Redeeming Jingle Bells

Christmas is about Jesus, and Christians should always remember to make Christ the center of all of our Christmas celebrations. So what do we do with those songs that don't necessarily make any reference to Christ? Should we exclusively sing only songs about Jesus in a manger? I think that should be the predominant practice within the worship of the church; Christmas songs we sing for worship should all be about Christ. However, let me ask a followup question. Is there any place for Christians to sing the other songs of the Christmas season? Can't we just have fun and enjoy the festivities? I think there's a place for that. Christians shouldn't be scrooges with our faces all sour, ready to pounce on others in a legalistic fashion when they don't meet our expectations. Rather, we should be gracious to one another. 

 

So, what about Jingle Bells? The truth is, this song wasn't even written as a Christmas song at all. It was originally written for Thanksgiving. It's really more about the winter season. How should we think of children singing Jingle Bells in a church Christmas program? To tell the truth, I have mixed feelings. At first glance, nothing about the song lends itself to the Christmas story, so I lean toward excluding it in favor of other more explicitly Christian Christmas songs. However, as I have pondered this question throughout the week I see that there is a connection between Christmas and bells. Not necessarily a biblical one, but at least a Christian one. This connection is more readily seen in the song "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day." 

 
I heard the bells on Christmas Day Their old, familiar carols play, and wild and sweet The words repeat Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And thought how, as the day had come, The belfries of all Christendom Had rolled along The unbroken song Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Till ringing, singing on its way, The world revolved from night to day, A voice, a chime, A chant sublime Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And in despair I bowed my head; "There is no peace on earth," I said; "For hate is strong, And mocks the song Of peace on earth, good-will to men!"

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep: "God is not dead, nor doth He sleep; The Wrong shall fail, The Right prevail, With peace on earth, good-will to men."

 The bells that this song mentions are the church bells throughout the land. These bells were a reminder of the gospel herald ringing forth the message of the Gospel. Though the world is filled with wrong and hate, the expansion of territory marked with churches with their bells reminds us that as the Gospel rings forth, all the wrongs will one day be made right. The one who was born in Bethlehem and laid in a manger will one day come back riding a white horse and with a sword coming out of his mouth and he will then bring eternal lasting peace on earth.

So, while it isn't the express purpose or intent of the song Jingle Bells, out of forbearance and patience I will hold my tongue when the children sing Jingle Bells. And as I listen, I'll remind myself that these jingling bells just may be on the feet that carry good news.

Micah 5: O Little Town of Bethlehem

"But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days." (Micah 5:2 ESV)

Micah was roughly contemporary to Isaiah. Their ministries covered the same kings, though Micah may have come a little later than Isaiah. Micah's name meant, "Who is like Yahweh?" Even his name is significant to this messianic text. It is in this name that we see the rock of the prophet's confidence as he proclaims this Davidic figure who would come from Bethlehem. The book of Micah ends in the question that is his name. Micah 7:18-20 says, 

Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love. He will again have compassion on us; he will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. You will show faithfulness to Jacob and steadfast love to Abraham, as you have sworn to our fathers from the days of old."

Of course the answer to the question is no one. No one is like Him. Yahweh stands alone among the gods as the one who has shown his covenant loyal love to his people. For the sake of his name he keeps his promises to Jacob and to Abraham. Though Israel and Judah had sinned, God would be faithful to his promise because he cares most adamantly about His own name. He will keep his covenant promises--not only to Abraham and Jacob, but to David as well. He promised David that their would be a son who would come from his body who would sit on his throne forever with an unending kingdom. This is where Bethlehem comes in.

The Assyrians were a threat to Israel and Judah. They destroyed Samaria and things got very bad for Judah--though there remained a king on David's throne. In 5:2, Micah says that though Bethlehem is small, it will be the birthplace of a coming ruler. Bethlehem was significant because it was the birthplace of David. It was called the City of David. When the little village of Bethlehem is brought up, it reminds the reader of David and all of the promises to him. Micah is telling God's people not to place their confidence in Jerusalem or their earthly king to save them. The earthly king will be stricken on the cheek, but a messianic King would one day come whose origins were just like David--the man after God's own heart.

Who is like Yahweh? He does not do things like you would expect. He didn't send His Son to be born in the palace in Jerusalem, He came to the lowly little obscure town. The messiah would come from humble beginnings.

