Tag: prophecy

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Faith Triumphant – Habakkuk 3:1-15

This is a book about faith. It starts with Habakkuk’s faith being tested, crying out to God asking why His people are so corrupt. His replies by promising judgement through the Chaldeans. This continues to test Habakkuk’s faith, and he asks why – but he seeks to listen. God replies with a teaching of faith – the righteous will live by faith, and we can have faith that He will bring all things fulfillment.

In chapter 3, we see the outcome of faith triumphant, in Habakkuk’s song of response. The song is a “Shiggaion” like Psalm 7 – but we don’t know what that means, exactly. It could mean a wild, mournful song, or it could mean a song of meditation and humility, which is certainly the spirit of the song. The other musical term used is “Selah” which we also do not know the meaning of – or could be a pause, or an intensifier, or a line repeat.

The song starts with an acknowledgment that Habakkuk is fearful. While we know that “God has not given us a spirit of fear” we still experience fear. Habakkuk also sees that the only rescue from his fear is the revival of God’s work, even though that work is part of what is making Habakkuk afraid. From Paul in the New Testament, we can have confidence in the promise that “He who began a good work in [us] will be faithful to complete it.”

The core of Habakkuk’s request is this: “In wrath, remember mercy.”

Then he gets to the poetry of the song, painting a broad picture of the seeds and power of God. First, he recounts God meeting Israel in the wilderness (the wilderness of Teman here is used as a more general term) and Mount Sinai (called here and Deuteronomy Mount Paran). He points to the flashes of glory shown to Moses and in the pillars of cloud and fire, and to the plagues sent on both Egypt and, later, the wandering Israelites.

He calls out God’s power over those things that seem permanent, whether mountains or kingdoms or rivers. All of them fall before God’s “chariot of salvation” – his “merkabah yeshua”. Even the sun and moon are under His command, calling back to how God gave the land to Israel in the first place.

Then he pivots from what God had done to what He will do. He again brings in the term salvation, “yeshua,” twice – He will work the salvation of His anointed people through His anointed. Habakkuk and others of his time may have seen this pointing back to David or even ahead to Cyrus, but we see how this is ultimately fulfilled by Yeshua himself. The head of the wicked will be crushed, as His promised at the beginning would be the end of the deceiving serpent.

That gives an additional perspective on next lines, which serve as multiple hopes: hope that the rule of the Chaldeans would not be permanent, that the oppressors of the poor would not last, but also that the rule of sin within our lives and our world is not permanent, either.

We can sing our songs of hope like Habakkuk, because we know that Yeshua the God-man is the ultimate fulfillment of all the promises of the prophets of Israel. Have we sought the salvation that He offers.”

– Sermon Notes, Bart Hodgson, Seed Church, Lynnwood WA, May 16, 2021

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The Messenger of Love in the Wilderness

We’ve walked through Christ as Hope, Peace and Joy, through the lens of the prophecies foretelling His birth. Today, we look to “the greatest of these,” – the Messiah as Love, the presence of the God who is Himself love, incarnate.

In Matthew 3, we meet John the Baptist in the context of the prophecy in Isaiah of a “voice crying in the wilderness” – a mirror of the story of God bringing the Israelites out of the wilderness and into the promised land. John’s story from the beginning was the same as it is for us – repentance and forgiveness of sins.

There are three key prophecies about this messenger that we will cover in the Old Testament. Isaiah 40 is cited specifically by Matthew.

A voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”

Isaiah 40:3-5

This return of the presence of God is necessary because the presence of God departed, moving on from the connect point that was the temple as described by Ezekiel in the era of exile. Even though the temple is eventually rebuilt, God’s presence never returns as described in the historical books.

So in Malachi we see another prophecy about a messenger and the return of God to the temple:

Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts.

But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the LORD.

Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the LORD as in the days of old and as in former years.

Malachi 3:1-4

We see this in Matthew as well, this difficult teaching and the warning of refining fire from John the Baptist to the Pharisees and Saducees:

Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

“I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”

Matthew 3:10-12

But Malachi has more to say about the messenger who will come before the Messiah:

Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes. And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.

Malachi 4:5-6

Elijah was a key figure in Jewish history, and was taken up into heaven by a chariot of fire, leading naturally into this notion that he would return. A seat is still set for Elijah at every Passover meal. He and Moses both saw the face of God, and Elijah was seen as the one who restores the Law, as counterpart to Moses who gave the Law. And of course Moses and Elijah are the two who again see God in the person of Jesus Christ during the Transfiguration.

Jesus clearly points to John the Baptist as this return of Elijah – like Elijah, living in the wilderness, like Elijah wracked at times with doubt, like Elijah preaching repentance to those who do not want to hear it.

