Hope for Humpty Dumpty

A Series on Advent

Leviticus 25:8-12; Isaiah 61:1-3; Luke 4:14-19

(Use the link below to read the verses.)

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Leviticus%2025%3A8-12%2CIsaiah%2061%3A1-3%2CLuke%204%3A14-21&version=NIV;NLT

 

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
All the king's horses and all the king's men
Couldn't put Humpty together again.

This famous English poem is about a character who apparently is quite clumsy. As a result, he is broken beyond repair. It’s hard to relate to Humpty Dumpty on a personal level. But, as a metaphor to real life, because of our sinful nature, we are all broken beyond repair.

 

The nation of Israel was certainly not exempt from this. Even though they were God’s chosen people and He made a covenant with them to lead them to the Promised Land, they failed time and time again. They were truly a broken people. They were a Humpty Dumpty nation that only God could put back together again.

 

Therefore, in Leviticus, God gave them a routine that would bring them hope. The Year of Jubilee, and the preceding Sabbath Years, were to be a vision of hope that would regularly remind His people that He would always be with them. It was to be a cycle of life that would help the people to realign themselves with the kingdom of God.

 

Unfortunately, the people of Israel did not take kindly to realigning their lives. As a result, they were sent into exile. As indentured servants and slaves in Babylonia,

Isaiah reminded them about the Year of Jubilee. It was a promise to return to their homeland; a promise of hope; of the Messiah that was to come.

 

Into this historical setting, Jesus went to the town where he had grown up – Nazareth. And on the Sabbath, he read from Isaiah in the synagogue.

 

¹⁸ “The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
    because he has anointed me
    to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
    and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
¹⁹     to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”                    NIV

 

By quoting Isaiah, Jesus was reminding them of the Year of Jubilee. Following his reading he sat down, and with all eyes on him, pronounced that he was the fulfillment of this promise; that he was the Messiah; that he would heal the brokenhearted; that he would put Humpty Dumpty back together again.

 

 

COMMENT:

Hope is the theme of the first week of Advent; four weeks of preparation; four weeks for us to be reminded of the historical setting of the birth of Christ; of the coming of the Messiah; of God with us; of hope for a broken people.

 

The Year of Jubilee, found in Leviticus 25, came once every 50 years. At that time, slaves were freed, debts were canceled and ancestral property was returned to the original family. By referring to these verses, Isaiah predicted primarily the liberation of Israel from the Babylonian exile; but Jesus proclaimed liberation from sin and all its consequences.

  

There is hope for all of us who are broken. Click on the link below to listen to the song by Matthew West called Broken Things.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdUu6ZsdVfM

 

 

 

Dreams that Disappear

“Where are you God?” - A Series from the Psalms

Psalm 90

(Use the link below to read the verses.)

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2090&version=NIV;NLT

 

⁵ You sweep people away like dreams that disappear…
¹⁰ Seventy years are given to us!
    Some even live to eighty.
But even the best years are filled with pain and trouble;
    soon they disappear, and we fly away.           NLT

 

Losing someone is painful and irreversible. Over the past three years I’ve lost two friends who played a significant role in my life. Lynn was my best friend growing up. He was my steady rock who I depended on for security, support and guidance. He died at the age of 66.

 

Bob was the primary person that led to my family moving to Columbus, Ohio. We didn’t know anybody, but Bob and his wife Linda helped us to adjust to this major life change by being our best friends. He died at the age of 62.

 

In this Psalm, Moses paints a gloomy picture of the crucible of life. Because it is filled with pain and trouble, and then we die, life can expose you, your short comings, your sins and your warts; life can be out of control, and your dreams can quickly disappear.

 

In the middle of his melancholic reflection, Moses called out to God asking for wisdom by understanding the brevity of life; to satisfy him with God’s unfailing love; to see God’s work in his life; and to gain God’s approval.

 

Horatio Spafford was also a man familiar with dreams that disappear. In 1871, following the great Chicago Fire that destroyed his real estate investments, his four year old son died of scarlet fever. Then, on November 22, 1873, his four young daughters died as they were crossing the Atlantic and their ship was struck by an iron sailing vessel.

 

He knew what it was like to experience a sudden, tragic loss. He knew what it was like to experience the pain and struggle of daily living. He knew what it was like to experience life out of control. He knew what it was like to feel exposed and helpless.

 

But he found solace in the unfailing love of God, and wrote the lyrics to It Is Well With My Soul.

 

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well with my soul.

 

When your dreams disappear; whatever your lot is; whatever your struggles are; the unfailing love of God is always waiting for you to embrace it, so that you too might be able to say, “It is well with my soul”.

 

 

 

 

 

When God is Silent

“Where are you God?” - A Series from the Psalms

Psalm 83

(Use the link below to read the verses.)

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2083&version=NIV;TPT

 

Life is a battle!

 

 

 

Sometimes it’s a battle at work; your boss is a bully or your coworkers are cut throat. Sometimes it’s a battle at home; your spouse is selfish or you have a child that’s strong willed. Sometimes it’s a battle within yourself; you struggle with an addiction or with a mental illness. Yes… life is a battle.

 

For the Israelites, it was literally a battle for life or death.

