The Bigger They Are...

1Samuel 17:1-7 (NRSV)

Now the Philistines gathered their armies for battle; they were gathered at Socoh, which belongs to Judah, and encamped between Socoh and Azekah, in Ephes-dammim. Saul and the Israelites gathered and encamped in the valley of Elah, and formed ranks against the Philistines. The Philistines stood on the mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on the mountain on the other side, with a valley between them. And there came out from the camp of the Philistines a champion named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span. He had a helmet of bronze on his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail; the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of bronze. He had greaves of bronze on his legs and a javelin of bronze slung between his shoulders. The shaft of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and his spear’s head weighed six hundred shekels of iron; and his shield-bearer went before him.

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And I keep on fighting for the things I want
Though I know that when you're dead you can't
But I'd rather be a free man in my grave
Than living as a puppet or a slave

So as sure as the sun will shine
I'm gonna get my share now, what's mine
And then the harder they come
The harder they fall, one and all
Ooh, the harder they come
Harder they fall, one and all

"The Harder They Fall" by Jimmy Cliff from the album and movie by the same name.

We're familiar with the story of David and Goliath. Goliath has even come to English as a way to describe someone who is huge and strong. Yet as we think of this giant, we can not think of him without a hint of vulnerability.

Goliath depended upon everything that was his--strength, size, armor, weapons, people, connections, even an intimidating voice. The people knew when to be afraid too, and Goliath scared all of the men of Israel.

David had none of these things. David was the least son of his father. David was the shepherd, in this passage he begins as the errand boy. His brother even accuses David of coming to the battlefield to be a spectator. But when Saul seeks someone to take on Goliath, David replies, “The LORD, who saved me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, will save me from the hand of this Philistine.”

Jimmy Cliff sings about the powerful who will take what does not belong to them. He sings about the Philistines on his doorstep and cries out "But I'd rather be a free man in my grave, Than living as a puppet or a slave." Jimmy Cliff knows the same thing David knew, "the harder they come the harder they fall." The lesson of David continues to teach us "the harder they come the harder they fall."

There is danger and there is fear in our lives, but through the Lord who saves us from the paw of the lion and the bear, the eternal live the Lord promises is safe from all earthly dangers. David and Jimmy don't promise us we will come out of this unscarred, but the Lord promises these scars don't last.

David Twerks!

2Samuel 6:14-16

David danced before the LORD with all his might; David was girded with a linen ephod. So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet.

As the ark of the LORD came into the city of David, Michal daughter of Saul looked out of the window, and saw King David leaping and dancing before the LORD; and she despised him in her heart.

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The disco folks all dressed up
Like they's fit to kill
I walk on in 'n' see 'em there
Gonna give them all a thrill
When they see me comin'
They all steps aside
They has a fit while I commit
My social suicide

I'm a Dancin' fool

"Dancin' Fool" by Frank Zappa from "Sheik Yerbouti"

As a Christian of the Presbyterian variety, we are often called the "Frozen Chosen." We take John Calvin's injunction to do all things "decently and in order" very seriously, and maybe a step or two too far. So as much as we would have loved to be there when David came rolling into Jerusalem with the Arc of the Covenant, we would have been standing solemnly by the side of the road waiting for the parade in reverence and we would have preferred a pipe organ to trumpets. That would have been decent and in order.

But then again, we need to take a really good look at the scene. Let's look at David, here comes the king, wearing nothing but a linen ephod, dancing down the street, shouting. An ephod is an apron, it's a garment worn by the priests to cover themselves as they prepare the offerings. It keeps blood off the robes. This is all David is wearing! Oh, to top this off he probably smells like the holy bar-b-q pit master too because they've been making burnt offerings all along the route. David, buck naked except for a "Kiss the King" apron, dancing like a fool, oblivious to everything around him except for presence of God.

So generally speaking, Presbyterians would resemble David's wife Michal more than David.

So when David is dancing, all "his kingly glory" is hanging out for the world to see. He's moving like the proverbial dancin' fool. Modesty? It's not even an afterthought, he's just dancing like nobody's watching, except the Lord.


How many of us can do that? Not me, I may be a little too Calvinist, I just hope I'm not too much like Michal. Michal was more than disapproving of David twerking in worship of the Lord, she despised him in her heart. It's important for us to remember that God favors worship, even when it's David "in his kingly glory," though I hope nobody asks me to get naked in the name of God.

So worship, worship like nobody's watching. Michal can just despise all she wants when the Lord finds worship worthy. That's her problem.

Trusting the Vehicle?

Isaiah 31:1-3

Alas for those who go down to Egypt for help
and who rely on horses,
who trust in chariots because they are many
and in horsemen because they are very strong,
but do not look to the Holy One of Israel
or consult the Lord!

