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.

Numbers 15:17-16:40

     The passage begins with instructions on what the people of Israel should do if they unintentionally violate the commands that God gave them through Moses, whether corporately or as individuals. It then tells a story about a man who was caught violating the Sabbath and the punishment God instructed Moses to impose on him.
     A Levite named Korah conspired with three other Levites to overthrow Moses. They said that the all of the Israelites were holy and set aside to the Lord, so Moses should not be set above them as an authority. This suggests that they were attempting some sort of democratic reform, or more likely, attempting to take control under the guise of democratic reform. Moses summoned Korah’s co-conspirators to meet with him. Two of them refused denying that Moses had authority to summon them. Moses instructed Korah that his core group of followers, who Korah claimed should be allowed priestly duties, should come before the Lord with incense burners. Aaron would also come with an incense burner. The people gathered to witness the confrontation. The passage is slightly ambiguous but I read it to say that the majority of the people sympathized with Korah’s revolt. When God told Moses and Aaron to separate themselves from the assembly so that He could destroy it. Moses interceded for the people and God relented, instructing the people to move away from the tents of those leading the revolt.
     Moses then went to the tents of those leading the revolt and told the people to move away from them and their possessions. Moses told the people that if these rebels suffered a natural death, they would know that God had not sent Moses nor given him special authority. He then told the people that the God would cause the earth to swallow these men and all of their possessions. No sooner had Moses finished speaking than the earth opened and swallowed all of those associated with Korah’s rebellion and their possessions. At the same time, fire came out from the Lord’s presence and burned to death those of Korah’s followers who were burning incense before the Lord.

Mark 15:1-47

     In the morning after their informal hearing against Jesus the religious leaders took Jesus to Pilate. Pilate asked Jesus if He was the king of the Jews, to which Jesus replied that Pilate was the one who said so. The religious leaders made numerous accusations to Pilate against Jesus, but Jesus refrained from replying to them. Jesus’ failure to mount a defense amazed Pilate and may have had something to do with Pilate’s desire to release Him. There was a custom of releasing a person chosen by the people at the Passover feast. Pilate attempted to convince the people to choose Jesus, but the religious leaders convinced them to call for the release of the notorious criminal who Pilate offered as the alternative. The religious leaders stirred the crowd up to call for Jesus’ crucifixion. When Pilate asked what His crime was they merely shouted louder for His crucifixion.
     In response to the crowd, Pilate had Jesus flogged and turned over to be crucified. The soldiers mocked and tormented Jesus before leading Him out to be crucified. Jesus was so weakened by His treatment that the soldiers had to conscript someone to carry His cross to the site of crucifixion. When they had hung Him on the cross, the passersby and the religious leaders mocked Him and declared that if He came down off the cross, then they would believe Him. At noon, the land went dark and remained dark until after Jesus’ death at three in the afternoon.
     Just before His death, Jesus cried out in Aramaic, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” This is the first line of Psalm 22 and according to rabbinic tradition, by quoting the first line of this psalm Jesus was referencing the entire psalm. Psalm 22 is a psalm where the psalmist expresses deep despair, but also expresses faith that God will deliver him from his suffering. The psalmist ins Psalm 22 declares that he is suffering greatly and feels abandoned by God but that he will nevertheless praise God because he knows that God will deliver him from his suffering. I think it is important that as we read the account of Jesus’ exclamation of profound abandonment just before His death, we realize that He was nevertheless expressing His continued faith in God’s power and love. Even at the moment when He most felt alone and abandoned, Jesus declared that God would deliver Him and He praised God for His greatness. We should do likewise (I know that this is much easier said than done).

Psalm 54:1-7

What a great psalm to remember when facing troubles and trials, when people are threatening us and acting against us. Even when the whole world seems to be against me, I can rely on this:

But God is my helper.
The Lord keeps me alive!
I will praise Him and honor Him because this is true. In all of the troubles I have faced, God has provided me with deliverance. I know that He will continue to do so.

Proverbs 11:5-6

Those who choose to live a life of righteousness find their life to be straightforward and direct. Those who choose to live a wicked life find themselves overwhelmed by the cumulative consequences of their wicked behavior. Those who are godly find that their good behavior provides them with deliverance when trouble arises, while those who are unfaithful find that by attempting to deceive others they trap themselves.

Daily Bible Study

March 10, 2013 Bible Study — Answering Charges Against Our Faith

March 9, 2013 AttilaDimedici

Numbers 14-15:16

     After hearing the report of the spies sent into the land of Canaan the Israelites began grumbling against Moses and plotting to choose a leader to take them back to Egypt. Joshua and Caleb attempted to convince the people that the Lord would be with them if they followed His command and went into the land of Canaan. They proclaimed to the people that God would defeat the residents of that land for them. Rather than listen to them the people talked about stoning Joshua and Caleb. Then the glory of the Lord appeared at the tent of meeting bringing a halt to the plans for rebellion.
     God told Moses and Aaron to lead the people back into the wilderness, that every one of the people who had been counted in the census as twenty years old or older and had grumbled against God’s instruction to invade would die in the wilderness. God promised to lead their children into the land He had promised to them. The men Moses had sent to explore the land who had returned and caused the people to grumble against Moses were struck down and died. Of those Moses had sent to explore the land only Joshua and Caleb survived.
     The morning after these events the people decided that now they were ready to invade the land. Moses told them not to go, because God was not with them. Despite this warning and the fact that neither Moses nor the Ark of the Covenant went with them, the invaded the land. The people of the land defeated them soundly and drove them back out. There is an important lesson for us in this passage. It has to do with the fact that some of God’s calls to us expire. Sometimes there is a window of opportunity that will close if we do not act within it. We need to be aware of when God tells us that we did not respond to His call in a timely fashion and now He is calling us to something else.

