Inherit the Land

Psalm 37:4, 9, 11, 22, 29, 34

Delight yourself in the Lord,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.  

For the evildoers shall be cut off,
but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land. 

But the meek shall inherit the land
and delight themselves in abundant peace. 

...for those blessed by the Lord shall inherit the land,
but those cursed by him shall be cut off. 

The righteous shall inherit the land and dwell upon it forever.  

Wait for the Lord and keep his way,
and he will exalt you to inherit the land;
you will look on when the wicked are cut off.

Matthew 5:5

Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

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Its likely that verse 4 is the most well known part of this psalm. Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. This is a rich and thrilling promise. But notice that the only reference to this psalm in the New Testament is to verse 11, mentioned by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount. Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth. I would like to submit that these two parts of psalm 37 are closely connected and shed light on one another.

This psalm is a great example of Hebrew parallelism and repetition. There are several references to the threat of wicked men and that our response to injustice should not be fretting, but rather a deep trust and delight in the Lord. To bolster this call for trust in the midst of adversity, the psalmist presents several promises from God: that he will grant our desires, that he will not forsake us, that he will not let his children go hungry. And then the ultimate culmination of these promises - inheriting the land!

The passage in Matthew 5 reads "the earth," and you could say this is merely interchangeable with "the land," for the Hebrew "eretz" means both and typically refers to the promised land of Isreal. But I do not think it is an accident that Jesus broadens this word's meaning for the new covenant audience. What once was a promise and hope for material comfort and political protection has now become something much grander in scope.

For truly, those who trust in Christ with a meek heart can now expect an inheritance that encompasses the whole earth. We are given glimpses of what this will be in passages that describe our inheritance and what place we will have in the new heavens and new earth:

Our salvation: 1 Peter 1:3-4

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you...

The indwelling Spirit of God: Ephesians 1:11-14

In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

An incomparable welcome home: John 14:1-3

“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.

The judging of the world and the angels: 1 Corinthians 6:2-3

Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases? Do you not know that we are to judge angels? How much more, then, matters pertaining to this life!

A seat with God on his throne: Ephesians 2:4-7

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

There are other passages too, but these provide a powerful link between the salvation from sin that we typically focus on and the inheritance of a place in God's kingdom, of which we are now chosen citizens. There is a unique delight and trust that comes from looking ahead to our inheritance, over and above merely looking back to what we once received.

Can I say that it is easy for me not to fret because I am so confident in God's promised inheritance? Do I anticipate his coming and his reckoning more than I worry about my security and reputation? If this new earth is given to the meek, how can I repent of every proud and self-righteous thought that may keep me from it?

I think the psalmist may tell us to delight in Him, for that is the mark of a meek heart who has confident hope in a rich inheritance. Lord, help me to delight in you and look to my inheritance, for it is bigger and grander than anything I can imagine. Let it captivate my thoughts and bring meekness to this heart. Amen.

True Hunger and True Bread

John 6:53-58

So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.  Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.  For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.  Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.  As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me.  This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate, and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.”

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As we began reading John, we drew our attention to the theme verse in chapter 20 verse 31:

...these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

Each chapter of John's account adds another layer of meaning to this twofold thesis, answering the two most important questions a person can ever ask:

Who is Jesus?
Why does that matter in my real life?

And chapter 6 is no exception. Here we see Jesus comparing himself to the manna that appeared each day to feed the Israelites in the wilderness for 40 years. He even calls himself the Bread of Life which has come down from heaven. What does this mean? What does this tell us about Jesus and about ourselves?

Well, it is safe to say that Jesus is not made of bread, and therefore he was not expecting anyone to eat him, cannibal-style. The crowd asks about this, either out of mockery or just willful ignorance. The context includes several references to the manna of old, clearly showing that he was speaking symbolically. He did the same in chapter 3, concerning the serpent which was raised up for Israel's healing. Jesus is saying something profound about himself, not that he is today's special on the dinner menu.

So, if not cannibalism, then what does the bread metaphor mean for us? It might be easy to say that Jesus should satisfy our soul's deepest need and hunger. But what is that hunger and how do we obtain or ingest this promised bread-like satisfaction?

First, what is this hunger that defines our human condition? It manifests itself in many ways: lust for material trinkets, cravings for control in our lives, desire for success or to always be right, longings for relationships, hunger for comfort and ease. These hungers are sometimes rooted in good desires, but they quickly become inflated into ultimate desires.

