June always seems a busy month for birthdays in our church! Last night, we had two to celebrate:

Mark obviously wanted to hide:

…but couldn’t!

This morning we continued our studies on the life of Abraham, looking at the covenants God made with him in Genesis 15 and 17. A covenant is defined as an ‘agreement, contract, pact or treaty’, an official word often associated with the law (the Latin word is ‘testament’, as in ‘last will and testament’ and, of course, the ‘Old Testament’ and ‘New Testament’ of the Bible.) There is a pattern to the covenants found in the Bible: the person making the covenant describes himself and what he has done and promises to do, and there is a list of obligations between the two parties.

Covenants can’t be divorced from relationships and promise. In Genesis 15, God appears to Abram again saying ‘Do not be afraid. I am your shield, your very great reward’ (Gen 15:1) and Abram talks to God about his big dilemma: how can this promise of God come true if Abram does not have a son and heir? God promises him he will have as many descendants as he can count stars in the sky, but Abram seeks confirmation (Gen 15:8 – I’m grateful that God listens and answers our questions and does not withhold confirmation from us!)

God’s response (Gen 15:9-11) talks about a menagerie, it seems! – a heifer, a ram, a goat, a dove and two pigeons! This can seem bizarre to us, but the underlying meaning of the word ‘covenant’ comes from the Hebrew ‘to cut‘ and the ancient custom was to cut or divide animals into two parts with the contracting parties passing between them. The underlying message of this was: “May I be torn apart like these animals if I fail to uphold my part of this covenant.”

What God is doing here (Gen 15:12-21) is indeed giving Abram the answer to his question as to how he could know that God’s promises to him would come true. He repeats and extends the promise, talking about this land Abram and his descendants will possess. Most commentators believe that verse 17 refers to the presence of God Himself: ‘a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces’, rather like the pillar of fire that would later guide the Israelites on their wilderness wanderings. God himself passes between the animals. God is here, confirming His promise. God’s presence is the thing that always makes all the difference.

Abram’s obedience does not seem particularly relevant here (he is in a deep sleep), but in Genesis 17 it is his ready response to God’s commands to circumcise all the males in his household which strikes us. This covenant is established some years later, when Abram is 99, just before the birth of Isaac. Again, this chapter starts with a declaration of who God is: ‘I am God Almighty’ (Gen 17:1) – El Shaddai, a further revelation of God’s character, another layer revealed to Abram through another name. Abram’s name is changed to Abraham (Father of Many Nations, affirming God’s promise) and circumcision is here given as the sign of the covenant that already exists between God and Abraham. It is an outward sign of an ongoing relationship, not the ‘proof’ in itself as it later became to many Jews (see Romans 2:29).

Abraham is still struggling to believe that God will do what He has promised: “Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?”’ (Gen 17:17) He’s still wanting to sort things out his way, seeking God’s blessing on Ishmael. But he is ready to obey God, even though he does not understand Him. In that, he is our example: we often do not understand, but we can still choose to obey.

All the covenants in the Old Testament are shadows, however, of the new covenant to come. Jeremiah 31:31-34 hints at this and the book of Hebrews makes explicit the connection between the two covenants. Hebrews 8:6 reminds us that ‘the new covenant is established on better promises’. It reminds us of this ‘new covenant’ promised by God in Jeremiah 31:31-34. It tells us of the superiority of this new covenant over the old covenant, which could only ultimately hint at what would become possible through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the ‘mediator of a new covenant’ (Hebrews 9:15, 12:24), not the sacrifice of heifers and animals. It reminds us that Jesus ‘sets aside the first to establish the second. And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.’ (Hebrews 10: 9-10)

Every covenant was founded on the principle of the shedding of blood and of sacrifice. At the Last Supper, Jesus taught His disciples: ‘This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.’ (Matt 26:28) His blood, shed for us on the cross, ‘speaks a better word than the blood of Abel’ (Hebrews 12:24) and acts as the fulfilment of all that was promised through every other covenant which came before it.

“Your blood speaks a better word
Than all the empty claims I’ve heard upon this earth.
Speaks righteousness for me
And stands in my defence:
Jesus, it’s Your blood.” (‘Nothing But the Blood’, Matt Redman)
‘Nothing But the Blood’, Matt Redman

‘Back to Basics’ was an attempt to relaunch the government of the British Prime Minister John Major in 1993. For those of us who remember, it was the slogan announced at the Conservative Party Conference of that year and was intended to focus on issues of law and order, education and public probity. It was widely interpreted to be a moral initiative, attempting to focus people’s attention on basic issues that really mattered.

