2/25/07 - Lent 1 - Deut. 26:5-10

MY FATHER WAS A WANDERING ARAMEAN...
- Remember
- Respond

Did you happen to look at the sermon theme for today? If you haven’t yet, open up your bulletins and see what it is. The sermon theme for today is: “My Father was a Wandering Aramean…” Now, why would I ever come up with a theme like that? Well, if you were paying attention to our Scripture lessons this morning, you’ll recognize that it comes right out of our Old Testament reading, which happens to be our sermon text for today, Deuteronomy 26:5-10. “My father was a wandering Aramean…” And the reason that I’m using these words as the sermon theme is because this is not just some passing phrase buried in the annals of the Old Testament. It is something we need to remember. And it is something to which we need to respond.
To understand why we need to remember and respond to this phrase, we must first understand why the Old Testament believers were suppose to. This sermon text is at the end of the book of Deuteronomy, the book that is considered Moses’ farewell speech. He is about to die and he is giving the Israelites final instructions from the Lord as they are about to enter the Promised Land. And so Moses says to the people, “Once you enter the Promised Land, take some of the first and some of the best of your produce, put it in a basket, and take it to the tabernacle.” “Then,” Moses says in our text, “you shall declare before the LORD your God: ‘My father was a wandering Aramean…’” There’s the theme. It was the first thing the Israelites were supposed to say when they brought the first fruits of their crops before the Lord. “My father was a wandering Aramean.” Of course, that phrase brings up at least three questions: who was the father they were speaking of, why is he called a wandering Aramean, and for what reason were they supposed to say these words in the first place?
Well, the “father” they were supposed to mention was not Abraham or Isaac, but Jacob. It is clear that Jacob is the forefather they were supposed to have had in mind because of what is said in the following verses. But why, then, were they supposed to call Jacob a wandering Aramean? Wasn’t he an Israelite? Yes, he most definitely was of Jewish decent - his other name was “Israel.” But if we look back to the book of Genesis, we see that after Jacob had deceived his brother Esau, he fled to a place called Paddan Aram, the land of the Arameans. There he lived for 20 years with his uncle Laban, marrying Laban’s two daughters, Leah and Rachel.
And so we now know that the “father” was Jacob and we know why Jacob is called an Aramean, but that leaves us with the last and most important question: why were the Israelites supposed to say this in the presence of the Lord in the first place? The Lord wanted them to say this because he wanted them to remember. The Israelites were supposed to say these words right after they entered the Promised Land, and the Lord wanted them to remember where their nation had been and everything the Lord had done for them in the past. And so the Israelites weren’t supposed to stop at, “My father was a wandering Aramean,” but they were to continue with, “he went down into Egypt with a few people and lived there and became a great nation, powerful and numerous. But the Egyptians mistreated us and made us suffer, putting us to hard labor. Then we cried out to the LORD the God of our fathers, and the LORD heard our voice and saw our misery, toil and oppression. So the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and outstretched arm, with great terror and with miraculous signs and wonders. He brought us to this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey.” This is what God wanted them to remember, to keep in mind everything the Lord had done for them - from their meager beginnings in Egypt, through the hard times of persecution, and up until the very day they repeated these words at which time he allowed them to thrive as a nation in the Promised Land. This was their history. This was their past. And this was something the Lord didn’t want them ever to forget.
“My father was a wandering Aramean…” This is something we need to keep in mind too. Because we need to remember our history. We cannot lose our past. We must always be aware of what the Lord has done with his Word in this country. From the meager beginnings, through the times of hardship and turmoil, and up until this present day at which time the Lord has allowed his Word to thrive here and throughout the world! It is important history that we are directly involved with. And so it is history worth the review.
In 1850 the Wisconsin Synod officially began. But don’t think of a huge group of people with multiple congregations. No, it was only three pastors from Germany who got together in Milwaukee the year before to hash out the details. In fact, there were many Lutheran synods around that time, all of them relatively small. The Missouri Synod, the Ohio Synod, the Iowa Synod, the Buffalo Synod, the Minnesota Synod, the Michigan Synod, the Norwegian Synod, and others. These synods were popping up in America because immigrants from Europe, mostly from Germany, wanted to preserve the true words of God in a new country. The Wisconsin Synod was one of many. But it wasn’t exactly one of the most orthodox synods at first. The first president of the synod faltered on a few points of Scripture, and it was really the Missouri Synod back then who was the caretaker of unadulterated biblical truth. And on top of that the Wisconsin Synod was being supplied with pastors from German Mission Societies. Pastors coming over seas who weren’t always in line with every teaching of Scripture. It was a meager and rocky beginning for the Synod of which you now are a part.
But even during this less than ideal start, the Lord preserved his Word. He raised up men like John Bading and Adolph Hoenecke to lead the Wisconsin Synod in the right direction according to Scripture. Later on the Lord allowed men such as J.P. Koehler, August Pieper, and John Schaller to preach and teach the Truth. In 1872 we joined with the Missouri Synod, among others, to form the Synodical Conference. This was a fellowship between Lutheran synods who agreed on all points of Scripture. But of course, that did not last. For years there was building friction between the members of the Synodical Conference because of doctrinal issues. And finally in 1961 the Wisconsin Synod severed fellowship with the Missouri Synod because of the Missouri Synod’s unwillingness to change their erroneous teachings.
