I think the point here is that the dangerous often strut and posture to avoid needing to use their power. On the other hand, all of these “strutters” have the ability back up their strut. Which suggests to me that perhaps the point is that if you strut about you had better have the ability to back it up. The final possible interpretation is that the first three of these are prepared to back up their strut with their own ability, while the fourth is counting on others to make them dangerous.
I will praise the Lord because He trains me for the tasks which He sets before me. It is amazing that God pays attention to me. I am nothing compared to Him, or even to the Universe which He created. Even among human beings I am insignificant. Yet despite this, God has performed miracles for me and has prepared me for His tasks. He has reached down and rescued me when I was in despair. I will praise His name every day which I draw breath.
Next in John’s vision came seven plagues poured out over the earth in judgment of people’s sins. The first plague afflicted only those with the mark of the beast (which suggests a disease spread by the process of placing the mark). However, the most important point in this passage is that people cursed God for the plagues, yet did not repent of their sins and turned to God. I have known all too many people who blame God for the things which have gone wrong in their life rather than admit that their own mistakes and sins had led them into the situations they found themselves in.
God promises through Zechariah that the day will come when the people of Jerusalem will walk the streets in peace. Old men and women will safely walk the streets with their canes and sit together in the city squares. The streets will be filled with boys and girls at play. When we look at the world today it seems impossible for such a time of prosperity and peace to come to pass, but nothing is impossible for God. For a long time the Jewish people have been a symbol of a cursed nation, but God promises to change that. He will make them not just a symbol of blessing, but a source of blessing. Indeed, He has already done so by sending Jesus to die on the cross, but I believe there is more to come.
God will bring about peace in Jerusalem. However, He will not do so until the people of Jerusalem do their part. Their part is our part as well. It is to tell the truth to one another; to render just verdicts in our courts; to stop telling lies that we swear are the truth; and to not scheme against each other. If we do this, the day will come when the people of the world will travel to Jerusalem to seek the Lord. There will be peace not only in Jerusalem, but throughout the earth.
Those who are wise use words sparingly. There are several reasons for this. One of which is touched on in today’s passage: even a fool will seem wise if he doesn’t say anything. Another advantage of not saying everything that comes to your mind is that you have time to think over what you thought and polish your thought so that your wording is well chosen. Yet another reason to not say what comes to your mind is that by keeping silent and listening you may learn things which show you the error in your original thought before you speak.
There is one other point I would like to make. While it is true that a fool who keeps silent will be thought wise when they are not, a fool who keeps silent will gain wisdom by doing so (and is probably demonstrating that they have already started the process of ceasing to be a fool).
I will praise the Lord, He provides me with stability and a safe place to stand. He gives me the talents and training I need to accomplish the tasks to which He has called me. I am but a man, a human being of little consequence is this large and varied universe. Yet God cares for me. He cares for every single person.
I was going somewhere else with my thoughts on this psalm when I got to this point. I am not very significant when one looks at the universe, or even at the people of this earth. Despite my insignificance God cares for me. Not only does He care about me, He cares about every single person on this earth, no matter how insignificant we think they are. What does that mean for us? There is the obvious; if God cares about you (and He does), then you should not think of yourself as someone of no worth. If God cares about you, you are clearly someone of value. However, there is a more important thing for us to take from this; if we think that someone is not worth caring about, we had better re-examine our conclusion because God disagrees. He is a much better judge of a person’s value than we are.
When Paul arrived in Athens he got into a discussion with some philosophers there. It seems that they found his philosophy appealing, but balked at the idea of resurrection from the dead. One of Paul’s key points in his discussion with the philosophers of Athens was that they were spiritual in every way they could imagine, yet they acknowledged that something was missing. Paul’s message to the people of Athens is one we need to convey to those around us. No matter how spiritual people may be, if they have not come to know Jesus, something is missing. Most of them will realize this and seek to fill that void. The Christian message is that the Gospel provides the answer about what is missing. Once one truly comprehends the Gospel message one realizes that Jesus fills the missing place in all other spirituality.
