As we paralleled the stories of Judah & Tamar [Gen38] along with David & Bathsheba [2Sm12] in bible study this week, the fog continued to be the prevailing theme. Whether it was Judah quietly avoiding to uphold the levirate marriage laws or David concealing the sins of adultery and murder, the fog continued to surround them. Though Judah and David would hide in the fog, this would soon be wiped away. As the signet, cord and staff were presented [Gen38:25] and after Nathan saying to David, “You are the man!”, they were exposed of their sin.

After every warm shower, we are always met with a foggy covered mirror. Our first reaction is to wipe the mirror in order to see our reflection. How foolish it would be if we did not! And so it is with the 2 nd use of the Law [mirror]. For the chief use of the law is to show us the reflection of our sins.

“Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet of the law had not said, “you shall not covet”.[Rm7:7]

However, the greatest temptation is to hide in the fog. Initially, it seems pleasant to hide in our sin, yet it is not so.

“For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away though my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer” [Ps 32:3-4]

Indeed, to hide in the fog is to see our bones wasting away, therefore it is the Lord’s hand tthat is heavy on us [by the Word] to the call of repentance. For the Lord wipes away the fog and reveals our true reflection according to the law. Luther writes based on Psalm 32,

“First, for one who keeps silent (that is, who does not confess), his bones quickly grow old, that is, his powers in which he formerly stood in good things are always reduced more and more by sins. For sin which is not washed away by repentance soon draws another sin by its own weight, as is clear in the case of David…But this can be understood in another way: the bones, which are the firmness of faith and hope, are reduced in their capacity to trust in God by the fact that he puts off confessing. And for that reason he roars, because he feels and fears the vengeance and the hand of God”. Luther’s Works AE 10:147

I asked Eliott the other day, “if you saw a foggy mirror, what would you do?” He said, “I would make a smiley face on it”. Of course, he would. Yet Christ, in the midst of our foggy filled sinful mirror, calls us to repentance and writes on this mirror, “You are forgiven”. For in these words of absolution, your bones are not wasting away, as the fog has been wiped away by the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. And though the fog continues to be the great battle for us all, come to church, hear and receive God’s Word, and rest upon the gifts that He has graciously given to you.

Have a blessed June

✝️ Pastor Jeong

The full newsletter can be found here:
https://www.faithmoorpark.com/files/pdf/2024/2024-06-Newsletter.pdf