November 18th, 2012
2 Chronicles 15 (1 Kgs 15:9-24; Lk 6:27-38; Mt 7:1-12)
“Reciprocity”
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Bible Memory Verse for the Week: Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. — Luke 6:37-38
Background Information:
- Beyond the specific announcement of retribution theology as his approach, the Chronicler is untiring in his efforts to demonstrate the validity of this principle as it operated in the history of Israel. Since 2 Chr 7:14 announced a program for Israel’s future, the Chronicler concentrates on the period after the schism. Of the 26 chapters devoted to the period, about half of the material is unique to the Chronicler, without parallel in Kings; the fast majority of this nonsynoptic material is directly in the service of retribution theology as the Chronicler seeks to provide the theological rationale for the events he narrates. (Raymond B. Dillard, Word Biblical Commentary, Vol. 15, 78)
- (v. 1) After God allowed Asa to be victorious against the Cushites, God sent Azariah to remind Asa of the lessons taught to him by his Great, grandfather Solomon (see 1 Chr 28:9)
- (v. 2) The basic message from Azariah was that God acts reciprocally with His people. If you are with God, God is with you. If you seek God, God will allow Himself to be found. If you forsake God, He will forsake you.
- (v. 8) Asa takes Azariah’s message to heart and it confirms the actions he began in chapter 14 and so Asa continues on the same path of attempting to insure that Judah continues to seek the Lord and follow Him.
- There is more to Azariah’s word than exhortations or the proclaiming of spiritual principles. The bulk of it is an unusual passage about the experience of Israel. It is thought by some to be “prophecy” (15:8) in the sense of prediction, so that it should really read “Israel will be without the true God,” and so on, and looks ahead to the time of the exile. But in fact it probably looks back to the period of the judges, described in Scripture in similar terms, a sequence in which first sin is punished by God “with every sort of distress” (15:6) and then repentance leads his people back to him and out of distress (15:4). (Michael Wilcock, The Message of Chr, 182)
- (v. 9) That God is with Asa is so obvious that several members of the Northern Kingdom of Israel defect to Asa and to Judah in the South so they might enjoy God’s blessings.
- (v. 11) Asa uses the plunder from the victory at the end of ch. 14 to make a huge sacrificial offering to the Lord.
- (v. 12) Asa re-establishes the covenant with the Lord to try and secure the blessings they currently enjoy by being with God.
- (v. 13) Asa takes the ultimate action to insure that Judah does not soon defect from where her affections should lie — in serving the Lord God of the Universe only.
- The execution of those who would “not seek Yahweh the God of Israel” (15:13) may seem harsh by modern standards, but it is in accord with Dt 17:2-7; 13:6-10. (Raymond B. Dillard, Word Biblical Commentary, Vol. 15, 122)
- The practice of executing flagrant covenant violators was established by Mosaic Law (see Ex 22:20; Dt 17:2-7; 13:6-10). As with all Mosaic instructions on capital punishment, the motivation behind this Law was to rid Israel of evildoers who would lead others from fidelity to the covenant. In the OT period, religious and national policies were nearly inseparable. The judgments of the state of Israel in compliance with the Law of God were the judgments of God himself. As a result, one dimension of national covenant renewal was the purification of the nation. These executions are comparable to the NT practice of excommunication which is itself a purification of the believing community (see Mt 18:17; 1 Cor 5:1-13; 1 Tm 1:18-20; 2 Thes 3:14). (Richard L. Pratt, 1 & 2 Chr, A Mentor Commentary, 308)
- The Hebrew word lebab, or “heart,” is used elsewhere to express entire commitment, just as we speak in English of giving something or someone our “wholehearted” support. Hebrew nephesh, here translated “soul,” usually means simply “life”; to seek God with all one’s life would also mean entire commitment. In the Hebrew Bible, these two words, used together, always appear in the context of commitment to a covenant. Indeed, Asa and his people are so fervently and passionately committed, they declare that anyone who does not swear to seek the Lord is to be killed (15:13). (Steven S. Tuell, Interpretation: 1 & 2 Chr, 172)
- (v. 15) Reassures the reader that Asa was making all the right choices and moves to assure Judah’s righteous relationship with the Ultimate Superpower . . . God!
- (vss. 15, 19) The Lord responds to Asa’s faithfulness by blessing his land with rest (15:15); indeed, for the next 20 years, Judah is free from war (15:19). (Steven S. Tuell, Interpretation: 1 & 2 Chr, 173)
- (v. 16) Asa is even willing to depose his grandmother who violated the terms of the covenant by setting up and promoting worship of Asherah.
