Comparison and a Gift Held High for All to See – Troy Exhortation

By 700 BC, King Sennacherib had achieved unparalleled military success, subjugating 46 fortified cities and asserting dominance over the known world. However, this unbroken chain of victories was fostering a dangerous sense of pride within him. The following is recorded for us in 2 Kings 18 when the Rabshakeh mocks the Israelites, “Has any of the gods of the nations ever delivered his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria? Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah? Have they delivered Samaria out of my hand? Who among all the gods of the lands have delivered their lands out of my hand, that Yahweh should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand?” The interesting thing about this tirade is that it was true. The false gods of the nations did not deliver them from Assyria. But the cupbearer’s mistake was believing that Yahweh was simply the next name to be added to the roster of conquered gods. And so he uses impious speech to disrespect and profane God. In contrast, the Israelite King Hezekiah does the opposite and uses terms of veneration and reverence to plead for help. He says, “O LORD, the God of Israel, enthroned above the cherubim, you are the God, you alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; you have made heaven and earth. Incline your ear, O LORD, and hear; open your eyes, O LORD, and see; and hear the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to mock the living God. Truly, O LORD, the kings of Assyria have laid waste the nations and their lands and have cast their gods into the fire, for they were not gods, but the work of men’s hands, wood and stone. Therefore they were destroyed. So now, O LORD our God, save us please, from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you, O LORD, are God alone.” There is no middle ground; blaspheme him or revere him. If you’re an atheist you insult His name. If you worship another god, He holds you in derision. If you try to be agnostic you deny general revelation. And one thing is for sure, God will not be mocked. Listen to Yahweh’s response to King Sennacherib, “Have you not heard that I determined it long ago? I planned from days of old what now I bring to pass, that you should turn fortified cities into heaps of ruins. But I know your sitting down and your going out and coming in, and your raging against me. Because you have raged against me and your complacency has come into my ears, I will put my hook in your nose and my bit in your mouth, and I will turn you back on the way by which you came.”

The pagan is quick to attribute success to himself and then blame God for failure. He says, “I know what I’m doing and I know where I’m going.” But let the Christian echo what James says, “If the Lord wills, we will do this or that.” He is in control and He is our God, not our therapist, our bestie, or our bosom buddy. We are to fear him as the righteous sovereign judge of the universe who turns the hearts of blasphemous kings wherever he wills. Let us be very mindful then, of how we reference God, how we talk to Him, the things we attribute to His hand, and what we say about Him.

Daniel Namahoe – April 14, 2024

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Artificial intelligence is here. We stand on the shore and look towards the horizon. A vast ocean separates us from this undiscovered frontier. What’s out there? What discoveries will be made? Are there dangers? The prophets of pop culture warn us of impending doom: war with machines, Skynet, and The Matrix. There are some here who are not only reluctant to use A.I., but would rather avoid it altogether. But the truth is, we’ve been here before: the printing press, electricity, the telephone, the automobile, radio and television, personal computing, and of course the internet. For each technological milestone, Christians across the world have tried to find the balance between unadulterated fear and probing discernment. 

In the late 19th century, people were experimenting with electricity without fully understanding its potential dangers which led to electrocution and fires. But as knowledge was gained, safety measures were instituted and electricity was widely adopted. Had we allowed our fears to overtake us we might still be huddling around candles for light, instead of clean and efficient LEDs. The key approach then to artificial intelligence is to ask God for wisdom, knowledge, understanding, and discernment. Proverbs 2:3-6 says, “Yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth comes knowledge and understanding.”

  Hebrews 5:14 says, “Solid food (speaking of the more advanced oracles of God) is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.” Philippians 1:9-10 says, “And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ. 1 Thessalonians 5:21-22, “…test everything; hold fast to what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.” 

The application of the Word of God is not restricted to certain segments of your life. Its utility is comprehensive. Including how to deal with disruptive technologies. When I was using AOL in the 90s, there was no way for me to predict the heights of human creativity that would come as a result of the burgeoning internet. But I was also unable to forecast, the extent of which man’s depraved nature would be put on display. A.I. will be no different. So the Christian may be tempted to boast of his “superior” choice, “I refuse the technology therefore I’m pure.” Another chides, “You are a luddite and old fashioned.” Both attitudes are erroneous. Whether you do or do not, proceed with faith. And if you do decide to make use of A.I., your options are like the soldiers of Gideon: plunge your head in and lap up the water like a dog, or kneel down, cup the water in your hands and look around while you drink.

