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.

2 Chronicles 6:12-8:10

Solomon continues his closing prayer by asking God to watch over the Temple and hear prayers said towards it (I believe that this is the origin of the idea of facing towards a holy place when praying). He acknowledges that the Temple cannot possibly contain God, since not even the heavens can contain Him. Solomon then asked God that when people sin and suffer for their sins, if they turn to God, confess their sins and repent of them, he asked that God forgive them and return them to His favor. Solomon asked that God extend His mercy not only to the people of Israel, but to anyone from any land who turned to God and sought to serve Him.
God responded to Solomon’s prayer and gave Solomon a message that is as important for the Church today as it was for the people of Israel. “Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.”

***
Things are bad in the world today and getting worse. The answer is not to point to those who have never accepted Christ and blame them for their sin. The answer is for those of us who are called by Christ’s name, those of us who are Christians, to humble ourselves, admit our sins, turn from them, pray, and seek God’s face. We need to seek to do God’s will, not our own. The Christian message is not one for me to tell you what you should be doing differently. The Christian message is for me to look at my life and see what I should be doing differently. This does not mean that we do not tell people the consequences of sin and encourage them to stop sinning. It just means that law is not the answer. Law does not stop people from sinning. Only God’s grace can do that. We will not stop sinning because of our own goodness, or because of the strength of our will. All we can do by the strength of our will is substitute one sin for another. It is only by God’s grace that I will stop committing sin.

Romans 7:14-8:8

I did not read this part of today’s reading before I wrote what I wrote about the Old Testament passage, but Paul touches on exactly the point I made at the end of that. We want to do what is right, but we don’t. We don’t want to do what is wrong, but we do. It is human nature to want to do what is right, what God commands. But it is also human nature to be enslaved to sin. But God has given us a way out. We can die to the law through Christ and allow the Holy Spirit to control us, rather than sin. If we continue to think about sinful things, we will be controlled by sin. On the other hand, if we are controlled by the Holy Spirit we will think about spiritual things.

***
There are two ways to deal with our nature. The most common is to redefine what is right and what is wrong. In order to stop feeling bad about themselves for doing things that they know are wrong, people tell themselves that those things are not wrong. They tell themselves that it is the people who say that it is wrong who are doing wrong. The other is to admit that we are powerless to do what is right and turn control of our lives over to God. The latter is much harder. It is hard to not attempt to snatch control of our lives back, always forgetting that when we do that all we are doing is choosing the master who makes us do that which we do not wish to do.

Psalm 18:1-15

The beginning of this psalm is very familiar to us.

I love you, Lord;
you are my strength.
The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my savior;
my God is my rock, in whom I find protection.
He is my shield, the power that saves me,
and my place of safety.
I called on the Lord, who is worthy of praise,
and he saved me from my enemies.
All of this is wonderful and lovely, and true. I think of God in these ways all the time. The psalmist goes on to explain why he said those things. He tells us that he was on the verge of being destroyed and of death. Then he tells us: But in my distress I cried out to the Lord;
yes, I prayed to my God for help.
He heard me from his sanctuary;
my cry to him reached his ears.
The psalm goes on to describe how God reacted when He heard the psalmist’s cry for help. This is the God who will save us as well if we turn to Him. Then the earth quaked and trembled.
The foundations of the mountains shook;
they quaked because of his anger.
This is the force that God will expend for us when we call on His name, a force that causes the earth itself to tremble in fear. I am reading this psalm and writing this commentary on it and I almost missed how it fits into the theme today’s other passages have for me. What led to God coming forth with the force that the psalmist tells us caused the earth to tremble? Why, the psalmist told us that to, he humbled himself and prayed. If we humble ourselves and pray, we will see God burst forth onto this earth with a force that will cause the very mountains to shake.

Proverbs 19:24-25

If you strike a mocker, someone naive and/or simple-minded may learn to be shrewd. But all it takes for those who are wise to learn is a simple correction of their mistakes.

Daily Bible Study

July 21, 2013 Bible Study

July 20, 2013 AttilaDimedici

Yesterday(just as a reminder, for me, yesterday was June 19), I titled my Bible Study, “How Can I Serve The Lord Right Now?” Then today when I was on Facebook looking at what my friends had posted I came across something that answered the question for any time I am out in public. The post was about someone who, when they were out driving around, would smile and wave to everyone they encountered. When asked why they did it, they responded that they had seen a story about people who had tried and failed to commit suicide. In that story they read that many of those people would not have tried to kill themselves if someone, anyone, had acknowledged them with a smile and a wave. I don’t know if that is true, but I do know that I feel better when people pleasantly acknowledge encountering me. I have decided that at least part of the answer to my question is that I can pleasantly acknowledge everyone I see.

