Persevering to a Sacred History

Fourth Sermon in our "Sacred Marriage" series based upon the book "Sacred Marriage" by Gary Thomas While at Baptist Bible College it was common to have conversations with a friend about some gal that had captured their heart and now they were considering asker her to marry them. My standard reply was to imagine falling into a dark bottomless pit and all the way down you could see the words flashing in neon "Forever Forever Forever" It was a not so subtle reference to the bottomless pit that Satan will be cast into one day. There would be an occasional chuckle, or nervous laugh, but the truth was in our minds that marriage was a serious undertaking that impacted the rest of your life. In 1870 a wife would be lucky if her husband lived past the time the youngest child left home. In 1911 the average marriage lasted 28 years. By 1967 that average had reached 42 years. Paul Harvey got to the point that he wouldn't even mention your anniversary unless it was 60 and most of the time 70 years of marriage. Now 70 years of marriage would seem like an eternity to most folks. But with medical care advancing, if a couple stays together, it is no big deal anymore to see at least their 50th anniversary. We have at least three folks in our church that have been married over 60 years. What this means is that you hae an opportunity to build a real history with each other. Now with digital cameras, you might be able to remember it all. HISTORY AS A TIMELINE: With our American brains we see time as a line with various dates and events marked on it. It is a linear view of history. Time is the determiner of when things happen. We got married May 18 1974. We had children on such and such a date, we bought this house on a certain date, we sold and bought another house, etc. The kids went to this school at such and such a date, graduated from High School College etc. Everything fits on the timeline of our life. BIBLICAL VIEW OF TIME AND HISTORY To understand how marriages have the opportunity to enjoy “Sacred History” it would be helpful to understand a Biblical view of History. This is where an understanding of ancient Jewish view of History comes into play. The ancient Hebrew perception of time was not abstract like our modern view; instead, it was connected to the idea of specific events, and because of this event specific orientation the people of Israel "found the idea of a time without a particular event quite inconceivable" [Von Rad, v. 2, page 100]. So, for the ancient Jews the concept of "time" was understood only in relation to particular events: There is a time of giving birth (Mic. 5:2), a time for animals to be gathered together (Gen. 29:7), a time when kings go forth to battle (II Sam. 11:1). The tree yields its fruit 'in its time' (Ps. I. 3), and God gives his creatures food 'in due time' (Ps. CIV. 27); that is to say, every event has its definite place in the time-order; the event is inconceivable without its time... [Von Rad, v. 2, page 100]. Psalm 31:15 which reads, "My times are in thy hands" [KJV,RSV]. The Jews of David’s time did not think of time like we do, they viewed life as being made of many times, or a series of times. BIBLICAL JEWS SAW GOD AS THE LORD OF HISTORY Specifically, the Jews saw time as a series of specific events initiated by God. Time did not exist as an independent reality, but existed only in relation to divinely initiated events. I will use my wife as an example of how the Jews viewed history. My wife views our history not by dates but by whom she was pregnant with at the time. I’ll mention a partucular event and say when did that happen and she’ll say – well it had to be so and so year because Redeptshe was pregnant with Tonya or somebody else. If it happened when she wasn’t pregnant with any one, she can’t remember it or can’t recall the year. Her concept of time is totally event related. All of their festivals and observances celebrated a redemptive act of God. The exact time was not important, but their celebration and identifying with what God did was important. I believe in heaven that time will cease to exist. We will simply live in events in happenings. We’ll be able to participate in the crossing of the Red Sea. We’ll be able to watch as Jesus feeds the multiture. We’ll watch as Peter walks and then falls into the Sea. We’ll watch as Jesus rescues him. It won’t be a movie, it will be the real thing. Time will cease to exist, and we will be totally event oriented. It will be totally about seeing how God has redeemed us and mde us trophies of His grace. GOD’S RELATIONSHIP WITH ISRAEL Karl Barth (a famous theologian) was challenged by an atheist to prove the existence of God. His reply was quite simple - the Jew. For over 4000 years the Jews have kept a separate identity while all the other races of man came and went. Yet the Jewish people with their worship of Yahweh has continued on in spite of losing their land, being persecuted in coun