Today, I am reading and commenting on Numbers 5-6.
It is at this point where I start looking forward to getting to the end of the Pentateuch. I really dislike the procedure described for determining if a man’s jealousy about his wife is justified or not. However, if one truly believes that God will divinely intervene in human affairs, then one can believe that He will intervene to protect an innocent woman unjustly accused by her husband. Interpreted in light of the later instructions concerning divorce it puts a different light on those instructions: “No, you cannot divorce your wife just because you are convinced she has been unfaithful. You must have proof. If you have been unable to catch her being unfaithful, you can follow this procedure. No, it’s not free. You need to make an offering along with the request.” I really don’t think much of a man who puts his wife through such an ordeal.
I have never fully understood the vow of a Nazirite. What is its purpose? Moses here describes what one needs to do in order to fulfill such a vow, but makes no mention as to why one would do so. It appears that Samson’s mother vowed that he would be a lifelong Nazirite before his birth. The men whom Paul accompanied to the Temple when he was arrested appear to have been completing a vow of a Nazirite. So, I did a little research and found that most people took the vow of a Nazirite in response to being healed of some great affliction, or in response to receiving something greatly desired (such as the birth of a child). The example of Samson suggests that some people took the vow of a Nazirite as part of a commitment to God, and a request for His aid, to work towards some godly goal. As a hockey fan it reminds me of the playoff beards that most (maybe all) hockey players grow. For those of you who do not follow hockey: NHL players typically stop shaving when their team enters the playoffs and do not shave (and usually do not even trim their beards) until their team has been eliminated. They do so as a sign of their dedication to winning. Modern Christians would be well served to have similar traditions to signify our dedication to serving God, or to signify our gratefulness for what He has done for us.
Today’s passage outlines the blessings which God will give to a people who obey His commands, and the punishments which He will mete out to a people who disobey them. These blessings and punishments are the consequence of obedience or disobedience. People often complain about God punishing people for disobeying His arbitrary commands. What they fail to realize is that God’s commands are not arbitrary. The blessings are the result of living according to God’s commands, but not just the letter of the commands. To get those blessings you must live according to their spirit. The punishments are the consequence of disobeying God’s commands. I like to compare this to putting oil in your car. You may not like oilt. You may think it is dirty and messy, but if you do not put it in your car’s engine your car won’t run very long.
As I read this passage there seems to be two sorts of dedication to God being described. The first involves paying an amount to the priesthood/Temple in order to dedicate someone to God. The second involves giving something to the priesthood/Temple with the option to buy it back. I started to write this because I hoped that by doing so I would come to a better understanding of this. However, while I understand what the words mean, I do not understand what principle is being presented here.
As I read today’s passage I noticed that every couple of verses the writer includes the phrase, “I am the Lord your God”. As the passage continues, he includes two variations. Considering that most people would have learned these by hearing them recited (either from memory or by someone reading it to them as part of a group) both this phrase and the fact that it varies make it easier to remain focused on what is being read. The first variation, “I am the Lord”, seems to be there just to provide variety.
The second seems designed to remind us that God will hold us accountable even when our fellow man cannot or will not: “Fear your God. I am the Lord.” The first time this variation appears it comes right after warning against insulting the deaf or causing the blind to stumble (both instances of taking advantage of someone’s disabilities for your own amusement). Right after this variation is the warning against favoring the poor or the rich. The next time it occurs is right after telling us to respect the aged and before telling us not to take advantage of those without connections living among us (foreigners). I am not sure that this was intended to bring these commands into special focus, because I think that most of the commands in chapter 19 contain variations of treating others with respect and concern.
Today, I am reading and commenting on Genesis 4-7.
We have here the story of Cain and Abel. They both brought gifts to God from what they had produced that year, but God accepted Abel’s gift and rejected Cain’s. What was wrong with Cain’s gift? At first it seems that Cain’s gift was rejected because it was from his crops rather than from the flocks as was Abel’s. However, a careful reading shows us the real difference. Cain presented “some of his crops” as a gift to the Lord, while Abel brought “the best portions of the first born lambs.” Cain’s gift to the Lord was just some of what he had produced, while Abel’s gift was from the first of what he produced. Abel gave to God first, Cain did so as an afterthought. Cain was jealous of the blessings which God gave Abel as a result of his faithfulness. However, rather than imitate Abel so that he could receive similar blessings going forward, Cain killed Abel. People today still follow Cain’s example, perhaps not to the extent of murder, rather than imitate the successful they seek to take what they have for themselves.
We also have the beginning of the story of Noah. The writer tells us that the “sons of God” took beautiful human women as their wives and that their offspring were the Nephilites, the heroes and famous warriors of old. The writer tells us that Nephilites lived on the earth at this time and for some time after. Later, when the Israelite spies went into Canaan, they reported that they saw the Nephilim there (the writer at that point tells us that the Anak people were descended from the Nephilim). This suggests that either the “sons of God” continued to take human women as wives after the Flood, or that the Flood was not as comprehensive as the writer states in today’s passage. I tend towards believing that the Nephilites after the Flood were not descendant from the ones before the Flood, but wanted to point out the possibility from the passage of an alternate explanation. I would not be shocked to learn that the flood “merely” wiped out the civilizations on the earth at that time, that the animals on the Ark were merely those which had been domesticated. The writer tells us that everything which lived on dry land died, and that is what I believe to be the case, but I wanted to note that other parts of the passage contain ambiguous statements which might suggest otherwise.
The Gospel message changes lives. It does not result in us following a set of rules to which we can find loopholes. We see the way rules fail to save, or change, people in our society today. Our society rejected Paul’s teaching on sexual morality, but discovered that without it they needed rules to protect the vulnerable. Now society is discovering that it needs to ever extend those rules because sinful people find loopholes through which they can exploit the vulnerable.
