The proverb writer compares kind words to honey in a positive way. He is correct that kind words make those we speak to feel good in much the same way that eating something sweet does (especially something like honey). It is also true that kind words can help bring healing to injury, even actual physical injury, in much the same way that honey can help by providing energy, if eaten, or by helping prevent infection, if applied to a wound. Let us keep this in mind when we talk to those we encounter.
Rgw psalmist reminds us to look over our history and imagine what might have happened had God not been on our side. How would things have been different if God was not working to bring about good in this world? While the focus in this psalm is on the history of Israel, the message applies to all of us, both as groups and as individuals. Look back over your life and take note of the times when things could have gone much worse, when things just came together so that your path would be the best it could be, despite your bad decisions. I know that I am grateful to God for the wonderful ways in which He directed my life, even when I was not following His will for me.
While Peter and John were preaching in the Temple after healing the lame man they were confronted by some priests and other religious leaders. The religious leaders arrested them and put them on trial. There is a subtext we often overlook. The leaders expected Peter and John to be intimidated by their “betters” and were amazed when it did not work out that way. We still see this sort of behavior today where some people attempt to use their academic credentials to intimidate others into silence. Our response needs to be the same as that of Peter and John, “We cannot stop telling about everything we have seen and heard.”
When Peter and John told the other believers about how the religious leaders had ordered them to keep quiet about Jesus, the believers joined together in prayer. In the face of these threats, it is interesting to note what the believers prayer was. They did not pray for protection from those threatening them. No, they prayed for the boldness to continue preaching God’s word in the face of those threats. Do we have a similar attitude?
When King David got very old and feeble, his oldest remaining son, Adonijah, decided to make himself king. Once more we are reminded of David’s shortcomings as a father. The passage tells us that David had never disciplined Adonijah, not even by so much as demanding an explanation for his bad behavior. Adonijah convinced two of David’s key advisers to support his effort to become king. How would things have gone differently had Adonijah approached David (or had one of his advisers do so)? Rather than seeking the kingship as a gift bestowed upon him by his father, Adonijah chose to seize the throne. It turned out that David’s advisers who had not been taken into Adonijah’s confidence had sufficient foresight and power to thwart Adonijah’s plans.
For today, One Year Bible Online links here. Christmas is coming soon. Let us remember what it is truly about, the birth of Jesus Christ. Let us strive to not be caught up in the commercialism which is what this season is about for many in our society today.
When you flatter your friends (and in this context, “flatter” means telling them good things about themselves that are not true) you are setting them up for devastating failure.
The evil will allow their desire to sin lead them into a trap. The righteous, who reject the sin, will avoid the trap completely, shouting for joy at their good fortune. The godly care about the poor, not only do they care about the poor, but they care about their rights. The wicked do not care about anyone but themselves, and their actions reflect it.
The last of these proverbs reminds me of what is going on in Ferguson, MO. There are agitators stirring up trouble there. The proverb writer tells us that they are mockers and fools. If they were wise, as they would have us believe, they would be calming things down, not stirring them up.
This psalm reminds me to look at my life and think about what could have been. When I look at my life, where would I be if God had not been on my side? If He had not been looking out for me? It would not have taken much to be different for things to be much worse. I made plenty of bad decisions over the years, but none of them turned out quite as bad as they could have, or as I deserved. If God had not been on my side, the suffering in my life would have been much worse. I thank and praise God for all He has done for me.
This passage starts out with what, at first, appears to be circular reasoning. If we love God, we will love His children and we demonstrate that we love His children by loving God and obeying His commands. However, some thought reveals that there is an important point here. It is not enough to obey God’s commands and it is easy to say that we love God. We need to demonstrate that love by our actions towards our fellow believers, who are God’s children. However, John wants us to understand that we cannot truly love our fellow believers without believing in and loving God. John is addressing both those who want to make Christianity purely about a one on one relationship with God and those who want to make it purely about a relationship with the “Body of believers” (quotes used because this latter group does not actually believe).
