Michelle Shocked used to be a feminist hero, but converted: and feminism is indeed a jealous God, that chases down their apostates to the third generation. I am not sure if the music link to grooveshark will work, but there is music for the reading this Sunday.

When Israel went out from Egypt, the house of Jacob from a people of strange language, Judah became his sanctuary, Israel his dominion. The sea looked and fled; Jordan turned back. The mountains skipped like rams, the hills like lambs.

What ails you, O sea, that you flee? O Jordan, that you turn back? O mountains, that you skip like rams? O hills, like lambs?

Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob, who turns the rock into a pool of water, the flint into a spring of water.

(Psalm 114 ESV)

Over the last week I have been using the quotes from the law and prophets as much if not more than the gospels. There is no contradiction here: God is not a man, that he should change his mind. His words are reliable, and we should learn from them. As the faults of the heroes of Israel — including the Psalmist — had consequences for the generations that followed, so it is today. We can call things whatever we like, but we still struggle with the same sins, idol worship being one of them.

Nominalism, is it? That vast grey conspiracy of grasping fingers reaching to chain our friends and beloveds into the purgatory of this world? -growls softly-

For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ. Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness.

Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did. Do not be idolaters as some of them were; as it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.” We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day. We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents, nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer. Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come. Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

(1 Corinthians 10:1-13 ESV)

I am not drawing a long bow when I say that the words of the Bible, the gospel, Christ himself only matter if they are true. This is why there are continual promotions of myths and false anthropology, philology… to disprove these words. For the words do not point to some spiritual gym, or means of self affirmation of our own sense that we are perfect, but to truth. Paul was writing to Corinth, who were not unaware of sexual depravity (although this generation would be damned by them — not as much for our homosexuality as for our institutionalized impiety).

Instead we are warned to keep the laws. For our own good. The way we show our love of Christ is by keeping his commands, and it is not loving to take another’s wife and destroy her marriage, or encourage young people to despoil themselves, making themselves unfit for marriage, or to steal, or to cheat, or to lie. You don’t need to have faith to know this: the Buddhist, the Hindu, the Bushman in the desert and the Islamist will pause killing Christians to agree with that

But when your idol is revolution, either within by developing a new sense of self (by meditation: drugs failed sixty years ago) or by changing our society and bringing Jerusalem to Otago, then any means is licit and words have to be slippery. You cannot have principles, and you cannot accept correction.

Consider the need we all have to discipline our diet and exercise. To eat well, not eat junk and to move: most of us know this well. But if we say it now — the rabbits will descend with fire and sword, for one cannot say that you are fat, you need to get fit.

When we do. We are under one of two clouds in this life: either the cloud of God, which guided Israel through the desert; in which we find ourselves drawn to obedience, or the cloud of rebellion, in which we will wander in despair. For Hearthie is correct about this post-modern world: we are not making heaven on this world, but a dark satanic mill that drives people to despair.

When we need to commit to one another. Only in being committed to each other, and to God, can we find joy. The Amos knew this would cost: she chose to marry an Englishman, and leave to live under those clouds. So to finish up…