Scripture Reading: 1 Corinthians 10:1-4
Review: When God formed Israel into a nation, an array of physical and material blessings became available to the people. These blessings stand as a small foretaste of the far more vast array of physical and material blessings associated with Christ's Kingdom being established here on earth at some point in the future.
God used just 613 laws to govern the moral, religious, political, social, and economic life of the nation. All of the laws prove to be closely associated with the physical and material blessings mentioned above. For example, in reference to morality, the Lord provided a fixed, objective standard to define what is and isn't moral: "And you shall do what is right and good in the sight of the Lord" (Deuteronomy 6:18). The verse goes on to connect general well-being and blessing in Israel to the people living by this standard. Similarly, in reference to the religious life of the nation, laws were laid down strictly prohibiting worship of any other god. These laws shielded Israel from the physical dangers of involvement with the demons that stand behind the idols. Demons couldn't care less about the long-term physical well-being of people. The nations that worshiped idols experienced devastating physical consequences, everything from tattooing and mutilating their bodies to unrestrained incest to child-sacrifice. So the strict regulation of the religious life of Israel turned out, among other things, to be a hedge of protection for the physical and material well-being of the people.
I will share more examples tomorrow of the connection between the 613 laws God used to organize Israel and the array of physical and material blessings available to the people. In the meantime, it's important to note that these blessings, though physical and material, are called "spiritual" in 1 Corinthians 10:1-4. Manna and the water from the rock were physical and material, so why are they called "spiritual"? The answer goes to the origin of these blessings. They did not come from the physical and material realm, they emanated from God's Spirit. Alva McClain explains that the word "spiritual" refers to physical things in this material world that are produced solely "by the power of God Himself without natural instrumentality." Zechariah 4:6 puts it this way: "'Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit,' says the Lord."
Since the physical and material blessings associated with God's rule came from Him and were thus "spiritual", the people became accountable to God for their stewardship of them. Similarly, we are accountable for the "spiritual" blessings that God pours out on us as we bring our hearts under Jesus' Lordship. The physical and material blessings we are receiving now are only foretastes of the vast array of blessings associated with living in Christ's Kingdom in the future. Still, they are "spiritual" blessings. They emanate from God. Our homes, our cars, our money--every physical resource attaching to us is "spiritual" blessing entrusted to our stewardship now in preparation for the blessings we will receive in the future.
Reflection Questions: How do the Utopian views of the world differ represented in songs such as "Imagine" by John Lennon differ from the values and ideals associated with the way God organized Israel as a nation? Which of your physical and material blessings can you honestly say you count as "spiritual"? How do you demonstrate this in your stewardship of those things? What keeps you from expanding the list to include all of your physical and material possessions? How would your stewardship of those things change if you did begin to treat them as "spiritual" and not just the products of your own strength and ingenuity?
1 comment:
Your sermon Sunday did not reference a 4th "strategy" for dealing with suffering: despising the suffering, claiming the promises inasmuch as they pertain to the present time, and waiting- sometimes in the patience of being too busy to worry about it, and sometimes frustrated to tears and begging for deliverance. I don't know a biblical model for this, though. Perhaps Moses. In his situation God responded almost immediately though. (Luke 18:30)
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