‘Back to basics’ has a completely different focus for me, however! I usually use the phrase when I feel I need to slow down, re-focus my attention on God, and meditate again on key issues, perhaps the things that the writer to the Hebrews called ‘elementary teachings about Christ’! (see Hebrews 6:1)

This week, my ‘back to basics’ has included meditating on the need to be still before God and rest in Him, trusting Him to work things out which are beyond my control and abilities.

Here are some of the key verses I have been meditating on:
“He says, ‘Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.’” (Ps 46:10)

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matt 11:28-30)
‘Come to Me’, Aaron Shust

If I took a poll of Christians, I would guess that any or all of these verses would rank somewhere in their Top 10 of Bible verses. Certainly, I have found these verses to be strengthening and encouraging at different points in my life. It’s often not that we need ‘new truth’ or fresh revelation, but we do need God’s rest and strength. When we’re struggling, it’s good to slow down, rest and receive from God all that we need to carry on.

Last night (more accurately, early this morning) part of the chimney on our house collapsed. We were roused from sweet sleep by a thundering, crashing noise that made no sense at all. As we tried to fathom what had made the noise and attempted to make sense of the commotion, we discovered bricks from the chimney had fallen, crashing onto the pavement at the front of the house and shattering the conservatory roof in places at the back.

It was dark and difficult to see exactly what had happened; we had to pick up the broken bricks and try to made things tidier. There is still much to be sorted and fixed, for clearly the chimney is unstable and needs urgent attention. As I lay in bed an hour later, half-fearful of going back to sleep in case the collapse continued and further damage was done, I thought about the fragility of life and how circumstances can easily shatter our confidence and trust.

A broken relationship out of nowhere, smashing our confidence and self-esteem just like the smashed conservatory.

A job loss or financial difficulty, shattering our normality and causing us to despair.

The diagnosis of an illness crushing our hopes and dreams and leaving us in cold fear and dread.

Things always seem worse at night. Our fears and anxieties seem magnified. There was little we could practically do until daylight came, insurance companies contacted, builders called out, so the night time frequently becomes a mirror of the helplessness and impotence we often feel in life.

As we picked up broken pieces and gave thanks that this had actually happened at night, imagining what would have happened to an innocent passer-by if they had been struck by a brick, I was reminded of the song: “You assemble all our broken, shattered pieces, more beautiful than I have ever known.” (Aaron Shust, ‘Long Live the King’)

There seems little beauty in the disasters that crash into our lives. But I am encouraged because we have a Saviour who picks up every broken piece by hand. He allows the dirt on the pieces to soil His hands. He allows the shards of brokenness to make His hands bleed. His hands know all about wounds and scars. And He weeps with those who weep, this Man of Sorrows, who is familiar and acquainted with sorrow and pain and suffering. He is able to sympathise and empathise with us in our weaknesses and sorrows because He has walked on this earth and know what pain is. But He is also able to heal, to restore, to make something beautiful from the ashes of the disasters that happen. He is good.

Yan did not only outline some of the problems which blind us and cause us not to have a clear view of God. He also looked at Job 23:8-12 to show us how we can overcome obstacles to see God more clearly in our everyday lives.

1. Purity of Life
Job’s circumstances have caused him to feel as though God is absent. ‘But if I go to the east, he is not there; if I go to the west, I do not find him. When he is at work in the north, I do not see him; when he turns to the south, I catch no glimpse of him.’ (Job 23:8-9) This is often our experience; we feel God’s absence at times more keenly than we feel His presence. But Job knows there is purpose in the testing God brings to our lives: ‘when he has tested me, I shall come forth as gold.’ (Job 23:10) He knows that he will be purified through trials.

2. Pursue God
Job’s desire is to pursue God: ‘My feet have closely followed his steps; I have kept to his way without turning aside.’ (Job 23:11) If we become God-chasers rather than people-followers, we will have a greater revelation of spiritual truth.

