It was with and by wisdom and understanding that God created the universe. It is for this reason that we can hope to comprehend how and why the world works the way it does.
I am glad that my preparation of this blog leads me to read this psalm at least once a year. It starts off by telling us that those who think there is no God are fools. It goes on to tell us that people are such fools because they are corrupt and their actions are vile. The most important point in this psalm is that we are all such fools. There is however a chance that we may learn and turn to God.
In this passage we have another hint that Jesus and John (and their followers) thought of themselves as part of the same movement. Jesus compares the way John and He chose to minister, and people’s reactions to that choice. John was an ascetic who avoided alcohol and fine foods, calling people away from the pleasures of this world to focus on God and righteousness. People accused him of being demon possessed. Jesus, on the other hand, joined people in their pleasures and showed people that they could serve God and have a good time. People accused Him of being a drunkard and a glutton, condemning Him for associating with sinners. This passage is a reminder that the people of this world will find something to accuse us of, no matter how we live our lives.
The night before Jacob met Esau again for the first time in many years, he was alone in his camp having sent his family and possessions across the river. A man came and the two of them wrestled throughout the entire night. As the sun began to rise, the man struck Jacob on the hip so that Jacob’s hip was dislocated. Jacob demanded the man bless him before he would let him go. The man told Jacob that his name would no longer be Jacob, which means “heel” or “deceiver”. Instead, his name would be Israel, which means “God fights”.
We do not know who the man was, but Jacob appears to have thought he was God Himself. What is interesting is that Jacob was given the name Israel because he wrestled with both God and with man. There is an implication here that it is not only OK to struggle with God’s will for us, but that it is to be admired that we do not just mindlessly submit. I see this as in contrast with Islam, which says we should just submit to God’s will. I am not quite sure I can state this well, but I will try. We are to do God’s will and serve Him. We understand that all things work according to God’s plan. However, when things seem unjust, or unfair, we should struggle to change them so that justice will be restored. We are not to just fatalistically submit to how things are, we are to struggle to make them better.
This proverb reminds us of the true value of helping the poor, those who will never be able to repay us for our efforts. Doing such things is like loaning money to God. He will repay us with interest. Even if such were not the case, do we not owe God more than we can conceivably repay?
Only fools say in their hearts,
“There is no God.”
It is so definitely true and all forms of folly follow from this starting point. The psalmist goes on to remind us that we have all turned away from God at one point or another. It is only through God’s grace that He has called some of us back to Him.
We cannot hope to receive what God promises us on the basis of being “good enough”, no one is “good enough”. Not even Abraham was “good enough”. Abraham never wavered in his faith in God, even when it seemed impossible that God’s promise would be fulfilled. God considered Abraham righteous, not because of what he did, but because he believed that God would fulfill His promises, even when there was no reason to hope. God will do the same for us if we exhibit the same faith which Abraham did.
Our faith will bring us joy, even in the face of suffering. Paul does a great job of explaining why we should be happy when we face suffering. The suffering and difficulties we face will teach us to persevere. Learning to persevere builds character. Those who have character have learned to hope. If our hope is in God it will not lead to disappointment. Therefore let us rejoice when we experience suffering.
The account continues to list the tasks assigned to various groups of Levites, leaders of the tribes, army commanders, and various other government officials. In the middle of this we learn that these lists were derived from the census David ordered, which was never completed because of the plague which broke out. Despite ordering an ill-thought census, David had a carefully organized government which allowed him to rule over the land of Israel.
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, or more. in advance. My work schedule has recently changed, meaning that I may not have time every day to complete these. As a result, I am trying to get several days ahead. I hope this does not negatively impact the quality of these posts (if that is possible). If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them.
In this passage we are told that Jacob wrestled with God. Jacob was not passive in his relationship with God. He struggled against God, but trusted God and did God’s will. God does not ask us to put aside our intellect or our understanding. It is OK to question God. It is even OK to sometimes doubt God. Our walk with God will not always be easy, sometimes we will have to fight with God and with ourselves in order to understand what God’s will for our lives is.
