Lent week 4

Psalm: Psalm 107:1-3, 17-22
Old Testament: Numbers 21:4-9
Gospel: John 3:14-21
Epistle: Ephesians 2:1-10

Our theme this week is about salvation.  We serve a God who saves.  (You might be familiar with the song "Let God Arise" that makes this statement again and again.  We even sang it in church this morning.)  Our Psalm is about the God who saves.  In some of the verses we didn’t read, those who dwell in darkness, those who sail the seas, and those who are oppressed are all reached by the salvation of God.  I had to laugh at the 9 verses dedicated to sailors who will be saved by God. (23-32)  In our particular verses, God saves the fool who calls out to him.  I find this interesting because so often the fool in the Psalms says in his heart “there is no God.” (14:1, 53:1) The fool is not viewed very highly in Bible and it often seems like they have no hope. But praise be to God that even the fool is reachable because don’t we all seem to play the fool at some point in our life?

Numbers 21 is the story of Israel complaining in the desert because they are sick of eating manna every day and are basically tired of walking around the desert.  In response, God afflicts them with poisonous snakes.  Moses then intercedes on behalf of the people and is commanded to place his own fiery snake on a pole.  The response to the punishment is appropriate; snakes afflict them and when they look at Moses’ snake, they will live.  The response to the people’s grumbling and disrespect of God is essentially death.  But God also provides the means for life.  This is not the first time Moses has interceded for the people.  The people of God seem to forget who God is, and God has to rebuke them.  Like a parent, God punishes with the hope the Israelites will be restored and reconciled unto himself.

The image of Moses lifting the snake on the pole is taken up again in the Gospel of John. Just as the snake was lifted up, so must the Son of Man be lifted up.  John 3:16 is one the most well-known verse in the Bible, but it is found in a whole argument made by John.  John, even as early as the third chapter, makes Jesus' death as the Son of Man a known event that serves to save humanity.  Just like the snake on the pole provided salvation, so will Jesus’ death on the cross provide salvation for all who believe.  God sent his Son into the world not to judge, but so that the world “might be saved through him.”

Ephesians bring this concept of salvation into our own lives even more than John.  We, who were dead in our sins and walking entirely contradictory to God’s word, have been saved by God’s rich mercy.  We, who were dead, are now alive with Christ.  Notice that we will be raised up with him and join him in the age to come.  First, the snake was raised up and then Christ, but now we are able to  be raised up in glory because Christ was raised up in his death.  Verse 5 says that it is by grace we have been saved.  It is important for us to always keep this idea before us; we do not merit anything we receive from God.  God has graciously provided the means for us to be raised up in glory through the death and resurrection of his Son.

If there was every one theme that explained the entire story of God found in the Scripture, it is that of salvation.  The entire story of God is of him trying to redeem and save creation.  It is the story of God continually reaching out to restore a rebellious creation, a grumbling people, a sinning church, and a lost soul.  God is like the good shepherd who leaves the 99 sheep to find the one who is lost.  His prevenient grace is flowing in and through creation to call all of creation to God. 

This week ,look for God’s saving grace around you, be that in nature or with a friend. Conversely, for extra credit points, ponder some of those things that might challenge this view.  Is there something in nature or humanity that disturbs you and makes you question God’s goodness or saving activity?  These are good questions to ponder.  We live in a creation that groans for God’s Kingdom to come. (Rom. 8:22)  We live the time between time, in the already/not yet.  God has come, yet he is coming again.  The world is fallen, yet redemption has started to break through.  We see both of these things today and it ok to recognize that.

Grace and Peace this week.