Those who refuse to acknowledge their mistakes and ignore all attempts to point them out will end in poverty and disgrace. Those who respond to criticism by changing their ways will be honored. Everybody enjoys seeing their dreams come true, but fools are unwilling to change in order to obtain them.
The first few verses of today’s psalm are a continuation of the praise of God found in yesterday’s psalm. Then it goes on to speak of God’s promise to King David. However, there is actually a little more to it than just that. This psalm describes how any ruler can gain God’s support (or lose it). Those who obey God’s commands and keep His decrees will find their power and authority expanding. Those who do not do so will find themselves the subject of God’s judgment.
After being asked yet another trick question by the religious leaders, Jesus asks one of His own. Reading it today, I just realized what Jesus was getting at with His question about the Messiah being the son of David. He was telling us that we can get too caught up in setting up rules and reading into what a passage means. Jesus tells us that those who study the Scripture and claim they have all the answers are hypocrites. He warns us to be wary of those who twist the words of Scripture in order to sound pious and praiseworthy, while using their position and authority to defraud those who already have little.
The tribes who lived east of the Jordan responded to the concerns of the rest of the Israelites over the altar they had built. They acknowledged that the concern raised by the other tribes was a legitimate concern. They told the other tribes that if they had intended what the other tribes thought they intended the other tribes would be right to make war against them. Then they explained their actions. They explained that they had built the altar as a reminder to the other tribes that those east of the Jordan were their brothers in serving God. They had built the altar in order to maintain the unity of future generations of Israel.
Those who ignore criticism and disregard discipline will end in poverty and shame. Those who change their behavior in response to correction will be honoured. Everyone enjoys seeing their dreams come true, but it is foolish to pursue them with evil methods.
Righteousness and justice are the foundation of God’s throne. Any ruler who wishes a long and prosperous reign will base his rule on them as well. God has raised up Jesus as the eternal heir to David’s throne. God will beat down His adversaries and destroy those who hate Him. Let us hear the call to worship and walk in the light of God’s presence
As I read today’s passage about the Sadducees who attempted to trap Jesus with a question about the resurrection of the dead I was reminded of an article I read yesterday. There are still people today who claim to believe in an all-powerful God who do not believe that He can, or will, raise people from the dead. The article I read claimed that the story of Jesus’ resurrection was a source of rifts between Christians. Jesus makes it clear here that the dead will indeed be raised. Yesterday we celebrated that Christ rose from the dead. He did not rise in a metaphorical manner, or just as a spirit. Jesus rose from the dead in this physical world. God can indeed raise the dead in a physical body. He is not bound by the laws of the physical universe.
Yesterday we read the passage where the tribes living east of the Jordan built an altar just before returning home. Those living west of the Jordan were afraid that it was intended for idolatry and prepared to go to war to wipe this stain out of the midst of the nation of Israel. First, they sent a delegation to determine why the altar was built. Those living east of the Jordan met the delegation and explained the purpose of the altar. They had built the altar to remind their descendants, and the descendants of those living west of the Jordan, that they were one people who together worshiped the God of Heaven. Let this be a reminder to us that all of those who worship Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior are one family. Anyone who worships the risen Jesus Christ is my brother, or sister.
I don’t know if anybody remembers but I write these daily blogs the day before the date they are for. So, I am writing this the morning after they caught the younger of the two brothers who bombed the Boston Marathon. I am praying that God’s Spirit will reach him and that he will turn to the One who calls us to sacrifice our lives to bring others to Him, that this young man will see that killing others is the exact opposite of how God calls us to Him. We have a God who does not call us to follow Him by killing those who do not listen, but by dying for them.
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.
The tribes east of the Jordan River defended their building of an altar as they crossed the Jordan. They told the delegation from the other tribes that they did not build it in rebellion against God’s command. They had no intention of offering sacrifices on it. Rather, they had built it as a memorial to remind all Israel that the tribes east of the Jordan were just as much a part of the Israelite people as those living west of the Jordan and had a part in the worship at the altar of God at the Tent of Meeting. When the delegation heard this they were satisfied with that answer and returned to the other tribes mustering for war. All of the tribes were satisfied with this answer, praised God and returned to their homes.
Years passed and Joshua, now a very old man, called the leaders of Israel together. He told them that they have seen what God has done for them in his lifetime and that he had allotted to them the land that was to be theirs, both that which had already been conquered and that which was still to be conquered. God would drive the remaining foreigners out of the land in front of them. However, they needed to keep the commands written in the Book of Instructions which Moses had given them. They were to not even mention the names of the gods worshiped by the people remaining in the land, let alone swear by, worship or serve those gods. Joshua instructed them to cling tightly to God and turn to neither the right nor the left from the commands He had given them.
I think that the instructions that Joshua gave the children of Israel from his death-bed applies to us today. We must cling to the Lord our God and follow His commands, turning neither to the left or the right from those commands. I don’t know how others interpret this, but to me it means neither adding additional rules to those given by God in order to keep us from violating those commands, nor loosening those commands out of false compassion.
After the failure of certain religious leaders to trap Jesus with a question about taxes to Caesar, some Sadducees tried with a question about resurrection. They told Him a story about a woman who married one of seven brothers, but did not have any children by him before he died. Another one of the brothers married her, as the law directs, and he also died without any children. One by one all seven brothers married her and died without having children. The Sadducees asked Jesus who she would be married to at the resurrection?
Jesus replied by telling them that marriage is for this age, but that those who are worthy of taking part of the age to come and the resurrection from the dead will not marry. Jesus then points out that in the account of the burning bush Moses calls God the God of Abraham, and of Isaac and of Jacob. God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.
Jesus then asked those present why The Messiah is said to be the son of David, when David calls Him Lord? How can the Messiah be the son of David if He is David’s Lord? After this, Jesus turned to His disciples and told them to beware of the teachers of religious law. They dress ostentatiously and love to be greeted respectfully by the people who meet them. In addition they want the most important seats in the synagogues and the seats of honor at banquets. Meanwhile they cheat widows out of their property but make a great show of righteousness by saying lengthy prayers. Jesus tells us that such men will be severely punished.
The psalmist tells us that righteousness and justice are the foundation of God’s throne. Those who walk in the light of God’s presence experience joy. God has made us strong and provides us with protection. The psalmist then tells us that God will has promised that a descendant of David will rule over God’s people for all of eternity.
An unreliable messenger will end up in trouble, but a reliable messenger will bring healing. Criticism sometimes hurts and is not always helpful, but if we ignore it we will continue to do acts that will lead us to poverty and/or shame. On the other hand if we listen and follow correction we will be honored. It is pleasant to attain one’s dreams, but it is foolish to do evil to get there.