Jehu killed Ahab’s son to become king over Israel. He killed all of Ahab’s family, fulfilling Elijah’s promise regarding Ahab. Jehu then proceeded to completely eliminate Baal worship in Israel. It is interesting that while Jehu recognized the evil in Baal worship, he did not recognize the evil in worshiping the golden calves which Jeroboam had set up.
Just because someone struts about and acts as if he is powerful does not mean that he is someone to be admired. However, those who do so should be treated with caution since they can be dangerous.
If we trust in God, He will train us to fight the battles He wishes us to fight. Let us remember to take refuge in God and only fight the battles He directs us to fight. Let us trust Him to fight any other battle which may come our way. We are such little things in this large Universe, yet God sent His Son to save us. I will praise God for all that He has done for me.
In John’s vision the seven angels pour out the plagues upon the earth one by one and things go from bad to worse. But, instead of repenting of their sins and turning to God the people cursed God and blamed Him for their suffering. As things got worse the leaders of the people of the world joined forces to make war on God. As I read this passage it reminds me of many people today. When things go wrong, they blame God (even while claiming that they do not believe that He exists). Rather than change the behaviors which led to their problems, they blame those who point out that God warned them of those consequences. In their minds, it is God who is evil for telling them that if they continue to sin bad things will happen, things they will not like.
Today as we celebrate Christ’s birth let us remember that God offered His Son to suffer those consequences with us and show us that if we are willing to turn from our sin, good can come out of our suffering.
Zechariah receives another message as a follow up to the one he gave in response to those asking if they should continue to fast and mourn in remembrance of the destruction of the Temple. Zechariah’s new message is that the fasts and mourning they had been practicing should now turn to celebrations. God was determined to bless Jerusalem. This blessing is going to happen. However, in order to experience this blessing the Jewish people need to do some things. When the people of any nation act similarly, they will receive similar blessings.
Here is the key for any nation to experience God’s blessing. The people of that nation must speak the truth. Their courts must render true and sound judgments. They must not scheme against each other, no more seeking to gain advantage by cheating/misleading others. They must stop thinking it demonstrates cleverness to swear that a lie is the truth. I will state that I believe that a nation whose people follow these instructions will find themselves on the path to economic prosperity. Running counter to these instructions leads to an economic collapse.
Those who are truly wise do not have a lot to say, even a fool will seem wise if they keep silent most of the time. You can gain a reputation for intelligence and wisdom by not speaking. Learning to keep your temper will make it easier to avoid speaking up in situations that will make you seem foolish.
As I read this psalm, I recognized it as being appropriate in my current situation. I am in a new job where there are people with whom I find myself battling as I seek to do the best job that I can. I need to remember that God will give me the skills needed to fight these battles in the proper ways. As I serve God and do as He directs, He will be my ally in the battles I face. It is not up to me to win these battles. God will win them for me. If I am careful to only fight those battles which God commands me to fight, I will find myself in a position of strength when I face those who oppose me.
I have recently seen how true this is, and it leads me to praise God. He is indeed my rock and fortress.
As I have been reading through Acts this year I noticed something. On multiple occasions, when opposition to Paul’s preaching arose in a town, the believers sent Paul out of town. As I read, it became more and more clear to me that Paul did not deal with disagreement well. Paul did not know when to back down, when to move on. Others had to tell him, “This is not your battle to fight.” This is not to say that Paul was wrong to fight the battles he fought, just that it appears that sometimes others had to tell him when there was nothing more to be gained from continuing the fight.
We often forget that there is only one person in the Bible who we are supposed to imitate. That person is Jesus. The Bible accounts tell us about the good things and the bad things which people like Paul did. All too often, we see the accounts of Paul and think that his confrontational style is something we are supposed to imitate, even the parts where he got it wrong. If we are faithful to God as Paul was, we will face trials and persecutions. However, sometimes we are supposed to “leave town” when we have stirred things up through our faith. We need to listen to our fellow believers when they tell us it is time to move on.
