Part 14 (1/2)
Wors.h.i.+p warsa is a sad new term in Christian dialogue. It is hard to imagine anything more discouraging than Christians actually fighting over the subject of wors.h.i.+p. But it happens. aWara may be too emotive a word to describe what has happened, but askirmisha is a little on the weak side, given the emotion generated by the issue.
The problem has its roots in the tendency to equate music with wors.h.i.+p. Not many years ago, song leaders gave way to wors.h.i.+p leadersa”with little discernible difference in function. People old enough to remember song leaders may sometimes wonder about their metamorphosis into wors.h.i.+p leaders and all that is involved in the change. Of course, music has been and continues to be a powerful means of expressing praise and of communicating a message. It is a legitimate aspect of wors.h.i.+p. But wors.h.i.+p is much more than music and involves more than praise.
Perhaps the central question, and the biggest cause of strife, is, aWhat precisely const.i.tutes wors.h.i.+pful music?a To a large extent, the differences of opinion on this issue are generational. Younger people have been raised in an era dominated by a powerful music industry that fills every waking moment with music, most of it contemporary. So their musical tastes have been firmly fixed in place, and they often have little knowledge of, or interest in, music that is not contemporary in style. Meanwhile, the older people, having been raised on achurch music,a view the new styles with varying degrees of suspicion and rejection.
So what to do? The psalm writer gives us some clues. First, he said, aLet the G.o.dly sing with joy to the Lorda (Ps. 33:1). Music has a mandatory place in wors.h.i.+p, and it must be addressed to the Lord. Second, the psalmist encouraged the people to asing new songs of praise to hima (33:3). So there is a place for contemporary music. But third, the music should be done wella”musicians who aspire to lead wors.h.i.+p should learn to aplay skillfullya (33:3). Fourth, song (or wors.h.i.+p!) leaders should constantly bear in mind that their songs and everything else in their wors.h.i.+p should be based on athe word of the Lorda that aholds truea for everyone regardless of musical taste or generational preferences (33:4).
The only war the church is commissioned to fight is the war against evil. The only restriction on the churchas style of wors.h.i.+p is that it be compatible with truth. The only explanation for wors.h.i.+p wars is that the evil one has deflected our focus. So letas get back on track.
April 3
TO READ: Genesis 7:1-24
Noah and the Flood
Finally, the day came when the LORD said to Noah, aGo into the boat with all your family, for among all the people of the earth, I consider you alone to be righteous.a Genesis 7:1
One of the most ancient pieces of literature known to man is called the Gilgamesh Epic. Gilgamesh, the hero of the story, was a king who did not want to die. So he traveled to see a man named Utnapishtim, who had reputedly survived a flood. According to the story, this tragic flood had been brought about by the G.o.ds, who were angry that the human race was multiplying so rapidly and was so noisy that the G.o.dsa peace and quiet was being disturbed. However, not all the G.o.ds were in favor of this afinal solutiona to the problem of noise. One of them, Ea, broke ranks and warned Utnapishtim of the impending tragedy. Forewarned, Utnapishtim built a boat and with his family escaped destruction.
This ancient story has been preserved for millennia on clay tablets. The interesting thing about the story is its remarkable similarities to the Noah accounta”and the striking dissimilarities to it. No one knows which version of the flood story was written down first. Clearly, though, these stories reflect a historical event, which was handed down verbally and then recorded. But there the similarity ends! The Gilgamesh story is all about squabbling, petty, selfish deities who reflect the sordid actions and att.i.tudes of the men whose imagination created them. The biblical account records the gracious actions of the holy G.o.d, who is deeply distressed at human sin, and how he reaches out in grace, saves Noah and his family, and makes a solemn pledge never again to destroy the earth with a flood.
According to the Gilgamesh Epic, when Utnapishtim saw the weather worsening, he got into his boat and battened down the hatches. But according to the biblical account, Noah heard the Lord command, aGo into the boat with all your family, for among all the people of the earth, I consider you alone to be righteousa (Gen. 7:1). When Noah was inside with his family and the animals, athe Lord shut them ina (7:16).
Noahas salvation was based on the grace of the Lord, who had seen in Noah a man who walked before G.o.d in righteousness. Noah was not perfect, but he was obedient, loving, and trusting. He was instructed by the Lord to make the ark, and he did it. When he was invited by the Lord to enter the boat, he responded. And once inside, he was secured by the Lord, who personally battened down the hatches!
When the calamities of life overtake us, there are those who have nowhere to turn. Like Gilgamesh, who did not know how to cope with life, they turn to people whose luck has held and seek comfort from them. But those who know the Lord, like Noah, trust him and find him sufficient in their hour of need. They float when others sink.
