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Enemy Love Starts With Outsiders

Links for today’s readings:

Jun 19  Read: Isaiah 16 Listen: (2:32) Read: Acts 5 Listen: (6:49)

Links for this weekend’s readings:

Jun 20  Read: Isaiah 17-18 Listen: (3:44) Read: Acts 6 Listen: (2:35)
Jun 21  Read: Isaiah 19-20 Listen: (4:49) Read: Acts 7 Listen: (8:49)

Scripture Focus: Isaiah 16.1-5

1 Send lambs as tribute 

to the ruler of the land, 

from Sela, across the desert, 

to the mount of Daughter Zion. 

2 Like fluttering birds 

pushed from the nest, 

so are the women of Moab 

at the fords of the Arnon. 

3 “Make up your mind,” Moab says. 

“Render a decision. 

Make your shadow like night— 

at high noon. 

Hide the fugitives, 

do not betray the refugees. 

4 Let the Moabite fugitives stay with you; 

be their shelter from the destroyer.” 

The oppressor will come to an end, 

and destruction will cease; 

the aggressor will vanish from the land. 

5 In love a throne will be established; 

in faithfulness a man will sit on it— 

one from the house of David— 

one who in judging seeks justice 

and speeds the cause of righteousness.

Reflection: Enemy Love Starts With Outsiders

By John Tillman

Moab was Israel’s enemy. Isaiah prophesied the fall of Moab and portrayed their refugees as vulnerable birds shaken from the nest.

For centuries, when Israel was in distress or fleeing danger, Moab mistreated them. They mocked, robbed, enslaved, or killed them.

When Israel came out of slavery in Egypt, Moab opposed them, attempted to curse them (Numbers 23.7), and seduced them to worship their god Chemosh (Numbers 25.1-2), which became a recurring temptation Israel dealt with until the exile (2 Kings 23.13-14). Moab conquered and ruled harshly (Judges 3.13-15). They raided Israel and joined other armies to attack them. When others conquered Israel, Moab mocked and mistreated the survivors and refugees.

Yet, Isaiah’s prophetic poem commands Israel not to treat Moab’s refugees that way. Isaiah commanded them to help the refugees. Instead of mocking them, welcome them. Instead of robbing them, aid them. Instead of enslaving them or turning them over to be killed, hide them and shelter them from the oppressor.

Remember, these are not sympathetic refugees. These are historically violent, treacherous,  idol-worshiping foreigners who hated and mistreated God’s people. Still, God commanded Israel to welcome and protect them. No excuses. Israel must do unto Moab what Israel would have them do unto them (Luke 6.31).

Isaiah tied this treatment to the coming of a faithful ruler on a throne of love who would bring justice, and enact righteousness. Jesus is this ruler. He sits on a throne of love and does not withhold love from his enemies. He calls us to emulate him. Can we? Will we?

We naturally react with celebration when enemies suffer, and sometimes celebrating the fall of evil is good. But there are also moments when we are called, even commanded, to something else—enemy love.

Enemy love reflects the glory of Jesus in a way that nothing else does. It is unlike the anemic versions of showing kindness to enemies found in other belief systems. They are pragmatic and calculating, seeking selfish returns. There’s no pragmatism in the gospel. It is extravagant love that the pragmatic world calls foolish.

Enemy love’s little brother is love for the outsider. We’ll never graduate to loving true enemies if we can’t love those who are just different. The ones who worship different gods. The ones people claim are dangerous or violent. Stretch your heart to display the glory of Jesus through enemy love. Start loving the outsider and build up from there.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Refrain for the Morning Lessons

God is a righteous judge; God sits in judgment every day. — Psalm 7.12

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime by Phyllis Tickle.

Read more: Grief for the Guilty

You can look at tragedies…and still your heart rends in grief…Because we see the goodness God created in each person

Grief for the Guilty
Read more: The Church of Acts

Acts is not a start-up handbook. But there’s a clue in Luke’s title—Acts. They will know we are Christians by our love. By our actions.

The Church of Acts
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Mourning and Loving Enemies

Links for today’s readings:

Jun 18  Read: Isaiah 15 Listen: (1:34) Read: Acts 4 Listen: (5:15)

Scripture Focus: Isaiah 15.5

 5 My heart cries out over Moab; 

her fugitives flee as far as Zoar, 

as far as Eglath Shelishiyah. 