Paul writes that we should forgive those who offend us and live our lives with compassion, kindness, gentleness, humility and patience. Letting all of these express the love which Christ will cause to live in us. No rule set can ever cover all of the things which flow out of such characteristics. No matter how you write the rule set, those who do not possess those characteristics will find ways to abuse others. On the other hand, those who possess all of those characteristics will never abuse others, even if there are no rules at all. The point which Paul makes again and again is that sexual immorality, evil desires, and greed are all contrary to the above characteristics.
Paul tells us to bear with the faults of others, although elsewhere he also tells us to confront sinners about their sin. However, this does not present the conundrum that many people think it does. Paul tells us not to confront sinners to show them how much better than twe are. Nor are we to confront sinners as a way to pay them back for what harm they have done to us or others. No, we should confront sinners because we love them and want them to stop harming themselves with their sins.
Today, I am reading and commenting on Ephesians 4-6.
Paul tells us to stop living as sinners, who are hopelessly confused, or as the NIV translates it, stuck in futile thoughts. They have hardened their hearts and closed their minds because they are unwilling to give up lustful pleasures and impure activities. I love the way Paul explains how we should live our lives in chapter 4 verses 31 and 32.
Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.
Earlier in the chapter, Paul instructs us to stop telling lies and tell our neighbors the truth. I find it very telling that Paul links sexual immorality with being dishonest. Paul focuses on three categories of sin, sexual immorality, impurity, and greed. Paul warns us against those who try to excuse sins: no matter what excuse you come up with, sin will still damage your relationship with God. There is a reason so many sins are done in secret, because no matter how far they push the boundaries of what is socially acceptable, they still want to go beyond that.
Paul tells us to carefully determine what pleases God and take every opportunity to do those things. Not only should we avoid worthless, sinful deeds, but we should expose them for what they are. Here Paul is referencing back to when he told us to tell our neighbors the truth, that involves telling them that certain activities are sinful and therefore worthless. The best part about this is that we will rarely have to verbally express this if we live as God desires. If we live a life of love, following Christ’s example, God’s light will shine out from us, exposing the darkness and sin around us. Let us wisely live according to God’s desires for us. We can find a joy superior to that which others find in inebriation by being filled with the Holy Spirit and praising God.
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.
Today’s passage includes Isaiah’s calling. Isaiah finds himself in the presence of God and his response is instructive.
“Woe is me, for I am ruined!
Because I am a man of unclean lips,
And I live among a people of unclean lips;
For my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.”(NASB)
We should all feel this way when we find ourselves in the presence of God, and the message of Christianity is that we always are in the presence of God. In addition to my other sins, like Isaiah, I am a man of unclean lips. I say things that I should not. I lie. I brag about myself. I say things about others that are hurtful. I say things that bring disrepute to the Gospel. But there is good news. God will send one of His seraphim to bring a coal from the altar before God and place it against my mouth, cleansing it. I am forgiven because Christ died on the cross, but sometimes there is still pain involved in accepting that forgiveness. Sometimes I have to go to those I have wronged with my words and ask their forgiveness. That is not easy for me.
There is more to this passage, because immediately after having his lips seared Isaiah hears God say, “Who will be my messenger?” Isaiah at once responds by calling out, “Here I am. Send me.” This was not a quiet little statement, hoping that no one heard him. This was a loud calling out of his willingness to serve God. I pray that when I hear God calling for someone to perform some service that I too will cry out, “Here I am. Send me!”
Isaiah then tells us how when the kings of Israel and Syria allied themselves together to conquer Judah, God sent him with a message to King Ahaz. Isaiah’s message was that the invasion they were plotting would never take place. If Ahaz’s faith was firm, God would make him stand firm. Then Isaiah tells King Ahaz to ask for a sign that God would do as He said He would. Ahaz refused to ask for a sign. This was not because his faith was such that he did not need a sign to believe the message, but because his faith was weak and he was afraid that any sign he asked for would not happen. Isaiah gave him a sign, and that sign became a sign for us as well. Isaiah told Ahaz that a young woman, a virgin, would conceive and bear a son. By the time that son was old enough to know right from wrong, the two kings that Ahaz feared would be destroyed. I am sure that such a child was born while Ahaz was king, but this prophesy also referred to another child. One that was also called “Immanuel” or “God is with us”.
Paul confronts the Corinthians about the teachers who had come among them and taught them things contrary to what Paul had taught and contrary to the gospel. He tells the Corinthians that whatever they claim as a basis for their authority, he could match it, or surpass it. If they claim authority from their Jewishness, Paul is just as much a Jew as they. If they claim to be servants of Christ, Paul has done more. He has suffered more persecution than they because of his ministry. Paul then lists the things he has willingly suffered in order to spread the gospel. We do not know who these other teachers whose teachings Paul is trying to counter. But, based on what Paul says about them here and in some of the passages I read on previous days, I am pretty sure that it was obvious to anyone who looked at them that they had suffered little for their teachings. In fact, they probably looked as if they prospered from their teachings. This once again shows how the Christian standard of success differs from that of the world. The world’s standard of success is fancy clothes, a nice house, and a fine car. The Christian standard of success is going without, persecution and suffering.
God will come and rescue us in our times of trouble. If we rely on the Lord, the plans of those who plot against us will be turned against them. We must remember to praise the Lord and turn to Him with free will offerings.
Today’s proverb tells us to pay attention to what is going on around us when those in authority over us provide us with a meal. This applies at company parties and if your boss takes you out for a meal. Pay attention to his or her behavior. Base how much you eat or what you order on his or her choices. Do not order the most expensive item on the menu.
