Category: Applied Theology

Wondrously Made

On By Bp. Justin ElwellIn Applied Theology, Inspiration1 Comment

Raising children is not for the faint of heart. There are times of soaring joys, along with times of deep sorrows and concerns. I have yet to find a time when I am still not praying for my adult sons, and I am sure that many of you can relate.

There is an interesting textual oddity in Exodus 18. This slight, almost unnoticeable difference to what had come before it, speaks to the heart of how we raise children as individual lives formed by the hand of God.

In my family I am the oldest child, by many years. In my situation, there was no comparison to the successes or failures of my siblings as we grew up. Yet, for whatever reason, I was acutely aware of how much it hurt my friends when their parents, in times of correction, would compare them with their siblings: “why can’t you be more like …?” Or similar statements.

Moses and his wife Zipporah show us something remarkable as we approach our children, and how we shepherd others along in life as well. As Jethro, Zipporah’s father, returns Moses’ family to him after the exodus from Egypt, the Torah says of the two boys: שֵׁם הָאֶחָד, גֵּרְשֹׁם, “the name of one is Gershom” … וְשֵׁם הָאֶחָד, אֱלִיעֶזֶר, “and the name of one is Eliezer” (Ex. 18:3, 4, respectively).

This is a change from the usual language pattern of the Torah, which, if there is more than one son: there is one son, then the second son, and so forth. This sets the sons in order for purposes of inheritance and blessing. Yet Moses and Zipporah were careful not to follow this pattern. Why?

If you have read the Book of Genesis, you may have noticed the strife between the sons of the patriarchs regarding position, blessing, and leadership. Moses changes this ever so slightly. Gershom is the oldest, and he has a position given to him by God. Eliezer is the younger, but he is no less loved or favored. What do we learn from this?

Consider the words of David: “I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well” (Ps. 139:14). David says נִפְלֵיתִי, “I am wondrously made.” Another way, amplified, “I am uniquely made to be me.”

For Moses and Zipporah their sons were the only Gershom and the only Eliezer. They were unique. They were not the other. Moses and Zipporah recognized their sons uniqueness, and the Torah forever records how they loved them. In their family, they recognized each child as unique, special, gifted in their own right. Moses and Zipporah would raise them and direct them, but they would not raise them one against the other, or exactly the same. They had the presence of mind, and a depth of relationship with their sons to know how to raise them, uniquely, in the “fear and admonition of the Lord” (Eph. 6:4).

Children are not uniform. Even with the same parents and environment, they grow as their unique selves, guided, we pray, by involved godly parents. Moses and Zipporah, in these few words, encourage us to be involved with our child(ren) in such a way as to shepherd their personalities as God has formed them. Recognize their strengths and weaknesses. Respond to them in a manner that encourages their strengths, but also strengthens their points of weakness according to the wise counsel of God’s Word and faith in Christ.

You, dear reader, are also unique. There is no one else who has ever been or ever will be like you. You have been wondrously made, and I pray, even more wondrously renewed (II Cor. 5:17). As a shepherd, I must recognize the unique person that the Father is reforming before me (Ro. 8:29), and communicate in such a way as to encourage them along the way…and sometimes correct their course. Speaking to their individual strengths and weakness according to the wise counsel of God’s Word and faith in Christ, as noted above.

Moses and Zipporah honored the uniqueness of their sons, and in their uniqueness they strengthened their lives and relationships. Gershom was free to be Gershom. Eliezer was free to be Eliezer. Neither had to be the other.

We learn this lesson at the foot of Sinai, where a nation would learn to be a unique, chosen nation among nations, even with their imperfections. And what is a nation but unique people joined in covenant together, ensuring the life, safety and wellbeing of the neighbors and strangers around them, according to the Word of God.

In our parental relationships, in our shepherding relationships, and our communal relationships, let us remember that we have all been wondrously made, and supernaturally renewed by the Father, through the Son, in the power of the Holy Spirit. I am me, and you are you, but in all things, let us show forth Christ to all (I Pet. 2:9-10).

Be well. Shalom.

His Forgiven Habitation

On By Bp. Justin ElwellIn Applied Theology, GospelLeave a comment

“Why is ‘forgiving yourself’ so difficult? First, it’s impossible…”

The children of Israel have walked through a miracle: the parting of the Red Sea (Ex. 14). Not only have they been delivered from a devastated Egypt, they were delivered from certain death at the hands of Pharaohs army. Trapped in an area called, פִּי הַחִירֹת, “the mouth of the mountains,” with the sea before them, and mountains on either side of them, the only way of escape was filled with an army.

What was Israel to do? Surrender to their vanquished enemy? No, as Moses said: “Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will work for you today” (Ex. 14:13).

The winds blew, the waters parted, and Israel walked through the divided sea on dry land. When they emerge on the other side, they sing. In Exodus 15:2 we read these beautiful words:

זֶה אֵלִי וְאַנְוֵהוּ,  אֱלֹהֵי  אָבִי וַאֲרֹמְמֶנְהוּ

“…this is my God and I will praise Him; my fathers God, and I will exalt Him.”

