Bible

On Spiritual Decline, Part 2: Situation

July 31, 2025 by Dan Olinger Leave a Comment

Malachi begins his message to Israel by assuring them that God loves them:

¹The burden of the word of the LORD to Israel by Malachi. ² I have loved you, saith the LORD.

Why does he do that?

It helps if we understand the historical situation.

As noted in the previous post, when Judah returned from the Babylonian Exile, two prophets, Haggai and Zechariah, brought messages from God to them. The first message was to rebuild the Temple despite opposition from the local non-Jews. But both prophets included a look into the future, promising that God would bless his people, and that all nations of the earth would bring their treasures to Jerusalem and worship there (Hag 2.7; Zec 14.16-21).

Now, we know that this promise is long-term—so long-term, in fact, that it still hasn’t happened. Premillennialists (of which I am one) believe that this will happen in the future Millennial Kingdom (Re 20.1-6), when Christ reigns on earth for a thousand years (hence the name).

But these returnees had no idea that it would be that long. We know that over the next four centuries (what we call the Intertestamental Period) Messianic expectations would be at a fever pitch. Some speculate that the reason Judas betrayed Jesus was that he was not overthrowing the Roman overlords and establishing his kingdom. And after Jesus’ resurrection, even the remaining disciples apparently expected that Now Is The Time for the kingdom to come on earth (Ac 1.6). And even then Jesus said that it was not yet time (Ac 1.7-8).

Now, from our lofty perch here millennia later, we may be tempted to look down on these misguided folks as overly eager and slow to comprehend. But I suspect that all of us would have had similar expectations at the time. The prophets of the return said that this new Temple would be something really great, specifically because God was going to make Jerusalem a global focus (Hag 2.3-9). I’m not going to criticize the returnees for believing him.

Well, as we all know, that didn’t happen. That doesn’t mean God was mistaken or was deceiving them; lots of biblical prophecy has very long-term fulfilment. Given their disappointment, what would be a natural response?

“Welp, I guess it’s not gonna happen.”

And what’s a predictable next response? Disappointment with God, a decline of spiritual focus, frustration with the way things are currently going. Oh, maybe make your sacrifices, but don’t knock yourself out—don’t sacrifice your best animals—and don’t take it all that seriously. Already tried that, and it didn’t work.

And that’s exactly what we’ll see Malachi dealing with in his brief prophecy.

Now, before we get to that, it’s worth thinking for a minute about how they should have responded.

What do you do when God makes a promise but takes his time fulfilling it?

A couple of things.

First, you remind yourself that God is not a stranger. You know him. You have asked him for things, and he has answered. Even when you have not asked, he has been abundantly gracious to you, giving you everything you really need. Do you trust your friends? Of course. Why? Because they have proved themselves trustworthy. It’s not naive to trust your long-time friends.

Second, you look to the Scripture to see further evidence of his trustworthiness. He has made promise after promise that has been fulfilled, from the seed of the woman (Ge 3.15) to the Abrahamic Covenant (Ge 15.1-21) and well beyond. He has predicted scores of things about the first advent of Messiah; why should he be unreliable about the second?

As we’ve noted, Jesus himself taught just before his Ascension that it was not yet time for the Kingdom. But earlier he had said, “Occupy till I come” (Lk 19.13; cf Lk 19.11-27).

They should have believed him, and they should have continued to work for the future kingdom.

As should we.

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On Spiritual Decline, Part 1: Introduction

July 28, 2025 by Dan Olinger 2 Comments

Every generation has believed that the future was in peril. “Kids these days …” has been a constant cry.

I don’t buy that, for a couple of reasons:

The lesson of history: the kids are scary because they’re kids. But they don’t stay kids; they grow up, and they deal with the world that, for better or worse, was handed to them. Thus has it always been. I’ve been working with “the next generation” my whole adult life, and while there is always a spectrum of talent, wisdom, and morality, there is always a high end of that spectrum, and they’re all right.

The lesson of theology: God is working his plan throughout the passage of time, and he will bring it to a successful conclusion. He is great, and he is good.

