I am using this website ( http://www.oneyearbibleonline.com/ ) to attempt to read through the Bible in a year. I am going to try to blog each day on the reading.
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.
In the seventh year of the reign of Artaxerxes, Ezra the priest traveled from Babylon to Jerusalem, along with other priests and Levites. Artaxerxes gave Ezra a letter to take with him to Jerusalem. The letter gave Ezra permission to travel to Jerusalem with funds and articles for worship he had received from Artaxerxes and his officials. In addition, the letter instructed the officials of the region of which Jerusalem was part to supply Ezra with a stipend out of the taxes which they collected. They were also instructed that the priests and other Temple workers were exempt from taxes.
Upon receiving the letter from Artaxerxes, Ezra gathered Jewish leaders in exile to go with him to Jerusalem. These leaders were accompanied by their families and other men of Israel. When the group had gathered, Ezra discovered that he had priests and other people, but no non-priestly Levites. Ezra sent word to a group of Levites living in exile in another city requesting they send representatives to accompany him. His request was granted and a group of Levites and other Temple servants joined his expedition.
Paul wraps up his teachings on our attitudes towards the various teachers of the Gospel today before starting on other topics. He tells the Corinthians (and us) to view leaders such as himself and Apollos as mere servants of Christ. We should not be proud of following one teacher over against another. Paul asks them what makes them better than anyone else. Isn’t it true that anything that might be listed as making us better than someone else is something which was given to us by God? If it was a gift from God, then by what right do we boast of it?
If everything about us that makes us people of value was a gift from God, how dare we claim to be better than anyone else? God could just as easily give them the gifts which He has given to us.
Today’s psalm is a reminder of our all too human tendencies. When times are good we often forget God and think that we are invincible in our own power. When that happens God brings trouble upon us that is beyond our ability to master. However, if we turn back to Him in those times of trouble, He will rescue us once more and bring us back to times of peace. When God restores our fortunes, let us not forget Him a second time. Rather let us praise His holy name and not be silent. Let us thank Him forever.
It is through love of, and faithfulness to, his people that a ruler’s power is made secure. While the young are rightfully proud of their strength and dexterity, we should not be ashamed of the signs that show we have gained experience and learned how to deal with diverse problems. Sometimes physical punishment is the only way to teach someone, ourselves included, the folly of evil.
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.
Due to the opposition of the surrounding peoples, work on rebuilding the Temple was stopped for some time, until the second year of King Darius’ reign in Persia. At that time two prophets began prophesying in Judah and Jerusalem. They inspired the leaders of the people to resume work on the Temple. When the regional officials of the Persian Empire learned of this they came to investigate. They asked the Jews who had given them permission to do this work and demanded the names of those involved. The Jews responded that King Cyrus had ordered the reconstruction of the Temple. The regional officials sent a letter to Darius requesting that the claim be investigated and that Darius issue a ruling on the matter. After an extensive search of the Persian archives, King Darius sent back a reply that King Cyrus had indeed ordered the Temple rebuilt. Darius ordered the regional officials to not interfere with the Jewish efforts to rebuild the Temple. In addition, Darius ordered that the full construction costs be paid out of the taxes collected for the Empire, including the costs to support the priests living at the Temple. This latter was done in order that the priests might offer sacrifices and prayers on behalf of Darius and his sons.
The Jewish people were much encouraged by this news and by the prophets who had inspired them to resume work on the Temple. The reconstruction of the Temple was completed in the sixth year of Darius’ reign. Upon completion of the Temple, they held a massive celebration dedicating the Temple to the worship of God. A little over a month later they celebrated the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread at the Temple.
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While discussing the Passover celebration conducted at the restored Temple there is an interesting phrase: “The Passover meal was eaten by the people of Israel who had returned from exile and by the others in the land who had turned from their immoral customs to worship the Lord, the God of Israel.” This stands, for me, in contrast to the earlier rejection of help from the people living in the land when the returned exiles first began rebuilding the Temple. I don’t think one can make much from either passage because there is insufficient information about what happened. However, I would point out that successful completion of God’s work involved embracing all of those who chose to join in dedicating themselves to serving God.
Magrat pounces
Paul continues his commentary against division in the Church by asking who Apollos is? Or who he himself really is? This is a rhetorical question because Paul immediately answers it. They are both merely God’s servants, doing the work which God assigned to them. Paul planted the seed of the Gospel and Apollos watered it, but it was God who made the plants of faith grow. It is not the one who plants, nor is it the one who waters, who is important. Rather it is God, who makes the seed grow, that is important. The one who plants and the one who waters work together to serve God’s purpose.
Now Paul changes his metaphor (and to a degree the message he is giving). He tells them that, by the grace of God, he was the one who laid the foundation of the faith of those in Corinth. Those who are building on that foundation need to be careful because there is no foundation on which to build aside from Jesus Christ. And here Paul tweaks his metaphor a little further and changes focus from those on the outside (himself, Apollos, Peter) to the individual. We can build on the foundation using many different types of materials of varying durability and quality. On judgment day what we have built will face testing, as if by fire. If we have used quality, durable materials, what we have built will last and we will be rewarded. But even if we have used inferior materials and what we have built is destroyed, as long as we have built on the foundation of Jesus Christ, we will be saved, even if in the latter case it is as if we had passed through a wall of flame.
