If your faith does not make a difference in how you act it is meaningless and worthless. We are made right with God when we have faith which changes our behavior so that we no longer sin, but do what is right.
And how do we change our behavior? By changing what we say. James tells us that the tongue is a small thing, but it is the key to controlling our behavior. I think part of what James is telling us is that others will interpret our actions in light of what we say. We must strive to make sure that every word we utter brings glory to God. It does not matter how much we do everything else right, if we speak the wrong word at the wrong time we will fail to be good witnesses for God. James points out that sometimes we praise God and sometimes we curse others (who were made in the image of God…there is a whole sermon about how treat others right there). We need to allow the Holy Spirit to change us so that we stop doing the latter.
Jealousy and selfishness are not wise and cannot coexist with wisdom. If you allow either to govern your behavior, you will not act wisely. True wisdom comes from God. It is peace loving, gentle, and willing to yield to others. It is sincere and shows no favoritism. Wisdom is not a path to getting what you want.
Ezekiel prophesied that the day would come when the land of Magog, along with its allies, would march against the restored Israel. (The prophecy started in yesterday’s passage). Ezekiel prophesied that God Himself would strike down the mighty armies arrayed against Israel. This action by God will lead all of the earth to praise His name.
I do not often see specific applications of biblical prophesies in the world around us, because generally I think they are there to show us how God is in control of history more than they are there to tell us what will happen. However, the best description I can find of the lands described as allying against Israel here, remind me of the areas where ISIS is either currently controlling, showing signs of possibly controlling in the near future, or expressing themselves in way which suggest that they might ally with ISIS.
The proverb writer tells us that gracious words are pure in God’s sight. This results from the fact that in order to speak graciously we must select pure words.
The psalmist tells us to give thanks to the Lord. I will do so, for much the same reason that the psalmist did. When I look at my life, I completely agree with what the psalmist says in verses 5-7. When I was in distress I cried to the Lord and He delivered me. Most important, since I know that God is with me, I will not fear anything that may come. God will see me through to the other side. I do not fear pain, or suffering, or death because God is with me. Remember, if God is with us, why should we fear what mere mortals can do? They have no power to do anything which is not according to His will.
I have long struggled with how Jesus’ reply to Judas Iscariot applies to us today. Jesus is no longer physically among us for us to do something similar to what Mary did here. There are two aspects of the lesson for us. The first part is that giving to the poor is not the only way to give assets to God’s service. The second part is that we should, from time to time, do things which tell others how much we appreciate what they have done in their life. There are times when we are called to show someone who has been doing the Lord’s work that they are appreciated and loved.
In yesterday’s passage, David had marched to war against Saul with the Philistine king who had sheltered him from Saul. There is no evidence that David was reluctant to do so, even though up until now he had avoided attacking his fellow Israelites (and had rejected the idea of killing Saul on those several occasions when he had the opportunity). Today we discover the hand of God at work. The other Philistine commanders were afraid to have David and his men in their order of battle. They were afraid that in the midst of the battle David would switch sides back to Saul. As a result they demanded that the king of Gath send David away from the coming battle. As a result, David did not take part in the battle which led to Saul’s death. No one could accuse David of contributing to the death of King Saul.
There was a second way in which this worked to David’s benefit. When he and his men returned to the town where they had settled, they discovered that it had been raided and their families taken captive. If they had stayed with the Philistine army, their families would have been long gone by the time they returned. As a result of their early return they were able to pursue the raiders and rescue their families. It is good to see how the hand of God so often protects us in more ways than one.
When a nation has no moral code, its government will easily fall and chaos will rule its streets. But a nation with wise and knowledgeable leaders will be stable and prosperous.
Yes, the faithful love of the Lord endures forever. If the Lord is for me, I need not fear. Nothing can harm me if God is standing by side. The strong arm of God has done glorious things and I will agree with what the psalmist says:
I will not die; instead, I will live
to tell what the Lord has done.
Will you join me in telling the world what the Lord has done?
