Part 2: Behind the Wall

To bravely approach the protective wall that stands between pop culture beyond and Christian tradition behind, we need to study our faith. (For a quick introduction to the analogy here, you can see the first post of my blog.)

Owing to wise people such as Bret Lamsma, Kenda Creasy Dean, and Walter Brueggemann, as well as King Hezekiah, and, well, God, a reading of 2 Kings 18-19 is in order. You can read it here.

I’ll share a summary, though, to make my point. The nation of Judah led by King Hezekiah, who “did what was right in the eyes of the Lord”, was under attack by the Assyrians, but because of his trust in the Lord, he was able to rebel successfully against Assyria, and the king of Assyria (Sennacherib) turned his attacks elsewhere. Later on, Sennacherib returned to attack Judah, and King Hezekiah’s military personnel began negotiations with the Assyrians at Jerusalem’s aqueduct of the Upper Pool, which we will designate as “the wall”.

To make a long story short, the Hebrews chose to negotiate in the language of the day, Aramaic, something the Assyrians knew well. The prophet Isaiah got involved and prophesied about Sennacherib’s defeat with some choice words from God himself. The end of God’s speech went like this: “I will defend this city and save it, for my sake and for the sake of David my servant.” 2 Kings 19:34

The end of the story? That very night an angel of the Lord killed a hundred and eighty-five thousand of Sennacherib’s men in the Assyrian camp. When Sennacherib withdrew to Nineveh, his own sons killed him. Talk about God the Savior!

Hezekiah’s trust in God is epic. God’s response to Hezekiah’s devotion is miraculous!

Where did Hezekiah gather his confidence? How did he muster enough courage to approach the wall, climb the wall, and stand on the wall?

How can we?

It begins at home behind the wall, constructing a wall of faith.

Work with me here; the analogy goes like this. The city of Jerusalem, God’s holy city, is behind the wall. Traditions are taught in the native language--stories of God’s faithfulness, parents’ faith journeys, celebrations of love. It is not without its struggles, but the gospel is preached. Your homes represent this Jerusalem. As an extension, Ripon Christian represents it too, and we have a tall order to fill as parents and teachers. We need to speak truth to the children so that their faith will grow in the Holy Spirit. This is what happens behind the wall in our own native language based on our Christian heritage.

Beyond the wall are the Assyrians who speak a different language altogether, the language of popular culture. I bet your kids know this language and are already testing out their interaction beyond the wall. Relating back to the story of Sennacherib, are your children listening to the hollow promises the culture, the “empire”, presents?

Here’s a gut check. How many commercials do your kids know by heart? What do those commercials advertise? Or the Internet--how many mindless YouTube videos or inappropriate Instagram posts or violent video games enter your walls? Hey, I’ve got a finger pointed at myself here, too. How do we interact with this culture? With what lens should we view our world? What should we do?

I’ll tell you two things I think we should not do: 1) we should not send our kids beyond the wall unprepared, in essence throwing them to the wolves of the culture in which we live; and 2) we should not keep them behind the wall forever without giving them the tools to interact with the larger world. So, are we at an impasse? I don’t think so.

Solomon built the wall around Jerusalem. It is a wall of strength.

Hezekiah approached the wall with confidence in the Lord, who is our Strength.

The conversations behind the wall must occur. Please don’t leave the conversation to somebody else to have with your child. In her book Almost Christian, Kenda Creasy Dean, says this:

We can safely assume that the modern-day Assyrians (media, marketers, and other culture-makers of global postmodernity) are immersing American teenagers in the official language of the commercial empire. The empire’s language dismisses Yahweh, offers tantalizing but ultimately empty promises of salvation, and hands out scripts that the empire expects teenagers to follow. Unless the church cultivates a behind-the-wall conversation that reminds young people who they are, who they belong to, why they are here, and where their future hope lies--unless we hand on a tradition that gives them cultural tools to help them lay claim to this alternate vision of reality--then the empire’s conversation is the only view of reality they have (pp. 114-15).

Though it speaks of the church cultivating the conversation, chapter 6 of the book clearly points to the family as the main influencers of the children.

And again, by extension, we teachers must have these behind the wall conversations.

The empire is on our wall meeting with us, and our children can hear what they’re saying. Our kids have been instructed to remain silent for now, but they are considering the empire’s words, and images, and clothing, and food, and videos, and games. Perhaps they feel fearful, or curious, or insulted. We know they are deeply affected by culture beyond the wall. Let’s talk to them about what’s going on. Let’s cultivate in them a confidence in the Lord that cannot be shaken.

Let’s teach them about Hezekiah’s faith, and let’s help them construct a wall of faith of their own.