I have been using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study for almost 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.
At some point David decided to take a census of all of the fighting men in Israel and Judah. He sent Joab and the rest of his army commanders out to count how many men capable of being called up as warriors there were in the land. Joab questioned the utility of such a census, but David insisted. When the census was completed and the numbers reported to David (1.3 million men throughout the land), he began to feel guilty. David turned to God, confessed that he had sinned and begged God for forgiveness. The prophet Gad came to David the next day and offered him a choice of one of three punishments for his sin: three years of famine in the land, three months of fleeing from his enemies, or three days of plague throughout the land. David chose the plague saying that he would rather fall into the hand of God than into human hands.
Plague spread throughout the land for three days killing 70,000 people. The passage tells us that God halted the plague when the angel spreading it was at the threshing floor of Araunah. The prophet Gad told David to build an altar to God at the threshing floor of Araunah and offer sacrifices to God there. David went to Araunah and asked the price to buy his threshing floor. Araunah offered to give it to David, but David insisted on purchasing it. David built the altar and offered sacrifices upon it.
Yesterday’s passage told us that the disciples went to the Temple daily to pray. One afternoon when Peter and John were going to the Temple, a lame man was being brought to the Temple portico to beg. When he saw Peter and John about to enter the Temple, He asked them for alms. Peter and John focused their attention on the lame man and Peter told him to look at them. The lame man did, expecting to receive money from them. However, Peter told the man that he did not have any wealth to give him, but that he would give him what he had. Peter continued, “In the name of Jesus of Nazareth, get up and walk.” Peter then seized the man’s right hand and pulled him to his feet. The man, who had been lame since birth, was immediately healed and jumped to his feet and began walking. He entered the Temple with Peter and John, walking and leaping and praising God. People recognized him as the man who had daily been begging alms at the Temple gate and were amazed to see him walking and leaping.
Peter asked them why they were amazed and were looking at himself and John as if this had happened through some special power or piety on their part? It was God who had healed this man in order to bring glory to Jesus. Peter told them that they had rejected Him and turned Him over to Pilate to be killed. God had raised Jesus from the dead, something which Peter and John had witnessed. It was faith in the name of Jesus which had healed this man. This was not some “cripple” brought in whom no one had ever seen before. They had all seen this man every day for years.
Peter went on to tell them that he realized that both they and their rulers had acted in ignorance when they killed Jesus. Indeed, Jesus went through His suffering according to God’s plan in order to fulfill what the prophets had said about the coming Messiah. Now was the time to repent of their sins and turn to God. Those listening to Peter were included in the promise that God had made to Abraham that everyone on earth would be blessed through his descendants. God raised up Jesus and sent Him first to the Jews in order to bless them by turning each of them from their sinful ways. God has sent Jesus to every one of us to turn us from our wicked ways and deliver to us the blessings of serving Him.
I want to end my comments on this passage by going back to what Peter said to the lame man. He told him that he had no money to give him, that he could not ease his suffering by giving him material goods. But Peter was willing to give him what he did have. And that is what God calls us to do. We are to give those who are sick, crippled, or otherwise suffering what we do have. In this case, what Peter had to give the man was much more valuable than gold. Peter gave him the ability to walk and care for himself. Well, God may not give us the gift of healing people (but we should never assume that just because He has never done it through us before, He won’t do it today), but whatever He has given us to give people is much more valuable than whatever it is they want that we don’t have. Are we willing to say with Peter, “What I do have, I give to you,” without any other condition? I know that God is calling me to take that step and give whatever gifts He has given me to those I see around me in need. I don’t always know what I have to give, but if I can be faithful in giving when I know what I have, God will clearly reveal to me even more gifts that He has given me to pass on to others.
This psalm gives us guidance about how to weather the contempt and scoffing that the proud and arrogant have for those who choose to serve God. He tells us that we should keep our eyes on God. We should focus on every move that God makes, looking for the slightest signal that indicates His will. If we keep our focus there, we will not notice those who belittle us and hold us in contempt and even if we do notice them, we will not care what they think of us for God will have mercy on us and bring us joy.
People quickly learn who has wisdom and who doesn’t. Those who express wise thoughts are known for their pleasant words. Those who are wise exercise discretion, but even after being disciplined, fools fail to understand its value. Someone with wisdom chooses his words carefully and his utterances are both wise and pleasant.