The Wise and the Sluggard

In my devotions I came across Proverbs 27. Since I am approaching retirement in the not so distant future, the poem about the wise man increasing his wealth seemed very pertinent to me. When I read commentaries on the topic, scholars point out that Proverbs 24 and 27 have parallels and one can learn much by comparing the two poems.

Bruce Waltke
In some ways it [Proverbs 27:23-17] matches the poem that ended Collection IV (24:30-34). Both are five verses that end a collection/section, and both refer somewhat chiastically to a field (24:30; 27:26). Meinhold notes that by placing them together one sees a contrast between the sluggard who neglects the good creation and his inherited field and the wise who, by working in harmony with the good creation, produces the wealth that buys a field. (p. 390, The Book of Proverbs 15-31)

Here are the passages I am meditating upon:

Proverbs 24:30 - 34
I passed by the field of a sluggard,
  by the vineyard of a man lacking sense,
and behold, it was all overgrown with thorns;
  the ground was covered with nettles,
  and its stone wall was broken down.
Then I saw and considered it;
  I looked and received instruction.
A little sleep, a little slumber,
  a little folding of the hands to rest,
and poverty will come upon you like a robber,
  and want like an armed man.

Proverbs 27:23-27
  Know well the condition of your flocks,
 and give attention to your herds,
for riches do not last forever;
 and does a crown endure to all generations?
When the grass is gone and the new growth appears
  and the vegetation of the mountains is gathered,
the lambs will provide your clothing,
  and the goats the price of a field.
There will be enough goats' milk for your food,
  for the food of your household
  and maintenance for your girls.

As we can see, one of the main differences between the wise and the sluggard is attentiveness. The wise person cares for the things God entrusted him. The godly man loves the people for whom he is responsible. Bruce Waltke quotes Van Leeuwen's commentary on Proverbs 27:23:

Our stewardship requires that we know intimately those things, creatures, and persons entrusted to our care (27:23). Governments need to understand the people, the land, and justice. Teachers need to know and love their students and their subjects. Workers and artists need to know their materials and their craft. Pastors...also need to know and tend their flocks. (Waltke, Proverbs 15-31, p. 391, footnote 90.)

God has given everyone the responsibility of stewardship. We are responsible to take care of the things given to us. As a homeowner, I am responsible for the upkeep on my house and property. As a husband and parent, I responsible to love and care for my family. As an elder, I am responsible for those under my care. The word condition in 27:23 is actually the word for "faces" in Hebrew. The shepherd should know the face of every sheep in his flock. Elders should know the condition and status of everyone under his care. These poems in Proverbs indicate that God will care for us (at least in part) through the people, things, and resources that God entrusted us to steward and oversee.

Singlehood and Isaiah

A Christian single has a unique set of challenges. This blog is about only one aspect of singleness. I came across a passage in Isaiah that expressed God's special fondness for singles in his covenant family. One blessing of singleness that the prophesy addresses is highlighted by Absalom's life. In 2 Samuel, David's son Absalom had no children and he wanted a legacy. He wanted his name and deeds to be remembered. However, even if he became king, he had no heir to the throne to takeover. His name and accomplishments would be forgotten. Absalom thought he could not achieve eternal fame so he decided to build a pillar.

2 Samuel 18:18
Now Absalom in his lifetime had taken and set up for himself the pillar that is in the King's Valley, for he said, “I have no son to keep my name in remembrance.” He called the pillar after his own name, and it is called Absalom's monument to this day.

This desire to have one's name and accomplishments remembered is strong. It is not sinful. As it reads in Psalm 26:8, God's name and remembrance should be the desire of our heart. The desire to have children to pass on your name and remembrance to future generations is natural. Obviously, God's knows everyone has this desire: both single and married. God told the eunuchs in Isaiah's day, that he is better than sons and daughters to fulfill this need.

Isaiah 56:4-5 ESV
For thus says the LORD:
“To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths,
    who choose the things that please me
    and hold fast my covenant,
I will give in my house and within my walls
  a monument and a name
  better than sons and daughters;
I will give them an everlasting name
  that shall not be cut off."

Alec Motyer's commentary on Isaiah makes several key points about the passage[1]. God promises faithful singles, those who "grasped" his covenant, a better legacy than having children could ever provide. God will invite the singles into his home. Their name and monument will not be out in his courtyard, but within his own house. Furthermore, it will be an everlasting name. God will remember singles fondly forevermore.

In the New Testament, Jesus speaks about families. In his speech in Matthew 12, Jesus hints that in the Kingdom of God the family will be transformed.