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.

2 Chronicles 4-6:11

Solomon had bronze and gold furnishings made for the Temple. When the Temple and all of the furnishings were completed, Solomon summoned all of the leaders of the people of Israel to Jerusalem for a holy festival to move the Ark of the Covenant from where David had placed it into the Temple. When all of the leaders arrived, Levites picked up the Ark and brought it to the Temple. In addition other priests and Levites brought the tent it had been in and all of the sacred articles that were in the tent into the Temple. During the process of moving the Ark Solomon and the people of Israel sacrificed so many animals, sheep, goats, and cattle, that no one kept track of the number.
When the sacrifices were finished, the priests carried the Ark into the Holy Place in the Temple. After the priests left the Holy Place the priestly and Levite musicians performed together to praise God. While they were singing and playing a thick cloud filled the Temple. The cloud was so think that the priests could not continue the service. Solomon then concluded the service by praying a prayer thanking and praising God for choosing David, his father, to be king over Israel, and himself to build God’s Temple in Jerusalem.

Romans 7:1-13

I always find it hard to explain what Paul is saying in today’s passage. I think that partly that is because Paul had a hard time expressing the idea he was trying to convey. The first point Paul makes is that cancels all of our commitments under the law. He then goes on to show how that means we are freed from our bondage to sin. We were bound to service to sin by the law. However, when we died with Christ at our baptism we were freed from that bondage. We are no longer captive to the law, before our death with Christ in baptism we were obligated either to keep every jot and tittle of the law or we were bound to serve sin in our every action. Christ’s death freed us from those two choices and allowed us to serve God according to the spirit of His intentions.
Another point which Paul makes is sin takes advantage of our knowledge of good and evil to entice us to do evil. The law was introduced in order to show us the boundaries of good behavior, but in our sinfulness we see those boundaries as lines to cross to demonstrate our independence. I’m still not getting it right. Every time I read this passage I think, “Wow, that is an awkward way to say that.” Then I try to reword it another way and it always comes out either being even more convoluted, or saying something completely different from what Paul was saying. Or both.

Psalm 17:1-15

The psalmist prays to God for deliverance from his foes and his troubles. Why does he do this? Because he knows that God will answer. That God will bend down and listen, just as a loving mother will bend down to hear what her child is saying. The psalmist goes on to warn us that those who look for their reward in this world will face destruction at the hand of God. But those who are righteous will be vindicated because they seek to see God face to face as their reward. This psalm sums up where those who follow “prosperity gospel” go wrong. “Prosperity gospel” teaches that we will receive a reward in this world. While we may receive good things in this world, our reward is to see God face to face.

A rose by any other name... — A rose by any other name…

Proverbs 19:22-23

What we truly desire is to be loyally loved. We will be happier being poor with someone who honestly loves us than rich with someone we cannot trust. If we truly fear the Lord, and act accordingly, we will have no reason to fear anything else and trouble will pass us by.

Daily Bible Study

July 20, 2013 Bible Study — How Can I Serve the Lord Right Now?

July 19, 2013 AttilaDimedici

Reading Phillies-conference on the mound

2 Chronicles 1-3:17

     When Solomon took the throne he called together all of the leaders of Israel to worship at the Tabernacle in Gibeon. David had moved the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem, but the Tabernacle that was built in the wilderness was still at Gibeon. In addition, the bronze altar that had been built during the Israel’s time in the wilderness was there as well. Solomon offered 1,000 burnt offerings on the altar before the Tabernacle in Gibeon.
     That night God appeared to Solomon and asked him what he would like God to give him. Solomon responded by asking God to give him the wisdom and knowledge to be a good ruler of God’s people, Israel. God was pleased that Solomon had not requested wealth, long life, death to his enemies, or honor. Because of this God promised Solomon that he would grant his request for the wisdom and knowledge to be a good ruler, and he would give him wealth, honor and a long life.
     The passage goes on to recount Solomon’s correspondence with Hiram, king of Tyre, in preparation for building the Temple. It concludes with a describe the building of the Temple itself.

***
This passage teaches us the same lesson as Jesus taught in Matthew 6:33. If we make our priority to seek after God’s will in our life, God will grant us everything else that we need. If we make it our heart’s desire to do God’s will and to serve Him to the best of our ability, God will give us our heart’s desire and more. Once more I ask God to give me the desire to serve Him first and foremost of all of my desires. I wish to get to the point where my question of anything I want is, “How can I use this to serve the Lord?”

