Never abandon or forsake a friend whether it is one of your own or a friend of the family. Do what you can to help them in their time of need. When disaster strikes you and you are in need, it is better to have neighbors who will help than to be dependent on family who are far away.
God’s anger burned against His people because they had sacrificed their sons and daughters to demons. How much more will His anger burn against this nation for the innocent lives they have sacrificed on the altar of convenience? The psalmist reminds us that God will again and again discipline us in His attempts to get us to turn from our sins, but, if we do not respond to God’s discipline, eventually our sins will destroy us. Even in the depths of destruction which results from our sins, God will pity us. If we turn once more to Him, He will save us, even when all seems lost.
The writer continues to show us how the new covenant is superior to the old one. Under the old one, only priests were allowed to enter the Holy Place, which was separated by a curtain from the Most Holy Place. Only the high priest was allowed to enter the Most Holy Place, and that only once a year. When the high priest entered the Most Holy Place he entered into the presence of God. So, under the old covenant, only the high priest was allowed to enter into the presence of God. He was only allowed to do that one time a year and he was required to make an offering of blood when he did so. The old covenant had regulations regarding external behavior, good enough as far as they went, but limited in their ability to truly change people. They were a start, but now God has shown us a better way. The old covenant had regulations requiring that worship be performed at a specific location. In tomorrow’s passage the writer will look at how the new covenant goes beyond the limitations of the old covenant.
Ezekiel quotes a proverb, “The parents have eaten sour grapes, but their children’s mouths pucker at the taste.” The meaning of this proverb is clear, children suffer for their parents’ sins. There is some truth to this proverb. The children of child abusers often suffer their entire lives as a result of the abuse which their parents committed. There are other ways in which the sins of parents affect their children throughout their lives. However, God is merciful and He does not judge us based on our parents actions, neither for good or for evil.
While it is true that children are likely to commit the same sins which their parents did, they are not condemned to that. Each and every one of us can make our own decisions. If we reject the sins of our parents and strive to live righteous lives, God will provide us a means to escape from the punishment which goes with those sins. He will give us healing. In the same way, if we reject the righteousness of our parents and live sinful lives, God will judge us for those acts and visit the punishment we deserve upon us. The choice is ours to make.
No nation becomes truly great unless its people are godly. A nation begins its fall from greatness when its leaders start to justify sinful actions on the basis of it being in the nation’s interest. Once that is accepted it is only a matter of time until sinful actions are justified on the basis of it being “in my interest”. Once the people of the nation start accepting sinful actions in their leaders because those actions are in their own interest, the nation is doomed. Godliness is not something that can be imparted by changing the laws. Only the work of the Holy Spirit can change people so that they seek to live a godly life. I do not seek for the United States to be a great nation. I seek for my neighbors to know the Lord, and thus lead godly lives.
It has been awhile since I saw a theme running through more than one of the passages I read in a day, but today I am doing so with this psalm following the proverb I just finished writing about. The psalmist pointed out how the downfall of the people of Israel resulted from their adopting the evil customs and practices of the pagans among whom they lived. In the same way the downfall of the Church in America has been a result of us adopting the evil customs and practices of the society around us. He speaks of sacrificing their sons and daughters to the demons, something that is all too common in the U.S..
If the Christians of this nation will not hold themselves to a standard of godly behavior, how can we hope to convince others to come to know the Lord? The issues that matter (abortion, sexual immorality, integrity, etc) are not about the laws of the land. They are about the behavior of individuals. Let us behave in a godly manner, and call those around us to do likewise by our example more than by our words. When we teach and preach against immoral, sinful behavior we should make it clear that we are directing our words to those who are seeking to follow Christ.
My first thought when I read this was that the theme I found in the proverb and the psalms was not continued here. That is partially true, but there is a related theme here. The people crossed the Sea of Galilee looking for Jesus because He had fed them. When they found Jesus He told them they should be more concerned with spiritual food than with material food.
All too often we follow leaders who promise to advance our interests in the material world. When we believe that such leaders will deliver on such promises we are often willing to follow them even when their behavior is selfish and advances their interest at the expense of others. Rather than follow such leaders we should follow leaders who sacrifice their own interests in order to advance our spiritual interests. The leaders who we should follow do not offer to give us anything except God’s work to do.
