Exodus 12:14-13:17a, Matthew 20:29-21:22, Psalms 25:12-22, Proverbs 6:12-15
Today is the 31st day of January. And, so, we know what that means. We’ll be concluding our first full month of the year together today, which is an important mile marker. You’ve made it this far. And if you’ve made it this far then you can make it through the next month. And at this point, that’s really where to focus, day after day, step-by-step, week after week, and a month comes. And we cross over these thresholds of months and we can look back over the last month and say, yeah, this has been good for me, making this rhythm, taking just this little space out of my day to focus my attention away from all of the things that are stirring, and center myself. And it’s doing something inside. So, well done. We’re going to complete our first month together for this year. And in the Old Testament we’re in the middle of some drama, which has been pretty much the norm. A lot has been going on in the context, for the stories that are in the Bible are starting to emerge and become apparent. We’re starting to know who people are, we’re starting to know where these places are. So, the children of Israel have just gone through…well…Egypt has just gone through some’s pretty severe plagues, very severe plagues, and they’re about to be set free. Exodus chapter 12 verse 14 through 13:16 today. And we’re reading from the English standard version this week.
Commentary:
Okay. So, as we end this month together, we encounter what I find to be one of the most compelling verses of Scripture in the Bible. And that is from the book of Psalms. ‘The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear Him, and He makes known to them His covenant. And this passage has always compelled me, intrigued me, because it’s one of the only places in Scripture that this level of intimacy is stated so starkly. And I’ve always found it tremendously encouraging. Like, this is available. We can be friends of God. Right? So, it’s very encouraging. I am a friend of God. He calls me friend. We’ll sing those kinds of songs. So, it’s like, yay, God is my friend. But today, when we read this passage from Psalm 25, it kind of stopped me in my tracks. So, the truth is I finished reading the Psalms and then I read the Proverbs and it’s been an hour and half since then, because I’ve been walking in circles in my office talking to God about our friendship. And as can be at times with me, there’s plenty of existential angst involved and just wondering conversation. So, I do a couple of laps around the office and go back to the screen and look at this passage of Scripture and do a few more laps around office, come back and read it again, because I think if I had to name my number one desire, spiritually in my life, it would be that, friendship with the Lord. So, for some reason today I’m like, okay, I have to wrestle this to the ground. I need to know what we’re talking about here. So, I did what I do a lot, I’ll go back into the original languages, trying to get back to the original intent. And, so, I’m starting out with fear. Friendship of the Lord is for those who fear Him. What are we talking about here? And usually, you know, when the fear of the Lord is discussed…and believe me…the fear of the Lord is throughout the whole Bible…we kind of move away from actual fear, like being afraid, and more toward awe, reverence, because that truly is a part of it. So, we leave it there because It’s just cleaner. Right? The fear of the Lord is just being in awe of him, having reverence for Him. That’s just cleaner than being afraid. But being cautious and afraid is a part of this word. So, I’m doing a couple more laps around the office trying to think of a time that I’ve been cautious, and afraid, and reverent, and in awe, all at the same time, because there’s been plenty of times I’ve of been in awe of something, including God, or wonder. There have been times where I have been reverent, very reverent, and certainly, there have been plenty of times that I’ve been afraid, lots and lots of times. But when have I ever felt all of those things at once? I’m sure if I circle the office for another hour and a half, I could find places in my life where I’ve experienced all of those things, but the one thing that came to mind was the birth of my children, especially the birth of my firstborn son, Tyler. Right? Because everything had changed. I had become a father. And I was in awe. I was experiencing wonder. I was reverent. But I was afraid. And I experienced this in varying degrees with all five of my kids. So, I’m doing laps around my office trying to conjure that up, like, remember what that felt like, all of those things, all at the same time. And I began to realize, I’m not sure that’s ever really going away. When the kids get older they mature, the grow