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’s passage begins with an account of various people and what tribes they were descended from who returned to Jerusalem after the Babylonian exile. This passage mentions priests and Levites and descendants of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. It describes what duties the ancestors of the returning Levites had had in the pre-Exile Temple. The passage then repeats the family tree of King Saul.
At this point, the writer begins his narrative with King Saul’s final battle against the Philistines. The account tells us that the battle grew thick around Saul and three of his sons were killed. Saul himself was wounded by Philistine archers. Saul begs his armor bearer to kill him before the Philistines could take him captive. His armor bearer was afraid to do so. King Saul then took his own sword and fell on it. The passage tells us that when the Israelites of that area realized that Saul and his three sons were dead, they abandoned their towns and fled. We are told that when the Philistines found the bodies of Saul and his sons they displayed them on their city wall. The warriors from Jabesh-gilead recovered the bodies of Saul and his sons and buried them, holding a week long funeral fast for their deaths. The passage concludes by telling us that King Saul died because he was unfaithful to God. That because he did not obey God’s commands, God killed him and turned the kingdom over to David.
We take up the story after the ship carrying Paul had been driven by the storm for many days. No one on board had eaten for some time. Paul called the crew together and told them the even though the ship is going to go down, none of them will lose their lives. The sailors sensed that they were getting close to shore, so they dropped a sounding rope to determine how deep the water was where they were. Shortly after that, they tested the depth again and discovered that the water was significantly more shallow. The sailors put out four anchors from the back of the ship to slow its progress towards shore. They then lowered the lifeboat and pretended that they were going to put out anchors from the front of the boat. However, Paul warned the soldiers to not let the sailors abandon the ship. The soldiers followed Paul’s warning and cut the ropes to the lifeboat before the sailors could get into it. As the next day dawned, Paul urged everyone to eat for their own good and told them that they would all survive. They took his advice and ate. When it became light, they saw a coastline they did not recognize. They saw a bay with a beach that they hoped to run the ship aground on. They cut the anchors and steered the ship for the beach. Unfortunately, they hit a shoal and ran aground further out than they desired. The ship began to break apart under the force of the waves smashing into it. The soldiers wanted to kill the prisoners to prevent their escape, but the commanding officer wanted to spare Paul’s life, so he would not let them kill any of the prisoners. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first. The rest clung to planks or other floating debris from the ship. The passage concludes by telling us that everyone made it to shore safely.
The psalmist marvels at the care that God shows for humans when you consider humans in the scale of the universe. When you look at the night sky and see the size of the universe, how can anyone not be impressed by the majesty of God? There are those who wonder why God would make the universe so large if humans on this earth are the only intelligent beings in it. But I think in part, God did this to give us some sense of the scale between our finite selves and His infinite being. This does not mean that I am convinced that there are no beings elsewhere in the universe that were created to worship God, just that I can see a purpose for the universe being so big even if there are not. I think of this psalm often when I view the vastness of nature and/or the night sky and it makes me hold God in awe.
This proverb tells us that some people are willing to throw those they claim as friends “under the bus” to advance their own interests, but a real friend will stand by their friends no matter what the cost. I try to be tend toward the latter, even with people who I do not yet count as friends. I do not want anyone I know to think there is no one they can turn to in times of trouble. I know that I do not always succeed in being that person that they can turn to, but I strive for that end.