Cornerstonekaty

God's Justice is Good News

Nahum 1:1-15

Nahum is a difficult book. It is prophecy against Ninevah, the capital of Assyria and it describes the devastating power of God aimed in judgment upon them. Ninevah fell in 612 BC, when the Assyrian empire fell to Babylon. That sets it apart from most of the prophets, which spoke of the looming destruction of Israel and Judah for being unfaithful to the covenant they had with God. Assyria’s crime was not of breaking the covenant, for they did not have one, but for plotting and acting against the Lord and his people. By the way, this does not mean that God is not also concerned for nations other than Israel. He is! Jonah’s message, roughly 100 years earlier which was also to Ninevah, prompted their repentance, which God accepted. But that time is past for Ninevah and God’s judgment looms over them. Nahum’s audience, instead, is Judah. And as it tells of Assyria’s destruction, it is presented as good news.

That, of course, opens to the door for ethical questions. Should we be celebrating the downfall of another? Should we rejoice in it?

The short answer is no and yes. No, we should not celebrate the downfall of anyone, no matter how bad their crime is. We are called to love our enemies and even to pray for those who persecute us. And that isn’t just a New Testament command. In Ezekiel 33:11 we find that God himself takes no delight in the death of the wicked.

And yet, we should celebrate the downfall of evil. That’s what Assyria represents when we consider Nahum as a picture of the eschatological judgment that God will bring upon his enemies.

This is a celebration of justice. With justice, God’s people are saved. This is why is it is good news! Without justice, there is no salvation. So let’s take a closer look at this justice.

A Ruler from Bethlehem

Micah 5:1-5

Micah is best known for this passage. When the Magi arrived in Jerusalem looking for “he who had been born king of the Jews” they went to Herod to find out. Of course, he didn’t know so he called the chief priests and scribes (the experts) to ask them. In response, they paraphrased this passage in Micah.

“ ‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’ ” (Matthew 2:6)

But why Bethlehem? There are several reasons for this which we can draw from Micah’s prophecy and all of them highlight the hope of Christmas: that light shines in the darkness. 
I love how CS Lewis sets the stage for his book, “The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe.” When Lucy first arrives in Narnia through the wardrobe, it is snowing and cold. While that might appeal to the winter lovers out there and there is a sense of beauty to newly fallen snow, it gets old after a prolonged period of time. It’s why people up North look forward summer. In Narnia, however, Lucy finds that it is always winter. The cold and the gloom persist day after day. And the worst part of all, It is “always winter and never Christmas” as Mr. Tumnus explains to Lucy. This is the backdrop of the real Christmas story. Israel is stuck in winter. The prophets don’t put it quite like that. Instead, they speak of Israel being in exile, living under a foreign ruler. But even as the prophets warn of this exile, they always end their prophecies with the hope that is Christmas. Jesus is coming and the long winter of exile will end.

And so we are invited to let this hope sink in. A look at Bethlehem provides us a window into this hope.

The Remnant of Edom

Amos 9:11-15

Amos was a prophet who lived near the end of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, similar to that of Hosea. His message was one of warning about the coming judgment of God upon the nation with a twofold goal: his prophecy was a warning and call to repentance, as well as a promise of hope for a better world.

We’re looking specifically at the messianic hope in this promise of a better world. This is the conclusion of his prophesy, a kingdom restored and flourishing. And it is also the heart of the gospel. It is the announcement that this kingdom has come. This was John the Baptist’s message:

“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 3:2)

Jesus announces his ministry,

“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” (Mark 1:15)

This is why the disciples were expecting Jesus to overthrow the Romans and restore the kingdom of Israel and confused when he talked of being put to death. Today, the gospel is so often discussed primarily in terms of Jesus’ atoning work on the cross (which is also very good news) that we forget the bigger picture of what God is doing. His going to the cross was the means to building this future kingdom where justice and righteousness reign and there is great human flourishing.
The prophecy of Amos helps us to see how we will get there.