Jesus asked the crowd a rhetorical question. He asked them what sort of man they went out into the wilderness to see when they went out to see John. Then He answered His question. People do not go to gain spiritual guidance from someone who spouts what is popular this week, nor from those whose credentials derive from their economic success. Rather people seek out prophets for spiritual advice. Jesus then points out that the opinion leaders of the day are quick to find fault with those who challenge their lifestyles. If the challenger is frugal and lives an ascetic lifestyle they will condemn him as being too severe. If, on the other hand, the challenger enjoys life’s pleasures they will accuse him of being a hedonist.
We need to remember both of these messages. If we want to reach people for Jesus we need to stand for something and not bend in every wind of popular culture. In addition, if we call people to live according to God’s will, others are going to condemn us for not living the way they think a religious person should…even if that means condemning one person for doing what they condemned another person for not doing.
The psalmist tells us that only fools are able to convince themselves that there is no God. He goes on to tell us that such people are corrupt and evil, even when they are not obviously so. He goes on to tell us that to a degree we have all made the mistake, at some point, of thinking that God will not judge our actions. There is no one who truly does good, which is why we need God’s saving grace. Those who are willing to learn see that the path of wickedness leads to terror. While those who trust God need not fear because God will protect them.
God designed the world with wisdom and understanding. He does not call on us to put our minds in park. He built the world so that it can be understood by those who are willing to think and reason and gave us those abilities so that we can learn to know and love Him.
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.
Today’s passage discusses how the Levites were assigned as gatekeepers and to oversee the various Temple treasuries. It also describes how they were assigned roles as kingdom officials over various parts of David’s kingdom. The passage then goes on to describe how David organized his army and the various individuals he put in charge of managing the kingdom.
Paul tells us that it was not by the law that Abraham received the promise that he would be heir to the world. Rather it was by faith. If God’s promise is only for those who obey the law, it is pointless. Paul points out two reasons the promise would be pointless. The first is that if we received the promise because of obeying the law, there would be no need for the promise because we would be earning the reward. Second, no one can successfully keep the law. All the law does is show us where we fall short of God’s standard. God’s promise is given on the basis of faith and it is a promise of giving us a free gift.
Abraham continued to have faith that God would keep His promise long after a logical analysis would have said there was no hope of such a thing happening. Even when Abraham was 100 years old and Sarah beyond child-bearing years, Abraham believed God when God said that through Sarah he would become father to many nations. Abraham continued to believe that God had the power to do what He said that He would do. This faith was credited to Abraham as righteousness. This was recorded so that we would know that it was by faith that righteousness is received.
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Paul concludes this section by advising us to boast about our hope in the glory of God. This is not a boast about something we have done, rather it is a boast about something God has done. It is similar to boasting about a sports team we root for, not boasting to the fans of other teams, but to those who we believe are, or should be, fans of our team. In the same way we should boast to those around us about what God has done, in order to convince them that they should be rooting for God’s team. To continue the sports metaphor, there are times when we look at a successful team that we say that a particular player “put the team on his back and carried them to victory.” One of the things that is meant by that statement is that the star player played so well and so hard that it did not matter that the other players on the team were not really good enough to deserve being in the championship game, let alone win it. This is sort of what it’s like to be on God’s team. We do not have what it takes to win righteousness, but, unlike in the sports metaphor, God does. God is able to carry us over the line to victory and give us righteousness despite our utter inability to even play the game, let alone being able to win.
