This proverb warns against getting involved with an immoral, or adulterous, woman. I cannot speak from personal experience but I am confident that its warning applies to immoral/adulterous men as well. The proverb writer warns us that initially being involved with an immoral person is sweet and gives pleasure, but in the long run they are poison. Becoming involved in an immoral relationship will bring pleasure at first, but that pleasure will turn to pain and attempts to revive the pleasure will lead to death.
This psalm was written for and about King David, but a careful reading reveals advice for any leader. If you trust in the Lord and seek to do His will, He will give you your heart’s desire. It is worth noting that your heart’s desire may be different from what you think you want. Trust in the Lord and make sure that all of your successes bring honour to Him and your successes will be without end, even your “failures” will prove to be successes.
Jesus asked His disciples the easy question, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” It is interesting that when He asked that question He used that phrase to refer to Himself. As I said, that is an easy question. It is not just the answer itself that is easy, pointing out why they are wrong is also easy. Jesus’ next question is the hard one, and the one which we are going to have to answer, sooner or later, “Who do you say I am?” I imagine a long pause while the disciples thought about their answer, none of them wanting to be the first to say it, each afraid that they are wrong. Finally, Peter blurts out the answer. I suspect that it is something none of the disciples have said previously, not even in their private conversations with each other. I imagine they have had conversations which assume the answer, but that they have each avoided saying it out right, reserving the right to say, “Oh, I was just talking hypothetically.”(although I doubt they would have used that word)
So, the question is, do we agree with Peter? Is Jesus the Anointed One, the Son of the living God? I just came to a new understanding of Jesus’ reply to Peter’s answer. I am not sure if it is correct, but I am going to share it. The rock upon which Jesus built His Church is those willing to take the risk of being the first in a group to declare their faith in Jesus. In order for a group of Christians to work together to do God’s will, one of them must be willing to be the first to declare themselves God’s servant. This is not limited to those who are the first, just those willing to be first. It is this boldness which gives the Church the ability to overcome the gates of Hell.
I have often heard people talk about Jesus’ statement here as a promise of protection. But it is not. It is a promise of victory. Gates are not used to attack people. Gates are used to stop people. We are not called to stand defensively and resist the attacks of Satan. We are called to take the battle into the heart of the enemy’s city and rescue those held captive there. When Jesus says that the gates of Hell will not overcome His Church, He is calling us to storm Hell. Are we up for that battle?
We are not called to be on the defensive. It is time to go on offense and claim the world for Christ.
When Jacob died, Joseph’s brothers were afraid that, with their father dead, Joseph would take revenge. This situation reminds us that things change and guilt will come back to haunt those we have forgiven. We need to remind them that we have forgiven them. Joseph’s statement is also one we need to remember. Those who have done us wrong may have done so with malicious intent, but, despite the pain they may have caused us, God will use their malicious acts to accomplish good in our lives.
Jacob’s descendants had it good in Egypt for a while, but times change and people forget. The people of Egypt, particularly the political leaders, became afraid of the Israelites and forgot why they had been given special treatment. I never noticed before, but the passage does NOT say that they Israelites outnumbered the Egyptians and were more powerful than they. I says that the said those things about them. We see the classic approach of the demagogue in what the Pharaoh says. He picks a group and demonizes it. Ultimately, the people of Egypt paid a heavy price for following such a demagogue. Such is the case every time.
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, or more. in advance. My work schedule has recently changed, meaning that I may not have time every day to complete these. As a result, I am trying to get several days ahead. I hope this does not negatively impact the quality of these posts (if that is possible). If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them.
