I am using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I have found that by writing this daily blog of what I see when I read these scriptures, I get more out of them. I hope that by posting these ruminations others may get some benefit as well. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them.
Today I begin reading the book of Ezra. The passage starts by recounting that at the beginning of his reign, Cyrus sent out a decree encouraging the Jews to return to Jerusalem and other traditional lands to live and rebuild the Temple. He instructed their neighbors to voluntarily assist them with the expense of returning and rebuilding the Temple. We are told that about 50,000 people took advantage of this decree and returned to the land of Judah. In addition, Cyrus sent back the Temple furnishings that Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the Temple. The people who returned fell into two groups. The first were those who had a record of their ancestry going back to before the Exile. The second group were those whose family tradition said they were descended from Israel, but they did not have a record of their ancestry.
We see here that a large group of people decided to return to the land of Judah and rebuild the Temple. We do not know what their individual motives were, but we are told that God stirred their hearts to make this move. In addition, their neighbors contributed to assist in the rebuilding of the Temple. They contributed not only to the cost of rebuilding the Temple, but to the costs of relocating to the land of Judah. Perhaps these neighbors were fellow Jews who did not wish to disrupt the lives they had built for themselves by returning, or perhaps they were just neighbors who wanted to help their fellow-man live out their dream. Even if they were Jews who did not wish to return, we should not condemn them. The costs of the return and rebuilding were such that some needed to contribute so that others could do the work. Just as today, not everyone can go into the mission fields. Some must work mundane jobs to support the expenses of those who go into missions.
Paul tells us that the message of the cross looks foolish to those who do not accept it. This is something very basic that Christians must come to accept. We can make no argument that will make us look wise in the eyes of those who do not believe. Paul sums up the world’s reaction to Christianity this way, “So when we preach that Christ was crucified, the Jews are offended and the Gentiles say it’s all nonsense.”
But Paul has more to say on the subject of the wisdom of Christianity. Paul tells us that God chose to use those the world considers foolish to shame those it thinks wise. We need to take the attitude of the man born blind that we are told of in John 9. When the wise men told him that they knew Jesus was a sinner, he responded, “Well, I don;t know about that. I don’t have your education and knowledge. What I do know is this. I was blind and now I can see.” We as Christians should not try to convince the world that we are wise. We must fully rely on God to convince them. We can merely tell them what we have experienced. I know what I know. I was blind and now I see. Many people will look at us and think us fools, but the Spirit of God will work in the hearts of some and they will come to know the Lord.
As is often the case, this psalm makes its point in words that it is hard to find a better way to say. How often has God said to me, “Come and talk with me,” and I have replied, “Not now, I’m busy?” I want to never do that again. I want to try to make my answer that of the psalmist, “Lord, I am coming.” God will not abandon us, even if all else have. I strive to constantly follow the model of this psalmist and ask the Lord to teach me how to live. I desire to patiently wait for God to act. When He calls, I will answer.
The first proverb tells us not to seek revenge, we should wait for God to handle the matter. How often have we seen someone do even more harm to themselves in the effort to make someone else pay for a perceived wrong? Which brings up another reason to leave payback to God. It may be that the person that we perceive as having done us wrong did not do anything that deserves payback. Perhaps, we are wrong in attributing the harm we suffered to that person.
The second proverb, on the surface, is unrelated to the first. Yet, sometimes the reason we think someone deserves payback is because we are judging them by a standard that we ourselves do not live up to.