Yet he too is wise and brings disaster;
he does not call back his words,
but will rise against the house of the evildoers,
and against the helpers of those who work iniquity.

The Egyptians are human, and not God;
their horses are flesh, and not spirit.
When the Lord stretches out his hand,
the helper will stumble, and the one helped will fall,
and they will all perish together.

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Well, I'm the friendly stranger in the black sedan
Won't you hop inside my car
I got pictures, candy, I'm a lovable man
And I can take you to the nearest star

I'm your vehicle, baby
I'll take you anywhere you wanna go
I'm your vehicle, woman
But now I'm sure you know

That I love ya
(Love ya)
I need ya
(Need ya)
I want ya
I got to have ya
Great God in Heaven you know I love you

"Vehicle" written by Jim Peterik and recorded by the Ides of March from their self-titled album.

Who do you trust? Often people tend to pick the flashiest, most powerful looking people or thing to trust. Back in the day of the prophet Isaiah when the terror from Assyria wasn't far off, the people could have come to the temple and prayed for salvation from the Lord God. But as history shows, the people don't always look to the Lord first.

A quick scanning of the historical books of the Bible show us that people usually did what they thought was wise before calling upon the Lord. This is one of the overriding themes of Judges! And Kings! And Chronicles!

This reading from Isaiah shows us is that when the Assyrians were threatening God's chosen they did not seek first the counsel of God. Some of them went to Egypt and sought defense in the form of horses, chariots, and charioteers. You could just see the Egyptians making promises too, pictures, candy, they would even take them to the nearest star. "Great God in Heaven you know I love you!"

There's the creepy promise, but it's not so creepy if you think you're the one taking advantage of the one driving the chariot. But the Lord promises one thing, in the end God is God and people are people. If you place your faith in horses and Egyptians and vehicles you will surely all perish together.

This is tough to hear in our day too. We all want the latest security system. Nations work out treaties with nations. As the old saying goes, "Politics makes strange bedfellows," and when we try too hard to use our wits and wiles to create our security we make some very strange bedfellows.

In times like this it is actually difficult to place faith in God because we don't now how or (worse) when God will act. But this is our issue, it's the nature of sin that has us trusting more in the vehicle to bring peace than in the one who created peace in the first place.

More's the shame, because the only place to look for peace is to the one who first created peace, shalom. We have to look only to the Holy one of Israel. Faith in vehicles, whether they are bombers or chariots, may bring "victory," but they can never bring peace.

Everybody Hurts

Job 3:1-4

After this Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth. Job said:

“Let the day perish in which I was born,
and the night that said,
‘A man-child is conceived.’

Let that day be darkness!
May God above not seek it,
or light shine on it.

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Sometimes everything is wrong
Now it's time to sing along
When your day is night alone (Hold on, hold on)
If you feel like letting go (Hold on)
If you think you've had too much
Of this life, well hang on

Everybody hurts
Take comfort in your friends
Everybody hurts
Don't throw your hand, oh no

Don't throw your hand
If you feel like you're alone
No, no, no, you are not alone

Everybody Hurts, written by Bill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills, and Michael Stipe; recorded by REM from "Automatic for the People"

Stephen Mitchell's translation of "The Book of Job" (Harper Perennial, 1987, page 13) translates "Let the day perish in which I was born" to "God damn the day in which I was born." Now, this is not the interjection you hear screamed during a football game when the quarterback throws an interception. Mitchell's use of this phrase is as subject and verb. It's more like this, "God condemn to hell the day in which I was born." This is stiff stuff.

There have been many songs written about suicide. By my interpretation, and your mileage may vary, Supertramp's "Good Bye Stranger" carries the theme. As does "the Freshman" by The Verve Pipe. This song does too.

There is a woeful overwhelmingly helpless and hopeless feeling that can overwhelm and overwhelm is the perfect word. Distress is another very good one. The thought that "everybody hurts" is of little help to someone who is overwhelmed by the stresses of life.

Don't misunderstand this, stress is needed. Without some stress, we don't get out of bed in the morning. But when the amount of stress crashes over you like a wave, a tsunami, that's distress. This is tragic.

Job was ruined. He had lost his livestock, his crop, his slaves, his family and finally his health. He has torn his clothes, covered himself in ashes, and scraped his sores with broken pieces of pottery. His wife had enough. "Curse God and die" she cries.

But Job doesn't curse God. He curses the day he was born. He asks God to condemn the day he was born wanting it sent to hell. He wants God to forget everything about his life. He scorns his own life, but he does not scorn God.

Let's face this fact while we're here, his friends weren't much help either.

It takes Elihu, a young man, not one of Job's confidants, to reveal to everyone assembled that the Lord is sovereign and our pain in the hands of the Lord has a redemptive quality. Job is redeemed and ultimately restored.

