Those who do wrong are eager to hear gossip about others, and liars enjoy hearing others slandered. In both cases the reason is because it allows them to justify their own sins. So the question to ask yourself is, are you eager to hear gossip and do you seek out stories about what others have done wrong?
Everybody is made in the image of God, if you mock those less fortunate than yourself you are mocking God. If you enjoy when others suffer, you will experience suffering of your own.
The psalmist takes a position we should all emulate. He refuses to be proud and haughty. He does not worry about the things he fails to understand. Rather he calms and quiets himself while putting his trust in the Lord. God will provide us answers to the questions which affect our lives. If we have questions about things which do not impact our lives, let us not be so proud that we think we must know the answer.
This story in Acts is a great follow on to today’s psalm. Why did God choose Saul for this experience? Saul was arrogant and proud. He was convinced of his own righteousness, until God took him down a peg, or several. Ananias (different than the one who died a few passages back) was humble. He did as God instructed, despite his justifiable fear. We see in the rest of Acts why God chose Saul. We should keep that in mind when we see those who sinned greatly touched by the Holy Spirit.
Solomon married many women and took many more as concubines, despite God’s commands through Moses not to do so. To make matters worse he married women from nations whom God had commanded the Israelites not to marry. God had told the Israelites that if they married such women they would turn their hearts to other gods, and sure enough, Solomon took to worshiping the many gods of his wives. He went so far as to build shrines to the many foreign gods his wives worshiped. These were gods which had temple prostitutes, and gods to whom children were sacrificed.
The result of Solomon’s unfaithfulness to God was that the peace which David had established was gradually destroyed and rebellion occurred within Israel.
Those who do wrong are eager to hear gossip about what others are doing wrong so that they can justify their wrongdoing to themselves. Liars readily accept the lies told about others. Seeking out gossip and readily accepting slanderous accusations against others are signs of someone of dubious character. If we do these things, others will judge us accordingly and we should be careful around those who do them.
Mocking the poor for their poverty is an insult to God, who made them. If we rejoice in the misfortune of others, we will suffer for it. It is one thing to point out that someone’s poverty or other misfortune results from their actions in order to teach them, or others, to avoid such self-destructive behaviors (this can be a good thing). It is quite another to be happy that others have suffered such unhappiness. Let us strive to empathize with those who suffer, even when they have brought that suffering on themselves.
I will not be proud or arrogant. I will not become distracted from doing God’s will by thoughts about things which I cannot change. I will not seek to make myself look more important in the eyes of others by my explanations of difficult theological issues. I will calm and quiet myself as I put my trust in God. I will choose to echo the man born blind whose sight Jesus restored. “One thing I know, I was blind, but now I see.”
This passage gives us an example of the power of the Holy Spirit to change people. Saul was a fervent persecutor of believers. Yet, when the Spirit struck him, he became one of the most fervent evangelists the world has ever seen. The very skills and gifts which had made Saul a persecutor of the Church made him a target of persecution when he became a believer. As I read this today, I realize that all too often we focus on Saul in this story, but the example we are asked to follow is that of Ananias. God told Ananias to go to Saul and lay hands on him in order to restore his sight. Ananias had heard of Saul’s mission to arrest the believers in Damascus, but followed God’s leading and went to Saul anyway. Ananias went into harm’s way in order to follow the Spirit’s leading and bring healing. Many people list Saul/Paul as the most influential man in the history of the Church, but if it was not for Ananias (who we often overlook) Saul would never have come to the faith he spent so much of his life promoting.
Despite God’s warnings against marrying women from the surrounding people’s Solomon took many wives from among them. I have many times heard it said that Solomon had these many wives because, as king, he made political marriages to seal alliances. While that might be partially true, I think the passage hits more closely on it. Solomon loved women, especially those he viewed as somewhat exotic, and perhaps a little dangerous. Certainly, if Solomon had married these women for political alliance, he appears to have chosen poorly. As a result of his involvement with these women, Solomon began following the religious practices of the surrounding peoples. He worshiped Ashtoreth, Molech, and Chemosh. He built a shrine for Chemosh, and a shrine for Molech. Ashtoreth is known for her temple prostitutes, while Molech and Chemosh are noted for the various forms of human sacrifice practiced in their worship.