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I could stop right there, because that is the main message for me today. However, Paul says something else that I think we need to pay attention to in today’s passage. Paul says that we should not just endure suffering, but glory in it. We should embrace suffering. Why should we embrace suffering? Because suffering teaches us both how to persevere and to actually do so. But perseverance is not the product we are after. Perseverance develops character. When we persevere, we learn to behave in ways that make our character better. But even yet we are not at the goal. The goal is not to have good character (although that is a good thing). No, the goal is to have hope. As we develop character, we learn to have hope. And not just any hope, but hope in God. Our hope in God will not be disappointed. We know this is the case because we know that God loves us. We know that God loves us because God fills us with His Holy Spirit, who fills our hearts with God’s love (both for us and for others).
Ripe wine berries close up
This psalm starts off with a beginning statement that is one of my favorites.
Only fools say in their hearts,
“There is no God.”
The NIV translation contains a note which says that the Hebrew word translated as “fool’ denotes someone who is morally deficient. People choose to deny that there is a God because they wish to do things for which they know God would hold them accountable. The thing that makes them fools is that these actions cause as much harm to those who do them as they do to others. The psalmist goes on to ask if the wicked will ever learn? People suffer the consequences of doing evil and fail to recognize that it was their own actions which caused their troubles. Rather than change their ways, they continue to do things which will cause them pain. Those who continue to do evil will find themselves gripped by terror, but God will be with the righteous (and we learned in the passage from Romans, that those are those who have faith in Jesus).
The psalmist tells us:
All have turned away, all have become corrupt;
there is no one who does good,
not even one.
This reinforces the message which I have seen in the passages from Romans over the last few days. We do not earn our salvation by doing good, because none of us is capable of doing good.
Ripe strawberries late in the season
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 hope that the Spirit is moving in others through these posts as the Spirit has definitely been convicting me.
Jacob prepares for his meeting with Esau by separating out some of his flocks and sending them on ahead of him. He divides these animals into three herds. He tells the herdsman to tell Esau that these are gifts for him from Jacob and that Jacob is coming behind them. After sending these on ahead, Jacob stays the night where he was. During the night, he gathered his family and started them on their way. Jacob stayed behind and wrestled with a man through the night. As morning approached, the man was unable to overpower Jacob, so he touched Jacob on the hip dislocating his hip. Then the man asked Jacob to let him go. Jacob replied that he would not let him go unless the man blessed him. The man told Jacob that he, Jacob, wrestled with God and with man and had overcome. Therefor the man gave Jacob the name Israel. Jacob asked the man his name and the man did not give Jacob his name, but he did bless him. Jacob is given the name Israel and blessed in part because he was willing to wrestle with God. This tells us that God does not expect our blind obedience. God knows that we will struggle with His commands and that He does not object.
As Jacob joined his family he saw Esau and his men approaching. Jacob quickly divided his family putting the servant women and their children first, then Leah and her children with Rachel and Joseph coming last. Jacob bowed low before Esau, but Esau ran to him and embraced him. Esau offered to travel with Jacob, but accompany him to Seir, where Esau made his base. Jacob convinced Esau that was not necessary.
After Jesus had answered John the Baptist’s disciples and they went on their way, He began speaking to the crowds about John. He tells them that no one born of woman is greater than John, yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. He goes on to say that society condemn the righteous with whatever excuse they can come up with. They said that John must be possessed by demons (mentally ill in today’s terminology) because he was an ascetic. On the other hand they called Jesus a glutton and a drunkard because He went to the best parties. We often miss one of the points of this passage. There is a place for both those who are ascetics and deny themselves in order to live more holy lives and for those who go to the parties in order to befriend the sinners and show them that they are welcomed into the Kingdom of God. After all, both Jesus and John reserved their most fervent condemnation for those who thought themselves righteous.
This passage ends with Jesus telling those who are burdened to come to Him, for His yoke is easy and His burden light. when I read this it reminded me of this song.
When upon life’s billows you are tempest tossed,
When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,
Count your many blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
Count your blessings, see what God hath done!
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
Count your many blessings, see what God hath done.
Are you ever burdened with a load of care?
Does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear?
Count your many blessings, every doubt will fly,
And you will keep singing as the days go by.