All of those who truly follow Jesus are, together, God’s Temple. Anyone who destroys the unity of the Church will face God’s wrath. If we think of ourselves as wise, we are fools. The wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s eyes. We should not seek to boast of the wisdom we have acquired from listening to the teachings of a particular teacher. Rather we should listen to all who base their teaching on Jesus Christ and learn the wisdom which God intends to reveal to us through those teachings. The key aspect is making sure that the teachings are based on Jesus. Some of those teachings will be of higher quality and more enduring than others, but all can be useful for building a structure for worshiping God.
The psalmist calls for “heavenly beings” to honor God. The translation notes for the NLT says that the Hebrew translated as “heavenly beings” literally means “sons of God”. To me that says that the psalmist is telling those of us who are following Christ, whom Paul says are the children of God, to honor God for the glory of His name and worship Him for the splendor of His holiness. If we wish to be in God’s Temple, to be part of the Church, which is God’s Temple, then we need cry “Glory” when God speaks.
A wise ruler removes the wicked from among his subjects, because, sooner or later, they will bring about his downfall and that of his nation. Our very spirit provides the light which allows God to see into the very depths of our being so that He can understand what drives us.
I am using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I have found that by writing this daily blog of what I see when I read these scriptures, I get more out of them. I hope that by posting these ruminations others may get some benefit as well. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them.
In the fall after their return the returned exiles gathered in Jerusalem and rebuilt the altar of the Lord on its original location. They began holding the festivals prescribed in the Law of Moses. In the spring of the following year they began work on the foundation of the Temple. When they completed the foundation of the Temple, they had a celebration. Some of the older persons present, who remembered the first Temple, wept when they saw the completed foundation, but everyone else was overjoyed.
When the people living in the surrounding territory (the passage calls them the enemies of the exiles) heard that the exiles were rebuilding the Temple, they asked for permission to help with the rebuilding. The leaders of the exiles rejected their request to help with rebuilding the Temple. From that time forward the people in the surrounding territories truly were the enemies of the exiles and began making efforts to stop them from rebuilding Jerusalem. When Xerxes took the throne of Persia they sent him a letter of accusation against the people of Judah and again when Artaxerxes took the throne. Artaxerxes responded to their letter by giving orders that Jerusalem only be rebuilt if he gave his express command for that to happen. The leaders of the surrounding peoples then went in force to Jerusalem and forced the people of Judah to stop their rebuilding project.
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It is never explained why the returned exiles refused to allow the people who were living in the land around them to help in the rebuilding of the Temple. My inclination is to consider that refusal a mistake. Certainly it is possible that the help was conditional on having a say on how worship would be conducted in the rebuilt Temple, which would have been a legitimate basis for refusal, the pattern of worship was laid out in the Law of Moses. Even if the leaders of the surrounding peoples did not demand a say in how Temple worship would be conducted, I can see a legitimate fear that they would later demand such a role. However, considering how things turned out, I do not see how accepting their help and avoiding alienating them would have been any worse.
As I said, the passage takes it as a given that the leaders of the exiles did the right thing by rejecting the help of the surrounding peoples, but the only justification it provides for that is their later enmity towards the Jewish people rebuilding the Temple.
Red roses up close
Today, Paul tells us that while he does not attempt to use wisdom to introduce the Gospel to people, there is a message of wisdom for mature believers. But God’s wisdom is not the same as the world’s wisdom. God reveals His wisdom through the Holy Spirit. We have received the Spirit of God, not the spirit of this world. The Spirit of God allows us to understand the wisdom of God.
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Once more I find that writing a synopsis of what Paul wrote was not working for me today. I summed up yesterday’s passage as saying that we will never convert anyone by the wisdom of our arguments for the Gospel. Toady’s passage tells us that that does not mean that there is not wisdom in the Gospel. On the contrary, there is wisdom which dwarfs that of the world. However, we can never learn to understand that wisdom until God’s Spirit comes to dwell within us. The only way to understand God’s will is for God’s Spirit to reveal it to us. To those without God’s Spirit the wisdom of God seems foolishness. That is because they do not start with an understanding of God. It is possible for someone in whom the Holy Spirit resides to evaluate the wisdom of the actions of those of the world, but it is not possible for those without the Holy Spirit to evaluate the wisdom of the actions of those with the Holy Spirit.
This is an important point for us to remember. It is possible for Christians to understand the priorities of non-Christians, no matter how misguided we think they are. This allows us to judge whether their actions can be reasonably expected to accomplish what they want out of life (that is whether those actions are wise by the standards the non-Christians use to judge wisdom). On the other hand, it is impossible for non-Christians to understand the priorities of Christians. This means that they always see our actions as foolish because they cannot understand what our goals are.