- (v. 17) The Chronicler’s statement in 2 Chr 15:17 that the “high places” were not removed by Asa seems to state the opposite of 14:3: “He removed the foreign altars and high places.” Several suggestions have been offered to lessen the apparent contradiction. A close reading of the text, however, shows that the problem is only an apparent one. The high places were not removed from Israel (15:17). In light of 14:3, it seems best to conclude that “Israel” here means the “northern kingdom” over which Asa had no control. That is clearly the meaning of the same phrase, “from Israel,” in 15:9. (John Sailhamer, Everyman’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Chr, 90)
- (v. 23) The Chronicler notes that after Asa’s accession, the land was quiet for ten years, a statement that contrasts with 1 Kgs 15:16 which describes warfare between Asa and Baasha throughout their reigns. The Chronicler proceeds to elaborate on Asa’s reform, essentially interpolating between 1 Kgs 15:12 and 13 a large block of material unique to his account (2 Chr 14:4-15:15). This material is rich in the concepts of retribution theology; it elaborates on Asa’s building programs, his trust in God and the subsequent victory over the much more numerous forces of Zerah, and his responsiveness to the word of God through Azariah. (Raymond B. Dillard, Word Biblical Commentary, Vol. 15, 123)
The question to be answered is . . . What is the role of Azariah to Asa, to the Chronicler’s audience and to us today?
Answer: Azariah reveals to Asa God’s relational (as well as judicial and ethical) reciprocity. Coming to this understanding not only assists us to understand God’s relationship to us better, but also helps us to understand His discipline, justice and wrath. It also helps us to better appreciate God’s grace, mercy, forgiveness, patience and love as demonstrated in the work of Christ Jesus.
THE GOLDEN RULE: (It’s true in all faiths.)
Brahmanism: This is the sum of duty: Do naught unto others which would cause you pain if done to you. (Mahabharata 5:1517)
Buddhism: Hurt not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful. (Udanavarga 5:18)
Confucianism: Surely it is the maxim of loving-kindness: Do not unto others what you would not have them do unto you. (Analects 15:23)
Christianity: All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so unto them: for this is the law and the prophets. (Matthew 7:12)
Taoism: Regard your neighbor’s gain as your own gain and your neighbor’s loss as your own loss. (Tai Shang Kan Ying P’ien)
Zoroastrianism: That nature alone is good which refrains from doing unto another whatsoever is not good for itself. (Dadistan-i-kinik 94:5)
Judaism: What is hateful to you, do not to your fellowman. That is the entire Law; the rest is commentary. (Talmud, Shabbat 31a)
Islam: No one of you is a believer until he desires for his brother that which he desires for himself. (Sunnah)
Five hundred years before Jesus was born, someone asked Confucius, “Is there one word that may serve as a rule of practice for all one’s life?” Confucius replied, “Is not reciprocity such a word? What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others.”
Four hundred years before Christ, a philosopher in Athens taught, “Whatever angers you when you suffer at the hands of others, do not do to others.”
About three hundred years before Christ, the Stoics had a teaching that said, “What you do not want to be done to you, do not do to anyone else.”
Roughly two hundred years before Christ, the author of The Tobit, which is part of the Apocrypha, wrote this particularly succinct version: “What thou thyself hatest, to no man do.”
And two decades before Jesus was born, a young student came up to the great Jewish Rabbi Hillel. “I’m ready to convert to Judaism,” he said, “on one condition—that you teach me the whole Law while I stand on one leg.”
In other words, “Spare me all the complexities and intricacies, the nuances and the details—if you can’t boil down to a few words how we should deal with others, then I’m not interested.”
