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. In order to make that possible I read the passages and write my thoughts a day in advance. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them.
At the end of yesterday’s passage, Ezekiel prophesied that in the distant future Gog, the ruler of the land of Magog, would gather his armies and attack the people of Israel when they are living at peace and apparently defenseless. As part of the prophecy, Ezekiel tells Gog that God will make Himself known to all the nations of the world by striking down the armies of Gog and his allies. Today’s passage continues that prophecy.
In the 1970s I remember being told that the description of the aftermath of the battle sounded like the aftermath of a battle involving nuclear weapons. At the same time, many people connected the lands of Magog, Tubal, and Meschech to the Soviet Union. However, historically, these lands would have been in what is now Turkey and possibly extending through Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. I am not convinced that it matters that much where these lands are. I believe that the key thing about this prophecy is that a massive army will attack God’s people and be destroyed in a manner which will shock the entire world.
This prophecy tells us that God shows Himself through history. That the time will come when a power will arise that is unstoppable. It will launch an attack that cannot fail against an enemy that is completely unprepared to defend itself. That unstoppable power will not only be stopped, it will be destroyed and the enemy whom it planned to plunder will instead thrive on the plunder it leaves behind. God is in control of history and He will have His way.
When I was growing up, the Soviet Union was a fact of life. Through high school and college the threat of nuclear war between the U.S. and the Soviet Union was real. When Ronald Reagan said to Mikhail Gorbachev, “Mr Gorbachev, tear down this wall” no one believed it would happen, not even Ronald Reagan. Yet only a few years later that wall had been torn down.
James continues his writing on faith by pointing out that if your faith is not reflected in your actions, any claims you make to having faith is worthless. If your faith does not cause you to take action it is of no value. We are not saved because we do good works, we do good works because we believe that we have been saved.
James goes on to tell us that those who become teachers in the Church will be held to a higher standard than others. While we all make mistakes, the key to avoiding mistakes is to control what we say. Even things we say which seem like a small thing to us can influence our actions in ways which we later regret. We often find it easier to tame wild beasts than to control our own tongues. We praise God and our fellow man out of the same mouth which calls down curses. James tells us that this should not be.
James continues by telling us to demonstrate our wisdom and understanding by humbly doing good works. There will be times when we are envious of others and/or seek to advance our own interests, but we should not boast about it when it happens. Rather, we should recognize these things as the evil which they are and seek to replace them with true wisdom. True, godly wisdom results in pure actions. It is peace-loving and considerate of others. True wisdom yields to others, is impartial and sincere. True wisdom asks, “How can I help?”, not “What’s in it for me?”
I will give thanks to the Lord for He is good. In the middle of this psalm is a great phrase that we need to keep close to our hearts:
The Lord is for me, so I will have no fear.
What can mere people do to me?
When I read this, I remember a quote which I have seen in various forms, and which has been credited to Abraham Lincoln. Supposedly, when someone said to him that they trusted that God was on the side of the Union in the Civil War, Lincoln replied, “”Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side. My great concern is to be on God’s side.” That sums up the only sure way to know that God is on my side. That sure way is to be on God’s side. If my every desire is that God’s will be done, I can be assured that those desires will all be fulfilled. If we always seek to do God’s will, we can be further sure that, as far as we are successful, we will be doing what is right.
A nation whose people have no morals will never have a stable government. Wise and knowledgeable leaders will bring about stability by bolstering the morals of the people. When the moral decay of a nation has reached a certain point, the people will no longer tolerate leaders who exhibit moral fortitude.