3. The Priority of Obedience
‘I have not departed from the commands of his lips; I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread.’ (Job 23:12) The key to clear vision and an ongoing revelation of God is to obey His commands. Jesus defined love through obedience and at the wedding of Cana, the servants were told to do whatever Jesus told them. (John 2) The result was that ordinary water was turned into wine. Often, we fail to see how the ordinary can become extraordinary, but God works in our obedience to bring amazing things to pass!

4. A Passion for God’s Word
A passion for God has to be the motivating factor in our lives. God’s Word is valued more highly than food! This means, surely, that we need to give as high a priority to meditating on God’s Word as we do to feeding our bodies. Matt 4:4 reminds us that we live by every word that comes from God’s mouth.

Last night, Yan Hadley spoke on the subject of boldness and the things that blind us and spoil our vision of God.

Hebrews 10:22 urges us to ‘draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith.’ The confidence of our relationship with God is determined by the clarity of our revelation of God. When we see the presence of God in our lives, we gain confidence. Jesus only did what He saw His Father doing. He had clarity of revelation which enabled Him to endure the horror of the cross (Hebrews 12:1-2). We need to share the psalmist’s confidence that ‘I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.’ (Ps 27:13)

The Bible assures us that God is with us (see Is 43:2, Matt 18: 20, Hebrews 13:5, Ps 46:1). Our problem is sometimes a failure to recognise God’s presence with us. God is always with us. 2 Kings 6 reminds that we need our eyes opening to see God, rather than the problems which surround.

Problems which blind us
1. A critical and judgmental spirit
In 2 Samuel 6:12 onwards, we read of the return of the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem. David is overcome with joy and danced before God with all His might, for the symbol of God’s presence was returning. He was filled with excitement and jubilation at this, but his wife (Michal) was critical of David because she had no revelation of what God’s presence meant. She despised David in her heart, for she could not see the significance of what was happening. Her attitude blinded her to the reality of the presence of God.

Similarly, the Pharisees often failed to perceive God with them in the form of Jesus. They had religion but no revelation (see Luke 19:28-40, Matthew 23:16-26). Jesus condemned them as blind.

2. Fear and the storms of life
Worry, fear and anxiety often overshadow us and shrink our faith, causing us to lose focus. In Matt 24:22-27, we see the disciples afraid in the storm – so afraid they fail to recognise Jesus walking on water to them. The magnificence of past revelation (they had just witnessed the feeding of the five thousand) was diminished by the magnitutde of their present problem. So often, we allow the present circumstances to rob us of our spiritual memories. Fear grips us like a vice. In these circumstances, we need to ‘magnify the Lord’ (Ps 34:3) in order to see how big God really is – far bigger than the circumstances and than our fears!

3. Heartbreak and emotional turmoil
Mary’s heartbreak at the death of Jesus meant that she failed to recognise Jesus, even when He was standing next to her (John 20:11-16). Feelings often dictate our faith, but we need to let our faith determine our feelings. Psalm 42 encourages us to speak faith into our feelings. When ‘heartbreak hits like a hurricane’ (Kutless), we need to draw on the grace and help God provides. Tragedy can either turn us away from God or draw us closer to Him. His grace is always available to us.

4. Disappointment and disillusionment
When we feel disappointed and let down, we can easily feel devastated and lose our vision of God. Luke 24:13-32 looks at the disappointment of two disciples on the road to Emmaus. All their hopes had been pinned on Jesus, but His death left them confused and disillusioned. All their hopes were shattered and they did not recognise Jesus even as He walked beside them. Prov 13:12 reminds us that ‘hope deferred makes the heart sick.’ The disciples were speaking about Jesus in the past tense but needed to understand that He is that ‘ever-present help’ we need. Prov 3:5-6 reminds us not to lean on our own understanding in times of disappointment, but to trust God’s ways.

5. Unbelief and low expectations
In John 21:4-6, Jesus is cooking breakfast for His disciples on the shore while they are struggling to fish. Even after the Resurrection, they still have difficulty recognising Jesus at times. Sometimes we just don’t expect God to intervene in our situations or have low expectations of His involvement in our daily lives. We need to be careful not to let unbelief blind us (see Mk 16:14, Heb 3:19). Instead, we need to understand that if we will believe, we will see the glory of God. (John 11:40) Our unbelief and low expectations must be confessed and repented of so that we, the righteous, can be bold as a lion (Prov 28:1).