1 Timothy 5:17-20

Over the past several weeks, we've been learning how Christ, the Good Shepherd, cares for his church. From John 21, we saw that his sheep need ongoing spiritual care, and he entrusts that care to imperfect men who love him. From Exodus 18, we learned that caring for God's people is too heavy for one man to carry alone, and that shared leadership brings peace to everyone. In Acts 20, we saw that the NT pattern is churches led by teams of pastors, not just one man. David Flinck reminded us that these men must lead with humble hearts, and we learned last week that elder, overseer, and pastor are three titles or descriptions of the men who lead and care for a church together.

This brings us to a practical question today: if multiple men lead and care for a church together, how does this arrangement work? To answer this question, Paul addresses two important concepts in 1Tim 5:17-20. The first is the work that pastors do together, which includes two primary responsibilities. The second is the way that a church responds to its pastors, which includes two aspects – how to respond to pastors both when they fulfill their role well and when they don’t.

Here’s the answer Paul gives us: pastors care for the church by leading and teaching it well, and the church cares for its pastors by honoring them and holding them accountable.
Let’s start with the pastors. If several men share the leadership of a church, what are they sharing? Paul answers that in verse 17, where we see that elders share authority to carry out two primary responsibilities for the church, leading and teaching it well together.

Elders share two primary responsibilities for the church.

In v. 17, we see that pastors should do two things: “rule” and “teach.” Ruling means to guide, lead, and manage the church in a big picture, comprehensive way. They must direct the practical and spiritual affairs of the church.

William Mounce points out that this word (proestotes) carries a double meaning of leading and serving, so it speaks of “servant leadership.” Pastors must lead the church by serving its needs not domineering over them. Paul uses the same word in 1 Tim 3:4 when he says a pastor must “rule his own house well,” so he must be an effective, exemplary servant leader of his home before he takes the role of an elder/pastor in his church.

Today we call this kind of leadership “administration.” This consists of making important decisions on behalf of the church, providing direction, perspective, and protection for the church from a functional and organizational standpoint. This aspect of leadership determines the effectiveness, efficiency, and quality of care the church receives.

In v. 17, Paul also names a second way that pastors lead the church, which is “education.” By education, I mean giving people the information they need to follow Christ well. Paul describes this spiritual education as “word and doctrine.” “Word” refers to preaching what God says to his people in Scripture. “Doctrine” refers to explaining what Scripture says in a more detailed and practical way.

Preaching resembles what a press secretary or news anchor does when giving a press release or news broadcast. In preaching, a pastor announces or declares what God says in his Word. This is what a pastor does on Sunday morning when he gives a sermon.

Teaching resembles what a doctor or professor does when they explain important information to a patient or student. In doctrine, a pastor provides a more in-depth, detailed perspective on what God says in his Word. This is what a pastor does in a Sunday School class, Bible institute session, theology workshop, or biblical counseling session.

Whether preaching or teaching, Paul says a pastor must “labor,” a word (kopiao) which means to toil and work hard to the point of being tired and weary. But he also indicates that not every pastor of a church must do this to the same degree.

While all pastors must be able to preach and teach the Word, not all must be expected to do this to the same degree. Some pastors on a team of elders will need to do this more than others. All the pastors should share the responsibility of directing the affairs of a church, but not all must do the heavy lifting of preaching and teaching the Word.

At this point, we should note that Paul doesn’t describe this work that a team of pastors does in isolation. In the same sentence, he says these men are “worthy of double honor,” especially those who labor in the Word. In other words, the relationship between pastors and their church runs both ways. Elders have responsibilities toward the church of leading and teaching, but the church has responsibilities toward its elders, too. And just as the elders share two primary responsibilities, Paul gives the church two of its own: the church cares for its pastors by honoring them and holding them accountable.

The church shares two primary responsibilities towards its elders.

In vs. 17, Paul says that pastors who lead well should “be counted worthy of double honor.” To lead well, here, describes any pastor who is not only a good example to the church but one who is especially effective and involved.

This implies that in a team of pastors, not all will do the same amount of work, especially in preaching and teaching. Some pastors, for instance, may participate in team discussions and meetings, providing accountability, input, and a wise perspective to the group, but not all will be doing as much counseling, teaching, and preaching as the others.

Any pastor who gives the church a good example, faithful care, and a wise leadership is “worthy of double honor.” Double honor is not a phrase we use today but it seems to describe two kinds of response towards good leaders: the first is showing proper respect and the second is providing financial and material support.

What does it mean to honor? In the OT, the word for honor, kabod, means “heavy.” When God says, “Honor your father and mother” (Exo 20:12), he’s saying, “give them weight,” don’t treat their words and place in your life as lightweight or trivial. We can think of this in a physical sense. When a person is larger or stronger than you are, you treat them differently and take them more seriously than people smaller and weaker than you. This concept of treating someone as a “weighty” influence in your life carries over to the NT.

The NT builds on that idea. Paul uses the word timeyh, which is a word that speaks about value. In ancient Greek times, people received greater honor and respect based on how large and strong they were and how many material possessions and how much wealth they had. But over time, this physical, material correlation between size and weight, honor and respect began to correspond to a person’s immaterial, intangible value, instead.

Sometimes the NT uses this word for a price. When Judas threw the thirty pieces of silver back into the temple, the priests called it "the price of blood" (Mt 27:6). This was the price of a slave in the OT (Exo 21:32), which shows that the priests did not honor or respect who Christ was. He was the king of the universe but they valued him as a slave. This says more about how they viewed him as a person, not how much money he was worth.

That's why Paul speaks of "double honor" for elders who labor well. The church shows that honor in two ways: how it regards pastors (respect) and how it supports them (provision).

Regarding respect, a church should take seriously the leadership, care, and teaching its pastors provide. While it is appropriate to call your pastors “pastor,” out of respect, what matters most is that people in a church participate in the opportunities for care, ministry, and worship that the pastors organize and provide. And when pastors preach and teach, members should pay careful attention and respond in meaningful, practical ways.

A church should take its pastors seriously. The more any of its pastors work hard at leading the church well, especially those who work very hard at preaching and teaching well, the more attention and responsiveness you should give to them.

But the “double honor” here refers to both intangible and tangible honor, to symbolic, personal value and actual monetary value. A church should recognize when any of its pastors provide exceptional care and leadership, especially by teaching and preaching well. They should give him whatever support he needs to focus on his work undistracted.

This guidance assumes that not all the pastors of a church are supported financially and that not all are supported to the same financial degree. It also assumes that any pastors working especially hard at caring for the church bring value and weight to the church and should be compensated accordingly so they can do their work as effectively as possible.

In case any might disagree with this perspective and suggest that every pastor should do his work of leadership and teaching as a volunteer, Paul quotes both Moses and Jesus as support for his instruction (1 Tim 5:18).

In Dt 25:4, Moses told the Israelites that an ox who is pulling a thresher through the grain field at harvest should not be muzzled. Why? So that he could eat grain as he worked. This would enable him to thresh more energetically and efficiently.

In Mt 10:10 and Lk 10:7, Jesus sent his disciples into towns to teach the gospel. He encouraged people to give these men food and money so they could do their work without distraction. He quoted a common saying, “The laborer is worthy of his wages.” Paul referred to this in 1 Cor 9:14: “Those who preach the gospel should live from the gospel.”

The pastors of a church should be valued or viewed as deserving “double honor” – worthy of respect (attention, obedience) as any elder should be but also deserving (“doubly”) worthy of financial support, especially if they are carrying a comparatively heavier share of the work. In this model, we see that when a team of pastors cares for and leads a church together, some should be remunerated to varying degrees (part-time, full-time, as appropriate), but all should be respected.

So, the church cares for its pastors first by honoring them. But honor alone isn’t enough. The church also cares for its pastors by holding them accountable.

This accountability involves two parts. The first part is protection against random accusations which detract and distract from their care of the church. The second part is correction in cases of actual, verifiable sins.

In 1 Tim 5:19, Paul says, “Do not receive an accusation against an elder except from two or three witnesses.” To support this guidance, Paul again quotes both Moses and Jesus by requiring two or three witnesses (Deut. 17:6; 19:15; Matt. 18:16). If a person has a concern or criticism about one of his pastors, he should bring that concern to the pastor himself, as Jesus tells us to do in any personal disagreement or offense (Mt 18:15). Walter Liefeld says this about this requirement for two or three witnesses:

Its use is crucial here not because elders are more important than others but because the reputation of an elder is so important to the witness of the church and because Satan can use disgrace to his own ends.

If multiple church members have observed the same fault, then this matter should be brought before the elders and, if necessary, before the entire church. If the view of multiple witnesses is proven not to be a frivolous or unsubstantiated accusation and it is clear that a pastor is sinning, then he should be publicly rebuked. As William Mounce explains:

Paul is … suggesting a twofold confrontation process. The first step is to accept an accusation only if there are two or three firsthand witnesses. This would supposedly be in private and include confrontation with the elder. If the accusation is valid and the sinning persists, then the elders should be confronted in public before the whole church so that the rest of the elders may fear, realizing that they will be held accountable for their own actions by the church and God, and presumably so that the sinning elder will repent.

John Stott, then, explains why this is important:

Such a public rebuke, though an effective deterrent, must be the last resort, however. It is a safe rule that private sins should be dealt with privately, and only public sins publicly. It is neither right nor necessary to make what is private public, until all of the possibilities have been exhausted.

In summary, a church should protect its pastors from disgruntled gossip, personal attacks, and unreliable accusations. They should also correct their pastors for clear, verifiable sins.

As we close, I want to admit that it’s awkward to preach a sermon about honoring pastors, and especially about supporting them financially. It’s also uncommon for pastors to teach a church how to express accusations, concerns, and disagreements about pastors.

But I would be failing in my responsibility to feed the flock if I skipped what God says simply because it applies to me or because it is awkward. Perhaps you’ve noticed that this passage asks just as much of me as it does of you. It calls pastors to work hard, to lead by serving, and to welcome correction if we ever stray.

Here’s what Paul wants us to see: pastors care for the church by leading and teaching it well, and the church cares for its pastors by honoring them and holding them accountable.

Remember what we learned at the start of this series, the church is a flock that belongs to Christ. Jesus told Peter, “Feed my sheep,” and Peter calls him the “Chief Shepherd.” When a church honors its pastors, it isn’t elevating men. It’s valuing the way Christ has chosen to care for his people. And when a church holds its pastors accountable, it isn’t attacking them. It’s protecting Christ’s sheep and the honor of Christ’s name.

So, what might this look like for us, this week, this year, next year, and beyond? As we look to add men to our team of pastors, and to help men in our church become future pastors, let me suggest a few ways to put each of these responsibilities into practice, not just as a short-term response to this sermon but as a lasting habit for our church family.

First, honor your pastors by giving weight to God’s Word. When it’s preached on Sunday or taught in a class, come [actually come], be ready to listen, and look for a way to respond to it during the week. And when you see a man in our church who loves Christ, cares for people, and shows a gift for teaching, tell him so. Encouraging him is one way of honoring the work God may be preparing him to do.

Second, help your pastors stay accountable by handling concerns the way Jesus taught us. If something a pastor says or does troubles you, come to us directly. We genuinely want to hear it. And if someone brings you a complaint about one of the pastors, gently encourage them to do the same, rather than receiving it or passing it along. Follow the guidance that Paul clearly gives so that, as Paul says, “the rest may fear.”

If we do these things, Brookdale will be a church where pastors can serve faithfully for many years, and where future pastors can grow up right here among us.

As Brookdale seeks to build a team of pastors (paid and unpaid), let’s be a church that does both these things well, honors its pastors gladly and keeps them accountable, too. When pastors are both honored and accountable, they are free to do what Christ called Peter to do, feed his sheep. When a church cares for its pastors this way, it becomes a healthier, more peaceful flock, taking our next steps in following Christ, together.

Acts 20:17, 28

Today marks the fifth sermon in our Fall preaching series called “Feeding the Flock,” and before we begin, we should remind ourselves of what we’ve learned so far.

We began by hearing from John 21 how the risen Christ restored Peter to service and said, “Feed My sheep.” We learned that Christ’s sheep need ongoing spiritual care. God entrusts that care to imperfect men and that care must flow from a committed, deep love for Christ above all. We also saw that Christ’s sheep belong to God, not pastors.

Next, we looked at Exodus 18, where Moses was wearing himself out in caring for God’s people. Through Jethro, his father-in-law, we learned that God’s people need full-time care, that this care can exhaust everyone, and that the best solution is shared leadership. When faithful men share the load, the whole community goes forward in peace.

Then, from Acts 20, we saw that shared leadership isn’t just an Old Testament idea. The NT records a pattern of churches being cared for and led by groups of men, not single men, and this pattern appears from Acts through Hebrews in all the churches that we see.

Then last week, we looked at 1 Peter 5 and the pastor’s humble heart. David Flinck taught us that pastors must lead the church willingly rather than by compulsion, eagerly rather than for gain, and as an example to the flock rather than a lord over it.

So, we’ve seen that Christ’s flock needs leadership and care, that this care is best shared by teams of men, and that those who provide this care must do so with love for Christ and humility towards others.

Over the next two Sundays, we’ll answer some questions about how a group of pastors work together to lead and care for the church. We’ll consider, for instance, why our church is – and will continue to be – a church that is led by pastors but not ruled by pastors. This means that the pastors of a church must always be accountable to the congregation for their teaching and decisions. We’ll also consider how multiple pastors should work together for the good of the church. How do multiple pastors work together well?

But today, today, we’ll take another step in learning about how Christ cares for and leads the church by answering a question that may be in the back of your mind: what do we call the men who care for and lead the church?

If you’ve been around churches for a while, you’ve heard several words used: pastor, elder, possibly bishop, or reverend, or something else. But what does the Bible say?

Scripture calls church leaders elders.

The word elder (usually plural) appears frequently throughout the NT to refer to leaders of the church. In Acts 14:23, Paul and Barnabas appointed elders in each of the churches in the region called Turkey today. The church leaders who discussed doctrinal questions in Acts 15-16 were called elders. In Acts 20:17, Paul invited church leaders from the church in Ephesus to a meeting with him and he called them elders.

In 1 Tim 5:17, Paul speaks about the teaching and leadership responsibilities of church leaders, which he calls elders, then he explains the proper way to handle accusations against church leaders, also called elders, if such a need arises (1 Tim 5:19). Then in Titus 1:5, he gave instructions for appointed elders in the churches on the island of Crete.

In Jam 5:14, James gives instructions for the leaders of a church, called elders, in praying for church members who are terminally ill. Then, Peter calls himself an elder and speaks to other men which he also calls elders (1 Pet 5:1).

In fact, elders is the most common description or title given in the NT to men who lead the church. But what does this word mean? It is the word presbuteros. In its earliest use, the word described someone, usually a man, who was “older” and “not young” Over time, it was used not only of men who were older, but men who were chosen for important leadership roles within families, cities, or communities. Such men would provide guidance and resolve disputes, as needed.

As churches began to appear after the resurrection and ascension of Christ, the NT shows that these churches appointed men whom they called elders to provide them with spiritual leadership and care. While this is a key word for church leaders given in the NT, it – like other titles – is not important merely as a title but more importantly for what it means.

As a leadership title, it especially emphasizes the importance of a church leader’s personal character, example, integrity, and maturity. That’s why the original, most basic meaning and use of this word is important, that an elder was someone who was “older.” We assume, for instance, that the older a man is, the more mature and wise he will be.

But we also know that just because a man is older doesn’t automatically mean that he is wise and mature. In the same way it follows that a younger man can also be wise and mature, just not by default. That’s why Paul gave the following instruction to Timothy, a younger man who was serving as a pastoral leader in the church:

Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity. (1 Tim 4:12)

This shows us that men may lead and care for the church as pastors whether they are young or old. Our expectation for such men, then, must not be an extensive age but rather an exemplary character. Such a man should have the qualities of a godly man as Paul describes in 1 Tim 3:1-7 and Tit 1:5-9.

So, one of the titles given in Scripture for the men who lead and care for the church is elder. That’s why our own church’s core documents say this in Article 4, Section 7:

“Though a lead pastor may serve the church adequately on occasion, the church should desire and endeavor to appoint multiple pastors (also called elders) whenever possible and as the needs of the church may require.” (Brookdale Core Docs, 4.07.A.)

But more important than calling pastors elders and elders pastors, as the Bible does, we must emphasize even more the need for church leaders to be exemplary Christian men who are faithful to Christ and fruitful in service. For a man to help others mature in their faith, they must first be mature in their own faith, as well.

Scripture also calls church leaders bishops.

Though the NT uses the word elders, more than any other word, to describe church leaders, it also uses the word bishop. This is the word episkopos, which means to “look over” (or “cast one’s eye over”) and means someone who is an “overseer,” something like a supervisor today.

In Phil 1:1, Paul speaks by letter to “the bishops and deacons” of Philip, which tells us that this church had multiple bishops. In Acts 20:28, Paul calls the elders of the church at Ephesus bishops (or “overseers”). Then in 1 Tim 3:1-2 and Tit 1:7, Paul describes the personal character qualities which should mark a man who leads the church as a “bishop.” And in 1 Pet 5:2, Peter calls church leaders “overseers” (bishops).

As with the word elder, the important thing to know here is not so much the title but rather what the title means. It means to “cast one’s eye over” and describes someone who is responsible for keeping an eye on the group, to take a watchful responsibility for the congregation’s spiritual care, direction, and well-being.

So, from the title of “elder,” we see that the leaders of a church should be men who are examples in Christian character and maturity. And from the title of “bishop/overseer,” we see that these same men should take responsibility for watching over the spiritual care, direction, and well-being of the church. Said another way, “elder” explains for us a church leader’s character, and “overseer” explains for us a church leader’s responsibility.

Today, while some may feel awkward or uncomfortable with calling pastors elders, more of us would feel uncomfortable with calling pastors bishops. This is true not because of how the Bible uses this term but because of how some people have used this term in history over time up to the present.

In Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Anglican traditions (even some Scandinavian Lutheran churches), a bishop is someone who holds authority over not just one church but multiple in a region, often called a diocese. And these positions often claim to be directly linked back to the apostles through formal acknowledgement from one generation to the next, all the way back to the apostles.

But when we look at the NT, we see that no such hierarchy or special distinction is given to bishops over elders. As we will see in a moment, elders and bishops are two words that describe the same position of leadership and care in the church.

Scripture also calls church leaders pastors.

But there is a third term that the NT uses to describe the elder and overseer role in the church – this is the word pastor. Ironically, of the three words the NT uses to describe the role of church leaders, the one the NT uses the least is the one we use the most. That’s not a problem per se, just an interesting observation.

In Eph 4:11, Paul says that God gives (or gifts) pastors to the church to “equip the saints for the work of ministry.” This is the only time that the NT uses this word to describe church leaders and here is combines the word with the word “teacher,” which shows us that pastors lead the church primarily through the ministry of teaching Scripture.

The word pastor, though, means “shepherd,” and once we realize this, we can also see that the NT uses this concept in other places to describe the role of a pastor in the church. As we already saw in John 21, Jesus told his disciples to “feed his sheep.” In John 10:11-12, Jesus said that a “good shepherd gives his life for the sheep” (something which Jesus exemplified more than anyone else). In Acts 20:28, Paul calls the church at Ephesus a flock and tells the elders to “shepherd” (or pastor) the church of God, then in 1 Pet 5:2, Peter tells other elders to “shepherd [or pastor, feed] the flock of God.”

So then, we see that the title “elder” explains for us a church leader’s character, and “overseer” explains a church leader’s responsibility, but “pastor/shepherd” explains a church leader’s practice or approach – he should care for the church as a shepherd cares for sheep. So, from all this, we see that the NT uses all three terms or concepts – elder, overseer, pastor – to describe the role of those men who provide spiritual care, direction, and leadership for the church.

These terms describe the same church leadership role.

With this in mind, I would like to do two more things for us today. First, I would like to help us see clearly that these three terms are used by the NT to describe the one, same office of church leader, the men who provide a church with spiritual care and direction. To do this, I will show you where the NT uses these terms interchangeably. Second, I would like to show you how the word bishop took on a higher rank in church history and how that can help us better understand our own tendencies and practices today.

First, where does the NT use these three terms interchangeably? We read this in Acts 20:17, 28 earlier this morning:

From Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called for the elders of the church … Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.

Here Paul calls the leaders of the church at Ephesus “elders,” then he also calls them “bishops” (overseers, same word), then he tells them to “shepherd” (or pastor) the church of God. Here Paul uses all three word groups together to describe the identity, responsibility, and ministry of the men who led the church at Ephesus as what we call pastors today. But, Peter speaks to leaders of churches in a similar way:

The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed: shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. (1 Pet 5:1-3)

Like Paul, he identifies them as elders, says that they have a responsibility to oversee the church, and says that they should do this as a ministry of “shepherding.” There is a third example of these terms being used interchangeably in Tit 1:5-7, only there it uses just two terms, elders and overseers:

I left you in Crete, that you should set in order the things that are lacking, and appoint elders in every city as I commanded you—if a man is blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of dissipation or insubordination. For a bishop must be blameless, as a steward of God …

Here Paul makes clear that when he speaks about elders in the church, he is speaking about bishops, and vice versa. From this, we see that the title “elder” explains for us a church leader’s character, and “overseer” explains a church leader’s responsibility, but “pastor/shepherd” explains a church leader’s practice or approach – he should care for the church as a shepherd cares for sheep. So, from all this, we see that the NT uses all three terms or concepts – elder, overseer, pastor – to describe the role of those men who provide spiritual care, direction, and leadership for the church.

So, if this is the case, then how or why did bishops become a higher position in some church traditions throughout history?

In his helpful book called “Our Legacy: The History of Christian Doctrine,” church historian John D. Hannah says this:

the synonymous terms for church officers, “elder” and “bishop,” were separated, creating two separate offices. Church leaders made the latter term singular, while the former remained plural. That is, some of the churches in the East shifted to a single leader in each of the churches, the bishop. However, this was not a universal practice in the early second century.

This matches what early church documents also say. For instance, the Didache (approx. AD 140) said, “Elect for yourselves … bishops and deacons worthy of the Lord,” which shows that the congregation chose these men who then, in turn, provided spiritual leadership for the church who chose them.

A separate letter, “The Shepherd,” which was written to a man named Hermas, who was a member of the church at Rome (approx. AD 140-150), said, “You shall read … in this city along with the presbyters [elders] who are in charge of the church” (“Vision” 2.4).

Records like this indicate that the earliest churches followed the pattern we see in the NT, which is churches were led by groups of men called elders or bishops and that these terms were used interchangeably to refer to the same men and role within the church.

But the writings of a man named Ignatius is fascinating. He was a church leader in Antioch of Syria and he promoted a church leadership model that consisted not of two parts – bishops and deacons, but of three parts – bishop (sg.), elders (pl.), deacons (pl.). Church historian Perry Edwards says this about Ignatius:

He promoted a tripartite system that included a bishop, elders, and deacons. He had a very high view of the bishop, in particular, teaching that the bishop stood in the place of Christ. In the same way that Jesus Christ submitted to his Father, the congregation should submit to the bishop and not resist him in any way. He said that “we ought to regard the bishop as the Lord Himself,” and that the people should not do anything without the consent of the bishop. In another place, he compares the bishop to the Father in heaven and that all should be in submission to him. Love feasts, baptisms, weddings, or any other activity in the church should not be done without his approval. The elders were under the bishop but also carried considerable authority in the church. He wrote, “Therefore as the Lord did nothing without the Father, [being united with Him], either by Himself or by the Apostles, so neither do ye anything without the bishop and the presbyters.”

So, we see the NT gave us a pattern of multiple men leading a church as elders (pastors, bishops), but men like Ignatius were promoting a different model within 100 years from the time the NT was written and churches had begun. This new approach viewed bishops as a single role at the head of the leadership structure of a church, supported by other men called elders, who were then supported by a third level called deacons.

But a Christian historian, theologian, and Bible translator named Jerome, commented on this development in AD 347-420. In a letter we call “Letter 146” today, he wrote to explain that the early church did not confuse deacons with elders but viewed them as distinct roles within the church; he also wanted to explain that the early church and NT teaching viewed bishops and elders as the same role and did not elevate one over the other. In this letter, he said the following:

“The apostle clearly teaches that presbyters [elders] are the same as bishops.”

Then he explains why churches began to call one of their elders “bishop” and place him in a more prominent role:

When subsequently one presbyter [elder] was chosen to preside over the rest, this was done to remedy schism and to prevent each individual from rending the church of Christ by drawing it to himself. For even at Alexandria from the time of Mark the Evangelist until the episcopates [overseer] of Heraclas and Dionysius the presbyters [elders] always named as bishop one of their own number chosen by themselves and set in a more exalted position, just as an army elects a general, or as deacons appoint one of themselves whom they know to be diligent and call him archdeacon.

Then, in his commentary on Tit 1:7, he said this:

The presbyter [elder] is the same as the bishop, and before parties had been raised up in religion by the provocations of Satan, the churches were governed by the Senate [group, multiplicity, team] of the presbyters [elders]. But as each one sought to appropriate to himself those whom he had baptized, instead of leading them to Christ, it was appointed that one of the presbyters [elders], elected by his colleagues, should be set over all the others, and have chief supervision over the general well-being of the community. . . but it is fitting that the bishops, on their side, do not forget that if they are set over the presbyters [elders], it is the result of tradition, and not by the fact of a particular institution by the Lord.

From this, we learn how and why churches progressed from having multiple pastors/elders leading and caring for them to promoting one of them to be in charge of the rest, then calling him the bishop or overseer. This was done to guard and protect the church from division and schism.

The fear was that if multiple men baptized and taught the people believing on Christ and coming into the church, then they would more naturally end up with a situation in which the church was divided, with some members preferring one elder over another, and the various elders developing cliques and followings for themselves rather than pointing people to Christ.

The solution, they thought, was to appoint one man as bishop over the other pastors and for that man to be the one who baptized everyone and took responsibility for everyone. While Jerome understood and explained clearly why this happened, and while he also acknowledged that the NT did not provide such a pattern, he also had come to accept this practice for himself. And it was this same reasoning that progressed from setting one as a bishop over each church, to setting one man as a bishop over multiple churches, to establishing archbishops, and then eventually establishing a pope.

As we see how the NT provides us with a pattern of churches being cared for by multiple men and for each of these men being called elders, overseers, and pastors (three titles for one role), it helps us understand why we do what we do as a church today.

To more fully understand the role of pastors in our own church, I would encourage you to go online to review our core documents, esp. Sections 4-5. And as I mentioned previously, we will look more closely at how multiple pastors/elders can and should work together as a team to provide spiritual care and leadership for a church.

We want to follow the biblical pattern as closely as possible, learning from our past history as a church and building on that for an even stronger, more biblical, healthier, stable, and more fruitful, peaceful future. A key way to do that can be assembling a pastor/elder team that has more men than two, all while maintaining strong accountability from the congregation, something we will learn more about in future sermons.

If you have any questions about this preaching series, feel free to speak with Pastor Will or me. A question to put before us all today is this: how closely does our church follow the biblical, NT pattern for providing pastoral leadership and care? As a church which is almost 60 years old, and as a church which is more than 2,000 years removed from the first churches we read about in the NT, is there anything we can learn about church structure from the past as seen in the NT that can strengthen us today for the future?

As new people join our church, as young people grow up in our church, and as people continue to grow old and mature in our church, we want to build a clear, biblical view of what it means to be a pastor so that we can help more men become pastors in the future right here from within our own congregation. And as we do that, we want to make sure that the people of this church continue to receive consistent, ongoing, and ever-improving spiritual guidance, protection, and care so that everyone whom God brings into our church family will receive the very best spiritual care possible – one that follows a biblical pattern.

As we wrap up for today, I’d like to ask you to think about the phone in your pocket or the computer on your desk for a moment. Every so often, it asks you to authorize a system software update. You tap a button, it restarts, and when it comes back on, it’s still your phone. Your contacts are still there, it still makes calls, it just looks a little different sometimes. The update didn’t change what it is or what it’s for. Instead, it only made your phone more secure, more reliable, and better at doing what it was already built to do and has been doing for months and years already.

Not every machine works that way, such as a CNC machine. A CNC machine is a computer-controlled machine that cuts, drills, carves, or shapes material like metal, wood, or plastic to make parts for engines, motors, and more. With some industrial equipment like this, a major software change can mean replacing the entire machine. This can be an expensive and disruptive process, one that costs a lot of money, requires entirely new procedures and training, and one that may even require reconfiguring and reconstructing the entire shop floor.

If we compare this illustration to our church and preaching series today, we know that the Bible gives us the original design for pastoral leadership and care, and our core documents agree with this, saying that the church “should desire and endeavor to appoint multiple pastors.” As we’re able to do this, we know we will grow stronger together as a church, building upon what we already are and believe, doing what we’ve always done in healthier and more biblical ways, one step together at a time. And that’s what we do, that’s what we do here are at Brookdale – take our next steps in following Christ, together.

Discussion Questions
Life101

• What’s a nickname or job title you’ve had that didn’t quite describe what you actually did?
• Other than biblical accuracy, what might the church lose out on if we only focus on one of the words the New Testament uses for church leaders?
• The sermon said age doesn’t automatically make someone mature, and a younger person can be mature, just “not by default.” When you’ve seen a younger believer who was unusually mature, what did you notice about how they lived?
• “Overseer” means someone who casts an eye over the flock. When pastors are caring for souls, where’s the line between caring and being nosy?
  • How can the church help contribute to a culture of intentional soul care?

Digging Deeper

• Ephesians 4:11 is the only place the NT uses “pastor” as a title for church leaders, and it pairs the word with “teacher.” What does that pairing tell us about how a pastor mainly leads?
• A friend says, “Why spend a whole sermon on what we call our pastors? It’s just titles.” How would you answer from this sermon?

Objective: Showing from the text the requirement of humility in pastors.

"So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for 'God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.' Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you." (1 Pet 5:1-7)

I grew up hearing my dad say, “In the ministry, you need to have tough skin and a soft heart.” What does a soft heart mean? Well in this morning’s text, there is an emphasis on pastoral humility. The faithful pastor must have a humble heart.

I have been reading a book recently entitled, How to Listen So People Will Talk: Building Stronger Communication and Deeper Connections, by Becky Harling. In it she makes a great point about the importance of a heart of humility…

“It is impossible to be a good listener (or a good pastor) without developing a humble spirit. When you are listening and fully engaged, you allow the other person to have all the attention. Listening forces you to lay aside your agenda. It challenges you to let go of you need to share your opinions, theories, and assumptions in favor of listening to another’s feelings, thoughts and sentiments. That decision can only come from a heart of humility.”

Humility is understanding who you are in Christ, letting go of the need to flaunt your gifts or promote yourself at the expense of others.

Up until now, 1 Peter has been addressing the relationship between the community of the followers of Jesus and the culture around them, answering the question as to where God might be in that picture of tensions and suffering.

Now Peter turns to addressing the situation within the community (the church) that is under great pressure from the culture around them.

The church is to be led by pastor elders. But what should these leaders look like? Peter gives some helpful teaching on the character of those who are faithful pastors.

Pastoral humility should be seen in…

1. His Presence (v. 2a) “shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight” – He is WITH them.

The pastor shepherd lives among those he serves. The phrase in this verse literally means “shepherd God’s flock that is literally with you”.

No one is more involved with his work than a shepherd. Sheep cannot be managed or lead by telecommunication. His life must be watched and his life must support his words.

The pastor must “smell of sheep”.

2. His Motives (v. 2b) “not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you” – He is WILLING.

Peter gives another qualification to those who shepherd. In addition to humility, there must be eagerness. Just as it is the love of the Lord that yields humble service, so it is love of the Lord the yields diligence.

The pastor is not reluctant, but willing as God wants him to be (literally, according to God), that is, with a readiness that springs from His grace and runs to His glory.

Any real shepherd of Christ’s flock will soon feel the great weight and seriousness of pastoral care. The love of Christ opens the shepherd’s heart to share the great joys and the deep griefs of his people.

3. His Value (v. 2b) “not for shameful gain, but eagerly” – He is EAGER for eternity (see v. 5).

The apostle Paul’s surrender of salary as an offering to Christ illustrates the next contrast in Peter’s words.

Peter sets eagerness to serve over against a mercenary interest in the pastoral role.

Peter describes here an action motivated by a desire “for shameful gain”. The pay that a pastor received is not shameful. Jesus taught that a workman is worth his wages. Shame enters when money becomes the motive.

False shepherds are condemned for taking from the flock to feed themselves rather than humbly giving of themselves to feed the flock.

To pastor in a meaningful way requires a humble discernment, which, in turn, requires a robust knowledge and understanding of Scripture and of people. Real discernment without Christ centered love is not possible. Otherwise, we have what is most commonly known as “an agenda”…and Satan loves those.

4. His Example (v. 3) “not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock.” – He is FOLLOWING Christ.

Pastoral oversight is not dictatorial rule. The Christian exercise of authority is never authoritarian.

The pastor/elder has authority, yet that authority came from Christ the Chief Shepherd.

The pastor is not a cowboy, driving his flock like cattle. He should lead his flock as a shepherd would, walking amongst them or just ahead of them.

The pastor presents the Word of the Lord, not his own decrees. He is to emphasize the revealed will of the Lord, not his own wishes.

Far from being a lord, master or dictator, the pastor is to be an example. Meaning, he is to lead others in humble obedience to God by being himself humbly obedient to God and His Word. Our awareness of the Lord gives dignity to our obedience and humility to our rule. In both we serve Him, the Chief Shepherd.

Christ himself made himself an example to his disciples when he wrapped a towel around his waist and washed their feet.

v. 4 “And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.”

Peter writes this whole letter as an apostle of Jesus Christ. From start to finish he speaks for His Lord. He addresses the elders so that they too, may minister as servants of the Lord Jesus. He is concerned with their motives more than with their methods. Peter knows that their relation to Jesus Christ will shape the way they care for his people. To know the Lord is to keep to be like the Lord. Pastor elders should be examples to their flock as they follow the example of the Chief Shepherd who gave His life for the sheep.

To speak of the Chief Shepherd is to remind pastors that they are only undershepherds. Their authority is not original. They minister only in Christ’s name, and according to His Word.

The coming of the Chief Shepherd must remind every pastor of his accountability. For a faithful shepherd, and for every faithful believer, the coming of Christ is the source of hope and joy.

The faithful pastor elders who receive their crowns of blessing from the Lord will cast their crowns before the throne of Him who wore the crown of thorns for them.

Conclusion: The care of pastors for their flock will be proportional to their care for their relationship with the Lord (who is the Great Shepherd).

The pastor must present Christ, Christ’s message and Christ’s methods. To know his people, the pastor, first and foremost, must know Christ.

The life of Judas is a warning that…you can hear truth and not obey it. You can be near holy and humble things and still remain unchanged. You can look like a disciple and still resist surrender. It is possible to appear faithful outwardly, while inwardly resisting the very truth that could save you. Judas was not lost because he was far from Jesus, but because he would not fully give his heart to Jesus.

A love for Christ will spurn a greater compassion for Christ’s sheep and a growing, humble and obedient in ministry. Love for the Lord will motivate pastors to imitate the humble care of the Great Shepherd.

During His time on earth, Jesus presented a breathtaking picture of the ideal human. He combined power with humility. Innocence with courage. Truth with generosity. The vulnerable and brokenhearted were drawn to Him because of His compassion. Those who hungered for truth flocked to Him because He taught with an authority like no other. He stood for justice while offering forgiveness to all, even to those who killed Him on the cross.

The pastor must humbly serve the flock in the light of the cross. The value of the flock to the Lord is the price of His blood (as Peter mentions in 1 Pt 1:18-19 “knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.”

Jesus dressed Himself in humility because He prioritized our relationships by following His relationship with us. He invites us to prioritize our relationship by following His example, laying aside our stuff and focusing on the needs of others.

“Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” (Philippians 2:3-8)

Summary Statement: Pastors must flesh out a humble heart in their presence, motives, values and example.

Application Questions:

1. Can you rely on the physical presence of your pastors in your life? Do they effectively pastor “the flock among them” or do they tend to prioritize their shepherding with “those far away” (i.e., digitally)?
2. Do your pastors willingly serve as God would have them to?
3. Do your pastors confidently serve with eternal rewards in mind?
4. Do you pastors lead and shepherd like the Chief Shepherd?

Discussion Questions

• The sermon opened with David Flinck’s father’s advice. What is some advice a parent, grandparent, or other role model has given to you?
• What power do a leader’s life and character have in his personal impact?
• What makes the difference between working out of obligation and out of eagerness? 
  • How can we encourage working out of of eagerness from our pastors?
• What does it mean to lead like a shepherd with the sheep rather than driving people like cattle?
• The sermon focused on the pastor’s presence with the people. What are some steps we could take to develop a culture of being present in one another’s lives?

Acts 20:17, 28

The past two Sundays, we’ve either learned or been reminded of some important perspective about how God provides spiritual care for his people today.

First, we learned from John 21 that followers of Christ need ongoing spiritual care, that God assigns this care to imperfect men, and that these men should provide this care as an expression of love for Christ. We also learned that God views these men as shepherds who are caring Christ’s followers as his sheep.

Then we learned from Exodus 18 that God’s people require full-time care, giving this care can exhaust everyone, and shared leadership is the best way to care for God’s people. We also learned that this model of care involves centralized teaching and delegated care, which leads to more widespread peace and spiritual health among God’s people.

Today we’ll move from seeing how God called men like Moses to care for his people in the OT to how he calls men to care for his people in the church today. Together we will see that the NT reveals a pattern of churches that were cared for by multiple pastors.

Before we look at the history and pattern for pastoral care of churches in the NT, let’s look at the history and pattern for pastoral care of our own church family. We should give a shout-out to Lois Rasmussen for keeping detailed records of these things.

John Schroder	Solo Pastor	1967-1975
Bruce Craig	Solo Pastor	1975-1979
Bertram Ham	Solo Pastor (interim)	a few months
David Birdsall	Solo Pastor	3 years
Nick Boeke	Solo Pastor	8 years
S. D. Bodwell	Solo Pastor	1992-1995
Gary Walton	Solo Pastor	1996-2000
	Lead Pastor	2001-2009
Tim Terpstra	Asst. Pastor	2001-2013
Tom Zempel	Lead Pastor (interim)	2009-2010
Jack Klem	Lead Pastor	2010-2012
Neal Stockeland	Solo Pastor	2013 / 2017-2021
	Lead Pastor	2014-2021
Ryan Myhre	Associate Pastor	2014-2016
Thomas Overmiller	Solo Pastor	2021-2023
	Lead Pastor	2023-present
William Baker	Associate Pastor	2023-present

In almost 60 years of existence, our church has been cared for by 9 lead pastors and 2 brief interim pastors, assisted by 3 occasional associate pastors.

# of Lead Pastors	9
# of Solo Lead Pastors	6
Avg. Tenure (not Associate)	~ 5-6 yrs.
Years w/ Only One Pastor	~ 41 yrs. (70%)
Years w/ Two Pastors	~ 18 yrs. (30%)

We can compare this to a 2025 Lifeway Research study of evangelical pastors:

• Only 44% of churches with a pastor 10 years ago have the same pastor today.
• The median tenure for pastors at a church is 8 years.

We thank God for his blessing and mercy to us as a church through the years, and for faithful pastors he provided to care for us. We also want to gain valuable lessons from our history to strengthen us for the future and help us be an even more biblical church.

One of these lessons is to develop a clear and firm belief that we should deeply value the spiritual care that God can provide for our church through the service of multiple pastors.

When we see that our average pastoral tenure is 5-6 yrs. (2-3 yrs. below recent averages) and that 70% of our existence has been served by solo pastors, there is wisdom in asking whether being cared for by multiple pastors is not only a better model from a practical standpoint but is actually a biblical model, too.

Teams of multiple pastors are the biblical norm.

When the NT speaks about the lead caretakers of first-century churches, it nearly always (if not always) speaks of more than one man. Before we see the evidence for this, we should make an important observation.

The NT speaks of church leaders by using three different terms to describe this role. Sometimes it uses them separately, other times in combination with each other. These terms are “elder,” “pastor” (shepherd), and “overseer” (bishop). Here are three places where they are used together.

From Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called for the elders of the church … take heed to … all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God .... (Acts 20:17, 28)

The elders who are among you I exhort … shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers … (1 Pet 5:1-2)

appoint elders in every city as I commanded you – if a man is blameless … for a bishop must be blameless (Tit 1:5, 7)

That three different NT writers (Luke, Peter, Paul) use these terms together shows a consistent perspective, not just a unique view of one man. We’ll look more closely at these terms in a future sermon, but let’s see how the NT consistently uses these terms in a plural (or multiple) form to describe the pastoral leaders of the earliest churches.

Church	Reference
Jerusalem	Acts 11:30; 15:2, 4; 21:18; Jam 5:14
Antioch in Syria	Acts 13:1
Derbe, Lystra, Iconium, Antioch in Pisidia	Acts 14:23
Ephesus	Acts 20:17, 28; 1 Tim 5:17
Philippi	Phil 1:2
Thessalonica	1 Ths 5:12
Crete	Tit 1:5
Other	1 Pet 5:1; Heb 13:17

 
“This they also did and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul.” (Acts 11:30)

People sent a generous financial offering to multiple elders in the church at Jerusalem.

“They determined that Paul and Barnabas and certain others of them should go up to Jerusalem, to the apostles and elders, about this question.” (Acts 15:2)

The church at Antioch in Syria send Paul and Barnabas to make a presentation to the multiple elders leading the church at Jerusalem.

“And when they had come to Jerusalem, they were received by the church and the apostles and the elders ...” (Acts 15:4)

These messengers were welcomed by the multiple elders who were leading the church at Jerusalem.

“On the following day Paul went in with us to James, and all the elders were present.” (Acts 21:18)

Paul gave a report of his missionary work to the multiple elders leading the church at Jerusalem, and these elders apparently included James, the stepbrother of Jesus.

“Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.” (Jas. 5:14)

James tells people to call for the multiple elders of a church, which in this case was the church at Jerusalem but applies to any other church, as well. Notice how he assumes that a church has multiple elders, so as an elder or pastor himself of the church at Jerusalem, he assumes this of churches in general.

This is a pattern we see as more and new churches come into existence through the missionary journeys of Paul. Whenever Paul went out to start new churches, he did so as part of a team, usually consisting of 2 to 4 men. Then we also see that soon after new churches began, Paul and his team would eventually move on but would arrange for multiple elders to be appointed in every church.

“When they had appointed elders in every church, and prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed.” (Acts 14:23)

We see that Paul helped new churches in Derbe, Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch in Pisidia appoint multiple elders in each church. Notice how this does not say he assigned one elder to each church but that he assigned multiple elders in each church.

“From Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called for the elders of the church.” (Acts 20:17)

We see that Paul met with the team of multiple elders from the church at Ephesus, so this growing church was led by multiple pastors, even though it wasn’t a church that Paul himself had started – though he did spend significant time there.

“Take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God ...” (Acts 20:28)

Paul called this team of elders leading the church at Ephesus overseers and describes them as “shepherding” (pastoring) the church.

Also fascinating is how he says the Holy Spirit appointed them for this work, which shows how when a church follows God’s pattern of appointing not only a pastor but a pastoral team to give the church spiritual care and guidance, it is not merely a human arrangement but a work of the Spirit of God, of God himself caring for his people.

“Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in the word and doctrine.” (1 Tim. 5:17)

Paul speaks of the multiple elders who cared for the church at Ephesus, and he describes their work as “ruling.” Ruling here means “to exercise a position of leadership, to direct, to be at the head” (BDAG). Paul also teaches (assumes) that there are more than one of these men in the church providing this leadership and care together.

Notice how Paul explains that some can or should be given more attention and/or financial support based upon the degree and impact of their work. This means that some will do more work and make more of an impact than others. This does not mean some are better than others but that on a pastoral team, some pastors will do more teaching, preaching, and counseling than others in time, scope, and effort.

“To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the bishops and deacons:” (Phil. 1:1)

Paul speaks not to “the bishop (overseer) and deacons” but to “the bishops (plural) and deacons.” This is a key statement for at least two reasons. First, it shows us that multiple pastors were leading the church at Philippi together. Second, this greeting answers a question some people raise about multiple pastors based on 1 Tim 3:1.

1 Tim 3:1 says, “If a man desires the position of a bishop, he desires a good work,” then it goes on to give qualifications for this role of a pastor. Then 1 Tim 3:8 says, “Likewise deacons…” and goes on to give qualifications for the role of a deacon.

Can you see how the mention of bishop is singular while the mention of deacons is plural? Some say this presents a model of church care that features one pastor and multiple deacons. But Paul says nothing here about how many pastors a church should have. He only says that if a man in the church desires to be a pastor, that is a good thing.

When we see Paul speaking to multiple pastors in the church at Philippi (Phil 1:1), calling them all “bishops” (overseers), the same word as 1 Tim 3:1, we see that 1 Tim 3:1 cannot mean there should only be one overseer of a church, since Philippi had more than one.

“I left you in Crete, that you should set in order the things that are lacking, and appoint elders in every city as I commanded you—” (Titus 1:5)

Paul assigned a man named Titus to appoint multiple elders to the churches in each city on the island of Crete. These churches had recently begun but had not yet chosen men to provide them with spiritual care and guidance as pastors. So, Paul sent Titus to help them do this, showing the importance of establishing plural pastor teams.

“The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder …” (1 Pet. 5:1)

Peter speaks to the elders of various churches as he describes himself and them as men assigned by Christ to “feed his sheep,” as Christ had told him to do (Jn 21:15-18). While he is speaking generally to believers in numerous churches spread broadly throughout a larger region, he speaks to them as though they were each accustomed to being cared for and led by multiple elders, not just one.

“Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.” (Heb. 13:17)

The writer of Hebrews speaks of churches having multiple men who “rule over them” and provide spiritual care for them. This means that any given church would normally have multiple men, not just one, who provide them with spiritual care and guidance.

From a brief survey of these Scripture passages represent churches throughout the first century, as described and recorded by inspiration from God, we see a clear pattern of early churches each receiving spiritual care and oversight from multiple pastors.

