I know some of you like to guess which pastor is writing the e-bulletin so I apologize about giving the game away with a reference to a certain far away grandchild you may have heard of. Norah is undeniably cute and dear to my heart. Linda and I anticipate and appreciate our weekly Sunday Skype calls to stay in touch with our children Hannah and David, and marvel at the new tricks the amazing Norah picks up week to week. Did I mention she is cute? So cute, in fact, that we call her “Anorable”. Sadly, she is also undeniably human. Last Sunday we got to witness an eleven-month-old sized tantrum. As such things go, not too noteworthy, other than to completely affirm her humanity – the girl likes to get her way.

And don’t we all? Our prickly pride causes us to bristle when we are told what we ought to do. More and more in our culture personal dignity is equated with autonomy, rather than that which is given us as children of God. This Sunday Pastor Andrew will be preaching from the challenging chapters dealing with family and personal sexuality, specifically chapters 18 and 20 of Leviticus. We are in now in a long section of Leviticus referred to as “holiness codes” through which God lays out how the people of God ought to behave given they are his children. Please pray for us as pastors and teachers, and for yourselves, as God’s timeless Word ministers to our church.

Chapter 18 starts with a short, but critically important preamble.

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, I am the Lord your God. You shall not do as they do in the land of Egypt, where you lived, and you shall not do as they do in the land of Canaan, to which I am bringing you. You shall not walk in their statutes. You shall follow my rules and keep my statutes and walk in them. I am the Lord your God. You shall therefore keep my statutes and my rules; if a person does them, he shall live by them: I am the Lord. (Leviticus 18:1-5)

Three times God says: “I am the Lord your God.” The “I am” styled statement reminds us that this is the sovereign Lord who speaks: the creator, our creator. The “I am that I am” who alone is self-dependent, whose existence depends upon no one else. This reminds us of our place, as we are dependent upon him for our existence. But his rule is neither distant nor cold; he is our God, “I am the Lord your God.”

His commands are not easy as, like the Israelites, we are placed in a foreign land and told neither “do as they do” nor “walk in their statutes.” But this is where the two aspects of God’s rule over his people mentioned above, that it is both absolute and relational, is of great comfort and confidence for us. As our creator he knows us both generally and particularly. He knows human nature and all that this entails. He knows what enables and fosters human flourishing. But he also knows us particularly – he is your God. He knows what makes you tick!

Therefore, his commands to us are given in the context of a loving and redemptive relationship, so there need not be any sense of hardship. This Father does know what is best for us. As John wrote: “His commandments are not grievous” (1 John 5:3). Theologian Derek Tidball observes:

In addressing his people like this, God is using his personal name and speaking with them out of a committed and intimate relationship. He is using the name that is associated primarily with his promise to deliver Israel from Egypt. It communicates not so much his authority and right to command, as his “incomprehensible grace.” He is the God who is faithful to his promises.

As we work through these challenging passages I pray that all of us would grow in our loving, submitted trust of the Lord!

 

Much love,

Pastor Gary

 

 

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