HUCKSTERS

HUCKSTERS

“Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, like men sent from God.” (2 Corinthians 2:17)

Sometimes godly men rise like cream on milk to positions of leadership. On other occasions, however, worthless men assume positions of power by deception and force. Abimelech was just such a man. When his father Gideon died he murdered his seventy brothers to be sure that no one would oppose him to become king. (See Judges 9:1-20) Jotham, the youngest son, however, escaped. When the people gathered to crown Abimelech king, Jothan climbed to the top of Mount Gerezim and shouted: “Listen to me, citizens of Shechem, so that God may listen to you. One day the trees went out to anoint a king for themselves. They said to the olive tree, ‘Be our king.’ “But the olive tree answered, ‘Should I give up my oil, by which both gods and humans are honored, to hold sway over the trees?’ “Next, the trees said to the fig tree, ‘Come and be our king.’ “But the fig tree replied, ‘Should I give up my fruit, so good and sweet, to hold sway over the trees?’“Then the trees said to the vine, ‘Come and be our king.’ “But the vine answered, ‘Should I give up my wine, which cheers both gods and humans, to hold sway over the trees?’ “Finally all the trees said to the thorn bush, ‘Come and be our king.’ “The thorn bush said to the trees, ‘If you really want to anoint me king over you, come and take refuge in my shade; but if not, then let fire come out of the thorn bush and consume the cedars of Lebanon!’” (Judges 9:7-15)

Abimelech was not an olive tree, a fig tree, or even a vine. He was merely a scrawny thorn bush who made no shade at all!

Paul ran into similar “leaders” like this in Corinth. These weak and insignificant men in Corinth were peddled the word of God for profit. The Greek word Paul used to describe these men is “kapeleuo”. W. E. Vine in his Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words states that the word “primarily signifies to be a retailer, to peddle, to hucksterize (from kapelos, an inn-keeper, a petty retailer; especially of wine, a huckster, pedlar, in contrast to emporor, a merchant); hence, to get base gain by dealing in anything, and so more, and so, more generally to do anything for sordid personal advantage.”

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Jesus described such men as hirelings who would flee to safety rather than defend the flock of God (John 10:11-13).

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Paul warned Titus about such men “because they are ruining whole households by teaching things they ought not to teach – and for the sake of dishonest gain.” (Titus 1:11)

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Peter wrote that “In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up.” (2 Peter 2:3)

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Peter continued: “They will be paid back with harm for the harm they have done. Their idea of pleasure is to carouse in broad daylight. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their pleasures while they feast with you. With eyes full of adultery, they never stop sinning; they seduce the unstable; they are experts in greed—an accursed brood! They have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam son of Bezer, who loved the wages of wickedness.” (2 Peter 2:13-15)

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Jude said: “Woe to them! They have taken the way of Cain; they have rushed for profit into Balaam’s error;” (Jude 11)

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Jude continued: “These men are grumblers and fault finders; they follow their own evil desires; they boast about themselves and flatter others for their own advantage.” (Jude 16) •

Paul described these men at Corinth as “false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.” (2 Corinthians 11:13-15)

A PRIEST WITHOUT PRINCIPLES

In the days of the Judges the mother of a man named Micah took two hundred shekels of silver to a silversmith who made them into an idol. “Now this man Micah had a shrine, and he made an ephod and some idols and installed one of his sons as his priest. In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit.” (Judges 17:5-6)

When a Levite came by, however, Micah fired his son and hired the Levite. “Then Micah said to him, “Live with me and be my father and priest, and I’ll give you ten shekels of silver a year, your clothes and your food.” So the Levite agreed to live with him, and the young man became like one of his sons to him. Then Micah installed the Levite, and the young man became his priest and lived in his house. And Micah said, “Now I know that the Lord will be good to me, since this Levite has become my priest.”

Someone said sarcastically: “Isn’t it interesting how the Holy Spirit consistently calls preachers to bigger churches and higher salaries?”

So Micah’s priest was “called” to a bigger church! Six hundred men from the tribe of Dan discovered Micah’s priest and said to him: “Be quiet! Don’t say a word. Come with us, and be our father and priest. Isn’t it better that you serve a tribe and clan in Israel as priest rather than just one man’s household?” The priest was very pleased. He took the ephod, the household gods and the idol and went along with the people. Putting their little children, their livestock and their possessions in front of them, they turned away and left.”