So on the big picture, I’m at peace and wildly optimistic.

But along the way, there’s brokenness. Times are tough—cyclically—and we are called to steward the times in which we live, to address the problems we face, and to leave the world a better place than when we found it.

Some of my Christian fellow travelers might take issue with that. The Bible does speak of a time, at the end of time, when things pretty much fall apart, apocalyptically (literally). They would say the world is fated to decline generally rather than to improve. But I think it’s clear from history—both biblical and extrabiblical—that things get better, and then they get worse, and then they get better again, and on it goes. I believe it will all fall apart in the end, but in the meantime, I think it’s foolish to assume decline as a general characteristic.

With all that duly noted, I think we can agree that times are tough for a lot of people today. There’s an almost palpable sense of frustration in the current world. I sense it more deeply in my own country, due, I suppose, to the political polarization and the resultant chaos in our public spaces. No, that’s not unprecedented, but it does exist currently, and I would suggest that Christians have a duty to contribute, as best we can, to ameliorating its worst effects.

I wonder whether we as the Church are in a position to do that.

There’s been significant failure among Christian leaders in recent days—again, not unprecedented—and I would suggest that that’s a symptom of weakness in the broader church. Are the believers sitting in the pews generally being prepared to live out their faith, to proclaim it, to answer objections to it, to improve the conditions in which they live through spiritual power?

Or is the church largely feckless because it is largely powerless?

I wonder.

There have been other such times in the history of God’s people—times that come with irritating regularity. Pick a biblical book—Genesis, Numbers, Judges, Kings, pretty much any of them—and you find God’s people cycling through malaise and revival, ad nauseum.

There’s a part of biblical history—just a thin slice of it—that I think can serve as instructive for us. This period doesn’t get mentioned in Sunday School, I suppose because it doesn’t feature any significant names. It occurs after the return from Babylon. Several biblical books—Ezra, Nehemiah, Haggai, Zechariah—discuss the mechanics of the return itself and the rebuilding of the Temple; but what then?

There’s just one prophet who addresses Israel as it settles into life after the Exile, in what we call The Persian Period. He calls Israel to account for its sin, and he prescribes a solution.

But apparently nobody listens, and God goes silent for 400 years.

What if they had listened?

What if we were to listen today?

The prophet is called “My Messenger” (“Malachi,” in Hebrew). Is that his name, or a title?

Nobody knows.

He may be just an unnamed preacher speaking for God as He goes out the back door for a few centuries.

Perhaps we should give him some attention.

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On Justice, Part 4: Accomplished

July 10, 2025 by Dan Olinger Leave a Comment

Part 1: We All Want It | Part 2: The Perp | Part 3: Progress

The second paragraph of Revelation 20 turns its attention to what happens during the thousand years when Satan is confined in the abyss. But in the third paragraph (Re 20.7-10) the focus returns to “that old serpent, the devil, and Satan”—specifically, his behavior once he is released. And—spoiler alert—we find that the confinement has not reformed him; he continues in his evil ways.

He pursues his work as a deceiver (Re 20.8). During Jesus’ earthly ministry, the Lord taught that “the devil … is a liar, and the father of it” (Jn 8.44). Here Satan continues to be what he is, revealing his nature as an enemy of the truth. He “deceive[s] the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth” (Re 20.8). He lies on a massive scale, deceiving whole people groups, millions strong, across and around the globe. There’s simply no end, temporally or spatially, to his evil.

And these nations, millions strong and utterly deceived, decide that their enemy is not the one lying to them, but the people of God. They gather their forces to surround Jerusalem, “the camp of the saints … , and the beloved city” (Re 20.9).

What chance does a single city have against the combined armies of the world? Why doesn’t he pick on somebody his own size?

Well, because he’s a bully, and attacking the weak is what bullies do.

But we know that bullies are not in fact strong; they attack the weak because they themselves are weak, and they are cowards.

So is the snake.

And when bullies strut their stuff, typically someone stronger, who has a sense of justice, comes along and trounces them. And pretty much every member of the human race loves to see that happen.

