The proverb writer reminds us that God desires that we speak up for those unable to speak for themselves. We need to seek justice for the poor and needy, for those who do not have the means to seek it for themselves.
The psalmist calls on everyone and everything to praise the Lord. No matter who you are, no matter what you are, God is deserving of your praise. If it was not for God you would not exist. If it was not for God none of the things which give your pleasure would exist. I will praise His name for the wonderful things which He has done.
This passage is one of the most heavily debated in the Bible. There are at least three schools of thought about this passage. The first two believe it to be a literal, thousand year reign of Christ on this earth. The third believes it to be figurative. One school of thought believes that there will be a time of great tribulation when Christians throughout the world are persecuted even more than ever in the past followed by Christ’s return when He will rule over the world for one thousand years. The second school of thought believes that Christ will return and rule over the world for one thousand years followed by a time of great tribulation. The third school of thought holds that Christ’s thousand year reign will be a figurative reign, not one where He is literally sitting as the head of government for the entire earth. My understanding of how Biblical writing works inclines me towards a literal thousand year reign. However, the various prophesies regarding Christ’s return and the end of the world make it hard for me to see how such a literal reign could fit into the other events we are told will occur.
Of course, having written what I wrote about the passage in Revelation, I come to this similar passage in Zechariah. Zechariah prophesies of a day when the nations of the earth will attack Jerusalem and sack it. However, God will provide a path of escape for His people and immediately after the fall of Jerusalem God will come in force and strike down those nations. Zechariah prophesies that God Himself will rule over all of the earth. There will be but one God which all people will worship. A plague will strike every nation which marched against God’s people. Those who survive the plague will worship God. Those who refuse to worship God will have droughts and famines. It is clear that Zechariah is also prophesying a literal reign by God on this earth.
If you constantly find yourself getting into quarrels because of things you say, or if people beat you up in response to your words, you are probably speaking foolishly. If you find yourself trapped into actions you don’t want to do because of something you said, you probably speak foolishly.
Let every created thing give praise to the Lord! Today’s psalm continues the theme of encouraging us to praise God. The psalmist knows that there are many people who will not praise the Lord, but he also knows that they should. We owe God our very existence. Read this psalm, meditate on how great God is, then praise His name!
One thing we learn in this passage is that Paul was not always, if ever, a dynamic speaker. On his last day in Troas, Paul spoke late into the night. One of the young men listening to him speak fell asleep sitting in a window. The young man fell three stories to his apparent death. Paul rushed down to the young man and declared that he was OK. Reading this passage it is clear that Luke believed the young man to have died, although Paul’s statement seems to be that he found the young man alive.
Later when Luke recounts the message which Paul gave to the leaders of the Ephesian Church it resembles portions of the letters Paul wrote which we have elsewhere in the New Testament. The first point Paul makes to them is that he taught publicly. He taught the same message to everyone, both Jew and Gentile. Paul’s message, and hopefully ours, is that all must repent of their sins, turn to God, and have faith in Jesus. This is one of the most important things about our faith, we must declare our message publicly. There are no secret teachings reserved for those who have been properly initiated. And that message is the same for everyone, black, white, rich, poor, Jew, or Gentile. There is no group that gets to live by a different set of rules than everyone else.
The passage tells us that the Kingdom of Israel, the Northern Kingdom, fell to Assyria because its people worshiped gods other than God. They followed the practices of the people who had lived in the land before them and around them. In addition, they had adopted new practices which were contrary to God’s law. As I read the history of the people of Israel, I see that their fall to Assyria was not just God’s judgment upon them, although it was indeed that. It was the inevitable result of the practices they adopted. Rather than remain faithful to the practices God had instructed them in, which would have caused them to build a strong and prosperous nation, they adopted practices which weakened their nation and destroyed its economy.
