For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

    If you form and express your opinion before you have listened to the facts on the issue you are a fool, and should be embarrassed.

    How appropriate this psalm is right now as so many people celebrate the Supreme Court ruling “freeing” them from God. Those who govern this country have conspired together to set aside God’s laws. It is not just the ruling enforcing the recognition of same sex “marriage”. It is not even primarily that. It is the fact that our government has officially acknowledged that the rules which govern behavior are determined by the power of the individuals involved. God clearly lays out that He has one set of rule which apply to each and every person. He has granted governments the authority to enforce laws which protect the innocent and punish the evil-doer. Our government has declared that no one is innocent and it will punish whom it will. God scoffs at such a plan and will replace such a government with one which honors Him. In the process, He will smash those who rebel against Him like an iron rod smashes a clay pot.

    The crowd listened closely to Paul speak as he talked about his life up until his conversion. They were willing to continue listening as he told them that God had told him to flee Jerusalem. However, when he said that God had commanded him to go and minister to the Gentiles, they, once more, became enraged. We need to be sure that we do not fall into the mistake made by the crowd. We should never be angered by someone declaring that they were called by God to minister to some group, no matter how far from God we believe that group to be. Someone has been called to minister to every single person on this earth. There is room to argue over the message someone declares that God has called them to deliver, and possibly over whether they specifically have been called to deliver it, but not over whether the group they feel called to minister to is deserving of hearing God’s message. None of us were deserving to hear God’s message/
    I was going to write about Paul’s speech before the Sanhedrin. However, as I re-read the passage to begin writing I was convicted by something Paul said. When he was confronted for insulting the high priest, Paul apologized and said, “You must not speak evil of any of your rulers.” I struggle with this. There are government officials (our rulers) who do things which lead me to believe that their motives and intentions are evil. There are times when I allow myself to succumb to my passions and express such thoughts. I believe that this passage tells us that we should never do so. We should pray for our rulers and seek God’s guidance for them. We should obey their orders, as long as those orders do not instruct us to violate God’s commands.

    The first thing I have to say today about this passage is that every time I read about Pharaoh Neco I cannot help but think about Necco Wafers. I know it is silly, but nevertheless that is what goes through my mind.
    After the death of King Josiah, it was only a short time until Pharaoh Neco led his armies against Jerusalem, captured Josiah’ son (who had been king for only a few months), installed another of Josiah’s sons on the throne, and demanded tribute. Despite the example of their father, Josiah’s sons did what was evil on God’s sight. Perhaps if Josiah’s sons had followed their father’s example things would have turned out different, although the passage tells us that God had determined to banish the people of Judah from His presence because of the sins of Manasseh.
    Four kings reigned in Jerusalem between the death of King Josiah and the fall of Jerusalem. Each of them did evil in the sight of God. None of them learning from the good example of Josiah, nor the bad examples of their predecessors. In the end, the bulk of the leaders of Jerusalem and of the Kingdom of Judah were taken into exile to Babylon. I believe that this exile, much like the time spent in captivity in Egypt was designed by God to shape the people of Israel into a more faithful people, distinct from the peoples around them.

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

    This proverb is one to which people should pay more attention. All too many people are willing to spout off about something before they know what the facts are. Those who do so will usually discover that they have made a serious error.

    When people and nations rebel against God it is futile. God has made us and the commands He gives are based on how He designed us. We can serve the Lord with reverent fear and rejoice. Or we can rebel against Him and be destroyed. Rebelling against God results in destruction, but taking refuge in Him will bring us joy.

    Yesterday I pointed out that Paul realized that many of those rioting against him did not even know what he believed or preached. So he made an opportunity to inform them about what his positions on various issues actually were. However, in that explanation of his beliefs and positions he did not shy away from telling people things that they would not like to hear. At the beginning of his speech many of the people were angry with Paul for things he did not teach or believe. At the end of his speech they were angry with him for something he did believe and teach. This may not seem like an improvement, but it was because the difference revealed that the problem was not with Paul but with those in the crowd who were angry with him.
    Paul’s appearance before the Jewish Council gives us an example for dealing with those who put aside their differences to attack our position. We should be ready and willing to point out how some of those attacking us are doing so because of beliefs we share with those who are siding against us. Some of those attacking Paul disbelieved and opposed his teachings because he taught that there was resurrection from the dead. Others among those attacking him also believed in the resurrection of the dead. Paul used this divide to show them that they disagreed with each other as much as they disagreed with him. Let us follow Paul’s example by showing those who oppose the Christian message that they disagree with each other as much as they disagree with Christianity.

    One king after another ruled in Jerusalem as things went from bad to worse. The kings, and the people, did what was evil in the sight of God. Difficulty and invasions threatened from every side, yet neither the kings nor the people turned back to God. Despite things getting progressively worse neither the general populace nor the leaders turned back to serving God. As I read this passage I think of the world today. I see the people around me turning from God to sinful behaviors. I hear people condemned for attempting to live a righteous life. At the same time, I see economic hardship spreading and the world becoming a more dangerous place. Yet no one seems to see the connection between the two.