The heaviest burden you will ever bear is resentment. So, put it down now, or better yet, never pick it up. Resenting others for what they have done, or what they have, only wears you down. Forgive people for the wrongs you perceive them to have done (whether to yourself or others) and turn that burden over to God. If they are truly guilty of wrongdoing, He will repay them. And if your perception was incorrect and they did no wrong, you have been carrying that burden for no good purpose.
The psalmist concludes his psalm about how God has a plan for all things by noting that after their suffering God brought the people of Israel out of Egypt with great wealth. He led them through the desert to the land He had promised them so that they could worship Him and follow His commands. He will do likewise for us.
The writer revisits what it means that Jesus was a priest in the order of Melchizedek. He points out that we have no record of Melchizedek’s parents, nor of his death. Metaphorically, Melchizedek is eternal. This means that a priest of the “order of Melchizedek” is eternal. Jesus is indeed an eternal priest. Further, the writer points out that Aaron metaphorically tithed to Melchizedek, meaning that Melchizedek was greater than Aaron. This means that Jesus is a high priest who is greater than the high priests of the order of Aaron. Finally, the writer tells us that the very fact that God created an order of priests other than those of the order of Aaron indicates that the law established through Aaron was inadequate to God’s purposes. The whole point of this is that Jesus brought about a change to the law which God commands man to follow in order to receive salvation.
In this passage Ezekiel condemns those who prophecy out of their own imagination. I think that this passage is truly a warning for many leaders in the Church today. God will bring judgment on those who encourage the sins of our society rather than calling on people to turn from their sins. We, as Christians, should be striving to build up the wall of righteousness which stands between our nation and destruction. Instead of repairing the wall by carefully putting back the stones of righteousness, many are covering the holes with fabric and painting the fabric with whitewash to give it a semblance of righteousness. Others are warning the righteous against things which are not wrong and telling the wicked that their evil is righteous. God will strike them all down.
For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I hope those of you who regularly read my blog are not getting tired of pictures of flowers and of Magrat (my cat), because there are a lot more to come.
I have noticed that the proverb writer spends a lot of time telling us that easily losing one’s temper is a sign of foolishness. Those who are wise and understand how the world works control their anger. He does not tell us that the wise do not become angry, just that they do not let their anger control them. We would do well to spend a similar amount of time teaching (and learning) this lesson.
Today we reach the end of this psalm which tells us about how God always has a plan, a plan that comes to fruition. God used the difficulties and trials described in yesterday’s psalm to mold and shape the children of Israel. Then when the shaping was done He revealed His plans and brought them out of bondage with wealth. Let us remember that God has a plan for us that will end with our joy, even if we are going through a difficult and painful shaping process right now.
When Jesus came upon the crowds of sick people by the pool of Bethesda, He only healed one of them. Why did He pick this man out of the crowd? We don’t know, but it is worth noting that Jesus did not heal all of the sick who were by the pool that day. It is worth noting that the religious leaders were more concerned with the fact that Jesus told the man to carry his mat on the Sabbath than with the fact that the man was healed. How often do we get so caught up in the “rules” of righteous behavior that we forget what those rules are about?
When I covered the beginning of the Book of Ruth I commented that people often denigrate Orpah but that they were wrong to do so. Here, people rarely mention Peninnah, yet she is someone worthy of criticism. She taunted and made fun of Hannah because she had not had children. Today, we would call this bullying (although I would consider that to be a misuse of the word “bullying”). The only mention I have ever heard about Peninnah is as an example of why multiple wives is a bad idea, or to criticize Elkanah for not stopping her mistreatment of Hannah. Those are both valid lessons from the passage.
That being said, I think there is value is comparing and contrasting Peninnah and Hannah. Peninnah was blessed by God with children, but rather than feel pity for Hannah who was not so blessed, she berated and belittled her. Hannah, rather than strike back, or ask their husband to punish Peninnah, turned to God and begged Him for a son. When God granted her request Hannah dedicated her son to serving God. We know nothing about how Peninnah’s children turned out, but we do know how Samuel turned out. It is important to note that Eli had already raised two sons, both of whom turned out badly. That means we need to look elsewhere to find out why Samuel turned out so well (although, we should not overlook the possibility that Eli had learned something from his earlier failures). We know that Hannah was a devoted mother to Samuel and I would give her most of the credit for how Samuel turned out.
For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I have been convicted to seek to develop a disciplined prayer life. It is still a work in progress. Please pray for me, that the Holy Spirit may show me how to pray in a disciplined manner.
