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| ...who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility |
Our Old Testament reading today sets us down in the
room where David, the king is enjoying a time of peace in his kingdom. It’s in this quiet time where he begins to
sense conviction. I can only imagine
what may have been rolling through his mind.
He’s taking in the luxuries of his palace, perhaps smelling the sweet
fragrances of flowers or enjoying a comfortable seat when it hit him. David was living in luxury while the presence
of God (the Ark) was out in a tent.
David shared his desire to build a temple for the
Almighty with Israel’s prophet, who after waiting on the Lord, brought back a
word from on high. Consider what was
said
Read 2 Sam 7:6-7 “I have not lived in a house since the day I brought up the
people of Israel from Egypt to this day, but I have been moving about in a tent
for my dwelling. In all places where I have moved with all the people of
Israel, did I speak a word with any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded
to shepherd my people Israel, saying, “Why have you not built me a house of
cedar?”’
In the many years from the time of the exodus to the
moment. God had neither dwelt in a dwelling,
nor had he asked the leadership to construct one for his honor. This was a reminder to David and by extension
all of Israel, of the fact that the Almighty in his power and presence, can’t
be contained within a building made by human hands. But then comes a twist. God points out to David how He had seen him
dwelling out in the fields and had set him in a strong house. Not only was David the recipient of this
graciousness, but all of Israel to the extent.
It was the hand of God who put down the enemies of
Israel. All those who sought to destroy
Israel were put down and were ultimately driven far from them. It was also the mighty hand of God that
planted David and Israel in the land where they would dwell under the light of
his sustaining hands.
Though David would not build a dwelling place for
the Lord, his son Solomon would. He too
would also enjoy the blessings of being numbered among the people of God.
The Psalmist, in Psalm 89 recounted this moment singing
of God establishing his people Israel.
But here in the Psalm, the onion gets peeled back a bit and we now see
that this provision wasn’t mere divine largesse. No, this was a covenantal relationship
between the Almighty and his people, Israel.
Read Psalm 89:29-32
For as long as Israel would live under God’s
commands and statutes, they would dwell in his blessings. To do the opposite would bring promised
discipline which would be as memorable as it was painful. Sadly, it wasn’t long after the death of
David and his son Solomon that Israel slowly but inexorably began to turn a
disobedient and deaf ear to the commandments of God. And as promised, severe, stinging judgment
fell upon God’s chosen. He never stopped
loving them, but like a father disciplining a rebellious child, they’d have to
be called into account.
The promises made to God’s covenant people were, but
they were made for them alone. Like
people outside of Nat’s park or Camden yards who are only able to perceive the
game from a distance, the Gentile could only look from a distance to see God’s
interaction with his people. Now, did
this signify a divine hatred for all outside of Abraham’s bloodline? Absolutely not. In fact, His love was directed towards Israel
to be a sign for all of humanity. They
weren’t any more deserving of God’s blessing than any other people group on the
earth. It would be through God’s great
plan, that Israel would be used to call all of fallen humanity back to the arms
of God.
Saint Paul speaks to this in his letter to the
Galatian church
Read Galatian’s 4:4-5: But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his
Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law,
so that we might receive adoption as sons.
Our vision is limited by light and horizons
and our knowledge limited to what we’ve experienced, the knowledge and vision
of God knows no limit. While it would
have seemed hopeless for the Gentile, it was God’s plan all along to break down
the barriers that not only separated God from man, but those dividing man from
man as well. Ultimately, He saw far
beyond Adam’s sin to a point where we would be reconciled, and he would have
one people. But, how was this
accomplished? Saint Paul gives us a
beautiful view of this in his Ephesian letter.
As we look at St. Paul’s words to the Ephesian
Church, we see that he doesn’t gloss over the extent of just how separated Jew
was from Gentile in the former covenant.
Read Ephesians 2:12:
remember
that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the
commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no
hope and without God in the world.
Paul was speaking to a church of former pagans who
were converted to Christianity during his missionary journeys and were being
pastored by Timothy. In speaking to their onetime alienation from God, he describes a five-fold separation.
They were once Christless, aliens to the
messiah. Being apart from the messianic people,
they had no thought or hope for a deliverer.
They were stateless, alien God’s nation and excluded from citizenship in
Israel. They had no stake in God’s
theocratic kingdom. They were
friendless, strangers to the covenants of promise. Though God had bound himself unconditionally
to bring blessings on and through Israel, This promise wasn’t extended to the
Gentile peoples. Finally, they were
hopeless, having no hope and being without God in this world. Though their world was extremely religious in
all aspects of daily life, their prayers and supplications fell onto dead ears
of marble in the gods they served. Their
entire condition could be summed up in one word, and that it Alienation. Through Christ, this would all be changed.
Paul could make powerful use of conjunctions and he
does just that here. Though the
alienation was palpable and seemingly insurmountable, it was laid waste by the
atoning sacrifice of Christ as holy blood was spilled on the cross. Those who were once far away were now being
brought near. This holy blood allowed
for regenerated Jew and Gentile alike to be drawn near. To the Jew of the day, this idea was outright
subversive. Even as these words were
being penned, a physical barrier stood in the temple in Jerusalem. This allowed for God-fearing Gentiles to
worship at the Temple. At its boundary
were signs in Latin and Greek warning the Gentile not to enter any closer under
pain of death.
Through this sacrifice, Christ made peace and
demolished the wall of separation between Jew and Gentile. He didn’t simply make peace, He himself was
and is THE peace that unites God and man/redeemed Jew and Gentile alike.
We have to ask, how was Christ’s death able to
demolish this wall of separation? His
death accomplished this in three ways.
Read Ephesians 2:15-16 “by abolishing the law of commandments
expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place
of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body
through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.”
He abolished the Law. Some might consider this false considering
Jesus’ own words in the sermon on the mount where he stated that he’d not come
to abolish the law but to fulfill it. Living
his perfect life, Jesus fulfilled all the tenants of God’s moral law, while abolishing
the ceremonial law, a major roadblock dividing Jew and Gentile.
He created a new humanity. Paul describes Christ, through the atonement
as creating “one new man”. It’s an
amazing thing to consider, but through the atonement, Christ created a new man,
a new race and a new humanity. Our early
Church fathers recognized this and clearly communicated it. Clement of Alexandria wrote “We who worship
God in a new way, as a third race, are Christians”. Think of it this way; Christ didn’t “Christianize
Jews or Judaize Gentiles, he created an entirely new man. Within this truth lies the answer to
alienation, racism, prejudice or estrangement; when we’re in Christ, we’re all
one.
He reconciled this new humanity to God. This is the apex of Christ’s ministry of
peace and reconciliation. He came and
preached peace to those who were near as well as those who were far away and separated
from The Father’s covenant. He became “our
peace”, and through that peace we gained the privilege to be able to come
boldly before the throne of God as the writer of Hebrew’s assures us.
So, what’s to be made of all this? It’s yet another reason to celebrate and
testify to the Love of our God. From
eternity past, He sought to make for himself a people. These people weren’t to be one homogenous
group of one race or one ethnicity.
No. Jew, Greek, Barbarian, slave or
freeman; He took from all to make a special people for himself. Have you paused to consider that of the
billions who’ve lived on this Planet, Christ has called you to be his own? If we’re unsure of this fact we can be
assured by scripture. “Whosoever shall
call upon the Lord will be saved.” And, “If
we believe in our hearts and confess with our mouths that Jesus Christ is Lord,
we belong to Him.” Our God has prepared
a place for his people, and there is room there for all who desire to be there
in this wonderful kingdom.
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