Do not follow the example of the wicked. They are constantly seeking new ways to do evil. As a result, their path is in complete darkness so that they do not know what they are tripping over. The righteous on the other hand can easily see the obstacles in their way and go around them.
Every time I look up at the stars at night, or at a beautiful sunrise/sunset, I am reminded of the glory of God. I feel sorry for those who think those things came about by happenstance for no particular reason.
Further into the psalm the psalmist reminds us of the value of God’s commands. His instructions will refresh our souls when we feel parched and depressed. Even those who are simple minded and slow can learn wisdom by following God’s laws.
When the Pharisees and teachers of the law confronted Jesus because He did not teach His disciples to keep their traditions, He responded by pointing out that they used their traditions to teach their disciples to not keep God’s law. I started to write my thoughts four times before I was satisfied with where I was going. It is more important to please God than it is to keep traditions. We should review traditions on a regular basis in order to be sure that they are consistent with God’s commands. It is too easy for us to warp a tradition to serve our own selfish purposes rather than helping people to keep God’s commands.
Most traditions start out as a way to help people keep God’s commands, but over time people tend to forget the reasons why a tradition was started. When that happens one of two things results. Some people keep the tradition in a way which violates its original purpose. Other people stop doing the good thing the tradition was intended to encourage as well as the tradition itself. In both cases they are the blind leading the blind. They do not know why something was done and as result they either blindly follow it without accomplishing the purpose for which it was designed, or blindly dismiss it without replacing it with another method of accomplishing the purpose for which it was designed. If we wish to avoid being blind guides, we need to make sure that we do not follow man-made ideas as if they were commands from God, much less teach them.
There is a lesson in this passage that we often overlook. Because the people of Egypt had not themselves prepared for the coming famine during the times of plenty, they became dependent on the government (Pharaoh). As a result of this dependency, the government became the owner of all of the land and means of production. Once the people lost their land and other means of production, they lost their freedom. When times are good, we must save and store so that when times are bad we do not become dependent on others.
For today, One Year Bible Online links here. It has been uncomfortably warm here the last few days, I hope no one minds that I posted a few pictures to remind us of cooler weather.
If we consume alcoholic beverages in excess we will behave foolishly and we will get into fights we should have avoided. Those who need a drink will find it impossible to act wisely.
This psalm tells us something similar to what Paul says at the beginning of Romans. The universe itself testifies to the glory of God. The skies do not make a sound, yet everyone on the earth has received their message about the glory of God. God’s decrees, laws, and commands are more desirable than anything we can imagine. They are more valuable than gold and sweeter than honey. If we listen to God’s words they will keep us from being controlled by sin. It is only by submission to God’s Spirit that we can be cleansed from all sins. If we do not submit to His control, we will convince ourselves that wrong is right; we will commit sins that we do not even know are sins (or that we convince ourselves are not sins).
This psalm concludes with a prayer I pray regularly:
May the words of my mouth
and the meditation of my heart
be pleasing to you,
O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.
Paul tells us that he would be willing to be cut off from God, if that would cause the rest of the Jewish people to embrace the Gospel of Christ. He felt a deep compassion for those who had not yet accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior, in particular for the Jews. He points out that God had made promises to Abraham about his descendants. However, Paul also points out that not all descendants of Abraham are truly Abraham’s children. Only those who accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior are Abraham’s children.
Paul points out that their are some people throughout history who have been chosen by God in order to display His power. He gives as an example of this the Pharaoh who opposed Moses. Paul tells us that God hardened Pharaoh’s heart. One thing I think is worth noting is that according to Exodus, Pharaoh hardened his own heart after the first several plagues. It was only after Pharaoh had repeatedly hardened his own heart that God took away from him the ability to soften his heart. I believe that this is the perfect example of how God works in our lives. He gives us the opportunity to respond to His word, but if we harden our hearts and do not listen the time will come when we will no longer be able to respond to God’s call.
