The Value of a Brick

Text relating to the sermon at The River this Sunday is Exodus 5:4-14

 ⁴ But the king of Egypt said, “Moses and Aaron, why are you taking the people away from their labor? Get back to your work!” ⁵ Then Pharaoh said, “Look, the people of the land are now numerous, and you are stopping them from working.”

 ⁶ That same day Pharaoh gave this order to the slave drivers and overseers in charge of the people: ⁷ “You are no longer to supply the people with straw for making bricks; let them go and gather their own straw. ⁸ But require them to make the same number of bricks as before; don’t reduce the quota. They are lazy; that is why they are crying out, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’ ⁹ Make the work harder for them so that they keep working and pay no attention to lies.”

 ¹⁰ Then the slave drivers and the overseers went out and said to the people, “This is what Pharaoh says: ‘I will not give you any more straw. ¹¹ Go and get your own straw wherever you can find it, but your work will not be reduced at all.’” ¹² So the people scattered all over Egypt to gather stubble to use for straw. ¹³ The slave drivers kept pressing them, saying, “Complete the work required of you for each day, just as when you had straw.” ¹⁴ And Pharaoh’s slave drivers beat the Israelite overseers they had appointed, demanding, “Why haven’t you met your quota of bricks yesterday or today, as before?” 

So... it seems that bricks were of more value to Pharaoh than people. How sad. I once worked for a person like that... very briefly thank goodness. People meant nothing to him, that is except they were a means to an end. His own end of course - which was the same end as Pharaoh's - to build wealth and influence for himself. Yuk... so glad I'm out of Egypt. Slavery sucks!

But back to my original point :-)  To this Egyptian king in the days of Moses, the Israelite people living in his country had no real value... except that together they made a very populous and efficient brick-making machine that required very little investment or overhead. That is, nothing more than some vicious slave drivers, lots of straw, huts in which to house the slaves, and enough food to keep them alive. What a deal for Pharaoh! He could build a lot of magnificent structures with that otherwise worthless group of people. As a bonus, toward the end he even made them collect their own straw with the same quotas!

But God said otherwise. His chosen people had value... not because they deserved it, and not due to their brick-making ability... but purely and simply because He said so. So, through Moses, God told Pharaoh to let His people go. And, after a well-documented bit of difficulty, Pharaoh finally caved in to God's demands and set God's people free.

Free. No longer slaves. Cared for. Watched over. Protected. Nurtured... Loved.

The Israelites had no idea what freedom looked like. They had been nothing more than a 20+ hours per day, seven days per week brick-making machine for over four hundred years!

But God didn't make people to be machines... He made people to reflect His glory. Yes, He made people to be productive... that is, to be fruitful and multiply. But more than that, He made people to exercise their freedom to regularly stop their work in order to remember their reason for living... that is, first and foremost, humans were made to relate to their God. 

How can we do that if all we ever do is make bricks?

It's tough for some of us to stop working... stop producing... stop trying to earn our way into the good graces of other people, or other gods. But from the seventh day of creation... God has made it clear that resting from our everyday kind of work is what He wants... what He commands... what He absolutely expects from us.

Somewhere in our frantic, busy lives, God expects us to rest... makes it clear that we are to prioritize a rhythm of rest from our labor. 

The biblical term for this spiritual discipline is Sabbath.

God worked six days when He created the universe and rested on the seventh day. Why? Was He tired? Was He out of breath? Was He a union member? Or was He providing a pattern for living that He wants us to follow? Hmmmmm... perhaps He actually meant us to follow a rhythm of hard work, followed by intentional rest. Perhaps when we obey His teachings, we can actually live a more joy-filled life... a more peaceful life... a more full life? A more complete life?

Well, anyway... it's something to think about. And something to discuss... this Sunday... on the (Christian) day of Sabbath... at The River (or some other place of Christ-centered worship). That is, unless you're unable to put down the mud and straw long enough to celebrate His work of redeeming us from slavery! :-)

I gotta rest now. All this blogging makes me tired!

Lectio Divina

Text relating to the sermon/discussion at The River this Sunday: John 8:1-11 TNIV

• A woman caught in adultery.
• Guilty woman... possibly set up to fail.
• Bloodthirsty Pharisees... trying to set yet another trap.
• Jesus... always an astonishing answer.
• A case of legal imperative, or deep introspection?
• She made a mistake... but received forgiveness.
• The religious leaders just walked away... frustrated.
• Jesus confounded the wise, and set her free... using less than 30 words.
• What Satan meant to use for harm, God made beautiful.
• What character do you most identify with?

Each week, I give you a link to the biblical text, assuming you'll click on it and read it for yourself. But today, I'm going to give you the full text... and encourage you to soak it in for awhile. Let it speak to you.

This Sunday, we're going to employ an ancient method of interacting with Scripture that involves far more than your intellect. It is called Lectio Divina, and if you're willing to quiet yourself and listen to what He's saying... God will reveal Truth into your heart in fresh new ways through this approach.

Are you ready? Good... then first is LECTIO (reading). Read through the text slowly, carefully repetitively. Pay attention to details that you normally miss when you skim over a text. Don't rush. Pray over the text and ask God to show you new details you've never noticed before.

¹ but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.
   ² At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. ³ The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group ⁴ and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. ⁵ In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” ⁶ They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.
   But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. ⁷ When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” ⁸ Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.
   ⁹ At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. ¹⁰ Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”
   ¹¹ “No one, sir,” she said.

   “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”

Have you read it a few times through? Did you pay careful attention to details such as who, what, where and when?  Good, the next phase is MEDITATIO (meditation). Read the text through once again, but this time seek to listen with your heart as well as your mind. Know that through this text, Jesus wants to reveal Himself more fully to you. So consciously open yourself to the Lord. Are you the woman who is guilty (and in need of pardon)? Or a member of the religious council, unwilling to forgive a dirty "sinner"? Perhaps you can relate to both characters? What does God want to say to you through this story?

The third phase is ORATIO (prayer). Okay, God has spoken to you. He has revealed something to you... encouragement that comforts you, or a warning that rattles you a bit. Say a prayer to God, thanking Him for shining His light into your heart, and speaking to you, His child.  Let Him know you're listening, and you desire to walk in alignment with His will. For a few moments, just abandon yourself to soaking in God's holy presence, and admiring His grace.

The fourth and final phase of Lectio Divina is CONTEMPLATIO (contemplation). This is God's response to us. After praying to Him, simply wait on the Holy Spirit to breathe resurrection life into your soul.  Believe and expect that God wants to whisper in your ear as you open your heart to His all-knowing gaze. It may be something you can wrap your head around, and then again, you may just walk away having encountered a deep, intimate moment with the Savior. Either way, know that God has used your willingness to read, meditate, pray and contemplate His words for His glory and for your benefit. He wants to shape you into the image of His Son, and this ancient spiritual discipline is an excellent way to learn how to surrender your will to His.

Okay, now let's see how we can encounter Him in an entirely new way as we practice Lectio Divina together this coming Sunday!