So while the student was performing his impromptu flamingo imitation, Hillel replied, “What is hateful to yourself, do to no other; that is the whole Law, and the rest is commentary. Go and learn.” (Lee Strobel; God’s OUTrageous Claims, 153)
The Word for the Day is . . . Reciprocal
What truth did Azariah reveal to Asa about God’s relational reciprocity?:
The Chronicler’s adherence to a “theology of immediate retribution” provides his dominant compositional technique, particularly formative in his approach to the history of Judah after the schism. “Retribution theology” refers to the author’s apparent conviction that reward and punishment are not deferred, but rather follow immediately on the heels of the precipitating events. For the Chronicler sin always brings judgment and disaster, while obedience and righteousness yield the fruit of peace and prosperity. Even a cursory reading of the text reveals the contours of the writer’s convictions; they are both (1) specifically articulated and (2) demonstrated in his reshaping of narratives. (Raymond B. Dillard, Word Biblical Commentary, Vol. 15, 76)
We have two clear examples of what we might call a “mirror-image” theology. The first is in 14:7, where, instead of reading “we have sought him” twice, we should probably read the second occurrence of the phrase as “he has sought us”. This brings it close to 1 Chr 28:9, where we saw that God actively seeks the response and faithfulness of his people. (J. G. McConville, The Daily Study Bible Series, 1 & 2 Chr, 168)
The second example of “mirror-image theology” comes in 15:1-7, where the prophet Azariah addresses Asa and all Judah, following their remarkable victory over Zerah. Three statements (in v. 2) emphasize the complementarity of God’s faithfulness to Judah and Judah’s to God, viz. (a) “The Lord is with you while [=as long as] you are with him”; (b) “if you seek him he will be found by you”–not as the mute object of a search, but as one who would be found; and (c) “but if you forsake him, he will forsake you”. (J. G. McConville, The Daily Study Bible Series, 1 & 2 Chr, 169)
The gist of it is 15:2b: “If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you.” Yet not so simple, when you recall that in the previous chapter the “seeking”, Asa’s obedience (14:2), without the trauma of the Egyptian assault coming between. But whether the incidents the Chronicler chooses to recount illustrate the principle in its basic clarity, or with the more usual complications of ordinary life, as here, he is demonstrating constantly “the fundamental correspondence between an action and its outcome.” (Michael Wilcock, The Message of Chr, 182)
I. The LORD is with you when you are with him (15:2, 9)
Commentators try to identify the historical circumstances depicted by the “distress” Israel experiences in “those days” (15:3-5). It seems the writer is intentionally ambiguous because cycles of apostasy and deliverance characterize all of Israelite history. The constant in that story line is the deliverance God provides for those who seek his help. These are the themes highlighted in the prophet’s message: God is with those who side with him, and he rewards obedience (15:2, 7); God will be found by those who seek him but forsakes those who abandon him (15:2). (Andrew E. Hill, The NIV Application Commentary: 1 & 2 Chr, 471)
II. If you seek Him, He will be found by you (15:2, 4, 12, 15; see also Dt 4:29; Jer 29:11; Mt 7:7-8)
If ye seek Him, He will be found of you (cf. Jer 29:13); and if ye forsake Him, He will forsake you (cf. 24:20, 12:5). To impress the people deeply with this truth, Azariah draws a powerful picture of the times when a people is forsaken by God, when peace and security in social intercourse disappear, and the terrors of civil war prevail. (C.F. Keil and F. Delitzsch, Commentary on the OT, Vol. 3, 360)
III. If you forsake Him, He will forsake you (15:2; see also: 1 Chr 28:8-9; 2 Chr 12:5)
One of the most encouraging aspects of the Chronicler’s theology is his insistence upon the openness of God to receive back his wayward children, even after great apostasy. And he is no less willing if any should return to him only because they have exhausted all other possibilities. This puts an important new perspective on the fact that God is often portrayed in Chr as being the author of distress in the lives of the people presented to us. God knows the reluctance of the human heart to respond to him and is gracious enough to accept response that is motivated by the most basic human fears. It is in moments of distress that we perceive most acutely our own frailty, and the extent of our need of God. (J. G. McConville, The Daily Study Bible Series, 1 & 2 Chr, 170)
When people make idols out of earthly things, they must understand the true nature of the deed. To fashion other hopes in this way is to reject God’s offer to help; persisting in this provokes God’s wrath. He will give people up to dream their own dreams, and to find comfort in their own hopes. Then they will discover if they have built on something worthwhile or not. (Paul O. Wendland, The People’s Bible, 2 Chr, 178)
In times of distress or calamity, if the people will humble themselves, pray, seek God, and turn from wickedness, then God will respond. Each of these terms and their synonyms recur again and again in the Chronicler’s history demonstrating that God has indeed kept his promise to Solomon. “Seeking God” or the failure to do so becomes the touchstone for weal or woe (1 Chr 10:13-14; 22:19; 28:9; 2 Chr 11:16; 12:14; 14:4, 7; 15:2, 4, 12, 13, 15; 16:12; 17:4; 18:4; 19:3; 20:4; 22:9; 25:20; 26:5; 30:19; 31:21; 33:12; 34:3); similarly “humbling oneself” or the failure to do so determines the divine response (2 Chr 4:10; 5:20; 21:26; 2 Chr 13:12-15; 14:11; 18:31; 20:9; 30:18, 27; 32:20, 24; 33:13, 18-19) to occur at critical moments.