Romans 6:1-23

There is a lot of stuff in today’s passage, but for me, I want to highlight the following verses (Romans 6:12-14)

Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires. Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God. Sin is no longer your master,…

There is not much I can say to make the meaning of this any clearer or explain how it applies to my life. I do think this fits very well with what the Old Testament passage said to me. If we give ourselves completely to God and ask, “How can I use this to serve the Lord?” of everything we do, it will go a long way to helping us fulfill the other part of what Paul tells us: “do not give in to sinful desires.” I will strive to ask in every moment, “How can I serve the Lord, right now?”

Reading Phillies--another mascot — Reading Phillies–another mascot

Psalm 16:1-11

This psalm has an important point to make. Every good thing we have comes from the Lord. I will follow the example of the psalmist and make the godly people in the land my heroes. They will be the ones that I will emulate and that I will encourage others to emulate. I will resist the temptation to follow other gods, because that is the route to destruction.
The Lord will guide me and instruct me. He is right beside me, ready to answer whenever I ask, “How can I serve the Lord right now?” I just need to listen (something I am not very good at).

Proverbs 19:20-21

Today’s proverb recommends that we get all of the advice that we can and take whatever instruction we are given, this is the route to always being able to determine the wise course of action. It does not say to follow all of the advice we are given, merely to get all of the advice that we can. The second proverb tells us that we can make all of the plans that we wish, but only those that serve God’s purpose will come to fruition. Which brings us back to my question for the day, “How can I serve the Lord right now?”

Daily Bible Study

July 19, 2013 Bible Study — If You Seek Him, You Will Find Him

July 18, 2013 AttilaDimedici

Don't feed the ostriches! — Don’t feed the ostriches!

1 Chronicles 28-29:30

David summoned all of the leaders of Israel to give his final instructions to them and to Solomon. He told Solomon that God had chosen his family out of all of Judah to be kings over Israel, chosen David out of all of his father’s sons, and now chosen Solomon out of all of David’s sons. David gave Solomon an important piece of wisdom. He told him that if he seeks God, he will find Him. David then went on to give Solomon detailed instructions for building the Temple. David then turned to the leaders of Israel and told them what treasure he was giving from his personal wealth for the building of the Temple and asked them to do something similar. The leaders responded by giving a large amount of wealth. David gave over $3 billion worth of gold at today’s prices and the leaders of Israel all together gave over $5 billion worth. In addition, they, David and the leaders, gave silver and other metals for the construction.
David then prayed a prayer of praise where he acknowledged that everything which he had had come from God. He refused to accept any credit for the wealth which he had donated to the Temple construction, since that wealth came from God in the first place. David tells us that we have nothing to give to God, because we have nothing that did not come from God.

***
There are a couple of things in this passage I want to highlight as timeless messages. The first is what David tells Solomon, “If you seek Him, you will find Him.” That is as true today as it was in the time of Solomon. Anyone who truly, with all of their heart, seeks the Lord will find Him. Of course the rest of what David said to Solomon there is true as well, “But if you forsake Him, He will reject you forever.” I will continue to seek the Lord.
There is a second message here that David gives in his prayer. Everything that we have comes from God. We have nothing that we can call our own to give to God. We are on this earth for a mere moment and all the joys and pleasures we experience are gifts from God. We have no basis to feel put upon when God asks us to give to His causes from the bounty He has provided us.

Romans 5:6-21

Paul tells us that very few people would be willing to die for someone who was a “good person”, a few more might be willing to die for someone who was universally acknowledged as good. But Christ died for us when we were sinners, enemies of God. If we were reconciled to God through Christ’s death while we were still in opposition to God, how much more will His life bring us salvation? Jesus has made us friends with God, allowing us to rejoice in our new relationship with Him.
Paul goes on to draw the comparison between Jesus and Adam. It was through Adam that sin and death entered the world. Adam’s one sin led to the sins of many. Christ’s obedience to God led to many being made righteous. Through Adam’s sin, sin came to rule over the earth, bringing death to everyone. Through Jesus’ obedience onto death, God’s grace wrested the rulership over the earth from sin resulting in eternal life through Jesus.

