God Asks ...

I'm behind in my posting. This is from 07-24-11

1 Kings 3:5-12
At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and God said, "Ask what I should give you." And Solomon said, "You have shown great and steadfast love to your servant my father David, because he walked before you in faithfulness, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart toward you; and you have kept for him this great and steadfast love, and have given him a son to sit on his throne today. And now, O Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David, although I am only a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in. And your servant is in the midst of the people whom you have chosen, a great people, so numerous they cannot be numbered or counted. Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, able to discern between good and evil; for who can govern this your great people?" It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this. God said to him, "Because you have asked this, and have not asked for yourself long life or riches, or for the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern what is right, I now do according to your word. Indeed I give you a wise and discerning mind; no one like you has been before you and no one like you shall arise after you.

In the section of Matthew that I’m about to read Jesus is angry. He is angry at the leaders of the people. Just prior to this section these leaders were plotting to entrap him with their questions. Jesus saw through it and with great wisdom turned the questions back on the heads of those who were seeking to entrap him. Now Jesus is giving them a piece of his mind.

Matthew 23:16 – 26
"Woe to you, blind guides, who say, "Whoever swears by the sanctuary is bound by nothing, but whoever swears by the gold of the sanctuary is bound by the oath.' You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the sanctuary that has made the gold sacred? And you say, "Whoever swears by the altar is bound by nothing, but whoever swears by the gift that is on the altar is bound by the oath.' How blind you are! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift sacred? So whoever swears by the altar, swears by it and by everything on it; and whoever swears by the sanctuary, swears by it and by the one who dwells in it; and whoever swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God and by the one who is seated upon it. "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint, dill, and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. It is these you ought to have practiced without neglecting the others. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel! "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup, so that the outside also may become clean.

We’ve been talking about dreams the last couple of weeks. Well here’s an interesting one. In a dream by night God said to Solomon, "Ask what I should give you." This wasn’t a regular dream by night. This was a God-touched dream. And later in the chapter it is said that the people “stood in awe of the king, because they perceived that the wisdom of God was in him, to execute justice.”

King Solomon was a beloved leader. His wisdom was known internationally. He dealt with his people fairly and he built the Temple of the Lord his God. He was humble before God in the dream, and God responded by giving him much more than he asked for.

Let’s contrast this with the leaders that Jesus is telling off. Jesus is accusing the leaders of his time with having poor judgment. He indicates that they are also selfish and power-hungry. They do not understand the bigger picture. They are like a cat in the way that when you point at something the cat looks at your finger rather than at the thing at which you are pointing. They are short sighted. They get distracted by shiny objects … like the gold on the sanctuary or the gift on the altar. Jesus says they should be focusing on the sanctuary and the altar.

These leaders obey the law by tithing their spices and herbs, but they neglect the weightier matters of the law such as justice, mercy, and faith. They make sure that they look good on the outside, but Jesus tells them that they are dirty on the inside, stained with greed and self-indulgence. Faith doesn’t lead them to tithe. Mercy doesn’t lead them to care. Justice has no bearing on how they make decisions.

Please note that guilt and shame are not to be our motivators. Faith in God, mercy for others, and a desire for true justice are to lead us and inform our actions.

The Pharisees, Sadducees, and Scribes did not have the same mindset as Solomon. They were not in awe at the task given to them by God. Solomon didn’t ask for riches. Jesus accused the Pharisees and Scribes of being greedy. Solomon didn’t ask for the life of his enemies. Jesus accused the leaders of his day of not practicing mercy and justice. In humility Solomon told God that he was just a little child, but the Pharisees and Scribes were called self-indulgent. The Pharisees, Sadducees, and Scribes wanted only what was best for them. Solomon wanted an understanding mind to discern between good and evil.

If God had said to the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Scribes "Ask what I should give you," what would they have answered? Long life? Riches? The life of their enemies? Probably all of these.

