You're listening to Clearview Today with Dr. Abadan Shah, the daily show that engages mind and heart for the gospel of Jesus Christ. I'm Ryan Hill. I'm John Galantis. Welcome back to the Clearview Today Studio.
We're so glad that you're joining us here with our host, Dr. Abadan Shah, who's a PhD in New Testament textual criticism, professor at Carolina University, author, full-time pastor, and the host of today's show. Dr. Shah, it's a great day. Thank you.
It's going to be a great conversation. We're excited. That's right. I want to let you guys know: we're excited to give you an update on things that are happening. We talk about the radio show a lot.
That's true. And that's obviously heavy on our hearts. It's important to us. But another production element of Cleaver Church is Cleavery Worship. Yes.
And I'm excited to tell you guys that we have a new EP coming out very soon. It's called Cafe Sessions, Volume One. It's going to be Worship team under the sun puts out acoustic sessions. It's going to be an acoustic album. I'm so excited about this because if there's one thing, I'm going to suffer for acoustic albums.
You got cafe sessions, you got living room sessions, you got backyard sessions, campfire, water park sessions, in your driveway. Give it to me. You always got to have acoustic sessions. Every worship team under the sun. And I said, you know what?
Why not do it? Because our worship team is here. We've got in-house production. It's a great time.
So we're going to try. Our goal, our goal now is to put out two of these every single year. That's awesome. They're really, really great times. Our worship team works very hard to put them together.
Dr. Shah, myself, David, we've been working very hard over the past few years. Building up a ministry of songwriting and original music. And I'm very, very grateful to you, Dr. Shah, for everything that we've done together and how we've been able to build a culture of worship here at this church.
Even before I ever started, there was a culture here of people who loved to worship God. Yeah. Absolutely.
So, it's our worship album. It's going to be coming out very soon.
So, stay tuned for all of your music platforms: Apple Music, Spotify, all those places. You'll be able to access our EP cafe session. Here comes the month. Speaking of accessing that EP. Yeah, listen, the sales were so good on Cafe Sessions Volume 1 that we ended up getting a million dollars the very first day.
That's incredible.
So, Dr. Shaw, I want to ask you, I'm going to give you. The first million. I'm going to write a check for you. Million dollars.
Here's the only bugaboo. You get $1 million, but anytime a company sponsors the Clearview Today show. Yeah. When we're doing the ad read You have to cross your arms. Do a stink face and not and shake your head.
Like I'm not in favor of it. Like you don't approve the ad of the And I mean that may become a trademark like he's like, Hey, and you can't um Give me a product. Let's do Labloo Ultra Pure Water. They're actually one of our sponsors. Yeah.
So, oh, yeah, I'll tell you what. Anyway, wait, wait, wait. Let me do the ad read. You put the camera on, Dr. Sharon.
There you go. Perfect.
So, today's episode is sponsored by LaBlue Ultra Pure Water. You can know LeBlue has two quality ingredients: hydrogen and oxygen. It's truly the best. the best water that money can buy. It's so refreshing.
It's so You'll do it. I just did it. I think that means you owe him the mill. I got to give him a million. Go ahead and bust that checkbook out.
Oh, man, it's crazy. Would you do it? Yeah. A stink face during the whole ad read. The whole point is we're trying to sell water.
But you know, I guess if you got a million dollars. We're probably not going to get a million in ad revenue, right? I mean, if we make a stink face, we might. Hey, people got it. Come on, trademark.
That could be a trademark. Yeah. Go get the stink face from Cleavy Today Show as they promote your product on the air. And hey, you can even market that too.
Now we've got like stink face stickers. Like we've got magnets of Dr. Sha and us doing the stink face. I support the Cleavy Today Show. I think we can really monetize this thing.
Yeah, just capitalize on it. Lean into it. You know, we've never filmed our ad reads before. We always do our ad reads separate and then put them up top so we can rotate them out. But I think there's now a real market for actually discouraging people to buy the stuff that we're advertising.
Stink face support for the new read today. All right. I'm on board. I'm on board. Well, our verse of the day today is coming to us from Romans chapter 9, verse 16.
So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy. You know, Dr. Shel, we ended on kind of a strong point yesterday where it really is God who's in charge. We've been talking about election. We've been talking about how does God decide, not even who he's going to save, because we know that God doesn't operate that way, but who he's going to work for, or who he's going to work through, I should say, who he's going to choose to carry out the mission and the work of his hand.