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Paul continues by telling the believers in Corinth that he had been unable to share the wisdom of God with them when he was last there. He had been forced to give them nothing but the most basic spiritual food because they were as unbelievers or spiritual infants, they were not ready for anything more advanced. In fact, he says, they still are not ready for the more advanced teachings of Christ because they are quarreling with each other. They are busy trying to make themselves more important than others by claiming to be followers of this, or that, teacher, who they claimed was the greater authority on Christianity.
Am I ready for spiritual food that is solid? Or am I still only willing to drink spiritual milk?
Red roses up close
The psalmist cries out to the Lord and begs Him to show him mercy. Later the psalmist says that he will praise the Lord because He has heard his cry for mercy. What is the difference between those whom God tears down and destroys and those whom He shields and to whom He grants mercy?
The psalmist tells us this about those whom God will tear down:
They care nothing for what the Lord has done
or for what his hands have made.
But as for himself he says:
The Lord is my strength and shield.
I trust him with all my heart.
If we are willing to trust God with all of our hearts, He will grant us mercy and shield us from all troubles that this world brings.
Our steps are directed by God, which makes it hard for us to understand how we end up in some of the places He puts us. We should not strive to understand how we arrived at our destination, rather we should seek to understand what God wants us to do now that we are here.
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.
Today’s passage tells us that shortly after Cyrus the Persian conquered Babylon he issued a decree permitting, even encouraging, the Jewish people to return to the lands of Israel and to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem. This fulfilled the prophecy that God had given through Jeremiah. In response to Cyrus’ proclamation a large number of Jews, in particular Levites and descendants of priests, were moved to go to Jerusalem to rebuild the Temple. God led their neighbors to donate towards the expense of the journey. Cyrus gathered together the articles that Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the Temple when he conquered Jerusalem. Cyrus gave those articles to the leader of the exiles returning to Jerusalem.
When they arrived at Jerusalem, some of the family leaders gave from their own funds towards the expenses of rebuilding the Temple. The priests and Levites, along with some other people, settled in and around Jerusalem. The rest of the returning exiles settled in their ancestral towns throughout what had been Israel.
Today’s passage begins with verse 18, but I am going to back up and start with verse 17 because I think it is necessary to get context. In verse 17 Paul says that God sent him to preach the Good News, but not with clever speech (or as the NIV says, “not with eloquence and wisdom”). He goes on from there to say that the message of the cross is viewed as complete foolishness to those who have not accepted God’s free offer. However, to those whom God has called it is the power and wisdom of God.
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I was going to do what I normally do and write a synopsis of this and then make my comments on what it meant, but that just was not working for me today. Paul tells us that people demand proof that God exists. Some people are looking for miraculous signs that prove God’s existence, others want to have God proven by logical argument starting from the assumptions they make about the world. But that is not what God offers. Instead, God offers the Jesus crucified, the opposite of a miraculous sign and logically ridiculous. We cannot discover God on the basis of our own wisdom and power. God chose the foolish and the powerless in order to shame those who relied on their own wisdom and power. We can never boast about anything except for the power of God.
Paul goes on to tell them that when he came to them, he resolved to know nothing except for Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. If we look at Luke’s account in the Book of Acts, we see that Paul first went to Corinth after spending some time in Athens. In Athens, Paul tried to argue with the philosophers and was laughed out of town because they thought the idea of resurrection from the dead was preposterous. This led Paul to realize that he would never bring anyone to follow Christ by his personal power of persuasion.
I used to have this image of Paul as a persuasive, engaging speaker who could lay out the argument for Christianity in careful, logical ways. Over the last few years, I have become ever more convinced that Paul was a boring speaker whose arguments never quite connected for those who did not share his basic worldview. On top of that, he was physically unimpressive. As a messenger of the Gospel, he had only two things going for him. The first was his absolute, unwavering belief that accepting the Gospel he preached was the only path to leading a truly fulfilling life (and that those who failed to do so would suffer as a result of that failure). The second was a to-the-bone fear that somehow it might be his fault if someone failed to accept that Gospel. Actually, he had one more thing going for him, a complete and utter trust that the Holy Spirit was capable of reaching even the most depraved sinner (resulting from his utter conviction that he had been the most depraved sinner to ever live). I am convinced that if we met Paul in the flesh, we would be utterly baffled by how he was able to reach so many people for the Lord.
We will never lead someone else to Christ by the logic of our arguments, nor by the persuasiveness of our speech. It is only by the power of the Holy Spirit that someone will come to faith in Christ.
There were two pieces of this psalm that stood out for me today. The first was:
My heart has heard you say, “Come and talk with me.”
And my heart responds, “Lord, I am coming.”
Have you heard the Lord calling you? I can assure that He is. I would like to add that when I hear God say to me, “Come and talk with me,” I do not always respond, “Lord, I am coming.” All too often, I respond, “I’m busy. I’ll be with you shortly.” I do this despite knowing from experience that I am passing up a blessing by doing so. I pray that God’s Spirit will move within me so that in the future I no longer do that.
Then at the end of the psalm there is a message for me in the situation of my life right now. I am asking God to bring about a change in my life and this seems to be His answer for now:
Wait patiently for the Lord.
Be brave and courageous.
Yes, wait patiently for the Lord.
If someone has wronged you, do not attempt to get them back. Leave the matter in God’s hands, if they have truly wronged you, God’s justice will be so much more fitting than anything you could exact yourself. And if by some chance you are blaming the wrong person, you will not be guilty of bringing harm on the innocent.
An important reminder that God does not approve when we treat some people different than others. We should treat all people fairly and make honest exchanges.
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.
When Josiah had gotten his restoration of the Temple well under way, he announced that the Passover feast would be held in Jerusalem. He gave orders organizing the priests and Levites so that they could perform their duties efficiently. The Passover festival held by Josiah was a time of great joy and worship of God.
Sometime after this, King Neco of Egypt was marching against the Babylonians and passing near Judah with his army. Despite Neco’s assurances that he was not going to attack Judah, Josiah entered into battle against him. Josiah was wounded in battle and was taken back to Jerusalem, where he died. Josiah’s son Jehoahaz was made king. However, he only reigned for three months when King Neco took him captive and put his brother Jehoiakim on the throne. The passage tells us that Jehoiakim did evil in the sight of the Lord and King Nebuchadnezzar came and took him captive. Jehoiakim was succeeded first by Jehoiachin, then by Zedekiah. Each of these kings did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and the people became ever more unfaithful. God sent prophets to call them back to him, but they did not listen. Finally, King Nebuchadnezzar came, destroyed Jerusalem, and took the people into captivity.
Paul starts off by stating his credentials and that he is writing to the church in Corinth. Paul says something very important here. He says that the church in Corinth was called by God to be His holy people; that is, saints. But, Paul tells us, this is true not just of the church in Corinth, it is true of everyone everywhere who calls on the name of Jesus.
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There is a great song by Wayne Watson called “People of God” which takes what Paul is saying here and puts it into musical form. I won’t quote it here because of copyright, but you can go read the lyrics and listen to it here
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Paul goes on to thank God that the church in Corinth has been blessed by God with speech to suit every purpose and the knowledge to serve God according to His will. They do not lack any spiritual gift that might be necessary to carry out God’s will among them. This too is true of the church everywhere.
Having finished his introduction, Paul gets into the heart of why he is writing to the church in Corinth. He writes that he has been told that there are factions among them. That various ones among them are lifting up the teachings of one or another teacher of the early Church as being authoritative while that of other teachers was not. Paul is writing to tell them to live in harmony with one another. The Church should be united in mind and thought.
What Paul is writing about is denominationalism. Some people are Baptists (or Methodists, or Brethern, or Catholics, or…) and anyone who is not Baptist (or whatever denomination that person is) is going to Hell. Paul is writing to tell the Corinthians (and us) that such an approach is wrong. Of course, some Christians try to say, “Well, he’s not talking to me. I’m non-denominational. I’m not part of any denomination. I just worship Christ.” Paul doesn’t let them get off that easy, see verse 12:
Some of you are saying, “I am a follower of Paul.” Others are saying, “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Peter,” or “I follow only Christ.”
Christ was not divided and those leaders who we look to as the founders of our various denominations were not crucified for us. We were all baptized in the name of Christ, not some other leader.
The Lord is my light and my salvation—
so why should I be afraid?
The Lord is my fortress, protecting me from danger,
so why should I tremble?
There is no one and nothing I need fear except for God Himself. Nothing can happen to me that is against God’s will. No matter what anyone wishes, no matter what happens in the world, nothing can harm me in anyway against God’s will.
I will strive to live all my life by what Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego told Nebuchadnezzar when he threatened to throw them in the fiery furnace:
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty. But even if he doesn’t, we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up.”
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.
After returning from being held captive by the Assyrians, Manasseh tore down all of the idols he had constructed and reconsecrated the Temple. He told the people of Judah to worship only God. The people continued to offer sacrifices and worship at the high places, but they stopped worshiping idols there and worshiped only God. Manasseh’s son Amon succeeded him on the throne. Amon followed his father’s early example, encouraged the worship of idols and did evil in the sight of the Lord. His own officials conspired against him and assassinated him.
The people of the land rose up and killed the officials who had assassinated Amon. They then placed his eight year old son Josiah on the throne. Josiah began to seek the Lord when he was sixteen years old and had been on the throne for eight years. When he was twenty he began destroying the high places of worship, the Asherah poles, and the idols throughout the land. He even went into the lands of the Northern Tribes and destroyed places of pagan worship there.
