Spirit

Day 78: 1 Chronicles 26–29; Joel 1–3; James 1–3

The prophet Joel tells of the great Day of the Lord, a day of vengeance.  And then after that Day of the Lord a pouring out of His Spirit on all flesh.  Pentecost, the 50th day after Eater, is coming soon and my end of the 90 Day Bible Blitz.  It was on Pentecost that first year after Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection that the disciples experienced a fulfillment of Joel's prophecy about the outpouring of the Spirit.  I have a keen sense that if it were not for the Spirit and for the way the Spirit works through me, I would not be writing this blog.

The Spirit nudges me out of bed in the morning to read and write.  The Spirit reminds me I haven't yet posted to the blog.  Sometimes I obey and other times I resist.  I resist when tired and my mind is sluggish.  Lately there's been a resistance to write because the narrative portions  and the prophets are repetitive for the most part. It's getting more difficult finding connecting themes about which to write.

The Spirit is gentle and He is persistent. And when I do comply with His direction, I find blessing. My spirit is willing, but my flesh is weak. And my flesh can speak louder than my willing spirit.  But the believer is not left to her own limited resources. She is empowered by the Spirit of God.

During readings today in 1 Chronicles and in James I felt His presence, warm and life giving as the Word of God inspired me. The word of God is God breathed. Paul told Timothy, "All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness (2 Tim. 3:16)..."

The chroniclers tell of all David's preparations for building the temple.  It reminds me of Moses preparing to build the tabernacle.  Even David mentions he had a vision and a plan for the temple which He gave to Solomon (1 Chr. 28:12, 19). The footnote to 1 Chr. 28:12 in the Holman Christian Standard Bible says an alternate translation to "had in his mind" could be "he received from the Spirit." Moses was given a vision and plan for the tent of meeting on Mt. Sinai (Ex. 25:1, 8-9).

David also commissions his son Solomon to build this envisioned temple with all the organizational plans for the Levites and priests doing the work of the temple.  He does so using the same words Moses spoke to Joshua and God later directly to Joshua. "Be strong and courageous (Deut. 31:6-7; Jos 1:6-9)."

Then David said to his son Solomon, "Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Don't be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD God, my God, is with you. He won't leave you or forsake you until all the work for the service of the LORD's house is finished (1 Chr. 28:20)."

David then makes known his personal offering for the building of the temple. It is vastly generous (1 Chr. 29:3-4).  The leaders of people respond by also giving generously. It is important to note they gave willingly.  This reminds us of the people giving willingly for the building of the tent of meeting under Moses (Ex. 25:5, 21, 29).  David is overcome with joy as he watches the joyous outpouring of generous gifts for the the glory of God.

"LORD our God, all this wealth that we've provided for building You a house for Your holy name comes from Your hand; everything belongs to You. I know, my God, that You test the heart and that You are pleased with uprightness. I have willingly given all these things with an upright heart, and now I have seen Your people who are present here giving joyfully and willingly to You. LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our ancestors, keep this desire forever in the thoughts of the hearts of Your people, and confirm their hearts toward You (1 Chr. 29:16-18)."

Prayers like this move God and God's people.  It certainly moved me. Or should I say the Spirit filled me at the reading of David's prayer? For a time the people enjoyed peace and prosperity under Solomon. But as we know Solomon did not keep his heart fully dedicated to Yahweh. His many foreign wives drew him into pagan worship.

Joel is one of many prophets who warned Israel and Judah of God's intent to punish their idolatry and sin. His words are frightening. The Day of the Lord is a shaking of the cosmos! It is as the plagues of the Lord upon Egypt with locusts laying everything barren.  Terrible famine, war and grief will be Israel's future unless they repent.  Joel urges them to call a sacred fast and to tear their hearts in grief over their sin, not simply their clothes.


"Even now—
          [this is] the LORD's declaration—
    turn to Me with all your heart,
    with fasting, weeping, and mourning.
Tear your hearts,
    not just your clothes,
    and return to the LORD your God.
    For He is gracious and compassionate,
    slow to anger, rich in faithful love,
    and He relents from sending disaster.
Who knows? He may turn and relent
    and leave a blessing behind Him...(Jl. 2:12-14a)"

An act of national repentance would make God "jealous for His land and spared people (Jl. 2:18)."
God promises to restore them from famine war and pestilence.  God will pour out His Spirit on all humanity (JlJl 2:30-31; 3:2, 14).