Mark 14:53-72

After arresting Jesus they took Him to the high priest’s house, where the religious leaders gathered to decide what to do. They attempted to gather evidence to justify putting Him to death, however the many witnesses gave conflicting testimony. Finally the high priest directly asked Jesus if He was going to answer the testimony against Him. Jesus remained silent and would not answer. Jesus knew that the testimony against Him was useless to those prosecuting Him since it conflicted and thus did not call for an answer but anything He said could be twisted to make their case. The high priest follows up by asking Jesus a direct question as to whether He is the Messiah. Jesus answers this question in the affirmative. The high priest declares that His answer is blasphemy. The gathered religious leaders declared that it made Him worthy of death. I am not sure about this, but I believe that Jesus’ behavior in this situation presents a model for us in certain situations. When people are making inconsistent accusations against Christianity, we should remain silent and not answer their charges. Those making that type of accusation will not listen to our defense of our faith, they will merely twist what we say to support their preconceived conclusion. However, when asked a direct question about what we believe we should answer it truthfully and in full, even though those same people will use it to justify their attacks on our faith.
While this was going on Peter had entered the courtyard. One of the servant girls recognized Peter and spoke up saying that she recognized him as one of those who had been with Jesus. Peter claimed to have no idea what she was talking about and went over to the entryway. The servant girl then told those standing around that Peter was one of Jesus’ followers. Peter again denied this allegation. After a short period one of those standing nearby told Peter that since he was a Galilean, he must be one of Jesus’ disciples. Peter vehemently denied even knowing who Jesus was. No sooner had he done so than the rooster crowed and Peter remembered what Jesus had said. When Peter realized what he had just done, he broke down and wept. How often have we followed Peter’s example here and denied knowing Jesus in order to avoid social condemnation? Are we as heartbroken as Peter was when we realize what we have done?

"Heavy combat" fighters face off — “Heavy combat” fighters face off

Psalm 53:1-6

The psalmist tells us that those who believe that there is no God are fools. That such a belief inevitably leads to corruption and evil actions. The psalmist goes on to remind us that all of us have turned away from God and no one does good. None of us has any basis for condemning another, in the sight of God we are all evildoers deserving of destruction. It is only through the grace of God that we can have faith in God’s salvation. I am no better than the worst sinner out there. If my actions and thoughts appear better than those of others, that is no credit to me. It is only so because of the grace of God. I will seek to give glory to God for those times when I do good rather than evil because it is only because of His intervention in my life that such times occur.

Proverbs 11:4

On the day of wrath and destruction, wealth will not protect us. Only righteousness will provide protection on that day.

Daily Bible Study

March 9, 2013 Bible Study — The Spirit Is Willing, But the Flesh Is Weak

March 8, 2013 AttilaDimedici 2 Comments

Numbers 11:24-13:33

     Moses reported to the people the Lord’s instructions to him to appoint 70 elders and that they would receive meat to eat. Moses designated the 70 elders and called for them to gather at the Tabernacle. The Spirit of the Lord came down in a cloud and rested on Moses and the 70 elders and the men prophesied. Two of the seventy that Moses had designated had remained in the camp, yet the Spirit of the Lord rested on them as well and they prophesied.
     After this, a wind came up and blew quail into the camp so that there were quail in and around the camp in large numbers. The people went out and gathered up quail for all that day and night and the next day. They each gathered over 50 bushels. They ate so much of this that many became sick and died. They were not satisfied with the manna that God had provided and when He provided them with quail, they ate to excess and made themselves sick, some to the point of death.
     Miriam and Aaron (Moses’ sister and brother) began to attempt to undermine Moses’ authority using the fact that he had married a Cushite woman. It would be interesting to know if their objection to her was the fact that she was Cushite or the fact that she was not an Israelite. They proclaimed that God had spoken through them as well as through Moses, an attempt to establish their own authority not dependent on Moses. The passage tells us that Moses was humble, suggesting that he did not challenge their assertions. However, the passage tells us that God spoke to all three of them and told them to come out to the tent of meeting (the Tabernacle). God confronts Miriam and Aaron asking them why they were not frightened to criticize His servant Moses? The Lord then withdrew and Miriam exhibited a skin disease. Aaron begged Moses to forgive them and not allow Miriam to die from this skin disease. Moses called on God to heal Miriam. God instructs Moses that Miriam should remain outside of the camp for seven days. At the end of seven days Miriam returned to the camp healed.
     At their next camp location God instructed Moses to send men to explore the land of Canaan, one from each tribe. Moses selected twelve men, one from each of the tribes. The men went into the land and brought back samples of the produce grown there. When they returned to the camp they reported that it was a rich land with much food. However, they also reported that the people living in the land of Canaan were strong and powerful, living in well-defended cities. Caleb told the people that they should go at once and take the land because he was sure that they could. The other scouts disagreed with Caleb and convinced the Israelites that the people living on Canaan were too powerful for them. They told the people that they felt like grasshoppers when they looked at the people of the land and were sure that they were viewed in the same manner. Rather than focusing on God’s will for them and what He wanted them to do, they focused on their own ability and their perceptions of the abilities of others. Caleb on the other hand recognized that if they were to act as God desired, neither their own lack of capability nor the ability of those opposing them would be sufficient to prevent them from accomplishing the task which God had set for them. How often do I fail because I am convinced that a task which God has set before me is greater than my abilities, or because I believe that others have the ability to prevent me from accomplishing God’s purpose?

