For today, One Year Bible Online links here. From time to time I have encouraged people to read their Bible through on this blog. However, this morning (yesterday for those reading this) in our worship service, I realized that I have never made an outright appeal encouraging people to attend a local church (except occasionally when a particular passage leads there). So, I am going to so here today. Here is the link for the website of the congregation I attend. If you are in the area on a Sunday, please stop by and visit. If you live in the area and do not attend a congregation on a regular basis, I beg of you to start, whether at mine or another.

Proverbs 23:13-14

    Parents should discipline their children for the good of the children. Lovingly administered corporal punishment will not harm the child and some lessons require physical punishment to truly hit home. Failure to learn those lessons will lead to your child’s death.

Psalm 59:1-17

    The psalmist does not call on God to kill his enemies, because such lessons are too quickly forgotten. He calls on God to use the pride and words his enemies speak to bring them down. His enemies come out at night and prowl the streets. They use words as weapons, lying and slandering others. They are convinced that no one will hear them who can hold them to account for their lies. But God knows what they are saying and will use it against them. By contrast the psalmist rises in the morning to sing praises to God. Let us be like the psalmist and rise in the morning to praise God with joy, rather than skulking about in the dark, thinking that no one can see our evil deeds.

Galatians 2:1-16

    Even Paul found it necessary to test what he taught against the understanding of others. He went to Jerusalem and met with the leaders of the Church there. He explained the message he was preaching to the Gentiles in order to find out if they were in agreement. He had been told that he was wrong on the basic elements of the Gospel he preached, so he went to those held in high esteem by the Church. Note that he did not go to them because they were held in high esteem, but because he respected the work they had done for God.
    Despite the respect with which Paul held Peter, one of those he went to for confirmation of the message he preached, he was willing to confront Peter when he felt that Peter was doing wrong. This is an important lesson, accountability goes both ways. We need to hold accountable those we allow to hold us to account. This is something that Church leaders need to remember, they are accountable to those they lead. If a member of the congregation confronts an elder for doing something wrong, the elder must address the congregants concern. If the elder was doing wrong, they must repent and change their behavior. If the elder was not doing wrong, they must show the congregant why their action was right. What the elder cannot do is dismiss the concern because the person who raised it was not a fellow elder (although I will admit that there are some believers who frequently bring up specious concerns and perhaps their concerns can be taken more lightly…at some point congregational leaders should work with such a person to show them that doing so is more of a sin than the “sins” they are guarding against).

Isaiah 19-21:17

    As I read this passage I cannot help but think about current events and the recent past in Egypt. I am sure that anyone reading this remembers the recent fighting in Egypt and most are probably aware that the current government is dictatorial. However, what people may not know is that since the building of the Aswan Dam the Nile no longer floods the way it used to do. This may seem like a good thing, and for years was held up as such. However, as time has gone on, one of the results of this is that agricultural production in Egypt has fallen. The regular flooding by the Nile refreshed the fertility of the soil along the banks of the Nile.
    Is what we are seeing in Egypt today a fulfillment of this prophecy? I do not know. I do know that the government of Egypt is starting to see its interests served by siding with Israel against Hamas. Is this perhaps a precursor to the next part of this prophecy, where it suggests that much of Egypt will come to worship God? Isaiah prophesied that the people would cry out to Him for relief from oppression and that He would make Himself known to them. Further he prophesied that some of the cities of Egypt would begin to speak Hebrew. This prophecy has such hope for the people of the Middle East. That someday the people of Egypt, Israel, and Assyria (most of modern-day Syria and Iraq) will unite together to serve the Lord.

     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.

Isaiah 19-21:17

     Isaiah prophesied that destruction and tribulation would come upon Egypt. Those who advise the rulers of Egypt would give advice that was wrong and foolish. Isaiah further prophesied that five cities in Egypt (at that time cities exerted control over the region surrounding them, so this would mean five regions of Egypt) would follow the Lord and ally with Israel (almost to the point of becoming one nation with Israel). Isaiah told us that God would strike Egypt, which would cause the people of that land to turn to the Lord and follow Him. When they turned to follow Him, God would heal them. In that day, Isaiah told us, there would be a road from Egypt to Assyria and the people would move back and forth on it freely. He wrote that Assyria and Egypt would be allied with Israel. This reads to me that these three would be formed into a confederation, or possibly a single nation. Reading this passage, Isaiah seems to be saying that the day will come when the Middle East will be united in worship of God.

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     This prophecy may have been fulfilled in the time period of the Early Church, before the rise of Islam. But as I read it, I cannot help but think that God is telling us that there will be a day like this in the future. There is one thing that this prophecy makes clear to me, the only path to peace in the Middle East is through Divine intervention and by God’s grace drawing the people of the region to unite in worship of Him.
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     Isaiah next prophesied concerning the fall of Babylon. His prophecy bears a great resemblance to what we are told actually happened in the Book of Daniel and in other historical records. This passage has often been seen as a warning to those nations which become complacent in their might and power. The Babylonian elites became arrogant and confident that no one could penetrate their city walls. However, God had other plans and Cyrus devised a plan that let him take advantage of their complacency.

Galatians 2:1-16

     Paul wrote that when he went to Jerusalem after completing his first missionary journey he spoke with the leaders of the Church there. He explained to them in detail what he had been preaching to the Gentiles. Paul was concerned that the message he had been preaching might be deficient in some manner. He was not impressed by the reputations of the leaders, but he recognized the value of comparing his understanding of God’s word with his fellow believers. Paul claimed that the whole incident only occurred because some false believers had joined the Church in order to take away the freedom of belief in Christ and replace it with slavery to the Law. Paul went on to write that the leaders of the Church in Jerusalem added nothing to the message he was preaching. This means that Paul had arrived at the same Gospel through direct revelation and studying Scripture that they had been taught by Jesus.
     Paul then told of a time when Peter came to Antioch. When Peter first arrived, he ate with the Gentiles, just as Paul did. However, when some Jewish believers arrived from Jerusalem Peter started taking his meals separate from the Gentiles according to traditional Jewish practice. Paul confronted Peter over his hypocrisy for pretending to follow Jewish custom in front of other Jews, when he lived otherwise in their absence. Paul pointed out to Peter that both men knew that they were made right with God by faith in Jesus, not by obeying the Law. No one is ever justified before God by their own works.

Psalm 59:1-17

     The psalmist calls on God to rescue him from his enemies. However, he asks that God not kill them because people too quickly forget such lessons. Instead, he asks that God allow them to be destroyed by the words they speak (which they think no one who will hold them accountable has heard). The psalmist tells us that his enemies come out at night and scavenge like wild dogs. However, he rises in the morning with a song of praise for the Lord on his lips. Yes, I will strive for this:

But as for me, I will sing about your power.
Each morning I will sing with joy about your unfailing love.

Proverbs 23:13-14

     The proverb writer advises us that parents who truly love their children will discipline them. He points out that it may sometimes be necessary to impose physical discipline to teach a child to avoid behavior that might lead to their death.

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