John changes subject slightly as he concludes this letter. However, here again John expresses what at first appears to be circular reasoning. If we ask God that He do His will, He will do as we ask. However, it is more a matter of knowing that as we seek His will, He will listen to our prayers and give us what we want. However, God will not give us what we ask for if what we are asking for will cause us to become less in love with Him.
I am finding it hard to get this to come out right. So, I will use an illustration. If we ask God for a shiny new car, but if we get that car we will start to value that car more than doing God’s will, God will not give us that shiny new car. On the other hand, if we ask God for a new car so that we can use it to something that it is His will that we do and we will be better able to do that with a luxury vehicle, God will give us a luxury vehicle.
Hosea married a prostitute/promiscuous woman. The passage tells us that God instructed him to do so. I do not know if God told him to marry a specific woman who was promiscuous, or if he was supposed to seek one out to marry. I don’t think it matters for the point of this passage, but I have always wondered. Every time I read, or hear, this passage I feel sorry for Hosea’s children. What terrible names to go through life with.
Through Hosea God told the people of the Northern Kingdom, Israel, that they were not His people. Yet the day will come when they will once more be God’s people. The interesting thing I noticed is that although Hosea was speaking against the Kingdom of Israel, not the Kingdom of Judah, he tells us that the people of Judah will go into exile as well as the people of Israel. We find this out when Hosea says that the people of Israel will reunite with the people of Judah, and together they will return from exile.
The key element of today’s passage is when God tells Hosea to go and love his wife once more, even though she was committing adultery. This is to illustrate that God will take back the people of Israel even though they worship other gods. I believe that it represents how God will continue to love us even though we sin and worship things other than Him.
Let us remember to speak kind words to and about the people we meet each day. By doing so we will lift their spirits and improve their health. This follows yesterday’s discussion of the use by the wise of pleasant words to persuade. Taking these two together, let us use kind and pleasant words to persuade those around us to behave in a wise and righteous manner.
This psalm reminds me of all of the times in my life which would have been much worse, if not for God’s intervention on my behalf. I will praise God for all that He has done for me. I thank God for the many times He has rescued me from trouble.
Some of the religious leaders were upset with Peter and John proclaiming resurrection of the dead through Jesus. So, they had Peter and John arrested and brought before the council the following day. When the council began to question them, Peter immediately asked if they were being put on trial/called to account for healing a crippled man. Peter told them that the man was healed through the power of Jesus, whom they had crucified but whom God had raised from the dead. The council was amazed at Peter’s and John’s boldness before them, considering that neither had a degree from a prestigious school (or any school for that matter). However, because they had the actual facts on their side (the man who had been lame, but was no longer, was standing right there), there was not much the council could say. The council settled for ordering them to stop preaching in Jesus’ name. Peter and John responded by asking if the council really thought they would obey the council rather than obeying God. When forced to choose between obeying the law or obeying God, let us always choose God.
In the aftermath of this confrontation, the believers were united in spirit and in mind. They did not consider their property their own. Rather they shared their possessions among themselves. Those who were wealthy sold some of their property in order to provide for the needs of the believers who were impoverished. As a result of this, there were no needy people among the believers. This gives us an example of how we should live today. Those of us who have much should give to help those of us who are in need.
When David was very old and frail, his son Adonijah decided to make himself king. It does not look to me as if he intended to take the throne from his father, David. Rather, he merely wanted to make it an accomplished fact that he was king as soon as his father died. He set about presenting himself in a manner that looked like he was already king. He gathered the support of several of David’s chief advisers and most of David’s sons. Once again, we see a lesson for fathers in what David failed to do. We are told that David had never disciplined Adonijah, not even by so much as demanding an explanation for his actions.
