If you are a willing accessory to a crime you will hurt yourself. If you are questioned about the crime you will be afraid to say anything because you might implicate yourself. This is especially true if the authorities have identified the primary offender and know that you have a connection with them.
I struggle with what this psalm means to me, with what lesson I can take from it for my life today, or what actions it should inspire me to undertake. I think that perhaps the key thing I can take from it is that I need to obey God’s commands. His promises to us are conditional on us doing His will.
When I read this passage the four living beings John describes remind me of the four living beings which are described in the first chapter of Ezekiel. There are other aspects of John’s vision which bear a resemblance to Ezekiel’s vision. John describes the one on the throne as glowing brilliantly. Ezekiel describes something glowing brilliantly from within the cloud. These similarities are not an accident. Both John and Ezekiel are attempting to describe their vision of the glory of God. Such a description is a challenge for any human being.
I want to point out the meaning I see in the imagery here. The four living beings have eyes all over their bodies, which suggests that they see everything that is happening. The twenty-four elders sit on thrones in the presence of God, which suggests to me that they are the holiest humans to ever live. These two groups spend all day, every day, praising God. The four living beings say again and again throughout the day that God is holy and reminding those present the He was, is, and is to come (I love that description of God). The twenty-four elders respond by submitting their authority to God (laying their crowns before Him) and praising Him.
It is worth spending a little time looking at the content of their praise. They say that God is worthy to receive glory, honor, and power. Further they tell us that He is worthy because He created everything that is and those things exist only because God willed that they exist. Nothing and no one is able to even exist unless God wills for them to exist.
Obadiah prophesies against Edom. He proclaims that the entire nation will be destroyed and all of its possessions looted. It will become as if it had never existed. Having made this declaration, he then tells us why this will happen. Edom will suffer this fate because it refused the help the people of Israel in their time of need. Not only did Edom refuse to help Israel in their time of need, they assisted those who attacked them and looted them along with their enemies. Obadiah goes on to prophesy that not only will Edom be judged and suffer for mistreating Israel, but all nations will be judged by how they treated the people of Israel. Those who persecute and attack the people of Israel will be swallowed up by history and disappear. Only those who join with the people of Israel will be saved.
For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I apologize if my writing over the last few days has been below my usual standard. I have not been feeling well and if the doctor is to be believed I will feel this way for a few more. On the other hand, if my writing has not been substandard, praise God because it is only by the power of the Holy Spirit that such is possible.
It is natural for people to be proud of their grandchildren. At the very least. grandchildren are a sign that one was not a complete failure as a parent. Children should be proud of their parents. I know that I am proud of my mother and father. They are great servants of the Lord and I strive to live up to their example.
As a Christian, I do not put much emphasis on Jerusalem, but it is clear from this and other psalms that Jerusalem is special to God. If the people of Jerusalem are faithful to God, He will protect the city from all threats. Jerusalem is God’s desired home on this planet and will bring prosperity to it, as long as its people serve Him.
Here is the second reference in the Bible to Barnabas. In it we see that Barnabas has at least some of what I call the “tendency to take in strays.” Here we see the first evidence that if it was not for Barnabas, Saul/Paul would never have risen to the prominence he later had in the Church. When Saul arrived in Jerusalem after his conversion in Damascus none of the Christians in Jerusalem would have anything to do with him because of the way he had previously persecuted Christians. Except for Barnabas, who met with Saul and took him to meet with the apostles. We, also, discover in this passage that Saul was not afraid of offending people (similar to Stephen, whose stoning Saul witnessed).
When every tribe of Israel except for Judah rejected Rehoboam as king, he raised an army to try to force them to accept him. However, a prophet came forward and warned the people of Judah against going to war against their countrymen. The passage does not outright say this, but I do not think that it was Rehoboam’s decision to stand down the army. I think that the men of the army chose not to go to war after the prophet spoke to them and Rehoboam had no choice but to accept their decision.