In due time, Jacob died. When that happened, Joseph had the body embalmed according to the Egyptian practice. After a period of mourning in Egypt, Joseph and his brothers took Jacob’s body back to the land of Canaan and buried it there. They were accompanied by a large number of Egyptian officials. When they returned to Egypt, Joseph’s brothers feared that he would exact revenge on them now that their father was dead. Joseph reassured them with a response that we should all keep in mind when dealing with those who we believe have done us wrong. He asked them a rhetorical question about whether he was in the place of God. It is God’s place to punish those who have done wrong, not ours. Joseph also pointed out that while they intended him harm, God used their actions to bring about good. God used their actions in attempting to harm Joseph to put Joseph in a position where he could save the lives of many people. Can we see how God used the hurt others intended to cause us to lead us to a place where good happened? Are we willing to allow God to create good from the harm others inflict on us?
I always find this first part of Exodus fascinating for the hints it gives us about when it took place. First, after the death of Jacob’s sons, his descendants became numerous and powerful in Egypt. This has suggested to me a connection to the Hyksos “invasion” of Egypt since I first heard about it (the Hyksos were a Semitic people who occupied a portion of north-eastern Egypt for a few hundred years). Then the passage tells us that a new Pharaoh arose who did not know Joseph or his brothers. This Pharaoh felt threatened by the Israelites and enslaved them. Again, I see a potential for connecting this story to history here, as this seems like something that might have been recorded. The final interesting thing to me is the name which Pharaoh’s daughter gives to Moses, “Moses”. What is interesting about this is that vowels in ancient written Hebrew were often inferred. That means that “Moses” would have been written similar to the way in which the ending of the name “Ramses” would have been written. “Ramses” means, more or less, “the son of Ra”. Which suggests to me that “Moses” meant “the son of ___”. Considering that the Israelites had a long tradition of considering it blasphemy to speak the name of God suggests to me that perhaps part of the origin of the name “Moses” was from the daughter of Pharaoh naming him “the son of *god*”(where the god in question was a member of the Egyptian pantheon). This is just food for thought.
There is a lot of stuff in this passage, but in the middle Jesus says something that I want to emphasize today. Jesus tells us that if we want to be His followers, we must deny ourselves and take up our cross and follow Him. To those who heard Him say this it would have drawn a very clear picture. If you wanted to follow Jesus, you had to be prepared to suffer the most horrific death which anyone to date had been able to design. His listeners would all have known exactly what it meant to “take up your cross”. It meant something completely different from when we today say something like, “Well, that is just my cross to bear.”
Then Jesus gets to the part I really want to focus on. He tells us that if we focus our effort on saving our life, we will lose our very souls, but if we are willing to sacrifice our life in order to follow Jesus we will find it. He follows this up by asking us what good it does to gain the whole world if we sacrifice our very essence to gain it? When I read this it makes me think several thoughts. The first is rather obvious, Jesus was teaching us that in order to truly follow Him, we needed to be willing to surrender our very lives. This is the only route to the eternal happiness and life which God promises us. However, there is even more here. We cannot find peace or happiness if we spend every scrap of our energy fighting for those things. We can only gain life, peace, and happiness by being willing to surrender them in order to serve God.
I am not quite sure what to make of this psalm today. However, I will take this from the first verse. I will rejoice in God’s strength because my strength is insufficient for the tasks I face. And I will take joy in the victories which God gives me because the only victories which I have are those which are gifts from God. I recognize that I do not win through my skill or strength. I obtain victory only when God gives it to me.
Those who are immoral offer what seems sweet and delicious, but once it is consumed it becomes bitter and noxious. Following an immoral person will lead one straight to death. The pleasures received will be short-lived followed by pain and suffering. Those who are immoral live pointless lives that wander hither and yon. If you want to live a life with meaning that makes a difference, you must avoid them like the plague which they are.
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.
Over the last few days I have observed that someone is working their way through my January Bible Studies. I would appreciate it if you would give me some feedback on what you think of my posts. If you know me personally and would rather not post on the comments, I would be perfectly happy with comments received in another manner (email, facebook, in person, etc). I welcome comments from anyone else who would like to comment. I am striving to improve these in any way that I can that will serve the will of God.
