Restoring the Sanity of a Nation

Reading: Daniel 4  
Do you have those moments when you wonder if we as a nation lost our sanity? Do you wonder how we seem to have come untethered from any semblance of truth? If not, this post is not for you. If like me you hear the news and at times find yourself perplexed as to how rational adults can (e.g.) seriously be discussing whether or not middle school boys should be allowed to dress in drag, then keep reading.

Or, if when seemingly normal adults (like our current President) argue that it is okay to have an abortionist take a developed baby from the mothers womb feet first until only the head remains inside, puncture the base of the baby’s skull with a surgical instrument, insert a catheter into the wound, and remove the baby's brain with a powerful suction machine, you wonder when and how sanity took a vacation in our society, then keep reading.

Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, had a dream which was very similar to the parable of the mustard seed.

I looked, and there before me stood a tree in the middle of the land. Its height was enormous. ¹¹The tree grew large and strong and its top touched the sky; it was visible to the ends of the earth. ¹²Its leaves were beautiful, its fruit abundant, and on it was food for all. Under it the wild animals found shelter, and the birds lived in its branches; from it every creature was fed. (Daniel 4:10-12)

It turns out that this tree represents Nebuchadnezzar and his kingdom which was truly one of the greatest kingdoms of the ancient world. But the dream continued with a angelic being coming down and ordering the tree to be cut down and destroyed with the stump remaining. In the interpretation of the dream we read:

"This is the interpretation, Your Majesty, and this is the decree the Most High has issued against my lord the king: ²⁵You will be driven away from people and will live with the wild animals; you will eat grass like the ox and be drenched with the dew of heaven. Seven times will pass by for you until you acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth and gives them to anyone he wishes. ²⁶The command to leave the stump of the tree with its roots means that your kingdom will be restored to you when you acknowledge that Heaven rules. (Daniel 4:24-26)

All of this came to pass for Nebuchadnezzar. He boasted that the greatness of Babylon was by his own power and for his own glory (Daniel 4:30). Immediately, “he was driven away from people and ate grass like the ox. His body was drenched with the dew of heaven until his hair grew like the feathers of an eagle and his nails like the claws of a bird.” (Daniel 4:33)

After the time set by the Lord had passed, Nebuchadnezzar gives this testimony:

At the end of that time, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven, and my sanity was restored. Then I praised the Most High; I honored and glorified him who lives forever. His dominion is an eternal dominion; his kingdom endures from generation to generation. (Daniel 4:34)

True sanity is directly connected to whether or not we acknowledge God. Why? Because acknowledging God is acknowledging reality; denying God is denying reality. More importantly, God is actively at work in the minds of those who do not acknowledge Him, just as He was with Nebuchadnezzar. We see this in Paul’s letter to the Romans.

Paul tells the Roman believers that the knowledge of God is plainly revealed in creation and that when we don't acknowledge God, we are actively suppressing the truth (Romans 1:18-25). In so doing, no matter how much we claim to be wise, we become fools. And God responds to this.

Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. (Romans 1:28)

The seeming insanity of our culture is not the cause of our problems but the effect of our problems—the effect of our suppression of the truth of God. In our suppression of the truth, we are really doing is either taking credit and glory for what God has done for ourselves like Nebuchadnezzar, or we are assigning the credit and glory to something other than God. Either way it is theft of the highest order—theft from God.

Now before you run from this blog and begin ranting about how we took prayer out of schools, ask whether or not you've taken prayer out of your personal life, or out of your family. Ask when the last time you attended your church's prayer meeting. Ask whether or not you acknowledge God with your finances and your time. We need to make sure that we ourselves are raising our eyes toward heaven and acknowledging God. Let's start with the house of God and our own households.

Love the Gospel, Live the Gospel, Advance the Gospel,
Jerry

For another devotional on Daniel 4 see How Do You Keep Your Sanity?

Why Did Jesus Send the Leper to the Priest?

Reading: Matthew 8:1-4; Leviticus 14

There is an account in the gospels that puzzled me for a couple of decades—it is just that it didn't seem to make sense. Jesus cleanses a leper, then tells the former leper not to tell anyone what Jesus did but to go show himself to the priest who would offer the sacrifices Moses prescribed. It just seemed that the priests would get all the credit and Jesus would get none. How could that be in the interest of His Kingdom?

