Thursday 18 January 2018

Uncomfortable Blessings

"The Lord’s anger burned against Uzzah because of his irreverent act;
therefore God struck him down, and he died there beside the ark of God."
2 Samuel 6.7

I preached on this passage last Sunday. For a long, long time I avoided it because of the verse above. It is one of the famous "difficult verses" in the Bible. And it is hard to preach on, if only because there is the danger that you spend so long on dealing with the 'problem' of the verse that you don't get a chance to preach the message of the chapter. 

Contrary to my expectations, though, I have come to love this passage and it was a real privilege to preach on it. It did strike me, during the preparation, that preaching and studying the difficult passages of Scripture is not only important but rewarding for the following reasons:
  • It is good for our spiritual health. I am struck by the fact that the first sermon of Jesus recorded by Matthew, has, at it's heart, the word repent. It is a reminder that God's diagnosis of us is that we are sinners that need turning around. Bearing that in mind, we should not only expect God's word to be uncomfortable reading, but start to look to those uncomfortable moments as opportunities for blessing. That has certainly been my experience.
  • It strengthens the confidence of God's people: As a preacher I am very protective of those to whom I preach - probably too protective. There is something within me that shies away from being too challenging. Perhaps there is a good motivation hidden there - I don't want to break a bruised reed. Yet, in doing so I am in danger of harming those I love. Most Christian, I suspect, battle an insecurity about God's word, because of these passages. When as a preacher I avoid them, I am in danger of feeding that insecurity. By bringing them out into the light - the glory of God's word shines through in unexpected ways and the shadow of insecurity is pierced by the brightness of God's truth.
  • It gives us a better glimpse of God: Finally, understanding these passages involves taking off our crown, getting down from our throne and falling on our knees. They lead to a recognition, if we come to them in the spirit of Isaiah 66.2b, that God is greater, more holy and more good than we ever imagined.
These are the ones I look on with favour:
Those who are humble and contrite in spirit,
and who tremble at my word.

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