The Original Star Song

Posted on September 17, 2009 by Robert Franklin

ht_colliding_galaxies_090421_ssvWhere were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?…When the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy! (Job 38.2a, 7, NASB95)

Before the advent of artificial lighting, the stars were a wondrous mystery.  Moonless nights served as invitations to consider the immensity of the treasure sprinkled across the heavenly expanse like diamonds scattered on black sand beaches.  Our ancient ancestors believed in gods other than themselves so the stars stood witness to a perceived reality which inflamed their imaginations. Story after story arose from the hearts of artists as they sought to explain why such smallness could access such grandeur. hubble 1We were not left to stand, chins upturned, mouth’s agape and eyes unwilling to blink for fear of missing a moment of the extravaganza.  God stepped down and put his arm around the shoulder of the seeker and pointed out the highlights of his creative eminence.  ht_Cocoon_Nebula_090305_sshLift up your eyes on high and see who has created these stars, the One who leads forth their host by number, he calls them all by name; because of the greatness of his might and the strength of his power, not one of them is missing. (Isaiah 40.26, NASB95) ht_hubble5_080423_sshAs dawn’s light encroached and the faint echoes of the star-song could barely be heard, God’s parting words were surely, “You’ve not seen anything yet.  I will yet blow the minds of your great grandchildren three thousand years from now.”

And he has indeed…keep shouting joyful praise! 

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Earth Splitting Joy

Posted on September 16, 2009 by Robert Franklin

And all the people went up after him, playing on pipes, and rejoicing with great joy, so that the earth was split by their noise. (1 Kings 1:40, RSV)

earth splitThe “splitting of the earth” is an obvious hyperbole, so much so that most modern translations choose to render the Hebrew word,  baqa, as “quake” or “shook.” The original is the appropriate word for the story and the translator’s choice of an alternative is not helpful in this instance.

The reading of this verse drops us into the middle of political intrigue here.   God, through David, chose Solomon, firstborn son of an adulteress, to be King of Israel.  David’s other son, Adonijah, believed himself to be the rightful heir to the throne of Israel.  Adonijah had gathered military and religious leaders to himself and was in the process of hosting his own “victory party” when the rumble of joy came rolling through.  True to the nature of political sycophants, as soon as Adonijah’s guests heard the explanation for the jubilation of the city, they disappeared as quickly as possible.  No one likes to be caught with the loser, especially if the alliance may threaten life or personal fortune.

Adonijah means, ‘the I AM is Lord.’  The Lord did not tell Adonijah to take possession of Israel.  The Lord did not instruct Adonijah’s allies to attempt to install Adonijah as king.  Adonijah forgot the meaning of his own name and so his cup of joy turned sour while still in his hand.

And the earth split.

Those who waited for the blessing and direction of God were able, at the right time, to express joy with such fury that the earth responded to the tumult.  On the other side of the rift, those who presumed to be their own gods did their best to silently “fade into the woodwork.”

The question for us is this:  Which side of joy are we on?

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Shouts of Joy, Wails of Remembrance

Posted on September 15, 2009 by Robert Franklin

celebrationVery few Americans are unfamiliar with this renowned LIFE photo. Those who were not alive think back to the end of WWII with bemused nostalgia, thinking that it was just one big party, coast to coast. I know this was my thought for many years, until I had the privilege of meeting people who had served in the European theater. Over 400,000 servicemen and women died during WWII and some 600,000 came home injured. That’s over 1 million individuals whose families were irrevocably changed as a direct result of the ravages of war. The din of celebration was intermingled with the cries of those who mourned great loss. As in the “first” world war, the luster of victory was tarnished by the immensity of the devastation. So it was in Israel.

But many of the priests and Levites and heads of fathers’ houses, old men who had seen the first house, wept with a loud voice when they saw the foundation of this house being laid, though many shouted aloud for joy, so that the people could not distinguish the sound of the joyful shout from the sound of the people’s weeping, for the people shouted with a great shout, and the sound was heard far away. (Ezra 3:12-13, ESV)

Due to their disobedience, God had allowed Israel to lose at war and to be deported to another country. Many had survived and returned to their homeland and began to rebuild. The foundation of a new temple was placed and as the structure began taking shape the children of the survivors shouted for joy over the accomplishment. Those who remembered the immense loss of life, of property, of relationship to their God wept equally loudly so that it was impossible to distinguish the joy from the sorrow.

A window into our world: joy and sorrow intermingled, oft indiscernible. Those who are in the lightness of the moment think tears are unreasonable. Those who carry the weight of remembrance resent the laughs of triumph. This is reality.

How can we survive such a living contradiction without the God whose loving-kindness endures forever?: the God who both carries the teardrops of the bereaved and causes the sun to shine on the revelers.