Thus we can anticipate the next verse without even reading it.

There is a God in heaven, who is just and right, and whose knowledge and power are infinite. He’s going to know about the 10-year-old thug who’s stealing the second-grader’s lunch money. And he’s going to know about the father of lies who’s deceiving the whole world into turning against his largely helpless people.

The time for justice has come.

As the armies mass around Jerusalem in John’s vision, “fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them” (Re 20.9).

Well. That changes things.

But justice requires more. The father of lies himself needs to face payback for the evil and destruction he has wrought.

So we reach verse 10:

And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

Torment. Day and night. Forever.

Intensive, and extensive, and infinitely so.

A fitting punishment for such a being.

We don’t really know how Satan got this way. I don’t believe Isaiah 14.12-15 is telling us anything about that; I think it’s simply a description of the king of Babylon, predicted by Isaiah more than a century before. I do think, though, that Ezekiel 28.11-19 is a double reference to the king of Tyre and to Satan; and there we learn merely that “iniquity was found in” him (Ezk 28.15).

How? Well, because of pride, apparently (Ezk 28.17). But where did the pride come from?

It’s a puzzle, indeed.

But as uncertain as Satan’s origin is, there is no uncertainly about his future. He will face justice, and God’s people will be delivered.

Justice.

Even so.

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On Turning a Page, Part 6: How?

June 23, 2025 by Dan Olinger Leave a Comment

Part 1: Obedience | Part 2: Plan | Part 3: Presence | Part 4: Trust | Part 5: Obey

Okay, then. When facing a new path, we recognize the goodness of God’s will, we trust his will and direction for us, and we obey.

But how? We already know that there’s something within us that discourages us from obeying—even compels us to disobey. And even when that spirit isn’t at the controls, we find ourselves disobeying despite our best intentions.

So does God just sing us a chorus of “Trust and Obey” and wave happily from the dock as we sail off into waters we don’t have the ability to navigate?

Of course not.

God knows Joshua and the Israelites even better than they know themselves. He doesn’t stop talking to Joshua before he gives him what he needs. He continues his instruction to this new leader to its important conclusion: the enablement.

This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success (Jos 1.8).

In order to obey, God says, you’re going to need to focus. Note that he doesn’t say that the word mustn’t depart from your “mind” or your “ears”; he saying more than just “think about it, a lot.” What’s happening if Joshua doesn’t let God’s word depart from his “mouth”? Well, he talking about it—perhaps to himself, but almost certainly to the nation as well; he’s continually teaching them what God has instructed.

It’s a truism among teachers that you don’t really understand anything until you’ve taught it—and I would add, until you’ve taught it multiple times. In my experience, the first time I taught something was pretty much always disappointing. And I suspect my students knew that. (The memory of that initial lesson on verbal aspect in Greek gives me the shudders.) But if you teach it repeatedly, your understanding and overall comprehension improve with each iteration—and, I’ve noticed, your belief in the truth of what you’re teaching firms up as well.

There’s more. God tells Joshua to “meditate” on these things. This word comes from a root referring to animal sounds of various kinds: the cooing of a dove, perhaps (Is 38.14), or the growling of a lion (Is 31.4). Applied to humans, it speaks of musing, meditating, perhaps talking to yourself. Roll it over in your head, God says. Consider it from every angle. Make it part of who you are and how you think. Today we would say, “Memorize it, and review it regularly.”

Now, when God refers to “this book of the Law,” to what specifically is he referring? The only Scripture Joshua has, obviously, is the first five books, the Law of Moses. We have a significant advantage over him and over the people he led into Canaan: we have the Law, and the Prophets, and the Writings—and we have the New Testament, which brings it all together and wraps it up with a pretty red bow—not unlike Rahab’s scarlet cord (Jos 2.18).

There is in logic a type of argument known as a fortiori: arguing that if the lesser is convincing, then the greater is all the more so. Let me suggest one here: in Warren Wiersbe’s words, “If Joshua was able to conquer Canaan having only the first five books of the Bible, how much more ought we to overcome now that we have a complete Bible!”

