Jeremiah 6:9-10 and Matthew 1:19-20 – The Mind's Worthwhile Object
From Jeremiah 6…
9 Thus says the Lord of hosts:
“They shall thoroughly glean as a vine the remnant of Israel;
As a grape-gatherer, put your hand back into the branches.”
10
To whom shall I speak and give warning,
That they may hear?
Indeed their ear is uncircumcised,
And they cannot give heed.
Behold, the word of the Lord is a reproach to them;
They have no delight in it.
From Matthew 1…
19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. 20 But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.
Humorist Joe Thurber wrote to a more baseball obsessed age, "95% of American men put themselves to sleep at night by striking out the batting order of the New York Yankees."
Although the particular objective of our last reflective moments may have changed, there is something perpetually telling in this. There is a tendency to use them to rework the day's narrative, or escape from it, in ways that make us great in our own eyes.
Using the figure of the harvest, the Lord indicts this kind of thinking in Jeremiah 6:9-10. He says a people apart from Him squeeze every opportunity for their own advantage. They go back over there harvest to make sure they got every grape. In this they specifically defy His Law which requires them to avoid going back over the harvest so that some might be left for the poor to glean. From Jeremiah 6:9 to verse 10, so this me-first reflection goes up men's thoughts. With this script blaring, we are in a poor position, He says, to hear from the Lord.
How refreshing, then, is His preparatory work in Joseph the earthly father of Jesus as revealed in Matthew 1. Joseph is also thinking over the narrative of his day, but his perspective is decidedly different. In reviewing the game film, he wants to know how he can recede into the background. He wants to how even his own hurts can decrease in importance compared to the chance to extend grace to those more vulnerable than he is.
Joseph gets a supernatural answer. Who knows but that we might if we go to or into our devotional time in that state of mind? Or, if it's too difficult for us to achieve that disciplined calm, God can, by grace, grant us similar results by means of well-chosen humans. King David, for instance, secure on his throne, uses his moments of reflective gratitude to actively ask if there is anyone from the family of the former kingdom to whom he can show grace.
Where can we leave these margins for the renewing of our minds and the repurposing of our actions? I suspect part of the transformation comes in insisting on seeing victory, harvest, biblically. If I am not going to obsess over that last grape I might have missed, that last word in the day's conversation, that last chance to polish my reputation, I've got to see something, Someone, as MORE important to reflect on. I've got to believe that Christ is coming, that His reward is with Him, and that He knows how to answer desires in ways I can barely ask, or think, or imagine.
9 Thus says the Lord of hosts:
“They shall thoroughly glean as a vine the remnant of Israel;
As a grape-gatherer, put your hand back into the branches.”
10
To whom shall I speak and give warning,
That they may hear?
Indeed their ear is uncircumcised,
And they cannot give heed.
Behold, the word of the Lord is a reproach to them;
They have no delight in it.
From Matthew 1…
19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. 20 But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.
Humorist Joe Thurber wrote to a more baseball obsessed age, "95% of American men put themselves to sleep at night by striking out the batting order of the New York Yankees."
Although the particular objective of our last reflective moments may have changed, there is something perpetually telling in this. There is a tendency to use them to rework the day's narrative, or escape from it, in ways that make us great in our own eyes.
Using the figure of the harvest, the Lord indicts this kind of thinking in Jeremiah 6:9-10. He says a people apart from Him squeeze every opportunity for their own advantage. They go back over there harvest to make sure they got every grape. In this they specifically defy His Law which requires them to avoid going back over the harvest so that some might be left for the poor to glean. From Jeremiah 6:9 to verse 10, so this me-first reflection goes up men's thoughts. With this script blaring, we are in a poor position, He says, to hear from the Lord.
How refreshing, then, is His preparatory work in Joseph the earthly father of Jesus as revealed in Matthew 1. Joseph is also thinking over the narrative of his day, but his perspective is decidedly different. In reviewing the game film, he wants to know how he can recede into the background. He wants to how even his own hurts can decrease in importance compared to the chance to extend grace to those more vulnerable than he is.
Joseph gets a supernatural answer. Who knows but that we might if we go to or into our devotional time in that state of mind? Or, if it's too difficult for us to achieve that disciplined calm, God can, by grace, grant us similar results by means of well-chosen humans. King David, for instance, secure on his throne, uses his moments of reflective gratitude to actively ask if there is anyone from the family of the former kingdom to whom he can show grace.
Where can we leave these margins for the renewing of our minds and the repurposing of our actions? I suspect part of the transformation comes in insisting on seeing victory, harvest, biblically. If I am not going to obsess over that last grape I might have missed, that last word in the day's conversation, that last chance to polish my reputation, I've got to see something, Someone, as MORE important to reflect on. I've got to believe that Christ is coming, that His reward is with Him, and that He knows how to answer desires in ways I can barely ask, or think, or imagine.
"Joseph is also thinking over the narrative of his day, but his perspective is decidedly different."
ReplyDeleteIt is remarkable that thorough introspection regarding the course of human life is presently both a repudiated and celebrated discipline. Celebration abounds for the thoughtful person who seeks to plan out the events and milestone markers of their lives in a 'responsible' manner. Christians call this pragmatism 'stewardship' to make it more holy. However, repudiation occurs when our leaders call for us to think about the spiritual principles, or gospel application, which underlie the mundane events of our lives and our future plans for our lives.
JP Moreland writes, "A wise life of virtue and knowledge comes to those who, with humility of heart and reverence for God, work hard at using their minds to study, to seek understanding, to capture truth." Work hard at using our minds for spiritual growth? Someone take away his PhD.
Yet, here we have an example of a humble artisan, Joseph, reflecting and contemplating the manner in which he can treat his neighbor, Mary, as better than himself. His understanding comes straight from the pages of Leviticus 19 where God instructs the gleaning practices which the Israelites so harshly abused in Isaiah's day. Joseph understands how the spiritual implications of separateness (Lev. 20:26) must influence the outworking of his treatment of an apparent adulteress. He is contemplating, working hard, towards finding a non-apparent spiritual truth in the midst of a dire social situation. His motivation is for God's harvest, not for his own vindication, approval, or benefit. He refuses to content himself with his cultural and societal instincts at the expense of the royal law of God.
I pray that God would give me this perspective, energize me for the hard spiritual work of introspection, find me faithful in the utilization of his energy to fulfill his will for my treatment of my neighbor - even those that are socially unacceptable.
My first response is so personal CS Lewis would squirm added, but I'll appropriate him anyway, I think from Four Loves. You too! I thought I was the only one." Thanks for the confirmation that as the Lord develops some things in me He doesn't develop in everybody that He is also providing a community. These are the sort of interchanges I delight in.
DeleteYou are my brother particularly in the, "on the one hand, but on the other, approach." That is typically my tack, to see the benefit in something in Scripture but also the caution and to try to point out both. In this case, you do it with healthy reflection which can then sour into pragmatism to one's own advantage. I like that I'm not the only one, because a lot of the feedback I get tense to come with the subliminal, "Just tell us what to do," insistence.
The Moreland quote is also right where I am. I don't have artisan's hands or accounting acumen. What I have delves into inspiration and insight, and so the flesh can tell me that developing it is of the flesh and give laziness a spiritual sheen.
Thinking, reflecting, and actually having somebody come alongside and do it with me, and challenge mine, is a godsend. To thereby refine my expression so that others might benefit is a blessing indeed.
"Inspiration and insight," powerful weapons indeed! Three of the keys that Tim Keller identifies towards reaching the hearts of people for Christ are preaching affectionately, imaginatively, and wondrously. Just as Paul instructs Timothy, don't neglect the gift.
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