Are You Building An Altar or a Tower

This week my Bible reading was in Genesis chapters 8-14. Highlights in these chapters are Noah after the flood, God's covenant with Noah, the tower of Babel, the call of Abraham, and Abraham and Lot separate.  I took a lot of notes this week but my mind kept coming back to things that were built in these stories:  altars and a tower.

I'd like to begin with establishing a framework for why people in the Old Testament built altars. They were built for worship, commemorating an encounter with God, as a memorial, while making a covenant, and to find refuge.  Here is the link where I found this information.  Building altars in the Old Testament seems to be a good thing, unless the altar is being built to a pagan god.  The altars being built in this portion of Genesis are by Noah and Abraham.  

After the flood subsided and everyone is out on dry land again, Noah responds by building and altar. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that he build this altar because he was grateful for his whole family being kept alive when everyone else on the earth was destroyed. God responds by promising to never destroy the earth again by flood. Genesis 8:18-22 speaks about this covenant.

"Noah went out, and his sons and his wife and his sons' wives with him.  Every beast, every creeping thing, and every bird, everything that moves on the earth, went out by families from the ark. Then Noah built an altar to the Lord and took some of every clean animal and some of every clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar.  And when the Lord smelled the pleasing aroma, the Lord said in his heart, “I will never again curse the ground because of man, for the intention of man's heart is evil from his youth. Neither will I ever again strike down every living creature as I have done. While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.”

Chapter 9:8-17 show God speaking out loud to Noah, instead of in his heart (Chapter 8). He reiterates his covenant and introduces the sign of that promise - the rainbow.

""Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him,  “Behold, I establish my covenant with you and your offspring after you,  and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the livestock, and every beast of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark; it is for every beast of the earth.  I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.”  And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations:  I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds,  I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh. And the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh.  When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.” God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth.” 

A few chapters later, Abram is introduced.  After leaving his home, prospering, and then separating from his nephew, Lot, we find Abram building an altar.  Shortly before building the altar, God tells him about all the land he will inherit and all the children he will have. Childless Abraham believes that God will give him this land  and he also believes, that though getting up in years, he will have children. 

The Tower of Babel is built in Genesis 10 and 11. I was surprised in my reading when I realized I was only half right on the reason the people built the tower.  The part I remembered was that the people wanted to build a name for themselves but what I did not remember was the reason behind their wanting to make a name for themselves.  See the Genesis chapter 11 account below:

Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. And as people migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there.  And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.” And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar.  Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.” And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of man had built.  And the Lord said, “Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them.  Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another's speech.”  So the Lord dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city.  Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth. And from there the Lord dispersed them over the face of all the earth. 

They built the tower because they didn't want to be dispersed. They felt by strengthening themselves they would be secure.   We know how that worked out!

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These chapters in Genesis are very important pieces in the history of God's early dealings with His people.  There is much food for thought on obedience, faith, patience, vision, security, providence, etc. and I think those may only scratch the surface!

Reflecting on the actions of altar building or tower building I have a few parting thoughts.

Altars

Altars are no longer part of the landscape for believers.  Here are some verses to inform what we offer on our metaphorical altars:

Romans 12:1  I appeal to you therefore, brothers,[a] by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

Hebrews 13:15-16 Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.  Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.

Towers

Few of us, with the exception of Trump (Trump Towers), have built literal towers to build a name for ourselves in order to ensure our security.  However, most of us do build "towers" - be it building our reputations, bank accounts, physiques, families, to name a few.  Anything we look to in faith and confidence to make ourselves secure is an idol.  God, being the faithful God that he is, just might answer in kind like he did to those who built the tower of Babel.  They didn't want to be dispersed, figured out a way to not let that happen, and then God confused their languages and dispersed them. We are all just a moment away from financial collapse, failed marriages, disease, etc. Look to God alone for security because if you are in Christ, be sure, God will remove your idols.  He is faithful!

Parting Prayer

Heavenly Father,  May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you. May I lay myself on the altar daily by denying myself, taking up my cross and following You.  Help me have praise on my lips, not complaining.  Show me the good works you have prepared for me to do.  May I be generous with all your gifts. Keep me from putting my trust in anything but You.  I ask for all of this in Jesus' name.  Amen.  Thank you.

Blameless

 

Began my read through the Bible in four years plan and I was surprised by just how much I got from the first six chapters of Genesis.  Each week I will respond to the idea that most captivated me and this week it was the idea from Genesis 6.  Noah was righteous and blameless. 

 

^{5 "}The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

 ⁶  And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. 

⁷ So the Lord said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.” 

⁸ But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.