The writer tells us that the people of Judah, the Southern Kingdom, followed many of the same practices which the people of the Northern Kingdom had adopted. However, God allowed them to remain in the land for a longer time. The difference was that Judah had leaders who attempted to be faithful to God, even when they failed to lead the people to be faithful. While the Northern Kingdom was weakening and falling to the Assyrians, Hezekiah was strengthening the Southern Kingdom and expanding its borders. Hezekiah was able to do so because he was faithful in obeying the Laws God had given to Moses. He went further than his predecessors because he destroyed the various idols and pagan shrines which had been set up. He did more than be faithful himself. He led his people to turn to God.
For today, One Year Bible Online links here. We are approaching the end of the year and the beginning of a new one. Let us seek to serve God in all that we do in the New Year.
The writer calls on us to speak up for those who cannot speak up for themselves. If we want our society to prosper we must speak up for the poor and the helpless. We must seek to ensure that they receive justice. Any society which does not ensure that those who cannot speak for themselves receive justice will find itself in decline.
This psalm calls on everyone and everything to praise God. Not for any particular reason except that God is our creator. Reading this psalm brings to mind one of my favorite songs. I know that song as Hymn 606 because it was number 606 in the Mennonite Hymnal I grew up with. I would encourage anyone who is unfamiliar with this hymn to search for “Mennonite Hymn number 606” on Youtube and watch a few different videos of it. Being part of a group singing that song in four part harmony, even if not very well, can lift your spirit in much the manner intended by this psalm.
Next in John’s vision Satan is bound for a thousand years. During that thousand years Satan is unable to deceive the people of the world. During that thousand years those who had died for resisting the beast were raised from the dead and ruled over the earth. When the thousand years comes to an end Satan will be released. He will immediately proceed to deceive the people of the world once more. He will gather the nations to make war on God’s people but the vast army will be struck down by fire.
This battle will be followed by the coming of God’s judgement on the living and the dead. Everyone will be judged according to what they have done. Anyone whose name is not found in the Book of Life will be thrown into the lake of fire, which is the second death. What strikes me as I read this is that a casual reading seems to indicate that some will avoid the lake of fire because they lived exemplary lives. However, only those whose name is written in the Book of Life will avoid the lake of fire. It is not spelled out here, but elsewhere in the New Testament it is made clear that we do not earn our way into the Book of Life by our good behavior. Rather, we exhibit good behavior because our name is written in the Book of Life.
Zechariah’s prophecy here resembles part of John’s vision in the book of Revelation, but it is not quite the same. If this prophecy is referring to the same events as the similar prophecy in Revelation there are enough differences that it is clear there is a different lesson here for us. In this vision we learn that Israel’s enemies will strike Jerusalem and defeat its armies taking many captive. Yet as soon as that has happened God will enter the battle on Israel’s behalf. His first act will be to provide them with a miraculous path to flee the destruction.
God will come and rule over the world and no one will worship any other gods. A plague will come upon those who refuse to worship God and nations which do not worship Him will experience famine. As I read this passage it reminds me to redouble my prayers for my friends who do not yet know the Lord. Zechariah tells us that the day will come when everyone will realize who God truly is and worship His name. The suffering experienced by those few who refuse to worship Him will be obvious to all.
Be careful what you say because foolishly spoken words will get you into trouble. If you find yourself constantly getting into arguments, you are probably saying things you should not say. Learn from your past mistakes and guard your words carefully. This proverb contains a warning that I do not heed often enough.
Let us praise the Lord because He made us. If it were not for God, we would not exist. Everything that exists should praise God because He is our creator. Think about how great God is and the wonders which He has performed. Let us be filled with joy at the thought of praising God. I will praise God, no matter where I find myself from the deepest deeps to the highest heights. The glory of the Lord knows no bounds.
Paul warned the elders of the Church of Ephesus to guard themselves and the body of believers they had been given charge over. He told them that false teachers would come into the Church seeking to draw people away to follow them. Some of those false teachers will arise from within the Church itself, distorting the truths of the Christian faith in order to benefit themselves. Paul’s warning is one that we need to heed today as well. If we look around us, we see many Church groups which have abandoned Biblical truths. There are groups which have started claiming that sexual immorality is not a sin. There are groups which have abandoned a focus on loving our neighbors and caring for the needy. We must not make the mistake of overlooking one sort of distortion of God’s truth because a teacher is combating another distortion of God’s truth.