However, Adonijah had made a serious miscalculation. He had been unable to convince several key advisers(one of those being Nathan, the prophet) to the king to support his bid for the throne. Then he invited those who did support him to a celebration/sacrifice/feast intended as a de facto coronation. He left out those advisers who did not support him and his brother Solomon. Adonijah’s actions were reminiscent of those of his brother Absalom. When Nathan presented them in that light to the king, David realized that he could not fight another civil war at his advanced age. Rather David instructed his advisers who had not supported Adonijah to take Solomon and make him king in front of the populace of Jerusalem. After anointing Solomon king, they brought him back to the palace at the head of a procession where David acknowledged Solomon as his successor.
When word reached the people who had joined Adonijah, they scattered. Adonijah had no choice but to seek Solomon’s mercy. Solomon offered Adonijah mercy on the condition that he not stir up trouble in an attempt to gain the crown.
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 in advance. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them.
God gave Hosea a difficult ministry. He started by instructing Hosea to marry a prostitute. Hosea’s wife had three children. One God told him to name for a valley where the power of the Kingdom of Israel would be broken. The second and third he was to name, “Not-loved” and “Not-my-people”. These names were a message to the people of the Northern Kingdom, the Kingdom of Israel. God was telling them that He would no longer love them above other peoples and that they were no longer His people. Yet despite all of this, Hosea prophesied that the people of Israel would multiply until they were like the sand on the seashore. Then, in God’s time, He would call them back and they would be called the children of the living God.
Hosea prophesied that the day would come when all of God’s people would be united under one ruler. Today we are the children of the living God and tremble in awe of the Lord and His goodness. I am in awe of the good things God has done. He has brought the people of Israel back to the land He gave to Abraham. He has called people of every tribe and nation to be His children. I will praise God every day.
If we believe that Jesus is God’s anointed One, we have become God’s children. If we truly love God, we will also love all of God’s children. If we truly love God’s children, we will love God and obey His commands. Jesus came by water (baptism) and blood (dying on the cross). In addition, God’s Spirit testifies to the truth of Jesus’ life, ministry, death, and resurrection. God Himself testifies about the pivotal role of Jesus in the salvation He is offering us. Those who believe in Jesus believe God. Those who claim that Jesus never lived, or was just a man, and/or did not rise from the dead are calling God a liar. If we accept Jesus as the Son of God, we will know in our hearts that this is all true. I cannot prove to you that God exists or that Jesus lived, died, and rose again. That is something you will have to accept on faith. However, if you do accept it on faith, before very long, you will not just believe it to be true, but you will KNOW it to be true.
John then tells us something about prayer similar to what James had said. He tells us that we can have confidence that if we ask God for something in order to fulfill God’s will, God will hear our prayer. And if God hears our prayer, He will give us what we ask for. The key here is that we cannot be asking in order to bring glory to ourselves or for our own pleasure. Rather we need to be asking in order to carry out God’s will. As we come to love God more and more, carrying out God’s will will bring greater pleasure to us than anything else we can imagine. Carrying out God’s will will bring greater pleasure to us than anything we could have experienced before we came to this understanding. John concludes this letter by reminding us to keep as much distance as possible between ourselves and anything that might take God’s place in our hearts.
This psalm reminds me to look at my life and the difficulties I have faced and think about how bad they would have been if God had not been on my side. If God had not been on my side, my troubles would long since have overwhelmed me. To some degree my troubles were less than they could have been because of the personality traits which I have as a result of my faith in God, but to a significant degree, I was saved by divine intervention. I will praise God for all He has done for me and will remember how much worse my life would have been without God on my side.
Flattering someone is setting them up for failure (flattery is not just complimenting someone. It is telling them that they are better than they truly are). The wicked are trapped by sin and do not even know it. The righteous recognize sin for the trap it is and rejoice when they escape from it. Someone who lies, cheats, and in other ways shows that they have no morals is lying when they say that they care about justice for the poor because they care for nothing but themselves. On the other hand, those who value honesty and integrity above all else, will fight for justice for the poor because without justice for the poor, there is no justice for anyone. Mockers can get people angry and looking for change, but the wise calm people down and get them to work together to make things better.