They go up the hill to Luhith, 

weeping as they go; 

on the road to Horonaim 

they lament their destruction.

Reflection: Mourning and Loving Enemies

By John Tillman

Moab was Israel’s enemy. God brought judgment on Moab, yet mourned for their suffering.

Moab was not an enemy because of who they were but because of what they did. Moab had close family ties to Israel. They descended from Abraham’s nephew, Lot. They had even closer ties to the Davidic kings. Ruth, the Moabitess, was David’s great-grandmother.

Despite being relatives, the Moabites were judged for multiple reasons. Throughout their history, they violently oppressed Israel when they were vulnerable. They also led Israel to sinful idolatry and worship practices that included sexual acts and human sacrifice.

A few examples include Balak, king of Moab, who recruited the false prophet, Balaam, to entice Israel to sin, (Numbers 31.16; Revelation 2.14) Eglon, king of Moab who ruled over Israel for 18 years until he was killed by Ehud, (Judges 3.13-14, 20-21) and a Moabite king who, when threatened by an Israelite attack, sacrificed his first-born son on the wall of his city begging his god to turn back Israel. (2 Kings 3.26-27)

Those led into sin included Solomon, who built a temple to Chemosh, the Moabite deity after building the Lord’s temple. (1 Kings 11.7)

Very few of us will ever face enemies of our faith that threaten us with physical or military violence. Very few will ever face true religious persecution for our faith. But how many of us are looking to the power of the state to enforce our beliefs rather than the power of the gospel to spread them?

Very few of us will be tempted to build a literal temple to a false god next to our churches. But how many of us have temples in our hearts devoted to worldly beliefs, politics, or ideas? What altars are in our hearts?

The Moabites were a real danger to the Israelites, both physically/militarily and religiously/ideologically. Yet, they were also family. God mourned the suffering of these violent and vitriolic enemies of Israel and commanded Jerusalem to be a sanctuary for Moabite refugees. (Isaiah 16.4)

It is dangerous to call other humans “enemies” even if they are truly dangerous. Paul says our enemies are not flesh and blood. It is better that we remember that we were formerly enemies of God, reconciled in Jesus. If God did this for the Moabites and Jesus does this for us, how can we do anything less for those we think of as enemies?

Let us mourn our enemies’ situation and shelter them in their suffering.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Greeting

To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul; my God, I put my trust in you; let me not be humiliated, nor let my enemies triumph over me.
Let none who look to you be put to shame. — Psalm 25.1-2

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime by Phyllis Tickle.

Read more: Solomon’s Cheating Heart

Solomon was a temple builder but he did not only build temples for Yaweh. He built temples for the very gods that Israel has been warned about.

Solomon’s Cheating Heart
Read more: In Trouble For Good

It insults truly persecuted Christians when those who are suffering the consequences of being cruel claim to be suffering for Christ.

In Trouble for Good
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Death, the Final Equalizer

Links for today’s readings:

Jun 17  Read: Isaiah 14 Listen: (5:04) Read: Acts 3 Listen: (3:33)

Scripture Focus: Isaiah 14:9-11

9 The realm of the dead below is all astir
    to meet you at your coming;
it rouses the spirits of the departed to greet you—
    all those who were leaders in the world;
it makes them rise from their thrones—
    all those who were kings over the nations.
10 They will all respond,
    they will say to you,
“You also have become weak, as we are;
    you have become like us.”
11 All your pomp has been brought down to the grave,
    along with the noise of your harps;
maggots are spread out beneath you
    and worms cover you.

Reflection: Death, the Final Equalizer

By Erin Newton

“There are dead things, dead faces in the water,” he whispered with horror. “Dead faces!”

Gollum laughed. “The Dead Marshes, yes, yes: that is their names…”

“Can’t we get on and get away?”

“Yes, yes,” said Gollum. “But slowly, very slowly. Very carefully! Or hobbits go down to join the Dead ones and light little candles of their own.” 

This scene from The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers describes the perilous journey of Frodo and Sam to Mordor. In the movie, Frodo is entranced by the faces and falls into the water, being pulled further and further down. Like the refrain in Isaiah 14, “The realm of the dead is astir to meet you.”