But owning a Bible and keeping it closed—or consulting it shallowly—will not empower this kind of obedience. The Bible is an exercise machine, and such machines require weights if they’re going to build muscle.

May all of us give ourselves to the Word, reading it, meditating on it, consulting reliable resources about it, memorizing it, turning it over in our heads until it becomes the way we think.

That’s a lifelong effort.

And it’s worth it.

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On Turning a Page, Part 5: Obey

June 12, 2025 by Dan Olinger Leave a Comment

Part 1: Obedience | Part 2: Plan | Part 3: Presence | Part 4: Trust

God continues to speak to Joshua, instructing him on how to handle what’s coming.

… being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go (Jos 1.7b).

In the New American Commentary, David M. Howard notes,

“It is striking that God’s instructions here to Joshua are not about military matters, given that Joshua and the Israelites faced many battles ahead. However, the keys to his success were spiritual, directly related to the degree of his obedience to God. The keys to Joshua’s success were the same as those for a king: being rooted in God’s word rather than depending upon military might.”

Now, Israel’s military experience was relatively sparse; after the current Israelites’ parents had fought the Amalekites shortly after the Exodus (Ex 17.8ff), Israel had little to no combat experience, so far as we know, until the new generation began its journey north on the east side of the Jordan, eventually defeating the Amorites and Bashon (Nu 21) and then, apparently, the Midianites (Nu 25.16-18). So Howard’s observation is noteworthy; even the aging Joshua’s experience in strategic warfare was apparently limited.

But it was not God’s priority. The Lord could advise him militarily along the way, and he would do so routinely. The first priority, however, was obedience, and that priority continued throughout the military campaign; obedience is a major theme throughout the book. As Joshua told the eastern tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half of Manasseh after the campaign, they had fully obeyed all that Moses laid down initially and all that Joshua later commanded, in keeping their promise to participate fully in the western campaign (Jos 22.1-3). And the author of Joshua observes at the end that Israel served God all the days of Joshua’s life (Jos 24.31).

Now, we know that some Israelites worshiped wrongly at times, most obviously at the golden calf incident (Ex 32) and concerning Baal-Peor (Nu 25). God had predicted that, and a lot more, to Moses (Dt 31.16ff). But God’s assessment of Joshua’s ministry seems to be that in the main, Israel followed Yahweh and not the Canaanite gods.

Obedience matters.

When just one man in Israel disobeyed, the conquest went badly awry. Because of Achan’s sin, Israel was defeated at Ai, and 36 innocent soldiers died, their families thereby deprived of their husbands and fathers (Jos 7.5).

God’s plan, then, was for Israel to do the hard work of taking the land. He would intervene spectacularly on their behalf by opening the Jordan for crossing, as we’ve noted earlier, by collapsing the walls of Jericho (Jos 6), and by lengthening the daylight to give time for human effort to win the battle (Jos 10), but He begins with their obedience.

What about us? We don’t have a land to conquer, but we do have other commands to obey. And we also have advantages that Israel didn’t have:

Christ has obeyed the Law perfectly for us; we are already credited with obedience in Him (2Co 5.21).
The Spirit has written God’s Law on our hearts; with His help, we are inclined to obey (He 10.15-17). “Like Joshua, Christians do not succeed spiritually because they obey God’s Law. Instead, God through Christ enables them to have victory over sin” (Richard S. Hess, Tyndale OT Commentary).

With these extraordinary privileges and powers, let us demonstrate our trust in God’s plan for us by obeying him every day, morning and evening, in good times and bad.

We can do that, with God’s enablement.

Next time, some thoughts on that enablement.

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On Turning a Page, Part 4: Trust

June 9, 2025 by Dan Olinger 1 Comment

Part 1: Obedience | Part 2: Plan | Part 3: Presence

God makes, and keeps, promises for his people. How do we respond to that? In his opening words to Joshua, God has some imperatives—commands—to follow up his indicatives—his statements of truth, his promises.