Rehoboam had been defeated by Pharaoh Shishak and humbled himself before God. This seems to have had a salutary effect on his son and his grandson, because the Bible tells us that both of them did what was pleasing in the sight of God. Rehoboam’s grandson, Asa, removed pagan altars and destroyed the high places of worship (where worship of God mixed with worship of pagan idols). He was attacked by an overwhelming army from Ethiopia, but he cried out to God and it was defeated. In response to God’s rescue in that battle, Asa instituted many religious reforms, deposing his own grandmother from the position of queen mother because of he idolatry.
However, there is a warning in this story for all of us. As a young ruler, Asa’s faith in God was strong and he depended on God. However, later in life he came to trust more in his own strength and wisdom. He chose to solve his problems by his own cunning rather than trusting God to resolve his problems. This is a problem that it is easy for any of us to fall into, we begin to think that we have acquired the wisdom to solve our problems on our own and no longer turn to God for an answer. I pray that I not allow this to happen in my life.
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.
In this passage we have an example of what happens when people become dependent on the government for getting through the difficult times. During the years of plenty the government collected food from the people and stored it against the times of famine. Then during the times of famine the government (Pharaoh, through Joseph) sold the food back to the people. When the people ran out of money, they gave up all of their possessions until they were basically slaves of the government. In time of plenty the people did not prepare themselves for the coming time of famine. The government in the person of Joseph did not do anything wrong here. The error was on the part of the people. Let us remember to gather resources in times of plenty so that we have enough for ourselves and to help those in need in times of hardship.
Some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus. They asked Him why His disciples did not follow the traditions handed down, and embellished, by generations of teachers of the law. The implication being that if Jesus was a true teacher of the law He would teach His disciples to follow the same traditions they taught. Jesus replied by confronting them with the fact that their traditions allowed for someone to be counted as “righteous” because they followed the tradition in a way that broke God’s actual commandments. He then turned to the crowd and taught them that one’s righteousness is not determined by what one eats or drinks, but rather by what one says and does.
Jesus does not reject the idea of tradition here. What He is saying is that it is important to judge tradition against what God commands us to do. Jesus is telling us to focus on what is important and everything else will follow. I think this fits in well with what Paul says in1 Corinthians 13. There Paul points out that no matter what great feats of faith we exhibit, if we do not love our fellow man, we have done nothing of value. Elsewhere Jesus tells us that all of God’s commands are merely ways of carrying out the two most important commands: love God with all that we have, and love our neighbor as we love ourselves. Let us examine every tradition to see how it can help us to carry out those two commands and if a particular tradition gets in the way of doing so, discard it. On the other hand, if we cannot see any way those following a tradition fail to carry out those two commands, let us not condemn them, nor the traditions which they value.
The psalmist points out that the skies proclaim the glory of God without ever speaking a word. We should live our lives in such a manner that those who observe us have no choice but to recognize our message and glorify God. This does not mean that we should not speak, because words are necessary. But we should live our lives so that even those who cannot hear, or understand, our words will glorify God. Yes, I will make the final verse of this psalm my prayer:
May the words of my mouth
and the meditation of my heart
be pleasing to you,
O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.
I will strive to make my life the opposite of what the writer says is that of the wicked. I dedicate myself to finding some good deed to do each day, so that I may say that I cannot sleep until I have done something good for someone. that I cannot rest until I have removed a stumbling block from someone’s path.
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.
The next king in Jerusalem was Asa, who took the throne when his father, Abijah, died. We are told that Asa did what was pleasing and good in the sight of the Lord. Asa commanded the people of Judah to seek God and obey His commands. Asa removed the pagan shrines from all of the towns of Judah. He had peace for the first ten years of his reign.
