SERMON: Shibboleth

SHIBBOLETH

3 May 2009

 

I. Introduction

    -- turn in Bibles to Judges 12

 

1. The men of Ephraim called out their forces, crossed over to Zaphon and said to Jephthah, "Why did you go to fight the Ammonites without calling us to go with you? We're going to burn down your house over your head."

2. Jephthah answered, "I and my people were engaged in a great struggle with the Ammonites, and although I called, you didn't save me out of their hands.

3. When I saw that you wouldn't help, I took my life in my hands and crossed over to fight the Ammonites, and the LORD gave me the victory over them. Now why have you come up today to fight me?"

4. Jephthah then called together the men of Gilead and fought against Ephraim. The Gileadites struck them down because the Ephraimites had said, "You Gileadites are renegades from Ephraim and Manasseh."

5. The Gileadites captured the fords of the Jordan leading to Ephraim, and whenever a survivor of Ephraim said, "Let me cross over," the men of Gilead asked him, "Are you an Ephraimite?" If he replied, "No,"

6. they said, "All right, say `Shibboleth.'" If he said, "Sibboleth," because he could not pronounce the word correctly, they seized him and killed him at the fords of the Jordan. Forty-two thousand Ephraimites were killed at that time.

 

 

    -- several years ago, one of the most popular t.v. shows in America was the West Wing -- it was the show that starred Martin Sheen as the President of the United States and it portrayed how the President and his staff dealt with the daily politics and crises that would arise in that position

    -- one of the most memorable shows from that series was called, "Shibboleth" -- the episode opens on the coast of California as a boatload of native Chinese people land on the shores of California seeking entry into the United States and are promptly detained by US agents -- they claim they are seeking asylum because, as evangelical Christians, they have been persecuted by the government of China and face harassment, imprisonment, or worse if they return

    -- their arrival immediately sets of a political storm -- China claims that these people are political dissidents and should be returned to face punishment while American Chinese religious groups petition the White House to grant them asylum¹

    -- it all comes down to this one issue -- are they, as they claim, Christians or are they merely claiming the name of Christ in order to receive political asylum?

    -- which begs the question -- when you call yourself a Christian, how can you prove that you truly are a follower of Jesus?

 

    -- in this passage from the Old Testament, we read of a similar situation in which people had to prove who they were -- this story takes place in the time of the judges -- as you know, after the death of Moses and Joshua, the nation of Israel turned away from the worship of God and started worshiping the false idols of the people who were already there in the Promised Land when they arrived

    -- the consequence of this sin was that Israel no longer had the favor of God, and they were given over to the Canaanites and the Philistines and the Ammorites -- and for many years, these nations ruled over and oppressed the Israelites

    -- from time to time, God would raise up a judge from among Israel -- a person who would lead the Israelites back to God and stand up against their foreign oppressors -- someone who stood as the political and religious leader for a period of time

    -- in this passage, we read of one such judge -- Jephthah -- who is listed in the Book of Hebrew in the roll call of men and women of faith

    -- Jephthah was from the region of Gilead, east of the Jordan River, and was a member of the tribe of Manasseh -- at the time he was called to lead Israel, the Israelites were being oppressed by the nation of Ammon, who also lived east of the Jordan River

    -- as this chapter opens, Jephthah and his men have defeated the Ammonites and have returned home with the spoils of war -- and, although their struggle with outside oppressors is over for a time, there is still internal strife among the various tribes of the Israelites

    

    -- let's look at this together -- look at verse 1 again

 

1. The men of Ephraim called out their forces, crossed over to Zaphon and said to Jephthah, "Why did you go to fight the Ammonites without calling us to go with you? We're going to burn down your house over your head."

2. Jephthah answered, "I and my people were engaged in a great struggle with the Ammonites, and although I called, you didn't save me out of their hands.

3. When I saw that you wouldn't help, I took my life in my hands and crossed over to fight the Ammonites, and the LORD gave me the victory over them. Now why have you come up today to fight me?"

4. Jephthah then called together the men of Gilead and fought against Ephraim. The Gileadites struck them down because the Ephraimites had said, "You Gileadites are renegades from Ephraim and Manasseh."

