For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

    This proverb is an important warning. Each and everyone of us has a course of action open to us which seems right, but which leads to death. How do we distinguish the path which seems right from the path which is right?
    I am not sure I completely know the answer to that question, which frightens me, but the first step is being aware that there is a difference between that which seems right and that which is right.

    Every time I read this psalm there are two things which stand out to me. The first is that it we trust in God we will be as secure as a mountain. We may be shaken similar to the way a mountain is shaken by an earthquake, but as long as we trust in God, we will continue to stand.
    The second is, more or less, unrelated to the first. If the people of a nation are godly, those who rule over them will not be wicked. So, if you look at those in positions of government authority and they seem to be wicked, look to yourself and those around you. If those in authority are wicked, you cannot fix that by campaigning to change who is in authority, no matter if your campaign is by ballot box or by revolution. If those in authority are wicked, it means that the majority of those they govern over are not godly. The way to fix that problem is to work to convince more of the people to be godly (a large part, but by no means all, of that work is to pray that the Holy Spirit transform them).

    There are several lessons to be learned from the story of Ananias and Sapphira. However, I was reminded of something said by a pastor several years back. He said that maybe the reason we do not see more miracles in the Church today is that we are afraid of the downside of that which is what happened to Ananias and Sapphira. Or perhaps it is that God is merciful and knows that too many among us would be subject to the type of judgment which Ananias and Sapphira faced. As I write this, I think he reversed the order on those two.
    Related to that was something which struck me. At the end of yesterday’s passage was the account of how all the believers shared everything they had. There are a lot of people who say that we should model our society after that. I want to say that I can support local congregations doing this if they so choose. However, it is clear that this is not the only model, since by the end of Acts most Churches were not structured in this manner. The people who want to follow the economic model from Acts 4 tend to overlook the “enforcement” method for that model given to us in this story. Of course, the reason I put enforcement in quotes is because even here it is made clear that contributing to this system was purely voluntary. Ananias and Sapphira were not struck down for their failure to give all of their proceeds from selling their land. They were struck down for claiming that they had given all of their proceeds. The other problem I have with many who want to emulate this model is that they want to put the government in the place of God as the enforcer of compliance.
    The passage transitions to the Apostles being arrested by the Sanhedrin. The high priest confronted them by saying that they had given them strict orders not to teach in Jesus’ name (note that the high priest refused to actually use Jesus’ name in this). Peter’s answer is one which we must each remember every day, “We must obey God rather than any human authority.” When the law demands actions contrary to God’s commands, we must NOT obey the law. The Sanhedrin’s initial response to this insolence was to have the Apostles killed. However, Gamaliel persuaded them otherwise. His argument was that any movement which does not serve God’s purpose will die out in a short time. This is something we should keep in mind today. As Christians, we should not strive to use force to stop those who follow wrong teachings. God will deal with them in His time and His way.

    In yesterday’s passage, Solomon allowed his older brother, Adonijah, to live, even though he had mounted a rebellion to seize the throne. However, it was on the condition that Adonijah not make further trouble. Then Adonijah tried to get permission to marry King David’s last concubine. Solomon recognized this as an attempt by Adonijah to increase his claim to the throne. It is interesting that it was only after this that Solomon took action against those who had originally conspired with Adonijah to seize the throne. He ordered Abiathar the priest to retire to his home village. In addition, he only ordered the death of Joab after Joab declared his guilt by fleeing to the Tabernacle and claiming sanctuary at the altar.

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

    One of our biggest challenges in life is avoiding the path which has the appearance of being right, but isn’t. This proverb reminds us that appearances can be deceiving.

    This psalm gives us advice that will keep us from following the path mentioned in today’s proverb. If we trust in the Lord, He will keep on us secure and show us how to avoid those paths which seem right, but are not. The psalmist tells us that the wicked will not rule the land of the godly. If a country’s rulers are wicked, it tells us that so are most of that country’s people. Of course, this also tells us that the way to replace wicked rulers with godly ones is to get the majority of the people to embrace godliness.

    One of the frequently overlooked lessons of the story of Ananias and Sapphira is that the giving by the well-to-do was totally voluntary. Peter told Ananias that it was Ananias’ decision whether or not to sell his land. And once he had sold it, it was Ananias’ decision what he did with his money. Ananias’ sin was not in his failure to give all of the money he got from selling his land to help the needy. His sin was in lying about it. Ananias and Sapphira wanted both the honour of giving their wealth to help the poor and to retain a good portion of that wealth.
    The high council had the Apostles arrested and put in jail. However, over night, an angel released them and told them to go back to the Temple to preach. When the high council sent to the jail for the Apostles the following day, those guarding the jail discovered they were missing. No sooner had word reached the high council than a messenger arrived telling them that the Apostles were preaching in the Temple once more. Imagine this, people had seen the Apostles arrested the previous day. Yet, here they were preaching in the Temple, making no attempt to hide.
    When they were brought before the high council and asked why they had defied the council’s order not to preach in the name of Jesus, Peter replied for all of them by saying that they would obey God rather than human authority. Gamaliel pointed out an important point, when a group emerges which is following a human leader, it will soon disappear after that leader dies. Unless the group is serving some purpose of God’s. If the latter is true, no amount of persecution will serve to crush the group. We do not need to persecute those who follow false teachings, God will deal with them in His own time.