⁴ Our enemies keep saying, “Now is the time to wipe Israel off the map. We’ll destroy even the memory of her existence!”

⁵ They’ve made their pact, consulting and conspiring, aligning together in their covenant against God. ^6–8 All the sons of Ishmael, the desert sheiks and the nomadic tribes, Amalekites, Canaanites, Moabites, and all the nations that surround us, Philistines, Phoenicians, Gadarenes, and Samaritans; allied together they’re ready to attack!                    TNT

 

You most likely aren’t facing this kind of battle, but that doesn’t change the fact that life is a battle. And, in the midst of your battle, you might feel the same way as the Psalmist. That God has left you; He has deserted you; He doesn’t answer your prayers; you might even feel hopeless, desperate, at the end of your rope.

 

¹ God, you have to do something! Don’t be silent and just sit idly by.         TPT

Or here’s the NIV translation:

¹ O God, do not remain silent; do not turn a deaf ear, do not stand aloof, O God. 

 

There’s a song by Lauren Daigle called Rescue that could easily have spoken to the Psalmist in his battle. And most certainly can speak to you in yours.

 

 

You are not hidden
There's never been a moment
You were forgotten
You are not hopeless
Though you have been broken
Your innocence stolen

I will send out an army to find you
In the middle of the darkest night
It's true, I will rescue you

 

Where is God when He is silent? Right there with you! His promise to be with you always; even when you can’t tell.

 

(If you click on the link below, you can listen to the complete song.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3U4Q2R7ZZAE

 

 

Rejected and Forgotten

“Where are you God?” - A Series from the Psalms

Psalm 74

(Use the link below to read the verses.)

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2074&version=NIV;TPT

 

In the summer of 1978, my wife and I were expecting our first child. Many preparations were made in anticipation of the arrival including painting and wall papering the nursery; buying a rocking chair for those middle of the night feedings; and refinishing the high chair that I used as a baby.

 

The preparations were wonderful, but then, something awful happened. While my wife was at her weekly pre-natal checkup, they couldn’t find the baby’s heartbeat. At the hospital they eventually determined that the baby was still born.

 

When I went home that night, everything seemed wrong. The high chair, the nursery and the rocking chair were only painful reminders of the lost baby that we would never hold or feed or change her diapers.

 

We’ve all experienced loss. Something that was unexpectedly ripped away from you. Something that was foundational to your life. It might have been your career calling; a broken relationship; or the death of a loved one. When it happened, you knew that your life would never be the same.

 

For Asaph, who wrote Psalm 74, it was the destruction of the Temple. Here’s how he described it.

 

⁵ Now everything is in shambles! They’ve totally destroyed it. Like a forest chopped down to the ground, there’s nothing’s left. ⁶ All of the beauty of the craftsmanship of the inner place has been ruined, smashed, broken, and shattered. ⁷ They’ve burned it all to the ground. They’ve violated your sanctuary, the very dwelling place of your glory and your name. ⁸ They boasted, “Let’s completely crush them! Let’s wipe out every trace of this God. Let’s burn up every sacred place where they worship this God.”                 TPT

 

Where is God when it hurts? When you feel rejected and forgotten? He’s right there. And truthfully, He never left you.

 

¹² You have always been, and always will be, my King.
You are the mighty conqueror, working wonders all over the world.          TPT

 

 

 

 

Baptism by Fire

“Where are you God?” - A Series from the Psalms

Psalm 60

(Use the link below to read the verses.)

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2060&version=NIV;TLB

 

I had never flown before. As my plane was circling the Hancock airport to approach the landing strip, darkness covered everything like a blanket.

 

 

Having never visited Michigan Tech, I had no reference point other than all the lights below from the Houghton/Hancock area. It looked like a big city; daunting and dangerous.

 

It was a huge, scary unknown world waiting for me.

 

My parents had tried to prepare me for this. All parents do. They try to prepare their children to become responsible adults who are able to live on their own; who can face the battles of the world; who can struggle and survive. I was now truly on my own; a baptism by fire. But was I ready?

 

Psalm 60 was written by David when he was at war with Syria in the north while Edom invaded Judah from the south. All seemed lost and he wondered out loud if God had rejected him; if God would march with his armies again. David knew what it felt like to be thrown into a baptism by fire.

 

But in the midst of his lament, David remembered God’s banner. Like a flag that soldiers rally around in the heat of battle, David rallied to God’s promises; to His Covenant.

 

^4-5 But you have given us a banner to rally to; all who love truth will rally to it; then you can deliver your beloved people. Use your strong right arm to rescue us. ^6-7 God has promised to help us. He has vowed it by his holiness! No wonder I exult! “Shechem, Succoth, Gilead, Manasseh—still are mine!” he says. “Judah shall continue to produce kings, and Ephraim great warriors. ⁸ Moab shall become my lowly servant, and Edom my slave. And I will shout in triumph over the Philistines.”                   TLB

 

When you are feeling “rejected by God; shaken and torn open; facing desperate times”; do what David did and reflect on God’s Covenant with you.

 

 

And like David, you can rally around God’s banner; the banner of Jesus Christ; the banner who brings you hope; the banner who will lead you through your own baptism by fire.