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.
When David got old, he was unable to keep warm, even when under many covers. His retainers found a pretty young virgin named Abishag to care for David and sleep with him to keep him warm. She came and took care of him, but he did not have sexual relations with her. About this time, David’s son Adonijah decided to make himself king. Adonijah was the next oldest after Absalom. The passage tells us that King David had never disciplined Adonijah, not even so much as questioning his actions.
Adonijah spoke with Joab, the commander of David’s army, and Abiathar, one of David’s chief priests and they agreed to support him. This is noteworthy and suggests that it was past time for David to abdicate in favor of one of his sons since both of these men had been loyal retainers to David throughout his life (although Joab had gone against David’s wishes on several occasions to protect his own interests). However, several other key figures among David’s closest advisers refused to support Adonijah’s plan to become king. These included Zadok, the other chief priest and Benaiah, the captain of David’s bodyguard. David’s bodyguard followed the lead of their captain.
Adonijah went to a place of some significance a short distance outside of Jerusalem (the actual significance of the location is lost to time, although there is speculation). There he offered sacrifices and held a feast. He invited all of his brothers and the royal officials of Judah. except for his brother Solomon, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah and the king’s bodyguard. Nathan went to Bathsheba and told her that Adonijah was about to crown himself king without David’s knowledge. He told her to go to David and remind him of his promise to make Solomon king (although this is the first place that we actually see a reference to such a promise) then ask David why Adonijah has become king. Bathsheba went in to see David and said to him what Nathan had told her to say. While she was speaking to the king, Nathan was announced. Nathan came in and told David that Adonijah had declared himself king while offering sacrifices and after inviting some, but not all, of David’s advisers to join him. Nathan then asked David if he had indeed decided that Adonijah should become king after him without telling his advisers. Nathan’s recount of what Adonijah was doing intentionally reminded David of what Absalom had done.
David immediately summoned those of his advisers who had not joined Adonijah and told them to take Solomon to the spring that was the main water source for Jerusalem and crown him king. They were to have Solomon ride on David’s own mule to the spring and back. They were to sound the ram’s horn and have the people cry out “Long live King Solomon!”. Then bring Solomon back and seat him on David’s throne. They followed David’s instructions and when they blew the ram’s horn everyone in the city celebrated. The description calls to my mind the way cities today celebrate when one of their major professional sports teams win the championship.
Adonijah and his guests heard the noise from the city as they were finishing their banquet. Joab head the ram’s horn and asked what the cause of all the commotion was. While Joab was still speaking, Jonathan, Abiathar’s son (who had delivered the message about Absalom’s plans to David) arrived. Adonijah was sure that Jonathan would have good news. Instead Jonathan told him that David had had Solomon crowned king and seated on the throne, and that the city officials were congratulating David on making Solomon king. When Adonijah’s guests heard the news, they fled in a panic. Adonijah himself was afraid of what Solomon would do to him, so he fled to the sacred tent and grasped the horns of the altar. Solomon received word that Adonijah was seeking sanctuary at God’s altar and asking Solomon to vow not to kill him. Solomon sent word to Adonijah that he promised not to harm a hair on his head for so long as Adonijah remained loyal.
There is a lot of stuff in this passage. The first is that we have further evidence that David was not a very good father. He had failed to discipline his older sons. All of the problems with Absalom could have been avoided if David had properly disciplined his sons, as well as the situation in this passage. In addition, when we look at this passage, we see that David had become to old and infirm to rule, but was unwilling to relinquish the throne (or perhaps none of his advisers were brave enough to suggest that course of action to him). It was only when yet another of his sons attempts to usurp the throne and David realizes that he is unable to lead the battle to defend his throne this time that David abdicates in favor of Solomon.