up. Right? So, you have a whole different set of fears and anxieties and wonder and reverence and awe. But I’m not sure it ever really goes away. I mean, you raise kids and sometimes you are in awe in a negative way, like, you cannot believe they did this or that. But I’m not sure never really goes away. So, then I started thinking, is that how I feel about God? Because friendship with God is for those who fear Him. So, I do some more laps around the office and I’m just talking. God, I can think of lots of times in my life when I’ve been afraid of You. Lots. And I can just feel Him in the in the silence of the room as I walk, almost as if to say, go on. And I find myself confessing, I think I’m always a little afraid of You, because frankly, I don’t know how to quantify You. There is nothing to which I can compare You. I have no reference point. You’re too big. You’re too great. You’re too strong. You’re too everywhere in all things. I don’t know how to…I don’t know how to get my mind around it. I don’t know how to reach out and touch it. And sometimes that leads me to doubt, because sometimes I think I’m talking to everything and nothing at the same time. I’m just, in those times, choosing, making a choice to believe, even if I can’t see or feel or anything. I choose to believe. And then I come back to the screen again and read the passage. Friendship with God is for those who fear Him. And like friendship and fear don’t usually go together. Like, those aren’t usually the words put together. Like, I’m not afraid of my friends. So, I’m doing laps on that one. I swear I’ve walked a couple of miles. But this becomes stark to me because I start thinking, I’m not sure I’m all that great of a friend. I mean, partly because I’m an introvert. I know, I’m in front of this mic every single day of my life, and I know I’m hearing you hear me talk and we’re talking to each other, but the reality is, I get to do this by myself. I’m naturally an introverted thinker. And most of my life is in my head. So, I’m doing laps on that. And I begin to realize all intimacy has an element of fear involved. Not the superficial kind of transactional relationships that we normally have and call friendships. Rather, true intimacy. I’m not talking like sexual intimacy or anything like that…just intimacy itself. Because intimacy itself requires risk. Like, you can’t go there without risk. And what is being risked it’s that we can get crushed. And we’ve probably all been crushed. So, once that happens, you kind of learn your lesson and then you go into other relationships with that guard up. And, so, then we have varying levels of friendship. So, I come back to the screen and looking at this word, friendship. What kind of friendship is God talking about here in this psalm. And, so, I go back to these words and the kind of friendship being described here is like a circle. Like you’re inside of an unbroken circle. You’re a part of a council. It’s a fellowship. It is intimate and secret. And, so, I get back up and start walking again, realizing the kind of fear that I experienced at the birth of my children, the awe and reverence and overwhelming fear that I don’t have what it takes to do this is quite different than the telegraphed fear that we take in as a guard into relationships. The kind of fear that were talking about in the Psalms as a relates to friendship with God is all consuming, because you’re risking everything. You’re risking your entire identity. You’re risking your heart even when you can’t see. You’re risking your heart even when you can’t feel it. And you’re swearing allegiance unto death, which is a fearful, awesome, wondrous, reverent thing to do. The image that comes to my mind is of a knight kneeling with his sword facing the ground out in front of him before his king, swearing allegiance to protect the king and the kingdom, the king’s name and all of his interests with honor until death. Come what may. And there’s no going back from that. This is what is required to be in a circle of friendship with God. And, so, we could cut here to a scene, you know, where the armies are riding out, the banners are flying before them, the swords are held high, everything, you know, it’s just this wonderful thing that’s inspiring, because we’d like those kinds of inspiring images, but I think it’s far less about that and far more about staying true when the fog of life is so thick that you could cut it with a sword. Staying true in depression is overwhelming. Staying true when anxiety is taking your breath away. Staying true when everything feels like it’s crumbling. And I know. I hear your calls. I travel. I know. There’s a lot of depression and anxiety in the world today. And lest you think those things never, never knock on my door, that’s not the case. I know what it feels like to be under