Sacrificing Our Children

As the Bible reading plan my wife and I are following has been taking us through the Historical Books of the OT, we have been running frequently into the ancient pagan practice of sacrificing one’s child to the gods. It was supposed to be a distinguishing hallmark among the Israelites that they did NOT practice such a horrible thing.

God set his people apart from this practice even before the law, by forbidding Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac. It seems to me that God led Abraham right up to the brink of this practice to affirm Abraham’s commitment as being as stout as any pagan’s. But then God stopped Abraham short of follow-through. In this, God showed mankind that what was both impossible for man to do, and unthinkable for man to try – that is, to appease God by the sacrifice of man’s own offspring – was both appropriate and necessary for only God himself to do. By this, of course, I mean that God offered his only Son once for all sins.

Sadly, long after Abraham, God’s people failed to be distinct in even this most heinous practice. They not only worshipped the false gods of those pagans they failed to dispossess in Canaan, they even came to emulate the practice of sacrificing their own children on altars to false gods like Baal and Molech (2 Kgs 16:3; 17:17; cf. 2 Kgs 3:27; 23:10; Ps 106:34-39).

Ugh! We recoil in disgust, don’t we? How could anyone – let alone God’s people – fall into such gross sin and violence? Perhaps we know all too well.

I have concluded we in our modern American culture may actually have done worse. The way the OT narratives read, it seems that when the ancient pagan sacrificed his child it was out of a high level – misguided, yes – but a high level of devotion to a false god. And these sacrifices seemed largely to be offered as a final step of desperation (see 2 Kgs 3:27 listed above). But many in our culture sacrifice their children for mere convenience, out of a high devotion only to one’s own interests.

Two huge American issues come to my mind as illustrating the offhanded ease with which we sacrifice our children: abortion-on-demand and foster care.

The decisions handed down by the courts in 1973 that attached the fate of the unborn child to the mother’s “right to privacy” paved the way for millions of children to be sacrificed. Certainly, some mothers have had to make hard decisions, like in pregnancies that came through rape or that posed an existential threat to the life of the mother if carried to term. But the vast majority of abortions carried out in our country have had nothing to do with excruciating moral dilemmas. They have been matters of convenience, a cold-hearted solution to the natural consequences of sexual promiscuity. But we now not only have an epidemic of children sacrificed before birth, but also of those being sacrificed after. 

My wife and I have fostered dozens of children. We have seen firsthand, and heard the stories of parents so caught up in their own indulgences and whims that they have sacrificed their children to the gods of pleasure, leisure, and every kind of addiction – in short, to the god of self. The “higher power” a typical westerner hopes to appease is his or her own desire. So, parents get drunk, or high, or indulge in every kind of violent power struggles or promiscuity while their kids become currency, or slaves, or – at best – just try to fend for themselves.

And, sadly, like with Israel of old, the distinction between the pagan parent and the Christian parent has all but disappeared in many homes.

I understand that most parents I am describing were already themselves victims of the same kind of child-sacrifice, and that we are called to have compassion for them as well. But parenting is a responsibility for which God holds us accountable. And God has never let slide a culture that abuses and neglects the poor and weak. How much more that society who has some of the richest resources ever in the history of humankind.

What do we do? We call sin sin. We love the hurting parents, and try to help them love and value the kids they’ve been hurting. And many times, it means loving the kids well, when their parents won’t or can’t. Foster, adopt, or mentor a child.

The Apostle James put it this way:

²⁷ Pure and undefiled religion before God the Father is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained from the world. (James 1:27, CSB)

Birds and Plastic Flowers...and Us?

For the second year in a row, we have birds making a home in our cornucopia hanging on our front door. They are apparently convinced our metal-encased plastic flowers are more suitable than real foliage for their nest. They build a nest and lay their eggs, but, sadly, so far none of the eggs have survived to extend a new generation.

I wonder if there’s a spiritual lesson here. Don’t we easily do the same thing? Don’t we treat the temporal world as the real thing, when God’s eternal kingdom is far more real? Don’t we nest ourselves into all kinds of “flowers” that have no real life (but look pretty), and invest our coming generation in these things? Real flowers aren’t always perfect looking, but their beauty comes from real life. Real trees - the natural place for home-building - are full of real life. Don’t we often go for plastic, and the appearance of life?

Well, if so, I am concerned for the results. Our front door - while it may be removed vertically from predators - is no safe place for birds to build. It is a place of transition, and our frequent opening and closing surely makes for scrambled eggs! Likewise, this present world is a place of transition, and not suitable for permanent dwelling. Oddly enough, when we have tried moving the nest to a natural location, the birds have abandoned their young to perish. I wonder if we do that with our Christianity. We go for man-made plastic, but when God moves us toward real life (with real risks but real rewards), we abandon it. And our children’s generation are on short odds for survival.

Well, if you visit our house in the spring, don’t be surprised by the birds flying off the door at you. And if they do, perhaps pause for a moment and consider whether you are building your own nest in a place of plastic, or a place of real life.

Got Joy?

Yeah, I'm taking an effective old slogan and milking it for all it's worth (see what I did there?) ...

If you struggle some days with finding joy in life, let me suggest you might find the Apostle John's words of some help. In his first epistle, he clearly states that joy is a main purpose for his writing (1 Jn 1:4). I see in his first four verses that joy comes from true fellowship with God and with his church.

How does one come to this fellowship that brings joy? Through revelation and declaration. Revelation of life through Jesus Christ is the source of joy. No one will have true joy unless Christ is revealed to him or her. All of the poor substitutes that life (and the devil) offers are mere idols that bring no lasting joy. But when the real Person of Jesus Christ is revealed to someone - that's when real joy is possible!