Asa had an army of just shy of 600,000 men. At one point, Judah was invaded by an army from Cush (more or less modern Ethiopia) of over 1,000,000 men. Asa deployed his army against them, but realized that he was badly outnumbered and called on the Lord. The passage says the the Lord defeated the Cushites (Ethiopians) and caused them to flee. The wording suggests that the defeat occurred before Asa’s army engaged them in battle, but could just indicate that the Ethiopians were defeated by Asa’s army more readily than one would have expected considering the relative sizes of the armies. Whatever happened, Asa’s success was such that he conquered some of the cities in the area where he met the Cushites while he had his army in the field and returned to Jerusalem with a large amount of plunder.
When Asa returned from battle the prophet Azariah met him, and his army, and shouted out a prophecy from the Lord. He told them that as long as they sought the Lord they would find Him. As long as they stayed faithful to the Lord, He would stay faithful to them. Asa responded to this message by having all of the idols removed from the lands he controlled. He repaired the altar in the Temple of the Lord and called the people to come together for a festival to the Lord. The passage tells us that many people from the Northern Kingdom had moved into the lands controlled by Asa because of his faithfulness to the Lord. The people entered into a covenant to seek the Lord and obey His commands. As a result, there was peace in the land until the 35th year of Asa’s reign.
In the 36th year of Asa’s reign, King Baasha of Israel (the Northern Kingdom) invaded Judah and started to fortify the city of Ramah to control the border. Asa responded by sending a bribe to the king of Aram, asking him to make war against Baasha. The king of Aram did so, forcing Baasha to abandon his efforts on the border with Judah. Asa took the materials that Baasha had been using to fortify Ramah and used them to fortify cities which more strategically defended Judah. A prophet came to Asa and told him that God was unhappy that he had put his trust in the king of Aram rather than in God, by doing so he had missed an opportunity to expand his power. The prophet reminded Asa of how God had helped them against the Cushites. Asa responded by having the prophet jailed. The passage continues by telling us that Asa began oppressing some of his people at this time. Further the passage tells us that in the 39th year of his reign, Asa developed a serious foot disease, but rather than seek the help of the Lord he relied solely on his doctors and as a result he died from this problem.
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I want to point out that the passage does not condemn Asa for using his doctors. It condemns him for not, also, turning to God for healing. This is an important lesson for us. When we face illness, we should certainly follow the advice of medical doctors, but we should turn to God and ask for His healing and remember that it is God who can bring us healing no matter what the doctors have to say.
Magrat debates climbing the tree
Paul expresses great grief over the failure of many Jews to accept Jesus as their Savior. He tells us that he would be willing to accept eternal damnation if that was what it took for them to be saved. He then makes an important point for all Christians to take note of: Christ Himself was an Israelite, a Jew. This means that there is no room for Christians to have a hatred or dislike for Jews. Instead, we should have a special place in our hearts for the Jews, since it was through Judaism and the Jewish people that God brought our Salvation into the world.
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Do I have the same passion for bringing salvation to my friends and those around me that Paul has? Would I be willing to accept eternal damnation if that was what it took for those I love to come to know the Lord? I would like to think that the answer is yes. But, is it? When sometimes I am not even willing to risk ridicule in order to share the Gospel? I pray to God that He give me that passion, first for my friends and loved ones, then for all of those I meet and interact with.
Hydrangeas and hostas
I love this psalm. It starts by saying something that was echoed by Paul in his letter to the Romans.
The heavens proclaim the glory of God.
The skies display his craftsmanship.
Day after day they continue to speak;
night after night they make him known.
They speak without a sound or word;
their voice is never heard.[a]
Yet their message has gone throughout the earth,
and their words to all the world.
There is no excuse. God has made Himself known to anyone who chooses to look. All we have to do is look at the sky above us to see His glory and His craftsmanship. Then the psalmist goes on to tell us that once looked and found God He will give us commands and instructions. These commands and instructions are more desirable than gold and sweeter than honey.
They revive the soul.
They make the simple wise.
They bring joy to the heart.
They give insight for living.
