Do Yourself a Favor and Go See ‘Moses’

Thursday night we got to attend the “Family & Friends” production of Moses at the Sight & Sound Theater in Lancaster. It was their final dress rehearsal before opening night on Friday. Our son Andrew works there full-time as part of their support staff (including the post-musical prayer team, among other responsibilities), so we’re happily on the receiving end of complimentary tickets for each play.

The entire production was marvelous, taking us on an adventure through the birth and exile of Moses, the burning bush theophany and revelation of God’s name, the plagues against Egypt and its false gods, Israel’s first Passover and their dramatic escape through the Red Sea, and the giving of the law at the top of Mount Sinai. Moses is portrayed as an unlikely and imperfect hero—the only kind God ever uses. Except for Jesus, who makes a cameo appearance at the end of the play.

I don’t think any show could exceed last year’s production of David in terms of musical composition and emotional impact, but this show was right up there when it comes to lead performances, special effects, and execution. I was thoroughly inspired.

Moses runs now through October 7. Do yourself a favor and go see it. 

Carved in Stone, Part 7: Regard Human Life As Sacred (Exodus 20:13)

The Israelites were commanded in Exodus 20:13 not to “kill” (KJV), or, as it says more precisely in the NIV and ESV, “You shall not murder.” The Hebrew word here is רָצַח (rāṣǎḥ), which means to take the life of another so as to cause their death. It can refer to accidental murder, manslaughter, premeditated murder, or governmental execution. The point of the law is to ensure that no Israelite—acting on his own—would decide that he had the right to take someone else’s life. 

No penalties or qualifications are attached to the sixth commandment, but the issue is addressed more fully in cognate laws beyond the Decalogue (Exodus 21:12-14; Numbers 35:16-24, 30-34; Deuteronomy 19:4-7, 11-13). These laws call for the death penalty for first-degree murder (i.e., intentional homicide, or murder with malice aforethought), and lesser penalties when the murder was determined to be accidental or unintentional.

Such a person could flee to a city of refuge—thus protecting him from revenge killings by the families of the fallen—until the death of the high priest; then he could go free. On the other hand, if a man is convicted of intentional homicide, his punishment is unequivocal: he is to face the death penalty, and no ransom is to be accepted as a substitute (Numbers 35:31-32). This ruling harkens back to Genesis 9:6: “Whoever sheds the blood of a man, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God was man made.” 

Together these laws indicate that it was absolutely forbidden in Israel to plan someone’s death and then carry it out. To do so was to forfeit one’s own life. The reason for the ultimate penalty in this case is that human beings are made in the image of God. To murder a person with malice aforethought is tantamount to killing God in effigy. That’s why God’s people are to regard human life as sacred.

Clearly, the God who issued these laws views every human being—rich or poor, slave or free, male or female, Israelite or non-Israelite—as having supreme value. He loves and cherishes every human being. He does not want any person to murder another person. Indeed, every human being is so valuable to God that there is no conceivable payment that could adequately compensate for the murder of one of them. Thankfully, God takes motives and intentions into account. Accidents happen, even accidental murder, and those cases receive lesser penalties.

Now, murder goes much deeper than deliberate acts of terminating someone’s life. Jesus said in Matthew 5:21-22, “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment.” By that definition, most people have committed murder. Was Jesus just using “preacher’s hyperbole” to make a point, or was he wanting his followers to take a new look at where murder really begins? Unjustified anger, he says, is murder begun. All, then, need divine grace.

Quite significantly, Moses committed murder. King David arranged a murder. And Saul—before he became Paul—encouraged murder. Yet all received forgiveness from God and ministries beyond their misconduct. That’s because there is one payment in this world that’s enough to compensate for lost human life—the blood of Jesus Christ, which was shed for us on the cross for us. With the death of this high priest, sinners can be released by faith in him. “The vilest offender who truly believes, that moment from Jesus a pardon receives.”

Sermon Resources:

Series: Carved in Stone: Some of God’s Ways for All of God’s People

Contact This New Life directly for the sermon audio file.

Our First Look at Little Levi

Bethany had a regularly scheduled ultrasound today, and we got our first look at Levi Timothy. (Well, I guess this is technically our second look after the first ultrasound when he was the size of fingernail.) I love his profile in the first sonogram. His features seem to be similar to Samuel’s, though it’s hard to tell with all the shadows.

The second sonogram is harder to discern, but that’s because Levi raised his leg over his head at just the right time. I’m not sure if that’s because he’s going to run hurdles someday or if he’s just going to be a spazz over the course of his life. (Enya’s “Wild Child” comes to mind.) Either way, I love him to pieces already, and I can’t wait to meet him in person this July.

