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.
Today’s passage starts by telling us that those who despise what God says, preferring to instead rely on oppression and lies, will experience calamity. Calamity will fall upon them suddenly, seemingly without warning (although, the prophet compares it to the collapse of a bulging wall, so the warning is there for those who are willing to see). It is only by turning to God and resting in Him with quiet confidence that we will be saved from the coming calamity (the prophet was referring to a specific event in history, but I believe that his words apply to us today). However, rather than follow that course, they chose to turn to a foreign nation, a human agent, for rescue. God warns us that when the time of trouble comes human agents will fail us.
God longs to be gracious to us, so He will show us compassion. Those who wait for His help will be blessed. If we call to God for help, He will answer. He will be our teacher, a voice in our ears telling us when to turn right and when to turn left.
This reminds me of a recent event I went to for the group I fence with. Part of what we do at some of our events is to conduct something called melee, where one group of fencers attempts to be victorious over another group of fencers, all fighting at once. This is very different from one on one bouts. One of the important things is teamwork and working together, just as in any sport. I have done fencing melee on several occasions and it has never gone well. By the time I figure out where I should be to support my teammates, I have been eliminated from the field. However, on this last occasion, I, and another fencer inexperienced in melee, was matched up with a veteran with experience directing other fencers in melee. He spent a good bit of his time telling us when to move right and when to move left, when to move forward and when to move back. He gave me directions on where to focus my attention. This made it much more fun then my previous experiences. I did not have to worry about how what I was doing fit into what everybody else was doing, somebody else was doing that. I could focus on doing my part, letting someone else guide me to fit it into the big picture.
Paul wrote that Christ has set us free. Now that we have been freed we must not willingly enslave ourselves once more. Paul uses the example of circumcision to show us that we cannot find favor with God by following a set of rules and regulations. If we try to make ourselves right with God, we are rejecting God’s grace whereby He made us right with Him through Christ’s sacrifice. What is important is that we have faith, which will be exhibited through love.
Paul warns us that false teachings can be like yeast. Something that seems like it is a disagreement over a minor point of doctrine can spread and influence everything until our entire belief system has become corrupted. If we place our trust first and foremost in God, He will keep us from believing false teachings. God will hold accountable those who spread such confusion.
I read this psalm and want to embrace it as a meditation for my heart.
O God, you are my God;
I earnestly search for you.
My soul thirsts for you;
my whole body longs for you
in this parched and weary land
where there is no water.
I strive to search for God and His will for my life with all of my being. The imagery presented here of someone thirsting for water in a parched desert is such a great metaphor for how our souls long after God. I have occasionally been involved in intense athletic activity on a hot summer’s day. When I got done, I was so thirsty that I could wanted water and even after drinking my fill I wanted more. That is how I want to feel about God, like I can never get enough of Him. It seems to me that the closer I get to God, the closer I want to get to God.
Listen to your parents, they have a lot to teach me. Even now, more than 20 years after my father’s death I think of things he taught me and thank God for his wisdom. I know that I fall short of spending the time with my mother that I should.