And we had a couple of people wrote in. We read one of them on the show yesterday that said, you know, how is that just? How is that fair? How does God choose? Who's worthy of doing his work and who's not?
And I thought you answered it in a great way: it's not that Jacob or whoever is more worthy. This is God's choice. That's right. And it's not a choice unto salvation, but it's a choice unto service. It's not individual election, it's corporate election.
Even though the first. People were individuals Abraham Isaac. Not Ishmael. Jacob, not Esau, there were individuals, but they represented a people who we know today as Israel, or more specifically now, the Jewish people. And the question has been there for ages.
Why them, not us? And that's what Paul is answering here in Romans nine through eleven. And so, as he's like an attorney, as he's presenting his case, he gives one. Evidence after another. The first one is just the way God told Moses.
Don't question me. I'm going to have mercy on Whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion. Means don't try to teach me. Uh who I can show mercy to. Don't try to intervene for them.
I I know how to do that. You Need to humble yourself before me. You have crossed the line. Even in the moment, even though your heart may be in the right place, you have crossed the line. And so, what is a lesson for the listeners and the readers of Paul's letter to the Romans and to us is that.
Don't don't try to question God. Don't try to teach God a lesson. Don't in the moment be overwhelmed by your emotions and think you can cross the line and straighten up the living God. That's right. Even in the New Testament, you see Peter trying to do that with Jesus.
When Jesus said, I have to go and give my life and all that, and Peter takes him aside, takes Jesus aside, and he rebukes him. He's going to try to sidebar him. Let me sidebar with you. Can I just dialogue with you for a minute? You're going to sidebar with Jesus, man?
Yeah. And Jesus. Pretty sternly put Peter in his place. Get behind me, Satan. You are not mindful of the things of God.
Just a few moments ago, Jesus said, Peter, you are the rock on which I will build my church.
Now get behind me, Satan. Imagine the emotional high. He's like, oh man, this is a great thing. He said, I was the rock. Just let me talk to you.
Hey, man. Rock needs to talk to you for a second. Boom.
Now comes evidence number two. This time Paul goes to the book of Exodus. And again, my Reformed exegetes will poo-poo over here because now he is bringing up. the example of Pharaoh. This is not God's Man for the hour, Moses, the future Pharaoh of Egypt, who impetuously Try to Lead the people messed up and then now God has to You know, humble him and teach him for 40 years, bring him back, and now he's my man.
But this time The same thing is said. But to a a f a king A man who represented the people. And he was trying to curse God's people.
So, who is that? That's Pharaoh. Yeah. Listen to Romans chapter nine seventeen for the Scripture says to the Pharaoh for this very purpose I have raised you up. that I may show my power in you, and that my name may be declared in all the earth.
Therefore, he has mercy on whom he wills, and whom he wills, he hardens.
So Think about what Paul is doing here. Taking Different exhibits I'm using a legal terminology here. He's using different exhibits to. To explain And and Enlarge a principle. which is, God is sovereign when He picks people To be his people.
But that doesn't mean that. Pharaoh had no choice. Pharaoh had a choice to get on board with what God was doing, right? Right. But I don't think.
I don't think here even that is an issue there. Yeah, of course, Pharaoh kept hardening his heart, and then God hardens his heart. The real point is this. Pharaoh was going to stand against God's purposes. Pharaoh was going to obstruct The Hebrews from leaving Egypt.
And God was going to make an example out of Pharaoh. Yeah. Does that mean that Egyptians could not be saved? No, just like Ishmael was saved, just like Esau was saved, guess what? All the Egyptians were willing to sacrifice that lamb and put the blood on the doorposts of their homes.
Forgiveness and salvation. Yeah. Well, the Bible says there was a mixed multitude. That's right. Who left?
I mean, I gave the illustration. It was kind of funny. I didn't expect it to be funny, but it became funny. Oh, people loved it. No, I thought it was funny.
Imagine this Hebrew home. Mm-hmm. And on the left side of this man home, this Hebrew family, lives in Egyptian family. And they Watch the Hebrews sacrifice a lamb. Get that blood.
and start smearing it all over the door posts and the lintels of the house. Egyptian man saying to his wife, you know, look at these. Hebrew slaves, so primitive. Would they go into the perfectly good door? Perfectly good door.
They're in a good door post. And the Egyptian wife is like, honey, let's go inside the house. We don't want to be like these Hebrews. Right. Yeah.
