The Dragonslayer
Historic One Year Lectionary Old Testament • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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9 Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the Lord; awake, as in days of old, the generations of long ago. Was it not you who cut Rahab in pieces, who pierced the dragon? 10 Was it not you who dried up the sea, the waters of the great deep, who made the depths of the sea a way for the redeemed to pass over? 11 And the ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. 12 “I, I am he who comforts you; who are you that you are afraid of man who dies, of the son of man who is made like grass, 13 and have forgotten the Lord, your Maker, who stretched out the heavens and laid the foundations of the earth, and you fear continually all the day because of the wrath of the oppressor, when he sets himself to destroy? And where is the wrath of the oppressor? 14 He who is bowed down shall speedily be released; he shall not die and go down to the pit, neither shall his bread be lacking. 15 I am the Lord your God, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar— the Lord of hosts is his name. 16 And I have put my words in your mouth and covered you in the shadow of my hand, establishing the heavens and laying the foundations of the earth, and saying to Zion, ‘You are my people.’ ”
Children’s Message:
Children’s Message:
Dragons
Mario rescuing Princess Peach from Bowser
Introduction:
Introduction:
Fear of men before and after elections
Lessing, “Will Yahweh bring His captive people home to Zion?”
9 Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the Lord; awake, as in days of old, the generations of long ago. Was it not you who cut Rahab in pieces, who pierced the dragon? 10 Was it not you who dried up the sea, the waters of the great deep, who made the depths of the sea a way for the redeemed to pass over? 11 And the ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
Firstly, A cry to the LORD for help!
Firstly, A cry to the LORD for help!
1. The Arm of the LORD (9-11)
1. The Arm of the LORD (9-11)
“Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the LORD; awake as in the days of old, the generations of long ago.” (9a)
He may appear to us or them to be asleep at times. He is not.
4 Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.
Asking Him to act once more (Ps. 44, 74, 77)
13 The Lord goes out like a mighty man, like a man of war he stirs up his zeal; he cries out, he shouts aloud, he shows himself mighty against his foes.
The arm of the LORD
10 Behold, the Lord God comes with might, and his arm rules for him; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him. 11 He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young.
The LORD’s arm rules
It gathers
It is involved in creation
17 ‘Ah, Lord God! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you.
and redemption
6 Say therefore to the people of Israel, ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from slavery to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment.
16 Terror and dread fall upon them; because of the greatness of your arm, they are still as a stone, till your people, O Lord, pass by, till the people pass by whom you have purchased.
It wasn’t just because Moses held his hands up!!
14 “Assemble, all of you, and listen! Who among them has declared these things? The Lord loves him; he shall perform his purpose on Babylon, and his arm shall be against the Chaldeans.
Motyer, “This prepares for 51:9, a call for a new-exodus activity of the Lord; for 52:10, where the Lord’s arm is bared for universal revelation of saving power; and for 53:1, where we meet the arm of the Lord in person.”
10 The Lord has bared his holy arm before the eyes of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.
1 Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
The arm of the LORD is the Suffering Servant, the one who would serve faithfully in our place, and die sacrificially in our place, but rise again victoriously! (see Isaiah 52-53)
The arm of the LORD is the Suffering Servant, the one who would serve faithfully in our place, and die sacrificially in our place, but rise again victoriously! (see Isaiah 52-53)
“Was it not you who cut Rahab in pieces, …”
Not a reference to Rahab who hid the spies in the Promised land (Joshua 2). It is spelled with one differing consonant, though it has been translated the same into English.
This is a sea monster
It is sometimes a cipher for Egypt
7 Egypt’s help is worthless and empty; therefore I have called her “Rahab who sits still.”
4 Among those who know me I mention Rahab and Babylon; behold, Philistia and Tyre, with Cush— “This one was born there,” they say.
The LORD defeats Rahab
10 You crushed Rahab like a carcass; you scattered your enemies with your mighty arm.
12 By his power he stilled the sea; by his understanding he shattered Rahab. 13 By his wind the heavens were made fair; his hand pierced the fleeing serpent.
13 “God will not turn back his anger; beneath him bowed the helpers of Rahab.