Mark 14:22-52

     While they were eating the Passover meal, Jesus took the bread, blessed it, broke it up giving it to the disciples telling them that this was His body. Then He took a cup of wine, gave thanks to God for it and passed it among them. He told them that the wine represented His blood which confirms God’s covenant. It was poured out for all who would believe. They then sang a hymn and departed for the Mount of Olives. On the way, Jesus told them that they would all desert Him, but that He would meet them in Galilee after He was risen. Peter claims that even if everyone else ran away, he would stand with Jesus. Jesus replied that before the cock crowed twice the following morning, Peter would disown Jesus three times. Peter vehemently denies that he would do such a thing, proclaiming that he would stand with Jesus even if it meant his own death. The other disciples echoed Peter’s claim.
     When they arrived at Gethsemane, Jesus told the disciples to sit down and pray while he took Peter, James and John a little further. He then told those three that He was overwhelmed with sadness and asked them to stay there and watch. He went a little further and prayed desperately that God not make Him go through the coming suffering, but surrendered Himself to God’s will. When He returned to the disciples He found them sleeping. He chided Peter telling him that he should pray so that he would not fall into temptation, suggesting that if he could not stay awake for one hour, how would he fulfill his promise to stand with Jesus in the face of death? Jesus went away and repeated His prayer returning to find the disciples asleep again. He woke them and went a third time to pray. When He returned the third time He woke them and told them that His betrayer had come.
      When Jesus confronted Peter, He said two things that are significant for us. First, He said that we should watch and pray so that we will not fall into temptation. This is perhaps my greatest failure in my walk. I do not pray as much as I ought. The second thing He said was that the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. This is so true. All too many times when I attempt to pray as I think I should I either fall asleep or I get distracted by something else. I need to find a way to pray more. I used to have a similar problem with reading the Bible. God has shown me how to use this blog to overcome that. I am confident that He will show me how to overcome my weakness when it comes to prayer.

Psalm 52:1-9

The psalmist condemns those who boast of their evil. We all know someone like that. Maybe we even sometimes get pleasure from telling others about the nasty things we have done to others. The psalmist tells us that those who revel in such things, who take pride in bringing about the destruction of others, will be destroyed by God. That God will destroy those who take delight in doing evil and causing harm to others. But those who have learned to rely on God’s unfailing love will thrive like a treasured olive tree. Rather than taking pleasure in causing the destruction of others we should trust God and strive to carry out His will.

Proverbs 11:1-3

We have three proverbs today that fit together (although they each have value independently). Those who use intentionally inaccurate weights and measures incur God’s wrath, while He lavishes His love on those who deal fairly. Those who allow themselves to become prideful will find their pride to be the cause of their disgrace, while the wise are humble. Good people will be guided by their honesty, while the treacherous will be destroyed by their lies.

Daily Bible Study

March 8, 2013 Bible Study — Complaining About What God Provides

March 7, 2013 AttilaDimedici

Numbers 10-11:23

The beginning of the passage describes how the Israelites made two silver trumpets which were blown in different patterns to signal different actions. After this the people set out from Sinai following the marching order that God had given them. As they traveled the people began to grumble about the hardship of the journey such that a fire broke out on the outskirts of the camp, killing some of the people. The people screamed for Moses and when he prayed to the Lord the fire stopped. However, even after this the people began to complain that they were tired of only having manna to eat. They grumbled that they wanted meat to eat. Moses cried out to the Lord in frustration and exhaustion over the complaints from the people. God instructed him to gather 70 leaders of the people. God was going to share some of the Spirit that was on Moses with these 70 men and they would share his burden of leadership, thus lightening the load on Moses. Then God told Moses that since the people had complained about not having meat to eat, He was going to give them meat. They were going to have meat to eat, not just for one day, or five days, or a week, but for an entire month. They were going to eat so much meat that they would come to loathe it before the supply was exhausted. Moses questioned where that much meat would come from in the wilderness and God replied that His hand was long enough to provide.
How often are we like the people of Israel? Do we complain because God has not made our lives easy? Even after He has delivered us from suffering? Do we complain that God’s provision for our needs is not good enough, that God has not given us the luxuries we desire? Is it possible to request more from God while being thankful for what He has already given us? I think that it is. But I think it is something we have to work very hard at, making sure that we are not whining about the things we do not have. I know that there are things I would like to have that I have prayed to God about, but I strive very hard to be thankful for what God has done for me.

Mark 14:1-21

     Two days before Passover Jesus went to a feast at Simon the Leper’s House. This man’s name is interesting since lepers were social outcasts at the time. It seems likely that he was not someone who was suffering from leprosy. While Jesus was there a woman broke open a jar of expensive perfume and poured it over Jesus’ head. Some of the guests were indignant that she had done this when the perfume could have been sold and the proceeds given to the poor. They rebuked her for her wasteful action. Jesus told them to leave her alone, that she had done a beautiful thing. This passage is one that tells us that the Gospel cannot be reduced to just caring for the poor and the oppressed, as some attempt to do. There is more to following Jesus than providing assistance to the needy. We should seek ways in which we can emulate this woman. I am not even sure I know what it means to emulate this woman.
     It was immediately after this incident that Judas went to the chief priests and offered to betray Jesus.
     On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the disciple asked Jesus where He wanted them to make the preparations for Him to eat the Passover meal. He tells them to go into the city and meet a man who will show them a room prepared for them to have the Passover meal. When I was growing up I always read this as them going to meet a stranger who would spontaneously agree to let them use his room (or maybe the man he worked tor would spontaneously let them use his room). However, the last few times I have read this it has seemed more likely that Jesus had prearranged with this man to celebrate the Passover meal in his room. That evening Jesus and the Twelve arrived and ate the meal. While they were eating, Jesus told them that one of them would betray Him. They each proclaimed their loyalty to Him and asked Him to affirm that He did not mean them. He responded by telling them that one of the Twelve, one of those dining with Him that night, would betray Him (the phrasing suggests that this was one of the ultimate forms of betrayal). He told them that what was going to happen had to happen and would happen according to God’s plan. But that it would have been better for the one who was going to betray Him if they had never been born. Jesus tells us that while His betrayal was according to God’s plan, the one who did the actual betrayal was still responsible for his actions. Just because the evil we choose to do fulfills God’s plans does not excuse us from responsibility for doing evil.

