Acquiring wisdom is an act of self-love. Those who acquire wisdom benefit from doing so. Of course it is not enough to acquire wisdom, one must act on that knowledge as well in order to benefit from it.
God knows what the helpless wish for, He knows their hopes and dreams. He will hear their cries as the wicked crush them and bring them comfort. Let us not be the ones against whom they are crying out because God will deliver justice to the orphan and the oppressed.
I touched on what Paul writes in today;s passage yesterday. The list of evil which people do which Paul listed yesterday is not there for us to condemn others. Rather it is there for us to measure our lives against and determine where we fall short of faithfully serving God. Every time I read yesterday’s and today’s passages I struggle with how to handle them. They are indeed, first and foremost, a guide to me about living my own life. However, we as Christians are called to help our brothers and sisters in Christ deal with the sins in their own lives. If we teach others to follow the guidelines Paul lays out here, but do not do so ourselves we are guilty of causing unbelievers to blaspheme God.
As we read what Paul wrote in these letters, let us strive to put his instructions into practice in our own lives. As we walk with and fellowship with our brothers and sisters in Christ, let us, with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, advise them to the best of our ability how they can live a more faithful life, while seeking their advice of how we can do the same. Let us always remember that we are all sinners and without God’s grace we are helpless in our sin.
I struggle with Chronicles, what is contained in it that is not in Kings? Perhaps it makes the point about God never asking for a “House”(Temple) a little stronger than was made in the book of Kings. When God told David that He never asked the people of Israel to build Him a house, He was emphasizing that He would not be limited to one location. In addition, while the people of Israel are God’s chosen people, that does not mean that God is not the God of everyone. God is not limited to the land of Israel and He does not live in a House/Temple. In many ways the Tabernacle was a better metaphor for God’s relationship with people. There is no one place where God lives that we must go to in order to find Him. No, God’s Home on this earth is a tent and He will move it to where we live in order that we may worship Him. There is another side to that as well. When we worship God, we need to be prepared to pack up and move to where He goes. He does not stay in one place and He calls us to follow Him.
Yesterday I read the portion of this psalm which discussed the fact that the wicked believe they will face no consequences for their actions. The portion I read today reminds us that God hears the cries of the hopeless. He will hear their cries and will comfort them. God will bring justice to the fatherless and the oppressed. If we have fully put our trust in God, mere people will no longer terrify us.
I wonder if the story of the paralyzed man in today’s passage contains part of the explanation of why we see so little healing in the Church today. Jesus recognized that the man’s first need was forgiveness of sin. It is worth noting that the passage does not say Jesus saw the man’s faith, rather He responded to the faith of those who brought the man to Him. Do we have the faith to bring our sick friends to Jesus?
It is also worth noting that the teachers of the law responded to Jesus offering the man forgiveness by questioning His authority to do so. It was then that Jesus healed the man. Jesus demonstrated that He had the power to offer forgiveness by healing the man. In the same way, the Church today needs to show that it has the power to offer God’s forgiveness by healing the people around us. I fear that I have too little faith for this, but I will continue to ask God to give me faith.
The story of the calling of Matthew, and what followed is important. First, Jesus called as one of His disciples a tax collector. That was bad enough, a rabbi not just accepting as his disciple one of the hated tax collectors, notorious sinners all, but actually calling the man to become His disciple. But Jesus than proceeded to hang out with the sinners who had been the tax collectors friends before he became His disciple. Surely, He should have called Matthew to have nothing to do with those sorts any more. At the very least, He should have shown His disdain for such people by having nothing to do with them.
Instead, Jesus went and partied with them, telling those who complained that the healthy do not need a doctor. The important lesson for us here is this, how are we going to preach the Gospel to sinners if we do not know any? We see throughout the Gospels that not only was Jesus willing to go to parties thrown by sinners, He was enough fun at those parties that sinners kept inviting Him! Yet He never stopped calling on them to repent. If the “sinners” you know think you are boring, you are not following Jesus’ example.
