spiritual blindness

Blinded by the Light

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1 The two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them and bowed himself with his face to the earth 2 and said, “My lords, please turn aside to your servant’s house and spend the night and wash your feet. Then you may rise up early and go on your way.” They said, “No; we will spend the night in the town square.” 3 But he pressed them strongly; so they turned aside to him and entered his house. And he made them a feast and baked unleavened bread, and they ate.

4 But before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both young and old, all the people to the last man, surrounded the house. 5 And they called to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us, that we may know them.” 6 Lot went out to the men at the entrance, shut the door after him, 7 and said, “I beg you, my brothers, do not act so wickedly. 8 Behold, I have two daughters who have not known any man. Let me bring them out to you, and do to them as you please. Only do nothing to these men, for they have come under the shelter of my roof.” 9 But they said, “Stand back!” And they said, “This fellow came to sojourn, and he has become the judge! Now we will deal worse with you than with them.” Then they pressed hard against the man Lot, and drew near to break the door down. 10 But the men reached out their hands and brought Lot into the house with them and shut the door. 11 And they struck with blindness the men who were at the entrance of the house, both small and great, so that they wore themselves out groping for the door. – Genesis 19:1-11 ESV

Moses indicates that after Abraham had completed his rather strange conversation with God, “the Lord went his way” (Genesis 18:33 ESV), and Abraham returned to his tent near Hebron. But that very same evening, the two angels of the Lord arrived at Sodom and discovered Lot “sitting in the gate” (Genesis 19:1 ESV). This phrase will take on special importance as the story unfolds. Typically, it was used to refer to someone who served in the capacity of a municipal judge. The city gate was where the community conducted its business. Markets were located at the entrance to the city where vendors plied their wares. But it was also where disputes among the city’s residents were settled by the appointed judges.

Lot, who had initially “moved his tents to a place near Sodom” (Genesis 13:12 NLT), had eventually relocated his family to more permanent housing within the city’s walls. And, apparently, Lot had become an active member of the community, even managing to garner the coveted position of a judge. His title and job description would have exposed Lot to all the immoral and unethical behavior taking place within the city. He would have well aware of the ungodly lifestyles of his neighbors. Which would explain his rather determined insistence that the two visitors spend the night under his roof.

“My lords,” he said, “come to my home to wash your feet, and be my guests for the night. You may then get up early in the morning and be on your way again.” – Genesis 19:2 NLT

There is no indication that Lot was aware that these two men were actually angels or messengers from God. He simply discerned them to be strangers who appeared to be men of importance.

But when the two visitors turned down his gracious offer of hospitality and revealed that they were planning to spend the night in the town square, Lot became insistent. He knew that decision would not end well. So, at his extreme urging, the two men made their way to Lot’s home, where he had a meal prepared for them.

It’s at this point in the story that the plot takes a dark and perverted twist. As Lot and his guests feasted inside his home, the men of Sodom gathered outside the door. The rumors had quickly spread that there were two prominent and well-to-do visitors spending the night with Lot. Moses goes out of his way to reveal how the perversity within Sodom was all pervasive. He indicates that “all the men of Sodom, young and old, came from all over the city and surrounded the house” (Genesis 19:4 NLT). Every red-blooded male Sodomite had flocked to Lot’s doorstep with one thing in mind. And it was not to shower Lot’s guests with a display of civic hospitality.

Moses foreshadowed this scene when he earlier indicated the moral state of the men of Sodom.

…the men of Sodom were wicked, great sinners against the Lord. – Genesis 13:13 ESV

And the diverse makeup of the crowd reveals that the wickedness of Sodom spanned the generations and was evident within every strata of Sodomite society. From the young and the old to the rich and the poor, every single male had made their way to Lot’s house, each driven by the same immoral passion. And they quickly made their intentions known.

“Where are the men who came to spend the night with you? Bring them out to us so we can have sex with them!” – Genesis 19:5 NLT

This is not a case of hyperbole. Moses is not utilizing literary exaggeration to drive home a point. He is revealing the full extent of Sodom’s wickedness. It was all-pervasive and far beyond the scope of acceptable behavior for any society. And, sadly, none of this came as a surprise to Lot. His fervent efforts to house the two men in his home reveal his awareness of the dangers that lurked just outside the walls of his home. But despite all he knew about his adopted hometown, Lot had chosen to remain in Sodom, even becoming a prominent and well-respected city leader.

And, in his role as judge, Lot attempted to arbitrate a “cease fire” with his impassioned, hormone-driven neighbors. In an effort to prevent any harm coming to his guests, Lot even offered them a shocking compromise. He offered up his two virgin daughters as substitutes. As the story will reveal, both girls had both been betrothed Sodomite men, but they had not yet consummated their marriages. To the Middle Eastern mind, hospitality was a sacred responsibility. To fail to care for and protect someone taking shelter in your home was considered to be a crime. And Lot’s behavior, while shocking to our modern sensibilities, was in keeping with the relational protocols that ruled his day. These men were his guests, and he was personally responsible for their well-being.