It is harder to bear up under the resentment triggered by the foolish things people say and do than under a weight of stone or sand. Give careful thought to what you say or do so that you do not foolishly provoke others to resentment and anger. ,br>
God shows His power in wonderful and marvelous ways so that we will honour Him and follow His commands. God does not do these things because we follow His commands. He does them so that we will follow His commands. Christ did not die for our sins because we were righteous. He died for our sins in order to make us righteous. Thus it is with all of God’s great deeds.
Jesus is a priest in the order of Melchizedek. As the author here points out, Melchizedek means “king of justice”. In addition, Melchizedek was king of Salem, and Salem means “peace”. This connection reinforces what we read in other places where we are told that Jesus is the King of Justice and King of Peace. One thing the author does not point out is that Salem was the city we now know as Jerusalem, so Jesus was also King of Jerusalem (which also follows from His being the descendant of David).
The take away from all of this is that the priesthood of Aaron has been superseded. The priesthood of Aaron interacted with God on behalf of the people. Under that structure, the high priest approached God and made offerings on behalf of himself and the people. But even after the high priest had made his offerings, the people still needed to go through the priests in order to approach God. However, under the new priesthood, our High Priest has made offering on our behalf once and we can now approach God with only Jesus as our intermediary.
Ezekiel speaks out against prophets and religious leaders who, rather than call on people to give up their sins and turn to God, tell the people that all will be well. He warns against encouraging people to make cosmetic changes to their lives when what they need is fundamental transformation. It is not enough for us to show the appearance of righteousness, we must live righteous lives, doing what we can to help the impoverished and oppressed. Going to Church on Sunday is just not going to cut it. God is calling us to do more than that. We need to live our lives each day to bring healing to those around us who are suffering.
Further, Ezekiel speaks out against those prophets who offer We must also call others to make genuine changes in their lives. It is not enough to offer them “charms” and rituals for them to follow. We must call people to turn from the sin which is causing their suffering. God is bringing judgement against those who do not turn from their sin. He is also going to bring judgement against us if we tell the sinners that they can avoid the judgement by making cosmetic changes when what they need is the fundamental transformation of accepting Jesus and the Holy Spirit into their lives.
If you want to gain understanding and wisdom, exercise patience. Those who exercise patience indicate that they have already obtained understanding and wisdom. Those who easily fly off the handle are demonstrating their own foolishness. Being quick to anger indicates a willingness to pass judgement before all of the facts are known.
The psalm reminds us that God does wonderful things for us in order to teach us to follow His instructions. There is a positive feedback loop in doing what God instructs us to do. When we follow the Lord’s instructions, we are blessed. As we are blessed, we are encouraged to follow the Lord’s instructions, which leads to more blessings. The only problem is that sometimes we become content with the blessings we have already received and begin to believe that they are the result of our actions rather than a reward from God.
In this passage about Jesus healing the lame man by the Pool of Bethesda, Jesus did not just approach the man and tell him to get up and walk. Jesus first asked the man if he wanted to get well. The man replied that he kept trying, but when the opportunity came someone always got there first. There is a lesson here for us about when we need help and when we give help. When Jesus approached the man, He did not just come up and heal him. First, He asked the man if he wanted to get well. Jesus did not just give the man what He thought the man needed. He made sure that the man was willing to be helped. When Jesus asked the man if he wanted to be well part of the man’s answer was, “I have no one to help me.” This indicated that the man was willing to accept help. We need to recognize that we can only help those who are willing to be helped.
The man did not complain about the unfairness of the situation and he did not give up. Despite having been lame for many years, he still came to the pool, hoping that perhaps this time when the opportunity came he would get into the pool in time. We need to be the same way. If we want God to heal us, we need to be ready to accept it when He has decided that it is time. The question I need to ask myself when I consider areas where I need God’s healing (whether physical or otherwise) is, “Do I want to get well?”
Elkanah had two wives, which led to problems. Yet God used that circumstance. Peninnah, who had children, taunted Hannah, who had none, over Hannah’s lack. This led Hannah to desperately seek God’s assistance. Hannah was a woman of faith. She made a vow to God which she kept. When God granted her prayer for a son, she gave that son into God’s service. Hannah desired a son for her own reasons, but she dedicated that son to serving God. In the same way, when God grants us our desires, we need to dedicate what we have received to God’s service.
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.
