Josh Benner

Tag: Bible

  • Wrath and judgment – did God command genocide in the Old Testament

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    When the Lord your God brings you into the land that you are entering to take possession of it, and clears away many nations before you, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations more numerous and mightier than you, and when the Lord your God gives them over to you, and you defeat them, then you must devote them to complete destruction. You shall make no covenant with them and show no mercy to them.
    -Deuteronomy 7:1-2
    In Deuteronomy 7, the Israelites are just outside the land and the Lord gives a challenging command. The Israelites are told to wipe out the nations who inhabit the land.
    It’s not a popular idea. It’s a notion that many find reprehensible and immoral. For skeptics and people who believe in other religions, it’s fodder for them to undermine the teachings of the Bible.
    God is using Israel as a divine judgment for cleansing the land against wicked nations who lived totally contrary to the will of God. It was divine mercy that God had allowed these nations to exist as long as they did. But their sin eventually reached a braking point.
    The judgment was divine and righteous judgment.
    In this judgment, everything needed to be destroyed. The people, but not just the people. Also their livestock, also their crops, also their gold and possessions.
    It was all given to the Lord. The point wasn’t plunder for the Israelite’s gain because victory was from the Lord and everything was given to the Lord.
    Part of the reason why they had to be wiped out was that it was trying to preserve the Israelites from idolatry.
    It’s a very challenging idea. It’s a very unpopular idea.
    For a student of the Bible, I’d like to include a few thoughts on this challenging passage.
    God is just. 
    The fact that God doesn’t wipe out anyone immediately due to their sin is evidence of God’s grace and mercy. No one deserves grace. We willingly sin and transgress against the holy and righteous God of the universe.
    This judgment wasn’t Moses’ idea, or later, Joshua’s idea. It was God’s judgment. It wasn’t the Israelite elders who decided they should do this. God decided.
    And it was ultimately God who was enacting his judgment.
    Judgment for a particular time and place
    It was not meant to be a worldwide judgment. It was clearing out the land. Once the Israelites were in the land, there aren’t any indications that they were supposed to become raiders just attacking other groups or committing violence for its own sake.
    This command was for the Israelites in the specific context of the Promised Land.
    Israel never followed through at carrying out this judgment 
    While it might seem unfair or unnecessarily harsh, The Israelites never actually fully enact the devoting of their enemies to destructing in the land.
    And it is to their own peril and difficulty as they will historically be plagued by idolatry and turning away from the Lord.
    Picture of future judgment 
    For anyone who will not bend a knee to God, there will be a day of reckoning. This is a foretaste of the final judgment. There is an eternal consequence for rejecting the Lord, because without his saving grace, we are dead in sin.
    Opposing the Lord comes with severe consequences.
    God is just.
    And no one dies who would have otherwise repented. No one goes to hell because they didn’t have enough time.
    It’s not because God is mean. Not because he’s unfair.
    But because he is holy and righteous. And God cares about his own holiness.
    The good news is that God has made a way for people to avoid all of that. It’s a matter of trusting in the gospel. Believing in the Lord.
    We can’t be good enough, we can’t earn it. Our only hope is Jesus. God with us. Who lived a sinless life so that all who believe in him could be forgiven.

    Thanks for reading! I’d love to hear what you think, and don’t forget to subscribe! 

    Josh Benner is the associate pastor at Cornerstone Evangelical Free Church in Fergus Falls, Minnesota and has a Master of Divinity from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He enjoys writing about faith and culture. His hobbies include working out, watching sports, and photography. Josh and his wife Kari live in Minnesota.

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  • Mega millions – mega problems: why money can’t buy purpose

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    Tonight, the largest lottery drawing in human history will happen. If you have the right numbers for Mega Millions, you can win $1.6 billion dollars. An unbelievable amount of money to acquire in the span of a few minutes.

    To put that in perspective, think if you were given $1 million dollars. For the vast majority of people (and I’m sure anyone who’s reading this), that would be life changing money. Mega Millions is a million times sixteen hundred.

    And that’s not the only huge jackpot available this weekend. Power Ball is drawn tomorrow and is the fifth largest jackpot ever, with $656 million. Slumming it compared to $1.6 billion but still an incredible amount of money.

    Yes, it would be nice to never have to worry about debt, to never have to worry about money. You could pay off all of the debts of family.

    But it would also fundamentally change every relationship you have. Long lost relatives would come out of the woodwork. It would change how people looked at you. Money can unleash unbelievable greed. Families have been divided over a few thousand dollars in someone’s will.

    And how would you ever build any new meaningful friendships?

    Would it really be worth it?

    We can make an idol of money and think that if we just had more, everything would be better.

    Again, I get it. It does fix a lot of problems. If someone is struggling to make ends meet, and you suddenly never had to worry about that, who wouldn’t want that?

    But for whoever eventually wins these huge lotteries, life will never be the same.

