Changes

Day 77:   1 Chronicles 21–25; Hosea 12–14; Hebrews 11–13

One of my favorite artists is David Bowie.  He has a song called "Changes."

I still don't know what I was waiting for
And my time was running wild
A million dead-end streets
Every time I thought I'd got it made
It seemed the taste was not so sweet
So I turned myself to face me
But I've never caught a glimpse
Of how the others must see the faker
I'm much too fast to take that test

Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes
(Turn and face the strain)
Ch-ch-Changes
Don't want to be a richer man
Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes
(Turn and face the strain)
Ch-ch-Changes
Just gonna have to be a different man
Time may change me
But I can't trace time


He goes on to challenge the older generation "Where's your shame?" who have left their children "up to their necks in it" ...the world post WW2.  The children are trying to change the world for the better.  It speaks of the generation gap that ripped across families and communities, that reached fever pitch in places like London, Chicago, Kent State University in Ohio, New York, Washington, LA and San Francisco.  Change was in the air.  For good or for worse, change was coming.


David made great preparations for the building of the temple and told his son Solomon to build it for the Lord.  We hear from the chroniclers something new.  David told Solomon that he could not build the temple for the Lord because he was a man of bloodshed. 


"You are not to build a house for My name because you have shed so much blood on the ground before Me (1 Chr. 22:6b)."


God is going to move into a fixed location on the former threshing floor of Ornan/Araunah where the sacrifice that saved Jerusalem from the destroyer angel was made (1 Chr. 21:25-22:1). This meant organizing the Levites and the Priesthood to do the work of the temple.  No longer would the Levite families carry the ark of the covenant on poles as they had since Mt. Sinai. Now God is taking up permanent residence in Jerusalem.  God is settling down with His settled people.  God will rest from His wars against the nations for He has given rest to Solomon on every side.  Solomon will not be a man of war, but a man of rest...of sabbath.  He is therefore worthy to build the house for Yahweh.


David decreed what this meant for the lives of the Levites.  God moving into a permanent location , meant changes for them.


"For David said, "The LORD God of Israel has given rest to His people, and He has come to stay in Jerusalem forever. Also, the Levites no longer need to carry the tabernacle or any of the equipment for its service" —..."but their duty will be to assist the sons of Aaron with the service of the LORD's temple, being responsible for the courts and the chambers, the purification of all the holy things, and the work of the service of God's temple—(1 Chr. 23:25-26, 28)..."


Changes come sometimes over a long course of time like God settling Israel in the promised land.  It took from 1406 BC at Joshua's crossing of the Jordan River to 966 BC when Solomon built the temple.  That's 440 years. Still when the announcement that the Levites would no longer carry the ark on poles came through David, that meant the end of  near 480 years of tradition.  What would that mean for the Levites self identity? They would no longer come close the the ark of the covenant.  They had time to prepare. It took Solomon 7 years to build the temple, even more time to adjust from David's decree.


But some changes come in an instance.  Samaria the capital of Israel is under siege by the Assyrains (Hos. 13:16)!  The life of prosperity they once reveled in now comes to an abrupt halt (Hos. 12:8).  They tremble. They hunger and thirst. They die. Those who survive the siege are dragged away in chains to a land they do not know. The change is abrupt and violent.  How can they adjust?  Do they have any other choice?  With nothing left but slavery and hardship under the oppression of Assyria in their future, God says to them...


I have been the LORD your God 
    ever since the land of Egypt;
    you know no God but Me, 
    and no Savior exists besides Me.


I will ransom them from the power of Sheol.
    I will redeem them from death. 
    Death, where are your barbs?
    Sheol, where is your sting? (Hos. 13:4, 14)


In times of change it is wisdom to remember that God's promises are certain. God does not change in His righteous and holy character.  While God may have a change of heart, change His mind, or change a plan by establishing a new covenant, God remains true to His work to establish His righteous reign in the hearts of humanity, to the Jew first, then the Gentile (Rom. 1:16).


Hebrews tells us of many faith filled witnesses in the history of Israel. Reading chapter 11 is like reading the rolls of a Hall of Fame museum.  Yet none of these saints saw the fulfillment of what was promised, in what they had faith.  Yet they remained steadfast in their pursuit of "the city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God (Heb. 11:9)."


I can tell you that change in churches comes slow.  It takes a great deal of faith and faithfulness to persevere.  We get so attached to our buildings, our ways of doing things, the traditions of our mothers and fathers, that we often will not budge past them...even when God is shouting, "change or die!"


Imagine how hard it was for the Jews to change.  Even reading the book of Hebrews and the claims of the superiority of Christ and the new covenant causes me some distress knowing how it must have been heard (and is still heard today) by Jews faithful to the laws and customs of their fathers.  But when change is leading to a fuller expression of what God is doing in the world, why would we resist it? 


We resist because change means discomfort.  Change causes grief. It means letting go of the old to embrace the new.  It causes us fear and sadness.  And if we believe the change is unnecessary or leading us in the wrong direction, we even fell angry and hostile.


The writer of Hebrews pleads with the Jewish listeners and to us today. He tells of how God spoke at Sinai and the mountains trembled and the people were terrified.  He then says, 


"See that you do not reject the One who speaks; for if they did not escape when they rejected Him who warned them on earth, even less will we if we turn away from Him who warns us from heaven (Heb. 12:25)."  "Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us hold on to grace. By it, we may serve God acceptably, with reverence and awe;for our God is a consuming fire (Heb. 12:28-29)." 


He encourages them to remain faithful to what they have learned from the apostles and not fall away from Christ.  Though the customs are changing, though the old covenant is fading away, there is One who never fades.  Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever (Heb.13:8)!


Lord, help us to face the strain of changes with faith in You. Remind us always that You will always be faithful to Your promises, Your work of salvation in the world until we can all come tot he heavenly city and rejoice with the countless angels and saints in everlasting praise.  Keep us ever faithful by Your grace. Amen