Psalm 15:1-5

Today’s psalm gives us a list of how we should attempt our lives.

speak the truth
refuse to gossip
refuse to harm our neighbors
refuse to speak evil of our friends
despise flagrant sinners
honor those who faithfully follow the Lord
keep our promises even when it hurts
lend without interest
do not accept bribes to lie about the innocent

If we do these things we will stand firm no matter what troubles come our way.

Proverbs 19:18-19

I read the first of these proverbs and could not help but think of reports I have read concerning the youth in our country. So many parents want to be their children’s friends and don’t want to anger their children. So rather than disciplining their children they are becoming a willing party to their death. I have watched several families raise their children. The children of the strictest disciplinarians went through life knowing they were loved. The children of the most permissive spent their lives looking for love.
The second proverb has a similar message. If you save someone who allowed anger to overcome their better judgment from the consequences of their actions, they will not learn their lesson and will repeat the mistake.

Daily Bible Study

July 18, 2013 Bible Study — Rooting For God’s Team

July 17, 2013 AttilaDimedici

1 Chronicles 26:12-27:34

Today’s passage discusses how the Levites were assigned as gatekeepers and to oversee the various Temple treasuries. It also describes how they were assigned roles as kingdom officials over various parts of David’s kingdom. The passage then goes on to describe how David organized his army and the various individuals he put in charge of managing the kingdom.

Romans 4:13-5:5

Paul tells us that it was not by the law that Abraham received the promise that he would be heir to the world. Rather it was by faith. If God’s promise is only for those who obey the law, it is pointless. Paul points out two reasons the promise would be pointless. The first is that if we received the promise because of obeying the law, there would be no need for the promise because we would be earning the reward. Second, no one can successfully keep the law. All the law does is show us where we fall short of God’s standard. God’s promise is given on the basis of faith and it is a promise of giving us a free gift.
Abraham continued to have faith that God would keep His promise long after a logical analysis would have said there was no hope of such a thing happening. Even when Abraham was 100 years old and Sarah beyond child-bearing years, Abraham believed God when God said that through Sarah he would become father to many nations. Abraham continued to believe that God had the power to do what He said that He would do. This faith was credited to Abraham as righteousness. This was recorded so that we would know that it was by faith that righteousness is received.

***
Paul concludes this section by advising us to boast about our hope in the glory of God. This is not a boast about something we have done, rather it is a boast about something God has done. It is similar to boasting about a sports team we root for, not boasting to the fans of other teams, but to those who we believe are, or should be, fans of our team. In the same way we should boast to those around us about what God has done, in order to convince them that they should be rooting for God’s team. To continue the sports metaphor, there are times when we look at a successful team that we say that a particular player “put the team on his back and carried them to victory.” One of the things that is meant by that statement is that the star player played so well and so hard that it did not matter that the other players on the team were not really good enough to deserve being in the championship game, let alone win it. This is sort of what it’s like to be on God’s team. We do not have what it takes to win righteousness, but, unlike in the sports metaphor, God does. God is able to carry us over the line to victory and give us righteousness despite our utter inability to even play the game, let alone being able to win.
***
I could stop right there, because that is the main message for me today. However, Paul says something else that I think we need to pay attention to in today’s passage. Paul says that we should not just endure suffering, but glory in it. We should embrace suffering. Why should we embrace suffering? Because suffering teaches us both how to persevere and to actually do so. But perseverance is not the product we are after. Perseverance develops character. When we persevere, we learn to behave in ways that make our character better. But even yet we are not at the goal. The goal is not to have good character (although that is a good thing). No, the goal is to have hope. As we develop character, we learn to have hope. And not just any hope, but hope in God. Our hope in God will not be disappointed. We know this is the case because we know that God loves us. We know that God loves us because God fills us with His Holy Spirit, who fills our hearts with God’s love (both for us and for others).

Psalm 14:1-7

This psalm starts off with a beginning statement that is one of my favorites.

Only fools say in their hearts,
“There is no God.”
The NIV translation contains a note which says that the Hebrew word translated as “fool’ denotes someone who is morally deficient. People choose to deny that there is a God because they wish to do things for which they know God would hold them accountable. The thing that makes them fools is that these actions cause as much harm to those who do them as they do to others. The psalmist goes on to ask if the wicked will ever learn? People suffer the consequences of doing evil and fail to recognize that it was their own actions which caused their troubles. Rather than change their ways, they continue to do things which will cause them pain. Those who continue to do evil will find themselves gripped by terror, but God will be with the righteous (and we learned in the passage from Romans, that those are those who have faith in Jesus).
The psalmist tells us: All have turned away, all have become corrupt;
there is no one who does good,
not even one.
This reinforces the message which I have seen in the passages from Romans over the last few days. We do not earn our salvation by doing good, because none of us is capable of doing good.

