From light into darkness

These are the days when again the world prepares for the holiday build around lights, candles and trees. The right moment to intersperse the holiday mood with a grey shade. The prophet Jeremiah is often labeled the “suffering servant” or “suffering prophet”. The book of Jeremiah lacks a happy-end. At the end of his days Jeremiah looked back at 40 years of prophetic ministry. More than the half of it, 22 years in the second half of his ministry, was without any repentance among his hearers. And in the end, as a culmination of his ministry, he was blamed for all the misery which had reached the people of Judah (Jer. 44:15-19). Although his ministry did start so well.
The call to ministry came to Jeremiah in the 13th year of king Josiah (Jer. 1:1). Josiah was already a god-fearing king before that date, because the Second Book of Chronicles states : “For in the eighth year of his reign while he was still a youth, he began to seek the God of his father David” (2 Chr. 34:3). But his dedication was limited exactly to that: “seeking” God. The years of idolatry and apostasy during his grandfather Manasseh had left the country almost without any testimony about the will of God.
When during the reconstruction of the temple the book of the law was found, it turned out to be something new to the king (2 Chr. 34:19). All the years Josiah did not have any access to the written word of God. Evidentially Manasseh had not only killed the men of the word of God, but also extinguished almost all the written word of God.
That is the reason why God send His man Jeremiah to Josiah. The Second Book of Chronicles tells us that Josiah began to purge the land in his 12th year (2 Chr. 34:3). So had a sense of what God’s will was years before the book of the law was found. If we compare the date of the begin for the public action of Josiah with the begin of the ministry of Jeremiah we see a difference of one year. Should Josiah have begun his cleansing already before Jeremiah appeared on the scene? The book of Jeremiah tells otherwise. Jeremiah prophesized against idolatry in the days of Josiah (Jer. 3:6). That must have happened before the purging.
The crux of the matter is the different system of calendars used in Jeremiah and Chronicles. The book of Jeremiah was written in Judean cultural context. Chronicles was written after the return from the Babylonian captivity. The Israelites had adopted a lot from the Babylonians, including a new system of counting the years, the so called accession-year system. The accession-year system distinguished a king’s accession year (the incomplete calendar year in which he began to reign) and reckoned by the number of New Year days a king lived in his reign. In the nonaccession-year system the remainder of a previous king’s last year is counted as the first year of his successor, and then subsequent years are calculated. In the days of Jeremiah they used the nonaccession- year system.
In other words: There is no difference in years between the begin of Josiah’s action and the ministry of Jeremiah. The 12th year of Chronicles is the same year as the 13th year in the book of Jeremiah. It was Jeremiah who instructed Josiah in the ways of the Lord. And what an effect that had. The kingdom of Judah saw the best days since Salomon and even better. The temple finally became the one and only place of worship. All the high places were destroyed. The people lived through an unseen spiritual revival. And among the most important preachers, if not even the one most important, was Jeremiah. But after the successful impact of his sermon he withdrew from the events. When the book of the law was found, the king didn’t turn to him for further investigation. Jeremiah obviously returned home to Anathoth. From there he returned back to the stage in Jerusalem after the death of Josiah, when he continued his ministry of calling the people to repentance.
Jeremiah started his ministry with an awakening most of us haven’t been in yet – may be we’d like to see something similar. But are we ready to pay the price Jeremiah had to pay? After such a tremendous start on his shoulder rested the heavy burden of over twenty years of fruitless ministry, thanklessness and even being blamed for the whole. Jeremiah started from the light of a revival and went into the darkness of hardened hearts and judgment. He didn’t see the happy-end. He even didn’t build on the good old days, when his sermons lit the fire. He had only the word of God to preach and live on.
It is not without reason that Christmas is celebrated at the darkest time of the year. At the darkest time the light is nearer. The ministry of Jeremiah should remind us of the cost and beware us from overemphasized expectations.