“…who pierced the dragon?” (taneen)
sea-monster or sea-dragon; Also called, “Leviathon”
1 In that day the Lord with his hard and great and strong sword will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan the twisting serpent, and he will slay the dragon that is in the sea.
13 You divided the sea by your might; you broke the heads of the sea monsters on the waters. 14 You crushed the heads of Leviathan; you gave him as food for the creatures of the wilderness.
12 Am I the sea, or a sea monster, that you set a guard over me?
1 “Can you draw out Leviathan with a fishhook or press down his tongue with a cord?
Ancient Near East myths about the powers of evil, chaos, and destruction being the violent sea, and gods or monsters of the sea. They also believed that their gods (Marduk or Baal) had to win battles against “primordial chaos monsters” in order to create the world. (Lessing)
“Was it not you who dried up the sea, …”
The Red Sea
“the waters of the great deep,”
Not a shallow bridge through a marsh, but deep water in which you could sink into it’s deadly depths!
“who made the depths of the sea a way for the redeemed to pass over?”
“And the ransomed of the LORD shall return and come to Zion with singing;”
Like Moses and the song of the sea
Dancing with tambourines
song “Pharaoh, Pharaoh!”
“everlasting joy shall be upon their heads;
1 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; 2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; 3 to grant to those who mourn in Zion— to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified.
25 Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.
“they shall obtain gladness and joy,”
“and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.”
Revelation
THE DIVINE WARRIOR!
He has shown the power of His arm over mighty nations, over the sun, the weather, the animal kingdom, the sea, and the gods of pagan nations.
He delivered His people with a strong arm from slavery and brought them to the Promised Land.
His people would be going into exile again in Babylon, but the LORD would bring them home to Zion! The LORD will overthrow Babylon just as He did Egypt!
The LORD didn’t need to fight battles in order to create the world, He created it out of nothing by the authority of His Word. He now show His dominance over all of creation and all other beings.
3 The Lord is a man of war; the Lord is his name.
The LORD, the victorious and omnipotent Divine Warrior, gives two great Gospel comforts in answer to the cry for help:
The LORD, the victorious and omnipotent Divine Warrior, gives two great Gospel comforts in answer to the cry for help:
12 “I, I am he who comforts you; who are you that you are afraid of man who dies, of the son of man who is made like grass, 13 and have forgotten the Lord, your Maker, who stretched out the heavens and laid the foundations of the earth, and you fear continually all the day because of the wrath of the oppressor, when he sets himself to destroy? And where is the wrath of the oppressor? 14 He who is bowed down shall speedily be released; he shall not die and go down to the pit, neither shall his bread be lacking.
2. “I, I am he who comforts you”
2. “I, I am he who comforts you”
Why are we so afraid of men who die?
We shouldn’t fear them when we have the LORD on our side.
The Divine Warrior will defeat all of our enemies and cast them
Why aren’t we afraid of the all powerful Divine Warrior?
I, I
He wasn’t asleep. He heard the whole prayer of “Awake awake”
I am He who comforts you
despite their sins
He desires to show mercy
15 I am the Lord your God, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar— the Lord of hosts is his name. 16 And I have put my words in your mouth and covered you in the shadow of my hand, establishing the heavens and laying the foundations of the earth, and saying to Zion, ‘You are my people.’ ”
3. “I am the LORD your God”
3. “I am the LORD your God”
7 I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.
3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.
1 Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.
“I have put my words in your mouth”
For our blessing they are given to us
They are meant to be proclaimed too
9 For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, 10 and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority. 11 In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, 12 having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. 13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. 15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.
11 Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. 12 His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. 13 He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. 14 And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. 15 From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. 16 On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords. 17 Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he called to all the birds that fly directly overhead, “Come, gather for the great supper of God, 18 to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all men, both free and slave, both small and great.” 19 And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war against him who was sitting on the horse and against his army. 20 And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who in its presence had done the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur. 21 And the rest were slain by the sword that came from the mouth of him who was sitting on the horse, and all the birds were gorged with their flesh.
9 And they marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, but fire came down from heaven and consumed them, 10 and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
Conclusion
Conclusion