But Lot’s negotiations proved fruitless. Driven by their uncontrollable sexual urges, the mob refused his offer and increased their efforts to gain access to the two visitors. And they revealed their disdain and dislike for Lot.

“This fellow came to sojourn, and he has become the judge! Now we will deal worse with you than with them.” – Genesis 19:9 ESV

This sentence says a lot about what they thought of Lot. They claim that Lot came to “sojourn.” The Hebrew word carries the idea that Lot had shown up in Sodom, intending to “dwell for a time.” He had planned on being a temporary resident but, instead, he had become a permanent fixture in the community. Not only that, he had “become the judge” or law-giver. They express their frustration with this outsider who had set himself up as the sole determiner of right and wrong. Who was he to decide what was acceptable behavior in Sodom?

Things were getting out of hand. Tempers were flaring. Hormones were raging. And Lot found himself in a difficult and potentially deadly predicament. But little did he know that his guests were angelic beings. As the angry crowd pushed in on Lot, threatening to do him bodily harm, a hand reached out and pulled him inside.

And then something incredible took place. The text simply states, “And they struck with blindness the men who were at the entrance of the house, both small and great…” (Genesis 19:11 ESV). But the wording in Hebrew is vital to understanding the miraculous nature of what took place. As soon as the angels drew Lot into the safety of his own home, they “struck with blindness” those outside the door. The way this sentence reads in Hebrew is that the angels struck the men and the result of blindness. Whatever happened left every member of the unruly crowd unable to see. They were left groping around in darkness. But notice that their altered state did not alter their desires.

…they wore themselves out groping for the door. – Genesis 19:11 ESV

They had arrived that night, under cover of darkness, with the intentions of doing something grievous. Their hearts darkened by sin, they were incapable of seeing the error of their ways.  No amount of pleading or bargaining on Lot’s part was going to prevent them from fulfilling their perverse desires. But now they found themselves suffering from literal blindness. Now their physical state matched their spiritual state.

It was Jesus who said, “I entered this world to render judgment—to give sight to the blind and to show those who think they see that they are blind” (John 9:39 NLT). What the angels did to the spiritually blind men attempting to beat down Lot’s door was remove their capacity to fulfill their sinful desires. But the sinful desire remained. Their hearts were unchanged. And their pitiful groping for fulfillment and satisfaction would continue unabated.

So, how did the angels blind these men? While the passage does not answer this question, there will be clues provided as the story unfolds. This story brings to mind another encounter between a messenger of God and the ungodly. It is recorded in the book of Acts and involves a man named, Saul, who was a Pharisee and paid bounty hunter who made his living rounding up and arresting followers of “The Way.” In other words, he was a professional persecutor of Christians.

But one day, as he was making his way to the city of Damascus to arrest Christ-followers, he was suddenly exposed to a very bright light, in the middle of the day. As he later told the story: “…about noon a great light from heaven suddenly shone around me” (Acts 22:6 ESV). This unexpected encounter left Saul blind.

“I could not see because of the brightness of that light…” – Acts 22:11 ESV

This persecutor of the church was blinded by the light of Christ’s glory. He had encountered the resurrected Son of God, the very light of life (John 1:4) and the light of the world (John 8:12). In the midst of the darkness of his sin-controlled life, Saul encountered the light that shines in the darkness (John 1:5) and was changed forever. He walked away blind, but later lived with an enlightened awareness of God’s goodness and grace as revealed in His Son.

It could be that the very thing that left the men of Sodom blinded and groping for the door was the light of God’s glory. But unlike Saul, their encounter with “the light of the world” left them blinded but unenlightened and unchanged. They remained stubbornly persistent in their desire to live according to the desires of the flesh. And, as the story will reveal, their spiritual blindness would be the death of them.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

New English Translation (NET)NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.

Lumina Obscura

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33 “No one after lighting a lamp puts it in a cellar or under a basket, but on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light. 34 Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light, but when it is bad, your body is full of darkness. 35 Therefore be careful lest the light in you be darkness. 36 If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, it will be wholly bright, as when a lamp with its rays gives you light.” – Luke 11:33-36 ESV

Jesus has been falsely accused of casting out demons by the power of Satan. And, despite all the miracles He has performed, the people continue to ask that He perform some kind of sign that might prove His identity as the Messiah. It seems likely that they are wanting Him to do something that might fall in line with their expectations of the coming Messiah. Since the anointed one of God was to conquer their enemies and re-establish the independence of the kingdom of Israel, they were probably demanding that Jesus display His royal power through some kind of military exploit against the occupying Romans.

But Jesus had come to conquer sin and death, not the Romans. His mission was to set people free from their captivity to Satan and provide them with a means of escaping the sentence of eternal condemnation that hung over their heads. But they were missing the point. They had their eyes and their hopes focused on the wrong thing.