Proverbs 19:17

Something to always remember:

If you help the poor, you are lending to the Lord—
and he will repay you!
God always pays back His loans in full!

Daily Bible Study

July 17, 2013 Bible Study — I Have Nothing To Boast About

July 16, 2013 AttilaDimedici

1 Chronicles 24-26:11

Today’s passage is a list of the groups which David divided the priests and Levites into in order to assign them their duties. The various groups were assigned their duties by the casting of lots so that no preference was shown for one group over another.

Romans 4:1-12

Paul continues on his theme about salvation through faith by pointing to the example of Abraham, who was viewed by the Jews as their forefather. Paul points out that the Scripture tells us that Abraham was counted as righteous because of his faith, before Abraham was circumcised. Circumcision, rather than being a source of Abraham’s righteousness, was a sign of Abraham’s righteousness, a product of that righteousness. Paul concludes that Abraham was the spiritual father not of those who were circumcised, but of those to whom righteousness is credited because they believe.

***
Once more Paul very subtly tells us that we act because of the righteousness we have received, not in order to receive that righteousness. We receive righteousness through our faith in Jesus Christ. Once we have received that righteousness, we begin to act according to God’s will as a result of receiving that righteousness. Paul points out that not even Abraham was in a position to boast about what he had done in service to God. If Abraham was not in a position to boast about what he had done in service to God, then no one is.

Psalm 13:1-6

The psalmist asks God how long God will allow him to suffer, how long God will allow his enemy to have the upper hand? Yet, even though it is clear that the psalmist is feeling like God has abandoned him, the psalmist makes known that he has faith that God will rescue him. The psalmist trusts the Lord and acknowledges that the Lord has already done good for him. When times seem difficult and God seems far away, I will still trust in Him, because He has rescued me in the past and I know that He will rescue me again. God does not rescue me because I am good. He rescues me because He is good.

Proverbs 19:15-16

Today’s proverbs sum up two basic truths. If you are too lazy to work when there is work to be done, you will experience hunger. If you keep God’s commandments, you will have a happy healthy life. If you break them you will experience suffering and death.

Daily Bible Study

July 16, 2013 Bible Study — All Have Sinned

July 15, 2013 AttilaDimedici

1 Chronicles 22-23:32

David decided that the place where the threshing floor of Araunah had been would be the place that the Temple of God would be built. He then gathered materials to be used in the construction of the Temple. Because he thought that Solomon would be young and inexperienced when he became king and David wanted the Temple to be grand and magnificent, David began making plans for the Temple. He instructed Solomon on building the Temple. David said to Solomon that God has told him, David, not to build the Temple because he had shed the blood of too many people. Rather David was to leave the building of the Temple to Solomon, who would reign in peace. David then gave orders to all of the leaders of Israel to assist Solomon in building the Temple.
David took a census of the Levites and assigned them to one of three divisions based on the clans descended from the three sons of Levi. He assigned the majority of the Levites to the task of supervising the work at the Temple. A second smaller division was to serve as officials and judges. The third division was divided between those who were to be gatekeepers and those who were to be musicians praising the Lord. David did this shortly before he arranged for Solomon to be crowned to take the throne in his place.

Romans 3:9-31

Having stated that there are benefits to being a Jew and to being circumcised, Paul asks if this means that Jews are better than other people. He answers his own question by saying resoundingly no. Paul tells us that all, both Jew and Gentile, are equally under the power of sin. He quotes several psalms in order to support this claim, pointing out that the psalmist tells us that:

No one is righteous—
not even one.
…
All have turned away;
Paul continues by telling us that the purpose of the law is to make us aware of our sin, no one can be made righteous by the works of the law because no one can keep it in its entirety.
From there, Paul explains that God has now revealed the way to be made right with Him, without keeping every last requirement of the Law. We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. The Law and the prophets told us that this was coming. It applies to all who are willing to believe. Everyone has sinned and we all fall short of God’s standard. God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin and thus freed us from the power of sin. God will declare any sinner righteous who is willing to believe in and rely on Jesus for their righteousness. This means that our righteousness gives us no basis to boast, or to claim to be superior to someone else, because it is not based on anything we have done. It is something we receive solely on the basis of our faith in Jesus. However, this does not mean that we ignore God’s law. It is only as an expression of our faith that we are truly able to fulfill the law.
***
There are two lessons that Paul is attempting to teach in this passage. The first is that we do not have any basis for considering ourselves better than someone else. There is no way that we have lived i\up to God’s standard well enough to be able to say to someone else, “Well, at least I didn’t do that!” Every one of us has something in our life that other people, no matter how steeped in evil they may seem, can point to and say the very same thing about us. no matter how hard we have tried, we have failed to meet the standard which God has set for us. Nevertheless, God has given each one of us the option of accepting His free gift of His righteousness. Which brings us to the second lesson Paul is teaching in this passage. Once we have accepted God’s gift of righteousness, we will be inspired to do God’s will by living a life faithful to God’s commands.