Jesus held nothing back for us. He gave up the riches of heaven to become poor for us. He gave up the security and safety of siting by His Father's side to come and be threatened by a narcissistic murderous king. He left the comforts of glory to come down and be laid in a dirty feeding box. Who is like Yahweh? There is no God like the LORD of glory who sent his only Son to come and die for us.

 "And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God. and they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth. And he shall be their peace." (Micah 5:4-5a)

Isaiah 9: God Saves Sinners

This post is written by guest blogger, Jake Cannon. Jake is a recent digital media graduate from Greenville College. He is actively involved at August Gate in St. Louis where he is taking a preaching lab. Jake will be supply preaching at WBC this Sunday, December 6, 2015.

“But there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Gailiee of the nations.”

Isaiah 9:1

If there is anything that I have learned over my short time on earth it is this: your language matters. Your words and how you use them can either help or hinder others around you. One sentence can tell me a multitude about your worldview. For Christians, our language should be of the utmost importance. It is God Himself who spoke into existence the universe; it is Christ Himself who is “the Word”; it is the Spirit Himself who uses the preaching of the Bible to pierce into our hearts. Our words matter.

Never did words matter more than when the Israelites and Syrians made battle against the kingdom of Judah. It is recorded in Isaiah 7 that when King Ahaz heard that the armies of Israel and Syria were coming against him, “…his heart and the hearts of his people shook as the trees of the forest shake with the wind” (v. 2). Isaiah, the prophet to Judah, was sent to comfort King Ahaz with a word from the Lord. Isaiah’s words mattered. They mattered not only because of the historical context from which chapters 7-9 are written, they mattered because they were directly from the Lord.

We find recorded in Isaiah 7-9 a proclamation of hope, judgment, and peace. What the Lord gave Isaiah to speak mattered greatly to the people at that time. Though their wickedness brought contempt from God, He will make glorious their land. What is most powerful about verse one in chapter nine is that it is God who brings contempt and glory.

It is God, who in verse three, will multiply the nations and supply them with joy. Joy not in the harvests or in the spoils of battle, but in God Himself. Sinners cannot save themselves from the judgment of God. There is nothing good inside of Judah that can be considered worthy of escaping the contempt of God. What Isaiah ultimately tells us in just one sentence is that it is God Himself who brings judgment, and that it is God Himself who ultimately saves sinners.

Isaiah’s words mattered because Judah’s hope was gone. They knew their wickedness had brought contempt. But God’s glory is greater than Judah’s failures. Isaiah’s words mattered because he proclaims that it is God who will bring them out from their darkness and into the light. It is God who will turn their failure into a magnification of His glory. It is God who will turn their oppression into freedom, and their fear into hope. It is God who will bring a child to be born, a son that will be given, to forever seal His people.

“Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.”
Isaiah 9:7

Isaiah 7--Immanuel

"Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive a and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel." Isaiah 7:14

Preaching from prophecy is a tricky thing. We are often tempted to look at the passages quoted in the New Testament as being fulfilled in Christ as if they had no immediate context. However, while the prophets did predict the future with the aid of the Holy Spirit, and while they did write out of a conviction that was tied to a messianic hope, they were nonetheless writing to those who lived in their own day as well. This makes the task of interpreting the prophets difficult. 

Take, for instance, the prophecy of a virgin birth from Isaiah 7:14. This is particularly difficult. While Matthew clearly identifies this as being fulfilled in Christ, it is hard to see this from the passage itself. There are a few objections that the majority of scholars point out. First, the Hebrew term which our Bible's translate as "virgin" in this verse is more accurately rendered "a young woman of marriageable age." While the Greek Septuagint translates the word specifically as virgin, the Hebrew does not require it. So, to be precise, the prophecy did not require a virgin birth in the sense that we understand that it is fulfilled in Jesus. Second, the immediate context of the verse suggests that Isaiah is talking about a sign that will happen in his immediate context. It appears that the sign is to be given for king Ahaz of Judah as a sign that God would protect them from the imminent danger of an attack from Syria and Israel, the Northern Kingdom. Isaiah says to Ahaz that the two kings he fears will no longer be a threat by the time the child is old enough to tell right from wrong. Finally, chapter 8, within the immediate context of Isaiah, we see that there is a child born who is intended to be a sign. Isaiah has a son named Maher-shalal-ash-baz of which it is said, "before the boy knows how to cry 'My father' or 'My mother,' the wealth of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria will be carried away before the king of Assyria." It seems as though Isiah's prophecy was fulfilled by the birth of his own son. Isaiah even says in 8:18 that his two children were given to him as signs from Yahweh for Israel. 

