What Country Am I A Citizen Of Anyway?

I never got a chance to see the classic alien movie, E.T., but I've seen other similarly-themed movies here and there such as Independence Day, Signs, or even Disney's light-hearted Home. I scan down through my news tab and notice headlines exploring the possibility of extra-terrestrial activity in the great expanse of space. Curiosity about the unknown, about the "out there" seems to be a predominant trait of humanity.

Abraham is an alien. That is, Abraham is not a person who has landed on earth in his UFO and started doing things that aliens do (nobody seems certain what those things would be: Crop circles? Giant flying saucers?). If you've been keeping up with this blog as I've been working through Genesis, you'll know that Abraham has entered a binding covenant with God, a covenant that entails Abraham's becoming a father of a nation and inheriting land, specifically, the land of Canaan.

But in Genesis 23, Abraham still has alien status. His wife Sarah dies at the tender elderly age of 127 (and I thought 40 felt a little creaky), and Abraham - after mourning for her - needs to find a place to bury her. As an alien, as a transient person who has yet to, you know, purchase an estate, this presents a problem. This especially presents a problem, because there's no refrigerated morgue, right? Each culture had their methods of burying their dead in those days, but unless Abraham engages in Egyptian mummification (unlikely), he needs to find a place, and quickly, to bury Sarah's body.

Alien Abraham goes to the gates of a city in the Hebron area (it's unclear if it's Hebron itself or if it's another city; what is clear is that he begins negotiations with the Hittites, who are in control of the area at the time). He's had his eye on a nice cave that sits at the back of a field nearby, the ideal burial place: Underground and cool year-round, protected from the elements, plenty of room for himself after he dies, possibly even his descendants. The ideal tomb.

The cave is owned by a Hittite named Ephron son of Zohar. Abe finds Ephron and sits down with him and several others at the gates of the city. This is significant, because the city gates - as I mentioned in The Hazards of Assimilation a few days ago - is a place where deals are done and legalities are settled. Abraham wants to make sure that everything is clear and above-board. He has been promised the land of Canaan for his descendants, but he is not at war with the Hittites. He abides by the laws of the land.

Ephron is just a little cringy and oily. "You want my cave? It only comes with the field, but shoot, what's a field and a cave? You should just take it."

Everyone smiles. The Hittite elders nod benevolently to the man. Dear Ephron. What a generous offer.

Alien Abraham, with his wise old eyes, peers beneath the cover of the offer and sees years down the road. Beholden. Abraham has been told that he will inherit this land. His descendants will possess it, as God Himself promised. This covenant with God has been a part of his life for decades, possibly even a century or more. In those days, a person's word of promise meant quite a bit. A promise given by word alone could be just as binding as a written document, signed and sealed. 

Abraham would not give away God's promises to be beholden to any man. It doesn't matter who that man is, Ephron or any other person. Abraham insists on purchasing; he gives no quarter.

A haggling process ensues. Ephron refuses to hand over only the cave; he adds the field to the contract as well (the notes in my Bible talk quite a bit about property liens, most of which is far over my head, but which serve to point out that Ephron's false benevolence is a screen for greed). Abraham finally agrees to the purchase of both the field and the cave - for an exorbitant price, no less. Ephron walks away from the deal a very wealthy man, and Abraham?

Well, Alien Abraham now owns, by deed of sale, his first property in the land of Canaan. He's no longer an alien; he is now the owner of the first tiny portion of the enormous swath of land that God has promised him and his descendants.

Church, we are aliens. "Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul" (1 Peter 2:11). The struggle is real, y'all. The war, the battle - is not with each other. It is with sin, and Ephesians 6:10-18 gives us complete instructions on exactly how to arm ourselves against it. 

I'm going to cut to the chase, here. I have seen an unholy declaration of territory from people in the church as I've watched current events over the last month, and I don't believe - by and large - that this declaration of territory is from God. The promised land that God is giving us his people... y'all, it's not the United States of America. Yes, God gave territory to Abraham, actual land in a geographical portion of this world. But Jesus tells his disciples in John 14:2-4: "In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there (not here) to prepare a place for you. And if I go (not stay) and prepare a place for you, I will come back (here, not there) and take you to be with me (there, not here) that you also may be where I am (there, not here). You know the way (signifying transience, a moving from one place to another) to the place where I am going (there, not here)."