Psalm 51:1-19

This is another great psalm. There is a song by Keith Green based on this psalm that is one of my favorites. He uses the King James Version of verses 10-12:

Create in me a clean heart, O God;
and renew a right spirit within me.
Cast me not away from thy presence;
and take not thy holy spirit from me.
Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation;
This is a psalm that has much for me to study, although I cannot agree with the psalmist that it is only against God that I have sinned. There are many people whom I have wronged at one point or another, although in doing so I have sinned against God as well. Nevertheless it is to God that I will turn to for cleansing, for only He can cleanse me from my sins. It is only God who can work the change in my innermost being that is necessary for me to overcome sin in my life.
The psalmist reminds us that once we have accepted God’s cleansing we are to teach other sinners God’s ways, so that they, also, may turn to Him for cleansing. I desire to be as the psalmist declares. That every time my mouth opens I bring praise to God. I will take to heart the psalmist’s proclamation that God desires that we have a broken and contrite spirit more than He desires our offerings and sacrifices. Oh Lord, grant me a humble spirit and make me willing to serve You in all ways that you desire.
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Proverbs 10:31-32

The godly speak words of wisdom that provide others with helpful advice, while the wicked speak perverted words which will lead others to seek to shut them up. I will strive to say things that will be helpful to others.

Daily Bible Study

March 7, 2013 Bible Study — No One Knows the Day Or the Hour

March 6, 2013 AttilaDimedici

Numbers 8-9:23

After the dedication of Aaron and his sons, God gave Moses the instructions for dedicating the Levites. The Levites were to be purified and dedicated to the Lord in place of the firstborn sons of the rest of the Tribes of Israel.
A year after the Israelites had left Egypt, God instructed Moses that the Israelites should celebrate the Passover feast in remembrance of their deliverance from Egypt. The people of Israel made plans to celebrate the Passover at the appointed time. However, on the day of the feast some of the men were unclean because they had touched a dead body. They did not want to miss celebrating the Passover and went to Moses for instruction. Moses inquired of God as to what should be done. God instructed Moses that those who were ceremonially unclean from touching a dead body or are unable to celebrate the Passover at the appointed time because they are on a journey, they are to celebrate the Passover the following month instead of at the appointed time.

Mark 13:14-37

Today’s passage continues Jesus’ prophecy concerning the destruction of Jerusalem and the end times. He tells them that the sign that the destruction is about to commence is when an abomination is taken within the Temple (from the various translations I have read and their notes there is apparently ambiguity in the Greek as to whether the abomination is an object or a person). Jesus told His disciples that when the abomination occurs those living in Judea should flee to the mountains, not even taking the time to go out of their way to get traveling supplies. He further told them that this will be a time of suffering unequaled in all of history. Jesus said that God would cut the suffering short for the sake of His chosen. False prophets and false messiahs would arise during and after this time that would perform miracles and signs to deceive many. Jesus warns us to be on our guard against these false teachers. I remember that in the 1970s many people thought that this passage referenced a coming nuclear war.
Jesus then told His disciples that after this time of suffering is over He would return. He will appear in the clouds in great power and glory. There will be no mistaking His return, but it will occur at a time that no one will know in advance (excepting only God the Father). This is a very important passage for all Christians. We should study the Biblical prophecies about the end times, but not for the purpose of determining the date of Jesus’ return. The prophecies about the end times will give us insight into events that occur around us. They also remind us that, no matter how bad things appear, they are going according to a plan that God has determined for them. We need to remain prepared for Jesus’ return at all times because there is no way for us to know in advance when it will occur. However, when it does occur, no one will be in doubt about the fact that it has occurred.

Psalm 50:1-23

The psalm tells us that God calls those who have dedicated themselves to Him before Him. He tells us (I try very hard to be counted among those who are dedicated to God) that, while He is not unhappy with our offerings to Him, He does not need them, everything in the world is already His. God reminds us that what He truly desires from us is our thankfulness for what He has done for us and our obedience to His commands. However, the psalm also tells us that God condemns those who claim righteousness and recite pious platitudes only as cover for their wicked actions. Reciting righteous platitudes will not hide our evil actions from God. We must repent of our sin and turn to following God’s path before He destroys us. I will strive each day to give my thanks to God for all that He has done for me.

Proverbs 10:29-30

How well today’s proverb fits with the psalm. The proverb tells us that those who follow the way of the Lord with integrity will find it to be a stronghold which protects them from attacks. However, those who attempt to use the Lord’s path as cover for evil actions will be destroyed by the very thing that protects those who follow it honestly. This is a direct assault on hypocrisy. Those who hypocritically espouse God’s truth while violating God’s commands will be destroyed by their own words. Those who righteously follow the Lord will be rooted deeply and firmly, but the wicked will be swept aside when troubles come.