Their problem was their failure to believe that Jesus was who He claimed to be. They attributed His power to Satan. They deemed His miracles as inadequate proof of His Messiahship and demanded more. But Jesus warns them that there will be no more light than that which they have already received. To make His point, He reaches back into a lesson He had taught earlier in His sermon on the mount.

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” – Matthew 5:14-16 ESV

On that occasion, Jesus had placed the emphasis on His listeners. He had declared them to be the light of the world. They were the ones who were to shine before others, giving evidence of their relationship with God. But they had failed to do so. In fact, they were incapable of doing so because of their sin natures. The entire sermon on the mount was designed to describe life in the kingdom of God. Jesus was letting His audience know that the righteous requirement for godly living was far more demanding than they had ever expected. And without a relationship with Him, it would be impossible.

So here, Jesus seems to be placing the emphasis on Himself. In this scenario, He is the lamp, providing light to the inhabitants of the house.

“No one after lighting a lamp puts it in a cellar or under a basket, but on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light.” – Luke 11:33 ESV

This fits in well with the declaration He made about Himself as recorded in John’s gospel.

“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” – John 8:12 ESV

But the problem is that those in His audience are refusing to recognize the light. Jesus was sent into the world to illuminate the darkness of sin. But through their refusal to accept Him as their Messiah, the Jews were guilty of placing a basket over the light of life. They were attempting to obscure the very light that could eliminate the darkness of sin in which they were held captive. And the apostle John paints a less-than-flattering picture of their stubborn rejection of the light.

God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. – John 3:19 NLT

But  John also reminds us that man’s love affair with darkness cannot and will not overcome the light of the world.

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. – John 1:5 ESV

Jesus would not be put under a basket. His light would not be extinguished.

“As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” – John 9:5 ESV

But the day was coming when He would leave this world. His earthly ministry had a shelf life and He wanted all those who heard His message to understand that His light would not shine among them forever.

“The light is among you for a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you. The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going.” – John 12:35 ESV

“I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness.” – John 12:46 ESV

But so many who stood in the light of His glory remained immersed in the darkness of sin. And Jesus infers that it was because they had an eye problem.

“Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light, but when it is bad, your body is full of darkness.” – Luke 11:34 ESV

The human eye is not the source of light, but the means by which light enters the body. It is the lense through which the light flows and provides sight. That is why Jesus refers to a good eye and a bad eye. One allows light to enter, providing sight. The other, marred by cataracts or some other disease, prevents the light from entering, resulting in blurry or distorted vision. The word “healthy” in Greek is haplous (hah-ploos), and it means “single, whole, singleness of purpose, undivided loyalty.” Jesus is saying that your eye, like a lamp, is to have a single purpose. The one who is approved by God is to have unswerving loyalty to God’s kingdom purposes. Jesus is talking about heart fidelity toward God. The good eye is the one fixed on God, unwavering in its gaze, and constant in its focus. We should not suffer from a “wandering eye.” An eye that has a single focus will have a single byproduct: Light (purity).

…but when it is bad, your body is full of darkness. – vs 34

The word “bad” in Greek is ponēros (pah-ney-rahs), and it means “bad, blind, or wicked.” Jesus is referring to spiritual blindness or an inability to focus on the right things. It results in darkness (a void of God’s precepts). A dim light is a light without focus or purpose. It results in darkness. The one who is approved by God will live a life of single-mindedness. Consider the following Old Testament passages regarding the one with a “bad eye.”

A stingy man [a man whose eye is evil] hastens after wealth and does not know that poverty will come upon him. – Proverbs 28:22 ESV

Do not eat the bread of a man who is stingy; [a man whose eye is evil] do not desire his delicacies. – Proverbs 23:6 ESV

Take care lest there be an unworthy thought in your heart and you say, “The seventh year, the year of release is near,” and your eye look grudgingly [be evil] on your poor brother, and you give him nothing, and he cry to the Lord against you, and you be guilty of sin. – Deuteronomy 15:9 ESV

Those who were accusing Jesus of being in league with Satan were suffering from bad eyesight. They could not see the light shining in their midst. In a sense, they had placed a basket over the light of life, which left them living in darkness. Those who demanded that Jesus perform some kind of spectacular sign that would prove He was the warrior-king and emancipator from Rome they were expecting were blind to the truth. They were looking for the wrong kind of Savior. That is why Jesus warned them, “Make sure that the light you think you have is not actually darkness” (Luke 11:35 NLT).

These people thought they knew what was right. They believed their understanding of the Messiah to be accurate and were having a difficult time accepting Jesus as the fulfillment of their long-held expectations. But Jesus wanted them to know that their faulty eyesight had left them with a severely distorted vision of who He was and what He had come to do. But all they had to do was remove the basket they had placed over His light.