The Bad, the Bold, and Beautiful

Hosea 3:1-5

According to James Boice, this is the greatest chapter in the Bible. Why would he say such a thing? Hosea, like many prophets, has a very hard—and strange—calling. He was told to go and marry a wife of whoredom. This goes against good sense and certainly doesn’t fit Paul’s instruction to the Corinthians to not be unequally yoked. So, why is he told to do this and what has this to do with our messianic hope? So much!

Hosea is told in chapter 1,

When the Lord first spoke through Hosea, the Lord said to Hosea, “Go, take to yourself a wife of whoredom and have children of whoredom, for the land commits great whoredom by forsaking the Lord.” (Hosea 1:2)

Hosea wasn’t given this command as a model for the rest of us. He was given this command as part of his prophetic role. His marriage was a living parable of God’s marriage to Israel. He is not the only prophet to have his marriage serve as a parable. If you will recall, Ezekiel’s relationship with his wife also served as a parable. On the day Jerusalem fell, Ezekiiel’s wife died. It was a sign to the people of Israel that just as the delight of Ezekiel’s eyes was taken away, so would Jerusalem be taken away. Isaiah also followed God’s command with regard to his wife that would serve in part of his prophetic message.

Back to Hosea. His marrage to a woman of whoredom was a visual lesson to the people of Israel that they might understand their own relationship with God. After all, marrage is often the image that God uses to describe his relationship to his people. For example,

For your Maker is your husband, the Lord of hosts is his name; and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer, the God of the whole earth he is called. (Isaiah 54:5)

In addition, the Song of Solomon, while likely a historical account, is included in the Bible to serve as a type of the relationship that would exist between God and his people. So that’s a familiar connection.

What is not so expected, however, is the pain in such a marriage. (Ezekiel uses similar language in his prophecies, but he writes later than Hosea.)

So what do we learn about our relationship with God? As we look at this relationship, we see a depth to God’s covenant love for his bride. It is an incredible love story when we begin to see this love unfold.

So what do we see about this love?

Biblical Womanhood

1 Timothy 2:8-15

When I was originally thinking about this topic, my mind went to the passage in Proverbs 31, listed in your bulletin. It is an excellent explanation of a godly woman. And we will look at it this morning. But as I pressed more into the topic, another text seems more to the point. It is a controversial text, and often disdained by modern, secular people. It’s one of those texts that you read and say, “what did he just say?” because it seems so condescending when read through a modern lens.

The text I’m talking about is 1 Timothy 2:8-15.

 

This week we will look at Covenant femininity. It wraps up the last 3 weeks as we are considering some of the unique equalities and differences between men and women and looking at some reasons for those differences. The simple truth is that men and women are different by design, and that design contributes to the development and glory of God’s kingdom.

Unfortunately, these differences have become the subject of much controversy. There are a lot of reasons for this historically, such as the evolution of technology, philosophical shifts, and cultural changes. As much as these factors have shaped the controversy, the core problem is simply our corrupt nature, which would seek to use these differences to gain an advantage rather than serve each other.

Biblicical Masculinity

1 Corinthians 16:13-14

In light of our cultural climate, taking a look at what the Bible says about masculinity is in order. So what do we find? Simply put, there are times when masculinity is the God-given trait for defending and advancing the kingdom of God.

Covenant Equality

Galatians 3:28-29

When I set out to do a series on the Covenant family, I wanted to offer a practical guide for families and their place in kingdom living. That’s why we looked first at Genesis 17 to see how God’s plan of redemption revolved around the family, and the promises of that redemption flowed through families. Then we turned to the covenant relationship between a husband and wife to find that they have different, but complementary roles within that structure that God ordained as a means of maturing in Christ likeness. You’ll have to go back and listen to those sermons for the details. Then we looked at the responsibility of parents in the training of their children to become inheritors of these great promises. (This is an absolutely critical teaching that is often forgotten even in the church today. Too many assume that it is the church’s responsibility to train their children and want to leave a church when they don’t like the way the church is or isn’t doing that. While the church is called to equip families to train their children, it is primarily the parents’ role to train their children.)