When Samuel got old he appointed his sons as judges over Israel in his place. Unfortunately, rather than follow their father’s example they used their position to advance their own interests and accepted bribes to render judgments. The leaders of Israel decided that the answer was to select a king who would found a dynasty. Rather than a spiritual leader, such as Samuel, who called them to follow God’s commands they wanted a military leader. They no longer wanted their security and material interests to depend on God, which meant remaining faithful to God. They desired a king, a military leader, who would be responsible for their security and material well-being.
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.
Never abandon a friend, either your own or of your father. Maintain the friendships which you have inherited and those which you have made. You may need those friends one day when you are far from your family. When trouble strikes it is better to have a friend close by than a brother far away.
Time and again the people of Israel sinned against God, going so far as to sacrifice their children to idols. As a result of their sins they suffered tragedy followed by disaster. Yet God is a loving God and when they cried out to Him, He came to their rescue. Even today, despite all of our society’s sins, if people will turn to God, He will gather them to Him. Let us praise His holy name and rejoice in the wonders of His love.
I remember that when I was young I was horrified at the thought that parents could kill their children as sacrifices to pagan gods. I could not imagine how any parent could do such a thing. I learned about abortion. At first I did not make the connection, but as I read the Bible time and again, I cannot help but see the parallels between the horrific acts of those who would kill their own children as sacrifices to appease an angry god and those who would kill their children just so that they would not be inconvenienced by them.
Under the covenant which God established through Moses, only the high priest could enter into the presence of God, into the Most Holy Place. And he could do that only once a year after offering blood sacrifice for his own sins and those of the people. All of this shows the limitations of the old covenant. Under the old covenant, we were still separated from God and only an intermediary could enter into His presence, and then, only after offering a sacrifice before each occasion. The sacrifices given were imperfect and thus did not have lasting effect. This system was established to show us the need for a better way.
Ezekiel tells us that God does not hold the children accountable for the sins of their parents, nor will He give the children credit for the righteous behavior of their parents. The righteous will be rewarded for their own righteous behavior and the wicked will be punished for their own wicked behavior. God does not wish to see the wicked die. He wishes to see them turn from their sins and live.
This passage is perhaps the clearest statement in the Bible that wicked behavior leads to death because that is the consequence of wicked behavior, not because God wishes to punish people for doing other than what He commands. God gets angry when we are wicked because He loves us. He knows that our wickedness will have consequences which harm us and does not wish to see us suffer those consequences.
There are two ways to read the first of today’s proverbs, both are correct. It can be read to mean that a nation will become great if its people and government act in a godly fashion. There is truth to this. However, it can also be read to mean that the true measure of whether a nation is great is the degree which its people and government act in a godly way. This is definitely true. Let us not seek for our nation to wield power in the world. Rather, let us seek for the people of our nation to act in a godly fashion. If the people act in a godly way, the government will follow.
The psalm recounts how the people of Israel, time after time, rebelled against God and did evil. The part that strikes me as standing in judgement against us today is this:
They even sacrificed their sons
and their daughters to the demons.
They shed innocent blood,
the blood of their sons and daughters.
It makes me want to cry to consider the degree to which people of our nation do the same through the practice of abortion. Killing their sons and daughters on the altar of convenience.
Jesus told us that we should spend our energy seeking after the things of God, rather than seeking after food which perishes. When the crowd asked Him what to do in order to perform God’s works, Jesus told them to believe in the one God sent. In response the crowd wanted Jesus to perform yet another miraculous sign. This was despite having witnessed Him feeding the 5,000 the day before and the fact that Jesus crossed the lake ahead of them without getting on a boat. They gave Jesus the example of Moses giving the people of Israel manna in the wilderness. Jesus pointed out that it was not Moses who gave the manna, but rather God who did so.
Those who come to Jesus will receive the bread of life, which is Jesus Himself. God will give those who truly seek Him to Jesus and Jesus promises that He will never reject any who come to Him truly seeking to serve God. Let us expend our energy seeking the bread of life. Let us believe in Jesus and act on that belief. He will never reject us. Others may reject us and hold us in contempt, but Jesus will never do so.
As Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons to act as judges over Israel. His sons, like those of Eli before him, were corrupt and used their position for their own benefit. Samuel’s sons served themselves rather than serving the people of Israel. I had never noticed before, but Samuel was no better of a father to his sons than Eli had been to his sons before him. It was Samuel’s failure to raise godly sons to follow after him which led the people of Israel to ask for a king. This story is such a classic example of people taking the wrong lesson from their experiences. What made the people of Israel think that a king would have a son who would make a good successor when their last two leaders had sons who abused their authority?