It is not sufficient, however, to speak only of these terms without also taking account of their antonyms which likewise carry much of the burden of the Chronicler’s convictions. The opposite responses to humbling oneself and seeking God are introduced through the use of “abandon, forsake” (1 Chr 28:9, 20; 2 Chr 7:19, 22; 12:1, 5; 13:10-11; 15:2; 21:10; 24:18, 20, 24; 28:6; 29:6; 34:25) and “be unfaithful, rebellious” (1 Chr 2:7; 5:25; 10;13; 2 Chr 12:2; 26:16, 18; 28:19, 22; 29:6; 30:7; 36:14; for this term see particularly W. Johnstone, “Guilt and Atonement”). (Raymond B. Dillard, Word Biblical Commentary, Vol. 15, 77-78)
CONCLUSION/APPLICATION: What does this message have to do with Christ and me?:
A. God in His sovereignty reciprocates your moral standard as His own toward you. (Ez 18:30; Mt 6:12-14; 7:1-6; Mk 11:25; Lk 6:37-38)
God allows us to see the “rules” we impose upon others by forcing us to live under those same rules.
What if God were to place an invisible tape recorder on everyone of us, that we did not even know was there until the end of time at the last judgment. And what if God were to say to us, “You know, I am a just and righteous God. And I want to be totally fair to you because I know that you were unable to know everything about me to be able to follow my laws perfectly because You did not know me nor my laws perfectly. Therefore, I will judge you solely on the expectations and laws you expected others to obey and how did you do in obeying them yourself. In other word, I will judge you only by what you did to follow your own laws and expectations.”
How ya doin? — Tim Keller
B. Contemplate whose righteousness you want God to reciprocate to your moral record: Yours or Christ’s (Mt 5:20, 48; Lk 6:27-42; Rom 1:16-17; 3:9-26; 4:1-5:1, 6-21; 10:3-4; 1 Cor 1:30; 2 Cor 5:21; Gal 2:21; 3:1-27; Phil 3:9; Ti 3:3-7; Heb 2:10; 4:15; 5:8-9; 7:28; 10:1-14; 12:22-25; Jas 2:23; 4:11-12;
Another significant antidote to hypocrisy (in addition to integrity and purity) is transparency. On one level, hypocrisy is failing to acknowledge the inconsistencies in our life. It is denial. It is, as the Bible describes it, trying to remove a speck from someone else’s eye when you have a log in your own. Living with integrity starts with being transparent. (David Kinnaman, Unchristian, 54-55)
The heart of sin is rather the persistent refusal to tolerate a sense of sin, to take responsibility for one’s sin, to live with the sorrowful knowledge of it and to pursue the painful way of repentance. Evil people are simultaneously aware of their evil and desperately trying to resist that awareness. (Cornelius Plantinga, Jr., Not the Way It’s Supposed to Be, 99)
Self-deception is “corrupted consciousness,” says Lewis Smedes. Whether fear, passion, weariness, or even faith prompts it, self-deception, like a skillful computer fraud, doubles back to cover its own trail. “First we deceive ourselves, and then we convince ourselves that we are not deceiving ourselves.” (Cornelius Plantinga, Jr., Not the Way It’s Supposed to Be, 107)
Demosthenes said, “Nothing is easier than self-deceit. For what each man wishes, that he also believes to be true.” (Patrick Morley; The Man In The Mirror, 286)
I know of only two alternatives to hypocrisy: perfection or honesty. Since I have never met a person who loves the Lord our God with all her heart, mind, and soul, and loves her neighbor as herself, I do not view perfection as a realistic alternative. Our only option, then, is honesty that leads to repentance. As the Bible shows, Gods’ grace can cover any sin, including murder, infidelity, or betrayal. Yet by definition grace must be received, and hypocrisy disguises our need to receive grace. When the masks fall, hypocrisy is exposed as an elaborate ruse to avoid grace. (Philip Yancey; What’s so Amazing About Grace?, 204)
True repentance only begins when one passes out of what the Bible sees as self-deception (cf. Jas 1:22, 26; 1 Jn 1:8) and modern counselors call denial, into what the Bible calls conviction of sin (Cf. Jn 16:8). (J. I. Packer; Rediscovering Holiness, 123-124)
If someone comes to you and says that they don’t want to come to church because it is full of hypocrites, simply tell them that there is always room for one more. — Bruce Densmore
C. Allow the implications of God’s moral reciprocity which, without being “in Christ”, would result in your judgment and condemnation motivate you to seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. (Mt 6:33; 18:21-25; Lk 6:27-42; Jn 15:1-12; Rom 2:1-3; 8:1-17; Gal 3:1-27; 6:7-9; Eph 4:7-5:20; Col 3:1-17; 1 Tm 6:11-19; 2 Tm 2:19-26)
Hell will be God giving man exactly what he always wanted – With God withdrawing Himself completely.