Daily Bible Study

March 6, 2013 Bible Study — The Holy Spirit Speaks Through Us

March 5, 2013 AttilaDimedici

Numbers 6-7:89

The passage lays out the practice of becoming a Nazarite, that is, one dedicated to the Lord. The idea is that they would make a vow dedicating themselves to the Lord for a period of time. During that time they would be dedicated to performing some action for the Lord and would not drink any alcoholic beverage (or even eat anything derived from the grapevine), they would not cut their hair (I read this to include their beard, but that may be a misunderstanding) and they would avoid dead bodies (even those of close relatives). At the end of the period of their vow, they would ritually cut their hair and offer a special sacrifice indicating that it was completed.
Next the passage gives a blessing that the priests are to give to the people of Israel in the Lord’s name. It is one that has often been used as the benediction of worship services.

‘May the Lord bless you
and protect you.
May the Lord smile on you
and be gracious to you.
May the Lord show you his favor
and give you his peace.’
I had not realized that this benediction came from this source. I have not heard this used in some time and would like to hear its use revived.
Today’s passage concludes with a description of the offering brought by the leaders of each tribe for the dedication of the completed Tabernacle.

Mark 12:38-13:13

After the exchanges in which various religious leaders and teachers of religious law had attempted to trap Jesus with their questions, Jesus taught the people to beware of them. He accused them of desiring to gain honor as men of righteousness while at the same time cheating the vulnerable. He then goes and sits down by the collection box and watched as people went through and made their cash offerings. Many wealthy people came by and threw in large amounts of money. Then a poor widow came by and put in two small coins. Jesus pointed this out to His disciples and commended the widow. He told them that her donation was more to God because the others gave out of their excess, while she gave out of what she had to live on. Her offering actually cost her. We should strive to follow her example.
As they left the Temple that day one of the disciples pointed out to Jesus how magnificent the Temple was. Jesus told him that the buildings of the Temple compound would be destroyed, razed to the ground. Peter, James, John and Andrew asked Jesus privately when that would happen, what the signs would be that it was about to happen? Jesus tells them that there would be wars and rumors of wars, armed strife throughout the world. There would be earthquakes and famines. His followers would be arrested and suffer punishment for following His teachings. They would be brought to trial before various government officials where they would be called on to testify to His name. Jesus told them not to prepare in advance what they would say. They were to say what came to them as they testified because the Holy Spirit would speak through them. I think this is meant us as much as for the disciples and not just when we are brought before persecuting tribunals. Are we willing to say what the Holy Spirit leads us to say when we are in a situation where acknowledging our faith might get us ridiculed? As important, do we let the Holy Spirit guide our speech when we make public presentations, or do we think we have to have it all planned out in advance? Do I?

Psalm 49:1-20

We are all the same before God, rich and poor, powerful and weak. Those who rely on their wealth and boast of their connections and power will die and stand before God just as those who have nothing. Their great wealth will not buy them from the grave and punishment for their sins. Only by placing our trust in God can we hope to have redemption from our sins. In the end, our wealth and power will gain us nothing when we come before God.

Proverbs 10:27-28

It is fear of the Lord that allows us to live a long and happy life. Those who revel in wickedness will find their lives cut short. Those who obey the Lord and live in righteousness will find joy in all they do, while those who follow wicked paths will find their hopes crumble to dust.

Daily Bible Study

March 5, 2013 Bible Study — Most Important Commandment

March 4, 2013 AttilaDimedici

Numbers 4-5:31

The first part of this passage assigns tasks concerning the care and transportation of the Tabernacle to the various clans of the tribe of Levi. It then records the number of men in each clan who are between the age of 30 and 50 and eligible to serve in the Tabernacle.
The next section instructs the people of Israel to place those who are ceremonially unclean outside of the camp. The description of things which qualify for this treatment are things which we know now increase the likelihood that someone might be carrying a communicable disease. The passage concludes with a test which a suspicious husband can ask to have applied if he believes that his wife has been unfaithful but has no evidence. We read this and it seems somewhat harsh leaving to chance which women are declared guilty and which innocent, but that viewpoint dismisses the possibility of divine intervention.

Hyacinths send forth some leaves, can blooms be far behind?

Mark 12:18-37

     Yet another group of religious leaders approached Jesus with a trick question. This group was from the Sadducees, a group that believed there was no resurrection of the dead. Their question was about a woman who married and then was widowed by each of seven brothers and had no children. Their question was to which of the brothers she would be married in the resurrection? This is a clever question. There is no easy out as none of the brothers have any children, so which one would take priority as her husband when they are all resurrected. They thought that this question was the perfect logical conundrum about why there must be no resurrection of the dead. Jesus immediately shoots their argument full of holes. First, He tells them that the reason they don’t believe in the resurrection is because they neither understand the Scripture no believe in the power of God. He then explains that after the resurrection humans will no longer be sexual beings (I want to come back to this in a moment). So that their conundrum is moot, the woman, and everyone else, will not be married to anyone in the resurrection. He then goes on to point out how God spoke in the present tense about Abraham, Isaac and Jacob when He spoke to Moses, not in the past tense as He would have if they were dead.
     Jesus’ comment here about the fact that we will not be married nor get married after the resurrection says something to us about human sexuality to which we should pay attention. Our society today puts a lot of emphasis on sexual identity. It tells us that who we are is defined by who, and how often, we have sex with. Jesus is telling us that our sexuality is a temporary thing and peripheral who we truly are. That our sexuality no more determines who we are than what food we eat or what clothes we wear. While all of these tell other people things about who we are, they do not define who we are. When we start to allow our sexual behavior to define who we are and to become more important than anything else, we are setting it up in the place of God. We should define ourselves by our relationship with God, not by our sexual desires.
     Back to the story: An interesting thing happened next. A teacher of the law who was not part of any of the factions was passing through the Temple and overheard the debates involving Jesus. He was impressed by Jesus’ answer and was curious as to the depth of Jesus’ understanding. So he asked Jesus a question. He asked Jesus which of the commandments was the most important. Jesus answered him fully, completely and directly. Jesus told him that the most important commandment was that God was one God and that we should love Him with all of our being and ability. Jesus followed this up by saying that the second most important commandment was to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. Jesus says that these two commands are more important than all of the others. The man who asked the question agrees that those two commands are far more important than all of the others. This exchange, following as it does the several attempts to trap Jesus, makes those who opposed Him afraid to ask Him more questions, since the effect of their attempts to trap Him has been to make even more people be impressed by His wisdom. If we follow these two commands we will do everything else that God desires of us. There are two mistakes that people make regarding this. Some people forget these two and put more emphasis on some other command from God than loving and serving God or than loving our neighbors. However, some people think that they know better than God about what causes harm. All too often people fail to point out the consequences of sin because they want to be seen as loving and not as being judgmental. They forget that it is not loving to fail to warn someone of the danger they are putting themselves in.