Psalm 12:1-8

This psalm is a psalm of hope in a day when its opening line once more seems to be coming true.

Help, O Lord, for the godly are fast disappearing!
The faithful have vanished from the earth!
The psalmist tells us that the Lord has seen the violence done to the helpless and He will rise up and rescue them. The wicked may strut around displaying pride in their wickedness and evil may be praised throughout the land, but God will keep the needy safe and protect them from the wicked.

Proverbs 19:13-14

Fathers can give their sons an inheritance of houses and wealth,
but only the Lord can give an understanding wife.

I will not attempt to add anything to this, except to say that I have been blessed by God.

Daily Bible Study

July 15, 2013 Bible Study — The Foundations of Law and Order Have Collapsed

July 14, 2013 AttilaDimedici

1 Chronicles 19-21:30

David went to war against the Ammonites after they insulted the ambassadors he had sent to offer his condolences about the death of the new king;s father. Instead of following the normal practice of kings and leading the army to war himself, David sent the army out under the command of Joab. David only came out at the finish to claim the victory (here, and elsewhere in the Bible, David is chided for not leading the armies in the first place, but not for claiming the victory). After the defeat of the Ammonites, war broke out with the Philistines again. In several battles, warriors under David’s command killed Philistine warriors who were the descendants of giants and were larger than normal people.
Later, David decided to take a census of the people of Israel, against the advice of Joab. Joab told David that such a census was a sin, but David ordered it any way. God was displeased that David ordered the census and punished Israel for this sin. A plague spread over the land, stopping just before it reached Jerusalem. The passage tells us that David saw the angel of the Lord standing at the threshing floor of Araunah, with its sword extended over Jerusalem. Araunah also saw the angel. David approached Araunah to request that Araunah sell him the threshing floor in order for David to build an altar there. Araunah offered to give David the land, but David insisted on buying it. David then built an altar there to worship the Lord.
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***
What was the sin that David committed by taking the census? The answer is that David wanted to know how big of an army he could raise. He did not want to have to rely on God when he went into battle. He wanted to know that he could win on the strength of the army he had. On another point, when I read about the plague that followed the census it strikes me that it is quite possible that the process of a few people traveling around the entire land in order to count the people, may have provided the vector for the spread of disease in a manner that ordinary interactions between people in different parts of the country would not have.

Romans 2:25-3:8

The ritual of circumcision only has spiritual value if you keep the entire Law. If you do not fully obey every aspect of God’s law, then being circumcised makes you no better than anyone else. On the other hand, those who are uncircumcised, but otherwise keep God’s law, will be declared by God to be His people. It is not circumcision, or other outward markers, which makes someone one of the people of God. Rather, it is being changed inwardly by the Spirit into someone who seeks praise from God, instead of from people.
In the next paragraph Paul does what to me seems like a slight subject jump (I see the connection, but I it looks to me like his train of thought goes off in a different direction than the one he had been following). Paul starts by asking what value there is in being a Jew or in the ritual of circumcision. This is a rhetorical question which he starts to answer. He says that there is great value in both. First of all, Jews have been entrusted with God’s revelation of His will to mankind. Then he says that this is not diminished by the fact that some Jews were unfaithful. Their unfaithfulness in no way lessons God’s faithfulness. Even if every human is a liar, this does not mean that God is a liar. Paul goes on from there to address the idea that by sinning people make God look better and thus they should sin. Paul rejects this idea in its entirety. Paul is reacting to some who claim that he teaches that the more we sin, the better it is.