Solomon’s actions, and failure to heed God’s word, left his son, Rehoboam, with a poor understanding of how to rule. When Solomon died and Rehoboam became king, the people asked Rehoboam to ease the tax burden which Solomon had imposed on them. Rather than listen to their request, or take the advice of his father’s advisers, Rehoboam chose to tell the people that he would increase the burden and rule more harshly than his father. As a result of Rehoboam’s stubbornness the people of Israel revolted against him. Like so many before and after him, Rehoboam thought that leadership was doing what he wanted, rather than serving those whom one was leading. Let us remember that if God calls us to leadership, it is in order that we may serve those whom he has called us to lead.
I have been using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study for almost a year. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I started writing this blog because the only way I can get myself to read the Bible everyday is to pretend that I am teaching someone about what it says to me. 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 censures Solomon for his many wives. Not only did Solomon marry many wives against God’s instructions, they were from nations with which God had told the Israelites they were not to intermarry. Solomon did as God had warned would happen if the Israelites married women from those nations, he began to worship gods other than God. Solomon began to worship Ashtoreth, Molech and Chemosh. He even built places for worship at the high places for these foreign gods. I believe that, as worship of God gradually became more centralized at the Temple which Solomon had built, Solomon and others among the people of Israel replaced His worship at the high places with worship of idols. As a result of Solomon’s idolatry, God caused two kings to rise up in opposition to Solomon in nations which had formerly been pacified by his father David.
In addition, God sent the prophet Ahijah to Jeroboam, a man whom Solomon had put in charge of the labor force from the descendants of Joseph. Ahijah told Jeroboam that God was going to tear ten of the tribes from Solomon’s son because of Solomon’s failure to faithfully follow God’s commands and decrees. God told Jeroboam that he was going to punish David’s descendants, but not forever, because of Solomon’s sins and that if Jeroboam followed God faithfully, God would establish his descendants on the throne of the ten tribes. Solomon made an attempt to have Jeroboam killed, but Jeroboam fled to Egypt until after Solomon’s death.
When Solomon died and his son Rehoboam took the throne, Jeroboam returned to Israel. Rehoboam went to Shechem to be crowned king of all Israel. The leaders of Israel asked Jeroboam to be their spokesman as they approached Rehoboam with a petition about his reign. They asked Rehoboam to reduce the labor demands and taxes which Solomon had imposed. If he was willing to do this, the people of Israel would agree to making him king. Rehoboam requested three days to formulate an answer. Rehoboam first consulted with his father’s advisers. They told him that he should agree to the request of the people of Israel, that if he did so, the people would become his devoted followers. Rehoboam did not like this answer, so he asked the advice of the young men he had grown up with. They advised him to answer with arrogance and braggadocio, to tell the people of Israel that, not only would he not reduce the burden his father Solomon had placed on them, he would increase it. As a result of his answer, the people of the northern tribes rejected Rehoboam as their king. When Rehoboam, still at Shechem, sent his official in charge of forced labor out the people of Israel stoned him to death. Rehoboam immediately fled back to Jerusalem, just barely escaping the enraged people.
After the stoning of Stephen, Saul started seeking believers and dragging them out for persecution, eager to kill those who professed belief in Jesus. He obtained letters from the high priest to the synagogues in Damascus requesting their aid in arresting believers in order to bring them back to Jerusalem as prisoners. As he approached Damascus on this mission a bright light shown down on and around him. Saul fell to the ground and heard a voice asking him why he was persecuting the speaker. Saul asked who the speaker was. The voice said, “I am Jesus…” and told Saul to get up and go into the city, where he would be told what to do. The men traveling with Saul heard a voice speaking to him, but saw no one. When Saul opened his eyes, he was blind. The men with him led him into the city. Saul fasted for the next three days.
