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.

     Today’s passage lists the sacrifices to be made as part of each of the yearly festivals. On each day of the festivals they were to offer varying numbers of bulls, rams and male lambs. They were to accompany these with a grain offering of fine flour moistened with olive oil–six quarts with each bull, four quarts with each ram and two quarts with each lamb. In addition, they were to offer a male goat on each day of each festival as a sin offering.

     Luke here gives the genealogy of Jesus. This genealogy varies from that given by Matthew. The explanation that makes the most sense is that Matthew gave the genealogy of Joseph and Luke is here giving us the genealogy of Mary. So where this passage reads “Joseph was the son of Heli,” if it was written today it would read “Joseph was the son-in-law of Heli.” There was no term for “son-in-law” in the Greek used by Luke, so there was no way for him to write that. We today think of “son-in-law” as a separate term, however it originated as a term to refer to an adopted son, whether that son was adopted because he married the daughter or just adopted. Another way to write it would be “son(in law)” to distinguish from a biological son.
     I have always found the explanation that Luke was tracing Mary’s lineage and Matthew tracing Joseph’s somewhat unsatisfying. However, when I did a little searching today on the background of the term “son-in-law” and discovered that it used to be used to refer to a stepson as well as to someone married to one’s daughter, it began to make much more sense (when combined with the fact that Greek did not have a term for “son-in-law”). Luke several times mentions that Joseph was “thought” to be Jesus’ father.

     This psalm refers twice to waiting quietly before God (in the New Living Translation), the NIV translates that as “my soul find rest in God.” Both translations paint a picture that is very soothing. When we face troubles we should quiet ourselves and place our minds in a state of waiting restfully for God to act. God is my rock and my salvation, I will let no one and nothing shake my faith in Him. No enemy or other trouble can reach me when I am centered in Him. When God blesses me with material wealth I will not allow it to replace Him as the center of my life. All power belongs to God who loves us with unfailing love.

     Wicked acts yield rewards that appear great, but are either fleeting or bring destruction (or are both fleeting and bring destruction). The rewards for righteous behavior are permanent. Living according to God’s will leads to life, while choosing sinful behavior leads to death.