For today, One Year Bible Online links here. This is the first day of a New Year. Let us dedicate ourselves to serving God each and every day in everything we do. I will ask His Holy Spirit to make me more faithful in service to God this year than I was last year.
As we start a new year, it is worth considering how reading the Book of Proverbs can help us live better lives. The Book of Proverbs was written in order to teach people wisdom and discipline. It even answers the question: why do we need wisdom and discipline?
The answer to that question is: so that we may do what is right, and just, and fair. So, join me in this new year in finding guidance for our lives by exploring the sayings recorded in this book. May God grant us understanding so that we may receive guidance for living our lives.
Speaking of receiving guidance, this psalm gives us some good guidance about living our lives. If you want true joy in your life, this psalm gives you a couple of things not to do and a couple of things to do. Things not to do:
Follow the advice of the wicked
Hang out with sinners
Join in with those who mock others
It is not enough to know what not to do, we must also know what to do:
Delight in the law of the Lord
Meditate on that law day and night
That sounds fairly simple. Why do I have so much trouble doing it?
When Joseph discovered that his arranged bride was pregnant, he did not become vindictive and demand she be publicly shamed. Instead, he planned to quietly step aside, perhaps to allow her the opportunity to marry the father of her child. However, God sent a messenger to Joseph in a dream. Joseph listened to the messenger and married Mary. There is a lesson there for us. Joseph did not seek to assuage the hurt he must have felt by shaming Mary. As a result he was receptive to hear God’s guidance when it was given to him. Joseph suffered a lot for Jesus to come into this world and apparently did not live to see Jesus begin his ministry.
The other part of this story is the wise men. Actually what I notice here is that when someone asked Herod where the Messiah (because that is the only “king” that he would have expected to be heralded by a star) was to be born, he knew just who to ask. And when he asked them, they knew the answer off of top of their head. Yet out of all of the political and religious leaders not a single one of them chose to go and see this long awaited Messiah. They knew the answers, but when it came time to do something, they did nothing.
It is appropriate to study the creation story on the first day of the year. This story tells us the power of the Word of God. Time and again we are told, “Then God said…” and what He said came to pass. Not only did it come to pass as God said, but it was good.
To cap it all off, God created mankind. God placed man in the Garden, where He decided that man needed a companion. First God showed all of the animals to the man and the man named them. However, none of the animals were found to be suitable companions for the man. When I was growing up, I was under the impression that God brought each of the animals to the man in order to see if they might do. But now when I read it I realize that God brought all of the animals to the man to show him that none of them would do. God already knew that none of the animals was a suitable companion for the man. Having shown the man that none of the other animals would do, God created woman. After having seen all of the animals, the man knew that the woman was meant for him. He realized it at once that she was to be his wife. I wish I could say that the same was true for me. It took God a lot longer to convince me that the woman He had brought into my life to be my wife was the right one, but I am glad He finally convinced me (her persistence had more than a little to do with that as well)
Happy New Year one and all. I hope that you are looking forward to this New Year as much as I am and that you will experience God’s blessings on your life as we travel through yet another year in which we may serve the Lord. I want to praise the Lord for all He has done for me in the previous year and dedicate myself to seeking how I may serve Him in the coming year. I ask God to place His Spirit upon me to direct me in the path He has chosen for me.
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 in advance. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them.
I start the year with the Genesis account of creation. Actually we have two separate accounts here. However, they are not contradictory accounts, they merely have different foci. The first is about the creation of the universe and the creatures which live within it. The focus of this story is that God created the universe and all of the beings within it. It has as a secondary point establishing the position of mankind in relation to God and to all other living creatures. Mankind was created in God’s image to be God’s friend, although subordinate to God. However, mankind was placed in charge of all other living creatures so that he could manage them for God’s glory. God looked at all He had created and it was very good.
The second creation story focuses on how mankind relates to one another, in particular how men relate to women. When God placed man in the Garden of Eden to tend it and watch over it, He gave man a helper. So God took a rib from man and created woman to be similar to man, but not the same. Woman was created to complete man. While this story could be interpreted that woman is secondary to man, I do not believe that is what is meant at all. Woman complements man and makes him complete, just as man complements woman and makes her complete. The two are united into one and are made complete by this union. Men and women are designed to be partners who work together to serve God and tend to this world which He created.
Matthew here gives his account of Jesus’ birth. He tells us that Mary and Joseph were pledged to be married, something that was in that day more binding than engagements are today. Before they came together to consummate the marriage, Mary became pregnant by the power of the Holy Spirit, while still a virgin. Joseph initially assumed that some other man was the father, but did not desire to publicly shame Mary. As a result, he decided to quietly divorce her. The implication is that he wished to leave her free to marry the man he believed she must prefer to himself (this is my understanding of Joseph’s thinking and is not supported by anything in either the Bible or other literature, nor is it contradicted, as far as I am aware). We are told that Joseph was a good man.