Daniel Namahoe – March 31, 2024

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From 1 Corinthians 13:5, “Love is not self-seeking.” If it were possible to eliminate selfishness from the world. What would that be like? Political corruption would not exist. We could elect our officials with confidence, knowing that they would govern not in their own self-interest, not in the interest of their political allies, but in the interest of the people. Their motivation would not be personal gain, but everything would stem from a heart of charity. Come to think of it, why would we need a government at all? Of course we recognize that the fallen world needs laws. What is to prevent selfishness from turning into abuse if there are no laws? But if selfishness doesn’t exist, what laws are necessary? Fear that is derived from the malfeasance of man finds no foothold. For example, should you lock your door at night? Only the selfish would want to deny another man of his possessions. What about laws prohibiting drunk driving? Only a selfish man would put the lives of others at risk for the convenience of driving home from the bar. What about getting drunk in the first place?

If you’re 21, it’s perfectly legal to sit in your house alone, and drink beer until there’s two moons in the sky. And while observing such a person would give us cause for concern, I don’t think we would immediately jump to the conclusion that this behavior is a result of selfishness. Our default would be to say something like, “He’s depressed.”

But the selfish person takes the blindfold, covers his own eyes, and then says, “It’s not my fault I can’t see.” Self-deception is an essential constituent of selfishness, because you have to convince yourself that you’re the only thing that matters. Your needs, your desires, your wants supercede everyone else’s. If someone is being selfish, in a family context, it manifests in a very obvious way. Dad says something like, “Who ate the last slice of pizza? Mom still hasn’t eaten yet.” But if you live alone and the bottle of vodka is your roommate and you say, “I’m not harming anyone else.” It might be depressing, but it’s not selfish to get drunk in the privacy or your own home, right?

Ephesians 5 says, “Do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery.” The drunkard living alone has a desire to get intoxicated. God does not want him to do that. But selfishness, by its very definition, doesn’t care what other people think and by extension doesn’t care what God thinks, so it’s down the hatch.

But the selfless person does care about what God thinks and if God says, “No,” then honoring his commandment takes precedence over our own desires, whether or not the sin is sanctioned by the state.
So whether it’s a surface sin, like being inconsiderate of others, or the type of sin you can commit when you’re all alone, do not neglect this truth: wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather. And wherever sin casts its shadow, selfishness lurks in the darkness.

Daniel Namahoe – February 4, 2024

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Isaiah 44:13-16 says, “He plants a cedar and the rain nourishes it. Then it becomes fuel for a man. He takes a part of it and warms himself; he kindles a fire and bakes bread. Also he makes a god and worships it; he makes it an idol and falls down before it. Half of it he burns in the fire. Over the half he eats meat; he roasts it and is satisfied. Also he warms himself and says, ‘Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire!’ And the rest of it he makes into a god, his idol, and falls down to it and worships it. He prays to it and says, ‘Deliver me, for you are my god!’”

The prophet Isaiah portrays for us the insanity of idolatry. Man takes a chunk of wood, does nothing to its chemical substrates, but simply changes the shape. The wood now has divots for eyes and grooves for ears. And because it looks different, it is different, at least that’s the lie the carpenter tells himself. He turns to you and says, “Look at this god! Let us bow down and worship it together.” The effectiveness of this ruse depends on either, 1) your propensity towards gullibility, 2) a distrust of your own faculties which leads you to doubt your own intelligence. You think, “Maybe it is a god.” 3) You’re enamored with the carpenter or at least motivated to please the carpenter, causing you to abandon the truth in exchange for attention. You know it’s just a chunk of wood, but you are willing to participate in this idolatrous theater to garner favor. Or 4) and this is the most dismal, you actually believe the carvings and etchings transformed the hunk of wood into a god. 

The carpenter is selling a fantasy. A world where he can fashion gods out of wood and sell them in the marketplace, “A god for sale, come purchase your god. He’ll deliver you from calamity, he’ll grant you prosperity. Come and buy protection and long life. Who wouldn’t want to trade a few drachmas for that?” But if the little statue is not a god, then the situation is as follows: either the carpenter is a charlatan and a scammer who profits off of your naivety, or it’s the blind leading the blind.

If you are of the gullible sort, pray for discernment. If you distrust your own faculties, you may have to work harder than someone who is naturally gifted, but pray for the sort of work ethic that would eventually lead to understanding. If you are enamored with the carpenter, then you already own an idol. Your idol is not sitting on the shelf at the vendor booth, your idol is manning the vendor booth. Do not neglect what you have learned, it is written, “You shall have no other gods before me.”

And if you believe the wooden figurine is actually a god, you have been deceived, dear friend. Heed my voice when I tell you, placing the effigy in the fire will be of more value to you than keeping it out. 

The carpenter makes one to look like a boar, one to look like a bird, another resembles a fish. They come in all sorts of shapes. So the question is: What shape does your idol take?

Daniel Namahoe – December 24, 2023

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