(From static shadows to a living reality—now, there’s a sermon illustration! Cf. Hebrews 10:1.)

💙 💚 💙 💚 💙 💚 💙 💚 💙 💚 💙 💚 💙 💚

Go Back to Sleep, Little Trees

Last year the schizophrenic weather here in Southeastern Pennsylvania knocked out my flowering cherry tree for the season. One week it was unseasonably warm—which got the buds interested in peeking out for a time—but then the following week the temperatures went back to Mr. Slurpee levels. Hence, the flowering cherry tree never got any flowers. Parts of it also seemed to die off over the summer, which was heartbreaking. So, I trimmed it back last fall in the hopes of witnessing a resurrection this spring.

Alas, this year it looks like the weather is trying to pull the same stunt. The warm temperatures hit recently, the buds came out, and then it got cold again. Shizo weather for the second year in a row. So, I covered up the tree to minimize the damage. (If the internet says to do it, it must be right, right?) Unfortunately, I did a pretty lousy job of it, so we’ll see what happens. I also covered my little Japanese maple tree. If ever I needed Linus’s blanket…

Bonus

Bubby just learned how to feed himself. Some of the food even makes it into his mouth once in a while. 😊 I wonder if he’s going to be a lefty. Have I mentioned lately how much I love this little guy? 💙❤️💛💚 

Our Little Bubby Continues to Delight

Samuel loves the Little Tykes car we got him for Christmas. He also loves the 3-D solar system his Uncle Tino got him. (He thinks the planets are balloons and tries to blow them up. He’s not too far off!) Yes, I’m spoiled living so close to him, but I enjoy every minute we get to be together. His vocab is growing by leaps and bounds. And he still lets me make those “Samuel Sandwiches.” I am blessed.

Samuel learning to drive with his daddy’s help.
Blowing up the planets. Sounds like something out of Star Wars.

Carved in Stone, Part 6: Honor and Cherish Your Family (Exodus 20:12)

A Chinese man once traveled across the United States for six months. When asked what impressed him most about America, he answered, “The way parents obey their children.” That, of course, is exactly backwards, but in many homes today, parents are not in charge. Their children rule the roost, and that’s a problem. Societal chaos is often the result, and we’re seeing this very dynamic play out across our nation today. Children should be taught to honor parents, just as the fifth commandment insists.

And yet, while all that is true, this command from God is not primarily directed toward young children. That’s an application of the command, as Paul teaches in Ephesians 6:1-3, but the fifth commandment is addressed primarily to adults, as are all of the Ten Commandments. That’s clearly the case, for example, with the fourth commandment, which prohibits making one’s sons or daughters work on the Sabbath. The same is true for the seventh commandment about adultery. Such regulations can only apply to adults. 

Like so many other laws in the Mosaic corpus, this command serves to protect those who are disadvantaged in society. The social reality in the ancient Near East was that aging parents became less and less “useful” to their children as they grew older. As a result, they tended to become less valued by their adult children. Aging parents would gradually need more and more help because of physical weakness, mental challenges, increased sickness, loss of physical abilities, drops in income, etc. The fifth commandment calls for such individuals to be helped. In fact, the word honor can mean:

  • providing financial support for a person
  • showing a person respect; treating a person with dignity
  • verbally expressing one’s respect or esteem for a person
  • elevating a person to a position of respect and admiration

In short, God wanted Israel to be a good place for people to grow old. The same is true today in Christ’s church: God’s people are to honor and cherish their family. But what about those cases where a parent is extremely difficult or even wicked—an abuser, a physically agressive alcoholic, or an emotionally absent parent? How can God expect his children to honor such a parent? This message seeks to offer some guidance on thorny questions like these.

In the end, Jesus died obeying the fifth commandment. From the cross he said to his mother, who was standing next to the Apostle John, “Dear woman, here is your son,” and to John he said, “Here is your mother” (John 19:26-27). At the very end, he tended to family obligations as well as his own personal calling, seeing to the care of his mother after he’s gone. Quite significantly, Jesus died bringing people into new relationships at the cross. John is Jesus’ substitute with respect to family caring. Jesus is John’s substitute with respect to sin bearing. Do you know Christ by faith as your sin-bearing substitute?

Sermon Resources:

Series: Carved in Stone: Some of God’s Ways for All of God’s People

Contact This New Life directly for the sermon audio file.