Nowhere in the NT do we find statements that refer to the “elder,” the “pastor,” or the “overseer” of a church. These words are always given in plural form. Pastor and commentator, Thomas Schreiner, concludes that:

"elders functioned as a plurality in the churches since the term is always plural, and Acts 14:23 says elders were appointed 'for them in each church.'"

What we've just looked at together isn't an isolated set of Bible verses carefully selected to build a case for having multiple pastors. It’s a clear pattern throughout the NT that’s easy to see and hard to miss. Luke, Paul, Peter, James, and the writer of Hebrews each portray church leadership the same way, not as an individual man leading the church but as teams of multiple men (called elders, pastors, and overseers) doing this together.

Jerusalem was cared for this way. Antioch was cared for this way. Whenever Paul established a new church, he did so with a team of multiple men and ensured that each church would be led by a team of multiple qualified men after he moved on. Ephesus, Philippi, Thessalonica, and every town on the island of Crete were all shepherded by more than one man. This pattern is too obvious and regular to be an accident. God desires that churches receive the best possible spiritual care on behalf of Christ, so he has designed the church to be cared for and led by groups of multiple men.

Seeing this clear NT pattern of multiple pastors, how did so many churches, including Baptist churches like ours, settle into a pattern of one pastor starting the church (instead of doing so as a missionary team) and one man pastoring the church afterwards?

The short answer stretches back to our earliest days as Baptists and has at least three points. As far as our history is concerned, here are two details from history:

• According to a Baptist declaration of faith (by Thomas Helwys) in England in 1611, “Elders, who by their office do especially feed the flock concerning their souls (Acts 20:28; 1 Pt 5:2,3) or Deacons … who by their office relieve the necessities of the poor and impotent brethren concerning their bodies.”
• Then in approx. 1638, a Baptist confession of faith by two men, John Clarke and Obadiah Holmes, states that the First Baptist Church of Newport, RI had three pastors: John Clarke, John Crandall, and Obadiah Holmes.

So, Baptists do have a strong precedent in history of following the biblical pattern of multiple pastors leading the church. But why did this change?

Some early Baptist pastors deliberately avoided having teams of multiple pastors because they believed it resembled a Presbyterian church leadership model and they wanted to be different. Others were influenced by the American government system and the ideas of its founding fathers, with a single president leading along with Congress. We can probably agree that these are not the best of reasons.

Others, though, found themselves with what seemed to be a real dilemma, one we can appreciate and respect. As settlers pushed west, churches sprang up in small, poor, and scattered pioneer communities, and men able and willing to shepherd these churches were hard to find. It was common for one pastor to serve two, three, even four churches at once, riding a circuit and preaching at each church once or twice a month. These churches weren’t necessarily rejecting the biblical pattern, they were doing the best they could with what they had at the time, from what they could tell.

Over the generations, what began as an apparent necessity gradually grew into the normal, expected model. Churches like ours grew up assuming that "pastor" meant one man, someone who might eventually be assisted by helpful staff (an associate, a youth pastor, a secretary, etc.), but who alone carried the responsibility of shepherding a church before God. Though assisting staff is often helpful in getting things done more efficiently, it doesn’t replace the shared leadership model of multiple pastors sharing authority, practicing humility, carrying pressures, and making key decisions together as a group.

In summary, then, we can say that on one hand, it has become the norm for many churches to view a single pastor as the baseline norm for a church, while acknowledging that multiple pastors is helpful and nice for some churches as they get bigger. But the opposite seems to be the case in Scripture – that multiple pastors should be the norm for a church, with a single pastor model being an exception in certain cases.

Teams of multiple pastors improve the quality of spiritual care.

“Two are better than one … and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.” (Eccl 4:9, 12)

This is a timeless principle that applies with full NT support to church leadership and pastoral models, and one we should embrace wholeheartedly as a church. Knowing this, what are the benefits of multiple, plural pastor approach?

How This Advantages the Pastors Themselves

A plurality of pastors doesn't only benefit the church as a whole, it benefits the men whom God has assigned to care for the church.

• Protection from slander: when a pastor is falsely accused or gossiped about, he isn't left to defend himself; the other pastors can provide intervention and support.
• Correction and accountability: if a pastor begins to drift from sound doctrine or wise practice, the men serving alongside him are able to correct him in ways a congregation alone would find difficult to do with a solo pastor.
• Increased humility: a man who serves alone is far more susceptible to pride and self-reliance, while a man who must counsel with others, defer to others, and decide alongside others who share the same responsibility is regularly humbled and kept dependent on the Lord and his fellow pastors.
• Increased wisdom: a solo pastor is limited to his own experience, insight, Bible study, and blind spots, while a team of pastors provides him and the church with the increased safety of "a multitude of counselors" (Prov 11:14).
• Diverse gifts and focus: a solo pastor often feels pressure to be a one-man band, doing every task exceptionally well rather than a few things well; a team frees each man to serve with his actual strengths, for the good of both the men and the church.
• Happier pastors' wives: when a pastor's wife knows her husband isn't carrying the whole church by himself, but is surrounded by other capable, trustworthy men, she is freed from an unfair share of pressure and can give herself fully to being a wife, a mother, and a joyful servant among the people of the church.

How This Advantages the Church as a Whole

This pattern isn't only good for the men God gives us pastors, its deeper purpose is a healthier, better-cared-for church. After all, happy, healthy, well-supported pastors will mean a happier, healthier, well-supported church.

• Better spiritual care: the multiple men are assigned to shepherd a congregation, the more its needs will be seen, known, and met, and the fewer sheep will be quietly, unintentionally neglected.
• A clearer focus on Christ: when one man alone pastors a church, that church tends to take on his personality and his emphases, for better and worse; a team spreads attention across several men and points the congregation's eyes past all of them to Christ, the Chief Shepherd. That may be part of why the NT so rarely bothers to name "the pastor" of a church: he was never meant to be the focal point.
• Greater longevity and stability: a church cared for by a team weathers transition far better than one dependent on a single man; when one pastor leaves, is unable to serve, or even dies, the church isn't left without shepherds, and its care continues with far less disruption.
• Financial flexibility: in seasons or contexts where a church can't yet support a (or another) pastor full-time, a team allows the load to be shared, even carried bi-vocationally, without demanding the impossible from one man, even as the church works toward supporting its pastors well; it also enables multiple bi-vocational men to share the load without overwhelming either one of them.
• A wider range of personal connection: a team of pastors, especially one reflecting a range of ages, backgrounds, and life experience, gives more people in the congregation someone who understands them, relates to them, and can walk closely with them (Acts 13:1-3).
• The ability to plant and strengthen other churches: a healthy church with a plurality of pastors can send one of its own to help a smaller or newer congregation without leaving itself un-shepherded, multiplying its care far beyond its own congregation.

After seeing the biblical principle and pattern of multiplate pastors caring for churches in the NT and after surveying at least twelve clear benefits that come from following this model, should a church take seriously the importance of establishing a team of multiple pastors to provide it with spiritual leadership and care?

Ask a dentist, “Do I have to brush and floss my teeth every day?” The answer isn’t necessarily yes, because if you skip a day here or there or forget to floss your teeth, you won’t die. But if you don’t do this as a regular pattern, you will experience undesirable, uncomfortable, and even painful results over time.

Ask the Bible, “Do we have to have a team of multiple pastors as a church?” While the answer isn’t necessarily yes, if you ignore the clear biblical principle from beginning to end and if you ignore the clear biblical pattern throughout the NT, then your church will probably experience undesirable, uncomfortable, and even painful results over time.

Jesus Christ desires for his people to receive the best possible spiritual care. And from the NT, it sure seems that multiple pastors leading a church an important part of his plan.

Discussion Questions
Life101

• Have you let a small everyday habit slide? If so, how did it catch up with you?
• Which of the three synonymous terms for the office of pastor (shepherd/pastor, bishop/overseer, and elder) do you think is important to consider? Why?
• What does it look like to have a habit of finding safety in a multitude of counselors?
• What are the challenges of working with other people?
• Why does a model of multiple pastors require humility from the men who serve in that role?
• What practical principle do we find in Ecclesiastes 4:9-12?
  • How can we apply this principle to our model of pastoral?
• What kinds of problems can we avoid by having a team of pastors?

Digging Deeper

• What should a church do to add more pastors to the elder team?
• The sermon drew a line between assisting staff, who may even be called “pastor,” and a team of pastors who share authority. What's the real difference? Does it matter?

Exodus 18:13-27

Last Sunday, we saw from John 21 that Christ cares for his followers as a shepherd cares for his sheep, and he does this through pastors who remember that the flock, which is the church, belongs to Him.

We learned three essential truths together. First, Christ’s sheep need ongoing spiritual care. Second, he entrusts that care to imperfect men. Third, to be a faithful shepherd (or pastor) of his people, a man must love Christ. When Jesus told Peter, “Feed my sheep,” he showed us that men serving his people as pastors is how he cares for his people on earth, and that every act of shepherding should be an expression of love for him.

But John 21 also raises an important question: if Christ’s sheep need ongoing care, and if that care is entrusted to human shepherds, how is that care meant to function in the life of a God’s people? Can one man provide all the care that Christ provides? Can one man alone represent God well to his people and provide the best of care to Christ’s flock? Can one man provide the nourishment, guidance, protection, and encouragement they need?

To open a conversation and see what God says about providing good care for his people, it’s important to know what Exodus 18 says. This passage and moment in Israel’s history serves as the foundation for all good leadership and provides timeless principles and wisdom for caring for God’s people. If John 21 gives us Christ’s heart for good pastoral care, then Exodus 18 gives us a model for good pastoral care, one that carries over into church leadership and care in the New Testament, as we will see in future sermons.

Today we’ll see that God’s people require full-time care, that caring for his people can exhaust everyone, and that shared leadership is the best way to care for his people. Then we will see that centralized teaching paired with delegated care is what brings the most widespread peace to God’s people. This is God’s wise design for the care of his flock.

Before we get to the meat of this message, we need to do two things first. We need to explain one of the main characters, then we need to see how this passage resembles another, earlier passage in Genesis.
Jethro was the father-in-law of Moses. Moses had married his daughter, Zipporah, sometime during his 40-year banishment by Pharaoh from Egypt to the wilderness (Exo 2:21). When he returned to Egypt to confront Pharaoh and free the Hebrew people, Zipporah and two sons came with him (Exo 4:20), but they returned to Jethro sometime afterward, possibly to protect them from Pharaoh.

After God had freed his people from Egypt and destroyed Pharaoh and his armies in the Red Sea, Jethro returned Moses’ wife and sons back to him at Mount Sinai (Exo 18:1-7); this happened right before the passage we are looking at today. Another thing also happened at that time – Jethro believed on the Lord as his God (Exo 18:8-12).

Like Moses and the Hebrew people, Jethro had descended from Abraham. But he had not descended from Isaac through Sarah or even Ishmael through Hagar. He had descended from Keturah, whom Abraham married after Sarah died (Gen 25:1-4). They named one of their six sons Midian, who Jethro descended from about 500 years later.

It seems that while Jethro was familiar with the Lord as the God of the Hebrew people, he did not believe on or worship the Lord as God until he visited Moses at Sinai and saw all the good things God had done for them. In response, he said, “Now I know that the Lord is greater than all the gods” (Exo 18:11), then he offered sacrifices to God and ate a covenant meal with Moses and other Israelite men. This was a special moment for sure.

Knowing this, the other thing we need see is how this passage resembles another earlier passage in Genesis, and it does so in at least three fascinating ways: (a) announcing the good things that God had done, (2) measuring full days from morning to evening, and (3) pointing out one thing that was not good.

First, we can see these details in Exo 18 with Jethro and Moses at Mount Sinai:

• “Then Jethro rejoiced for all the good which the Lord had done ...” (Exo 18:9)
• “... from morning until evening ...”        (Exo 18:13, 14)
• “... the thing that you do is not good ...”          (Exo 18:17)

But we can also see these details in Gen 1-2 with God and Adam in the Garden of Eden:

• “Then God saw everything that He had made and indeed it was very good.” (Gen 1:31)
• “... the evening and the morning ...” (Gen 1:5, 8, 13, 19, 23, 31)
• “... it is not good that man should be alone ...” (Gen 2:18)

Moses wrote both Genesis and Exodus at about the same time, so it is very likely that he emphasized these similarities intentionally. This is the only time in the OT that this set of details are repeated in this way, but the OT does this kind of thing many times, using repeated words, phrases, and patterns to make thematic connections between one passage and another that are worth reflecting upon and studying more deeply.

In this case, making the connection to Gen 1-2 elevates the importance of this passage. Though all Scripture is profitable for doctrine (2 Tim 3:16), we could easily view this passage as less important than others, as one of many valuable moments in the OT, but not one of the most important. After all, it’s just Jethro, a relatively obscure descendant of Midian and a very new convert to the faith, who is offering advice.

But by making these thematic connections to Gen 1-2, Moses gives it a degree of importance that parallels one of the most important sections of the entire Bible, if not the most important due to its foundational nature – the divine record of Creation.

In Genesis 1-2 we see the outcome of the creation of the world, in which God brings the entire universe and mankind out of nothing. Then he assigns the care of the world to Adam. He calls all this good, but with one exception – Adam needed a companion to carry out his responsibility well, which in his case was a wife. This passage, then, forms the foundation of God’s design and purpose for marriage and the family.

In Exodus 18 we see the outcome of the deliverance of God’s people, in which God brings the entire Hebrew people out from slavery in Egypt. Then he assigns the care of his people to Moses. Jethro credits all of this to God and calls everything God did “good,” but with one exception – Moses needed assistance to carry out his responsibility well, which in this case is other men to assist him. This passage, then, forms the foundation of God’s design and purpose for the leadership and care of his people.

In both cases, we see something significant – that God does good things and then entrusts the care, development, guidance, and protection of those things to imperfect people. He entrusts the care of this world to households who follow his God-given design, and he entrusts the care of his people to men who follow his God-given pattern. All of this brings us to the first of three truths that Exodus 18 puts in front of us, that …

God’s people require full-time care. (Ex 18:13-16)

After taking to heart all the amazing things God had done for the Hebrew people and believing on the Lord for himself, Jethro turned attention to the work that Moses was doing to care for God’s people. In particular, he noticed how Moses would often sit down to hear disputes, problems, and questions from the people about civil and spiritual matters.

Frist, he asked, “What is this thing that you are doing for the people?” (Exo 18:14). The way he said this resembles how we might say with exasperation today when someone is doing something that perplexes us: “What in the world do you think you’re doing?”

Then he followed this question with a more specific question that highlights two problems, the first is that Moses was doing this “alone” and the second is that he was doing it “from morning until evening.” Jethro was perplexed that Moses spent entire days answering people’s questions and resolving their problems all by himself. In Exo 18:15-16, he explained what he believed to be his personal obligation before God.

The fascinating thing about his explanation was that it was partially true. He did have a responsibility before God to ensure that God’s people would know what God wanted them to do, how he wanted them to behave towards him and towards one another. But his explanation made a key mistake because it wrongly assumed that God wanted him to provide this guidance himself, directly, in person in every case.

Before we say more about this, it is important to recognize that God’s people do require full-time care. To provide proper social and spiritual care of God’s people is a “sun-up to sun-down” task – not just for Moses and Israel but for leading and caring for God’s people, the church, today.

Paul said that “for three years [he] did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears,” speaking of his pastoral care of the church at Ephesus (Acts 20:31). And the pastoral leaders of the church in Jerusalem said that they must “give [themselves] continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word” (Acts 6:4). This followed a pattern exhibited by Jesus, who the gospel writers portray numerous times as caring for people into the late hours of the evening (Mk 1:21-34; 6:30-44). And in 2 Cor 11:28, Paul says that he carried a “daily … deep concern for all the churches.”

Nothing was wrong with Moses’ serving as a judge; indeed it was clearly an obligation of his as leader of the people. What was wrong was his serving as the only judge, without any help, for simple cases as well as for complex ones (“Why do you alone sit as judge?”).

Though Moses was right to expect that God’s people need full‑time care, Jethro helped him then, and us today, see the other side of that truth. Though a sun‑up‑to‑sun‑down ministry may be necessary, it is not sustainable when one man tries to carry it alone.

While Moses had a good intent, Jethro revealed that it was impossible in practice. And what Jethro says next further reveals that when one man tries to provide all the care God’s people need, everyone suffers in the end. This leads us to the second truth that Exo 18 give us, that caring for God’s people can exhaust everyone.

Caring for God’s people can exhaust everyone. (Ex 18:17-18)

After hearing Moses’s explanation, Jethro was unconvinced. He agreed at length with Moses that the people needed guidance from God’s Word in making their daily choices and solving their regular problems, but he disagreed with Moses’s approach. He did not view what Moses was doing as the necessary way to care for the people’s spiritual needs.

Pastor and commentator Philip Ryken observes that when Jethro said that what Moses was doing was “not good,” “in Hebrew these words express strong disapproval. Moses was taking on more work than he could handle, and it was a big mistake.”

After emphatically saying that Moses’s strategy was “not good,” he explained why. “You are not able to perform it by yourself” (Exo 18:17). This is fascinating, because he is Moses’s father-in-law and so he knew that Moses was a married man. But unlike God’s comments about Adam before Eve, Jethro was not envisioning a wife as the solution here but rather the partnership of other godly men.

If Moses continued to take his current, solo approach, two undesirable things would happen. Jethro explains, “Both you and these people who are with you will surely wear yourselves out.” The word translated “wear out” here can also mean to “crumble, decay, fade, faint, or wither.” It describes what is about to happen to our garden plants and the leaves on the trees all around us very soon.

In 2022, Barna Research reported that as of March 2022, the percentage of full-time pastors who had seriously considered quitting within the past year was 42% (nearly half). This matches data from fall 2021 when Barna first reported a sharp increase in pastoral burnout, with the number of pastors considering resignation rising from 29 to 42% in a little over year. Of many reasons given by pastors for considering quitting, the two most common were “the immense stress of the job” (#1) and “I feel lonely and isolated” (#2).

Thankfully, a more recent 2026 Barna survey reports that the percentage has dropped to only 24% of pastors seriously considering quitting, which is good to hear. At the same time, though, job satisfaction has dropped to only 52% saying they are “very satisfied” with what they are doing.

The same 2026 Barna survey reported that just over 60% of lead pastors say they feel emotionally or mentally exhausted in their role, either frequently or sometimes. While the reasons for pastoral burnout (or “wearing yourself out,” to use Jethro’s explanation) are many, immense stress and personal isolation are significant if not primary factors. It sounds like Jethro, Moses’s father-in-law, may need to write a book for pastors today on how to lead and care for God’s people!

It’s noteworthy here to observe that Jethro doesn’t only say that Moses would wear out from his solo approach to the leadership and care of God’s people, but he also says that God’s people would wear out, too.

In Mt 9:36, Jesus describes people who were not receiving adequate spiritual care as sheep “weary and scattered, having no shepherd.” And in Acts 6, when the pastors were stretched too thin, we know that there were widows who were being neglected, who were not receiving the care and resources they needed.

So, Jethro doesn’t just tell Moses, “What you’re doing isn’t good.” He shows him why it wasn’t good. If Moses kept carrying the care of God’s people alone, he would wear out, and the people would wear out with him. But Jethro didn’t stop there. He points Moses toward a better way, a way that strengthens both the shepherd and the sheep. If exhaustion is the outcome of a solo ministry, then shared leadership is the remedy. Exodus 18 shows us that:

Shared leadership is the best way to care for God’s people. (Ex 18:17-18)

This is why I’ve called this sermon “Care to Share.” In the remainder of this chapter, Jethro gives Moses good advice for how to lead and care for God’s people well. We can summarize his advice in a three-part way.

Principle 1: Centralized Teaching

Jethro did not tell Moses to stop teaching the people. He recognized that this was a crucial and important responsibility that Moses had. To lead and care for God’s people well, he needed to speak to them for God, teaching and relaying God’s will and ways to them.

You shall teach them the statutes and the laws and show them the way in which they must walk and the work they must do. (Exo 18:20)

With this advice, Jethro urged Moses to keep on teaching, but much less on a one-to-one or small-group level. He urged him to teach the whole group more broadly, instead. This would ensure that more people heard the Word of God altogether as a whole community.

Principle 2: Delegated Care

If Moses would do this, then he could delegate medium- and small-group care and teaching to other men.

Moreover you shall select from all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them to be rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens. And let them judge the people at all times. Then it will be that every great matter they shall bring to you, but every small matter they themselves shall judge. So it will be easier for you, for they will bear the burden with you. (Exo 18:21-22)

These men would take responsibility of providing spiritual care to smaller groups of people assigned to them and would answer questions, give guidance, and resolve disputes lesser consequence and difficulty. Only when questions, guidance, or disputes arose which had no prior precedent or were especially challenging to resolve would they bring the situation to Moses. Doing this would ensure that everyone received better care and that everyone providing care, including Moses, would be in a better, healthier position.

One thing that’s noteworthy here is that the men who would assist Moses in caring for God’s people had five necessary qualities:

• “From all the people”: they should represent all groups and social levels of people among them so that all the groups would have fair representation.
• “Able men”: they should have the health, mind, strength, and skill necessary to provide good care.
• “Fear God”: they should respect and follow God’s Word and ways carefully from their heart.
• “Men of truth”: they should be reliable, honest men of integrity.
• “Hating covetousness”: they should not be motivated or able to be manipulated by blackmail, bribes, and money.

These men would not be chosen merely based on their popularity or heritage. No one would take these roles just because they came from such and such family. These qualities would ensure that the men assisting Moses would provide genuine, godly, quality care to God’s people. These men would maintain close contact with Moses regarding the care they provide and together, “many hands would make light work.”

As we will see next week, this pattern of multiple leaders providing care for God’s people together carries over into the Scripture’s teaching for pastoral leadership and care in the church today. But we’ll look more closely at that next week.

What’s important to recognize here is not only that pastors should delegate the care of God’s people appropriately to others, but also that God’s people should have appropriate expectations of those who provide them with pastoral care.

As a church grows, for instance, it is not possible or wise for the lead teaching pastor, for instance, to make personal phone calls to every member, to provide every counseling session, to make every home and hospital visit, and to shake everyone’s hand at the end of a service.

This may sound disappointing to some people and, to be fair, it should be somewhat disappointing to the lead pastor, too – he should want to do all those things because he genuinely cares for all the people under his care. But he should not be expected or even allowed to do all those things, and the members of a church should learn not only to accept but to embrace the ways that pastoral care is delegated to others in the church.

When this kind of delegation happens, it is not a sign of backwards regression but rather a sign of forward progress. I look forward to the day when Brookdale is a place where multiple men provide pastoral care, not just one or two, and where some of those men are more regularly younger men who are learning and training to provide quality pastoral care to our church family. This is a model that Scripture gives to us, from Jethro to the NT.

If Moses followed Jethro’s counsel and shared the work with qualified, godly men, something important would happen: the burden would spread out instead of piling up on one man’s shoulders. The people would receive better, more personal care, and Moses would be freer to focus on the primary teaching work he was especially called and equipped to do. In other words, delegating the care of God’s people didn’t just lighten the load, it strengthened the whole community. And Exodus 18 shows us that when teaching is centralized and care is shared, there’s a beautiful result that emerges among God’s people. That result is widespread peace.

Principle 3: Widespread Peace

Jethro concludes his advice by previewing what would happen if Moses did what he said.

If you do this thing, and God so commands you, then you will be able to endure, and all this people will also go to their place in peace. (Exo 18:23)

Here, he said that if Moses focused on centralized teaching and delegated care to other men, then he would enjoy a long-term, enduring ministry rather than burn out early. And the people also would not wear down but would arrive at their destination “in peace.” They would succeed at what they were doing as they took their next steps in following God.

In the OT, peace is the word “shalom,” and shalom is a far bigger concept than our English view of peace today. It comes from a root meaning "to be complete, sound, whole," and in the OT it describes far more than the absence of conflict. Shalom explains a condition in which everything is as it should be: our body and health, our relationships, and our standing before God are all in a good, happy, peaceful, and vibrant state.

This is the word behind the OT priestly blessing, "the Lord... give you peace" (Num 6:26), and behind Isaiah's promise of "perfect peace" (Isa 26:3), which in Hebrew is literally "shalom, shalom" (or peace, peace), with the word doubled for emphasis, because ordinary peace wasn't strong enough to say what God intended.

You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.

And one of the ways that we show trust in God as his people is when we follow God’s pattern for providing good spiritual leadership and care. We trust him as pastoral leaders when we share ministry opportunities with other people and protect ourselves from burning out. We trust him as God’s people when we embrace and support the pattern of multiple pastoral care providers and gladly, humbly, warmly receive the care they provide.

This is exactly what Jethro promises Moses and the people if they would accept his advice of shared leadership: not merely a quiet trip to the Promised Land with no wrong turns, but shalom, arriving and settling into the Land in a physically, emotionally, relationally, and spiritually whole condition and state of being.

Can you see the word picture here? Jethro had just warned that Moses's solo approach would cause "both you and these people" to "wear yourselves out," using a word that pictures leaves withering and crumbling from the tree (Exo 18:18). Shalom is the opposite of this condition. It's the promise that a people cared for wisely, with the load shared among godly men, will reach their destination in a fruitful, healthy, vibrant condition. Jethro's recommendation was not just good secular business advice, it was a means of experiencing God’s grace in a fuller way, a way that God designed and ordained to care for his people through imperfect men who love him.

Next Sunday, we’ll survey the New Testament (NT) together to see how the church followed this same approach. We’ll see how the pattern of multiple men providing spiritual care to God’s people wasn’t godly advice for Moses and God’s people in the wilderness only, it was a timeless, godly pattern for the church, as well.

This is important to understand because it is the way that God equips a church to guard against pastors and members who burn out and is the way that God enables a church to flourish and experience God-given peace, health, success, and wholeness as his people today as we take our next steps in following Christ together.

John 21:15-21

On September 15, 1983, James Sinegal founded the discount bulk retail store called Costco. For more than 50 years, they have operated with this mission: “to continually provide our members with quality goods and services at the lowest possible prices.”

Costco is well known for selling a quarter-pound all-beef hotdog combo meal for only $1.50. Despite the rising costs of nearly everything over the past few decades, the price of this combo meal has remained unchanged, reflecting Costco’s mission statement.

When Sinegal’s co-founder and successor, Craig Jelinek, once told him that the company was losing money on this menu item and suggested raising the price from $1.50 to $1.75, Sinegal refused to budge. And to this day, even after transitioning to its third CEO, Ron Vachris, you can still buy this combo meal at Costco for only $1.50, continuing to provide this service to customers at the lowest possible price.

Over the years, a different story has unfolded at the famed airplane manufacturer, Boeing. This was a company once known for a rigorous engineering-focused culture that prioritized quality products and passenger safety.

But when Boeing merged with McDonnell Douglas, a notorious aerospace manufacturer and defense contractor, many employees and investigators have described what seems to be a shift away from quality and safety to cost reduction, stock market performance, and tight schedules as the new top priorities. The changes that resulted from this transition placed the care of employees and the passengers of their planes at risk.

Leadership transitions are important because they determine whether the mission and values of its founders will continue and whether the company will continue to provide excellent care for its members and the people it serves.

This mindset helps us understand Christ’s conversation with Peter at the end of John’s gospel. This conversation with Peter established a framework for how Christ, from heaven, would care for his followers in the church for years to come.

From this conversation, we will learn three basic principles about God’s plan for leadership and care in the church. And from these principles, we’ll see that Christ cares for his church through pastors who remember that the flock belongs to him, and its members should receive this care as Christ’s way of caring for them.

Christ’s sheep need ongoing spiritual care.

John 21 is interesting because it comes after what seems to be the climax and conclusion of the book. At the end of John 20, the disciple Thomas announces his belief that Jesus is his Lord, God, and Savior (Jn 20:28). Then John explains this as the purpose of the book, to encourage other people to believe the same thing about Christ.

Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (Jn 29:29)

These are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name. (Jn 20:31)

But after people believe on Jesus as their God and Savior, what comes next? Well, from this chapter we see that people who believe on Christ are not only saved from their sin and given eternal life with God, but they become sheep in Christ’s flock, sheep that belong to him, sheep that he cares for, guides, and protects.

We can also see this progression in John 21 from people believing on Christ to people belonging to Christ when we see the transition from fishing to shepherding. In the first half of the chapter, we see the disciples fishing, Christ giving them instructions for how to fish more successfully, then Christ feeding them with fish by the fire.

This focus on fishing and fish reflects a lot of Christ’s interaction and involvement with his twelve disciples before the crucifixion. The majority of those men were fishermen by trade, so they spent a lot of time fishing together. Christ also used fishing as an analogy to describe what he was calling them to do. They were to be “fishers of men” (Mt 4:18-19; Mk 1:16-17; Lk 5:10).

So, from Christ’s perspective, fishing illustrates the effort and focus required to find and reach new followers for Christ, new people who will believe on him as God and Savior. But as Christ prepared to leave Earth for heaven and to leave his mission and message in the hands of other men, he shifted their focus from fishing to shepherding.

By doing this, Jesus made clear that fishing was only a good illustration of reaching people with the gospel, but it was not a sufficient illustration for what comes next. When people believe on Jesus Christ, they become sheep in his flock, and as sheep, they require ongoing spiritual care.

There is a sense in which the illustration of fishing speaks of reaching people for Christ and is represented by the ordinance of baptism, when a person announces his faith in Jesus Christ – or that he has been reached and is a believer.

Then there is a sense in which the illustration of shepherding speaking of providing ongoing spiritual care to God’s people and that is represented by the ordinance of the Lord’s Table, when a person continues to reflect on their faith in Christ and their relationship with others in the church. Pastors help people come to baptism with faith, then they help them grow in faith prepare for regular observance of the Lord’s Supper.

From John 10, we know that Christ himself is the Good Shepherd, but how does he care for his sheep? Does he only do this through a mystical, one-on-one, personal relationship with his followers? No, a key part of how he cares for his people is through the pastoral, personal care of men he assigns for this purpose.

Christ entrusts the care of his sheep to imperfect men.

What captures our attention in this chapter is a conversation between Jesus and Peter as they eat bread beside an open fire, with the other ten disciples sitting nearby. And this conversation has generated a lot of conversations and curiosity by Bible teachers and students alike due to various words that are used by Jesus and Peter as they talk back and forth with each other, with Jesus asking questions and Peter giving answers.

First, there are the words for love that Jesus uses. The first two times Jesus asks Peter, “Do you love me,” he uses the Greek word agape, which often speaks of a strong, committed form of love. But the third time he asks Peter, “Do you love me,” he uses a word for brotherly, familial love, phileo.

Next, there are the words for knowing. The first two times Peter answers Jesus, “You know that I love you,” he uses the Greek word oida, which often speaks of a intuitive, perceptive form of knowledge. But the third time he answers Jesus, “You know that I love you,” he uses a word for personal, relational, experiential knowledge, ginosko.

Still next, there are the words for shepherding and sheep. The first and third time Jesus gives Peter an assignment, he says, “Feed…” (bosko), which speaks of feeding sheep. But the second time he gives Peter an assignment, he says, “Tend…,” (poimaino), which speaks of guiding, helping, and herding sheep.

And the first time he gives Peter an assignment, he says to feed his “lambs” (arnion), while the second and third time he gives Peter an assignment, he says to feed his “sheep” (probation). So, in this series of three questions from Jesus, three answers from Peter, and three assignments from Jesus, there are two words for love, two words for knowing, and two words for sheep.

While there might be some significance to these word choices, we should be careful not to make this too complicated in our quest for deeper insights. First, when this conversation took place, the men probably spoke in Aramaic, the dominant language of that region at that time. Decades later, when John wrote it down, Greek had increased in usage in the broader world, so John wrote in Greek to communicate with a broader audience.

Knowing this, the nuances of the different words we see in Greek would not have been available in Aramaic as they spoke. Also, though some differences exist between the various word pairs, the differences are not always significant, and those words are often used interchangeably or are paired up to provide a thematic emphasis on love, knowing, etc. So, today we won’t focus on the differences between the words.

Instead, we will focus on two things. First, why did Jesus ask Peter the same question and give him the same assignment three times? Second, there is one word which stands out because it never changes at all in this entire conversation. We’ll focus on the word that never changes in the final point of this sermon but first let’s talk about the fact that Jesus repeated himself three times to Peter.

The threefold repetition seems to be an important feature of this conversation. I say that because verse 14 says that to-date, Christ has shown himself to his disciples three times after his resurrection, this being the third time. Throughout the conversation, John deliberately points out that this is the “first time,” “second time,” and “third time,” Jesus questioned Peter. Then he says Peter was grieved (distressed, frustrated), not because Jesus used a different word for love or changed any of the words, but because he questioned him “the third time.” So, what’s so important about three times?

If you recall, Peter denied Christ three times (Jn 18:15-18, 25-27). So, here Jesus questions Peter three times, which seems to be a clear way of bringing back to mind his denials of Christ during his trial before the crucifixion.

Christ did not bring this back to mind to make Peter feel bad but rather to emphasize that he was being restored from that failure. In Jn 13:38, Jesus specifically told Peter that he would deny Jesus three times during Jesus’ trial, which Peter unfortunately did do. But here, Christ reverses that prediction by tell him three times to feed his sheep.

Here, Christ assures Peter that his denials had been forgiven and he was now to carry out a special assignment from Christ. He understood that though he had failed Christ, he was not forgiven by Christ, restored by Christ, and trusted by Christ. This was very reassuring for Peter and should be reassuring for anyone else whom God is calling to serve as pastors and caretakers in the church – for no pastor can be as good a shepherd as Christ himself.

At this point, it is helpful to ask whether this conversation with Peter is for Peter alone. I say that, in part, because serious Roman Catholics suggest that this in this conversation, Christ is preparing Peter to be the first pope. But this is not the case, as I will show you.

First, we should notice that in the final verses of this chapter, John explains how another disciple (probably John himself, and in the presence of the other 9 disciples listening) responded to this conversation. This disciple assumed that Christ was assigning him to do similar work but asked whether his ministry would end the same way as Peter’s, in a martyr’s death. Jesus neither confirmed nor denied that the other disciple would be martyred, but he left open the assumption that he would do similar work as Peter, nonetheless. But the reason he singled Peter out for this special conversation was because Peter denied him three times.

So, you say, might Jesus have been giving a special assignment only to the twelve (um, eleven) disciples, sending them out as apostles? While he did send them out as apostles, that does not seem to be the focus here. Instead, the focus seems to be on assigning these men to be pastoral leaders in churches that would come into existence.

I say this primarily since later in Peter’s life, he extend, expanded, and applied these instructions to the next generation of pastoral leaders:

The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed: Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock; and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away. (1 Pt 5:1-4)

We’ll look more closely at this passage in a future sermon, but for now, it is enough to see that what Christ was assigning Peter to do for him he assigns all pastors to do for him one generation after another – to provide ongoing spiritual care to his sheep, his followers, to those who believe on him.

Love for Christ is essential to caring for his sheep.

First, the one word that stands out because it never changes at all in this entire conversation is the word my. This emphasizes that the sheep Christ was assigning Peter to care for belonged to Christ and not Peter. He was not giving Peter his sheep as a gift, inheritance, or change of ownership. He was merely entrusting the frontend care of his sheep to someone else rather than doing it directly, as when he walked on Earth.

This means that anyone who provides ongoing pastoral care to a church must always keep in mind that he is not caring for his sheep but for the sheep that belong to Christ, and he is doing this for Christ not instead of Christ.

In several places, the NT makes clear that believers belong to Christ. 1 Cor 3:23 says “you are Christ’s,” Gal 3:29 says that we “are Christ’s” (and so does Gal 5:24), 1 Cor 6:19-20 makes clear that believers are not their own but have been “bought with a price” by Christ, and Rom 14:8 makes clear that believers “are the Lord’s” both in life and death. 2 Cor 10:7 urges us to acknowledge that “we are Christ’s

Furthermore, 1 Pt 2:25 describes believers as “sheep who have gone astray” but who “have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of our souls,” and Heb 13:20 refers to Christ as “the great Shepherd of the sheep.” So, Peter would need to understand that he was to provide ongoing care not of his own sheep but of Christ’s sheep on Christ’s behalf.

Again, in 1 Pt 5:1-4, he makes this connection clear, acknowledging and telling other future pastors of the church that the church is “the flock of God,” that they are “entrusted to you” (not owned by you), and that Christ himself is the “Chief Shepherd.” This was true not just for Peter’s ministry but for the ministry of any pastor in any church.

Finally, we need to finish our look at this passage by making another observation that is at the heart of this conversation – that love for Christ is essential to caring for his sheep. If pastors are going to care for Christ’s sheep well, they must first care for him well. If pastors are going to provide good spiritual care to Christ’s people, then they must first genuinely love Christ. Notice that he doesn’t say, “do you love my people,” he says, “do you love me.” Also, notice that he doesn’t say, “if you love me, then serve me” – he says, “if you love me, then serve my people.” Wow.

In the song “To the Least of These,” Matt Papa writes these words:

I will...
Love You Lord with all my heart,
My soul, my mind, and my strength
And so I'll love the ones you love
Now I'm taking up my cross for You
Obeying Your commands
I want my worship to be true
'Cause when I'm loving them
I'm loving You.

So, to be a good pastor, a man must love Christ above all others, and he will then express that love for Christ by caring faithfully and well for Christ’s sheep – his people.

As we conclude, I want to point out how this conversation ends, because it ends with a sobering reality. That reality is that to be a good shepherd of Christ’s sheep may require some difficulty and suffering. For Peter, Christ tells him in advance that he would die a martyr’s death due to his service to Christ’s sheep. For the other disciple, he indicates that though a martyr’s death might not be his result, he could still expect to suffer.

Early Christian testimony indicates that Peter was crucified in Rome during the widespread persecution under Nero. Later tradition says that he asked to be crucified upside down because he felt unworthy to die in the same manner as Christ. Though his exact age is unknown, Peter was likely in his mid-fifties or older when Christ’s prediction in John 21 was fulfilled: the shepherd who had once denied his Lord remained faithful to the end, even though caring for Christ’s flock cost him his life.

John’s path was different. Tradition says that he survived being cast into boiling oil, endured exile and forced labor in the salt mines on Patmos as an older man, and later returned to Ephesus, where he died peacefully around A.D. 100, probably in his nineties or near one hundred. As the last surviving apostle, John served Christ’s flock through decades of hardship, endurance, and faithful leadership, reminding us that following Christ may require not only courage to die for him, but also perseverance to live for him over a long lifetime of difficult challenges.

As we close our service today, go to enjoy a picnic together, then go into our week with many things to do, what can we take away from this message today?

First, that pastors must care faithfully for Christ’s sheep. Christ’s people need more than a conversion experience or a weekly sermon. They need ongoing spiritual nourishment, guidance, protection, correction, encouragement, and prayer. Pastors must provide that care not to build their own following or advance their own interests, but because they love Christ and recognize that the flock belongs to him. Every act of faithful pastoral care is service rendered on behalf of the Chief Shepherd and is one practical way a pastor says to Christ, “I love you” to Jesus. When a pastor is loving Christ’s sheep, he is loving Christ.

Second, all believers should be church members, in part because they value pastoral care and desire pastors who truly care for their souls and the souls of their family. Do not measure a pastor merely by how many new people he can reach or how interesting and enjoyable his sermons are. Reaching people and preaching well matter, and preaching is an important way that a pastor feeds and cares for the church, but Christ also calls pastors to know, feed, guide, warn, comfort, and pray for his people personally.

Our culture prefers to manage our spiritual lives privately and to listen anonymously and distantly to sermons in a crowd, on YouTube, read a Christian book, or other similar private endeavors, but sheep are not meant to shepherd themselves. This is very important to understand. Therefore, let me encourage you to welcome intentional, personal, loving pastoral care in all its forms, recognizing it as one of Christ’s gracious ways of caring for you – even though his shepherding care comes through imperfect men who are doing their best to love Christ with all their heart by loving you well.

As the sermon began, we noted that Costco continues to provide good service at low prices, while Boeing has shifted its focus from quality and safety to deadlines and efficiency. But neither of these companies have much connection at all to our spiritual lives and relationship with God. That’s where the church comes in.

The church must ask today whether we are maintaining the kind of ongoing spiritual care for Christ’s followers as he instructed Peter to pass on from him at the beginning. Are we continuing Christ’s mission of providing his sheep with faithful, personal, loving pastoral care through pastors who love him, or are we becoming more like a corporate enterprise that measures success by attendance, growth, programs, and performance while losing sight of the people entrusted to our care?

Christ did not tell Peter to grow his church, he told him to provide excellent, loving care to his sheep. May Brookdale be a church that values this kind of pastoral care, expects this kind of pastoral care, receives this kind of pastoral care, and raises up, prepares, and sends out more imperfect men who love Christ and feed his sheep.

Psalm 8

Tomorrow, the U.S. will recognize Labor Day, the first of which was celebrated on September 5, 1882, in New York City, organized by the Central Labor Union. This recognition spread in popularity over the next decade and by 1894, 23 states had adopted the holiday. In June,1894, President Grover Cleveland signed into law a congressional act, making the first Monday in September a national holiday.

Thoughts about work tend to occupy our minds and time to a significant degree. Much has been written about work. Entire sections of bookstores are filled with volumes relative to work. Politicians pander to and extol the virtues and qualities of “hard working Americans” in campaign speeches. There are countless opinions about work, its purpose and who should participate. The next generation is often thought to have no desire or idea of how to work, often expressed, ironically, by the generation who was responsible for raising and teaching them. When the thought of a Bible message on work is contemplated, our minds might tend to compartmentalize this into a narrow category of people which doesn’t include me. So, to not waste your time, I wish to begin by asking a few simple questions to help determine if you qualify to hear this message.

Are you …

A person under 18 yrs. who is …

• required to help with household chores?
• Attending school?
• serving in your church?
• doing some kind of work for pay?
• 
  

An adult 19-60 yrs. who is ...

• pursuing higher education with sights set on a career field?
• paying for that education through a job?
• In the beginning stages of a career?
• employed in one or more jobs?
• married?
• raising children?
• doing work at home for your family?
• serving in your church?

An adult (60+ yrs.) who is…

• Alive?
• Could have said yes to the questions in previous category?
• retired from your primary career?
• (or has) served in your church?
• Have children who fit into one of the above categories?

If you can answer one, or more of these questions as “YES”, congratulations, you qualify to hear this message.

Definition of Work: “A sustained exercise of strength and skill that overcomes obstacles to produce or accomplish something.” (David Miller, God at Work)

How much of your life fits into that definition? Outside of sleep, probably nearly all.
As followers of Jesus Christ we can rest in the knowledge that God is not silent on a topic which occupies our minds and time to such a great degree. But it’s a topic for which we may often become confused. We observe a variety of examples in work. We have heard numerous cliches and advice about work. We may have wondered about how to connect work to faith. In searching the Scriptures, we find that God reveals a lot about work throughout the grand story of the Bible.

Why do we work? Whether voiced or not, we ask and answer that question daily. God is faithful to give the right answer whenever we ask.

We work because God works.

There are two aspects of his work which directly impact us.

He created us with a purpose

The creation story is told in Genesis 1-2. On the 6th day, God created man (Gen 1:26) in his image. What does this mean? In part, that he shares with us, to varying degrees, his character and attributes. In work he shared with us an inclination to be creative, inquisitive and experimental in his creation. It’s laid out very clearly here - Genesis 1:26 – 2:3 that God created us, mankind, male and female, and gave us a purpose; dominion (rule/reign) over his creation with a task to subdue (govern) it on his behalf. Exercising dominion and subduing such a vast creation is going to require work.

Throughout the creation account we see God’s character on display in his work. Thoughtful, organized, methodical. He collaborates with his triune self (“let us make”), he delegates his power (“let them have”). He finished his work and then introduced the principle of rest, which is taking time to not work and evaluate the result of work (“it was very good”).

We have a motive in work - bringing glory to God

Man has witnessed, enjoyed and extolled the results of God’s creative work ever since. Representing a multitude of Scripture in this regard, consider (Psalm 19:1-2): “The heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament (skies above) show his handiwork. Day unto day utters (pours out) speech, and night unto night reveals knowledge….. notice speech and knowledge – there is a universal and unlimited degree of which we can learn and speak of the wonder of creation. As time has progressed and work goes on (day unto day), new discoveries are made in many fields which universally awe us once more.

Performing the task that God gave us (obedience) brings him glory. The work of discovering, developing, mastering, managing, caring for, ruling over and protecting his creation in all of its aspects. Our text in Psalm 8 describes that clearly and majestically. In Genesis 2, additional details are revealed. God made a special place for man – a garden in Eden, with responsibility and accountability to further develop the original creation. God gave us the created world - plants, animals, the physical earth - a head with which to think, hands with which to work and his own presence, fellowship and satisfaction with which to share it. What incredible potential for technological development! Work was created by our working God, graciously and wonderfully gifted to us and affirmed to be intrinsically good and that which brings him glory. In this we see that all work, if in accordance with God’s law, under his rule, consistent with his divine nature and done for his glory is approved of. What an incredible plan! Could we just stop here and soak this up?

But we know that there is more to the story. Genesis 3 records man’s fall into sin. All creation is now tainted with the accompanying curse. The impact on work is detailed - “Cursed is the ground because of you” God says to Adam, “in pain you shall eat of it”, it will compete with and hamper your efforts, “thorns and thistle”, it will physically exhaust and eventually kill you “in the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground…”. The object of man’s dominion and rule will now resist being subdued. Advancement and discovery – technological development - will now be elusive/difficult. Significant time will be required in the never-ending combat with decay and death. God graciously gave man everything needed for the original task, but now is added the concept of necessity, the pressing, basic need of hunger, the frustration of trial and error, the agony of failure. However, despite the curse, we must note that God’s original intent remains. We are not relieved of the original responsibility of work and the call to rule over and subdue creation for his glory.