 

    -- when Jephthah and his army returned home to celebrate their great victory over the Ammonites, they were met by their brothers -- men from the tribe of Ephraim

    -- the tribe of Ephraim lived on the west side of the Jordan River in a mountainous but fertile region -- by the time Jephthah was called to be judge, the tribe of Ephraim was beginning to be one of the largest and most influential of all the tribes -- they were prosperous -- they were rich -- and they became one of the early centers of religious worship in Israel

    -- when the struggles against Ammon began, Jephthah issued a call for help to the tribe of Ephraim -- but the tribe refused to help -- divisions were already developing between the Israelites on each side of the Jordan River, and the Ephraimites refused to cross over and help their brothers in the fight against Ammon -- they were already rich and secure in their stronghold -- protected by mountains on one side and the Jordan River on the other -- why should they risk themselves for the men of Gilead?

    -- but then, when Jephthah emerged from the struggle victorious and returned home with his arms laden with the plunder from the Ammonites, the Ephraimites became jealous -- they felt like they had deserved a share of the plunder -- and so they gathered up an army to fight against Jephthah and take the plunder for themselves

    -- but the Jephthah and his Gileadites were victorious and routed the Ephraimites -- God was with them, even in the fight against their brothers -- the remaining Ephraimites fled from Jephthah's army and tried to make their way back across the Jordan River to their home, but the Gileadites had already seized the only crossing place at the fords of the Jordan River

 

    -- here's where the test comes in -- verse 5

 

5. The Gileadites captured the fords of the Jordan leading to Ephraim, and whenever a survivor of Ephraim said, "Let me cross over," the men of Gilead asked him, "Are you an Ephraimite?" If he replied, "No,"

6. they said, "All right, say `Shibboleth.'" If he said, "Sibboleth," because he could not pronounce the word correctly, they seized him and killed him at the fords of the Jordan. Forty-two thousand Ephraimites were killed at that time.

 

    -- the tribes of Israel on each side of the Jordan River had been separated so long they had developed different accents and ways of speaking -- just like here in the United States, people from the south pronounce words differently from the way people from the north pronounce them

    -- the Gileadites used this difference to determine who was of their tribe and who was an Ephraimite trying to sneak back across the Jordan River

    -- everyone who tried to cross the fords was asked to say the word, "Shibboleth" -- the Ephraimites could not make the "Sh" sound and instead pronounced it with a hard "S" -- as "Sibboleth" instead of "Shibboleth" -- and when they were found out, they were killed

    -- now I know this sounds harsh, but keep in mind that the real issue here was not who belonged to each tribe but who belonged to God -- who followed God and obeyed His commands

    -- the implication in this passage is that if the Ephraimites were truly followers of God, they would have responded to the call of His judge, Jephthah, and would have fought against the nation of Ammon

    -- so God was using that word "Shibboleth" as a means of determining who were true followers and who were not -- just because everyone called themselves followers of God did not mean that they truly were -- in fact, years later, the tribe of Ephraim would split from the nation of Israel and establish idol worship in their capitol of Samaria -- this passage is an early indication of the hearts of those people in regards to following God and His commands

 

    -- the term "Shibboleth" has become part of our English language -- it refers to a custom or phrase or use of language that identifies a group of people -- originally, it was used to determine who was in the faith -- who were true followers of God -- but the concept has been used throughout history to determine who belongs to a specific group

    -- for instance, during the Battle of the Bulge in World War II, American soldiers use the knowledge of baseball to determine if those around them were really Americans or if they were German infiltrators in American uniform -- the Germans didn't know about baseball and didn't follow the game, and so the Americans could quickly find spies by asking baseball questions as Shibboleths

    -- in the episode of the West Wing that I talked about, President Bartlett used Shibboleths as the way of determining if the Chinese who had landed in California were really Christians or not -- "he met with a dignitary of the Chinese refugees who convinced him of their need for asylum by answering obscure Bible trivia questions"¹ that only a true believer would know

 

    -- so, getting back to our original question-- let's say that someone wants to know whether you are a Christian or not -- just saying you are is not enough -- we all know people who call themselves "Christian" who obviously aren't -- so, what is our Shibboleth as Christians? -- what is the proof that we are truly followers of Christ?

    -- it's kind of like that old question that went around a few years ago -- if Christianity was suddenly outlawed, would there be enough evidence against you for a conviction?