Ezekiel issues a stern warning against those who make prophecies based on their own imagination. He warns them that God will take action to stop those who speak of seeing visions which they never saw. As I read this passage it struck me as something which some in the Church today should listen to. It warns those who make prophecies but have not been sent by God. He tells us that these false prophets have spoken in the name of God, but have not made any effort to repair the breaks in the wall so that it will stand firm on the day of battle. Rather than strengthen the wall, they cover it with whitewash so that no one else can see where it is weak and strengthen it. Their prophecies have led to the death of those who should not have died and the sparing of the life of those who should not have lived.
The writer now explains what he means when he says that Jesus is a priest in the order of Melchizedek. We have no record of the beginning or ending of Melchizedek’s life, which allows us to think of him as a priest whose priesthood is eternal, unlike that of priests of the order of Aaron, whose priesthood ends when they die. So saying that Jesus is a priest in the order of Melchizedek means that His priesthood will never end. He will always be there to intercede with God on our behalf.
Further, the writer points out that Melchizedek blessed Abraham and received a tenth of the plunder he had taken at a time before Isaac, the grandfather of Levi (from whom the priests of the order of Aaron are descended), was conceived, let alone born. The writer uses these two things to show that Melchizedek was a superior priest to Aaron (and his descendants). First, he points out that the person who receives a blessing (in this case, Abraham) is the lesser person and the one who blesses (in this case, Melchizedek) is the greater. Second, he points out that, in a figurative manner, the priests of the order of Aaron, who collect a tenth from others, gave a tenth to Melchizedek.
Further he points out that if the Levitical priesthood could have allowed perfection to be obtained, there would have been no need for a priest to come from a different order. But since God found it necessary to establish a new order of priests, it was necessary to establish a new law as well. In order to become a priest of the order of Aaron one needed to meet physical requirements (one of which was being a descendant of Levi). Jesus did not become a priest of the order of Melchizedek by meeting physical requirements.
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I have read through this passage numerous times, including several times today. However, just now is the first time I noticed what appears to me to be the writer’s primary purpose in talking about Jesus as a priest of the order of Melchizedek. He points out that the name Melchizedek means “King of justice” and that Melchizedek was the king of Salem, which can be translated as “King of peace.” The writer is telling us that Jesus is a priest of the order of the King of justice and of the King of peace. From this we conclude that Jesus’ priesthood is one of peace and justice. Jesus is a priest who calls us to worship God by striving for justice and peace.
God has done great things for His people (both the Jewish people and those who follow Christ). He has done these things in order to encourage them to obey His decrees and follow His instructions.
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.
Hannah desperately desired to have a son. She went before God and poured out her heart to Him. She prayed so fervently that Eli, the priest, thought she was drunk. When she explained to Eli that she was praying out of deep anguish and sorrow, Eli blessed her with the wish that her prayer be fulfilled. This lifted her spirits and she was able to eat again, the passage tells us that she was no longer sad. Just this part gives us some strong guidance on how we should live. Hannah was desperately sad but she did not wallow in that sadness, nor did she turn it to anger at herself or others. She turned to God and poured out her heart to Him. Eli listened when she told him she was not drunk and gave her a blessing from God which lifted her spirits. We should follow both of their examples. We should bring our troubles and lay them before God. And we should listen to those who tell us they are suffering and let them know that we are calling God’s blessing on them.
In due time, Hannah’s prayer was answered and she bore a son. When her son, named Samuel, was old enough they went to the Tabernacle and Hannah gave him into the service of the Lord. Samuel stayed and assisted Eli the priest. Hannah sang a song of great praise which contained a warning against boasting and arrogance and reminded us that no one succeeds by strength alone.
The passage concludes by contrasting Eli’s sons with Samuel. Eli’s sons abused their authority and position. I am having trouble wording what the passage seems to be saying was the worst of their sin. Rather than serve as facilitators of other’s worship of the Lord they interfered with it. They did so cavalierly in the pursuit of their own desires. However, we are told that Samuel served the Lord, even though he was but a boy. We are told that each year when his family came to sacrifice his mother brought him a small coat. Samuel knew that he was loved and grew up desiring to serve the Lord.
One time when Jesus went to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish holy days, He passed near the pool of Bethesda. Many disabled persons would lie there because it was believed that the first to enter the water after it was stirred up would be healed (and maybe they were the passage does not tell us). There was a man there who had been crippled for thirty eight years. When Jesus learned this, He asked the man if he wanted to be healed. The man replied that whenever the water was stirred, as he was trying to get in someone would get in ahead of him. Notice that the man tried to take action to get better but was unable to accomplish it. He had not resigned himself to his condition, even after 38 years.
