You, however, are beyond that; your understanding of God is beyond the fact that He exists. You have access to the extra-ordinary knowledge of His will and, as a result, you can grow in the extra-ordinary knowledge of God Himself. This knowledge is what God makes available to you, and it is one way He treats His people differently from those who are not His people. Far from bringing you confusion, God brings you clarity; more than that, He gives you knowledge that has certainty.
Although God makes the promise in Exod 23 to Israel, it is indicative of the way He cares for His people in general, including you. Still, you will not have much occasion to test the truth of this provision if your interaction is rarely (if ever) with those who would harm you. Should you, however, encounter those with malevolent intent, you can, with this principle in mind, appeal to God for help.
You would also be in good company, because several psalmists recognized they could appeal to God for help, which they did, often using vivid (imprecatory) language.11 For example, when David was under attack from an unidentified assailant, he wrote about his plight in Ps 55, asking for God's help and describing how he hoped God would respond."'
The Israelites had recently seen God throw into complete disarray the Egyptian forces pursuing them, drowning those forces in the Red Sea. Will He continue to help His people against future adversaries? Indeed, He will, and with a similar tactic, The Foremost Confusion, which is the prevention of God as He defends His people from those who would harm them. Whether or not God uses the same tactic to deliver you, it is one of many examples in scripture of how God cares for His people, and that includes you.
Having considered The Foremost Confusion, we will look next at The Foremost Concession, which settles for the permission of God, in Ps 106:15.
For the Bibliography and Endnotes, see the pdf here.
A family from the hills was visiting the city and was in a large mall for the first time. The father and son were strolling around while the wife shopped. They were amazed by almost everything they saw, but especially by two shiny, silver walls that could move apart and then slide back together again. The boy asked, "Pa, what's that?" The father, never having encountered an elevator, said, "I don't know, son. I've never seen anything like it in my entire life." While the boy and his father were watching with amazement, a large, elderly lady in a wheel chair rolled up to the moving walls and pressed a button. The walls opened, the lady rolled into a small room, and the walls closed behind her. The boy and his father watched the small circular numbers above the walls light up sequentially, eventually reaching the last number; then the numbers began to light in reverse. The walls opened again, and a beautiful young woman stepped out. The father, not taking his eyes off her, said quietly to his son, "Boy...go get your Momma."When we encounter something out of the ordinary, it can be somewhat...confusing. That is how it will be for Israel's enemies, because God will ensure that an encounter with His people results in The Foremost Confusion.
When the Israelites leave Egypt, they are not an indomitable military. Far from it, they are more like an undisciplined mob.1 While they have some fighting men, these are a lightly armed, probably poorly trained, and certainly untested militia. Moreover, the majority of the group is primarily civilians and livestock, difficult to maneuver and difficult to defend. Although God redeemed the Israelites, He could not now leave them to fend for themselves and to find their own way. They would need His direction and protection, protection He would give in a variety of ways, including...
* XXXIV The Foremost Confusion
...which is...
- The prevention by God (Exod 23:27)
Exod 23:27 [God says:] I will send my terror ahead of you and throw into confusion every nation you encounter. I will make all your enemies turn their backs and run.This verse belongs to a longer description (vv. 20-33) about how the Israelites will conquer the Promised Land. Part of that endeavor God will accomplish through the agency of an angel.2 Such a provision, though, is not a blank check. The Israelites are to obey the angel as they would obey the Lord,3 and God equates their authority in...
Exod 23:21 Pay attention to [the angel]....since my Name is in him. 22a ...listen carefully to what he says and do all that I say...In other words, "My angel...speaks to you in My name" (Cassuto 1983:306), and disobeying God's representative is tantamount to disobeying God Himself. The flip side is the advantage of obedience, that the Lord regards their enemies as His enemies and will treat them accordingly.4 Again, in...
Exod 23:22b I will be an enemy to your enemies and will oppose those who oppose you.... 23b and I will wipe them out.There is no worse place to be than on the wrong side of the Lord.
Heb 10:31 It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.That, by the way, is where we were headed, because once "we were God's enemies" (Rom 5:10a).
God describes the task of conquest in vv. 20-21 as having two parts:
- On the one hand, it involves the angel's protecting the people by interdicting potential problems.
Exod 23:20a ...I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you....
- On the other hand, it involves the people's protecting themselves by following his instructions.
"Just as he comes to guard you, so you must guard yourself not to transgress his words" (ibid).5Exod 23:21a Pay attention to him and listen to what he says.
God has used all manner of natural resources to deal with the enemies of His people...6
- Gnats that covered the land of those who enslaved the Israelites,
- Hail that pummeled the Canaanite armies amassed against Joshua,
- Hornets that drove the Amorite kings from the land,
- Tumors that afflicted the Philistines who stole the ark,
- Fire that consumed the soldiers sent to arrest Elijah,
- Bears that mauled the (young) men who ridiculed Elisha.