So, what do we do with this? What are we to learn? As followers of Christ, how do we properly understand what the rest of the Bible teaches us about God’s plan for our lives and the work which he calls us to do? To help our understanding, I’d like to lay out two distinct paths relating to work, which come out of the fall and are related to us in the story of Scripture and witnessed as history unfolds. One path is that God is at work to redeem work. The other is that sinful man is susceptible to confusion about work.  Let’s examine each of these in turn.  

God works to redeem work.

God wasted no time in putting into motion his planned work of redemption. In the immediate context of the fall, God makes the promise of the one who will “crush the serpent’s head”, the Redeemer, Jesus Christ. This is followed by his immediate provision of garments with which to robe man. The work of redemption was already underway.

The rest of the Bible records the panorama of God at work in redemption. Let’s consider a few of the highlights.

1. The godly line of Seth (Gen 5) brings us to Noah, a godly man who wisely employed the most advanced technology across a century of work in building the vessel which God would use to save a righteous remnant.
2. God puts Joseph to work as the slave of a pagan man in the pagan government of a pagan nation and thus saves the family of Jacob. (Gen 50:20)
3. Over years of training and difficult work, Moses was prepared for God to use his work to lead the exodus from Egypt.
4. The books of Exodus and Leviticus record the institution of the priesthood. In addition to their special, spiritual relationship with God and the responsibility to teach God’s law, these men were called on to become skilled workers in a variety of disciplines, performing exacting and physically demanding work on a nearly constant basis. Within this context is where God institutes the principle of Sabbath rest as a command – a gracious protection guarding against the extremes of unceasing physical and mental work.
5. Joshua labored faithfully with Moses for 40 years in preparation for the work of conquering the promised land and establishing a durable, civil society.
6. God used unbelieving men from foreign nations to provide much skilled labor in the building of his temple.
7. Judges, priests and prophets all labored on God’s behalf to teach and warn his people.
8. God faithfully preserved a remnant who would return under the leadership of men like Ezra and Nehemiah, working diligently and skillfully to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem and the temple.”
9. The NT opens with the record of Christ’s incarnate work on behalf of his bride, the church.
10. His miraculous power was at work as he labored to comfort and heal those who had faith in him.
11. He taught kingdom priorities in work, often in parables (Matt 6:33). “all these things….”
12. In his redeeming work, Jesus set the example by enduring pain, suffering, injustice and opposition.
13. He was submitted in his work, focused on the goal and completing the task (John 17:4). “I glorified you, I finished the work…”

We’re going to pause here in the story of God’s continuing redemption of work and return to the post resurrection chapter of this later. Let’s take a look at the other path….

Man is susceptible to confusion about work.

Man, expelled from the perfect work environment of the garden, very quickly felt the resistance of work in the fallen creation. This, coupled with a sin nature, would develop a propensity to distort work with sinful motives and self-centered actions which led to an often increasingly confused view of and attitude toward work. Inevitably, this inclination has been generationally at work in man down to the present day. Let’s look at some of the highlights and warnings from scripture as we witness man’s pursuit of work apart from God.

1. Cain’s self-focus and selfish pride in his work was a step toward anger, covetousness, and murder - Gen 4
2. Despite Cain’s sin and subsequent rejection of God, God protects his ungodly descendants and graciously allows them to make significant advances in technology and work, despite their rejection of God - Gen 5. This is a pattern which will repeat itself throughout history. God gives common grace to sinful man, gifting him with the intelligence, creativity and adaptability patterned after God’s image, and allowing him to make significant technological developments and accomplishments through work, despite those same men ignoring or rejecting him. There are repeated reminders of this throughout Scripture. History – technology of developing civilizations, construction, political institutions, art, music, chemistry, medicine, etc…. enlightenment, industrial revolution, digital revolution
3. This concept is next demonstrated in Genesis 11. Even in this relatively short time after the flood, sinful man, rather than listening to, trusting in and obeying God, turns his talents and work toward self-focused safety and avoiding risk by building a city and a waterproof tower which would, though their own effort and ingenuity appear to put them safely out of reach of any subsequent flood. God chose to intervene.  
4. Lot, Abraham’s nephew, through work and skill, became a successful and wealthy man. Rather than choosing contentment in God and his people, greater wealth and a comfortable living environment tempted him to relocate in the plain of Sodom, where his life and family were destroyed by coexisting with that depraved culture. Gen 13,19
5. Jacob, Abraham’s own grandson, works for years for his deceptive and arrogant Uncle Laban. In retaliation, Jacob devotes much of his own work to skillfully deceiving him but driving a wedge in the family relationships. Gen 29-31
6. Korah and his sons rebelled against the authority of Moses and Aaron, falsely claiming that they claimed too much of the work and leadership for themselves. God judged them severely. Numbers 15-16 - could go on – OT and NT (Jesus’ parables often revealed man’s distortion of work and priorities – wise/foolish man)
7. Many failures in work are identified and warned against in Proverbs and Ecclesiastes and in several of the NT epistles:
   • Do not be deceptive or slothful in work Prov 11:18, 16:11, 18:9
   • Do not seek retribution toward others in work 24:29
   • Do not expect or trust in your work to be constantly or permanently fulfilling, satisfying, rewarding, stress or worry free. Ecc 1:3-18 (Utopian view)
   • Do not boast about your work. Most work will not have a lasting impact, nor bring the prestige we may selfishly desire. James 4:13-17
   • Do not approach work with the mindset that it must provide status and identity. Don’t make as your goal the accumulation of wealth with which to pursue leisure and hobbies within a comfortable and worry-free lifestyle. Ecc 2:1-8, 4:8, 5:10-11, I Tim 6:9-10  v. 6 – “but godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.” Foolish/senseless, drown/plunge into ruin, greediness/craving
   • Do not comparing yourself to others in your work, envying and/or resenting what God has given them or you. This is the seed of covetousness. Ecc 2:15-18, 4:4, Heb 13:5 – “keep your life free from love of money and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
   • Do not look at work as a punishment, or something for which I must grudge and complainingly labor at until the soonest opportunity to get out. Ecc 2:24, 3:9-12,
   • Do not look to any work as the means to gain favor or justifying merit with God. Titus 3:5 – “not by works of righteousness, but according to his mercy he saved us…” “by grace you have been saved, not of yourselves…”
8. Finally, The ungodly motives and aspirations in the work of sinful man will be judged and come to destruction (II Pet 3:10, Rev 18:6, 20:12-13).

So, where do we go? These are all the warnings and the “do nots”… what do we “do”? who needs to hear the warnings – others? We paused the redemption of work at the cross, but there’s more!

The Great Commission renews a redemptive purpose in work.

Because of Christ’s work on our behalf, his redeemed can now share in the work of advancing his kingdom in all of life as Christ builds his church through his followers. The Great Commission establishes the work priorities for disciples of the new covenant: v. 19 – “Go therefore” - As you go about the work of life “as you are going…” they are to: (Matt 28:18-20).

• Make disciples who make disciples, baptize them and continue to teach them all that God commands. What are some of those relative to work?
• Be obedient and do the work which God would have you do (Acts 13:2, 14:26).
• Do the good works which God created for you to do. (Eph 2:10, Tit 3:1, Col 1:10)
• Submit to the Holy Spirit who will continue to perform sanctifying work in you. (Phil 1:6)
• Show love to others through work (Heb 6:10 “God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints…”, I Tim 5:10, 6:18, Heb 10:24, I Thess 4:11, II Thess 3:12)
• Remember that your work will be tested for right attitudes and motives (I Cor 3:5-15, Ecc 3:14-17). If you are an employer, there are many admonishment to be a godly one.
• Be content to work honorably, diligently and faithfully in whatever circumstances God has placed you – in any phase of life – including poor working conditions and bad bosses. (I Cor 7:21-24, Eph 4:16, 6:5-9, Col 1:22-25, I Tim 6:1-2) Conversely, if you are an employer, God holds you accountable to be a godly one.
• Do look for and enjoy the good in your work. Do not be ashamed of developing and using the skills God has given or allowed you to obtain. This involves a proper view of biblical humility. When it’s time to work, work with all your might. Ecc 9:10
• When God so blesses your work, be willing and ready to share the fruits of your labor with others, which may be in time, talent or treasure. Be generous and open-handed. This will serve as a guard to becoming wrapped up in yourself and your possessions. Ecc 5:13-20, I Tim 6:17-19, Luke 12:48 – “to whom much is given, much is required…”
• God does not classify work as “secular” or “sacred”, as though somehow work done in the context of “church” is sacred and automatically valuable to God, more demanding and rewarding than anything other work. On the flip side, all else is “secular” – it’s my job, I have to do it, but God is not overly interested in it, nor values it very much, an evil necessity – it’s just there because of the curse of sin - inferior. This is false. The Bible does not teach that. Work is from God, for him and to him. The real question is motive. Ask this question…. Am I submitted to God, trusting him with my talent and efforts to guide me into all work which I will eagerly and faithfully complete for his glory? Additionally, we ought not to think of our work as somehow inferior if not a visible, public “ministry” type role. If we are placed in such a role, don’t look down on the work of others as somehow less important, demanding or difficult.

In the end, Revelation 21 describes how God’s original plan for the work of man will be restored in the new heaven and earth. The redeemed will glorify God in the work of ruling and reigning with him. The work of governing and discovering the wonders of all that God created will be eternally occupying. The glory of work will be restored to that of God’s original intent. This truth is highly instructive for us today. Young person, your parents’ assignment of tasks is to teach you how work under submission to God. Honor the labor of your teachers to help you learn so that you can be a more productive worker for God. Adults, passionately follow Christ, seek God’s will for your life and then do Great Commission work in and through the work he gives you to do. Seasoned adults, don’t think of work ending when you retire from your primary career. You haven’t arrived or “served your time”. That the deserved reward of my later years is the self-centered pursuit of earth’s fleeting pleasures is to believe a lie. God’s work for any of us doesn’t end at retirement, with a pension, at death or the rapture. Rather, the reality of God’s eternal plan and purpose for work should encourage and motive us, at every age and season, to persevere in God’s work for this brief time on earth. James 4:14 - “…For what is your life? It is even a mist that appears for a brief time and then vanishes.”

What about you?

• Are you a follower of Christ?
• Are you taking seriously God’s plan for me to work diligently for him, for his glory in every season of life?

"Holy Spirit ...

• Where are my blind spots/confusion in a proper understanding of my responsibilities in work? Please show me where am I out of balance. Convict me of the need to submit and be obedient.
• Where am I trusting in created things more than my Creator for my hope, happiness and well-being? Do I need to repent of some form of idolatry?
• Am I placing and keeping an eternal view of work firmly in front of me? How is that informing my priorities in work today and in the future?
• How will my attitude toward and performance of work throughout my short life on this earth withstand your purifying fire of judgement? What will remain?

‘Tis only one life, will soon be past. Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Proverbs 30:32-33

Choices. Research from Roberts Wesleyan University suggests that an adult makes about 35,000 conscious choices a day, while children only make about 3,000. Research from Cornell University estimates that we make 227 choices daily about food alone. If you get seven hours of sleep each night (during which you make no conscious choices), you then make about 2,000 conscious choices per hour for the remaining 17 hours of the day.

Leadership author and speaker John C. Maxwell says, “Life is a matter of choices, and every choice you make makes you.” My father said it more simply, “Life is a choice, and the choice is yours.” My father also wisely and frequently said, “Stop and think.” In other words, before you make an important choice, stop to think about it first.

That’s what Prov 30:32-33 teaches. It does by first asking two diagnostic questions, then by giving three perceptive observations. By asking these two diagnostic questions and making these three perceptive observations, you will be able to make better choices that honor God, especially social, relationship choices that affect other people.

A wise person examines the motives of his actions.

The first thing a wise person does when making choices, esp. key choices that affect other people, is ask questions about his own inner heart attitudes and motives. We describe this practice various ways, like being “self-aware” or practicing “self-reflection.”

Jesus himself, in the Sermon on the Mount, said that this practice should be a defining, special quality of his followers in his kingdom (Mt 7:5):

First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

It’s easy (or so we think) to see problems with the choices that other people make, but it’s hard to see problems with the choices we make ourselves. To help with this, Prov 30:31 gives us two diagnostic questions that we should ask ourselves when making choices that affect other people.

Am I exalting myself?

Have I been foolish in exalting myself?

The question here evaluates whether you have made a decision motivated by arrogance, pride, or a sense of self-importance. It describes a choice to “lift up” yourself over others, to make yourself the most important person in the conversation or situation at hand.

We do this when we try to prove ourselves to others or promote ourselves over others. Evidence of this motive shows when we dominate or interrupt conversations, when we take more credit than we deserve or fail to give others the credit they deserve, when we refuse to receive correction thoughtfully, or when we criticize others in ways that make us look better by comparison. This also occurs when we refuse to follow appropriate, God-given authorities or wise advice and guidance, or when we refuse to do small, humbling, uncomfortable, or difficult tasks because they get unnoticed or feel “beneath” us.

A special moment in the life of Jesus occurred the evening before his crucifixion, as he entered the Upper Room to observe the Passover meal with his disciples (Jn 13:1-20). For whatever reason, the host for that home offered no one to wash their feet, so Jesus decided to do it himself, washing the feet of his own followers.

Any of the disciples should have gladly offered to do this act of service, instead, but they didn’t because they believed it was below them. Why is it, for instance, that so many – if not all – menial household tasks fall to the wife and/or mother of the home? Everyone has a reason, but if Jesus were present, perhaps he would see things differently.

And this diagnostic question applies not just in acts of service but in expressing one’s opinion and supporting or pursuing various courses of action in a group (Phil 2:3-4):

Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.

Imagine how much better a home, church, or workplace could be if all who claim to follow Christ examined themselves with this both before and even after making decisions. But there is a second question to ask, as well.

Am I planning evil towards anyone?

While the first diagnostic question examines one’s motives regarding themself, the second question examines one’s motives regarding others.

Have I devised evil?

The question here evaluates whether you have made a decision for the purpose of causing damage, frustration, or pain to another person.

We do this when we spread information to make someone else look bad, when we withhold helpful assistance or information to make someone’s job more difficult or less likely to succeed, when we intentionally exclude someone from a conversation or event who has a good reason to be involved, or when we refuse to forgive and pursue reconciliation and restoration in a relationship breakdown.

With motives and choices like these, our goal is not giving help, seeking restoration, or expressing love, but to make someone else suffer for selfish, evil reasons. We struggle to call our plans “evil,” even though that’s technically and truly what they are.

In Jn 13:1-20, when Jesus washed his disciples’ feet in the Upper Room, he also displayed the opposite of this motive.

The devil having already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray Him…

This is the very thing that Prov 30:32 warns against – planning evil against someone. Judas Iscariot was planning to betray Jesus to the Jewish religious leaders so that they might prosecute him in an unjust trial and crucify him. Jesus knew that Judas was planning evil against him, yet that’s the very moment when Jesus chose to take the towel to wash his disciples’ feet, including the feet of Judas.

This is amazing, right? How do you respond when someone plans evil against you, or at least you think that they are? Do you plot an equal and opposite course of action against them? Do you seek revenge? Jesus showed a better way. He took the path of humble service motivated by love, and this is how we should treat one another.

Imagine how much better a home, church, or workplace could be if all who claim to follow Christ examined themselves with this both before and even after making decisions.

If you have been foolish in making choices with these wrong motives – to exalt yourself or to plan evil towards other people – then Agur gives good advice: literally “hand to your mouth,” or as we might say, “put a hand over your mouth” and stop right now. In other words, stop before it gets any worse and don’t do or say those kind of things anymore.

Having considered these two diagnostic questions for ourselves, we should now turn our attention to a set of three perceptive observations that help us not only evaluate the motives of our choices but also the likely outcomes of our choices, too.

A wise person anticipates the results of his actions.

Before we make choices, we should evaluate the motives of our choices, but we should also consider the possible or likely results of our actions. Proverbs repeats the following similar advice two times previously (Prov 22:3; 27:12):

A prudent man foresees evil and hides himself, but the simple pass on and are punished.

Jesus himself taught this same wisdom to his followers (Lk 14:28-32):

Which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it—lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ Or what king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is still a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks conditions of peace.

How many times have you been like the builder who didn’t count the cost of his tower before he built it or the king who didn’t consider whether he had enough troops to win before he started a war?

While this principle applies well to all sorts of decisions, it especially holds true in the choices we make within relationships. From these three examples Agur gives, we can learn to ask ourselves three questions before we make important choices about what we say and what we do, especially towards other people.

Will my actions yield good and positive results?

The churning of milk produces butter.

This first scenario is a positive one. The word churning here means “to twist or turn,” and it describes how people produce butter from milk. In some cultures, the process involves putting milk in a cloth or goatskin sack, then twisting the sack until butter pressed through. In other cultures, it involved churning and stirring milk vigorously until it solidified as butter.

Whatever the case, this statement reminds us that there is wisdom in plain sight, godly order and wisdom is there for us to gain if we will just pay attention to ordinary procedures around us in the world. When you turn or “churn” milk, you get butter. You don’t get candy, meat, gold, or a brand-new cow. You get – butter.

• When you plant corn seed, you get corn – not wheat, fruit trees, or pumpkins.
• When you put yeast into dough, it rises – it doesn’t shrink, change colors, or fly away.
• When you heat water it boils, it doesn’t freeze, change flavor, or turn into Maple syrup.

Paul emphasized this reality to the church (Gal 6:7-9)

Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.

He emphasizes that if we make good choices, we will reap good results. We need to be reminded of this, because sometimes the good results take a while to grow, but they do and they will grow. When you do good, good will come of it eventually.

But what about the next two observations that Agur makes?

Will my actions yield negative results?

Wringing the nose produces blood.

This describes exactly what it sounds like, and it uses the same word that the first example uses – the word twist. So, when you turn milk it, butter comes out, but when you turn a person’s nose, blood comes out. This is an unpleasant example, but it’s just as true and predictable as getting butter from milk. The next and third example is equally true.

The forcing of wrath produces strife.

What’s fascinating, here, is that this third example also uses the same word for twist as the first two. It describes “twisting” or “stirring up” wrath and it describes a case in which a person you say or do something to a person who is already angry or upset which will stir up their anger even more.

To describe this kind of warning today, we say things like, “don’t poke the bear,” or, “don’t stir the pot,” or, “don’t pour gas on the fire,” or, “don’t push his/her buttons.”

The word strife here means something of an escalated nature, such as a public dispute or quarrel or a lawsuit. The idea is that if you know someone is already angry or upset, be aware that if you say or do anything to further agitate or anger them, you may end up with a bloody nose yourself or worse yet, a lawsuit.

So many arguments are predictable, if you’re willing to think about them beforehand. You can tell that a person is angry or upset, but you go ahead and say or do something that only angers or frustrates them even more. Then, after their anger escalates, you act innocent or surprised as though you had no clue that they were angry or that your input was poorly timed or poorly worded.

We need to acknowledge and admit that the consequences of our actions, though often unpredictable in a certain sense, especially in the details, are often more predictable than we may first believe. If we are willing to stop and think about our own motives first and then make basic observations about how life and relationships normally work, we can often predict with a great degree of probability what will happen.

Then, armed with this self-awareness and basic, perceptive observation, we can decide whether to “put a hand to our mouth” and not proceed, or else to proceed anyway. And this leads me to our final question and point of the sermon.

If yes, should I change course or proceed anyway?

We need to ask ourselves a basic question which may easily and often be overlooked. If I know that twisting someone’s nose will cause blood to come out, should I automatically assume that it is always wrong to twist someone’s nose?

And if I know that agitating and already angry person will only make them angrier and make my own problems more public and painful, then should I automatically assume that it is always wrong to add frustration to a person’s pre-existing anger?

Here, the answer should be no. We should note that Agur does not say that doing these things is automatically or inherently wrong. He only tells us what the probable outcome will be if we make certain choices. And those probable outcomes are not necessarily wrong, though they are clearly painful and uncomfortable for sure.

To determine whether you should make a choice or perform an action that has a guaranteed or high probability of negative or painful response or outcome, you should first evaluate your motives. If this were a flowchart, you would draw an arrow from verse 33 back to verse 32. You would need to ask whether you are making the choice for selfish motives (to exalt yourself) and/or to plan evil towards another person.

In earlier verses in Proverbs, examples of stirring up strife (agitating an already-angry person) give us some good examples of both situations:

Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all sins. (Prov 10:12)

Hatred describes an attitude, feeling, or motive that views another person as being of low value to you and that views yourself as better, higher, and more important than the other person. When this is your attitude or motive, doing anything which would stir up more anger should be viewed very suspiciously and is probably not a good choice to make.

An angry man stirs up strife, and a furious man abounds in transgression. (Prov 29:22)

Anger here describes an attitude, feeling, or motive that believes the other angry person deserves justice, even (and often esp.) when the person about to make a choice to stir up another person’s anger has an inaccurate or incomplete view of the other person’s situation and – as is often the case – when the initiating person is unwilling to trust God with their offense, believing that they must take matters into their own hands.

If either of these attitudes or motives are at play in your heart, then you should do what Prov 30:32 says and “put your hand over your mouth” and not make that choice.

But there are cases when we should say or do something even though we know there is a guaranteed or highly probably chance that the outcome will be difficult or painful, either for you, for the other person, or for both of you.

• Moses confronted Pharoah ten times, even though many of those times Pharoah was angry with him already, and he only became angrier.
• Numerous Old Testament prophets spoke truth to kings who were upset with them, knowing that doing so would only stir up their anger more.
• Jesus confronted the Pharisees numerous times, knowing full well that they already resented him and were angry with him.
• Stephen confronted the Pharisees weeks after the crucifixion, knowing they were already angered about the message and resurrection of Jesus.

If the possibility of injuring or further angering another person is high, but your reasons for speaking or acting towards them are motivated by a desire to lift them up (not lift yourself up) and by a desire to plan good for them (and not plan evil towards them), then you may be facing a situation in which “twisting the nose will draw blood” or “stirring up an angry person will bring a lawsuit,” but doing so is still the good and loving thing to do. As Prov 27:5-6 says:

Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.

Here, we see that a wise person understands the value of saying and doing things that may cause increased difficult, discomfort, pushback, opposition, and pain are, indeed, the best, right, or wisest course of action even though the immediate outcome will likely be painful, either to the person speaking or doing the thing, the person receiving it, or both.

What we learn from Prov 30:32-32 is not that negative consequences and outcomes are automatically the wrong course of action. Instead, what we learn is that we should be aware of the guaranteed or likely outcome of our course of action beforehand and should not speak or act impulsively without thinking about it first.

So, from these proverbs, we can learn several things:

• If you are about to make (or have already made) a choice (in word or deed) that is motivated by exalting yourself or planning evil towards someone, you should stop immediately and either not do it at all or stop doing it anymore.
• If you are about to make a choice, you should also consider the possible and likely outcomes of your choice before you make it so that you are not surprised by what happens afterwards.

A good practice I recommend to you, then, is this.

• Before you make choices about important conversations and decisions in your life, pause beforehand to prayerfully evaluate your motives. Is what I’m about to say or do motivated by godly love for the other person (answer in good conscience)?
• Once that’s been evaluated, if moving forward still seems like a good and loving thing to do, then carefully evaluate the possible outcomes. How might the other person respond to what you may say or do towards them? Might they respond well? Might they respond poorly? Might things seem to get worse, either for them or for you or for both of you? Once you have mapped out the possibilities and likely responses, then ask whether you should change course or proceed anyway. If proceed anyway is the conclusion, then depend on God’s grace to accept whatever results occur, even if they are difficult, knowing that you are acting and speaking in love for God and for them.

In Isaiah 50:6-7, Isaiah tells us how Jesus would respond to his mission of speaking the truth to the people of Israel, and to the painful results of injustice, mistreatment, and crucifixion which would follow:

I gave My back to those who struck Me, and My cheeks to those who plucked out the beard; I did not hide My face from shame and spitting. The Lord God will help Me; therefore I will not be disgraced; therefore I have set My face like a flint, and I know that I will not be ashamed.

The NT gospels quote from these verses multiple times to describe how Jesus felt and what he experienced in his mission to bring God’s love to the world and to save his people from sin. The things Jesus would say and do along the way, especially in his final Passion Week before the cross, showed that he not only spoke and acted without selfish motives and without evil plans for other people, but that he was able and willing to make choices that would result in negative, more difficult and painful outcomes both for others and for him. As a result of his words and actions, many angry people became more angry, but he was willing to accept that as a necessary outcome of what he needed to say in love.

He was also ready for more than his own nose to be twisted – he was prepared for his entire reputation, body, and life to be beaten, tortured, and destroyed to the point of death. He did not walk into these situations mindlessly. He had accounted for these outcomes already beforehand and went forward anyway.

We should do the same. Know what speaking the truth in love and showing Christlike love may bring about as people respond to us in negative ways at times and as our words and actions may bring about conviction, shame, and even greater frustration and anger as a result. We must not do these things flippantly, should evaluate our own hearts prayerfully first, but then speak and act for Christ in love no matter the cost.

As we reflect on the suffering and death of Christ for our sins today, may we do so with deep appreciation for his willingness to accept negative, painful, adverse outcomes and experiences both for us and for himself so that we could be freed from our sins and be able to live out the wisdom we read in his Word no matter how difficult and at any cost.

Examine your motives. Consider the consequences. Then do right for Christ’s sake, no matter what. Let’s pray.

Proverbs 30:29-31

Many people struggle with bad posture, like chronic slouching, due to a variety of factors. These include bad desk setup, frequently looking down at a phone, unhelpful shoes, favoring one side of the body, lack of exercise, and staying still too long. Bad posture may also be caused by chronic pain, weight challenges, and joint problems.

Health and medical experts tell us that good posture matters as it fosters better breathing habits, less physical pain, and optimal blood circulation. Perhaps you’ve heard the advice, “Lift with your legs, not with your back.” Following this advice when lifting heavy things can make the difference between getting or recovering from a serious spine injury or not.

Good posture also matters for social reasons, because good posture communicates confidence and seriousness, which in turn encourages people to treat you with respect and enables you to speak more effectively. It can even affect whether or not you have a successful job interview, receive a promotion, or get a date with a serious person.

According to the Cleveland Clinic, advice for good posture includes keeping your head above your shoulders, your shoulders above your hips, and your lower body in a stable position. Remarkably, in Prov 30:29-31, Agur reflects on the value of posture and poise.

Posture refers to a person’s physical position. A person can have good or bad posture, sitting or standing in a healthy position or sitting or standing in an unhealthy position.

Poise is similar but emphasizes good posture, and not just good posture, but a good attitude and demeanor. It refers to someone whose posture projects confidence, peacefulness, and grace. A ballet dancer exhibits poise, and so does a gymnast, or a soldier in a military march, or a graduate who approaches the commencement podium to give a valedictorian’s keynote speech.

Agur thought about posture and poise by observing the behavior of three animals and one person. To him, this person and three animals were good examples of poise, and thinking about them reminds us that it is important to walk with dignity and confidence.

As we reflect on this proverb today, we should ask ourselves some questions. How do I respond to people who exhibit confidence in their demeanor, posture, and stride? Also, does my demeanor and posture exhibit confidence or insecurity? If insecurity, is that an accurate reflection of your true heart condition and how can your confidence improve?

We admire the poise of confident animals.

As Agur reminds us, it is important to walk with dignity and confidence in our lives. We know this by how we feel when we see animals behaving and walking with confidence in the natural world. Consider the three examples that Agur gives us.

“A lion which is mighty among beasts and does not turn away from any.”

Agur first mentions a lion, which is probably one of the first – if not the first – animal which comes to mind when you’re asked to mention a confident, powerful animal. That seems to be what Agur is doing here. He highlights how an lion is stronger and more powerful than other land animals. He also highlights how its exceptional strength emboldens it to hunt down or stand its ground against any other animal which may come its way.

We are familiar with how a lion walks, with steady, deliberate steps and muscular strides. It’s impressive to see in a nature documentary, and even more so in person. I’ve seen lions walking around in zoos (Indianapolis, Milwaukee, Bronx, and Omaha – to name a few). I’ve also observed them up close both in an enclosed lion park and also on the open range in Kruger National Park, both in South Africa.

Lions are considered an “apex predator,” which means they are at the top level of their animal ecosystem and have no natural predators which hunt them for food, and they hunt other large animals which many other animals would not attempt to do. By the calm, confident, observant way a lion walks, it seems they know their top-tier status.

“A greyhound”

This animal, unlike the lion, is not an easy Hebrew word to translate. It can mean various things, from rooster, to greyhound, to hunting dog, to warhorse. Whichever it may refer to, the root meaning seems to have something to do with being “girded up.”

Whether that’s how a horse is saddled up for battle, a rooster sucks in its stomach to crow and prance around, a greyhound postures itself for running fast, or a hunting dog postures itself to track down an animal, this word describes an animal that is confident and prepared for action – whether that action is battle, a race, or defending the henhouse.

So, from these first two animals, we see that their poise reflects confidence that comes from strength (the lion) and confidence that comes from being prepared (a rooster, greyhound, or warhorse.) Agur adds one more animal to his meditation on poise.

“A male goat, also.”

This refers to a buck goat, which is a fully mature male goat, or else a billy goat, which is a younger but mature male goat. Agur envisions a mature male goat who takes responsibility for a heard of goats, which include younger males, females, and children.

If mature, such a goat has both experience and strength to give him confidence. If young, such a goad has enthusiasm and energy to replace the wisdom that he lacks. But in either case, this male goat takes responsibility for the herd. He does this because he knows it is his responsibility to do so.

The younger billy goat knows this is his destiny and aspires to take charge, while the older goat knows it is his responsibility and, in fact, is often the breeding goat for the female goats and is therefore the father of many if not all of the younger goats in the heard.

As the alpha goat, this goat stands tall, alert, and ready while the rest of the flock grazes, rests, and plays in the field beside him. As Max Anders explains:

“The he-goat at the head of a flock of goats puts on an aggressive front intended to show any rivals that he is in charge.”

This kind of goat stands tall as he stands watch, alert and attentive to the landscape around him, walking steady and tall, ready to charge, intimidate, or fight off any other male goats or predators which may try to threaten them. In cases of a threat, he may even engage in an impressive head-butting display to drive the threat away.

From these three animals Agur mentions, we see how being confident, being prepared, and being responsible has a direct link to how we walk, determining whether we carry ourselves in an insecure, hesitant manner or with calm confidence and poise.

We also admire the poise of confident people.

Agur makes this connection in his next, fourth observation by shifting his focus to a person who walks with confidence and poise – and in this case, not just any person, but a specific kind of person in a specific situation.

“And a king whose troops are with him.”

Agur draws attention to a king. This is the word for king or ruler and refers to a powerful person who holds a position of government and/or military authority and responsibility.

But Agur draws attention not only to this kind of person but to this kind of person in a specific situation, “whose troops are with him.” This phrase may be more directly translated as, “against whom there is no rising up.”

This seems to describe a king who is firmly established in his position – one who has the full backing of his military generals and armies and who has no serious threats to the throne. It describes a king who has the support of his military and the favor of the people he governs. Such a man walks with confidence and poise. He is confident in what he does, prepared for whatever he may need to do, and takes responsibility for defending and providing for his people.

History provides us with examples of both insecure and confident kings. King Saul, for instance, was an insecure king who hid when he was being chosen, hesitated to make hard decisions, and lived in a constant state of anxiety, depression, and fear. When the future King David arrived on the scene, Saul was hiding in his tent as the giant Goliath threatened his people, but David marched out to fight Goliath with confidence.

An insecure king walks as though every person is a threat; a confident king walks as one who knows his place, accepts his responsibility, and rests in the strength behind him. Such a leader inspires confidence in the people he leads, but an insecure king does not. A weak and insecure king encourages uncertainty and revolution, instead.

J.R. Tolkien tells the fictional story of Theoden, King of Rohan, once known in his younger years for his bravery, horsemanship, and leadership. As years wore on, he became an increasingly insecure person who was disconnected from his people and unable to defend his people from the enemies who sacked their towns and waged war against them.

Agur envisions the kind of brave, courageous king that the Theoden had once been, not the weak, insecure ruler he eventually became. He envisions the kind of king who walks with confidence, dignity, and poise because he is confident, prepared, and takes responsibility for his role of caring for and protecting his people.

We should not confuse arrogance with confidence.

As we reflect on Agur’s observations about poise, we should take a moment to distinguish between arrogance and confidence. Arrogance is when a person walks with confidence but for the wrong reasons. This is a person who thinks too highly of themselves and who claims positions and privileges which do not rightfully belong to them.

When an arrogant person walks with confidence, we may call them cocky, conceited, presumptuous, and smug. When athletes or politicians behave this way – or anyone for that matter – behaves this way, we generally find such people unattractive.

But today, I would like to draw your attention to another, more subtle but equally, if not more, harmful problem. This problem is when people, or society, wrongly confuse confidence as arrogance. To illustrate this problem, I will give you two examples of how we experience this today: (1) when we promote passive, weak men as role models and (2) when we believe that sharing Christian beliefs confidently is unloving and rude.

First, when we promote passive, weak men as role models, we discourage men from taking responsibility, taking risks, and leading. When we do this, we encourage men to say yes and never no, to appease people and never offend them, and to carry themselves in a hesitant, cautious, apologetic way.

We do this whenever we confuse humility with passivity, gentleness with weakness, and conviction with arrogance. When that happens, men learn to shrink back rather than step forward, to appease rather than lead, to avoid responsibility rather than embrace it.

When men, young or old, take risks for right reasons, attempt to do hard things with wisdom, and try to say hard things with courage, rather than surround them with criticism, we should surround them with encouragement and support. A king walks with confidence when his troops surround him in support, but not when they surround him in defiance.

Second, when we believe that sharing Christian beliefs confidently is unloving and rude, we confuse confidence with arrogance. This happens when we believe that being “nice” is the greatest virtue. This happens when we believe that “to not speak the truth” is love rather than choosing to “speak the truth in love” even if doing so makes enemies.

Speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ (Eph 4:15)

Have I therefore become your enemy because I tell you the truth? (Gal 4:16)

While being rude and obnoxious is unloving, choosing to be “nice” over speaking the truth when truth is needed is equally unloving, if not more so. We live not only in a community but in a country where people increasingly perceive anyone who speaks with conviction about moral principles from a biblical, godly perspective is considered intolerant and prejudiced. And where people believe that being dogmatic is being proud and unloving.

As followers of Christ, we must recover our confidence, embrace our conviction, and remind one another that it is not arrogant or rude to walk with dignity and poise, to speak the truth, and to do what is right.

In 1961, President Kennedy gave a speech that included the famous line, “The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.” This quote did not originate with him but from a Baptist pastor, Charles Frederic Aked, who was born in England and eventually moved to America, mid-1800s into early 1900s. The full quote is as follows:

“The people in the liquor traffic,” said the speaker, “simply want us to do nothing. That’s all the devil wants of the son of God—to be let alone. That is all that the criminal wants of the law—to be let alone. The sin of doing nothing is the deadliest of all the seven sins. It has been said that for evil men to accomplish their purpose it is only necessary that good men should do nothing.”

Today, as much as ever, if not more, we need followers of Christ to walk with confidence and poise, ready to speak and act for biblical, godly values and for the gospel message itself, even when doing so is considered by the majority to be arrogant, intolerant, and mean – even though it is not.

I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. (Rom 1:16)

From this, we see that it is important to walk with confidence and poise as followers of Christ, and that as believers in him, we should walk with confidence – in the Lord.

We should walk with confidence – in the Lord.

From the OT to the New, Scripture gives clear examples of God encouraging his people to follow him, serve him, and lead with confidence and courage. To Joshua, God said:

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go. (Josh 1:9)

And to believers in the church at Ephesus and today, he said:

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. (Eph 6:10)

Then he goes on to say:

Take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. (Eph 6:13)

We are living in an “evil day,” but we should not hesitate to stand and walk with confidence in the Lord. That is why Christ left us with these confidence-boosting words:

Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen. (Mt 28:18-20)

Christ gives us the responsibility about which we must be confident, for which we must be prepared, and for which we must take responsibility. That is teaching people the truth about Jesus and calling them to be baptized (which itself takes confidence and courage).

But notice two things here. First, we do these things with Christ’s own authority, and he promises that he himself will be with us as we do this for him. Does this remind you, at all, of the king who walks with confidence because his troops are with him?

In 2 Kgs 6:8-23, Elisha the prophet served Israel for God during a period in which the Syrian were bullying and raiding Israel. He did this by repeatedly warning Israel’s king of when and where the Syrians were going to attack. By doing this, the Israelites were able to thwart each attack before they happened.

So, the king of Syria sent a large army to capture him in Dothan. When Elisha’s servant saw the Syrian forces surrounding the city by the thousands (called a “great army,” 2 Kgs 6:14), he was terrified, but Elisha reassured him:

“Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”

After this, God opened the servant’s eyes so he could see an army of uncountable heavenly horses and chariots of fire in the mountains surrounding them, assuring him that no matter how large and threatening Syria’s armies might be outside the city, God’s heavenly armies were greater.

The angel of the LORD encamps all around those who fear Him and delivers them. (Psa 34:7)

For us today, though, we should not only be inspired to walk with confidence because God’s heavenly troops are with us but because our King himself is with us. The angel of the Lord himself surrounds us and Jesus Christ, who is the angel of the Lord, is with us when we speak and act towards others for the spread of the gospel, helping people take their next steps in following him, even when doing so is considered arrogant, intolerant, unloving and not nice.

As followers of Christ, we should walk with dignity and poise, speaking and living with calm confidence and courage and not be insecure about it. This is our mission.

Remember Theoden, King of Rohan, who I mentioned earlier? Though he had become a weak, insecure, and disconnected leader, he was restored to confidence and courage in the end and led his people to a final, difficult, but victorious battle – the infamous fictional battle of Helm’s Deep. In his eulogy, it was said:

“He was a gentle heart and a great king and kept his oaths; and he rose out of the shadows to a last fair morning.”

Today, if you find yourself living in the shadows of passivity, weakness, insecurity, and fear – perhaps under the banner of being nice – let me encourage you to rise out of the shadows to be part of a bright, fair morning.

May you be like a lion who is confident, a greyhound who is prepared, like a goat who takes responsibility, and like a king whose troops support and surround him. You may still walk with calm, confident, courage that comes from Christ, knowing that our King is with you. And may we encourage and support those who walk with confidence among us, even when our culture does the opposite.

Walk with dignity, stand with confidence, speak with conviction, for Christ is with you. Let that change how you walk into every room, face every moment, and speak to every person.

Discussion Questions

• Do you tend to be someone with poise, or not? Why?
• How can we distinguish between righteous confidence and selfish arrogance?
• Based on Ephesians 4:15, how can we objectively tell if we are avoiding a difficult conversation out of a cowardly desire to be "nice"?
• What is a specific way you can actively support and encourage someone in our church family like a king with his troops?
• What are some ways that we might hinder our confidence, especially spiritually?
  • How can we remove these hindrances to our confidence?
• What should our greatest source of confidence be?
  • How can we develop that confidence further?

Introduction
One bright day in late autumn a family of Ants were bustling about in the warm sunshine, drying out the grain they had stored up during the summer, when a starving Grasshopper, his fiddle under his arm, came up and humbly begged for a bite to eat.

"What!" cried the Ants in surprise, "haven't you stored anything away for the winter? What in the world were you doing all last summer?"

"I didn't have time to store up any food," whined the Grasshopper; "I was so busy making music that before I knew it the summer was gone."

The Ants shrugged their shoulders in disgust.

"Making music, were you?" they cried. "Very well; now dance!" And they turned their backs on the Grasshopper and went on with their work.

Many of Aesop’s fables may as well have been written in Proverbs 30. In fact, the ants and their diligence to work now for their needs later seems to likely have been influenced by Augur’s proverbs.

Last week’s section of four proverbs showed us the wisdom of wonder. This section of four proverbs will shed some more light on wisdom for us by giving us practical examples like that of the ant.

The first thing we can notice is that Augur contrasts the small size of these four things with their great wisdom. I think we understand size, but let’s make sure we are all on the same page when we use the word wisdom.

Wisdom skillfully lives out God's truth.
Wisdom is the primary theme in the book of Proverbs. In every chapter, wisdom is the goal. If you want to understand how to be wise in the course of your daily life, then I would tell you read quite a bit of Proverbs. The book addresses money, work, marriage, parenting, friends, government, leadership, speech, and so much more. I cannot think of an ethical topic that Proverbs does not address.

Wisdom is not easily summarized in a definition, and it would be better just to read this book a chapter at a time to understand what wisdom is. In fact, you may or may not realize that our culture uses the biblical proverbs without even recognizing it.

• Spare the rod and spoil the child Proverbs 13:24
• Pride goes before a fall Proverbs 16:18
• Like a dog to vomit Proverbs 26:11
• As iron sharpens iron Proverbs 27:17

Even more than that, we can rightly say that all wisdom comes from God.

“Nay, but let every good and true Christian understand that wherever truth may be found, it belongs to his Master.” Augustine

“All truth is from God; and consequently, if wicked men have said anything that is true and just, we ought not to reject it; for it has come from God.” Calvin

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, But fools despise wisdom and instruction.”  Proverbs 1:7

God is the source of wisdom, and so to know wisdom, we must know God’s truth.

What is the ant doing? He is learning a lesson from the story of Joseph in Genesis 41, who told Pharoah to store food away during a time of prosperity for the upcoming time of famine. Augur’s rock badger could have learned from David when he fled from King Saul in the caves in the rocky area around En Gedi. You see my point.

These lessons may have come by experience, but that experience only helps if God somehow reveals his light to us. Even if we have no contact with the scriptures, and manage to piece a puzzle of wisdom together, it is because God has revealed himself to us in creation.

So wisdom is based on understanding God’s truth that is also skillfully applied to our lives.
So let’s say, you are relatively young, and have limited resources financially. You need to buy a car.

So buy cheap and save money? We have already seen the value of saving from the ant. There are other texts we could use. So we could buy the cheapest thing that  will get decent gas mileage and doesn’t have any obvious issues because we want to save money for the future.

But the Bible also says:
Proverbs 14:4: "Where there are no oxen, the manger is empty, but from the strength of an ox come abundant harvests."

So which one? Do we save now or spend now to save later?

Well, I’m sure there are other factors we could consider. Maybe other principles in the Bible would help us. Regardless, wisdom takes skill.

And we see this in each of Augur’s examples of wisdom. It isn’t always obvious when to store up or set yourself up for the future, or when to cooperate with others like the locust or to opportunistic like the spider.

It takes knowing God’s Word, and practice at skillfully applying it.
So what are the ways in which these little things are using God’s truth in their situations. I think there is a commonality to their wisdom.

Wisdom overcomes disadvantages.
Each one of these little things is (metaphorically) understanding their limitations and the ones of their environments and skillfully overcomes these limitations.

According to Augur, this is a core part of what it means to truly be wise. Do we have limitations? Yes! How can we overcome the disadvantages in our lives?

Well, the first thing I want to note is that Augur is true to his personal theme which we have noticed in multiple sections of Proverbs 30. He is humble. Who is he really talking about when he says “little?” Himself. Us! In order to overcome disadvantages, we need the humility to recognize, I have disadvantages, maybe even ones to do with who and what I am! And also, I need help with them! I need someone else (God) to tell me how to overcome them!

Humility is essential for wisdom. As we read earlier, “Fools (the opposite of a wise person) despise wisdom and instruction.” If these little things saw themselves as big dogs, they could not be exceedingly wise. We can be exceedingly wise if we recognize how small we are.

So what do little things do to overcome disadvantages?

By working ahead
This is a theme throughout Proverbs. The most obvious cross-reference would be:
Proverbs 6:6–8 “Go to the ant, you sluggard! Consider her ways and be wise, Which, having no captain, Overseer or ruler, Provides her supplies in the summer, And gathers her food in the harvest.”

And we have already noted the narrative example of Joseph.

Wisdom recognizes that we do not know the future, only God does. So, often, it is a good thing to work while we have time to do so. We should not presume upon tomorrow. To do so would be to assume that we are more durable and less expendable than we really are. Wisdom acknowledges the limitation that I won’t always be as able to work as I am today so I should prepare for that time now.

By compensating for weaknesses
The rock badger, or coney, is a small mammal that looks like a mousier ground hog. Augur’s rock badger hides in crevices between rocks for self-defense. On its own, it stands no chance against predators, but by contrast, the predators have no chance of breaking these rocks to get to the rock badger prey.

What are your weaknesses? We can only compensate for weaknesses if we are aware of them.

A few weeks ago we looked at Augur’s admission of personal weakness to temptation. The Bible’s advice for those facing temptation is to avoid temptation.
This verse also has implications for personal self-defense. It is wise to plan for that.

By cooperating with others
Cooperating with others requires that we recognize that we need others.

Ecclesiastes 4:9–12 “Two are better than one, Because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, For he has no one to help him up. Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm; But how can one be warm alone? Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken.”

There are about 50 “one another” commands. And the vast majority are supposed to be done in the church.

By this shall all  know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. John 13:35

We can do more together, and we must do more together. It is wise to partner with other people.

 By acting in self-interest
The spider is perhaps the most peculiar of the little things on this list. What does a spider up high near the ceiling line of the palace have to do with wisdom?

Should we all become Spiderman and crawl up the wall to hide in fancy places?
No, this spider uses his natural abilities skillfully to get into prestigious places. Spiders do not belong in palaces because they are prestigious places. They are small and they are pests.

Some of you might see lizards in your translation. Hebrew can be tricky like that. The meaning is the same regardless. Wisdom means sometimes using what God has given you in audacious ways to be in positions that you do not normally belong in.

Jesus put it this way: And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home. Luke 16:9
Now, you might say, Pastor Will, you have beaten the humility horse to death in Proverbs 30. How can you say that now, we are supposed to be self-interest. That doesn’t sound very Christian or Christ-like!

Do you think that Joseph became 2nd in command of the global power of his time without doing something that could be described as “self-interested?” How about Daniel who advised some of the most powerful men in history?

Sometimes the most God-glorifying thing you can do is to be shrewd for the kingdom of God! And that means doing something that might advance yourself! You might end up in a palace.

It almost should go without saying, but of course, we are not talking about selfish promotion for its own sake. That truly is sinful. But don’t be afraid to be audacious for God’s purposes.
Put in for the promotion at work. Start that business. Work hard, take some careful risks, and thank God. As a church, it’s not wrong to use money to make money if it does not hinder, but helps us in helping people take their next steps in following Christ.

