Advent of Lamb and Lion -- DWELL 3.0

This is the third article in a series on the theme
of “God (Emmanuel) coming to dwell with us. 
See Dwell 1.0 HERE and Dwell 2.0 HERE
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“A Lion was here!  And, he’s coming back!”

This chilling exclamation could strike fear in anyone, depending on time and location.  Truth is, the Lion has been here, and is coming back.

Readers of C.S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia series may remember the reaction of the Pevensie children, Susan and Lucy, when they first hear about the lion, Aslan, king of Narnia:

Susan: “Is he—quite safe?
               I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion.”
Mrs. Beaver: “If there’s anyone who can appear before Aslan without their
                         knees knocking, they’re either braver than most or else just
                         silly.”
Lucy: “Then he isn’t safe?”
Mrs. Beaver: “Safe? . . . Who said anything about safe?
                         Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good.
                         He’s the King I tell you.”

The children did not know how to think about this wild and unsafe lion who runs loose and cannot be tamed or trained.  C.S. Lewis describes how the children are awed when they first meet Aslan:

“People who have not been in Narnia sometimes think that a thing cannot be good and terrible at the same time. If the children had ever thought so, they were cured of it now. For when they tried to look at Aslan’s face they just caught a glimpse of the golden mane and the great, royal, solemn, overwhelming eyes; and then they found they couldn’t look at him and went all trembly.”

Looking into An Advent Candle
Fast-forward from Narnia to the present:  One our favorite Christmas traditions is lighting our Advent candles. They remind us of the long-anticipated coming of Christ.  According to the Old Testament Scriptures, when Adam and Eve sinned (Genesis 3) God immediately promised He would send a Messiah (“Sent One”) who would provide a way of deliverance from sin (Gen. 3: 15).  Since then, generations of Jewish women hoped they would be the mother of Messiah, the privilege that went to a lowly peasant girl named Mary.  Before Mary and Joseph were married, an angel explained to Joseph that he should accept Mary as his wife because the child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. “She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins (Matthew 1: 20-22).”

During each week of Advent, we light another one of the five candles, symbolizing Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love, respectively.  Then, on Christmas Day, we light the “Christ candle.”  Once while staring into the flame of the Christ candle, I began to think about the scientific and spiritual significance of fire.  I began to wonder what God meant when He said to Moses, For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God (Deuteronomy 4: 24).  

Like the children visiting Narnia, many of us wonder how God can be “good and terrible at the same time.”  How can God who “so loved the world that He sent His only Son” to save us from our sin; at the same time, be “a consuming fire?”  We will find that God addresses this apparent contradiction in His Word; but He also has provided helpful insights about the nature of fire itself through science and technology.

The Science of Fire and Light
Fire as we know it is only one manifestation of what scientists call radiant energy.  Radiation that is visible to our eyes we call "light."  Radiation (rays) of light travels through space as “waves.” Each of the beautiful colors we see in a rainbow has a precise wavelength.  Longer wavelengths than red are called infrared; and longer wavelengths than violet are ultraviolet rays.  The visible spectrum of light provides for both our sense of vision and also powers the photosynthesis of organic (hydrocarbon) compounds by green plants, algae, and other autotrophic organisms necessary to support life on Earth.

Fire provides both radiant heat and light.  It warms us in the cold and lights our way in the darkness.  Both heat and light result from chemical transformations of energy within organic matter.  For example, an Advent candle radiates heat and light when oxygen interacts with chemical bonds of hydrocarbons (C-C and C-H) in the paraffin at high temperatures, causing bond breaking and energy release.  Like throwing a rock into a hornet's nest, when we "strike a match," the energy from the friction is enough to start bond breaking.  As a result, like stirred up hornets, the electrons in matter begin zooming in all directions, releasing more heat and light.  

Nuclear reactions also release heat and light.  When the nucleus of atoms containing protons and neutrons are "stirred up" by collisions with accelerated subatomic particles, nuclear fission or fusion reactions release tremendous amounts of heat and light.  Examples are the explosion of nuclear bombs, the use of nuclear energy to generate electricity, and the nuclear reactions that create heat and light in our nearest star, the Sun. 

[Consider:  Life is possible on Earth because it is precisely distanced from the Sun, making this massive star both the source of suitable warmth and the source of chemical bond energy through photosynthesis to power the living cells and bodies of humans and most organisms on Earth.]

Both combustion of matter and nuclear reactions release energy according to discoverable and predictable laws of physics and chemistry.  Scientific laws represent our best current human understanding of the operation of the material or natural world.  Therefore, no educated person would ask how fire can be so Illuminating and warm while also being so destructive of lives and possessions.  Instead, our experiences with fire depend on whether we meet fire on its own terms--i.e. the laws of physics and chemistry established by God as part of His created order.