When Jacob died, Joseph mourned him fervently. Joseph had his father embalmed according to the Egyptian practice. Joseph requested permission from Pharaoh to take Jacob’s body to the land of Canaan for burial, as Jacob had requested (and made his some swear to do). The Pharaoh granted Joseph permission to do this. Not only did Pharaoh grant Joseph permission but his entire court accompanied Joseph and his brothers on the trip to bury Jacob. Reading the passage and comparing it to Egyptian burial practices suggests that Jacob was buried according to Egyptian burial practices including full mummification. I believe that the way that Joseph and his brothers conducted the burial of Jacob served as a witness to the people of Egypt concerning following the will of God.
After Jacob’s burial Joseph’s brothers were afraid that now that their father had died Joseph would seek revenge on them for what they had done to them. So they sent a message to him claiming that Jacob had left instructions asking that Joseph forgive his brothers the sins and wrongs that they had committed against them. When Joseph received this message he wept. His brothers then came to him in person and threw themselves at his feet begging his forgiveness and offering themselves as his slaves. Joseph responded by telling them that despite their intentions to harm him, God had used their actions to bring about His great plan for the salvation of all of them. Joseph told them that he would not put himself in the position of God and attempt to gain revenge against them. Indeed, he told them, he would provide for them and their children. Joseph spoke kindly to his brothers and reassured them that he carried no grudge from their mistreatment of him as a child.
In time, Joseph and his brothers and those who knew them died. However, the Israelites multiplied and became numerous. A new king arose in Egypt who had no memory of the role Joseph had played in Egypt. This new king viewed the Israelites as a threat. The Pharaoh enslaved the people of Israel and treated them poorly, but they nevertheless thrived and multiplied even faster. The Pharaoh then ordered the midwives of the Hebrews to kill the baby boys when they delivered them, but let the girls live. The midwives refused to do as the Pharaoh commanded. When Pharaoh confronted them about it, they told him that the Hebrew women gave birth before the midwives got there. This led Pharaoh to be more open about it and issue a proclamation telling all of his people to throw any newborn Hebrew boy into the Nile, while allowing the girls to live.
It was into this that Moses was born. When he was born, his mother saw that he was a strong and fine son. She hid him as long as she could (about three months). When she could no longer hide him she took a papyrus basket and coated it with tar so that it was waterproof. She then placed the babe in it and placed it among the reeds along the Nile. Her daughter, the baby’s sister, watched from a distance to see what happened. Pharaoh’s daughter went down to the Nile to bathe, along with her attendants. She saw the basket and sent one of her slaves to fetch it. Pharaoh’s daughter opened the basket and saw the baby, which was crying. Pharaoh’s daughter realized at once that this was one of the Hebrew babies, but she felt sorry for him. Moses’ sister approached Pharaoh’s daughter and asked her if she should fetch one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for her. Pharaoh’s daughter told her to do so. Moses’ sister got her mother and brought her to Pharaoh’s daughter. Pharaoh’s daughter instructed Moses’ mother to nurse him for her, paying her for the service. When Moses grew older, his mother took him to Pharaoh’s daughter who raised him as her son and gave him his name.
Reading this today I noticed something I never saw before. Let’s look at the situation. Pharaoh’s daughter sees a basket in the river and being curious sends a slave to retrieve it. She opens the basket and discovers a crying baby in it, a baby she immediately recognizes as being a Hebrew baby. How did she know it was a Hebrew baby? Well, it is unlikely that at three months of age a Hebrew baby would look much different from an Egyptian baby. So, the most likely reason she knew it was a Hebrew baby is because she knew her father’s order that Hebrew babies be thrown into the Nile. No sooner does she open the basket than a young Hebrew girl approaches and offers to go get a Hebrew woman to nurse the baby. Now, what are the chances that there would be a random Hebrew girl close by when she opened the basket? One that not only knew a Hebrew woman who was nursing, and thus could nurse this baby, but was willing to approach Pharaoh’s daughter and offer to find such a woman? None of these things are conclusive, but it seems likely that Pharaoh’s daughter was fully aware that the “wet-nurse” she got for the baby she found was the baby’s actual mother.
