The God Who Speaks

Exodus 24:12-28.   1 Kings 19:8-13.   Psalm 2.   2 Peter 1:16-21.   Matthew 17:1-9

Listening to the political rhetoric of Christians in the US and here, in South Africa, one could be forgiven for thinking that God has been deposed or has abdicated. If you listen to their negative alarmist talk, it seems as if they believe the darkness has overcome the light…and I am not speaking about load shedding now. 

So the question for us is simply this: Where is our hope? Or better still, in Whom is our hope? 

True, in times of personal or political crises our doubts always bubble up to the surface like some sulphurous eruption. Usually they are based on some seemingly insurmountable problem that appears to threaten our stability, our safety, and our sanctity…problems like financial crises, sickness, violence, crime, lack of law and order, the spread of epidemics, government mismanagement, or the depletion of natural resources, especially water. These are all pervasive problems that are largely out of our control and for that very reason, they tend to rob us of our sense of security.

And unfortunately, there are those who would seek to capitalize on our fear…who would prey on our vulnerability by magnifying the negative until our lives are so saturated with darkness that we are no longer able to see the Light…just listen to or watch the news…or follow some threads on social media.

This week I came across this quotation in a commentary by Davies and Allison. Comparing the Transfiguration with the Crucifixion they write: “In the one, a private epiphany, an exalted Jesus, with garments glistening, stands on a high mountain and is flanked by two religious giants from the past. All is light. In the other, a public spectacle, a humiliated Jesus, whose clothes have been torn from Him and divided, is lifted upon a cross and flanked by two common, convicted criminals. All is darkness.” 

Now, I know this is difficult as we know the whole story, but try for a moment to stand in the sandals of those gathered at the foot of that cross. Only one who had witnessed the Transfiguration was there, namely John. At that moment, all their hopes and dreams, their ambitions, their wishes, their prayers seemed to be eclipsed by this one awful dark moment. The one identified by John the Baptizer as the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world hung before them, limp and lifeless on a Roman death machine. Forgotten was the splendor of the transfiguration…all they saw was their present distress. And the future…was there a future for them? They were completely blind to what would take place in two days’ time…all they knew was that at that present moment their world had come to an end. All they could see was shattered hope. There was no light…only darkness. 

This is one of the reasons I wanted us to read the story of Elijah on the mountain as well as the story of Moses on the mountain. Darkness and light. Do you remember the great triumph of Elijah over the false prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel? All their crying out to Baal from morning until evening amounted to nothing, but when Elijah, after having drenched his sacrifice in buckets and buckets of precious water cried out God, God answered in fire from heaven which consumed the entire sacrifice, altar and all. A wonderful witness to God’s power and might. But the moment the wicked queen Jezebel threatened the great prophet, what did he do? He ran away like a scared rabbit. 

Through the guidance of the Angel of the Lord, Elijah came to Mount Horeb…also called Mount Sinai, the mountain of God…the same place where Moses had been…and there God asked him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” 

Now obviously God was not geographically challenged. He knew where Elijah was physically…but where was Elijah spiritually? He was in darkness…and he simply could not see the light.

So, God told him to come out of the cave…to emerge from the hole he had entered into…and to stand on the mountain because He was about to reveal Himself to Elijah. Incidentally, God revealed Himself to Moses on that very same mountain. You know the story well. There was great and powerful wind…but God was not in the wind. There was an bolder shattering earthquake…but God was not in the earthquake. There was an all-consuming fire…but God was not in the fire. Then there was silence…and in the silence, Elijah heard the voice of God. 

The presence of God in this sin battered world is not always obvious. His voice is not always clear. It is only when we stop in the midst of the turmoil and wait in silence that we see and hear God. And when we hear the God Who speaks, we must obey Him.

The reason Peter wrote his second letter was because some were being led astray by proud and arrogant people who preyed on those who had neglected to grow in their faith.  Peter warned them to be on their guard and to hold firmly to the faith once delivered so that they might not be carried away by the errors of these wicked people and ultimately lose their secure footing in Christ. His solution was simple. Grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ then you will not fall. He was writing to them in the shadow of his impending death and so he was at great pains to make sure they remembered the truth they once received through his teaching. 

You must bear in mind that Peter was writing from experience…as a younger believer, he had once failed to watch and pray and had succumbed to temptation because of fear and consequently he had denied his Lord. 

So, in his letter, he warned them to be vigilant too…to watch and pray, if you will. For Peter, the remedy to lapsing into error was the rehearsal of the truth…in short, the way to banish any form of darkness was and still is to turn on the light. He knew what he had experienced…he knew what he had seen…he knew what he had heard on that mountain…and it gave him an even greater confidence in the message proclaimed by the prophets. And then he said a very interesting thing…in 2 Peter 1:19b-21, he read, “You must pay close attention to what they wrote, for their words are like a lamp shining in a dark place – until the day dawns, and Christ the Morning Star shines in your hearts. Above all, you must realize that no prophecy in Scripture ever came from the prophet’s own understanding, or from human initiative. No, those prophets were moved by the Holy Spirit, and they spoke from God.”

You see, it is the God who speaks that dispels darkness…corrects misperception…exposes falsehood…banishes despair…overturns hopelessness…because it is in Him that we live and move and have our being. It was the voice of God that caused the Israelites to know His presence in the Exodus and in the wilderness. It was the voice of God that caused Elijah to know that no political leader, regardless of how ruthless and powerful, could overturn what God had ordained. It was the voice of God that caused the disciples to know the identity of Jesus: ‘This,’ God said, ‘is My dearly loved Son, who brings Me great joy. Hear Him!” 

Dearest beloved brethren, we serve a God Who speaks…and He always has the final word. 

As the disciples watched the light of their lives fade away…as they heard him breathe out his last breath…as they watched him being speared by the Roman soldier…they thought their hope had faded and died with him. They wrapped a lifeless body in pounds of spices and linen bands. They buried a lifeless body and they returned to anoint a lifeless body. But God had spoken years before through the prophetic word of David: “You will not leave my soul among the dead or allow your holy one to rot in the grave.” The skewed perspective of his bewildered disciples did not nullify the truth…it may have obscured it for a time, but the truth will always triumph over falsehood.

And that is why I love the Eucharist. Through these elements of bread and wine, God speaks to us again and again and again. Here at His Table we see light. Here the darkness is dispelled as it shows us that Christ has defeated all our enemies…while in this world we may have tribulation, He has overcome the world. No politician…no matter how bad…no fear for today or worry for tomorrow, no violence, no crime, lack of law and order, or instability…no trouble or calamity, no persecution, no angel or demon, no power of hell itself, no hunger, poverty, danger, threat, sickness…not even death itself can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. The Eucharist confirms this…here God speaks loudest. Christ is risen from the dead…He has defeated death…He has crushed the head of the serpent…He has freed us from the shackles of sin…and He has opened the doorway to Heaven for those who believe in Him and walk in His way.

© Johannes W H van der Bijl III 2020