The Anticipation of Failure

Synopsis     Deuteronomy 29:18-27     3/25/2018

Moses warned that God would not pardon someone who deliberately sins. He reiterated that the curses were for both individual and collective punishment.

The Anticipation of Failure

Moses’ curses and anticipation of doom is described in such great detail that it dwarfs his pronouncements describing the blessings of faithfulness. It’s interesting how similar this is to the subjective experience of despair and depression.

When things are going well, it’s easy to take things for granted. There is a great human tendency to think that the good times will keep going into perpetuity. But when difficulties and discouragements come, the human tendency is to anticipate additional hardship and to interpret everything that has happened in the light of the recent misfortune.

Hyperbolic Gloom

“Nothing ever goes right”…”Nobody really cares about me”… “I can’t win”; the words of my children when things don’t turn out the way they wish. No idea where they learned to say such outrageous hyperbole.

As a coach, my job is to challenge people. So I point out, “Does nothing ever really go right?”…and “Although you might feel neglected and alone now, can’t you think of at least one person who cares deeply about you?”…or “In reality, don’t you sometimes win and sometimes lose?”

It’s usually a mistake to speak in absolutes and universals about your own personal experience. As a tool of self-deprecation, hyperbole is more than a rhetorical device. It is often an error. And, it can easily become a pernicious, self-destructive habit.

We all have to know there’s a reason for the circumstances of life – even if we don’t understand in this moment. This belief leads to the power to “Accept with Joy” the meaningfulness of trials and temptations. Not pretend, stoic indifference – “Acceptance with Joy”.

“In this you rejoice, although now for a little while you may have to suffer through various trials so that the genuineness of your faith, more precious than gold that is perishable even though tested by fire, may prove to be for praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ” 1Peter 1:6-7

Covenant and Future Generations

Synopsis     Deuteronomy 29:6-17     3/24/2018

Moses once again recounted the manner in which God had brought the Israelites through the exodus.  He reminded the people that, although God had made covenant with them on this particular day – the covenant also bound future generations.  He clarified that the curses were warnings for future generations as well as the present  generation.

Covenant and Future Generations

Moses intimated that idolatry is like a poisonous root. It won’t kill immediately, but it will kill.

Strange as it might seem to us, the temptation was great. To have gods of wood, or stone or metal – gods that could be touched and seen – there must be something to that. And apparently this secret fascination remained resident among some of the children of Israel. Enough so that Moses discerned that it remained as a residue.

To find hope in something other than God; it’s an affront to both the covenant and the reality of God. The Israelites needed to be diligent to get this poisonous root out of the community in order to preserve the future generations.

Engrafting in the Good Root

We imagine ourselves. For some, the imagination focuses on the glory we will one day know – or else it focuses on the shame we will feel at some future failure. We know none of this imagining really helps anyone, yet we can’t let go of it. To let go feels like consenting to a death.

It’s nothing – but we can’t let go.

We feel exhausted. But then someone finds the courage to actually take that step. Suddenly, we are no longer bound by the fear of loss or by the wasted energy of fantasies and  imaginations. In fact, with that first step we realize that our imaginings weren’t all that important. In an unanticipated sense of relief, we discover that it’s possible to live without our very demanding, imagined self. And with that, the pressure is gone. But the pressure is gone not for us alone – not just for our generation. Our victory came from a life-giving root. So now, our children and our children’s children might be able step into a freedom that required us to crawl.

So we get rid of our idols – even if they aren’t made from wood, and stone and metal.

If you do boast, consider that you do not support the root; the root supports you. Roman 11:18

Depression

Synopsis     Deuteronomy 28:64-29:5     3/23/2018

Moses continued in his prophecy. He anticipated that the relentless pressure of the curses would lead the people to be scattered amongst the nations. For the survivors, this would lead to a deep state of depression.

With this, the prophecy of curses ends. Moses then announced to the people that with this covenant, they have entered into a new level of responsibility. Specifically, he observed how God had invested in them a heart of understanding, with “eyes to see” and “ears to hear”.

And with this, they could no longer rely on Moses, or anyone else, for their individual or collective relationship with God.

Depression

“In the morning you will say, ‘Would that it were evening!’ And in the evening you will say, ‘Would that it were morning!'”.

The hopeless despair that tells you life is not worth living. The condition where the moment is never enough – where I am never enough to meet the moment. Meaninglessness is a feeling. It is the futile feeling of chasing after the wind knowing that it will never be caught.

It’s curious how precarious mental health can be – how even a well-adjusted, bright, intelligent person can fall into despondency, despair and depression seemingly in the turn of a moment.

Eyes to See, Ears to Hear

“Eyes to see and ears to hear”… Jesus used this expression. Eight times for those who count. But it is usually forgotten that Moses used the expression first; that Jesus was making a reference to Moses.

Moses told the people that having eyes that see, and ears that hear, and a heart that understands, was a gift from God. He told them that this gift was only given at the appropriate time.