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 quotes a proverb that was apparently common among the people of Israel at the time.
The parents eat sour grapes,
and the children’s teeth are set on edge?
The essence of the proverb is that children are punished for their parents’ sins. It was a way of saying that children were not responsible for what happened to themselves, if bad things happened to them, it was their parents’ fault. This sounds to me like much of what we hear after someone commits a heinous act today. “Oh, s/he was abused as a child.” “S/he came from a bad neighborhood. What do you expect?” and many other excuses.
Ezekiel then says that this proverb will no longer be used in Israel. God has declared that all belong to Him, both parent and child. Each shall be judged by their own actions, the child shall not be judged by his parents’ actions. God will hold the one who sins accountable for their sins, He will not pass judgment on the child for the actions of their parents. God will hold us each responsible for our own actions.
The writer describes the inner rooms of the Tabernacle as established by the law of Moses. He tells us that only the high priest ever entered the room that was the Most Holy Place, and that but once a year. Each year when he did so, he had to enter with a fresh sacrifice of blood to cover both his and the people’s sins. The writer tells us that this indicates that the gifts and offerings available under the old covenant were insufficient to clear the way for the worshiper to enter into the presence of God. The way the law of Moses set up the Most Holy Place in the Tabernacle acted as a pointer towards the covenant that was to come.
Again and again the people of Israel failed to keep the commands and instructions which God had given them. Rather than stay separate from the evil acts of the people in the land which God gave them, they mixed with them and took part in their evil acts. They sacrificed their children to idols and adopted evil customs. The result of this was that they fell prey to pagan nations and were ruled by those who hated them. As I read this I could not help but think about how readily the people of this nation sacrifice their children on the altar of convenience. But there is reason for hope. The psalmist tells us that when the people cried out to God, He took pity on them and gathered them back to Himself.
I will pray to the Lord that He send His Spirit upon the people and cause them to repent of their sins and turn back to Him. If they do so, God will take pity on them and gather them to Himself once more.
Keep up friendships, both those which you form yourself and those which were formed by your parents (and perhaps their parents before them). When your family has moved far away, those friends may be able to provide aid and support in time of need.
In today’s passage we have the people of Israel rejecting God as their king, desiring instead to have a human king so that they can be like the people around them. To what degree do we as Christians seek to have a human king (our government) do the things that God has tasked us to do as His servants? Do we strive to get laws passed to coerce people to follow God’s commands rather than relying on His Spirit to change their hearts so that they desire to do His will? Do I act as if God is my king, to whom I owe total fealty?
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.
As Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons as judges over Israel. However, his sons were greedy and accepted bribes to pervert justice. This led the leaders of Israel to come to Samuel to ask him to appoint a king over Israel, so that they could be like other nations. Samuel was unhappy about this request and sought the Lord’s guidance about how to respond. God answered Samuel that the request was not a rejection of Samuel, but a rejection of God as their king. God told Samuel to do as they ask, but to warn them about how a king would rule over them. Samuel then tells the people of Israel that a king will take their freedom from them, taking the best for his own use (the best people, the best land, the best produce, etc).
When I read this I am struck by how often we as Christians in democratic nations have chosen to turn to the government to address problems that we should turn to God to deal with. We, like the Israelites, are seeking a king to lead us rather than accepting God as our King. In the same way as Samuel warned the Israelites, when we ask the government to take on roles beyond those ordained for it by God, we subject ourselves to restrictions on our liberty. When we ask the government to care for the poor, we are rejecting God as our king and His call for us to do that ourselves. When we as Christians get involved in politics and attempt to get laws passed to force our non-Christian neighbors to follow God’s commands, we are rejecting God as king and His call for us to bring His transforming Spirit to our neighbors so that they will choose of their own free will to follow His commands. In what ways am I rejecting God as my king? There is one last piece to the Israelites request for a king. They wanted a king in order to be like everyone else. Am I willing to be different and have only God as my king?
The passage goes on to tell the story of how the Lord led Saul to meet Samuel. The story is a classic example of how God uses the mundane events of our lives to guide us to the place He wants us to be at the time He wants us to be there.
