Authentic: Turkish Delight
I recently re-read C.S. Lewis’ The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. It’s an amazing allegory of the spiritual life and Christ’s sacrifice for sin. There are loads of insights we can draw from the story, but one of my favorites comes from the character of Edmund.
Edmund is the betrayer. He puts the heroes in danger by trusting the wrong person.
Edmund, enslaved to his desire for Turkish Delight, puts his hope in the White Witch instead of Aslan.
Edmund turns to the White Witch for help, and got quite a different result than he expected. Instead of Turkish Delight, Edmund received torture and slavery.
Edmund shows us our own story. Blinded by our desires, we turn to things and people that can never fulfill or satisfy.
We put our hope in human characters who look like saviors, but in the end lead us to deeper slavery and a different kind of torture.
In our quest for security and protection, we tend to turn to human solutions: Political systems and figures, financial stability, romantic relationships, athletic or academic abilities. Turning to those who are not capable of guaranteeing security for our security seems to be part of the human condition.
Most often these human solutions turn into evil and even violent rulers of our lives.
The Israelites found themselves in this situation. The Assyrians had been God’s arm of judgment on the Northern Kingdom of Israel and was ruling with an iron fist. They held control of their vast territory through intimidation and fear. The Southern Kingdom of Judah had avoided being conquered by the Assyrian armies but had begun to look to Assyria for protection and security. The kings of Judah foolishly submitted to the rule of Assyria, so they still felt the oppression of a violent empire.
Nahum was a prophet sent to give hope to those who are oppressed by political regimes. His message was about the fall of Assyria to Babylon, and the fall of Babylon, and the fall of Persia, and the fall of Greece, and Rome, and ultimately the Nazis, dictators like Stalin, the Communists, ISIS, and even though we don’t like to think of it, maybe even the United States.
Nahum’s message was that the LORD is the judge of violent and unjust political systems. While we humans turn to these human political answers for our refuge, they most often turn into evil and violent rulers of our lives.
In contrast:
The LORD is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble, and He knows those who take refuge in Him.
Nahum 1:7
Instead of looking to a human political solution to what is ultimately a spiritual problem, we look to the LORD for our refuge and protection. We fight for justice and hold our political leaders accountable for their policies, but we trust that our ultimate source of protection and security is from God.
Try this with your kids:
Ask your kids this question: “What do you think gives us security as a family?” They’ll most likely name things like the security system on your home, police, financial security, etc.
Follow up with this question: “What do you think it looks like for us to trust God for our protection and security?”
Edmund is the betrayer. He puts the heroes in danger by trusting the wrong person.
Edmund, enslaved to his desire for Turkish Delight, puts his hope in the White Witch instead of Aslan.
Edmund turns to the White Witch for help, and got quite a different result than he expected. Instead of Turkish Delight, Edmund received torture and slavery.
Edmund shows us our own story. Blinded by our desires, we turn to things and people that can never fulfill or satisfy.
We put our hope in human characters who look like saviors, but in the end lead us to deeper slavery and a different kind of torture.
In our quest for security and protection, we tend to turn to human solutions: Political systems and figures, financial stability, romantic relationships, athletic or academic abilities. Turning to those who are not capable of guaranteeing security for our security seems to be part of the human condition.
Most often these human solutions turn into evil and even violent rulers of our lives.
The Israelites found themselves in this situation. The Assyrians had been God’s arm of judgment on the Northern Kingdom of Israel and was ruling with an iron fist. They held control of their vast territory through intimidation and fear. The Southern Kingdom of Judah had avoided being conquered by the Assyrian armies but had begun to look to Assyria for protection and security. The kings of Judah foolishly submitted to the rule of Assyria, so they still felt the oppression of a violent empire.
Nahum was a prophet sent to give hope to those who are oppressed by political regimes. His message was about the fall of Assyria to Babylon, and the fall of Babylon, and the fall of Persia, and the fall of Greece, and Rome, and ultimately the Nazis, dictators like Stalin, the Communists, ISIS, and even though we don’t like to think of it, maybe even the United States.
Nahum’s message was that the LORD is the judge of violent and unjust political systems. While we humans turn to these human political answers for our refuge, they most often turn into evil and violent rulers of our lives.
In contrast:
The LORD is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble, and He knows those who take refuge in Him.
Nahum 1:7
Instead of looking to a human political solution to what is ultimately a spiritual problem, we look to the LORD for our refuge and protection. We fight for justice and hold our political leaders accountable for their policies, but we trust that our ultimate source of protection and security is from God.
Try this with your kids:
Ask your kids this question: “What do you think gives us security as a family?” They’ll most likely name things like the security system on your home, police, financial security, etc.
Follow up with this question: “What do you think it looks like for us to trust God for our protection and security?”
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