Abraham and the moon god

I like contradictions in the Bible. They are a fruitful source for new insights about the providence, the character and the way God acts with us.
In Genesis chapter 12 we learn that God called Abraham. The calling of Abraham is retold by Stephan in Acts 7. Stephan emphasis that God appeared to Abraham “before he lived in Haran” (Acts 7:2). Genesis 12 places the calling in Haran. When did God speak to Abraham?
To put the scene to life, we need to recapitulate the historic setting of those distant days. The historical background of the patriarchs is a wide subject on its own. A lot of books have been written about it and still no consensus is found. It is not my intention to add to this particular discussion. I support a date of 2166 to 1991 BC for Abraham (see this explanation) and the middle chronology for the ANE in general.
The birth of Abraham came to happen in the Dark Age of the Sumerian days. The wild tribes of the Gutian brought the Akkadian empire to fall. The once great empire felt into anarchy. Economically it had been difficult times. But on the other hand, the Gutians did not enforce a certain religious system. It could have been given rise to kind of religious tolerance or even freedom, a comfortable place for the worshipper of the One God.
Abraham left Haran in 2091 BC. We do not know when he left Ur to move to Haran. Was it in the days of anarchy or later, when Ur-nammu (about 2111-2094 ВС) established what once was to become the 3rd dynasty of Ur?
Haran is renowned as center of the moon god. The city was the chief home of the Mesopotamian moon god Sin. But we should be carefully to jump to conclusions about the kind of relation to Abraham. Of course the moon god of Haran is the very same goddess worshipped for centuries in Ur. The moon god Sin was the city deity of Ur.
What concerns Haran, in literature one moment is constantly underestimated – the date. A temple of the moon god in Haran is attested only from the 20th century BC. Abraham left Haran before the temple was built. If we take a look at the historical connections between Haran and Ur of that period, we might observe another interesting fact. The 3rd dynasty of Ur started the so called “Sumerian Renaissance”, where the return of the Sumerian gods played a central role.
The second king in this dynasty was Shulgi (about 2094-2046 BC). He defeated and drew off the Gutians. So it was probably he who reestablished the control over Mesopotamia. And extended the influence of Ur up to Haran and to the Mediterranean coast. It is only corollary to see the begin of the worship of the moon god in Haran as a result of the expansion of the 3rd dynasty of Ur and the Sumerian Renaissance.
We should add one more word about a connection between Abraham and Haran. Haran is mentioned as closely tight to the kingdom of Ebla in the 24th century BC. The same texts (Ebla tablets) are written in an early Semitic language and the names show a great similarity to the names of Abraham and the patriarchs. Could this have been the reason why the family of Abraham went to Haran? Back to their family roots, fleeing to far relatives or even returning to from where they emigrated once?
When did God speak to Abraham? No matter what the reason was for Terah to leave at that time and to move: The way of Abraham turned out to be an escape away from the moon god. They left Ur just before the 3rd dynasty of Ur reestablished the old Sumerian way. They managed to leave Haran, just before the influence of Ur stretched out to the far north-west. God led his man not only to a new land. He also kept him safe from the influence of the pagan religion of the moon god.

The old man and ....

