What's Your Thing?

Luke 18:18-30

For whatever reason, Jesus attracted people who had questions about God’s Law. Jesus wasn’t affiliated with a particular Rabbinical school. He didn’t belong to a guild of religious professionals, or a recognized party like the Pharisees or Sadducees. But he spoke with confidence and authority, and seemed to know God’s Word intimately.

Some of the people who questioned Jesus did so because they really wanted to know. They really wanted to know what God thought; they really wanted to shape their lives in response to God’s will. Others questioned Jesus because they were pretty sure they had the right answer. They either wanted Jesus to pat them on the backs, or give them something with which to discredit him.

This is true of the rich young man who presents himself in Luke 18. He approaches Jesus with the age-old question: “What must I do to merit eternal life?”

Jesus doesn’t answer directly. He says, “You know the commandments, don’t you?”

“Of course,” responds the young man. “I have always kept each one.”

“Great,” says Jesus. “Now that you’ve got that covered, do one more thing: sell everything you have and give away all your money.” When the man doesn’t respond, Jesus says, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God…”

Now we assume that this is a warning against being rich. And since most of us don’t think of ourselves as rich, we figure we’re off the hook. "Doesn’t apply to me." Not so fast.

The principle at work in this vignette is further developed in Jesus’ concluding statement to his disciples:

"I tell you the truth," Jesus said to them, "no one who has left home or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God will fail to receive many times as much in this age and, in the age to come, eternal life.”

What Jesus is trying to get his disciples, and anyone who will listen, to understand is that God will not tolerate divided loyalties. The rich young man walked away sad because he was hung up on his wealth. That was his thing. What Jesus says is, it doesn’t matter what your thing is. If there’s anything you’re unwilling to let go of, you won’t make it into the Kingdom. Jesus says, “The gateway to heaven is narrow. So narrow that there’s barely room for you to squeeze through.” Like Homer Simpson, whose hand stays stuck in the vending machine so long as he’s holding on to a contraband candy bar, we will not make it through if we’re holding on to anything.

Jesus’ question to the rich young man is his question to us: What’s your thing? What’s that one thing that you will not let go, even if God himself asks you to do so? Money? Home? Car? Relationships? A favorite vice or habit? It may not be something objectively wrong or evil. But if it has supplanted God in your heart, you’re not going to make it. What’s your thing?

The Gibeonite Exception

Passage: Joshua 9:1-10:15

As the Israelites pursue their God-mandated onslaught, nation after nation falls to their swords. The pagan nations of the Promised Land hear of the Israelite threat, and they arm themselves. The nations of the world adopt the only strategy they know: kill or be killed.

There’s one exception. Joshua 9 introduces us to the Gibeonites. As the Israelites approach, the Gibeonites assess the situation. The Israelites are undefeated. The Gibeonites are a small nation with an underequipped military. They know which side of the “kill or be killed” dichotomy they’ll fall down on. So they devise a new approach. They send emissaries to the Israelite camp. They present themselves as the impoverished ambassadors of a distant nation – no threat to the Israelites. They cast themselves on the mercy of Joshua and his people, and request a hail-Mary peace treaty.

The Israelites take the bait. They assume they’re dealing with representatives of some nation outside the Promised Land. They conclude that this nation is excluded from God’s kill order – after all, God has told them only to drive out the inhabitants of Canaan. It’s only until they arrive at Gibeon that Joshua and his army realize they’ve made a treaty with an enemy nation.

At first glance it seems that Joshua 9 and 10 are “the story of how Joshua and the Israelites get duped.” But there’s something else going on. The Gibeonites recognize that something big is happening with the Israelites. That they’ve been empowered by an irresistible force – a God who is greater than any other. All the other nations of the Promised Land are gathering their armies and joining forces to try to destroy the Israelites and defeat their God. The Gibeonites are the only nation to recognize the truth: the God of the Israelites cannot be defeated. So they devise another plan. They, essentially, cast themselves at the mercy of the Israelites and their God.