God allowed the Kingdom of Israel, the Northern Kingdom, to be conquered by the Assyrians. The people of Israel were sent into exile by the Assyrians. The passage tells us that this happened because the people of Israel did evil in the sight of God. Rather than follow God’s commands and worship only Him they followed the pagan practices of the nations around them. The writer speaks of their various sins and then mentions that they went so far as to sacrifice their own sons and daughters. God sent prophet after prophet to call them back to Himself, but they would not listen, until finally their sins brought disaster down upon their heads.
Every time I read these passages where the writer expresses his horror at the fact that the people sacrificed their own children upon the pagan altars I cannot help but think of the tragedy of the easy acceptance of abortion in our own country. In our society we sacrifice our own children upon the altar of convenience. Here too God has sent prophets calling us back to following Him, but people refuse to listen, some going so far as to say that it is not a sin to do things which God has condemned.
I am not a proponent of making abortion illegal (although I do not believe that doing so would be a bad thing). I am a proponent of convincing people not to kill their children, even if those children are still in the womb. I believe that we as Christians should stop worrying about changing the laws and spend more time allowing the Spirit to use us to change people’s hearts. Let us strive to convince people to stop worshiping the gods of convenience and self. Turning their hearts instead to God, their Creator.
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 prophesies that there will come a day when all the nations will gather to attack Israel. They will overrun and sack Jerusalem. When the conquest is completed, God Himself will fight against those nations. He will make a path for His people to flee from their enemies, while He brings down their armies. Once this has happened, a river of life-giving water will flow out of Jerusalem to the east and another to the west. God will send a plague on the nations which fought against Israel (the effects of the plague sound a lot like the descriptions of zombies). In the end, the people who survive the plaque will worship the Lord.
The prophecy tells us that Jerusalem will be completely destroyed by its enemies, but no sooner will they have gained the victory then God will strike them down and rescue His people. God will exhibit His power on the earth and people will turn to Him for salvation. People from all over the earth will gather to worship His name. Those who refuse to worship the Lord will suffer, not because people persecute them, but because nature itself will turn against them. On the other hand those peoples who worship the Lord will prosper. There will be peace throughout the earth as everyone turns to the Lord and is governed by His will.
John also tells us of a time when God shall reign on this earth. Satan will be bound for a thousand years, unable to deceive the people of the earth. During that time Christ will rule over the earth. At the end of that time Satan will be released and once more he will deceive people. He will gather armies from the ends of the earth to attack God’s people. His army will be as numberless as the sand on the sea shore. It will gather to attack God’s people, but before it can strike, fire will come from heaven and consume it. Satan, the beast, and the false prophet of the beast will be thrown into a lake of fire.
Christ will come on a white horse and the earth and sky will be no more. All people from all time will be brought before Him to be judged according to their deeds. When the judgment begins death and the grave will be cast in the lake of fire, no more to have power over anyone. Those whose names were not recorded in the Book of Life will also be cast into the lake of fire. Both John and Zechariah tell us that the day will come when those who continue to refuse God’s grace will suffer for the consequences of the sins they have refused to repent. At the same time, God will rule over the earth and reward those who have accepted His grace and allowed Him to mend their ways.
The psalmist reminds us to praise the Lord, for if it were not for Him we would not exist. He created us and gave us life. Let everything that is praise the Lord. From the least to the greatest, we owe God praise for all of the joy we have experienced. The surest way to experience more joy is to thank and praise God for the joy you have already experienced. I will praise the Lord.
The writer tells us to speak up for those unable to speak for themselves. Let us fight for justice for those who are unable to fight for it for themselves. The only way to be sure that we will receive justice is to fight for justice for those who cannot do so for themselves.