The day is long and sometimes everything is wrong. Joy seems to be a dream that belongs to everyone else. But when we have control over nothing, God still has control. Comfort and redemption are found in Christ our Lord, what is completely out of control God can still use for good. Where our optimism ends, hope begins. Believe it or not.

Pretty Woman

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Genesis 24:12-19

And he said, “O Lord, God of my master Abraham, please grant me success today and show steadfast love to my master Abraham. I am standing here by the spring of water, and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water. Let the girl to whom I shall say, ‘Please offer your jar that I may drink,’ and who shall say, ‘Drink, and I will water your camels’—let her be the one whom you have appointed for your servant Isaac. By this I shall know that you have shown steadfast love to my master.”

Before he had finished speaking, there was Rebekah, who was born to Bethuel son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham’s brother, coming out with her water jar on her shoulder. The girl was very fair to look upon, a virgin, whom no man had known. She went down to the spring, filled her jar, and came up. Then the servant ran to meet her and said, “Please let me sip a little water from your jar.” “Drink, my lord,” she said, and quickly lowered her jar upon her hand and gave him a drink. When she had finished giving him a drink, she said, “I will draw for your camels also, until they have finished drinking.”

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Pretty woman, walking down the street
Pretty woman, the kind I like to meet
Pretty woman
I don't believe you, you're not the truth
No one could look as good as you
Mercy

"Oh, Pretty Woman" by Roy Orbison and Bill Dees. This version is from the HBO television special "Roy Orbison and Friends, A Black and White Night"

There's an old saying, beauty is only skin deep, but I disagree. I believe beauty radiates from the soul and shines through the life of a person. I believe pretty is only skin deep. I also believe ugly cuts all the way to the bone, but that's for another day.

Abraham's slave was sent to the old home town to find a bride for Isaac. In addition to the importance of this responsibility is the terror in wondering whether or not you picked the right girl or not. So what does the servant do? He sets up a code with God worthy of a secret decoder ring. This is straight out of a spy novel. "She will be my contact if I say 'this' and she replies with 'that.'" Where's the Impossible Mission Force when you need them.

The slave isn't putting the Lord to the test, the slave is setting a condition so that he will know who the right woman is for his master's son. I imagine he is glad Rebekah is "very fair to look upon, a virgin, whom no man had known," but she is more. She is generous, she offers water to a stranger and his camels. She takes her hospitality very seriously and for that Abraham's slave knows this woman is more than just a pretty face.

Oh pretty woman, the kind I like to meet... She is lovely to be sure, but without kindness, generosity, hospitality; all she will ever be is a pretty face. God chose well. May we all choose our mates as well.

God Remembers

Genesis 9:8-17 (NRSV)

Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, “As for me, I am establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you, and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the domestic animals, and every animal of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark. I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.” God said, “This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: I have set my Bow in the clouds, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. When I bring clouds over the earth and the Bow is seen in the clouds, I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. When the Bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.” God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth.”

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I can see clearly now the rain is gone.
I can see all obstacles in my way.
Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind.
It's gonna be a bright (bright)
bright (bright) sunshiny day.
It's gonna be a bright (bright)
bright (bright) sunshiny day.

"I Can See Clearly Now" written and recorded by Johnny Nash from the "I Can See Clearly Now" album

What a glorious passage, God has made a covenant with Noah and his descendants after him. God has promised never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth. Never again will the global calamity these people just experienced be known ever again.

To this covenant, this sacred promise of action, God has made a sign, a bow in the skies "and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth." When the bow is visible on earth, it is a reminder to Noah and all that follow him about the vow God has taken on behalf of all creation.

Here's the important part- God tells Noah "When the Bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.” When the bow is not visible to Noah, God is still reminded of the covenant God made with Noah and every living creature. God will remember to protect creation.

That's the wonderful thing about the covenant, even when we forget--even if we don't know about the covenant at all--God remembers. God knows the promise made and kept. God keeps us and protects us. God--even as the sign of the promise is in the clouds--God sees the sign and God remembers.

We too received a sign--a good many signs truly. The most important sign is that of Christ on the cross and the cross empty after the resurrection. This is the sign that God has not forgotten and will never forget.

This is difficult for us to remember when we see devastation around us. Hurricanes and earthquakes, tornadoes and tsunamis, addiction and abuse; these horrors still surrounds us. But we still have the two signs from God, the bow and the cross.

God promised Noah that life will never be swept from the face of the earth. We know this from the sign of the Bow. God has also promised that nothing, not even death, can remove us from the love of the Lord. We know this from the sign of the cross, the empty cross.

As God's full glory is revealed, as the rain stops, as we can see clearly, then the rest will be redeemed.