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.
As Jeremiah had warned, Nebuchadnezzar returned with his army and sacked Jerusalem. King Zedekiah attempted to flee the city at night, but he was captured along with all of those with him. Because he had been afraid to follow Jeremiah’s advice to surrender to Nebuchadnezaar, Zedekiah suffered the fate he feared. Part of Zedekiah’s fate was to watch the execution of his court officials. We are told, however, that Ebed-melech, who had rescued Jeremiah from those officials seeking his death, was spared and kept safe. We see here the difference in the fate of those who followed God’s commands vs. those who refused to do so.
This passage is one of great encouragement to me. I strive to follow the command which Paul gave Timothy. I will fan into flames the spiritual gifts which God has given me. God does not put His Spirit in us so that we can live timidly and in fear. Rather, He gave us a spirit of power, love and self-discipline. This spirit, which God has given us, moves us to tell others about Christ without shame or fear. God has saved us and called us to live a holy life, not because we deserve such treatment, but because He planned to do so from before He created the universe.
In this passage Paul wrote the words which inspired the hymn, “I Know Whom I Have Believed.” The words of this song touch my heart and brings me to tears of humility and joy every time I hear or read them:
I know not why God’s wondrous grace
To me He hath made known,
Nor why, unworthy, Christ in love
Redeemed me for His own.
Refrain:
But “I know Whom I have believed,
And am persuaded that He is able
To keep that which I’ve committed
Unto Him against that day.”
Each successive verse begins with “I know not…” I confess that there are many things I do not know. But, as this passage, and the refrain of the song point out, there is one thing I do know. I know that I have believed in a God who is more than able to guard and keep safe that which I have entrusted to Him. I have no need to fear condemnation and damnation because I have offered myself up to God and asked Him to transform me into His image. I know that, while I am unable to live up to His standards, He is able to transform me into His likeness, and He has promised to do so.
The psalmist reminds us that God does not see time the way that we see time. Our lives are but a moment to God, yet He sees everything we do. There is no place we can go to sin where He will not see it. We need to recognize that our lives are short and we have only a short time to honor and glorify God. If we do, He will make us glad all of our days.
The psalmist entreats us to find refuge in God, to rest in His shadow. If we do this we will not fear anything. The psalmist tells us the following:
Do not be afraid of the terrors of the night,
nor the arrow that flies in the day.
Do not dread the disease that stalks in darkness,
nor the disaster that strikes at midday.
Though a thousand fall at your side,
though ten thousand are dying around you,
these evils will not touch you.
…
If you make the Lord your refuge,
if you make the Most High your shelter,
no evil will conquer you;
no plague will come near your home.
God promises that He will rescue those who love Him and protect those who trust Him. This is such a wonderful promise. Our lives may be short, but if we spend them honoring God, He will keep us safe and give us joy for all of our days.
A fool is as unlikely to get honored as snow is to fall in the summer. In addition, giving an honor to a fool is as disruptive as rain during harvest.
The more interesting proverb is the second which tells us that if someone curses us, and we do not deserve the curse, it will not come to rest upon us.