The end result is that the Gibeonites are humbled. They present themselves as pitiable in order to save their own lives. They subject themselves to a lifetime of subservience to the nation of Israel. In the balance, this is preferable to them. They’d rather be servants than be wiped off the face of the earth. Yes, the Gibeonites are deceptive. But they’re also realistic. They know that if they face off against the God of Israel, they will lose. They’re the only nation to do so. In a strange way, the Gibeonites' deceptive appeal is a statement of faith. They know without a doubt that the God of the Israelites is the real thing. They know there's only one way to respond: falling on their knees.

We recoil at the Israelites entering the Promised Land and committing genocide. This seems at odds with everything we believe about right and wrong. It seems at odds with everything we believe about God – the gracious and compassionate, abundant in mercy and steadfast in love.

What the story of the Gibeonites establishes is that God isn’t bent on bloodshed. That the rule for God is not eliminating all but his chosen people. The rule for God is convincing the world that he is God – almighty Creator and sovereign LORD. The nations that get eliminated are those that encounter God and position themselves as his enemies. These are nations that will never back down from a fight, and would rather die than be anyone’s servant. God says, “When it comes to me, there’s only one choice. You can be nothing but my servant.” Any person, and any nation, that refuses to bow before God is a lost cause. God can’t work with them. God can’t save them. Their destination is destruction – in the immediate, or in the long run.

This is what sets the Gibeonites apart. They don’t know much about God, but they know he’s the boss. They accept that the only way to encounter God is on your knees. So they become the exception. They become the nation that God spares. They are allowed to live in proximity, and relative harmony, with God’s chosen people.

This is still how it works. Those who encounter God and make him their enemy will go to their graves fighting. Ultimately they will be lost. Why? Because they’d rather die than be anyone’s servant. This may be your approach to anyone and everyone. But God is the exception. God is the boss. He is the Creator and the Ruler of all, and all things are subservient to him whether they acknowledge it or not. Make God your exception. Humble yourself and let him be the boss. Those who do so find that they are not reduced to humility or slavery, but embraced as lost loved ones. When it comes to rulers, God’s the exception.

Jericho's Curse

Passage: Joshua 6:26-27; 1 Kings 16:34

When the dust settles on the ruins of Jericho, it seems as though the drama is over. The mighty walls of Jericho have fallen not to a great army or some revolutionary military technology, but to a tiny parade of Israelites. This story draws out the steady theme of the Old Testament: when the nations of the world encounter the Israelites, they encounter the God of the Israelites. Anything the Israelites accomplish they accomplish not by their power and ingenuity but by the mighty hand of God.

Following the fall of Jericho, an intriguing pronouncement is made over the ruins:

At that time Joshua pronounced this solemn oath: "Cursed before the LORD is the man who undertakes to rebuild this city, Jericho:
"At the cost of his firstborn son
will he lay its foundations;
at the cost of his youngest
will he set up its gates."

At first glance it seems that this is the end of the story. Joshua and the Israelites move on, and Jericho is left as a heap of rubble forever.

Not so. If you read through the Book of 1 Kings, you come across this brief reference – little more than a footnote – at the end of chapter 16:

In Ahab's time, Hiel of Bethel rebuilt Jericho. He laid its foundations at the cost of his firstborn son Abiram, and he set up its gates at the cost of his youngest son Segub, in accordance with the word of the LORD spoken by Joshua son of Nun.

We don’t know exactly why this verse is included in 1 Kings 16. Chronologically it coincides with the reign of Ahab, the real focus of the passage. Nothing more is said about Hiel of Bethel, his unfortunate sons, and his motivation for rebuilding the cursed city. What this passage does make clear is that God makes good his commitments – whether those commitments are blessings or curses. If God says something is so, so it will be.
I wonder if Hiel knew about the curse. If so, I wonder if he thought he’d just take his chances. We’ll never know. What we do know is that the Old Testament is full of warnings about betting against the Word of God.