***
In a way, Paul is starting in the middle of a particular discussion of theological ideas. Paul teaches elsewhere that no matter what we do, we end up serving God’s purposes. We cannot avoid it. Even when we do evil acts for evil reasons, the results of our actions will accomplish God’s goals. There are those who distort this teaching to attempt to justify their evil behavior, saying that since their actions have resulted in God’s will, doesn’t this mean that God is wrong to punish them for the evil they have done. Paul answers that even though God will use our evil acts to accomplish good goals, it does not mean that He wants us to do those evil acts, or that He will not punish us for the evil and harm we cause, even though He will use our rebellious action to bring about even greater good.
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Psalm 11:1-7

Today’s psalm seems oh so appropriate now. I will affirm what the psalmist says as his opening line. I will trust in the Lord for protection. I will not flee, even though it seems as if what he says shortly after is also true.

The foundations of law and order have collapsed.
What can the righteous do?
I will not flee because, despite appearances, the Lord still rules from heaven. This means that, while humans may have done everything in their power to destroy the foundations of law and order, those foundations are still secure. The foundations of law and order are in the Lord and beyond the ability of humans to effect. He will bring judgment and punishment on the wicked, while the virtuous will see His face.

Proverbs 19:10-12

Being slow to anger is a sign of wisdom and the fastest way to earn respect is to forgive those who have done you wrong.

Daily Bible Study

July 14, 2013 Bible Study — I Am Just As Bad

July 13, 2013 AttilaDimedici

1 Chronicles 16:37-18:17

Once David had brought the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem he commissioned to perform worship services and conduct sacrifices to God before it on a daily basis. He then settled into his palace and began making plans to build a temple for God. He summoned the prophet Nathan and spoke of his plans. Nathan initially told David to go ahead with his plans. However, God spoke with Nathan and instructed him to tell David that he was not to build a temple for God, that one of his sons would do so.
Nathan returned to David and told him the vision he had received from God. Through Nathan, God told David that He had taken David from being a shepherd to being the leader of His people. God had destroyed all of David’s enemies and would make David’s name as famous as that of anyone who had ever lived. Further God told David that He would raise up one of David’s descendants to succeed him. This descendant would build God’s house and God would establish his throne forever. God said that he would set this descendant over His house and His kingdom forever.

***
This is an example of a prophecy that I believe has a double meaning. In the context of the passage it is clear that those who heard it at the time this book was written would have seen it as applying to Solomon. And God was certainly referring to Solomon in this passage, but God was telling His people more than that. He was telling them that He would raise up a Messiah who would reign forever. In addition to being about Solomon, this prophecy was about Jesus. In that context, Jesus has built God’s house, which is the Church and now reigns over both it and God’s kingdom.
***
In response to God’s message, David praised God in humility. David admits that his success is entirely due to God, not of his own making. God has done great things and there is no one like our God. No other god worshiped by anyone is like to the God of the universe. God has promised good things to His servants and He will keep His promises.

Romans 2:1-24

Having given a list of the offenses committed by those who have refused to acknowledge God in yesterday’s passage, Paul today addresses those who do acknowledge the Creator of the Universe as God. He tells us that we are in no position to condemn others for their wickedness, because we are just as bad. On top of that, we have no excuse because we are fully aware of God and what He expects of us. Paul continues by telling us that God is kind, tolerant and patient. God is kind to us in order to turn us from our sin. However, God’s patience will not last forever and if we continue sinning we will face His wrath. It is not enough to know God’s laws and to listen to them, we must obey them. It is not enough to know the right thing to do, we must actually do it. If we are teaching others to keep God’s law, why aren’t we keeping it ourselves?

***
The main thrust of today’s passage is that it is more important that we keep God’s laws than that we tell others what they are. There is a fine balance between telling others that their behaviors are causing them harm and avoiding being judgmental. The most important thing to realize is that we are not better than others. Our first emphasis when studying God’s word should be on applying it to our own lives. When we speak to those who have no desire to do God’s will, we should not focus on what they are doing wrong, rather we should focus on what God is offering them and what they need to do to become right with God. The most important lesson to be taken out of today’s passage is that we are not better than anyone else, no matter how bad of a sinner they are. Anything about our lives that might make us seem better is to God’s credit, not our own.

Psalm 10:16-18

Today has the conclusion of yesterday’s psalm. God will hear the cries of the helpless. He knows their hopes and will bring them comfort. God will bring justice to the fatherless and the oppressed. If they rely on God, mere humans will lose the ability to frighten them. I know that God is control of everything that happens, why should I be afraid of what people can do to me? They have no ability to act against God’s will and He has promised good things to His servants, of which I strive to be one.