Renewal comes through God's mercy to the repentant sinner and His Spirit blesses and keeps them holy.  That is the prophet's hopeful vision.  Once restored Jerusalem and Judah will remain holy and a source of blessing for all the world to see and enjoy for God is with them (Jl. 3:17-18).  But the enemies of God and His people will be laid to waste.  Such is the vision for the great and terrible Day of the Lord.

The letter of James to the dispersed church throughout the Roman empire is decidedly Jewish in tone, written for Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians who know the Jewish scriptures and customs.  James is the earthly brother of Jesus. According to John's gospel and to Mark's, Jesus' brothers did not believe in Him as Messiah (Jn 7:5; Mk. 3:21).  But after Jesus' resurrection James is made the leader of the church in Jerusalem.  We never hear of his conversion, like we do of the Pharisee Saul of Tarsus who becomes Paul the apostle of Jesus Christ to the gentiles.

I get the sense that the Jewish Christians, formed by a millennium of custom had to place an earthly son of David over them.  IN some sense James serves as the king of the new kingdom of Christ.  Though all knew Jesus was the eternal King of Kings, James would be His earthly representative.  This is how kings and emperors were understood, divinely appointed, anointed, and authorized to govern in God's name.  They were sons of the gods.

James mentions Jesus only once in his letter to the church in his brief greeting.  The letter is filled with exhortation, words designed to instruct, correct, encourage and build up.  There is very little Christian theology in this letter, not of the kind of the apostle Paul's.  Instead the letter could be written by a law keeping Jew given to encourage law keeping Jews.  There is only one reference to "the Spirit who lives in us (Jms. 4:5)."

But there is a Christian worldview in James.  It is not spelled out in detail, but briefly referred to at times James references the return of the Lord (Jms. 5:7) in addition to the verse about the indwelling Spirit.  James also mentions "new birth" and the metaphor of "firstfruits" to describe the community of Christ (Jms. 1:18).  And what is this new birth? It is the gift of the Spirit as proclaimed by Joel and promised by Jesus.  And what are firstfruits?  It refers to the very first harvested souls from God's new creation.  We Christians are the first in the in-gathering of fruit from God's vineyard.  It is through the "message of truth" that we become so (Jms. 1:18).   Paul taught that "faith comes by hearing" the gospel (Rom. 10:17).  Is not James pointing to this same belief?

Faith opens us up to be filled with the Spirit. All those who believe the gospel are therefore in relationship with Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit. Their hearts are made new. Whether that be a felt experience or not is immaterial.  "All who are in Christ are a new creation (2 Cor. 5:7)."

From James perspective the moral behavior of the church is based on their friendship with God, their undoubting faith and their habit of leaning of grace to endure trials.  James shares great wisdom with the church. the benefits of life in the Spirit is learned through endurance and endurance leads us to maturity not lacking a thing (Jms 1:2-4)!

If we would learn to lean on the greater grace that God gives to those who humble themselves before Him, they would find the new creation is a reality in themselves.  The would learn to control their tongue. They would learn not to judge others.  They would learn to treat the poor with dignity and mutual affection. They would do the word of God and not simply hear it.  They would come to love their neighbor as themselves. Their faith would not be dead with a lack of godly action. Instead their faith would come alive through good works.  Faith without works is dead just as a body without the spirit is dead.  How much more alive is he Christian whose faith fills their bodies with the Holy Spirit of the Eternal One?

Yes those who learn to face trials with the power of the "greater grace" will find themselves growing toward maturity, abundance and Life!

"Blessed is a man who endures trials, because when he passes the test he will receive the crown of life that He has promised to those who love Him (Jms. 1:12)." 

Lord God, we love You and ask You to live in us through Your Spirit. Help us to keep our minds, eyes, and hearts in love and friendship with You. Keep us from idolatrous and unfaithful love of the things of this world.  Help us to grow in our ability to live by the greater grace You give to the humble.
In Jesus name, Amen.