When Josiah had finished purifying the land he commissioned some men to repair the Temple. While they were repairing the Temple Hilkiah, the high priest, found a copy of the Book of the Law. One of the king’s officials read the Book of the Law to him. Upon hearing what was written in the Book of the Law Josiah tore his clothes and wept for how badly he and the people of Judah had failed to keep God’s commands. He ordered Hilkiah and others among his officials to go to the Temple and inquire of the Lord what they should do. The prophetess Huldah told them to tell Josiah that God was going to bring disaster on Jerusalem because of the sins of the people. However, because Josiah had humbled himself and sincerely repented of the sins carried out by his forefathers, God would not bring the promised destruction until after his death.
Josiah then summoned all of the leaders of the people to Jerusalem. He read to the assembled leaders the Book of the Law and pledged to keep its commands with all of his heart and soul. He demanded a similar pledge from all of the people. The people of Judah did not again turn away from God for the rest of Josiah’s reign.
The first thing I realized as I started reading is that Paul was not finished with his letter in what I read and blogged on yesterday. Paul continues with greetings to specific people living in Rome of whom he thought highly. When he concludes his personal greetings, he gives two final commands. The first is for the believers in Rome to “Greet one another with a holy kiss.”
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I am not quite sure what Paul intended with that command, but I have observed that people need a certain level of physical contact with other people in order to have healthy relationships. I think that Paul was suggesting that we need touch one another, shake hands, pat someone on the back, hug one another, and even exchange platonic kisses, that not all friendly physical contact between human beings is sexual in nature.
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Then Paul gives the second of his final commands. He tells the believers in Rome to watch out for people who cause divisions by teaching things contrary to the teaching they have already learned. They are to stay away from such people and have nothing to do with them. They are not serving Christ, rather they are serving their own personal interests. They use smooth talk and flattery to deceive innocent people.
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Paul points out two signs that we can use to recognize those who are false teachers. When someone always dresses in the finest clothes and goes to the fanciest restaurants AND is telling how wonderful they think that you are, you should be very skeptical of anything they teach which does not line up with what you were taught before you met them.
Magrat catches the piece of grass
This psalm is a declaration of determination to live with integrity and in the middle of it the psalmist tells us how to do that. If we want to live a life of integrity, we need to follow the example of this psalmist.
I do not sit with the deceitful,
nor do I associate with hypocrites.
I abhor the assembly of evildoers
and refuse to sit with the wicked.
If we spend our time with those that fall into the categories the psalmist lists above, we will begin to act as they do. If we want to live lives of integrity than we must spend our time with those who live with integrity.
Magrat spies her prey
Gossips are constantly telling other people’s secrets, those who are chattering away all of the time will, sooner or later, reveal any secrets you confide in them.
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.
After Hezekiah had completed his religious reforms and brought the people of Judah back to worshiping the Lord, Sennacherib, king of Assyria, invaded Judah. Hezekiah responded to this invasion by strengthening Jerusalem’s defenses. He repaired the wall of the city and built a second wall outside of the first. Most importantly, he secured the water supply for the city while at the same time making sure there were no readily available water sources right outside the city.
While conducting a siege on another city, Sennacherib sent messengers with a letter for the people of Jerusalem. In it, Sennacherib started by claiming that God would not save Jerusalem from his armies. However, he continued by claiming that even if He would be willing to do so, God would be powerless to save Jerusalem from him. The officers sent by Sennacherib to deliver his message shouted to the people of Jerusalem in an attempt to terrify them and reduce their willingness to resist an Assyrian attack. The officers compared God to the pagan gods of the surrounding peoples and insulted Him as if He were no more than an object created by human hands. Hezekiah responded to Sennacherib’s threats by crying out to God. God answered Hezekiah’s prayers by destroying a large portion of Sennacherib’s army, forcing Sennacherib to return home. Before Sennacherib was able to rebuild his army and resume conquest, two of his sons killed him while he was worshiping his own gods.
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What happened when Sennacherib invaded Judah is a classic example of the way that God works. The Assyrian army was overwhelmingly powerful. There was no chance that the army of Judah would have been able to withstand it in battle. However, Sennacherib became arrogant and challenged God. After Sennacherib proclaimed that God would be unable to protect Jerusalem from him, something happened to his army. The two passages that discuss this event do not describe what happened to the Assyrian army, but they read to me as if it was struck by disease of some kind. Whatever happened, Sennacherib was unable to complete his conquest of Jerusalem, despite his boasts that God could not stop him.
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After Hezekiah’s death, his son Manasseh succeeded him on the throne. Manasseh undid many of the religious reforms which Hezekiah had instituted and worshiped many pagan gods. He even sacrificed his own sons in fires (probably as part of worship of Molech,a god of the Phoenicians). Manasseh set up an idol in the Temple of God and worshiped it there. Despite many warnings from prophets, Manasseh did not turn from his evil ways. As a result, he was taken captive by the Assyrians. While held captive by the Assyrians, Manasseh finally turned to God and was released to return to Jerusalem.
