Day 57: 1 Samuel 28–31; Jeremiah 19–24; Galatians 1–3
Saul and his sons die in battle, marking the end of his reign over Israel and the beginning of David's kingship. Zedekiah and his advisers and prophets are coming to an end with the attack of the Babylonians on Jerusalem, but a righteous branch from David will rise up and reign wisely and in righteousness. The law of Moses was a temporary guardian over Israel until the righteousness of God that come through faith appeared in the death and resurrection of Jesus, the Son of God.
Today my daughter Amanda graduates with a bachelor's degree in elementary education. She has continually attended school for 17 years, the last four with no summer breaks. She has come to the end of a very long journey. I am so very proud of her. And yet, this is only the beginning of the life and career for which she has prepared herself. Life is marked by endings that lead to beginnings. Some we celebrate like graduations and "sweet 16" birthdays and bachelor parties. Others we do not celebrate like imprisonment for crimes, tax day, or the deaths of beloved icons like John Lennon. The death of John Lennon was the end of an era of freedom in music and society. I feel the same about his death as Don McLean felt about Buddy Holly's death when he penned to the words "the day the music died." His sense of America in the late 1950's died with the musician. My sense of my youth and the freedom celebrated in music and society also definitively died with Lennon in a metaphorical way. In truth it had died 8 years earlier in the early 1970's. This marked the beginning of corporate rock and pop music. The music has never been the same, with brief exceptions.
Who would lift our sights higher? Who would sing our hopes and call us to better selves? They are out there, but few are listening...only a remnant.
King Saul killed himself rather than be tortured and murdered for the sport of the Philistines. He would not give them the pleasure and he would not suffer further disgrace. The Philistines cut off his head and hung his body on the walls of Beth-shan. God's separation from Saul is finalized. The night before the battle Saul sought a medium to arouse the spirit of the dead prophet Samuel to advise him. Samuel more or less tells him, "Dude! Why ask me what you already know? God has abandoned you because of your unfaithfulness. It's over. You're done." Chilling words from the beyond, Creepy stuff! Of course the story reveals just how far Saul will got hang onto his throne. He does what he himself had outlawed in some kind of obedience to the Law of Moses. It almost seems like He is trying to win God's favor by driving all the mediums and spiritist from the land. It is as if he is trying to get back what he used to have, the anointing of God's Spirit. But his heart is not true. He has killed all the priests out of jealousy over David. Samuel is dead. God is silent. There is no one to advise him. So off he goes to a medium to consult the dead. Tragic man. Tragic ending.
David is shocked to find his town of Ziklag burned and his family and possessions taken. While the Philistines are attacking Israel in mass, the Amalekites take advantage of the situation and raid their unprotected towns for plunder. But David does what Saul cannot. He consults the Lord. The Lord tells him he will be victorious and regain the captives and the plunder. And so he does.
You may remember that the Amalekites are cursed by God for their attacking the Israelites as they were coming from Egypt as freed slaves. It is their very first armed conflict lead by Joshua (Ex. 17:9-15). God means to blot them out completely. Saul failed to do so. David doesn't.
David is the beginning of a new kind of king, one who loves his people and looks out for them, providing like a shepherd provides for his sheep. He sends gifts out of the plunder to elders in several cities in Judah. This was a smart political move that prepares the way for his acceptance as the new king of Israel. He will still have to deal with the house of Saul. He will need allies and support from the people. The end of the Amalekites is the beginning of David's campaign to assume the throne. It happens the same day Saul dies.
Jeremiah is called to confront the sinfulness of Jerusalem's king, priests and prophets. It gets him slapped into the stocks where he is mocked and abused by all the people (Jer. 20:1-2). He cries out,
You deceived me, LORD, and I was deceived.
You seized me and prevailed.
I am a laughingstock all the time;
everyone ridicules me.
For whenever I speak, I cry out—
I proclaim: Violence and destruction!
because the word of the LORD has become for me
constant disgrace and derision.
If I say: I won't mention Him
or speak any longer in His name,
His message becomes a fire burning in my heart,
shut up in my bones.
I become tired of holding it in,
and I cannot prevail. (Jer. 20:7-9)
The prophet's obedience to preach God's message leads to suffering. But it is temporary and so is Jeremiah's lament. He quickly turns his voice to praise for God's act to cleanse Jerusalem of all evildoers through Babylon.
And when the destruction is complete Jeremiah lifts the hearts of the doomed by telling them that the exiles will come back and the righteous branch of David will come.
"The days are coming"—[this is] the LORD's declaration—"when I will raise up a righteous Branch of David. He will reign wisely as king and administer justice and righteousness in the land. In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. This is what He will be named: The LORD Is Our Righteousness. (Jer. 23:5-6)
The end of Jerusalem under King Zedekiah comes to an end, marking the beginning of a restored Jerusalem 70 years later under a righteous king, a descendant of David, Zerubbabel. As a Christian we understand Jesus of Nazareth to be the ultimate fulfilment of this prophecy.
Paul, formerly known as Saul, persecuted the church trying to destroy it just like King Saul tried to destroy David. Then on a trip to Damascus with every intention to arrest and prosecute every Christian in that region, he met the Son of God, the son of David, the Righteous Branch. From a blinding light Jesus called out to him, "Saul, why are you persecuting me?" (Acts. 9:1-5) Sounds just like David standing on a hilltop calling down to King Saul, "Why is my lord pursuing his servant? What have I done?" (1 Sam. 26:18)
This blinding mystical event becomes the end of Saul of Tarsus. After three days He receives the Holy Spirit by the prayer of Ananias and he becomes Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles. His name change happens without fanfare or explanation (Acts 13:9). It's the change in his heart that matters. His road to Damascus becomes marks the end of his allegiance to Jewish faith as he had been taught and the beginning of faith in Christ.
Paul writes to churches in the region of Galatia (north central Turkey) who have fallen away from the freedom they once knew in the love of God through faith in Jesus. The old covenant has ended with the beginning of a new covenant in Jesus. Paul is disquieted to say the least that his churches would fall backward into Jewish holiness law keeping as a means for right standing before God, when so great a salvation from sin is offered in Jesus.
For Paul the death and resurrection of Jesus changes everything. Whatever was before is over! Not that the law was a bad thing. It wasn't. It did what it needed to do, make the world aware of right and wrong and our weakness. The law makes us aware of the power of sin at work in us. We cannot keep the law perfectly because of our weakness. Therefore we are cursed under the law and imprisoned by our weakness which the law has made painfully clear to us.
But now that the righteous branch, the son of David, God's only Son, Jesus has come to reign, His righteousness and strength frees us from our weakness by the gift of His Spirit. So Paul doesn't understand how the Galatians can go back into bondage under law keeping.
"I only want to learn this from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now going to be made complete by the flesh? Did you suffer so much for nothing—if in fact it was for nothing? So then, does God supply you with the Spirit and work miracles among you by the works of the law or by hearing with faith? (Gal. 3:2-5)"
We have a hard time letting go of that which has ended. I have a hard time letting go of John Lennon and that whole era of music. It makes it nearly impossible for me to enjoy the music of today. I cannot receive much new music because my heart so rejoices in what has ended. I am like those who came and poisoned the churches of Galatia with Jewish Christian doctrines about circumcision and food restrictions and the like. They cannot let go of rule keeping as a means of justification. They are not fully able to live under the new reality of Jesus as King. Moses remains the chief authority for them even under the beginnings of a new relationship with God through the reign of the once dead but alive forevermore son of David.
For through a faith that comes from hearing the good news and trusting in the love and mercy of god for salvation, we die with Christ to the old ways and weaknesses under the law of Moses and rise to life in Christ empowered by His Spirit, the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God. Why would we want to deny this power in our lives by continuing to fail by the means of our own limited abilities?
Galatians need a wake up call. That's what Paul is doing. Wake up! The law is ended along with the curse of never being able to fulfill its many commands. Life has begun through faith in Christ, the Anointed One.
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Friday, May 6, 2011
Deliberations
Day 56: 1 Samuel 24–27; Jeremiah 13–18; 2 Corinthians 12–13
It is like a courtroom drama. The closing arguments are made before the jury. The prosecution summarizes all the evidence against the accused. The defense counsel pleas for a not guilty verdict or for leniency. The jury must go now and decide.