As soon as the threat of immediate war with Rehoboam was passed, Jeroboam created two golden calves which he encouraged his people to worship in place of God. Jeroboam was afraid that if his people continued to go to the Temple in Jerusalem to worship God they would start to give their allegiance to Rehoboam. Jeroboam chose “pragmatism” over obeying God. A mistake which continues to plague mankind.
For today, One Year Bible Online links here. Christmas is coming soon. Let us remember what it is truly about, the birth of Jesus Christ. Let us strive to not be caught up in the commercialism which is what this season is about for many in our society today.
David swore that he would not rest until he found a place to build a house for the Lord. Will we do the same? Will we work without rest until our hearts a place fit to build a house for the Lord?
This passage reminds us that our goal in all that we do is to bring glory and honour to God. We exist solely because it pleased God to create us. Let us worship and praise Him for as long as we shall live…and if we place our faith in Jesus Christ, we shall live for all of eternity. When I read this passage I can imagine nothing that would bring me more joy than bringing praise to God.
This passage is specifically a prophesy against Edom, but it contains warnings for all of Israel’s neighbors. It is even more than that. It is a warning against all who join in the destruction of their neighbors. God will judge those who seek to profit from their neighbors misfortune. When our neighbors (whether as individuals or as nations) are suffering, we should seek to aid them in what ways we can. God will not judge us if we are unable to aid them, but if we join in their destruction, God will visit destruction on us.
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.
Obadiah prophesied against the kingdom of Edom. He said that they would be utterly destroyed and not even a remnant of them would remain. The people of Edom were confident that their natural defenses would protect them. They thought their cities were impregnable. As a result of their arrogance, they thought they had no reason to come to the aid of their neighbor Israel when enemies attacked. They not only did not come to their aid, they actively abetted those who conquered and enslaved the people of Israel, confident that the same could never happen to them. Obadiah prophesied that they would be utterly destroyed as a people, yet the people of Israel would be restored. The people of Israel would even come to inhabit the mountains of Edom.
There can be many lessons to learn from this, but the primary one is that we must not gloat when others suffer misfortune and strive to profit from their suffering. Rather we should strive to alleviate that misfortune and aid them in recovering from their loss.
There is a lot of symbolism is this passage, but today only one thing struck me. I read the passage and saw that the four living beings and the twenty-four elders were spending all of their time praising and honouring God. It is not clearly spelled out in the passage, but I get the sense that they are taking great joy from doing so. Am I willing to spend my time praising and honouring God the way they do? And do I take the same joy out of doing so that they seem to me to be getting?
I will go to the sanctuary of the Lord and worship at the footstool of His throne. I will worship Him in humility, as one who does not even deserve the honour of being allowed to worship Him. Those who oppose God’s anointed one, Jesus Christ, will be shamed. Let me never be counted among them.
Those who aid thieves and the dishonest bring about their own downfall. They will be sworn to tell the truth and afraid to answer questions because they will indict themselves. If we act out of fear of others we will trap ourselves, it is only by trusting God that we can rest safely. I will trust the Lord and depend on Him to defend me.
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.
When Rehoboam returned to Jerusalem, he mobilized the men of Judah and Benjamin in order to regain control over all of Israel. However, the prophet Shemaiah prophesied to Rehoboam and the people that God was telling them fight against their brothers, the rest of Israel. The people obeyed God and went home rather than going to fight the rest of Israel. It is not clear if Rehoboam sent the people home after hearing the prophet or if the people refused to support his attempt to regain control after hearing the prophet. Personally, I suspect the latter is more likely than the former.
When Jeroboam became king over the northern tribes he was afraid that if the people continued to go to Jerusalem to worship God they would revert to supporting Rehoboam as king. In order to stop the people from going to Jerusalem, Jeroboam had two gold calves made and placed one at each end of his kingdom, one in Bethel and one in Dan. Jeroboam then built temple complexes at both sites. In addition, he appointed priests from among the general populace rather than from the descendants of Levi. Finally, he instituted a religious festival to replace the Festival of Shelters. Jeroboam offered sacrifices at Bethel as part of the religious festival he established.
