For today, One Year Bible Online links here.
The rich think that their wealth will protect them from troubled times. They believe that they will be able to depend on it, even when civilization collapses around them. As a result, they are often arrogant and haughty. Such arrogance keeps them from recognizing the dangers which threaten them until it is too late. Arrogance leads people to make mistakes which bring about their downfall. It is those who humbly acknowledge their vulnerability who are prepared to act when disaster strikes. They will be honoured for their foresight.
The book of Psalms begins with a wonderful statement of how to live a faithful life. First we have the things we should not do:
- Do not follow the advice of the wicked
- Do not spend all of your time with sinners
- Do not join in mocking others
Then we have the the things we should do:
- Delight in God’s law
- Meditate on that law day and night
I would like to say that the latter is more important than the former, but the fact of the matter is that if we do the latter we will find we do not have time to do the former. Of course, the inverse of that is also true, actually the inverse is more than true; if we do the former we will have neither the time, nor the desire, to do the latter.
After he had been arrested, Paul addressed the commander of the Roman soldiers in Greek. By doing so, he revealed to the officer that he was not who the officer thought he was. There is an important lesson for us here. Paul knew that the officer arresting him did not share the biases of the mob, so he politely addressed the officer in order to make it clear that he was not the one making trouble. Paul then convinced the officer to allow him to address the crowd.
It immediately became apparent that most of those in the crowd which had just rioted had no idea who Paul was. They were surprised into silence when he began speaking to them in Aramaic. Paul used this opportunity to tell the people in the crowd who he was, and his background. He started by giving his credentials as a good Jew, pointing out that he even went so far as to persecute the Church. He goes on to explain how and why he changed. This is also an important lesson for us. When we preach the Gospel we need to tell people about our sinful past. Then we tell them what God did to make us receptive to change and how He transformed us.
In today’s passage, Judah once more has a leader, a king, who serves God. When Josiah reached his majority, his first act was to order the Temple to be cleaned and repaired. In the process of cleaning the Temple, the high priest, Hilkiah found a copy of the Book of the Law (I believe it was the first five books of the Bible, but the passage does not say that). When it was read to Josiah, he was mortified at how badly the people of Judah had failed to keep God’s law. Josiah immediately sought God’s forgiveness and guidance. Josiah was not satisfied with living a personally holy life, he led the people of Judah in a revival. He used his position to get rid of the idols, pagan shrines, and evil worship practices throughout the land. I believe that in many ways Josiah’s revival prepared the Israelites to survive the coming Exile.