Parentheticals. I love them; I probably overuse them, but they bring me joy. :)

Jesus shows us the way to the Father, the way to our permanent home, the way to our promised land. He is the Advocate who comes into the throne room of the Ancient of Days and intercedes for us. The greatest Lawyer ever. He stands at the Father's right hand, and when the enemy accuses us, He steps in front. "No. I have bought them. I have paid the price. I have made their place secure. I have signed the deed. I have justified them."

When I was a teenager, we finally ditched our word-processor (who else remembers those, that intermediate step between the ancient typewriters and the new computers?), bought our first computer, and I started playing with one of the early versions of Microsoft Word. The "justify" option brought me so much delight. Not only could I keep my left margin straight, tidy, and perfect, suddenly, I had the power to make my right margin just as tidy. All the short lines extended to meet that perfect point, and the overreaches beyond that point were trimmed back so that the margin on the right was as exact as the margin on the left.

Jesus is our Justifier. He takes our short-comings and turns them into perfection. He trims back our overreaches and nudges them back into line. He. is. our. Spokesman, our perfect Lawyer before the great Judge. 

We can have total trust that He litigates for us. We stand on that fact, absolutely. So when the enemy claims territory, it is only earthly. We do not have to be beholden to him. When the enemy accuses us, it is with harmless words. The Shepherd stands between the sheep and the wolves. He is our Protector.

Consummate trust. 

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in Daniel 3 are some of the finest examples of this consummate trust ever recorded. They refuse to bow before a pagan idol and are brought before the king of the land. The king demands an explanation. Off to the side, there's an enormous furnace, big enough to fit at least four people, as we see later in the story. The furnace is lit, and the fire is so hot, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego need to speak up to be heard over the roaring of the inferno.

Have you ever had your trust tested before? Do you think your trust is being tested now? Try standing in front of a furious king who's about to toss you into a furnace and don't budge an inch. That's a testing that will prove your mettle.

These three men could have slumped their shoulders, shuffled their feet, shrugged. "Okay, King Nebuchadnezzar. We're sorry. We'll do better."

Do they? Obviously not. Rather than giving in to fear, they choose instead to glorify the God of heaven, to make. Him. famous. "Oh Nebuchadnezzar," they say, as clearly and distinctly as they can over the roar of the fire, "we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter!" (Clue: they already have a Lawyer who advocates for them regarding their true home, their true territory. See, these guys are aliens, too, in Babylon, in a land not their own). 

"If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and He will rescue us from your hand, oh king." God is able! "Now to Him who is able to do more than all we ask or imagine..." God. Is. Able!! Hallelujah! Yes, God!

Here's the kicker (all that stuff up there was also the kicker, but this is the kicker of the kicker): "But even if He does not, we want you to know, oh king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up."

How often have we thought we've known what God is thinking? Oh my. This point is illustrated in startling detail in current events. God has anointed this person to lead our country. Sound familiar? Do I believe God can use people in positions of leadership to do His will? Absolutely! Do we get to pick the ways God does this? Absolutely not! 

Even if He does not.

See, these three guys knew where their territory was. They knew that it wasn't in Babylon. They knew it wasn't even in their homeland from which they'd been taken. They knew that God had their territory all ready for them, and they placed their trust implicitly in His direction and plan - even if it meant death.

What a challenge this is for me! What territory am I claiming? Go on, ask yourself that. If your answer is the United States for Trump, I'm sorry to say, it's the wrong answer. If it's the United States for Biden, again... wrong answer. Ask yourself: Do I trust that God has prepared a territory for me? Do I trust that His plan is the correct one?

Even if He does not... we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.

Oh Jesus, keep our focus on You! Over the roaring flames and in the violent inferno, You walk with us, leading us to the place You have prepared for us. Aliens and strangers in this world, citizens of a Kingdom from another place. 

Let Your Kingdom come, Lord Jesus, and let Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven!