The connotation of this proverb is that even if they do catch game, they cannot be bothered to put out the effort to cook it. On the other hand, those who are successful make use of everything they can from the game they catch and the plants they harvest. This proverb teaches us to make productive use of all the resources which come our way. This proverb is a challenge to find productive uses to put what is otherwise waste.
This psalm gives us an example of how we should pray when we face difficult times. The psalmist calls on God for rescue, but he acknowledges that in order to be rescued by God people need to turn to God. I love this phrasing from the NLT:
Turn us again to yourself, O God.
Make your face shine down upon us.
Only then will we be saved.
He repeats it three times, each time exalting God even more…”O God”, “O God of Heaven’s Armies”, and “O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies”. Let us beg God to turn us again to Him, acknowledging His power and glory.
Jesus gives us warning against seeking honour for ourselves. Jesus warns us against assuming positions of high honour for ourselves because it will be incredibly embarrassing if we have to yield them to someone more deserving. Instead, we should assume positions of low prestige. If we do the latter, we will be even more honoured when the host of the event pulls us out to put us in a position of prestige. This advice is not just about events regarding this world. It is of even greater import in heavenly matters, where the host is God Himself.
Accompanying that advice, Jesus advises us not to throw feasts for those who can reciprocate. Instead of inviting our family and rich neighbours to our parties, we should invite the poor, the blind, the lame, and the crippled, those who will be unable to repay us by inviting us to their parties. When He gives this advice, Jesus tells us that God will repay us for doing this. However, I think He was also making a point about how we invite the better off as a subtle way of holding ourselves up to be admired, “Look at all the A-list people who come to my parties.”
It is easy to overlook the significance of the memorial which Joshua had the Israelites set up after they crossed the Jordan. After all what is the big deal about a stack of twelve rocks? The thing we forget is that these were large rocks, not huge, but large. And they were all water polished. Water polished rocks have distinctive characteristics and looks. Geologists use those characteristics to identify places where there used to be streams and rivers. The memorial the Israelites built would have been a testimony to the fact that they walked through the Jordan on dry ground.
It is to God’s glory that the way the world works is not always obvious or apparent. It is to a ruler’s glory to seek answers to how the world works. Just as a silver smith removes impurities from silver before trying to make something with it, so a ruler should eliminate the wicked from his administration before he tries to govern.
I love how the NLT translates this psalm. The psalmist asks God how long He will be angry with His people and why He is breaking down their protections? Yet it is clear he knows the answer to the second part. The psalmist again and again in this psalm asks God to turn us to Him again. It is such a great way to sum up the Gospel message. We will not be saved until God turns us to Him. It is by God’s power that we realize our sinfulness. It is by God’s power that we recognize our need for Him. And it is by God’s power, and His power alone, that we turn to Him and accept His salvation.
I do not get a theme out of today’s passage, rather I see a couple of points worth noting. Following up on yesterday’s theme about how to preach the Gospel, Paul tells us that he pleaded with, urged, and encouraged the Thessalonians to live lives worthy of God. We should take a similar approach with our friends. Let us plead with and urge those who have not yet accepted Christ to do so. Let us encourage those who have come to know the Lord to live ever more faithful lives.
Paul reminds us that there are those who will strive to keep us from preaching the Gospel to those who do not already believe. They will claim that we should do the good things we do because we follow Christ without mentioning the reasons we do them. They will tell us that we could help more people and better if we would just help them with their problems and not teach them to change their lives so as to avoid those problems in the first place. The final thing I see in this passage is a reminder about the importance of prayer. Let us follow Paul’s example and pray night and day.
Those who should have been warning the people of Judah about the coming troubles, their religious and secular leaders, were telling them that all was well: that their foreign policy was a success and peace had arrived; that their domestic policy was a success and prosperity was around the corner. God told Jeremiah that instead of these things, war and famine were coming to the land. God would no longer listen to prayers for the people of Judah. He was going to send destroyers against them, war, disease, and wild animals, to teach them the error of their ways. Have we reached that point today? The point where no intervention can deflect the coming judgement? I do not believe we are there yet, but we are getting close. We need to call the people to turn to God before it is too late to turn His judgement aside.
There is another theme in this passage. Jeremiah is being persecuted for his faithful relating of God’s message. God promises that He will protect Jeremiah from his enemies, from those who seek his death. Even in the face of the coming destruction, God tells Jeremiah that He will protect him. Further God promises to do the same for all who turn to Him and speak His words to those rushing to destruction.
