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. I hope that the Spirit is moving in others through these posts as the Spirit has definitely been convicting me.
God has Moses chisel out a second set of stone tablets and bring them up the mountain, where God wrote His instructions on them, just as He had on the set which Moses had smashed in anger. When Moses returned to the mountain top, the Lord passed in front of him. Moses immediately fell on his face and worshiped the Lord, begging Him to travel with the Israelites. God once more made a covenant with the people of Israel and reiterated the instructions He had given Moses. God emphasized to Moses that they were not to enter into a treaty with any of the people in the land they were entering. They were not to enter into a treaty with them because if they did, sooner or later they would start worshiping their gods rather than remaining loyal to God Himself.
This is, in my mind, an important lesson. If we make common cause with those who do not worship God sooner or later we will find ourselves entering into their worship. One of the most pernicious forms of this is the temptation to make common cause with those who claim to worship the same God as I do, yet whose worship is, by my understanding of Scripture, idolatrous. There is also the challenge of when can we work with those who do not worship our God in doing good deeds. All too often, Christians enter into agreements with others in order to feed the hungry and care for the needy only to discover those others (usually government) putting conditions on the work that make it less a ministry to those in need and more an effort to gather worshipers to those others. Many government programs are designed to lead people to put the government in the place of God. I don’t believe that this was something done consciously, not even as consciously as Aaron designed the golden calf, but it is something that people tend to do.
Pilate had a tradition of releasing a prisoner chosen by the crowd at the Passover festival. When Jesus was brought before him, he attempted to convince the crowd to choose Jesus. However, the priests had worked the crowd to get them to demand Jesus death. Pilate’s wife sent him a message warning him to have nothing to do with Jesus’ case because she had had terrible dreams concerning Him. When the crowd called on him to crucify Jesus, Pilate asked them what crime He had committed. The crowd merely cried even louder for Jesus’ crucifixion. When Pilate realized that the crowd was not going to respond to his entreaties, and was starting to get out of hand, he washed his hands in front of them and disclaimed responsibility for Jesus’ death. The crowd responded by accepting responsibility for Jesus’ death. Pilate then had Jesus flogged and handed Him over to be crucified.
How often do I do as Pilate did and attempt to deflect responsibility for my actions to others? Pilate may have “washed his hands” of responsibility for Jesus’ crucifixion, but it was still at his orders that the soldiers carried out the crucifixion. We often feel pressured by others, especially in numbers, to take actions that we believe are wrong. All too often I have succumbed to such pressure (although I have never been in fear for my life).
Might and power will not save a nation. A nation and/or a people will only continue to exist by the will of God. God will deliver those who trust in Him. I will not rely on my power or strength, nor will I rely on the power of government. I will trust in God to protect me.
The writer tells us that wisdom with all of its benefits and blessings is there for anyone who desires to acquire it. There is more than enough for everyone. There is enough of wisdom and its blessings for everyone. No one needs to have less wisdom because someone else has more. Not only that, but the blessings from following the wise course are abundant enough that all can experience them.