⁹ These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation.   

 

A very familiar passage about Job came to my mind.  He, too, according to God, was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned from evil,  Even after God allowed Satan to kill all of Job's animals and his children, Job still trusts God.  From Job chapter 1:

"21 And he said, “Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” 

Job's wife mocks him, "Are you still unshaken in your integrity? Curse God and die."  (Job 2:9) One might wonder why Satan didn't wipe out Job's wife as well.  Thank God he didn't because one of the most astonishing verses in the Bible would never have been written.  From Job chapter 2:

" 10 But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips."

The evidence that both Noah and Job were blameless and upright is that they feared God and turned away from evil. 

In addition to Old Testament verses I knew there were verses in the New Testament that spoke to followers of Christ being blameless, but I was not prepared for how many.  Here is a sampling:

 

I Corinthians 1:8 - At the end of time we will be pronounced guiltless.

 

Ephesians 1:4 - We were chosen for the purpose of living a holy and blameless life.

 

Philippians 1:9-10 - How can we live pure and blameless lives?  By loving others in a knowledgeable, discerning way and by approving what is excellent.

 

Colossians 1:22 - Before Christ we were blameless, hostile, and doers of evil deeds. (At least this is how he defines the lives of the Colossians before Christ.) Jesus died to present us holy, blameless and above reproach.  This He will do if we continue in the faith.

 

I Thessalonians 2:10 - Paul calls his own conduct holy, righteous, and blameless.

 

I Thessalonians 3:13 - If we abound in love the Lord will establish our hearts blameless in holiness.

 

I Thessalonians 5:23 - "Now may the God of peace sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord..."

 

I Timothy 3:10 - One of the requirements to be a deacon was to have proven themselves blameless.

 

Titus 1:6-7 - To be an elder you must be above reproach.

 

Hebrews 7:26 - When describing the attributes of Jesus as High Priest, in the list are: holy and innocent.

 

Philippians 2:14-15 - This is my personal favorite.  Probably because of its' convicting and encouraging nature.

" ¹⁴ Do all things without grumbling or disputing, ¹⁵ that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,.."

 

My take away from thinking about being blameless and upright is this.  I am clothed with the righteousness of Christ.  I have everything I need in Christ, under the leading of the Holy Spirit to conduct myself in a way that is above reproach in the world.  One of those ways is to quit complaining and disputing. (Facebook ?) If I walk in a blameless way, I will shine as a light in the world.  This is important - ESPECIALLY important - if I believe I am living in a crooked and twisted culture, which I do. 

 

Jesus told us in The Sermon on the Mount to be salty salt and unhidden light. 

 Sprinkling and Twinkling 

And as usual, I ask God to help me.

The Tongue - Week 6

   "I have purposed that my mouth will not transgress."

Psalm 17:3b  (ESV)

One of my favorite words is "intentionality."  We do many things in life with intention, don't we?  One of my first intentions every day is to get up on time.  Sometimes this happens, and sometimes it doesn't.  My first intention once I am awake and out of bed is to get coffee.  Now that is an intention I live by!

Purposing to do or not do something, especially when it comes to the tongue sounds easy enough!  But as we saw in the first lesson on the tongue from the book of James, the tongue is far from easy to control.  If we want to get a mastery over our tongue, it is going to take a lot of purposing in our mind and heart that we will only use our tongue to bless.

A couple chapters later in the Psalms we find a passage that could become the actual intention for us to say, write, pray and meditate on:

Let the words of my mouth

and the meditation of my heart
    be acceptable in your sight,
    O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

Psalm 19:14

If you have a problem with your mouth, like I do, do you think it would be helpful to pray this verse each morning?  Maybe when you are doing something with your mouth in the morning, like brushing your teeth, you could repeat these words.  Just typing this makes me want to write them out and put them on my bathroom mirror.

Can you think of any other ways to help yourself not sin with your mouth? Leave ideas in the comments below.  Thanks for sharing. 

We Interrupt This Program to Bring You a Special Announcement

For the last few weeks I have been doing some elementary lessons (easy to understand, not necessarily easy to do) on The Tongue.  Yesterday I was doing a page out of a book for a discussion I will be having with Linda and possibly Patti on Saturday morning and I had a small epiphany.  For me the epiphany was small BUT the implications for myself and others are huge.  Here goes.....

