Elijah, the imperfect broken superhero (part 2)

Elijah, the imperfect broken superhero (part 2)

While Elijah reveals much of his humanity that we recognized that he is just like us, his life also reveals how God takes care of his servants. There is this interesting passage in 1 Kings 19 when Elijah went to Mount Horeb. This is a familiar passage to us.

1 Kings 19:9–14 (NKJV)

⁹ And there he went into a cave, and spent the night in that place; and behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and He said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

¹⁰ So he said, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life.”

¹¹ Then He said, “Go out, and stand on the mountain before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; ¹² and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice.

¹³ So it was, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. Suddenly a voice came to him, and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

¹⁴ And he said, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God of hosts; because the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life.”

Our emphasis on reading this passage is often how God speaks to us. God speaks to us not in the wind, earthquake, fire or but in a still small voice. Yes, this is true. God can but does not usually uses the forces of nature to talk to use. He talks to us as one person to another.

What does God says? He asked Elijah what he is doing there (v.9). It is not as if God does not know, but God wants Elijah to articulate why he is there. And Elijah answered by pouring out his anguish.

“I have been very zealous for the Lord God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life.” (v.10).

Note that Elijah starts with “I” rather than your humble servant and this “I” is defined by what he did for the Lord. Then he said ‘the children of Israel’ as if he is not part of them. It is a distancing of himself and the people of God – your people broke the covenant, your altars and killed your prophets. Then it reverts back to “I” as being special and in danger. These are the words of a man who is having a meltdown in his ministry. Nowadays we call it burned-out.

God’s answer is revealing about him, not in the noisy and turmoil wind, earthquake or fire, but in a soft whisper. What did God whisper? Surely words of encouragement and healing.

God then asked Elijah the same question as in v.9, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” (v.12). Elijah answered with the exact words as in his earlier reply to God (v.10, 14)! What does this mean? It seems that between the first and second question with the divine encounter in between, Elijah was not aware of something miraculous have happened. He did not receive the proffered healing.

Instead of smiting him and throwing him aside as a failed prophet, God directed him to put into place his succession process. Elisha is to take over his ministry. God even sent a whirlwind to bring Elijah to him (2 Kings 2:11). This is a compassionate God who understands our frail human nature that breaks under strain. Instead of condemnation, he brings us to a place of rest in heaven. Psalm 23 is a wonderful metaphor of our final rest. God, who is the Lord of the Sabbath understands the rhythm of work and rest. Elijah was given rest so that he will be ready for his role in the Transfiguration.

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Elijah, the imperfect broken superhero (part 1)

Elijah, the imperfect broken superhero (part 1)

Of all the many prophets in the Old Testament, Elijah is the most likable. He is the one most like us. There are major feats of great power in his ministry – drought and power encounter on Mt. Carmel. There are also human failings – fear, depression, suicidal and self-centredness. Other prophets seem to be made of stronger stuff. Jeremiah is able to endure deprivations, humiliation, and sorrows. Isaiah deals with kings and their political lackeys. Ezekiel was high with his fantastic visions.  Like the superheroes of our modern mythology (courtesy of Marvel and DC Comics), Jeremiah, Isaiah and Ezekiel is like Batman, Superman, and Dr. Strange respectively. Elijah like is the Peter Parker Spiderman- full of self-doubts and brought down by numerous domestic and social problems. In spite of his problems, Peter Parker still put on his superhero costume to battle super villains. Elijah dons his prophet mantle to face a corrupted political social regime and spiritual warfare. Imperfect people to the best of their ability to perfect a broken world.

Yet of all the prophets, only Elijah did not die. He was taken up to heaven by a whirlwind which is archetypical of Christ being taking upon to heaven on his ascension. And according to Jewish tradition, Elijah is their most beloved prophet and is expected to come back to earth again as a harbinger for the Christ’s coming. Why is Elijah so beloved? It is Elijah is so like us. We are also imperfect people. We are complicated. We are capable of great feats of human kindness, but we are also responsible for some of the most despicable feats that one human can do another. We are both light and darkness. Our hearts may be full of love and compassion yet there is darkness inside of us; darkness, if left unchecked, will consume us. We long for perfection and building a utopia but often end up building a hell either in our mind or out of our environment. In other words, we are imperfect.