Jesus asks His disciples who people think that He is. They answer Him that some people think He is John the Baptist reincarnated, others think He is Elijah or one of the other prophets. Then Jesus asks them who they think He is. I can imagine them looking at each other, a little nervous about answering the question, then finally Simon Peter blurting out that Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of God. Jesus replied that this was not something Peter was able to figure out based on human knowledge but rather was something revealed to him by God. Jesus then confirms Simon Peter’s nickname as Peter, the rock. It is not clear to me whether Simon was known as Peter before this or if this is the origin of his nickname. The author of this Gospel refers to Simon Peter as such from the very beginning, although the author of the Gospel of Mark says that Jesus gave Simon the name Peter. I am not sure that it makes much difference whether Simon was always called Peter or if he was first called that here. Jesus then goes on to say that He will build His church (or assembly) on this rock. Jesus said that the gates of the kingdom of death would not overcome His assembly. This is an interesting construction. When I was growing up whenever I heard someone speak about this passage, it was used to support the idea that the attacks of evil could never destroy the Church, the Body of Christ. At some point in my late 20s/early 30s I read this passage and realized there was another message here (since then I have heard others teach this same message). Gates are not used to attack. Gates are used to stop people (usually members of an enemy military) from entering some place. That put a different complexion on what Jesus meant here. All of a sudden I saw that Jesus was saying that nothing, not even the gates of the kingdom of death, could stand in the way to prevent His Church (His assembly) from accomplishing the goals which God set for It.
Jesus went on to say that He was giving “you” the keys to the kingdom of heaven. That whatever “you” bound on earth would be bound in heaven and whatever “you” loose on earth would be loosed in heaven. I do not know Greek. However several sources I found indicated that the “you” used in reference to the keys to heaven is singular and the “you” used in reference to binding and loosing is plural. I believe it was on the basis of this passage that the Jerusalem Council we are told of in Acts 15 decided to tell Gentile believers that they did not need to be circumcised. It was not Peter who crafted this decision, but rather James who spoke up and offered his judgment, which was then adopted by the assembly (or church).
Starting after Peter’s declaration that Jesus was God’s Anointed One, the saving Messiah for whom the Jewish people were waiting, Jesus began to teach His disciples that He must suffer and die at the hands of the religious leaders. Peter took Jesus aside and began to rebuke Him for being negative and depressed, telling Him that this would never happen to Him. I can just picture Peter, thinking that Jesus was suffering from depression due to all of the opposition He was receiving, taking Jesus aside and telling Him, “Buck up! Stop letting these people get you down. They aren’t going to be able to kill you. You’re the Messiah.” Imagine Peter’s surprise when Jesus responded to his pep talk by calling Peter Satan and telling him that he was not paying attention to God’s concerns, but only to human concerns. It was only a few days prior that Jesus had commended Peter for receiving insight from God. Jesus then turned to all of the disciples and told them that they needed to take up their crosses and follow Him. This would have had a very specific meaning to people in the first century. They would all have been familiar with the line of condemned prisoners carrying their crosses to the place of execution. Jesus was not talking about bearing some generic burden. He was talking about carrying the cause of our death. If we try to avoid death we will lose our very souls. On the other hand, if we are willing to sacrifice our lives and our very being in order to be like Christ and serve God, we will find a life that is more joyous and abundant than anything we can imagine.
The psalmist tells us that the king who relies on the Lord and follows His ways will receive his heart’s desire and be victorious in all his battles. This is true not only of kings but also of ordinary people. Those who love the Lord and seek His ways will receive their heart’s desire, while those who oppose the Lord will not succeed.
The writer warns us against getting involved in sexually immoral relationships. Those who crave adulterous relationships are smooth talkers and speak with honeyed words, but they wander aimlessly through life on a path that leads to death.