There is one final point about this that I want to make. There is no place in the Bible where it tells us that David promised to that Solomon would succeed him as king. However, in this passage we have Bathsheba “reminding” (at Nathan’s prompting) David that he made such a promise. I don’t know if David made such a promise and the Bible just does not record it, or if Nathan and Bathsheba were taking advantage of David’s advanced age and less than sharp mental faculties. It is worth noting that the bulk of David’s most trusted advisers refused to support Adonijah’s efforts to become king.
While Peter and John were preaching in the Temple after healing the lame man, they were confronted by the chief priests, the captain of the Temple guard and some of the Sadducees. Peter and John were arrested and put in jail overnight, since it was already evening by this time. Luke tells us that many of those who had witnessed the healing and heard their preaching believed, raising the number of believers to 5,000, not counting women and children.
In the morning they are brought before the ruling body of Jerusalem. Luke specifically tells us that it included several of the key players in the trial of Jesus. The council demanded to know by what power they had healed the man. Peter boldly asked them if they were standing trial for healing a man, for helping someone? He then went on to tell them that he would happily tell them how the man came to be healed. The man had been healed through the power of Jesus’ name. Peter reminded them that they had crucified Jesus and told them that God had raised Him from the dead (once again, we have Peter pulling no punches, making no effort to sugar coat the role his audience played in Jesus’ death). Peter concluded his statement by telling them that salvation comes only through Jesus (for those who think that any of the major religions will do, because they all teach the same thing, this passage–and several others–explicitly rejects that idea).
The council was amazed at the boldness which Peter and John displayed before them and had them put out to discuss the situation. The council was unable to reach a decision about what to do with Peter and John. They decided to warn them against preaching any more in Jesus’ name. They called Peter and John back in and gave them a strict command to stop preaching, or even talking, about Jesus. Peter replied asking them if they thought they should obey them rather than God? The council made further threats against them and then released them. The council was afraid there would be a riot if they did anything more serious because the people were all praising God for the wondrous healing that had taken place.
When Peter and John recounted the story to the other believers, the others praised God. They asked God to glorify His name with healing power and miraculous signs. They asked God to hear the threats that had been made and to give them the boldness to preach His word. Once more the believers were filled with the Holy Spirit.
Today’s passage concludes by telling us that there were no needy people among the believers because those who had wealth shared it with the apostles to give to those in need. We have here the first mention of Barnabas (which means “Son of Encouragement” and was not his given name, but rather a nickname). This passage always brings to mind something my father said that I believe he based on this passage. “There is nothing wrong with Christians being on welfare, and there is nothing wrong with Christians being millionaires. But there is something wrong when one congregation has some members on welfare and some members who are millionaires.” He made it very clear that if that happened he was not going to lay fault on one or the other in advance. It was something that would have to be judged on a case by case basis. Those of us who have resources above and beyond what we need to meet our basic expenses should be looking for ways that we can help those who are struggling to pay their bills (although that does not necessarily mean paying those bills for them, although it might). And those of us who are struggling to pay our bills should be willing to share that with our brothers and sisters in Christ and accept both their advice and help to get us out of that situation.
Let us praise God for everything about our lives and think about what could have happened if God had not been on our side. When we face trials and troubles we should remember:
Our help is from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.
What power can possibly stand against that? I will praise the Lord.
Lily of the valley bloom from another angle
This proverb is a reminder that we should speak kindly and graciously because such an approach will improve the health of both ourselves and those to whom we speak. But more importantly, speaking kindly and graciously will help make the hearts of those with whom we speak more receptive to the prompting of the Holy Spirit.
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.
Today I begin reading the book of Hosea, which starts with Hosea being given a very heartbreaking instruction by God. Hosea is told to go and marry a prostitute. He is to marry a woman that he knows is going to be unfaithful to him. God gives Hosea instructions on what to name his children. His first born he is told to name Jezreel to indicate that God is going to bring judgment against Israel (the Northern Kingdom) for an atrocity committed at Jezreel. God is going to bring this judgment to bear in the Jezreel valley. When his wife becomes pregnant again, Hosea is told to name this child “Not Loved” (what a poor child to go through life with that name) because God was going to stop showing love to Israel, although He would continue to show love to the Kingdom of Judah. Finally, Hosea is told to name his second son “Not My People” (another child for whom I feel sorry) because God declared that the people of Israel were not His people any longer. However, this is followed up by a prophecy that the day would come when God would once again call the people of Israel His people. He would reunite the people of Israel and of Judah into one people. They would be called the children of the living God. It would be a day of rejoicing when God planted His people once more in His land.