It has been harsh days for the house of David. And they brought the line of promise to the eve of extinction. The northern kingdom of Israel had been for decades under the influence of the religion of Baal. In the year 841 BC Jehu overthrew the reigning dynasty of Omri. Jehu exterminated all the worshippers of Baal. Nevertheless Juda already had taken the infection.
Years before the revolution of Jehu the king of Juda, Jehoshaphat, allied himself with the kingdom of Israel through a marriage of his son Jehoram with Athaliah, a daughter of Jezebel. The priestess of a Canaanite cult got a foothold in the city of David. Shortly after this unholy alliance bore its fruits. After the death of Jehoshaphat his son Jehoram became king of Juda. He quickly showed his character. “When Jehoram had taken over the kingdom of his father and made himself secure, he killed all his brothers with the sword, and some of the rulers of Israel also.” (2 Chronicles 21:4). Sometime later during a raid of Jerusalem all his sons except Ahaziah, the youngest, were killed. In that fateful year 841Jehoram died and his only leftover son, Ahaziah, became king in Jerusalem (2 Chronicles 22:1).
The young king Ahaziah went shares with his uncle, king of Israel. When the latter took some rest to recover from injuries, taken during a common campaign, his nephew Ahaziah came for a visit. It was not the best day for a sick call. The revolution under Jehu had started and wiped away not only the ruler of Israel. Also Ahaziah and several of his relatives found their death in that upheaval (2 Chronicles 22:8-9).
In Jerusalem the mother of Ahaziah Athaliah, the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel, came to power. She exterminated all what was left over from the royal offspring (2 Kings 11, 1), i.e. all male candidates for the throne. Only the infant Joash, a son of Ahaziah survived. He was hidden by Jehoshabeath and he was the only one of the house of David who survived to become king of Juda later on.
Jehoshabeath was the “daughter of King Jehoram, the wife of Jehoiada the priest (for she was the sister of Ahaziah)” (2 Chronicles 22:11). It is unlikely that she was a daughter of Athaliah. Most likely, she was a stepsister of Ahaziah. Athaliah held to the tradition of faithfulness to Baal and Asherah. It is unlikely that her daughter would have been on Yahweh's side, have married a High Priest and have hidden the successor to the throne. The marital relation between the royal house and the High Priest is worthy of notice though.
We have to do some mathematics to inquire this case. Jehoiada died at the age of 130 years (2 Chronic. 24:15). The following two years help to date his death. Joash died in 796 BC. At that time Jehoiada was already dead. The repair of the temple began in the twenty third year of Joash’s reign (814) (2 Kings 12:7). The death of Jehoiada must have been in the second half of this time span (ca. 805 – 798). Hence, he was born in between 935 and 928. His father-in-law Jehoram was born in 881 B.C. (compare with 2 Chronicles 21:20). If we assume that Jehoshabeath was born early, Jehoram might have been at the age of 16 years. The earliest year for the birth of Jehoiada’s wife is 865 (881 minus 16). As a result, the difference in years between Jehoiada and his wife is 63 years, probably even more. If we consider a marriage age of 13 for the girl, the High Priest was already in his seventies.
This disparity indicates that this was a political marriage. Jehoram intended to attach the head of the priesthood to himself through this marriage. However, Jehoiada did not fall under influence of the royal house that had turned away from Yahweh. He even managed to bring his young wife to the Lord. She did not walk in the ways of her father’s house. She remained faithful to the house of David and rescued the successor to the throne of David from the hands of murderers.

Dates are mainly drawn from Thiele: Mysterious Numbers

wo alles nur Theater ist, fällt irgendwann der Vorhang

Kürzlich saßen wir mit einigen Brüdern aus der Gemeinde zusammen. Irgendwie kamen wir auf das Gebetsleben unserer Gemeinde zu sprechen. Die Gebetsstunde sieht immer weniger Besucher. Es kam sogar schon so weit, dass jemand nicht mehr kommt, weil man ihm zum Gebet aufgefordert hatte. Im Gottesdienst macht sich eine Gebetsmüdigkeit breit.
In unserem Gespräch konnten wir keine befriedigende Antwort finden. Jetzt las ich die kurze Notiz eines Pastors. "Nach einem Tag wie diesem kann man nichts besseres tun, als die beste Flasche Wein zu öffnen und das Leben zu genießen." Nichts Besseres? Haben wir wirklich nichts besseres zu tun? Mit anderen Worten, die Gemeinschaft mit Gott - nichts anderes ist doch Gebet - wird zum zweitbesten oder schlechter.
Mir wurde diese Notiz zu einer Antwort auf die Frage über das Gebetsleben unserer Gemeinde. Wenn wir in Gutem oder Bösem nicht mehr als allererstes zu unserem HERRN kommen, dann haben wir die Mitte, das was uns zusammenhält, das was uns Halt gibt, verloren. Wir können Gottesdienst gestalten, die Predigt pfiffiger machen, wenn aber bei all dem der Unterhaltungswert eine grössere Rolle spielt als die Botschaft vom Kreuz, dann ist und bleibt alles nur billiges Theater. „Und wo alles nur Theater ist, fällt eben irgendwann der Vorhang.“ Ein Zitat von Peter Hahne im Gastkommentar in idea-Spektrum36. Aus selbigem Kommentar noch ein Zitat, wert es sich zu Gemüte zu nehmen: „Nur dort herrscht geistlicher Aufbruch, wo der Toskana-Theologie und ihrer Wellness-Spiritualität mit der Autorität des Wortes Gottes getrotzt wird.“
Morgen ist Sonntag. Ich möchte diesen neuen Tag nicht hingeben, um Menschen das Gefühl zu geben, sie könnten angenehm in ihren Sünden leben und sterben. Um Gottes Willen!