When everything is a darkness, I feel the darkness. I am alone. Utterly alone.

Except I’m not – not really. God is with me. And the souls of the millions who have gone before me in faith are near. But my ears are closed and my eyes are blind and my heart is hard. So I remain breathlessly still.

Though I know that I’ll never deserve it, if I remain constant the gift will come – even to me.

“For it is said: “Oh, that today you would hear his voice: Harden not your hearts as at the rebellion.’” Heb 3:15

Few In Number

Synopsis     Deuteronomy 28:53-63     3/22/2018

Moses prophesied concerning the Israelites. He warned them about failing the covenant and what would happen if they did. He anticipated that as the Israelites experienced the curses, they would become intensely selfish. He used the example of a famine so intense, the Israelites would disavow their love for community and even for family members and look to preserve their own lives at any cost.

Few In Number

Moses also described how the Israelites would become few in number as a result of the curses and plagues. He deliberately juxtaposed this against the promises to Abraham – that his descendants would be more numerous than “the stars of heaven”.

With this warning, the Israelites were told that they could not rely on the righteousness of their ancestors to secure their relationship with God. They were, Moses insisted, responsible for their own relationship with God.

The takeaway: It was possible for God to be faithful to His promises and yet for them to suffer curses – both personally and collectively.

God is Faithful

The possibility of my life is rooted in the promises of God. If I am attuned to Him – not just to His laws or precepts or commands – but to Him personally, then I can expect to enter into my possibility. But I have to be careful with this knowledge. It’s not really an exchange. It’s not a giving of one thing in order to receive another.

Being attuned to the person of Jesus is the possibility and the choice. Whatever the reality of that relationship might bring is a fruitful by-product that He is free to choose.

“No, I drive my body and train it, for fear that, after having preached to others, I myself should be disqualified.” 1Cor 9:27

 

The Walls in Which We Trust

Synopsis     Deuteronomy 28:42-52     3/21/2018

Moses continued describing in graphic detail the hardship and curses that would result from infidelity to the covenant. The progressive terror of the curses climax with the threat of enslavement and loss of the land.

The Walls in Which We Trust

Moses made a particular mention of the walls in which the Israelites trusted. A curious anticipation since the Israelites had never, in all their history, lived in a walled city.

Moses knew that the walls in which the Israelites would learn to trust would eventually fail them – because walls always fail. Marvels of engineering they sometimes prove to be, they are a futility and a misplaced trust. The God of Moses won’t tolerate the nonsense.

Bridges and Walls

It seems everyone’s talking about walls these days.

I work my vision into reality and then build a wall around it to prevent anything from messing it up. The irony, of course, is that I’m usually the greatest threat to my dreams and visions and accomplishments. I protect with my walls. I hang-on to the status quo with my walls. But, this selfish hanging-on is a recipe for self-destruction. The real problem is that I can’t build a wall between me and my own selfishness.

Someone once said, “Love is your best offense, and defense.”  But I was born in this world…I can’t help but be a little suspicious.

“Build bridges not walls” Pope Francis

“Now, I will let you know what I am going to do to my vineyard: Take away its hedge, give it to grazing, break through its wall, let it be trampled!” Isaiah 5:5  

Futility and Broken Faith

Synopsis     Deuteronomy 28:30-44     3/20/2018

Moses’ continued to describe the curses that would befall the Israelites if they were to break the covenant with God. These curses focused on the persistent frustration and utter futility of all the people’s efforts.

Futility and Broken Faith

It is written, there is “No wisdom, no understanding, no counsel [that] prevails against the LORD.”

Moses was describing what the Israelites would experience if they departed from God. He made it sound like a deliberate wrath from God. And perhaps that was the intent. But it also describes what life is like for anyone who doesn’t know God or live in harmony with His precepts.

Self-Organized Criticality

Scientist and author Per Bak has observed that, “self-organized systems” drive towards criticality – towards instability. In other words – they always eventually break. The Tower of Babel was an effort at self-organization. The effort broke. It resulted in a deep and profound frustration.

And yet, the universe, as far as anyone can tell, is expanding. It is stable. So, not everything is unstable. Not everything has to fail. Not everything has to be frustrating.

This is the offer that was extended to the Israelites. This is the offer before each of us today. The stability of God is found in the givenness of things.

The hope of success is found in responding to what is given.

“The law of the LORD is perfect, refreshing the soul. The decree of the LORD is trustworthy, giving wisdom to the simple” Psalm 19:8

Skies of Bronze

Synopsis     Deuteronomy 28:18-29     3/19/2018

Moses delineated the curses that would come upon the people if they failed their covenant with God. Moses’ list is long and provocatively detailed. It included both personal curses and curses upon the nation.

Skies of Bronze

No one would willingly chose any of it: The pain and suffering, the financial collapse, cursed soil, cursed offspring, and anxiety of every kind. But the worst of it is the “skies of bronze” – The knowledge that the prayers of the people were no longer making it to God’s throne in heaven. Prayers bouncing off an impenetrable sky and returning unheard. Separated and cutoff from God, life would be desperate.