“If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, it will be wholly bright, as when a lamp with its rays gives you light.” – Luke 11:36 ESV

Jesus had come to illuminate the darkness that filled the world and permeated their lives. He longed to shine the light of His grace and mercy into the hidden recesses of their hearts, exposing and expunging the last vestiges of sin and releasing them from the condemnation of death and eternal separation from God the Father. But to benefit from the light, they would have to allow it to penetrate their lives. They would have to believe that Jesus was who He claimed to be.

“I entered this world to render judgment—to give sight to the blind and to show those who think they see that they are blind.” – John 9:39 NLT

And in time, every person who had been exposed to the light would be forced to put it on a stand so that it might illuminate their life, or under a basket, so that they might continue living in the darkness they had learned to love.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Message (MSG)Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson

A Man Born Blind

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1 As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” 3 Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. 4 We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. 5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” 6 Having said these things, he spit on the ground and made mud with the saliva. Then he anointed the man’s eyes with the mud 7 and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing. –John 9:1-7 ESV

As has been noted before, John does not attempt to adhere to a strict chronologically accurate timeline. He has chosen to arrange his Gospel according to a theme, selecting those stories that best illustrate and prove the point he is trying to make. Since John is most interested in establishing the deity of Jesus, the stories he has included are those that best support his premise. As a result, there are many events recorded in the Synoptic Gospels that do not appear in John’s record of Jesus’ life. And, in today’s passage, John provides the details surrounding a miracle that none of the other Gospel writers include.

But John’s placement of this particular miracle at this precise point in his narrative was not without purpose. For several chapters, he has chronicled the ongoing and quickly intensifying conflict between Jesus and the Jewish religious authorities. As the light of the world, He has entered the sin-darkened land of Israel, revealing the glory of God with words of truth concerning His ministry, mission, and identity as the Son of God. But the religious leaders have repeatedly rejected His claim to have been sent from God. They have scoffed at His offers of living water, true bread, and eternal life. And they had found his most recent statement particularly off-putting.

“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” – John 8:12 ESV

Who did this man think He was?  What right did He have to question the spiritual integrity of the nation’s preeminent religious scholars? They were incensed by His offer to set them free because they were slaves to no one. And, of course, they weren’t exactly flattered when He had called them sons of the devil. He had accused them of being murderers and liars, completely out of touch with God, and incapable of hearing or accepting His claim to be the Son of God. And John closed chapter eight closes with a not-so-subtle summary of their reaction to Jesus’ words.

So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple. – John 8:59 ESV

Jesus simply walked away. The light of the world departed the temple grounds, symbolically leaving the area bathed in darkness. But the story does not end there. John records that “As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth” (John 9:1 ESV). it just so happened that as Jesus left the temple and the company of the belligerent religious leaders, He came across a man who suffered from physical blindness. But don’t miss the fact that this man had been born blind. This detail is what will set this particular miracle apart. While there are other accounts of Jesus restoring people’s sight, this is the only instance in which we are told that the man had been blind since birth. In a sense, he had born into darkness. He had never seen the light of the sun. He had never experienced the joy of seeing his parents’ faces. This man had been born into a world marked by an all-pervasive darkness and he was completely incapable of doing anything about his condition.

This man was about to become a visible symbol for the plight of all humanity. He had been born with his debilitating condition. It was not as if he had once had sight and then lost it. He had never had the capacity to see. And he would have remained in darkness had he not encountered Jesus, the light of the world.

For the Jews, physical blindness was closely associated with sin. Because of the egregious nature of this particular disorder, most Jews assumed that it was a form of divine punishment for sin. That is why the disciples asked Jesus, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” (John 9:2 ESV). In their minds, it wasn’t a matter of whether sin had been involved, it was a case of who was the guilty party. Since the man was born blind, the logical conclusion would be that his parents were responsible for his pitiable condition.

It seems quite evident that the disciples made no connection between this man’s condition and the spiritual state of the religious leaders who had just tried to stone their master. To them, this was just another blind man, one of many anonymous sufferers that filled the streets and alleys of Jerusalem. Their only interest in this man was as a point of theological discussion. But Jesus reveals that this man’s condition and his appearance at that moment in time was all God-ordained.

“It was not because of his sins or his parents’ sins,” Jesus answered. “This happened so the power of God could be seen in him.” – John 9:3 NLT

This simple statement carries a powerful punch, revealing the sovereign hand of God over every detail of human existence. This man’s very existence had been orchestrated by the will of God Almighty. And his encounter with the Son of God had been providentially prearranged. He had been placed in the path of Jesus, not so that his sight be could be restored, but so that the power of God could be revealed. Jesus was about to give this man something he had never possessed: The ability to see. He had been born into darkness, but he was about to have his eyes opened for the very first time in his life.

Jesus took the opportunity to address His disciples, reminding them that time was of the essence. His days on earth were quickly drawing to a close. And in the time remaining, they would need to keep their attention focused on “the light of the world.”  While so many of Jesus’ conversations had been with the religious leaders, His words had been directed at His disciples. They had been His primary audience, and everything He had said had been for their benefit.