Psalm 48:1-14

This psalm has been used as the basis for worship songs and I certainly understand why. When I read this psalm it reminds me to praise God and to think of why He is worthy of my praise. When men muster their strength and strive to go against God’s will they will be routed no matter how much power they may have at their disposal. On the other hand, those who stand within God’s love, obeying His will, will be safe no matter how weak they are and how strong those seeking their harm. I will meditate on God’s unfailing love and look for His guidance. God will be my guide throughout my entire life. This reminds me that I do not spend enough time in those twin disciplines of prayer and meditation.

Proverbs 10:26

This proverb tells us that those who are lazy are intensely irritating to those who employ them. I will strive not to be such an irritant.

Daily Bible Study

March 4, 2013 Bible Study — By What Authority?

March 3, 2013 AttilaDimedici

Numbers 2-3:51

This passage starts by describing how the tribes of the people of Israel would camp and their marching order. It describes how God gave the Israelites a very careful order as they traveled through the wilderness. The passage goes on to give the enumeration of the males in the tribe of Levi one month old and older (the Levites has not been included in the earlier census of fighting age men). Once they were counted, the clans of the tribe of Levi were assigned tasks regarding the care for the Tabernacle. Finally God told the people of Israel that their firstborn sons belonged to Him since He had spared their firstborn when He struck the firstborn among the Egyptians. However, the Levites would be dedicated to God’s service to redeem the firstborn sons of the rest of the Tribes.

Mark 11:27-12:17

     When Jesus returned to the Temple, the religious leaders came up to Him and demanded to know by what authority He was acting (in particular, they were asking by what authority He had driven the merchants out of the Temple). Jesus responded by asking them where John’s authority to baptize had come, from heaven or from man? They gathered together to discuss the possible answers. They realized that if they said it was from heaven, they would have to explain why they did not follow his teaching. On the other hand, they were afraid of the reaction of the crowd if they said that John was acting on mere human authority. So, they answered that they did not know. Jesus replied that since they did not answer His question, He would not answer theirs. The implication that Jesus’ authority to do what He had done came from the same place that John’s authority to baptize would not have been lost on the crowd (nor on the religious leaders). Jesus then goes on to tell a story about tenant farmers who, rather than pay the landowner what they owe him, kill his son when he is sent to collect the rent. The religious leaders realize that this story is directed at them and wish to arrest Jesus but they are afraid of how the crowd would react.
     In order to set Jesus up so that they can arrest Him, the religious leaders sent some Pharisees and supporters of Herod to ask Him a question. They start by stating how trustworthy they think Jesus’ teaching is and how He teaches the way of God truthfully. They then ask Him if it is right for the Jews to pay taxes to Caesar. This is a clever trap. If Jesus answers that it is wrong to pay taxes to Caesar, they can claim that He is preaching insurrection and have the Romans arrest Him. If on the other hand, He says that the Jews must pay the tax, He will lose credibility with the people and they will be able to accuse Him of supporting idolatry.
     Jesus recognizes the trap and quickly shows them to be hypocrites. He asks them to show Him a coin used to pay the tax, which they quickly produce. This shows the crowd who these questioners really are. The only people who would have been carrying such a coin would have been people who conducted a significant amount of business with the Roman forces in Judea. Jesus then asks them whose image and title are stamped on the coin, to which they reply, “Caesar’s”. These two things together stamped on the coins proclaimed Caesar’s divinity. Jesus is pointing out that carrying this coin is implicitly accepting Caesar’s claim of divinity. He then tells them to give to Caesar that which rightly belongs to Caesar and to God what rightly belongs to God. Many in the crowd would have remembered the question about Jesus’ authority and would have realized that these men were part of the same group. The men who had questioned Jesus’ authority were revealed to consider Caesar as the source of their own authority to determine the answer to religious questions.
     The question that this passage raised for me is this: in what way may I be guilty of carrying “Caesar’s coin” into God’s Temple? In what ways am I guilty of accepting the authority of government (or other forms of Man’s claim to divinity) in place of God’s?

Psalm 47:1-9

Clap your hands and shout for joy. Don’t be afraid of making a fool of yourself. It is time to praise the Lord and let the world know that we believe in His might. The Lord Most High is awesome, in both the current usage of being really neat and in the original usage of being awe inspiring to the point of causing fear. We should joyfully praise Him because He rules over the world and nothing happens that is not according to His plan.

