July 12, 2012 Bible Study

     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.

1 Chronicles 11-12:18

     Today’s passage begins by listing a group of warriors from the tribe of Manasseh who abandoned the Israelite army and joined David when he fled from King Saul to the Philistines. The passage then continues with the warriors from various tribes who joined David after Saul’s death while he was still basing himself at Hebron and fighting Saul’s son Ish-bosheth. The passage tells us that after this second group arrived there was four days of feasting.
     The passage does not tell us how the transition happened from David’s capital being in Hebron to being in Jerusalem, but the next thing we are told is that David called an assembly to bring the Ark of the Covenant to the capital (which is now Jerusalem), something that was not done during Saul’s reign. David has the Ark placed on an oxcart and people from all over Israel escorted it with songs and celebration. When the Ark got close to Jerusalem the oxen stumbled and one of the men guiding the cart reached out to steady the Ark and was struck dead. David was angry, and frightened, by this turn of events, so he left the Ark at that location in the care of a man who lived near there. We are told that for the three months that David left the Ark there the man and his family prospered. The passage does not go into detail as to what went wrong here. However, in Exodus God instructed Moses that when the Ark was moved it should be carried by priests using poles that would extend through the carrying rings mounted on it for that purpose. Here the Ark was being transported by oxcart.
     Today’s passage concludes with an account of the Philistines mustering their army to defeat David before he is able to consolidate his power. David mustered his army to oppose them. When the Philistines launched an attack in one area, David consulted God as to what he should do and followed God’s instruction to meet the Philistines in a frontal assault. David defeated them in this battle. After a while the Philistines again attacked that area. On this occasion, David outflanked them and attacked them from behind. After this second battle, David conquered most, if not all, of the Philistine territory.

Romans 1:1-17

     Paul begins his letter to the believers in Rome with a short summary of who he is and the Gospel that he preaches. He tells them that he was appointed by God as God’s messenger to preach His Good News (or Gospel). This Good News is that Jesus is God’s son who died and was raised from the dead. Paul goes on to tell them that their faith is a subject of talk throughout the Roman Empire and that he prays for them regularly. One of the things that Paul has been praying for is the opportunity to come to Rome to visit them. He tells them that he hopes to bring them some spiritual gift and encouragement, but that he does not expect this to be a one way street. Paul says that he expects to be encouraged by their faith, and I think he is implying that he expects them to help him come to a greater understanding of God’s will for him.
     Paul tells them that he has planned to visit them before, but has been prevented from doing so. He tells them that he hopes to come and preach among them because he feels an obligation to preach to the civilized and the uncivilized, to the educated and the uneducated. I think this is an important point. The Gospel is for all people in whatever state they come to it. There is a tendency of Christians to think that somehow the Gospel isn’t really for the educated, or the uneducated. Or it isn’t for those who are cultured, or those who are not cultured. But Paul is telling us here that the Gospel is for all, and that all fall equally short of God’s glory. The educated are no closer to God than the uneducated, and vice versa. The the cultured are no closer to God than the uncultured and vice versa. All are the same distance from God.
     Paul tells us that the Good News he preaches tells us how God makes us right in His sight. God accomplishes this through faith. God makes us right with Him through faith. We must have faith in Him and we have no extra inside track by being educated, or by being uneducated. It is the same for all of us. No matter who we are, we must live our life through faith in God.

Psalm 9:13-20

     The psalmist calls out to the Lord for salvation so that he can praise the Lord publicly. Do we praise the Lord publicly for the ways that he has saved us? I know that I do not do so enough. The psalmist goes on to say that the seeds of the destruction of the wicked is sown by the wicked themselves. That they will fall into the traps that they set for others. God will provide for the needy. He will fulfill the hopes of the poor. Those who defy God will discover how inadequate they are to the task they have set themselves. Those who puff themselves up as able to stand on their own and defy God will discover that they are mere mortal humans after all.

Proverbs 19:4-5

     The first of today’s proverbs tells us that there are many people who wish to be friends with the wealthy, but those people will go away as soon as the money does. The second tells us that those who lie and falsely accuse others will not escape punishment. That sooner or later those who falsely accuse others will pay a price that they would rather not.