“We must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent us. The night is coming, and then no one can work. But while I am here in the world, I am the light of the world.” – John 9:4-5 NLT

They didn’t yet realize it, but Jesus’ days on earth were quickly drawing to a close. They would not always have the luxury of His company. And He wanted them to take advantage of every single moment they had in “the light” of His presence because the night was coming.

As usual, Jesus did not explain His words. He left the disciples to wrestle with the meaning of His comments and turned His attention to the blind man. And every single action taken by Jesus is filled with powerful symbolism and meaning. John describes Him as spitting on the ground and making mud from the dirt and His own saliva. Then Jesus took the mud and spread it over the blind man’s eyes. When finished, He instructed the blind man to somehow make his way to the Pool of Siloam, where he was supposed to wash away the mud.

This entire scene was meant to instruct the disciples. Jesus had just told them, “We must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent us.” Now, He has shown them an example of the task they had been assigned by God. They didn’t understand it yet, but they had been chosen by God and been given the responsibility of opening the eyes of the blind. And Jesus was giving them a physical demonstration of the spiritual transformation that He had come to bring to those born into the darkness of sin.

John provides no explanation regarding Jesus’ actions. We are not told why He chose to mix His saliva with dirt and apply it to the man’s eyes. His instructions for the man to wash in the Pool of Siloam come with no commentary. But all of it had to have left the disciples scratching their heads in confusion. Yet, the blind man never utters a word. He simply stands there, blindly oblivious to what Jesus is doing, but faithfully willing to do whatever this unidentified and unseen man told him to do. When Jesus told him to wash in the pool, the man obeyed. And John describes what happened next.

So the man went and washed and came back seeing! – John 9:7 NLT

This man’s life had just been radically transformed by an encounter with the Son of God. Born into darkness, he was suddenly able to see for the very first time in his life. As amazed as this man must have been at the transformation he experienced, it was the disciples whom Jesus intended to impress with His actions. His healing of the man born blind was meant to be a powerful demonstration of the Father’s power and a sign of their future ministry and mission.

At one point the disciples of John the Baptist had approached Jesus with a question from their master.  “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” (Matthew 11:3 NLT). And Jesus had responded, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is the one who is not offended by me” (Matthew 11:4-6 NLT). Jesus was informing John that everything He did was in keeping with His Father’s will. The evidence for His identity was clearly visible in the things that He did. Jesus was fulfilling the words of the prophets.

In that day the deaf shall hear
    the words of a book,
and out of their gloom and darkness
    the eyes of the blind shall see.
The meek shall obtain fresh joy in the Lord,
    and the poor among mankind shall exult in the Holy One of Israel. – Isaiah 29:18-19 ESV

In a real sense, Jesus’ healing of the blind man was designed to open the eyes of His own disciples. The light of the world was illuminating the darkness of their own understanding, helping them to grasp the reality of who He was and what He had come to do. But their lesson was far from over.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Message (MSG)Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson

A Risky Request.

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Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life. – Psalm 139:23-24 ESV

Psalm 139

David closes out his prayer with a powerful petition. It is an apt summation of all that he has prayed up to this point. Fully aware that God knows everything about him and that there is nothing he can hide from God, David requests that God reveal what’s going on in the inside of his own heart. This simply prayer reveals so much of what David knew about God, but ultimately, it lets us know that David knew God loved him. David trusted God. He was asking God to reveal things in his life to which he was either blind or simply oblivious. Rather than fear God’s omniscience, David wanted to take advantage of it. He wanted the all-knowing, ever-present God to search inside the recesses of his heart and “point out anything in me that offends you.” That’s a risky proposition. Not because God is going to discover something He didn’t already know. That’s been David’s point all along. God already knows. But it’s risky, because it means that God is going to reveal to David what he doesn’t know, and then David is going to be faced with the choice of agreeing with it and confessing it, or disagreeing with it and denying it. The former results in God’s forgiveness. The latter will result in His discipline.

But this prayer of David’s should be that of every individual who calls Christ his or her Savior. Our relationship with Jesus Christ has provided us with an intimate relationship with God the Father. We are able to come into His presence and enjoy His love, grace and forgiveness. He has created us, redeemed us, and knows everything about us. He loves us deeply and sent His Son not only to die for us, but to make it possible for us to be progressively transformed into His image. To do that, He is constantly exposing the sin in our life so that we might confess it and enjoy His forgiveness. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9 ESV). The truth is, we are incapable of seeing so much of the darkness that lies within our own hearts. Jeremiah the prophet wrote, “The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?” (Jeremiah 17:9 ESV). The answer is God. He knows our hearts and He can reveal what is hidden from our view. God alone can reveal what is behind our “anxious thoughts.” The Hebrew word David uses is sar`aph and it refers to “disquieting thoughts.” God can tell us why we’re so anxious and worried. He can tell us what is driving our fear. We may think it is a past-due bill, but God may show us that it really our lack of trust in His provision. We may think our anxiety is due to a damaged relationship, but God may reveal that it is really a fear of man or our own lack of love. God has the innate ability to get to the root issue. And so often, it is the result of sin. There was a time in David’s life when he was having trouble sleeping. He could have written it off to his high-pressure job as king of Israel. But God reveals that it was the result of his affair with Bathsheba. David had internalized and rationalized his sin. But God saw it all and made sure David saw it as He did. That’s where the risk comes in.