So how do we understand this in the light of what Matthew said? I believe he understood Isaiah 7 in the light of Isaiah 9. In Isaiah 9, we see another promise of a child to be born (9:6-7). In this promise it says that the child will be called "Mighty God" among other magnificent names. It also says that this child will sit on David's throne forever. In chapter 9, Isaiah is looking back to 2 Samuel 7:12-13. The LORD promised David, "When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring [seed] after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever." This promised seed who would sit on David's throne forever is none other than the blessing that would come to all nations through Abraham. This son was also none other than the seed of the woman promised in Genesis 3:15. I suspect, that in Matthew's mind the Isaiah 7:14 was connected with 9:6-7 and that these were pointing to something that would find their ultimate fulfillment in someone much greater than the immediate context suggested--they were fulfilled in Christ. Jesus was born of a virgin, he was God with us, and he was David's son who would sit on his throne forever.

"For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, and on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this." Isaiah 9:6-7

Pslam 138: I Will Give Thanks

"I give you thanks, O LORD, with my whole heart; before the gods I sing your praise." Psalm 138:1

There is a fine line between thanks and praise. When we look at the Psalms, there are some who suggest that the category of "Thanksgiving Psalm" doesn't exist. Rather, what we see are "Hymns of Praise." Yet even they see a distinction between two subcategories. Praise is when we praise God for his intrinsic attributes. We praise him for his power, his goodness, his love, his mercy, his eternal wisdom, etc. On the other hand, "Thanksgiving" is when we praise God for his specific actions in our behalf. In the Psalm we are looking at this week, David thanks God that he was heard in the day that he cried for help. He is thanking God for his saving work on his behalf.

He tells God that he is giving thanks with his "whole heart." David holds nothing back. As Jesus told us to love God with all our mind, soul, and strength, David gives God whole hearted thanks.

David then says he will sing God's praise "among the gods." This seems strange to us. Did David believe in more than one god? Certainly not. Yet David lived in a polytheistic culture. David's devotedness to the Lord was such that he could stand in the midst of a foreign people among their idols and unashamedly give praise to Yahweh. He would not cower back and be ashamed, but he would attribute his salvation to the Lord alone.

He then thanks God for his steadfast love and faithfulness. The steadfast love that it is talking about here is God's covenant loyal love. He has made a covenant with Abraham, and with David himself, and he will keep his covenant promises. He will save David from trouble because he will keep his word. David follows this up by stating that God has exalted his name and his word above all things. These two things are connected. His name (or his reputation) and his word (or his promise). Because the lord values his own glory above all things he will be faithful to his covenantal promises. For his own name's sake.

In verses 4-5 David talks about the kings of the earth. He says that they will give Yahweh thanks for they have heard the words of his mouth. While this is not the way most commentaries take this, I'll entertain a suggestion here. I would suggest that when it says they "heard" the words of his mouth, that it may mean hearing in the sense of obeying. I would suggest that this is the concept we see in Proverbs 21:1 and in the book of Daniel. God is the one who establishes kings, and the king's heart is in the hand of God. He will turn it however he wishes. So, who do kings have to be thankful for for their position? God! It doesn't matter if it is a good king or a bad king. All rulers have been put in place by a sovereign God. And ultimately, God is sovereign and he rules over every king. No matter how wicked a king is, he will not thwart the will of this sovereign God. So the kings have no choice but to obey the sovereign decree of God.

In the final verses, David returns to his personal reasons for thanking God. God preserves him in the midst of trouble. God will not forsake the works of his hands. He will fulfill his purposes and his plans. He will keep his word and he will preserve his people.

This is a great thing for us to be thankful for today. If we are in Christ, it doesn't matter what distress may come to us. He will protect us, and if any harm should come to us, we won't ultimately be harmed, because he will raise us again. We have been given indestructible life, and God will honor that for the sake of his own name.