More lobelia cardinalis flowers
Paul concludes his letter by telling his readers that he is finally going to be able to visit Rome. His plan is to stop there on his way to Spain. He has not been able to make this trip previously because there was more work for him to do in Asia Minor, Macedonia, and Achaia. However, he feels he has completed his work in these regions. He has one last task to complete before he can set off on his journey to Spain. The churches of Macedonia and Achaia had gathered an offering to aid the poor among the believers in Jerusalem and Paul was tasked with delivering it to the church in Jerusalem.
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It appears to me that by the time that Paul wrote this letter, several people had told Paul that the Holy Spirit was telling them that he would face problems from the Jewish authorities when he got to Jerusalem. While it is possible that his request of his readers for their prayers was a generic request for Paul, it appears to indicate that he was expecting trouble when he got to Jerusalem. I have wondered for several years if God was trying to tell Paul that he should not go to Jerusalem, or if the warnings he received were to prepare him for what he would face.
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Paul then asks the readers to care for the needs of Phoebe, who apparently is the messenger delivering his message. Finally, he extends special greetings to people he cares for who are now living in Rome.
Another picture of lobelia cardinalis
This is the conclusion to Psalm 25. I strive to pray similar to this when I face difficult times in my life. I believe that honesty and integrity will protect me because I put my hope and trust in God.
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.
Hezekiah decided to invite all of the people of Israel to celebrate the Passover at the restored Temple. They were unable to celebrate the Passover at the time set forth in the Law of Moses because not enough priests were able to get purified in time. So, Hezekiah, his officials and the entire community of Jerusalem decided to celebrate the Passover a month late. Hezekiah sent messengers throughout land of Israel, both the kingdom of Judah and the kingdom of Israel, asking the people to return to the Lord and come celebrate the Passover. Most of the people of the Northern Kingdom made fun of Hezekiah’s messengers. However, there were a few who responded to the message and went to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover.
The people of the Kingdom of Judah, on the other hand, responded enthusiastically. As a result, when they celebrated the Passover a large crowd had gathered in Jerusalem. Many of the people had not purified themselves properly, so the Levites sacrificed their Passover lambs for them. In particular, most of those from the Northern Kingdom had not purified themselves. Hezekiah prayed to God asking that He pardon those who had come to resume following Him without properly purifying themselves. The decision was made to allow those who were not properly purified to eat the Passover lamb anyway. The passage tells us that God honored Hezekiah’s prayer and the desire of the people to worship Him and blessed the people who came to partake in the Passover.
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This passage shows us that even here, under the Law, God honored those who sought Him and desired to be made right with Him. God invites us to come as we are, with our sins and imperfections. If we truly strive to follow and obey Him, He will bless us and purify us by His wondrous power. We do not need to purify ourselves before we come to God. Which is a good thing because we are not truly capable of doing so. It is only by the action of God’s Spirit and through the blood of Christ that we are able to be purified enough to approach God.
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When the people returned to their homes after the Passover, they destroyed the Asherah poles and removed the shrines and altars to pagan gods. Even the people from the Northern Kingdom did this upon their return home (although the passage suggests that many of them remained in the Kingdom of Judah). The people responded enthusiastically to Hezekiah’s religious reforms.
Hezekiah assigned the priests to work full-time offering sacrifices and leading worship in the Temple. He sent out word that the people of Jerusalem were to bring a portion of their goods to the priests and Levites so that they would not need to stop caring for the Temple to care for themselves. When the people of Israel heard of this proclamation, they began to enthusiastically bring goods for the Temple workers even though Hezekiah’s edict only extended to the people of Jerusalem.
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I am praying for a revival today like the one experienced under Hezekiah, but not only in Judah, or Israel, but throughout the entire planet. I am striving to pray every day for the Holy Spirit to rain down on the earth and open the flood gates into people’s hearts.
Another shot of the butterfly bush earning its name
Continuing on his theme from yesterday, Paul tells those of us who are strong in faith that we should bear with those who have weaker faith. In the context of yesterday’s passage, I would interpret this to mean that if we believe that some behavior is OK, but our fellow believer believes it to be a sin, we should not try to convince them to do that behavior, nor should we practice that behavior in front of them. Of course, the way Paul phrases his instruction raises the question as to who has the stronger faith? Well, the answer should be, since we should defer to those whose faith is stronger than our own on matters of faith, that if we think that someone else is mistaken in a matter of faith we must be the one whose faith is stronger and we are the one under obligation to bear with their failings of faith (of course, the same logic applies to the other party as well). Paul concludes this teaching by telling us that as followers of Christ we should live in harmony with our fellow believers. Our goal as Christians is to join together with one voice to praise God and bring glory to His name.
Paul concludes the teaching part of his letter by saying that he is confident that the readers of his letter are filled with knowledge and perfectly capable of teaching one another the Truths of God. He is merely writing to cover a few points which he considers worthy of special emphasis. He notes that his authority to make this emphasis is because God has appointed him as an apostle to the Gentiles. Paul tells us that while he is enthusiastic about what God has done through him, he does not want any special praise himself. Rather, we should praise God for what He has done.