    -- our word is not enough -- there has to be more -- in John 2:24-25, it says, "But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all men. -- He did not need man's testimony about man, for he knew what was in a man." -- the issue is not our testimony -- it is not who we say we are -- the issue is who God says we are and our Shibboleth is the demonstration of that truth

    -- people should be able to know we are Christians without us ever saying a word -- they should know we are Christians by our lives and by our love

 

    -- let's turn over to 1 Peter 2 and we'll wrap up there -- 1 Peter 2, verse 9

 

9. But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

 

    -- in this verse, we the Shibboleth of faith -- the test of Christianity -- so, what is a Christian?

 

    -- first and foremost, they are chosen -- they are part of a chosen people or a chosen generation -- chosen by God to be His own

    -- in Jeremiah 1:5, God says, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations."

    -- in other words, God chose us -- before we were created -- before we were formed in our mother's womb -- even before time began, the Bible tells us that God chose us and loved us and called us into His kingdom²

    -- 1 Timothy 2:3-4 says that God wants all of us to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth that is in Christ -- in other words, God chose all of us for salvation -- it was not His will that any should be lost

    -- so, to be a Christian is to know through faith that God has already chosen us and called us to be His own -- to live in that knowledge and to trust in Him for our salvation

    -- it's not enough to believe with your head the truth that God chose us for salvation -- you have to receive and accept that truth in your heart and show it in your life

    -- a good analogy is in adoption -- when an infant is adopted into a family, that infant has been chosen to be part of that family -- that is the truth and the reality of that situation -- but, at some point, the infant has to receive that truth and live it out in their lives -- they have to decide whether they will accept the choice that has been made for them and remain part of that family for life or whether they will reject the choice and go off on their own²

    -- to be a Christian is to know that you are chosen of God and to proclaim that you have decided to honor that choice by living as part of His family

 

    -- secondly, this verse tells us that a Christian is also part of a royal priesthood -- a representative of Christ Jesus Himself

    -- the words "Christ" or "Messiah" both mean the same thing -- they mean, "the anointed one" -- they refer back to the practice of God anointing and calling His people for service and for roles of leadership in the world -- in the Old Testament, when a person was called to be a priest, a prophet, or a king, they would be anointed with oil to symbolize the presence of the Holy Spirit in their lives

    -- that is one reason why we use oil in the church today to anoint people who are baptized or who are being sent forth in ministry -- it is a recognition that all Christians are called to the three-fold ministry of Jesus and empowered by His Spirit to serve as priests, prophets, and kings -- this is what Peter is referring to here when he says that we are a "royal priesthood"

    -- to serve as royal priests means that we witness to the calling of God on those around us -- we proclaim His word and tell those around us that they, too, have been chosen and are loved of God -- we intercede on their behalf -- lifting them up to the throne of grace and asking God to touch their lives and to help them receive the knowledge of the truth that is in Christ -- and we offer sacrifices on their part

    -- now this doesn't mean that we offer up burnt offerings or anything like that -- but it means that we offer up ourselves, as holy and living sacrifices, in service to God and to them -- this is where our Shibboleth becomes visible -- where our faith becomes sight for others

    -- when Mother Teresa ministered to the outcasts in India, she was serving as a royal priest -- even if she had not worn her habit -- even if she had not claimed the name of Christ with her words -- those around her would have known through her acts of sacrifice and service that she was chosen of God and was living for Him

    -- in the same way, those who name the name of Christ -- those who call themselves Christian -- who have received the saving grace of God -- are called to serve God by serving others -- to be for Christ His hands and feet and voice in this world -- it means that you know that you are chosen by God to serve Him and that you are actively engaged in ministry -- both within the walls of this church and outside in the dark world, bringing the light of Christ with you to all you meet

    -- the question you need to ask yourself if you call yourself a Christian is, "What have I done for God lately? -- What have I done for others lately?" -- the answer to these questions is part of the visible Shibboleth of being a Christian

 

    -- finally, we read here that we are a holy nation -- this is the final part of the visible Shibboleth -- the final part of the internal test to demonstrate to yourself whether you are a Christian or not

    -- to be holy means to be set apart -- to be taken out of the world and placed in God's kingdom -- to be different from those around us -- in nature -- in position -- in behavior -- and in character