Meanwhile God spoke to a believer named Ananias (not the one who died for lying to the Holy Spirit). God told Ananias to go to the house where Saul was staying and lay hands on him so that he could see again. Ananias replied that he had heard about Saul and the terrible things he had done to believers. He had even heard that Saul had come to Damascus to arrest believers. God answered that Saul was his chosen instrument to take His name to Gentiles and their rulers. Ananias did as God had commanded.
Saul’s sight was restored and he ate some food. He stayed with the believers in Damascus and began preaching in the synagogue. He began preaching in the synagogues that Jesus was the Son of God. Everyone who heard him preach was amazed because they knew that up until a few days prior he had been persecuting those who preached in Jesus’ name. Saul’s preaching became ever more powerful and none of the Jews in Damascus could refute his arguments that Jesus was the Messiah. Some of the Jews decided to kill Saul, but the believers in Damascus caught wind of this and lowered Saul over the wall in a basket.
This story gives us a reason to never give up hope for the salvation of those we know who have not accepted Christ. No matter how strongly someone opposes the message of the Gospel, if there is a chance that they will listen, the Holy Spirit will strike them in a way they will find impossible to ignore.
This psalm is one which we would do well to strive to live by. First it gives us this guidance:
Lord, my heart is not proud;
my eyes are not haughty.
I don’t concern myself with matters too great
or too awesome for me to grasp.
I do not need to concern myself with the reasons why God does or allows the things He does, that is a matter to great for me. Rather, I should calm and quiet myself and put my hope in the Lord. I know that He will do that which is best for those who love Him. I have confidence that what He does is that will bring me the greatest joy.
Magrat poses
The first proverb tells us that it is the wicked and liars who pay attention to gossip and slander. Do I pay attention to gossip and slander? If so, perhaps I am not the person I claim to be. I need to keep this in mind when I find myself listening to gossip and slander.
The second proverb tells us that mocking those who are poor is an insult to God who made them. If we rejoice at the misfortune of others, we will suffer for it eventually. I strive to sympathize with those who suffer misfortune, no matter how much I might have wanted to see them taken down a peg.
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.
As Solomon’s rule continued he took many wives from the neighboring nations. This was despite the Law saying that when Israel has a king he should not have an excessive number of wives and many of them being from nations that with whom God had commanded the Israelites not to intermarry. In addition, Solomon built worship places for the gods of these foreign wives. The passage specifically mentions Ashtoreth, Molek and Chemosh. The first of these was a fertility goddess and her rituals of worship involved sexual immorality. The worship of the latter two involved human sacrifice. The passage tells us that God became angry with Solomon and promised to take most of the kingdom from his son, leaving the kingdom while during Solomon’s life for the sake of David.
The passage then tells us that God raised up two kings to fight against Solomon. One was from the Edomite royal line and returned to fight against Solomon with the support of Egypt. The other set himself up in Damascus and fought against Solomon. Then we learn of a prominent young man of the tribe of Ephraim, Jeroboam, whom Solomon promoted to a position of some importance. A prophet comes to him and tells him that God is going take most of Israel from the house of Solomon and give it to Jeroboam. The prophet tells Jeroboam that if he is faithful to God’s laws, God will establish a dynasty for him. Solomon learns of this, we are not told how in this passage, and attempts to have Jeroboam killed. Jeroboam flees to Egypt where he finds refuge.
Upon Solomon’s death, his son Rehoboam succeeded him on the throne. When Rehoboam went to Shechem to be crowned, the people of Israel sent for Jeroboam to lead them in their demands for Rehoboam to reduce his forced labor levies from those imposed by Solomon. Rehoboam asked for time to compose his answer. He asked for advice from his father’s advisers. They told him that he should agree to the demands and that if he did so, the people would serve him faithfully. Rehoboam did not like this advice and asked for advice from his childhood friends. They told him that he should promise to people that he would make increase his demands for forced labor and punish those who resisted even more harshly. After this response the ten tribes went into rebellion against Rehoboam. Rehoboam sent out his deputy in charge of forced labor and they stoned him to death. Rehoboam fled to Jerusalem. This passage shows Rehoboam as a spoiled son of privilege. He rejects the advice of his father’s experienced advisers and follows that of his cronies who tell him what he wants to hear.