Discussing the day's events — Discussing the day’s events

Proverbs 10:24-25

Today’s proverb makes a good point. The wicked will indeed see their fears come to pass while the godly will see things work out according to their hopes. Sooner or later, everyone will face troubles. The wicked will be swept under by the storm, while the righteous, who have built their lives on a solid foundation, will weather the storm.

Daily Bible Study

March 3, 2013 Bible Study — Moving Mountains

March 2, 2013 AttilaDimedici

Leviticus 27:14-34

Today’s passage spells out how to go about how someone would redeem for other use possessions which they had dedicated to the Lord. It spells out how to determine what kind of compensation they would need to give in the place of various things. This is a continuation from yesterday. Nowhere does it spell out what would happen to a dedicated possession which is not redeemed (although it seems to say that animals which could be offered as sacrifices would be sacrificed at some point if they are not redeemed). This appears to be the passage that was the basis for the “loophole” that Jesus condemned the Pharisees for, where they allowed someone to “dedicate” their property to God and thus avoid using it to care for their parents.

Numbers 1:1-54

The book of Numbers begins with a census which Moses took of the men who were able to go to war among the people of Israel. The count was slightly over 600,000 men and did not include the men of the tribe of Levi.

Mark 11:1-25

     Jesus begins the final week before His crucifixion by staging a triumphal ride into Jerusalem. Yes, Jesus staged the Triumphal Entry. However, it is probable that His entry into Jerusalem was going to be a major scene no matter how He did it. Jesus had attracted quite a following over the years of His ministry. People wanted to see what all the fuss was about. Jesus made His entry into Jerusalem in a manner that sent a message. He rode in on the colt of a donkey. By doing this He declared that He was coming in peace, not as a warrior king who was about to go to war to deliver His people. He led this procession all the way to the Temple, where He looked around and then left for the evening.
     The following morning on the way back to the Temple, Jesus passed a fig tree which He approached to see if it had any figs. When He found that it had no figs, He cursed the tree. The only time in the Bible where Jesus demonstrated any anger on His own behalf (although perhaps His temper was a little short because He was thinking about what He had seen at the Temple the day before). When Jesus arrived at the Temple He drove those who had turned the Temple courtyard into a marketplace out of it. The merchants were set up in the place that intended for non-Jews to come to worship the Lord. When the leading priests and teachers of religious law heard what He had done, they wanted to kill Him. Why? Because they were making a profit off of these merchants (that’s me reading between the lines again). There was nothing wrong with the priests and religious leaders making a profit off of the merchants in and of itself. The problem was that they taught that people needed to purchase their sacrifices from these merchants, who they made a profit off of (reading between the lines again). They were using their positions as arbiters of religious law to exploit the people. They wanted to kill Jesus because He had exposed them and their little scam relied on the majority of people not realizing that they were being exploited. In the evening, Jesus and His disciples left the city once more.
     When they returned the following morning, the disciples noticed that the fig tree which Jesus had cursed the day before had already withered. When Peter pointed this out to Jesus, He replied by telling them to have faith in God. If they truly have faith, whatever they ask of God will come to pass. He gives the example of a mountain being cast into the sea at their command. I believe that part of having faith that God will do what we ask of Him is that we start the process. I like using the example of the mountain because it sums up how I see this. Why would we ask God to move a mountain into the sea? We would do so because we believe that it is necessary to accomplish some good in this world that God approves of and is thus God’s will. If we truly believe that it is God’s will that a particular mountain be moved into the sea, we will begin attempting to move it, even if that means moving it a shovelful at a time, even if we can see no way that we would ever complete the task.
     Mark mentions and additional instruction from Jesus for when we ask for something in prayer. Jesus tells us that when we are praying, if there is anyone who has done something that offends us we are to forgive them so that God may forgive us of our sins. If we are unable to forgive those we believe to have done us wrong, we will be unable to accept God’s forgiveness of our sins.

Psalm 46:1-11

This psalm is a beautiful reminder of God’s love and providence. There is no way that I can express this better than the psalmist.

God is our refuge and strength,
always ready to help in times of trouble.
So we will not fear when earthquakes come
and the mountains crumble into the sea.
Let the oceans roar and foam.
Let the mountains tremble as the waters surge!
I will hold onto God as my refuge and strength and then, no matter what comes to pass, I will not fear.
Be still, and know that I am God!
I will be honored by every nation.
I will be honored throughout the world.
How hard it is to be still! Our world constantly offers distractions and attempts to get us to stop listening before we hear what God has to say to us. Sometimes we just need to be still and know that He is God. He will be honored throughout the world and in every nation.

Proverbs 10:23

What a true proverb. I remember enjoying planning to do something that I knew was wrong. I know people who get a thrill out of doing that which is “forbidden”. It reminds of something a parent I know recently told me (this parent is also a teacher). They said that children are always going to go over the line that you draw. This means that you need to draw the line somewhere so that when they go over the line, they won’t be doing something that causes them harm they can never recover from. He did not say the other part of that. That the line has to be drawn so that when they go over the line, they can see the danger of doing so, so they can see that the line is not arbitrary but is actually there to protect them from danger.
The proverb then gives the counter to those who get pleasure from doing what they know is wrong. Those who have wisdom get pleasure from recognizing the dangers of doing wrong. I have found that I find great pleasure in choosing to do that which I realize is the wise course of action (although I do not always do so).