⁶Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them. ⁷Only be strong and very courageous … 

Is this just “suck it up, buttercup”? “Keep calm, and carry on”? “Keep a stiff upper lip”?

No, it’s not. This is verse 6—which means it’s been preceded by the 5 other verses we’ve just surveyed. How can Joshua “be strong and courageous”? Courage results from the truth of God’s promises, and, importantly, our mindful acceptance of them as true. God told Joshua he would be with him and bring victory in his battles; and if Joshua believes him, putting on armor and leading his troops into battle is a natural consequence. He can approach the otherwise daunting task not with fear or anxiety—“I sure hope this works!”—but with confident anticipation—“This is gonna be great!”

And so can we. Most of us are not strapping on battle armor—though my military chaplain friends could tell you stories—but we too can anticipate victory because we believe God’s promises to us. As commentator James E. Smith notes, “Fear and anxiety are tantamount to unbelief.” 

Note the precision of God’s words here. Joshua’s army will not “take,” “seize,” or “occupy” the Land; they will “inherit” it. The Land is their right because God, who owns all the earth (Ps 24.1), has designated it to them in promises to Abraham (Gn 13.14-17), Isaac (Gn 26.3-5), and Jacob (Gn 35.12). They already own it, and its current residents are occupiers, not owners. They are squatting on Israel’s land, in direct opposition to the Real Owner’s wishes and express orders.

Sometimes, during a pep talk before a basketball game, the home team’s coach will shout, “These people are not going to come into our house and defeat us!” It’s no fun to lose—but it’s especially irking when you lose at home. We have status on our home court that we do not have on somebody else’s.

Joshua has an obligation to restore visibly God’s sovereignty on Israel’s Promised Land. Similarly, we have an inheritance that is ours by right and which we shall certainly receive:

“³Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, ⁵who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (1P 1.3-5). 

Recall that “hope” in the Bible is not wishful thinking but confident anticipation of a certain future outcome. Christ’s resurrection has guaranteed for us a rightful inheritance that will not die, that will not be damaged, that will not expire. And God is reserving it securely for us in an impenetrable vault called heaven and guarding it by his own inexhaustible power.

Uncertainty about this is simply impossible.

What has He promised us? 

He has begun a good work in us, which He will certainly finish (Php 1.6).

He has promised us that His body will be brought to maturity in Christ (Ep 4.11-16). He will shepherd us corporately along the way.

He has promised us rest (Heb 4.1-3): we will certainly arrive, glorified, in His presence.

Believe it.

Next time: next step.

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On Turning a Page, Part 3: God Remains with His People

June 5, 2025 by Dan Olinger Leave a Comment

Part 1: Obedience | Part 2: Plan

God has assured Joshua that he has promised Israel the Land and that his plans will be accomplished. But there is in all of us this thread of fear, of doubt. “There’s a plan, but …”

Mike Tyson, former world heavyweight boxing champion, famously said, “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.”

Yes, God has a plan, and he wants the best for us. But is he now just standing on the dock, smiling at and waving to Joshua as Israel sails off into unknown seas?

I speak as a fool.

The Lord has more to say before he sends Joshua and his men into combat:

No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you (Jos 1.5).

God is not Pollyanna; there will be hard times. There will be those who “stand before” the people of Israel. And Joshua knows as well as anyone what they will be like; he surveyed the Land with eleven other men and saw, as they did, that

the people be strong that dwell in the land, and the cities are walled, and very great: and moreover we saw the children of Anak there. ²⁹The Amalekites dwell in the land of the south: and the Hittites, and the Jebusites, and the Amorites, dwell in the mountains: and the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and by the coast of Jordan (Nu 13.28-29).

These words come, of course, from the 10-spy majority, who counseled not even trying. But Joshua (and Caleb) had disagreed, because they believed God’s promises. And now God gives this believer added incentives to obey.

First, they’re going to win.

Nobody will be able to defeat them militarily.

And second—and this is key—God will be with them. He’ll be right there.