Luke tells us that Saul was persecuting the believers, continuing on after supporting for the stoning of Stephen. He obtained a letter from the high priest requesting support from the synagogues in Damascus for Saul to persecute the believers in that city. The passage tells us that Saul was struck by a light from heaven and fell to the ground. He heard a voice asking him why he was persecuting Him. Saul correctly interpreted this voice as being divine and asked who it was. The voice said that it was Jesus and that Saul should go into Damascus and wait to be told what to do. The passage tells us that the men traveling with Saul heard the sound but did not see anyone. I had always assumed that they did not actually hear what the voice said, but I realize now that the passage actually implies that they heard the actual conversation. After receiving this vision, Saul was blind and those traveling with him led him into Damascus. Saul fasted and prayed for three days upon his arrival in Damascus.
God appeared to a believer in Damascus by the name of Ananias and told him to go to Saul and lay hands on him so that he could see again. Ananias protested that he had heard that Saul is persecuting the believers. God told Ananias that Saul was His chosen instrument. Ananias goes to Saul and tells him that Jesus has sent him to restore Saul’s sight. Saul spent a few days with the believers in Damascus and then began preaching the Gospel in the synagogues. The Jews are amazed to hear what him preaching that Jesus is the Son of God because they knew he had been persecuting the believers until recently. When they were unable to refute his arguments, some of the Jews began plotting to kill Saul. Saul became aware of the plot and some of the believers let him down through a gap in the city walls to avoid the assassins.
When God wants to redirect our lives, He will use whatever means necessary to get our attention. In this case, He used what I call the blunt force approach. He struck Saul down and blinded him in order to get his attention. There are times when such a clear message from God would be nice. However, it appears to me that people who receive such blunt and clear messages from God are generally called to missions of hardship and deprivation. That the price for such an incontrovertible calling is a lot of suffering. I am willing to undergo suffering such as that which Saul, later known as Paul, went through if that is the service God calls me to, but I do not wish to do so just to have an experience such as his conversion. This is especially the case when you consider that even Saul’s conversion experience was rather traumatic. There are other accounts of people where God has had to use forceful means to get their attention to the message He has for them. I liken that to the story of the man who bought a mule. The story goes that a man was looking to buy a mule to haul is wagon. The merchant tells him that he has a great mule that knows many verbal commands. So, the man buys the mule and hooks it up to his wagon. The man tries every command he can think of, “Go”, “Giddyup”, “Start”, “Forward”, etc.. Finally he says to the merchant, “This mule is worthless, he won’t pull my wagon.” The merchant tells the man, “Well, you need to get his attention first,” and takes out a two by four and hits the mule right between the ears before telling it to go. The mule immediately begins pulling the wagon. I don’t want to be that mule. I want to listen when God tells me what He wants and not require Him to get my attention with a two by four.
The psalmist says that he does not fret about matters too great for him to grasp. This is a reminder that we are not going to be able to understand all of the things that God wills. The psalmist tells us to put our hope in the Lord, now and always. Even if we do not understand what God is doing, we can be sure that He has our best interests in mind. God will care for us, even when things seem to be going wrong.
This passage tells us that wrongdoers are always ready and eager to believe the worst of others, that those who lie readily believe malicious lies about others. It is an easy way to tell something about a person, those who give others the benefit of the doubt when they hear negative stories about others are usually people that you can trust. Those who believe the worst when they hear negative stories about others are often those who would do the same if they were in that situation. This can be used to not only evaluate others, but yourself. If you believe those negative stories you hear about others, you should think about why you are so ready to believe the worst about others.
