The nation of Israel, in its infancy, had no king by God’s own design. They were to live in God’s Promised Land without the need of a King who would be their national leader. They had God as their king. They did not need a cheap knock-off of the real thing. The question would arise among those who saw it, “Why would no one take control of this people and its land?” The answer would be that God’s people already had all they needed in God’s Book of the Torah to shape their lives with justice, with mercy, and with humility. What more could a king do? Or, as another for example, all the rituals in the Temple which had been carefully circumscribed by God as He taught Moses how worship was to be carried on were for the purpose of creating a “Why?” in the minds of those who observed their worship. Why was there no visible image of God? Why was there just one family whose lineage gave the whole nation their priests? Why was there just one central location for worship? From our perspective thousands of years later, it is clear that God was demonstrating that he was not like anything humanity could imagine for themselves. He was the One who was the Truth, and there was no other. History teaches us that such wonder was simply too great for the humans who made up God’s people in the ancient times. It was a treasure that was carried around in clay jars. Those pots would crack and break and fall to pieces. In the process something of the wonder of God among his people would be lost and the “Why?” of the peoples around Israel would be muted. It looked all too often as if God’s people were just like the culture around them and the beauty of life in the presence of God would go unlived and unknown. But God was not deterred for He was committed to bring his Good News to the lives and hearts of the people he loved. Finally, in the fullness of time, as the Bible puts it, Jesus was born. God’s own Son came into the world. Finally, here was a jar made of clay that could withstand the threats of breakage. It was because God himself was in Christ so that he could reconcile the world to himself. Of course, there were those who thought they could destroy that clay jar. But, in his death, Jesus paid for the sinful debt of mankind, in his resurrection he demonstrated for all that the clay jar could withstand even death itself. Now he lives at God’s right hand as the Great King that he is. No, cheap knock-off, Jesus is the real thing!
Posted on: Thu, 20 Mar 2014 09:15:34 +0000
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