    Solomon’s reaction to Adonijah requesting permission to marry Abishag, David’s last concubine, sheds light on the importance of learning the context of Biblical passages. Looking at it from the perspective of American culture today, Solomon’s reaction seems overboard: Adonijah was just looking to marry a pretty young woman. However, Solomon saw it as an attempt by Adonijah to position himself to claim the throne again, which it probably was. Adonijah had tried to set himself up as the default successor to David. When he perceived that David was on his approaching death, Adonijah had gathered those dignitaries he could count on to support him. His plan appears to have been to have all of them with him when David died and have them declare him king by acclamation. That failed. Here he appears to be attempting to marry David’s last concubine and through that marriage extend a claim to the throne.

     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.

     David knew that his death was approaching, so he gave his final charges to Solomon. The first part is advice we should all follow. He told Solomon to remember that sooner or later everyone dies. He instructed Solomon to be strong, act with maturity and keep the Lord’s commands and regulations. David told Solomon that God had promised him that if his descendants followed God faithfully they would sit on his throne for all of time. David then went on to give Solomon specific instructions regarding certain people. David instructed Solomon to punish Joab for killing the two men David had appointed to replace him as army commander. He also instructed Solomon to find a way to pay back Shimei for cursing David when Absalom forced him to flee Jerusalem. And David instructed Solomon to be kind and look after the sons of Barzillai of Gilead, who had stood by him when he fled from Absalom.
     Sometime not long after David’s death, Adonijah approached Bathsheba requesting a favor. Adonijah begins his request by telling Bathsheba that all of Israel expected him to become king, but that Solomon became king in his place for such was the will of God. Now, he was requesting that Bathsheba approach Solomon to have Solomon allow Adonijah to marry Abishag, the young virgin who cared for David in his final years. Bathsheba acceded to Adonijah’s request. When she approached Solomon he treated her with utmost respect, as she deserved for getting him crowned king. However, when she made Adonijah’s request for him, Solomon became angry (not particularly at Bathsheba). He explained that this was an attempt by Adonijah to extend his claim to the throne. Considering that Adonijah was Solomon’s elder brother and that he had the support of both Joab and Abiathar, anything which gave him even more claim to the throne was a threat.
     In response to what Solomon perceived (probably accurately) as an attempt by Adonijah to usurp the throne, he ordered Benaiah, the captain of his (and David’s before him) bodyguard, to execute Adonijah. He then ordered Abiathar to give up his role as a priest and return to his home, sparing his life because of his role in transporting the Ark of the Lord and in David’s many campaigns. When Joab heard of Adonijah’s death, he rushed to the sacred tent and grabbed the horns of the altar. When he refused to come out, stating that he would die there, Solomon ordered him executed at the altar. Benaiah carried out Solomon’s order. Solomon then appointed Benaiah as commander of the army.
     Solomon then sent for Shimei and ordered him to build a house in Jerusalem and live there the rest of his days. Solomon told Shimei that if he ever left Jerusalem again, he would be executed. Shimei agreed to Solomon’s command. However, three years later two of his slaves fled to Gath. Shimei pursued them to Gath and brought them back to Jerusalem. When Solomon heard of this he sent for Shimei and sentenced him to death. None of the passages tell us much about Shimei, but he was clearly a man of significant influence. He was someone who felt secure harassing David as he fled Jerusalem, even though David was surrounded by a force of armed men. He was listed as one of the officials who did not support Adonijah’s claim to the throne. And here, Solomon initially sentenced him to something similar to what he told Adonijah to do. All of this suggests that Shimei was a man of influence, who had a power base that could not be freely alienated by the king.