What if this question were posed to us? "Ask what I should give you." What would we answer? Depends on the day, right? Some days we might have the big picture in mind. We might not be as distracted by the shiny things. Other days … well, we might not ask for the lives of our enemies, but we might ask to outlive them. We might see riches as the way out of all the troubles in our lives. We might be thinking in a more self-indulgent and short-sighted way. It’s a good thing that God doesn’t ask this question anymore. Or … does God?

Mark 10:46 – 52 They came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples and a large crowd were leaving Jericho, Bartimaeus son of Timaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting by the roadside. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Many sternly ordered him to be quiet, but he cried out even more loudly, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” Jesus stood still and said, “Call him here.” And they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take heart, get up, he is calling you.” So throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. Then Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” The blind man said to him, “My teacher, let me see again.” Jesus said to him, “Go; your faith has made you well.” Immediately he regained his sight and followed him on the way.

Matthew 20: 29 – 34 As they were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed him. There were two blind men sitting by the roadside. When they heard that Jesus was passing by, they shouted, “Lord have mercy on us, Son of David!” The crowd sternly ordered them to be quiet; but they shouted even more loudly, “Have mercy on us, Lord, Son of David!” Jesus stood still and called them, saying, “What would you want me to do for you?” They said to him, “Lord, let our eyes be opened.” Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes. Immediately they regained their sight and followed him.

This story is also told in the Gospel of Luke with one blind man and Jesus healing him by saying, “Receive your sight; your faith has saved you.” In it also, Jesus asks the blind man, “What do you want me to do for you?” In three of the four gospels Jesus asks the blind man what he wants.

Here’s another story.

Mark 10:35 – 38a James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came forward to Jesus and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” And Jesus said to them, “What is it you want me to do for you?” And they said, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.” But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking.”

Well this is interesting. John and James, the sons of Zebedee … Jesus nicknamed them the sons of thunder … acting more like the Pharisees than followers of Jesus. While these disciples went on to do great things as Christians, they had a rocky start. Their nickname might have come because of a little suggestion of theirs that is found only in the Gospel of Luke, chapter 9. Some folks in a village that Jesus and the disciples were going through did not receive Jesus. It says, “When his disciples James and John saw it, they said, “Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” But Jesus turned and rebuked them. Then they went on to another village.”

I know this may seem like a tangent, but I think it shows us how easy it is, in the name of God, to end up short-sighted and self-indulgent. James and John asked for the life of their enemies. They wanted the riches of sitting next to Jesus on their own heavenly thrones. If they hadn’t taken seriously the rebukes of Jesus, they could have ended up as Pharisees. Contrarily, if the Pharisees had taken the rebukes of Jesus seriously, they could have ended up disciples. Instead Jesus called them blind guides and blind fools. They should have taken a lesson from Blind Bartimaeus!

This is the lesson I hear from Solomon: when you start thinking about what you want from God, pause for a moment. Reflect on who God is to you. Solomon said to God, "You have shown great and steadfast love.” Solomon based his request on who God was to him and to his father, David. He also took seriously the task that lay before him.

I hear a lesson from the blind man that Jesus healed. Call out with your whole heart and be honest. Jesus heard the faith in his cry. He heard others telling him to shut up. Bartimaeus son of Timaeus knew exactly what he wanted and knew why he wanted it from Jesus. Bartimaeus, and the other blind man, believed in Jesus. They didn’t go their own way after they were healed. They got up and followed Jesus. They already knew his teachings. They believed what he had to say. I believe that they wanted to see him and to follow him. The blind men could see better with their faith than the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Scribes could see with their eyes.

It isn’t just us asking God for this and for that. God says, "Ask what I should give you." Jesus says, “What is it you want me to do for you?” We know this isn’t a Christmas list. This is a more basic, at the foundation of who you are, kind of question. This question asks about the more weighty matters of how we want to live our lives.

Solomon asked for an understanding mind and the ability to discern. Jesus emphasized the importance of living a life of faith, mercy, and justice. The blind men called out in faith and asked to see. What is it that you want God to do for you?