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The DEEP

Downward Mobility

Shaking off the rot in our culture.

Judges 6:7–10

And it came to pass, when the children of Israel cried out to the LORD because of the Midianites, that the LORD sent a prophet to the children of Israel, who said to them, “Thus says the LORD God of Israel: ‘I brought you up from Egypt and brought you out of the house of bondage; and I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians and out of the hand of all who oppressed you, and drove them out before you and gave you their land. Also I said to you, “I am the LORD your God; do not fear the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell.” But you have not obeyed My voice.’ ”

This is one of those passages that speaks volumes by what it does not say.

First off, it does not say the name of this prophet. This seems odd to us because we’re steeped in a culture of personality. This prophet is important, therefore we’re supposed to admire him or her.

But no. Speaking for God is sufficient and the name of the mouthpiece matters not. Our culture is poisonously off base on this. Christians are not immune either (not by a long shot).

For example, do you ever speak of looking forward to meeting some particular person in heaven—say Martin Luther or J.I. Packer? But what about this prophet? Would meeting the unknown saints of history be thrilling too?

Maybe not. Maybe that’s not the point at all.

Also, this passage does not say, “Do not fear the Amorites.” It says, “Do not fear the gods of the Amorites.” Then it says, “But you have not obeyed My voice.” That’s why God sicced the Midianites on them. How could they possibly fear the gods of the Amorites?

Beats me, but it’s clear that’s what happened.


These two things are not unrelated. God is what matters. Not us. Not the Amorites. Not Martin Luther.

People play big roles in this great drama called life, but we shouldn’t see them as the stars. We need to learn to see events in spiritual context. This is advanced stuff, and it doesn’t come quickly. I’m definitely not there. Shaking off the culture I was raised in is no easy task.

Shaking off our culture means rejecting “upward mobility”. The opposite is portrayed in a book by Henri Nouwen titled The Selfless Way of Christ: Downward Mobility and the Spiritual Life. The concept of “downward mobility” hits the nail on the head beautifully.

The book was originally published in serial form in the evangelical journal Sojourners in the early 1980s. Henri wrote it in response to the prosperity of that age and the rise of the “yuppies”. He saw the rot in our culture even then.

Ironically, Nouwen’s readers formed the Henri Nouwen Society (https://henrinouwen.org/).

I hope they understand that it’s not about him either.


These Monday—Friday DEEPs are written by Mike Slay. The Weekend DEEPs are written by Matt Richardson. To subscribe to all the DEEPs click here:

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The weekly study guides, which include the Monday–Friday devotionals plus related questions for discussion or meditation, are available for download here:

https://www.ailbe.org/resources/itemlist/category/91-deep-studies

Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. ESV stands for the English Standard Version. © Copyright 2001 by Crossway. Used by permission. All rights reserved. NIV stands for The Holy Bible, New International Version®. © Copyright 1973 by International Bible Society. Used by permission. All rights reserved. KJV stands for the King James Version.

Mike Slay

As a mathematician, inventor, and ruling elder in the Presbyterian Church in America, Mike Slay brings an analytical, conversational, and even whimsical approach to the daily study of God's Word.

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