Yet God seems to like imperfect people. Jesus love to dine with sinners and tax collectors to the consternation of pious law-abiding citizens and members of the religious establishment. He takes delight in bursting the bubble of self-righteous perfect people. Jesus realizes that imperfect people are the sick. And only the sick needs a doctor. So Jesus spent a lot of time in his three years ministry breaking down people, which think they are perfect to their basic state of imperfection. Awareness of our imperfections is the first step towards spiritual growth – a process of becoming perfect in Christ.

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Death in Paradise

Death in Paradise

Is there death in the Garden of Eden? We always assume to death entered the world because of the Original Sin (The Original Sin happened when Eve and Adam disobeyed God thus breaking their communion Gen.3). If death only enter the world through the Original Sin, how will the ecosystem of the Garden of Eden be sustained before Eve and Adam sinned? If there is no death, then are the animals in the Garden of Eden vegetarians?

Death is an important part of our present day ecosystem. Dead plants and animals are broken down into the essential minerals and organic components which form the substrate on which new plants and animals develop. It will be impossible for an ecosystem to sustain itself without death and decay.

Death that is part of the curse is directed to Adam and Eve rather than the animals (Gen. 3:19; 1 Cor. 15). It is likely to be spiritual death rather than physical death. Spiritual death is separation from God and this death in the curse is mentioned as the direct result of the Original Sin. It is unlikely that Adam and Eve are immortal because if they are, then there is no reason for the Tree of Life to be a temptation. The Tree of Life is already in the Garden well before the Fall (Gen.2:9). Therefore it is likely that Adam and Eve have limited but long lifespan (Isa. 65:20-24). Even after the curse, Adam lived for 930 years (Gen.5:5).

Are there carnivorous animals in the Garden of Eden? The fangs and muscles of lions and wolves suggest that there were. Before the Fall, Adam’s job was to look after the Garden (Gen.1:28). We assume that his job was gardening but what if it is to control the animals too; something like that of a park ranger? If there were no death, overpopulation will be a major problem for human, animals and plants. There is also a hint that the Garden is a walled area with angels guarding the gateways.
In the new creation, the wolf lying down beside the lamb (and not eating it) and the lions have become reformed vegetarians may suggest that the new creation is truly better than the Garden of Eden (Isa. 65:25).

Interesting, both Thomas Aquinas and John Calvin thinks that animals die in the Garden of Eden.

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Seminar on Book of Ezekiel

The book of Ezekiel is one of the more difficult book in the bible to study because it deals with fantastic visions, prophecies, and revelations of God. The Spiritual Formation Institute held a seminar on it on 27 April 2013.

The seminar was taught by Dr. Peter Lua, an Old Testament lecturer from Seminari Theologi Malaysia.
Dr Peter Lau is a trained medical practitioner who holds an MDiv from Sydney Missionary and Bible College and a PhD from the University of Sydney. He has been lecturing at Seminari Theoloji Malaysia since 2010. He has also taught at Sydney Missionary Bible College and the University of Sydney.

Dr Lua's approach to the book for the seminar was to have three lectures and two small group discussions.
The three lectures were
(1) Ezekiel 1: A Vision of the Glory of God
(2) Ezekiel 8-11: Not in my House
(3) Ezekiel 37: Give Us Life

The small group discussions were on Ezekiel 34 (Shepherds misbehaving badly) and Ezekiel 40-48 (let the good times roll).

The participants have had a good time at the seminar. Not only do they gain a better understanding of the book of Ezekiel and the man behind the book, they also have a glimpse of the mighty and awesome God who is behind the book and the man. The only complaint is that the seminar is too short. Many of the participants wished that it was longer so that they could discover more of the treasures that are there in this book.

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