As I read today David has now a second chance to kill Saul and does not. Instead he uses the opportunity to prove he is no real threat to the king. If he wanted to kill Saul he could have. But he refuses to raise a hand against the Lord's anointed. Funny how he was willing to lie to Ahimelech the priest and eat consecrated bread. It is also funny how his anger against Nabal (the foolish descendant of revered Caleb) would have lead his to slaughter his entire household and take possession of all his property because of inhospitality. David does not appear to be without his dark side. He can ignore covenant keeping when the moment calls for it.
Again, Jesus seemed to accept David's eating of the consecrated bread. Perhaps Jesus understood Himself in similar circumstance. The leadership of Jerusalem was against Him. He and His men were without a place to lay their heads. Desperate times call for desperate measures? Maybe. Maybe not.
Saul is humbled by David's actions to spare his life and clear David's own reputation with him. He calls for David to come home, but David knows Saul cannot be trusted. David moves to Gath and King Achish gives him Ziklag to live in with his men and their families. While living with the Philistines David continues to do the cleansing of the promised land as Joshua before him. He raids Amalekites and other inhabitants who have not yet been driven from the land. HE utterly wipes them out leaving no survivors. So even in hiding David serves Israel his people. He brings the booty back to Ziklag and shares with the Philistine king which keeps him in good standing. Dead men tell no tales. King Achish has no idea that David remains loyal to Israel. He thinks David is raiding the Israelites.
Continue to deliberate on David's character. But let's recognize that his character is not what this conflict is about. It is about the Lord being with David and not with Saul. David may be cunning and deceitful at times. He may be ruthless in battle. But so are the Babylonians who God chose to punish Judah. Ultimately it is God's choice that matters here, not a man's blemished character.
Jeremiah too is weak in his will. He cries out tot he Lord in anguish while imprisoned or persecuted by the rulers of Judah.
Because Your hand was [on me], I sat alone,
for You filled me with indignation.
Why has my pain become unending,
my wound incurable,
refusing to be healed?
You (Lord) truly have become like a mirage to me—
water that is not reliable. (Jer. 15:17b-18)
Jeremiah deliberates his case before God and in a sense brings an accusation against God for keeping silent, for not protecting him. God responds by telling him to repent of his "worthless words" and He will restore Jeremiah (Jer. 15:19-21).
God chose Israel like a potter chooses clay to make a pot. if the pot isn't turning out right, it is cast aside and made into something else. In the same way God chose Israel, but Israel has not chosen God. They are not turning like the holy people He calls them to become. So now they shall become a bowl to receive God's wrath instead of the wine of blessing. As God lays out His appeal, the people still have time to repent and change their ways and avoid the destruction God has announced through the prophet. Will they turn before it's too late? Does a donkey do what it's told the first time? Is it not known for its stubbornness? Only with bridal and many blows does the brute come under control.
Paul continues to lay out his case before the Corinthians. He talks of excellent revelations (mystical experiences with God), the kind that the Corinthians applaud. But he takes greater pride in his weaknesses through which the strength of Christ shines. Paul has a thorn in his side, a messenger of Satan. He asked the Lord three times to remove it, but God said to Paul, "My grace is sufficient for you, for [My] power is perfected in weakness (2 Cor. 12:9)."
We don't know the specific nature of Paul's weakness. We just know he struggled with is, but God wanted him to learn to lean on His grace instead of being freed of the thorny sting. Paul would have the Corinthians understand his humility before God and his love for them. He tries to win them over in his closing.
"I am not seeking what is yours, but you. For children are not obligated to save up for their parents, but parents for their children. I will most gladly spend and be spent for you (2 Cor. 12:14-15)."
He asks them to consider the evidence. Has he taken advantage of them? Has he tricked them? Has not everything he has done and said been for their benefit and the glory of God? He intends only to build them up, not tear them down. But Christ will not be denied by the church that bears His name. Paul will come in the power of Christ and deal harshly with the unrepentant if necessary. He hopes it doesn't come to that if they will only heed his letter (2 Cor. 13:10).
These books are collected in what we Christians call the Holy Bible. These words are canonized, not to be tampered with, added to or taken away from, but heeded as we would the voice of God (Rev 22:18-19).
We have witnessed the prosecution and the defense in their deliberations. What will we each decide?
It is like a courtroom drama. The closing arguments are made before the jury. The prosecution summarizes all the evidence against the accused. The defense counsel pleas for a not guilty verdict or for leniency. The jury must go now and decide.
As I read today David has now a second chance to kill Saul and does not. Instead he uses the opportunity to prove he is no real threat to the king. If he wanted to kill Saul he could have. But he refuses to raise a hand against the Lord's anointed. Funny how he was willing to lie to Ahimelech the priest and eat consecrated bread. It is also funny how his anger against Nabal (the foolish descendant of revered Caleb) would have lead his to slaughter his entire household and take possession of all his property because of inhospitality. David does not appear to be without his dark side. He can ignore covenant keeping when the moment calls for it.
Again, Jesus seemed to accept David's eating of the consecrated bread. Perhaps Jesus understood Himself in similar circumstance. The leadership of Jerusalem was against Him. He and His men were without a place to lay their heads. Desperate times call for desperate measures? Maybe. Maybe not.
Saul is humbled by David's actions to spare his life and clear David's own reputation with him. He calls for David to come home, but David knows Saul cannot be trusted. David moves to Gath and King Achish gives him Ziklag to live in with his men and their families. While living with the Philistines David continues to do the cleansing of the promised land as Joshua before him. He raids Amalekites and other inhabitants who have not yet been driven from the land. HE utterly wipes them out leaving no survivors. So even in hiding David serves Israel his people. He brings the booty back to Ziklag and shares with the Philistine king which keeps him in good standing. Dead men tell no tales. King Achish has no idea that David remains loyal to Israel. He thinks David is raiding the Israelites.
Continue to deliberate on David's character. But let's recognize that his character is not what this conflict is about. It is about the Lord being with David and not with Saul. David may be cunning and deceitful at times. He may be ruthless in battle. But so are the Babylonians who God chose to punish Judah. Ultimately it is God's choice that matters here, not a man's blemished character.
Jeremiah too is weak in his will. He cries out tot he Lord in anguish while imprisoned or persecuted by the rulers of Judah.
Because Your hand was [on me], I sat alone,
for You filled me with indignation.
Why has my pain become unending,
my wound incurable,
refusing to be healed?
You (Lord) truly have become like a mirage to me—
water that is not reliable. (Jer. 15:17b-18)
Jeremiah deliberates his case before God and in a sense brings an accusation against God for keeping silent, for not protecting him. God responds by telling him to repent of his "worthless words" and He will restore Jeremiah (Jer. 15:19-21).
God chose Israel like a potter chooses clay to make a pot. if the pot isn't turning out right, it is cast aside and made into something else. In the same way God chose Israel, but Israel has not chosen God. They are not turning like the holy people He calls them to become. So now they shall become a bowl to receive God's wrath instead of the wine of blessing. As God lays out His appeal, the people still have time to repent and change their ways and avoid the destruction God has announced through the prophet. Will they turn before it's too late? Does a donkey do what it's told the first time? Is it not known for its stubbornness? Only with bridal and many blows does the brute come under control.
Paul continues to lay out his case before the Corinthians. He talks of excellent revelations (mystical experiences with God), the kind that the Corinthians applaud. But he takes greater pride in his weaknesses through which the strength of Christ shines. Paul has a thorn in his side, a messenger of Satan. He asked the Lord three times to remove it, but God said to Paul, "My grace is sufficient for you, for [My] power is perfected in weakness (2 Cor. 12:9)."
We don't know the specific nature of Paul's weakness. We just know he struggled with is, but God wanted him to learn to lean on His grace instead of being freed of the thorny sting. Paul would have the Corinthians understand his humility before God and his love for them. He tries to win them over in his closing.
"I am not seeking what is yours, but you. For children are not obligated to save up for their parents, but parents for their children. I will most gladly spend and be spent for you (2 Cor. 12:14-15)."
He asks them to consider the evidence. Has he taken advantage of them? Has he tricked them? Has not everything he has done and said been for their benefit and the glory of God? He intends only to build them up, not tear them down. But Christ will not be denied by the church that bears His name. Paul will come in the power of Christ and deal harshly with the unrepentant if necessary. He hopes it doesn't come to that if they will only heed his letter (2 Cor. 13:10).
These books are collected in what we Christians call the Holy Bible. These words are canonized, not to be tampered with, added to or taken away from, but heeded as we would the voice of God (Rev 22:18-19).
We have witnessed the prosecution and the defense in their deliberations. What will we each decide?
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Rock of Separation
Day 55: 1 Samuel 20–23; Jeremiah 7–12; 2 Corinthians 10–11
David remains in hiding to save his life from the wrath of King Saul. Jonathan who loves David as he loves himself encourages Saul and Saul promises not to kill David. Later when he hears of attempts on David's life he is not completely sure his father, Saul, wants David dead. He So David and Jonathan devise a plan. David will miss a new moon feast at which he is to dine at the table of the king. If Saul inquires about David mission, Jonathan will tell Saul that David asked permission to go to Bethlehem to celebrate. If Saul is at peace, then he doesn't want David dead, but if he is enraged, Saul wants him dead.
Saul wants his rival dead. He is fighting against God's will to keep his grip on Israel. It will mean his death and the death of many others. So intense is his jealous rage he curses his own son, Jonathan and tries to kill him with a spear. Jonathan goes to meet David at the rock called EZEL and tells him to flee. It is a touching scene where both men are overcome with grief over the terrible rift in the kingdom because of Saul's jealousy and madness.
David takes refuge in Nob with a the high priest Ahimelech ("my brother is the king" or "brother of Molech"), a descendant of Ithamar through Eli. David is needing supplies for his fighting men who are on the run with him. The priest gives him consecrated bread that only priests are to eat (1 Sam. 21:6). He does so in service of King Saul because David claims to be on a secret mission. But David is suspect. He has no weapon either, so Ahimelech gives him the sword of Goliath. Apparently Saul had the tabernacle moved from Shiloh to Nob which is two miles south of Gibeah, his home town. The sword of Goliath laid there before the ark as tribute to the enemy slain by David. The priest shows his loyalty to Saul and perhaps David by breaking religious custom (covenantal law). Jesus would later point to this action as justification for plucking wheat on the Sabbath to satisfy the hunger of his disciples as they walked along. Jesus said, "The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath (Mk. 2:22)."
David flees to the Philistine king Achish of Gath, but has to pretend he is crazy in order to keep them from killing him out of suspicion or revenge for all the Philistines he had killed. He flees again moving from one place to another until Saul nearly catches him at The Rock of Separation in the Wilderness of Maon. Saul had been tipped off by Ziphites who lived in the region that David and his men were in hiding there. But God delivered David. The Philistines attacked Israel while Saul was chasing after David. Saul had to break off the pursuit.
The Rock of Separation is my theme for today's readings. To separate is also to be holy. It is to separate from all uncleanness and unrighteousness and live according to the law of Moses. This makes Israel holy by keeping God's commands. Saul was not careful to keep the law. He was careless and paid more allegiance to his men to keep them loyal. He was not loyal to God.
David on the other hand will prove to be a great king leading the people in faithfulness to God. The great rock between Saul and David is God. Which side of the rock of separation will I stand on... the side of holiness and strict adherence to God's ways or the side of carelessness and loyalty to what suits me?
Jeremiah writes to warn Jerusalem and Judah of God's coming wrath because they have not chosen to be faithful to Yahweh. They have built an altar of sacrifice, a furnace for burning children alive in the gaping mouth of Topheth (Chemosh/Molech) in the Valley of Hinnom (more hell imagery). They have defiled the temple with a variety of pagan idols. They keep on worshipping Yahweh, but as one god among many gods. To Yahweh, their sacrifices, offerings and prayers are meaningless. They are unfaithful and just going through the motions. They have not chosen holiness and adherence to the covenant of the true God, living God and eternal King (Jer. 10:10). As a result God will destroy them through an invading army, but not completely. Survivors have the opportunity to come back to Jerusalem, rebuild and start over in faithfulness to Yahweh.
Hear the lament of Jeremiah when he realizes they people will not turn from their idolatry. He longs to separate from them.
If only I had a traveler's lodging place
in the wilderness,
I would abandon my people
and depart from them,
for they are all adulterers,
a solemn assembly of treacherous people.
They bent their tongues [like] their bows;
lies and not faithfulness prevail in the land,
for they proceed from one evil to another... (Jer. 9:2-3)
And God pronounces His terrible judgement. The Rock of Israel separates from them.
I have abandoned My house;
I have deserted My inheritance.
I have given the love of My life
into the hand of her enemies. (Jer. 12:7)
Paul continues his second letter to the Corinthians defend his ministry and apostolic authority among them. There are those who consider themselves "super-apostles" and superior to Paul and his ministry who have confused the Corinthian church. And within the church Paul has critics who say, "His letters are weighty and powerful, but his physical presence is weak, and his public speaking is despicable (2 Cor. 10:10)." Paul warns them he will be weighty and powerful in the Spirit of God when he comes to them in person. So they had better decide where they stand.
They do not commend themselves as their competition does. The Lord commends them by the signs and miracles in their ministry. Remember in his first letter he stated that he came to them at Corinth "not with persuasive words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit and power, so that your faith might not be based on men's wisdom but on God's power (1 Cor. 2:4).
But because Paul feels compelled to defend his authority among them he begins a lengthy discourse on his ministry. What separates him from the competition is the amount of persevering work for the gospel he has done in the face of fierce opposition. He endures it all by the mighty grace of God. Paul knows he is foolish for boasting as he does, but he feels he is only following the foolishness of the Corinthians who listen to fools (2 Cor. 11:19).
The Corinthians needs to decide to whom they will listen and be loyal. Will they adhere to the gospel as given them by Paul, or will they listen to the others and their teachings who come to them in the name of Christ as His "super-apostles?" The rock of separation stands before them. They must choose who is righteous and who is false. Or do they listen to false teachers because they hear from them what they want to hear?
The gospel is offensive. It separates fathers and sons, mother-in-laws from daughter-in-laws. But the eternal reward is for those who will separate from the many ideas around us and their promises to the One who is the Way, the Truth and the Life.
David remains in hiding to save his life from the wrath of King Saul. Jonathan who loves David as he loves himself encourages Saul and Saul promises not to kill David. Later when he hears of attempts on David's life he is not completely sure his father, Saul, wants David dead. He So David and Jonathan devise a plan. David will miss a new moon feast at which he is to dine at the table of the king. If Saul inquires about David mission, Jonathan will tell Saul that David asked permission to go to Bethlehem to celebrate. If Saul is at peace, then he doesn't want David dead, but if he is enraged, Saul wants him dead.
Saul wants his rival dead. He is fighting against God's will to keep his grip on Israel. It will mean his death and the death of many others. So intense is his jealous rage he curses his own son, Jonathan and tries to kill him with a spear. Jonathan goes to meet David at the rock called EZEL and tells him to flee. It is a touching scene where both men are overcome with grief over the terrible rift in the kingdom because of Saul's jealousy and madness.
David takes refuge in Nob with a the high priest Ahimelech ("my brother is the king" or "brother of Molech"), a descendant of Ithamar through Eli. David is needing supplies for his fighting men who are on the run with him. The priest gives him consecrated bread that only priests are to eat (1 Sam. 21:6). He does so in service of King Saul because David claims to be on a secret mission. But David is suspect. He has no weapon either, so Ahimelech gives him the sword of Goliath. Apparently Saul had the tabernacle moved from Shiloh to Nob which is two miles south of Gibeah, his home town. The sword of Goliath laid there before the ark as tribute to the enemy slain by David. The priest shows his loyalty to Saul and perhaps David by breaking religious custom (covenantal law). Jesus would later point to this action as justification for plucking wheat on the Sabbath to satisfy the hunger of his disciples as they walked along. Jesus said, "The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath (Mk. 2:22)."
David flees to the Philistine king Achish of Gath, but has to pretend he is crazy in order to keep them from killing him out of suspicion or revenge for all the Philistines he had killed. He flees again moving from one place to another until Saul nearly catches him at The Rock of Separation in the Wilderness of Maon. Saul had been tipped off by Ziphites who lived in the region that David and his men were in hiding there. But God delivered David. The Philistines attacked Israel while Saul was chasing after David. Saul had to break off the pursuit.
The Rock of Separation is my theme for today's readings. To separate is also to be holy. It is to separate from all uncleanness and unrighteousness and live according to the law of Moses. This makes Israel holy by keeping God's commands. Saul was not careful to keep the law. He was careless and paid more allegiance to his men to keep them loyal. He was not loyal to God.
David on the other hand will prove to be a great king leading the people in faithfulness to God. The great rock between Saul and David is God. Which side of the rock of separation will I stand on... the side of holiness and strict adherence to God's ways or the side of carelessness and loyalty to what suits me?
Jeremiah writes to warn Jerusalem and Judah of God's coming wrath because they have not chosen to be faithful to Yahweh. They have built an altar of sacrifice, a furnace for burning children alive in the gaping mouth of Topheth (Chemosh/Molech) in the Valley of Hinnom (more hell imagery). They have defiled the temple with a variety of pagan idols. They keep on worshipping Yahweh, but as one god among many gods. To Yahweh, their sacrifices, offerings and prayers are meaningless. They are unfaithful and just going through the motions. They have not chosen holiness and adherence to the covenant of the true God, living God and eternal King (Jer. 10:10). As a result God will destroy them through an invading army, but not completely. Survivors have the opportunity to come back to Jerusalem, rebuild and start over in faithfulness to Yahweh.
Hear the lament of Jeremiah when he realizes they people will not turn from their idolatry. He longs to separate from them.
If only I had a traveler's lodging place
in the wilderness,
I would abandon my people
and depart from them,
for they are all adulterers,
a solemn assembly of treacherous people.
They bent their tongues [like] their bows;
lies and not faithfulness prevail in the land,
for they proceed from one evil to another... (Jer. 9:2-3)
And God pronounces His terrible judgement. The Rock of Israel separates from them.
I have abandoned My house;
I have deserted My inheritance.
I have given the love of My life
into the hand of her enemies. (Jer. 12:7)
Paul continues his second letter to the Corinthians defend his ministry and apostolic authority among them. There are those who consider themselves "super-apostles" and superior to Paul and his ministry who have confused the Corinthian church. And within the church Paul has critics who say, "His letters are weighty and powerful, but his physical presence is weak, and his public speaking is despicable (2 Cor. 10:10)." Paul warns them he will be weighty and powerful in the Spirit of God when he comes to them in person. So they had better decide where they stand.
They do not commend themselves as their competition does. The Lord commends them by the signs and miracles in their ministry. Remember in his first letter he stated that he came to them at Corinth "not with persuasive words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit and power, so that your faith might not be based on men's wisdom but on God's power (1 Cor. 2:4).
But because Paul feels compelled to defend his authority among them he begins a lengthy discourse on his ministry. What separates him from the competition is the amount of persevering work for the gospel he has done in the face of fierce opposition. He endures it all by the mighty grace of God. Paul knows he is foolish for boasting as he does, but he feels he is only following the foolishness of the Corinthians who listen to fools (2 Cor. 11:19).
The Corinthians needs to decide to whom they will listen and be loyal. Will they adhere to the gospel as given them by Paul, or will they listen to the others and their teachings who come to them in the name of Christ as His "super-apostles?" The rock of separation stands before them. They must choose who is righteous and who is false. Or do they listen to false teachers because they hear from them what they want to hear?
The gospel is offensive. It separates fathers and sons, mother-in-laws from daughter-in-laws. But the eternal reward is for those who will separate from the many ideas around us and their promises to the One who is the Way, the Truth and the Life.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Face The Music
Day 54: 1 Samuel 16–19; Jeremiah 1–6; 2 Corinthians 7–9
As I write I have terrible sinus inflammation with a burning and runny nose, itching and tearing eyes and I ache all over. My energy is drained as if my very life is running out my nose. In addition to all that I feel irritable. You might say I have an evil spirit torturing me.
Saul had an evil spirit from the Lord to taunt and confuse him. The Holy Spirit had been taken from him because of his disobedience and in its place... raves. Saul increasingly became a desperate man trying to cling to his losing grip on his rulership of Israel.
One of his advisers suggested music perhaps to soothe his troubled mind. It is true that music can soothe the savage beast. But when the music is delivered by one you fear and resent, that's a different matter entirely.
Samuel the prophet grieves over Saul's failure and even fears Saul's violent retaliation if he goes to anoint another king of Israel. God gives him a clever plan that looks harmless.
God told Jeremiah not to fear the people or the rulers as he prophesied to them.
Do not be afraid of anyone, for I will be with you to deliver you.
Do not be intimidated by them or I will cause you to cower before them. Today, I am the One who has made you a fortified city, an iron pillar, and bronze walls against the whole land—against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests, and the population. They will fight against you but never prevail over you, since I am with you to rescue you." (Jer. 1:8, 17b-19)
Samuel goes to Bethlehem for a sacrifice, but the people greet him as if he is a threat. What do they fear of Samuel? They ask, "Seer, do you come in peace?" Might this echo of Balaam trying to curse Israel at the behest of Balak (Num. 22:4-6)? Or might this foreshadow the magi coming to Bethlehem to worship the newborn king of the Jews, Jesus, only to have the jealous King Herod murder all the boys 2 years old and younger (Mat. 2:16-18)?
Samuel invites Jesse and his sons to the sacrifice as directed by the Lord, but finds none of his sons to be the one God has selected to succeed Saul. Jesse has his youngest in the fields tending flocks. When Samuel sees David he knows this is the one the Lord has selected and anoints him. The Spirit takes control of David from that point on.
David plays on his lyre for Saul and eases his pain. David slays the giant Goliath and pleases Saul and his son Jonathan who immediately loves David as his own self (1 Sam. 18:3). David began leading Israel's soldiers in battle and winning every time. The women from the villages would dance and sing a song of celebration for the victors as they marched home.
"Saul has killed his thousands,
but David his tens of thousands (1 Sam. 18:7)."
This planted seeds of great jealousy in Saul against David, so as David played his lyre Saul tried to kill him by throwing a spear at him. But David gets away from him safely. When this doesn't work he tries to get David killed in battle by sending him on perilous missions. This doesn't work either. On one occasion he sends assassins to kill David and Samuel while they are in hiding. This too backfires for each time the assassins near Samuel they are overcome by the Spirit of God and begin prophesying in an uncontrollable fit of spiritual ecstasy. Saul comes to kill David him self and is also over come by the Spirit and ends up naked and passed out because of the overwhelming presence of the Holy One of Israel.
Saul just needs to face the music. God is no longer supporting Saul's kingship, but the Lord is with David prospering all David does and protecting him.
Jeremiah writes during Josiah's reign and the reigns of his sons Jehoiakim and Zedekiah. The first is a good king, loyal to Yahweh. His sons are not. This leads to the exile under the tyranny of Babylonia. The text implies that Jeremiah is reluctant to prophecy for God. God tells him, "Don't say, I am only a youth (Jer. 1:7)." It's time for Jeremiah to face the music as to God's calling on his life.
It is also time for Jerusalem and Judah to face the music. Their idolatry and unfaithfulness to Yahweh has reached a breaking point with God's patience. "It's time to dance," as the street fighters say with switchblade in hand.
The desolation coming from the invasion from the north will be as if the world of Judah and Jerusalem was never created. Jeremiah sings a dirge:
I looked at the earth,
and it was formless and empty.
[I looked] to the heavens,
and their light was gone.
I looked at the mountains,
and they were quaking;
all the hills shook.
I looked, and no man was left;
all the birds of the sky had fled.
I looked, and the fertile field was a wilderness.
All its cities were torn down
because of the LORD and His burning anger. (Jer. 4:23-26).
As is characteristic of the Hebrew prophets, God will not destroy them completely, but will preserve a remnant through which He will continue His holy project. I seems God will never give up, nor abandon His plan to shape a holy community who blesses the world and glorifies His name. The songs of lament will turn to songs of praise. The music is not over. Face it! God's will be done.
Paul continues his dance with the Corinthians as he gets around to asking for their financial support for the starving and poor in Jerusalem. Now that he is welcomed by most and his authority as an apostle restored the Corinthians have a chance to share in his ministry.
In chapter seven Paul sings of how godly grief and repentance leads to salvation (2 Cor. 7:10). But worldly grief leads to death. He is glad that they have reconciled with him. Deeply personal emotions are shared as he lays out his heart for them as a crooner might sing a romantic song pining for the one he loves.
When it comes to giving Paul writes that it is for equality sake. Those who have a surplus can give to those who are in need. Later when the Corinthians are in need the surplus of others will flow to them. This is the economic policy of the kingdom of Christ.
Listen to this music:
Those who sow sparingly reap sparingly
and this who sow generously will reap generously
God loves a cheerful giver (2 Cor. 9:6-7).
We are not to give reluctantly or out of a sense of necessity, but rather freely as the heart has guided.
And the best music of all is this:
God is able to make every grace overflow to you,
so that in every way, always having everything you need,
you may excel in every good work (2 Cor. 9:8).
Let's face it! God is working to create a holy community that will bless the world. We are part of this great work! Can we trust God and be faithful to serve Him with our whole heart?
May prayers of thanksgiving be given because of your generosity. And may praises in song be lifted to heaven for God's surpassing grace on us all.
As I write I have terrible sinus inflammation with a burning and runny nose, itching and tearing eyes and I ache all over. My energy is drained as if my very life is running out my nose. In addition to all that I feel irritable. You might say I have an evil spirit torturing me.
Saul had an evil spirit from the Lord to taunt and confuse him. The Holy Spirit had been taken from him because of his disobedience and in its place... raves. Saul increasingly became a desperate man trying to cling to his losing grip on his rulership of Israel.
One of his advisers suggested music perhaps to soothe his troubled mind. It is true that music can soothe the savage beast. But when the music is delivered by one you fear and resent, that's a different matter entirely.
Samuel the prophet grieves over Saul's failure and even fears Saul's violent retaliation if he goes to anoint another king of Israel. God gives him a clever plan that looks harmless.
God told Jeremiah not to fear the people or the rulers as he prophesied to them.
Do not be afraid of anyone, for I will be with you to deliver you.
Do not be intimidated by them or I will cause you to cower before them. Today, I am the One who has made you a fortified city, an iron pillar, and bronze walls against the whole land—against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests, and the population. They will fight against you but never prevail over you, since I am with you to rescue you." (Jer. 1:8, 17b-19)
Samuel goes to Bethlehem for a sacrifice, but the people greet him as if he is a threat. What do they fear of Samuel? They ask, "Seer, do you come in peace?" Might this echo of Balaam trying to curse Israel at the behest of Balak (Num. 22:4-6)? Or might this foreshadow the magi coming to Bethlehem to worship the newborn king of the Jews, Jesus, only to have the jealous King Herod murder all the boys 2 years old and younger (Mat. 2:16-18)?
Samuel invites Jesse and his sons to the sacrifice as directed by the Lord, but finds none of his sons to be the one God has selected to succeed Saul. Jesse has his youngest in the fields tending flocks. When Samuel sees David he knows this is the one the Lord has selected and anoints him. The Spirit takes control of David from that point on.
David plays on his lyre for Saul and eases his pain. David slays the giant Goliath and pleases Saul and his son Jonathan who immediately loves David as his own self (1 Sam. 18:3). David began leading Israel's soldiers in battle and winning every time. The women from the villages would dance and sing a song of celebration for the victors as they marched home.
"Saul has killed his thousands,
but David his tens of thousands (1 Sam. 18:7)."
This planted seeds of great jealousy in Saul against David, so as David played his lyre Saul tried to kill him by throwing a spear at him. But David gets away from him safely. When this doesn't work he tries to get David killed in battle by sending him on perilous missions. This doesn't work either. On one occasion he sends assassins to kill David and Samuel while they are in hiding. This too backfires for each time the assassins near Samuel they are overcome by the Spirit of God and begin prophesying in an uncontrollable fit of spiritual ecstasy. Saul comes to kill David him self and is also over come by the Spirit and ends up naked and passed out because of the overwhelming presence of the Holy One of Israel.
Saul just needs to face the music. God is no longer supporting Saul's kingship, but the Lord is with David prospering all David does and protecting him.
Jeremiah writes during Josiah's reign and the reigns of his sons Jehoiakim and Zedekiah. The first is a good king, loyal to Yahweh. His sons are not. This leads to the exile under the tyranny of Babylonia. The text implies that Jeremiah is reluctant to prophecy for God. God tells him, "Don't say, I am only a youth (Jer. 1:7)." It's time for Jeremiah to face the music as to God's calling on his life.
It is also time for Jerusalem and Judah to face the music. Their idolatry and unfaithfulness to Yahweh has reached a breaking point with God's patience. "It's time to dance," as the street fighters say with switchblade in hand.
The desolation coming from the invasion from the north will be as if the world of Judah and Jerusalem was never created. Jeremiah sings a dirge:
I looked at the earth,
and it was formless and empty.
[I looked] to the heavens,
and their light was gone.
I looked at the mountains,
and they were quaking;
all the hills shook.
I looked, and no man was left;
all the birds of the sky had fled.
I looked, and the fertile field was a wilderness.
All its cities were torn down
because of the LORD and His burning anger. (Jer. 4:23-26).
As is characteristic of the Hebrew prophets, God will not destroy them completely, but will preserve a remnant through which He will continue His holy project. I seems God will never give up, nor abandon His plan to shape a holy community who blesses the world and glorifies His name. The songs of lament will turn to songs of praise. The music is not over. Face it! God's will be done.
Paul continues his dance with the Corinthians as he gets around to asking for their financial support for the starving and poor in Jerusalem. Now that he is welcomed by most and his authority as an apostle restored the Corinthians have a chance to share in his ministry.
In chapter seven Paul sings of how godly grief and repentance leads to salvation (2 Cor. 7:10). But worldly grief leads to death. He is glad that they have reconciled with him. Deeply personal emotions are shared as he lays out his heart for them as a crooner might sing a romantic song pining for the one he loves.
When it comes to giving Paul writes that it is for equality sake. Those who have a surplus can give to those who are in need. Later when the Corinthians are in need the surplus of others will flow to them. This is the economic policy of the kingdom of Christ.
Listen to this music:
Those who sow sparingly reap sparingly
and this who sow generously will reap generously
God loves a cheerful giver (2 Cor. 9:6-7).
We are not to give reluctantly or out of a sense of necessity, but rather freely as the heart has guided.
And the best music of all is this:
God is able to make every grace overflow to you,
so that in every way, always having everything you need,
you may excel in every good work (2 Cor. 9:8).
Let's face it! God is working to create a holy community that will bless the world. We are part of this great work! Can we trust God and be faithful to serve Him with our whole heart?
May prayers of thanksgiving be given because of your generosity. And may praises in song be lifted to heaven for God's surpassing grace on us all.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
The King is Coming
Day 53: 1 Samuel 11-15; Isaiah 61-66; 2 Corinthians 4-6
Wow! I am psyched! I completed reading Isaiah! That's sixty-six chapters of "Woe unto you," and "OK, let's make up!" I apologize for my attempt at cynical humor. But the prophets have always been my weakest area of scriptural knowledge. I just get so bored with it so quickly. And yet there are words that strike a chord with my heart and open me to heaven. There is great hope in the prophets in the midst of severe warnings and foreboding predictions of God's wrath.
I may be guilty of having ears but not hearing, eyes to see but no understanding. King Saul had a problem of not listening. It's obvious he listened more to his fear of losing the people's trust than he was about obeying God.
He rescues the people from an Ammonite attack on Jabesh-gilead and he is exalted before them as one they can trust as their savior king (1 Sam 11:12-15). But he quickly fails to obey the Lord he had served as the people's leader. The Philistines amass near Saul's dwellings at Michmash for war. Saul calls all Israel to battle, but they hide instead in caves, hills and rocks because of the massive army of the enemy.
When Saul sees the men deserting he doesn't wait on Samuel the prophet to offer sacrifice and seek the Lord's help. Instead he does it himself. He has no authority to make offerings to the Holy One of Israel. He won't be the last king to try it either.
As a result Samuel tells Saul, "You have been foolish.You have not kept the command which the LORD your God gave you. It was at this time that the LORD would have permanently established your reign over Israel, but now your reign will not endure. The LORD has found a man loyal to Him, and the LORD has appointed him as ruler over His people, because you have not done what the LORD commanded (1 Sam. 13:13-14)."
The king is coming who will be loyal to God first and foremost. This kind of leadership lifts the people's eyes from fear to faith. There are more stories of Saul's failure to keep vows, honor the sacrificial portions that belong to the Lord, and others.
Isaiah writes words on the other side of the exile in Babylon. God is calling them home. And a great vision is shared of God creating a new heaven and a new earth, a new Jerusalem for all the world to come and bless His name and enjoy the blessings of His people in a city where peace flows like a river.
Those who reject God will be on display rotting in the valley of Hinnom (the trash heap) out side the city walls. This is where the concept of Gehenna (hell) comes from. Gehenna is a trash dump for refuse. Decaying matter creates methane gas and attracts flies and their maggot worm larvae. The fires at the dump burn continually as more gas is created by anaerobic bacteria and the addition of more organic garbage. The worms never die because there is a continual supply.
But this inside the city of the new Jerusalem are blessed and shine with light. Isaiah lays the foundation for Jewish Christians who write about heaven. The king is coming and those who love Him and obey Him will join Him in His kingdom come!
Paul writes the Corinthians about this heavenly home.
"For we know that if our earthly house, a tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. ...so that mortality may be swallowed up by life. And the One who prepared us for this very thing is God, who gave us the Spirit as a down payment." (2 Cor. 5:1, 4b-5)
Paul tells the church that because of our hope in our eternal home, we know our troubles on earth are light and momentary compared to the "absolutely incomparable eternal weight of glory (2 Cor. 4:17)." So we concentrate on unseen things, not on the things seen in this world. We walk by faith, not by sight. We try to live lives pleasing to the Lord knowing that one day we will appear at His tribunal (courtroom) "that each may be repaid for what he has done in the body, whether good or worthless (2 Cor. 5:10)."
The King is coming! Open your heart completely and your mind, your ears, your eyes and you soul that the King of Glory may come into you, His temple. Each day open yourself to the kingdom come through the Spirit that dwells in you. His peace will remind you of the peace of your heavenly home. You are a new creation in Christ, for now through the Holy Spirit you share in the glory of the new heaven and earth. On behalf of Christ be reconciled to God and share the message of reconciliation with others. The King is coming!
Amen.
Wow! I am psyched! I completed reading Isaiah! That's sixty-six chapters of "Woe unto you," and "OK, let's make up!" I apologize for my attempt at cynical humor. But the prophets have always been my weakest area of scriptural knowledge. I just get so bored with it so quickly. And yet there are words that strike a chord with my heart and open me to heaven. There is great hope in the prophets in the midst of severe warnings and foreboding predictions of God's wrath.
I may be guilty of having ears but not hearing, eyes to see but no understanding. King Saul had a problem of not listening. It's obvious he listened more to his fear of losing the people's trust than he was about obeying God.
He rescues the people from an Ammonite attack on Jabesh-gilead and he is exalted before them as one they can trust as their savior king (1 Sam 11:12-15). But he quickly fails to obey the Lord he had served as the people's leader. The Philistines amass near Saul's dwellings at Michmash for war. Saul calls all Israel to battle, but they hide instead in caves, hills and rocks because of the massive army of the enemy.
When Saul sees the men deserting he doesn't wait on Samuel the prophet to offer sacrifice and seek the Lord's help. Instead he does it himself. He has no authority to make offerings to the Holy One of Israel. He won't be the last king to try it either.
As a result Samuel tells Saul, "You have been foolish.You have not kept the command which the LORD your God gave you. It was at this time that the LORD would have permanently established your reign over Israel, but now your reign will not endure. The LORD has found a man loyal to Him, and the LORD has appointed him as ruler over His people, because you have not done what the LORD commanded (1 Sam. 13:13-14)."
The king is coming who will be loyal to God first and foremost. This kind of leadership lifts the people's eyes from fear to faith. There are more stories of Saul's failure to keep vows, honor the sacrificial portions that belong to the Lord, and others.
Isaiah writes words on the other side of the exile in Babylon. God is calling them home. And a great vision is shared of God creating a new heaven and a new earth, a new Jerusalem for all the world to come and bless His name and enjoy the blessings of His people in a city where peace flows like a river.
Those who reject God will be on display rotting in the valley of Hinnom (the trash heap) out side the city walls. This is where the concept of Gehenna (hell) comes from. Gehenna is a trash dump for refuse. Decaying matter creates methane gas and attracts flies and their maggot worm larvae. The fires at the dump burn continually as more gas is created by anaerobic bacteria and the addition of more organic garbage. The worms never die because there is a continual supply.
But this inside the city of the new Jerusalem are blessed and shine with light. Isaiah lays the foundation for Jewish Christians who write about heaven. The king is coming and those who love Him and obey Him will join Him in His kingdom come!
Paul writes the Corinthians about this heavenly home.
"For we know that if our earthly house, a tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. ...so that mortality may be swallowed up by life. And the One who prepared us for this very thing is God, who gave us the Spirit as a down payment." (2 Cor. 5:1, 4b-5)
Paul tells the church that because of our hope in our eternal home, we know our troubles on earth are light and momentary compared to the "absolutely incomparable eternal weight of glory (2 Cor. 4:17)." So we concentrate on unseen things, not on the things seen in this world. We walk by faith, not by sight. We try to live lives pleasing to the Lord knowing that one day we will appear at His tribunal (courtroom) "that each may be repaid for what he has done in the body, whether good or worthless (2 Cor. 5:10)."
The King is coming! Open your heart completely and your mind, your ears, your eyes and you soul that the King of Glory may come into you, His temple. Each day open yourself to the kingdom come through the Spirit that dwells in you. His peace will remind you of the peace of your heavenly home. You are a new creation in Christ, for now through the Holy Spirit you share in the glory of the new heaven and earth. On behalf of Christ be reconciled to God and share the message of reconciliation with others. The King is coming!
Amen.
Monday, May 2, 2011
A Chaser of Strays
Day 52: 1 Samuel 6-10; Isaiah 55-60; 2 Corinthians 1-3
The Ark of the Covenant is returned by the Philistines with an offering of gold representations of the mice infestation and the "tumor" plague (phallus failures). The people of Bethshemesh take the ark and celebrate, but they fail to treat Yahweh as holy and look inside the ark. Remember Steven Spielberg's Raiders of the Lost Ark? Bad idea! 70 men die out of 50,000 in the gathering. The people realize they cannot stand before the Holy One. So the ark is kept isolated on a house on a hill for 20 years (1 Sam. 6:19-7:1). It stays there until Samuel the prophet is old enough to begin judging Israel. He leads them in reconsecration and brings the ark to Mizpah for offerings and sacrifices and covenant recommittal.
The Philistines attack, the people pray to God and God throws the Philistine army into confusion. The Israelites have returned to the Lord and the Lord has given His aid. This lasts until Samuel ages and is getting on in years. His sons are not righteous like he is. They take brides and pervert justice. They ask Samuel to choose a king for them so they can be "the same as all the other nations."
In that statement we see the nature of stiff-necked Israel. They were called out of all the other nations and set apart for Yahweh to be His holy people. Their difference is the very purpose of their existence. The Lord is their king. God tells Samuel that they haven't rejected Samuel, but God as their king. God lets them have their king after warning them the burden a king will lay on the people in taxes and taking their livestock, sons and daughters and slaves or property into the king's service (1 Sam 8:5, 7, 11-18).
Saul, the Benjaminite from accursed Gibeah is chosen as king. The Lord told Samuel he was the one to anoint to rule over Israel and save them from the Philistines (1 Sam 9:15-17). The occasion on which The Lord arranges a meeting between the seer and the son of an influential man named Kish is the straying of Kish's donkeys. Is this the Bible's way of pointing to the kind of ruler Saul will be?
We will learn that Saul will have a tedious hold on the kingship as he fears losing the confidence of the people more than losing the anointing of God. And the people stray like stubborn donkeys from God's right ways. Saul is no different. He will stray too and not be careful to keep the covenant. His lack of confidence is memorialized in his hiding among the supplies (or baggage as the NIV translates). Saul knows that Benjamin is least in the tribes because of their devastation in the great sin of Gibeah against the Ephraimite Levite and his concubine from Bethlehem.
It is no coincidence that Bethlehem and Gibeah are featured in the Judges story of the Levite and his concubine. Because the first king of Israel will come from Gibeah in Benjamin and the successor from Bethlehem. King David is called from tending sheep to shepherd Israel. But Saul is a chaser of stubborn and straying donkeys!
Isaiah calls out to encourage the straying Israelites to come home, back to Jerusalem from exile in Babylon. God reaches the end of His hostility toward their rebellion and calls them back home.
Pay attention and come to Me;
listen, so that you will live.
I will make an everlasting covenant with you,
the promises assured to David. (Isa. 55:3)
And He gives a vision of the restored Israel drawing the other nations to Jerusalem.
"You will summon a nation you do not know,
and nations who do not know you will run to you.
For the LORD your God,
even the Holy One of Israel,
has glorified you." (Isa. 55:5)
His temple will be open to foreigners and eunuchs who previously were barred from worship because they were considered unclean. All who love the Lord and keep His Sabbaths will be welcome and their offerings accepted.
It's not the righteousness of the exiles that brings this call to come home. It is God's faithful compassion. He chooses to heal them and bring them home.
The LORD saw that there was no justice,
and He was offended.
He saw that there was no man—
He was amazed that there was no one interceding;
so His own arm brought salvation,
and His own righteousness supported Him. (Isa. 59:15b-16)
The vision of a restored Israel in Isaiah 60 is echoed later in John's Revelation where there is no longer a need for sun or moon for God is their light and the days of sorrow are over (Isa. 60:19-20).
The King of Israel is God, but the people need a mediator. Moses mediated the Law. David mediates justice. And Jesus mediates mercy, justice and covenant faithfulness. Christ is the "YES" to all God's promises (2 Cor. 1:20).
Paul tries to call his straying church in Corinth to return to acknowledging his ministry among them as authoritative. In his absence others have usurped his guiding power. Many have repented as a result of his first letter, but some still resist his voice. Paul was upset and confrontational in the first letter at times because of the sexual immorality and prideful divisions among them. Now he reaches out and tries to heal. Paul wants them to understand what he wrote was out of his abundant love for them (2 Cor. 2:4). Paul wants the church to realise that they are missing the boat by going back into pagan practice or Jewish holiness customs. What God is doing in Jesus is greater that words of the law chiseled in stone, greater than the radiance of Moses' face. So he chases after the straying Christians and tries to turn donkeys into lambs for God.
Lord, I know how stubborn and dim I can be. Thank you for chasing after me and bringing me home through Your love in Jesus Christ. Make me worthy of His name. I pray today for all who labor to shepherd Your church. Give them grace for the task that all nations might come home to You. Amen
The Ark of the Covenant is returned by the Philistines with an offering of gold representations of the mice infestation and the "tumor" plague (phallus failures). The people of Bethshemesh take the ark and celebrate, but they fail to treat Yahweh as holy and look inside the ark. Remember Steven Spielberg's Raiders of the Lost Ark? Bad idea! 70 men die out of 50,000 in the gathering. The people realize they cannot stand before the Holy One. So the ark is kept isolated on a house on a hill for 20 years (1 Sam. 6:19-7:1). It stays there until Samuel the prophet is old enough to begin judging Israel. He leads them in reconsecration and brings the ark to Mizpah for offerings and sacrifices and covenant recommittal.
The Philistines attack, the people pray to God and God throws the Philistine army into confusion. The Israelites have returned to the Lord and the Lord has given His aid. This lasts until Samuel ages and is getting on in years. His sons are not righteous like he is. They take brides and pervert justice. They ask Samuel to choose a king for them so they can be "the same as all the other nations."
In that statement we see the nature of stiff-necked Israel. They were called out of all the other nations and set apart for Yahweh to be His holy people. Their difference is the very purpose of their existence. The Lord is their king. God tells Samuel that they haven't rejected Samuel, but God as their king. God lets them have their king after warning them the burden a king will lay on the people in taxes and taking their livestock, sons and daughters and slaves or property into the king's service (1 Sam 8:5, 7, 11-18).
Saul, the Benjaminite from accursed Gibeah is chosen as king. The Lord told Samuel he was the one to anoint to rule over Israel and save them from the Philistines (1 Sam 9:15-17). The occasion on which The Lord arranges a meeting between the seer and the son of an influential man named Kish is the straying of Kish's donkeys. Is this the Bible's way of pointing to the kind of ruler Saul will be?
We will learn that Saul will have a tedious hold on the kingship as he fears losing the confidence of the people more than losing the anointing of God. And the people stray like stubborn donkeys from God's right ways. Saul is no different. He will stray too and not be careful to keep the covenant. His lack of confidence is memorialized in his hiding among the supplies (or baggage as the NIV translates). Saul knows that Benjamin is least in the tribes because of their devastation in the great sin of Gibeah against the Ephraimite Levite and his concubine from Bethlehem.
It is no coincidence that Bethlehem and Gibeah are featured in the Judges story of the Levite and his concubine. Because the first king of Israel will come from Gibeah in Benjamin and the successor from Bethlehem. King David is called from tending sheep to shepherd Israel. But Saul is a chaser of stubborn and straying donkeys!
Isaiah calls out to encourage the straying Israelites to come home, back to Jerusalem from exile in Babylon. God reaches the end of His hostility toward their rebellion and calls them back home.
Pay attention and come to Me;
listen, so that you will live.
I will make an everlasting covenant with you,
the promises assured to David. (Isa. 55:3)
And He gives a vision of the restored Israel drawing the other nations to Jerusalem.
"You will summon a nation you do not know,
and nations who do not know you will run to you.
For the LORD your God,
even the Holy One of Israel,
has glorified you." (Isa. 55:5)
His temple will be open to foreigners and eunuchs who previously were barred from worship because they were considered unclean. All who love the Lord and keep His Sabbaths will be welcome and their offerings accepted.
It's not the righteousness of the exiles that brings this call to come home. It is God's faithful compassion. He chooses to heal them and bring them home.
The LORD saw that there was no justice,
and He was offended.
He saw that there was no man—
He was amazed that there was no one interceding;
so His own arm brought salvation,
and His own righteousness supported Him. (Isa. 59:15b-16)
The vision of a restored Israel in Isaiah 60 is echoed later in John's Revelation where there is no longer a need for sun or moon for God is their light and the days of sorrow are over (Isa. 60:19-20).
The King of Israel is God, but the people need a mediator. Moses mediated the Law. David mediates justice. And Jesus mediates mercy, justice and covenant faithfulness. Christ is the "YES" to all God's promises (2 Cor. 1:20).
Paul tries to call his straying church in Corinth to return to acknowledging his ministry among them as authoritative. In his absence others have usurped his guiding power. Many have repented as a result of his first letter, but some still resist his voice. Paul was upset and confrontational in the first letter at times because of the sexual immorality and prideful divisions among them. Now he reaches out and tries to heal. Paul wants them to understand what he wrote was out of his abundant love for them (2 Cor. 2:4). Paul wants the church to realise that they are missing the boat by going back into pagan practice or Jewish holiness customs. What God is doing in Jesus is greater that words of the law chiseled in stone, greater than the radiance of Moses' face. So he chases after the straying Christians and tries to turn donkeys into lambs for God.
Lord, I know how stubborn and dim I can be. Thank you for chasing after me and bringing me home through Your love in Jesus Christ. Make me worthy of His name. I pray today for all who labor to shepherd Your church. Give them grace for the task that all nations might come home to You. Amen
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Great Loss and Great Hope
Day 51: 1 Samuel 1–5; Isaiah 49–54; 1 Corinthians 15–16
I began 1st Samuel on my 51st day of reading. I complete 1 Corinthians. And Isaiah has some of the best of his writings in chapters 49-54.
1 Samuel begins with the story of Samuel's birth. His mother, Hannah, was barren. She cried out to the Lord at the tent of meeting located at Shiloh. The priest Eli was watching her pray with tears and great anxiety for a child. He thought she was drunk and scolded her. When she explained her anguished prayers Eli blessed her and asked God to grant her fulfillment.
Samuel came and Hannah weaned him and gave him to Eli because she promised to dedicate him to the Lord. So Samuel grew up with the priests and Levites at the tabernacle in Shiloh. He grew in spirit and became a verified prophet of God.
Sadly Eli and his sons were crooked. Eli was obese and his sons greedy fornicators who slept with the young ladies who serve at the entrance to the tent of meeting. They also took the best portions of sacrificial meats for themselves, even before God got His portion burned to Him. They stole from God and the people. They had no respect for the covenant. They used their position for personal gain.
God struck them all down through the Philistines. Eli died when he heard his sons were killed and the ark of the covenant had been captured. The Philistines had beaten the Israelites in battle, so they went to Shiloh and took the ark into battle believing the ark would give them victory.
But God cannot be manipulated. God is not in the box, so to speak. Just because there's a cross hanging from your rear view mirror doesn't mean you will be protected from auto accidents. So much unfaithfulness has been covered in Judges and in parts of Joshua. Now with a corrupt priesthood, God decides to cut off Eli even though He had made the promise that the sons of Aaron would always serve as His priests.
'Although I said
your family and your ancestral house
would walk before Me forever,
the LORD now says, "No longer!"