James discusses the meat of his teaching on faith in today’s passage. Yes, faith is important and it is through faith we are saved. However, it is not enough to believe, what we believe must change how we act. If our faith in Christ does not cause us to perform good deeds that faith is of no value. Even the demons believe in God, even so they have chosen to rebel against Him. Saving faith will lead us to behave in a righteous manner.
James goes on to talk about the importance of controlling what we say. He uses several metaphors to demonstrate how an ill-chosen word can cause great damage. While he stresses the importance of controlling our tongues, he, also, points out that doing so is a herculean task. One which we will probably never accomplish fully. Even though we will probably never be completely successful we should constantly strive to have greater control over what we let slip out of our mouths.
Ezekiel prophesied that a mighty ruler with a great army will attack Israel because he perceives them to be defenseless. He warns that God will strike the armies attacking Israel down with a devastating blow. I am not sure if this prophecy refers to a specific instance or if it is a prophecy about what will happen to those leaders who allow their hubris, their overwhelming arrogance, to lead them to attack God’s people. However, it certainly reads like something which I could see happening in the world today.
The implication of this prophecy is that some nation, or group of nations, will attack Israel with overwhelming force, but be destroyed before they can damage the nation of Israel. If this is a singular event, Israel’s enemies will all be destroyed in a short time. Israel will prosper as a result of this attack. The army which attacked Israel intending to plunder it will itself be plundered by Israel. The prophet tells us that it will take the people of Israel seven months to gather the bodies and bury the dead from the attacking army. Further they will acquire enough fuel from plundering the army’s supplies to last them seven years. Those who sought to overwhelm and destroy God’s people will be destroyed and provide prosperity to them instead.
God will work against the proud to destroy what they try to build for themselves. Yet, He will protect the property of the powerless. Those who seek God’s favor will avoid wicked thoughts and plans, which God detests. They will keep their words pure and truthful. By doing the latter rather than the former we gain favor with God.
We may be surrounded by thousands who are hostile to us, yet if we trust in God He will rescue us. God’s love endures forever. Let us put our trust in Him. If we are with God, what can mere mortals do to us? I will put my trust in God and thus I will not fear. I may be forced to retreat and be on the brink of death, but as long as I rely on the Lord, He will be my strength and song. He will give me victory!
John tells here the story of Mary anointing Jesus feet with expensive perfume. John points out that Judas Iscariot’s complaint was not because he cared about the poor. Rather, Judas complained because if the perfume had been sold, he would have been able to skim some of the money off for himself. This is a reminder to us that all too often those who are making the greatest demands that we help the poor are more interested in controlling our money than they are in the poor. This story points out that there are other ways we can spend our money to serve God than giving to the poor. Let us avoid being fooled by hypocrites into giving our money to them in the name of the poor.
David had gone over into Philistine territory to get out of Saul’s reach. While based there he had conducted raids on various non-Israelite villages, but reported to the Philistine king in whose territory he was sheltering that he had attacked Israelite villages. The Philistine king was convinced that David had made himself hated by the Israelites and invited him to join his entourage as the Philistines went to war against Saul. David agreed to join his forces. However, the other Philistine kings did not trust David and his men. They demanded that he and his men not be part of their order of battle. God’s hand was in this in two ways. First, God thus kept David from going to war against his own people. Second, when David and his men returned to their village, they discovered that it had been raided and their families taken captive. If David and his men had stayed with the Philistine army, their families and goods would have been long gone by the time they returned. Instead, they were able to overtake the raiders and rescue their families and goods. They also gathered the plunder the raiders had taken from other villages.
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.
At the end of yesterday’s passage, Ezekiel prophesied that in the distant future Gog, the ruler of the land of Magog, would gather his armies and attack the people of Israel when they are living at peace and apparently defenseless. As part of the prophecy, Ezekiel tells Gog that God will make Himself known to all the nations of the world by striking down the armies of Gog and his allies. Today’s passage continues that prophecy.