Matthew 12:46-48
While he was still speaking to the people, behold, his mother and his brothers stood outside, asking to speak to him. But he replied to the man who told him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”

Families are established by God and are good, but they are only a shadow and a pointer toward our relationships in heaven. Christ is coming for his bride.[2] Our weak and pathetic loves on earth are going to be surpassed and subsumed by God's love for us. Our relationships with our brothers and sisters in Christ in heaven will be far stronger and deeper than any familial ties on earth (Ephesians 4:16).  Jonathan Edwards, an early American theologian, described the relationship of human love to our purified love for God in heaven.

“The enjoyment of God is the only happiness with which our souls can be satisfied. To go to heaven, fully to enjoy God, is infinitely better than the most pleasant accommodations here. Fathers and mothers, husbands, wives, or children, or the company of earthly friends, are but shadows; but God is the substance. These are but scattered beams, but God is the sun. These are but streams, but God is the ocean.” [3]

The states of being single and being married are temporal states. God has designed and gifted us for the state in which we are currently living. Where he has placed in us in our current circumstances is the best possible place for us to be in his loving sanctification of us at this time. Our married status or single status may change. Singles get married. Spouses are called home. However, our legacy as Christians is to be in God's love and be in his love forevermore.

[1] J. Alec Motyer
Keep and choose are imperfects of habitual action, denoting persistence in conformity to the Sabbath-code and in personal commitment to the Lord's will. On pleases me cf. of the Lord's 'will and pleasure' in 53:10; 55:11. And hold fast is probably the explanatory use of the conjunction, a summary statement of what keep and choose mean: 'that is/in a word, those who grip my covenant'. Since the Lord's covenant is first the pledge he makes (his covenant promises), 'taking a grip on his covenant' means taking his promises seriously so as to hold to them by faith through thick and thin. To those, however, who are within his covenant, the Lord speaks his gracious covenant law, teaching them how to live so as to please him. In this case, 'taking a grip on his covenant' expresses the practical life of obedience. The background to a memorial and a name (5) is found in 2 Samuel 18:18, where the childless Absalom sought to perpetuate himself by a memorial stone which would last beyond his own life-span. It is essential to translate temple as 'house' in order to establish the link with verse 7bef, and also to restore the second and literal 'within' before its walls. The eunuch is welcome 'in my house - yes, right inside my walls' not just vaguely within the precincts but right into the person (name) and is enriched with blessings far beyond those which even an earthly family (sons and daughters) might have brought. In 55:13, by gathering in a world-wide people the Lord makes for himself a name that will not be cut off. Here he shares that reality with those who were formerly excluded but have now become members of his house.
(pp. 466-467, The Prophecy of Isaiah)

[2] Ephesians 5:25-27
Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish

2 Corinthians 11:2
For I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ.

Revelation 19:7
Let us rejoice and exult
   and give him the glory,
for the marriage of the Lamb has come,
   and his Bride has made herself ready;

[3] Jonathan Edwards, The Works of Jonathan Edwards, Vol. 17: Sermons and Discourses, 1730-1733

Haiti Spring 2018 Medical Mission Stories

Introduction
When I share about an upcoming Haiti Medical trip at our team commissionings during Sunday services, I break the talk into two topics: the medical team's mission and the discipleship team's (d-team) mission. From this trip I want tell two stories that exemplify the need for our ministries in Luly and Williamson.

The Medical Story
On the first day clinic, it was a very busy day. We saw scores of patients and around 2:00 p.m., I could finally see the end of the line in the waiting room. A young, pregnant woman with her 3-year-old child came in, sat down and looked frustrated. I asked through a translator what was her frustration. She told me that she woke up at 4:00 a.m. this morning and walked 4 hours with her child to the clinic. She then took a number, but had to wait 6 hours to finally get in to see a doctor. I realized because of her frustration that she would not want to talk to a pastor so I called over a medical team member. I stayed around for a while, but I was called away on another case. I checked in on her before she left. There was nothing seriously wrong with the child or her. They assured her, encouraged her, gave her some vitamins and pain reliever, and sent her on her way.

Two things struck me about this case. First, she is a very caring mother who is willing to walk for hours for her baby who just had a slight fever and a runny nose. Second, this clinic serves not only the villages of Luly and Williamson, but communities up in the mountains. This clinic provides crucial care to people who have no medical infrastructure within several miles. Most Haitians don't have cars so even a couple of miles make a big difference.

Discipleship Story
Later in the week, I saw a patient standing in line with large tumors on both sides of his neck underneath his chin. Another d-team member did the triage interview so I didn't have a chance to talk to him. Later that night, our team talked about the case. The doctors told us that his tumors were aggressive but not cancerous. The tumors started growing about 10 years ago. He showed his driver's license from 2004 to the team and there were no tumors on him in the picture. Unfortunately, we didn't have the resources to help him. One doctor told me that even in the United States because of the size and the type of tumors, there was not much that could be done. The patient had visited other doctors and hospitals in Port-Au-Prince and throughout Haiti. He always received the same answer that nothing could be done. Because of the tumors, his wife left him and he had to raise his two children by himself.