Carved in Stone, Part 5: Rest in Peace before You Die (Exodus 20:8-11)

On September 21, 1956, a test pilot by the name of Tommy Attridge shot himself out of the sky. It was a classic case of two objects trying to occupy the same space at the same time—one being his Grumman F11F-1 Tiger jet, and the other being a gaggle of his own bullets. Attridge was test-firing his 20mm cannons while flying at the speed of Mach 1.

At one point he entered a shallow dive, and at 13,000 feet he pulled the trigger on his guns for a 4-second burst. He fired again for a few seconds to empty the belts. Eleven seconds later, at 7,000 feet, he caught up to his own bullets and was struck by them. He had overtaken and then passed through his own gunfire! The plane crash landed into some trees, but Attridge was able to escape, relatively unharmed. It was the aerospace equivalent of a tiger biting its own tail.

What a great metaphor for workaholics who are so driven they can never take a break. They never slow down, never go on vacation, and never take time to smell the roses. Despite all the time-saving devices in our modern world, they still don’t have time to get everything done they want to accomplish. So, they fly through life at Mach 1 with their hair on fire. But there’s a price to be paid for moving through life too fast—namely, physical exhaustion, mental weariness, emotional distress, spiritual disillusionment, or good old-fashioned burnout. 

Thankfully, God understands the human need to rest and re-charge. In fact, the fourth commandment teaches us that God’s people are to rest in peace before they die. Quite significantly, the Sabbath law is the longest commandment of the ten, and it’s the most unique. It took Israel out of sync with the heavenly bodies, out of sync the Egyptian workweek, and out of sync with the entire known world. It was simultaneously oriented toward God, others, and oneself. In that sense, it aligns with Jesus’s teaching that the greatest command is to love God with all one’s heart and one’s neighbor as oneself.

Most surprisingly, the Sabbath was a “mini suspension of the curse.” Keeping it meant not having to sweat from the brow or handle thorns from a cursed earth. Implementing it is to experience God’s grace in the midst of life’s fallenness. No wonder Jesus said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30). Like Father, like Son. God wants his people to have a safe landing. In this life and the next.

Sermon Resources:

Series: Carved in Stone: Some of God’s Ways for All of God’s People

Contact This New Life directly for the sermon audio file.

Yes, I Am the Softie

Cheez-Its are now a thing at our house. How did that happen? Right as Bethany was FaceTiming us yesterday, something hilarious took place during the call. I’m still laughing about it today. Samuel walked into the kitchen, out of view, and then he reappeared on screen moments later with a box of these cheddar crackers in hand! So, today, we went out and got him his own box for here at our house. (Yes, I’m the softie in the family when it comes to our little Bubby.) And yes, I may have given him a few bites of pizza for lunch today. And a few bites of a chocolate-covered pretzel. And a few bites of other things he probably shouldn’t have had. I wonder if momma’s ever going to let him come back to my house! 🙂

What That Lady Could Do with a Syllable!

Just popping in here for little bit of silliness on this special day that everybody mispronounces. 😊 Then it’s back to the dissertation grind and off to teaching a fun class during our residency week here in Myerstown, Pee-yay.

I did a quick search of the top love songs of all time, and Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You” is routinely at the top of the list—or at least in the top five. So here it is for your listening pleasure. (My, oh my, what that lady could do with a syllable!)

And (just because I’m enchanted with her stuff) here’s an Enya love song, too. But best of all—speaking of love—below is a brief clip of our little Bubby. SamJam has gotten his first phone. I hope he calls me later today to wish me a Happy Valentino’s Day. 😊

His rhythm is a whole lot better than mine! 💙

P.S., Why is my second dissertation taking so long? Several reasons:

First, my literature review involves surveying 2,000 years of commentary and theological reflection. That takes a while to process, systematize, and chart.

Second, my work so far contains eight languages besides English (Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic, Syriac, Latin, Italian, French, and German), all of which I have to translate and verify for accuracy.

Third, my methodology involves a full biblical theology approach (i.e., a Genesis-to-Revelation analysis) rather than a simple exegesis of a few relevant texts. That’s a lot of ground to cover.

Fourth, my study would not be complete without a deep dive into the relevant intertestamental literature. That corpus is likewise vast and sometimes complicated.

Fifth, I am dual-employed (happily so) as a pastor and as a professor. Multiple hats on one head can be a balancing act sometimes.

Sixth, my mother-in-law lives with us, and she is in the seventh and final stage of Alzheimer’s. That can be quite challenging to handle, and it’s getting harder by the day.

