June 23, 2013 Bible Study — Am I Willing To Wash In the Jordan?

     I have been using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study for over a year. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I started writing this blog because the only way I can get myself to read the Bible everyday is to pretend that I am teaching someone about what it says to me. 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. I hope that the Spirit is moving in others through these posts as the Spirit has definitely been convicting me.

Magrat with a stick
Magrat with a stick

2 Kings 4:18-5:27

     After a few years, the woman of Shunem’s son became sick and died. She quickly traveled to where Elisha was and asked him if she had requested that a son, if she had asked for her hopes to be raised. Elisha immediately gave his staff to his servant Gehazi and told him to run and lay it on the boy. The woman said that she would not leave Elisha, so Elisha followed on. When Gehazi got to Shunem he did as Elisha had instructed, but the boy was unresponsive. When Elisha arrived he went in to where the boy lay and after much effort was able to return the boy to life. He then returned the boy to his mother.
     Elisha returned to Gilgal where he was the leader of a group of prophets. There was a famine in the land and one day Elisha told his servant to make a stew for the group. One of the young men gathered some herbs and a few gourds. He shredded them and put them in the stew. Unfortunately, the gourds were poisonous. After a few of the men present had tasted the stew, they told Elisha that the stew was poisonous and would not eat it. Elisha took some flour and put it in the stew. He then told the group that the stew was now safe to eat. They ate it and no one was harmed. On another occasion, a farmer brought Elisha twenty loaves of bread and some grain. Elisha told his servant to give it to the people to eat. His servant told him that it was not enough to feed that many. Elisha told his servant that God had said that everyone would eat and there would be leftovers. When they had given the food to the people, everyone ate and there were leftovers.
     Naaman was the well-respected commander of the king of Aram’s army. However, he suffered from leprosy. Naaman’s wife had a slave girl from Israel as one of her maids. The Israelite girl told Naaman’s wife that she wished Naaman would go to the prophet in Samaria, who would heal him of his leprosy. When the king of Aram heard what the girl had said, he wrote a letter asking for Naaman to be healed of leprosy and sent him to the king of Israel. Naaman went to the king of Israel. However, the king of Israel was upset when he read the letter because he thought the king of Aram was just looking for an excuse to start a war. Elisha heard about it and told the king to send Naaman to him.
     So Naaman went to Elisha’s house. When he got to the door of Elisha’s house, Elisha sent out a messenger and told Naaman to wash himself the Jordan River seven times and he would be healed. Naaman’s initial reaction was anger because Elisha himself did not come out to meet him and cure him directly. Going on from that reaction, Naaman wanted to know why he should wash in the Jordan, couldn’t he wash in one of the rivers closer to home? Naaman’s servants pointed out to him that if Elisha had told him to do something difficult and noteworthy, he would have done so. So, why not at least try what the prophet had instructed? Naaman was convinced and did as Elisha had instructed. He was healed. Naaman returned to Elisha, praised God and offered Elisha a gift. Elisha refused to accept any gifts from Naaman, although Naaman was insistent. Naaman asked Elisha for permission to take bags of dirt from there back with home with him. He told Elisha that he would never again worship any god other than the God of Israel, nor would he offer sacrifices to them. However, he asked that Elisha intercede for God to forgive him when he accompanied the King of Aram to the temple of his god and had to bow down there. Elisha told Naaman to go in peace.
     The passage goes on to describe what happened when Elisha’s servant, Gehazi, went after Naaman to get some of the things which he had offered Elisha. However, to me the main take away from this passage is what Naaman’s servants said to him when he was upset with Elisha’s instructions. They told Naaman that if Elisha had asked him to do some great and difficult task in order to be healed, he would have leapt at the opportunity. However, when Elisha asked him to do something simple and humbling, he balked. How often do we react the same way when God gives us instructions? We are looking for the great task that God wants us to undertake, but are we willing to take on the tasks we perceive as minor and of little importance when God directs us to them?

Magrat's attention is captured
Magrat’s attention is captured

Acts 15:1-35

     After Paul and Barnabas had returned to Antioch in Syria, some believers came down from Jerusalem and told the Gentile believers that they needed to be circumcised in order to be saved. Paul and Barnabas strongly disagreed with them and argued with them passionately. Finally, the church decided to send Paul and Barnabas to Jerusalem to get a decision from the church there on the issue. They told the churches along the way that Gentiles were being converted and the believers who heard the news rejoiced to hear it. When they got to Jerusalem, Paul and Barnabas reported on the ministry God had given them. Then some believers who had been Pharisees stood up and said that the Gentiles needed to be circumcised and taught to follow the law of Moses. The important thing to remember is that up until this point, the Christian Church was, and viewed itself as, a subset of Judaism. With few, if any, exceptions, the Christians of that day viewed themselves as Jews who followed the prophesied Messiah, not as followers of a new religion.
     The apostles and other elders of the church in Jerusalem met to discuss the issue. The meeting went on some time while everyone shared their view on whether or not Gentile believers should be told to follow the law of Moses. Finally, Peter stood up and addressed the group. He told them that he had been chosen by God to preach to the Gentiles and that when he did so, they received the Holy Spirit. God had cleansed them of sin through their faith just as He had the Jewish believers. God had made no distinction between them, why did they now want to burden the Gentiles with rules that neither his listeners nor their ancestors had been able to keep? God had saved both groups through the undeserved grace of Jesus. Then Paul and Barnabas spoke about the signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles.
     At this point James stood up and gave his opinion about the decision that should be made. James said that they should not make things difficult for those Gentiles who were seeking to turn to God. They should tell the new believers to abstain from food offered to idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood. The law of Moses had been taught in the synagogues for generations and had little impact on bringing people to a desire to serve God. The council agreed with James’ decision and wrote a letter to send to the believers. In addition, they chose a delegation to accompany Paul and Barnabas in taking the letter to the church in Antioch.

Magrat resting
Magrat resting

Psalm 141:1-10

     Another psalm that I will make my prayer today and that sums up so much of what I wish to pray everyday. I cry to the Lord and ask for His help. But for what do I cry?

Take control of what I say, O Lord,
and guard my lips.

This! Yes, this is the first of my requests to God. I want God to give me the words I should speak and to seal my lips against the words which I should not speak. The next line is another one of my fervent prayers.
Don’t let me drift toward evil
or take part in acts of wickedness.
Don’t let me share in the delicacies
of those who do wrong.

It is oh, so easy to little by little drift into doing that which is wrong. I too easily justify doing what I know I should not by thinking “It’s not that bad.” The other night a friend came over to discuss her struggle with determining how God wanted her to deal with associating with other friends who were living immoral lives. I was challenged because so rarely do I feel the desire to confront my friends with how they are hurting themselves (and others)through their sins. The friend who visited was struggling with how to witness to people specifically about the sins they are committing. How do we tell our friends that what they are doing will cause them pain without coming across as if we are telling them not to have fun? God give the words to say and the desire to say them.

Rosebud close-up
Rosebud close-up

Proverbs 17:23

     I am not sure what to say here. I think this proverb tells us that when government officials act in secret it is usually because they know that what they are doing is wicked. Actually, most of time when anyone acts in secret it is because they know that what they are doing is wicked.