Jesus saw his faith and his desire and told him to get up, pick up his mat and walk. The man was healed and did as Jesus instructed. This happened on a Sabbath day. When the Jewish leaders saw the man carrying his sleeping mat, they told him that the law forbade him carrying the mat. The man replied that the one who had healed him had told him to do so. The Jewish leaders wanted to know who had told him to do that. Am I willing to listen to what Jesus tells me to do, even when the arbiters of what is acceptable in our society tell me it is wrong? That I am a “sinner” for doing so? Will I take up my mat and walk?
The passage ends with Jesus claiming to be the Son of God and explaining what that means. He tells us that the Son can do nothing except what He sees the Father doing. Further, the Son does whatever He sees the Father doing. He then tells us that the Father loves the Son and shows Him all He does. So, first He tells us that the Son does not do anything that He does not see the Father doing. Second, He tells us that the Son does everything He sees the Father do. Finally He tells us that the Father shows the Son everything that He, the Father, does. Based on other passages, I believe that this applies to us as well. We should be doing everything that we see Jesus doing and nothing that we do not see Jesus doing. I know that my problems in this life stem from my failure to keep watching Jesus to see what He is doing. At my best, all too often I am like a son who sees his father hammering nails into a board to carefully attach it to something he is building who then goes off and starts hammering nails into every board he sees. I need to watch closer and realize that the nails are only supposed to be hammered into certain boards and then only at certain places. Of course, that is at my best, all too often, I am not even watching Jesus and going off and doing my own thing without giving thought to what Jesus is doing, that I am supposed to be imitating. That results in me doing many things that are not only at the wrong time and place but are completely the wrong thing for me to do at any time or place. I pray to God that I listen to His Spirit when it reminds me to keep my eye on Jesus so that I can follow His cues as to what I should be doing.
The psalm I have been reading over the last several days that has been talking about how God molds His people. It tells us the purpose of all the things which the people went through (and of all of the things that we go through).
All this happened so they would follow his decrees
and obey his instructions.
Praise the Lord!
Let us remember that everything we go through is to teach us to follow God’s decrees and obey His instructions. Therefore, I will praise Him even for the difficult times.
Magrat on the rocks
The first proverb tells us that a growing population brings glory to a king, while a prince with no subjects is nothing. This weekend at meetings my congregation had it was brought up that there is a passage which says that we are kings in God’s service (Revelation 5:10). When I think about this in light of what Jesus says that he who wishes to be greatest must serve others, I think that I need to ask myself, “How many people am I serving?” Is the population that I am serving growing? Or is it no one?
The second proverb tells us that a hot temper shows great foolishness, that those who are wise control their temper. I have fairly good control over my temper, but this weekend God revealed to me that I have become complacent about my anger and have recently acted in ways that are not pleasing to God when I was angry. I have been convicted that I need to turn my anger over to God. I repent of my failure to allow Him to control my life in those situations and pray that His Spirit will remind of His will the next time I am angry.
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 am sorry if my posts are not posted in a timely fashion for the next little while. Well, I have my power back, but I am still not able to get online in my normal routine because my Internet service has not been restored. I am able to post by using either the Internet at a friend’s house or by going to someplace that has free Wifi access. I am going to try to get something closer to my normal routine by writing down the passages for the next day and writing the blog offline. In addition, I usually compose these on my desktop PC and typing them on my laptop is a different experience. Please bear with me until I get back into my usual routine.
Ezekiel received instruction from God to act out the next prophecy. He was told to take his baggage and in the sight of the people dig a hole in the wall and go forth through it. When the people asked him what he was doing, he was to tell them that the prince in Jerusalem will gather his baggage and dig a hole in the wall and attempt to escape through it, but the prince will be captured and taken into captivity. Then Ezekiel told the people that their expectation that every prophecy was far in the future was no longer true. God was going to bring these things to pass, not only in their lifetimes, but in the very near future.
Ezekiel follows this up with condemnation of false prophets. The false prophets had been telling the people of Israel that there would be peace when there was no peace. These prophets had been putting a whitewash of false righteousness over the sinfulness of the people. They were telling the people support this political agenda and it will fulfill your obligation to care for the poor and destitute. Then you don’t have to be bothered to actually do anything for them yourself.
Then Ezekiel spoke out against some of the elders of Israel who came to consult him for the word of the Lord. Ezekiel told them that they were doing so to put a cover of righteousness over their idolatry. Ezekiel told them to put aside their idolatry and turn from their sins. God does not want us to support a political ideology that promises to help the poor and destitute. God wants us to help the poor and destitute.