In this passage we see again the issue of marrying local women. First, we are told that Esau married two local women and that those women made life miserable for his parents. Then, further on, we have Rebekah tell Isaac that she would rather die than see Jacob marry a local girl. While this was partially a ruse to get Isaac to agree to send Jacob out of Esau’s reach, it seems likely there was enough truth to it for Isaac to believe it. I am still not sure what lesson we should take from this, but it is something I need to think about.
Acquiring wisdom is something that is your own interest to do. Acting wisely benefits the one who does so. If we cherish and seek understanding we will prosper in what we do.
God is sovereign over all of the earth and for all of time. Any nation or people that refuses to acknowledge God’s sovereignty will vanish off of the face of the earth. God listens to the cries of the helpless and oppressed. He will deliver justice to the fatherless and the powerless. When they understand what God is doing for them, they will no longer fear what their fellow men may do to them.
In yesterday’s passage Paul described the sinfulness of those who deny God’s existence, despite the ample evidence which God has provided. However, in today’s passage he warns us against condemning those people because we cannot truly claim to be any better. We know what God desires us to do. Yet, all too often, we fail to do it. It is not enough to know God’s will, we must act on it. When we work at teaching others to do what is right, do we do what is right ourselves? Are we able to say that we never do any of the things which Jesus warns about in the Sermon on the Mount? Let us examine ourselves and see whether or not any of our actions will give unbelievers cause to blaspheme against God. Let us find those actions and pray to God that His Holy Spirit remove those blemishes from our lives.
In this discussion Paul points out yet more evidence for God. He points out that when unbelievers instinctively do what is right, they are showing that God has imprinted His law on human hearts, even those who have never heard His word. If those who have never heard God’s word know what is right, how can those of us taught it from childhood have any excuse?
When God sent Nathan back to David with His response to David’s desire to build a Temple for God, it contained what I believe to be one of the Bible’s two-fold prophecies. These are prophecies which had a meaning and an application for the people to whom they were first spoken and a meaning and application that went far beyond that. In this case Nathan told David that God would raise up one of his descendants to build a Temple for God. That descendant would have God’s favor. God would secure his throne. To David and those around him, this prophecy would have been seen as applying to Solomon (although they probably did not realize it was Solomon until a few years later).
However, this prophecy also applies to Jesus. It is through Jesus that God’s House has been built for all eternity. For Jesus built a House for God to dwell in in the hearts of those who believe His message and follow Him. There is no God like our God. He has adopted us into His people and family. Oh Lord, do not allow me to act in a way which causes others to blaspheme your name.
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. In order to make that possible I read the passages and write my thoughts a day, or more. in advance. My work schedule has recently changed, meaning that I may not have time every day to complete these. As a result, I am trying to get several days ahead. I hope this does not negatively impact the quality of these posts (if that is possible). If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them.
At the end of yesterday’s passage, Abimelech asked Isaac to move away from his lands because was becoming wealthy and powerful enough to be a threat. Isaac did not fight or complain that this was not fair. He trusted God and moved away. When Abimelech’s shepherds contested for control of the area he had moved too, even though they had abandoned that territory. Isaac just moved further. Isaac moved away from them until they no longer contested his use of the lands. When Abimelech came to him in his new home, Isaac made a peace treaty with him, even though the hostility between them had originated with Abimelech.
Usually when we read this passage we skip over the account of Esau’s wives with just a passing thought. However, I think it is part and parcel of the whole thing. Esau married some local girls, but the fact that they were local is not the problem. They have a different idea about what is proper behavior than Isaac and Rebekah. That is the problem. There is a connection between the attitudes of Esau’s wives towards Isaac and Rebekah and Jacob stealing Esau’s blessing. It seems to me that Rebekah convinced Jacob to steal Esau’s blessing so that Esau would be mad at Jacob, giving Jacob motivation to leave and go to her brother’s house to find a wife.
This passage tells us how Jesus interacted with sinners. He did not condemn them, but neither did He tell them that they were not sinners. Rather Jesus told them that they were worthwhile people whom God had forgiven. This passage also tells us that the first step to healing is forgiveness. In order to offer healing to our fellow man, we must first offer forgiveness. There are different ways we can look at the story about the call of Matthew the tax collector. However, it has always struck me that we cannot evangelize the lost unless we spend time among them. Too many Christians only socialize with their fellow Christians. We are not called to spread the Gospel to those who know the Gospel. So, how are we supposed to spread the Gospel to sinners if we do not know any sinners?