That is our ultimate goal because…

Wisdom depends upon Christ above all.
Augur asks us to see ourselves as small, and that becomes a lot easier when we understand what God says about what we truly are. Our greatest disadvantage is a self-inflicted one.

Our sin. And there is no way that we can overcome this disadvantage.
The humility that Augur demonstrates, to admit our own smallness, is necessary to be wise in the responsibilities God has given to us, but most of all we must be humble to admit our spiritual poverty.

As Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Matt 5:3
So my friend, how do you see yourself? Are you “little?” Do you need help? Even more, do you see yourself as spiritually poor? Unable to please God with your own performance?
So the wise person depends upon Jesus. They understand they need to be saved from their own sinfulness and perversion. God made us to be wise in his own image, but each of us has rejected him and rebelled against him.

We were made to be big like him, but decided instead to be small. And now, in order for us to be the way we were meant to be, we must admit how small we truly are, and we can be made wise in Christ. The ultimate wisdom says, Jesus I need you.

How wise would you think your colleague to be if they refused to ask for help on a task they haven’t been trained for? How wise is the CEO who asks for help on the manufacturing floor because he hasn’t done it before?

Friend, God sent his Son to do what we could not. The only way to overcome our own spiritual weakness is by trusting in what he did for us, not by trying to figure it out in our smallness.

Conclusion
In closing, I want to read another of Aesop’s fables for you.

A Farmer was driving his wagon along a miry country road after a heavy rain. The horses could hardly drag the load through the deep mud, and at last came to a standstill when one of the wheels sank to the hub in a rut.

The farmer climbed down from his seat and stood beside the wagon looking at it but without making the least effort to get it out of the rut. All he did was to curse his bad luck and call loudly on Hercules to come to his aid. Then, it is said, Hercules really did appear, saying:
"Put your shoulder to the wheel, man, and urge on your horses. Do you think you can move the wagon by simply looking at it and whining about it? Hercules will not help unless you make some effort to help yourself."

And when the farmer put his shoulder to the wheel and urged on the horses, the wagon moved very readily, and soon the Farmer was riding along in great content and with a good lesson learned.

There is wisdom in this story. But even more so, it shows a stark contrast. Hercules comes down to say, help yourself. God the Son comes down to say, “Let me help you.” Those of you who have not believed on Christ, will you turn from sin and trust him today?

My brothers and sisters who have, dedicate yourselves to living out God’s truth. Learn the Bible, and start practicing it in your life.

Discussion Questions

• Rock badgers use the natural protection of crevices in rock to hide from predators. What are some “workarounds” or “life hacks” you use, even in everyday life.
• What are some biblical principles of wisdom that have helped you?
• What is the difference between a situation with a clear-cut choice between right and wrong, and one that requires wisdom?
  • What are some ways we can become more skillful at applying biblical principles in complex situations?
• How can Brookdale be more like the locusts in cooperating with one another?
  • In what ways might it require humility to cooperate like that?

Introduction
Part of me saw value and changing the topic of the sermon this morning too this. Many of you may not be able to see it so here it is on the screen. if we will talk about wonder this morning, our discussion is as much about things like the Grand Canyon as it is about things like a blade of grass.

“To us also through every star, through every blade of grass, is not a God made visible if we will open our minds and eyes?” Thomas Carlyle

Of all of Augur's interesting proverbs in proverbs chapter 30, I personally think this may be one of the fuzziest ones in the text. God's word clearly communicates everything he wants us to know, but sometimes certain texts take more work than others to come into focus. Most of us are very used to our cameras, bringing pictures into focus on their own. However, it used to be that the photographer. Had to work to bring the objects in the frame into proper focus.

This morning, we will make some conclusions by meditating on this text together. As we work to bring its meaning into focus, we will see how wonder itself brings a lot of reality into focus.

God’s creation is wonder-full.
“There are three things which are too wonderful for me, Yes, four which I do not understand: The way of an eagle in the air, The way of a serpent on a rock, The way of a ship in the midst of the sea, And the way of a man with a virgin.”  Prov 30:18-19
An eagle in the air. Serpent on a rock. Ship in the ocean. A man with a woman.

This list seems a little random. Yes, some have some majesty, but a serpent on a rock. Even an eagle, for someone in the ancient east, would have been less impressive than it is for us. Americans love the eagles. Did you know that eagles don’t sound the way we think they do? They actually are very raspy and weak sounding.

What Augur is doing is marveling at the blade of grass. He acknowledging that we have something to learn by observing all of God’s creation. Yes, the heavens declare the glory of God. But so does the dirt.

Are you willing to stoop down and see it? Will you take time to marvel “at the blade of grass?”

A question you may have like I did, when studying this passage is this: ‘ok. So Augur is wondering at even some ordinary things. Why does he list those things? Is there a common thread between them?”

Well, there are many theories about what exactly that common thread is. Regardless of where we land on which is the best, we can say this: Isn’t a little mystery a little bit of the point? Perhaps God clearly explains what we must know at times, leaving what we want to know a little more unclear? Even the character of the text itself, I believe, teaches us some lessons which we will expound upon throughout the rest of the sermon.

What seems to be the common thread between the eagle, the snake, the ship, and the couple? Each seem to have a sense of movement, and defy simple explanation. There is an air of mystery in what they do. We must clarify that we are not necessarily talking about the objects themselves, but their WAYS. “They way of…”

This is especially important when we remember, that there is a fifth one. Like a credits scene in a movie or an epilogue. Pastor Thomas has actually already covered this one in a separate message because it has a distinct meaning from the list. But I believe that its meaning, which is more easily discerned is a clue to the more difficult one of our passage.
“So is the way…” Connects the fifth to the rest. If we understand what Augur means by the way of the adulterous woman, we might understand what he is referring to about the way of our four mysterious objects.

Just as the adulterous woman so carelessly wipes away the apparent consequences of her sin, so too do these things leave no trace. This seems to be the best way to explain the mystery of our four wonderful things. As the eagle, the snake, and the ship move, any evidence that they were ever there vanishes. There is a gliding, almost effortless quality.
Now, I want to be reverent here, but there is such a physical quality to the way of a man with a woman. The text is being specific here when referring to the way of a man with a woman. This is further clarified by the contrast with the adulterous woman and the imagery in the passage.

Throughout chapter 30, we see the humility of Augur. He looks upon these ordinary things in life, which to us might seem mundane, and finds lessons to be learned. There is much we can learn from him.

Don’t let explanation replace wonder.
The Scripture are replete with people using metaphor and analogy to illustrate spiritual truths. You very well may be aware of this, but that does not happen on accident!
Jesus

“Look at the birds of the air...”
Matt 6:26
“Consider the lilies of the field...”
Matt 6:28
Solomon
“Go to the ant...”
Prov 6:6

Paul Galatians and 1 Cor agriculture. (seeds, planting, watering, sowing, reaping)
It takes time to think, not just about spiritual life, but also material life. It is a good thing to slow down, and think about not very much. Do you have times when you do that?
We think that we always need to be listening to something. Podcasts, music, radio. None of them are bad. And some of them help us to think deeply and learn new things! But there ought to be some time in which each of us can slow down, stop consuming, and enjoy God’s creation.

A constant drive to fill our time with passive thinking (like listening, watching, consuming) actually results in a stunted ability to think deeply. The pursuit of knowledge can crowd out our ability to wonder.

We live in a hyper-materialistic culture that seeks to explain all of life down to the smallest particle. We have molecules, atoms, and quarks. I think something comes after that but I am not sure what it is. We want to be able to Google/AI search every illness, every condition, every question, anything and find the answer. And  when “the science” gives us the answer, now there is no question. We have reached ultimate certainty on the matter and it cannot be questioned.

Beyond, the self-contradiction of the scientific method that this way of thinking presents, even more, this perspective has lost the ability to wonder at God’s creation. Our sense of certainty in explaining everything replaces wonder in our lives.

CS Lewis observed this problem decades ago:
“But you cannot go on ‘explaining away’ for ever: you will find that you have explained explanation itself away. You cannot go on ‘seeing through’ things for ever. The whole point of seeing through something is to see something through it. It is good that the window should be transparent, because the street or garden beyond it is opaque. How if you saw through the garden too? It is no use trying to ‘see through’ first principles. If you see through everything, then everything is transparent. But a wholly transparent world is an invisible world. To ‘see through’ all things is the same as not to see.” CS Lewis

My friend, it is a good thing to stop and marvel that something is just plain cool. Maybe, some investigation is appropriate. That might help us to marvel a little bit more. But sometimes, it’s good to look at your family and stop psycho-analyzing. Just admit your wife and kids are beautiful. Or sit and thank God for the beauty of your lawn, or the craftsmanship of your well-made furniture. Stop consuming, and just think.

All of it is part of God’s marvelous plan for his creation and therefore can be fully enjoyed and appreciated without fully comprehending it. Allen P. Ross (on this passage)
Why do I say that wonder is such a good thing?

Wonder induces worship.
From a Christian perspective, enjoying the common things of life point us back to God. Well, who gave us the wife and kids? The lawn? The intricate furniture? Ultimately, God did. He provided for them. He sovereignly worked in our lives to bring them to us. Wonder should resolve in a look toward God. There are four worshipful response to wonder I’d like to show you this morning.

Be humble.
Wonder causes us to be humble because we recognize that even small things are worth our time. I am not above a blade of grass and thinking about it for a few minutes. Often, I think that my time is so valuable that I should fill it with something more meaningful. On some level, this isn’t even a matter of humility, but of true understanding. Wonder actually is very meaningful, but pride often distorts reality.

Augur’s proverbs reverberate over and over again with the importance of true humility. This humility is not self-referential, but instead active. Rather than groveling, Augur uses his view of himself and of God to inform his choices and his perspective on all of life.

As he says, wonder has an aspect of admitting, I do not fully grasp this thing! It is amazing!
Here is a test-case for us: do you really understand the blade of grass? Well, I cut thousands of them all the time! (Not so much this summer) They are nothing. What is a blade of grass compared to me? For me, it is a good thing to stop, recognize I don’t know everything about this ordinary thing.

In other words, I stop being the god of my world for a moment. That is really good for us.

Enjoy creation.
It is only when we regularly see the difference between us and God that we can truly enjoy God’s creation as a blessing from him. Yes, it is an object of study. And that is part of enjoyment! But it is so much more than that.

 “Here is what I have seen: It is good and fitting for one to eat and drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labor in which he toils under the sun all the days of his life which God gives him; for it is his heritage.” Ecclesiastes 5:18

 “I know that nothing is better for them than to rejoice, and to do good in their lives, and also that every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor—it is the gift of God.”Ecclesiastes 3:12–13

It is such a good thing to savor a meal. Every once in a while, eat the nicest meal you can while still being fiscally responsible. That might be a well-cooked chicken. And slow down. And savor it.

Play a game with your loved ones and laugh. Don’t feel the need to critically analyze what is truly funny. There is so much we can learn from doing this.
Take a walk outside and look up! Or down, past your phone. See the magnificence in the mundane!

Praise and thank God.
If we look for wonder in normal things, we have so many more opportunities to praise and thank God. It becomes a core part of our lives. If we do this with normal things, praising and thanking the Lord becomes a lot more normal. I encourage you to keep a gratitude journal. Writing is thinking, and keeping a daily journal of thanking God for things helps us to think a little more about the less obvious blessings God gives to us.

Trust and obey God’s Word.
This posture of humility leads to dependence upon God.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.” Prov 3:5–6

If I do not fully understand the way of the eagle, the serpent, the ship, and the couple, I know I need God’s help to know the way

Conclusion
After this sermon, I expect everyone to be out in the church lawn staring at grass. Kidding.

But I do hope you will commit to some intentionality about taking time for wonder. Take a walk outside. Spend some thoughtful, quality time with your family. Savor some good food.

Discussion Questions

• What is a meal or something else you enjoy savoring?
• Let’s practice wonder by having multiple people give examples. Choose something you have seen over the past day. Describe a mysterious aspect of this object and how it is fascinating to you.
  • How can these qualities in these objects reflect God’s glory?
• Why might it feel humbling for you personally to wonder at ordinary things?
• How can an underdeveloped sense of wonder go hand in hand with believing you are the god of your universe?
  • Can Christians do this?
• What are some practical steps one could take to start growing in their ability to wonder?

Proverbs 30:15-16

Have you ever noticed people like this? People who sit quietly in a corner at the coffee shop, on a bench at the park, in a pew at church, or in a swing on their front porch and watch the world around them with an observant eye. These people pay close attention to the details that most of us fail to see or think about in our busy, hurried lives.

Proverbs 30:11-33 reads like a man who makes it his habit to sit down and observe the world around him. One day, he might sit down in a crowded marketplace, another day alongside a quite nature trail. Wherever he sits, he pays attention to everything – animals, nature, and people of all kinds, and he makes profound observations about what he sees.

First, Agur noticed four kinds of people: disrespectful people, hypocritical people, arrogant people, and predatory people. These kinds of people encourage us to avoid such tendencies and influences in our own lives.

Next, he turns attention to other scenes, which include standing water, childless homes, cemeteries, vast fields, and fireplaces. Though these settings may seem varied and unrelated, Agur fits them together like a five-piece puzzle that spells out a message. Let’s look at the pieces, then put them together to see what this message might be.

Greed is gross.

The leech has two daughters—Give and Give!

First, Agur looks closely at a pool of standing water somewhere to the side of a gently flowing stream. In the water, he sees a small, slimy creature from about 1-6 inches long, called a leech. There are different kinds of leeches, but Agur focuses on their common feature, which is two mouths, one at each end.

Leeches are gross and slimy creatures – small, soft worms – that live in ponds, marches, slow streams, and standing water. They move along by stretching and inching forward, using their suction-like mouths as feet to pull them forward. When possible, they latch onto animals and people, gripping on tightly so they can suck up their blood.

There’s nothing pleasant about leeches. They’re like mosquitoes in slug or worm form. What Agur notices about them here, though, is that they have not just one but two mouths (or suckers), one at each end. He causes these suckers “daughters.”

Both mouths on a leech are used to grab and hold onto things, but only the mouth at the front end is used for feeding. The feeding mouth either cuts or pierces the skin of its host, then secretes an anticoagulant to prevent blood from clotting while it feeds. So, you could say about the two mouths of a leech that one grasps while the other gorges.

By focusing on this fascinating feature of this repulsive creature, Agur gives a message that “greed is gross.” What is greed? It is a strong desire for the things this world offers, a desire that is never satisfied and is always searching for more, like a leech.

At first, a leech looks like a small, gross, slimy worm. But once it latches on and begins to suck, it can enlarge 5-10 times its weight. When this happens, its skin becomes thin and pale and it can barely move, making it easy prey for birds, fish, and other leeches. It becomes an engorged sack of blood. Sometimes a leech vomits blood to relieve pressure, though they may also be overfilled and burst.

Reflecting on leeches this way should encourage us to ask questions about what we value as American Christians today. Why might we need look at leeches up close? Could it be that what we view as a normal or noble mindset is actually gross and repulsive?

For instance, we say a person is ambitious, has drive, is a high-achiever or go-getter, or has an “entrepreneurial spirit.” We tout values like productivity, efficiency, growth mindset, winning, and influence. And while there may be good in these concepts and these descriptions may be noble in certain cases, it is also possible that we may be putting lipstick on a pig or a tuxedo on a leech.

How many hard-charging businessmen and CEOs have been touted as leaders in their field, writing books about their success, but are nothing more than greedy people on overdrive, who when you get to know them personally, behind-the-scenes, up-close, you find that they are rude, selfish, and impatient people? And is it possible that your own drive for success is more like a lurching, grasping leech than a hardworking philanthropist working for the good of your family and community?

As he reflects on the grossness of greed, Agur turns his attention to another related concept. He notices the nature of discontent and a desire for more, that it is gross like leeches, but he notices the scope of discontent, that is present everywhere.

Discontent is all around us.

There are three things that are never satisfied, four never say, “Enough!”: the grave, the barren womb, the earth that is not satisfied with water— and the fire never says, “Enough!”

Agur zooms out from looking at leeches in a stagnant pool and starts building a list of other ways that discontent is present in the world around us. He says, “There are three things … four.” This is a like saying, “I can think of three things like this, actually, I can think of four, come to think about it.”

This doesn’t mean there are only four things like this but that there are even more. I can imagine Agur playing games like Categories, Scattergories, Name 5, or I Spy, can you? Perhaps, after hearing Agur’s list, you can think of a fifth or sixth example of discontent in the world around us? If you can think of another, what would it be?

To describe the category for this list, the thing that everything on the list has in common, Agur uses the descriptions of “things that are never satisfied” and “things which never say ‘enough.’” To be “never satisfied” means to never be filled – like a teenager’s stomach, never having enough to eat or drink. To never say “enough” would be like a broken fuel gauge that never says “full,” even if the tank is overflowing.

When my father was in high school, he tried to change oil for the first time. After he drained the old oil from his uncle’s car, he poured the new oil, one quart after another. But as he poured in each quart, he wondered why the engine was never getting full. Not until his uncle came by did he get the answer. He had failed to put the drain plug back in, so the new oil was running out the bottom of the drain pan, down the street, and into the sewer.

Agur lists four things like this in the world around us. The first is the grave – or Sheol, the underworld. He notices how death is never satisfied. There are always more people dying, to the tune of about 2 people per second and 60 million per year, with no end in sight. That’s why being a mortician or undertaker has strong job security. More people are always dying and this will never stop – the grave is never satisfied.

The second thing that is never satisfied is a barren womb (or woman without a child). God gives women a strong desire to bear and raise children. Even when a woman is unable to have a child, the desire doesn’t go away – it just gets louder. Like Rachel said to her husband Jacob, “Give me children, or else I die!” (Gen 30:1). And as Hannah demonstrated by her desire for a child, being married to a loving husband wasn’t enough to satisfy her desire for children.

Then Elkanah her husband said to her, “Hannah, why do you weep? Why do you not eat? And why is your heart grieved? Am I not better to you than ten sons?” (1 Sam 1:8)

The third example of things that are never satisfied is ground which never has enough water. Here, commentators sometimes suggest that this refer to the arid Negev desert around the outskirts of Israel, which soaks up water rapidly whenever it rains. While this may be true, it is true of ground all over the Earth. Think about it, about 500,000 cubic kilometers of water falls to the Earth each year as rain and snow. That’s enough water to cover the entire United States a mile deep. Yet this much water comes down to the Earth every year and the Earth is never saturated or has enough.

The fourth example of things that are never satisfied is fire. While this might refer to a raging forest fire, devouring everything in its path, it likely refers to something like a fireplace or campfire. Whatever the case, the point is that no matter how much fuel you give to a fire (paper, wood, etc.), it never says ‘enough,’ but always takes more. In fact, if you don’t keep feeding it, it will die, but if you do keep feeding it, it gets larger.

So, from a leech in pool of water to the grave, the barren womb, the thirsty earth, and the hungry fire, Agur has shown us two important truths about discontent. First, discontent is gross: it grasps, feeds, swells until lit bursts, and still wants more. Second, discontent is everywhere. Wherever we look, we see something that is never satisfied and never says “enough.” But before we draw the final lesson from these proverbs, we should notice two concluding observations about the way discontent works in the world around us.

It appears in both life-giving and destructive ways.

As gross as greed and discontent may be, it appears in both life-giving and destructive ways. That’s what makes it difficult to evaluate sometimes. In Agur’s observations, we see two positive examples (water giving life to the ground and a woman desiring to give birth to a child) and two negative examples (death and fire).

It’s easy to spot the destructive, negative examples of greed and discontent when we see them. But when the thing that we desire or are discontent about is good and noble, we can feel justified in our discontent and fail to see how gross our discontent really is.

Some of the most dangerous forms of discontent attach themselves not to evil things, but to good and noble desires. A woman may long for children, a man may work hard to provide, a parent may want a child to succeed, a single person may desire marriage, a family may pursue financial prosperity, a hurt person may desire justice, a person may want better health.

None of these desires are wrong in themselves. But when they are fueled by an underlying feeling of discontent, these desires can produce bitterness, anxiety, neglect, envy, harshness, or despair. In such cases, the problem is not the goodness of the thing desired, but the way discontent turns even good desires into grasping demands that never say, “Enough.”

It is never satisfied by natural means.

But there is another conclusion we can draw from Agur’s observations here. Not only can good desires turn into unhealthy discontent and greed, but whatever our desires may be, they will never, can never, be satisfied by natural means.

No matter how many people die, the grave will never be full. No matter how many words you may offer to a woman unable to have children, you cannot turn off her desire. No matter how much rain falls, the Earth will always have room for more. And no matter how much organic matter you feed to a fire, it will always want more to burn.

The eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing. (Eccl 1:8)

He who loves silver will not be satisfied with silver; nor he who loves abundance, with increase. (Eccl 5:10)

Perhaps you can speak to this from personal experience. You eat your fill at a restaurant, only to be hungry again hours later. You enjoy a good night’s sleep only to be tired again the next evening. You buy a new phone, car, toy, or computer game, only to want a newer model or version later. You finish one home project only to discover ten more to be done. You reach one financial goal, only to realize that there is more you could accomplish. You finish your well-planned vacation, only to hope for a better one next time, instead.

Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied. (Prov 27:20)

Why do you spend money for what is not bread, and your wages for what does not satisfy? (Isa 55:2)

So, by putting these five puzzle pieces together from Agur’s observations of the world around him, can you tell what the message from God might be? Perhaps we could say it this way – discontent is dangerous because it cannot be satisfied, or at least, it cannot be satisfied by natural means. So, are we hopeless? Are we destined to live greedy, unsatisfied lives? Thankfully, the answer is no. There IS a solution.

In John 4, Jesus spoke to a woman where they met together at a well. She had come to the well to draw water, but Christ spoke to her about far deeper things.

Jesus answers and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst.” (Jn 4:13)

When Jesus said this to her, he spoke about more than her thirst for water. He spoke also of her thirst for love and relationship, pointing out to her that she had been married to five different husbands, but was not living with a sixth to which she wasn’t even married. This revealed that she was a discontent person with unmet needs in her life, not only for water but for the acceptance, love, and security of human relationship.

Jesus pointed out to her that though desires like these could never be satisfied through natural, normal, material means, these and all other desires and discontentedness could be met through the water that he himself offered to her was himself.

Whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life. (Jn 4:14)

Jesus said similar things many other times, as well.

Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.” (Jn 6:35)

On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” (Jn 7:37-38)

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. (Mt 11:28-30)

In Proverbs 30, we see what Agur saw when he looked out at a world full of things that never say “Enough,” and he warned us that the human heart is just as restless, just as hungry, just as unsatisfied. History gives us vivid pictures of what that looks like.

Another man, a Baptist preacher named Russell Conwell, told the story of an ancient Persian man named Ali Hafed. He told this story as part of a sermon entitled, “Acres of Diamonds,” a sermon he reportedly preached more than 5,000 times from 1900-1925.

This man, Ali, "owned a very large farm that had orchards, grain fields, and gardens... and was a wealthy contented man." But one day a Buddhist monk from far away told him about diamonds and how wealthy he could be if he owned a diamond mine. In a moment, he experienced a strong, persistent desire for more. Ali Hafed went to bed that night a poor man, poor because he was discontented.

Craving a mine of diamonds, he sold his farm and set out to search for them. He traveled the world, chasing the promise of greater wealth, until he became so poor, so broken, and so defeated that he took his own life.

Meanwhile, the man who had purchased Ali’s farm from him one day led his camel into the garden for a drink. As the camel put its nose into the brook, the man saw a flash, a glint of light from the sand in the stream, and he pulled out a stone that reflected colors of the rainbow of the rainbow.

He had discovered the diamond mine of Golcanda, which would become one of the most magnificent mines in history, especially at that time. Had Ali remained at home and dug in his own garden, he would have had acres of diamonds instead of discontent and death.

This man’s tragic story resembles Agur’s gentle warning: discontent is dangerous because it cannot be satisfied, or at least, it cannot be satisfied by natural means. More importantly, this man should have searched for satisfaction in Christ. Only then could he truly say, “Enough.”

John Bunyan, a Baptist pastor in the 1600’s, wrote this about contentment:

He that is down needs fear no fall;
He that is low, no pride;
He that is humble, ever shall
Have God to be his guide.
I am content with what I have,
Little be it, or much;
And, Lord, contentment still I crave,
Because Thou savest such.

When you sit and stare at the waters of your heart, can you see any leeches swimming there? Is your heart in any way like the grave, a barren womb, dry ground, or a burning fire that never has enough and which grows larger the more you feed it?

Today, let me encourage you to turn to Christ and find forgiveness and satisfaction in him. Only then can your thirst, your hunger, and your exhaustion be fulfilled. Only then can you say, “Enough.”

Satisfied
By Clara Tear Williams

All my life-long I had panted
for a drink from some cool spring
that I hoped would quench
the burning of the thirst I felt within.

Refrain:
Hallelujah! I have found Him-
whom my soul so long has craved!
Jesus satisfies my longings;
through His blood I now am saved.

Feeding on the husks around me
till my strength was almost gone,
longed my soul for something better,
only still to hunger on. [Refrain]

Poor I was, and sought for riches,
something that would satisfy;
but the dust I gathered round me
only mocked my soul's sad cry. [Refrain]

Well of water, ever springing,
Bread of Life, so rich and free,
untold wealth that never faileth,
my Redeemer is to me. [Refrain]

Discussion Questions

• Are you a “people-watcher” like Augur? What kinds of things can you learn about individuals by watching them in this way?
• What is the difference between a virtuous drive for Christ-honoring achievement and selfish greed?
• Other than money, what are some more subtle areas in which we can be discontent?
• How can a desire for something good or noble be driven by underlying discontentment?
  • What are some practical ways to maintain godly contentment when pursuing the good things to which God has called us?
• How can we pursue ultimate satisfaction? What are some practical steps?

Proverbs 30:11-14, 17, 20

Sometimes government agencies, such as departments of health, or public health organizations promote awareness and prevention campaigns to help people recognize the warning signs of conditions or diseases that might otherwise be overlooked.

Smoking and tobacco prevention, HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention, diabetes and heart diseases awareness, cancer screening campaigns, dementia awareness and prevention, etc. are examples of what they might educate about and warn against.

They do this through brochures and fact sheets, commercials, billboards, posters, and signs, social media campaigns, public service announcements, screening events, and so on. They do these things so people will recognize early symptoms and take action before their condition worsens.

You may be familiar with similar campaigns raising awareness about problems like bullying, cyber-security/phishing threats, domestic violence, human trafficking, drunk driving, scam and fraud, and suicide.

The proverbs we’re looking at today serve a similar purpose. They raise awareness of certain kinds of people, and they do this for at least two reasons. One, so we can identify symptoms of these problems in our own lives and resolve the problem before it worsens. Two, so we can identify people like this around us so we can respond to them with caution and wisdom, not choosing them as influences, friends, and partners in our lives.In Prov 30:11-14, you can see four groups of people that Agur describes. Each time he says, “There is a generation that …” and them describes them in a particular way.

The word generation often refers to a group of people which are defined or grouped together based upon their shared place and time in history. There was the generation of Israel, for instance, who were rescued from slavery in Egypt and who wandered in the wilderness for 40 years, then there was another subsequent generation of Israel who were born during that time and then entered into the Promised Land.

We use the word generation today to categorize groupings of people in our nation who were born within certain periods of time and who share some general, universal qualities. We label them as The Silent Generation, Baby Boomers, Gen X, Millennials, Gen Z, Gen Alpha, Gen Beta, etc.

In Prov 30:11-14, generation doesn’t refer to people groups by times of birth but to people grouped by certain characteristics. You might translate this by saying, “There are people like this, and there are people like this.” Or you might say, “Some people are like this, and other people are like this.”

In this case, Agur points out these people because they are very harmful, problematic people. These kinds of people are not necessarily rare or hard to find – there might be many of them in any place at any point in time, but even if they are many, their presence and influence might easily be overlooked or underestimated.

In his book called “Respectable Sins,” Jerry Bridges observes that Christians often focus on certain major societal sins while neglecting other spiritually damaging behaviors. These sins may fit into this category and must be pointed out for a person to live a wise and godly life.

Which is worse? A house on fire or a house infested with mold? While one is visually obvious and the other is harder to see, both are serious problems which make the house dangerous and unlivable. So, it is with these kinds of sins and these kinds of people. These kinds of sins in our own heart and these kinds of people in our lives, churches, and society are more harmful than we may realize. A wise person will acknowledge this and take account for that in his life.

So, with this perspective clearly in mind, let’s take a look at four kinds of sins and people which Scripture says are especially harmful to a wise life and godly society.

A wise person takes note of disrespectful tendencies and people.

There is a generation that curses its father, and does not bless its mother.

This first proverb raises awareness of disrespectful people. It gives the signs or symptoms of this disrespect in both a positive and negative way. Ironically, it uses a positive form to state the negative description, then it uses a negative form to state the positive description. This kind of person does curse his father and does not bless his mother.

By making separate statements about father and mother, Agur does not describe two different problems but rather emphasizes or doubles down on the same problem. This is a person who callously despises and disregards his parents, which is the opposite of honoring and valuing them.

To curse means to treat someone as insignificant and small, to dishonor them. This can include attitudes of disdain and disrespect, and it can also include public, verbalized prayers and wishes calling for their harm and pain, desiring bad things to happen to them.

To “not bless” is the opposite way of saying the same thing. It means that while harboring a negative, spiteful attitude and calling for bad things in their lives, a person also refuses to say anything balancing or positive towards them. By saying this, Agur emphasizes the seriousness of this problem. It is not a passing attitude or errant comment but a person’s deep-seated resentment of his parents.

Can you imagine sitting in the doctor’s office waiting for the doctor to arrive, looking around at the various posters hanging on the wall, raising awareness of certain diseases and health concerns? Can you imagine seeing a poster hanging on the wall that warns against the problem of disrespect towards parents? Would that catch your attention?

In a WSJ article published this week, an author raises awareness of an alarming trend therapeutic counseling today. Therapeutic counselors are increasingly advising their clients cut off ties with their parents in instances where their clients feel that their parents’ weaknesses or failures are a key reason for their own personal struggles. It states:

Proponents of the trend hold that advising patients to consider a cutoff from a close relative or spouse they deem toxic or unsupportive can protect their mental health and allow for emotional growth. Meanwhile, critics—many of whom are researchers who have studied relationships for decades—say that it encourages self-centeredness and self-delusion and ruins families.

Most therapists agree that sometimes people are justified in breaking ties with their parents or a close relative, especially if they were physically or emotionally abusive.

What’s changing now is the bar for what is deemed abusive enough for a cutoff. “We are in a culture where we emphasize fragility, everything becomes trauma, and the solution increasingly is to split and leave,” says William Doherty, a therapist and professor emeritus of family social science at the University of Minnesota who has researched the ways that therapy may be harmful. “But it should be the tragic exception that you cut off a parent or loved one, not business as usual in therapy.”

This trend is a symptom of an underlying, widespread problem about which Agur raises our awareness. He even says more about this problem in v. 17.

The eye that mocks his father, and scorns obedience to his mother, the ravens of the valley will pick it out, and the young eagles will eat it.

“Mocks” means to “make fun of” and “scorns to obey” means to “have deep, strong negative feelings about one’s duty.” In this case, it describes a person who makes fun of his parents and who is deeply repulsed by any sense of obligation to his parents.

When a person tolerates this sort of attitude towards his parents, he should not be surprised when he faces an uncomfortable, unfortunate death and receives no honor or respect from others. That’s what “ravens and eagles eating his eyes” describes, a person who dies, and his corpse is left abandoned in the field, with no one to bury him or honor his memory. People who dishonor may feel justified in the present but in the end, in the future, their disrespect for their parents will come back to haunt them.

A wise person takes note of hypocritical tendencies and people.

There is a generation that is pure in its own eyes, yet is not washed from its filthiness.

This second proverb raises awareness of hypocritical tendencies and people. The symptoms and warning signs are rather obvious, which in this case is ironic. The symptoms are “filthiness,” which alludes to the vomit of a drunken person (Isa 28:8) or to human feces and waste (2 Kgs 18:27; Isa 36:12). Have you ever interacted with a person who never showers and who never cleans themselves after using the toilet? Have you ever spent time with a person who vomits all over themselves but never changes clothes?

But the problem here is not poor hygiene but an extreme lack of self-awareness and self-reflection. The problem is that such a person is “clean” in her own eyes – she thinks that she is okay. This means that she has a false sense of being good before God and others when, in fact, she is quite the opposite. In v. 20, Agur says more about this problem:

This is the way of an adulterous woman: she eats and wipes her mouth, and says, “I have done no wickedness.”

Here, he describes a person who engages in immoral behavior, then moves on with life as if everything is okay. No big deal. Such a person, to use terminology from Paul, has a “seared conscience” (1 Tim 4:2), or as Paul specifically says, people whose consciences have been “seared with a hot iron.” Their moral sensitivity is so dull or desensitized that they can commit egregious sin and with zero remorse and think they’re doing fine.

This activity describes much of the entertainment (esp. so-called “adult” entertainment) industry today. It describes those who promote and participate in abortions, sex-change procedures, promiscuous dating, human trafficking, illicit drug dealing, and more. It especially describes those who participate and are complicit in such things with no guilt or remorse.

So, it goes without saying that we should beware of tendencies and people like this in your life and avoid them. That’s what a wise person will do. They will look for the signs and symptoms and take steps to sensitive their conscience by training it with God’s Word and not befriending or engaging with people who behave this way.

Her house is the way to hell, descending to the chambers of death. (Prov 7:27)

Don’t let a calloused or seared conscience deceive or fool you. Participating in egregious and immoral sin is no light matter, nor is it harmless. Not only will you experience painful, serious consequences eventually in this life that you cannot control, you will – as like disrespectful people – very likely face a painful, unfortunate, dishonorable death, likely dying before the usual time. A wise person will acknowledge this and turn away.

A wise person takes note of arrogant tendencies and people.

There is a generation—oh, how lofty are their eyes! And their eyelids are lifted up.

This third proverb raises awareness about tendencies and people who are arrogant, people with “lofty eyes” and “highly lifted eyelids.” Another way to describe these people is that they walk around with their nose stuck up in the air, looking down on others and expecting everyone else to look up to them.

Sometimes young people have a reputation for being this way. Employers, for instance, complain about teenagers and college students entering the workforce expecting everyone to give them special treatment in the same way or better than people who’ve been in the workforce for a long time are treated.

While this may be a trend, it’s not a new problem, nor is it limited to “young people these days.” There are people like this in every stage of life and at every time in history. I like to describe this problem as “taking yourself too seriously.”

Earlier in Proverbs, King Solomon said this to his son Rehoboam:

Surely, he [God] scorns the scornful, but gives grace to the humble. (Prov 3:34)

Then both Paul and Peter repeat this truth in the NT, saying:

God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. (Jam 4:6; 1 Pt 5:5)

Solomon also said:

“Six things the Lord hates, yes, seven are an abomination to him: a proud look …” (Prov 6:16)

Friends, arrogance is not a minor, respectable, tolerable sin. It is a serious sin that must be noticed and avoided. Signs of this tendency in your life can include:

• Being quick to speak and interrupt but not quick or serious about listening.
• Taking credit quickly but taking blame and responsibility rarely and reluctantly.
• Wanting to be served but not volunteering for service.
• Only serving when it gives a sense of importance and recognition, believing that some jobs are “beneath you.”
• Expecting people to obey rules while ignoring them yourself.
• Never saying ‘thank you.’
• Being easily offended when you are not thanked or acknowledged.
• Dismissive body language.

If you notice these symptoms in your life, then let me encourage you to humble yourself before God.

Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. Better to be of a humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud. (Prov 16:18-19)

If you don’t, then as with disrespect, destruction and humiliation will be in your future. That’s why a wise person will learn to be aware of this problem before he travels too far down this road.

A wise person takes note of predatory tendencies and people.

There is a generation whose teeth are like swords, and whose fangs are like knives, to devour the poor from off the earth, and the needy from among men.

This fourth proverb raises awareness about tendencies and people who take advantage of other people. And by taking four lines to give this warning rather than only two lines, as with the previous three warnings, Agur indicates that he views this as an especially serious problem.

He describes these people as having “teeth” and “fangs,” which pictures them as “a hungry, wild animal that tears the flesh of its prey with its sharp teeth” (Reyburn and Fry). But he mixes this animal analogy with a more human analogy when he mentions “swords” and “knives,” which are weapons people use for injuring and killing other people.

While people who commit violence may be included in this problem, that does not seem to be the emphasis that Agur is making. First, he focuses on the teeth of these people, that is to say, their mouths. Through their words, they cause damage and take advantage of other people.

Furthermore, Agur focuses upon a certain kind of person as their victims. They don’t just target anyone indiscriminately. They target defenseless, helpless, hurting, needy people. In other words, these people routinely take advantage of people in need.

Today, people like this include the people behind fraud schemes and scams, people who befriend lonely, insecure people to manipulate and use them, religious teachers who exploit for money people with spiritual needs, payday lenders, bosses or employers who take advantage of desperate workers by underpaying and overworking them, and politicians who use people’s suffering as a means for their own advancement.

Predatory people are those who smell weakness the way a wild animal smells blood; they use words, systems, relationships, money, or influence to take from people who are already poor, needy, wounded, or defenseless.

To borrow language from Paul again, we should “mark and avoid” people like this in our lives, unless we have some obligation or opportunity to influence them for Christ (Rom 16:17-18). This means that when we encounter these things in our lives – whether internally or around us – we should take note and do what we can to remove it from with in and avoid it from without.

And if symptoms of these tendencies are present in your own life, be wise, repent, turn to Christ for forgiveness and cleansing. Then get into the Word and into accountable Christian relationships in the church to turn those tendencies and behaviors around.

Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. (Jam 5:16)

In Prov 30:12, we were made aware of a person who presumed herself to be washed clean from sin and guilt even though they were not. So, how are we truly cleansed?

We are truly cleansed only one way: by the saving work of Jesus applied to us through repentance and faith. Scripture tells us to the blood of Jesus alone is what cleanses us from our sin in the sight of God.

How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? (Heb 9:14)

As we come to the Lord’s Table, we remember that cleansing is not achieved claiming to be “pure in our own eyes” (Prov 30:12). Cleansing comes when we confess our sin honestly, trust the sacrifice of Christ fully, and submit our hearts to his ongoing work of grace.

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 Jn 1:9)

In a moment, as we take the bread and cup, may we together thank God that Christ’s body was broken, and his blood was poured out to wash us clean from our sins.

Discussion Questions

• What are “respectable sins?”
  • How are “respectable sins” like a mold-infested house versus a house on fire?
  • What are some obvious societal sins which can be easy to be critical of in some ways?
  • What are some less obvious personal sins which are easy to hide?
• What are the biblical problems with the therapeutic trend to cut people off? Especially when it comes to parents?
• How does hypocrisy happen according to 1 Timothy 4:2?
  • What are some ways we can avoid being a hypocritical person by dealing with sin in our own lives?
• What are some arrogant tendencies with which you are tempted?
• How does harsh language about sin in the scripture help us to experience God’s grace?

Proverbs 30:10, 21-23

In one of Shakespeare’s lesser-known plays called Troilus and Cressida, there is a scene in which Greek generals debate why it was taking so long to defeat the armies of Troy. After seven years of war, they had made no progress. Two generals suggest a noble, positive explanation, that they are being delayed by the gods as a test of their endurance and strength. But a third general, Ulysses, suggests a negative, self-reflective answer – that they are delayed due to an internal failure which we may call a “crisis of degree.”

In the phrase, “a crisis of degree,” crisis refers to a breakdown or failure, and degree to social order and hierarchy. Put together, this refers to a breakdown in social order.

Ulysses described this problem by using the solar system as an illustration. Thanks to gravity, planets are made to orbit the sun and moons orbit the planets. And as in an orchestra, for all the instruments to play well together, instruments are divided into sections, each led by a first chair player, each of which is led by a single conductor.

In a similar way, God has designed society to function with a particular order. Homes orbit around husbands and fathers, governments around kings, presidents, prime ministers, and governing documents, churches are led by pastors, armies are led by generals, and businesses are led by bosses.

According to Shakespeare, this was the reason why the Greek army was failing to conquer Troy – they had become internally and systemically weak. They were not effective because they did not follow proper order and degree. Leaders were not taking responsibility for leading and everyone else was refusing to follow. He even names patricide as a symptom of their problem, which is when children kill their fathers.

Degree enables generational progress and stability. It allows people to find their place, and (potentially) to move up. Fathers can hand off the family business to the son. Soldiers can rise from privates to sergeants to captains. The student becomes a professor … Degree preserves order while allowing for change and transition. But in the absence of Degree, envy and rivalry are cataclysmically released until total antagonism reduces us to appetite and self-devouring. (Joe Rigney)

Rigney goes on to summarize what Ulysses said about a crisis of degree:

“A breakdown of authority across the various spheres of society; a cascade of bitter rivalries and envy, mirror images of each other; and multiplying accusations, blame-shifting, and scapegoating.”

Like the Greek army, our society is facing a crisis of degree. This didn’t occur overnight but is the result of many men and leaders over time refusing to take responsibility and lead with courage and strength. This happens when men guilty, lazy, or selfish and can often occur under the guise of being nice. But no matter how or why it happens, whenever it happens there is a resulting rise in aggression, anxiety, and disorder throughout society.

The verses we are looking at today point out some ways that people behave when there is a crisis of degree. We can look at these biblical observations not only to assess the condition of our own society but to assess whether we are encouraging or tolerating any of these attitudes or behaviors in our own hearts and in our own spheres of influence and responsibility – at home, church, or otherwise.

As we look at these observations, we can see a shared theme, that we should understand our place in God’s social order and should respect that place, both for ourselves and for others. We should do our part to encourage, maintain, and strengthen the divine order that God has established.

We should respect a person’s professional reputation.

Do not malign a servant to his master, lest he curse you, and you be found guilty. (Prov 30:10)

Here we see the need to respect a person’s professional reputation and their relationship with their employer. In this scenario, the servant is dependent on their employer. Their master (employer) provides their income and housing. Without this arrangement, the servant will have nothing to live by and no place to live, both for himself and for his family.

The problem occurs when a third party, such as yourself, maligns a servant to his master. Malign means to “slander” or “say damaging things about another person.” The assumption here is that the things you say are either at worse, false, at best, unproven, or else – as a third option – irrelevant.

Why would a person do this to another person? Sometimes out of envy, because they resent another person’s position or success. Sometimes out of revenge, because they want the other person to pay for some perceived wrong, real or imagined. Sometimes for self-promotion, believing that tearing another person down will somehow lift themselves up. And sometimes because they are careless with words, repeating suspicions, rumors, or irrelevant criticisms without considering the damage they may cause.

Whatever the case, this kind of behavior inserts you into another person’s affairs, with potentially damaging consequences both for them and yourself. For them, they may lose their job and livelihood, may lose their reputation, and may lose the ability to get new work, too. For you, they may pray for justice (“curse you”) and you will suffer in some undesirable ways as a result of God’s disciplinary intervention in your life.

Listen to what the NT has to say about this.

We urge you, brethren, that you increase more and more; that you also aspire to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you … (1 Ths 4:10-11)

Let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as a busybody [meddler] in other people’s matters. (1 Pt 4:15)

Notice how Peter places meddling in the same group of sins as murder and theft. What do these three things have in common? They disrupt God’s moral and social order. Next, we move on to Prov 30:21-23, verses which continue this theme even more strongly.

We should respect God’s established social order.

These three verses give four prime examples of what happens in society when there is a crisis of degree. Agur claims that these things make “the earth perturbed,” which means to make the earth quake, shake, or tremble. He also claims that they prevent the earth from “bearing up,” or from standing.

While this may cause you to imagine an earthquake, it refers not to the physical earth but to the earth filled with people – God’s created social order. In other words, these four things shake up God’s social order and make it unable to stay intact. These four behaviors and phenomena, when permitted to spread, cause a crisis of degree, bringing chaos and disorder to society. When tolerated, society crumbles.

Social climbers undermine divine order.

For a servant when he reigns (30:22)

This seems to refer to a specific situation, because sometimes servants make excellent leaders. Consider Joseph in Genesis, for instance, who was promoted from a servant in prison to the leader of Egypt. And consider Daniel, who was promoted from a servant to the king to the de facto leader of the Babylonian Empire.

The situation in view would be when a royal advisor or servant to a government leader usurps the leader through betrayal, blackmail, influence, and intrigue. We may call people like this “scheming social climbers,” and they exist at all levels of our government today. They also exist in other places, too, such as at work and school.

People like this, like the senators of Rome who killed Julius Caesar and like the assassins of President’s Lincoln and Kennedy, undermine God’s established social order. And this doesn’t happen through assassination only. It can happen through blackmail and many other schemes.

But to understand God’s order for society, we must understand that “God removes kings and raises up kings” (Dan 2:21). We should not use questionable means to help God out but should rather trust his own divine process. As Christ himself taught:

Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted. (Mt 23:12)

Beware of social climbers who use questionable tactics to gain positions of power and certainly don’t be such a person yourself.

Well-fed fools undermine divine order.

A fool when he is filled with food (30:22)

This is another kind of person who undermines God’s established moral and social order. This is a foolish person, a person who lacks common sense and moral sense, who consistently makes selfish, unwise choices. Such a person should not be “filled with food.” Compare this to what Paul says in 1 Ths 3:10-12:

If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat. For we hear that there are some who walk among you in a disorderly manner, not working at all, but are busybodies. Now those who are such we command and exhort through our Lord Jesus Christ that they work in quietness and eat their own bread.

To be sure, we should feed the poor. Doing so is a divine mandate from God. But we should not feed – or at least feed sumptuously – a person who’s a fool. It’s one thing to feed a person who cannot work, but it’s another thing to feed a person who can but won’t.

When we subsidize foolish people, we upend God’s social order. We lead people to believe wrongly that God blesses foolishness. And by doing so, we subsidize and promote an ungodly lifestyle. Fools who would persuade no one to their cause or way of life or who would otherwise die end up living, living well, building a platform, and influencing others to their ungodly perspective and way of life.