In the 1970s I remember being told that the description of the aftermath of the battle sounded like the aftermath of a battle involving nuclear weapons. At the same time, many people connected the lands of Magog, Tubal, and Meschech to the Soviet Union. However, historically, these lands would have been in what is now Turkey and possibly extending through Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. I am not convinced that it matters that much where these lands are. I believe that the key thing about this prophecy is that a massive army will attack God’s people and be destroyed in a manner which will shock the entire world.
This prophecy tells us that God shows Himself through history. That the time will come when a power will arise that is unstoppable. It will launch an attack that cannot fail against an enemy that is completely unprepared to defend itself. That unstoppable power will not only be stopped, it will be destroyed and the enemy whom it planned to plunder will instead thrive on the plunder it leaves behind. God is in control of history and He will have His way.
When I was growing up, the Soviet Union was a fact of life. Through high school and college the threat of nuclear war between the U.S. and the Soviet Union was real. When Ronald Reagan said to Mikhail Gorbachev, “Mr Gorbachev, tear down this wall” no one believed it would happen, not even Ronald Reagan. Yet only a few years later that wall had been torn down.
James continues his writing on faith by pointing out that if your faith is not reflected in your actions, any claims you make to having faith is worthless. If your faith does not cause you to take action it is of no value. We are not saved because we do good works, we do good works because we believe that we have been saved.
James goes on to tell us that those who become teachers in the Church will be held to a higher standard than others. While we all make mistakes, the key to avoiding mistakes is to control what we say. Even things we say which seem like a small thing to us can influence our actions in ways which we later regret. We often find it easier to tame wild beasts than to control our own tongues. We praise God and our fellow man out of the same mouth which calls down curses. James tells us that this should not be.
James continues by telling us to demonstrate our wisdom and understanding by humbly doing good works. There will be times when we are envious of others and/or seek to advance our own interests, but we should not boast about it when it happens. Rather, we should recognize these things as the evil which they are and seek to replace them with true wisdom. True, godly wisdom results in pure actions. It is peace-loving and considerate of others. True wisdom yields to others, is impartial and sincere. True wisdom asks, “How can I help?”, not “What’s in it for me?”
I will give thanks to the Lord for He is good. In the middle of this psalm is a great phrase that we need to keep close to our hearts:
The Lord is for me, so I will have no fear.
What can mere people do to me?
When I read this, I remember a quote which I have seen in various forms, and which has been credited to Abraham Lincoln. Supposedly, when someone said to him that they trusted that God was on the side of the Union in the Civil War, Lincoln replied, “”Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side. My great concern is to be on God’s side.” That sums up the only sure way to know that God is on my side. That sure way is to be on God’s side. If my every desire is that God’s will be done, I can be assured that those desires will all be fulfilled. If we always seek to do God’s will, we can be further sure that, as far as we are successful, we will be doing what is right.
A nation whose people have no morals will never have a stable government. Wise and knowledgeable leaders will bring about stability by bolstering the morals of the people. When the moral decay of a nation has reached a certain point, the people will no longer tolerate leaders who exhibit moral fortitude.
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 the Philistines mustered for battle, the other commanders asked Achish why David, a Hebrew was part of their army. They insisted that David be sent back, as they were afraid he would turn against them in battle. I am sure they were in part remembering the first major battle against Saul, when they had large numbers of Hebrews in their army who turned joined with Saul when battle was entered. Achish argued for keeping David and his men in the army, but the other Philistine commanders insisted that he be sent back. Finally, Achish agrees to send David back. David argues his case with Achish, but the decision has been made, so David and his men return to Ziklag.
When David and his men get back to Ziklag, they discover that the town had been sacked. Their possessions had been taken and their families made slaves. David’s men were angry with him, and blamed him even though his wives have also been taken captive. David called Abiathar, the priest, to consult God as to what he should do. Abiathar told David that God was telling him that if he pursued the raiders, he wiould overtake them and recover the people and stolen goods. David set out with his 600 men in pursuit. As they were in pursuit, about 200 of his men became too exhausted to continue, so David left them to watch the supplies while he went on with the remaining 400 (this actually resembles a practice he had used before, where he left about one-third of his force to guard the supplies while the rest continued to battle).