Through Hosea God tells Israel that He will strand her in a desert place with no food, clothing or water. When this happens, she will run after the other things that she had worshiped in place of God in order to obtain life’s necessities and pleasures, but God will block her path. Then, and only then, will she turn back to God. She did not realize that the good things she had that she sacrificed to other gods were gifts from the only true God. As a result God was going to take those things from her and turn her out into the desert to experience privation and suffering. But God was going to win her back. The day would come when God would woo His people back and they would no longer view themselves as His slave, but as His wife. They would no longer seek after other gods. In that day, God would grant them peace and call those who He had said were not His people His people.
I read Hosea’s indictment of Israel and it reminds me of Christians in the U.S.(and most of Western Civilization). God gave us wealth beyond imagining. Instead of using it to glorify God (there are notable exceptions to this), all too many of us used this wealth for our own pleasure. We began to act as if we were entitled to it. We put ourselves in place of God and used the gifts He had given us to honor ourselves. If we do not turn from our idolatry, God will take His gifts from us. But He promises that He will woo us back, that He will show us His love even as we experience the desert of privation and suffering. Let us turn to Him now so that we may show the world the goodness of the Lord and help fulfill this prophecy that people will tremble in awe of the Lord’s goodness.
Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ (Anointed One) has become a child of God. If we are children of God, then we will love God our Father. If we love the Father, then we will love His children. We can know that we love God and His children if we obey His commands. Jesus was revealed as God’s Son by both His baptism (water) and His death (blood). In addition, the Holy Spirit confirms this. So we have three things which testify to Jesus as the Anointed One of God, water, blood and spirit. Those who believe in Jesus as the Son of God acknowledge this testimony, while those who deny that Jesus is the Son of God are calling God a liar. It is God Himself who is testifying that Jesus is His Son through these three things, spirit, water and blood.
We may know that we have eternal life if we love God. And we know that we love God if we love our fellow believers. We know we love our fellow believers if we act to meet their needs. When did I last act to show my love for my fellow believers? I know the answer to that question and it is long enough ago to convict me that waiting for such an opportunity to come into my path is not enough. I need to seek a way to show my love of my fellow believers and of my fellow man.
John has three themes in this short letter. The first two are closely related. They are that we are to love one another and that if we love one another it will show in our actions. Love is not passive, it leads to actions. Love causes us not only to want what is best for the one we love, but to act so that they will have that which is best for them. The third theme is that those who have been saved and become God’s children do not make it a practice of sinning. If we are truly God’s children we will not make plans to do that which we know to be wrong.
Today’s psalm encourages us to think about what our life would have been like if God had not been on our side. Think of all of the ways in which we could have been overwhelmed by the troubles we have faced in this life. I remember my Dad talking about events from his younger years (in particular a girl he dated before he met my Mom) and saying, “But for the grace of God.” He rarely ever completely said what he thought might have happened if it were not for God’s grace but it was clear that he did not know why he did not make a decision that looking back he realized would have been a very bad decision. I see that in my own life. I look back and see times where I do not know why I did not make the choice that would have led to disaster, or where I made a choice that should have led to disaster but circumstances beyond my control intervened to deflect my life from a course of woe. Times that I look back on and think, “There, but for the grace of God.” Satan has laid traps for my feet, but even when I took my eyes off of God, God has been faithful and broken those traps in order to set me free. I will praise the Lord and tell the world that my help is from the Lord.