The last chapter ended with the statement that Jesus has become a high priest of the order of Melchizedek. Melchizedek is mentioned in Genesis as the King of Salem and a priest of God to whom Abraham gave a tenth of the spoils after he had rescued Lot and other captives from raiders. The author of Hebrews points out that the priests according to the Law were descendants of Aaron, who was himself a descendant of Abraham. The author makes two points from this. The first is that Aaron himself, who the Law says shall receive a tenth from the people of Israel, metaphorically gave a tenth to Melchizedek (since Aaron was descended from a son of Abraham who was not yet conceived). The second is that when the priesthood is changed, there is of necessity a change of the Law that establishes the priesthood.
The author further points out that if perfection could be attained through the priesthood of Aaron, there would be no need for another priest in the order of Melchizedek. But the psalmist declares that God is going to raise up another priest in the order of Melchizedek, one who will sit at the right hand of God. Here we have the logic whereby the Law of Moses has been fulfilled and a greater Law instituted in its place.
The psalmist tells us that when the children of Israel departed Egypt the Egyptians were glad to see them go. The plagues had caused the Egyptians to want no more to do with the Israelites. God brought them out of Egypt with wealth and guided them through the wilderness. While they were in the wilderness God provided for them with manna and quail, causing water to flow out from the rocks. God brought them into a land inhabited by other nations and gave that land to the Israelites. God did all of this so that they might keep His commands and obey His laws. Will God do any less for us today if we keep His commands and follow His Word? Let us praise the Lord for all He has done for us.
Here we have the story of how Samuel was born and how he came to be raised to serve God. Hannah, his mother, was desperate to have a child. She prayed to God and poured her whole heart into it, with no consideration of how she might appear to those witnessing her actions. She promises God that if he gives her a son, she will give him back to the Lord and dedicate him to God. In due time, God grants her request. The passage makes little reference to Samuel’s father, except to make clear that he loved his wife, Hannah. After Samuel is born, Hannah, with her husband’s assent, turns Samuel over to Eli to raise him as a servant of God. The scripture is clear that Eli had done a poor job in raising his own sons, that they had grown to be men who held God in contempt. The story tells us what a difference a mother who is dedicated to serving God and to raising a son dedicated to serving God can make. After bearing Samuel and dedicating him to God, God blessed Hannah with more children.
Hannah’s prayer of praise contains an important lesson for us. It says that we should not hold the good things we have over those who do not have them, because those good things are a gift from God. It tells us that “no one will succeed by strength alone.” Whether we are rich or poor, it is as God has willed. We should take our lot in life and seek how we can use that to bring glory to God. If we faithfully seek to use what is in our life to bring glory to God, God will give us that which will bring us happiness. In part that is because as we seek to use what is in our life to bring glory to God, more and more that which brings the most glory to God becomes that which brings us the most happiness. But, nevertheless, as we seek to bring glory to God, God will bless us.
In this story, Jesus tells the lame man to stand up, pick up his mat and walk. This is despite the fact that carrying his mat was a violation of Jewish rules against carrying a sleeping mat on the Sabbath. One thing this passage points out is that helping people is about empowering them to act independently. When Jesus asked this man if he wanted to be healed, he responded by saying that he had no one to help him get into the pool when it bubbled up and someone always beat him into the water when it had healing properties. Jesus’ answer is to tell him to get up and “get to work”(pick up his mat). This is not the heartless yelling at a beggar, “Get a job.” But rather it is the giving of a hand up and then encouraging the person to stand on their own and move forward.
When confronted by the Jewish leaders over telling this man to “work” on the Sabbath, Jesus tells them that “Whatever the Father does, the Son also does.” We are called on to be imitators of Christ, so we should strive to do whatever the Son does. In America, many Christians are afraid to ask God for miracles (I know that at times I am), we should work to overcome this fear and fully trust in the power of God. Jesus routinely performed miracles during His ministry on this earth, we should expect them to be a routine part of ours.
This psalm tells us that God takes care of His people and remembers His promises. The people of Israel did not come out of Egypt on the basis of their own power, but because of the power of God. God brought them into the promised land and gave it to them so that they would obey His instructions. When we are blessed, it is for the same reason.
The first of these two proverbs is one that those who favor zero population growth should consider. The second is the one that all of us must remember. Anger is not bad in and of itself, but when it is allowed to control us, rather than us controlling it, it leads to foolish actions.