The family of Ahab ruled in Israel and did evil in the sight of the Lord. As a result of their evil, Ahab’s entire family was killed. We often think that their sins were about idolatry, and this is not wrong. However, it is not complete. Ahab and his descendants abused their power. They mistreated the weak and powerless in order to satisfy their own pleasures. Their failure to honour God and follow His commands led them to believe that it was their right to treat others as objects who existed purely as a means to satisfy their lusts and desires. They chose to worship “gods” who they could manipulate to get what they wanted. Ultimately they were unwilling to accept that God was sovereign over themselves. They denied that they were accountable to anyone or anything for their actions. Ultimately, that is what idolatry is, the refusal to accept that we are accountable to anyone outside of ourselves. They discovered, when it was too late, that they were wrong. Will we make the same mistake? Or will we recognize that God will hold us to account for our actions?
I want to wish everyone reading my blog today a Merry Christmas. May the Prince of Peace, whose birth we celebrate this day, bless you in the coming year and grant you the confidence and faith to serve our God with a willing, merciful heart. I pray that God may grant you healing in all of the places which the sin of this world has broken you, just as He is doing for me.
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.
Zechariah gives a prophesy here where he states that God is going to bring His people back to Jerusalem from all over the world, from the east and from the west. He reminds them that before they started work on the Temple, before they started the work which God had given them, they had no jobs and no money. In short, when they were dedicating all of their resources to their own desires, the economy was terrible, but after they began dedicating a share of their resources to doing God’s work, the economy recovered. Zechariah continues by telling them to be strong and continue doing God’s work. They are to stop telling lies and tell each other the truth. They are to ensure that everyone receives justice in their courts. If they do these things, the day will soon come where people from every nation will wish to walk with them in service to God because of the blessings which they have received from doing so.
John’s vision now contained seven angels who poured out seven bowls of God’s wrath upon the earth. The first bowl caused those who had accepted the mark of the beast and worshiped his statue to break out with malignant sores. This sounds to me like a plague which only effects those
who worship the beast. I think this is representative of the diseases which those who fully embrace immoral practices experience. The second and third bowls caused the bodies of water over the entire earth to become foul and undrinkable. The fourth bowl caused the Sun to become hotter, causing the earth to be scorched. The fifth bowl caused darkness to fall on the lands which worshiped the beast. Despite all of the suffering caused by their evil actions, the people who worshiped the beast not only refused to turn from their evil, they cursed God for allowing them to suffer the consequences of their actions.
The sixth bowl caused the Euphrates River to dry up, allowing the kings of the East to march their armies west without hindrance. At this point, three evil spirits emerged and gathered the armies of all of the rulers of the earth at Armageddon in order to do battle against God. Finally, when the seventh bowl is emptied there will be thunder and lightning, a great earthquake, and a hailstorm. The earthquake will destroy many cities, cause islands to disappear, and level the mountains. Hail stones the size of a large dog will fall from the sky. Once again, rather than repent of their sins, people will curse God for the consequences of their actions.
I am not sure what all to make of this passage, except that those who wallow in sinful behavior will always blame others for the suffering which they experience as a consequence of their sin. If no person can be blamed, they will blame God for allowing them to suffer harm as a result of their actions. I will strive to always turn to God and repent my sins when those sins lead me to suffer.
What a psalm of joy for this day. God will be our refuge and our deliverer. My thoughts echo those of the psalmist. Who am I that God should notice me? Let alone send His son, whose birth we celebrate today, to suffer and die for my deliverance? Yet, He did so. He reached down from heaven and rescued me from despair. I will sing praises to God, both today and every day.
The writer tells us today that not everyone who struts about is as dangerous as they think. The lion and the king leading an army are examples of proud and dangerous creatures, but the rooster is just as proud and not nearly as dangerous (the male goat is somewhere in between). I am not sure if this is a note to tell us that if we walk proudly, most will leave us alone, or an instruction that not everyone who acts like they are powerful is as dangerous as they pretend.
I have been using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study for over 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.