If we flatter our friends, we may lead them to believe they are more talented than they truly are which may lead them to take actions that will lead to their humiliation or worse. Evil people think they are freer than those who do good, but they are instead trapped by their sin. The righteous on the other hand are freed from the trap of sin and for this they rejoice. The godly care about the rights of the poor, but the wicked do not care about anything. Always remember that what someone says they care about is not what is important, what is important is what their actions show they care about. You can get people agitated by mocking your enemy, but the wise person will calm anger. Think about what this means when you judge the behavior of those around you, are they mocking certain people to stir up anger against them? Or are they working to calm anger so that people can work together? Do not judge them by what they say about themselves or by what others say about them. Judge them by what they do.
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.
In his old age, we once again have an example of how David was a poor father. The passage tells us that David had never disciplined his son Adonijah, even by so much as questioning his reasons for a particular action. This is the third son who shows us David’s failure as a father. Amnon raped his half-sister, Tamar. Absalom killed Amnon for raping his sister and then later attempted to usurp David’s throne. Now, Adonijah attempts to crown himself king. Unlike Absalom, Adonijah talks with David’s advisers and attempts to get them to support his ascension to the throne. In addition, while Adonijah’s attempt is technically a usurpation, it appears to be more an attempt to establish himself as David’s successor at a time when David is becoming too feeble to rule. Unfortunately for Adonijah, he failed to get enough of David’s advisers to back his bid. On the other hand, Adonijah fails to ingratiate himself with the common man the way that Absalom had done. When Adonijah begins to execute his conspiracy to appoint himself as David’s successor, Nathan, one of David’s advisers who had rejected Adonijah’s plan, started a counter-conspiracy. Nathan goes to Bathsheba and tells her to go to David and remind him that he had promised to make Solomon king as his successor and to tell him that Adonijah was proclaiming himself king. Nathan tells Bathsheba that he will come and confirm what she is telling David about Adonijah.
Now there are a couple of things that I notice in this passage. David has become somewhat feeble in his old age and is not fully aware of what is going on in his court. David has put off naming a successor. Adonijah decides that since he is the eldest of David’s remaining sons, he is entitled to become the next king. An interesting thing is that Adonijah was apparently aware that David intended for Solomon to succeed him. That would explain why Solomon was the only one of his brothers he did not invite to attend his feast of coronation. It is also interesting to note that the advisers who did not support Adonijah’s attempt to seize the throne were those who are for the most part responsible for domestic policy.
When David becomes aware of what Adonijah is doing, he realizes his mistake in not naming his successor and turning the throne over to him. He does so at once. He immediately summons his advisers who have not backed Adonijah and instructs them to crown Solomon king. This is where Adonijah’s failure to gain the sentiment of the common people causes him trouble. The people of Jerusalem are overjoyed that Solomon has been named king to succeed David. It is possible that they did not want Adonijah as king, but it is also possible that they were afraid there would be some kind of civil war over the succession if David were to die without naming his successor. It is likely that everyone was expecting David to die very soon and that Adonijah had no intention of outright claiming the throne until after David’s death.
The final piece to this story is that when Adonijah receives word that David has had Solomon crowned king, his followers desert him in a panic. Adonijah himself fears that Solomon will have him killed and rushes to the tent where the Ark of the Covenant resides. When he gets there he grabs onto the horns of the altar and begs that Solomon spare his life. Solomon promises that if Adonijah behaves loyally, Solomon will not have him killed.
After the healing of the lame man and Peter preaching about the resurrection of Jesus, some of the Jewish leaders have them arrested. According to what Luke writes here, the Jewish authorities were more concerned that the apostles were teaching that there was a resurrection of the dead than that they were teaching that Jesus was resurrected. When confronted by the Council as to by what power or in what cause they had acted, Peter and John boldly declared that they had acted in Jesus’ name. They further stated that there is no other way to salvation.