     In yesterday’s passage, Barnabas sold a field and brought the money to the apostles to use to help those in need. Following that a man named Ananias, along with his wife, named Sapphira, sold some property and brought part of the proceeds to the Apostles, claiming it was the full amount. Peter immediately confronted him about this. Peter makes clear that Ananias’ sin was not keeping part of the money from the sale. His sin was his attempt to gain credit for being more generous than he actually was. Peter told Ananias that he had lied not just to men, but to God. When Ananias heard what Peter had said, he immediately fell down and died. Some of the young men present covered his body, carried it out and buried him. Everyone who heard the story was terrified.
     Three hours later, Sapphira came in. She had not yet heard what had happened to her husband. Peter asked they had sold the land for the amount which Ananias had claimed. Sapphira answered that, yes, that was the price. Peter then asked her how she could have agreed to test the Spirit of God in that manner. The men who had buried her husband were at the door and they would bury her as well. She immediately fell to the floor dead. The young men who had just buried her husband came in, took her body out and buried it next to her husband. Fear came over the entire Church and everyone else who heard what had happened.
     This passage reminds me a point I bring up with some frequency. When the Bible tells us things like “Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,” it really means fear. This is not the fear of a mugger or of a fire, although it has some elements in common with that. Some have postulated that it is the fear of offending someone whom one loves, and that is certainly a large part of it. But I am convinced that when the Bible tells us about the importance of the fear of the Lord, it is talking about the fear which gripped the Church in this passage. This fear was composed of the fear of offending someone whom one loved along with the fear of the consequences of one’s actions. It is possible to put too much emphasis on the fear of God, but I believe that currently Christians in the U.S. have too little genuine fear of God. I have too little genuine fear of God.
     Luke goes on to tell us that the many miracles and signs among the people. The believers were meeting regularly in a particular part of the Temple, but no one dared meet with them just to find out what their meetings were about, even though the believers were held in high esteem. Despite the attempts by the authorities to isolate the believers, more people were becoming believers every day. The miracles were such that people were bringing the sick in from the villages around Jerusalem and laying them in the street in the hope that Peter’s shadow might fall on them. Luke tells us that they were all healed. When I read this passage, I think about what a difference it would make if we today had that kind of faith. The problem is that we do not have enough genuine fear of God, as a result we have too much fear of man. When our fear of God reaches the point where it should be, we will realize that there is no reason to fear man.
     Which brings us to what happened next. The chief priests had the Apostles arrested and placed in jail. That night, a messenger of God opened the jail, brought them out and told them to go to the Temple and preach the Gospel. At daybreak the Apostles entered the Temple and began to teach. When the chief priests convened the Sanhedrin, they sent to the jail for the Apostles. Those sent returned and reported that the jail was locked and the guards were at the doors, but when they opened the cells the Apostles were gone. The captain of the guard and the chief priests were at a loss. About this time, someone came and reported that the men they had arrested were in the Temple courts teaching the people. The chief priests sent the Temple guards to bring the Apostles to them, but peacefully because they were afraid the people would stone them.
     When they were brought before them, the high priest told the Apostles that they had been told not to teach in Jesus’ name and here they were doing so again. To which Peter replies that they would obey God rather than any human authority. Peter continued that God had raised Jesus, whom the chief priests had killed, from the dead and honored Him in order to bring Israel to repentance.
     When the Sanhedrin heard this they were furious and wanted to put the Apostles to death. A teacher of the law named Gamaliel stood up and asked that the Apostles be put outside for a short time. He then addressed the Council, telling them that several other messianic preachers had risen up in the recent past. They had each attracted a large group of followers. Yet after each was killed, their followers were scattered and the movement they had started came to nothing. Gamaliel thus advised the Sanhedrin that their best course of action was to do nothing Because if this was merely a human movement, in a short time it would dissipate and amount to nothing. On the other hand, if this movement was of God there was nothing they could do to stop it. They would merely find themselves fighting against God.
     The council listened to Gamaliel’s advice. They had the Apostles flogged and then left them go after warning them against ever speaking in the name of Jesus again. Then Luke tells us something interesting. The Apostles left the high council rejoicing over the fact that God had found them worthy of being flogged for the name of Jesus. This is such an amazing thing. Rather than being disheartened and discouraged by the pain that was inflicted on them, they were encouraged and made more passionate. I will postulate once more that the reason they reacted to this the way they did was because they had an appropriate fear of God, which made anything people could do to them pale in comparison. To go with that fear of God, they also had a sense of God’s wondrous love for them that gave them a joy so great it completely overwhelmed the suffering they experienced.

     Those who trust in God will be secure, nothing will be able to shake them. God will surround them like a wall of mountains that cannot be penetrated by those wishing them ill. God will do good to those who are good and whose hearts are in tune with Him. But God will banish those who turn to crooked ways. Is my heart in tune with God?

     Today’s proverb is a little bit scary. It tells us that there is a path that seems to be right but which leads to death. How can we tell whether the path we are following is the one that is truly right, or is merely the one which seems to be right? The answer is that we need to not rely merely on what we think is right, but instead study the word of God to determine what He says is right. All too many times people rely on what appearances tell them about what is right and wrong, rather than turning to God for guidance.