A Privileged Position

As I mentioned a couple weeks ago, I am studying through the Book of Ezekiel, and one of the first things that struck me was the frequency with which we find the phrase "know that I am the LORD." Clearly, a key message that God is communicating through the prophet is his identity.

Whenever we see the word "LORD" printed in all caps (as it is in 67 of the 72 times "know that I am the LORD" appears in Ezekiel), that alerts us to the fact that the Hebrew word that is being translated is actually the divine name, YAHWEH. Jews had such respect for the name of God, and so feared misusing it (in violation of the third commandment), that instead of speaking it, they actually said, "adonai," the Hebrew word for "LORD."

So it is, that when we see God so emphasizing throughout Ezekiel his desire that people would "know that I am the LORD," it is more than a job description he is a talking about; it is his very identity. In light of this, it is interesting to note a slightly more specific phrase that appears four times in the Book of Ezekiel: "Know that I am the LORD their God." In each instance where we find this phrase, it is in the context of Ezekiel's prophetic words specifically to the house of Israel.

Make no mistake about it: YAHWEH is no tribal deity; he is God over all creation. Regardless of whether people bow their knee before him, he is God. But what we see here is that he is God of his people in a special way peculiar to their relationship. He is not just the LORD. He is not just the LORD God. He is the LORD, their God, and as such, they are in a position of amazing privilege.

Now we must be careful to realize that this doesn't mean that the people of God were (or are) necessarily better than the other peoples, nor have they have in any way earned this privileged relationship. Throughout the Book of Ezekiel, the prophet chastises the people of God for their sin just as he does the other nations (actually, even more so). Their special standing as God's particular people is a product of nothing but his grace and his steadfast love toward them.

The New Testament picks this idea up in Jesus' teaching that we should pray to God as "Our Father." This is not a prayer for all people, but rather the prayer of a disciple, one who has been conferred the benefits of adoption. May we, as Christians, never fail to exult in the fact that we are in a special relationship with God. And may we always do so humbly, knowing that it is nothing but the work of Christ that has established this relationship for us.

Wednesday's Words of Wisdom...Jerram Barrs on Our Identity in Christ

"Thank God, we have a representative, a champion who has faced the devil's worst attacks and has won a great victory for us.  Despite our failures in the face of temptation, the Father looks at us through his beloved Son, the One who has overcome the accuser for us.  Because we are in Jesus, he looks on us with love. Because we are in Jesus, he does not count our faults against us. Because we are in Jesus, he forgives us. Because we are in Jesus he lifts us up when we fall.  Because we are in Jesus, he strengthens us for each day's struggles. Because we are in Jesus, the day is coming when he will give us complete victory over our enemy, and then we will never fail or fall again."

Jerram Barrs

We Can't Change What We Do Until We Change Who We Are

Today Doug Wolter posted the following clip from Toy Story at his blog, Life2gether.

Quick aside: If you are at all interested in family ministry and the church as community, I hope you already follow Doug's blog. If you are and you don't...rectify that situation immediately!



Anyway, much as I was borrowing this clip from Doug, so too he was borrowing it from Chad Nuss, who comments:

In this classic scene, Buzz is convinced his role is to save the galaxy. However, Woody knows who Buzz really is and is trying his best to get through to him. This is what preaching is all about. Preaching is not primarily about what we are supposed to do or not do. Preaching is about reminding us of our identity. We are like Buzz, convinced we are good, spiritual people. The preacher comes to us like Woody, yelling at us to get us to see we are really sinners separated from God without Christ. But once we become followers of Christ, the preacher continues to come to us like Woody, yelling at us to remember who we are in Christ. Christianity is not about a list of do’s and don’ts. Christianity is about identity. We cannot change what we do until we change who we are. Preaching reminds us of who we were without Christ and who we are in Christ. Preaching reminds us that we can’t save the galaxy because we can’t even save ourselves. Only Christ can do that.