“A stellar God”
By Rev. Michael Stonhouse
Meditation – Tuesday, July 5, 2022
Psalm 5 (Forward, p. 68) CEV p. 557
It is frequently stated that there is no god like our God, and nowhere is this more eloquently illustrated than in today’s psalm. Whereas the gods of Rome, Greece, Canaan and Mesopotamia were basically human beings ‘writ large’, that is, larger than life beings but with the same lusts, desires, promptings and weaknesses as we mere mortals, our God was of a different nature entirely. As the psalmist tells us, He was a far ‘different cut’ than the whole lot of them:
“You are not the kind of God who is pleased with evil. Sinners can’t stay with you. No one who boasts can stand in your presence, Lord, and you hate evil people. Your destroy every liar, and you despise violence and deceit” (verses 4-6);
This is a far cry from many of the pagan gods, Zeus, for instance, who was downright lustful, as in his encounter with Lena, or the many gods of war, or the Norse god of mischief. Or just consider the ‘sympathetic’ magic or rituals, sacred prostitution for instance, that was seemingly practiced in imitation of the gods.
By way of contrast, the psalmist mentions ‘God’s great mercy” (verse 7) and kindness (verse 12) and the fact that God does only what is right (verse 8). Furthermore, he is quite sure that he can count on God to intervene, help him and rescue him in his present woes. This is a totally different god than those of the surrounding nations.
But what about us? What about the gods that we worship? I mean the ones of wood and steel and coin and paper. In Moses’ words in Deuteronomy (Deuteronomy 4:28) we are warned against ‘serving gods, the work of human hands, wood and stone, which neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell’.
Other voices in the Hebrew Scriptures are equally as forthright on this. Isaiah, for instance, the past-master of ‘telling it like it is, has even more to say on this
“Some pour out gold from their bags and weigh out silver on the scales; they hire a goldsmith to make it into a god, and they bow down and worship it. They lift it to their shoulders and carry it; they set it up in its place, and there it stands. From that spot it cannot move. Even though someone cries out to it, it cannot answer; it cannot save them from their troubles” Isaiah 46:6-7).
However, it is a bit earlier in his book (Isaiah 44:9-20) has that the prophet Isaiah his unsurpassed touch in ridiculing these man-made idols for their powerlessness and inadequacy:
“How foolish are those who manufacture idols. These prized objects are really worthless. The people who worship idols don’t know this, so they are all put to shame. Who but a fool would make his own god— an idol that cannot help him one bit? All who worship idols will be disgraced along with all these craftsmen—mere humans— who claim they can make a god. They may all stand together, but they will stand in terror and shame.
“A metalworker shapes an idol by using a hammer and heat from the fire. In his powerful hand he holds a hammer as he pounds the metal into proper shape. But he gets hungry and thirsty and loses his strength.
“Some woodcarver measures a block of wood and draws a pattern on it. He works with chisel and plane and carves it into a human figure. The idol is carefully carved with each detail exact. At last it looks like a person and is placed in a little shrine.
“Either cedars, cypress, oak, or any tree from the forest may be chosen. Or even a pine tree planted by the woodcarver and watered by the rain.
“Then he uses part of the wood to make a fire. With it he warms himself and bakes his bread. Then—yes, it’s true—he takes the rest of it and makes himself a god to worship! He makes an idol and bows down in front of it! He burns part of the tree to roast his meat and to keep himself warm. He says, “Ah, that fire feels good.” Then he takes what’s left and makes his god: a carved idol! He falls down in front of it, worshiping and praying to it. “Rescue me!” he says. “You are my god!”
“Such stupidity and ignorance! Their eyes are closed, and they cannot see. Their minds are shut, and they cannot think. The person who made the idol never stops to reflect, ‘Why, it’s just a block of wood! I burned half of it for heat and used it to bake my bread and roast my meat. How can the rest of it be a god? Should I bow down to worship a piece of wood?’ The poor, deluded fool feeds on ashes. He trusts something that can’t help him at all. Yet he cannot bring himself to ask, ‘Is this idol that I’m holding in my hand a lie?”
But then, what about our gods of prestige and power and pleasure and position and such like? They are just as ineffectual as the gods that Isaiah mentions. And yet, as Jesus illustrates in His parable of the soil and the seeds (the parable of the sower) we can allow these things to crowd out the things of God and render our lives less fruitful than they might be. Really, we need to focus on just how totally sufficient, totally stellar, our God is and trust in Him more fully. Amen.
Forward notes: ”But as for me, through the greatness of your mercy I will go into your house; I will bow down toward your holy temple in awe of you” (verse 7).
“Most of our readings today are proclamations of great faith. Moses creates the ancient version of a ‘sanctuary city,’ [Numbers 35:1-3,9-15, 30-32] and the psalmist [Psalm 5] shows the faithful bowing, praising, weeping, supplicating, certain that God hears them and will intercede. And in Romans [Romans 8:38-39], Paul gives us one of the most remarkable declarations in all of scripture: ‘Neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers…will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.’ Nothing.
“Yet, these powerful faith statements feel tempered by Jesus’s words in the Gospel of Matthew and his scorching denunciation of the scribes and Pharisees [Matthew 23:13-26]. Our selection today stops just short of when he calls them ‘whitewashed tombs,’ beautiful on the outside but full of rot and death within. For as deeply as Christ knew the power of God’s transcendent love, he knew too the power some religious leaders have to
slam the door in people’s faces or to twist the word of God out of recognition.”
MOVING FORWARD: “How do you model faith and adversity?”