We should evaluate our welfare system in light of this warning. Does feeding the poor require us to feed foolish lifestyles? Should foolish people have equal opportunities to thrive alongside honest, hard-working people who take responsibility for their life and the people under their care?

We should also evaluate our own church and personal charitable giving. Paul helps us to do this very thing in 1 Tim 3:3-16:

Honor widows who are really widows. But if any widow has children or grandchildren, let them first learn to show piety at home and to repay their parents; for this is good and acceptable before God. Now she who is really a widow, and left alone, trusts in God and continues in supplications and prayers night and day. But she who lives in pleasure is dead while she lives. And these things command, that they may be blameless. But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. Do not let a widow under sixty years old be taken into the number, and not unless she has been the wife of one man, well reported for good works: if she has brought up children, if she has lodged strangers, if she has washed the saints’ feet, if she has relieved the afflicted, if she has diligently followed every good work. But refuse the younger widows; for when they have begun to grow wanton against Christ, they desire to marry, having condemnation because they have cast off their first faith. And besides they learn to be idle, wandering about from house to house, and not only idle but also gossips and busybodies, saying things which they ought not. Therefore I desire that the younger widows marry, bear children, manage the house, give no opportunity to the adversary to speak reproachfully. For some have already turned aside after Satan. If any believing man or woman has widows, let them relieve them, and do not let the church be burdened, that it may relieve those who are really widows.

These are difficult principles to follow because they can seem to contradict our values of generosity, love, and being nice. But when we support foolishness lifestyles and make no difference in our giving between vice and virtue, we end up undermining God’s moral and social order, causing a crisis of degree in the name of being nice. No matter how noble our motives may be, if we subsidize foolish people, we weaken our society, our church, and our own personal lives. This is one of four things that undermines God’s order.

Bitter women undermine divine order.

A hateful woman when she is married (30:22)

The word hateful here is translated as “odious” or “bitter” by other translations and it describes a woman who harbors feelings of resentment and refuses to let them go. The book of Proverbs has a lot of things to say about women, esp. married women / wives, like this. In other places, Proverbs speaks about the following kinds of wives:

• Angry: easily provoked, emotionally volatile (Prov 21:19)
• Contentious: prone to arguing, conflict, and strife (Prov 19:13; 21:9, 19; 25:24)
• Destructive: tears down her home (Prov 14:1)
• Loud: boisterous, attention seeking, noisy (Prov 7:11; 9:13)
• Nagging: compared to a “continual dripping” (Prov 19:13)
• Scheming: lying in wait (Prov 7:12-15)
• Seductive: manipulative, morally destructive (Prov 5:3; 7:21)
• Stubborn: refusing correction (Prov 29:1)
• Unrestrained: “her feet do not stay at home” (Prov 7:11)
• Vexing: causes grief and frustration (Prov 19:13)
• Wayward: rebellious, leaving covenant boundaries (Prov 7:11-12)

At the root of these problems is a bitter, dissatisfied heart that may be described as “hateful,” which means to look down on others and value oneself over them. When such women marry, they undermine God’s social order by turning their marriage and home into a struggle rather than a delight, a place of pain and sorrow rather than of happiness and peace. This may be a difficult warning to give and receive, but not to give it only increases our crises of degree. We need to teach these things to preserve and uphold God’s established order. Society crumbles when the voices of bitter women prevail.

Homewreckers undermine divine order.

A maidservant who succeeds her mistress (30:22)

At first, this warning may seem mild and less important than the others. But by placing it fourth, Agur actually gives it the greater emphasis. This warning is not speaking against a maid who receives a rightful inheritance or promotion from her mistress (or female supervisor). Instead, it warns against women who literally “displace” or “drive away” their mistress through blackmail, intrigue, seduction, and scandal.

Numerous commentators point out a leading culprit of this kind of woman, which is seducing her mistress’s husband, causing a divorce and other similar problems. Proverbs calls this kind of woman immoral, seductive, and strange – and woman like this through all sorts of means today are undermining God’s divine order for marriage, family, and society. The order of our world cannot stand when women like this roam free. Such behavior cannot be tolerated.

How should we respond to a message like this? How can we apply this basic wisdom to our lives? First, we should carefully and honestly evaluate our own lives. Do we tolerate any of these attitudes, tendencies, or behaviors in our own lives?

If so, what can we do to eliminate and reverse them? To do this, we must name our sins to God and repent of them clearly, receiving his full forgiveness through Christ. Then, we must put together a gameplan to know what God’s Word teaches about his established order so that we can commit ourselves to following that order by faith in him. Doing so is not comfortable or convenient, but it is right. We may also need to establish a close relationship with another brother or sister in Christ to provide accountability and support.

Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, for he has no one to help him up … and a threefold cord is not quickly broken. (Eccl 4:9-12)

Second, we must commit ourselves to reestablishing God’s order however we can. We can do this by teaching other’s God’s ways, engaging in thoughtful but courageous conversations with people who need to learn God’s way. Husbands, fathers, and pastors especially have this responsibility. We must move on from blame-shifting and finger-pointing to taking responsibility lead and love with courage and grace.

• We should “stay in our lane,” pursue promotion at work through hard work and ethical means, trusting God to exalt us and keeping our nose and tongues out of other people’s affairs.
• We should choose our government leaders with greater scrutiny and spread accurate information about candidates to support leaders who are marked by ethical behavior and integrity.
• We should exercise more discernment in our charitable giving and the way we use our time to help others, choosing to assist and support people in genuine need rather than enabling foolish people.
• We should promote proper expectations for marriage. Fathers (and mothers) should involve themselves in helping their adult children choose godly spouses, not consenting to foolish choices. And unmarried men should only settle for marrying a committed, godly wife and nothing less.
• We should establish accountability and trust in marriage to prevent seduction and scandal. Husbands and wives should have access to each other’s financial records, computers and phones, travel plans, and more. Clear, open lines of communication and wise boundaries should be established, including in work-related matters, to prevent seductive people from driving them away from one another.

So, having looked at these observations, can you see the shared theme? We should understand our place in God’s social order and should respect that place, both for ourselves and for others. Furthermore, we should do our part to encourage, maintain, and strengthen the divine order that God has established, even if doing so requires courage.

In conclusion, we must ask ourselves honestly: am I strengthening God’s order, or am I weakening it? Am I using my words to protect another person’s reputation, or to damage it? Am I pursuing advancement through humility, diligence, and trust in God, or through envy and manipulation? Am I showing generosity with discernment, or am I enabling foolishness? Am I cultivating peace and faithfulness in my home, or am I feeding bitterness, contention, and secrecy, opening a door to scandal through negligence?

The only right response to these questions is not to point our finger at someone else but to bow before Jesus in prayer. We should confess the ways we’ve meddled, envied, gossiped, enabled, resented, schemed, or neglected our own responsibilities. We should receive the forgiveness God gives through Christ, then return to the places he assigns us with renewed humility, courage, and love. If we do this, we will no longer undermine God’s established order for the world but help reestablish his order and point people to him.

The Greek armies I mentioned from Shakespeare’s play eventually did defeat Troy, but only by finding another way. They could not overcome their enemy through ordinary strength because their own ranks were weakened by disorder. So, they found another solution, entering the city from inside the Trojan Horse.

But as followers of Christ, we have something far better. We don’t need a Trojan Horse to solve the problem, because Christ himself dwells within us. By his Spirit, we can face the negligence, envy, disorder, and sin within our own hearts with honesty and courage. We can repent. We can change. We can return to our place before God with joy.

Christ himself shows us the way. Though he is Lord of all, he humbled himself, took the form of a servant, and obeyed the Father (Phil 2:5-11). He did not seek glory through selfish tactics but received it through faithful obedience. And now he calls us to follow him, not by grasping for places God has not given us, and not by refusing the responsibilities he has given us, but by serving faithfully where he places us until he exalts us in his time.

May God give us homes, churches, workplaces, and communities strengthened by people who know their place before him: leaders who lead with righteousness, followers who follow with humility, workers who work with integrity, spouses who keep their marriage covenant with joy, and believers who speak and serve in ways that preserve rather than destroy the order God made. We don’t need a Trojan Horse. We have Christ.

Discussion Questions

• In the phrase, “a crisis of degree,” crisis refers to a breakdown or failure, and degree to social order and hierarchy. Put together, this refers to a breakdown in social order. Have you ever experienced a crisis of degree?
• What were the motives for slandering another person mentioned in the sermon?
  • How do these contrast with how God wants us to use our speech?
• Read Matt 23:12. Who is doing the exalting of the humble?
  • What does it look like to humbly submit to God’s order while pursuing advancement?
• How can we apply Proverbs 30:22 to our public policy?
  • What about our church’s and personal charitable giving?
• How can the church help women to avoid becoming a “hateful” wife?
• What are some ways that men can prevent allowing a homewrecker to ruin their marriage?
• How did Christ seek glory?
  • What are some real-life opportunities for us to follow his example?

Prov 30:7-9

Introduction
To Robert Selig, George Washington's victory at Yorktown, aided by French General Rochambeau, was the pivotal point in the American War for Independence. 1980 was a bad year for the Continental army, and their financial woes were coming to a head.
Washington's army was on the brink of collapse, and so, as Selig records, he wrote, “We are at the end of our tether, and . . . now or never our deliverance must come.” Just a few days before Washington wrote that to a comrade, French ships set sail for the colonies to help them. Later in September, Washington asked the French for 26,600 Spanish dollars. By the end of October of that year, the Americans and their French allies had forced the surrender of General Cornwallis at Yorktown, and turned the tide of the war.

Washington recognized his army needed help, and he needed help. Reportedly, he was reluctant to let the French troops help them on the battlefield, but later did allow them to do so. Without his willingness to receive help, the war would not have likely been won.
George Washington recognize his situation was dire, and depended upon others.
People face a far more dire situation today, and we must depend upon God for help.

Humble people pray to God dependently.
If you have been at Brookdale for the past few Sundays, then you have learned a lot about this man Augur from Proverbs 30. In fact, all that we know about him is found in these verses.

How would you describe Augur? What kind of person was he? Well, first of all, we notice that he was a truly humble man.

The vast majority of this book of wise sayings, or the Proverbs, was written by Solomon, the king of Israel. Solomon says, tells us that wisdom begins with the fear of the Lord. As Pastor Thomas preached a couple weeks ago, Augur says that wisdom begins with admitting how dumb you are. And really, Augur and Solomon are not different at all because after he admits how much he doesn't know, he compares himself to the one who does know everything. Humility is not merely lowering ourselves. It is lowering ourselves under God. The humble man deprecates himself only to show how great God is.

So, last week, we progressed through Augur's flow of thought. We don't know everything; God does know everything. Now, Augur tells us that God reveals his truth to us in His Word, which is fully reliable and certain.

This week, we take the next step. I don't know everything, God does, God communicates his knowledge to us in the Bible, and so what do we do? We ask God for his help.
True humility results in a dependence upon God/dependence.

We may say that we are humble. We may have perfect theology (we don't), but if we are not like Augur, without moving from our beliefs about God to prayer to God, are we truly humble?

Did you ever marvel at a bird feeder as a child? You set this food out, and after some time, maybe even a few days, birds start showing up. And they keep showing up. There's a member of our church who has his own kind of mobile bird feeder. In fact, the birds basically view him as the feeder. He walks around his neighborhood, culling rabbits. When he finds one, he tosses it to the crows. Now, when this man goes for a walk, the crows follow!

Here's the difference between us and crows: the crows go where the food is. They have no shame. They are happy to have someone give them what they need. And their knowledge of where the food can be found results in action. We are either too self-dependent or lazy to be like the crows.

Peter recognized thin his first letter to the church at large.

Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. 1 Peter 5:6–7

And Peter takes it a step further: He cares for you. Our God is not a cosmic bird feeder. He is a person who loves and cares for us.

There may be some exceptions to this rule, but who is the one person in the world to whom you might go to for help more than anyone else? Your father whom you know loves you and cares for you.

Are you depending on God in prayer? Are you humble enough to seek his help? Prayer is the place where doctrine turns to practice. He is a good God who wants to be there for his children.

So Augur's view of himself, and his view of God cause him to depend upon God in prayer. He asks God for help. What does he ask God for?

The first thing he asks for is to be kept from deceit.

Now, what does it mean to be kept from deceit? Does he mean that he wants God to help him tell the truth, to not tell lies himself? Or, does he mean to keep him from being lied to?
Well, I'm gonna level with you. I can't be sure. I can give you my sanctified and (modestly) informed opinion, but I think that is beyond the point.

If he means, he wants God's help to rightly respond when he is lied to, then he is talking about how easy it is for us to be deceived by money and the way the world views it. We so easily are tricked into believing that money will make our lives better. Whether we have too much or too little, we think that more money means more happiness. This is a lie! So he is asking for God to preserve and protect him.

If he means, he wants God's help to not tell lies, is this a general request for all lies? No, it seems his request here is a further confession of his need for God. He is admitting he is weak and very well may tell lies, and his concern is primarily about money and meeting one's needs. How would he do this? By living lies when it comes to money. In order to tell lies by living them out, you have to believe them.

Whether he is talking about the deceit of riches and poverty, or from being a liar himself about riches and poverty, either way, he is admitting that he himself can be deceived. And therefore...

Everyone can be deceived.
Whoever is doing the deceiving, Augur is doubling down in his humility and his dependence upon God. He is admitting that he is vulnerable and needs God's help, especially when it comes to finances.

and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. Mark 4:19

And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” Matthew 19:24

For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. 1 Timothy 6:10

Scripture is clear about the complexity and danger that money brings to our lives. There is real peril, or mortal danger when it comes to money. Augur is saying, "When it comes to money, I do not have it all figured out. And even when I might have part of it figured out, I can be deceived."

According to the Scriptures, a humble person recognizes, I can be deceived by this. I cannot handle this on my own, and I must be careful about this matter.

This is a crucial aspect of humility, recognizing how susceptible we are to sin. And this susceptibility is for life:
"Deprive me not before I die..." (vs. 7)

Augur is not giving his final wish. He is saying, I need this for the rest of my life. As we get older, at least in our society, we typically have more money. We tend to be able to sustain higher standards of living, and a lot of the time our net worth increases. We have less expenses, and can use our wealth to make more money! The temptation may be in that stage of life to think that we are passed needing any help when it comes to money. That is not how Augur feels.

Whether you are young or old, poor or rich, Augur says there is a real danger to money. We must ask for God's help to not be deceived by money. Instead, we must go to the Word! This is why the sufficiency of God's Word is so crucial for us to practice! The only way to combat lies is to know the truth. God cannot answer Augur's prayer for protection from lies unless he is working to know the truth himself.

This humble dependence upon God that Augur demonstrates by his prayerfulness and his confession of weakness is a model for us, not just when it comes to finances, but in every area of sin, especially those that are tricky or devious.

If we had a child watch you, and they saw your attitude and could hear your prayers, how dangerous would they think sin is? How convinced would they be that you have specific and deadly weaknesses?

Or, based on your life, would they think, oh, sin is no big deal?

You ever watch someone pull out one of those pill organizers? How careful and detailed they are? How serious do they take those health conditions? How dangerous do they believe their weaknesses are?

I like to think that I am good at situational awareness. I want to appear as if I am good at reading the room, and doing what is appropriate. I think we often lack situational awareness because we think we can handle temptation.

Have you ever thought about that part of the Lord's prayer? As a kid, I did. I thought, isn't a good thing to be strong? Shouldn't we pray to handle temptation better? Well, that's not how the Bible views it primarily. (1 Cor 10:13; 2 Tim 2:22)

This why Paul says to mortify, or KILL these things "which are on the earth, fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry." (Col 3:5-7)

You can't handle it. You're not that guy, pal.

1. Ask for God's help to know your particular areas of weakness.
2. Ask for God's help to not believe the lies of sin, especially in your areas of weakness.
3. Seek and give help in these things from and to the church.

Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; but exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. Hebrews 3:12–13

Augur couples his wisdom about God, himself, and the truth with a hatred for sin, and so he asks God for help in defeating it. Now, let us look at the rest of this prayer in earnest.

Wisdom prioritizes personal godliness over material prosperity.
Tim Keller, author of Counterfeit Gods, a book about idolatry, taught that there were multiple tests to see what your idols are. One of them, he said was that he would ask the person he was counseling about this, "What are your greatest nightmares? What keeps you up at night?"

As we have seen, one of Augur's greatest nightmares is having too much or too little money. Well, I think many many people can identify with one of those nightmares, having too little money. But that one monster under the bed often isn't scary to us for the same reason that it was to Augur.

The reason that monster (which was inside of him, not outside) was scary was because of this:
Lest I be full and deny you
and say, “Who is the LORD?”
or lest I be poor and steal
and profane the name of my God. Proverbs 30:9

Wow! Can you imagine the kind of person that would make this request? Do we often think about the ideal amount of money and ideal standard of living being just enough to keep us humble and dependent upon God?

He wanted just the right amount to make him worshipful, and to keep him from temptation.
Many of us just want more! But Augur uses his theology as a lens to view all of life. He only wants money and possessions to help him be content in God.

While I think the primary temptation for most of us is to sin when it comes to wanting too much, Augur also says he wants to not have too little. I want to ask a question, why does he say not too little? Is there really temptation in that?

Another way to ask this is:
Are poverty and persecution ideal for Christianity?

For kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. 1 Timothy 2:2

Does a quiet and peaceful life, dignified in every way sound like impoverished ostracization? It talking about our life circumstances, not inner peace, although that is addressed elsewhere in scripture. The prosperity of Western civilization has, especially in the past, been a good thing. Money and societal stability have been blessings God has given through the Protestant tradition, and we experience those blessings in our church and the Fargo-Moorhead community. We need to prioritize godliness over prosperity, but don't fall into the ditch of believing that poverty is inherently virtuous. Trust in the Lord to give you what you need, and pray far more for deliverance from temptation than deliverance from Walmart.

We often hear of how Christianity is thriving in persecuted places. And we praise the Lord. We're thankful to God for the testimonies we hear from people we know about such places.

Conclusion
In closing, I want to tell you a fairy tale story. It's called, Augur-locks and the three friends. He goes to visit his friends, Peter, Matthew, and Bert.

Peter's house is too big, Matthew's house is too small, but Bert's house is just right. Why? Because it is just the right size for Augur-locks to think about living in his father's house for all eternity and help others do the same.

Peter's car is too luxurious, Matthew's car is too dumpy and breaks down too much, but Bert's car is just right. Why? Because it helps him to focus on the good responsibilities he has to travel to do in the car, and bringing others to good places too.

Peter's clothes are too flashy and impractically extravagant, Matthew's clothes are too tattered and dingy, but Bert's clothes are just right. Why? Because they keep him warm and appropriate for the settings he goes into to do what he needs to do, and they are durable enough to keep him focused on what he needs to do.

By the grace of God in Jesus, be thankful for what God has given you, and strive and pray to be like Bert.

Discussion Questions

• What is a specific time in your life when you finally had to admit you couldn't complete a task alone and had to ask someone for help?
• What are some everyday signs that we are acting too self-dependent or lazy to go to God for our daily needs?
• What does neglect in killing (or totally removing) sin from our lives say about our belief in our own strength?
• How would your daily habits and routines change if you took your spiritual weaknesses just as seriously?
• What are some of the lies you might believe about money?
  • What about other areas of temptation?
• What are some specific, practical ways to prioritize spiritual growth over material success?

Proverbs 30:5-6

Last week, we learned from Prov 30:1-4 that true wisdom begins when we humbly admit how little we know before God. Agur introduced this chapter of wisdom in Proverbs not by describing himself as a knowledgeable person worth listening to, as how a book author promotes his credentials on the back cover of his book, but by doing the opposite. He confesses his limitations in both a shocking and unimpressive way by saying he knew less than any other person and was, in fact, as knowledgeable as an animal.

When we consider the vastness of creation, from the smallest details under a microscope to the immeasurable expanse of the universe seen through a telescope, we see that human knowledge is incredibly small compared to God’s infinite knowledge and wisdom. When compared to the wisdom of God, it is as though we know nothing at all.

Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out! (Rom 11:33)

Agur also showed us that a truly wise person not only acknowledges that he knows nothing before God, but he lets his great limitations turn him to faith and trust in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who is the wisdom of God. When we trust in Jesus and submit completely to him as God and Savior, we know the One who knows all things.

We’re probably curious to hear whatever Agur has to say next, right? What kind of wisdom will he share with us in the next twenty-nine verses? The first thing he says follows immediately and of necessity from these opening thoughts. Since we know nothing and God knows everything, a wise person will choose to trust in God’s Word.

God’s Word is reliable.

Leading influencers in United States history recognized this. Signers of our Constitution and the Bill of Rights recognized this.

John Adams said, “The Bible contains the most profound philosophy, the most perfect morality, and the most refined policy that ever was conceived upon earth.” James Madison said, “The Holy Scriptures are the best guide for moral instruction.” And George Washington said, “It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible.”

If you’re going to trust in something, you need to know it’s reliable. That’s why you research vehicle ratings before buying a car, check restaurant reviews before you go out to eat, or verify the credentials of a doctor before choosing them as your physician. So, what about God’s Word, the Bible? Is it just a collection of myths and religious fairy tales? Or is it reliable and true? Agur says, “Every word of God is pure.”

To understand this statement, we must first know what each word means. “Word” refers to individual words and to groups of words, we call statements. “Of God” restricts this statement to words and statements that come from God, but then “every” broadens this statement to include every word or statement that God has spoken, not just some of them.

Finally, this statement claims that everything that God has ever said is “pure.” This word means “purified” as in “smelted” or “refined.” It speaks of the process by which a metal worker removes elements from metal by heating it at increasingly higher temperatures. The result of this process is a metal that consists of only one element or substance. No matter how hot or how many times you heat it, no more impurities will rise to the surface.

By saying this, Agur is saying something very helpful, though at first it may seem unnecessary. First, it may seem unnecessary since he has already explained that God is all knowing and all wise. If he is all knowing and all wise, why would we question the value or reliability of what he says? Unfortunately, we are sinful people who not only question what God says but that God exists at all.

To counter this problem, Agur points out that God’s Word has never been wrong. It has a perfect, 5-star record, a clean history, and has never once been wrong. First, this is true from a historical standpoint. There are many examples of people and places mentioned in Scripture with no external evidence to support their existence. Yet, time after time, archeologists have unearthed evidence that verifies what the Bible has said for centuries.

• Historians used to believe the Hittite Empire was fictional, but now there are thousands of inscriptions and ruins in Turkey which prove its existence.
• Historians doubted Jericho’s miraculous destruction, but excavations have revealed walls that collapsed outward and remnants of a burnt city, as Joshua 6 describes.
• Pontius Pilate was once viewed as a fictitious person until a stone inscription unearthed in Caesarea confirmed his existence and title, just as Lk 3:1 describes.

Many other examples like this could be given. My favorite, though, is the testimony of Sir William Ramsey, an accomplished archaeologist and historian at the turn of the 20th century. He began his career as a skeptic who adamantly believed the book of Acts was historically false. To prove his theory, he spent decades traveling Asia Minor (Turkey), excavating ancient cities, studying inscriptions, retracing Paul’s missionary routes.

Instead of finding errors, though, he repeatedly discovered that Luke’s geographical details, political titles, cultural descriptions, and historical references were accurate and precise, and he could find no exceptions. As a result, his research led him to conclude that not only was Luke “a historian of the first rank” but that Acts was a completely reliable book. Over time, the total archaeological evidence convinced him not only to accept the historical accuracy of Acts but to believe on Christ as his God and Savior.

But God’s Word is not only reliable in a factual, historical sense in that it is correct and true and never inaccurate or wrong. It is also reliable in a personal, practical sense, in that whenever we apply what God says to our lives and rely on it in the choices we make, it always proves to be true in this way, too. That’s what Agur means when he says, “He is a shield to those who put their trust in him.”

A “shield” is what you probably have in mind, a defensive piece of armor to protect a person from danger. We’re familiar with ancient shields, the kind Roman soldiers, Viking warriors, and medieval knights used, but we should also be familiar with and thankful for shields today, as well.

The vehicles we drive, for instance, have heat shields in various places to protect passengers and other parts of the car from the extreme heat the engine and other parts produce. Our vehicles also have windshields to protect us from oncoming wind, weather, and objects as we drive down the road at high speeds.

But even those shields aren’t completely reliable. We buy insurance for windshields because they get chipped, cracked, and even smashed. Heat shields get damaged, get loose and rattle, even fall off. And when heat shields fail, the vehicle can perform poorly and in worst case scenarios are at risk of fire.

So, how does this apply to the Word of God, the things that God has said? Unlike the other shields that humans design and use, God’s Word never fails. His promises always come to pass and the truth he speaks always proves to be true.

The last verse of this chapter is a clear example of how what God says is reliable. It says:

“For as the churning of milk produces butter, and wringing the nose produces blood, so the forcing of wrath produces strife” (Prov 30:33)

Three times this statement uses the word for “to twist” but we translate it as “to churn,” then “to wring,” then “to stir up.” If you twist an animal skin bag filled with milk you get butter, if you twist a person’s nose, you get blood, and if you twist or aggravate a person who is already angry, you will probably get punched in the nose or something similar. This is an example of reliable truth from God’s Word.

But just as simple truths like this are reliable, so are the more difficult truths, as well. Consider what Paul says in Philippians 4:12-13:

I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Here, God guarantees that whether you face financial needs or enjoy financial abundance, he gives wisdom and strength through Christ to respond well to your situation without being ruined, one way or the other. Do you believe this?

Anyone who has trusted in this promise and applied it faithfully to their life situation has never been disappointed by God. The key is to know what God says, to understand what God says, then to put your trust in what he says by doing what he says to do and relying on him to do what he said he would do, as well. Listen to how Paul explains this:

All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. (2 Tim 3:16)

“All Scripture” refers to everything that the sixty-six books of the Bible say. Theologians call this “verbal, plenary inspiration,” but it simply means that everything the Bible says is what God himself has to say, down to both every word and every statement. There are not parts of the Bible which are true and others which are not. It is all true and from God.

As a result, the whole Bible is helpful and useful for four things: doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness. “Doctrine” is knowing what is right. “Reproof” is knowing what is wrong. “Correction” is knowing how to fix what is wrong. And “Instruction in righteousness” is how to keep things right.

Friends, in God’s Word we have a perfectly reliable message from God himself, the One who is perfectly knowledgeable, understanding, and wise. It has a perfect and reliable track record and always proves to be true when we trust what it says in our lives. Do we treat it this way?

Patrick Henry, a signer of our Constitution, said, “I have trusted God, and I have never been disappointed.” John Jay said, “The Scriptures assure us that those who trust in God shall not be confounded.” Isaac Backus, a Baptist pastor in early colonial America said, “The Lord never disappoints the soul that rests upon His Word.”

This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. (Joshua 1:8-9)

You may know that this is the Scripture verse I put in birthday cards. I do this because it reminds us of how important and reliable God’s Word is to our every day lives. But God’s Word is not just perfectly reliable, in fact and in practice …

God’s Word is sufficient.

The word “sufficient” means “to be enough.” It describes a meal that leaves you full, an experience or relationship that makes you satisfied, and the amount of money it takes to purchase something. If a meal is not sufficient, you may look for more food somewhere else. If an experience or relationship leaves you dissatisfied, you may look for another experience or relationship that’s better. If you don’t have enough money to purchase something, you may need to get money from someone else or take out a loan.

But God’s wisdom in God’s Word is not this way. That’s why Agur says, “Do not add to His words, lest He rebuke you, and you be found a liar.” To say “do not add to His words” means there is never a need to add anything to what God says because what God says is good enough – it is sufficient, it is all that you need.

Both the Old and New Testaments make similar claims about God’s Word elsewhere:
Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it; you shall not add to it nor take away from it. (Deut 12:32)

… if anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life … (Rev 22:18)

There is a sense in which Dt 12:32, Prov 30:6, and Rev 22:18 function like a warning that appears at the beginning, middle, and end of the Bible. It is a warning not to make changes to what God has said.

These warnings do not mean if you recite a Bible verse and mistakenly add or forget a word that you’ll be in trouble with God. It also doesn’t mean if you are typing out a Bible verse and make a typo that you’ll be judged by God. I think you know this already.

These warnings are not about inadvertent memory or typo errors; they’re about deliberately altering what God has said by either disregarding or deleting something he has said or else adding or treating as equally important something else outside of what God has said. In Prov 30:6, Agur focuses exclusively on adding to God’s Word. How can we do this? I can think of at least seven ways:

• Empty, Secular Philosophy (Col 2:8) – here Paul warns against being “spoiled” through “philosophy and empty deceptions.”
• Extrabiblical Predictions (Dt 18:22) – here Moses warns against believing or making predictions about the future which God himself has not made.
• Legalism (Col 2:20-23) – here Paul warns against enforcing additional commands and rules which are not already clearly taught in Scripture.
• Man-Made Traditions (Col 2:8) – here Paul also warns against popular, repeated teachings and rituals which are not taught by Scripture.
• Personality Dependence (1 Cor 4:6) – here Paul warns against “going beyond what is written” in Scripture, treating whatever a person says as though it is equal to Scripture.
• Superficial Knowledge (1 Tim 6:20) – here Paul warns against following advice from people who claim to be experts but are not rooted in Scripture (“so called knowledge”).
• Supernatural Phenomenon (Col 2:18; 1 Tim 4:1) – here Paul warns against knowledge that comes from supernatural sources, like angels and demons.

Podcasts. YouTube channels. Talk shows. Newscasters. Popular preachers. Politicians. Social media influencers. New York Times best sellers. Pop musicians. Spiritual gurus. University professors. Psychologists and psychiatrists. Neighbors, classmates, friends. We have so many sources and voices of info to choose.

This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic … but the wisdom that is from above is first pure ... (Jam 2:15-17)

If we’re not careful, we add to what God says by internalizing and living out ideas, mantras, and wisdom that doesn’t come from him. When we do this, Agur warns that we will eventually be corrected and discover that we have either lied or been deceived. “Lest he rebuke you, and you be found a liar.”

Thankfully, we don’t need all these additional sources of knowledge to learn and live a life of faith with God.

His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. (2 Pt 1:4)

How would you describe your approach to God’s Word today? Do you treat it as the source of all knowledge and wisdom from God, reading and reflecting on it daily and applying it intentionally and rigorously to your choices and life? Or do you consider and consult it rarely, relying on all sorts of other sources of information, treating God’s Word as though it is not sufficient for life and godliness?

What sources of information do are “adding” to your view of God and life in a way that undermines the sufficiency of God’s Word in your life? What if treated God’s Word like we treat our cell phones?

• What if we carried it around in our pockets?
• What if we flipped or scrolled through it repeatedly every day?
• What if we panicked and turned back to go get it if we left it behind?
• What if we spent too long in the bathroom because we were reading it on the toilet?
• What if we treated it like we couldn’t live without it?

Makes you think about your priorities, right? Unlike the text messages, podcasts, newsfeeds, and videos on your cell phone, which you can never be quite sure are reliable, everything you need and everything you read in Scripture is always reliable.

When you build a life and make choices around wisdom apart from and outside of God’s Word, you will be certainly disappointed. Wisdom that is not rooted in God’s Word will ultimately prove to be false, whether you taught it to others or convinced yourself of it.

Throughout this sermon, I’ve quoted several key influencers from the founding of our nation. I’ve done this because we are celebrating our nation’s 250th anniversary. Our nation has been blessed by God because it was founded on the generally held belief that Scripture – the Bible, God’s Word – should be a guiding light to our nation and its laws.

You may be fascinated to know, though, that not all our founding fathers were Christians. Some were atheists or deists. Many were Anglicans and Puritans (Congregationalists). Some were of other beliefs. Those who were Anglicans and Puritans (and the few who were Catholics) believed in and practiced a “state church.”

You may also be fascinated to know that our Constitution did not guarantee religious freedom. To be sure, it laid the groundwork for religious freedom, but it did not make clear that religious freedom would be granted – leaving the door open for each state to enforce a state-mandated denomination.

But it was the influence of faithful Baptist pastors who ultimately influenced the Founding Fathers to ensure religious freedom as the first protection given in the Bill of Rights, which was instated several years after the Constitution.

Two of the most influential Baptist pastors in those days were Obadiah Holmes and John Leland, both Baptist pastors whose lives demonstrated what Agur teaches in Proverbs.

Obadiah Holmes upheld the reliability of God’s Word through courageous suffering. In 1651, he was publicly whipped in Boston for preaching the gospel and gathering believers to worship outside of the state‑mandated Puritan church. His back was horribly injured but his faith was unshaken. He later testified that during the beating, the Lord’s presence was so real to him that he was able to bear the pain. His refusal to deny Scripture or submit to a state church became one of the earliest examples in America of a believer suffering for the right to obey the Bible. It is well-documents that his story spread widely and influenced Founding Fathers like James Madison (Anglican) and Thomas Jefferson (theistic rationalist).

John Leland, another Baptist pastor, influenced the Founders through his own tireless efforts to uphold biblical authority. Leland tirelessly preached, wrote, and lobbied political leaders, especially James Madison, arguing that true faith must be free, never forced. He insisted that government must protect the liberty of conscience because God alone is Lord of the conscience and people must be free to respond to God’s Word for themselves by faith. Leland held a famous meeting with Madison in 1788 to secure Madison’s promise to include language within the Bill of Rights establishing religious freedom in all the States. Madison fulfilled that promise by drafting what became the First Amendment, ensuring that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”

Together, Holmes’s suffering and Leland’s persuasion formed a powerful testimony: biblical faith requires biblical freedom. As the apostle Peter famously said, “We ought to obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29). Their influence convinced our Founding Fathers that religious liberty was a moral necessity grounded in Scripture itself.

As we celebrate our nation’s 250th anniversary, we must also recognize the sobering pattern that history teaches. Many renowned empires like Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Greece, Rome, the Arab Caliphate, the Ottoman Empire, and even the height of Britain’s global influence rose to great prominence and then declined or disappeared after about 250 years. Their fall did not occur from a lack of military strength or political strategy by from drifting away from the moral and spiritual foundations that once held them together – by disregarding and adding to the wisdom of God’s Word.

Today, at our own 250‑year mark, we must be honest: we are at great risk of treating God’s Word as insufficient, supplementing our lives with “empty, secular philosophy” and “man‑made traditions,” allowing worldly wisdom to shape our thinking more than Scripture itself. If the United States, especially the believers within our nation, does not return to lives clearly governed by the wisdom of God’s Word, then we will follow the same path of decline as these other nations. Our early Baptist forefathers understood this danger well, and they were willing to obey God’s Word at any cost, trusting that everything we need and everything we read in Scripture is reliable.

But the greatest concern is not just the future of our nation but rather the condition of our own hearts before God. We need more serious Christian believers who trust in the reliability and sufficiency of God’s Word, who study it, internalize it, and let it influence and shape their choices, values, and lifestyle. We need more serious genuine followers of Christ who follow what God’s Word says no matter what, men like the early Baptist American Obadiah Holmes who suffered for the Word of God and like John Leland, who spoke courageously, openly, and persuasively in defense of God’s Word.

So, as we reflect on Agur’s words, we can thank God that He used faithful believers in our nation’s early history to secure the freedom for us to live by that pure and sufficient Word. Their legacy encourages us to do the same: to trust God’s Word fully, obey it boldly, and defend its truth courageously in our own generation. If we do this, God will be our shield as we put our trust in him.

Discussion Questions

• What do we mean when we say, “the Bible is inspired?”
  • What does verbal inspiration mean? Does the Bible claim this about itself?
  • What does plenary inspiration mean? Does the Bible claim this about itself?
  • Is God’s Word reliable when it makes claims about science and history?
• What does it mean for you to depend upon God’s Word like a “shield?”
• What are some ways that we might alter God’s Word?
  • What are some habits that cause us to treat other views as equal to God, even when we might not realize it?
  • What are some practical steps we can take to correct our thinking?
• To what areas of life could we apply a conviction of the sufficiency of Scripture?
  • What would it look like to do in each area?

Imagine looking into a powerful microscope. At first, you think you know what you’re looking at: a leaf, drop of water, or grain of sand on the slide.

But the moment you turn the dial and zoom in, your mind is blown. You see objects, patterns, and movements you never knew existed. Cells appear. Then inside are molecules, atoms, and inside atoms you see a world of things you can’t explain. The deeper you look into the world God made, you realize you have no idea what’s inside a leaf, a drop of water, or a grain of sand.

Now flip the lens. Imagine look out through a telescope at the night sky. At first, you see stars. Then you see more stars, and more stars. As you zoom in, you realize that many of those stars are actually entire, vast galaxies and systems of their own. Those galaxies become clusters. When you consider that light traveling at 186,000 miles per second would still take billions of years to cross the expanse of our universe, you realize that the farther out you look, you have no idea what’s out there.

That’s what the “mind blown” emoji is for (or as it is technically known, the “exploding head”), the yellow face with an open mouth and the top of its head exploding in the shape of a brain-like mushroom cloud. It’s used to express emotions like amazement, awe, disbelief, and shock – also migraines. It’s for those moments when we think we know something only to find out that we don’t know anything at all.

Today, we’re going to highlight this “mind blown” feeling as a God-given way to bring us not only to a place of greater humility of heart but to faith and trust in Jesus Christ.

A wise person learns how to say, “I don’t know.”

One of the hardest things to say is, “I don’t know.” Why do you think that is? Perhaps because we have an inaccurate view of our knowledge? Perhaps we view ourselves to be far more intelligent and knowledgeable than we really are?

Unlike most if not all the previous material in Proverbs, this chapter was not written by Solomon. Instead, it was written by a man named Agur. He was the son of a man named Jakeh, and he first made these statements to two other men, named Ithiel and Ucal (not the University of California). When we read information like this, we naturally want to know more about these people, but in this case, we don’t know anything else about them.

Thankfully, the value of wisdom is not measured by the fame or fortune of the person who speaks but by the truth of the words which are spoken. You will agree when I say that many infamous people have said worthless things and many unfamous people have said valuable things. Today, and throughout our summer preaching series from Proverbs 30, we will learn godly wisdom from an otherwise unknown person named Agur.

Agur’s opening statement is both shocking an unimpressive. It is shocking because he says some blunt and extreme things about himself. He says not only that he is stupid (foolish) and has trouble understanding things. He says that on a range or scale of comparison to other people, he rates himself as the most stupid kind of person there is, placing him in the 0 percentile of knowledge.

Furthermore, he describes himself not only at the lowest place on the scale of human knowledge, but he then describes himself as not even belonging on the scale at all but places himself on the scale of animal knowledge, instead. That’s what he means by saying, “and do not have the understanding of a man.” This is shocking indeed.

But this is also most unimpressive. Imagine going to purchase a book but reading the author’s bio on the back cover first. These bios are written to impress and reassure the reader that the author knows what he’s talking about. They highlight things like the author’s credentials, previous books, awards, and accomplishments, and any other details which make the author sound interesting, intelligent, and relatable.

Agur does the exact opposite. Instead of giving his credentials, he describes himself as though he doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Instead of explaining why he is qualified to give us some godly wisdom, he tells us why he is unqualified. He sounds like Sergeant Shultz of the 1960’s “Hogan’s Heroes” when he said, “I see nothing, I know nothing!” How does this make you feel about what he is about to say?

We shouldn’t take what Agur says to mean he is actually the most uneducated, uninformed person there is. How would he know? He didn’t know everyone anyway and would be entirely incapable of ranking himself in this way. We should also not take him to mean that he had the capabilities of an animal, because he was a human, after all.

Instead, we should take what Agur says to be a strong expression of humility. He is writing in poetic form, a common feature of wisdom literature in that time, and should be understood to be writing in an ironic, hyperbolic way to make a point.

Paul did the same thing. Just as Agur said, “I am more stupid than any man,” Paul said he was “the chief of sinners” (1 Tim 1:15).
This didn’t mean either man was what they claimed but that this was how they genuinely felt about themselves. Perhaps if Agur had been able to use emojis, he may have used the “exploding head” emoji here, too.

This raises an important and interesting question. How do you feel about yourself? If you were to rank yourself on a scale of knowledge, understanding, and wisdom, what percentile would you be? Could you say with Agur, “I feel like I don’t know anything?”

As human beings, we know a lot of things. We can measure our knowledge by vocabulary size, test scores, degrees, books we’ve read, experiences we’ve had, or the number of facts we can remember. We know faces, facts, memories, skills, routines, words, and many other things, and whether we know thousands or millions of these things, the fact remains, there are an infinite number of things we don’t know.

When an honest, reflective person (no matter how intelligent they may be) sets whatever he or she knows beside all the total knowledge that exists, the scale and scope of any person’s knowledge shrinks to nearly nothing. It’s like comparing a grain of sand to the Earth, or like comparing the Earth to the largest known star in the universe. When we do this, no matter how big the grain of sand or the Earth may be from our viewpoint, it becomes next-to-invisible when placed beside the largest star that exists. So, in this sense, perhaps Agur is not speaking with hyperbole – perhaps he is telling the truth.

So, Agur teaches us that a wise person learns to say, “I don’t know.” A wise person understands and accepts the limitations of his knowledge and realizes that no matter how much he knows, it’s as though he knows nothing at all. And this is true not only when we compare our knowledge to all the knowledge that exists, but it is also true – even more so – when we compare our knowledge to the knowledge of God.

A wise person examines himself before God.

In this chapter, Agur not only compares his knowledge to other people but more importantly he compares his knowledge to the knowledge of God. When he says he says in verse 2 that he “hadn’t learned wisdom” and “doesn’t have knowledge of the Holy One,” he isn’t saying he never learned anything wise or that he knows nothing about God. What he is about to say in the rest of this chapter proves otherwise. Instead, he is saying that he doesn’t have the kind of wisdom or knowledge that God has.

By calling God “the Holy One,” Agur is describing God as a being who should be singled out, who is entirely different, distinct, and separate from everything and everyone else. And because of this extreme difference, he is awesome and commands ultimate respect.

On October 5th, we heard a sermon about the omniscience of God which reminded us that God knows everything. He never discovers or learns anything. He always knows everything all at once, with no change in his knowledge at any point in eternity. Not only does he never learn anything new which he didn’t know before, but he never forgets anything either. He always knows everything all at once. As theologian Wayne Grudem says, “God is always fully aware of everything” and his “knowledge never changes or grows.” God’s knowledge is and always has been complete.

This is what Agur is acknowledging here in Prov 30:3. When compared to the knowledge and wisdom of God, Agur is making it very clear that God is infinitely more knowledgeable and wiser than him. Bible teacher Allen Ross says it this way:

It is rather both an acknowledgment of the limits of human understanding and a humble confession that only God is truly wise.

To expand this thought and draw people into this thought process so they (and we) can arrive at the same conclusions, Agur asks a series of five questions, one after the other.

The first four are “who” questions. They aren’t questions that are looking for answers, as though Agur is confused and wants to know who has done these things. Instead, they are questions with only one obvious answer, and when you give the right answer, you should automatically agree then with everything else Agur has already said.

• A parent asks their child, “Who pays the bills around here?”
• A coach asks, “Who makes the lineup?”
• An employer asks, “Who signs your paycheck?”
• A police officer asks, “What is the speed limit here?”

These are similar questions you might be familiar with today. The parent, coach, employer, and police officer aren’t seeking information, they are asking you to acknowledge an obvious fact. And that’s what Agur is doing here. God asks Job questions like this at the end of the OT book of Job (Job 38-41) and Solomon asks some similar questions (Prov 8:24-29; Eccl 7:24).

• Who has ascended into heaven, or descended?
• Who has gathered the wind in His fists?
• Who has bound the waters in a garment?
• Who has established all the ends of the earth?

The NLT translates these questions this way:

• Who goes up to heaven and comes back down?
• Who holds the wind in his fists?
• Who wraps up the oceans in his cloak?
• Who has created the whole wide world?

Now, let’s think about these statements in a visual way.

• We spend billions of dollars to shoot rockets into outer space and the farthest a human has ever traveled into space and back again is the Moon. The only possible answer to the first question is God.
• Whenever wind blows, whether as a blizzard, hurricane, tornado, windstorm, or any other kind of weather event, we have no ability to control or stop it. The only possible answer to the second question is God.
• We are also at the mercy of water in the world. Floods, hurricanes, monsoons, storm surges, tsunamis, and more. The only possible answer to the third question is God.

The fourth question is especially fascinating. As of today (several thousand years after Agur’s time), we have mapped over 97% of the Earth’s surface. But when we take a more complete view of all the possible places in the world, we should include land area, underwater ocean-/sea-floor area, underground areas (caves, caverns, crust, mantle, and core), and the sky within our atmosphere. When we include all these places in the world, various estimates indicate that we have probably studied scientifically less than 20% of the world and only physically visited less than 10% of the places on and under the Earth (see biologyinsights.com). This in mind, the only possible answer to who has not only been to but personally confirmed and established all places in the Earth is God.

To those who are thinking deeply, you might ask, “Don’t these questions speak about God’s omnipotence rather than knowledge?” There is a sense in which you would be right because these questions speak about doing impressive, powerful things, not just knowing things. But if you look carefully, you’ll see these are not only impressive things but complex, difficult, even impossible things from a practical, scientific, technical standpoint.

The focus in this chapter is not just knowledge but wisdom. Wisdom means proficiency and skill. The difference between knowledge and wisdom may be illustrated by comparing the difference between a junior high biology student dissecting a frog for the first time on one hand and a world-renown heart surgeon performing an open-heart surgery.

Wisdom is what this whole book of Proverbs, not only this chapter, is about. It teaches us not only what we need to know about God, but what we should do with what we know about God. This is wisdom – applying what we know about God to the actions, challenges, choices, and questions of everyday life, and no one does this better than God.

It is worth noting that the things that these four questions envision show us that God is not just powerful, doing impressive things because he has the force and brute strength to do them (like travel anywhere in the universe, control the wind and oceans, and confirm and establish every place on the globe. They emphasize that he can do these things because he knows everything and is infinitely skillful and wise. He can do these impressive things not only because he is powerful but because he is skillful and wise.

