HOW DO WE HIDE THE BODIES?

Sermon Summary (3/12/17) Wrestling with the Bible Series: "How Do We Hide the Bodies”  Joshua 6:20-21; Col 1:15-20

The Bible is a miracle.  It is first a miracle that it exists; then second, the impact it has had in shaping Western Civilization, shaping humanity, shaping us.  It is a wonderful book, but how do you handle the violence in  for example, Joshua?  “They devoted to destruction by the edge of the sword, all [of Jericho], both men and women, young and old, oxen, sheep, donkeys.” Were none worthy? How do we hide the bodies?

I personally knew Captain Ernie Medina, the commander at the My Lai Massacre, and Warrant Officer Hugh Thompson who landed his helicopter at risk to stop it.  My Lai and Jericho, genocide.  One was a national disgrace and the Bible portrays the other as a nation-defining moment. How do we hide the bodies?

In 1869, the circa 9th century bc Moabite Stone was discovered depicting King Mesha of Moab as devoting an Israelite city, Neba, to destruction for his Canaanite god, Chemosh.  Was it just the way things were?  In 2 Kings 11, the Bible describes the Spring of the year as the times the kings went out to battle, ravishing whole cities.  Was violence just the was it was and God was in on it, or did kings simply attribute violence to Chemosh and Yahweh?  How do we sort out the notional from the factual?  Does it matter?  If not, how can I give the Bible Authority in our lives?

My personal experience is that we come to faith in God; we then believe that Jesus is the divine Son of God who came to save us; and then we give Scripture the authority to guide our lives.  CS Lewis did the same and Scripture authority as Paul puts it in 2 Timothy 3:16-17 for teaching, rebuking, correcting, training and equipping for all good works.  For most it happened automatically.  After coming to faith, we give the Scripture authority to shape us.

But how do I hide the bodies?  I don’t.  Taking Jesus’ lead I deflect them.  In Luke 13, Jesus is challenged with violent deaths of his time.  Instead of dealing with the bodies, he goes straight to the moral teaching, “Repent, or you shall perish just as they did.” 

Don’t get bogged down with the violence, instead go straight to the moral teaching of the story.  I believe that Jesus would tell us that the Jericho story was included because the Israelites failed generation after generation by allowing the Canaanite gods to influence them rather than the Israelites influencing the culture around them.  And to us he would say, “Church, my presence on earth, you are not influencing the secular culture but instead allowing them to influence you.  Repent, or you will perish just as they did!”