The God of Fire and Light
Like fire, there is no contradiction in God's nature between His being a God of love and being a "consuming fire."  To understand this with our finite minds, we must realize that God is Holy.  To be “Holy” means to be completely other, distinct, or separated from anything or anyone else in the universe.  

Because God is Holy, there exists an infinite gulf separating a Holy God from everything else in His creation. Therefore, what we see of God, our glimpses of His supernatural nature, His “Glory,” are entirely up to Him to reveal to us.  Our knowledge of God is not left to our own opinions; it is not subjective.  God has revealed Himself in the objective revelation of inspired Scripture in the Bible.  It is our responsibility to know, love, and obey Him through His revealed Word.

We can read in Exodus 33: 18-20 the account of how Moses experienced the awesome holiness and sovereign will of God (emphasis added):

Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.”
And the Lord said, “I will cause all My goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim My name, the LORD, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. But,” He said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see Me and live.”

We can see from Scripture that God is not only Holy and Sovereign, but He is extremely protective and “jealous” of His Holiness and character.  The Pulpit Commentary explains:

“When God spoke to Israel at Sinai, His glory appeared "like devouring (consuming) fire on the top of the mount" (Exodus 24:17); and in allusion to this Moses [in Deuteronomy 4: 24] calls God "a consuming fire."  He is so to all His enemies, and to all who disobey Him; by severe inflictions He will punish, and, if they persist in their hostility and rebellion, will ultimately destroy them (compare Deuteronomy 9:3; Isaiah 10:16-18; Amos 5:6; Zephaniah 1:18; Hebrews 12:29).  … God has a burning zeal for His own glory; He guards it with jealous care; and He will not spare those who do Him dishonor, especially those who are guilty of idolatry, whereby they "change the truth of God into a lie" (Romans 1:25; cf. Exodus 20:5; Deuteronomy 6:14, 15; Deuteronomy 32:16, etc.; Psalm 78:58, etc.; Nahum 1:2). God is jealous also over His people because He loves them and will not endure any rival in their affection and devotion.”

The God of the Old Testament continued to reveal Himself through writers of the New Testament as being zealously in love with His people like “a consuming fire.”  The writer of Hebrews 12: 28-29 invites all who have received God’s gift of salvation by grace to show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe; for our God is a consuming fire.

We can better understand that “God is love” but also a “consuming fire” when we believe that He is the Sovereign King, Owner, and Sustainer of creation; and we are his subjects, or stewards (Genesis 2: 15).   But God is also a loving Father to those who have accepted His Gift of salvation and become His children (John 1: 12).  Hebrews 12 merges God’s character as both a loving Father who disciplines his children for their good (Hebrews 12: 8-11); and, as a passionate lover who jealously desires our love and obedience like a consuming fire (Hebrews 12: 28-29).  As a child, my reaction to my earthly father’s warning, “Don’t touch the fire!” was not a reason to hate fire or to hate my father.  Rather, I learned to respect my father’s loving instruction for my own good, and use fire as a gift of God when used according to His laws of creation.

Advent of the “Light of the World”
Truly, there is no contradiction between God’s love and His being compared to a consuming fire.  During this Advent season, it is very inspiring to celebrate a God of love, fire, and light unfolding His plan through the prophecy and birth of Messiah, Jesus Christ.

Five hundred years before God’s Messiah was born in Bethlehem, the Prophet Isaiah wrote (Isaiah 9: 2, 6a; emphasis added),

The people who walk in darkness
    Will see a great light;
 Those who live in a dark land,
    The light will shine on them.

For a child will be born to us,
    a son will be given to us…

Notice from this ancient prophecy the themes of “light” and “dark,” predicting the Light of the world (Jesus; John 9: 5) bringing Truth and deliverance for weary travelers wandering in darkness and despair.  Centuries later, the Gospel of Matthew describes the fulfillment of this prophecy.  The light from the Bethlehem star guided the Magi over hundreds of miles to a stable where this Child was “born to us.” Baby Jesus came from Mary’s womb in human form but He was supernaturally “given to us” as God conceived by the Holy Spirit. 

Jesus came as God’s gentle, sacrificial Lamb.  He said, “I did not come to judge you for your sin but I have come as the Light of the World to expose your sin and invite you to repent and turn from sin (John 12: 45-47).  The Lamb has come, gave His Life to redeem us, and rose again victorious over death.  But to His words above, Jesus added, He who rejects Me and does not receive My sayings, has one who judges him; the word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day (John 12: 48).  With these words, Jesus forecasts His second coming when, according to Hosea 11: 10, He will roar like a lion…and His sons will come trembling from the west.  Isaiah 9: 6b-7 predicts how Christ will return to rule on the Earth:

And the government will rest on His shoulders;
And His name will be called
    Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
     Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.
There will be no end to the increase
     of His government or of peace,
On the throne of David and over his kingdom,
To establish it and to uphold it
   with justice and righteousness
From then on and forevermore.
The zeal of the LORD of hosts
   will accomplish this.

