Today’s passage tells us that the leaders of the people lived in Jerusalem, but that a tenth of the people living in other towns of Judah were chosen by lot to live in Jerusalem. We are told that the people commended those who volunteered to resettle in Jerusalem. This is interesting wording since the fact that they were chosen by lot suggests that either everyone (or at least most) wanted to be among those who resettled in Jerusalem or they did not have a choice. Yet, it says that those who did so were commended for volunteering. My best guess would be that at the time nobody really wanted to resettle in Jerusalem, but they recognized that if Jerusalem was going to be the center of their worship some people needed to. So, they chose ten percent of the population by lot to settle there and those chosen willingly relocated there. The passage then goes on to list the leaders of the people who settled in Jerusalem. It, also, tells us that the people of Judah resettled from Beersheba in the south to just north of Jerusalem. Today’s passage concludes with a list of the leaders of the priests and Levites who were part of this settlement process.
Paul follows up what he said in yesterday’s passage by telling us to flee from the worship of idols. He tells us that we should not eat the festival meals at the temples of other gods. That to do so is to make ourselves part of a body that worships idols, just as taking communion makes us part of the body of Christ. Paul tells us in this passage that insofar as the other gods are anything, they are demons. Paul then returns to commenting on the freedom theme. He says that yes, we are free to do anything, but some things are not good for us and therefore we should not do them. Paul tells us that we should be concerned not only about what is good for us, but also about what is good for others.
Paul then expounds further on the subject in a manner that helps us understand what he is getting at. He tells them to go ahead and buy meat in the marketplace without asking questions “of conscience”. That is, don’t ask whether or not it was part of a sacrifice to idols (apparently it was a practice in that day for meat to be butchered as part of a pagan ritual and then sold in the marketplace), just buy it and eat it. Further if an unbeliever invites you to share a meal with them, go ahead and eat whatever they serve you. Unless of course they were to tell you that the food was part of the worship of an idol. In the latter case, you should not eat it. Not because there is any harm to you from eating it, but because the person who told you that it was part of a pagan worship practice would perceive you as worshiping that idol. Paul sums up his teaching on this subject by telling us that everything we do should be done for the glory of God. We should tailor our actions in order to maximize the impact of our witness so that those who see our behavior might come to the Lord.
The psalmist tells us that the key to a long and prosperous life is avoiding evil and lies. He tells us that while those who strive to live righteous lives will repeatedly face troubles, God will come to their rescue each time. We could avoid some of the troubles in life by abandoning our faith, but if we stand firm in the face of those troubles, God will stand beside us and bring us through.
A good way to calm someone who is angry with you is by giving them a gift that they do not have to acknowledge. Those who strive to do good are happy to see Justice done. Those who do evil are afraid of Justice, even when they are not the subjects of it. Failure to exercise common sense is a good way to end up dead.
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.