April 4
TO READ: Genesis 8:1-22
After the Deluge
But G.o.d remembered Noah and all the animals in the boat. He sent a wind to blow across the waters, and the floods began to disappear.
Genesis 8:1
The floods which swept over Mozambique in March 2000 were described by veteran relief workers as the worst natural disaster they had ever witnessed. After many days of cyclonic rainfall, the River Limpopo burst its banks. Mozambique, which is virtually the flood plain of southeast Africa, was inundated. Tens of thousands of helpless people were swept away, villages disappeared, and crops were devastated. Those who survived found precarious refuge in the tops of trees or on rooftops, which occasionally collapsed under the weight of the people. Rescue efforts were hindered by bureaucratic red tape, corruption, and lack of supplies. In the aftermath of the flooding, outbreaks of malaria and typhoid fever took many lives. The specter of starvation loomed over the troubled land. Hopelessness and helplessness prevailed.
The devastation in Mozambique no doubt prompted some people to think about the Flood recorded in Scripture. In that flood, the devastation was unprecedented and has never been repeated. While no theological cause and effect can be attributed to the Mozambique inundation, we do know the cause of the biblical flood. G.o.d, on observing athe extent of the peopleas wickedness,a had specifically said, aI will completely wipe out this human race that I have createda (Gen. 6:5-6).
In Mozambique, the treetop survivors waited endlessly in hope that one of the few helicopters brought into action would see their plight and rescue them. In Noahas case, aG.o.d remembered [him] and all the animals in the boat. He sent a wind to blow across the waters, and the floods began to disappeara (Gen. 8:1). After careful reconnaissance with a raven and a dove, Noah and his family, the Floodas sole human survivors, disembarked in direct response to the divine command, aLeave the boat, all of youa (8:16). Then Noah promptly abuilt an altar to the Lord and sacrificed on it the animals and birds that had been approved for that purpose. And the Lord was pleased with the sacrificea (8:20-21). Then the Lord promised that the normal course of seasonal and diurnal life would never again be disrupted. For no other reason than G.o.das own grace, mankind was given a chance to start again, to be born anew.
The devastation caused by the floods in Mozambique reminds us of the horrors of Noahas flood, which, in turn, points to the seriousness of human sin and divine judgment. The shortage of relief in southeast Africa contrasts vividly with the gracious divine rescue of Noah. It is against the dark backdrop of sin and judgment that grace s.h.i.+nes most brightly.
April 5
TO READ: Genesis 9:8-17
The Rainbow
aI have placed my rainbow in the clouds. It is the sign of my permanent promise to you and to all the earth. . . . Yes, this is the sign of my covenant with all the creatures of the earth.a Genesis 9:13, 17
William Wordsworth, the poet, lived in the English Lake District. There, because of a damp climate and steady rainfall, rainbows regularly appear in the dark skies. He wrote, My heart leaps up when I behold A rainbow in the sky, So was it when my life began; So is it now I am a man So be it when I shall grow old Or let me die.17 Wordsworth did not identify the reasons for his heart-leap. Given his love of nature and his poetic vision, he no doubt rejoiced in the rainbowas beauty and drew profound lessons from the sight.
The scientist, looking at the same rainbow, recognizes that light refracted through moisture produces a colored ray. In a shower of rain, many rays refracted at slightly different angles through many raindrops produce all the colors of the spectrum, which then form concentric arcs around the common center, the sun. And thatas all that a rainbow is!
Two totally different viewpointsa”one poetic, the other scientific. But there is another way of looking at the rainbow. G.o.d told Noah, aI have placed my rainbow in the clouds. It is the sign of my permanent promise to you and to all the earth. . . . Yes, this is the sign of my covenant with all the creatures of the eartha (Gen. 9:13, 17).
Scientific observation has enabled man to explore the world, to probe its mysteries, to mine its treasures, and to harness its power, more often than not to manas greater good. And poetic imagination has done much to enrich our souls. But only divine revelation can introduce man to the deepest, richest dimensions of life and the knowledge of eternity. Without G.o.d telling us, we would never have guessed that the rainbow is a message from the Creator of the universe, proclaiming his loving faithfulness and unending commitment to the covenant he freely made with man.
Some men who engage in scientific observation of the world fail to see evidence of the Creator in that which he created. And others whose poetic imaginations take them into flights of fancy frequently land in regions far from the Lord. But the scientist who knows and understands the things of G.o.d wors.h.i.+ps as he observes creationas wonders, and the believing poetas imagination soars to unimagined heights as he recognizes evidences of G.o.d on every hand.
Next time you see a rainbow, donat just see moist refractions or look for a pot of gold. Instead, wors.h.i.+p G.o.d. And thank him for his promises.
April 6