Now, I find that interesting. God obviously doesn’t need to “be right there” in order to see and know what’s going on. He doesn’t need to “be right there” to act on Israel’s behalf. He can do all his holy will from his holy hill, from the high and holy place (Is 57.15) where he dwells. Distance is no obstacle to him.

But the transcendent God is also immanent—“with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit” (Is 57.15 again)—because he can be, and because he wants to be. He loves us, and he’s not inclined to engage in bicoastal relationships. If I may say this reverently, he wants to be close; he wants to snuggle.

I think there’s another reason that God makes this promise to his people at this transition point: he knows that they are bolstered, strengthened, by the assurance that he is with them.

Have you ever seen a little child’s face light up when he sees his parents in the audience at the elementary school program? He smiles, and he may even wave. All the decorum flees; he’s just delighted that Mom and Dad are there.

We don’t stay children, but we all have that spirit within us. We feel better when our loved ones make their presence known. And we are similarly bolstered by knowing that God brings his omnipotence to our struggles.

God’s words to Joshua don’t stop there; he notes further that he has proved himself faithful in the past (“as I was with Moses”). We’re also bolstered by having experienced this sort of thing before. As Paul notes (my paraphrase), “Trials bring endurance, and endurance brings experience [of success], and experience brings confidence [in future trials]” (Ro 5.3-4).

He will not “leave” us. The Hebrew word speaks of loosening your grip and letting something fall—like what I do when I fall asleep on the couch while holding the remote.

God doesn’t do that, and he won’t. He’s awake, and he’s present, though he doesn’t really need to be in order to be effective.

We’re gonna be okay.

So what does he ask of us?

Next time.

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On Turning a Page, Part 2: There’s a Plan

June 2, 2025 by Dan Olinger Leave a Comment

Part 1: Obedience

God has issued a command to Joshua—one that sounds dangerous. You don’t just wade into a flooding river with all your stuff, and hope for the best. But Joshua, who believed God’s promise to give his people the Land when 10 of the other 11 spies didn’t, believes him now, and he will obey. And, undoubtedly to everyone’s astonishment, the river will stop for them and, metaphorically speaking, motion them to cross.

But they don’t know that yet. God continues his speech to Joshua by telling him what lies ahead.

³Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, just as I promised to Moses. ⁴From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun shall be your territory. 

Now, they do know this. God is simply repeating a past promise (Dt 11.24), the very one that Joshua (and Caleb) believed when the other spies didn’t.

And the people also know—or should know—that God keeps his promises. Back when he had appeared to Moses in the burning bush, he had introduced himself as “the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” Why this description, and not another, such as “the Creator of heaven and earth,” or “the infinite, eternal, and unchanging God,” or “the God of wonders”?

I think the reason for his choice of words to Moses is clear. God had made promises to those patriarchs, promises that included a numerous people (already fulfilled in Egypt), a blessing on all peoples through a “seed” (a promise not then fulfilled), and most specifically in view here, a promise of the Land on which Abraham’s sandal had walked.

As Moses stands at the burning bush, that promise has not been fulfilled—but it’s next in line. God is effectively saying, “My people, Abraham’s descendants, are out of the Land, enslaved in Egypt. This must not stand. Go down there, and I will do what it takes for you to lead them Home.”

That’s promise number 2. And, as we all know from reading the rest of Scripture, promise number 3, the universal blessing through Abraham’s “seed,” will be fulfilled when David’s Greater Son, the incarnate God, pays the price for our sins at the cross and opens the gates of salvation to all who will come.

God remembers his promises—for centuries—and he keeps them without fail.

Decades after the burning bush God repeated that promise to Moses, with specifics:

²⁴Every place whereon the soles of your feet shall tread shall be yours: from the wilderness and Lebanon, from the river, the river Euphrates, even unto the uttermost sea shall your coast be (Dt 11.24).

And now God, remembering those specifics, repeats them to Joshua as this newly appointed leader gazes east across the Jordan.

So God assures Joshua that the plan is in place, and the Land will belong to Jacob’s people. In modern parlance, it’s in the bag.