Shortly after this, they came upon an Egyptian in a field. David’s men brought him to David. They fed the man and gave him some water since he had not had anything to eat or drink for three days. When his strength returned, they questioned him. He told them that he had been the slave of an Amalekite who had been part of a force which had raided in Judah and burned Ziklag. The Egyptian agreed to guide David and his men to the camp of the Amalekites as long as they promised not to kill him or return him to his master. They readily agreed. The man led them to the Amalekite camp, where the raiders were spread out celebrating the success of their raid. David and his men attacked them killing all of the Amalekites except for 400 young men who fled on camels. They recovered all of their families and their goods. When they rejoined those who had been left behind, some of those who had gone into battle did not want to share the plunder with those who had remained behind. David insisted that the plunder be shared equally between those who had fought and those who had guarded the supplies. When David got back to Ziklag, he sent shared part of the plunder with the elders of Judah.
Meanwhile, the Philistine army attacked the Israelite army and defeated it soundly. They killed three of Saul’s sons. In addition, the battle raged around Saul until Philistine archers wounded Saul. Saul asked his armor bearer to kill him so that he would not be taken alive by the Philistines. When his armor bearer refused, Saul killed himself. When his armor bearer realized Saul was dead, he also killed himself. The Philistines took the bodies of Saul and his sons and mounted them on the walls of one of their cities. The men of Jabesh-gilead went under cover of night and removed the bodies of Saul and his sons from the walls of the city and brought them back to Jabesh-gilead, where they buried them.
As the time of the Passover Feast arrived, Jesus went to Bethany to visit with Lazarus, Mary and Martha. Martha served, Lazarus reclined at the table with Jesus and Mary took a bottle of expensive perfume and poured it on his feet, which she then wiped with her hair. Judas Iscariot complained that the perfume should have been sold and the money given to the poor. John editorializes that Judas said this because he was in charge of the disciples’ money and helped himself to what was put into it. Jesus answered Judas by telling him that Mary was preparing Him for His burial. They would have plenty of opportunity to help the poor, but only a short window with Jesus. There are two possible ways to interpret this. First is that Jesus was a special case and it was appropriate for Mary to use up this luxury item on Him because He was the Messiah. I don’t think this would have gotten this story into the Bible. The second possibility is that Jesus was telling us that sometimes we need to “treat” those around us, that we need to make sure that those we love know that we love them. I think this latter is the case. Sometimes we need to splurge a little on those who are important to us.
What a great psalm! It has many lines that I want to pull out and remind myself of.
The Lord is for me, so I will have no fear.
What can mere people do to me?
I will trust in the Lord, what need do I have to fear or worry? If He wills good for me (and elsewhere we are assured that He does), what can anyone do to bring me harm? No one has the power to bring harm to those whom God protects.
The Lord is my strength and my song;
he has given me victory.
People may stand against me, but as long as I do the Lord’s will, I will be victorious, not through my own strength, but through His.
I will not die; instead, I will live
to tell what the Lord has done.
I will tell of what the Lord has done as long as He shall give me life. He has done marvelous things for me.
More purple tulips
Today’s three proverbs are linked. The wise do well because they remember the other two proverbs. Those who become proud of their possessions will see those possessions taken from them. Yet God protects the widow. I have seen both sides of this. God detests the plans of the evil and will bring them to ruin, but he will reward those who are upright and speak honestly.
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 back to a routine. It is not the same as my old routine, but I think it will work out well. I hope that the Spirit is moving in others through these posts as the Spirit has definitely been convicting me.
Ezekiel continues his prophecy against Gog. I remember that in the 1970s people pointed out that this passage sounded a lot like a nuclear war and its aftermath. At the time, I could not imagine how the then current geopolitics and distribution of nuclear weapons could possibly fit into this prophecy. This is no longer true. I am not sure what this prophecy is foretelling, but I could imagine the Muslim nations of the Middle East, including Iran and Turkey this time, massing their armies to attack Israel. And with the current world situation and the threat of a nuclear Iran, I could see Israel responding with nuclear weapons, something I could not imagine in the 1970s. The next part of the passage seems to imply that Israel will rebuild the Temple after this mighty battle, which also makes sense to me. After such an overwhelming defeat of the armies of the Muslim nations of the Middle East there would no longer be any reason for Israel to make the attempt at pretending that they can maintain the goodwill of Muslims by not destroying the Dome of the Rock.