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.
Today’s passage tells us that God had finally had enough of the sins of the people of the Northern Kingdom of Israel and sent Assyria to sweep them away into exile. Despite repeatedly sending them prophets telling them to turn away from their sinful ways, they continued to worship other gods. They went so far as to sacrifice their own sons and daughters to these other gods. “They consulted fortune-tellers and practiced sorcery and sold themselves to evil, arousing the Lord’s anger.” This passage sounds like an indictment of most countries of the world today. In the countries that comprise Western Civilization, we sacrifice our children on the altar of convenience and abort them before they are born. In the Islamic countries they encourage their children to become suicidal jihadists and sacrifice them that way. There may be countries in the world today which are not sacrificing their children on the altars of the gods they worship, but I am not familiar with them.
After the Assyrians took the Israelites captive, they settled other peoples in the land of Israel. However, lions preyed upon these new settlers. When word reached the King of Assyria about the depredation of the lions, he sent back a priest of the Lord to teach the new people in the land to worship the Lord. The new people in the land worshiped the Lord, but they also continued to offer sacrifices and worship the gods of their ancestors. They would not follow God’s command to worship only Him.
Six years before the King of Assyria overthrew the Northern Kingdom of Israel, Hezekiah became king in Judah. We are told that he did right in the sight of the Lord. Hezekiah trusted in the Lord and we are told that there was no king like him among all the kings of Judah, either before or after. Hezekiah destroyed all of the places in Judah where people worshiped idols. He removed the high places, destroyed the sacred pillars (which were part of Baal worship) and burned the Asherah poles. He even broke apart the bronze snake which Moses had made because the people were worshiping it in place of God. As a result of his dedication to serving the Lord, Hezekiah was successful in all that he did.
In today’s passage we have a contrast between people who failed to obey the Lord and a man who led his people in strong dedication to follow the Lord. Those who worshiped the Lord and were faithful to Him were blessed, those who did not suffered. David is often viewed as the king of Israel whom we should most admire. I do not wish to diminish our view of David, but I believe that Hezekiah represents a model we should more closely follow. He led his people back to serving God and, unlike David, got rid of the high places where the people mixed worship of God with idolatry.
When the uproar in Ephesus died down, Paul went to Macedonia and traveled through it and then down into Greece. He was preparing to travel by ship from Greece back to Syria when he learned that some Jews were plotting to kill him (or have him killed). So, instead of taking ship from Greece, Paul traveled back through Macedonia and took ship from Macedonia. He stopped in Troas, where he was joined by Luke and some others (or possibly the others sailed first and Paul traveled with Luke). From Troas, Paul sailed on to Miletus where he sent for the elders of the church in Ephesus to join him.
Paul told the elders from Ephesus that they would not see him again as in every city prophets were telling him that he would face jail and suffering when he came to Jerusalem. He warned the elders to feed and guide the God’s flock. They were to be on guard against false teachers who would arise and attempt to gain a following with false teachings. They should remember Paul’s teaching and example. How he worked hard so as to have the means to meet his own needs and provide help to those in need.
Another psalm of praise. Some days these are hard to write anything about. Today is one of those days. I will encourage you to read the psalm and let its sentiment sweep over your soul. I will pull out this phrase for special focus:
Let every created thing give praise to the Lord,
for he issued his command, and they came into being.
Even if you can think of no other reason to praise God, you should praise Him because He is the reason that you came into being. If you do not know why that should lead you to praise Him, remember that He did not create you on a whim. He created each and every one of us to accomplish a purpose. We may not know what that purpose is, but if we strive to be faithful to God, we will fulfill that purpose in a way which will bring us joy.
Yellow rose close-up
Unlike yesterday, today’s proverb is clear to me. When I regularly find myself in quarrels it is time to examine what I say. The cause is usually because I am saying foolish things and asking for trouble by doing so. When we say and do foolish things, we will get caught out by our own words.