Genesis 11: Let Us Make a Name for Ourselves

Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth." (Gen 11:4 ESV)

"Let us make a name for ourselves." The people of Babel wanted to make a name for themselves. They wanted to be famous, and they were not the first with this designation. Back in Genesis 6:4, in the verses leading up to the Noah story, Scripture tells us of "the mighty men who were of old, the men of renown." Literally, "renown" is "men of the name." They were men who had made a name for themselves. This was in the era where things had gotten so bad that God determined that the earth was so corrupt that he would destroy the whole world. Now here, again, after the flood, people were saying, let's make a name for ourselves. Let's be like the men of old who had been famous. 

But God had made a covenant with Noah. The people at the time of Babel were among the seed of Noah and they were within that covenant relationship. God would not destroy them. He would be faithful to his covenant. Yet he would bring about a judgment mingled with grace. He knew that it would be bad for humanity if they were able to do anything they purposed in their hearts. He came down and confused the language of the people to prevent them from becoming self sufficient. If they remained unified in their plans they would not have seen their need for Him, and the line of the "seed of the woman" would have become indistinguishable from those around. They had to divide into nations so that the messianic seed would be preserved. 

And what is ironic is that God gave them what they wanted. They wanted to make a name for themselves, and God gave them a name--Babel--Confusion. Forever they would be famous. They would be remembered as the place where God confused the languages. God made a name for them.

Yet the story is not over here. In the very next chapter, Genesis 12:2 contains a promise to Abraham about a name. "And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing." There is a contrast here. the people of Babel wanted to make a name for themselves so they worked in their own effort, and God made a name for Abraham because of his faith and apart from works. 

Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the LORD confused the language of all the earth. And from there the LORD dispersed them over the face of all the earth. (Gen 11:9 ESV)

Genesis 10: Another Genealogy?

“These are the clans of the sons of Noah, according to their genealogies, in their nations, and from these the nations spread abroad on the earth after the flood.” Genesis 10:32

Genealogies! Why is it that the Bible has so many genealogies? As modern western people they drive us crazy. Nothing could be more boring than a genealogy. It’s like reading through names of a phonebook. Or is it? We’ve already looked at Genesis 5 and the genealogy of Seth, and we saw some very significant truths embedded within the passage. Will Genesis 10 be a repeat of the same? No. Genesis 10 is a different kind of genealogy, and it has some similar but substantively different lessons to teach us. 

Genesis 5 was a very formulaic genealogy. It repeated the same pattern over and over again, and there were three significant breaks from the pattern that we looked at. Genesis  was also a linear genealogy in which it passed from one generation to the next following one family line from father to son. Genesis 10 is different. This chapter is not linear in progression. It first traces the line of Japheth; however, instead of just listing one son, it lists all of them and traces each of their lineages. Then, comes the lineage of Ham—again tracing through each of his sons. The chapter ends with a genealogy of Shem. There are two significant facts about this genealogy which help us to grasp its meaning. First, at the end of each section of the genealogy it mentions that they were listed by their land, language, clan, and nation. Also, the chapter ends by giving the main point. Each of the sons represented in this genealogy was the father of a nation as humanity spread out from Noah’s sons. In fact, many of the names represented are actual names of nations. For example, Egypt is listed as one of the sons of Ham. While some translations just transliterate the name as Mitzraim, this is the word used for Egypt throughout the rest of the Bible. Cush is another nation and we know it as Ethiopia. Canaan, of course is a nation that had many interactions with Israel. Not only are character names equivalent with the names of nations, but the text also explains that these men were fathers of specific nations that we read about throughout the Bible. We know that Israel had many dealings with peoples like the Jebusites, the Amorites, the Girgashites. We see that Nimrod built cities like Babylon, and Niniveh. Elam and Ashur are also listed as sons of Shem. From these names we get the Elamites and the Assyrians. Probably one of the most significant, but maybe not the most recognizable is the name of Eber. The name Eber is formed with the same letters as the word Hebrew, and that is the line which Abraham came from. It is likely that the Hebrews derive their name from this ancestor.

There are other names that could be linked to peoples known from within the Bible, but my aim isn't to meticulously point each of them out. Rather, I think we should see that the point the author is making is that "all the families of the earth" come from Noah and his sons. We are connected in a biological solidarity. This becomes even more significant just 2 chapters later. In Genesis 12:3, God promises Abraham, "I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." The families that are listed in Genesis 10 are the families that will be blessed in the seed of Abraham.