From Vanhoozer

Today I was reading Kevin Vanhoozer’s new book, Mere Christian Hermeneutics, and I was refreshed by his thoughtful consideration of what it means to be a reader of the Holy Scriptures. He mentions that we as readers are “answerable” to the text because it’s not simply a text, but the “divine voice” of God. Vanhoozer reminds us of the exhortation from Hebrews 3:7-8: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, on the day of testing in the wilderness.”

He then describes what happens when do not heed the voice of God that we see in the Scriptures. He makes an insightful comparison as he describes hard-heartedness:

“as in arteriosclerosis: the hardening of the arteries. This is a serious disease: the buildup of fats and cholesterol on the walls of their arteries can impede the flow of oxygen and other nutrients to the heart. The buildup of resistance to God’s word in one’s heart is equally dangerous. False gods and sinful habits can restrict the flow of truth and grace in the reading of the Bible. Call it hermeneutical arteriosclerosis” (Vanhoozer 45).

Reflecting on it this evening, I thought to myself: I wonder if this is what is happening in our country. Have we continued to ignore the word of God, so that we can no longer even see the truth of it?

I was reflecting particularly on the new policies that have come out against immigrants from the new administration. Many have attempted to convince me of either the righteousness of the cause or at least its wisdom, but I remain unconvinced. When I hear of ICE with the ability to go into schools and hospitals and see that refugees, who have gone through legal channels, be shut down right before they board a plane, I am reminded that policies often forget about the humans involved.

I was ready to move on from the thought when I heard the small voice of the Spirit say, “Will you deny my truth too?” It was a bit of a punch to the gut because I typically remain extremely quiet and private when it comes to politics. And yet between God working through Vanhoozer, Hebrews, and the Holy Spirit, I could not remain quiet on the topic today. For as Vanhoozer says we are indeed answerable to the voice of God, and I will not be come hard-hearted towards the Lord.

For Immigrants

Now let me begin by saying that Vanhoozer’s book isn’t about politics or immigration, and what follows are my own views and not his. However, he does say, “To read the Bible theologically is to have one’s politics, agenda, and identity—one’s very sense of self—stripped bare before the text.” And the text is where I want to begin. When I was ruminating on this earlier, the text I had in mind is Deuteronomy 24: 17-22 (emphasis mine):

“You shall not pervert the justice due to the sojourner or to the fatherless, or take a widow's garment in pledge, but you shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed you from there; therefore I command you to do this.
When you reap your harvest in your field and forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. When you beat your olive trees, you shall not go over them again. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow. When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you shall not strip it afterward. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow. Remember that you were slaves in Egypt. That is why I command you to do this.” Deuteronomy 24:17-22

Even as I read it again, it saddens me that as evangelical Christians in America we can so easily forget that God has a heart for the sojourner, the refugee, and the immigrant. It is not my intention to leave out orphans and widows because it is clear this is a three-pronged focus on people. However, it is the sojourner that seems most pertinent in the current climate we find ourselves in.

There are three simple over-arching commands in the text:

Do not pervert justice
Remember your enslavement
Provide opportunity

Do Not Pervert Justice

N.T. Wright explains justice as God making things right. His intends to make the entire universe right through his justice, and we have the opportunity to participate in that. When refugees are facing persecution, corrupt governments, and abysmal economic conditions we have the opportunity as a nation to make things right. But to make a promise to people through a legal process and then rescind that promise is NOT right. The vice president mentioned that they no longer believed that the screening in place was effective due to a potential terrorist threat in Oklahoma. However, this seems to be a decision made out of fear rather than wisdom. The wholesale stop of the policy seems to also come from a bias against the previous administration rather than an in-depth look at the process itself.

The fear however is the bigger component. Throughout Scripture God asks his people to also trust in his goodness and faithfulness, his hesed, a word used over 200 times in the Old Testament. Jeremiah 17:7-8 says this:

Blessed are those who trust in the Lord,
    whose trust is the Lord.
They shall be like a tree planted by water,
    sending out its roots by the stream.
It shall not fear when heat comes,
    and its leaves shall stay green;
in the year of drought it is not anxious,
    and it does not cease to bear fruit.

When we honor God by following his commandments we can trust that he will protect us. We do have other processes in place as a country to ensure the safety of our citizens, so we do not need to deny and pervert justice, doing what is right, for refugees out of fear because our God is good and faithful.

Remember Your Enslavement

The Bible is loaded with commands to remember what God has done for his people. For the people of Israel, the command often referred to the Exodus of God’s people from Egypt as seen here in Deuteronomy. For us as Christians we reflect not only on the Exodus from Egypt, but also on the new Exodus in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Christ also commanded us to remember this new Exodus when at the last supper he took his cup and said “Do this in remembrance of me” (Mark 14, Luke 22, 1 Corinthians 11). But why does God call his people to remember?

God calls his people to remember so that they would know his heart and glorify him by doing what he has done. When God made a covenant with Abraham it was so that we might be a blessing to the world. So, as a people that were once sojourners, we should have a heart for sojourners. We cannot forget this because without it we may not be able to fulfill what God has called us to.

Although, it’s not biblical, I think Americans need to remember our own nation’s genesis story. We are a nation of immigrants. Why would we then decide that we are against immigrants? Because it’s expensive? Because immigrants are taking our jobs? These all seem like excuses made in fear, which attempt to pin the blame on someone that is “other.” Let us not forget that as Christians in America we are spiritual sojourners, generational refugees, and long-standing immigrants ourselves. God has a heart for us and we should have a heart for others.

Provide Opportunity

Whether it is the field, the grove, or the vineyard, God commands his people to not be greedy when it comes to provision. I know one of the repetitive claims I hear is that “immigrants are taking our jobs” and we need to worry about Americans first. If you are a Christian, there are two things we must consider when it comes to this: 1) we should never fear for provision because God provides and 2) we should helping to provide for our neighbor as much as we are called to provide the sojourner. One command does not exclude the other and there is enough for both.

Conclusion

To me it seems abundantly clear that God has a heart for the sojourners and refugees. Do we need to be wise and love and protect our families and loved ones? Yes, of course; however, we cannot operate out of fear. We must trust in the Lord’s goodness and faithfulness that we when we honor him, he will honor us with his protection.

This all began with a stirring in my spirit, to take a stand for those without a voice. My hope and prayer is that we as individuals and that as a country we would not suffer from “hermeneutical arteriosclerosis,” a hardening of our hearts towards the word of God. I pray that we me might have a heart for the sojourners and others with a spirit of charity and generosity rather than fear. I pray that we might continue to be a people that seeks after the voice of God and obeys. I am thankful for Kevin Vanhoozer’s book as a reminder that we are answerable to the text because it is the voice of God. I hope that although this post has nothing to do with the content of Vanhoozer’s book, that it honors the spirit of his book, nonetheless.

From Vanhoozer and For Immigrants

From Vanhoozer

For Immigrants

God Delights in You

Doxology Expandere