The lazy will not even take the effort to cook any game they catch, while the diligent will always find plenty to eat because they make use of everything they acquire. The godly follow a path which leads to life, they do not choose actions which result in death and destruction.
Let us cry out to God and ask Him to turn us again to following Him. It is only by the power of His Spirit that we can be blessed and follow His will. We cannot do so on our own. It is only when God shows His face to us that we can experience the blessings that come from serving Him. I pray to God that He send out His Spirit and turn His people once more towards Him. I ask that He send His Spirit upon me and change me so that I serve His will in all that I do.
Jesus was at a feast when He noticed that everyone was trying to sit in the seats of honour. Jesus then gives some advice that is not just about seating at a feast. He tells us that we should not attempt to honour ourselves; we should not put ourselves forward as someone deserving of honour. Rather we should be humble and assume that everyone present is more deserving of honour than ourselves. Jesus goes on from that to tell us that it is better to good things for those who cannot pay us back for our kindness. These two lessons go together. Do not do good things in order to receive recompense, whether that recompense is material or something insubstantial such as being honoured.
Jesus followed this up by telling the story about the man who prepared and threw a banquet. When He sent out word that the meal was ready to those who had initially accepted His invitation, they all replied that they were too busy to come now. This is a clear reference to those who have lived a “religious” or “righteous” life believing that they had an “in” with God. The important thing is not that we were invited to God’s feast, nor that we accepted to invitation. The important thing is that we are ready to do His will when He says that now is the time. If we do not respond when God tells us it is time, our place will be taken by the alcoholics, the druggies, the dregs of the earth (not just the unfortunate who life has dealt a raw hand, but those who have chosen a self-destructive path). I think it is wonderful news that God will include these, but I do not want to be left out because I failed to answer the call.
Jesus goes on to tell the crowd following Him that if they wish to follow Him they need to be willing to give up everything in this life, to the point of suffering a horrible death. It is important for us to count what following Him will cost us before we set out. There have been those who fell away because they discovered that the cost of following Christ was higher than they were willing to pay. In some cases I believe that if they had realized the cost when they chose to follow Christ, they would have done so anyway and when the time came they would have continued on. But because they had not realized the price they would need to pay, when the time came they felt betrayed and fell away from Christ. Following Christ will cost us everything which we have, even our very lives. If we are not willing to pay this price, we may as well never start down that road. ,br>
The people of Israel purified themselves the night before they were to set out to cross the Jordan. They went forth in faith and God stopped the flow of the Jordan River so that they could cross on dry ground. Unlike when they had crossed the Red Sea, this crossing was done where it could be witnessed by many people besides the Israelites. As they crossed the Jordan they gathered stones so as to make a memorial to remind future generations of what God had done for them. I will strive to purify myself when God has revealed that He is about to use me to demonstrate His power, even if it is only through something that does not deserve to be mentioned next to crossing the Jordan. In addition, this passage reminds us of the importance of creating memorials to remind ourselves of what God has done in our lives. These memorials will serve as a basis for strengthening our faith when we doubt and as an opportunity to tell others of the wonderful things God has done for us.
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 tells Jeremiah that he is no longer to pray for the people, that God will no longer listen to prayers for mercy on them. Jeremiah replies that their leaders and prophets are telling them that all is well, that they will have peace. God tells him that the prophets are liars, death and destruction are just around the corner. When I read this I am reminded of the political leaders today who say that all is well, there will be peace, the economy is recovering. And when I read this passage it frightens me. However, despite the doom and gloom of this passage there exists some hope within it. Further along in the passage God tells Jeremiah that if he returns to Him, if he repents, God will restore him and save him from the hands of the wicked.
God’s judgment is coming upon those who refuse to listen to God’s commands. The inevitable results of evil are about to descend upon the people. But God is still faithful to those who are faithful to Him. Destruction and trouble is coming for those who have chosen to abandon God’s desires, but God will protect those who have remained faithful.
As I read this passage today I feel convicted by what Paul says in two ways. First, he speaks of working night and day so as to have the resources to meet his own needs and not be a burden on anyone as he preached the Gospel. In addition to working to maintain his needs, Paul strove to be devout, honest, and faultless in his actions toward those who listened to his words. This first part sums up how we should strive to be among those we are striving to reach for the Gospel.