The imagery is potent. The dead are ravenous for their newcomer. 

When people die, as we often hear from well-meaning friends, “They’ve gone to a better place.” And for those we disdain, we proclaim they are “worm food” or we wish them to “rot in Hell.”

The first sentiment speaks of the loved person’s everlasting soul. The second sentiment sounds closer to the prophet’s description of an eager underworld. 

The ancient Near East focused primarily on this earthly life. The taunt in Isaiah strikes at that focus specifically.

The prophet declares to this soon-to-be-fallen king: You’re on borrowed time. You’re definitely going to die.

And the prophet adds: Death has come for your fellow royals already. You are weak, just like them, swallowed up by death.

Instead of cheers of fans or a parade, harps and drums sound a processional to the underworld.

The fallen king’s abode is simply a means of becoming compost—a bed of worms, a blanket of maggots.

Tolkien envisioned the dead as ghostly faces drifting in a dreary marsh. Isaiah describes the dead as lying in beds of decomposition.

All of this morbid description is a reality check for Israel’s enemy king. Gone will be the days of their superiority and subsequent oppression of others. Like all humanity, even kings return to dust.

In the end (quite literally), we are all equals. There is some comfort in knowing even trillionaires become worm food. But more importantly, we remember that our bodies are not the final word. We are more than our frail cells. We are not bound to be dust for eternity. Perhaps our bodies will become part of God’s good creation once more, but that is not our true end. Hallelujah!

Divine Hours Prayer: The Greeting

In you, O Lord, have I taken refuge; let me never be put to shame; deliver me in your righteousness. — Psalm 31.1

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime by Phyllis Tickle.

Read more: Waiting at the Beautiful Gate

Jesus didn’t give us the Holy Spirit for warm, fuzzy feelings in our sanctuaries. The Holy Spirit is given to us to heal

Waiting at the Beautiful Gate — Readers’ Choice
Read more: Taunting Ourselves

Babylon honors the brutal and brutalizes the gentle.
Babylon protects the powerful rather than the weak.

Taunting Ourselves
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A Little Babylon In Every Empire

Links for today’s readings:

Jun 16  Read: Isaiah 13 Listen: (3:11) Read: Acts 2 Listen: (6:35)

Scripture Focus: Isaiah 13.1, 10-13

1 A prophecy against Babylon that Isaiah son of Amoz saw: 

10 The stars of heaven and their constellations 

will not show their light. 

The rising sun will be darkened 

and the moon will not give its light. 

11 I will punish the world for its evil, 

the wicked for their sins. 

I will put an end to the arrogance of the haughty 

and will humble the pride of the ruthless. 

12 I will make people scarcer than pure gold, 

more rare than the gold of Ophir. 

13 Therefore I will make the heavens tremble; 

and the earth will shake from its place 

at the wrath of the Lord Almighty, 

in the day of his burning anger.

Reflection: A Little Babylon In Every Empire

By John Tillman

When Isaiah saw his vision of judgment against Babylon, it was not yet a mighty empire of evil. At that time, Babylon was an upstart city-state under Assyrian oppression, just like other nations. Isaiah’s prophecy against Babylon would be as if someone in France in the early 1700s wrote a prophecy against the imperialism of the United States, before the colonies had rebelled or even declared independence from the British Empire.

Eventually, Babylon rebelled against, and overthrew, Assyria. But the victors were not freedom fighters or liberators. They were just a new oppressive and brutal empire.

When Allied forces swept through Europe following the D-Day invasion, the Nazi empire was destroyed, but America and Britain didn’t enslave and oppress France or the other conquered countries. They set them free. The Soviets, however, harshly ruled Eastern Europe through puppet governments for decades. (Russia today seems to want to reestablish this control, beginning in Ukraine.) 

It’s easy to notice “Babylon-like” behavior in enemies. It’s uncomfortable to think about ourselves as Babylon. Americans, especially, like to pat ourselves on the back. “We liberated Europe! We won the Cold War! We are the good guys!” I feel that way. Yet, the Bible continually warns about Babylon. Why? Doesn’t God know where I live? Doesn’t he know my country is the greatest country of all time? Hmm…sounds a bit “Babylon-ish” when I put it that way, doesn’t it?