At the very first festival, while Jeroboam was offering his sacrifices, a man of God from Judah arrived and loudly condemned Jeroboam’s idolatry. The man of God prophesied that a descendant of David named Josiah would destroy these altars and execute the priests who served at them. He further prophesied as a sign that his prophecy was true that the altar would split and the ashes pour out of it while Jeroboam was offering sacrifices. When Jeroboam heard his prophecy he pointed at the man of God and ordered him killed. But as he pointed to the man of God, Jeroboam lost control of his hand and was unable to pull it back. At that moment the altar split apart and the ashes poured out. Jeroboam begged the man of God to ask God to restore his hand. The man of God did so and Jeroboam’s hand was restored. Jeroboam then offered the man of God a gift if he would return and eat a meal with him. The man of God declined saying that God had told him to eat nothing while he was in Bethel.
When the man of God left Bethel, a prophet who lived in Bethel went after him and claimed that God had told him to bring the man of God back to his house so that he could have something to eat and drink. The man of God listened to this prophet’s lies and ate with him. While he was eating, the prophet told the man of God that God had declared that the man of God would die and not be buried with his ancestors because he had not obeyed God’s command to not eat or drink in Bethel. When the man of God left a second time, he was killed by a lion while he was on the road home. The prophet who had deceived him retrieved his body and buried it.
This passage gives us an important lesson on testing the messages that others have received from God when they conflict with what we understand God to have commanded us. The prophet claimed to have a word from God that was in conflict with what the man of God himself had received. The man of God accepted the prophets claim without praying about it himself and paid the price.
When Saul arrived back in Jerusalem, he tried to meet with the believers, but they were afraid of him, not believing that he had truly converted. However, Barnabas brought Saul to meet with the Apostles, told them his conversion story and how he had preached in the name of Jesus in Damascus. Saul stayed with the Apostles and moved freely about Jerusalem. He got into some debates with Hellenistic Jews about Jesus, which led them to try to kill him. When the believers learned of this they hustled Saul out of Jerusalem and sent him to his home city of Tarsus. There was something I had not noticed here. The Church hustled Saul out-of-town twice, first in Damascus and the second time in Jerusalem. It is worth noting that this time they sent him to his home town, where he could be expected to get into fewer confrontations. It almost looks as if the early Church felt that Saul (who we know as Paul) was too confrontational and should spend some time with his family learning to tone it down a bit.
Peter was traveling around Judea. At one point, when he was visiting the town of Lydda, he met a man named Aeneas who was paralyzed and had been bed ridden for eight years. Peter told Aeneas that Jesus had healed him and that he should get up. Aeneas immediately got up. Those who lived near by saw Aeneas walking and became believers. While there, a believer named Tabitha died in the city of Joppa. The other believers in Joppa had heard that Peter was nearby in Lydda, so the sent word begging him to come at once. Peter went to Joppa at once. When he got there, they showed him the room where they had placed her body. The room was filled with widows who were weeping for Tabitha’s death. They showed Peter the many clothes that she had made for them. Peter asked them all to leave the room. Once they had all left the room he prayed over Tabitha (also known as Dorcas). Peter then told her to get up, which she did. He called everyone back in and presented Tabitha to them alive. This story spread throughout Joppa and led many people to become believers. Peter stayed in Joppa with Simon the tanner for some time.
In some ways we can dismiss this psalm because it is about the physical location where we worship God. God no longer calls His people to worship Him in a specific physical location.* However when we consider that God lives within us it puts this phrase in a new light:
I will not let my eyes sleep
nor close my eyelids in slumber
until I find a place to build a house for the Lord,
a sanctuary for the Mighty One of Israel.
Have we built a house for the Lord within our innermost being? Have I made myself a sanctuary fit for the Lord God Almighty? Will God say of me, “I will live here, for this is the home I desired?”
*Of course from a different perspective God does call us to worship Him in a specific place. That specific place is wherever we happen to be at any given moment.
The first part of this proverb seems self-evident, have you ever seen the way that grandparents gush over their grandchildren? On the other hand, if you have children, are they proud to have you as a parent?