The second way in which I am convicted by today’s passage is how I view the Gospel message. The Gospel message is the word of God. It is a philosophy of life given by the Creator of the universe. It is not a mere invention of human thought. It is not beneficial to argue it out on the same level as human philosophies. There will be elements of the Gospel that are beyond the ability of our finite minds to reconcile. I will stand firm in the Lord and work at living a life of faith and love.
Once more Paul writes about prayer. “Night and day we pray earnestly for you,…” I am striving to make prayer a more integral part of my life. Paul prayed that God would bring him to them soon. He also prayed that God would cause their love for one another and for everyone grow and overflow. There is a connection between our love for others and our dedication to praying for and about them.
It is only when God sends his Spirit upon us that we will turn to Him. It is only when we turn to Him that we can and will be saved. Oh Lord God, send your Spirit upon us and turn us back to you! Change our hearts so that we desire to do Your will!
Just as the impurities must be removed from silver before a silversmith can use it to make something, so must wicked people be removed from government offices before the government can govern legitimately.
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 the time came for them to cross the Jordan River, Joshua instructed the people of Israel to purify themselves. The following morning, at God’s command, Joshua had the priests take the Ark of the Covenant and walk into the Jordan River. As soon as the priests carrying the Ark entered the Jordan River the water stopped flowing from a point upstream of where they entered. The rest of the water continued flowing into the Dead Sea until the Israelites could cross the Jordan River on dry ground. The priests stopped in the middle of the Jordan River while the rest of the Israelites crossed over. Once all of the Israelites had crossed the river, Joshua had twelve men, one from each tribe, go to where the priests were standing and get a stone from the riverbed. They took theses stones and used them to build a memorial of the crossing. The people of Israel stood in awe of Joshua for the faith he showed, and the power God exercised on his behalf, when they crossed the Jordan. When all of the Israelites had crossed the river, Joshua had the priests come out of the Jordan. As soon as the priests left the riverbed and stood on high ground the river began flowing once more. The passage points out that this occurred when the Jordan River was at flood stage.
It is worth noting that stones from a riverbed look different from stones that have not been in a riverbed. The flow of water over the stones smooths and rounds them, giving them a distinct appearance. This is why the memorial that Joshua had built would have been distinctive.
Today’s passage takes up with Jesus at a feast at a Pharisee’s house (it is worth noting that despite His many teachings against the hypocrisy of Pharisees, Jesus associated with them). Jesus took note of the fact that everyone was trying to sit in the seats of honor near the head of the table. Jesus tells them that they should not take the seats of honor because it would be terribly embarrassing if the host comes to them and asks them to move because someone more distinguished has come. Rather they should seat themselves at the seat of lowest honor that way they will receive even more honor when the host comes and tells them in front of everyone to move to a better seat. Jesus then turned to His host and told him that when he holds a meal, he should not invite his friends, family and rich neighbors who will invite him back. Rather he should invite the poor, the crippled, the lame and the blind. If he does the latter God will reward him.
I believe that both of these lessons are for us. We should not honor ourselves. Rather we should live our lives with humility and let others honor us, if and when we are deserving of honor. If we do not receive the honor we deserve in from our fellow man, we will receive it from God. The second lesson is that we should use our resources to help those who have less than we do.
Someone then called out to Jesus that those who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God were blessed. Jesus used this as the springboard to tell a parable about someone who announced a feast and invited many guests. However, when the time for the banquet arrived the invited guests all presented excuses as to why they could not come. When the man who was throwing the feast heard that his invited guests could not come, he sent his servants out to invite the poor, the sick, the crippled and the lame to his feast. When this was done his servants told him there was still room. So he sent his servants out onto the roads and the byways to compel whoever they could find to come to his feast, but those he had originally invited would not get to taste of the feast.
There was a part of this parable that I had never noticed before. We all know the part where the original guests offer excuses and refuse to attend the banquet. And most of us know the part where the Master sends out invitations to the poor, the crippled, the sick, the blind and the lame. What I never noticed before is that after inviting those unfortunates, the Master still had room. It was then that He sent out His servants to compel others to attend His feast. The unfortunates are the ones whom God invites first to His feast. It is only after they have all been seated and there is still room that He invited those who were not such unfortunates received an invitation. This is the model we should use when preaching the gospel. We should preach the gospel to the unfortunates of this world and invite them to God’s bountiful table, we should do our best to provide for their needs from the bounty which God has given us. Our ministry to those who are well-off in this world should be a product, an after effect of our ministry to the unfortunates. This is a difficult thing for me to express correctly. It is not that God loves the well-off less, it is just that we should focus our ministry on those who cannot pay us back.