Having been anointed by the prophet sent by Elisha, Jehu led a chariot force to Jezreel, where King Joram had gone after being wounded in battle. King Ahaziah of Judah was visiting his wounded uncle, King Joram, at the time. When the messengers Joram sent out to determine Jehu’s intent joined with Jehu rather than return, KingJoram went out to meet him himself. His nephew, King Ahaziah joined him. When Jehu responded to Joram’s greeting by condemning Jezebel’s (Joram’s mother) idolatry, Joram realized that Jehu had come to kill him. When King Joram turned to flee, Jehu drew his bow and shot him, killing him immediately. King Ahaziah of Judah also fled and Jehu pursued him ordering his men to shoot Ahaziah as well. King Ahaziah was also shot but was able to continue to Megiddo before he died.
When Jezebel heard that Jehu had killed her son, Joram, she put on her makeup and did her hair before sitting by a window. When Jehu entered the palace, she called down to him that he was a murderer. Jehu responded by asking if anyone in the room with her was on his side. When several of the eunuchs looked down to him, he told them to throw Jezebel out of the window. They did so and she died upon hitting the ground. Jehu consolidated his power by killing all Ahab’s family, fulfilling the prophecy Elijah had made concerning Ahab’s family.
When Jehu was secure on the throne, he summoned the people of Samaria and told them that he would worship Baal even more fervently than Ahab had done. He then made preparations for a great festival of worship for Baal and sent word throughout Israel summoning all Baal worshipers to it. Jehu had special robes made for the worshipers of Baal and gave them out to them as they arrived. Once all of the Baal worshipers had gathered in the temple of Baal in Samaria, Jehu stationed 80 of his men outside of the temple with orders to let no one escape. Jehu then ordered his men to kill all of the Baal worshipers and destroyed the temple. Jehu destroyed every trace of Baal worship in Israel. But he did not destroy the golden calves which Jeroboam had built and continued the practice of worshiping them.
Paul and Silas next went to Thessalonica. As usual, Paul started by going to the synagogue and teaching there first. He made the case for Jesus by expounding on how the prophets predicted that the Messiah would suffer, die and rise from the dead just as Jesus had done. Some of the Jews were convinced by his arguments, as were a large number of God fearing Greek men and prominent women. However, other Jews were angered by Paul’s teaching and rounded up some troublemakers and started a riot against Paul and Silas. They went to the home of Jason looking for them. When they failed to find Paul and Silas there they dragged Jason before the city officials and accused him of treason against Caesar. The city officials made Jason and some others post bond, then let them go.
The believers sent Paul and Silas out of town to Berea that very night. They were welcomed in Berea where the people studied the Scriptures to see if what Paul and Silas were teaching was consistent with Scripture. As a result many of the Jews became believers as did many prominent Gentiles (men and women). However, when the Jews in Thessalonica who opposed Paul learned they were teaching in Berea some of them came and started stirring up trouble. The believers immediately sent Paul to Athens, while Silas and Timothy stayed behind. When they got to Athens, Paul sent for Silas and Timothy to join him there.
While Paul was waiting for the others to arrive, he began to preach, both in the synagogue and in the public square. He was willing to engage any who wanted to discuss whether Jew, God-fearing Gentile or those who had no understanding of God. While Paul was doing this a group of Greek philosophers began debating with him. Some of them thought he was speaking nonsense, while others were interested. They invited him to speak to a group of the opinion leaders of the city.
Paul explained how even a people with a multiplicity of gods like the Athenians knew there was something more than could be explained by their pagan idols. He told them that God had made the universe and mankind so as to direct us towards Himself. Throughout history people have striven to find God and have felt their way towards Him as if in darkness. But now God has revealed Himself in fullness through Jesus Christ, whom God raised from the dead. At this point, Paul lost most of the crowd, who were unwilling to accept the idea of resurrection of the dead. Some laughed in contempt, but some wanted to hear more and a few joined Paul and became believers.
The last few days have been psalms of despair, where the psalmist was suffering from problems and difficulties. However, today is an unmitigated psalm of praise. This is what life is like for those who love and serve the Lord. We go through periods where life is difficult and our trials seem without end. But if we continue to call on the Lord and serve Him through the difficult times, He will bring us through to times of joy. when we will sing with the psalmist:
Praise the Lord, who is my rock.
I will sing a new song to you, O God!
I will sing your praises with a ten-stringed harp.
Those who are wise do not speak more than they need to and even those who are foolish will seem wise if they refrain from talking about things which they do not know.
