If You Are Going to Obey God, Expect Him to Punish You

A few weeks ago, a young man (I will call him “Martin”) told me he went to church on Sunday morning. Martin hadn’t initially planned to do so. In the age of lockdown and pandemic panic, it has become easy to “attend” church online. This individual was young, strong, healthy, and did not have much fear of Covid-19. But he did have an inclination to stay in his room and in his pajamas all morning. So Martin “went” online to watch the service at the church in another state—a church in which he had been raised.

As it happened that particular Sunday, the sermon was focused on the importance and blessing of local Christian community and worship. That message affected Martin so that he got dressed, left his room, and went to his local church service.

Where he was tormented by a bad sermon.

Whether Martin was right or wrong about the sermon is something that I will leave aside. The way he described it, I tended to agree with him. Maybe you would not. Or maybe his description was inaccurate. But assume for the moment that Martin was correct: What should I tell him? What do you tell someone who obeys God and, because of that obedient deed, has a horrible experience?

The words came out of my mouth before I could think to stop myself:

“Martin, God often punishes us for obeying him.”

Solomon’s Wisdom Explains Why Neera Tanden Won’t Be Confirmed

(Originally posted on March 9, 2021 at Townhall.com)

Last week Team Biden withdrew the nomination of Neera Tanden as Director of the Office of Management and Budget. The media reported that she would be appointed to another position in the Administration, just not one requiring Senate approval. This is a political story but it is a lesson for many of us in our financial and other life endeavors. Tanden had offended enough Senators through her Twitter account that she failed to gain majority support.

While the right of free speech seems simple, it’s actually quite complex. A guarantee that the civil government will not punish you for anything you say may be significant, but it also may induce a false sense of security. If everyone in society is free to respond to your words, then unpopular speech could have serious consequences without government reprisals of any kind or without any violence at all. Letting one’s faith in government passivity induce euphoric utterances without care or caution would mean ignoring other consequences.

Jesus Won the Crown of Thorns

Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the governor’s headquarters, and they gathered the whole battalion before him. And they stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” And they spit on him and took the reed and struck him on the head. And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes on him and led him away to crucify him.
Matthew 27:27–31 ESV

On one level, the crown of thorns was simply a torture device that served the additional purpose of humiliating Jesus. The soldiers wanted both to mock Jesus and to cause him pain. But the Gospels indicate that something more was going on. Pontius Pilate planned his inscription on the cross, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews” (John 19:19), to be nothing more than a humiliation of the Judeans before Rome. But the declaration on the cross in three languages was also a providential proclamation of the Gospel.

Building a Better Future

[I wrote this last year but never published it.]

***

We all want a better future. We want to see progress. We hope the next generation will prosper more than we did.

But how much control do we have over what the future looks like?

I ask this because it is common to view human history as an ongoing construction project and certain visionary famous persons as architects in that process.

But then Solomon kills the mood:

James & the Unity of Wisdom Literature

If you are tempted to think that Proverbs, Job, and Ecclesiastes contain different views of wisdom, perhaps you should consider the epistle of James. I appeal to James several times in my book, Solomon Says, because James says a lot about wisdom.

Deuteronomy, Exile, & God’s Transformation Agenda

A generic “Calvinist” reading of Deuteronomy is straightforward: At the time that Moses preached the text to Israel either many were unfaithful or following generations soon would be. This unfaithfulness can be best be understood as involving a large number of unregenerate Israelites. But Deuteronomy promises that God will one day cause Israel to be faithful, which probably means He will regenerate many of the Israelites at that time and in some number of subsequent generations.

Instead of a post about Jerry Bowyer’s new book on Jesus’ Economics!

I am categorizing this book under “Solomon Says” instead of creating a “Gospels” category for reasons that may become clear in a later post…

Why did Jesus tell a senator to sell all he had, commend similar behavior by a repentant tax collector, and overturn the temple money changers, but never say anything to the wealthy merchant Josephus and defend the Mary/Martha/Lazarus estate from Judas’ accusations?

This interview is excellent! You need to listen to it.

I have been wanting to review this valuable book, but this podcast interview is better and more dazzling than anything I could write!

Here is the podcast website.

One Reason the Law is a Path to Wisdom

This is from the out of print book The Law of the Covenant: An Exposition of Exodus 21-23 by James B. Jordan.

Hebrew law is public and addressed to all. Increasingly in our modern world, law has become a complicated, esoteric matter which can be understood only by lawyers. This is a trend away from Hebrew-Christian law, which is simple and public. In the ancient world, both cultic and judicial laws were often hidden from the people, but in Israel the law was to be read to everyone, every seven years (Deuteronomy 31:10-13). Moreover, since the law is addressed to everybody, not just to rulers and Priests (indeed, Israel was a “nation of priests”), ” everyone is held personally responsible for the observance of the law. This leads, in turn, to the concept of individual and joint responsibility. No longer is it the sole concern of the leader of the community ( e g, the king in Mesopotamia) to maintain justice and to protect the rights of his community. This responsibility is now shared by every member of the society…” [M. Shalom Paul, studies in the book of the Covenant in the light of cuneiform and Biblical Law. Supplements so Vetus Testamentum XVIII (Leiden: E. J. Brill), p. 38].
Because God’s law is publicly addressed to everyone, it has a strongly pedagogical (teaching) function. Thus… Israelite law differs from heathen law and that it has motivations included in it…
page 71

Speaking Cheerful Words & Talking to Yourself

In Ephesians, Paul devotes a large section of that letter telling Christians how they ought to talk to one another. Other behavior is also in view from 4:25 on, but he keeps returning speech habits and customs climaxing in a passage that pivots from general morality to specific relationships:

…Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ, wives to your own husbands…
Ephesians 5:17-22a (Mostly ESV)

Paul’s reference to not being foolish, goes with what he just wrote about being careful to behave wisely (v. 16) and makes us think of Proverbs (especially on THIS blog). “Anxiety in a man’s heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad. “(Proverbs 12:25 ESV). Paul is basically exhorting the Christian congregation to speak good words to one another.

The “Magic” Of New Year’s Resolutions

This is the time of year for the diet, fitness, and financial industries to advertise for a new crop of customers. Most will use the “superstition” of New Year’s resolutions as a draw. But some will have too much integrity, and, while they will offer their services for 2021, they will make a point of conceding there is nothing magical about a New Year’s resolution.

I disagree. While I understand that people are trying to be honest and helpful when they deny the magic of resolutions, when they work it does indeed seem like magic.