Mosy on the body. Thank goodness we're Egyptians. Let's listen to young people. Thank goodness we're Egyptians. Let's not look at them.
Don't make eye contact sweetie. Don't make eye contact sweetie. Get the young'uns inside. And then um You know, on the other side, let's say the right side of the same house, the Hebrew household, is another Egyptian family. And and I think it's the wife who must have said that to her husband.
I don't care what it takes. You need to go find you a lamb, kill the lamb, and you better put that blood on the doorpost of our home today right now. Right now. Right now. Because if our firstborn is dying, you're dying.
And I can see that Egyptian man muttering away. He's out there. He doesn't want to be out there. He wants to ring his knee. He wants to ring his easy chair.
He wants to put his feet up. And he put blood all over the door. And then after that, he's like, we're all going to go inside the house. Oh, come on. It's a nice night to be outside.
Let's get the fire going.
Okay, you can stay outside. We'll go inside with the children.
Okay, I'll go. He's all like. And guess what? The left side had wailing and crying, the right side. Of course.
Everybody was safe. And I believe they also left. Yeah. Later on they cause trouble for the people of Israel, but that's a different issue.
Well, it's the point over here. Again, the point is very simple. Therefore, he has mercy on whom he wills, and whom he wills, he hardens.
Okay?
So yes, of course Pharaoh kept hardening his heart, but God doubled down on him because he was going to make an example out of the nation of Egypt. Pharaoh represented Egypt. He was the the evening and the morning star. He was the symbol of Egypt. God made an example out of him.
That's pretty common. We've been talking about that for a few days now, but that's pretty common of these Old Testament characters, right? Is that yes, they're individuals with individual lives and individual agency, but they also represent. Entire nations and entire people groups. And again, God is sovereign.
Right. Right. Now here's the third evidence of God's sovereignty. This time it's not a person as in Uh Moses. It's not an anti God or anti-Christ, if you want to, like Pharaoh.
This time it is. Jeremiah the prophet and It is talking about the whole nation. The nation of Judah. Right, northern kingdom is gone.
Now, all you have left is the southern kingdom of Judah, and so. God takes him by the potter's house. And he is teaching him some things about what God can do. How how he Changes hearts and how he turns hearts towards himself and hardens hearts.
So, listen to what it says in Romans 9:19. You will say to me then, why does he still find fault? For who has resisted his will? This is Paul talking. Yes.
But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, Why have you made me like this?
So this is actually going back to the book of Jeremiah.
Okay.
So we're talking about Jeremiah. Chapter Um Trying to get the chapter 18, verse 6.
Okay?
Jeremiah chapter 18, verse 6. It says, O house of Israel. Can I not do with you as this potter? Says the Lord, look. As the clay is in the potter's hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel.
So this time, listen very carefully. God's sovereignty is being taught and declared through the entire house of Israel, which is really what's left is Judah. But when the name Israel is used, it's like a formal designation. What is God doing? What is Paul doing in Romans with each of these different individuals or entities?
He's declaring that God is sovereign in picking Israel. Is it just as simple as God can do what he wants to? Not just in every situation, like in your salvation. It's not like. You're saved and you're not.
Right. That's not what's happening here. Yeah, just who he's going to work through. Yes, because the church in Rome. is questioning whether or not there is any further purpose.
for the people of Israel, for the Jewish people. Because Jesus has come. Many of the Jewish people or Israel as a nation. Our Jewish people as a nation have rejected the Messiah. What do we do with them?
Are they done? Are we the new Israel? And Paul is saying, No, God has sovereignly chosen them. Case one. Moses And And the judgment against his people.
Listen to what God said. Case 2:4. Pharaoh. and his obstinate nature and how God struck Egypt. God is sovereign over the nations.
Case three is the potter's house in Jeremiah. How God chose to continue to work with his people even though they didn't deserve it. deserve it.
Okay, that's case three. God is sovereign over his people. That's the whole point. Right. Did God choose Israel?
So that the Messiah would come through them? Or did God choose Israel? And also as a product of that, the Messiah was going to come through them. Like, was that the means, or is that just a byproduct of them being? No, it was the means.
That's how he was going to bring his promised one into this world because that's what we find in Genesis chapter 12. Um Abraham, leave your home, your father's household, and go to a land that I will show you. I will bless you, multiply you, all that stuff. And through you, all the families of the earth shall be blessed. Right, because Genesis 3:15 came first.