I will honor those who honor Me,
but those who despise Me will be disgraced. (1 Sam. 2:30)
What a great loss for Israel and for Eli. His line was forever extinguished. Next the ark of the covenant goes into enemy hands. That is shocking news! This is the same ark that carries the original ten commandments, Aaron's budded and blooming staff, and a jar of manna, the bread from heaven. This is the same ark that God lead the Israelites into many battles. It was symbol of the presence of God who fought for them. Had God lost His touch?
No, God has had enough of the corruption of His people. But God doesn't give up. He is beginning a new deliverance. Samuel is but a boy, but he will become a faith filled prophet who will be the last of the judges. He will anointed kings for Israel to lead the chosen nation in righteousness and prosperity. Underneath the tragedy of Eli and Israel's fall in battle, lies a great hope...David is coming, the shepherd of Israel.
God has not lost His power or touch. As the ark of the covenant sits in the pagan temple to Dagon (a fish god), the large statue of Dagon falls prostrate two nights in a row before the ark. God can take care of Himself. He plagues the Philistines with what English translators struggle to know with certainly exactly what God does. The Holman Christina Standard Bible says "tumors" were given the men of the Philistine city. Others say boils.
One commentator suggests the men are stricken with impotency or erectile dysfunction. Dagon, like many other pagan gods, was a God who blessed his servants with fertility. Male prowess is often tied to the phallus. It is a symbol of strength and virility. If this is correct it means the men no longer feel like men. They are shamed. This gets their attention really quick. After moving the ark to another city with similar disaster, they make plans to give the ark back to Israel.
God hides His face (withholds His assistance) for only a moment.
In a surge of anger
I hid My face from you for a moment,
but I will have compassion on you
with everlasting love,"
says the LORD your Redeemer (Isa. 54:8)
Like a loving mother God cannot stay mad at Her child too long.
"Can a woman forget her nursing child,
or lack compassion for the child of her womb?
Even if these forget,
yet I will not forget you.
Look, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands. (Isa 49:15-16a)
Isaiah recounts how God called Israel and how His son, His servant Israel, is to be a great blessing to all nations.
My righteous servant will justify many,
and He will carry their iniquities. (Isa. 53:11b)
Of course I read Jesus in the description of the suffering servant. Messianic Jews who believe Jesus is Messiah point out that Jesus' life, death and resurrection are a fulfillment of Israel's calling. In Jesus God completes His holy project with Israel. Many nations are blessed and belong to the name of the God of the Hebrews, Yahweh is your savior = Yeshua = Jesus (Isa. 9:26b).
Paul writes about resurrection correcting those in the Corinthian church who say there is no resurrection. So central to Christianity is belief that Jesus is raised from the dead and alive forever that Paul says if Jesus is not raised our faith is worthless and we are still dead in sin (1 Cor. 15: 12). If we have hope in Christ only in this life, Christians are the most pitiful (1 Cor. 15:19).
But Christ is alive. The great loss in this battle is Death itself. God, our creator, conquered the grave! And we are promised to share in the resurrection through spiritual incorruptible bodies.
God took what seemed to be an utter defeat and turned it into the greatest victory of all time.
The ark of the covenant is in enemy hands. The priesthood is shamed and Eli cut off. Israel is in exile in Babylon. And Jesus was crucified, died and was buried. On the third day He rose from the dead.
Great loss and Great and Victorious Hope!
Lord, help us to trust You in times of loss and difficulty. Underneath it all You are about to bring a great deliverance. Fill us with great hope in Your work of salvation. In Christ, Amen.
I began 1st Samuel on my 51st day of reading. I complete 1 Corinthians. And Isaiah has some of the best of his writings in chapters 49-54.
1 Samuel begins with the story of Samuel's birth. His mother, Hannah, was barren. She cried out to the Lord at the tent of meeting located at Shiloh. The priest Eli was watching her pray with tears and great anxiety for a child. He thought she was drunk and scolded her. When she explained her anguished prayers Eli blessed her and asked God to grant her fulfillment.
Samuel came and Hannah weaned him and gave him to Eli because she promised to dedicate him to the Lord. So Samuel grew up with the priests and Levites at the tabernacle in Shiloh. He grew in spirit and became a verified prophet of God.
Sadly Eli and his sons were crooked. Eli was obese and his sons greedy fornicators who slept with the young ladies who serve at the entrance to the tent of meeting. They also took the best portions of sacrificial meats for themselves, even before God got His portion burned to Him. They stole from God and the people. They had no respect for the covenant. They used their position for personal gain.
God struck them all down through the Philistines. Eli died when he heard his sons were killed and the ark of the covenant had been captured. The Philistines had beaten the Israelites in battle, so they went to Shiloh and took the ark into battle believing the ark would give them victory.
But God cannot be manipulated. God is not in the box, so to speak. Just because there's a cross hanging from your rear view mirror doesn't mean you will be protected from auto accidents. So much unfaithfulness has been covered in Judges and in parts of Joshua. Now with a corrupt priesthood, God decides to cut off Eli even though He had made the promise that the sons of Aaron would always serve as His priests.
'Although I said
your family and your ancestral house
would walk before Me forever,
the LORD now says, "No longer!"
I will honor those who honor Me,
but those who despise Me will be disgraced. (1 Sam. 2:30)
What a great loss for Israel and for Eli. His line was forever extinguished. Next the ark of the covenant goes into enemy hands. That is shocking news! This is the same ark that carries the original ten commandments, Aaron's budded and blooming staff, and a jar of manna, the bread from heaven. This is the same ark that God lead the Israelites into many battles. It was symbol of the presence of God who fought for them. Had God lost His touch?
No, God has had enough of the corruption of His people. But God doesn't give up. He is beginning a new deliverance. Samuel is but a boy, but he will become a faith filled prophet who will be the last of the judges. He will anointed kings for Israel to lead the chosen nation in righteousness and prosperity. Underneath the tragedy of Eli and Israel's fall in battle, lies a great hope...David is coming, the shepherd of Israel.
God has not lost His power or touch. As the ark of the covenant sits in the pagan temple to Dagon (a fish god), the large statue of Dagon falls prostrate two nights in a row before the ark. God can take care of Himself. He plagues the Philistines with what English translators struggle to know with certainly exactly what God does. The Holman Christina Standard Bible says "tumors" were given the men of the Philistine city. Others say boils.
One commentator suggests the men are stricken with impotency or erectile dysfunction. Dagon, like many other pagan gods, was a God who blessed his servants with fertility. Male prowess is often tied to the phallus. It is a symbol of strength and virility. If this is correct it means the men no longer feel like men. They are shamed. This gets their attention really quick. After moving the ark to another city with similar disaster, they make plans to give the ark back to Israel.
God hides His face (withholds His assistance) for only a moment.
In a surge of anger
I hid My face from you for a moment,
but I will have compassion on you
with everlasting love,"
says the LORD your Redeemer (Isa. 54:8)
Like a loving mother God cannot stay mad at Her child too long.
"Can a woman forget her nursing child,
or lack compassion for the child of her womb?
Even if these forget,
yet I will not forget you.
Look, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands. (Isa 49:15-16a)
Isaiah recounts how God called Israel and how His son, His servant Israel, is to be a great blessing to all nations.
My righteous servant will justify many,
and He will carry their iniquities. (Isa. 53:11b)
Of course I read Jesus in the description of the suffering servant. Messianic Jews who believe Jesus is Messiah point out that Jesus' life, death and resurrection are a fulfillment of Israel's calling. In Jesus God completes His holy project with Israel. Many nations are blessed and belong to the name of the God of the Hebrews, Yahweh is your savior = Yeshua = Jesus (Isa. 9:26b).
Paul writes about resurrection correcting those in the Corinthian church who say there is no resurrection. So central to Christianity is belief that Jesus is raised from the dead and alive forever that Paul says if Jesus is not raised our faith is worthless and we are still dead in sin (1 Cor. 15: 12). If we have hope in Christ only in this life, Christians are the most pitiful (1 Cor. 15:19).
But Christ is alive. The great loss in this battle is Death itself. God, our creator, conquered the grave! And we are promised to share in the resurrection through spiritual incorruptible bodies.
God took what seemed to be an utter defeat and turned it into the greatest victory of all time.
The ark of the covenant is in enemy hands. The priesthood is shamed and Eli cut off. Israel is in exile in Babylon. And Jesus was crucified, died and was buried. On the third day He rose from the dead.
Great loss and Great and Victorious Hope!
Lord, help us to trust You in times of loss and difficulty. Underneath it all You are about to bring a great deliverance. Fill us with great hope in Your work of salvation. In Christ, Amen.
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