Seventh, I spend as much time as I possibly can with my little SamJam. As readers of TNL already know, I’m totally smitten with him! ❤️

So, yeah, this is taking longer than I wanted, but I love my topic, and I really like how it’s turning out so far. More on that later. Probably much later. Haha! 🙂

Carved in Stone, Part 4: Revere God’s Name and Character (Exodus 20:7)

God named himself, and because he did, his name is beautiful, precious, revelatory, and perfect. He calls himself “Yahweh”—from the Hebrew verb “to be.” It means that God is self-existent, full of life, and eternal. He owes his existence to no one, and no one exists apart from him. Because of the utter sacredness of his name,” God was sometimes referred to simply as “the Name” (e.g., Deuteronomy 12:4-6, 11; Isaiah 30:27, etc.).

What God forbids in the Third Commandment is not the use of his name but the misuse of is name: “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who takes his name in vain” (Exodus 20:7). Just as people would not want their own name dragged through the mud, so God doesn’t want his name dragged through the mud, either. But the stakes are higher with him because his name signifies much more than the audible syllables by which he is called. God’s name represents: 

  • His being and person (e.g., Isaiah 24:15; Psalm 20:1, 75:1)
  • His nature and character (e.g., Proverbs 18:10; Isaiah 30:27-28)
  • His teaching and ways (e.g., Psalm 22:22; Micah 4:5)

To take God’s name “in vain” means to use it lightly, flippantly, callously, or carelessly. It means to swear falsely using his name, which was a recurring problem in Israel (e.g., Leviticus 19:12, Psalm 24:3-4, Jeremiah 5:2, etc.). The entire judicial system in the ancient world depended upon truthful testimony; there were no lie detectors, DNA samples, videotapes, etc.

So, it was common to hear expressions in temple courtrooms such as: “May Marduk (or Dagon, or Baal, or Chemosh, etc.) strike me dead if I my testimony is not truthful.” Because of the austere legal setting, and a heightened sense divine retaliation, those swearing falsely would often lose their nerve and back away from their claims. Judges could reasonably conclude, then, that the unwavering party likely was telling the truth.

It is clear from this command that God does not want to be associated with his people’s falsehoods in any way. Nor does he wish to be misrepresented by those who claim to belong to him (through false teaching, false prophecy, false divination, etc.). He wants his people to create for him a good reputation in both their local communities and around the world. In short, God’s people are to revere God’s name and character.

Therefore, God’s people today should be very reluctant to use phrases such as, “God told me…” or—even worse—“God told me to tell you….” If such statements are not completely accurate, they are violations of the Third Commandment. Indeed, believers should never be held hostage by such claims when directed at them, even when spoken by other well-meaning believers. Simply ignore them and refuse to be on the receiving end of their power play. 

Quite significantly, the expression “the Name” is sometimes used as another name for “Jesus” in the New Testament (e.g., Acts 5:40-42; Romans 10:9-13, quoting Joel 2:32; etc.), thus illustrating the Apostles’ belief in the deity of Christ—at whose name every tongue will one day confess that “Jesus Christ is Lord” (Philippians 2:11).

Sermon Resources:

Series: Carved in Stone: Some of God’s Ways for All of God’s People

Contact This New Life directly for the sermon audio file.

Yawning and Snoring on Cue

Micah and Bethany are such good parents. Below are two clips that make my heart smile. The first is Mommy reading a “dino-snore” book to Samuel. He’s learned to yawn and snore at just the right time during the story. It cracks me up every time I watch it. The second clip makes me a little nervous, but it’s still adorable. Daddy gets a bit physical in mimicking the “Swish! Swish! Swish!” line of “The Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Round” song. Please don’t drop our little Bubby, Micah! 🙂 💙

Carved in Stone, Part 3: Accept No Substitutes for God (Exodus 20:4-6)

God made human beings in his own image, and we’ve been trying to return the favor ever since. But to make God in our image is to diminish his nature. How so? To concretize the living God into an inanimate object is to render him lifeless. But God is self-existent, eternal, and supreme; he lives, loves, rescues, and speaks—something idols can never do. Any attempt to concretize God’s identity, then, yields a distorted conception of who he really is. In short, an idol is a lie about God. 

Hence the need for the second commandment: “You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below” (Exodus 20:4). God wants his people to reverently accept who he has revealed himself to be. After all, if anyone has a right to define his own identity, it’s the creator of the universe. Moreover, Israel had been rescued from Egypt by the creator, Yahweh. To serve other gods, then, was not only disloyalty to God, it was to reverse the exodus and go back to bondage. 