NOTE THE CONTRAST

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Paul was not called to pastor a big church, he was called to suffer. “But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.” (Acts 9:15-16)

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Paul wrote to the Corinthians: “Even though you have ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father I became your father through the gospel.” (1 Corinthians 4:15)

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Even though Paul had a right to be paid as a preacher, he did not use that right and preached voluntarily (1 Corinthians 9:15-18).

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Paul wrote: “Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone to win as many as possible.” (1 Corinthians 9:19)

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Paul continued: “Now I am ready to visit you for the third time, and I will not be a burden to you, because what I want is not your possessions, but you.” (2 Corinthians 12:14)

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To the Thessalonians he wrote: “even though as apostles of Christ we could have asserted our authority. Instead, we were like young children among you. Just as a nursing mother cares for her children, so we cared for you. Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well. Surely you remember, brothers and sisters, our toil and hardship; we worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospel of God to you.” (1 Thessaloians 2:6-9)

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To the Romans he wrote: “I speak the truth in Christ—I am not lying, my conscience confirms it through the Holy Spirit—I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my people, those of my own race,” (Romans 9:1-3)

MERCY NOT SACRIFICE

“As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,”he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him. While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Matthew 9:9-13)

Please note that the focus of “sacrifice” is “inward”. For example, God commanded every Hebrew man to sacrifice a Passover lamb for his own family (Exodus 12:1-3). If your household was too small to eat a whole lamb you were to share it with your neighbor, but the focus of making a sacrifice was to take care of your own sins! Still, however, you didn’t sacrifice the lamb for your neighbor, you sacrifice it for yourself!

The focus of “mercy” is exactly the opposite! In the parable of the Good Samaritan, for example, both the priest and the Levite passed by on the other side and refused to help the man who was naked and half dead (Luke 10:25-37). Their focus was “inward.” They were more concerned about their own purity than helping the man who was half dead. Please consider: “The Lord said to Moses,“Tell Aaron and his sons to treat with respect the sacred offerings the Israelites consecrate to me, so they will not profane my holy name. I am the Lord. “Say to them: ‘For the generations to come, if any of your descendants is ceremonially unclean and yet comes near the sacred offerings that the Israelites consecrate to the Lord, that person must be cut off from my presence. I am the Lord.” (Leviticus 22:1-3)

If the man who had fallen among thieves was unclean, the priest and the Levite would become unclean by touching him and thus be unable to make a sacrifice!

Thus it was up to an irreligious Samaritan to help the man who had fallen among thieves. The Samaritan was more concerned about the man in need than he was about himself. “when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’” (Luke 10:33-35)

The focus of the Good Samaritan was “outward”. He thought more about the welfare of someone else than he did about himself. Jesus said:

“Go and do likewise”

(Luke 10:37)

THERE IS NO DOUBT ABOUT IT! GOD DESIRES MERCY AND NOT SACRIFICE!

It is significant that this verse is found in the book of Hosea! Against all earthly wisdom: “When the Lord began to speak through Hosea, the Lord said to him, ‘Go take to yourself an adulterous wife and children of unfaithfulness, but the land is guilty of the vilest adultery in departing from the Lord.’” (Hosea 1:2)

When Hosea’s wife ran away to sell herself to another man, Hosea loved her like the Lord loved the Israelites. He bought her back for “fifteen shekels of silver and about a homer and a lethek of barley” (Hosea 2:2) Hosea was thinking more about his wife than he was thinking about himself! This is precisely the way Jesus thought - “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:21)

COUNT THE COST

“Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’ “Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.” (Luke 14:25-33)

The word “hate” in this passage does not mean to “despise.” We are not to despise our parents, we are commanded to honor them. Honoring your parents is the first commandment with a promise (Ephesians 6:2). We are not only commanded to love our families, we are even commanded to love our enemies (Matthew 5:44). Perhaps this passage from Deuteronomy will help explain the words of Jesus: “If a man have two wives, one beloved, and another hated, and they have born him children, both the beloved and the hated; and if the firstborn son be hers that was hated: Then it shall be, when he maketh his sons to inherit that which he hath, that he may not make the son of the beloved firstborn before the son of the hated, which is indeed the firstborn: But he shall acknowledge the son of the hated for the firstborn, by giving him a double portion of all that he hath: for he is the beginning of his strength; the right of the firstborn is his.” (Deuteronomy 21:15-17) The husband did not hate his wife or his son, he simply loved his other wife and son more.