But David knew that it was better to have his sins exposed by God than to try and live with them hidden. He knew he could fool others, but he could never fool God. He knows everything. And God was the key to David’s spiritual transformation. He needed God to help him live righteously. He was a man after God’s own heart, but he desperately needed God to constantly renew his heart. Refusing to let God reveal what is going on inside our hearts is like going to the doctor and refusing to let him tell us what is wrong with us. Not knowing will not make us better. Ignorance is not bliss. Unrevealed sin, like unseen cancer, does not mean it does not exist. It is there, wreaking havoc on our spiritual lives and doing damage to all those around us. We should want to know what God knows. When God had revealed to David the depth of the sin he had committed with Bathsheba, David prayed, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me” (Psalm 51:10 ESV). God had convicted him. Now David wanted God to cleanse him. He knew that God alone was capable of cleaning up the mess he had made with his life. God doesn’t just give us the prognosis, He provides the cure. He doesn’t just point out our sin, He makes possible the prescription for renewed spiritual health and vitality.

We can’t confess what we don’t know. That’s why we need God. We tend to see only the symptoms of our sin. God sees the source. He knows the root cause of all our thoughts, words and actions. We are blind to our pride, envy, idolatry, lust and more. But God sees it all. So David wanted the all-knowing God, who made Him and knew everything about him, to shine His divine flashlight into the recesses of his heart and point out anything and everything that offended Him. That’s a risky, yet rewarding prayer to pray, because it will show us things we don’t want to see, but it will also allow God to make us who He desires us to be.

1 Kings 9-10, 2 Corinthians 3

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Blind Optimism.

1 Kings 9-10, 2 Corinthians 3

Thus King Solomon excelled all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom. And the whole earth sought the presence of Solomon to hear his wisdom, which God had put into his mind. Every one of them brought his present, articles of silver and gold, garments, myrrh, spices, horses, and mules, so much year by year. – 1 Kings 10:23-25 ESV

Solomon was a rock star – an international celebrity who drew admirers from all over the world. He had a reputation that attracted attention and led to increased fame and fortune. He was wealthy, wise, and enjoying the lavish lifestyle of a powerful king. But for all his power and popularity, Solomon was blind to the consequences of his lifestyle. Yes, it appeared as if God’s hand was all over him. He seemed to be enjoying the blessing of God. After all, a big part of his reputation was based on his God-given wisdom. The visiting queen of Sheba said of Solomon, “Your wisdom and prosperity surpass the report that I heard” (1 Kings 10:7 ESV). But Solomon had been warned by God that His blessing was conditional, saying, “if you will walk before me, as David your father walked, with integrity of heart and uprightness, doing according to all that I have commanded you, and keeping my statutes and my rules, then I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever, as I promised David your father” (1 Kings 9:4-5 ESV). Notice that God was calling Solomon to live with integrity of heart. That phrase has to do with moral wholeness or completeness. The Hebrew word is tom, and it carries the idea of being fully devoted to God in every area of life, with no compartmentalization. Solomon was to live his entire life before God’s all-seeing gaze with nothing hidden or kept secret. He was to live in obedience to all of God’s commands. But Solomon was gradually ignoring what God had commanded him to do and wrongly assuming that his great wealth and unbridled success were signs of God’s blessings and satisfaction with his life.

What does this passage reveal about God?

God had warned the people of Israel that when He finally gave them a king, he would be required to reign according to God’s terms. “Only he must not acquire many horses for himself or cause the people to return to Egypt in order to acquire many horses, since the Lord has said to you, ‘You shall never return that way again.’ And he shall not acquire many wives for himself, lest his heart turn away, nor shall he acquire for himself excessive silver and gold” (Deuteronomy 17:16-17 ESV). It was God’s desire that the king of Israel be a man who regular time immersing himself in the law so that he might live according to it. “And when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself in a book a copy of this law, approved by the Levitical priests. And it shall be with him, and he shall read in it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God by keeping all the words of this law and these statutes, and doing them,  that his heart may not be lifted up above his brothers, and that he may not turn aside from the commandment, either to the right hand or to the left, so that he may continue long in his kingdom, he and his children, in Israel” (Deuteronomy 17:18-20 ESV). He was to be a man of the Word. He was to live obediently and humbly, not driven by pride and hungry for power. He was to recognize his role as God’s representative, ruling on His behalf, and subject to God’s divine will.

