1/31/24
There’s an old Arabic saying that I’ve often quoted to myself over the years: “The dogs bark but the caravan passes.” Can’t you picture it? The caravan, with its camels and wagons laden with goods from exotic bazaars, crossing the desert sands in quiet dignity, while the local dogs run beside it, yelping their heads off . . . accomplishing what? Nothing.
“The dogs bark but the caravan passes.”
I had to check my math several times last week (which is no surprise) when I was trying to figure out how long we’ve been worshiping together. February 4 will be the beginning of our 5th year! The time just seems to fly by, doesn’t it!
I thought, in light of our upcoming anniversary and annual business meeting, it might be good for me to take a couple of weeks and write about what it means to be the “church” and what it means to be the “Body of Christ,” the “people of God.”
Part of our original vision was to be a people of the Word, so I hope you’re reading Deuteronomy along with us. I know some of the legal stuff can seem pretty dry . . . I experience that as well. But I’ll also run across a verse that makes me think, one that gets stuck in my teeth like salt water taffy.
For instance, in Monday’s reading, after Moses gave the people the commandments of God then laid out (clearly) the consequences of their obedience or disobedience, Moses told the people: “You stand assembled today, all of you, before the Lord your God . . . to enter into the covenant of the Lord your God, sworn by an oath, which the Lord your God is making with you today; in order that he may establish you today as his people, and that he may be your God . . .” He may establish. His people.
God established them as His people and swore on an oath to be their God. He promised to bless them if they kept His commandments, and He promised to punish them if they didn’t. If they abandoned God, God would abandon them. BUT they could always repent and God promised to forgive.
They were His people. He was their God. God established them. To establish is “to found, institute, build, or bring into being on a firm or stable basis.”
Because God established them, they existed as his people in the wilderness, in the land of Canaan, under the judges, under the monarchy. True, they were booted out of the Promised Land,but they still existed as the people of God in places like Babylon and in scattered small communities like Susa under the Persians (in the book of Esther). Once they were back in the Promised Land, they remained under the rule of the Persians, and after them, the Greeks, and after them, the Romans.
But notice this. Despite the power and wealth of the nations, despite all the changes in the circumstances of God’s people, despite all . . . the people of God survived.
And the empires did not.
Sometimes the people of God were on top; sometimes they were on bottom. Sometimes they were the majority; sometimes they were a minority. Sometimes they were faithful, and sometimes they were flat-out unfaithful.
But they were still God’s people – and that’s the key. They were GOD’S people. And they persevered.
Now, regardless of the century and regardless of whatever emperor is in charge, the world is going to always be the world. They’re going to look at God’s people and maybe see us as useful (“Orphanages and hospitals? Nice idea - we’ll take them over”) or as a pain (“How dare you criticize us! There’s a separation between church and state”). But they’re never going to understand who we are and what we’re about.
Because no matter what situation, we find ourselves in, no matter the ruling government, no matter the country, no matter the culture, what doesn’t change about us is that we are an utterly unique family who are created by God’s call and governed by God’s loving rule. We’re not a race; we’re not a government; we’re not a culture. We’re not even physically related, necessarily.
We are God’s people. God established us. We are His.
The temptation is to forget who we are and Whose we are (sound familiar?). The temptation is to look at success as the world (who doesn’t understand us) measures it. I’ve written before about how pastors think they’re CEO’s rather than shepherds. What it boils down to is they try to take the reins from God and manage the areas that God has under his control. They forget that God established His people. Moses didn’t. Samuel didn’t. Isaiah didn’t. The formation of God’s people and the preservation of God’s people is God’s concern, and we can trust God.
“The dogs bark but the caravan passes.”
And regardless of what empire or which emperor thinks he’s in charge, the most powerful warfare available to the people of God is faithfulness. But that’s for next week.