Hope in the Land of the Living

Ooops, It Happened Again

I recently saw a meme online that said, "Proof-texting the Bible is like ripping someone's arm out of socket, using it to pick your nose, and then offering to give it back to them." Oh the mental image that conjured up. But it's true. When we rip a passage of Scripture out of context we tear apart a living thing and grotesquely use the Word of God to create our own meaning. As a result we unintentionally strip hope from others and contaminate their understanding of Scripture. Women are particularly prone to this. A couple of years ago I began wrestling with a passage of scripture that had been used in just such a fashion. While at first glance the application seemed plausible the hours of further mulling only brought red flags of discomfort.

The passage was Psalm 27:13 which says, "I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living." The application suggested was that this meant that God, in His goodness, will give us what our hearts desire in this life. I wanted a baby and so I was encouraged to cling to this passage as a promise that at some point in my life I would have a baby because God was good and He wanted me to be happy. While at the time I wasn't aware of how much hope and comfort this passage would bring I have now come to see that the friend who shared this passage was directed by God to do so. The initial usage of this passage was incorrect but it pushed me to study this passage in depth and as I did hope, comfort, and joy unlocked from the pages of Scripture. Let me share these truths with you and take this passage from one of wishful hoping to one of bountiful comfort.

"Our hope in Christ for the future is the mainspring and
the mainstay of our joy down here today."
Charles Spurgeon

Sorting Out the Context

To understand this passage one must first go back to the story of Moses in Exodus 33. In the preceding chapters the people of Israel had become anxious of waiting for Moses to make his way off Mount Sinai and had consequently begun to worship a golden calf claiming it was the god who brought them up out of Egypt. The ramifications were devastating and God identified the Israelites as a "stiff necked people" who had broken the covenant. Their years of wandering would continue, their sin would bring death and their rebellion brought a damaged relationship with God. All of this was to be an imaging of our lost, destruction bound separation from God as rebellious humans. In Exodus 33 Moses goes before God and intercedes for the people and the renewal of the covenant. It is during this conversation that God promises, "My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest." Moses boldly makes a further request to not only know God's presence but to see the glory of God. To this point Moses had stood in the presence of God but a cloud had always veiled God presence before Moses. God's holiness would destroy sinful man if looked upon directly but One was coming who's redemptive work would change this. For this reason God response is not a direct "yes" but he states, "I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name 'The Lord.' And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will show mercy on whom I will show mercy."
If we skip ahead we come to a scene that I jealously wish I could have been there for. Just reading verses 6-8 of chapter 34 gives me goosebumps. "The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, 'The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin. . .And Moses quickly bowed his head toward the earth and worshiped (vs 6-8, 19-20)."

The implications from this passage are bursting with meaning and abundant comfort. Future entries in this series will break down this passage into applicable portions, however, it is important to first understand the primary focus of this passage.

Grasping the Focus

Forgiveness and Mercy. When we boil this passage down to it's core that is what we find. The offences made by the people of Israel were worthy of death. God had every reason to annihilate the entire nation for their rebellious stubbornness but instead He demonstrated mercy and steadfast love through a renewed covenant. This was an image of what was to come when God would show His mercy and steadfast love again through the death of His Son on a cross. Despite the stiff necked rebellion of humanity, God, the wellspring from which pours all mercy and grace, established an eternal covenant with His chosen people through Christ's perfect life, atoning death, and miraculous resurrection. Friends, this is why we have hope. Our hope is not loosely tied to a belief that God will give us what we want on this earth. Our hope does not wave in the wind clinging to a belief that the idol we have set up for ourselves will magically become tangible and satisfy us. Our hope from grief and pain, our hope in darkness and despair, our hope in failure and brokenness is the forgiveness of sins and a secure, lasting covenant of familial relationship with God. Does this thrill you like it does me? Does light crash into your darkness promising hope as it has mine? Does this truth drive you to your knees in irresistible worship as it did Moses?

As true believers it should. Our sinful frailty and God's infinite redeeming glory should result in a compelling desire to worship. Returning to Psalm 27 we now understand the Psalmist's desire. He understood his brokenness and sinfulness and his greatest desire was to experience the goodness, glory and mercy of God as Moses had. It was from this same poet's genetic line that One would come who would bring this mercy and assurance of forgiveness.

If you have not experienced this assurance through the grace of God won't you throw yourself on His mercy as the only One who can bring life into your dead world? If you have received the gift of Salvation, does it impact you and challenge your life as it should? For it is in this forgiveness that this life is given purpose and we can experience thanksgiving for what He has done, joy in what He is doing, and a confident hope in what is to come. These we will explore in detail in the entries to come.