The Bible with Nicky and Pippa Gumbel, Classic Version, 2015Sample
Living in a Hostile World
It has been said that if you want to avoid criticism you should do nothing, say nothing and be nothing! We live in a hostile world. In particular, there has always been hostility to God and his people.
God created this world. He loves it. Yet, since the Fall, this world has been out of kilter with its Maker. Much of the world is hostile to God, and we read about the effects of this hostility in the media every day.
There is great hostility to the church today. Millions of Christians live in countries where they are persecuted for their faith. Many governments try to control the growth of the church. Hostility to the people of God is not something new. People are often threatened by success, growth and large numbers. In today’s Old Testament passage, we see how the people of God in general, and Moses in particular, faced hostility. In the New Testament passage, we see Jesus himself facing great hostility. In our lives, we should expect no less.
The passages today not only highlight the reality of living in a hostile world, but they also point to how we can survive and thrive in the midst of such hostility.
Psalm 19:1-6
1. Study God’s revelation to a hostile world
God loves you and wants to communicate with you, day and night. One of the ways he does this is through what he has made. Every time we look at the stars, the sea, mountains, lakes, trees or animals, we see evidence that there is a God.
God has revealed himself to the whole world. David says that when you look at the universe it is obvious that there is a God: ‘The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge’ (vv.1–2).
God’s revelation in creation is available to everyone. No one is excluded from this. ‘There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world’ (vv.3–4).
As we look at the world we see God’s footprint – ‘his eternal power and divine nature’ (Romans 1:20). Yet, although God has revealed himself to the entire world, much of it remains hostile to him.
Francis Collins, head of the Human Genome Project, led a team of over 2,000 scientists who collaborated to determine the three billion letters in the human genome – our own DNA instruction book. He said, ‘I cannot see how nature could have created itself. Only a supernatural force that is outside of space and time could have done that.’
Take time to study God’s creation and thank him for who he is, and enjoy all the beautiful things God has made.
Lord, thank you that you have revealed yourself to the entire world through creation. Thank you that everyone has an opportunity each day to see your glory. Thank you that you speak every day and every night and that there is no speech or language where your voice is not heard.
Matthew 26:1-30
2. Understand God’s solution to a hostile world
Have you ever been falsely accused or betrayed by a friend? Have you had people plotting against you? Or have you ever experienced some other form of personal hostility? Jesus experienced all these things.
God has revealed himself in creation. However, his supreme revelation is in the person of his Son, Jesus Christ.
God himself has come to be part of this hostile world, to do something about it. In this passage we see a glimpse of God’s solution, which he achieved through coming in the person of his Son Jesus Christ and dying for us. Yet the world was hostile even to Jesus.
- Plotting
We should not be surprised by the world’s hostility to Jesus and to Christians today. Jesus knew he would be ‘handed over to be crucified’ (v.2). The chief priests and elders ‘plotted to arrest Jesus in some sly way and kill him’ (v.4).
Jesus says to the Twelve, ‘One of you is going to hand me over to the conspirators’ (v.21, MSG).
- Accusations
When a woman came to Jesus ‘with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which she poured on his head’ (v.7), even the disciples regarded what was done for Jesus as a ‘waste’ (v.8).
Most people understand our works of social action (for example, in response to poverty) but they find it harder to understand a Christian’s worship of Jesus and all the things associated with it. They regard these things as a ‘waste’ and think that surely there is a better use of our time and money (v.9), but Jesus sees things differently: ‘She has done a beautiful thing to me’ (v.10). She showed her extravagant love for Jesus.
- Betrayal
What people will do for money! Judas waited for an opportunity to hand over Jesus for ‘thirty silver coins’ (v.15). It is hard to imagine just how painful this must have been for Jesus. Judas was one of his closest ‘friends’, one of the inner circle, one of the twelve he had chosen. He knew – ‘one of you will betray me’ (v.21).
Yet Jesus in his extraordinary love, rather than rejecting them all, dies for them. During a meal together, he begins to explain the meaning of his death. He explains through the breaking of the bread and drinking of wine that his blood is to be ‘poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins’ (v.28). Jesus’ answer to a hostile world was to be crucified in order to make forgiveness and redemption possible.
Lord, thank you for your extraordinary example of how to live in a hostile world. Thank you that you died to make forgiveness and redemption possible. Thank you that every time we receive communion, we are reminded both of the hostility of the world towards you and of your love for that same world.