- He used it against Egyptian forces in...
Exod 14:24 ...the LORD looked down from the pillar of fire and cloud at the Egyptian army and threw it into confusion.... 28c Not one of them survived.
- • He used it against Canaanite forces in...
Josh 10:10a The LORD threw [the Canaanites] into confusion before Israel, who defeated them in a great victory....
- He used it against Philistine forces in...
In each case, confusion was a prelude to defeat?9 So, the Lord says in Exod 23...1 Sam 14:20 ...Saul and all his men assembled and went to the battle. They found the Philistines in total confusion, striking each other with their swords...8 23a So the LORD rescued Israel that day....
1. Your opponents will be confounded.Whether suddenly their plans no longer appear effective, or they can no longer distinguish friend from foe, or they cannot remember why they are where they are, their mental state will be in complete disarray. As God says, your opponents will be confounded, at which point...
2. Your opponents will be routed.They will no longer be able to stand before you, and they will flee.
While God may use obfuscation on His enemies, He treats His friends to clarification. Paul highlights the advantage his readers have, especially in what they know, how God brings them clarity (even certainty) instead of confusion. New Testament writers mark such an understanding by a term that indicates more than simple awareness of the facts. The Greek word for extra-ordinary knowledge is knowledge that is over and above,10 superior to what is available to most people. This extra-ordinary knowledge is often manifest in the special awareness we have of God and His will.
What most people know about God is not very much and is often not very accurate. In contrast, as a child of God, you are in a position to know Him, and know Him well, far better than your unbelieving friends or relatives. This is the potential Paul recognizes and prays his readers at Colosse will also recognize.
Col 1:9 ...we have not stopped...asking God to fill you with the [extra-ordinary] knowledge of his will.... 10 ... that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, [which will result in your] growing in the [extra-ordinary] knowledge of God [Himself],In other words, as you undertake to a greater extent the precepts of God, what He expects, you will understand to a greater extent the person of God, who He is. This is not necessarily the expected order: first obeying Him then knowing Him. We might think that knowing precedes obeying, but this is not simply knowing about God, that He exists; this is a deeper understanding of His character and His concerns, of what He is like and of what He expects.
Unfortunately, few people take the opportunity to know God in this way. Because they do not view obeying God to be in their interest, they never get beyond the fact of His existence. You, however, are beyond that; your understanding of God is beyond the fact that He exists. You have access to the extra-ordinary knowledge of His will and, as a result, you can grow in the extra-ordinary knowledge of God Himself. This knowledge is what God makes available to you, and it is one way He treats His people differently from those who are not His people. Far from bringing you confusion, God brings you clarity; more than that, He gives you knowledge that has certainty.
Although God makes the promise in Exod 23 to Israel, it is indicative of the way He cares for His people in general, including you. Still, you will not have much occasion to test the truth of this provision if your interaction is rarely (if ever) with those who would harm you. Should you, however, encounter those with malevolent intent, you can, with this principle in mind, appeal to God for help.
You would also be in good company, because several psalmists recognized they could appeal to God for help, which they did, often using vivid (imprecatory) language.11 For example, when David was under attack from an unidentified assailant, he wrote about his plight in Ps 55, asking for God's help and describing how he hoped God would respond."'
Ps 55:9a Confuse the wicked, O Lord, confound their speech.... 15 Let death take my enemies by surprise; let them go down alive to the grave, for evil finds lodging among them.While I do not recommend that you make such petitions from the Psalms a regular part of your prayers, they are examples of how the godly prayed and, as such, are available for your use, as are their examples of praise and thanksgiving.
The Israelites had recently seen God throw into complete disarray the Egyptian forces pursuing them, drowning those forces in the Red Sea. Will He continue to help His people against future adversaries? Indeed, He will, and with a similar tactic, The Foremost Confusion, which is the prevention of God as He defends His people from those who would harm them. Whether or not God uses the same tactic to deliver you, it is one of many examples in scripture of how God cares for His people, and that includes you.
Having considered The Foremost Confusion, we will look next at The Foremost Concession, which settles for the permission of God, in Ps 106:15.
For the Bibliography and Endnotes, see the pdf here.
(This sermon is part of Dr. Manuel's sermon series: "What is Foremost?" Links to each of the sermons in the series will be found here as they are posted)
No comments:
Post a Comment
Relevant and civil comments are welcome. Whether there will be any response depends on whether Dr. Manuel notices them and has the time and inclination to respond or, if not, whether I feel competent to do so.
Jim Skaggs