In his book Counterfeit Gods, Tim Keller describes how our hungers can become idolatry:

"What is an idol? It is anything more important to you than God, anything that absorbs your heart and imagination more than God, anything you seek to give you what only God can give."

Each of us knows what that idol is, what it is we hunger for most. What do you daydream about? If you have plans cancel and 2 hours of unexpected free time, how do you spend it? Could you stand before the Savior who died for you and tell him that he is your treasure? Is he the bread you hunger for?

So, what if we admit that we don't hunger for him? What if we admit that he doesn't attract us or seem to satisfy us like he once did?

Perhaps we are double blind: blind to our hunger and blind to his fulfilling richness. How do we open our eyes to see this richness and savor it again?

A typical church answer might be bible-reading and prayer - this is how to take in this bread and find satisfaction - and there is some truth to that. But, what if we've tried that and still feel hungry? What if we keep trying to pray and our minds are either distracted or simply unable to imagine something lovely about Jesus? What if the Bible is just words on the page?

Jesus says to us, I am the Bread of Life. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood will have eternal life and be raised on the last day. Do we want that? Do I want to live forever? Do I daydream about heaven? Do I have vivid imaginings about finally seeing a bright new earth in 20/20 vision - no more glasses, no more fog!

Jesus links the satisfying nature of the bread to a promise of resurrection, and I think that is the key here. We are dead in sins and craving filth like the foolish prodigal son, while all the while our loving Father waits with a home, a family, a fattened calf, and a welcome party in our honor! His robe and his ring he will place on our undeserving bodies as we finally admit we are empty and hungry.

Admit it. You're hungry, you're weak, you're lost in the dark. And your greatest need can be met only in the One who shaped your heart and died to bring you to Himself. Accept it. Cherish it. And then you can learn each day how to eat new manna, just as the Israelites had to gather it day after day.

Look for it and you will find it. In His word, in the smile of a dear friend, in the gift of each breath.

And believe, for that is the work which he actually says to do in this very chapter (6:29), and everything hinges on it. Believe that heaven awaits and all you have to do is admit your brokenness and take what is offered. Believe in the holy God who became a simple man and entered into our messed up world. Be captivated by such love that went to such lengths for such ungrateful men. Believe it and pray that daily bread of forgiveness and a forgiving heart - to accept him and become more like him.

Believe it, and it's yours.

Death by Rules

John 5:6-10

When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be healed?”  The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me.” Jesus said to him, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.”  And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked. Now that day was the Sabbath. So the Jews said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to take up your bed.”

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Rules.

Everyone has them. State rules, city rules, traffic rules, dinner etiquette, church etiquette, sports rules. Some rules save lives by preventing and restraining foolish decisions. Like, don't drive the wrong way down a one way street. Some rules are outdated and should change with time and context. Like, don't eat pork (mmmm bacon). And other rules are actually quite deadly. That's what we see in John 5.

For example, when your Maker has shown up in the flesh and starts radically transforming people's lives, your first thought shouldn't be: "Well, we don't do things like that around here! Today is a special day, a religious day! No work allowed, even if it is powerfully loving and kind! No exceptions!"

I say this kind of rule is deadly because of how the passage continues:

And this was why the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because he was doing these things on the Sabbath. But Jesus answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.”  This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God. (John 5:16-18)

Ah, now we see why breaking their rules would make them thirsty for blood. Those rules represented their pride, their self- righteousness, and everything that set them apart as God's special elite chosen ones. They had their identities wrapped up in these rules - to belittle the rule was treasonous to them. The rules had blinded them from the purpose of those rules, which was to point them to their holy and loving God.

Paul makes this contrast in 2 Corinthians 3:4-6. He shows us a way to be right with God apart from self-righteous devotion to arbitrary rules:

Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, who has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

The letter kills. We've seen that. But in John 5 we clearly see the life-giving Spirit at work in the healing act of Jesus.

Notice how he initiates the healing, how he notices the man, how this man was overlooked for years. Everyone had given up on him, but not Jesus. Notice how others got to the pool before him. The invisible hand of the free market was not going to do him any favors. But the visible hand of Jesus would.

I come away from this passage challenged. I don't want to fall into introspection, examining how I might be letting my rules and self-righteousness lead to being overly critical of others who are doing genuinely good and loving things. There's a time for that. But I want to run a away from the letter that kills and let the life-giving Spirit change and use me in new ways! I want to show initiating love to someone who is overlooked and undeserving. I want to be like Jesus in this way.

Lord, open my eyes today to the needs around me and use me to initiate the love of the Savior toward them in some concrete way.