For today, One Year Bible Online links here. Christmas is coming soon. Let us remember what it is truly about, the birth of Jesus Christ. Let us strive to not be caught up in the commercialism which is what this season is about for many in our society today.

    I believe that these words are sarcastic. Well, maybe not the first part where he declares himself weary. It strikes me as being written by someone who has been arguing with another for some time. The writer of this bit is tired of the argument and “concedes” to his opponent. It strikes me that he has been having a disagreement with someone who does not believe in God. So he asks him, where did everything come from? Surely, since you say there is no God, you can tell me how it all came to be?
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    And where did that come from?

    This psalm is both a beautiful song of praise and a reminder that part of serving God is praising God. Let us praise God both day and night as we strive to be His servants.

    Here John describes the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. However, they are not the “Four Horsemen” of popular culture (even though those in popular culture derive from them). In popular culture the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are: War, Famine, Pestilence, and Death. In this passage there is no Pestilence.
    The first Horsemen is “Conquest” or “Victory”. There are several possible interpretations of this. I will look at two of them. The first interpretation is that the first Horsemen is Christ Himself. This interpretation sees Christ as riding forth and conquering before the Apocalypse begins. It’s fulfillment comes in the spread of the Gospel throughout the world to all peoples and nations. The second interpretation sees the first Horseman as the Anti-Christ, who will rise to prominence and conquer the world to begin the Apocalypse. The second interpretation has some merit. My reservations about it are based on the fact that the author of Revelation also wrote 1 John. In 1 John he tells us that there is not a singular Anti-Christ, rather there are many anti-christs. I said I was only going to look at two interpretations of the first Horseman, but a third one occurred to me that I have not seen mentioned elsewhere (although I find it hard to believe that no one has come up with it before). My thought is that the first Horseman represents a person, or nation, which will conquer so much of the world that there is no place on earth where there power is not felt.
    In many ways, the other three Horsemen follow that third interpretation as naturally as night follows day. When the conqueror loses control over the territory he held, War, and Famine, and Death will surely follow. How the Four Horsemen fit together is a bit of a mystery to me, but the rest of this passage is clear. Over the course of history there will be numerous people who will be martyred for serving Christ. They will be rewarded for their faithfulness and will cry out for God to bring His promised judgement. They will be assured that this Judgement will come. Then we have the sixth seal. When it is broken, everyone will see that God’s day of judgement is coming. But rather than repent of their sins and turn to God, the vast majority will seek to hide from God.

    Micah prophecies against Israel and Judah. He tells them that destruction is coming because those who have power do evil simply because they can. They should love good and hate evil but instead they love evil and hate good. When the leaders want a piece of land, they find a way to seize it. Micah bemoans those who talk about caring for the poor and powerless while using their position and power to enrich themselves. Over the last few months, I have heard various politicians praised for speeches they have made decrying how our system favors the rich and is stacked against the poor. Yet these same politicians made a fortune working in the system they now want people to believe they will work to change. If the rich and powerful do not stop using their power to take advantage of the poor and powerless, all the while using their rhetoric against such actions as an excuse to further their own power, God’s judgement will fall upon our nation.
    Yet mixed throughout his condemnation of the sins of the people, Micah reminds us of God’s great faithfulness. He tells us that the day will come when people from all over the world will worship God. He tells us that the day will come when God will mediate between peoples and settle the disputes between nations. In that day they will turn their weapons of war into tools of peaceful industry. They will no longer study the methods of war.

     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.

     Micah prophesied against the people of Israel and of Judah. He told them that disaster would come upon them because of their sins. While the disaster would come upon the whole nation, for the sins of the whole nation, the center of those sins was in the political capitals. The idolatry of the people had its center in their political systems. It was the political leaders who had turned the people to sin.
     He continued by saying that sorrow awaited those who lay awake at night planning evil. He condemns those who, when they want a piece of land, find a way to seize it. As I read this I thought of the Kelo v. New London Supreme Court ruling of a few years back. This entire passage is an indictment of political leaders who use their power to increase their wealth and that of their cronies. Micah condemns leaders who claim to know right from wrong but, instead of doing what is right, do evil and oppress the people. He continues by condemning those religious leaders who use their prestige to disguise the evil of the political leaders. They promise to help the poor and weak while at the same time taking advantage of them for their own interests. Despite all that they do to bring injustice and oppression to the poor and weak, they believe that they will not be harmed because they believe they are on the side of good.
     Micah promises that destruction will come upon such people. He also promises that the day will come when God will gather people from all over the world who will worship Him in spirit and in truth. God will teach them His ways and they will walk in His paths. God will gather the weak, the lame, and the poor. He will mold them together into a strong nation. They will turn their weapons into farm implements. They will not need to prepare for war because God will be their defender and they will serve Him.

     This passage describes the opening of six of the seven seals on the scroll. With each of the first four seals a different horseman appears. The first one is given a crown and rides out to conquer the earth. The second one is given a sword and rides out to bring violence throughout the earth. The third horseman carried a scale and rode out to bring famine (and what sounds like severe inflation to me). The fourth horseman rode out to bring painful death to one fourth of the living creatures on the earth. When the fifth seal is opened John sees those who were killed because they served Christ. They called out asking how long until God held the people of earth accountable for their sins. They were given garments of purity and told to wait a short time longer until all had been fulfilled. Then the sixth seal was opened and the sky was rolled up like a scroll and the geographic features of the earth were moved from their places. When this happened the people of earth sought places to hide from God’s pending wrath.
     There is much symbolism in this passage, but the key factor for me is that God is in control of all that happens. When a nation or power conquers, it is because God allows and desires it to be so. When violence springs up in one place or another, or even over the entire earth, it is because God has allowed mankind’s sin to yield its fruit. When famine and economic turmoil occur, once more, it is because God has so willed. When death spreads over the earth, it can only happen according to God’s discretion. Those who faithfully strive to serve God in the face of difficulty and persecution will be honoured by God. When God’s time is ripe He will bring about the end of this earth. But nothing happens before God’s time and outside of God’s control. He will care for those who choose to serve Him.

     Let us praise the Lord when He calls us to serve Him, even when it is in ways that might seem less than desirable, even when we are called to serve Him on the night shift. God will bless us when we serve Him faithfully and praise Him despite any unpleasant circumstances. I will praise the Lord, even when He calls me to serve Him in difficult situations.

     Let us not be ashamed of being viewed as foolish by human standards. Who, but God, has seen all that there is to see. Human wisdom is not to be desired above that of God. It is God alone who created the world. He alone has understanding of how everything works and fits together. Let us seek wisdom from God, not from mere men who do not truly understand.