Immediately after the Transfiguration, Jesus said, “I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they pleased. So also the Son of Man will certainly suffer at their hands.”

God fulfilled these prophecies in ways no one could have expected. Elijah returns as a crazy guy in the desert. The glory returns affixed to one man, voices speaking at Baptism and Transfiguration. And the Lord returns to the temple – first as an infant, dedicated by his earthly parents. Then as a child, speaking with the teachers. Finally, as a “king, riding on a donkey,” before the once for all sacrifice that would reconnect all of lost humanity with the presence of the God who is Love.

What is our response to this? Do we sit around in complacency, or do we center our lives around the presence of God in the person of Christ as John the Baptist did? Do we respond to the message of repentance that John held out? Do we serve as messengers as John did? Do we hold out the difficult truths like he did? Do we prepare the way for Christ like he did?

– Sermon Notes, Bart Hodgson, Seed Church, Lynnwood WA, December 20, 2020

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Lasting Joy from Bethlehem – Micah 5:2-5

At Christmastime we speak and sing a lot about joy. CS Lewis writes about joy this way:

It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.

Our passage today is from Micah, a contemporary of Isaiah who was sent to the kings of Judah, while Micah was sent to the common people.

The book of Micah is broken into three sections. Chapters 1-3 are called “The Book of Doom.” Chapters 4-5 are “The Book of Vision,” and chapter 6-7 is “The Book of Judgement and Pardon.”

In the Book of Doom, Micah, like Isaiah preaches about the coming war and Babylonian captivity and preaching against the false prophets who insist that peace will continue.

In The Book of Visions, it echoes Isaiah 2 in foretelling the reign of the Lord – this is where the prophecy about Bethlehem comes. And finally, the Book of Judgement and Pardon is a promise of God’s steadfast love in the midst of judgement. It is where we find the most famous verse in Micah, Micah 6:8 – “He has shown you, oh man, what is good and what the Lord requires of you–to do justly, live mercy and walk humbly with your God.” This admonishment comes in response to those who want the easy way out of ritual and sacrifice in response to God’s judgement.

But back to Micah 5:2-5. He calls out the town of Bethlehem as small and unimportant, but nonetheless the origin of the coming messiah, which Matthew confirms during the story of the Magi who come seeking a prophesied king. But Bethlehem plays a vital role throughout the Old Testament in ways that point ahead to the story of Christmas.

We first come to the area of Bethlehem in Genesis when Jacob’s wife Rachel is buried in that area. In Jeremiah, the prophet speaks of “Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more,” calling ahead to the Slaughter of the Innocents that would come following that story of the Magi. But that chapter also holds the promise of the New Covenant:

I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.

We also see Bethlehem in the Book of Ruth – when Ruth and Naomi are redeemed from poverty by Boaz, the “Kinsman Redeemer” in a clear type of Christ.

And Ruth in Bethlehem leads to the birth of David in Bethlehem, Israel’s greatest king, making it the Corsica of Israel. This leads to a number of stories, including when David and his men are holed up near his childhood home and out of water. David’s men scheme to battle their way into Philistine-controlled Bethlehem to get him a drink of water. Upon receiving it, David pours it out as a drink offering – again, a symbol of the coming Christ.

As the hometown of David, Bethlehem is also referenced in other prophecies – Isaiah speaks of the “shoot [that] will come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch will bear fruit from his roots.”

Bethlehem can be translated either “House of Bread” or “House of Flesh”, calling to mind the words of Jesus in John 6: “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”

This is where our joy is, our lasting joy that Lewis speaks of, the joy prophesied by Micah, Isaiah and Jeremiah, the Savior “whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.”

-Sermon Notes, Bart Hodgson, Seed Church, Lynnwood WA, December 13, 2020

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Mighty God, Prince of Peace – Isaiah 9:1-7

Last week we discussed Christ as our hope. Today we are looking at Christ as our peace. We looked at the “virgin will be with child” prophecy in Isaiah, both its original fulfillment in the destruction of Samaria and Aram by Assyria promised to Ahaz, but also its ultimate fulfillment in the birth of Christ.

In the next Chapter, God warns the people of Judah that they will not be spared the wrath of Assyria. They need to not put their hope in the earthly kingdom, but put their hope in Him. “Do not call conspiracy what they call conspiracy, and do not fear what they fear.” He condemns them for seeking necromancers and mediums.

Then in Isaiah 9, we again hear whispers of the coming messiah. He specifically calls out the area of Zebulon and Naphtali – the first parts of Israel that would have been invaded by Aram. These regions – “Galilee of the gentiles” – are called out as having been in anguish, but God calls them out of their gloom, because a light will dawn.