That promise came first. Before there even was an Israel. Not. You promise that the seed will come. The seed will come.
Yes, yes, yes, yes.
So I see what you're saying, though. It's like which. Was that the means or was that the? Go ahead and say what you want.
Well, I guess, do people then point to that and say, okay, well. God chose Israel, now that the Messiah arrived, he must be done. Because we got the Messiah. The end. Right, but because it was a contract Right.
In Genesis, I believe it was 15. God made some contracts with Abraham.
Okay, so if you go there for a quick moment, let's do that while we're at it. In Genesis. Chapter I believe it's 15. I may be wrong. I think it is.
We're God's covenant. Yeah, here's a covenant that is made because God says, Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward. What is Abraham's comeback or Abram's comeback? Lord God, what will you give me?
Did you all get that? What will you give me? What will you give me? Yeah. That's a question.
What will you give me? Right. Seeing I go childless. and the heir of my house is Eleazar of Damascus. Then Abraham said, Look, you have given me no offspring I am waiting for an offspring.
Indeed, one born in my house is my heir. And behold, the word of the Lord came to him saying, This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir. And their own body is not Abram's body. But also Sarai's body later on, they become Abraham and Sarai, as we know.
So what happens next here? In this Genesis 15. God makes a covenant with Abraham. It says I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to inherit it. Mm-hmm.
This land What is the significance of him asking, What will you give me? Because God is saying, I'm going to be this for you, I'm going to be your shield and your reward. And Abram says, What are you going to give me? I'm guessing that's a significant question that you absolutely do. Because when God called him, go to a land that I will show you.
It was always part of the deal.
Okay.
And our problem is, we have made it so much just mystical, spiritual, that we think the land is nothing anymore. Got you. Abram is saying there's a tangible thing that's still coming. What are you going to give me? And how can I have the tangible thing if I'm not going to have it right now?
Well, my descendants will have it. But guess what? Here's a problem. I have no descendants. Descendants.
Yeah, that makes sense. What are you going to give me? You're going to give me all this land, but what happens when I die? It's over. My family is done.
I have no one to inherit it. Right. So God says to him, No, you're going to have a child. All that's going to happen to you. But let me go ahead and tell you what the land is going to look like.
So in Genesis chapter 15, verse 9.
So he said to him, Bring me A three-year-old heifer. a three year old female goat, a three year old ram, a turtle dove, and a young pigeon. Then he brought all these things to him to cut them in two down the middle and placed each piece opposite the other. but he did not cut the birds in two. And when the vultures came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.
Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram. And behold, Horror. And great darkness fell upon him. Then he said to Abram. No, certainly.
That your descendants will be strangers. in a land that is not theirs. And we'll serve them. and they will afflict them for four hundred years. and also the nation whom they serve I will judge.
Afterward they shall come out with great possessions.
Now as for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace. You shall be buried as at a good old age. But in the fourth generation they shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.
So he's talking about their plight in Egypt. That's right. And then they're coming out and returned to the promised land. Right. Because right now there's something happening.
With the Amorites in the Promised Land. You know Uh if you read the book of Amos, it tells you that God made covenants with different people. Mm-hmm. They broke the covenants. It's only the Jewish people, even though they failed many times, they were the only ones who kept the covenant the way they were supposed to.
But it was only going to be through the Jewish people or the people of Israel or the Hebrews or the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that the Messiah would come, not with the other people. Even though God had made covenantal relationships with them, this was a unique one because this was the one the Messiah was coming to. That's right. I mean, there's a passage there in Amos that we need to find. But as you're looking for that passage where it talks about God's covenant with the different nations, let me finish reading here.
It says And it came to pass when the sun went down, And it was dark. Mm-hmm. That behold, There appeared a smoking oven. And a burning torch. That pass between those people.
Pieces. On the same day, the Lord made a covenant. With Abram saying, To your descendants I give this land. from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates. The Canaanites The Kenazites.
the Cadmonites, the Hittites, The parasites the Raphaem. The Amorites, the Canaanites, The Girgashites. and the Jebby sides. This is very important.
Now what is very important is You know, Abram These vultures kept coming down, but Abram kept driving them away. Mm-hmm. Means There will be evil that's going to come, try to take away this dream, this vision, this promise. And Abraham, you're going to have to protect it. Others will have to protect this vision.