So what of our transitions? We typically don’t have circumstantial specifics as Joshua did, but we do have specific assurances about God’s character—he is faithful, gracious, merciful, good—and about his relationship with us—he loves and cares for us, providing all that we need for spiritual success (which is the most important kind of success) and providing our needs for all the days he has planned for us. And when those days are over, we will be “absent from the body, and … present with the Lord” (2Co 5.8). Further, “we shall be like [Christ], for we shall see him as he is” (1J 3.2).

So. What lies ahead? In this life, the assurance that God is working his good plan and keeping his promises; and in the next, eternity with him.

Sounds like it’s all good.

Now, we know by just looking around that this “all good” includes hard things, things that we would consider “bad.” What about that?

God’s not finished talking to Joshua yet. We’ll look at his further words next time.

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On Turning a Page, Part 1: Begin with Obedience

May 29, 2025 by Dan Olinger Leave a Comment

I’ve already published a couple of posts on my retirement, one on the why and one on the how. Now I’d like to exegete a biblical passage that I think sheds some light on a major life transition. It has already informed my thinking, and I’m confident that it will inform others facing transitions—retirement, perhaps, or other significant events.

A significant pivot point in the biblical metastory is the move from Deuteronomy to Joshua. That crevasse is of course the end of the Torah, the five books of Moses, and the beginning of what the Jews call the Prophets, specifically the Former Prophets (which, in the main, we Christians call the books of History). It’s also the end of the leadership of Moses, whom we might call the first constitutional ruler of the nation of Israel, and the beginning of the leadership of Joshua, who to this point has been presented primarily as just a servant of, or aide to, Moses, and as one of just two believing spies of the Promised Land.

That means some uncertainties. We’re leaving the familiar, the proved, the era of competence (more or less), and stepping out into the Great Unknown, facing challenges not previously experienced and the hard work of stewarding a new bailiwick and lifestyle.

Sounds to me like retirement. :-)

To this point in the biblical story, God has brought Israel out of slavery in Egypt; preserved them through 40 years of wilderness wandering; led them northward through hostile territory (Edom, Moab) on the east side of the Jordan; and brought them to an encampment at Shittim* in modern Jordan, across the Jordan River from Jericho, poised to enter and conquer the Land. 

 But now Moses is leaving. How on earth can Israel go on without him?

Now, there’s a danger in trying to apply biblical narrative to a current situation. I’m facing a transition, but I’m not Israel, and God has not promised me a specific piece of real estate and the military might to expel the current owners.

But there are similarities. I am one of God’s people, and he has made covenant promises to me as a member of his body, the church, and he is and will be as faithful to those promises as he has ever been, and I am at a point of transition, and Paul tells us that the Old Testament stories were indeed preserved in Scripture as examples for us (1Co 10.11).

So what did God say to Joshua in his time of transition? And what do those words tell us about God and about His plans for us?

God Is Great, and He Is in Charge

He begins by reminding Joshua of the Most Important Thing:

Moses my servant is dead. Now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I am giving to them, to the people of Israel (Jos 1.2).

The past, with all its familiarity, was under God’s sovereign direction. But God has given his people the unknown future as well, and he will see that his good will is done. And by implication Joshua and the people of Israel, like Moses, are God’s servants too, and the sensible thing for them to do is to obey him.

So he gives them a command: “Go over this Jordan.”

Now, at this time of year the Jordan was at flood stage, raging with whitewater and overflowing its banks (Jos 3.15b). That’s not something you just amble into, especially when you’re carrying all your stuff in wagons or in your arms.

Retirement doesn’t mean you just quit showing up at work and begin every day by asking, “Hmmm; what do I think I want to do today?” There’s stuff you need to get done—logistical, financial, procedural stuff—and if you don’t, unpleasant things, some of them involving potentially hostile government officials, will happen.

Gotta learn the new stuff and execute it precisely. Or else.