How horrible a thought for these Israelites. They had grown up in the presence of God with the great prophet Moses available to interpret God’s commands. They knew the presence of God. Their entire adult lives, the Tent of Meeting was always within eyesight wherever they had gone.

They could not imagine the nation falling into such depravity. And yet, the nation of Israel would experience every single one of these promised curses over the next thousand years of history.

Nothing Going My Way

“I have my guru. I have my agenda. I know what I want to get done. I’m focused and determined. I am confident and relentless. And still things don’t seem to go my way. It’s the curses. I am cursed. Nothing ever goes my way.”

If nothing is going my way, maybe I need to find a new way to go.

But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth. He will not speak on his own, but he will speak what he hears, and will declare to you the things that are coming. John 16:13

Head not Tail

Synopsis     Deuteronomy 28:4-17     3/18/2018

Moses described the blessings that the Israelites could expect if they remained faithful to God and the terms of His covenant. These included the personal blessings of children and successful farm operations.

Additionally, if the community remained faithful they could anticipate blessings on the nation. These included a national reputation as the place where God dwelled. The promises included being a lender to other nations but never needing to be a borrower. Finally, Moses described how Israel would be the “head and not the tail”, a leader amongst the nations.

Head not Tail

The head leads. The tail doesn’t wag the dog. At least in a rightly ordered dog it doesn’t. Instead the dog wags the tail.

We use different terms these days. We call this autonomy. And whether it’s personal autonomy or communal autonomy, this is the right desire of every human heart: To  be the head and not the tail. To lead and not to be led – especially not be led by your own tail.

Givenness is Always the Head

Those who follow in the Way of Givenness are always the head. You can’t  be the tail.

That’s not to say that you can control everything. This obviously isn’t the case for anyone. But the Way of Givenness receives everything that comes as a gift from God. In this way, you respond according to the value of the circumstances. Never flailing, or blaming, or wishing things were different than they are; you receive what’s given with joy and respond according to the truest good.

In this way, nothing has power over you; not food, or drink, or lust, or anger, or fear, or envy. It is a way of utter freedom.

This is our hope.

Jesus answered [him], “You would have no power over me if it had not been given to you from above. John 19:11

Curses and Mercy

Synopsis     Deuteronomy 27:16-28:3     3/17/2018

Moses commanded a rite for the Israelites as they crossed the Jordan and entered into the Promised Land. They were to arrange themselves on Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal. Then, the Levites were tasked with announcing a series of curses for various kinds of bad behavior. After each one, the people acknowledged the evil and the  consequential curse by proclaiming “Amen”

Curses and Mercy

With all the contemporary emphasis on the Christ who saves me – the individual – the thought of people willingly accepting a curse is strange.

When I’ve sinned – I cry out, “Father forgive me for I have sinned!”. When I walk to the altar to receive communion I repeat the ancient monastic prayer, “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.”

I am wholly unwilling to accept the curse if I can avoid it – even if I deserve it, even if curses would be just.

My hope is entirely in the mercy of God.

A Community Project

So what do I have to do with people who willingly accept a curse as just compensation for evil deeds?

We could chalk this up to the difference between the old and the new dispensations. You know,  the Old Testament is focused on justice and the New Testament is focused on mercy. But I don’t think any of these people were actually asking for these curses to fall on them. Instead, they imagined themselves to be righteous. They didn’t see themselves as sinners. They accepted the curses as the just penalty for the kinds of sins that they would never do.

It’s about the community. Accepting the curses as just punishment for these particular sins is a way of saying that the Israelites would never accept or condone these kinds of sins. They collectively rejected these behaviors and committed to not tolerate them within the community. It’s their declaration of the kind of community and nation they intend to be as they come to occupy their Promised Land.

So where are the lines for us? What won’t we accept? What will we condemn as behavior that is unworthy of the Authentic Community?

Christ ransomed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who hangs on a tree,” Gal 3:13

Be Silent Israel, and Listen

Synopsis     Deuteronomy 27:3-15     3/16/2018

Moses commanded the Israelites to erect a stone altar on Mount Ebal. They were directed to set up the altar with unhewn stones immediately after they crossed the Jordan. They were tasked to inscribe the words of the law on the altar and offer communion sacrifices on it.

Moses then led the Israelites in a meditation on their special relationship with the Lord

Be Silent Israel, and Listen

It is said that a candle held next to the sun is insignificant. Light needs darkness to matter. Likewise, words need silence to matter.

Moses commanded the people to “be silent” – to listen intently – to listen with their whole being. To hear God through a world of noise.

Listening Prayer

The world isn’t getting less noisy.

You want to hear from God. You want to be more deliberate in the way you approach worship. You want to discover a more meaningful depth in your relationship with Jesus.

Listen.

20 minutes. Twice a day.

“but he would withdraw to deserted places to pray” Luke 5:16