Having made his decision, Joseph fell asleep. In a dream an angel appeared to him and told him that he should not fear that Mary desired another man. Rather she had become pregnant at the working of the Holy Spirit. Joseph was to marry her and name the son she would bear, Jesus (which means “the Lord saves”). Joseph did as the angel instructed him, but did not consummate the marriage until after the child was born. Matthew tells us that this occurred to fulfill the prophecy given in Isaiah 7:14.
Matthew tells us that shortly after Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem some dignitaries, or wise men, from the east arrived in Jerusalem. They began asking after the newborn king of the Jews, telling people that they had seen his star rise in the east. Matthew tells us that their questions disturbed King Herod, and consequently disturbed everyone in Jerusalem. Herod recognized that such a star could indicate the birth of no one other than the expected Anointed One (Messiah) of God. So he gathered the chief priests and religious leaders to ask them where the prophets said that the Messiah would be born. They informed him that it would be in Bethlehem of Judea. Herod called the wise men to him and told them to go to Bethlehem and search for the child. He requested that when they had found the child they return and tell him where it was, so that he could go and worship it as well.
As we read this, we realize that there were many in Jerusalem who understood that the portents pointed to the long promised Messiah being born in Bethlehem and that the appearance of the star in the east could only mean one thing. Yet, here we have Herod planning, not to accede to God’s will and acknowledge the One whom He had sent, but rather attempting to prevent it from coming to pass. We have in this passage a contrast between two men: Joseph, who did as God desired, and Herod, who attempted to circumvent God’s will. I pray to God the His Spirit rest upon me so that I may follow Joseph’s example and not that of Herod. The latter can only lead to heartache and pain.
If we delight in God’s commands and meditate on His word, we will prosper and bear fruit like a tree planted on a river bank. We will neither take advice from the wicked, nor hang out with sinners, nor join in mocking others. Those who follow those latter practices will be scattered by the wind and never amount to anything of worth. God will watch over our path if we strive to be godly, but the path followed by the wicked leads to destruction.
Studying the proverbs will teach us wisdom and discipline. Listening to the wisdom they contain and following the discipline they advise will help us to do what is right, just, and fair. Listening to proverbs will help the wise become wiser and give guidance to those who possess understanding. I will explore the meanings of the proverbs throughout the year so that I may better serve 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. I hope that the Spirit is moving in others through these posts as the Spirit has definitely been convicting me.
This is the start of a New Year. I did not start this blog until April of last year, I am looking forward to doing this blog from the beginning of the year and the beginning of the Bible.
Question:What is the first sport mentioned in the Bible?
Answer: Baseball. Genesis 1:1 starts out “In the big inning…”
Ok, now that I have that groaner out of the way to start the New Year. Genesis starts with what should always be our starting point, “In the beginning God…” That is where it starts. That is where everything starts, with God. Whenever we start anything our fist thought should be about God. That is certainly the place to start the New Year. We are at the beginning of a new year, I am going to dedicate myself to putting God first, at the beginning, of all aspects of my life this year.
In today’s passage we have two creation accounts. Many people claim they are contradictory, but that is because they read them looking for “errors”. The first account is about the creation of the universe, this world and everything in it. The second account is about the creation of mankind and marriage. In the first account the author is telling us about the creation of the earth and everything on it (including man) and how man relates to the earth and to God. We learn that God created everything in a systematic manner. Then God created man in His own image and gave man dominion over all of the other living creatures. When God finished creating everything, He instructed mankind to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. He completed that command by telling mankind to govern the earth. Govern means to control and bind to your will, so that is part of what mankind has a divine mandate from God to do; bend the earth and the living things upon it to mankind’s will. However, it also means to guide and develop in a productive manner, so mankind also has a mandate from God to guide the development of the living creatures on the earth in a productive (rather than destructive) manner. Even from this first command, we are to be responsible stewards of the earth.
The second creation account is about the creation of mankind specifically and our relationship to each other, to God and to all of creation. This account tells us that God handcrafted man as an artisan carefully crafts something. I believe that the author is intentionally evoking the image of a potter forming clay into a pot or some other item. The item (in this case man) was carefully created with thought going into every detail. After God had created man, He planted a garden, a paradise where every need was met. As soon as man was created it became obvious that this new creature was a social animal and needed a companion/helper. God then brought each other animal to man so that man could name them, but none of them were suitable helpers for man. This was not done so that God could see if one of the animals would do. This was done to show man that none of the animals would do. God then put man into a deep sleep and took a part of him and created woman. This was to show that man and woman are part of each other, but not identical. God did not create another being just like the first man to be man’s helper. God created woman to be man’s helper, similar but with different characteristics. This is the origin and purpose of marriage. Men and women are complimentary to each other. They bring different gifts and ways of thinking to their relationships with each other. These difference mean that when they come together in marriage, they bring a kind of completion to one another that cannot be formed in any other way.
