Understanding God's Love Through Challenging Biblical Texts

Devotional

Day 1: Understanding God's Nature Through Context

The story of the golden calf in Exodus challenges us to grapple with difficult portrayals of God in the Old Testament. It invites us to consider the cultural and historical contexts of the biblical authors and how these might have influenced their depiction of God. By doing so, we can better understand the complexities of Scripture and the nature of divine revelation. [03:04]

"For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings." (Hosea 6:6, ESV)

Reflection: Think about a time when you misunderstood someone's actions due to a lack of context. How can you apply this understanding to your reading of difficult biblical passages today?

Day 2: Jesus as the Lens for Understanding Scripture

Viewing the Bible through the lens of Jesus' teachings helps us reconcile the violent depictions of God in the Old Testament with the message of love and peace that Jesus embodied. Jesus' call to love our enemies and forgive those who wrong us offers a transformative perspective on how we understand God's character. [04:00]

"But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you." (Luke 6:27-28, ESV)

Reflection: Identify a challenging situation or relationship in your life. How can you apply Jesus' teachings of love and forgiveness to transform your perspective on this situation?

Day 3: Recognizing the Humanity of the Bible's Authors

The misuse of God's name to justify violence is a recurring theme throughout history. By recognizing the humanity of the Bible's authors, we can see that the violence in Scripture may reflect their cultural values rather than God's true nature. This understanding helps us avoid repeating the mistakes of the past. [08:04]

"Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." (Romans 12:21, ESV)

Reflection: Reflect on a time when you witnessed or participated in justifying harmful actions. How can you commit to overcoming such tendencies with good in your daily life?

Day 4: The Singular Story of God's Love

The unfolding of Scripture reveals a singular story of God's love and desire for relationship with humanity. Despite the complexity and challenges of certain passages, the overarching message of God's love, reconciliation, and forgiveness remains clear and compelling. [08:04]

"And he said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’" (Matthew 22:37-39, ESV)

Reflection: Consider how you can embody God's love in your interactions today. What is one specific action you can take to show love to someone in your community?

Day 5: Embracing Humility in Scriptural Interpretation

Engaging with difficult biblical texts requires humility and openness to different interpretations. It's okay to reach different conclusions as we seek to understand God's word. By doing so, we can deepen our faith and grow in our understanding of God's love and grace. [08:04]

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths." (Proverbs 3:5-6, ESV)

Reflection: Think of a biblical passage that you find challenging. How can you approach it with humility and openness, seeking God's guidance in understanding its message?

Sermon Summary

In today's reflection, we delved into a challenging passage from Exodus, where the Israelites, in Moses' absence, create a golden calf to worship. This narrative is unsettling, as it portrays God in a harsh and seemingly vindictive light, threatening to destroy His people for their idolatry. Moses, however, intercedes, reminding God of His promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, and God relents from bringing disaster upon the Israelites. This passage raises profound questions about the nature of God and the human authorship of the Bible. It challenges us to consider how the cultural and historical contexts of the biblical authors might have influenced their portrayal of God, especially when it seems inconsistent with the teachings of Jesus.

The key to understanding these difficult passages lies in recognizing the humanity of the Bible's authors and the cultural milieu in which they wrote. The Old Testament often reflects a worldview where divine violence was seen as a legitimate expression of God's will. However, when we view these texts through the lens of Jesus' life and teachings, we find a different picture of God—one of love, forgiveness, and peace. Jesus taught us to love our neighbors, turn the other cheek, and pray for our persecutors, offering a stark contrast to the violent depictions of God in some Old Testament passages.

This reflection serves as a reminder of how easily people of faith can invoke God's name to justify violence and war. History is replete with examples of such misuse, from the Crusades to colonial conquests. If we take the Bible's humanity seriously, we can see that the violence in Scripture may reflect the values and moral visions of its human authors rather than the true nature of God. By judging all Scripture in light of Jesus, the definitive Word of God, we can free ourselves from this tragic part of the human condition and learn to love as God loves.

Ultimately, the complexity of Scripture unfolds into a singular story of God's love for humanity, His desire for relationship, and His work of reconciliation and forgiveness. While the Old Testament may present an uneasy picture of God, the New Testament reveals His love and grace more clearly. As we navigate these challenging texts, we are reminded of the simplicity and beauty of God's overarching message of love.