But even in these dark times of our forefathers, the Lord still preserved his Word. He provided faithful men and women who stood up for the truth and boldly moved on even after the painful separation from their longtime friends. And because of these unfortunate events the Wisconsin Synod grew closer together and experienced first hand what it would take to defend every word of God’s inspired Scripture.
This very brief history leads us up to today. We live in a country in which the Lord has spread his Word through Christian men and women from coast to coast. What an incredible blessing. We sit in a congregation that has been financially and prayerfully supported by the Wisconsin Synod for 67 years. What an incredible blessing. We have available to us volumes and volumes of solid, Lutheran commentaries, devotion books, articles, essays, explanations, statements, confessions… all produced by faithful Christians the Lord has raised up for us at this time in this country. What a blessing.
And so whether or not you have been a WELS member all your life, whether or not you have relatives that have been in Wisconsin Synod’s past, this is your history. This is your past. The Synod to which you belong grew from a wishy-washy handful of believers into a church body with over 1200 congregations served by over 1000 pastors. Remember, remember how your father was a wandering Aramean in this country. But now look at what the Lord has done so that we can be where we’re at today.
I would think that remembering everything the Lord has done to preserve his Word for our benefit, I would think it would motivate us to respond with thanks. To be grateful and appreciative of the Lord for all he has done. How could we not be thankful every day as we live our lives in this country in this Synod in this congregation? And so it’s so sad when we complain. Constantly complain. I wonder if the Lord ever breathes out a disappointed sigh every once in a while when he hears what comes out of our mouths. Because we complain about everything, don’t we? Instead of remembering that our father was a wandering Aramean and thanking the Lord for where we are at right now, we feel the need to complain. About the Synod, about the congregation, about our fellow brothers and sisters here with us, about the weather! There are countless things we complain about, don’t we? And all of us have our favorites. We respond with complaints so often that we forget to see the blessings. How ungrateful do we have to act before the Lord says, “Fine, I’ll take all these blessings away that I’ve built of up for you over the years. Then you’ll really see all the great things you had.”
Please be aware of what you say as a Christian. Please be aware of your sins. You must always ask yourself: Are my comments praises or complaints? And when they are complaints, immediately confess those sins. Ask the Lord for forgiveness and know that he does. Because the history we look back to, of course, goes farther back than 1850. It goes back to the cross. The cross is where death ended and life began. It’s where sin stopped and forgiveness reigned. It’s where your praises were founded and your complaints non-existent. Remember the cross, remember Christ who hung there, and remember all the blessings that flow from it - including the blessings of the Word the Lord has showered upon us. And when you do remember, respond.
The Israelites were directed to do the same thing. When they remembered that their father was a wandering Aramean, they were then to respond. How? They were to conclude their words in the presence of the Lord like this: “Now I bring you the first fruits of the soil that you, O LORD, have given me.” The Israelites brought their first fruits to the Lord out of thanks in response to the love he had shown them. And you are to do the same. Give your first fruits to the Lord - the first and the best of whatever you’ve been given. And that could be a number of different things. We talked about it a few weeks ago during our stewardship Sundays. Give the Lord the first and the best of your time - whenever it may be. Give the Lord the first and the best of your talents - whatever they may be. Give the Lord the first and the best of your treasures - however much they may be.
There was a WELS pastor who was being audited by the IRS. The man that was doing the audit was upset by some numbers on the pastor’s receipts. “How could you have the exact same amount down every month for your offerings to church?” the auditor asked. “What do you mean?” the pastor said. “Well, how can you claim to have had the exact same amount left over in your checkbook every month to give to church?” The pastor, of course, smiled and said, “I don’t give what I have left. I give what I have first.” That’s the response of a Christian to the Lord’s love. That’s an example of giving your first fruits. And I could give you many examples of people giving their first fruits of talents and their first fruits of time. But in the end, no matter how many examples I give you: how you respond is up to you. Because the Lord wants you to respond from the heart, with thanks from your mouth and from your actions.
After the Israelites repeated those words in the presence of the Lord, Moses commanded them, “Place the basket before the LORD your God and bow down before him. And you and the Levites and the aliens among you shall rejoice in all the good things the Lord your God has given to you and your household.” And although the Israelites didn’t really have a choice, I’m sure they were glad to do it anyway. After all, they were finally in the Promised Land, the place they had been looking forward to, the land flowing with milk and honey. And to think, their father was once a wandering Aramean. My fellow beneficiaries of the Lord’s goodness: our father was once a wandering Aramean. Remember that. Remember what the Lord has done. And respond in kind.
Amen.

“May the Lord our God be with us as he was with our fathers. May he never leave us or forsake us.” - 1 Kings 8:57