Bible Tuesday for Sunday, August 10th, 2014

1 Kings 19:9-18

At that place he came to a cave, and spent the night there.

Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?’ 10He answered, ‘I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away.’

11 He said, ‘Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.’ Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; 12and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer silence. 13When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. Then there came a voice to him that said, ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?’ 14He answered, ‘I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away.’ 15Then the Lord said to him, ‘Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus; when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael as king over Aram. 16Also you shall anoint Jehu son of Nimshi as king over Israel; and you shall anoint Elisha son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah as prophet in your place. 17Whoever escapes from the sword of Hazael, Jehu shall kill; and whoever escapes from the sword of Jehu, Elisha shall kill. 18Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.’

The term “burned out” is not used in the Bible, nor is “sick and tired”, or “I quit!” But all of these apply to Elijah at the end of his prophecy career. If you read the earlier chapters in 1 Kings, you will read about Elijah’s faithful service to God and the Israelites, and how King Ahaz and Queen Jezebel loathed and feared him. While Elijah had a couple moments of acceptance by the Israelites (God’s defeat of the prophets of Baal in chapter 18), by and large he was vilified, scoffed at, and rejected. Elijah seemed to handle his outcast roll just fine until Queen Jezebel put a price on his head and soldiers were dispatched to bring him to her dead or alive. That caused Elijah’s meltdown, as told in this Sunday’s text.

Elijah gets to actually talk to God! God comes looking for him! and asks him, “What are you doing?”! How we yearn for that kind of intimacy with God and that kind of affirmation of this God, this Faith in which we struggle to believe!

Here is what I love about this story. Elijah kvetches at God even as that still, small voice raises the hairs on the back of his neck, and God listens to him and takes seriously what he is saying. God does not send Elijah back into the fray with a “Win one for the ol’ Gipper” speech. No! God allows Elijah to retire and sets up a replacement. Not only that, but God foretells Elijah how the wicked will be punished so all his suffering and prophesying will not be in vain. Then, in the next chapter, instead of seating Elijah in a recliner with a remote in his hand and a beer at his elbow in his new retirement condo, God takes Elijah to heaven straight away on a chariot of fire to further protect and reward him. Wow! Did God take Elijah’s suffering seriously!

Psalm 85:8-13

I will listen to what God the Lord says;
he promises peace to his people, his faithful servants—
but let them not turn to folly.
9 Surely his salvation is near those who fear him,
that his glory may dwell in our land.

10 Love and faithfulness meet together;
righteousness and peace kiss each other.
11 Faithfulness springs forth from the earth,
and righteousness looks down from heaven.
12 The Lord will indeed give his bounty,
and our land will yield its harvest.
13 Righteousness goes before him
and prepares the way for his steps.

This psalm was written either just before or just after the Israelites returned to Israel from captivity. The Israelites to have lived for better than 1000 years believing that they were impervious to defeat and degradation because of God’s promise to them once he freed them from Egyptian bondage. Yet here they find themselves, having just served better than 70 years in captivity, returning to a land that looked like Dresden after it was bombed. How do the Israelites continue to put faith in God and God’s covenant with them? The prophets of that time write that the Babylonian exile was their own fault. God called to them and called to them and warned them and warned them but they did not listen. Here the psalmist warns that while God is faithful to his covenant with Israel, the Israelites better not “turn to folly,” or it will happen all over again.

The psalm is given rubrics “For the leader of the Korahites, a psalm.” The Korahites were descended from a certain line of Levites and had special singing duties in Temple worship services. The term “bounty” refers to rain.

Romans 10:5-15

5 Moses writes concerning the righteousness that comes from the law, that ‘the person who does these things will live by them.’ 6But the righteousness that comes from faith says, ‘Do not say in your heart, “Who will ascend into heaven?” ’ (that is, to bring Christ down) 7‘or “Who will descend into the abyss?” ’ (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). 8But what does it say?
‘The word is near you,
on your lips and in your heart’
(that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); 9because* if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved. 11The scripture says, ‘No one who believes in him will be put to shame.’ 12For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all who call on him. 13For, ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’

14 But how are they to call on one in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in one of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone to proclaim him? 15And how are they to proclaim him unless they are sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!’

In this passage, Paul continues his two fold argument of how righteousness by faith in Jesus is different than righteousness by adherence to the Old Testament Law or Torah. Verses 6 & 7 are quotes from the Old Testament. The point of those verses is that, unlike other Middle Eastern religions, it is not necessary to go find the word of God in heaven or the depths, but rather God is present, immediate, and that Jesus is God’s ultimate expression of this. Therefore, righteousness is believing and trusting in Jesus, God in the flesh.

Verses 14-15 are a call to evangelism. How can people know God: Father, Son, and Spirit, if no one tells them. The audience hearing this letter to the congregation in Rome is both Jew and Gentile. The Jews need this message to come to know Jesus as Lord and Christ. The Gentiles need this message to come to know God: Father, Son, and Spirit, as the only real God. Paul encourages them all to go forth and proclaim this to the entire city of Rome.

Matthew 14:22-33

22 Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. 23And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, 24but by this time the boat, battered by the waves, was far from the land,* for the wind was against them. 25And early in the morning he came walking towards them on the lake. 26But when the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified, saying, ‘It is a ghost!’ And they cried out in fear. 27But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, ‘Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.’

28 Peter answered him, ‘Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.’ 29He said, ‘Come.’ So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came towards Jesus. 30But when he noticed the strong wind,* he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, ‘Lord, save me!’ 31Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, ‘You of little faith, why did you doubt?’32When they got into the boat, the wind ceased. 33And those in the boat worshipped him, saying, ‘Truly you are the Son of God.’

This text follows directly on the heels of last weeks’ text, the feeding of the 5,000. What is the meaning of “Immediately [Jesus] made the disciples into the boat and go on ahead…while he dismissed the crowds.”? The other three gospels also relay this story, one of which says that the crowds tried to make Jesus king and he fled from them. There are a couple things going on here. One, the crowds got free food and are very willing to nab this golden goose for future exploitation. Two, Jesus originally fled the crowds trying to keep his presence a little more under the radar so as to have more time with his disciples before his own arrest and execution. The more the crowds call attention to him, the fewer days Jesus has before he is arrested.

Now, at last, the crowds dissipate, the disciples are traveling on ahead, and Jesus gets quiet, private time to pray, grieve, assess, and rest. But why not just meet up with the disciples at the next preaching location? Why walk on water? Jesus doesn’t have to prove anything, does he?

The writer of the gospel of Matthew is really focused on Jesus being the new Moses, the giver of a new law. When the Israelites are in the wilderness, remember that God provides water from a rock, and manna and quail from the sky; unlike other Middle Eastern gods, Yahweh/God is master of all elements and animals: water, quail, bread from heaven using Moses as the prophet of all these miracles. In last week’s and this week’s gospels, Jesus is shown to be master of food (bread and fish), and now water. Unlike Moses who is the intermediary for God, Jesus is God himself.

Not only is Jesus master of the food, water, and weather, but Jesus’ mastery can be conveyed to his disciples. Peter is empowered to walk on the water by having faith in Jesus.