I do not want to say much about the last part of this passage, except to say that in it we are reminded that there is a time and place for Christians to fast. I know that I do not do so as often as I should.
God is king over all and those nations which despise Him and attempt to escape from His rule will vanish from the face of the earth. God hears the cries of those who suffer. He will listen to them and answer them. He defends the fatherless and the oppressed, teaching them that mere mortals cannot harm them in any way that matters.
This proverb reminds us that if we honor God with our wealth, if we put God’s interests ahead of our material comfort, He will bless us so that we have all that we need and enough to bless others.
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.
Once David had brought the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem he commissioned to perform worship services and conduct sacrifices to God before it on a daily basis. He then settled into his palace and began making plans to build a temple for God. He summoned the prophet Nathan and spoke of his plans. Nathan initially told David to go ahead with his plans. However, God spoke with Nathan and instructed him to tell David that he was not to build a temple for God, that one of his sons would do so.
Nathan returned to David and told him the vision he had received from God. Through Nathan, God told David that He had taken David from being a shepherd to being the leader of His people. God had destroyed all of David’s enemies and would make David’s name as famous as that of anyone who had ever lived. Further God told David that He would raise up one of David’s descendants to succeed him. This descendant would build God’s house and God would establish his throne forever. God said that he would set this descendant over His house and His kingdom forever.
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This is an example of a prophecy that I believe has a double meaning. In the context of the passage it is clear that those who heard it at the time this book was written would have seen it as applying to Solomon. And God was certainly referring to Solomon in this passage, but God was telling His people more than that. He was telling them that He would raise up a Messiah who would reign forever. In addition to being about Solomon, this prophecy was about Jesus. In that context, Jesus has built God’s house, which is the Church and now reigns over both it and God’s kingdom.
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In response to God’s message, David praised God in humility. David admits that his success is entirely due to God, not of his own making. God has done great things and there is no one like our God. No other god worshiped by anyone is like to the God of the universe. God has promised good things to His servants and He will keep His promises.
Magrat gets distracted
Having given a list of the offenses committed by those who have refused to acknowledge God in yesterday’s passage, Paul today addresses those who do acknowledge the Creator of the Universe as God. He tells us that we are in no position to condemn others for their wickedness, because we are just as bad. On top of that, we have no excuse because we are fully aware of God and what He expects of us. Paul continues by telling us that God is kind, tolerant and patient. God is kind to us in order to turn us from our sin. However, God’s patience will not last forever and if we continue sinning we will face His wrath. It is not enough to know God’s laws and to listen to them, we must obey them. It is not enough to know the right thing to do, we must actually do it. If we are teaching others to keep God’s law, why aren’t we keeping it ourselves?
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The main thrust of today’s passage is that it is more important that we keep God’s laws than that we tell others what they are. There is a fine balance between telling others that their behaviors are causing them harm and avoiding being judgmental. The most important thing to realize is that we are not better than others. Our first emphasis when studying God’s word should be on applying it to our own lives. When we speak to those who have no desire to do God’s will, we should not focus on what they are doing wrong, rather we should focus on what God is offering them and what they need to do to become right with God. The most important lesson to be taken out of today’s passage is that we are not better than anyone else, no matter how bad of a sinner they are. Anything about our lives that might make us seem better is to God’s credit, not our own.
Growing vegetables in pots
Today has the conclusion of yesterday’s psalm. God will hear the cries of the helpless. He knows their hopes and will bring them comfort. God will bring justice to the fatherless and the oppressed. If they rely on God, mere humans will lose the ability to frighten them. I know that God is control of everything that happens, why should I be afraid of what people can do to me? They have no ability to act against God’s will and He has promised good things to His servants, of which I strive to be one.