So, from Prov 30:1-3, we see that this man named Agur is a wise and humble man because he has learned to say “I don’t know” and, more importantly, because he has learned to acknowledge and compare himself to God, who is the only one who knows everything and is completely proficient and skillful at everything that is possible to do. But before he moves on to the next section of this chapter, he asks one more key question, and this question teaches us that …

A wise person learns to trust in Jesus.

In his fifth and final question, Agur changes his question from a “who” to a “what.” He asks, “What is his name – and his son’s name? Tell me if you know!” (Prov 30:4, NLT).

This final question asks for a first name then a second name, not a first name and last name (or surname) like a person uses today, but a two different names for two different persons. The first person he asks for the name of is God himself, and the second person he asks for the name of is God’s son. By asking for a name, Agur is asking us to answer his previous questions, and the first answer is obviously God. And to answer this question you could use the more personal name, Yahweh, or any of his other many special names and titles given in Scripture.

But what about the second person, “What is his son’s name?” The original audience of this question in the OT would most likely have understood this to mean “who else, what angel or human being do you know of who is so closely related to God that he has the same attributes and qualities as God, the same knowledge, experience, and wisdom as God? The first and obvious answer is “no one.” No one else, esp. no other angel or human being, has such knowledge and wisdom. Only God does.

But when you study the OT more closely you realize that there is another person who is so closely aligned with, related to, and associated with God that he is called his son. Psalm 2, for instance, makes this very clear when it says the following:

“The Lord has said to Me, ‘You are My Son.’” (Psa 2:7)

“Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and you perish in the way, when His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him.” (Psa 2:12)

From this we see that even in the OT, God told us of a divine Son who is equal to him in knowledge and power, who we know today as Jesus Christ, God himself, coming to Earth as our Savior and King. According to Psa 2, we should submit to the Son as unto God, we should worship the Son as God, and we should “put our trust in Him.”

The NT then confirms this and makes this very clear. Consider how the NT actually answers the four questions which Agur asks us in verse 4. John 3:13 answers the first question loud and clear.

No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven. (John 3:13)

Then Luke 8:25 answers the second and third questions in dramatic fashion.

He said to them, “Where is your faith?” And they were afraid, and marveled, saying to one another, “Who can this be? For He commands even the winds and water, and they obey Him!” (Lk 8:25)

Then Colossians 1:16-17 answers the fourth question emphatically:

By Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. (Col 1:16-17)

• Who goes up to heaven and comes back down? Jesus does.
• Who holds the wind in his fists? Jesus does.
• Who wraps up the oceans in his cloak? Jesus does.
• Who has created the whole wide world? Jesus does.

Jesus not only created all things, but he holds all things together. He establishes the ends of the Earth. Not only does God the Father do these things, but so does Jesus the Son of God do these things, as well. They do these things equally together as God. And according to Psa 2:12, we should not only name the Son, who is Jesus Christ, but we should submit to and worship the Son and trust in Him. If the wind and waves obey him, we should, too. Have you trusted in Jesus Christ as your God and Savior?

As we begin our preaching series through Proverbs 30, we should allow these opening verses to do two things in our hearts. First, we should let the vastness of the world and the wisdom of God humble our hearts. We should acknowledge and confess any arrogance or pride in our hearts and be able to say that before God, it is as though we know nothing at all. He alone is all-knowing and all-wise.

This means that to be wise and live in a skillful, successful way we must know God well. And to do this, we must submit to, worship, and trust in his Son, Jesus Christ.
Some intelligent people have reached the same conclusion as Agur, Job, and Solomon:

• “Real knowledge is to know the extent of one’s ignorance.” – Confucious
• "The more you know, the more you know you don't know." — Aristotle
• “The more I learn, the more I realize how much I don’t know.” – Einstein

But the difference between the humble conclusions of these great, historic minds and the wisdom of Scripture is that many great minds were left bewildered and uncertain while godly men, like Job, Solomon, and Agur were drawn towards Christ.

According to 1 Cor 1:23-24, 30, Jesus himself is the wisdom of God.

We preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. (1 Cor 1:23-24)

Of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption. (1 Cor 1:30)

As a human, there is so much that you don’t know, compared to the vastness of what can be known in our universe and compared to the infinite wisdom of God. But if you know Christ and trust in him, you know the wisdom of God in a personal and everlasting way. To know Christ and trust in him is to know what truly matters. To know Christ as your God and Savior will enable you to gain the wisdom from God that you need not only for this life but for the life that is to come.

True wisdom means that we can not only say, “I don’t know,” but that we can say with even more confidence, “But I know the One who does.” The more we stare into the microscope, the more we realize we don’t know, and the more we look out into the universe through the telescope at night, the more we realize our need for humility and reverence for the God who made, knows, and understands it all. This discovery should not only humble us but it should encourage us to turn with confidence to Christ, who is the wisdom of God for us.

O Lord my God, When I in awesome wonder,
Consider all the worlds Thy Hands have made;
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed.

When through the woods, and forest glades I wander,
And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees.
When I look down, from lofty mountain grandeur
And see the brook, and feel the gentle breeze.

And when I think, that God, His Son not sparing;
Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in;
That on the Cross, my burden gladly bearing,
He bled and died to take away my sin.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,

How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!

(“How Great Thou Art,” by Carl Bobert)

Discussion Questions

• Have you learned about anything, gone down a documentary or YouTube rabbit hole, recently that was “mind-blowing?”
• Why is it so difficult for you to say, “I don’t know?”
• What is wisdom, especially as opposed to knowledge?
• What are some practical ways you can be like Augur in comparing yourself to God in power and wisdom?
• Does it matter that the Old Testament mentions another person “who is so closely aligned with, related to, and associated with God that he is called his son?”
• What is the difference between a Christian and a secular perspective in their responses to the realization of our ignorance?
  • Note: Secular means of or relating to the physical world and not the spiritual world. (Merriam-Webster)

Acts 16:16-40

Fathers fill an irreplaceable role in family and society. And while fathers are often criticized for their failures, recent studies have revealed an encouraging trend – fathers are spending more time with their children. This is especially true of fathers who are married and have a college education. By spending time, we mean doing things like changing diapers, feeding, talking, reading, playing, helping with homework, attending school meetings, planning activities, and transporting them to and from activities.

This is an encouraging trend! While we acknowledge this good development, we must also acknowledge another trend, that fathers aren’t providing spiritual leadership for their homes. A study called The State of Biblical Fatherhood indicated the following:

• 83% of Christian fathers don’t pray regularly with their family
• 78% of Christian fathers teach the Scripture to their family at home
• Only 26% of fathers spend intentional time with their children to help them grow in Bible knowledge and spiritual maturity

Pair this with the conclusions of a study by Baptist Press and Promise Keepers:

• If a father doesn’t participate in church, even if his wife does, only 1 in 50 children will become a regular worshiper.
• In contrast, if a father does go regularly, regardless of what the mother does, 2/3 and 3/4 of their children will attend church as adults.

These studies verify what we already know to be true, that the spiritual influence of a father is very significant in the spiritual development and faith of their children. This means that the spiritual influence and faith of men is a major influence on the spiritual health and faith of not only families but of communities and culture and large. Could it be that our nation has major faith, religious, and spiritual problems because men are not being the spiritual leaders God has called them to be?

Today, we will look at Acts 16 to see the kind of men whose faith makes a difference for God. We will see this kind of man twice, first in the Apostle Paul and second in a prison guard at Philippi. In Paul, we see a man who lived with conviction, spoke and acted for truth, and trusted God even when doing right brought suffering. In the Philippian jailer, we see a man who responded to Christ with faith, identified with Christ through baptism, led his household to Christ, and went on to serve Christ with what he had.

These men show us the kind of men our families, community, and country needs, men whose faith is not passive, private, or sentimental, but active, public, and courageous. Men of faith like this do more than spend time with their children, which is so important, but they influence their families and community for God.

Our community needs men who live with conviction. (Acts 16:16-25)

What is a conviction? It is a firmly held belief about something which is a matter of truth, principle, or morality. And it is more than it a belief, it is a belief that motivates a man deeply enough to act and speak out based upon that conviction, even if it would be unpopular to do so. A biblical example of acting and speaking with conviction would be when three men refused to worship the statue of Nebuchadnezzar even though that meant they would be thrown into a fiery furnace. Some examples from history include:

• Martin Luther speaking out against the Catholic Church to promote salvation by faith in Christ alone.
• William Tyndale translating the Bible into English even though it meant he would be burned at the stake by the Roman Catholic Church.
• William Wilberforce speaking out against the slave trade in England when slavery was prevalent and the source of wealth for many powerful people.
• Jack Phillips was a baker in Colorado who refused to create immoral designs and messages for customers, despite facing lawsuits and media scrutiny.
• Charlie Kirk was a public speaker who defended and promoted not only important matters like family values and the rights of the unborn but the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Men like Daniel’s three friends, Martin Luther, William Wilberforce, Charlie Kirk, and others in our own day remind us that conviction is more than private belief. It is truth held deeply enough that a man is willing to act, speak, and suffer rather than go along with the culture when it goes against God.

In Acts 16, we see the Apostle Paul being a man who lived with conviction. He saw a young girl being misused by some adult men who were making money from her, so he intervened to free her from this abusive business arrangement. As a result, the men who were making money from her reported Paul as a troublemaker. The result was that he was sentenced to be beaten with rods and imprisonment.

Would you have done what Paul did if that was the result? Paul’s conviction was so strong, in fact, that after he had been beaten and imprisoned unfairly and unjustly, he prayed and sang praises to God out loud while he was in prison. This meant that his firm belief and conviction about Jesus Christ continued even during his suffering so that people around him would continue to hear about Jesus.

Paul’s faith was not passive, it was active. His conviction was not private, it was public. His belief in Jesus was not sentimental, it was courageous. And as a result, not only was a young girl freed from abuse, but an entire household was brought to faith in Christ. Let’s take a closer look at what happened because of Paul’s courageous conviction.

Our community needs men who lead with faith. (Acts 16:26-40)

Late at night, after a long hard day of courageous actions for Christ followed by painful suffering for Christ, Paul spending the night in a terribly uncomfortable prison cell, surrounded by other prisoners. As he prayed and sang songs of praise to God out loud, the other prisoners listened. As this was going on, a violent earthquake shook the area so powerfully that the prisoners’ chains broke free and doors of the prison broke open.
It would naturally follow in this situation that the prisoners would take the opportunity to escape from prison. And according to Roman law, if a prisoner ever escaped custody, the prison guard would be executed as a result. This policy ensured that prison guards took their job seriously. And in this case, we might feel sorry for the prison guard because if the prisoner’s had escaped, it certainly wouldn’t have been his fault.

Still, seeing that the prison had become open, the prison guard drew out his sword to commit suicide. He would do this to avoid the embarrassment of a public execution. But before this could happen, Paul called out from within the cell, “Don’t harm yourself, everyone is present and accounted for!”

Thanks to Paul’s outspoken faith in Christ, he had made such an impression on the prisoners that he convinced them to stay in jail. Then as a result, he was able to save the life of the prison guard. But he did more than save this man’s physical life, he saved his spiritual, eternal life, too – so much so that this man, this prison guard, also became a man who would lead with faith.

Who believe on Christ (Acts 16:26-31)

Hearing that no prisoners had escaped, the prison guard grabbed a lantern, ran into the prison cell, and fell on the ground before Paul shaking and trembling from the emotional trauma he had just experienced. Then he said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” What did he mean “to be saved”? He couldn’t have meant to be saved physically because that had already happened. He meant instead to be saved spiritually, to be saved not from physical death but from spiritual, eternal death through separation from God.

Paul answered this question by saying, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved.” This man was Roman citizen, so he was probably trusting in false gods, idols, and the Roman Caesar himself for salvation and the afterlife. But here Paul told him to believe on Jesus Christ, instead. This meant that he would have to turn away from whatever else he was trusting for salvation to trust in Christ alone, instead.

To believe on Jesus Christ does not mean only to believe that Jesus existed, or that Jesus was a good man, an excellent teacher, or a powerful miracle worker. You can believe all these things about Jesus and still not be saved. You must believe the most important things about who he is. These three things are all present in the name “Lord Jesus Christ.”

• Lord emphasizes his complete authority and deity. You must submit to him as your master and acknowledge him as completely God.
• Jesus emphasizes his mission and humanity. You must depend on him as your Savior and acknowledge him as completely human, a man who took your place at the cross.
• Christ emphasizes his role as God’s promised Messiah. He is God’s anointed one, so you must believe on him as the one and only way that God has provided to save you from sin, death, and hell and to bring you into God’s family and kingdom forever.

Paul explained believing on Jesus Christ for salvation this way (Rom 10:9-13):

If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

It’s important to point out that saving faith, believing on Christ is a personal choice that occurs in your heart and is expressed by your mouth. The prison guard believed on Christ in his heart and expressed that faith with his mouth at the same time. He didn’t perform a variety of rituals or perform various good works, nor did Paul answer his question for how to be saved by giving him a list of things to do. Whoever “calls” on the name of the Lord (acknowledging and trusting in him as Lord, Jesus, Christ) will … be … saved.

Have you believed on the Lord Jesus Christ to be saved? This is not the same question as “were you sprinkled as an infant,” or “did you grow up in a Christian home,” or “did you complete catechism class,” or “do you observe the sacraments,” or “do you go to church”? We need men who have clearly, intentionally, knowingly, personally believed on Christ.

Who are baptized for Christ (Acts 16:33)

We also need men who are baptized for Christ. And what is Christian baptism? The word “baptism” means “to dunk, immerse, or submerge.” And according to Christ and Scripture, it is being immersed by the church in public soon after a person clearly and consciously believes on the Lord Jesus Christ.

Why should a person be baptized? The clear and simple answer is because Christ commanded it. Baptism is the public, visible way that we publicly identify ourselves with Christ and are joined to the church. It is the first step we must take to show that we do indeed believe on Christ as Lord by obeying his command. When a person who claims to believe on Christ will not receive baptism, they raise a serious question about whether they have genuinely believed on Christ at all.

Here is what Jesus said about baptism:

Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Mt 28:18-20)

As you can see, he places baptism first, making it the first outward step of following him. Then everything else he commands should come after that. Then, as the church began in the earliest days, that is exactly what happened.

Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. (Acts 2:41)

People who heard the word about the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation believed, then they received baptism soon afterwards, publicly identifying themselves as followers of Christ. Inward, heart belief in Christ is what brings salvation. Outward, visible baptism by immersion soon after is what brings public acceptance of your faith by the church.

My father grew up in church, was sprinkled as an infant, graduated from catechism class as a kid, and did a lot of things in the church as a teenager. But not until he was 17 years old when he heard a preacher explain what it meant to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ did he clearly, intentionally, knowingly, personally believe on Jesus to save him.

Soon after, he realized his need to be baptized. He realized that bring sprinkled as an infant wasn’t baptism because it wasn’t immersion and it didn’t occur after he consciously, personally believed on Christ. So, he received baptism to take his first meaningful step of obedience to Christ, showing that he did indeed believe on Jesus as Lord.

That’s what this prison guard did in Philippi. He believed on Christ, then he was baptized. In these ways, he was a man who led with faith. But he led with faith in more ways, too.

Who bring their household to Christ (Acts 16:32-33)

Not only did this man believe on Christ and receive baptism soon after, but he also introduced his family to Christ. As you can see in Acts 16:32-33, the man invited Paul to “speak the word of the Lord … to all who were in his house.” Yes, this would include his immediate family members (spouse and children), as we would view a household today. But “household” meant more than this. It included people like parents and household servants and employees, too, anyone who relied on him for their care.

This means that he gave the people who lived under his care the opportunity to believe on Christ for themselves, and in this case, everyone who heard the word also believed on the Lord Jesus Christ as he had also done. This isn’t always the result, for some men who believe on Christ will wives and children, etc. who refuse to believe on Christ. But regardless, a man of faith should do what he can to give all who are in his house an opportunity to believe on Christ.

It’s crucial to point out here that just because this man believed on Christ does not mean everyone else in his household was automatically saved by default. Nor does it mean that any infants in his household believed or were saved. Though the passage doesn’t say there were any infants in his home, it does say that whoever was in his home had heard the message about Christ first and believed as a result. Infants can’t do this because they don’t have the ability to understand language and make conscious choices about faith.

A recent survey has concluded that if a child is the first person in a household to become a Christian, there is a 3.5% chance that everyone else in the household will follow. If a mother is the first to believe, there is a 17% chance that everyone in the household will believe. But if the father is the first to believe, there is a 93% chance everyone else in the household will follow. This shows how influential a husband and father’s faith can be.

Our community, nation, and world need more men who not only take care of their families and spend time with their families – we need men who will lead their families in faith in Christ. We need men who personally believe on Christ Jesus as Lord, who have obeyed Christ first through baptism, and who also do what they can to intentionally lead and guide the people who are under their care to their own faith in Christ, as well.

This prison guard shows us one more way that men should lead their households in faith.

Who get involved with serving Christ (Acts 16:34-40)

If you look closely at Act 16:34-40, this man involved himself immediately in supporting the cause of Christ. He welcomed Paul into his house, fed him, bandaged his wounds, and gave him a place to sleep. He offered him generous hospitality.

He also served as a go-between and messenger between local government officials and Paul, letting Paul know that his sentence had been officially revoked and then conveying a message from Paul back to the government officials, as well.

In other words, this man didn’t just receive salvation and move on with his life. He received salvation then involved his energy and resources in supporting gospel work. He was not just a recipient but a participant. He opened his home and contributed his resources to gospel ministry. He became a follower of Christ and a supporter of the church.

The faith of fathers can determine the faith of a family, a household, a community, and a nation. It may be said that the faith of our nation and our community is weak because we need more men to be leaders of faith in their homes.

We need men who live with conviction, as Paul did when he acted and spoke for truth even though it brought suffering to his life. Second, we need men who lead with faith, as the Philippian prison guard did after he believed on the Lord Jesus Christ. This kind of man believes on Christ personally, is baptized for Christ publicly, brings his household to Christ intentionally, and gets involved with serving Christ faithfully.

Bill McCartney was the founder of the well-known men’s ministry called “Promise Keepers.” He was also a former head football coach for the University of Colorado Boulder. He once said that “a real man, a man’s man, is a godly man.” And this is what we need today. Will you take the next step towards being that kind of man today, like Paul and like the prison guard at Philippi?

Together, Paul and the jailer show us that men of faith do not keep their faith passive or private, but live it our actively, publicly, and courageously for the good of their families, church, community, and nation. Are you a man who needs to believe on Christ? Are you a man who needs to be baptized for Christ? Are you a man who needs to lead his family to Christ? Are you a man who needs to get involved in serving Christ?

Are you a man who needs to live out your faith publicly with conviction? If so, please speak with a pastor, a deacon, or a man you know from our church about what God is calling you to be and to do today and we will look forward to helping you take your next steps in following Christ. Be bold, be courageous, be intentional and God will bless your faith in a mighty way I promise. And your faith will not only affect your own life, but the lives of those in your household, your community, and your nation.

Discussion Questions

• What are some stories of people who lived with conviction that have impacted you personally?
• What are the challenges that men face to be men of faith from the external opposition of the world? How about from the internal opposition of character flaws?
• What are some ways the church can support and encourage men in having faithful conviction?
• Why is it easier for some men to provide for and spend time with their families than to lead them spiritually?
  • What are some practical ways men can be leaders in their home?
• What do people mean when they say faith is a “private matter?”
  • How does the faith lived out by the men in Acts 16 differ from “private” faith?

Malachi 4:1-6

Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father
There is no shadow of turning with Thee
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not
As Thou hast been, Thou forever will be

These are the opening lines from this beloved hymn, Great Is Thy Faithfulness, written by Thomas Chisolm in 1923. More than a hundred years ago, many things have changed, but God remains just as faithful, merciful, and loyal to his people today as then.

This was true for the people of Malachi’s day at the end of the OT, too. A thousand years before this book was written, God made a special covenant with the Hebrew people at Mount Sinai to form them into the nation of Israel, as recorded in Exodus. This covenant fulfilled a promise he made to Abraham hundreds of years before that. When the second generation of Israelites prepared to enter the Promised Land, God repeated this covenant with them a second time, as recorded in Deuteronomy.

Near the end of Deuteronomy (Dt 27-28), God explained a series of blessings and curses that would happen to them – blessings if they were faithful and loyal to him, curses if they were unfaithful and disloyal. Nearly 1,000 years later, they had now experienced some effects of the curses by being taken from their land as prisoners of war. But God also rescued and restored them back to their land again, which his where Malachi comes in.

Very few years had passed, however, and they were already showing signs of disloyalty. This book shows that by recording a series of six conversations with God in which he charged the people with disloyalty to him. They responded to God, though, with surprise and asked for proof, so he gave them evidence of their disloyalty. After these six conversations, God closed the message with a preview of the future and a call for renewed loyalty to him. Let’s first look at his preview of the future.

God gives two official, vivid previews of the future.

With the Babylonian and Assyrian captivities behind them, God wanted Israel to not take their future for granted. Those who concluded it was useless and unprofitable to serve God (Mal 3:13-18) and more beneficial to live arrogant, materialistic, self-serving lives would have one kind of future to look forward to, while those who genuinely believed, feared, and followed God regardless of immediate, tangible benefits would have another very different kind of future to look forward to. Previews like this can be helpful.

• A parent tells their child if he does his homework he can play after supper, but if not, he will lose privileges.
• A doctor advises her patient if she stops smoking, she will improve her health and longevity, but if not, she will increase her risk of disease.
• A financial advisor projects his client will have a stable, secure retirement if she sets aside a certain amount of money, but if not, she’ll face anxiety, debt, and uncertainty.
• An employer discloses if an employee will perform consistently and well, he will receive regular raises and good benefits, but if not, he will lose the job completely.

A prudent man foresees evil and hides himself, but the simple pass on and are punished. (Prov 22:3)

Previews like this motivate us to behave better in the present. If we take them seriously, we make changes to secure the desirable, positive outcome and to avoid the undesirable, negative one. This is what a wise person will do, but a foolish person will ignore the warning and forge ahead in the wrong direction. Here was God’s preview for Israel.

Unbelieving people will be burned up.

The first part of this preview gives an undesirable, negative possible outcome.

For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, and all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble. And the day which is coming shall burn them up,” says the LORD of hosts, “that will leave them neither root nor branch. (Mal 4:1)

Here God warns that people who live arrogant, materialistic, self-serving lives will be destroyed. He describes this future time as a hot, fiery furnace or oven and the unbelieving people as chaff.

Chaff is the thin, dry outer shell of grain that breaks down and falls off when the grain is harvested. It is so insignificant that it blows away like dust. When these particles blow or fall into flames, they burn up and disappear immediately. God also describes this burning as a devouring, scorching fire that will destroy entire trees so thoroughly that neither branches nor roots will be left behind.

We can envision an entire landscape of grain fields and fruit orchards blackened, charred, and smoking from a massive fire that blew across the land. Only here, it is arrogant, materialistic, self-serving, unbelieving people who are burnt up, not fruit, grain, and land. This future would be there’s if they continued to live arrogant, materialistic, self-serving lives. But thankfully, there is a second part to this preview.

Believing people will go free.

The second part of this preview gives a desirable, positive possible outcome.

But to you who fear My name the Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings; and you shall go out and grow fat like stall-fed calves. You shall trample the wicked, for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day that I do this,” says the Lord of hosts. (Mal 4:2-3)

God uses two concepts to describe this positive future. First, the Sun, which like the previous negative future outcome is a fire, but here it is a positive fire, one that gives light, brightness, happiness, and warmth, not death and destruction. An earth-borne fire destroys, but the glow of airborne fire, the sun, brings growth and well-being.

The “wings” that give healing here aren’t bird wings but the rays of light that beam from the sun, the edges or fringes of the sun’s light that reach and touch Earth, bringing growth, health, life, and warmth to all things.

Though this description includes all sorts of positive benefits and blessings God gives, it emphasizes one specifically – how God gives righteousness to his people. From this, we see something that Scripture teaches frequently in a variety of ways, that God is not the source of righteousness only because he does and will make all wrongs right (which is certainly the case), but also because he alone makes arrogant, materialistic, self-serving people righteous. In this way, Christ is and would be “the Light of the world” (Jn 8:12).

This leads to the second concept God uses to explain this possible, positive future. Those who are loyal to him will not only enjoy happiness, light, warmth, and righteousness from God as the Earth benefits from the heat and light of the sun’s rays, they would also go free like calves released from their stall. This image portrays a young calf which a farmer has contained in a very small pen for a while. When that energetic calf is released into an open field to graze, it leaps and dances exuberantly with sheer, unbridled delight.

To expand this picture even further, God pulls in the previous negative picture of unbelieving, wicked people being like burnt, charred ashes left behind from a raging fire to say that his people who are like dancing young calves would trample on their ashes. You can envision when a field burns down here, followed by fresh, green new growth bursting through as a transformed meadow for new calves to graze in.

This description pictures a dramatic reversal. When we look around, it may seem like arrogant, materialistic, self-serving people thrive as faithful, loyal, God-fearing people suffer and survive. But in the end, when the Sun of Righteousness rises, those unbelieving people will be as burnt ashes, and the believing people of God will be blessed and exalted in every way. Their future will be filled with delight, freedom, and success.

Before moving on, we should notice an important detail. In describing both possible future outcomes for people, God includes the statement “says the Lord of hosts” both times. This phrase means something like “the Lord of heaven’s armies” and portrays God as the superior, supreme commander of countless angelic armies.

This means he outranks and overpowers all earthly powers and can therefore guarantee that the two possible outcomes he is previewing here will certainly occur – no one or nothing can stand in his way or prevent it from happening. The betting odds of these future outcomes are 0-1, which is 100%.

With these two possible outcomes now clearly in mind, which path would you want to take? It’s at this point that God called his people to choose their path.

He calls his people to remember their covenant with him.

Here God calls his people to look in two directions, not left and right, but backward and forward, to reflect on the past and peer into the future. This encourages the best perspective when making important decisions. When you make a big choice, you should do so considering what God has done in history and what he promises to do in the end.

We normally make navigation choices, for instance, like a car sitting in traffic, seeing what’s immediately around us; but it’s far better to make travel choices based on an aerial view from a helicopter, seeing what’s behind and ahead. Unfortunately, we don’t usually have helicopters (or flying cars) to get around, but for more important, spiritual and life choices, we do have God’s ultimate aerial shot of history and the future in his Word.

First, to look back he tells them to “remember” the Law of Moses “… with the statues and ordinances” (Mal 3:4). With this instruction, he is telling them to pay close, diligent attention to everything he had said in the covenant he made with them through Moses.

He also describes this covenant and law as what happened at “Horeb.” Horeb is another name for Mount Sinai and seems to be a more personal, sentimental way to refer to this special place in Israel’s history. By pairing Horeb with “laws, statues, and ordinances,” God seems to point back to place where his covenant relationship with Israel began, much like how a spouse may refer to the wedding vows of their marriage or to the special place where they proposed, married, or honeymooned.

The desired effect of this pairing portrays God’s covenant with Israel as more than a historical event and record to know about, and more than a formal, legal arrangement to observe. It portrays the covenant as a memorable, special relationship that evokes fond, heartfelt affection, devotion, and love rather than duty and obligation.

Malachi was calling Judah to a lifestyle guided at all times not by human wisdom, ambition, or societal expectations but by the thoughtful application of God’s Word. (Taylor & Clendenen)

Calling them to “remember” all the words of the covenant also resembles a married couple remembering the words of their wedding vows and premarital counseling. The longer a marriage endures, the more easily one or both spouses may lose awareness of their commitments and vows to one another and to the counseling and guidance they received before they married.

The results of such forgetting can be devastating, even leading to the destruction or end of the marriage. (Auto-pilot, existence, neglect, and survival are not good patterns in marriage.) But those who truly devoted to their spouse will reflect often on the moment and place of their wedding and will recall their counseling and vows, taking those things more deeply to heart and determining more, not less, and to practice those things in love.

Said another way, God called the people of Israel back to attention. They had “lost their first love” and had turned away their hearts and eyes from their covenant relationship with him, looking covetously and with envy at the arrogant, materialistic, self-serving lifestyles and people around them. They had become dissatisfied with God.

But those who genuinely believed in and feared him would have bright future awaiting them, one in which God would place his righteousness in their hearts and in which they would enjoy the fullest degree of happiness, light, warmth, and well-being of his healing touch. But those who chose the arrogant, materialistic, self-serving path would prove their unfaithfulness over time suffer destruction and judgement with the wicked.

He would send another reminder.

To help Israel prepare for the future day of reckoning, God promised to send another reminder, or rather a person to remind then and prepare the way. Just as the respected OT prophet Elijah had called the people of Israel back to God away from worshiping Baal, so God would send another man to prepare them for salvation from coming judgment.

I will send you Elijah the prophet Before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD. (Mal 4:5)

God would send a man like this some 400 years later, named John the Baptist, and he prepared the people of Israel for the coming of Jesus to Earth. When John the Baptist was born, the angel told his mother, Elizabeth, that he would be like Elijah and then quoted Mal 4:5-6 in connection with his birth:

He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,’ and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

Jesus himself would later mention this prophecy as connected somehow to John the Baptist (Mt 17:10-13; Mk 9:11-13). But it is also possible that John that Baptist was simply like what this prophecy foretold without being the full fulfillment of it.

I say this since it’s also possible this prophecy looks forward even further to a still-future time when Christ will return not only the first time to present himself as our Savior but to return finally, fully a second time to judge the world in a way that more closely resembles the burning of the wicked and the healing and freeing of the righteous here in Mal 4:1-3.

Elijah himself is often suggested as one of two unnamed witnesses in Rev 11:3. Scripture repeatedly links him to end‑time judgment, and Mal 4:5 promises “Elijah” will come before the great day of the Lord. While Jesus taught that John the Baptist functioned in this role somehow, the prophecy does not require that the fulfillment be limited to John alone.
Elijah’s OT ministry fits the pattern of the witnesses in Rev 11, calling down fire and shut up the sky, miracles that mirror Elijah’s historical ministry. His appearance with Moses at the Transfiguration of Christ (Mt 17:2-3) in the gospels further supports the idea that these two men represent the Law and the Prophets and may reappear together in the last days. Both died (or were taken away) at the end of their lives by God in abnormal, mysterious ways, so that makes this possibility even more fascinating.

Still, Scripture never identifies the witnesses by name, so Elijah remains a strong possibility, but not a certainty. At any rate, we know that while the full judgment and day of the Lord will come in the future, it began in a special way when Christ came into the world the first time, preceded by John the Baptist.

He would restore foundational relationships.

Whatever the case, the ministry of this Elijah person would serve an important purpose:

He will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the earth with a curse. (Mal 4:6)

One commentator explains this promise in a helpful way:

The point is that fathers and sons would no longer live self-serving lives, but fathers will take their sons to heart and sons will take to heart their fathers, considering the effects of their actions on one another in the course of their lives. (Taylor & Clendenen)

When people take their relationship with God seriously, then end up taking seriously the other important relationships in their lives – the parent/child, father/son relationship, esp. This is a central theme and principle throughout the OT law and is the same in the NT. It is clear, direct application and reflection of how Jesus taught that loving God is inseparable from loving your neighbor.

A key mark that any group of people, Israel or otherwise, is living an arrogant, materialistic, self-serving life is that they suffer serious breakdowns and breakups in close family relationships, like husband/wife and parent/child. A mark of any group of people taking seriously their relationship with God, fearing and loving him in a devoted way, is a strengthening, prioritizing, restoration, and building up of these same relationships.

While this is true, Malachi may be saying something else profound here, too, esp. with the second statement, that “he would turn the hearts of the children to the fathers.” He may be speaking about more than just immediate parent/child relationships and may be referring to a much larger scope, that of restoring respect of one generation of his people for those people of faith who preceded them many years before – “restoring the respect of descendants for their forefathers.”

This means he could be speaking about restoring the people of Israel to a shared faith with and respect for men and fathers of faith in their past like Abraham, Moses, Elijah, etc. When a generation or group of people lose connection with, knowledge of, and respect for key people who’ve gone before them, it is both a cause and symptom of a weak faith and devotion of their own and restoring connection with and respect for such people is both a means and result of renewed faith and devotion. The nearly 200-yr. old hymn, Faith of Our Fathers, emphasizes this spiritual reality as it calls us to remember and respect those followers of Christ who have suffered and even died for their relationship with God – at the hands of Roman Catholic persecution and more.

Faith of the martyrs, living still
in spite of dungeon, fire, and sword;
oh, how our hearts beat high with joy
whene’er we hear that glorious word!

The martyrs chained in prison cells
were still in heart and conscience free,
and bless’d would be their children’s fate
if they, like them, should die for thee!

Faith of the martyrs, we will love
both friend and foe in all our strife,
and preach thee, too, as love knows how,
by saving word and faithful life!

Faith of the martyrs, holy faith,
we will be true to thee till death.

May God grant us a deeper respect for our fathers in the faith throughout history.

Now, when we come to the NT, we see that this closing prophecy of Malachi finds its fullest meaning in Jesus Christ. John the Baptist, the Elijah-esque messenger who prepared the way, explained that Christ would do what no other prophet could ever do:

I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” (Mt 3:11-12)

Can you see his references to Malachi’s prophecy here? Jesus is the One in whom the two vivid previews of the future are accomplished. He is the Sun of Righteousness who rises with healing for all who fear God’s name, and he is also the Lord who separates the wheat from the chaff and brings fiery judgment upon the proud and unbelieving.

The same Christ who will one day judge the world first came to save sinners. He bore the judgment that his people deserve so that all who repent and believe in him might receive not the fire of condemnation, but the cleansing gift of the Holy Spirit and the righteousness of God. So, Malachi’s final word does not leave us staring at a coming fire of judgment. It leads us to the only Savior who can rescue us from it. The One who judges is also the One who died and rose again so that guilty, proud, self-seeking people like us can be forgiven, made righteous, and set free.

So, let me ask you today, how’s your heart? Our forever faithful God has spoken clearly, and he has shown you where each path leads. If you have never trusted in Christ, then turn to him now in faith and repentance to escape the fiery judgment to come. Do not cling to pride, materialism, and self-seeking when Christ stands ready to save.

If you do belong to Christ, then renew your devotion to him today. Turn your heart again toward your faithful Savior by becoming more attentive to his words, remembering them, treasuring them, and letting them shape your life more than the material, self-seeking voices and influences do, pressing in on you from every side. May you treat God’s Word the same way that a long-married spouse should treat their premarital counseling and wedding vows – treasuring them and bringing them to bear on every aspect of life in love.

Little children, abide in Him, that when He appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming. (1 Jn 2:28)

This closing message of Malachi leaves us with both a warning and a hope. The warning is that the day of the Lord is surely coming, and no arrogant, unbelieving heart will stand in that day – including your own if you do not believe on Christ as your Savior. The hope is that our forever faithful God has not left us without a Savior, without his Word, or without a clear call to return to him. So, remember his words, look to Jesus Christ, and respond while there is still time. For those who fear his name, the Sun of Righteousness will rise with healing in his wings – and that’s a promise.

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow
Blessings all mine with 10,000 beside

Great is Thy faithfulness
Great is Thy faithfulness
Morning by morning new mercies I see
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided

Great is Thy faithfulness
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me

Malachi 3:13-18

Imagine a sail ship whose crew slowly turns against its own captain, not because he failed them, but because they convinced each other he had. That’s what happened aboard the HMS Bounty in 1789. A handful of sailors, who resented their captain’s rigorous expectations and desired an easier life, began whispering half‑truths and exaggerations about Captain Bligh to one another. The more they repeated their stories, the more the crew believed them.

Before long, the captain’s real character didn’t matter because the talk among the crew had taken over. Their words became stronger than his authority, and in the end, they staged a mutiny. They pointed bayonets at Bligh in the middle of the night, forced him on deck, and ordered him and 18 loyal men aboard the ship’s launch Royal Museums Greenwich. Bligh and his men were then cast adrift in a small boat, navigating over 3,600 nautical miles to safety.

This is the sixth and final time in this book – which is a conversation between God and the people of Israel – that he has told the people they were violating their covenant with him. Like the other five times, they act surprised and ask God to prove what he is saying.

God hears when we speak negatively about him.

Here God makes a new claim to the people of Israel. “‘Your words have been harsh against me,’ says the Lord.” The words translated “harsh against me” can mean a variety of things like “speaking harshly or strongly against someone” or “overruling someone.”

This resembles what happened with the mutiny on the HMS Bounty. Sailors were not speaking harsh or strong words to their captain, they were speaking negative things about him and overruling him by what they said about him to each other.

The people responded to this claim by acting surprised. “How have we spoken against you?” With this response, they understood that God was implying they had said things which resembled some of their notorious, wicked enemies.

• The messengers of the Assyrian king Sennacherib “spoke … against the LORD God” and “wrote letters insulting the LORD, the God of Israel,” saying he was unable to protect Jerusalem (2 Chr 32:16-17).
• The Edomites “boasted against [God] and spoke against [him] without restraint” (Ezk 35:13). The prophet Hosea tells us what God said about them: “Woe to them, because they have strayed from me! Destruction to them, because they have rebelled against me! I long to redeem them but they speak lies against me” (Hos 7:13).
• After he saw the miracle of the fiery furnace, the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar sided with God and decreed that “the people of any nation or language who say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego be cut into pieces and their houses be turned into piles of rubble” (Dan 3:29).

So, the people wanted to know how it was that they had spoken against God like their notorious enemies had done. Had they misheard God? Surely, they were not like Nebuchadnezzar or the Edomites, but God answered their question clearly and quickly:

“You have said, ‘It is useless to serve God; what profit is it that we have kept his ordinance, and that we have walked as mourners before the Lord of hosts?’ So now we call the proud blessed, for those who do wickedness are raised up; they even tempt God and go free.’” (Mal 3:14-15)

As you can see, their answer had two parts. The first part was what they were saying about God and the second was what they were saying about wicked people.

When we conclude it is unprofitable to serve him…

The first thing they were telling each other about God is this:

“It is useless to serve God; what profit is it that we have kept His ordinance, and that we have walked as mourners before the LORD of hosts?” (Mal 3:14)

Here they describe their relationship with God as one of service and conclude that serving God is useless and unprofitable. They had made some kind of attempts to do what the covenant called for them to do but did not receive the financial, material, temporal benefits they had hoped to receive in return.

They were handling their relationship with God in a pragmatic way as if it were a vending machine – “if we do this thing, we’ll get this other thing in return.” In politics, we call this “pay to play,” in business, “quid pro quo,” in marriage, “conditional love,” a “transactional relationship,” or “using someone.” In church, we call it a “consumer mindset.”

Now, apart from this being a self-centered, wrong view of our relationship with God, it also naturally and eventually brings us to a disenchanted, disillusioned view of God.

To be disenchanted or disillusioned means to feel that someone or something you once hoped in and trusted doesn’t meet your expectations. Disenchantment can arise because something truly fails you, or else because your expectations were wrong to begin with.
If you go to McDonalds expecting a 3-star Michelin experience, you’ll be disappointed, but it won’t be McD’s fault because that’s not the kind of restaurant advertise: you had the wrong expectations. But if you go to McD’s for an affordable, fast, and savory meal and you get a large bill, slow service, and dry, lukewarm food, you’ll also be disappointed and it will be McD’s fault since you expected them to be what they advertise.

When people are disenchanted or disillusioned with God, it is never because God has failed them but because they had the wrong expectations, as the people of Israel did. We form wrong expectations when we grade the value of serving God in measurable ways. These measurable ways include the following:

• Measuring Time: grading how soon favorable, positive things happen to us
• Measuring Wealth: grading how our net worth increases
• Measuring Success: grading how much our difficulties and suffering decrease and how much our accomplishments and recognition increase

To be clear, God does intend to bless his children in measurable, material ways. Sometimes, even often, today he does so in the present, in this life to some degree. Consider how Jesus himself said that God responds to his children who make generous financial and material investments into his kingdom:

Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you. (Lk 6:38)

Also consider the timeless promise God gives to people who honor their parents well:

“Honor your father and mother,” which is the first commandment with promise: “that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.” (Eph 6:2-3)

If you give generously to God’s kingdom, he says he will bless you through the generosity of others. And if you honor your father and mother, he may bless you with a healthy and long life in this world. But sometimes God provides these blessings at a later time than we want him to or in another form than we assumed them to be, and he may even defer these blessings to eternity beyond the grave. Even so, God does what he says he will do.

God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good? (Num 23:19)

One man who struggled with this challenge of looking and waiting for God’s blessing as he was faithfully serving God was the prophet, Isaiah. Notice how he wondered whether his service to God had been worthwhile, because people didn’t generally respond to his message and ministry in a positive, receptive way:

Then I said, “I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nothing and in vain; yet surely my just reward is with the Lord, and my work with my God.” (Isaiah 49:3)

But when he expressed his question to God, he quickly pivoted to a God-focused perspective. He chose to trust the outcome of his service for God to God. But that’s not how the people of Israel responded to a similar question. Instead, they turned their eyes away from God and concluded that a worldly life was better than a life of serving God.

When we conclude a worldly life is better …

The second thing they were telling each other about God is this:

“Now we call the proud blessed, for those who do wickedness are raised up; they even tempt God and go free.” (Mal 3:15)

Since they weren’t getting the benefits they wanted from God when they wanted them, they looked around and saw arrogant and evil people living godless, worldly lifestyles. These people actively, even intentionally, opposed God. But the irony was that they seemed to enjoy the blessings, stability, and freedom that the people of Israel wanted.

When they saw this paradox, an apparent contradiction, they reached what seemed to be a logical, rational conclusion. If people who serve God receive lower- or slower-than-expected material and tangible blessings, and if people who don’t serve God receive more immediate, measurable material blessings, then it made better sense not to serve God.

But this is like a teacher trying to prove that sugar makes students smarter. So, she gives a group of students a full-size candy bar before a test, and that group scores higher than another group gets no candy scores lower. It would be easy to say, “See, sugar helps students do better!” But that conclusion would be faulty, because there may be other reasons for the difference in student performance.

Perhaps the first group had more sleep, studied more carefully, or simply came to class better prepared. Without taking those things into account, the conclusion sounds logical, but it is reliable because it lacked proper controls. In the same way, the people of Israel looked at their lives and concluded that serving God seemed empty and unprofitable, while those who ignored God seemed to flourish. But they were judging too soon. They were not factoring in God’s patience and wisdom, the difference between temporary ease and true, eternal blessing, or the certainty that God will make all things right in the end.

Psalm 73:1-3 expresses a similar struggle, only in this case, the person struggling with this was self-aware and repented of his wrong perspective.

Truly God is good to Israel, to such as are pure in heart. But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled; my steps had nearly slipped. For I was envious of the boastful, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

Do you ever feel this way? That serving God is costly, inconvenient, and not worth your effort and time? Would you rather do things which have more immediate material and tangible returns?

God hears when we express our loyalty to him.

At this point in the conversation God was having with Israel, some of the people chose to let go of the popular talking points against God and band together over a shared faith and trust in God. These were genuine believers and followers of God who had been drawn in by the peer pressure prevailing talking points of their community and culture at that time. But because of their genuine faith, they corrected their course and rejected that thinking.

They “feared the Lord” (2x) and “thought much and highly of his name” (Mal 3:16). This means that they decided to dismiss the faulty conclusions of the majority, namely that it was more profitable and useful not to serve God than it was to serve him. They decided to broaden their perspective account for everything they knew about God.

To fear God means to take seriously everything you know about him and live in a way that respects and responds well to who he is, no matter what the immediate benefits may or may not be. In this case, as it usually does, it meant that the people chose to serve him no matter how low or slow their material, tangible, and temporal blessings seemed to be. We’re familiar with these two competing underlying motives, transactional or devotion.

In marriage, some are loving for comfort, security, or affection, but others are faithful because they’re devoted to their spouse. At work, some labor for pay, praise, or promotion, but others work with integrity because they believe in the mission of the company. In friendship, some stay close because the relationship is useful, but others do so because they truly care. In parent-child relationships, some children obey only for allowance or privileges, while others obey out of love and respect. And in church involvement, some participate for encouragement, help, or social benefits, while others do because they love God and want to worship him no matter what – they fear him.

When immediate benefits slow down or disappear, transactional motives are exposed, but devotion remains steady. And God responds to genuine devotion in a devoted way. He expresses this devotion in Malachi 3:16-18 in four ways.

He remembers those who serve him.

Malachi described how a “book of remembrance” was written before God (3:16). This book could be several things. Some people believe this refers to something called “the Book of Life” elsewhere in the Bible. Others believe it refers to a special book created by God for this specific moment and group of people. Still others believe it refers to a book that people – possibly Malachi himself – created at this moment to write down the names of the people who chose to follow God by faith even when material blessings were thin.

Esther 6 is a good example of this practice. There the Persian king, Ahasuerus, could not sleep, so he ordered the official records to be read to him and realized that a Jewish man named Mordecai had once exposed a plot against his life. That act of loyalty had been written down, preserved, and then brought back to the king’s attention at the right time so he could reward it properly. In this case, he honored and promoted Mordecai, executed Mordecai’s enemy, Haman, and protected Mordecai’s people Israel from destruction.

In the same way, Malachi uses the image of a “book of remembrance” to show that God does not overlook those who fear him. The thief on the cross used the same language, hen he asked Christ to “remember me when you come into your kingdom” (Lk 23:42).

God remembers both disloyalty and loyalty, selfish motives and devotion, and will respond to each in his time. Though immediate blessings may seem few, when the time is right, he will bless, exalt, and reward those who fear him.

He treasures those who serve him.

Not only does God remember those who serve him, but he treasures them. The phrase “make them my jewels” means something like “make them my special treasure” and refers to God choosing some people out of many into a special, unique place of recognition and relationship with him.

In Exo 19:5, at Mount Sinai, when God formed the Hebrew descendants of Abraham into the special nation of Israel, he used the same language to describe all the people of Israel from an ethnic, national standpoint.

If you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine.

Now here, about 1,000 years later, God uses the same language but narrows the scope from all who are born into Israel to all who serve him, fear him, and meditate on his name.