For the reality of this God I am joyful even in the midst of sorrow, for he is big enough for both.

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Thank You Kanye West!

Posted on September 14, 2009 by Robert Franklin

kanye_09142009a

I just knew God’s word could be shown true at a moment’s notice! I was trying to find of a good way to illustrate the joy of a wise word. In the time required for my broadband internet connection to pull up today’s newspaper, I had my resource. Well thank you Kanye West, Taylor Swift and Beyonce!

“Folly is a joy to one who has no sense, but a person of understanding walks straight ahead…To make an apt answer is a joy to anyone, and a word in season, how good it is!” (Proverbs 15:21, 23 NRSV)

For anyone familiar with the events at last night’s Video Music Awards very little needs to be explained. The characters fill their roles nicely, do they not?

Where do you find joy, in the folly of senseless behavior or in the right answer at the right time? I know I could be accused of both and be found rightly guilty. My deepest desire, however, is that my joy be found in the goodness of the word given in due season and never in the folly of stupid behavior, of unguarded outbursts.

Lord, let it be!

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Joy In the Fortress

Posted on September 11, 2009 by Robert Franklin

230936-14-hide-and-seek-and-love

When I was a boy we used to play outside in our yard for hours.  Our favorite game was “hide and seek.”  Although the lot was a small city plot we had a couple dozen very large trees and lots of places to hide.  My favorite spot was nestled in the crook of a large spruce tree.  I could just barely see out from my perch to spy on the “seeker”  and the hunter could not easily see me since I was completely obfuscated from view on three sides.  It was a safe spot and I felt at ease there.  Dozens upon dozens of games came and went and my spot remained secret.
 

Today is the anniversary of America’s introduction to vulnerability.  We thought the oceans would protect us from harm but a few demons were able to wreck our delusion of security using four stolen airliners.  I wept alongside hundreds of millions of others as we mourned the loss of nearly three thousand souls.  It was doubly grievious for me since I know that many of those souls entered eternity without the Savior.
 

Today, my children in Uganda watch as military police rumble through Kampala.  They see the smoke rising from burning tires and hear the exchange of gunfire (Riots Rock Uganda for Second Day, 3 Killed).  They may even see the remains of someone who no longer lives left in the street until someone is brave enough to come and collect the body.  I cannot hide them, I cannot help them. 
I am deeply troubled, yet joyful.

“But let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them sing joyful praises forever. Spread your protection over them, that all who love your name may be filled with joy.” (Psalm 5:11, NLT)

My refuge as a boy was not in a tree, but in the fortress of a Mighty God.  Although I grew up in a neighborhood that was for many years violent, full of drugs, and filthy I had the time of my life.

My comfort as a man is not in military reprisals and heightened security measures, but being under the protection of the One to whom praises must be sung.  While I have not forgot, as many have, the violence of this day in 2001, I have been able to personally witness hundreds enter eternity with the confidence of grace in Christ Jesus.

My power as a protective father does not give me the ability to wisk my kids away from the violence of the evil men found in the United States or Africa, but my strength is found in the one to whom all my treasure, all my life, all my everything is due.  Since I have learned to love him, he invites me to come on my knees, crawl into his lap, hug his neck and be filled with joy.

I think I shall.

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Jilted Joy

Posted on September 9, 2009 by Robert Franklin

jilted joy

Why did you flee secretly and deceive me, and did not tell me so that I might have sent you away with joy and with songs, with timbrel and with lyre; and did not allow me to kiss my sons and my daughters? Now you have done foolishly. (Genesis 31.27 NASB95)
 

Oh that Laban’s claim could be true! Jacob well knew the heart of his father in law for it was a reflection of his own deceitful soul. Laban should have sent Jacob away with joy, but he could not; he would not. Laban’s ability to experience joy and indeed to share joy was eliminated by his own self-centered, self-justifying, set-interested mindset. Laban’s pursuit of Jacob was not out of grief, but greed. If it had not been for God’s intervention, Laban would have used force to restore to himself treasure he wrongly believed to be his. Laban was Jealous of God’s blessing on Jacob. Laban was envious of Jacob’s family, his abundance, his sons and servants. Even though Jacob labored and earned all that he possessed, Laban still claimed ownership of all God had graciously provided to Jacob (See Genesis 31.43). Laban was a slave to his appetites and incapable of either causing or experiencing true joy.

Inasmuch as I am like Laban, I am also incapable of expressing joy, of sharing joy, of being connected to joy in any manner.

So, for the sake of joy, I must choose to lay down selfish ambition, petty jealousies, and perceived ownership over what does not belong to me and celebrate the good that I see.

I believe joy is worth it.

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