There are three things going on in these two short verses.  In the first phrase, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation,"  There is a "do not" and a "but."  Do not be anxious, but instead do the following. We may say, "But it is human to worry."  Of course it is.  Thankfully we are not at the mercy of our human-ness.  How do I know that?  Because of what the rest of the phrase says.  We are not to be anxious about anything but instead if we do get anxious we are to do the something that will follow, and we are to do it in every situation.  (You know how when you are aguing with someone you are not supposed to say "you always" "you never?"  Those words are like the words "anything" and "every" here, only now is the perfect time to use them because the writer is about to give the reader a remedy that works every time.

This leads me to the second idea.  Every time we feel anxious about anything, we are to bring the situation to God.  With thanksgiving in our hearts, we are to pour out our requests to Him.  

What is a command without a promise?  Here is the third point.  "And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus."  One version I read said "thoughts" instead of "mind."  I like that even more.

Bottom line.  When we have what feels like an impossible, thought consuming situation, we need to tell God about it and He will give us His peace by guarding our hearts and thoughts from the anxiety.

I thought long and hard about this yesterday and came to the conclusion that this is indeed a great exchange.  My worry for God's peace.  I thought about the only other time I've heard a term like "great exchange" in the Bible and it always had to do with Jesus dying in our place and giving us eternal life.  We deserve death and Jesus took that penalty for us and not only that, He gives us eternal life.  That truly is the biggest Biblical exchange with consequences for this life and the next - hard to wrap our brains around even with faith!

But what about this exchange in Philippians chapter four?  What if we never had to worry more than a few seconds about anything for the rest of our lives?  I believe that is how we can live if we trust and obey God according to this passage.  

Could this be the second greatest exchange in the Bible?  I challenge us to put God to the test as we trust and obey Him.

The Tongue - Week 5

The Tongue - Week 5

  "There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts, but

   the tongue of the wise brings healing."

Proverbs 12:18 (English Standard Version)

Since  my mouth has gotten me in more trouble than any other part of my body, I would have to say that I have said more hurtful words than I have received in my lifetime.  Oh, don't get me wrong.  I am not a name caller and I rarely raise my voice.  Both of those things have been done to me in relationships I have been in.  And that is no fun at all.  But how do the maybe 50 times that has happened compare to things I have said over the years to others about others? 

Trust me I am trying to improve my track record of "just telling it like it is" or as I have sometimes said, "I'm the reality girl."  I call them like I sees them. 

Over the years I have criticized people's choices of where to live, what to eat, how to dress, how many children to have, what school or not to send their kid to, what church to go to, how to spend money and how not to spend money.  I've been an expert on relationships, parenting, saving, how to spend leisure time, etc.  The list goes on.

I suppose my weighing in to people on how others live their lives definitely constitutes gossip.  Huge amounts of repentance needed on this count!

I wonder how people feel who have actually called people names.  I have been on the receiving end and when they come from someone who claims to love you, well, all I can say is the Proverb above is definitely true.  The words are like stabs to the heart. 

I would like to challenge us this week to really examine our thoughts.  The Bible says to bring every thought captive to Christ.  II Corinthians 10:5 "We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ."

If are thoughts are captive to obey Christ, we will not have to worry about gossip and stabbing people with our words. 

If we are truly wise our words will bring healing to others.

The Tongue - Week 4

  "Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips."

Proverbs 27:2 (English Standard Version)

There are some very common sayings floating around in our world that no one seems to challenge.  Just this week I heard someone relaying a story about how they were telling someone from another country that they had to "sell themselves" in a job interview.  Sometimes there is a grain of truth in common sayings.  Of course one has to talk up accomplishments in a job interview.  The interviewer is looking for ways one stands out in the pack of applicants and truly there is no one else there to speak for you!  There is a time and place for that kind of selling of oneself.

Can you see any problems with the common assumptions below?  

"Toot your horn."

"Look out for number one."

"If I don't look out for me, who will?"

Push back against the spoken and unspoken assumptions of society.  No, you don't have to toot your own horn.  See the verse at the top of the page.  No, you don't have to look out for number one, because you know what?  You are not number one.  Surprise!  If I don't look out for me who will?  Really?  Do you not have a powerful, loving Heavenly Father?  Push back, people, there are a lot of assumptions out there that are crap.....to put it indelicately.

People will praise us.  Someone will shine a spotlight on us and it will feel good.  But be careful. There are a lot of verses in the Bible warning the reader against lips that flatter.  Flatterers have ulterior motives for praising you.  Good to know, right?  God help us to learn the difference between genuine praise / encouragement and flattery. 

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What does the Bible say we should be boasting about?

Jeremiah 9:23-24    English Standard Version (ESV)

²³ Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, ²⁴ but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.”

The Jeremiah passage speaks to what boasts should come out of our mouths.  Boast in God and what he has done in your life, seek to decrease while he increases in your thoughts and adoration.