When Jesus came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed him. ²A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, "Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean." ³Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!" Immediately he was cleansed of his leprosy. ⁴Then Jesus said to him, "See that you don't tell anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift Moses commanded, as a testimony to them." (Matthew 8:1-4 NIV)

The Role of the Priest

Part of the problem is that I thought of the priests, as it relates to lepers, more in line with doctors. The priests, however, had no ability to cleanse a leper. He could not make a leper well nor clean. He could not make him a leper either. He only did diagnoses and then informed everyone whether the person in question was clean or unclean. And if he determined that an unclean person was now clean, there was an offering Moses told him to make. I was also unfamiliar with what Moses had told them to offer.

When I understood the role of the priest, and the nature of the offering, this text suddenly made complete sense. First, I understood that when the cleansed leper went to the priest, the priest would unwittingly confirm the power of Christ to cleanse a leper. The leper knew Jesus could cleanse him if He was willing, but the priest would not have thought so. However, the priest was a professional diagnoser of leprosy. If he declared the man clean, rest assured, he was clean. By declaring him clean, he was giving expert witness to the authenticity of the miracle. Therefore the Law (Moses through this priest) was testifying to Jesus.

The Nature of the Gift

Second, when I saw the nature of the “gift Moses commanded” I saw a beautiful portrait of how Christ cleanses all of us from our spiritual leprosy.

³The priest is to go outside the camp and examine them. If they have been healed of their defiling skin disease, ⁴the priest shall order that two live clean birds and some cedar wood, scarlet yarn and hyssop be brought for the person to be cleansed. ⁵Then the priest shall order that one of the birds be killed over fresh water in a clay pot. ⁶He is then to take the live bird and dip it, together with the cedar wood, the scarlet yarn and the hyssop, into the blood of the bird that was killed over the fresh water. ⁷Seven times he shall sprinkle the one to be cleansed of the defiling disease, and then pronounce them clean. After that, he is to release the live bird in the open fields. (Leviticus 14:3-7 NIV)

This offering could not more clearly point to Jesus than it does. In this very act the leper would begin to get a clearer picture of how Jesus' cleanses him, and we too get a clear picture of how Christ cleanses us. Two birds are used. One dies (a guilt bearing sacrifice), and one lives (a living sacrifice). The blood of the first bird is mixed with water and the living sacrifice is to be dipped in that blood/water combination representing a cleansing (with blood) and then it is set free.

Ironically, coming in contact with the blood doesn't make one unclean but clean. The leper himself is sprinkled with the blood/water mixture too. He is like the live bird. The leper, like the living bird, goes free, while the blood of the sacrificed bird makes that possible. Christ would ultimately cleanse us with his own blood. He dies, we go free. What a glorious picture.

The Recipients of the Testimony

This picture helps me answer one remaining question from Matthew 8:4. Who is the “them” that this offering would be a testimony to? There are 3 possible antecedents to the “them”. First, “anyone.” “See to it that you don't tell anyone.” Second, the priest. Third Moses. Those are the only people mentioned to whom it could be referring. We can rule Moses out because at this point Moses is quite clear on who Jesus is. And since “them” is plural, and the “anyone” and priest are both singular, it must be referring to both. Moses (the law) and the priest (under the law's authority) would be testifying to the power of Christ to heal. This testimony would be heard/seen by the priest himself and all the “anyone's” that the leper might want to know. They would also testify through this redemptive sacrificial picture of how Christ through His own death would cleanse us of our spiritual leprosy (sin).

This concise account immediately follows the Sermon on the Mount. What a glorious picture of how Christ calls us to live that sermon is. However, the Sermon on the Mount, as wonderful as it is, will never make us clean. We can never live our way into cleansing. Rather, as this leper shows us, the only way we can be clean is through Christ. One word from Christ (“be clean”) will cleanse us completely and make us whole. Why? Because it is backed by His sacrifice. He bore our guilt. We are cleansed and now we are the living sacrifice (Romans 12:1) that is set free to live in the glory of the Sermon on the Mount... conformity to the image of Jesus Christ!

Love the Gospel, Live the Gospel, Advance the Gospel,

Jerry

P.S. For an audio sermon on this same subject go to http://www.monergism.com/directory/link_category/MP3-Audio--Multimedia/Old-Testament-Sermons-By-Book/Leviticus/