He fell asleep. That tells us that it was a unilateral. covenant. Abram did not sign on the dotted line. It was only God.
Abraham actually was asleep the whole time. And it was a land covenant. That They will get the land.
Okay?
Thou have given this land. And this is that land.
So What does that mean? And there are other places we don't have time to get into. Where it tells us that this is a covenant. made For eternity. Yeah.
This is not just a temporal. A moment ago, we mentioned Amos, and Dr. Shah, you were talking about God making covenants with other. with other nations other than Israel. Where do we do we where in Abos do we find that?
Well i I need to clarify, it's not just a covenant, it's is his love towards them.
Okay.
Okay.
Uh covenant was was it was with Israel to bring the messiah into this world And through them, all the families of the earth shall be blessed, and then God will take care of them as they are his spokesmen in the world. But God did help other people. Right. So listen to what it says in Amos chapter 9 and verse 7. Are you not like the people of Ethiopia to me?
What does that mean? Probably it means that God did some good things for the people of Ethiopia. Are you not like the people of Ethiopia to me? O children of Israel, says the LORD, Did I not bring up Israel from the land of Egypt? The Philistines from Kaftor.
Kaftor is Crete. Oh yeah, okay. Yeah, these the Philistines were kind of like um kind of like the Phoenicians, uh, they were seafaring people coming from Crete and they came into the promised land. God gave them the promised land.
Okay, before he gave them to Israel, he gave it to them for a temporary period, although they were disobedient to God and did wrong things. The next group is Anthyrians from Kir.
Okay.
In Amos chapter one, verse five, he says, I will also break the gate bar of Damascus, and cut off the inhabitants from the valley of Avon, and the one who holds the scepter from Beth Eden, the people of Syria, shall go captive to Kir. And God set them free. The Syrians from Kir. We don't know for sure what Kir is, but Just the way God Lead. Israel out of Egypt He led all these people out of their own slavery.
Right. He was working through all of these other nations as well. That's right. Alongside Israel.
So. All that to say this. God had a special plan for Israel And With Jeremiah, he's reminding the people that, hey, I am sovereign. I can do good things in you. That's right.
Okay, the whole point is this, and I don't think we're gonna get to do the fourth. uh evidence evidence here but the first one through moses I am sovereign. I pick who I want to pick, and I have picked Israel. with Pharaoh. I am sovereign.
I will pick who I want to pick. And then with his own people, Israel, who were not behaving Correctly. Righteously, I am sovereign. I will pick whomever I want to pick. And I have chosen Israel.
But there's one more evidence that we can cover for tomorrow's show. That's right. That's right. That's right. Guys, this is such a good conversation.
I hate to land the plane, but make sure you guys come back tomorrow for the fourth evidence, the culmination of this conversation.
So helpful for us in understanding God's Word. And you know, we would love to be able to cover them all in one episode, but that's radio. You know, a lot of people don't know that. They think this is just a podcast that we can just record as long as we want. We got a hard cut off this radio for you.
That's right. But make sure you tune in tomorrow, same time, same station. We're going to dig further into this conversation. Thanks to our sponsors for making today's episode possible. Possible.
Thank you, Call. And if you'd like to be a sponsor for the Clearview Today Show, make sure you write in and let us know how we can work with you, how we can work to promote your products, and how you can sponsor us here at the Clearview Today Show. You can do that at contact at clearviewtodayshow.com or by writing in or calling 252-582-5028. Our sponsors, Lelou, Ultra Pure Water, and Mighty Musk and I'm very grateful for them. And make sure that you support us by subscribing to the show on iTunes, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Prey.com.
Make sure you're listening on Prey Radio at 7 a.m. every single day, monthly. All throughout October. All throughout the month of October. Very important analytically that we're getting listeners on Prey Radio.
So make sure you guys are doing that and telling your friends to do that as well. And you can always support us financially at Abadanshah.com forward slash give. John, what do you want to close with today? Just like Ryan said at the top of the episode, be on the lookout for our new Acoustic EP coming out in the next couple of months, or the next couple of weeks, I should say. Same with Dr.
Shah's new book, 30 Days of Seeing Christ in Judges. That's going to be out very, very, very soon. Thank you for everybody who's writing in and asking for copies. We might send you guys a couple of first edition copies, but we're very, very grateful for all of your support financially and spiritually. That's right.
We love you guys. We'll see you tomorrow on Clearvy Today.