Another shot of the redbud on the edge of the woods
In the morning the crowd that Jesus had fed realized that Jesus was not there any longer, even though they knew that He had not gotten into the boat with His disciples. So, they crossed over the lake to Capernaum to look for Him. When they found Him, they asked when He had gotten there. Jesus responded that they were looking for Him, not because they understood His message, but because He had fed them. He told them (and us) that they should not put so much effort into things which will perish, rather they should focus on things which would endure. We should focus on that which feeds our spirits eternal life.
The people responded that they wished to perform the works of God and asked Jesus what they needed to do in order to do so? Jesus answered that God desired that they believe in the one He has sent. The crowd clearly understood that Jesus was saying that He was the one that God had sent because they asked Him for a sign that He was indeed the one sent by God. I find it very interesting that they use the Exodus story of the manna from heaven to justify their demand for a sign, the day after Jesus had miraculously provided food for them.
Jesus then tells them that it was not Moses who gave them bread from heaven, but God the Father. He goes on to say that now God is offering them the bread of God which gives life to the world. The crowd immediately asked Jesus to give them this bread all the time. To which Jesus replies that He is the bread of life. Those who come to Him will never be hungry, those who believe in Him will never be thirsty. He then tells them that they do not believe in Him, even though they have seen Him. But those whom the Father has given to Him will come to Him and He will not reject them. Jesus said that He had come down from heaven to do the will of God. It is the Father’s will that all who see the Son and believe in Him have eternal life. When Jesus said this the people began to mutter, “How can this be? We know his father and mother.”
How often do we reject something as being from God because we know the back story? Do we see how God is working through the mundane events in our life, or do we dismiss that as being merely coincidence? When someone tells us that God has shown them some revelation we would rather not hear, do we dismiss it because we know their background>
As I continue reading Psalm 106 today, the psalmist continues to talk about how the people of Israel sinned against God repeatedly, yet every time they cried out to Him He rescued them. In this section the psalmist tells us that the people worshiped idols, going so far as to sacrifice their sons and daughters to those idols; that they shed innocent blood. He goes on to tell us that because of this God’s anger burned against His people. Whenever I read such passages I cannot help but think of abortion in the United States. If God’s anger burned against His chosen people for sacrificing their innocent children to their idols, how much more will His anger burn against us for sacrificing our children to our idols? Abortion is infanticide. Our society sacrifices over one million innocent babies a year on the altars of the gods we worship (convenience, self interest, materialism, the list goes on). How long will God withhold His judgment for the shedding of innocent blood? How long will we as Christians turn to an earthly king (our government) to stop this evil before we turn to the King whom we claim to serve? The answer to stopping abortion is not earthly laws making it illegal. The answer is the Spirit of God moving in people’s hearts to change the way they view the world.
Despite their many sins, the psalmist tells us that when the people of God turned back to Him, He heard their cries and delivered them. It is not too late for us to repent of our sins, both as individuals and as a nation, and turn back to God. If we repent of our sins and turn to Him, He will hear our cry and redeem us. I will praise His name for He has redeemed me? Are you willing to serve Him, and Him alone, as your king?
What more can I say? This proverb fits right into what I wrote about the psalm. The only true measure of a nation’s greatness is its godliness. Greatness is not measured by military might, nor is it measured by wealth. True greatness is measured by how closely a person or nation heeds the will of God. Such behavior cannot be enforced by laws, but only by the choice of each individual who composes that nation to strive to do God’s will. Am I striving to do God’s will in all aspects of my life? Do I spend enough time listening to His commands?
If God is my king, as I say He is, am I a wise servant who causes Him to rejoice? Or am I a servant who brings disgrace to His name?
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.
No longer will it be said that sons will be judged for their fathers’ sins. God will judge each person according to their acts. If someone lives a sinful life, God will judge them accordingly. If their child lives a righteous life, God will reward them, regardless of their parent’s sinfulness. Further if someone is leading a sinful life and repents, turns from their sinful life and leads a righteous life, God will withhold judgment and reward them. On the other hand if someone who has been leading a righteous life turns to sin, God will punish them for their sins.
The earthly tabernacle was divided into two parts, the outer tabernacle and the inner Holy of Holies. The priests went in and out of the outer tabernacle all of the time to perform the various acts of worship. But the inner tabernacle was only entered by the high priest once a year and then only with a sacrifice of blood. This was a symbol of the fact that the way into God’s presence had not yet been disclosed. The sacrifices offered in the earthly tabernacle were unable to perfect the worshiper since they were only sacrifices concerning the body.
