For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

    A father will be proud when his son demonstrates through his actions that he is wise. On the other hand the consequences of her son’s foolish actions will bring grief to a mother. It is not just the wisdom which brings joy to a father, nor the foolishness, in and of itself, which brings grief to a mother. Rather it is the results of these characteristics in their offspring which has the result the writer is talking about.

    The wicked do not fear God and in their arrogance are convinced that they are not truly wicked. The psalmist reminds us that no one truly believes that they are evil, no matter how dark the sins they commit. There are those who claim that they can be moral without believing in God. What they forget that if there is no God, there is no standard by which to declare one thing good and another evil.

    I have always been struck by the fact that Jesus spent time with sinners. This passage not only mentions it, but emphasizes it. Reading this passage it is clear that we are called to spend time with, and be friends with, those who are sinners. We are not going to convince those who think they are righteous that they need Jesus. Only those who know that they are sinners will be open to the Gospel message. Jesus let the sinners of His time know that He was not “too good” for them. We should live likewise.
    Today many people think that Christians are boring, wet blankets. It is clear that the sinners of Jesus’ day did not think that of Him. They invited Him to their parties and He went. No one invites a wet blanket to their parties, at least, not a second time. Yet it is clear from the Gospels that the partiers of Jesus’ day wanted to spend time with Jesus and wanted Him at their parties. They thought He was fun to be around. Do the “sinners” of today think that we are fun to be around? Do they want us at their parties?

    Under the old covenant, the procedure for receiving forgiveness for sin was a burnt offering. This is an example of the lengths people will go to obtain forgiveness from their sins. It gives an example of how psychologically difficult it is for us to accept God’s forgiveness and move on from our mistakes. Sometimes in the Church today we make forgiveness too cheap. We forget the point I made in yesterday’s study. Jesus calls us to go and sin no more. Sin is not something to be taken lightly. Yes, God will forgive us, but every sin we commit, no matter how minor, still damages us. Look at the effort the Israelites went to in order to receive God’s forgiveness. This was not because God was vengeful. Rather it was because it was a necessary reminder of how damaging sin is. The problem with such procedures is that they lead us to believe that we can “fix” the damage sin does. Only the Holy Spirit can repair the damage we do to ourselves when we sin.

     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, or more. in advance. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them.

     If you demonstrate wisdom it will make your parents proud. If you are foolish, you will bring them shame (and cause them to grieve). You may acquire great wealth by immoral means, but it will not bring you joy and will not last.

     The wicked have no idea that they are truly wicked. They believe that they are good. Yet, they do not act wisely nor do good. They have no fear of God. Let us not make the same mistake. Rather, I will recognize my sinfulness and turn to God for salvation. God’s love will never fail to those who love Him and His faithfulness is beyond measure.

     In the past when I have read this I have seen it as several different themes: associating with sinners, appropriate times for fasting, keeping the Sabbath vs meeting human needs. These themes are all there. However, there is also a single theme which runs through this passage. I am not quite sure how to sum up that theme. In this passage, Jesus time after time puts human needs and caring for others above following a legalistic interpretation of the law. In the first vignette, Jesus is condemned for calling a tax collector as one of His disciples and then going to a party with him and his friends. Jesus’ response is that there is nothing to be gained by spending all of His time with the “righteous”. They either are truly righteous and therefore don’t need to hear what He has to say, or they think they are righteous and won’t listen to what He has to say. On the other hand, those who know that they are sinners know that they need to hear His words. There is a second point here that definitely applies to us today. How can we reach the unsaved for Christ if we don’t spend any time with them? How do we show them that Christ can solve their problems if we do not take the time to know what their problems are?
     In the next vignette, Jesus is confronted over the fact that His disciples do not fast. I do not fully understand Jesus’ answer. On the surface He seems to be saying that His disciples will fast after He has returned to Heaven. However, He also talks about new wine and new wineskins vs old wine and old wineskins. I am going to understand Jesus as saying that fasting should not be part of some ritual that we do at predesignated times, but rather something we do as part of the Holy Spirit’s leading at the times when it becomes appropriate.
     The last two vignettes talk about keeping the Sabbath. These are both pretty clear as to their meaning, and they fit together to illustrate Jesus’ understanding of God’s laws and commands. God’s laws and commands are designed to make our lives better. If our understanding of them interferes with our making our lives and the lives of those around us better, we are not understanding what God said properly. Sometimes the failure is in understanding what God said and sometimes the problem is with our understanding of what we need to do to make our lives and the lives of those around us better.

     This passage talks about the various sin offerings. There is an interesting phrase in each of these descriptions, “if someone sins, but doesn’t realize it. They are still guilty.” In other words, there are going to be times when we sin without realizing it. However, our lack of awareness does not make us not guilty. When we become aware that we have done wrong, we need to confess our mistakes and work to make them right.