The psalmist asks God to cleanse him of sins hidden in his heart and to keep him from deliberate sin. I will echo the psalmist and ask God to keep sin from controlling me. And finally I pray:
May the words of my mouth
and the meditation of my heart
be pleasing to you,
O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.
Today’s proverb warns us not to let alcohol lead us astray. That if we consume too much alcohol we may become someone who mocks others to no good effect. Or even worse, we may get into fights for no good reason. We should not allow anything other than the Holy Spirit to control our actions.
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.
When Jacob and his entire household, including the households of his sons, arrived in Egypt Joseph went to meet them in the region of Goshen. Jacob was overjoyed to be reunited with Joseph and expressed that now that he had seen Joseph once more he was ready to die. Joseph instructed his brothers that when they went in to see Pharaoh they should tell him that they were shepherds because the people of Egypt detested shepherds. Joseph’s brothers followed Joseph’s advice and the Pharaoh allowed/encouraged them to settle in the land of Goshen (depending on how one reads the passage and understand the political situation in Egypt, this could be seen as anything from giving them permission to settle there to an order to settle there and nowhere else). When the Pharaoh asked Jacob how old he was Jacob told Pharaoh that he was 130 years old and gave Pharaoh a blessing.
The passage tells us that the famine continued after this. When the people of Egypt ran out of money they approached Joseph and asked him to give them food so that they would not die. Joseph replied by telling them that he would give them food in exchange for their livestock. Joseph supplied them with enough food for a year in exchange for all of their livestock. The following year the people again approached Joseph for food. This time they offered themselves and their land in exchange for food. Joseph agreed to this and supplied them with food. Joseph bought all of the land and people of Egypt for Pharaoh, except for the priests, who received a stipend from Pharaoh (in other words, they were government employees). The passage tells us that Joseph reduced the people of Egypt to servitude. Once Joseph has done this he gave them grain to plant what had been their fields. In return he required them to surrender one fifth of what they produced to Pharaoh. So, Joseph arranged for the people of Egypt to sell themselves into servitude to the government of Egypt and as a result of the people and everything they had belonging to Pharaoh he imposed a 20% tax in exchange for allowing them to make use of those things.
Some Pharisees and religious teachers arrived from Jerusalem to ask Jesus why He did not teach His disciples to follow the traditions of the elders, such as ceremonial hand-washing before eating. Jesus replied by asking them why they followed traditions that allowed them to break direct commandments from God. He gave the example of a tradition that allowed an adult child to dedicate their possessions to God and not use them to help their parents thus violating the command to “Honor your father and mother.” Jesus called them hypocrites for putting their own teachings above the commands of God. He quotes Isaiah as saying that they honor God with their lips, but their hearts are far from God. They worship God in vain because they follow mere human teachings rather than the commands of God. Jesus then explains that one is not defiled by what one eats, but rather by what one says. Jesus’ disciples asked Him if He realized that the Pharisees were offended by what He had said. Jesus told them not to worry about the opinions of those who did not faithfully teach God’s word. He told them that the Pharisees were blind guides. If a blind man allows a blind man to be his guide, both will fall into a pit. The disciples then asked Jesus to explain the parable. Jesus explained that what we eat goes into our mouth through our stomach and out of our bodies, while what we say reflects what we think and who we are. From our inner being come evil thoughts and it is those thoughts which defile us.
Jesus left that area and withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. While He was there a Canaanite from that region came to Him and cried out asking Him to heal her daughter. Jesus initially ignored her. Finally, His disciples asked Him to send her away. Jesus replied that He was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel. The woman came right up to Him and knelt at His feet. From this position she begged for His help. He responded that it was not right to take the children’s food and toss it to the dogs. She answered that even the dogs are allowed to eat the food that falls from the table. Jesus replied to this commending her faith and telling her that her request was granted. Her daughter was healed at that moment. Jesus’ reply to the woman was a strong insult. The woman accepted Jesus’ insult and acknowledged that she was not deserving of His care. She knew that she had no right to His healing, but threw herself on His mercy and love. There are three reasons this woman received from God what she sought. She was persistent even when Jesus appeared to ignore her. She had faith that Jesus could give her what she desired. She recognized that she was no deserving of this gift.