Exodus 1:1-3:22
3. Know who God is in a hostile world
Moses asked God ‘Who am I?’ God replied by telling him who he is. In the end, the answer to all our questions and problems is not to be found in who we are but in who God is.
If you asked a Jew in the first century who was the greatest person who ever lived, they would have replied, without doubt: ‘Moses’. He was the supreme figure in their history. He rescued them from slavery into a life of freedom. He gave them the law. The book of Exodus presents us with the constitution of a new nation and introduces us to the man who was responsible for it.
A ‘new king’ came to power who ‘did not know about Joseph’ (v.8). The ‘new king’ was ignorant of the fact that Joseph had saved Egypt. People quickly forgot the good that the people of God had done in the past. The government started to oppress them ‘ruthlessly’ with forced labour (vv.11–14). They cried for help and ‘God heard their groaning’ (2:24).
People have tried throughout history to get rid of God’s people – but it has never worked. ‘The more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread’ (1:12). Even today, when the church is persecuted and oppressed, it often multiplies and spreads.
Moses had the prospect of great wealth. Egypt’s wealth was prolific. All the pleasures of a royal prince would have been open to him. He could have had as many wives and mistresses as he chose. He was Pharaoh’s adopted grandson – a powerful prince.
Money, sex and power would have been at Moses’ disposal in abundance. But he chose to endure hostility instead. He obeyed God’s call and chose to identify himself with God’s people – a group of people whom those with an upbringing like Moses’ would have regarded with contempt, a slave nation – Israel.
Through the lens of the New Testament, we see that Moses ‘chose to be ill-treated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward’ (Hebrews 11:25–26).
It was not an easy choice to make. To begin with, Moses, like so many of us, made excuses. Tomorrow, we will look at how he made five excuses. However, in the end he obeyed God’s call and took on a hostile world.
At the heart of his obedience was the recognition of who God is. God revealed himself in various ways to Moses in these verses, and promised ‘I will be with you’ (Exodus 3:12). The revelation of his name was particularly significant, as names were understood as a declaration of a person’s character or nature: God reveals himself as ‘I AM WHO I AM’ (v.14). The only way in which God can be fully described is with reference to himself.
This name declares the unique greatness of our God. The original Hebrew could be translated in either the present tense or the future, and probably also reminds us of the eternal nature of God. This name (in a contracted form) then becomes the name by which God is known throughout the rest of the Old Testament. In Hebrew it is Yahweh, normally translated into English as ‘the LORD’. Moses’ subsequent obedience to God was rooted in his understanding of who God is.
In effect, God tells Moses not to worry about the hostility he will face. All that matters is that ‘I AM WHO I AM’ is with him. He is sufficient for all your fears, anxieties and challenges. When you know ‘I AM WHO I AM’ is with you, you can relax and be at peace.
Lord, thank you for the example and inspiration of Moses. Help me to obey your call and choose to be ill-treated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. Help me to regard disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than anything this world can offer.
Pippa Adds
Moses owed his life to 5 brave women:
Shiphrah and Puah defied Pharaoh and saved the lives of hundreds of male babies.
Moses’ sister (Miriam) acted cleverly in fetching Moses’ own mother to nurse him.
Moses’ mother passed on great faith to her three children (Moses, Aaron and Miriam).
Most surprisingly, Pharaoh’s daughter had compassion on Moses and rescued him.
Notes:
Unless otherwise stated, Scripture quotations taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version Anglicised, Copyright © 1979, 1984, 2011 Biblica, formerly International Bible Society. Used by permission of Hodder & Stoughton Publishers, an Hachette UK company. All rights reserved. ‘NIV’ is a registered trademark of Biblica. UK trademark number 1448790.
Scripture quotations marked (AMP) taken from the Amplified® Bible, Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org)
Scripture marked (MSG) taken from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.
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Start your day with the Bible in One Year, a Bible reading plan with commentary by Nicky and Pippa Gumbel. Nicky Gumbel is the Vicar of HTB in London and pioneer of Alpha. ‘My favourite way to start the day.’ – Bear Grylls ‘My heart leaps every morning when I see Bible in One Year by @nickygumbel sitting in my inbox.’ – Darlene Zschech, Worship Leader
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