Peter sent greetings from the church, describing that church as “in Babylon” (1 Peter 5:8) even though Babylon fell centuries before. When we imagine Babylon as a specific nation at a specific time, we miss the point. When we imagine Babylon as a symbol for our enemies, we are in danger of blindness.

The Bible repeatedly cautions God’s people that there’s a little Babylon in every empire. Yes, even the one you live in. This is because there is a little Babylon in every heart, even yours and mine. And that bit of Babylon has imperialist intentions. It wants to grow. To conquer.

We live in Babylon and Babylon will be judged. That will be painful for many (Rev 18.9-10). Our connection to, or complicity with, Babylon will affect how that judgment touches us. Read the judgments against Babylon, remembering that Babylon wants you. It wants to influence you, recruit you, or conquer you.

Resist Babylon, starting in your own heart. Don’t be conquered or complicit. Be faithful.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Refrain for the Morning Lessons

Those who are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. — Psalm 92.12

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime by Phyllis Tickle.

Read more: The Fall of a Superpower

When we read the oracles against other nations, it is easy to distance ourselves from them.

The Fall of a Superpower
Read more: Falling In Love With Babylon

Not everything in Babylon is bad…there is good to be seen and heard…But there is great evil there that overwhelms and stains every good.

Falling In Love With Babylon
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Be a Transformed Tree

Links for today’s readings:

Jun 15  Read: Isaiah 11-12 Listen: (4:39) Read: Acts 1 Listen: (3:58)

Scripture Focus: Isaiah 11.1-4, 10

1 A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; 

from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. 

2 The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him— 

the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, 

the Spirit of counsel and of might, 

the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord— 

3 and he will delight in the fear of the Lord. 

He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, 

or decide by what he hears with his ears; 

4 but with righteousness he will judge the needy, 

with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth. 

He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; 

with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.

10 In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his resting place will be glorious.

Reflection: Be a Transformed Tree

By John Tillman

A tree in my yard died.

I didn’t and don’t know what killed it. I struggle to keep our yard mowed, much less be a competent landscaper, gardener, or arborist. I cut the tree down, leaving the stump at ground level. I added the wood to the firewood pile and thought that was the end.

The tree came back.

First, a tiny green sprout popped up. Then it kept growing. Today, it’s as tall as it was before. Birds shelter in it and sing to me, or yell at me (sometimes it’s hard to tell which), every day.

The bad news is that this tree isn’t a very desirable tree. It’s a Bradford Pear. Arborists and many other people hate it. But because it’s cheap, fast-growing, and has pretty flowers for part of the year, builders and real estate folks keep planting them everywhere. And apparently, at least under certain conditions, it can come back from the dead.

God compares his people to trees often. The difference is they are supposed to be valuable trees, like fig or olive trees, that provide good fruit of justice, righteousness, and wisdom for the nations. Instead, they are worthless, fruitless, and often smelly, like my Bradford Pear. So God lays the ax “at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.” (Luke 3.9) 

I had no intention of resurrecting my tree and no power (or budget or green thumb) to change it to a better one. But God’s judgments are never without mercy, hope, and purpose. Isaiah prophesied that even though God cut down Jerusalem’s tree, ground the stump down, and burned it, he intended for it to live again. Not only that, God promised to transform his tree into the tree it was intended to be. He wants the same for us.

Something in you may need to die. To be cut down. Burned. But God is not done with you.

In Jesus, the root of Jesse, there is power to not just resurrect us but transform us. We will go from bad trees to good, from fruitless to bountiful, from worthless to invaluable. We will be like Jesus, the tree of life, providing shelter, sustenance, and healing to all nations and people.

May it be so. Cut us down, Lord. And spring up in us, Root of Jesse

Divine Hours Prayer: The Refrain for the Morning Lessons

My heart is firmly fixed, O God, my heart is fixed; I will sing and make melody. — Psalm 57.7

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime by Phyllis Tickle..

Read more: Praise from a Stump

We, in Christ, can see ourselves in both the unworthy and shamed stump, and in the new supernatural growth of the remnant.

Praise from a Stump :: A Guided Prayer
Read more: A King Unlike Any Other

Growing out of death…a sprig of life. From a stump…a sprout of hope…this shoot would bear fruit and reverse the world order.

A King Unlike Any Other
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