The psalmist tells us that if we look to the skies we will see the glory of God. Whether we look during the day or during the night, we cannot help but feel the majesty of God. The law of God is perfect. His commands are trustworthy and right, following them will teach us wisdom and bring us joy. God’s word is more valuable than anything we can own. I will not allow sin to rule over me by choosing actions which I know to be sin and I will beg God to forgive me for those sins I do not realize I have committed.
Do not follow the paths that the wicked walk. They walk in darkness and stumble over obstacles that they never see. Those who choose wickedness never see the obstacles between them and their goals until they bump into them. The righteous are like someone who walks in the light, they are able to see the things between them and their goals and navigate around them.
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.
Asa succeeded his father Abijah to the throne of Judah. King Asa pagan shrines and altars from much of Judah. We are told that as a result of Asa’s dedication to God, Judah had many years of peace. During this time Asa built up the fortified towns of Judah. At one point a large Cushite (which is either southern Arabia or Ethiopia) army attacked Judah. Asa’s army was vastly outnumbered, but Asa called on the Lord and they were victorious and acquired a vast amount of plunder. After this battle a prophet came to Asa and prophesied to him that if the people of Judah would continue to seek the Lord, they would have peace and prosperity. Asa called the people together to renew their covenant with God. We are told that during Asa’s reign many people migrated from the lands of the Northern Tribes into Judah in order to worship God. Later in his life Asa came to rely too much on human skills. When King Baasha of Israel invaded, Asa sent messengers to the king of Aram requesting his assistance. The king of Aram attacked Israel, forcing King Baasha to withdraw from attacking Judah. A prophet condemned Asa for allying with the king of Aram, telling him that if he had trusted God to rescue him from King Baasha, God would have given victory not only over Baasha, but over the king of Aram as well. In addition, when Asa developed a serious foot disease at the end of his life, we are told that he relied entirely on his physicians and did not turn to God for healing.
Paul tells us that he would be willing to be cut off from Christ if that was what it took to bring salvation to all of the Jews. It was a source of sorrow and grief for Paul that so many Jews rejected the Gospel about Jesus. Paul tells us that not all of Abraham’s descendants are the children of Abraham’s promise (that is God’s promise to Abraham concerning his children). I find the rest of this passage troubling because Paul seems to say that God chooses to cause some people to be receptive to His offer of grace and others to reject it. I am not sure that is what Paul is saying here because there are other places where he talks about people choosing to have faith in God.
One thing Paul does talk about here that is clear is that God has made each of us to fulfill different roles in this world. Some of us were chosen and crafted to be glorious vessels of God’s glory. Others of us were chosen for more mundane and less glorious purposes. We are clay being shaped and fired by the Potter to serve His purposes in this world. We should take pride in that whether we are designed for a use that is glorified (a decorative vase) or one that is mundane (a chamber pot).
The psalmist tells us that the heavens declare the glory of God. Even though they do not speak, they proclaim God’s wondrous love to those who are willing to listen. This theme is echoed by Paul in Romans 1 when he says that God’s nature can be seen through that which God created, but some choose not to see. Just as the sun shines down on all of the earth, so does God’s goodness pour forth on all who pursue Him. The psalmist goes on to say that the commands of the Lord are more precious than gold and sweeter than honey. The psalmist tells us that the laws of the Lord are trustworthy and firm. They are clear to all who truly wish to know them. But the psalmist tells us that we have trouble recognizing our own error, the best we can do is to strive to avoid those actions which we know to be sin. If we do this, God will forgive us our less blatant failings.
This proverb is so obvious that it seems redundant to say it. Yet, there are many who think that they find wisdom while under the influence of alcohol. There may be times when the consumption of alcohol will improve your life, but times when you are seeking wisdom are not among them.