If you love yourself you will seek to acquire more wisdom and understanding. I would rather learn that I am wrong than continue to be wrong. Of course, I would rather be right, but the only way to be right is to seek to learn where I am wrong and change my belief to that which is right. I did not originally see the connection between these two proverbs, but I realized that there is one. Some people are so determined to be “right” in every debate that they will use arguments which they know to be false if they think it will “win” the debate for them. Such people will pay the price for doing so. I strive to never follow that approach.
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. I hope that the Spirit is moving in others through these posts as the Spirit has definitely been convicting me.
Isaac moved away from the Philistines as Abimelech had asked. Isaac’s servants dug several wells, but the Philistine’s claimed them. Rather than fight, Isaac moved on until the Philistines did not dispute him over a well. There Isaac stopped and worshiped God. That night God appeared to him and affirmed His blessing on Isaac and his descendants. Meanwhile Abimelech came to Isaac with several of his advisers. Abimelech wished to enter into a treaty with Isaac that neither side would harm the other.
The passage mentions that Esau married two Hittite women who were a source of grief for Isaac and Rebekah. The passage foes on to tell us that when Isaac got old his eyesight failed him. At one point Isaac called Esau to him. Isaac asked Esau to go hunting and prepare him some tasty food to eat. Isaac told Esau that when he returned he would give him his blessing. Rebekah overheard this conversation and told Jacob to bring her two goats so that she could prepare a dish for Isaac and Jacob would get the blessing. Jacob responded that would never work because he was not as hairy as Esau. Rebekah tells him to do it anyway, so he gets the goats. Rebekah prepares the meal and takes the goatskins and places them on the back of Jacob’s hands and on the smooth part of his neck. Isaac was suspicious but Jacob convinced him that he was Esau and Isaac blessed him. Shortly after Jacob left Isaac, Esau returned and came into Isaac’s presence. When Esau asks for his blessing Isaac tells him that he has already given it to Jacob. Esau begs Isaac for any blessing he can give him. Isaac after much thought blesses Esau that he will not always be subordinate to Jacob. Esau was furious with Jacob and plotted that when Isaac had died he would kill Jacob. When Rebekah heard of Esau’s plans she convinces Jacob to go to her brother, Laban, until Esau calms down. She then goes to Isaac and convinces him to send Jacob to her brother so that he does not marry one (or more) of the local women as Esau had done.
Whenever I read this story my heart goes out to Esau. His mother and his brother conspired to steal the blessing that his father intended to give him. Of course, Isaac gave a blessing to Jacob (the one he intended to give Esau) that left no room to give his other son much of a blessing, so if things had gone as Isaac planned it would have been Jacob left out in the cold. Talk about a dysfunctional family. Yet these were the ones through whom God planned to bring His blessing to the whole earth.
Some people brought a paralyzed man to Jesus. When Jesus saw the faith of the man’s friends, he encouraged him and told him that his sins were forgiven. The teachers of the law who witnessed this immediately whispered to each other that what Jesus had just said was blasphemy. Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked them whether it was easier to tell the man that his sins were forgiven or to get up and walk? Then He told the man to get up and go home which the man promptly did. Jesus met both the spiritual needs (forgiveness) and the physical needs (healing) of this man. We are called to behave in the same manner.
Shortly after this, Jesus was walking along when He saw Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth (as a tax collector). Jesus told Matthew to follow Him and Matthew immediately got up and followed Him. Jesus ate dinner at Matthew’s house along with many tax collectors and other sinners. When some of the Pharisees saw this they asked His disciples why He ate with tax collectors and sinners? When He heard this Jesus told them that it isn’t the healthy that need a doctor, rather it is the sick. Jesus then references a passage from Hosea where the prophet said that God desired us to be merciful more than he desired us to offer sacrifices. Finally He tells them that He came to call sinners, not the righteous (or those who thought they were righteous). I think this passage is an important one for Christians. How are we supposed to call sinners to Christ if we never spend any time with them? Jesus spent a large amount of His time on this earth at places many Christians will never go, at the wild parties and at the equivalent of the modern bar. Jesus spent a lot of time where people went to drink and hang out.
The proverb writer tells us that if we honor God with our wealth, we will never want. If we put God first, we will manage what wealth God blesses us with in a way that does not squander it. By making sure we honor God with our wealth, we will ensure that we have our priorities straight.