“Possession” is a technical expression of the people of YHWH as His treasure or property, one rightly His by virtue of redemption. (Eugene Merrill)

“Like a shepherd coming to claim his lost sheep and like a bridegroom coming for his bride, God will come to claim his people who are prepared to meet him.” (Taylor & Clendenen)

Think of the many stuffed animals scattered throughout your bedroom (when you were a kid). One or two are clearly your favorite – do you know its name? Anyone can tell which ones they are because they are the most worn. The fur is matted, a seam may be loose, an arm, eye, or leg may be missioned, and all because have been carried, hugged, played with, cried on, and slept with far more than the others. The wear does not make them less valuable to the child; it proves they are especially treasured.

Which is best, to receive treasure from God or be treasured by God? And if earthly, temporal blessings seem thin and if your life of following God seems hard now, which is better – an immediate outpouring of material blessings or hearing and knowing more deeply that God treasures you more than anything else in the world? The cure to disenchantment and disillusionment with God is not more immediate, material blessings from God but a deeper, more personal realization that God treasures you.

He spares those who serve him.

Not only does God remember and treasure those who serve him, but he spares them, too. And here, Malachi leans firmly into this promise to spare them. He does this by repeating the statement twice, one after the other. In the study of biblical Hebrew translation, we call this “telescoping” – it describes how a concept is introduced in one statement, then repeated and expanded from that point more emphatically in the next.

Here, God says he will “spare them” in the first statement, then he says he will “spare them” a second time in the next statement but describes it in an even more special way than the generic statement that came before. So, how does a father spare “his own son who serves him”? Douglas Stewart explains this very helpfully:

“The son who serves his father (or, more neutrally, the child who serves a parent) is twice beloved. He enjoys the love of the father automatically because he is his child, and beyond that he has pleased the father by faithful service. The father’s favor is both natural and earned, both instinctive and merited.”

This special promise explains how God would treat those people of Israel who served him in genuine faith and devotion, not merely for immediate, material blessings. When he finally judged the world in a full and decisive way, he would spare totally spare them from his wrath and judgment – not just a little, but completely.

The word “spare” itself means to show compassion or mercy and speaks of treating someone in a special way that they don’t deserve. And this can only refer to a person who accepts and understands that they are a sinner who deserves God’s judgment, not a good or neutral person who deserves God’s blessing.

And this is one of evidence or symptoms of a transactional relationship with God, one motivated primarily by potential blessings rather than by a deep respect for God himself. This evidence may be called “entitlement,” which is the mindset that God owes you blessing, comfort, and reward – that you inherently deserve these things.

But a heart of genuine faith and devotion to God is not marked by an entitled attitude. It is marked by a humble, repentant attitude that is deeply persuaded you do not deserve his blessing and are amazed that he would remember, treasure, and spare you at all.

He separates those who serve him.

Finally, God not only remembers, treasures, and spares those who are faithfully devoted to him, he separates them, too. Why is this important? To help us understand the purpose for this promise, we should pay attention to the word “again” (Mal 3:18). With this word in mind, we should compare the beginnings of God’s covenant with Israel at Sinai with the people of Israel 1,000 years later after they returned from captivity in Assyria and compare it to how planting a garden works.

When a person plants a garden, it’s easy to tell the difference between the garden and the rest of the countryside around it. This distinction becomes more difficult to see, though, after the onset of weeds. As weeds grow and spread and the garden becomes indistinguishable from the countryside, it becomes necessary to either weed the garden by separating and removing the weeds.

When God established his covenant with Israel at Sinai, it was easy to tell the difference between the people of Israel and the unbelieving people of the world. But as years wore on, the nation became increasingly populated by people who were following God for immediate, material, temporal benefits only. So, at the end of time, God will separate from those who genuinely believe on him from those who do not. Today, that may not immediately be clear, but it will be perfectly clear on that day.

Then you shall again discern between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve Him. (Mal 3:18)

Jesus taught more about this future time of judgement and separation (Mt 13:41-43):

The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!

At this time, the consequences of your motivations for following God will be more crucial than anything you can desire or value in this immediate, material, and temporal life. God will not separate people the way our present world does, by measurable, tangible factors: age group, stage of life, IQ, tax filing status, ethnicity, nationality, professional titles, credit score, gender, marital status, political party, social class, income bracket, and more.

Instead, he will separate and categorize us by one thing – whether or not be believed on Christ, feared God, and served him with genuine, devoted, loyal faith that endured, even in difficult times when material, temporal, immediate blessings were low and slow.

So, in Malachi 3:13-18, we see that the real crisis in Israel wasn’t their difficult, uncomfortable circumstances but their attitude towards God. They had allowed disappointment, delay, and comparison to change their theology. They spoke harshly about God, not with raised fists but with quiet, cynical conversations that spoke of him like we do when we leave 1- and 2-star reviews on Google or Yelp for a business or service-provider who provided unsatisfactory care.

God revealed their transactional motives and contrasted them with a smaller number among them who feared him, meditated his name, and served him even when blessings were low and slow. And God promised that he remembers, treasures, spares, and will one day separate those who truly belong to him. The question Malachi leaves ringing in our ears is not whether God is faithful, but whether we will trust God’s devotion when the immediate rewards are hard to see.

The call for us is clear: believe on Christ, fear God, and serve him with a loyal heart. Let his character and his Word, not your circumstances, shape your conclusions about God, about life, and about the people around you. Examine your motives honestly before him.

Are you following Christ because he is worthy, or because you hope he will make life easier for you today? Are you serving Him for who he is, or for what you hope he will give you? The God who remembers, treasures, spares, and separates his people is looking and listening for hearts that are wholly his, hearts that will follow Christ at any cost, even when blessings are delayed, disguised, or deferred to eternity.

Let us reject the consumer mindset that whispers, “What does it profit to follow Christ?” Today is a good day to realign your heart with the fear of the Lord and renew your loyalty to him, regardless of your circumstances.

A gardener once planted two trees side by side. One grew quickly into a tree that was tall, leafy, and impressive see. The other grew slowly into a tree that was small, sturdy, and unimpressive. Neighbors praised the fast-growing tree, but the gardener kept tending the slow one with careful love and a green thumb.

Years later, a violent storm swept through. The tall tree snapped in half, but the small tree stood firm because its roots had grown slow but deep. Though this surprised many, they didn’t realize that the fast-growing tree had a shallow root system and a fragile trunk.

In the same way, don’t be enamored by or feel entitled to the material blessings this temporal world can offer. Though God can and does bless his people in these ways today, we should be sure not to demand those things from him but rather devote ourselves to serving him because he is worthy. God is not impressed by the quick, comfortable, flashy lifestyles of material success. He treasures the quiet, steady devotion of those who fear him in any circumstance and serve him even when the winds of difficulty and trial blow.

May we at Brookdale be a group of committed believers who are like that tree, rooted, faithful, and standing firm in the end because we know that we don’t deserve God’s blessings and because we believe, fear, and serve him no matter what.

Discussion Questions

• Why do you think we discount the effect of negative speech, like the speech of the  HMS Bounty or the people of Israel?
• How do we operate on a “transactional” (quid quo pro/pay-to-play) basis in our ministry at church? In our prayer lives?
• What are some practical ways that we can maintain proper expectations of God’s blessings to those who serve him?
• What could be some positive aspects to material, tangible blessings being low and slow?
• How is an attitude of humility and repentance an antidote to entitlement?
• What do you desire most during times of disenchantment?
  • How can faith in the future separation of those who serve God from those who do not impact our desires during those times?

Malachi 3:7-12

The book of Malachi is written as a conversation between God and his people. This conversation is important because it happened after 2,000 years of God being faithful to his promise with Abraham and after 1,500 years of being faithful to Abraham’s descendants, rescuing them from slavery in Egypt, forming a permanent covenant with them, and giving them the land of Palestine as their own.

This whole, very long span of time, he had faithfully and loyally loved them – meeting their needs, correcting them when they went astray, and using every means possible to form a close and special relationship with them. Despite his abundant, enduring love for them, he initiated this conversation with them through the prophet Malachi to point out a series of clear ways they were either neglecting or rebelling against their covenant with God.

This conversation is disappointing because each time God points out an area of neglect or rebellion, the people respond with denial and surprise. “How could this be true? Surely, God is misunderstanding something or being hypersensitive.” The dialogue sounds like the script of a parent having a conversation with a child or teenager who isn’t listening well or like an interaction with a person who has fallen into a pattern of projection.

The next section of this conversation continues in this way. And it begins with a blunt, simple statement by God, followed quickly by a surprising observation – surprising to the people, at least.

First, God asks a blunt question: “Will a person rob God?” (3:8). Now, who would knowingly try to do such a thing? It’s an absurd situation, like trying to rob a police officer, cheat against a chess master, pick a fight with a professional wrestler, or injure your mom. To steal from God would make no sense because he knows and sees everything, loves the whole world, and will be the judge of every person.

But God follows with a massive claim: “Yet you have robbed me!” (3:8). He says in unmistakable, unmysterious terms that his own people had robbed him. Not foreigners, not enemies, but his own people. How shocking is that? Somehow, they had taken wrongly for themselves what belonged only, rightfully to him. They had stolen from God.

This claim seems to have surprised the people, because they immediately asked, “How have we robbed you?” (3:8). It seems they had become so desensitized, oblivious, and unaware of their own actions that they were robbing God without realizing it.

Was God accusing the people of kleptomania? Kleptomania is an impulsive behavior, repeatedly stealing items you don’t need due to a strong urge that feels irresistible. But this wasn’t the problem in view. They weren’t stealing from God by taking things away from him; they were stealing from him by withholding what was rightfully his.

A person audited by the government can understand this scenario. You receive a letter in the mail saying you may have wrongly reported or withheld taxes. Unless you have done this intentionally, you are surprised and want to know what you may have done wrong or how you have misunderstood the tax code. Tax rules can be quite complicated, right?

But God’s answer wasn’t hard to understand. He gave a clear and quick answer that didn’t require complicated explanations: “In tithes and offerings” (3:8). Okay, so there you have it. They were robbing God by withholding tithes and offerings they were supposed to be giving to him. So then, what are tithes and offerings? What was God referring to?

The word tithe appears 14 times in the Pentateuch: Genesis 1x (Gen 14:20), Leviticus 5x (Lev 27:30-32), Numbers 3x (Num 18:21, 24, 26), and Deuteronomy 5x (Dt 12:17; 14:23, 28; 26:12), 14x total in the covenant God made with Israel (13x in the rest of the OT).

The word offering appears 44 times in the Pentateuch: Exodus 17x, Leviticus 6x, Numbers 8x, and Deuteronomy 3x. (32x times in the rest of the OT).

When paired together, these words speak of contributions God asked his people to give, and they were to give them for sacred purposes, purposes which were an important part of his covenant with them, which required financial and material resources to do.

Think of it this way. When a man marries a wife, there are some basic financial and material expectations which are an important part of that relationship covenant. The husband now becomes responsible for giving a significant portion of his income to fund things which are important priorities to and for his wife. Not only do they share food, housing, and travel expenses, but he must also provide for her wardrobe, dietary and medical needs, sometimes her education, and also her hobbies and other interests.

If a husband views these marriage obligations as a negative, selfish expectation and refuses to contribute to those needs through his financial and material resources, he is neglectful and unfaithful to her, and he calls into question whether he is devoted, loving, and loyal to her as a husband. He is robbing her. That’s what Israel was doing to God.

So, what are tithes and offerings? Tithe means “tenth part” and refers to 10% of a person’s financial and material increase. Offering is a more general word for a range of things which people were to give to carry out and support God’s sacred purposes.

In OT times, people would give not only money but also other material resources: grain, oil, gold, fruit, jewelry, cloth, animals, silver, bronze, spices, and more. They used money as a form of exchange much less than we do today and did more bartering instead.

These resources were primarily used to support the worship of God in the Temple in three ways: providing supplies needed to conduct worship activities and events, providing resources needed to build or maintain the worship facilities, providing income and resources priests needed to survive and to provide for their families, both when they served as priests (from age 25) and when they retired (from age 50 onward).

These resources were also used to care for the needs of orphans, poor, and widows who had no family to care for them, and of foreign people who had turned to faith in God and lived in Israel but had no inherited land. These were all causes dear to God’s heart, and being in a close relationship with God meant caring for those things together with God and for God with the resources God gave them.

Altogether, the tithes and offerings God called for totaled about 23% of an average man’s annual income in Israel at that time. Knowing this total percentage helps God’s correction and instruction to Israel in Mal 3:10 make more sense:

“Bring all [emphasis added] the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house.”

This food God requested would be stored in warehouses built for this purpose, and the supplies stored in those warehouses would be distributed to provide for priests and their families, for ceremonies and festivals at the Temple, and for orphans, poor, and widows which needed care, as well as foreigners who lived among them without land.

So, to say “bring all the tithes” is a clue that people were not robbing God by giving no tithes and offerings at all (though this may have been true for some people), but by only bringing some tithes and offerings, not all of them. So, the sacred causes previously mentioned and important to God were being neglected, underfunded, and unfulfilled.

Now that we have gained a clear understanding of what God is saying here, let’s do two more things. First, let’s take a closer look not only at the meaning of what God says here, which we have already done, but the significance of it in a spiritual sense. Then, let’s ask how this message applies to us today, if at all – because, in case you haven’t noticed, we’re not Jewish people living in Old Testament Israel and following the Mosaic Law.

Generosity towards God was a test of devotion.

When we talk about things like tithing and giving money to God, it’s easy to think legalistically. We naturally ask questions like, “What should I give,” “how much should I give,” and “how often should I give?”

For a variety of reasons, some more valid than others, we tend to have a negative, pessimistic, and reluctant attitude towards churches and pastors talking about money and tithing. While the reasons for this attitude are important to explore, we don’t have time to do that today. But I hope you can set such an attitude aside, if it even exists in your heart, to recognize two things.

First, God does talk about giving money and resources to support sacred causes which are important to him. Second, just because bad actors have abused this teaching for ungodly purposes is a poor reason to minimize, neglect, or reject this teaching from God. Should a husband refuse to marry a wife or else refuse to give generous support to his wife once married because bad wives exist and have abused this expectation? No.

So, here is the most important question of the day. Not, “what should I give,” “how much should I give,” and “how often should I give?” I’ll attempt to answer those questions briefly at the end of the sermon. But first, we must ask the deeper, motivating question: “Why should I give money and resources to God?”

It tested a person’s devotion to God.

As we’ve already learned, tithes and offerings were not rituals and rules assigned by God because he likes telling people what to do. They also were not God’s way of getting resources from people because he needed their help; God doesn’t need anyone’s help and has all the resources he needs at any time. So, if God doesn’t need his people to give him financial and material resources, why does he ask them to give them to him?

The answer is tied to the way God intended for these resources to be used – those sacred causes of worshiping him and caring for people who relied more directly on him for their livelihood. Though God could provide for these people however he wanted and without any help from people, he called people in a close, loving, covenant relationship with him to be part of this process to test their devotion to him and the things he cares about.

In other words, God wanted to give his people a clear, obvious way to show – beyond words alone – that they were devoted to him by investing in those things which he cared for deeply. Tithes and offerings were God’s way of involving his people in fulfilling his sacred purposes, and they were to do this with resources he gave them for this reason.

“Israel’s attitude toward and use of their possessions was one indication of the health of their relationship with God.” (J. H. Wright)

When they faithfully gave that 23% of their income to the purposes God outlined in his covenant with them, they showed evidence of belief and devotion to him. When they withheld all or some of those contributions, they showed a lack of devotion to God. As Jesus himself would clearly explain 400 years later to the Jewish people:

“Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Mt 6:21)

With this simple test, Christ shows us how to know what we really value in life. If you invest money and resources into your wife and your children, men, that means far more than saying, “I love you,” then turning around to invest large portions of your income into personal development and hobbies while neglecting or resenting any significant financial investments in your wife and children. In his excellent book, Money, Possessions, and Eternity, Randy Alcorn makes this excellent suggestion:

We should consider the converse of what Jesus said in Matthew 6:21: Where our treasure isn’t shows where our heart isn’t.

And that was the primary, underlying reason for tithes and offerings in God’s covenant with Israel. He didn’t ask for these things because he needed these things from them – after all, he was the one who gave them everything for them in the first place. He arranged things this way to give them a clear, obvious way to know and show that they loved him. But this arrangement also tested something else.

It tested God’s devotion to his people.

First, let’s ask, why would people not give tithes and offerings to God, amounting to 23% of their annual income? Reasons could be multiple, ranging from outright rebellion and refusal to ignorance or laziness, to simply being afraid they would not be able to take care of themselves, or at least to provide a lifestyle for themselves that they wanted to have.

Whatever the case, God gave them a challenge. “Try me now in this,” he said (Mal 3:10). The word try me (“test me”) can mean various things in Scripture. Sometimes, it means to challenge or dispute something, as how the first generation of Israel tested God in the wilderness by their repeated complaining and disobedience, testing the limits of God’s longsuffering, mercy, and patience.

Other times, it means to check, evaluate, or test the integrity or reliability of something. When I was in sixth grade, I made a toothpick bridge. Then I tested my bridge by hanging bricks on it in a bucket to see how much weight it could bear without breaking.

That’s what “try me” means here. God is telling his people that if they are withholding tithes and offerings because they feared they couldn’t afford to obey, then they should think differently. If there was something they couldn’t afford, it was withholding tithes not giving them. Their cautious, neglectful, or reticent approach was the reason for their financial and material difficulties, not a solution.

It is wrong to test God with complaining, rebellion, and unbelief, it is not wrong to test him with obedience, especially when he commands it.” (Taylor and Clendenen)

Withholding contributions from God actually put them in a less beneficial, less prosperous position. They were “under a curse” (3:9), something God had warned them about 1,500 years before in the covenant given through Moses (Dt 28:15-68), and which prophets had reminded them about many times since then. He refers to effects of this curse in 3:11 when he says their “fruit was being destroyed” and “vines were failing to produce fruit.”

In summary, he says, “I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes” (3:11), which means he would bring to an end whatever was destroying their crops and reducing their production. Devourer describes “something that eats” and is used in Scripture to describe fire when it devours cities (Hos 8:14), wild animals when they ate crops (Hos 2:12), and locusts, a flying insect which would devour entire fields at harvest.

Here, the devourer refers generally to all or anything which might cause the people’s income or production to decrease or be destroyed. God promised that if they would resume their devotion to him through tithes and offerings, he would reverse the curse and bless them greatly instead. He describes his desire to bless them this way:

“I will open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it.” (3:10)

“Windows [floodgates] of heaven” occurs in Gen 7:11 and 8:2 to describe the source of torrential rains which flooded the entire earth at the time of Noah. But here, God uses this language to describe not floods of divine judgement but floods of divine blessing.

“There will not be room enough to receive it” should remind us of v.10, where God tells Israel to bring all their tithes into his storehouse at the Temple. In other words, if they would fill his warehouses with tithes and offerings to use for his sacred purposes, he would fill their own personal storage places (barns, stables, vats, warehouses, wells, etc.) so completely that they wouldn’t even have room to contain it all.

When (if) people showed their devotion to God by bringing all their tithes and offerings to him, he would bless and prosper them so abundantly that neighboring, surrounding nations and people in the world would be amazed and drawn to God by seeing the devotion and generosity of his people and the devotion and generosity of God.

“All nations will call you blessed, for you will be a delightful land,” says the LORD of hosts.

From this we see that God desires to bless his people not only for their own enjoyment and pleasure, though this is also true, but he desires to do this so that other people will see his glory and be drawn to faith in him.

Generosity towards God today is a test of devotion and delight.

With these things in mind, let’s now ask, “How do these things God said to Israel in the OT apply to us today?” Let me make a clear and simple observation. The NT gives no specific commands to tithe. The only times the NT speaks about tithing are when Jesus corrects the Pharisees for their wrong view of tithing or when the writer of Hebrews makes observations about tithing that happened in the OT.

But this doesn’t mean that we have no need to give financially and materially to support God’s sacred causes. Consider the following NT statements given to people in the church. These statements reveal some of God’s sacred causes today and they are very similar to the sacred causes of God in the OT.

Supporting Pastoral Leaders in the Church

Churches don’t have priests to serve them since all believers are priests today. But churches do have pastors and teachers to provide them with spiritual care and guidance.

The Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should live from the gospel. (1 Cor 9:14)

Let him who is taught the word share in all good things with him who teaches. (Gal 6:6)

Supporting Other Faithful Members in the Church with Real Needs

Churches don’t have a large-scale obligation to care for the needs of underprivileged people in our community, as Israel did, because Israel was both a religious group as well as a government. Churches are not the government, so some of those needs are to be cared for by our government instead. Even so, the NT does call churches to care for genuine needs of members within the church who have no other source of support.

Widows and Orphans: Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble… (Jam 1:27)

Widows: Honor widows who are really widows. (1 Tim 5:3)

Other Churches in Need: Then the disciples, each according to his ability, determined to send relief to the brethren dwelling in Judea. (Acts 11:29)

Other Churches in Need: It pleased those from Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor among the saints who are in Jerusalem. (Rom 15:25-27)

Supporting Other Faithful Ministers

Even in Thessalonica you sent aid once and again for my necessities. (Phil 4:16)

Beloved, you do faithfully whatever you do for the brethren and for strangers, who have borne witness of your love before the church. If you send them forward on their journey in a manner worthy of God, you will do well. (3 Jn 5-6)

And as we do life and ministry together as a church, there are necessary financial and resource demands that come with that – things like building maintenance, insurance, and other practical costs associated with the ministry and worship that we do together.

As followers of Christ and members of this church together, God calls us – among other things – to give financially and materially to support God’s sacred purposes in the church, which is his Bride. While we don’t have a command to “tithe” today, we do have clear guidance from God to churches in the NT to provide generous support to the church as a faithful, loving response to God’s grace – not out of duty but from devotion and delight.

Consider what the following NT Scriptures teach us about giving in the church today, taken from 2 Corinthians 8-9:

Moreover, brethren, we make known to you the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia: that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded in the riches of their liberality. For I bear witness that according to their ability, yes, and beyond their ability, they were freely willing, imploring us with much urgency that we would receive the gift and the fellowship of the ministering to the saints. (2 Cor 8:1-4)

From this we see we should give (1) motivated by God’s grace, (2) even during difficult trials, (3) motivated by joy, (4) liberally (generously), (5) sacrificially, and (6) willingly.

As you abound in everything – in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all diligence, and in your love for us – see that you abound in this grace also. (2 Cor 8:7)

From this we see we should seek to be abundant, generous givers just as we should seek to be abundant and faithful in other acts of Christian faith, speech, learning, ministry, and love. We should not view these other means of Christian service and support for the church as alternatives to financial giving, nor should we view financial giving as an alternative to these other forms of service. But we should include generous, willing financial support for the church and its vital functions as an essential part of our church responsibilities portfolio, so to speak.

The rest of 2 Cor 8 provides more good teaching about being a generous giver to the church, then 2 Cor 9 gives some practical guidance for how to do this:

Prepare your generous gift beforehand, which you had previously promised, that it may be ready as a matter of generosity and not as a grudging obligation. (2 Cor 9:5)

Paul said something similar in 1 Cor 16:2, when he said:

On the first day of the week let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper, that there be no collections when I come.

From this we see the wisdom of giving intentionally, regularly, and with planning, not just spontaneously “in the moment.” We also see more encouragement to give generously, not out of mere obligation or pressure. 2 Cor 9:6-7 continues emphasizing these themes:

He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.

Again, we see an increased emphasis on being generous, being purposeful, planned, and intentional, being willing not coerced, and being cheerful and glad to give, not reluctant to do so. And we see that when we give this way, God promises to bless us abundantly in return, however he desires to do so.

The administration of this service not only supplies the needs of the saints, but also is abounding through many thanksgivings to God, while, through the proof of this ministry, they glorify God for the obedience of your confession to the gospel of Christ, and for your liberal sharing with them and all men. (2 Cor 9:12-13)

Here, Paul emphasizes the importance of giving to meet the needs of fellow believers in the church – which includes both church leaders and other members and churches in financial need. Then he points out how generous giving in this way greatly increases praise to God and the beauty and power of the gospel. And all of this happens when people in the church are generous in their giving to the needs of the church.

You might say, “Well, this all sounds good, but I just can’t afford to give much at all.” Or you might say, I agree with all of this in theory, but I’m not genuinely happy about it, so I don’t want to give in an insincere way – therefore I don’t give much right now. If you feel this way, then you’re not alone. According to a recent survey by Vanco, a provider of church management and stewardship solutions:

• Just 27% of churchgoers give at least the traditional tithe of 10% of their income, and that figure has stayed fairly consistent in recent years.
• Roughly 70% of all Christian giving comes from the top 10 percent of Christian donors.

This last stat matches a common, recurring phenomenon in which a small percentage of people in a church provide the majority of financial contributions and support. But does it have to be that way, and more specifically, does it have to be that way at Brookdale?

Let me remind you what Christ himself taught us – and this is not just a requirement of the OT law, it is a universal principle we should wholeheartedly embrace.

Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. (Mt 6:33)

Here, Christ teaches us to make the priorities of his kingdom our top priority. When we do, he promises to take care of all our earthly needs. Do you believe this and do you have intentional, regular habits of giving generously, joyfully, and willingly to support the sacred causes which are dear to God’s heart through the church? Jesus also said this:

“Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.” (Lk 6:38)

And while we’re at it, you should know that he also said this – and Paul said this is something we would do well to remember:

Remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” (Acts 20:35)

And according to Jesus, it is much better to give than receive. And this is so true in a church for sure. It is one thing to be blessed, encouraged, and served by a faithful church, but it is so much more special to give back to that church, to become a generous contributor, donor, and supporter, not just a receiver. And doing this shows not only devotion but delight in God’s sacred purposes.

At Brookdale, we call this our Mission Investment Plan (MIP), which is an annual financial guide the pastors and deacons prepare and the church approves. It maps out the cost of doing the things we need to do as a church to fulfill our sacred purposes. It also features three levels – an essentials level, a growth level, and an abundance level, which gives us additional opportunities to expand and increase our effectiveness if we devote ourselves and find delight in giving back to God in an especially generous and joyful way.

If you are a member or considering becoming a member of our church, I would encourage you to be familiar with our MIP and to ask yourself before God if this is a way that you could express your devotion and delight in God for his church through your financial support. Our deacons or pastors would be very happy to talk about this with you. We also have a deacons’ fund, which is a special way we have of caring for people in need, as Scripture calls us to do.

In closing, let me pass along some wise and motivating words by Randy Alcorn about a possible response I might have to a sermon like this:

“God says not to give if you can’t give cheerfully. I can’t give cheerfully so I don’t give!” God wants us to be cheerful, yes, but he also wants us to be obedient. The path to cheerfulness is not by abstaining from giving, but giving even when we don’t feel like it. If we’re not cheerful, the problem is our heart, and the solution is redirecting our heart, not withholding our giving. Our heart follows our treasures (Matthew 6:21). Put your treasures in God’s kingdom, and a cheerful heart will eventually follow. God also loves an obedient giver.”

In conclusion, while we don’t live under the OT law today, the NT clearly teaches many similar principles: God still calls his people to give generously, willingly, and joyfully to support the sacred causes that matter deeply to him through the church. And if God expected his people to contribute 23% of their annual income for his sacred purposes before Christ died on the cross, how much more should the grace of Christ given to us now move us to be generous financial supporters of his church today?

Though we have not taken time today to address all the reasons why people may feel pessimistic or reticent about giving money to the church today, I hope this simple and straightforward teaching from Scripture has persuaded you that this is a good and important, even exciting, thing to do. And if you have questions about anything in this message, please feel free to speak with a pastor or deacon to learn more. Is it possible that you are robbing God? If so, it doesn’t have to stay that way. You can be a generous, joyful giver to the sacred causes that God cares about deeply.

Discussion Questions

• What is an example of a big purchase (at the time) for which you saved up when you were younger? (Either as a child or even as an adult.)
• Since God does not need people’s money to fund his purposes in the world, why does he ask believers to give toward his cause?
• What does Jesus teach that we can discover from our financial investment habits in Matthew 6:21?
• Is God’s command to “try” him surprising to you? How can it be right to test God?
• In what ways does generous giving to God glorify him?
• Should we give when we do not feel cheerful about it? (2 Cor 9:7)

Malachi 2:17–3:6

A parent stands in the doorway of the family room. With dinner nearly ready and toys across the floor, they tell their child, calmly and clearly, “It’s time to pick up your toys.” The child barely looks up. “I’m still playing with them,” she says. The parent replies, “You’ve had hours to play and dinner is almost ready.” But the child replies, “You never let me finish anything.”

“That’s not true, I’ve let you finish many things, just look at all the pictures and building sets sitting on the table over there.” “You’re always telling me what to do.” “I’m your parent. Pick them up.” “But you never listen to me,” replies the child. And then the child looks straight at the parent and says, “Why don’t you ever listen to me?”

Conversations like this are hard to handle. How should we respond when the person we speak with shifts blame, ignores correction, and accuses you of the very ways in which they are wrong. That sort of interaction is expected from children and can happen from teenagers, too. But unfortunately, it often happens from adults, too. When adults interact this way with God, it is especially disappointing.

This is what Israel was doing to God in Malachi 2:17–3:6. In fact, it’s what they do through the entire book of Malachi. God gives them a correction or statement and they argue and ask questions right back, saying things which show they aren’t listening to what he says.

• He’s told them how deeply he loves them, but they questioned his love.
• He’s told them they are being disrespectful, but they insist they are being respectful.
• He’s told them they are being disloyal, but they insist they are being loyal.

Back and forth they go until next, they question whether God is just and faithful. Have you ever done this? Have you ever argued with God rather than take seriously what he says?

We weary God when we ask insincere questions about his justice. (2:17)

The people of Israel were accusing God of favoring evil people over them. They said, “Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and he delights in them,” and asked, “Where is the God of justice?”

It seems these were two popular sayings repeated by people in Israel at that time. With these comments, they accused God of failing to be who he claimed to be and expressed dissatisfaction with God and what he was doing in their lives. They had a pessimistic view of God’s character and promises and portrayed God as being inconsistent and negligent.

There’s an English idiom, “Not all it’s cracked up to be.” It’s based on an old use of the word “crack,” which meant to brag highly about something or talk something or someone up. The famous American pioneer, Davy Crocket, said this about Martin van Buren (a politician who became the 8th U.S. president), “He’s not all he’s cracked up to be.”

Doubters and skeptics through the ages have raised similar remarks about God, saying he’s not all Scripture claims him to be. But Malachi says comments like these “weary God.” To be weary means to be physically exhausted from strenuous labor or emotionally exhausted due to relentless frustration. Endless, unresolved arguments can do this.

Since God is all-powerful and infinite, we know he cannot be weary in a literal sense (Isa 40:28). In fact, he is the source of strength for people who are weary (Isa 43:29-31). So, when God says people weary him, he is saying that his patience is nearing an end. And what was bringing his patience to an end? The senseless claims and questions of Israel.

God didn’t view questions like theirs as expressions of natural curiosity, healthy relationship building, or searching for the truth. He viewed them as expressions of foolish, stubborn unbelief about things which are clearly, plainly obvious. This disproves a maxim promoted by scientist Carl Sagan and popularized by newspaper columnist, Abigail Van Buren, author of the Milwaukee newspaper column “Dear Abby.”

“There are naïve questions, tedious questions, ill-phrased questions, questions put after inadequate self-criticism. But every question is a cry to understand the world. There is no such thing as a dumb question.” (Carl Sagan)

“There is no such thing as a stupid question if it's sincere. Better to ask and risk appearing stupid than to continue on your ignorant way and make a stupid mistake.” (Dear Abby)

According to God, there *are* bad questions. Israel had numerous claims and statements by God from numerous prophets in Scripture, esp. the words of God’s covenant with Israel through Moses, plus countless impressive, undeniable examples of God’s faithfulness, justice, and loyalty shown to their forefathers and themselves in real-time. Their questions ignored these obvious evidences of God’s justice and loyalty.  

Bad questions to God are those which people ask about God which show they are ignoring the obvious answers he has already given. Bad questions are those which people ask when they already know the answer.

Sometimes people take something they’re experiencing or guilty of themselves and shift the blame or guilt onto someone else. A suspicious friend who has been talking behind your back accuses you of gossiping. A jealous coworker who feels threatened by your success at work accuses you of trying to show off. A detached church member tells people that their church is standoffish and judgmental.

These are examples of “projection,” which occurs if someone attributes their own attitudes, failures, motives, or sins to another person. This often happens unintentionally, without realizing it. And this is what Israel was doing to God in Malachi 2:17–3:6. They accused him of inconsistency and injustice, qualities which described themselves instead. They were the ones, not God, who were favoring evil people and behaving unjustly. They were the ones offering disrespectful sacrifices, divorcing their spouses for selfish reasons, marrying people who worshiped idols, and more. Douglas Stewart observes:

Sinners are invariably inconsistent. The thief is always outraged when someone steals from him. The liar is deeply offended when someone lies to her. The cheater deeply resents finding that she has been defrauded, and the murderer wants himself and his family to live in peace. The expectations of sinners are characteristically hypocritical.

The apostle Paul acknowledges this problem when he says:

You are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things. (Rom 2:1)

Have you ever caught yourself doing the same thing, accusing other people or God himself of letting you down in a way that you yourself failed God or other people? Children do this naturally and it’s easy to spot when they do:

• A child fails his exam at school and blames his parents for the result. He claims that the chores and bedtimes they assigned prevented him from studying well. The reality, though, is that he used his free time to nap, read books, and play computer games.
• A child breaks something valuable and blames her parents for leaving it where she could reach it. She says the accident was really their fault, but the reality is that she had been told multiple times not to play carelessly in that area but ignored the warning.

When we do this as adults to God, we act like children and God is not impressed with our antics with this attitude. There is a key difference, though, between people criticizing God and children criticizing parents. At one point or another, children realize their parents, no matter how loving and wise they may be, are imperfect sinners, so there is always an angle or way to find a flaw or imperfection with them. But when we criticize God, we act worse than a child because there is no imperfection with him. There is nothing to criticize.

If anyone wants to be clever, they can accuse God of being unjust and negligent because he doesn’t judge evil immediately to the full degree. But even that is disingenuous and self-contradictory because if God did judge evil immediately to the full degree, no one would survive a day free from divine judgment. Be careful what you wish for.

Sure, God’s justice can be hard to see because he doesn’t judge evil immediately to the full degree. But he is just, nonetheless. As the German poet Friedrich von Logau said:

Though the mills of God grind slowly, yet they grind exceeding small; though with patience He stands waiting, with exactness grinds He all.

So, God responded to these sayings of Israel by announcing some of his plans. These plans would begin to occur about 400 years later. Patience would be required, and even then, once they began, they would require even more patience to happen completely.

He promised to send a messenger – John the Baptist. (3:1)

Sometimes a parent will respond to a child’s attempts at blame shifting and projection by taking some immediate action to prove their child wrong.

• “You never let me have any fun,” says the child. So, the parent cancels homework for the night to play games and watch a movie late into the night.
• “You don’t care about me because you make me eat stuff I don’t like,” says the child. So, the parent makes a separate meal for the child and increases their dessert.
• “You don’t love me,” says the child in a tantrum at the store. So, the parent buys them a candy bar or toy to prove they love them.

Kneejerk reactions like these comes from insecurity in the heart of a parent, but God has no insecurity and nothing to prove. He knows he is faithful and just and that these facts are blatantly obvious, no matter what we may say about him. So, to respond to the wearisome questions of the people of Israel, God stood firm and remained calm in his response to their childishness.

He didn’t stoop to their level with a quick, immediate response, doing something right to prove he is just and faithful. He gave them a big-picture, long-term response about what he had planned for the future, four hundred years later. This response showed he had a just and faithful plan but was working it out intentionally and would not be rushed.

• “You never let me have any fun,” says the child. So, the parent explains how if they do their homework, they will do better in school and be more likely to do get a good job in the future.
• “You don’t care about me because you make me eat stuff I don’t like,” says the child. So, the parent explains the complexity of building a meal schedule, how healthy food helps them grow strong and prevents disease in their future.
• “You don’t love me,” says the child in a tantrum at the store. So, the parent explains the difference between needs and wants, shows how much the family already spends on groceries, and reveals how much they need to save for their summer vacation.

God explained that his justice would involve sending a messenger. We could say “another” messenger, since Malachi was also a messenger of God, not only since he was an OT prophet but since that’s what his name means, literally. The word/name “Malachi” is the Hebrew word for “messenger.” By promising to send a messenger in the future, God was telling people to look for another messenger both after Malachi and like Malachi.

The OT speaks about this messenger three times, twice in Malachi and once in Isaiah:

Behold, I send My messenger, and he will prepare the way before Me. (Mal 3:1)

Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet Before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD. (Mal 4:5)

The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.” (Isa 40:3)

Jesus quoted Mal 3:1 to explain that John the Baptist fulfilled this prophecy (Mt 11:10):

This is he of whom it is written: “Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, who will prepare Your way before You.”

Though John the Baptist would arrive four hundred years later to prepare people to receive and believe on Jesus Christ, this approach accomplished several things.

First, it proved that though God was not reactionary in his justice, doing something right away because people questioned him, he was faithful and just to his people. Rather than destroy or disown them for their insolence, he would remain faithful to his covenant with them for another four hundred years. Second, it proved the faithfulness of God because four hundred years, John the Baptist came just as Malachi had promised.

In the business world, there is a mantra, “make a plan, work the plan.” This motto separates dreamers from doers and recognizes that deliberate movement in a clear direction towards clear goals is far better and just than quick reactions and bursts of speed. More than anyone else, it describes the nature and behavior of our faithful God.

He doesn’t let our criticisms and questions force kneejerk reactions. He made a plan in eternity by his sovereignty, and he simply works out that plan one intentional, well-planned step at a time. And nothing you ever do or say will change what he is doing. Whether you agree or not, he knows he is faithful and just, and that’s all that matters.

He promised to send a refiner – Jesus Christ. (3:2-5)

After announcing that John the Baptist would come, God also announced another messenger who would come right after him. Notice this sudden change in the middle of 3:1 from speaking about the messenger, John the Baptist, to speaking about himself (“me”) and “the Lord.” This shift in the sentence mirrors the quick shift that would happen between the public ministries of John the Baptist and Jesus. Jesus would come onto the scene only a few months after John the Baptist began preparing people to hear him.

In 3:1, Malachi describes this third messenger as “the Messenger of the covenant” and calls him “the Lord.” What’s more, he claims that the Temple is “his” Temple, which can only be a reference to God himself, who would prove to be none other than Jesus Christ. To the Jews living in Jerusalem at that time, this referred to the newly rebuilt Temple that Ezra had recently help them build. The one to whom this Temple belonged would come!

Only months after the birth of John the Baptist, the parents of Jesus took him to the Jerusalem temple at eight days old (Lk 2:21-38), and he spent much time worshiping and teaching there during his ministry. And he was the one who cast out the people selling animals in the Temple for sacrifices, using worship of God as a money-making scheme.

This announcement of a coming messenger followed by the Messenger, God himself, was God’s answer to the crazy question of 2:17. Question: “Where is the God of justice?” Answer: he’s coming to the Temple soon (in 400 years). You will know it is him because another man like Malachi and Elijah will announce him several months in advance.

Moving on, Malachi described the behavior of this third Messenger, Jesus Christ, to be like a silver refiner or a laundry worker.

A silver refiner is someone whose work is to apply controlled, intense heat to raw silver so that every impurity rises to the surface and can be removed.

“A laundry worker’s task was to clean clothes by soaking them in water in which lye had been dissolved, then beating and scrubbing them, and finally rinsing them. This was a separation process as well—separating dirt from fabric. The dirt was taken away and the pure fabric remained, just as in refining the slag was taken away by the heat of the fire and the pure metal remained.” (Douglas Stuart)

From these illustrations, we see that God would eventually remove and cleanse out from Israel those who didn’t genuinely believe on him and from those who did. Because he is just something they questioned, he would not bless them indiscriminately.

He would purify the priests and spiritual leaders (“the sons of Levi”), for instance, separating those who were genuine believers from those who were not, to restore genuine worship and end the hypocritical worship they were engaging in.

But he would do this for all people, too, not just the priests. He would judge people who practice sorcery, commit adultery, do perjury, deprive workers of wages, oppress widows and orphans, and withhold justice from foreigners. What do these sins refer to?

• Sorcery: any kind of magic or supernatural behavior which sought information and power from the supernatural world apart from God himself.
• Adultery: immoral, sensual activity which violated the covenant of marriage.
• Perjury: lying under oath, which often included invoking God’s name and honor.
• Depriving wages: mistreating and taking advantage of people who rely on you for their needs only to benefit yourself.
• Oppressing widows and orphans: mistreating and taking advantage of people who have no one to care for them.
• Withholding justice from foreigners: mistreating and taking advantage of people who are at a disadvantage because they weren’t native to that area.

All these practices were clearly forbidden in God’s covenant with his people, given by Moses. They were a matter of loyalty and justice. When people do these things (and things like this), they show that they “do not fear God” (3:5), which means they do not take God seriously. They also show that they are genuinely concerned about justice. They may say they care about justice and may even accuse God of being unjust, but in reality, if they do these things, they are not genuinely concerned about justice at all.

God says that Jesus will be both the witness and judge. He “will come near for judgment” and “be a swift witness” (3:5). This resembles what John later presents as the Great White Throne judgment, that final judgment which will occur for all people (Rev 21:5-8):

He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new” … but the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”

What we read in 3:2-5 refers to the full sweep of Christ’s coming into the world, from the time he came as an infant, teacher, and sacrifice 2,000 years ago to the time he will come as a judge in the future still to come. And though this would all begin to occur 400 years after Malachi spoke these words and though some of these things have yet to occur, one this is very clear – and this is what we must acknowledge.

We are the ones who change, not God. (3:6-7)

“I am the LORD, I do not change; therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob. Yet from the days of your fathers you have gone away from My ordinances and have not kept them. Return to Me, and I will return to you,” says the LORD of hosts. “But you said, ‘In what way shall we return?’”

If you’re tempted to agree that God isn’t “all he’s cracked up to be” in Scripture, then you’re tempted by a wrong idea. It is not God who says one thing but does another. That would be us. We, like the people of Israel, say good things but do bad things. While God’s justice may move slowly, it moves steadily and surely. While we are the ones who make U-turns and take wrong exits, God doesn’t change directions. God is just, we are not.

For more than 2,000 years, God had repeatedly proven himself just countless times. In the covenant he made with Israel at Mount Sinai, he featured a variety of commands and principles we expected his people to follow, both for how they worshiped him and how they treated others. In all these instructions, he insisted upon justice for all in every way.

Through all those years, he had been faithful – through all those years, he had been so, so good.  It was the people, not God, who had been unfaithful, unjust, and unloving, both to him and to one another. Therefore, it was them who needed to change, not God. And because God is faithful and just, he did two things.

First, he gave them the clear call and opportunity to repent and return to him. If they would acknowledge their sin and turn to God in faith, he would forgive their sin and bless them.
Second, he promised to give them a Savior, a “messenger of the covenant” who would make this forgiveness and salvation possible. In Lk 22:20, we see Jesus Christ speak as this “messenger of the covenant” four hundred years after Malachi wrote this message.

Likewise, He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you.” (Lk 22:20)

As Malachi finishes God’s reply to Israel’s senseless question, “Where is the God of justice?” he makes something very clear. God is not absent, indifferent, or unfaithful. He had a plan to come to them in a new and special way, to show his justice and faithfulness to them in a way not seen before.

When Jesus, this “messenger of the covenant,” came, he didn’t merely argue with the religious leaders or call out the people’s sins – which he did. He came to do what God had promised all along, not only to cleanse and remove wicked people from among them, but also to cleanse and remove sin and injustice from the hearts of people who would repent and return to him.

Most importantly, he showed God’s justice and forgiveness at the cross, where he shed his own blood as the consequence and covering for our sin. The justice of God was not denied at the cross, it was displayed there.

That is why Luke 22:20 is such a fitting place for us to close today: “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you.” The people in Malachi’s day questioned God’s justice and loyalty, but at the Lord’s Table we remember that God’s justice and mercy meet perfectly in Christ. Here is the covenant Messenger, not only announcing God’s justice, but fulfilling it with his own blood – showing us the injustice of our sin and dying for the guilty, so that we can return to God in full forgiveness and faith.

So, as we come to the Lord’s Supper today, let us come with any thoughts or accusations against God, but trusting him, not questioning his love, but remembering it, not excusing our sin, but confessing it. And let us eat this bread and drink this cup with hearts of humble gratitude, because the God whose justice we could never satisfy has satisfied it for us with his Son, the messenger of God’s covenant of faithfulness.

May we stop accusing God of things for which we ourselves are guilty because he himself died as though guilty for our sins so that we may, with complete justice, go free.

Malachi 2:10-16
In the 50s and 60s, my father bought packs of baseball cards at the general store. In those days, they came with a stick of gum inside. He would chew the gum, then put the baseball cards on his bicycle spokes to make his bike sound like it had a motor. Today, those baseball cards would be worth thousands, hundreds of thousands, even millions of dollars if he had taken good care of them, but because he used them on his bicycle wheels instead, he “devalued” them. That’s what we are doing with marriage in America today.

In the 1950s, 20-22 was the median age for getting married. In 2025, the median age has risen by 10 years to 30-32. What’s more, statistics show that there are fewer marriages in the U.S. on a per-person average than at any previous point. Why might this be the case? While a variety of answers may be given as contributing causes, one answer must certainly be made clear: we disparage marriage. We treat it like something with low value.

According to a website called “WhattoGetMy.com,” there are five good reasons to marry:

• For relational reasons – to provide love that helps each other survive a difficult world.
• For financial reasons – to save money, especially by reducing taxes.
• For psychological reasons – to gain a sense of acceptance and confidence.
• For legal reasons – to provide better protection of property in case of a divorce.
• For professional reasons – married men earn more than single men.

The article goes on to point out that married people tend to experience better health, too.