Matthew calls out this light as the ministry of Jesus, which was centered on the region of Galilee, the area where he did more miracles than anywhere else.

Isaiah promises that this light would bring peace, “as in the day of Midian.” This is a callback to the story of Gideon and his defeat of the Midianites. As in the time of Isaiah, Israel had turned to idols, and as in the time of Isaiah, God used invaders to bring about judgement. But He used Gideon to overthrow those invaders, the Midianites. Gideon, unlike Ahaz, does ask for a sign, and when he gets one (and then another) he recruits an army – from the region of Zebulon & Naphtali. After his whittles down his army to a tiny size, he attacks and routs the Midianites and brings about a peace that Isaiah compares to what is coming, what will make the boots and garb of war fit only for the fire.

And how is that peace going to come about? A child, born. A son, given. The government will be on his shoulders. He will be referred to as Wonderful Counselor – an advisor who is a wonder, a marvel. And as “Mighty God” which is startling in the context of a monotheistic Jewish prophet. All that can be taken from this is that this child to be born is Himself, the creator God. If you were unclear, he follows up with “Father of Eternity” or eternal, everlasting father. Finally, the prince of peace – the peace with God’s and each other given to to us through the reconciliation given to us through the work of Christ.

The greatness and abundance of the kingdom He will bring about, the fulfillment of the promise to David, will never end, achieved by “the zeal of the Lord of hosts.”

This peace promised to Israel is promised to us as well. Charles Spurgeon described this peace:

Look upward, and you will perceive no seat of fiery wrath to shoot devouring flame. Look downward, and you discover no hell, for there is no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus. Look back, and sin is blotted out. Look around, and all things work together for good to them that love God. Look beyond, and glory shineth through the veil of the future, like the sun through a morning’s mist. Look outward, and the stones of the field, and the beasts of the field, are at peace with us. Look inward, and the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, keeps our hearts and minds by Christ Jesus.

You can know this peace if you seek after the son who was given, the Mighty God and prince of peace.

– Sermon Notes, Bart Hodgson, Seed Church, Lynnwood WA, November 6, 2020

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The Alma Will Conceive – Isaiah 7

On the road to Emmaus, Jesus explained to two disciples, “beginning with Moses and all the Prophets… what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.”

Those passages begin with Genesis 3, in which “the seed of the woman” would destroy the serpent but be injured in the process. Another of those key passages is Isaiah, foretelling the virgin birth – but obviously, today’s Jews do not believe that. Why not?

In fact there are many prophecies that the Jews do not think refer to Christ, and many others that they see Christ as having left unfulfilled.

Isaiah’s prophecy in chapter 7 came in a specific moment, when the kings of Aram and Israel threatened to conquer Judah and set up their own puppet king, outside the line of David. Isaiah warns Ahaz, king of Judah, but tells him not to worry because the invasion will fail. Not only that, but soon both those kingdoms will be destroyed by Assyria. He tells Ahaz to ask for a sign, but Ahaz refuses – so God gives him one anyway.

That sign is that a particular alma or young woman – Isaiah’s wife, specifically – will bear a son, and while he is still young, the prophecy will be fulfilled. This then is fulfilled in chapter 8, when his wife bears a son who he gives a ridiculously long name.

This is the passage referred to in Matthew 1:23, in which the Greek word used is specifically about chaste/unmarried women. The Hebrew word, though, is generally used to mean any young woman, often but not exclusively a virgin per se. Many Jewish and other scholars see this as a mistranslation.

But prophecy is never as straightforward as it seems. Moses was promised the promised land, but not told about the 40 years in the desert. David was promised his family would hold the throne forever, but not told about the Babylonian Captivity or the hundreds of year gap between his kingly line and the birth of Christ, let alone the nature of Christ’s fulfillment of that prophecy.

The prophecies of the Old Testament are often fulfilled by what is called a “dual fulfillment” – a concrete, political fulfillment in the Old Testament, and a universal, spiritual fulfillment in the New.

And it is the latter that matters, because the deeper promise of the prophecy is not the part about the virgin, but the part about “Immanuel”. God with us, in the person of Christ, incarnate and so with us in the

Ultimately, Matthew got it right – the man who called him out of his life as a tax collector, into new life as a servant of God, the man who he desperately wanted to be seen and accepted by his Jewish brothers and sisters – he was born of a virgin, and himself was Immanuel.

– Sermon Notes, Bart Hodgson, Seed Church, Lynnwood WA, November 29, 2020