July 18, 2024

GOD’S WORD FOR TODAY:

“‘See, the stone I have set in front of Joshua! There are seven facets on that one stone, and I will engrave an inscription on it,’ says the Lord Almighty, ‘and I will remove the sin of this land in a single day. And on that day each of you will invite your neighbor to sit under your vine and fig tree,’ declares the Lord Almighty.” (Zechariah 3.9, 10)

REFLECTION ON GOD’S WORD:

Let’s move for a moment from the “if/then” paradigm I have presented to you that exists in the course of God’s righteous instruction to an example such as is presented in Zechariah 3.9,10 of “then/therefore.” What a powerful prescription of righteousness God has for our wounded and weary heart, mind and soul! Yes, it is a prescription for each and every person on the face of the earth. It is a promise with a pursuit. I love the idea of pursuit when it comes to the expressions of God’s righteousness. You see, God is pursuing us as His children and as His people. But He is not running after us as if we are running away and He hopes to catch us and capture us. God pursues us in determined effect and affect; purpose and intention. God’s purpose is to bring us back to life with the intention to love us forever with a forever love. It has always been His intention but consciously humanity does not know that. Yet, there is something within each of us that is, as David called it in Psalm 42 “…a deep calling unto deep like thundering cataracts.” Have you ever been disturbed in your driving by an automobile whose musical beat is loud and low? We can hear the thumping and driving of it methodically and musically into our presence. Granted, we may most certainly not like the lyrics that generally accompanying it. We cannot ignore the reverberation of the “deep calling unto deep.” Now what if we stopped for a moment to consider the music as both an expression and a call of the human spirit for God? Certainly the lyrics may reject such a consideration as it resembled more the “human” statement of defining for itself which god it is pursuing. Think of a lost lamb trapped in a thicket over the edge of a ravine on a narrow jut of rock. The bleating of the Lamb is a cry of its lostness and a call for its “found-ness.” In that moment of transition, the lamb who was in pursuit of its own beat and its own way is now pursuing of a different beat and a different way. What it desires in that moment is a perfect peace which surpasses all understanding. What it knows is what it remembers as the safety of the shepherd’s crook, staff, sheepfold and presence. Nothing else in that moment matters. What is hoped for is that the shepherd is pursuing it. Why else would the lamb truly cry out? It wants to be heard. It has a desire to be heard. It needs to be heard. But if a lamb is lost over a ravine and cries out but no one is there to hear it is it heard? Take the driver of that thundering vehicle. Consider him or her to be a lamb that is lost over a ravine crying out. Now it isn’t the message that is important as captured or communicated in the lyrics. It is the message of our purpose and intent that motivates us to respond. What is the purpose and intent? Disgust? Judgmentalism? Dismissal? Or could it be a reconsideration of “deep calling unto deep“?

Put yourself in God’s sandals for a moment as a shepherd over a flock. Well, take the “omniscience” factor out, first. The shepherd’s purpose is seeking the lost sheep is not to scold them, discipline them, throw them to the wolves or serve them up for dinner. The shepherd’s purpose is to recover the sheep dead or alive. Yes, unfortunately the shepherd will find what remains of a lamb or sheep who has wandered away and fallen prey. There are other signs that will generally lead the shepherd to one of the flock who has left them behind: circling buzzards, howling jackals or roaring lions, for instance. Otherwise, the shepherd will look for signs and listen for sounds. In both cases, the objective is to pursue. Why? The shepherd is held responsible for the flock and is accountable for returning the sheep to the master of the flock for his interest and not the shepherd’s. The shepherd is motivated by the love of the sheep who know his voice as well as he knows theirs. The shepherd is also motivated by his love for the Master who knows his voice as well and the shepherd knows his (see the parable of the talents and the cognition of the servant who received his capacity of one.)

But we must speak also to the “intention” of the pursuit. The shepherd’s intention is to recover, restore and to rejoice. The lost sheep is as much a representative of his own life as anything else. To lose a sheep is the same as losing a part of his body, his possessions or his family. The story of “the lost” in Luke emphasizes these characteristics as a woven tapestry. They are independent threads combined into an interdependent reality. The intent is to rejoice, honor, worship and celebrate what God has done, is doing and will do in the days yet to come. When Jesus said “I have come to SEEK and SAVE that which is lost” means “those who are lost” as well. It is not about promoting one’s own status (no Jack Horners in the corners) but pointing out the worth of one’s life, one’s calling and one’s opportunity is to magnify the one who made your life, called it into being and gave it purpose. This is where we find that vital “then/therefore” accountability statement in verse 3.10 .

Then, on that day, I will forgive the sins of the people/nation/land and

Therefore, on that day (not tomorrow, next week, next month, next year or whenever I get around to it unless I forget) I will gather my neighbors with me and sit under the vine arbor or the fig tree and rejoice. The true opportunity of “…Love your neighbor as yourself” comes cleanly into focus here. It is a reflection of the Shema: “Love the Lord your God” and “Love your neighbor.” The first part makes the second part as vital a truth in the whole picture of righteousness as anything else. Look at the “and” as a “plus sign” or better as a “cross.” It was on the cross that Jesus established the shepherd’s crook and staff as the vertical reality (Love God: earth to Heaven as God loves: Heaven to earth). It also establishes it as the horizontal reality (Love neighbor: east to west, west to east, north to south, south to north). The “vine” and the “fig tree” become representative of the prosperity of God’s mercy and grace upon all people: Jew, Gentile, Slave, Free, Male, Female. It is a picture of the Messianic Kingdom on earth as it is in Heaven.

TODAY’S PRAYER IN RESPONSE TO GOD’S WORD:

Father, before we were conceived in the womb, You had already formed us in Your love and by Your Spirit brought us into being. Each one of us is blessed with the opportunity of doing right, being good and producing the fruit of the Spirit so that others may be fed the truth of that same love so that the two will become one. It is our soul’s sincere desire to embrace the oneness You have in mind that we would know that we are Your people and that You are our God. Lead us in that discovery of the truth and the manifestation of that love for us all. In Jesus’ name, we pray. AMEN.