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As I write these blogs, I try very hard to remember to give all credit to God. If by some chance, someone reading this is blessed by what I have written, then praise God. That is not of any credit to me. While I believe myself to be a moderately good writer, even that skill is merely a gift which God has given me. Indeed, I have found that when I make an effort to do something to make my blog something special are the days when I get the fewest hits. Instead, it is the days when I struggle with getting my thoughts to be coherent that are the days when God brings more people to read what I have written (not that even on the best days is my audience size anything to brag about). I would love to have a large audience for my writings, but I know full well that if that were to happen it would be because God has chosen to work through my writings in that manner, not because I am such a gifted writer.
I am tempted to take that last paragraph out because as I re-read it it sounds like I am denigrating my ability as a writer and that would be incorrect. I think that I am a talented writer (please do not tell me if you disagree…or even if you agree). My point is that no matter how talented a writer I may be, that talent itself comes from God AND I will only gather a large following for my writing if God chooses to guide people to them. All-in-all my goal with this writing is to bring glory to God and gain a more in depth understanding of the Bible by attempting to share what God reveals to me in my writing.
Another view of the butterfly on the butterfly bush
Once again the psalm starts with a statement I want to live my life by (NIV):
In you, Lord my God,
I put my trust.
I fully believe that no one who trusts in God will ever be put to shame. He will show me the path I should follow. God is a friend to those who fear Him and will guide them in the path that leads to life. He will guide me to do right as long as I remain humble and contrite, for whenever I lose my humility I sin. If I can keep my eyes on the Lord, I will not go wrong again (keeping my eyes on the Lord is a challenge for me).
Tiger Swallowtail butterfly
Those who sleep when there is work to be done will find themselves in poverty, but if we spend our time looking for the things that need to be done, we will have plenty. Someone haggling over price will talk down what they are buying, then brag about how great it is once they have bought it. Wealth is more readily found and obtained than knowledge and wisdom.
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.
Hezekiah succeeded his father Ahaz on the throne. His first act was to reopen the Temple and repair its doors. He summoned the priests and Levites and instructed them to purify themselves. He asked them to cleanse the Temple and resume the worship of God there. Hezekiah determined to restore the worship of God in the Kingdom of Judah. It took the priests and Levites sixteen days to clean and purify the Temple. At the end of that time they reported to Hezekiah that the Temple was ready for people to resume worshiping in it.
The following morning Hezekiah summoned the city officials and went to the Temple to worship the Lord. Hezekiah and the city officials brought animals to sacrifice as sin offerings for both themselves and the people of the kingdom. Hezekiah commanded the priests to sacrifice the animals as sin offerings for all of the people of Israel. As the offerings were being presented to the Lord, Hezekiah instructed the Levites to lead the people in songs of worship. When the priests were done sacrificing the animals which he had brought, Hezekiah told the people that now that they were consecrated they could bring their sacrifices and thank offerings. The people responded by bringing so many animals as sacrifices that there were not sufficient priests to prepare all of the animals for sacrifice. So, the Levites helped prepare the animals for sacrifice.
Paul tells us to accept those who are weak in faith. He instructs us to avoid quarreling over disputable matters. Paul gives us a couple of examples of things we should not argue over. He tells us that some people believe that it is OK to eat anything, while others believe that Christians should eat only vegetables. Paul states that no matter which side of that debate you find yourself on, you should not only not condemn those on the other side, but you should remember that they are honoring the Lord as they practice the position they are taking. Another issue that Paul brings up is that some people believe that we should worship God on a particular day, while others hold that it does not matter what day we choose to worship God since we should worship God every day (Paul was probably referring to a debate over keeping the Sabbath). Paul tells us that we should not condemn another believer over issues such as this. It is up to us to judge our fellow believers, we should leave that up to God (although we need to remember that Paul was not saying we should ignore all types of sin. I will discuss the other side of this when I cover the passage where he talks about it in Corinthians).
Paul continues by saying that he is convinced that there is no food that it is wrong to eat. However, if someone else believes that it is wrong to eat something, than it is a sin for them to eat it. He tells us that we should not encourage someone to do something which they believe to be a sin. If we do we are causing them to sin.
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In this passage Paul addresses both sides and says that they should not be judgmental of those who feel differently. However, it appears to me that he puts the greater burden on those who feel that things are not a sin than on those who think that they are. He tells those who think that eating meat is not a sin that, if by eating meat they might cause someone who believed it wrong to stumble in their faith, they should not eat meat. My reading of this is that those who believe that certain activities are not sin are under obligation to avoid pushing that belief on those who believe those activities are sin.
This is NOT catnip
I read this psalm and the opening verse really struck me. Not as something new, but just as the theme for me today.
The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.
The world and all its people belong to him.
Everything and everyone on this earth belong to God. I have nothing that does not belong to God. He is merely allowing me to use it. I need to treat this earth like it belongs to someone else, someone who will hold me accountable for any damage I may do to it. But more than that, I need to remember that every person on the face of the earth, no matter what I may think of them, belongs to God. I should treat them with the respect that a servant of God deserves, even if they are not willingly doing so. It is up to God to mete out any punishment that may be due, not me.