There is a lot more I could say about this passage, but I only have so much time. Perhaps I will do a blog on just this passage at some point.
Another good place to start the new year is Matthew’s account of Jesus’ birth. Matthew starts with the genealogy of Joseph (which is legally the genealogy of Jesus). The most interesting part of that genealogy to me is the fact that Matthew makes a point of mentioning five women in Jesus’ genealogy. Those women are Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba and Mary. The first four are women who were of backgrounds that would have ordinarily made them not fit for discussion in polite society. Yet the first three are held up as examples of godly behavior. Tamar played the prostitute with her father-in-law, yet we are told that he was the one at fault. It was he who violated the norms and practices of the day by not arranging for her to marry his third son after the first two died without giving her any children thus leaving her with no means to support herself. Rahab was a prostitute in Jericho who, when the opportunity presented itself, sided with God’s people against her own out of faith in God. Ruth was a Moabitess who left her people after her husband died in order to support her mother-in-law. I do not know why Matthew chose to incorporate these five women (well, OK, I know why he included Mary), but it is noteworthy that, in a society that viewed women as unimportant or even as inherently evil, he chose to include women in the genealogy of Jesus’ father. This is the first indication that this is not just a retelling of a myth, that this story is about something different.
Matthew then tells us that Mary was betrothed to be married to Joseph. We often translate that as engaged, but it was much more binding than engagement. Next he tells us that Mary was “found to be with child.” This was a major scandal. There were two possibilities. The first is that Joseph had broken his promise to Mary’s parents and had sex with her before the betrothal period was completed and they were married. The second was that Mary had been unfaithful to Joseph and had sex with someone else. Matthew tells us that there was a third possibility. The power of the Holy Spirit had done what was impossible and caused a virgin to become pregnant. Joseph has three choices. He can make a big stink about this and publicly divorce Mary, thus freeing himself from any taint of scandal, but marking Mary as an adulteress and possibly bringing about her death. He can go through with the marriage and take the hit on his pride and reputation. Or he can divorce her quietly and allow her to attempt to keep it all a secret (perhaps marrying the father of the child). Joseph is not a bitter, spiteful man and chooses the last option. However, an angel appears to him and tells him that Mary has not been unfaithful and that he should marry her. Joseph believes and acts accordingly (that is, he marries Mary).
In due time, Jesus was born in Bethlehem. Shortly after that some prominent men arrived in Jerusalem asking where they could find the newborn king of the Jews because they had seen his star rise in the east. Matthew identifies these men as magi, which would make them the scientists of their day. They studied the stars and other aspects of natural science. Herod was disturbed by their questions, as was everyone else in Jerusalem when the word got out. Herod summoned the experts in the Law and the prophets and asked them where the Messiah was to be born. He knew that this star could only mean one thing, God’s promised Messiah had been born. Herod’s experts told him that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. Herod holds a private meeting with the magi and finds out when they first saw the star. He tells them to go to Bethlehem and find the child. He asks them (although in this case it would have been more of an order) to return once they have found the child and tell him where it is so that he can go and worship it. The magi leave Jerusalem and head for Bethlehem. Matthew tells us that the star gave them further guidance and showed them where Jesus was living when they got to Bethlehem. They were overcome with joy at finding the child. They worshiped Him and gave Him valuable gifts. After spending some period of time there with His family they returned home. However, before they left they had a dream and did not return and inform Herod.
The psalmist gives us guidance on how to start off our year correctly. First, do not follow the advice of the wicked. Second, don’t spend all of your time hanging out with sinners. Third, don’t join in with those who mock and make fun of others. Rather, we should meditate on the law of the Lord, making it the focus of our attention and seeking its advice on how we should live our lives. If we follow the psalmist’s plan we will be well established and that which we turn our hand to will prosper.
We begin our year by considering the purpose for which the Book of Proverbs was written. The proverbs provide us with insight into understanding wise behavior. If we study them we will learn to behave prudently by doing what is just and right and fair. If they would study the proverbs those who are easily duped would learn to recognize how foolish and wicked behavior will lead to future unhappiness. If those who may not be gullible but are young and inexperienced study the proverbs they will gain knowledge and discretion. Finally, if those who are already wise continue to study the proverbs they will increase in wisdom. No matter who we are, we will become wiser and better people by studying the proverbs and meditation on their meaning.