John goes on to explain the apostles' role of declaring to others this Jesus who has been revealed to them. This privilege of declaration is currently the mandate of the Church. We declare Christ, the Eternal Son, the Word of Life, the Creator, who was born into flesh and blood humanity, and into actual history. We declare the fellowship, the union with God Himself, that Jesus provides for all who believe His word and trust in his provision for sin's payment. This act of declaration fulfills - John says "complete(s)" - the Christian's joy.

The revelation of Christ to us, and our declaration of Christ to others - these things provide us with true joy as we are brought into fellowship with God. And as our witness is used by God to draw others into that fellowship, our joy is increased until its completion.

John goes on to establish healthy practices (e.g., confessing sin, discerning the enemy, and loving each other) that help us continue in our joy. But at its core, we find our joy in fellowship with God through the revelation and declaration of Christ.

Got joy?

Necessity of Christ's Specific Death

We often say or sing that Christ died for us. Do we realize how important was how he died for us?

My wife and I love to watch mystery and crime shows, to solve before the protagonists that old question, “Whodunnit?” One common scene is when the coroner issues his all-important professional opinion about time and cause and means of death.

I’ve heard quite a lot of preaching and teaching about the time of death, how Jesus’ death came at the precise right time. Language like the “fullness of time” refers to biblical themes about how God was sovereignly orchestrating salvation exactly according to his timetable, and how the Gospels record Jesus making his move toward his death in Jerusalem when – and only when – it was time (Lk 4:28-30; Jn 7:6-8; 8:59;10:31; Gal 4:4; Eph 1:10).

And there is quite a lot of teaching about the means of death, that Jesus was crucified by the Roman government at the demands of the Jewish Council. We speak often of how Jesus died for us, realizing our personal responsibility for his death for sin.

But I’m not sure how deeply we realize the implications of the specific way Jesus had to die. And this is why the OT is so important, for it teaches us much about the richness of NT doctrine.

We understand Christ’s death was a sacrifice. The ceremonial law required the sinner to acknowledge personal responsibility for the death of the sacrifice for his sins (Lv 4:33). Jesus had to die from a deliberate act at the hands of a human. He could not drown in the storm on the sea, when he slept in his boat while his disciples panicked (Mt 8:23-27). He could not die from a fall, or an accident at work in all his years as a tradesman. He could not die from a sickness contracted from the many diseased people he touched (e.g., Mt 8:3,15; Mk 3:10; 6:56; Lk 6:19; 7:14). Death in these ways would not satisfy the wrath of God, nor would it fulfill the requirement of a substitution of the innocent for the guilty.

Jesus had to be killed by a man.

More than that, Jesus could not simply fall at the hands of one murderer. He had to be executed by command of man’s government, for God ordained human government as his representative to carry out justice, to do what for an individual acting alone was forbidden – to execute capital punishment. As the one dominant superpower of its day, Rome represented humanity as its government sentenced Jesus to death.

Of course, the OT prophets provided much more detail about the gruesome nature of this execution. And this is why the specific nature of Jesus’ death is so staggering.

Let us take the time to think deeply about all the implications of the specific nature of Christ’s death for us. It was carried out by whom it was decreed. It was both highly personal for each of us, and comprehensive for all of us. Each of us sinners had our hand on his head, bearing responsibility. And Rome and the Council acted on behalf of all of us. It happened exactly how and when it must, according to God’s decree.

There is not one thread of any of salvation’s themes that was not perfectly woven into fine linen Christ has provided for his Bride (Isa 61:10; Rv 19:8).

Thriving in Old Age

Thriving in Old Age

As I continue to move north of what most would call “middle age,” I was struck this morning by Psalm 92. The inscription describes it as a “song for the Sabbath day,” so it is a contemplation geared for times of rest. Presumably, such a song would both celebrate the rest God provides and re-invigorate the singer for the next stages of godly work.

As the early verses are a joyful celebration of God’s faithful love and work, and His profound plans, the songwriter makes an observation that brings the stability of an eternal perspective. The wicked will be eternally destroyed, while the Lord is exalted forever. Who is exalting Him? The righteous, who thrive in God’s courts.

In two contrasting similes, the psalmist first describes the wicked as grass that is eternally destroyed, then the righteous as a palm tree that is perpetually fruitful. What an encouraging thought, that we might continue to be “healthy and green,” to “thrive” and produce even in our old age!

We have a neighbor who encourages me toward physical fitness. He is in his mid-seventies, but could leave me in the dust on runs of five, six, or even ten miles. He is disciplined in his lifestyle, and he stays active. But this psalmist is offering something far better than what a disciplined diet and regular exercise can bring. It is the ongoing ability to produce spiritual fruit for the praise of our everlasting Lord – no matter how advanced our years.

How can we thrive, even in our latter years, even in eternity? If we are “planted in the house of the Lord” and in “the courts of our God.” If we are rooted and living in the presence of the Source of life, we will perpetually bear the signs of life – health and growth and fruit for the praise of His name.

The Apostle Paul helps us understand being “planted” in God’s presence, and the symbol of baptism pictures it. In Col 3:3 Paul says we have died, and our lives are “hidden in Christ in God.” Our union with Christ is our source of true longevity. When we “put to death what is earthly in [us]” (v.5), we are planted in Christ. Then we “put on the new self,” and are renewed in Christ (v.10). Because our lives are united with Christ’s eternal life, we operate from our eternal rest and are perpetually invigorated to declare with the psalmist: “The Lord is just; he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.”