Daily Bible Study

March 2, 2013 Bible Study — If You Want To Be Great, Serve Others

March 1, 2013 AttilaDimedici

Leviticus 25:47-27:13

The passage establishes that if one of the people of Israel were to sell themselves to a foreigner living in the land of Israel, they would have the right to have their freedom bought by one of their relatives at any time. In addition, they and their children would go be released in the next Year of Jubilee. The Sabbath Year and the Year of Jubilee could give us ideas about social relationships that would go a long way towards improving social justice. I do not suggest that they should be made the law of the land, but Christians should examine these concepts and consider how they could implement parts of them on a personal level (the Sabbath Year concept is the basis for the sabbatical year that many missionary organizations give to missionaries. Some other groups give sabbatical years as well).
The next section begins by reiterating the command to worship God alone and offer worship to no other being or thing in His place and the command to keep the Sabbath. It is interesting that so often the command to not worship idols is paired with the command to keep the Sabbath as a day of rest (and worship). The section goes on to discuss the ways in which God will reward the people for keeping His commands, followed by a section on how He will punish them if they fail to do so. I am uneasy applying the promises which God gave to the people of Israel to any other group in history, however, I think there are some things to be seen about living in this world revealed here. I believe that if one studies history they will observe that societies which align with the moral code laid out in the commands God gave the people of Israel generally prosper. In addition, when those societies begin to abandon those moral codes, their prosperity begins to diminish. I believe that if you read what God tells the people will happen if they disobey His commands you see a gradual escalation in the bad things that happen to a people who refuse to keep the moral code that God built into the Universe. There are certain principles that when followed lead to prosperity and success and when they are violated lead to poverty and misery. This applies both on a personal level and on the societal level.

Mark 10:32-52

     As they were heading to Jerusalem Jesus took the Twelve aside and told them that the chief priests and religious leaders would arrest Him and turn Him over to the Romans to be executed. He continued by telling them that three days after His death He would rise. Mark tells us that after this, James and John came to Jesus and requested that He seat them on His right and left when He came into His glory (Matthew says that their mother made this request, but implies that they put her up to it). Jesus responded by first asking if they could take the suffering He was about to experience, to which they replied that they could. Jesus then told them that they would indeed experience such suffering, but that those who would sit in those seats had already been chosen. The rest of the Twelve became angry when they realized what James and John had attempted.Jesus called them all together and gave them a crash course in how to achieve greatness in the Kingdom of Heaven. He repeated to them what He had told them after they had been arguing about which of them was the greatest. He tells them that if they wish to be great they must be the servant of others. Jesus points out that those who are regarded as the rulers of this world exercise control over others and demand that those others serve them. We are not to be like that, we should strive to serve the needs of others. The fact that Jesus repeats this here suggest that this was something very important for us to hear.
     The interesting thing about that is that this teaching requires us to both serve others to the best of our ability and to allow others to serve us. This second part does not mean that we tell others what to do for us. Rather it means that when others come to us and ask to do something for us, we allow them to do so. One of the most influential events of my childhood was when my family home was flooded in a major flood. We suffered significant loss, inconvenience and same small suffering, but others suffered significantly more. When it came time to clean up and recover from the damage, my parents did not want to accept help. They thought that those who wished to help them should expend their efforts helping others who had suffered worse. This was a noble sentiment. However, two of the other elders in the church (my father was one of the elders at that time) came to my parents and pointed out to them that it was also hubris. They pointed out that my parents had helped many of these people when those people had needs, these people now wanted to return that favor. By refusing their help my parents were implicitly claiming to be better people than those people. They were saying, “You needed our help, but we don’t need your help.” Not only did my parents accept this rebuke and accept the help of those who offered, but it became a story my father told to illustrate this very point (every time he did so it was also used to illustrate how he had succumbed to pride. My father was a master at telling stories about his experience that both illustrated the teachings of Christ and the fact that he was a sinner no better than his audience).
     As Jesus and the crowd following Him were leaving the city of Jericho, a blind man named Bartimaeus began loudly calling out to Jesus asking for His mercy. Many in the crowd rebuked him, telling him that he was making it hard for them to hear what Jesus was saying, and besides he shouldn’t disturb the great man (I’m reading between the lines here). But the blind man did not listen, he was determined to get Jesus attention. Jesus told those around Him to call the blind man to Him. When the blind man heard that Jesus wanted to talk to him, he jumped up and left his belongings where they lay and rushed to Jesus. When he got there, Jesus asked him what he wanted. The blind man replied that he wanted to see. Jesus told him that his faith had healed him and he immediately was able to see. Bartimaeus was not willing to let public disapproval discourage him from seeking Jesus and he had no doubts that Jesus could fix his problems. When Jesus called him to come, he jumped up and left everything behind to come to Him. Then, he did not go back to get his things but followed Jesus on His way. Do we express a similar confidence in Jesus and joy in following Him?

Psalm 45:1-17

This psalm can be seen partially as a prophecy about the coming Messiah, but it more readily fits as praise of an existing godly ruler or advice to those who govern. Those rulers who truly love righteousness and hate wickedness will be blessed by God. Their enemies will be routed and their lands will be prosperous.

Proverbs 10:22

When a person acquires wealth as a blessing from the Lord it comes without additional sorrow. I am not sure I understand this proverb.

Fact and Fantasy

March 11, 2013 Bible Study — Are We Ever Truly Abandoned By God?

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March 10, 2013 Bible Study — Answering Charges Against Our Faith

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March 9, 2013 Bible Study — The Spirit Is Willing, But the Flesh Is Weak

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March 8, 2013 Bible Study — Complaining About What God Provides

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March 7, 2013 Bible Study — No One Knows the Day Or the Hour

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March 6, 2013 Bible Study — The Holy Spirit Speaks Through Us

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March 5, 2013 Bible Study — Most Important Commandment

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March 4, 2013 Bible Study — By What Authority?

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March 3, 2013 Bible Study — Moving Mountains

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March 2, 2013 Bible Study — If You Want To Be Great, Serve Others

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