a cloud. I know what anxiety is like. But isn’t it in those times that we want God to be our friend, but we’re not being much of a friend ourselves, because the anxieties are like hooks in our flesh, pulling us in so many directions that nothing is making sense. And I did some laps around the office on that and kind of came to what we tell each other in these kinds of times. Well, when I am weak He is strong. But then I started confessing, God when am I not week? Especially compared to you, when am I not week? And then I felt the words bubbling up out from my heart. When am I not strong son? And I felt fear and I felt awe and I felt reverence. And I circled back to the screen again to read that verse in its context. Who is the man who fears the Lord? Him he will he instruct in the way that he should choose. His soul shall abide in well-being and his offspring shall inherit the land. The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear Him, and He makes it known to them is covenant. And doesn’t that address most of our anxieties and fears? Isn’t most of our anxiety and fear about choices that we have to make, the well-being of our soul, and hope for our offspring? And all of the sudden we have a passage of Scripture that is all-encompassing, that is touching everything about us, that is addressing our fears and inviting us rather than giving our allegiance to that, that we might swear our allegiance to God. The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear Him, and He makes known to them his covenant. And what is his covenant? It’s His promise. And what is His promise? That He will never leave us. That He will never abandon us. That He’s got us and nothing can take us away from Him. Nothing. This word covenant, this is way more than just a promise. It’s like a treaty. It’s an instrument that makes allies. God is saying, He will be our ally. He will bring us into the circle of friendship if we will simply swear the allegiance to Him that He has given to us. And that should evoke fear and wonder and awe and reverence, because there is no one else that can make that guarantee. There is no one else can make that promise. God is too big, to strong, to everywhere, to everything, for us to fully comprehend, and as near as our next breath. So, if we’re going to fear, may we fear God. And if we want to be the friend of God, if we actually want true intimacy, then we’re going to have to risk it all and be willing to be a friend to God and not just a taker.
Prayer:
Father, the idea that we can be intimate allies with one another, that we can be in a circle of friendship with one another, certainly describes the longing of our hearts. And we see that Your offering this kind of friendship, but we’re also seeing that it’s all or nothing. A part-time relationship where we get to hook up with whoever we want, that’s not what You’re looking for. You’re looking for sworn allegiance because that’s what You’re giving to us. And we acknowledge, Jesus, that You invited us to count the cost, to understand what we were getting ourselves into, that there would be no going back. And yet Lord, we’ve certainly tried. We’ve walked out of the relationship plenty of times. We’ve stepped out on You plenty of times and you’ve stayed true. You’ve stayed true when we haven’t stayed true and that’s because we’ve lost sight, we’ve lost the plot of our story. Life has come in and flattened and confused us. And rather than running to You, our ally, we’ve run away from you and we’re sorry. We’re sorry for thinking that this relationship is about you answering prayers and that’s it, this transaction. We ask You for something and You do it. We confess that we haven’t been a good friend and we’re sorry. So, we invite Your Holy Spirit in this moment to reunite us. We don’t want another moment of our lives to pass that You are not invited into and that You are not a part of. And, so, Father, we are beginning a conversation right now, but we have lots to talk about and we invite your Holy Spirit to lead us into intimacy and friendship with You. Come, Jesus. We pray in Your name. Amen.
Song:
Matt Redmon
One thing my heart is set upon
One thing that I would ask
To know You, Lord, as close as one
Could hope to on this earth
Intimacy
O Jesus, intimacy
My treasure will be, O Jesus
Your intimacy
To look upon Your beauty, Lord
Your glory and Your heart
To know You close, and closer still
Watch day upon this earth
Intimacy
O Jesus, intimacy
My treasure will be, O Jesus
Your intimacy
Lord, since the day I saw You first
My soul was satisfied
And yet because I see in part
I’m searching, more to find
Intimacy
O Jesus, intimacy
My treasure will be, O Jesus
Your intimacy
Intimacy
O Jesus, intimacy
My treasure will be, O Jesus
Your intimacy
Intimacy
O Jesus, intimacy
My treasure will be, O Jesus
Your intimacy