Finally in today’s passage Jesus tells us that there is a cost to following Him. He tells us that we should look at that cost before we start the journey and recognize the price we will have to pay. Then He makes a statement that many people have trouble understanding. “Salt is good for seasoning. But if it loses its flavor, how do you make it salty again?” If we as Christians do not live any differently than those around us, what is the point of us being Christians?
This psalm is a cry for God to restore His people, to listen to their prayers. For me the key phrase is this:
Turn us again to yourself, O God.
Make your face shine down upon us.
Only then will we be saved.
It is only when God turns us back to Him and away from sin that we can be saved. I read that and think about the way that plants turn themselves to the sun when it shines down on them. In the same way, we need God’s face to shine down on us and we need to turn toward Him when He does so.
Magrat behind some forsythia
I read this proverb and it reminds me of a trip I made with some friends many years ago. We were going up to a cabin in a remote area for an extended weekend. On the way, the car in front of us hit and killed a deer. The people in that car did not want the deer, so my friends, who were hunters, dressed the deer and took it along with us. When we got to the cabin, we butchered the deer (after contacting the state Game Commission). However, my one friend was angry with the others because they cut the best cuts out of the deer to cook and left the rest of the meat for him to cut up. I helped as much as I could, but not being a hunter myself I had little experience with butchering a deer. The thing I learned from that was the importance of preparing all of something at once or losing the opportunity. My friends who cut out just the good cuts they wanted to cook at that moment are like the lazy people in this proverb. My other friend was like the diligent. He made use of everything that was available to him from this chance opportunity. The diligent friend has done well with his life despite many struggles. The lazy friends have since ended up in jail.
I will strive to be diligent and make use of every opportunity for good that God sends my way (whether that is good meat or the opportunity to witness to 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.
Jeremiah is instructed not to pray for the people of Judah any more. The prophets who are prophesying that they will have peace and prosperity are lying. God did not send them. God will punish those prophets for lying in His name. Further God tells Jeremiah that he will not listen to any intercessor for the people, not even Moses or Samuel. The people have sinned against God and He will not turn aside His wrath. However, God tells Jeremiah that He will protect Him. If we turn to God, He will guard us even in times of trouble. We are to influence the society in which we live, but not be influenced by it. That is certainly easier said than done. God tells Jeremiah that he is not to mourn with the people, because God is bringing a time when there will be such disaster that no one will offer another comfort. He also tells Jeremiah not to take part in their celebrations and parties because the time is soon coming when no one will be celebrating anything nor gathering for a party of any sort. When the people ask why such terrible things are in store for them, Jeremiah is to answer that it is because of the sins of their ancestors who abandoned God and worshiped other gods. But not only that, the current generation was guilty of being even worse. They pursued their own evil desires and refused to listen to the words of God. This is a warning to us today. Are we telling those around us the words that God has for them? Are we calling them to follow God? Or are we preaching false prophecies of peace and prosperity when judgement is coming?
Despite all of these prophecies that Jeremiah had of the coming judgement for the sins of the people of Judah, he also had a prophecy of hope. Jeremiah prophesied that after scattering the people to lands they have never heard of, God will gather them together again. Jeremiah told the people of Judah that their descendants would turn once more to God and God would redeem them.
We should plead with, encourage and urge our brothers and sisters in the Lord to live their lives in a way that God would consider worthy. The message we have received of the gospel is not mere human ideas. It is the very words of God. If we stand firm in this we will suffer persecution from our own countrymen as they try to keep us from preaching the gospel. We have been warned that troubles will come both to ourselves and to others who preach the gospel. Let us stand firm in our faith and not let temptation separate us from God. Let us pray night and day for our fellow believers and for the salvation of those we meet. May the Lord make our love for each other and for all people grow to the point where it overflows on all around us. Let us keep the faith that Jesus will return.
When we face trouble let us turn to God for protection. More than that, let us pray to God that He will turn our souls away from evil and back to Him. May He revive us and strengthen us in His service.
If those who govern wish to be secure, they should get rid of all those who influence them towards evil or injustice. No one can fully comprehend this universe, either to the mighty distance of the stars nor to the miniscule level of atoms.