The first clause above is incredible: “this is my God,” amplified: “the God of miracles, deliverance, safety, and faithfulness, I will praise Him … the God whom my father exalted, I will also exalt.” What they have witnessed and received, they rejoice in, but there is something deeper imparted here as well.

זֶה אֵלִי וְאַנְוֵהוּ, in many translations reads, “this is my God and I will praise Him…” Yet, according to Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch, וְאַנְוֵהוּ, “and I will praise,” from the root נָוָה/nāvâ, the form of this word lends itself to being understood in several ways, an example:“and I will prepare a home for Him.” This is not referencing the future tabernacle, but rather, the individual. In the midst of this praise song, Moses is expressing the hope of his heart, also of those singing with him, to be a habitation for and to offer one’s life to be a home for the Spirit of God.

Yet, Moses was not perfect, none of them were. Moses had taken human life. He argued with God when called by Him. He continued to doubt the message of deliverance and redemption of Israel given to pharaoh as it resulted in even greater suffering for them. How could he believe himself to be a worthy physical habitation of God?

The language of נָוָה/nāvâ, habitation, home or resting place, also speaks of the beautification of that place. The cleansing of it. By what means? Faith-ing to God. Trusting Him. His choice of Israel to be His people. In order to receive Him, they would have to be cleansed, prepared, and forgiven.

Forgiveness is a difficult subject. Forgiving and “releasing” those who wronged us (Matt. 6:14-15), or being forgiven and “released” by those we have wronged (Matt. 18:35). This author has recently taught on forgiving those who have wronged us, but a small treatment on “forgiving ourselves” is in order. How can we forgive ourselves for the wrong we have done, participated in or gave approval to?

In Messiah Yeshua/Jesus, we have been moved from a position of condemnation to forgiveness (Ro. 8:1). This is a greater miracle than the Red Sea. Yet, we are still in a world saturated in sin, and from time to time, sin, of one type or another, finds a point of entry, causing us to stumble. We must remember that all of have fallen short of the glory of God (Ro. 3:23). In Christ we are trusting in His righteousness, and His forgiveness. His forgiveness, and the cleansing that results, causes us to become a habitation of the Holy Spirit, as Paul writes, “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?” (I Cor. 3:16). When the house of Cornelius, gentiles after the flesh, heard the gospel of Messiah, they were filled with the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 10:45; cf. Acts 11:18), whose indwelling presence sealed their acceptance by God (Eph. 1:13-14).

“Forgiving yourself,” as it is oft constructed, is theological incorrect and confusing. You mean to express the sorrow of having participating in or committing a sinful act. Of this you cannot forgive yourself. Only God can. When repented of, He does, and then we walk out the forgiveness of the Father in daily life. Maturing the heart knowledge of the reality of His forgiveness by the blood of His Son, not just an intellectual recognition of it. The apostle John explains, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (I Jn. 1:8-9). He is faithful to forgive and cleanse the conscience of confessed sin, should we then continue to enliven it?

This forgiveness and cleansing should take us, in our minds, back to the song of Moses referenced above, that having experienced the miracle of deliverance and redemption: “and I will prepare a home for Him.” We will tend to the inner space of our hearts and minds by the Word, walking out the forgiveness we have received by the blood of the Lamb, and ultimately resting and abiding in Him (Matt. 11:28-30; Jn. 15:4). Do we trust in the work of Christ on the cross for a complete cleansing of sin? “Forgiving yourself” is recognizing that His work of redemption and cleansing is, was and will be enough. You cannot add to it by self-imprisonment, self-condemnation, or self-mortification. Doing so shackles one to the past, not the beautiful freedom of the present victory. Paul writes:

“Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 3:13-14).

Paul, who gave approval to the stoning of Stephen, could not press on if he was condemning himself. He was set free. Free, even when knowing how bad he really was. “Forgive them Father, for they know not what they do” should still echo in our hearts today. There are times when we remain in a position of self-condemnation without fully knowing what we are doing. Breaking His heart. “I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah” (Ps. 32:5).

Why is “forgiving yourself” so difficult? First, it’s impossible, as forgiveness flows from the innocent party to the guilty party. Second, it demands we stop playing the judge. Third, we must trust His grace. Yet, knowing, “how bad I am, or how bad I’m prone to be, can He really forgive me?” Yes, from here to eternity. That is how great His love is. That is the message of the gospel. He loved you while you were still lavishing the excess of sin upon yourself (Ro. 5:8). How much more does He love those He has rescued by the blood of His Son, and now filled with His Spirit. You have been released, set free, and now press on in the “upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” The forgiveness of God has been granted to you, now you must continue to walk in and experience the fullness of it, this is part and parcel to the process of maturing, discipleship, by the indwelling the Holy Spirit, as His habitation. Remember, you did not choose Him. He choose you. And now you are His (Jn. 15:16).

Be well. Shalom.