Newsletter May 2020 Part 1
From sorrow to joy
When the Lord brought back the captivity of Zion, we were like those who dream.
Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing.
Then they said among the nations, “The Lord has done great things for them.”
The Lord has done great things for us, and we are glad. (Ps. 126:1-3)
As we enter the next phase of lock down questions are being asked: How long will this be? When will we able to return to normal? Which restrictions will be lifted first? Some are already warning that life may never be the way we knew it.
Psalm 126 describes the people of Judah celebrating God’s deliverance from their captivity in Babylon. After seventy years of oppression far from their homeland coming back to Jerusalem seemed unreal, like a dream. Their God who seemed to have abandoned them had, in His sovereignty, raised up a pagan king to defeat their oppressors and to allow them to return to their holy city that had laid waste for so long. One can only imagine the singing and laughter as people looked around in amazement at God’s mercy and His sovereign power, rearing to rebuild the city and its temple. The LORD had truly done great things for them and they were glad and thankful to Him.
One day, maybe sooner than we can imagine right now, we will look at each other in disbelief as we venture back into our streets and shops and eventually even meet again in our church buildings. God will surely remember us and bring an end to this crisis. As hopeless as things may seem now, we will rejoice and rebuild. However, the question remains, will we have changed?
Judah’s captivity had been foretold. When Nebuchadnezzar conquered Jerusalem and took hostages to Babylon, including the young king Jehoiachin, he appointed Jehoiachin’s uncle Mattaniah as his vassal, changing his name to Zedekiah (1 Ki. 24:17). However, under Zedekiah (a name ironically meaning Righteousness of GOD) Judah continued to do evil. Instead of responding to God’s chastisement by turning back to Him, Zedekiah led the people in rebellion against their oppressors. Rather than seeking God’s face in repentance, they sought military assistance from Egypt, only to be defeated once more.
It is sad today to hear so much about potential human solutions to this pandemic without a mention of God. It is heart-breaking to hear of plans to resume entertainment and sports events as quickly as possible while not addressing the deeper issues in our society and the world at large. It would be tragic if we, God’s people, were concerned with resuming ‘normal’ church services as soon as possible without first taking time to re-examine our values and priorities and to re-assess the focus of our worship programmes.
God never gives up on His people; He loves us and He has a plan for us, to give us a future and a hope (Jer. 29:11). As He allowed Judah to ‘return to this place’ after seventy years of captivity (v. 10) He will allow us to return in His own time. Meanwhile, however, He is looking for us to seek His face with all our heart (v.13). He will restore us and, as a result, many will acknowledge that He has done great things for us. So let us make use of the opportunities this lock down presents to reach out to them in new ways.
This is the time to turn to God, to confess our sin of self-sufficiency and our dependence on things that have no eternal value. This is the time to look beyond our own selfish desires and open our eyes to the needs around us. This is the time to sow in tears so that we can (in God’s own time!) reap in joy and bring in a great harvest (Ps. 126:5-6). Let us come to God in sincerity, acknowledging our sin for godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death. (2 Cor. 7:10) May the glory of the latter temple be greater than the former so that there [God] will give peace (Haggai 2:9).
Pastor Konrad