Ancient Stories Speak God's Timeless Truth
Daily Scripture
Romans 15:3-4, 1 Corinthians 10:1-12
Romans 15
3 Christ didn’t please himself, but, as it is written, The insults of those who insulted you fell on me [Psalm 69:9]. 4 Whatever was written in the past was written for our instruction so that we could have hope through endurance and through the encouragement of the scriptures.
1 Corinthians 10
1 Brothers and sisters, I want you to be sure of the fact that our ancestors were all under the cloud and they all went through the sea. 2 All were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. 3 All ate the same spiritual food, 4 and all drank the same spiritual drink. They drank from a spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ. 5 However, God was unhappy with most of them, and they were struck down in the wilderness. 6 These things were examples for us, so we won’t crave evil things like they did. 7 Don’t worship false gods like some of them did, as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink and they got up to play [Exodus 32:6]. 8 Let’s not practice sexual immorality, like some of them did, and twenty-three thousand died in one day. 9 Let’s not test Christ, like some of them did, and were killed by the snakes. 10 Let’s not grumble, like some of them did, and were killed by the destroyer. 11 These things happened to them as an example and were written as a warning for us to whom the end of time has come. 12 So those who think they are standing need to watch out or else they may fall.
Daily Reflection & Prayer
The apostle Paul had as good a rabbinic education as was available in his day (cf. Acts 22:3). With no smart phone or laptop computer, he could link 5 passages from the Hebrew Scriptures to support an important point (cf. Romans 3:9-19). He consistently used the Scriptures to address the big inner questions of life’s origin and purpose. “Paul’s words substantiate the idea that the point of [Genesis’ stories] was not to teach history, or geology, but to teach us about God and God’s will for our lives.” *
- Pastor Hamilton said wise Bible reading requires something like “a kitchen colander or strainer, holding the important things while the less desirable are rinsed off.” One of the best “strainers,” he said, is “What is the heart, character, and will of God that Jesus reveals?” So, he ended, “Jesus… serves as the final Word by which other words of scripture are to be judged.” ** In what ways did Paul use that “strainer” principle in his choice of verses to guide first-century Christians?
- Paul identified specific traits the Bible can nurture in us: “So that we could have hope through endurance and through the encouragement of the scriptures.” Those are much bigger realities than just second-guessing specialists in science or history. In Pastor John Stott’s words, the Scriptures can help you look “beyond time to eternity, beyond present sufferings to future glory.” ** In what ways does the Bible help you strengthen your hope and build your spiritual endurance?
Prayer
Lord Jesus, lead my heart beyond theories, abstractions and rigid systems. Meet me as I come to the Bible and speak your life-giving word into my heart. Amen.
GPS Insights
Darren Lippe
Darren Lippe serves as a Couples Small Group co-leader & Men's Group Leader, while volunteering in a variety of other capacities at Resurrection. He and his wife, Doris, first met in a Resurrection Single Adult Sunday School class in 1997 and were married in what is now the Student Center. They are empty nesters with 2 college-aged sons, Matthew and Jacob.
Today’s passage re-caps the Israelites’ travails while wandering in the wilderness for 40 years. I started thinking that at some point there must have been a phone call to a 1-800 number to speak with their travel agent. It might have gone like this:
Good Morning. Thank you for calling M.A.P.S–the premier travel agency offering Monitoring, Assisting, & Pathing Services to travelers for over 50 years. I’m Garfield Mynn, your online concierge. Please call me Gar. To whom am I speaking?
Ravid? What a cool name. Oh, it means traveler? Then you called the right place. You are trying to help with the logistics of your land-only package as you prepare to enter the Promised Land. Okay. Let me pull up your account. Oh, yes, I see you are a Gold Medallion customer. Goodness, you’ve been traveling for 40 years. May I ask why didn’t you take advantage of the direct flight option?
Oh. Moses had sent out 12 scouts to the Promised Land & 10 said it was a scary place & the travel group lost faith in God & opted to turn away. As a result of canceling the original flight & not trusting in God, you’ve been flying stand-by for the past 40 years. Yikes. That’s a “3-hour Tour” gone bad. I can only imagine how many times you’ve heard the question, “Are we there, yet?”
Fortunately, I see where you had our premium food package. Manna & quail served 6 days a week? That’s pretty cool. Oh. Instead of being pleased with God providing food, the people began to complain & wonder why they bought those containers at Miriam’s Tupperware party when the food won’t even keep overnight. Ugh.
You know, if you had just asked, we could have sent an online cooking tutorial where you crumble the manna into breadcrumbs, coat the quail meat with the breading, & you have fantastic nuggets. Add in our patented Polynesian, Honey Mustard, or Zesty Buffalo Sauce & your crowd would have been in heaven. Of course, it would still only be available 6-days/week.
I see you also had a contract with the Yahweh Water Bottling Company: The Original Mineral Water provider of the Ancient World. Boy, that is pretty awesome to strike a rock & get water when traveling in the desert. Oh, that still didn’t stop the travel group from complaining & turning away from God? Oh my.
Ravid, looking at your account I see where with just an extra 12 shekels/month you can receive an AirTag to place on your luggage, like the Ark of the Covenant, so you don’t lose it. What? Oh, I suppose you’re right. How could you misplace something that important?
Anyway, the crowd also began to grumble about having to camp & de-camp 12 months/year, even in cold weather. I understand. I guess you could call the tour the “Winter of your Discon-tent,” right? No. I suppose that isn’t very funny.
That’s not the worst thing? While Moses went up to the top of Mount Sinai for 40-days to receive the 10 Commandments, the people lost all faith & became so freaked out that they created a Golden Calf to worship? That’s weird. Why a calf? Why not a knee or an ankle? Oh. The calf statuette may have been linked with cultic/pagan religions in the region. Yeah, I can see where that would really upset God & Moses.
So, what do you need from me, Ravid? You are helping Moses document the trip for his journal & you want to know how much detail you should write down?
Well, Ravid, I’d record everything for posterity. Travel journals are a fantastic way to remember the trips of yesteryear & the memories of each excursion. Don’t worry. Years later, readers will be careful to not get bogged down in the nitty-gritty details of the trip but rather see the journey’s broader themes. For example, in your travels readers would come to understand that disobeying God is going to have negative implications, or letting our fears get out of control can limit the promise & potential of our lives or prioritizing man-made idols/goals over Godly ideals will eventually end in disappointment.
Now, Ravid, do you need me to book some boarding tickets for your river cruise as you cross the River Jordan? No? Oh, your generation has learned to trust in God & you know that somehow/someway you’ll be able to cross the Jordan on dry land. Well done, Ravid! If you do need anything else, just give us a call & be sure to ask for Gar Mynn. Buh-bye.
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Scripture quotations are taken from The Common English Bible ©2011. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
References
* Hamilton, Adam, Making Sense of the Bible: Rediscovering the Power of Scripture Today (pp. 203-204). HarperCollins. Kindle Edition.
** Ibid., pp. 176- 177.
*** John Stott, The Message of Romans. Downers Grove, Illinois: Inter-Varsity Press, 1994, p. 371.