Magrat by the fire pit
God has given us ears to hear, so we should listen to what God has to say. He has given us eyes to see, so we should actually look at what is in front of us. God has given us the gift to judge for ourselves what we hear and what we 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.
Upon the death of Amaziah, his sixteen year old son, Uzziah, was made king. Uzziah did what was pleasing in God’s sight. The passage tells us that he continued to seek God during the days of Zechariah and that as long as he sought guidance from the Lord, God gave him success. Uzziah became very powerful, conquering the Philistines and collecting tribute from other neighboring peoples. However, at the height of his power, he became proud and entered the Temple in order to burn incense on the incense altar, in violation of the Law of Moses which stated that only priests should do that. When some of the priests confronted Uzziah over this, he became furious. However, while he was raging at the priests, leprosy (the word used here refers to multiple skin disorders, not just the disease we apply the word leprosy to today) broke out on his forehead. The priests who saw this hurried Uzziah out of the Temple because of his leprous outbreak. Uzziah himself hurried out of the Temple because the Lord had struck him with leprosy. Uzziah lived out his life quarantined in a separate house and his son Jotham became regent for him until his death. Jotham became king after the death of Uzziah and followed his father’s example (except for the part about entering the Temple to offer incense). Jotham was careful to live in obedience to God and became a powerful king as a result.
Upon Jotham’s death, his son, Ahaz, succeeded him on the throne. Ahaz did not follow his father’s and his grandfather’s example. Rather he made images for the worship of Baal and burned his own sons in the sacrificial fires. He suffered defeat at the hands of the king of Aram, who took many of the people of Judah captive. A warrior chief from the Northern Tribes raided Judah and took a large number of people captive, intending to make them slaves. However, a prophet confronted the force as it returned from battle and told them that God would judge them harshly for enslaving people of Judah. When other leaders of the Northern Tribes heard the prophet’s words, they insisted that the army release the captives. The army turned the captives and the plunder they had taken with them over to those leaders. The leaders used the plunder to care for and clothe the captives and returned them to their relatives at Jericho.
The Philistines and the people of Edom raided Judah during the reign of Ahaz, but he did not turn to God for help. He took up worship of the gods of Aram and sealed the Temple so that no one could worship there. He attempted to make a treaty with the king of Assyria for assistance against his enemies, but the king of Assyria instead attacked him and took tribute from him. Ahaz worshiped pagan gods and encouraged the people of Judah to do the same.
Paul tells us in today’s passage that we as Christians should submit to the governing authorities because all authority comes from God. Everyone in a position of authority is placed there by God. God has ordained government to punish those who do what is wrong. We are to pay our taxes as part of that submission to government authority. Paul instructs us to pay taxes to those to whom taxes are due, fees to those to whom fees are due, respect to those to whom respect is due, and honor to those to whom honor is due.
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This is a very difficult passage to reconcile with the evil behavior often exhibited by government officials. However, the governing authorities of Paul’s day were every bit as evil as any that we experience today, so we cannot say that he did not understand the potential for evil among government officials. I look at this passage and consider it in light of when Jesus said, “Give unto Caesar what is Caesar’s and unto God what is God’s.” In addition, Paul here tells us that God created government in order to punish those who do wrong. This leads me to conclude that I am to be subject to those instructions from the government which fall into the government’s purview of passing edicts against doing what is wrong, but that I should never obey it when it exceeds that authority and declares as wrong things which God has declared to be right…or demands behavior which God has declared to be wrong.
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Paul continues on from his discussion of giving what we owe to those to whom we owe it, whether that be money, respect, or honor by telling us that we should owe no one anything. That is we should give everyone what they are due when they are due it. He then says that the only ongoing obligation we should have is the obligation to love one another. Paul echoes what Jesus said when he tells us that all other laws follow from the one which states “Love your neighbor as yourself.” If we love others, we will do no wrong to others. This means that if we truly love others, we will fulfill all of God’s other commands.
Sunset through the trees
Today’s psalm is one of the most familiar passages in the Bible. Even those who have never opened the Bible have at least a passing awareness of it. As a result of that familiarity, I sometimes forget why it is so familiar, because it tells us some great basic truths about God’s love for us. It starts out by telling us:
The Lord is my shepherd;
I have all that I need.
It goes on to tell us that God will guide on us the right paths. So that even when we go through a valley where we cannot see what threats might lurk in the darkness, we need have no fear because God is right beside us to protect us and to comfort us. But God’s love for us goes beyond that. The psalmist tells us that God will honor us with a feast in front of those who wish us harm, who are are enemies. God’s goodness and love will follow us all of the days of our lives. This is a wonderful and beautiful psalm.
Red roses
If we judge even children by their behavior, whether they are good kids or not (and we do), how much more can we who are grown adults be judged by our actions?