God’s authority and wisdom will bring His justice and righteousness.  Finally, the zeal of the LORD for accomplishing this prophesy will make it certain to happen.  According to the Pulpit Commentary, the zeal is “God's jealousy of his own honor, which is bound up with the prosperity and final triumph of his people over all their enemies, will assure the performance of all that is here prophesied.”  But, along with God’s authority and fiery zeal, we see the image of the loving Eternal Father who longs to reconcile and counsel His people in peace.

Although God was driven by His fiery zeal like a Lion to accomplish His redemptive plan, He came first with the gentleness of a Lamb and the consideration of a loving Father.  To Joseph, the worried fiancé of Mary, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 1: 20). Likewise, to Zacharias, father of John the Baptist (Luke 1: 13) and to Mary (Luke 1: 30) God provided a similar preface of “fear not” before the announcement of the respective births.

Meanwhile, the glory of God also appeared out of the darkness surrounding shepherds huddled on a dark hillside with their sheep.  Luke records that the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid (Luke 2: 9).  As if to comfort the shepherds in their fearful response, God’s messenger conveyed His announcement with gentleness and love:

the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold,
I bring you good tidings of great joy,
which shall be to all people. 
For unto you is born this day in the city of David
a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.  – Luke 2: 10-11

Christmas Light…and God’s Love
During this Christmas season, once again people around the world will celebrate with lights of all kinds—candles, incandescent, florescent, and digital lighting.  Many who at least acknowledge the existence of God would rather not think of God as a “consuming fire;” or as a lion, “wild and unsafe.”  Instead, they prefer to think of God as a “God of love,” a “safe God,” a baby in a manger who makes no moral or ethical demands.  Anyway, how could a loving God be jealously demanding like a “consuming fire?”

The contradiction is explained another way—by the fact that Almighty God through Christ emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.  Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. (Philippians 2: 7-8).  But there are other accounts of God’s sacrificial pursuit.

In 2 Corinthians 8: 9, the Apostle Paul’s encouragement to the churches includes an appeal very fitting for the Christmas story:  For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.  Jesus, born of a poor peasant couple and wrapped in strips of cloth, was laid in a stable manger to rest.  As an adult, He had no place to lay his head (Luke 9: 58) and was buried in a borrowed tomb (John 19: 38-42).

Casual reading of the verses above does not impress upon us the weight and extent of God’s love and passionate pursuit of us.  He took on flesh (incarnation) and became a servant, ultimately giving His life on a Roman cross.  Can we comprehend what this meant?  The need for more careful meditation and communion with God through His Word, and the fellowship with others of like faith is the primary reason we need to observe Advent and Christmas. 

We hope you will take time to ponder the truth that God loves you.  He generously gave His greatest Gift to bring you into relationship with Him, and to share His righteousness and Eternal Life through daily communion with you through His Word, prayer, and service to others.

Remember, the Lamb has already come as God’s expression of love for us.  Now, our clocks mark time until His return as “the Lion of the tribe of Judah” (Revelation 5: 5) to judge those who have rejected Him, and to dwell with His redeemed forever.

Daily Meditations for Advent
The approach that we have used to enhance our time of remembrance of the Advent (coming) of the promised Savior, Jesus Christ, is to follow an Advent calendar.  These calendars are of different types and are easily found by searching for “Advent Calendar” online.   Most provide daily or weekly Bible readings and some offer a fun activity suitable for individuals or family.

We will suggest three Advent resources for you to consider.  The “Advent Reading Guide” was prepared by West Hill Baptist Church, Wooster, Ohio (Go HERE.).  It invites us to focus on a Christmas theme each Advent week starting with “Hope.”  Meditations address why we celebrate Christmas and how we ought to respond to God’s “greatest Gift.”

Focus on the Family provides a “Welcome to Advent 2021” (See HERE.) which includes background on Advent, a calendar of Scripture readings, and fun activities related to Christmas.

The third Advent resource is one that we published in Oikonomia, in 2017 (Go HERE.)  “Daily Meditations to Enrich Your Christmas” contains a daily Scripture reading and a short commentary along with discussion to help you personally apply the truth for each day.  We hope these suggestions will enrich your celebration of Advent and the Christmas season this year.

Have a Merry and Meaningful Christmas, from our family and loved ones to you and yours!

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Reference to C.S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia series (HarperCollins) and related comments are drawn in part from a meditation by Ben Keiser, Summit Ministries