    -- being chosen of God makes us holy in nature and position -- we are no longer subjects of God's wrath -- we are no longer enemies of God -- but are now part of His kingdom -- adopted into His family through the righteousness of Christ and seated with Him in the heavenly places

    -- being royal priests makes us holy in behavior as we serve God by serving others -- as we intercede on their behalf and proclaim the truth of God to those around us -- striving to meet their physical and spiritual needs through the power of the Spirit and pointing them to the cross of salvation

    -- finally, we are identified as a holy nation through our character, which is the most telling evidence as to whether we are a Christian or not

    -- externalities can be faked -- in other words, you can fool people into believing you are a Christian by doing good things -- by serving others -- by talking a lot about Jesus and God

    -- but character -- integrity -- is who you are when the lights go out -- it is who you are when you are alone -- it is who you are in your heart of hearts -- this is where holiness is determined

    -- the Pharisees were good at externalities -- they were good at looking holy -- at looking religious -- at looking Godly -- but Jesus said they were like white-washed tombs -- He said they were doing nothing more than cleaning the outside -- looking good on the outside -- while leaving the inside a place of dirtiness and death and uncleanness

    -- holiness is having your heart cleaned -- holiness is being transformed from the inside out through the power of the Holy Spirit -- holiness is reflecting the goodness and purity and love of God Himself

    -- holiness says, "It is not enough to come to church -- it is not enough to come to Bible study -- it is not enough to give your full tithe and to serve others -- if you are not clean on the inside -- if you are not truly living with Christ inside you"

    -- this is where the claim of hypocrisy within the church gets thrown about so often -- when people's lives and their character and their integrity don't match the words that they are saying

    -- God tells us here that to be a Christian is to be holy -- to reflect His word and His commands inside and out -- as Peter writes in 1 Peter 1:15, "just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do"

    -- a true Christian is holy -- set apart and different from the world -- different in attitude -- different in behavior -- different in character

    -- this doesn't mean that we are perfect in all our ways -- but it means that we are striving towards perfection -- that we recognize our sinfulness -- that we recognize the ways we fall short -- that we recognize our need for the grace of God -- and we are moving forward towards perfection by striving to be more like Jesus today than we were yesterday

    -- ask yourself, "are you more like Jesus today than you were a year ago -- two years ago -- ten years ago?"

    -- as part of our Shibboleth of faith, we should be able to look at our lives and see a difference in our character and integrity when compared to the world and to where we were before we came to know Christ

 

    -- so, getting back to our original question -- when you call yourself a Christian, how can you prove that you truly are a follower of Jesus? -- what is the Shibboleth that you use to demonstrate that we are Christians?

    -- the true Shibboleth of a Christian is faith

    -- believing in faith that we have been chosen of God for salvation -- knowing that our sins have been forgiven and receiving and living in that knowledge

    -- living in faith through our service as kings and priests and prophets of God -- ministering to others in His name -- being His hands and feet and voice in this world

    -- and being transformed in faith from enemies of God in mind and spirit to people who are holy in all that we do -- who reflect God's holiness in our behavior and our character and our integrity

    -- being and showing we are Christians when we say nothing at all, but let our lives speak for themselves -- that is our true Shibboleth -- the Shibboleth of faith -- and that is why we are here today

 

    -- as we close today -- as the last hymn is played -- I want to encourage you to take a look at your life -- apply that Shibboleth of faith to yourself -- can you truly say you are a Christian? -- does your life reflect Christ and His holiness? -- not just on the outside -- not just through coming to church -- but on the inside as well

    -- do you know that you are chosen and have you received God's offer of salvation? -- are you living a life of holiness in service to God and others? -- are you holy on the inside, in your character and your integrity?

    -- I suspect that if we honestly applied this test of faith in our life, we'd find out that all of us have a long way to go -- that all of us can do better in living a life of faith -- both externally and internally -- that all of us have a ways to go before we can say we are truly holy in all our ways as God is holy

    -- so, whatever it is that God has shown you today -- whatever it is that God is calling you to do or to change -- I want to encourage you to do so before you leave today -- to respond to His word and His call -- so that you might say "Shibboleth" in the right way when you try to cross the Jordan River at the end of your days

    -- let us pray

 

¹ [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shibboleth_(The_West_Wing)]

² Willimon, William. Remember Who You Are. The Upper Room, 1980.