DMM: Tent Pegs and Shame/Honor

Shame/Honor: Getting to the Core of One's Being

DBS with Shame/Honor Themes

Hiddenness. Tent pegs. False accusations. Sibling jealousy. Spiritual cloaking. Tent pegs driven deep. Shame-laced words. Unwise alliances. Barrenness. Status and honor. Community outcast. 

These are just a few of the biblical themes discovered as we consider what it is to match a DBS series with the worldview among UPGs and elsewhere. On so many levels, until we can press into the epicenter of belief systems in opposition to the efficacy of God's Word and the supremacy of Christ in all places of life, we will not see the power of God's Word to transform those world views. In other words, we need to address the chewy center of where the ethos of a given UPG lay, to realize the transformation which the Holy Spirit promises. And where shame has been a sharp tool in the hands of the enemy of our souls, honor, as God defines, is one of His gifts for transformation.

A Landscape of Shame 

The year was 1866. Four young Dutch missionaries were sailing through the Straits of Malacca. The intended port for these glory bearers was present day Papua, Indonesia.

Enroute to Papua they met a Christian man named Moli. He appealed to the four missionaries to begin mission work in the Maluku islands. They heard a “Macedonian Call” much like the one described in Acts 16:6-12. Three of them, Hendrik van Dijken, T. F. Klaassen, and A. De Bode, answered that call, changed their plans, and began a work in this area. The work was slow and painstaking. The first baptisms took place in 1874 when they dedicated the first church.

The growth of the church came after 1900 when a perceived “new” missionary method was applied. People were baptized in groups (households). This rapid growth began in Tobelo in 1898 and developed quickly throughout the islands from 1900.

“Perintis Injil” (pioneer of the gospel) reads the inscription at the base of the present-day bronze statue that memorializes Van Djiken’s obedience to Christ. Several mango trees from that time period shade the land where Van Djiken and his colleagues planted the gospel in the Maluku area of Halmahera.

Fast Forward to Today

Only a short walk from the present day tribute to the faithfulness of these three missionaries lies a sharply contrasting memorial to a more recent story. From 1999 to 2002 one of the largest jihad efforts to eradicate the few Christians in this eastern area of Indonesia was launched.

This second and more recent memorial stands less than 100 meters from the bronzed likeness of the first bearer of the gospel; two divergent kingdoms are represented therein. The moss covered remains of a bombed out church building chronicles the stark contrast between the transformational power of the gospel and the cruelty and fallen-ness of man. A mass grave reflects a small representation of those who were killed at that time in the conflict. This mass grave tells the tale of those who were eviscerated, bludgeoned, decapitated, maimed, and hunted down by Laskar Jihad and other Muslim terrorist groups. Many of their children were stolen and shipped back to Java to be raised in Islamic boarding schools and madrasas. This has resulted in a generation of stolen children and many eradicated families who dared to say the name of Jesus. The challenge is to finish what Hendrik Van Djiken and others began by faith.

The Lk Riots of January 17, 2000, which targeted the few Christians in this area, were incited by the violence unleashed in the Ambon, Maluku, and Poso areas of Indonesia. Islamic solidarity and prowess expressed a higher stakes commitment from that day forward.

Pray for Muslim Indonesians to understand God’s perspective on these two “monuments” offering such contrasting spirituality.

As you consider the above, consider also the deep levels of suffering and trauma which have been experienced by those who live in these type regions. To match possible options in DMM implementation and resultant movements, one such attempt is the following DBS series.

DBS with Shame/Honor Themes

                1.   Naked and Unashamed          (Shame/Cover-Ups)                               Genesis 2:18-3:11    

                 2.    Joseph in Potiphar’s House    (Honor: Fear of God)                             Genesis 39:1-23

              3.    Moses/Miriam/Aaron            (Sibling Honor/Shame)                           Numbers 12:1-15

              4.    Korah's Rebellion                   (Usurping Honor)                                    Numbers 16:1-50

             5.   Deborah/Barak/Jael                (Honor for Bold Obedience)                    Judges 4:1-24

             6.   Hannah                                   (From Dishonor to Honor)                       I Samuel 1:1-28

             7.   Ahab/Jehoshaphat/Macaiah   (Dishonor: Alignments)                           2 Chronicles 18:1-34

             8.   Mary and Joseph                    (Lineage: Cultural Shame/Honor)           Matthew 1:1-25

             9.   Jesus and Fasting                   (Ceremonial Honor/Dishonor)                Matthew 6:16-24

            10.  Elisabeth and Zacharias         (From Dishonor to Honor)                       Luke 1:5-25

            11.  The Prodigal Son                    (Honor by Grace for the Dishonorable)  Luke 15:11-32

            12.  Rich Man and Lazarus           (Status and Honor)                                   Luke 16:19-31

            13.  Honor of Jesus                        (God’s Honor)                                         John 1: 1-18

            14.  Incarnation of Christ               (From Dishonor to Honor)                      Phil 2:4-11

            15.  Woman at the Well                  (Cultural Dishonor/Honor)                      John 4:4-42

            16.  Jesus Washes Disciples’ Feet  (Countercultural Honor)                          John 13:1-17

            17.  Judas                                        (Shame that Leads to Death)                  Matthew 27:1-10

            18.  Jesus on the Cross                   (Countercultural Honor)                         Matthew 27:27-54;

                                                                                                                            John 19:1-24; Mark 15:16-38

     19.  Jesus’ Resurrection                 (Dishonor/Honor)                                   Matthew 28:1-20

DBS questions, one extra question for these studies:

                  1.              What does this teach us about God?

                  2.              What does this teach us about ourselves / people? 

                                   Who is honored or put to shame in this story? Why?

                  3.              What do you need to apply / obey?  (I will…)

                  4.              Is there some way we could apply this as a group? (We will…)

                  5.              Who are you going to tell? When? (I will…)