But God had brought Israel through the Red Sea ahead of Pharaoh’s pursuing armies, and he had fed them and preserved their clothing—even their shoes! (Dt 29.5)—through forty years of wilderness wandering, and he was certainly able to get them across this crazy river.

So they obey. They step into the river, and in that instant the flow stops and a path opens for them to cross in safety.

God can do that. He’s in charge.

He’s in charge through our transitions too. Obeying him is safe.

Well, then; what about tomorrow?

We’ll get into that next time.

* Some people find this word embarrassing. I’ll note, first, that in Hebrew it is pronounced “shuh TEEM,” with the emphasis on the last syllable. I’ll also note that the word means “acacia trees”; the acacia is the tree you see on the African savannah all the time. It often leans to one side; I think of it as looking as though someone smacked it hard on the side of the head.

Photo by Nathan McDine on Unsplash

2 Peter, Part 8: Finishing Well

April 24, 2025 by Dan Olinger Leave a Comment

Since the Day of the Lord is coming, how should we, God’s people, then live?

One natural inclination would be to take fleshly joy in our deliverance: well, I’m OK, so why should I care?

The Christian life is not like that. We don’t live for ourselves, and most certainly not for the lusts of the flesh, one of which is comfort and ease. Our perspective, our sense of responsibility, is outward: Jesus said we love God, and we love others.

How do we manifest those two loves (which, of course, are in perfect harmony) with the certainty of coming judgment and an end to the cosmos as we know it?

Peter begins with a summary: “holy conversation [lifestyle] and godliness” (2P 3.11). That, of course, is always called for, in any era or circumstance.

What does that look like in the Last Days, with cosmic judgment possible at any time?

Well, anticipation, even eagerness, makes sense (2P 3.12).

Why?

Because the destruction of the current world—broken by sin, and groaning for deliverance (Ro 8.21-22)—prepares the way for a new cosmos, unbroken, perfectly fruitful, and ready to serve as a home for glorified servants of a great and good God (2P 3.13).

Peter does not emphasize this point here, but of course he has in mind our need to take the gospel to the ends of the earth. He received that Commission directly from the mouth of the Lord himself (Mt 28.16-20), and he has now devoted his life to carrying out that Commission faithfully, even knowing that at the end he would be bound and carried where he does not want to go (Jn 21.18). Our faithfulness in telling this story is of course part of what Peter urges us toward.

But he devotes his words here to a slightly different track.

Live right, he says. Live so as to finish “in peace, without spot, and blameless” (2P 3.14). Don’t get sloppy or inattentive just because the judgment hasn’t happened yet; use the time to advance, to grow, to mature in your salvation, specifically your sanctification (2P 3.15).

Here Peter calls on the agreement of another apostle, Paul, with these urgings. As we’ve noted, Peter is familiar with Paul’s writings—Paul may already have been martyred by this time—and perhaps collections of his epistles may already be showing up in the churches. They have their dense parts—and as I’ve noted in the series on 1 Peter, so do Peter’s—but they are well worth the effort necessary in reading, understanding, and applying them.

And so Peter closes with the two principles most heavily emphasized by both himself and Paul:

Pay attention (2P 3.17). Don’t be deceived by false teachers (cf. Co 2). Compare their teachings with the truth (again, both the words of the apostles [cf. 2Th 2.15; 3.4] and the Scripture itself) and cling to the truth.

Pursue sanctification: “grow in grace” (2P 3.18). Live a life of constant growth, empowered by the means of grace and aiming for the character of Jesus Christ (1J 3.2), insofar as is possible for someone who is only human and not also God.

Peter closes with a benediction. We should not read this, or any benediction, as a mindless formula, like the “Sincerely,” at the end of our letters. (Does anybody write letters anymore?)

This is a statement of the reason for which we live, for which we were designed to live. Our lives, and indeed all the universe, exist for the explicit purpose of bringing “to him … glory both now and for ever” (2P 3.18).

There’s no greater joy than finding your designed purpose and fulfilling it. And in the light of coming judgment and new creation, there’s nothing that makes more sense.

Photo by 愚木混株 cdd20 on Unsplash