When you look at others with their lands and gold,
Think that Christ has promised you His wealth untold;
Count your many blessings money cannot buy
Your reward in heaven, nor your home on high.
So, amid the conflict whether great or small,
Do not be discouraged, God is over all;
Count your many blessings, angels will attend,
Help and comfort give you to your journey’s end.
Several other great songs came up when I searched for this song. Perhaps this song was inspired by another passage, but I always think of this verse when I hear/sing this song. Always remember, count your blessings…count them one by one. If you start doing that when you wake up, you will still be doing it when you fall asleep.
Evil fools tell themselves that there is no God in order to believe that they will escape the consequences of their actions. It is a temptation that we all face because we have all turned away from God and become corrupt. I will turn from my sin and pray to God, throwing myself on His mercy. I know that He will protect those who turn to Him
God laid the foundations of the earth with wisdom. If you want to understand how the world works and how to do well in that world, you must use that same wisdom.
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.
Today’s passage continues describing the duties that were assigned to various groups of the Levites. We learn that David assigned the Levites tasks involving governing the Kingdom of Israel, not just tasks involving Temple worship. The passage then goes on to tell us that David divided his army into 12 units of 24,000 men which each served for one month a year. Each unit had its own commander. We are then told who the leaders of each of the tribes was while David was king. Finally we are given a list of miscellaneous officials of David’s kingdom.
In today’s passage, Paul reiterates that Abraham received the promise of God, not because of his adherence to the law of God, but because of his righteousness that came to him through his faith in God. He tells is that if following the law makes one an heir of Abraham than faith has no value and God’s promise is worthless, because no one can fully keep the law and thus receive the promise. Paul extends his logic to show that God’s promise to Abraham applies to those who share Abraham’s faith in God, not just those who are biologically descended from Abraham.
Paul tells us how Abraham had faith in God’s promise that he would be the father of many nations, even though he and Sarah were beyond child-bearing years. Despite his and Sarah’s age, Abraham believed in God’s power to provide him with a son. It was this belief (in God’s power to fulfill His promises) that was credited to him as righteousness. Paul tells us that the Scripture does not record the words “it was credited to him” for Abraham’s sake alone. Those words were written for us as well. Those of us who believe that Jesus died for our sins and was raised again to life may know that our faith will be credited to us as righteousness, just as Abraham’s faith was.
Our faith allows us to have peace with God. Paul tells us that we can rejoice in our hope of the glory of God. We can also rejoice in the suffering we experience because suffering trains us to persevere, or as the King James Version puts it, to have patience. Perseverance helps us develop good, strong character. Good character inspires us to have hope. And God will not leave us to hope in vain.
Today’s passage is a great example of what a blessing it is to have access to the Bible on line. In order for me to fully follow what Paul was saying here, I switched back and forth between different translations. I often will switch between translations when studying a passage because I want to see if some of the connotations I take from one translation can be supported by the way another translation chooses to translate a passage. But for today’s passage I found it necessary to look at various translations to fully see how to express my thoughts on what the passage meant.
The psalmist tells us that only fools declare that there is no God. He tells us that the truly wise will seek God. But he further tells us that no one really does, that we all turn away from God and do what is wrong. Despite our sinfulness and rejection of God, he will rescue us from evil and offer us the opportunity to be made right with Him. How appropriate that this psalm is part of my daily devotion while I am also reading Romans.
There are several ways to look at this proverb. The first is straightforward. Helping the poor is lending to God. Surely we believe that God will repay His debts? If we believe that God will repay His debts, than we know that anything we give to the poor will come back to us with interest. There is another way to look at this proverb. Since everything we have is given to us by God, how can we even think twice when He asks us to give it to another?
There are those who look at passages like this and see it as evidence that God will reward faithfulness with great worldly wealth, and sometimes He does. However, those who read these passages and see them as blueprints for acquiring worldly wealth miss out on an opportunity to gain gifts from God of much more value than worldly wealth.