Hinaus und hinein – zwei Seiten einer Medaille

5. Mose 26: 8 – 9
Und der HERR führte uns aus Ägypten …. Und er brachte uns an diese Stätte….

Das Glaubenszeugnis des Alten Testamentes (man beachte „Ich bezeuge heute“ in Vers 3) beinhaltet eine, wenn nicht sogar die zentrale Aussage über das Heilverständnis. Die Mitte des Heils besteht aus zwei Bewegungen: Hinaus – aus Ägypten, und hinein – in das neue Land.
Im allgemeinen Sprachgebrauch wird meist nur die erste Bewegung als Rettung verstanden, im Sinne von „errettet werden von“. Geschieht irgendeine Art von Rettung, wie zum Beispiel im Katastrophenfall, wird der Gerettete vielleicht seinem Retter, dem Mitarbeiter des Katastrophenschutzes oder dem Feuerwehrmann, dankbar sein. Aber wohl kaum bis zu dem Maße, das er bei ihm zu Hause einzieht. Der Gerettete wird dankbar sein, aber er kehrt – zumindest im Normalfall – wieder in seinen gewohnten Alltag zurück. Vielleicht hat ihn die erfahrene Rettung etwas gelehrt und er wird Veränderungen in seinem Leben vornehmen. Aber wir dürfen kaum erwarten, dass die Beziehung zu seinem Retter darauf grossen Einfluss nimmt.
Der Retter dürfte auch weit überfordert sein, neben der Rettungstat nun auch noch für die Nachsorge Verantwortung zu übernehmen.
Aber für Gott gehört gerade diese Nachsorge untrennbar zur Rettung hinzu. Wie leicht kann der Gerettete, eingelassen, wieder in den Kreislauf hineingeraten, der ihn in dieses Unglück gebracht hat. Die Rettungstat hat den Geretteten seiner Lebensgrundlage entrissen. Früher war er Sklave. Da hatte er Essen, wenn auch nicht besonders, er hat einen Platz zum Schlafen, wenn auch nicht bequem, er hatte Arbeit, wenn auch erniedrigend. Jetzt ist er frei, kann Essen was er will, kann schlafen wo er will, kann arbeiten, was er will. Und hat doch nichts von all dem. Er ist wortwörtlich frei von allem, und steht mit nichts da. Gott führt hinein in das Neue. Der Ort, das Land, das ihm nun all das ersetzt. Und noch mehr, es ist sein und er kann frei leben.
Die Rettung befreit aus den alten Zwängen. Das neue Land bietet jetzt den Ort, an dem der Befreite einen neuen Stil leben kann. Nicht mehr nach den Regeln der Ägypter, nicht mehr nach den Regeln der Sklavenschaft. Das neue Land ist der Platz wo der Gerettete nach den Plänen Gottes leben kann.
Die zwei Seiten des Heils. Rettung aus dem Alten und ein neues Leben im Freiraum Gottes.