And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, "which commandment is the most important of all?" Jesus answered, "The most important is, "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your mind and with all your strength.' the second is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these. And the scribe said to him, "You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that he is one, and "there is no other beside him. And to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices. And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God."
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This man was not far from the kingdom. He only had to go from his knees to the floor. To go from the right answer to conviction of sin, to sincere repentance and from there to citizenship in the kingdom of God. And there are blessings in citizenship. There resides every spiritual blessing and God's tender mercies and care. The redeemed have escaped God's curse and judgement but not his discipline for God disciplines those he loves. But you shall yet see the distinction between the wicked and the righteous.
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Here is a story of distinction. God's people, Israel were, more often then not, wayward in their affections to the one God and serving the gods of the surrounding nations. So God took disciplinary action.
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Before Israel had a king and during the reign of the judges a disgraceful situation was unfolding at the Lord's temple. The sons of the high priest Eli were fornicating with the women who came to the temple with sacrifices. Eli had no part in this and rebuked his sons ... but with no affect. And so God sent a sword against his own people. And Israel was defeated before the Philistines. The sons of Eli fell and the ark of the covenant was captured.
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The Philistines took their prize and placed the ark at the foot of their idol Dagon. Their god and their people had conquered the god and the people of Israel. In the morning the statue of Dagon had fallen face down before the ark. The Philistines propped him up but the next morning there was Dagon face down again but now his head, hands and feet are severed from the torso. To drive the point home the Philistines then experienced an outbreak of a plague of mice and tumors and men begin to die. The message is not lost on them. "and when Ashdod saw how things were, they said, "The ark of the God of Israel must not remain with us, for his hand is hard against us and against Dagon our god."
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So they sent for the lords of the Philistines to discuss what to do. They were not yet ready to cry uncle and give the ark back to Israel. Instead they took the ark to another Philistine city called Gath (this was Goliath's home town ... he shows up a few years later). But a terrible panic and plague of tumors breaks out on Gath and more men die. Gath then tosses the hot potato to the city of Ekron whose men meet them at the gate and say, "What? Are you trying to kill us too!?!" And again with the plagues and tumors! This went on for seven months!
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Finally, beside themselves, they call together the diviners and ask them what to do. The diviners point to Israels history and warn the Philistines not to harden their heart like Pharaoh and the Egyptians but to make a guilt offering of five golden tumors and five golden mice to the Lord and place it on a cart with the ark. The cart is then to be harnessed to two milk cows whose calves have been shut up in the barn. Then everyone was to step back and see if God would drive the cart somewhere or if the cows would go back to their calves.
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Straight as an arrow the lowing milk cows head for the nearest Israelite town, Beth-shemish, seven miles from Ekron. The Philistines follow to the border where they see the people of Beth-shemish harvesting in the valley. Then Israel lifted her eyes and when she saw the ark of the Lord she rejoiced. The cart and the ox become a sacrifice to the Lord but even then some of the men of Beth-shemish are struck down for dishonoring the ark. And yet the people rejoice, "Who is able to stand before the Lord, this holy God? And to whom shall he go up away from us!?"
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The ark of the covenant. The symbol of God's throne and presence. The golden box with two seraph's bowed in reverence, awe and worship. "Hear O Israel, the Lord our God is one God" and you shall love this God with all your being and your neighbor as yourself. But all we like sheep have gone astray. We are under a curse ... the whole nation of us ... and for this we owe a guilt offering. Not the guilt offering of Judas who went out and hanged himself, but the guilt offering of Peter the failed, the forgiven and the recommissioned; "Do you love me? Feed my sheep". We do not serve God after failure by calling it quits for he is a God who corrects and heals, "My son, rise up and walk, your sins are forgiven you..... go live a life of love and take the gospel with you and lo, I am with you always. Even to the ends of the earth.
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Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
blot out my transgressions.
Wash away all my iniquity
and cleanse me from my sin.
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For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is always before me.
Against you, you only, have I
sinned
and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you are proved right when
you speak
and justified when you judge.
Surely I was sinful at birth,
sinful from the time my mother
conceived me.
surely you desire truth in the inner
parts;
you teach me wisdom in the
inmost place.
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Cleanse me with hyssop, and I
will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter
than snow.
Let me hear joy and gladness;
Let the bones you have crushed
rejoice.
Hide your face from my sins
and blot out all my iniquity.
''
Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit
within me.
Do not cast me from your presence
or take your Holy Spirit from
me.
Restore to me the joy of your
salvation
and grant me a willing spirit, to
sustain me.
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Then I will teach transgressors your
ways,
and sinners will turn back to you.
Save me from blood guilt, O God,
the God who saves me,
and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.
O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare your praise
You do not delight in sacrifice, or I
would bring it;
The sacrifices of God are a
broken spirit;
a broken and a contrite heart,
O God, you will not despise.
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In your good pleasure make Zion
prosper;
build up the walls of Jerusalem.
Then there will be righteous
sacrifices,
whole burnt offerings to delight you;
then bulls will be offered on your altar.
~ Psalm 51
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This was the psalm written by King David a year after he had sinned with Bathsheba and murdered Uriah. It took a whole year because David tried to hide what he had done. But the Good Shepherd came after David with his prophet Nathan to rebuke and correct him. And David's heart broke before the Lord in sorrow and relief.
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Christians take comfort in David's words of contrition because all though he sinned greatly and dealt with the consequences of his sin, the death of four sons, God never took his love or throne away from David and ever new him as, "my servant David and a man after God's own heart."
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