All of that being said, I cannot reconcile that reading of the prophecy (or any other that I have so far come up with) with my understanding of the New Testament explanation of how God is now working in the world since the death and resurrection of Jesus. I am sure that in time God will make this clear to me (although perhaps not in this life). I do know that the important thing to remember is that God will act through history to bring glory to His name.
James continues with his exposition of how faith without works is meaningless. He shows us how the great examples of faith in the Old Testament acted on that faith. He asks us how we will demonstrate our faith without action. He uses this to bring home the idea that true faith results in action and that we can tell what people truly believe by what they do (and they can tell what we believe by what we do).
He then goes on to tell us that not many of us should become teachers in the Church because teachers will be judged more strictly. I have always seen this interpreted that God holds those who are teachers in the Church to a higher standard, but reading it today I do not think that is what James is saying. I think he is talking about the standard those around us hold us to. I think that fits it into the context better. Immediately after telling us that those who are teachers in the Church will be held to a higher standard he goes on to discuss the importance of controlling our tongues. He gives us examples of how small things can have large consequences. In the same way, some things we say that we give little thought to can have a big impact. We need to think carefully before we say things. All too often we allow both positive and negative things to come out of our mouths. We take the attitude that it is not a big deal. But James tells us that it is a big deal. He tells us that you cannot draw fresh water from a salty spring. The foul language I use and the unjust criticism of others I speak negates the positive things that I say (perhaps not all the time, but more than I would wish).
We are to live our lives doing good works with humility. If we do this, we will demonstrate that we have God’s wisdom in our lives. Wisdom is pure. It is peace-loving and gentle at all times, willing to yield to others. It does not show favoritism and is always sincere. I pray to God that He will help me to demonstrate these characteristics in the future.
The Lord is indeed good. When we pray to the Lord, He will answer us. The Lord is for me so I will have no fear. What can people do against me when the Lord stands as my defense? I will turn to the Lord for my defense and rescue rather than rely on humans, no matter who they might be. Even if the entire world comes against me, they will have no effect as the Lord is my defender. It is by the power of the Lord that I have victory. I live to tell of what the Lord has done.
The government of a nation is only as sound as the morals of the people. If you think that the government is unjust and flawed, look to your own morals.
This passage starts with the Philistines rejecting David from their order of battle as they prepare to go into battle against King Saul. What would David have done if the Philistines had allowed him to remain among their forces when they went to fight King Saul? Would he have done as they feared and betrayed them for the sake of King Saul and the army of Israel? Or would he have helped them defeat King Saul? We do not know. What we can know is that the hand of God was working here as well. If David had stayed and fought with the Philistines he and his men would have returned home too late to track down the Amalekite raiders who had raided their town and taken all of their goods and their families. When David’s men see what has happened to their town and realize what has happened to their families, some of them started to talk about stoning David. David acts quickly and calls the priest Abiathar to ask God what he should do. David and his men immediately begin chasing the raiders even though they had just completed from a three day march. At some point in the pursuit, one third of David’s men are too exhausted to cross a stream that is in their path. David leaves them and continues the pursuit. Shortly after that he comes upon a slave that was left behind by the Amalekites because he was too sick to keep up. David and his men give this man food and water. The man guides them to where the Amalekites are camped. When David and his men get there, the Amalekites are spread out celebrating their plunder of the Philistines and Judah, which makes them an easy target for David and his men. David and his men recover not only their own families and property but quite a bit more that the Amalekites had taken from others.