It is sad story, but there is a happy ending. The doctor and the d-team members did soul care with this patient. They encouraged him and shared the Gospel with him. A d-team member said when they asked him if he wanted to pray to receive Christ into his heart, the man dropped to his knees unasked and prayed. As a follow-up, they invited him to the men's conference later in the week. He showed up and was introduced to one of the Haitian pastors. He went from having no hope to having eternal hope. His life will be difficult, but we gave him context for his sufferings. One of the reasons for his tumors was that God used the tumors to bring him to Christ and God will continue to use these tumors to draw this man even closer to Christ.

Conclusion
This ministry is very important to this region of Haiti. We provide medical services to patients who would have a difficult time to getting these services anywhere else. This ministry is also important for giving hope. The discipleship team talks about Jesus to these patients. The gospels, especially Matthew and Luke, talk about how the healing ministry of Jesus drew people to hear the Gospel. In same way, the clinic draws people from miles away who don't belong to any church to hear the Gospel. Because of these ministries, God uses us to bring His hope and His joy to the people of Haiti.

Hebrews 12:2
looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

James 1:2-4
Count it all joy, my brothers,when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

Different Approaches to the Millennium

I am preparing for an open forum on eschatology. Here is the main passage from Scripture that mentions the millennium.

Revelation 20:4-6
Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those wwho had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. 5 The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they cwill reign with him for a thousand years.

Here's a nice summary of the different views on the millennium by Michael Horton.

Christ will return prior to the millennium according to the premillennialists and after the golden era according to the traditional postmillennialists. Amillennialism, however, understands the reference to a one-thousand-year period as figurative for the era between Christ's two advents. Premillennialism anticipates increasing decadence in the condition of the world (including the visible church) until Christ returns at the end of history to establish his kindom. Postmillenniallism expects things to improve gradually through God's gracious blessing on the church's missinary endeavors until the nations officially recognize Christ as Messiah and wars, famine, disease, and other global disasters gradually cease. It is then expected that Christ will return to receive his kindom, to judge the living and the dead, and to commence the everlasting state. Amillennialism expects simutaneous growth and decline, suffering and success, witness and apostasy throughout this era between Christ's two advents. (Michael Horton, The Christian Faith, p. 920)

"Only let us hold true to what we have attained" (Philippians 3:16)

In Philippians 3, Paul explains his goal for the Christian life in verse 10,

that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection of the dead.

After encouraging the Philippians to do the same, Paul ends the paragraph with 3:16, "Only let us hold true to what we have attained". What is interesting is the verb, "hold true." If you look up this verb (στοιχεῖν) in a theological dictionary, you will find the following translation.

TDNT Vol. VII pp. 668
Phil. 3:16 says: "Nevertheless, whereto we have attained, (let us) remain in one and the selfsame thing."

Notice, the author of the article added the parenthetical thought "let us". The commentator did this because the word was a military term and indicated a team acting in unison. Peter O'Brien in his commentary noted the following about the verb,

Peter O'Brien
This verb, probably derived from stoikos (originally a military term for a ‘row’), initially meant ‘to stand in line, march in line’. Within the NT, where it occurs five times, stoikeo is used figuratively to mean ‘to be in line with, stand beside, hold to, agree with, follow’. (O’Brien, p. 441)

To re-iterate, the word was used as a military term to "work together". Paul in 3:16 was not encouraging the church as individuals to pursue the knowledge of Christ; Paul was encouraging the church as a whole to pursue Christ in unity. Paul laid out the overall goal, he wanted them to adopt the goal, and he encouraged them to help each other to pursue that goal.

Holiness is a group project. Sanctification is a team sport. The body of Christ should strive together to help each other to know Christ. O'Brien elaborates further on the verse.

Peter O'Brien
By using this particular verb Paul seems to be making two further points: first, if the connotation of marching in step is present, then the Philippians are being urged to move forward in unity. Recognizing that there may be differences of opinion, the apostle desires that the whole community should move forward together. He is not encouraging the presence of ‘spiritual virtuosos’, to use F. W. Beare’s expression; as Christians they need to be united in the contest in which all are engaged, working towards the same goal and ready to help one another, especially by bearing one another’s burdens. Secondly, στοιχεῖν marks a progression from attitude or orientation to that of practice. (O’Brien, p. 442)

The author of Hebrews encourages us to act in unison as well. We are responsible for one another.

Hebrews 10:24,25
And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.