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.
While David had moved the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem, where he had established his capital, he continued having sacrifices offered at Gibeon. Once David had established the Ark in Jerusalem, it occurred to him to build a Temple for God. But God sent him word through the prophet Nathan not to do so. God said that He has never asked for a house to be built for Him. His place of worship has been a tent since the Israelites left Egypt. God went on to tell David that He will establish a dynasty of David’s descendants. God’s message to David concluded that David’s son would build a Temple and that God would establish his throne forever. In some ways I think that this message to David is a foreshadowing of the way things are today. God does not live in a building where we go to Him to worship Him. God lives in the hearts of those who serve Him and we can worship Him wherever we are. He lives within us and travels with us no matter where we go.
David responded to the message from God by praying and praising God. David acknowledged that God’s promise to him was an honor to him. David declared that he was no one special, but that God knew him in detail. David praised God and gave credit to God for all of his success.
Today’s passage concludes by telling us that David defeated and conquered most of the surrounding kingdoms, becoming allies with those he did not conquer.
After writing about the sinfulness of those who refuse to acknowledge God, Paul writes that we are just as bad. That we do the same things. If we refuse to turn from our sin, God will bring judgement upon us. On the other hand if we turn from sin and seek to do good, God will reward us. Paul tells us that those who know the Law will be judged for their failure to follow the Law. On the other hand, those who have never heard the law show that they know God’s Law by instinctively obeying it, even though they have never heard it. Paul tells us that everyone knows right from wrong, even though, as he told us in yesterday’s passage, some have chosen to cauterize that knowledge. Paul goes on to say that those who think that they are better than others because of their superior knowledge of the Law do that which violates the Law. If we present ourselves as certain that we have complete knowledge and truth, we are guilty of causing others to blaspheme when we fail to live up to God’s Law…and we will fail. This is not an instruction that we can never point out to others that they are sinning, but that we must do so with humility, acknowledging our own sinfulness.
The psalmist tells us that the Lord is king forever and that godless nations will vanish from the land. God knows the hopes of the helpless and He will come to their rescue. When the orphan and the oppressed cry out to God, He will answer their cry and bring them Justice. I read this and think of the news that comes out of Penn State. For years, there were orphans who were powerless to defend themselves from the predation of a man who was respected in the community. Now there is justice. The powers that were at Penn State covered up his actions and allowed him to continue to prey on the weak. They did it to “protect the reputation” of their school. In particular Joe Paterno had a reputation for being the rare successful college coach who had his priorities straight. Now we know that he was even worse than his contemporaries who were known to be willing to sacrifice the well-being of their athletes in order to win. We learn that Joe Paterno was willing to sacrifice the well-being, not of those who willingly put themselves under his protection, but the fatherless. And he did it not for victory, but for “reputation”. If he had used his position to bring this evil man to justice, Joe Paterno would have been seen as being even more of a hero than he had been. Instead we discover that even the positive reputation he had was undeserved. Understand, this does not make others of us better, in light of the passage from Romans, we are all guilty. But it demonstrates that God will bring Justice and the outcome will be horrible. Joe Paterno died knowing that the reputation he had spent 40+ years building would be destroyed. If we try to sweep the abuse of the helpless under the rug, we will face similar retribution from God. Joe Paterno was not the only person who failed God’s command to defend the fatherless. He is just the biggest name. The others will also pay a price before the judgement seat of God. Those of us who stand by and watch others suffer when we could do something, even if that something is to join them in their suffering, will similarly stand condemned before God’s Judgement seat one day. Only by throwing ourselves on God’s mercy can we avoid that judgement. I should add that this story breaks my heart, both for those who suffered and because I held Joe Paterno in such high regard before this.
Seeking wisdom is the ultimate form of self-love. We often think of narcissists as being too much in love with themselves, but in truth the behaviors we call “narcissism” is the product of a deep seated conviction that we are unlovable. Narcissists refuse to acknowledge that God made them as they are for a reason and loves them and attempt to set themselves up in the place of God. If they truly loved themselves they would seek the wisdom that comes from acknowledging God.