Heaven will be God giving man exactly what he always wanted – With God making Himself completely manifest.
On the judgment day God will say, “Based on your own decision to live life separately from me, you will spend eternity separate from me.” That’s hell. God will not violate our will. If all life long we have said, “My will be done,” then on the day of judgment God will say to you, “your will be done for eternity.” G.K. Chesterton put it this way: “Hell is God’s great compliment to the reality of human freedom and the dignity of human choice.” (Lee Strobel; God’s OUTrageous Claims, 194)
Some gifts you can give this Christmas are beyond monetary value: mend a quarrel, dismiss suspicion, tell someone, “I love you.” Give something away—anonymously. Pay it forward. Forgive someone who has treated you wrong. Turn away wrath with a soft answer. Visit someone in a nursing home. Apologize if you were wrong. Be especially kind to someone with whom you work. Give as God gave to you in Christ, without obligation, or announcement, or reservation, or hypocrisy. (Chuck Swindoll; Growing Strong)
When we do good to our enemies, we are like Christ. When we bless those who curse us, we are like Christ. When we pray for those who abuse us, we are like Christ. And that likeness is our reward. (R. Kent Hughes, Preaching the Word: Luke, Vol. One, 228)
The big-souled disciple is continually judging but perpetually nonjudgmental. (R. Kent Hughes, Preaching the Word: Luke, Vol. One, 242)
But, Charles Hodge so aptly said, “Christian humility does not consist in denying what there is of good in us; but in an abiding sense of ill-desert, and in the consciousness that what we have of good is due to the Grace of God.” Humility, then, gives credit where credit is due, namely to the working of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Pride, which is the opposite of humility, seeks to find within ourselves some innate goodness or even to ascribe to our own commitment or faithfulness the cause of any blessings of God in our lives. Pride might say, for example, “Because I have been faithful and obedient, God has blessed me”; whereas humility would say, “Because of God’s grace at work in me, I have been motivated and enabled to be faithful and obedient.” (Jerry Bridges; Transforming Grace; Living Confidently in God’s Unfailing Love, 99)
In fact, let me issue a warning: you’re inevitably headed for bitter disillusionment if you try to live out the Golden Rule under your own power, without allowing God to expand your heart and work through your life. If the Golden Rule appeals to your altruistic side and you’re thinking about pursuing it out of your own secular zeal, forget it.
When people don’t reciprocate, when they fail to express gratitude, when they take advantage of your generosity, when nobody seems to care that doing something kind for others is eating up your time, energy, and resources, you’re going to start getting cynical and wondering why you’re bothering.
But the apostle John wrote this about Christians: “We love because (God) first loved us.” He did something for us, and then he does something through us. (Lee Strobel; God’s OUTrageous Claims, 161)
Two formats of reciprocity:
– God asks us to obey and then loves us = Legalism
– God loves us and then asks us to obey = Grace
Spiritual Challenge: Really think about and analyze the rules, values or laws you expect others to live by; and then take the time to evaluate whether or not you even live by your own set of laws let alone God’s. Do you really want God to judge you by your standards or by God’s grace? Discover anew the grace of God as He is much more gracious and forgiving than we can ever dream or imagine because we are much greater sinners than our deceitfully wicked hearts dare allow us to admit without understanding His grace.
Worship point: When we begin to see our hypocrisy as we compare our own moral standards in relation to our behavior we can begin to understand the extent of our depravity and thus the extent of God’s grace, forgiveness, and mercy. Then we will worship the God of unreasonable and obscene grace.
If you don’t see the absolute holiness of God, the magnitude of your debt, the categorical necessity of God’s just punishment of your sin, and therefore the utter hopelessness of your condition, then the knowledge of your pardon and deliverance will not be amazing and electrifying! — Tim Keller
Quotes to Note:
As in Christian discipleship, the vital decision is not the one that was made yesterday or last year or ten years ago, but that which is made today. It was a decision “here and now” for the people of the Chronicler’s day also, who must have thought they had a slender hold on the land, and who could not rest on the laurels of past generations. We can, of course, rejoice in our experience of God’s blessing hitherto, and are always drawing upon the accumulated knowledge of our ongoing relationship with him. But God seeks an active, renewed commitment from each of his people every day. (J. G. McConville, The Daily Study Bible Series, 1 & 2 Chr, 169)
. . . in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. — Jesus: Matthew 7:2
Christ:
Reciprocity’s Source
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