It is important to remember that gods and goddesses in the ancient world could be carried, controlled, coddled, and manipulated. But the true and living God cannot and will not be controlled by his people. He is sovereign over them, and no earthly religious practice can alter that fact. As G. K. Chesterton rightly noted, “Idolatry is when you worship what you should use, and use what you should worship.” For Israel, then, worship of the one true and living God was never to be directed toward a material object that could be handled. The second commandment wasn’t a prohibition against all artwork per se (cf. Exodus 31:2-5), it was a prohibition against trying to represent God by anything found in his creation. 

It is also important to remember that Ezekiel 14:7 refers to “idols of the heart.” Moreover, Colossians 3:5 calls “greed” idolatry. So, the second commandment goes way beyond the issue of worshiping wood, stone, or metal statues. It encompasses putting anything ahead of God in terms of value or importance. As Tim Keller writes, “Idolatry is making a good thing an ultimate thing.” Therefore, we need to ask ourselves, “Where in my life have I made good things ultimate things (e.g., my children, my career, my possessions, my hobbies, my reputation, etc.)?” Even today, God’s people must accept no substitutes for God.

The good news is that God can save us from our own private idolatries. Rather than remaking God into our image, we can be remade into his image through faith in his Son Jesus Christ. After all, Jesus is “the image of the invisible God”; indeed, “God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross” (Colossians 1:15–20).

Sermon Resources:

Series: Carved in Stone: Some of God’s Ways for All of God’s People

Contact This New Life directly for the sermon audio file.

Ambulating & Annunciating

Our little Bubby has been walking for well over a month now, and the words are starting to come, too—clearer and clearer each time. His first discernible word (beyond “Momma” and “Dadda”) was “hello” several weeks ago. It was adorable.

Yesterday he said, “Gampa” for the first time—not a bad attempt at “Grandpa.” Of course, I melted. The other day we thought we heard him try to say “fish.” Today he said it again, and the kids caught it on video. It sort of came out like, “shish.”

Thus it begins—a life of ambulating and annunciating. Walking and wording. Bring it on, SamJam. We’re eager to watch and listen.

Besides, Levi Timothy will need you to talk to him…and play with him! 

💙 😊 💙 😊 💙 😊 💙 😊 💙

Carved in Stone, Part 2: Worship God Alone (Exodus 20:3)

After God reminds his people that he graciously rescued them out of Egypt (Exodus 20:1-2), he begins the Ten Commandments in earnest: “You shall have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:3). The Hebrew literally says, “…no other gods before my face.” That is, “You shall have no other gods except me.” For the Israelites to worship any other god would be a form of covenant disloyalty. No other god saved them out of Egypt. No other god loved them and entered into a covenant with them. So, why would they worship any other deity?

Moreover, Yahweh is supreme: “See now that I myself am He! There is no god besides me” (Deuteronomy 32:39). Or again: “I am the Lord, and there is no other; apart from me there is no God” (Isaiah 45:5). By his very nature, then, God deserves the exclusive devotion of his people. There was no need for the Israelites to be unkind to the worshippers of other nations, or the adherents of other religions, but there was every reason for them not to participate in their worship. That would be a form of spiritual unfaithfulness to the God who had saved them.

Unfortunately, Egypt was one of the most polytheistic countries in the ancient Near East, worshiping over 1,400 different gods and goddesses in their temples, shrines, and homes. Having lived and labored in Egypt for more than 400 years, the Israelites were influenced by their surrounding culture. They found it difficult to let go of the false gods they picked up along the way. God said to them, “Each of you, get rid of the vile images you have set your eyes on, and do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt. I am the Lord your God. But they rebelled against me and would not listen to me; they did not get rid of the vile images they had set their eyes on, nor did they forsake the idols of Egypt” (Ezekiel 20:7-8). 

Despite cultural pressures, God wants—and deserves—to have preeminence in his people’s lives. He finds it revolting to have competition from substitutes, whether from the things he created or the vain imaginations of human beings. Those things are not ultimate. So, the first commandment is not given because God is narcissistic but because he wants his people to live in sync with reality. Yahweh is supreme in the universe! Therefore, worshiping any other God besides him is not only disloyalty but a form of insanity.

The same is true today. God allows the existence of alternatives in our lives, but he wants us to choose the best. Nothing else should be king in our lives, whether our job, our peers, our desires, our denomination, our theology, or even our families. As Jesus said, “No one can serve two masters” (Matthew 6:24). God’s people are to worship God alone. Who or what is first in your life?


Note: Many people—including believers—have trouble reciting all Ten Commandments in order. The beginning of this message provides a silly acronym to help us recall them.


Sermon Resources:

Series: Carved in Stone: Some of God’s Ways for All of God’s People

Contact This New Life directly for the sermon audio file.