Bill Watterson draws a comic strip about a 6 year old boy, named
Calvin, and his stuffed tiger, Hobbes. Only Hobbes is very much alive
to Calvin—they do everything together! One day, the two are trying to
decide what to do, when Calvin suggests spelunking—exploring caves.
When Hobbes admits he didn't know of any local caves, the last scene
finds them at a local pond having fun by throwing in huge rocks and
watching them make a splash—spelunk!

I suppose that is one way to go spelunking when there is no cave
available, but there are plenty of caves to be found in the Scriptures.
Speleology is the scientific study of caves in their physical,
geological, and biological aspects, but right now, let's go ahead and
apply that study towards the caves that we can find in the Word of God,
discovering some fascinating lessons from each. In these coming weeks,
we can go “spelunking” all of the way to Christmas.

We begin in Genesis 19, with the very first mention of a cave—"And Lot
went up out of Zoar, and dwelt in the mountain, and his two daughters
with him; for he feared to dwell in Zoar: and he dwelt in a cave, he
and his two daughters." (vs. 30) What's happening here? Well, it's
really quite simple—God had just destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah for it's
sin of homosexuality. Lot, Abraham's nephew, had chosen to live there,
and in God's mercy, He led them out. But still the rebellion
continued—Lot's wife turned around, as if to actually go back, and she
became a pillar of salt. The rebellion was in Lot, too. God wanted him
to get out of the area altogether, but Lot insisted on just going a
little ways—to a “little city” called Zoar. “Oh sure, the big cities
are destroyed, but I'll be OK in a little city—I can do what I want!”
In the end, out of fear, they wind up on a mountain in a cave—by
definition, a place of darkness; and in the Hebrew, it comes from a
word that refers to bareness and nakedness. Oh, that it was! Lot's
daughters, possibly fearful that the world had ended, and that they
would never replace their husbands who stayed behind in Sodom, got
their father drunk and had sex with him. Moab and Ben-Ammi, their
illegitimate and incestuous children, would produce two nations that
would be enemies of Israel for a long time to come. Rebellion and sin
must be judged!

Yes, I know that doesn't sound very “Christmasy,” but isn't Christmas
all about a Savior coming to set people free from sin? Oh, a cave can
be a very dark place. You see, the second place we find the word “cave”
concerns Lot's uncle, Abraham. In Genesis 23, we find that his beloved
life-long wife, Sarah, had just passed away. In the midst of his dark
grief, he still had to make the arrangements. God had promised him all
of the land around him, but as yet, he did not actually possess any of
it. So, he entered into a deal with the inhabitants—"...give me the
cave of Machpelah...for a possession of a burying place amongst you."
(vs. 9) In fact, it would be the only piece of real estate that Abraham
would ever own in his lifetime—Praise God, it would be a life-time
lived by faith, and not by sight or selfish feelings!

The next cave to explore is found in Joshua 10. The days of the
Patriarchs are over, and Joshua—succeeding for Moses—is responsible for
conquering the Promised Land. As they tackle the southern end of Canaan
first, five local kings make a run for it—"...these five kings fled,
and hid themselves in a cave at Makkedah." (vs. 16) When Joshua was
aware of this, he ordered huge stones to be rolled in front of the only
opening. In the mean time, he and his armies routed all their towns for
their rebellion against God. Upon his return, Joshua order the five
kings to be brought out, and that the captains would stand over them
and symbolize the victory by placing their feet on the necks of the
captive kings. It was then Joshua said to his men—“Fear not, nor be
dismayed, be strong and of good courage: for thus shall the Lord do to
all your enemies...” (vs. 25) At which point the five captives we
hanged, their bodies thrown into the very same cave, and the great
stones were put back. Did you see what happened here? Those kings had
chosen that cave in the first place, and that is where they ended up.
If we constantly choose to be distant from God and His mercy, that is
where we will end up. (Rev. 19: 17-21) On the other hand, if we receive
His call and act on it, we will be with Him forever. The choice is
ours—He alone is the victor, and He alone will have the victory!

In the days of the kings, we see another cave. Saul, Israel's first
king, had demanded that he knew better than God and was now consumed in
trying to kill David, the newly anointed king. 1 Samuel 24:3 tells us,
“And he came to the sheepcotes by the way, where was a cave; and Saul
went in to cover his feet: and David and his men remained in the sides
of the cave.” David's men told him its a good time to kill the old
king—it would be self-defense. David almost took the opportunity, but
instead just cut off a little piece of Saul's robe to prove he could
have killed him. Praise God—even then, David was convicted for even
contemplating to hurt the Lord's anointed. He had good reason; he could
easily rationalize it, but it wasn't right—he would not be trusting in
God, relying on God's own timing. The “Sauls” in our lives need to be
trusted to God, too—God does know best!

Another cave I wanted to touch on is found in 1 Kings 19. Elijah was
tired. He had just stood for God and against sin on Mt. Carmel, and
killed 400 false prophets. Jezebel, the wicked queen, was furious.
Frustrated and scared, Elijah ran away—first, under a juniper tree,
where God sent an angel to feed and sustain him; and secondly—“And he
came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of
the Lord came to him, and He said unto him, What doest thou here,
Elijah?” (vs.9) With that, Elijah went into a pity party—“I've done
this and that for you, God, so where are the crowds and the honor? I
don't deserve to be treated this way!” God's response? “Go forth, and
stand upon the mount before the Lord. And, behold, the Lord passed by,
and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the
rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the
wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake: And after
the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the
fire a still small voice. And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he
wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering
in of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said,
What doest thou here, Elijah.” (vss. 11-13)

You see, Elijah's ministry was in transition—not all shaking and fire,
but now a still, small voice. Centuries later, that still, small voice
could be heard in a little town called Bethlehem. In the days of Caesar
Augustus, Joseph and his expectant wife, Mary, made their way to the
town of their ancestry in response to a recent edict. Luke 2 tells the
story—"And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were
accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her
first born Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling clothes, and laid Him in a
manger; because there was no room for them in the inn." (vss. 6-7)
Since there were so many hillside caves in the area, many commentators
suggest that it is likely that that stable was in a cave. Whether that
is literally true or not, all of the previously mentioned caves are
pointing to this very special and crucial event. Even from the
beginning, mankind has insisted on being rebellious, like Lot and his
family, by not going God's way, God's way. It only brings death, grief,
heartache, and loss—and in the end, we find ourselves in the very place
we had chosen in the beginning—just like the five rebellious kings.
Frantically trying to defend ourselves, as David did with knife and
cloth in hand, the conviction gets even stronger. Through surrender and
repentance, we must vow to never sin against the Lord's anointed again.

Praise God—but even then, like Elijah, knowing full well the powerful
hand of Almighty God in our lives, we can come into times where we get
down and feel all alone—and even forsaken. In those times, get quiet
before the Lord, and listen very carefully for His still, small voice.
Such was the purpose of Christmas—to interject into this hectic and
self-consumed world, a still, small voice of God's love and
forgiveness. But it didn't end on a Bethlehem hillside—only a few miles
away, just outside the walls of Jerusalem, stands a Cross—an empty
Cross. And only a short distance from there, a tomb—an empty tomb. Yes,
a cave, of sorts! Praise God—the stone is rolled away; let us not waste
our time “spelunking” stones at the entrance of the cave, endeavoring
to keep a dead king inside. Imagine—a bunch of holes in the ground
being used by God to speak forth the gospel truth! “Spelunk” the real
way—exploring the journey from your own personal rebellion, all of the
way to your own personal resurrection life!

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Posted By Christ Our Rock Bible Church to Christ Our Rock at 12/01/2009
01:00:00 PM