This morning we turn to look more closely at the differences between men and women within the covenant. I think this is an important topic given the great amount of tension and disagreement that exists within our culture and even within the church on it.

That tension is felt within our own denomination and these verses have been at the center of it. The two sides have come to be known as egalitarian and complementarian. The reason this verse is at the center of it is because of the equality now present between men and women with regard to the covenant promises. Egalitarians argue that this equality has implications that extend to who can hold office in the church. Complementarians argue that this equality falls within a particular context central to the larger argument Paul is making. So, who is right?

The point Paul is making is this: Because Christ has ushered in the New Covenant, all believers are heirs of the Kingdom!

So, why is this so important and how does this help in our understanding of men and women?

A Refuge, a River, and a Ruler

Psalm 46

Discipleship in the Home

Deuteronomy 6:4-9

We began this series talking about the covenant God made with Abraham and how the promises of that covenant were not for him alone but also for his children and his children’s children. God would make him into a great nation through whom all the nations of the world would be blessed. When the promise is first given, we aren’t told how this blessing would come through Abraham’s offspring, only that it would. It is the New Testament that makes explicit that the ultimate fulfillment of that promise would come through Christ. 

Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, “And to your offspring,” who is Christ. (Galatians 3:16)

(which means, by the way, that Christ, not the modern-day Israel, is the source of blessing. Instead of saying, “those who bless Israel will be blessed,” we should be saying, “those who bless Christ will be blessed.”)

But in the time leading up to Christ, Israel as a whole prefigured the work that Christ would do on behalf of the nations.

Keep them and do them, for that will be your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’ For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as the Lord our God is to us, whenever we call upon him? And what great nation is there, that has statutes and rules so righteous as all this law that I set before you today? (Deuteronomy 4:6–8)

Israel, as a nation, would bring blessing to the world by showing the glory of a culture and society with God as their God. Given this calling, you can see how vital it is for God’s people to live out their faith by keeping God’s commands, for only in keeping them would this be evident to the world. Jesus explains this as fundamental to kingdom living in the Sermon on the Mount when he says,

 “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet. “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 5:13–16)

This is a big part of why there is such emphasis on keeping God’s commandments. (It’s not the only reason or even the first. The first is because God himself is holy and we are made to reflect His image as we live in relationship with Him). 

Put another way, Moses writes,

Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ (Exodus 19:5–6)

So, if Israel is to be a kingdom set apart, keeping faith is essential, and the family structure is God’s instrument to train up the future generations to keep God’s commands and be this light of the world.

He established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers to teach to their children, that the next generation might know them, the children yet unborn, and arise and tell them to their children, so that they should set their hope in God and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments; (Psalm 78:5–7)

You cannot start soon enough, which is why that sign of the covenant was applied to infants. It reminds us of who these children are to become.

Our children are meant to inherit the Kingdom! So let us prepare them. So, how do we do this?

The Covenant Marriage

Ephesians 5:21-32

Marriage is foundational to accomplish God’s design. It was the first human relationship that man experienced in God’s creation. So even before considering marriage within the context of God’s covenant of grace, we see it’s importance in the purpose of our creation.

There are three mandates that define man’s purpose according to the creation account:

• the spiritual mandate, in that he is created as a reflection of God to walk in relationship with God,
• the social mandate, in that God created a woman for the man with whom he would have companionship and a partner suitable for
• the cultural mandate, to fill the earth and subdue it, exercising dominion over the creatures.

So the marriage relationship is foundational to our ultimate purpose in creation. That affects every marriage, regardless of whether you are a follower of Christ or not.
So as we consider marriage within a covenant family, we are considering what it means in addition to our original design, given our new identity, our future inheritance, and our obligation within the covenant.

To tackle this, we’re looking at a classic text preached at many Christian weddings. It provides a beautiful picture of how the husband and wife are to relate to each other in light of the relationship between Jesus and his bride, the church.

In this text we see the blueprint for a beautiful marriage, which is a blessing to the couple, the family, and the world. So, what do we see that make