For today, One Year Bible Online links here.
Those who do wrong are eager to hear gossip about what others are doing wrong so that they can justify their wrongdoing to themselves. Liars readily accept the lies told about others. Seeking out gossip and readily accepting slanderous accusations against others are signs of someone of dubious character. If we do these things, others will judge us accordingly and we should be careful around those who do them.
Mocking the poor for their poverty is an insult to God, who made them. If we rejoice in the misfortune of others, we will suffer for it. It is one thing to point out that someone’s poverty or other misfortune results from their actions in order to teach them, or others, to avoid such self-destructive behaviors (this can be a good thing). It is quite another to be happy that others have suffered such unhappiness. Let us strive to empathize with those who suffer, even when they have brought that suffering on themselves.
I will not be proud or arrogant. I will not become distracted from doing God’s will by thoughts about things which I cannot change. I will not seek to make myself look more important in the eyes of others by my explanations of difficult theological issues. I will calm and quiet myself as I put my trust in God. I will choose to echo the man born blind whose sight Jesus restored. “One thing I know, I was blind, but now I see.”
This passage gives us an example of the power of the Holy Spirit to change people. Saul was a fervent persecutor of believers. Yet, when the Spirit struck him, he became one of the most fervent evangelists the world has ever seen. The very skills and gifts which had made Saul a persecutor of the Church made him a target of persecution when he became a believer. As I read this today, I realize that all too often we focus on Saul in this story, but the example we are asked to follow is that of Ananias. God told Ananias to go to Saul and lay hands on him in order to restore his sight. Ananias had heard of Saul’s mission to arrest the believers in Damascus, but followed God’s leading and went to Saul anyway. Ananias went into harm’s way in order to follow the Spirit’s leading and bring healing. Many people list Saul/Paul as the most influential man in the history of the Church, but if it was not for Ananias (who we often overlook) Saul would never have come to the faith he spent so much of his life promoting.
Despite God’s warnings against marrying women from the surrounding people’s Solomon took many wives from among them. I have many times heard it said that Solomon had these many wives because, as king, he made political marriages to seal alliances. While that might be partially true, I think the passage hits more closely on it. Solomon loved women, especially those he viewed as somewhat exotic, and perhaps a little dangerous. Certainly, if Solomon had married these women for political alliance, he appears to have chosen poorly. As a result of his involvement with these women, Solomon began following the religious practices of the surrounding peoples. He worshiped Ashtoreth, Molech, and Chemosh. He built a shrine for Chemosh, and a shrine for Molech. Ashtoreth is known for her temple prostitutes, while Molech and Chemosh are noted for the various forms of human sacrifice practiced in their worship.
Solomon’s actions, and failure to heed God’s word, left his son, Rehoboam, with a poor understanding of how to rule. When Solomon died and Rehoboam became king, the people asked Rehoboam to ease the tax burden which Solomon had imposed on them. Rather than listen to their request, or take the advice of his father’s advisers, Rehoboam chose to tell the people that he would increase the burden and rule more harshly than his father. As a result of Rehoboam’s stubbornness the people of Israel revolted against him. Like so many before and after him, Rehoboam thought that leadership was doing what he wanted, rather than serving those whom one was leading. Let us remember that if God calls us to leadership, it is in order that we may serve those whom he has called us to lead.