Key Takeaways

1. The story of the golden calf in Exodus challenges us to grapple with difficult portrayals of God in the Old Testament. It invites us to consider the cultural and historical contexts of the biblical authors and how these might have influenced their depiction of God. By doing so, we can better understand the complexities of Scripture and the nature of divine revelation. [03:04]
2. Viewing the Bible through the lens of Jesus' teachings helps us reconcile the violent depictions of God in the Old Testament with the message of love and peace that Jesus embodied. Jesus' call to love our enemies and forgive those who wrong us offers a transformative perspective on how we understand God's character. [04:00]
3. The misuse of God's name to justify violence is a recurring theme throughout history. By recognizing the humanity of the Bible's authors, we can see that the violence in Scripture may reflect their cultural values rather than God's true nature. This understanding helps us avoid repeating the mistakes of the past. [08:04]
4. The unfolding of Scripture reveals a singular story of God's love and desire for relationship with humanity. Despite the complexity and challenges of certain passages, the overarching message of God's love, reconciliation, and forgiveness remains clear and compelling. [08:04]
5. Engaging with difficult biblical texts requires humility and openness to different interpretations. It's okay to reach different conclusions as we seek to understand God's word. By doing so, we can deepen our faith and grow in our understanding of God's love and grace. [08:04]
** [08:04]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[03:04] - The Golden Calf Incident
[04:00] - Moses' Intercession
[08:04] - Understanding Biblical Violence
[10:00] - Jesus as the Lens for Scripture
[12:00] - Historical Misuse of God's Name
[14:00] - Humanity of the Bible's Authors
[16:00] - God's Overarching Message of Love
[18:00] - Complexity and Simplicity in Scripture
[20:00] - Navigating Difficult Texts
[22:00] - Closing Thoughts and Blessings

Bible Study Guide

Observation Questions

What actions did the Israelites take in Moses' absence that led to the creation of the golden calf? [03:04]
How did Aaron respond to the people's request for a god to worship? [03:04]
What was God's initial reaction to the Israelites' idolatry, and how did Moses intervene? [04:00]
How does the passage describe the Israelites' behavior after creating the golden calf? [03:04]

Interpretation Questions

What does Moses' intercession reveal about his relationship with God and his role as a leader? [04:00]
How might the cultural and historical context of the Israelites have influenced their decision to create the golden calf? [08:04]
In what ways does this passage challenge our understanding of God's character, especially when compared to the teachings of Jesus? [08:04]
How does the narrative of the golden calf reflect the broader theme of human fallibility and divine grace in the Bible? [08:04]

Application Questions

Reflect on a time when you felt distant from God. How did you respond, and what can you learn from the Israelites' actions in this passage? [03:04]
Moses reminded God of His promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Israel. How can recalling God's promises help you in times of doubt or crisis? [04:00]
The sermon suggests viewing the Bible through the lens of Jesus' teachings. How can this perspective change the way you interpret difficult passages in the Old Testament? [08:04]
Consider the historical misuse of God's name to justify violence. How can you ensure that your actions and beliefs align with the message of love and peace that Jesus embodied? [08:04]
The sermon highlights the importance of recognizing the humanity of the Bible's authors. How does this understanding affect your approach to reading and interpreting Scripture? [08:04]
How can you cultivate a deeper understanding of God's love and grace in your daily life, especially when faced with challenging biblical texts? [08:04]
Identify a specific way you can demonstrate God's love and forgiveness in a relationship or situation this week. How will you put this into practice? [08:04]

Sermon Clips

"when the people saw that moses was so long in coming down from the mountain they gathered around aaron and said come make us gods who will go before us as for this fellow moses who brought us up out of egypt we don't know what has happened to him aaron answered them take off the gold earrings that your wives your sons and daughters have given you and take off the gold earrings that your wives your sons and daughters have given you and take off the gold earrings that your wives your sons and your daughters are wearing and bring them to me so all the people took off their earrings and brought them to aaron he took what they handed him" [00:01:59]

"and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a tool. Then they said, These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt. When Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of the calf and announced, Tomorrow there will be a festival to the Lord. So the next day the people rose early and sacrificed burnt offerings and presented fellowship offerings." [00:02:32]

"Now leave me alone so that my anger may burn against them, and that I may destroy them. Then I will make you into a great nation. But Moses sought the favor of the Lord his God. Lord, he said, why should your anger burn against your people whom you brought out of Egypt with great power and a mighty hand?" [00:03:35]