The Council is impressed by the boldness that Peter and John exhibited here, since neither Peter or John had any special training in scripture. The Council also recognized them as having been among Jesus’ close followers. The Council clearly wanted to use an “appeal to authority” argument to humiliate Peter and John, but since the man who had been lame until the day before was standing there in the crowd, they knew that would not work. The Council then orders Peter and John to stop speaking in the name of Jesus. I like the way that the New American Standard Bible translation renders Peter and John’s reply, “ Whether it is right in the sight of God to give heed to you rather than to God, you be the judge; for we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.” Or as I would put it, “Listen, you can decide for yourselves whether you would do what God tells you to do or what some men tell you to do, but we’re going to do what God tells us.” The Council really wanted to punish Peter and John more severely for defying them, but, with the healed man standing there, they knew that doing so would start a riot. Not only was the fledgling Church not intimidated by the Council warnings, through the moving of the Holy Spirit they were further emboldened. The believers gathered and prayed for the boldness to ignore the threats and for healing power and other miraculous signs to show the people that God stood behind the message that they were preaching.
The next thing we have is that the believers were unified in heart and mind. In addition, they treated their possessions as gifts from God to be used to meet the needs of others. The passage tells us that there were no needy people among them because those with wealth sold some of their possessions and gave the money to the apostles to meet the needs of those with less. Note, the wealthy did not turn their possessions over to the apostles for the apostles to sell as they saw fit. The wealthy sold their possessions as God directed them and turned the proceeds over to the apostles. I think the important thing to learn from this is something that can be summed up by something my father said. He said that there was nothing wrong with Christians being millionaires or billionaires and there was nothing wrong with Christians being on welfare. However, he said that there was something wrong when a congregation had members who were on welfare and members who were millionaires. He further said that we cannot know from outside whether the problem in such a congregation is with the millionaires, the people on welfare, or somewhere else. All we can say from outside is that something is wrong. His point was that if someone is on welfare giving them money is not the answer, although it may be part of the answer. If someone is on welfare they need help to get off of welfare and be able to be a productive member of society. What form that help needs to take is not something we can specify in advance. Perhaps the person needs to be taught skills that will allow them to have a job, perhaps they need to be taught to manage their time or their money, perhaps they need to be taught to modify other behaviors, or perhaps they just need a job. The person may be in need of welfare because of ongoing behaviors that they need to change, or they may be in need of welfare because of past behaviors that they have since corrected, or they may be on welfare because of circumstances outside of their control. On the other side, the wealthy member may or may not be sufficiently generous with the gifts that God has given them. Finally, there must be someone in the congregation who can judge what needs the person in need has and how best to address them and who can judge whether the wealthy person is doing all that they can to help those in need. If any of these three positions are not properly aligned with God’s will, there is something wrong in a particular congregation. The presence of both the wealthy and those in need in a congregation is not the problem. It is the symptom of some other problem. That other problem may or may not actually involve either the wealthy person or the one in need. It may be that someone else is failing to fulfill the role that God is calling them to. If you find yourself in such a congregation, you need to ask yourself, “What should I be doing differently? How can I minister to the person in need?” In this passage in Acts, nobody told the wealthy to sell their possessions and give the money to be distributed to those in need. They did so out of their own desire to fulfill the will of God.
The psalmist asks what would have happened if God had not been on Israel’s side. He then answers it by using images from the crossing of the Red Sea and the Jordan river. The psalmist talks about the disasters that the children of Israel would have experienced if not for God’s help. This is just as true of us today. Let me always remember:
“Our help is from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.”
This proverb tells us that kind words are like honey. This is so true. The first way is that honey is sweet and when we eat it we enjoy the taste. The same is true of kind words. If nothing else, we enjoy hearing them. But honey does much more than just taste good. Just as honey can provide our bodies with needed energy to finish a difficult task, so can kind words do for our spirits. In addition, honey can be applied to an open wound to help it heal. Kind words can help us heal from spiritual wounds we have received. Never pass up an opportunity to say a kind word to someone, you never know when that may be the be the “honey” that person needs at that moment.