What does this passage reveal about man?

Solomon was a man, just like any other man, and was subject to the same temptations we all face. He was susceptible to the same sinful tendencies that every great leader encounters. He let his fame, power and fortune go to his head. He was surrounded by great wealth. He was constantly bombarded with flattering words and feigning admirers who told him how smart, successful and gifted he was. “This King Solomon excelled all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom. And the whole earth sought the presence of Solomon to hear his wisdom…” (1 Kings 10:23-24 ESV). Solomon was living the dream life, but he didn’t realize that his dream was about to become a nightmare; all because of his subtle disobedience. He had compromised. He had rationalized. He had intermarried when he shouldn’t have. He had amassed great quantities of gold when God had told him not to. He had bought horses and chariots from Egypt, in direct violation of God’s command. He had made an alliance with Egypt, marrying Pharaoh’s daughter, also in disobedience to God’s will. Solomon grew wealthy beyond belief, personally benefiting from his God-given wisdom and enjoying the fruit of God’s favor. But he was blind to his own sin. He was ignorant of his own subtle rebellion against God. Palaces, gold, silver, chariots, horses, ornate thrones, powerful friends, and a growing reputation all blinded the eyes of Solomon, preventing him from recognizing his own disobedience and inevitable downfall. God had told Solomon that if he failed to obey, then God would be forced to end his rule, destroy his kingdom, level the temple, and cut off the people of Israel from the land. While Solomon was enjoying the blessings of God for a season, the time was coming when God would deal with his disobedience in a sobering way. Solomon had wrongly made it all about himself. In spite of his effort to build the temple, he had spent far more time and money building his own kingdom. He had placed himself at the center of his own universe and left God as an afterthought, a convenient resource to be used in times of trouble.

How would I apply what I’ve read to my own life?

The apostle reminds us that our sufficiency is to be found in God. We are never to assume that we bring anything to the table that gives us worth or value. “Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God” (2 Corinthians 3:5 ESV). We live and breath based on the grace of God. We enjoy the promise of eternal life solely because of the grace of God. Solomon lived during the era of the law. He was part of a different dispensation in which obedience to the law was non-negotiable and undeniable. Paul calls it “the ministry of condemnation” (2 Corinthians 3:9 ESV). The law, which was impossible for any man to keep perfectly, ended up condemning all. It was a constant reminder of man’s incapacity to live righteously. Yet God was constantly revealing His glory to men in an effort to remind them of His power and to create in them a holy fear. But they lived as if their eyes were veiled. They couldn’t see God’s glory or recognize His holiness. They were unable to understand that even their obedience was dependent upon God, not their own self-effort. A big part of the giving of the law was to reveal just how holy God really was. His standard was so high that no man could keep it. That insufficiency should have driven them closer and closer to God for help and hope. But they were blind. Paul says, “For to this day, when they read the old covenant that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away. Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts. But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed” (2 Corinthians 3:14-16 ESV). Unlike Solomon, I have an “unveiled face.” I am fully capable of seeing and comprehending the glory of the Lord. I am fully cognizant that it is His amazing grace that gives me the capacity to live wholly, completely in obedience to His will. I can’t do it in my own strength any more than Solomon could. Without His help, I would be in the same state as Solomon. In fact, too often, I find myself living just as Solomon lived – surrounded by the blessings of God, given access to the wisdom of God, but living as if I was my own god. My eyes have been opened, but it is so easy to live as if I was blind, ignorant of God’s grace and still trying to live the godly life in my own strength and self-sufficiency.

Father, I want to constantly remember that my sufficiency is found in You, not me. I want to live with my eyes wide open to the fact that I am incapable of living the Christian life without Your Spirit, Your Word and Your help. My sufficiency is from You. Do not let me fall back into the trap of trying to live this life in my own strength. It is impossible. But You have made my holiness a reality. You have provided for me what I could have never provided for myself. Amen

Ken Miller
Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org

Numbers 21-22, John 2

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Spiritual Blindness.

Numbers 21-22, John 2

Because of the miraculous signs Jesus did in Jerusalem at the Passover celebration, many began to trust in him. But Jesus didn’t trust them, because he knew human nature. No one needed to tell him what mankind is really like. – John 2:23-25 NLT

The people of Israel suffered from spiritual blindness. They had the physical capacity for sight, but far too often they were plagued by an inability to see what God was doing. It was this spiritual blindness that caused them to repeatedly complain about their situation and question God’s will for their lives. Even after all God had done for them, they continued to reveal their inability to see and appreciate His divine plan for them. In Numbers 21, this spiritual blindness would result in God’s discipline in the form of poisonous serpents. The antidote was for Moses to make a bronze serpent and place it on a pole in the midst of the camp. When an Israelite was bitten, they would have to look on the bronze serpent to receive back his life. Jesus would refer to this real-life occasion as a foreshadowing of His own death on the cross. “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life” (John 3:14-15 ESV). There was more involved than simply seeing. Salvation required believing. Even in Moses’ day, the people who looked on the bronze serpent had to believe that doing so would bring life instead of death. Those who refused to see and believe would experience death.