"he brought them out to kill them in the mountains and to wipe them off the face of the earth turn from your fierce anger relent and do not bring disaster on your people remember your servants Abraham Isaac and Israel to whom you swore by your own self I will make you descendants as numerous as stars in the skies and I will give you descendants all this land I promise them and it will be their inheritance forever then the Lord relented and did not bring on his people the disaster he had threatened okay" [00:04:00]

"again this is a difficult passage and it presents an image of god that is harsh violent vindictive it's a it's a passage where moses kind of takes the rational position is the one who is taking kind of an irrational god talking an irrational god down from destroying the israelites i've used the expression a few times throughout the course of the study full on old testament god and this passage is definitely one of those sections and i i need to tell you up front i'm unsettled about this passage and and some others like it that you that you sometimes run across particularly in the old testament i don't even begin to pretend to be an expert on this and there's a lot more about this topic that should be said entire books have have been devoted to addressing the issue of violence in the bible so i can't possibly begin to cover all of that in you know 10 or 15 minutes so my goal is to is to maybe point you to some possible ways of making sense of this without justifying it maybe you'll want to continue to explore and and you might even reach different conclusions than what i'm suggesting and that's okay but this is what i have found makes the most sense to me and and those answers that makes the most sense to me recognize the humanity of the bible's authors and also their intent and the way in which the bible was written and the culture that shaped him the approach i i take suggests that the parts of scripture where god is portrayed in a way that is is so inconsistent with jesus's life and message uh in other words when a particular teaching there's this problem that's at odds with what jesus said that we are right to consider" [00:04:38]

"what the passage may reflect about the culture, the worldview, and the perspectives of the human author of Scripture, rather than the timeless heart, character, and will of God. And, you know, and while it would be so much easier to decide to kind of skim over these and never go into these sections of Scriptures, I do think it would be a mistake, because there are a great many ways that God speaks through these biblical texts." [00:06:56]

"One of the most important reasons I think is to remind us of how easy it is for people of faith to invoke God's names in pursuit of violence, bloodshed, and war. I mean, remember the Crusaders marched into battle in Jerusalem in the name of Christ. Colonists from the old world arrived in the new world. Bibles in one hand, weapons in the other, to claim America for Christ." [00:07:18]

"Nazi belt buckles proclaim, Gott mit uns, God is with us, as they sought the extermination of the Jews and other undesirables. You know, Christian nations have often gone to war, invoking God in their efforts. And here's the thing." [00:07:22]

"If every word of the Bible was chosen by God, then our conclusion must be that, at least in the Old Testament period, God was a violent God, burning people alive, stoning them to death for anything that brought him the slightest offense, killing tens of thousands for the sins of their king, and commanding his own people to die for the sins of people, to wipe out entire cities and peoples." [00:07:39]

"But if we take the Bible's humanity seriously, we find the possibility that the violence of Scripture is a reflection of values and theology and moral visions of some of its human authors." [00:08:04]

"not of the god they sought to serve i suggested that we would judge all all the words of scripture in light of god's definitive word jesus christ because jesus taught that his followers were to love their neighbors turn the other cheek forgive those who wrong them and pray for those who persecute them ultimately the violence affirming passages of the old testament serve as a reminder how easily we might still be led to invoke god's name as a justification of violence in our world to the degree that we see jesus as the definitive word of god and that we listen carefully to his words we are able to free ourselves from that tragic part of the human condition and begin to learn to love as god loves and so uh that's heavy stuff i hope that makes a little sense but hang in there you know when i get to say this i'm going to say this i'm going to say this i'm going to say this i'm going to say this sections like this, sometimes I'm reminded of Psalm 119, 130, which says, the unfolding of your words gives light. It gives understanding to the simple." [00:08:17]

"I think this image of this gentle unfolding of God's word is beautiful, but yet, as we've seen this morning, there is this enormous complexity in almost every aspect of scripture. Yet, despite this, there is this simplicity as it unfolds. It's this singular story of God's love for us. You know, we talked about in the tabernacle, you know, God's presence with us. And so, even in its complexity, there is this overarching simple message of God wanting to have relationship with us, God's people, God's love for humanity, God's reconciliation and forgiveness of all things." [00:09:23]

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