When they return to the men who were too exhausted to continue, some of David’s men did not want to share the plunder with those men. The account tells us that these were evil troublemakers who only wanted to give those who stayed behind their wives and children. David rejects this counsel. David’s response to the troublemakers suggests that he had left some of his equipment behind for the men who were exhausted to guard. This is consistent with the fact that when he went to attack Nabal David had left a similar number behind to guard their equipment. Once they had returned to their town, David sent part of the plunder to those leaders of Judah who were his friends. These were men who had treated David and his men well when they were on the run from King Saul. With these two actions David demonstrates that he has a pragmatic streak similar to the one that got King Saul into trouble. The difference is illustrated by David’s actions on the two occasions where he had the opportunity to kill King Saul and chose not to, which can be compared to King Saul’s treatment of the priests of Nob and their families.
Meanwhile the Philistines went into battle against King Saul and his army. The Philistines defeated King Saul in heavy fighting. Three of Saul’s sons were killed in that battle and King Saul was wounded. When Saul realized he was wounded, he asked his armor bearer to kill him to avoid capture by the Philistines, but his armor bearer was unwilling to do so. King Saul then took his own life. When the Philistines found King Saul’s body they took it and displayed it on the wall of one of their cities. The people of the city where King Saul had his first victory as king remembered what Saul had done for them and sent their warriors to recover the bodies of Saul and his sons. They took the bodies and gave them a proper burial. King Saul’s death reflects the lack of faith that had led to his downfall. King Saul saw that there was nothing he could do to save himself, so rather than rely on God to rescue him, he took his own life. You could ask what choice he had since God had told him on several occasions that he could expect no deliverance from God, but King Saul found himself in this situation because he had repeatedly relied on his own judgement of the best thing to do and his own ability to deal with the problems he faced rather than trusting God and following God’s commands. Even when he reached the end of his rope King Saul refused to turn to God. We can compare this with David who turned to God for direction, even when the answer seemed obvious (pursue the raiders who had captured their families).
This passage begins with people in turmoil wondering if Jesus would come to the Passover celebration in Jerusalem and the religious and political leaders of the Jews plotting to arrest Him. Jesus comes to visit the home of Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead, Mary and Martha. Mary is so happy that Jesus has raised her brother from the dead that she washes Jesus feet with an expensive perfume in an act of worship and praise. Judas objects to this wasteful use of resources. He says that the perfume should have been sold and the money given to help the poor. The passage tells us that his real concern was that if the perfume had been sold and the money given to charity, it would most likely have passed through his hands and he would have been able to skim some of it for his own uses. This is something to be aware of. All too often, those who claim to be speaking on behalf of the poor and oppressed are only looking to line their own pockets. Jesus’ response is that there will always be an opportunity to help the poor, but sometimes there are opportunities to worship and praise God that are transient and that we must take advantage of while we have the chance.
Next we have John’s account of the triumphal entry. John highlights something that the other Gospel writers mention but pass over lightly. Jesus chooses to ride in on a donkey’s colt. The people see Him as a king coming into his kingdom, but they miss the symbolism. A king riding in preparing to lead the people to war, would have ridden in on a war horse (probably a stallion). Jesus rides in on a donkey’s colt. This is a symbol that He is coming in peace, not in preparation for war. Jesus rides into Jerusalem as a victorious king who comes in peace, less than a week before his death and resurrection. He is already the victor, but His enemies don’t know it yet. We as Christians need to live our lives that way, as victors even when life’s troubles still loom ahead of us.
How appropriate that this psalm follows the previous passage. It talks about praising and worshiping God for the victories He has given us, when defeat seemed inevitable. This psalm tells us that we have nothing to fear from this world because:
“The Lord is for me, so I will have no fear.
What can mere people do to me?”
God may punish us, but if we do our best to faithfully serve Him, He will rescue us from all threats. We must trust and rely on God, not on our own might and skill. We must, also, recognize that our victories and successes are a gift from God, not a product of our own abilities. We need to recognize that all we have in life is a product of God’s working and not a basis for self-praise.
This passage tells us that those who seek God’s wisdom will find life in abundance. Further, it tells us that those who pride themselves on being able to take care of themselves no matter what life throws at them will suffer calamity, while those whom this world views as powerless will be protected by the Lord.
