Thought for Today

Genesis 32:9  And Jacob said, "O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, O LORD who said to me, 'Return to your country and to your kindred, and I will do you good,'

Exodus 33:1  The LORD said to Moses, "Go, leave this place, you and the people whom you have brought up out of the land of Egypt, and go to the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, 'To your descendants I will give it.'

Matthew 1:2  Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,

Acts 3:13  The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our ancestors has glorified his servant Jesus, whom you handed over and rejected in the presence of Pilate, though he had decided to release him.

That combination above of the names of the 3 patriarchs appears in 33 different verses throughout the Bible. There are more than 1000 references in the Bible to the king of Israel’s Golden Age, David. Why this continued reference to the past?

In seminary we studied the Old Testament from both its historical and theological perspectives. Much of the history of the Bible prior to David’s establishment of the United Kingdom is hard to date. There have been attempts, of course. I have mentioned previously the work of James Ussher. “The Ussher chronology is a 17th-century chronology of the history of the world formulated from a literal reading of the Old Testament by James Ussher, the Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland . . . Ussher deduced that the first day of creation was October 23, 4004 BC on the proleptic Julian calendar, near the autumnal equinox.” (en.wikipedia.org)

While I salute the diligence and dedication of Bishop Ussher, my first question remains “Why?” Especially since, even in the 17th century there was abundant evidence of the earth being much older than 5000 years. From a theological perspective, the same question remains, “Why?” Of what possible use is that information? The first 3 chapters of Genesis relate for us the most important information, God created Creation.

The references to King David and the United Kingdom are a bit easier for me to understand. Although that United Kingdom did not remain united very long, those were the ‘glory days’ for the Jewish people. All foreign invaders and oppressors were defeated and expelled. A unified nation was created for all of God’s ‘Chosen People.’ To the extent of that nation’s understanding of the world, Israel was a major power of substantial military might.

As Christians, we focus on the New Testament. But, we need to always be aware of the political and socio-economics situation in the world at the time. Jesus was born in an occupied territory. Not only was it occupied by a foreign power, Israel wasn’t even a major province or territory. Neither Quirinius nor Pilate would have understood his posting in Israel as a positive career move. Israel was a minor, extremely fractious territory requiring excessive military manpower to maintain civil order. Israel was far distant from the seat of world power in Rome.

When I first learned to drive, I was taught to carefully and regularly check both the rearview mirror and the side mirrors on the car. But, it was carefully, specifically pointed out to me that my main focus needed to be forward, in the direction I wanted to travel. Spending too much time looking at where I had been was a guaranteed promise of running into a brick wall or another car.

Why did the Jews keep looking backward? Why do so many Americans today yearn for “those thrilling days of yesteryear?” We repeatedly hear a longing to make America great again. Much of the dialogue seems to focus on a return to the end of WWII, the time when most of Europe and much of Asia was devastated by that war. America was the remaining superpower.

I was born and raised during those post-WWII decades of the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s. For what it’s worth, those days were not nearly as great as they seem in the rearview mirror. There were families even in America mourning the loss of a father, brother, or son. There were still wars raging in far away places like Korea. There were no computers, no cell phones, and AI was only speculation in science fiction stories.

As a Christian, my focus is and should be to work toward that time when God’s will is done on earth as it is in heaven. I don’t really want to look backward to where we have been. I want to look forward to where we can lead all of God’s children, toward that future world.

Stay safe, strive toward the Kingdom of God, trust God,

Pastor Ray