    A 2016 article by Time shares stories of various lottery winners who wish they’d never won. Many people who win the lottery end up worse off as a result (I realize that is unlikely with $1.6 billion).

    The author of Ecclesiastes talks of the pitfalls of tremendous wealth:

    I made great works. I built houses and planted vineyards for myself. I made myself gardens and parks, and planted in them all kinds of fruit trees. I made myself pools from which to water the forest of growing trees.

    I also gathered for myself silver and gold and the treasure of kings and provinces. I got singers, both men and women, and many concubines, the delight of the sons of man.

    So I became great and surpassed all who were before me in Jerusalem. Also my wisdom remained with me. And whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I kept my heart from no pleasure, for my heart found pleasure in all my toil, and this was my reward for all my toil.

    Ecclesiastes 2:4-6, 8-10

    The author of Ecclesiastes talks of having great wealth, great wisdom. But none of these things bring ultimately joy and fulfillment on their own.

    Money can’t buy purpose, it can only distract. Money can’t give us life, we can’t take it with us when we die. And no matter how much money we have, we all face death, and having a lot of wealth for a short time in this world matters nothing to eternity.

    Thanks for reading! I’d love to hear what you think, and don’t forget to subscribe! 

    Josh Benner is the associate pastor at Cornerstone Evangelical Free Church in Fergus Falls, Minnesota and has a Master of Divinity from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He enjoys writing about faith and culture. He lives with his wife Kari in Minnesota.

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  • Eugene Peterson – author of the Message – dies at 85

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    Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

    Eugene Peterson, pastor, professor, and writer passed away today at the age of 85 after battling dementia and heart failure.

    Peterson authored 35 books in his lifetime. The most popular among them was The Message, which has sold over 20 million copies. The Message is a paraphrase translation which attempts to capture the idea of a Biblical verse and not necessarily the exact wording. This translation philosophy and book are what Peterson is best known for, but it was also perhaps his greatest source of controversy.

    Peterson authored 35 more books, writings cherished by many for Peterson’s pastoral heart and Biblical wisdom.

    He also had broad appeal, with his writings being enjoyed both by Evangelical Christians and mainline Protestants.

    I believe God takes the things in our lives – family, background, education – and uses them as part of his calling. It might not be to become a pastor. But I don’t think God wastes anything.
    -Eugene Peterson

    Among condolences shared online, Russell Moore, president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission Tweeted: “Grateful to God for a long obedience in the same direction. Thank you Eugene Peterson.”

    Pastor and director of LifeWay research Trevin Wax shared a quote from Peterson: “Jesus said “Follow me” and ended up with a lot of losers. And these losers ended up, through no virtue or talent of their own, becoming saints. Jesus wasn’t after the best but the worst. – Eugene Peterson.”

    Peterson’s family released a statement:

    During the previous days, it was apparent that he was navigating the thin and sacred space between earth and heaven. We overheard him speaking to people we can only presume were welcoming him into paradise. There may have even been a time or two when he accessed his Pentecostal roots and spoke in tongues as well.

    Among his final words were, “Let’s go.” And his joy: my, oh my; the man remained joyful right up to his blessed end, smiling frequently. In such moments it’s best for all mortal flesh to keep silence. But if you have to say something say this: “Holy, Holy, Holy.”

    It feels fitting that his death came on a Monday, the day of the week he always honored as a Sabbath during his years as a pastor. After a lifetime of faithful service to the church—running the race with gusto—it is reassuring to know that Eugene has now entered into the fullness of the Kingdom of God and has been embraced by eternal Sabbath.

    Thanks for reading! I’d love to hear what you think, and don’t forget to subscribe! 

    Josh Benner is the associate pastor at Cornerstone Evangelical Free Church in Fergus Falls, Minnesota and has a Master of Divinity from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He enjoys writing about faith and culture. He lives with his wife Kari in Minnesota.

    Let’s connect!
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Instagram

  • A priest, two goats, and salvation

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    Photo Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons @fir0002

    Originally published September 29, 2017

    For observant Jews all over the world, this evening, the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur in Hebrew) is celebrated. The Day of Atonement is the most holy of days in the Jewish calendar. It’s an annual picture of forgiveness that people could have. While Christians don’t celebrate this day, it’s one worth studying because everything about it points to Christ and the gospel.

    Atonement refers to God’s work of dealing with our sin. Because of sin, the relationship between man and God has been broken. (more…)

  • No matter how terrible things seem, the gospel shows that there is always hope

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    Andrew Stoecklein was pastor of a megachurch in California who took his life last week. I’ve seen many stories shared about this man this week. I’ve seen articles about social media posts his wife has made in the wake of the loss of her husband.

    It’s an incredibly sad story. Successful young pastor. Growing megachurch. He had struggled with depression and anxiety. Stoecklein had actually taken a four month sabbatical as he was battling these mental health issues and had returned earlier this month. (more…)