In the story of Balaam found in Numbers 22, we have another example of spiritual blindness. Balaam was a pagan seer or diviner who had been hired by Balak, the king of Moab, to bring a curse on the people of Israel. God spoke to Balaam and ordered him NOT to go with the king’s emissaries and NOT to curse Israel. Initially Balaan obeyed. But when Balak’s representatives showed back up offering great wealth in return for his services, God gave Balaam the freedom to make his own choice. Driven by greed and hoping to figure out a way to eventually curse Israel and cash in, Balaam chose to go with the officials from Balak. He was spiritually blind and chose wrong. The seer was unable to see God’s will and, as a result, God was angry. On his way to meet Balak, Balaam is visited by an angel of the Lord. And interestingly enough, the text tells us three different times that “the donkey saw the angel of the Lord” (Numbers 22:23 ESV). But Balaam was blind to this divine encounter. This famous diviner couldn’t see that God was about to take his life for his disobedience. And it wasn’t until God opened his eyes that Balaam truly saw the danger of his circumstances.

What does this passage reveal about God?

As we have seen time and time again through the story of God’s interactions with the people of Israel, He was always in control of each and every circumstance. In this case, God knew the plans of Balak and He knew the heart of Balaam. God was in complete control of the events surrounding this story. While Balaam was blind to the will of God, God knew exactly what was going on within the heart of this greedy pagan diviner. Just as God spoke through a donkey, God would speak through this flawed man.

We see in the stories recorded by John in his gospel that spiritual blindness was still a problem in Jesus’ day. Yes, people could see all that Jesus was able to do. They were amazed that He could turn ordinary water into extraordinary wine, but they were blind to the spiritual significance of these events. John tells us that these signs manifested His glory. They revealed His divine nature and gave proof of His having been sent by God. And the disciples believed in Him. They saw what He was able to do, and they believed in Him. But what was it they believed? At this point they were spiritually blind to the real nature of His divine calling. They believed in His power, but they did not yet understand that His real mission was to involve His own death for their sins.

What does this passage reveal about man?

After Jesus’ miracle of turning the water into wine and His cleansing of the Temple, John records that “many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing” (John 2:23 ESV). They believed, but theirs was not a saving faith. They believed that Jesus was a special individual with special powers. He was able to do things that they had never seen done before. They were attracted to His ability to perform miracles. But interestingly enough, John goes on to say, “But Jesus didn’t trust them, because he knew human nature. No one needed to tell him what mankind is really like” (John 2:24-25 NLT). John uses a play on words in the Greek. The people “trusted” Jesus, but He didn’t “trust” them. He knew their hearts. He knew that their belief was spurious. Like Balaam, they were blind to the reality of what God was doing. Balaam appeared to be doing the will of God, but his heart was evil, his intentions were impure. Jesus knew the people who “believed in his name” were simply attracted to the sensational nature of His miracles and signs. Such is the case with so many today. They see Jesus as a miracle worker. They view Him as some kind of life coach who can them enjoy everything from improved health to a better marriage. But they fail to see that Jesus came to give them eternal life, not just a slightly better version of the life they had been living. He came to free them from sin and restore them to a right relationship with God. He came to die so that they might be made holy in God’s eyes. But many remain blind to that reality. Like Balaam, they remain unable to see what God is doing around them and what He intends to do within them. As Jesus would say of His own disciples, they have eyes, but do not see, and ears, but do not hear.

How would I apply what I’ve read to my own life?

Spiritual blindness requires divine healing, just as physical blindness did in Jesus’ day. I need the Spirit of God to open my eyes so that I can see what God is doing in and around me. I need Him to remove the scales from my eyes so that I can fully comprehend His divine will. Otherwise I will tend to see what I want to see. Or I will view life as through a foggy lens that prevents me from seeing accurately and truly. Even though he was a seer, Balaam could not see what God was doing, until God opened his eyes. Even as a child of God, I cannot see God’s divine will unless He opens my eyes. But when I see, I must also believe. I must believe that God is in control. I must believe that God is faithful and worthy of my trust. I must believe that God has my best interest at heart – all the time – regardless of how things may appear. I must believe that what God says, He will do. What He promises, He will fulfill. What He begins, He finishes.

Father, open my eyes so that I can see what it is that You are doing in this world. Don’t let me view life and my circumstances from my limited perspective. Don’t allow me to walk around in spiritual blindness, seeing only what I want to see, but missing out on Your will for my life. I want to see and believe. I want to develop a divine perspective that allows me to view the world and all that is taking place from Your point of view, not mine. Amen

Ken Miller
Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org