But if these are the main reasons to marry, then marriage is no more important than going to Disneyland, taking on a hobby, investing in the stock market, or going on a diet. It’s good to do because it’s fun, beneficial, and improves your quality of life.

But marriage is far more important and valuable than this. It is a sacred, serious, special covenant before God. It is so special that more often than not you should want to do it, and it is so serious that you should do whatever you can to maintain that covenant for life, even at great personal cost.

In Malachi 2:10-16, God confronts and corrects a wrong view of marriage by his own people. He reminds them of two primary purposes for marriage, and between these two purposes he points out two ways they were violating these purposes. Let’s take a look.

For God’s people, marriage pictures God’s covenant with his people. (v. 10)

In 2:10, God asks three questions of his people. The first two questions reminded them about some important, obvious facts. The third question, then, draws attention to some wrong behavior which contradicted these facts. In other words, the first two questions point out what the people claimed to believe and know about God, then the third points out how their behavior contradicted the beliefs they claimed to hold.

This sequence is based on the premise that what you say you believe may not be what you actually believe. What you actually believe is revealed not by verbal statements but by the way you choose to live.

My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. (1 Jn 3:18)

Frank Harrison, the CEO of Coca-Cola seemed to understand this when he said, “The only words that matter are the ones backed by action.”

People contradict their stated beliefs with their actual behavior in all sorts of ways.

• We talk about good health but drink soda and eat junk food frequently.
• We say sleep matters but watch television shows late into the night.
• We claim to value friendship but do very little to make new friends.
• We tell others to save but don’t cut costs, track spending, or save money ourselves.

According to what God said through Malachi, a major way people contradict their stated beliefs by their actions is in marriage. They claim to believe in God but then contradict that belief by how they behave towards marriage. In fact, our behavior towards marriage should be motivated more than anything else by theology, our belief about God.

For instance, the people of Israel claimed to believe two things about God: that he was their divine, supernatural Father and that he had created them as a special nation (2:10).

On your first reading of this verse, you might think Malachi is referring to God as the Father and Creator of all people, which he is. But that universal truth is not what Malachi has in view. He is referring to God’s special relationship with the people whom he had entered a covenant thousands of years before. He became their Father when he made a promise to form a special nation from Abraham’s descendants, then rescued them from Egypt and created them into a special nation of his own at Mount Sinai through Moses.

The prophet Isaiah speaks about Israel as the special people of God in the same way:

Everyone who is called by My name, whom I have created for My glory; I have formed him, yes, I have made him. (Isa 43:7)

And it was because of this special relationship they had with God as their Father and Creator as a people that they were called to behave towards marriage in a serious way.

Today, we who follow Christ by faith are not the nation of Israel, we are also a special people created by God through faith in Christ. The NT makes this very clear.

If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. (2 Cor 5:17)

We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. (Eph. 2:10)

Since we are also a created by God to be his special people through Christ, we have clear expectations from him for our behavior towards marriage. Our behavior towards marriage is God’s special way of revealing his faithfulness and the truth of the gospel.

“Just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her.” (Eph 5:24-25)

More than anything else, a Christian marriage is supposed to be a living illustration of the gospel, a visible picture of God’s relationship with his people today. And we should prepare for marriage, pursue marriage, enter marriage, and persevere in marriage with this primary motivation and purpose guiding our hearts.

In Malachi’s day, the problem was that God’s people were not treating marriage as a theological choice or as a covenant that revealed important things about their God. And though any marriage breakdowns are a sad situation for sure, breakdowns in the marriage of a person who claims to follow Christ is doubly heartbreaking because it expresses wrong messages about God and the gospel.

In 2:10-16, God uses some strong and tragic language to describe certain kinds of breakdowns in the marriages of his people. He says that we degrade, desecrate, and devalue (“profane”) the experience of marriage. He also describes these failures not as accidents or mistakes but to betrayal and treason (“treachery”). He uses “treachery” five times in seven verses and “profane” twice, which shows how strongly he feels about this.

To “profane” is to treat something valuable like trash, as when my father used valuable baseball cards as flaps on his bicycle wheels. Other examples of treating something in a profane way would be using an antique heirloom dining table as a workbench, wearing a suit or expensive dress on a camping trip, or hosting a paintball battle inside your house.

“Treason” (or “treachery”) is an even more tragic word. According to LegalClarity.com:

Treason is one of the most serious crimes under U.S. law, carrying severe legal consequences. Defined in 18 U.S.C. 2381, it applies to acts that betray the United States, such as waging war against the country or aiding its enemies.

When we fail to treat marriage with the devotion, honor, and respect that God asks of his special, created people, we don’t just “make a mistake” or “mess up” a little, we help the enemy spread a wrong view about God and we betray one another, too.

God also uses the language “committing an abomination” (v. 11) to describe certain failures in marriage. An “abomination” is a detestable, repulsive thing, which is heartbreaking not only because it is wrong but because marriage, of all things, is something God values in a special way. It is “the Lord’s holy thing which he loves” (2:11).

So, how did God’s people, Israel, devalue marriage? Malachi points out two ways.

We violate this picture if we knowingly marry an unbelieving spouse. (vv. 11-12)

Mal 2:11 says God’s people ruined God’s purpose for marriage by marrying people who worshipped other gods. He goes on to clarify that he is speaking of people who do this knowingly (“being awake and aware,” v. 12). This excludes people who marry someone who seems to follow Christ only to reveal sometime after marriage that they do not.

The problem here is not that the people of Israel were marrying people from other ethnic backgrounds and cultures. God is not opposed to such marriages. In fact, numerous such marriages occurred in Scripture with God’s blessing. The problem here is not differences of background or culture but differences of faith.

God describes how such people, after they married unbelieving spouses, would continue to go through the motions of worshiping God, coming to the Temple to offer prayers and sacrifices, acting as if everything were okay. “They bring an offering to the Lord of hosts” (v. 12) and they “cover the altar of the Lord with tears, with weeping and crying” (v. 13).

Since God had created them to be a special people who belonged to him and would reflect and reveal his goodness and nature to the world for their salvation and God’s glory, then they were only to marry people who shared their faith in God. (Notice that parents do have a degree of responsibility in who they will accept or allow their child to marry.)

“You shall not give your daughter to their son, nor take their daughter for your son. For they will turn your sons away from following Me, to serve other gods; so the anger of the Lord will be aroused against you and destroy you suddenly.” (Dt 7:3-4)

To marry a spouse who worshiped another god is, in God’s view, an act of treason – like partnering with the enemy of God. It turns people, including the spouse, away from God not towards him, which is the very opposite effect of what marriage is intended to do.

But God’s people were not only marrying people who did not believe in God, they were divorcing their spouses to do so.

We violate this picture if we abandon our spouse for selfish reasons. (vv. 13-15)

God brings attention to a second way his people violated the purpose of marriage. Not only were they marrying spouses who worshipped other gods, but some were divorcing their wives to marry unbelieving ones. Some, for instance, had married while young and captives in Persia. Now that they returned to Jerusalem, they met other women they liked better, so they divorced their former wives to marry unbelieving ones they liked more.

Here it is important to clarify something. Notice how I said, “if we abandon our spouse for selfish reasons.” I did not simply say, “if we divorce our spouse.” To be sure, every divorce is heartbreaking. Just ask anyone who has been wrongfully divorced or who has been abandoned, abused, or been the victim of adultery and filed for a divorce as a result. There is nothing easy about it. But not all divorces are equal. Some divorce is allowed by God, though heartbreaking for sure, as the offended party will always agree, while other divorces are forbidden by God. It is these second kinds of divorces – not all divorce – that God is confronting here in Malachi 2:10-16.

In God’s covenant with Israel, he gave an allowance for divorce (Dt 24:1). This provision permitted divorce for things ranging from immorality to serious nondisclosures. Such disclosures could include finding out after marriage that your spouse worshiped another god. Even the NT teaching of Christ and the apostle Paul permitted divorce for egregious violations of the marriage covenant. Such egregious violations include abandonment, abuse, and adultery (though even then, divorce should not be a hasty or quick option, and forgiveness and restoration should always be an option).

The problem here in Mal 2:15-16, though, is not that divorce had occurred but why occurred. People, esp. men, were divorcing their spouses for invalid, selfish reasons. This would be like our “no fault” divorces today in which we simply declare “incompatibility” and walk away.

Now, here’s where I need you to put on your “thinking caps.” Mal 2:16 is notably difficult to translate. Many translations translate it to say that “God hates divorce” (Mal 2:16). But there is another very possible way to translate this verse, one that connects the “he” back to the men who were divorcing their wives (2:15).

This translation would read something like this: “For the Lord God of Israel says that he [the treacherous husband] hates, divorces, then covers his garment with violence” (2:16).

If this is correct, then this statement explains what Mal 2:15 means to “deal treacherously” with your wife. It means to “hate, scorn, or decrease in status” your spouse in your mind and heart. If you let attitudes, feelings, and thoughts like this linger unresolved, then you will become more susceptible to actually acting on those thoughts and feelings and divorcing your spouse outright – not because he/she violated your marriage covenant in an egregious way but because you developed a bad attitude towards them and stopped cherishing and valuing them as you covenanted to do at your wedding.

So, God gives the following warning: “Therefore, take heed to your spirit” (2:16). This warning sounds strikingly similar to the same warning Peter gave to Christian husbands:

“Husbands, love your wives and do not be bitter toward them.” (Col 3:19)

So, God is speaking here about selfish, sinful divorce, the kind that abandons your spouse
for reasons of a personal and selfish nature. He is calling his people who marry to keep a devoted, loving attitude towards your spouse through all the challenges that come your way in all stages of married life.

If you think long enough, you can find all sorts of ways to qualify your spouse’s blind spots, flaws, and sins abuse and neglect. If you think hard enough, you can permit small offenses to grow into egregious offenses in your mind, especially if they happen repeatedly over time. Shallow, selfish reasons for divorce are many today:

• Loss of romantic excitement: “I’m not in love anymore.”
• Boredom
• Incompatibility: as a catch-all for ordinary differences and challenges
• Disappointment and unrealistic expectations
• Bitterness and resentment
• Financial frustration or difficulties
• Midlife crisis
• Conflict avoidance: choosing to escape over the hard work of relationship
• Family or social pressure: letting outside opinions govern marriage commitment
• Career or lifestyle priorities: viewing your spouse as an obstacle to personal plans

Then along comes another more attractive person or the possibility of independence, so you rationalize your bitterness and dissatisfaction and label it in a way that justifies a divorce, in your mind, and you find people – even people who call themselves marriage professionals, spiritual leaders, or friends – to affirm your desires. This is the sort of divorce that God calls an abomination, profane, and treason.

When God’s people abandon their marriages for reasons like this, they bring into question whether they believe in God at all. Because genuine faith in God understands that God is lovingly devoted to our salvation and should view marriage as a primary means of reflecting that belief in a real-life way. If you believe that God is committed to you in faithful covenant love, then why would you violate that picture by treating your marriage in a cheap and treasonous way and damage this picture of the gospel?

A key point I need to point out here is that Mal 2:12-13 ties back to the previous section (Mal 1:6–2:9). That section emphasizes the problem of God’s priests, the spiritual leaders of God’s people, accepting and affirming disobedient and hypocritical worship. In these verses, God repeats some of the same language to indicate that a key part of the problem here is not only that God’s people were marrying unbelieving spouses and divorcing their spouses to do so, but they were being accepted and affirmed by the priests in doing so.

I point this out to say that today, pastors must take this warning to heart and every follower of Christ in the church must expect them to do so. It is not a pastor’s obligation to accept and affirm, or to perform the wedding of a church member of their child simply because they claim to love their fiancé. As much as a pastor may want to be nice and supportive, hoping for the best, it is a pastoral duty to teach God’s people to choose spouses well.

A Christian pastor (Doug Wilson) offers this clear, simple biblical advice for who to marry:

• a Christian

Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? (2 Cor 6:14)

To this I would add one that is biblically, properly baptized (Mt 28:19). If a person has not obeyed Christ by declaring their faith openly through baptism, then what guarantee do you have of their covenant faithfulness not only to you but to Christ if they have not followed his first command?

• a Christian who would not be disobeying God by marrying you

Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced from her husband commits adultery. (Lk 16:18)

In other words, a person who is not entering into marriage with you while leaving a past history of unresolved sinful choices towards others.

• a Christian of sterling character

Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing, but a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised. (Prov 31:30)

• a Christian whose personality gels well with yours

Can two walk together, unless they are agreed? (Amos 3:3)

• a Christian whom you find romantically attractive (Prov 5:19)

As a loving deer and a graceful doe, let her breasts satisfy you at all times; and always be enraptured with her love.

If we would follow this basic advice in choosing a spouse, we would do well. Unfortunately, many professing believers let circumstances and feelings guide their choice of a spouse rather than being led by clear, biblical wisdom. So, as a pastor, I urge those who are unmarried today to only covenant in marriage with such a person.

Finally, we must look at one more primary purpose and reason for marriage. Not only does the marriage of a believer reflect God’s covenant with his people, but …

God’s people must build loyal marriages to produce godly children. (v.15-16)

Did He not make them one, having a remnant of the Spirit? And why one? He seeks godly offspring. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously with the wife of his youth. (Mal 2:15)

Here God gives a second primary reason for marriage, and this should be a primary reason for why any follower of Christ should prepare for marriage, pursue marriage, enter marriage, and persevere in marriage – to produce godly offspring.

Commentators Richard Taylor and Ray Clendenen make an insightful observation:

"Too often do contemporary married couples think of children as an option; they regard their own personal happiness or fulfillment as the primary goal in marriage. This was never to be the case according to the biblical revelation. The first divine command given to the first human couple was to “be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it” (Gen 1:28)."

This is why followers of Christ must marry followers of Christ – so that they can give birth to more people who they can teach and train to follow Christ. And it is why married believers must be faithful to their spouse – so that their children can see a close-up, living picture of how God is faithful to his people.

This past week, my wife and I and our three oldest children were watching an episode of a BBC police mystery series set in Great Britain post-WWII. Though it was a fascinating episode in other respects, it featured a clear and obvious message distinct to that episode. That message was this – that it was old-fashioned and wrong for people to expect women to marry, give birth, and raise children. While this is a nice thing to do for those who want to, it should not be expected as the norm.

But here’s the problem – the Bible, from beginning to end – does expect this to be the norm. The Bible expects men and women to work together to produce and raise children who will follow God by faith. From Moses in Genesis 1 (“be fruitful and multiply”) to Paul in Titus 2:4, which says:

[Older women should] admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed. (Tit 2:4-5)

… Scripture is very clear. Though women can certainly work hard and earn an income, this should never be done at the expense of their primary duty, which is caring for the home and caring for the children born into her family.

Let’s make an honest observation here. Today, it’s difficult for believers to accept this instruction wholeheartedly without feeling a little bit embarrassed or culturally out-of-touch. But that’s even more reason to be discerning when choosing your spouse. If it’s hard to find a Christian spouse who believes this way, it will be even more difficult to expect an unbelieving spouse to think this way because the spirit of our age outside of Christ represents the total opposite of this perspective.

And in connection with this, how can you expect to raise not only children but godly children if you marry a spouse who is not serious about obeying Christ’s commands? If you are serious about having and raising godly children, why would you consider marrying anyone who is not serious about that very same thing and showing it by taking Christ’s commands seriously for themselves already, before marriage?

Now, before we close, we need to make one more observation, or rather application. What about those of us who aren’t yet married, or those who are married but can’t give birth to children for various reasons ordained by God, or those who have a limited number of children, or those who can no longer have children and are well past those years? Perhaps there are other exceptions, too. If we say that a primary reason for marriage is producing godly children, then doesn’t that exclude everyone else who can’t have children? To this I will offer the following outstanding observation, also from Taylor and Clendenen:

" Although couples can no longer be assured of bearing children (as the theme of barrenness in Genesis makes clear), they are still to “seek” them [children] and can reproduce themselves in other ways if necessary, through adoption and/or spiritual discipleship." (Taylor and Clendenen)

If you marry or are married and are able to have children, you should definitely do you part to give God that opportunity to produce children according to his ordinary, God-designed ways. But if in doing this, you find that you are unable to have children, while you can continue to pray for and pursue this, you should prayerfully explore other ways which are also ordained by God. Adoption is one such avenue and discipleship is another. In fact, discipleship is a way of multiplying godly offspring for Christ that should always be a priority for any believer, married or unmarried.

But those who are married are specially equipped to disciple other people to follow Christ. If you are not raising children and you are also not involved with discipling other people to follow Christ, then you are likely falling short of God’s intended purpose in marriage. Consider the shining example of the married couple, Aquila and Priscilla, for instance.

[Apollos] began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Aquila and Priscilla heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately. (Acts 18:26)

Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, who risked their own necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles. Likewise greet the church that is in their house. Greet my beloved Epaenetus, who is the firstfruits of Achaia to Christ. (Rom 16:3-5)

Here was a married couple who have no children named in Scripture yet devoted themselves to discipling other people to follow Christ. It is for this reason that you should prepare for marriage, pursue marriage, enter marriage, and persevere in marriage – that you would be able to produce a godly offspring, whether through childbearing, adoption, or discipleship. And discipleship is for everyone, especially those who are married.

As we close, I want to acknowledge that people hearing a message like this come  from varied backgrounds. Some of you may look back on choices you have made about marriage with deep regret. You may see clearly now that you sinned, that you were sinned against, or that your story includes choices you cannot undo. But hear this clearly: there is grace for you in Christ today. There is forgiveness for every sin at the cross.

If you believe on Christ, you belong to Christ, and you do not have to live imprisoned by shame or defined forever by your worst decisions. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 Jn 1:9). So come honestly to him, confess your failure, receive his mercy, and walk forward in the cleansing and restoring grace that only Christ can give. Whatever your marriage situation is today, there is grace for you to put to practice God’s purposes for marriage – which are picturing his covenant with his people and producing godly children.

Today, we are reminded by Malachi 2 that marriage is not a cheap, shallow experience merely for personal enjoyment but a sacred covenant most of all meant to display God’s faithful love and to help produce godly offspring. For that reason, we must not profane marriage by treating it lightly, and we must not deal treacherously with one another through unfaithfulness, selfishness, or disobedience to God’s design for marriage.

Whether you are preparing for marriage, seeking marriage, entering into marriage, or persevering in marriage, the call is the same: take heed to your spirit, honor God’s covenant purposes for marriage, and let your life say what your lips profess, that the Lord is faithful, holy, and worthy of wholehearted obedience. You reveal your actual beliefs about God by how you behave towards marriage.

Introduction
Why get married?

The United States has a marriage crisis. I think most of us have a sense that something is wrong when it comes to marriage. Let alone the record high divorce rates, people are not getting married.
This crisis of marriage is one of the most telling symptoms of our societal problems, and it causes a crisis of family.

1949: Highest marriage rate at 78.8%
2022: Lowest marriage rate at 46.8%

And on top of that people are taking longer and longer to get married: In 2024, the average age for a first marriage was 30.2 years for men and 28.6 for women. The youngest median ages of marriage were in 1956, when it was 22.5 for men and 20.1 for women.

Why this sharp decline? Don’t we have the most progressive view of marriage we’ve ever had as culture? Don’t we have the most freedom to marry whoever we want? I believe the reason we despise marriage is because we do not understand its goodness. God is the one who gave us marriage, and so his teachings about it are what defines it.

For the past 75 years, we have witnessed the emptiness of a perspective that can only explain marriage from nature. If our society is made up of matter and social constructs, then this is what we get. However, we know that marriage is good, not because it’s conducive to human evolution, but because God says it is. So, we must recognize that God deserves our attention because:

God blesses man through marriage.
I have good news for every man in here: Based on what we understand of human genetics, Adam as the first man and our first ancestor, was the ideal human being physically. He had the most pure genes (not talking about Levi’s) of any man ever. And even Adam spent some time with unwanted singleness.

Seriously though, God wants to teach us about marriage by showing us Adam’s life before marriage. He says that it is was not good. Good is one of those words that has a really broad range of meanings. When God says that it is not "good," he is talking about good in the same sense as when we say, "It is good to see you." This is right. This what we need. This is beneficial to us.

The reason it is important we understand how and why marriage is good is because understanding this helps us understand its purpose.

How was marriage better for Adam? Was it because it made him happy? Was it because it made him complete? Was it because he became emotionally or sexually fulfilled? If you had to answer why it wasn’t good for Adam to be alone, what would you say? Here is the Bible's answer in context: I will make him a helper fit for him.

He needs someone that helps him. Not to be the best version of himself. Not to fulfill his dreams or accomplish everything he wants to. To do what God told him to do. To bring God’s order to the whole world by tending the garden and filling the earth with their descendants.

So what would make your marriage, hypothetical or not, a good marriage? If it helps you to be the person God has created and saved you to be and to do the things he has created and saved you to do. This is what we mean when we say, marriage is a blessing. It is good to help us be who God made us to be and to do what God made us to do. Because marriage is a blessing, we should act accordingly:

Anyone who desires the blessing of marriage should pursue it.
Now, notice that this point could apply to anyone who wants this kind of marriage that God has given us regardless of whether they are married right now or not.

To my friends who are married and love their spouses, but do not have a happy marriage in the way they want right now: Because Jesus died on the cross and rose again, even though you may not deserve it, God can help you have a good marriage. One that brings glory to him in personal christlikness, serving God together, and a godly marital relationship.

To my single friends who may want to be married: God has given us longings for marital intimacy. These are good things. For right now, God has given you a special burden. Do not give up. Thrive in the place in which God has placed you. Don’t waste singleness. When we understand why and how marriage is good, there is no shame in desiring a good marriage.

I want to present two points of application from this conclusion we have made. First, to married people:

• Husbands are to be the head of their home. Men are to lead the household but their leadership is to be one of responsibility. They are also commanded to love their wives and be understanding toward them.
• Wives are to submit to their husbands and love their families by taking a special nurturing role in the home.

These kinds of biblical principles are not popular, but that’s not because they’re weird. If the Bible is true, feminism and passive husbands are weird. Disordered and dysfunctional homes are weird. These things are true, good, and beautiful because God made marriage and he made the world.

Romans 12:1–2 tells us: "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God."

A blessed marriage is not (normally) a white-knuckled, grit your teeth and bare it, kind of enterprise. God gave us deep longings for marriage so that when those desires are fulfilled according to his design, it is all the sweeter.

Now to my friends who are single but want to be married. We live in such a strange and anxious time. I think, in part, we are anxious about marriage because we make too much and too little of it at the same time:

• Too much because we make it ultimate, rather than God being ultimate.
• Too little because we make it about us, and therefore, small in scale, purpose, and significance.

But, friends, if getting married is not just a matter of getting what we want, but of fulfilling God’s design and callings, then marriage is worth pursuing. Prioritize biblical signs of Christian maturity:

• Look for someone who is committed to their church and in ministry.
• Men, find someone who can help with the callings God has given you.
• Ladies, look for a man who is intentionally pursuing godly endeavors which you could support.
• Find someone you enjoy being with and are attracted to, but work through expectations corrupted by the world.

To conclude, I want to look at one more passage to understand the nature of marriage: Ephesians 5:31–32 says, “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church.”

Marriage becomes glorious as we follow God’s Pattern.
The goodness of marriage, as we follow God’s design, points us to the goodness of the union of Christ and the church. Your marriage can be glorious because the husband can be the loving, sacrificial head of the wife like Jesus is for the church. Marriage is not just an earthly, human relationship.

Today is Mother’s Day. Why are homes so dysfunctional? Why are divorce rates through the roof? Why does it seem as though our society is so chaotic? Because people do not understand the goodness of marriage only makes sense as a good gift from a good God.

Conclusion
Loren Krytzer was a former carpenter and struggling amputee. When his grandmother passed, his siblings took most of her possessions but they left behind an old Navajo blanket. One day, Loren saw that a Navajo blanket was sold for $500k on an auction while watching TV. He wondered if he could get some money for his.

After being turned down by multiple dealers, he talked to an auction appraiser who told him he would get $200k. As word spread, the starting price at auction was $150k. It was topped by a $500k bid, then $1 million, and ended at $1.5 million. Loren’s life was changed forever because he finally understood the true value of something.

May we value God’s glory infinitely more than a blanket and live as though marriage is truly good.

Discussion Questions

• The sermon ended with the story of a man who had no idea his old Navajo blanket was worth $1.5 million. What is something in your own life—whether it was an old object, a piece of advice, or a relationship—that you completely underestimated the value of at first?
• What are the alternative perspectives on the goodness of marriage of the world and the flesh?
  • How could these be so deceptive for you?
• God gave Adam a "helper" not so Adam could fulfill his personal dreams, but so they could do what God called them to do. Describe the kind of person who works toward a marriage focused on God’s callings.
  • What choices does this person make to cultivate this personal priority?
• How do we make “too much” of marriage? How about “too little” of it?
  • What is the answer to both extremes?
• What are some practical steps we can take to gain confidence that biblical teachings on marriage roles are not weird but normal?

Malachi 1:6 – 2:9

Have you ever been guilt of an awkward moment when you did or said something either by habit or with good intentions only to find out it was embarrassing, hurtful, or worse? In a multicultural situation, this is especially easy to do.

• In the Middle East and parts of Asia, it is disrespectful and insulting to show the bottom of your shoe in a social setting.
• In China, Philippines, and parts of India, it is disappointing to eat all your food because it signals to your host that you’re still hungry.
• In Latin America, it can be disrespectful and forward to show up early or on time.
• In parts of Asia, looking at an older person in the eyes can be viewed as disrespectful.

Most of these examples, if not all, are generally harmless and not inherently wrong, only disrespectful because people view them that way. But sometimes our disrespect, whether ignorant or intentional, has serious consequences – for ourselves and for others:

• When we behave or speak disrespectfully towards authority figures (bosses, coaches, pastors, teachers, political leaders, and law enforcement officers) in public ways, we undermine God-ordained social order, damage trust in God-given care providers, and encourage chaotic or unsafe environments.
• When we dishonor and disrespect parents or older family members through harsh words, dismissive attitudes, and neglect, we cause long-term relational wounds, make existing wounds worse, break family bonds and connections, and undermine the most basic, foundational building block of a happy, healthy, and strong society.
• When we speak disrespectfully to a spouse, in tone, sarcasm, belittling, or mean words, we erode trust, increase resentment, and damage the happiness, safety, and satisfaction of that most sacred and special relationship – and we help turn the tide of public opinion against marriage rather than promoting it to them.

The principle of respect – especially for parents, government officials, and church leaders – is a crucial part of relationships and society in God’s plan. When we fail to give proper respect in these ways and to insist on and teach such respect to others, we do something far more damaging than hurt someone’s feelings. We undermine the very fabric of society and do serious damage to the most fundamental aspects and qualities of life.

This reminds us that disrespect is never a small thing. And if ordinary human relationships and societies suffer when we fail to show proper honor to other people, how much more serious is it when we disrespect the God himself who made us. That is what we discover when we read Malachi 1:6–2:9.

Last week we learned from Mal 1:1-5 that God had loved his people with a faithful, devoted, love that spanned many centuries, a love they still questioned because they had lost sight of the big picture. When we forget God’s faithful love for us, we begin to treat him lightly and take him for granted. And that is exactly why Malachi had to confront Israel with the need to give God the respect he deserves. So, he confronts them with this truth, that God deserves maximum respect.

God deserves maximum respect.

In God’s first statement to Israel as they settled back into their Promised Land after Persian captivity, he stated his undying, forever faithful love to them, and they had the audacity to ask, “How have you loved us?”

Next, he brings an actual confrontation by making an obvious observation about standard cultural, relationship expectations, one family-oriented and one socially oriented. Children should honor their parents and employees should honor their employers.

The word honor means respond to something in a way that corresponds to its heaviness or weight. We all do this when we’re driving on the highway:

• A twig or plastic bag blows across the road; we drive straight through with no thought.
• A squirrel darts out and we instinctively tap the brakes or twitch the wheel.
• A shredded tire in the lane prompts us to slow down a bit and steer slightly around it.
• A police car in the median ahead causes us to change lanes deliberately with a signal.
• A full-length tractor-trailer rig barreling toward us in the wrong lane forces us to swerve dramatically if necessary, doing whatever it takes to avoid being hit.

We see how the weight of an oncoming object determines our response or the degree of respect we give to that object in our driving choices. In life, we respond with greater respect to those people who carry “the most weight” in a relational and social aspect.

When we choose to treat our parents, pastors, and employers more like a twig or plastic bag on the highway and less like a police car or a semitruck, we experience painful results as people, families, and society at large. Even more, when we fail to give proper respect to the infinitely greater weight and glory of God himself, we place ourselves in sad place.

Why should we give maximum respect to God? Mal 1:6, 11, 14 give us multiple reasons:

• He is not just a father, he is the Father. The Father of fathers. The maker of fathers. The Father, Creator, Provider, Protector, and Savior for all people.
• He is also our Master. As the Maker of all things, all things are accountable, answer to, and are judged by him.
• He is the “Lord of Hosts.” He is the captain and commander of uncountable angelic, heavenly armies and is the One to whom all human armies must ultimately answer.
• He is not just a king or the King, but a “great” King. This portrays God as the most impressive, majestic, powerful, wealthy king that exists – the King over all kings, the King to whom all kings and rulers and all nations and people must answer. He is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.

Knowing who God should cause us to give him the maximum respect in our lives. We should not respect God because he is somehow egotistical or narcissistic but because he actually is God and inherently deserves our respect. To not respect God in a maximum way is to show that we do not understand how life works at all.

When we see who God is – the great Father, Master, Lord of hosts, and King – it is clear he deserves the highest honor we can give. But in Malachi’s day, Israel’s problem wasn’t only that they failed to respect God in the attitude of their hear, they also failed to respect him in their actions and attitudes of worship. Their hearts were casual, their offerings were careless, and their devotion was half‑hearted towards God. So, after confronting their lack of respect, God explains how that disrespect showed itself in their worship.

He calls people to show respect through devoted worship.

When God raised the problem of the people’s disrespect towards him, they were confused (or at least claimed to be) as to how they were disrespecting God. After all, they were offering sacrifices, doing all the things they were supposed to do at the newly built Temple.
Just as they asked, “How have you loved us?” they now asked, “How have we disrespected your name?” God gave an answer to this defensive, deflecting question.

First, God pointed out how they were offering low-quality, low-cost, low-value sacrifices at the Temple when they came to confess their sins and worship him. They were offering blind, crippled, and diseased animals, not the best of the flock and herd as he deserved. Before you allow yourself to wonder whether God is being choosy, demanding, or picky here, ask how you or anyone else would feel if the same thing happened to you/them?

• Give someone who needs a refrigerator a broken one you were about to throw away.
• Bring a half‑eaten, week-old birthday cake to your friend’s 50th birthday party.
• Hand your boss a thank-you note written on an oil-stained piece of cardboard you pulled from the garbage can.
• Give your spouse a wilted flower or used socks found in the gas station parking lot.
• Or, as God himself suggested – try dropping off some diseased cows and goats at your local mayor or town councilman’s office and see what kind of response you get.

If you do any of these things, is the person on the receiving end being choosy, demanding, or picky to question your sincerity? Hardly. By doing these things, you are not only showing a serious misunderstanding about the basic realities of life, but you are also doing something which – if it continues to be habit for you – will cause great heartache and sorrow because of your inability to build meaningful relationships with anyone. In fact, it would be disrespectful and unloving if a friend failed to point this out to you.

If this would be disrespectful to earthly people, then it is certainly disrespectful to God. But isn’t God different and more forgiving and tolerant than everyone else? Shouldn’t he, of all beings, be willing to accept low-quality offerings? The answer is ‘no,’ because to accept such offerings would mean to permit people to have a low view of him, and when people have a low view of God, they will misunderstand everything else in the world.

People further disrespected God not only by offering poor quality sacrifices but by doing so with a miserable attitude. When they came to the Temple with their low-quality offerings, they didn’t feel or say, “I’m so glad to be here,” they were saying, “Oh, what a weariness!” (“what a hardship,” “what a difficulty,” “I’m too tired for this,” etc.) (1:13).  

From what Malachi says, it sounds like the priests had the same attitude as the people. God even says they snorted about it. I wonder what that sounded like. Maybe like kids or teens … or adults … who don’t want to do their house chores?

In summary, God made it very clear their worship was unacceptable to him. He didn’t get any enjoyment or pleasure from their offerings and activities at the Temple and wished that anyone would have the decency or integrity of character to simply close the doors to the Temple and put up a “Closed” sign, “no sacrifices accepted.”

“Who is there even among you who would shut the doors, so that you would not kindle fire on My altar in vain? I have no pleasure in you,” says the Lord of hosts, “Nor will I accept an offering from your hands. (1:10)

But this desire went unfulfilled. The people just kept coming back to the Temple with their pathetic offerings and miserable attitudes, and the priests kept letting them do it. They thought they could just pray to God, and he would accept it anyway – surely God would be nice and say okay (1:9), but nothing was further from the truth.

In this passage, God points out a major problem with this unserious worship by his people. Not only was this disrespectful to God, but it encouraged a bad, poor attitude and view of God by the people of the world around them.

When people saw that the people God loved, his special people, the people who were supposed to be following him were treating him so poorly, in action and attitude, they would themselves develop a low view of him. This was horrible because they themselves needed to be drawn to this God, not pushed away from him.

Imagine a town whose volunteer fire department has protected the community for years. But the firefighters themselves grow careless. They show up late, complain about every call, neglect maintenance on their equipment, and treat their mission like a tiresome burden, complaining that they never get paid and the sacrifice isn’t worth it.

Before long, the community notices. Trust in the fire department fades, financial support dries up, and people stop believing the department can help them. The very people meant to uphold something vital end up teaching everyone else not to take it seriously. As a result, the fire department is no longer able to recruit new volunteers, and the community no longer gets the help they need in emergencies.

That’s exactly what was happening in Israel. The people’s cheap and convenient offerings and miserable attitudes didn’t just dishonor God, they taught everyone watching to have a low view of him, too. And if the people were guilty of this, the priests were even more responsible. They were the ones appointed to uphold God’s honor, teach his truth, and model reverence before the nation. Instead, their failure only deepened the people’s disrespect of God. Malachi turns next to confront the priests themselves, showing that God calls his leaders to show respect through faithful, serious, wholehearted teaching.

He calls priests to show respect through faithful teaching.

After this warning, God gave more specific attention to the priests themselves. As leaders in Temple worship, they were the ones responsible for officiating ceremonies and sacrifices and for teaching the people God’s expectations, nature, and ways. They should have corrected the cheap offerings and confronted the bad attitudes of God’s people long before they developed into habits and standard practices. They should have taught the people clearly how to worship God well long before Malachi brought this message.

In the opening verses, God corrects them for refusing to “give glory to his name” (2:2). By this, he means to insist that people worship God well rather than continually affirm and tolerate their poor-quality offerings and miserable attitudes. They permitted the people to treat God in an unserious way even though he is the most serious and weighty being by every measure to an infinite degree.

Sometimes we see this same problem in families today. When parents become permissive, never correcting harmful attitudes, never addressing disrespect, never insisting on what is right, then their children develop a low view of the very values their parents claim to uphold. And the whole family feels the consequences.

In Malachi’s day, the priests were doing the same thing on a far more serious level. Instead of correcting the people’s careless worship, they permitted it. Instead of teaching the weight of God’s name, they affirmed attitudes that treated him lightly. Their permissiveness didn’t just harm the people, it dishonored God.

The reason they were permissive wasn’t necessarily that they feared the people but that they did not “take to heart” who God was and what he had commanded them to do (2:2).

The word “heart” (lēb / lēbāb) denotes in Hebrew what may be called the command center of a person’s life, where knowledge is collected and considered and where decisions and plans are made that determine the direction of one’s life. (Richard A. Taylor & E. Ray Clendenen)

This means these priests hadn’t taken seriously who God was and what he had commanded them to do. The weight of God’s greatness and the seriousness of his commands hadn’t come to bear on their hearts and minds. Think of it this way. When a lightweight object, like a feather, falls on wet concrete, it makes no serious marks on the clay. But when a heavy object, like a anvil, falls on not just wet but hardened concrete, it makes a mark. That weight can be felt as a result of a sudden drop and collision or it can also be felt as the result of a slow, steady push, like from a hydraulic press, for instance.

Whatever the case, for the priests to do their job of teaching the people the weight of God’s glory, they needed to let the weight of his glory, greatness of his nature, and significance of his commands first make a deep impression and mark on their own hearts so that they would be able to impress upon the hearts of the people the weight of God’s glory through their teaching and service.

That’s the point God is making here. The priests themselves had not taken God’s nature, his glory, and his commands to heart. They didn’t take God seriously and their lack of depth and serious awareness of God and the importance of his commands was enabling everyone else to take a low view of God.

To help the priests understand how horrible their low view of God and his commands happened to be, God gave them a gross illustration.

Behold, I will rebuke your descendants and spread refuse on your faces, the refuse of your solemn feasts; and one will take you away with it. (2:3)

This is a disgusting illustration, to say the least, but it’s far more meaningful and significant than you might suppose. This is not merely an example of God speaking in a crude way to express the strength of his feelings. It actually turns a key step in the process of offering sacrifices at the Temple into a vivid illustration in a clever, impactful way.

When people offered animal sacrifices at the Temple, priests did several things to prepare the sacrifice just as a butcher, cook, or farmer prepares an animal for eating or sale. They had to drain the blood, clean the animal, and separate various cuts or parts of the carcass. They also had to remove any waste which was still inside the animal. If they removed any waste, they were required to take that waste to a remote place outside the city because it was viewed as not only useless but contaminating and harmful.

With this surprising illustration, God is saying that it would be helpful and instructive to smear the waste that the priests removed from the sacrificial animals on their own faces so that they would also have to be removed to a remote place outside the city because their permissive priestly service and unserious teaching of God’s Word was not just weak and subpar, it was – like animal waste – contaminating and harmful. If they did this, then the next generation of priests would be warned to do better.

God also points back to the first priest in their priestly line, Aaron. Even though he had failed God at times, his overall attitude towards God was one of devotion and respect. He feared God (emphasized twice) and showed reverence to him (2:4-6). He also meditated seriously on God’s truth, refused to speak unjustly, maintained a peaceful and clear (plain, equitable) relationship with God, and taught many other people to turn away from sinful choices. By devoting himself to these things, he had let the weight of God’s glory make a deep and indelible mark on his own heart so that he was then capable of teaching others to show the maximum respect to God that he deserved.

This is the job of every priest – to represent God by reflecting deeply on God’s Word and then teaching others about him and his ways. But when priests have not taken God’s Word to heart, they cause people to have a low view of God and turn people away from him by the things that they say.

When you listen to anyone teach God’s truth or claim to have a lesson, message, or sermon from God, ask whether that person has a deep awe and reverence for God. And ask whether that person lives in a way that shows respect for God and his commands. Then ask whether that person’s teaching is deeply filled and formed by the clear substance and teaching of God’s Word. If these things are not the case, if God is not weighty to the teacher, then you will not be taught to respect God well.

The sobering part of Malachi’s message is that the priests had failed in their crucial role of honoring his name, teaching his truth, and helping people see the weight of God’s glory so that they would also show proper respect to God. And when we hear this, our minds naturally jump to pastors and Sunday services, right? We connect OT priests to NT pastors and apply these warnings to them. And we connect OT sacrifices and ceremonies to Sunday AM worship services and apply these warnings to them.

While that connection isn’t wrong, it’s only a small part of the picture, because in the NT, God makes a key change. The priesthood is no longer a small group of religious leaders who officiate ceremonies in the church (as Roman Catholicism still implies). Everyone who follows Christ is now a priest before God, and every part of our lives, not just what happens in a church building on Sunday morning, becomes an act of sacrificial worship.

So, before we think only about ancient priests or modern pastors, we need to see how this calling rests on all of us today – this calling to give maximum respect to God through devoted service and faithful teaching.

Today every follower of Christ is a priest who must continually bring honor to God.

In the NT, God makes it unmistakably clear that the priesthood is no longer limited to a small group of religious leaders. While it is true that pastors have an important role to play in providing leadership, guidance, and teaching to churches, through Christ, every believer has been brought into a new priesthood.

Peter tells us we are a “holy priesthood” and a “royal priesthood” (1 Pet 2:5, 9), called to offer spiritual sacrifices and to proclaim the excellencies of the God who saved us. John also tells us that Christ has made us “priests to our God” (Rev 5:9-10), and those who belong to him will serve him as priests forever (Rev 20:6).

This means the calling Malachi placed on the priests of his day now rests on all who follow Christ. We are the ones who bear God’s name in the world. And we are the ones responsible to honor him in the way we live, speak, worship, and serve. We are the ones who bear a significant responsibility if we do not do our part to help the people around us learn to respect God well. We are the ones who help others see the weight of his glory.

Because we are priests, something else has become a new reality. This reality is both exciting and sobering. It is this – that all of life becomes an offering to God, not just whatever we do in church on Sunday morning. This means that whatever showing respect to God at church means for us today applies equally so in every other activity and moment of our day-to-day life. How does that make you feel? Sober or excited?

Paul urges us to present our bodies to God as a “living sacrifice” continually (Rom 12:1), meaning every action, choice, conversation, and relationship is part of our worship. We should treat our Sunday morning behavior no differently than our behavior any other time.

Paul also teaches that our financial and material generosity is a sacrifice (Phil 4:18). And when we use our resources to support the work of the church and its leaders, we are showing God the respect he deserves and teaching others the weight of his glory.

Paul also teaches that our ministry to unbelievers is a priestly offering (Rom 15:16). Even our willingness to pour out our lives in a sacrificial, wholehearted way for the good of others is described as a sacrificial drink offering (Phil 2:17; 2 Tim 4:6).

The writer of Hebrews teaches that our praise is a sacrifice, so we should be in the regular habit of saying and singing praises to God (Heb 13:15), both at church and otherwise. He goes on to teach that our service to others is a sacrifice, too (Heb 13:16).

In other words, God is not looking merely at pastors and at what we do in a church building on Sunday morning. He is looking at the whole pattern of the lives of all his followers, our attitudes, words, relationships, work, homes, and habits. He is calling us to always honor him in all of these things in our lives. As priests of God today, we carry the weight of his name wherever we go, and we are called to offer him the very best of our lives in grateful, devoted worship. But if we have not let the weight of his glory make a deep and lasting impression on our hearts, we will fall short of this incredible calling.

Since all of us who follow Christ are called to be priests of God who are devoted to his service and committed to faithful teaching, then here are some examples for how we should live as priests in our daily lives before God and people.

As a church member in a worship service

• Arrive early enough to settle your heart, pray briefly, greet someone warmly, and be ready to sing and listen with focus, instead of rushing in late and distracted.
• Listen and follow along with sincerity and attention to the words of everything that happens, even if you don’t feel like it, because your attitude teaches others how respond respectfully to God.

As a church member in other ways

• Become a member and involve yourself faithfully in ministry opportunities in every stage of your life, then follow through even when it’s not easy or convenient.
• Serve with a joyful attitude and speak well of your church and its people when talking with coworkers or neighbors, refusing to grumble or complain in ways that lower their view of God’s work – even though we certainly have our flaws.
• Make it a top priority to participate teaching and learning opportunities with your church so that you can grow in learning the full weight of God’s glory and can also disciple others, which is a primary responsibility of any priest of God.

As a spouse (husband or wife)

• Choose kind words and tone in moments of irritation, honoring God by refusing to be sarcastic, unresponsive, dismissive, or raising your voice.
• Serve your spouse in regular, specific, thoughtful ways without announcing it or resenting it, and even if it seems inconvenient, costly, or unfair.

As a parent

• Correct disrespect clearly and calmly, teaching your children that honoring authority, incl. imperfect parents, matters since God is weighty and deserves maximum respect.
• Read Scripture or pray with your children regularly, even briefly, showing them that God is not an afterthought in your home.
• Make church gatherings, events, and ministry a top priority in your home at the expense of other things and do so joyfully, even when inconvenient or uncomfortable.

As a child

• Respond to your parents’ instructions with “Yes sir/ma’am, I’ll do it” instead of sighing, rolling your eyes, or delaying, honoring God by taking them very seriously. Do things they desire without being asked, even going above and beyond their expectations.
• Show gratitude in specific ways (a note, a hug, a verbal thank‑you) for meals, rides, or help, reflecting a heart that respects God’s command and takes nothing for granted.

As an employee

• Do your work with excellence, turning in assignments on time and with care, not doing the bare minimum or cutting corners when no one is watching.
• Stay in your lane and do not attempt to assert yourself in ways that are above or outside of your role, showing respect to those who have that greater responsibility.
• Refuse workplace gossip or complaining, choosing instead to speak with integrity and gratitude, which teaches others the weight of God’s name.

As a student

• Complete homework with diligence, even if you don’t think your teacher will check it closely, because your schoolwork is an offering to God.
• Show respect to teachers by listening without interrupting and following instructions promptly, demonstrating that you take God’s authority seriously.

As a neighbor

• Do small acts of kindness like mowing their lawn, bringing a meal during illness, shoveling their sidewalk, and so on. View all these things as sacrifices to God and do them with a joyful attitude.
• Maintain a consistent, godly testimony by avoiding loud and dramatic conflicts, keeping your property tidy, and speaking kindly of one neighbor to another, so your neighborhood sees the weight of God’s glory through your life.

As we prepare to go into our week with God, the call before us is both simple and searching … God deserves our maximum respect, and as his priests, we carry his name wherever we go. May the weight of his glory rest deeply on our hearts so that our worship is sincere, our service is joyful, and our lives teach others to honor him. May we offer him not the leftovers of our time or energy, but the best of all we have and all we can do. And may our homes, our work, our church, and our daily relationships become places where the greatness of God is seen, felt, and experienced – because we know that he loves us.

Discussion Questions

• Have you ever unintentionally disrespected someone? Is it reasonable to hold someone accountable for disrespecting you if they did not intend to do so?
• What are some areas in which we can show proper respect to authorities and institutions given to us by God? These would be arenas of life in which God has placed us.
  • What are some practical ways in which we can participate in cultural change in these areas?
  • What kind of difference might we make?
• What are some ways in which we offer substandard worship to God?
• What would it mean for you to be a faithful priest, showing honor to God?