Proverbs 19:8-9

If you love yourself you will seek to acquire more wisdom and understanding. I would rather learn that I am wrong than continue to be wrong. Of course, I would rather be right, but the only way to be right is to seek to learn where I am wrong and change my belief to that which is right. I did not originally see the connection between these two proverbs, but I realized that there is one. Some people are so determined to be “right” in every debate that they will use arguments which they know to be false if they think it will “win” the debate for them. Such people will pay the price for doing so. I strive to never follow that approach.

Daily Bible Study

July 13, 2013 Bible Study — God Has Made It Plain

July 12, 2013 AttilaDimedici

1 Chronicles 15-16:36

David realized why things had gone wrong when he first tried to bring the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem. He summoned the Levites to Jerusalem and told them to purify themselves. He then instructed that the Ark would be carried by Levites (rather than transported on a cart). He prepared a place for the Ark in Jerusalem and then summoned all of Israel for a celebration of bringing the Ark to Jerusalem. David organized singers and musicians. Once the preparations were complete, they all went to the house of Obed-edom and brought the Ark to Jerusalem with much singing and dancing. David himself led the parade dancing and jumping for joy. He made such a spectacle of himself that his wife, Saul’s daughter, Michal, held him in contempt.

***
We should take a lesson from David here. We should worship the Lord with all of our heart, soul and mind, having no concern about what others think of us while we are doing so. When we worship the Lord, we should become completely immersed in the experience.
***
David wrote a song of thanksgiving that he gave to the Levites to sing for this celebration. In it he reminds us to give thanks to the Lord. Let us tell all of the earth what He has done. Every day I will proclaim the good news that God saves and tell people about the wonderful things He does.
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good!
His faithful love endures forever.

Romans 1:18-32

     Paul starts by telling us that God’s wrath is revealed from heaven against wickedness. This wrath is not against those who are wicked through ignorance because the nature of God is evident by looking at the world around us. There is no excuse for not knowing God. There are several authors who have gone into detail on what all we can know about God by looking at the world around us. C.S. Lewis is one such author.
     Paul tells us that people intentionally chose to ignore what they could know about God from nature and refused to worship Him. To support their refusal to worship God they proclaimed foolish ideas as the height of wisdom, ignoring what could be known from observing the world around them. People refused to worship the true, eternal God and instead began worshiping created objects.
     The result of willfully refusing to acknowledge God was that they became inflamed with sexual impurity, degrading themselves with one another. Rather than accept the truth about God, they embraced lies. And rather than worship God, who deserved it, they began to elevate things that were designed to serve man as things to be worshiped. The product of this refusal to worship God was women embracing unnatural sexual acts as opposed to those which are natural and men choosing to have sex with other men. Paul tells us that this sinful behavior results in health problems.
     The more people reject the knowledge of God and His commands, the more they accept evil behavior. As people reject God’s clear instruction about how to live they become more accepting, both in themselves and in others, of evil behavior. They know that their behaviors are deserving of death yet they practice them anyway. Beyond that they encourage others to practice these self-destructive behaviors.

***
I see what Paul is talking about in the world around me every day. This passage speaks directly to our society. I read where Paul says that those who have rejected God are “gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy.”(NIV) It describes so closely many of those who have managed to set themselves up as opinion leaders in our society. This sort of behavior is the inevitable result of rejecting God. We can move closer to God by doing our best to stop doing these behaviors. On the other hand, we can successfully overcome these behaviors by actively seeking to do the good things that God commands.

Psalm 10:1-15

This psalm is a great follow up to the passage I just read from Romans. The psalmist tells us that it seems as if the wicked will never be held accountable for their wickedness. They believe that God does not see their sins and that they will not be held accountable. But the psalmist tells us that God does see the trouble and grief which they cause and will call them to account. God defends the orphans and the helpless are not mistaken to put their trust in God.

Proverbs 19:6-7

Today I have nothing to say regarding these proverbs. Except that I hope I do not behave this way towards others.

Fact and Fantasy

Monthly Archives: July 2013

July 22, 2013 Bible Study — Will We Humble Ourselves and Pray?

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July 21, 2013 Bible Study

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July 20, 2013 Bible Study — How Can I Serve the Lord Right Now?

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July 19, 2013 Bible Study — If You Seek Him, You Will Find Him

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July 18, 2013 Bible Study — Rooting For God’s Team

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July 17, 2013 Bible Study — I Have Nothing To Boast About

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July 16, 2013 Bible Study — All Have Sinned

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July 15, 2013 Bible Study — The Foundations of Law and Order Have Collapsed

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July 14, 2013 Bible Study — I Am Just As Bad

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July 13, 2013 Bible Study — God Has Made It Plain

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