When the people of Israel entered into the Promised Land, they continued to sin against God despite all He had done for them. Rather than keep themselves pure and follow His commands, they adopted the practices of the people in the land. They sacrificed their sons and daughters to the idols, shedding innocent blood in their pursuit of other gods. God grew angry with them and gave them into the hands of their enemies. Yet, when they cried out to Him, He delivered them. Even so, they did not turn from their evil ways, instead returning to their idolatry and sin as soon as the crisis was past. When I read passages about how the people of Israel turned to idolatry and sacrificed their children, I cannot help but think of our society today. How we as a nation embrace the pursuit of pleasure over all else. How people are encouraged to pursue selfish pleasures at the expense of relationships. And yes, how we as a society encourage women to sacrifice their own children on the altar of pleasure in the form of having an abortion if bringing the child to term might be inconvenient for her or the man who fathered it. It is not enough to oppose abortion, we must oppose the idolatry of selfish pleasure that is behind it.
I see that yesterday I did today’s proverb. So, today, I will do yesterday’s. Someone who is full does not enjoy even the sweetest food, but to someone who is famished even bitter foods are sweet. A pleasant scent makes us glad. In the same way, advice from someone who wishes us well is welcomed.
When Samuel got old, he had a similar problem to that of the man who raised him, Eli. His sons were not godly men as they began to take over for him. As a result the people of Israel came to Samuel and requested that he anoint them a king to take care of them. Samuel warns them that if they crown a king to take care of them, he will take away their freedoms. Samuel tells them that the king will take the best of everything and either keep it for himself or give it to his friends. The people demand that Samuel give them a king to take care of them anyway. It is amazing how much Samuel’s warning to Israel about what a king would demand reflects what happens whenever people demand that the government take care of them. The story then goes on to tell us how Saul was selected as king. While we are told that God selected him, we are also told that he was the most handsome man in Israel and that he stood head and shoulders above everyone else. Again, notice how similar that description is to that of a successful Presidential candidate. We, as humans, often select our leaders on superficial characteristics rather on those that would make good leaders of the people. God often grants the wishes of people to be ruled over by handsome and impressive people who are otherwise shallow in order to show people that they should put a higher priority on other characteristics. And just like the Israelites of old, we today are often slow learners.
This passage is perhaps one of the strongest condemnations of prosperity theology there is in the Bible. Prosperity theology says that if you believe, you will receive material blessings. Here Jesus condemns the people because they are following Him merely because He fed them (gave them a material blessing), not because they understood the meaning of His miracles. Jesus goes on to say that we should be more concerned about eternal things than we are about material things that will perish. The people replied that they wanted to do God’s works and asked what they should do to do so. Jesus replied by telling them that they should believe in Him. The people then demanded a miraculous sign like Moses providing manna in the wilderness. Jesus then tells them that Moses did not provide the manna, it was provided by God. He goes on to tell them that God is now providing the bread of life and that He is the bread of life. When the people finally understand that He is not talking about some literal bread that they can eat, but about following Him and serving God, they start to mutter among themselves, “Who does he think he is? We know his parents and they aren’t anybody special.” This is something we all do, when we don’t like the message, we start to attack the messenger. We try to make it seem that the messenger can’t possibly be right when we know in our heart of hearts that the message is from God (even though He sometimes uses unworthy vessels to deliver His word to us).
The psalmist continues with his recounting of the ways which the people of Israel rebelled against God’s commands. He spends quite a bit of time talking about how sacrificed their children to the gods of their neighbors and how this caused the Lord’s anger to burn against them. When I read this psalm I cannot help but think that God’s anger is burning against this country because of the way we are sacrificing our children on the altar of convenience in the name of “choice”. God has made His judgement clear about those who will sacrifice their children for their own betterment and abortion is sacrificing a child. The psalmist is writing from a time when the people have suffered God’s judgement and have come back to worshiping Him. The psalmist ends by petitioning God to restore His people and calling on those people to rejoice and praise the Lord. As we choose to be faithful to God and rejoice in His goodness and praise Him, we will be a witness to those around us who are enslaved to the idols of this world.
This proverb tells us that godliness makes a nation great and sin is a disgrace to any people. What happens when a people is no longer ashamed of sin? When people become proud of their sinfulness? To me the answer is obvious, it is only a matter of time until tragedy strikes.