Perhaps Matthew’s version of the story is easier to understand: “Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.” (Matthew 10:37-39)

PASCAL’S WAGER

“Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.” (Eccl. 12:13)

Blaise Pascal was a famous French mathematician, inventor, and theologian. He was born June 19, 1623 and died Aug. 19, 1662. He was a brilliant child prodigy, who was educated by his father. At the age of 16 he wrote a profound treatise on geometry that revolutionized economics and social science. In 1642, while still a teen ager, he did pioneering work on calculating machines. After three years he produced 50 prototypes and finished 20 machines.

His mathematical brilliance enabled him to reduce gambling to a science. As you know, professional gambling devices are calibrated in such a way that the “house” will always be the ultimate winner. Pascal understood this and even invented the roulette wheel.

In 1654, however, Pascal had a profound religious experience and devoted himself to God. He was in poor health for most of his life and died just two months after his 39th birthday. With the ever present thought of death he came up with what has been called, “Pascal’s Wager”. He argued that a “rational” person should seek to believe in God and live his life as if God existed. He reasoned that if there is no God, such a person would only suffer a finite loss. If God does exist, however, the “believer” will be blessed with an eternal reward. He concluded that since there are only two possibilities, heads or tails, it is not wise to wager eternal happiness for temporary pleasures.

The late Jim Elliot said: “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose”.

Here is a brief outline of Pascal’s thinking:

1. You must wager! It is not optional! You did not ask to be born, but you were. You may not want to die, but you will. You must wager one way or the other.

2. A rational person will weigh the options of what you have to gain, against what you have to lose. If you die and find there is no God you lose nothing. If you die and find there a God you lose everything.

3. He concluded, therefore, that without hesitation everyone should wager everything on God. Our risks of gain and loss are not equal. It is foolish to gamble so much to gain so little.

4. For those who do not believe, Pascal recommended a search for evidence. The consequences are too important to do otherwise. Even after evidence is secured, however, he knew that belief in God was still not a mathematical certainty. He knew that believing in God and not believing in God are both a gamble. Pascal was confident, however, that believing in God was the better gamble.

5. Today juries are charged with weighing the evidence and reaching a verdict “beyond a reasonable doubt”. Many things are “possible” that are not “reasonable”. The book of Romans teaches that to present our bodies to God as a living sacrifice is a “reasonable” thing to do (Rom. 12:1). The word translated as “reasonable” in the KJV is “logikos”, from which we get the word “logical”. Presenting ourselves to God is “logical”. Worshiping and idol is not “logical”. Isaiah made fun of idolaters by pointing out that they cut down a tree and use part of it to make an idol to worship, and the rest to build a fire to bake bread (Is. 44:14 – 20). What if the idolater got it backward and burned his god and worshiped his fire wood? Idolatry is not reasonable!

Our text from Ecclesiastes was written by a “teacher” who was the son of King David, and also the King over Israel in Jerusalem (Eccl. 1:1, 12). This means that the “teacher” who wrote Ecclesiastes was King Solomon. The word Ecclesiastes comes from the Hebrew word “Koheleth” which means “teacher” or “preacher”. So wise King Solomon shares some of his wisdom in this inspired book.

As a king with unlimited wealth and authority Solomon denied himself no thing his eyes desired and no pleasure his heart craved (Eccl. 2:10). The whole book of Ecclesiastes describes in detail his unlimited accumulation of wealth and his unlimited experience of pleasure. The last two verses, however, describe his “conclusion”. TO FEAR GOD AND KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS IS THE WHOLE DUTY OF MAN!

Solomon also said: “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the grave , where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.” (Ecclesiastes 9:10)

The point is, whatever you are going to do, do it now, for when you are in the grave it is too late!

So which way will you wager? Will you gamble on God, or risk it all as a huckster on the hope that the design of the universe has no Designer. Remember! It is the fool that says in his heart there is no God!