This section of Proverbs reminds us of what Jesus said in yesterday’s passage. The starting place for living a good life is to keep your heart pure. In order to keep your heart pure be careful about what you say. Stay away from perverse and corrupt talk. What you say reflects what is in your heart. Yet it also has the power to corrupt your heart. Let us focus our thoughts on doing what God wants in our own lives and not worry about what others are doing which may be contrary to God’s will (or not). There are times when we are called to speak to others about the sin in their lives, but let us remember that we are not called to speak to third parties about it.
Every year when I read this psalm I think, “What a wonderful blessing, or toast, the first five verses make.” I am determined to remember this and bring it out when I am called upon to offer up such at an event of various kinds. I make this my prayer for those of you reading this today:
May the Lord answer you when you are in distress;
may the name of the God of Jacob protect you.
May he send you help from the sanctuary
and grant you support from Zion.
May he remember all your sacrifices
and accept your burnt offerings. May he give you the desire of your heart
and make all your plans succeed.
May we shout for joy over your victory
and lift up our banners in the name of our God.
It was not long before the events which took place in today’s passage that Jesus fed the 5,000 and walked on water. Yet when Jesus says that He does not want to send the crowd away hungry, the disciples ask, “Where would we get enough food for such a large crowd?” Once more Jesus showed them that God can provide. He took the small amount of food which they had and divided it up among all the people present. There was enough for everyone and more leftover than they had begun with. This has the same important lesson as the feeding of the 5,000. We should not be afraid to do God’s will even if we think we have insufficient resources. If we stretch our resources as far as they will go helping others, God will supply sufficient to meet the need, with plenty leftover.
Then one day a group of religious leaders came to Jesus and demanded that He perform a miraculous sign to prove His authority. This comes after He has healed numerous people and fed two large crowds. I am convinced that they were like those who demand proof of God’s existence and then dismiss every thing presented as coincidence. If Jesus had performed a miracle for them, they would have explained it away. Jesus confronts them with their unwillingness to see what the events going on around them mean. The Pharisees were unable (or unwilling) to read the signs of the times. Are we willing to see what God is showing us?
Jacob blessed his grandsons by Joseph, giving priority to the younger. A short while later he blessed all of his sons. His blessing on his sons reflects with fair accuracy the behaviors and actions of their descendants.
We are not made righteous by inheritance. It does not matter how righteous our ancestors were, no matter how many generations of righteous ancestors we have. We cannot become righteous by following a set of rules, or laws. The only way in which we can become righteous is by trusting in God. It is those who believe in Jesus’ saving sacrifice who are made right with God. We do not need to seek someone to intervene with God for us. As a matter of fact, we should not seek someone to intervene. There is no special class of priest who have been empowered by God to bring us to Him. God’s message comes to each and everyone of us. It is up to us to accept it in our hearts and place it upon our lips. We do not need to go on pilgrimages to some far away land. God will meet us where we are. He will send His word to us, no matter where we may be.
“Everyone who calls on the Lord will be saved.” That is God’s promise to us. There is no complicated formula needed in order to receive salvation from God. If we truly believe in our hearts, and openly profess with our lips that Jesus is our Lord, we will be saved. This is true for everyone, whether their ancestors were Jew or Gentile, saint or sinner–it is the same God who is Lord of all.
Jehoshaphat ruled Israel well. He followed the example set by the early years of his father’s reign and did not make the mistakes which Asa made later in life. One of the things which he did which I find interesting is that he sent out officials from his court to teach people all around his kingdom. They took with them the Book of the Law and used it as a teaching tool. As a result of this and his other actions to be faithful to God, the surrounding peoples were afraid to make war against him.
For all of his wisdom and trust in God, Jehoshaphat made one clear error. He made an alliance with Ahab by having his son marry Ahab’s daughter. Perhaps he was hoping to influence Ahab to abandon Baal worship and turn to God, but it did not work out that way. However, he did not fall for the “We all worship the same God, just in different ways” line. When Ahab asked Jehoshaphat to join him in going to war, Jehoshaphat agreed, but requested they consult a prophet of God first. Ahab summoned his prophets. The passage tells us that they numbered 400, which matches the number of prophets of Baal Ahab summoned to Elijah’s challenge on Mt Carmel. When they had testified that Ahab should go to war, Jehoshaphat, rather than being satisfied, asked if there was not a prophet of the Lord they could consult.
It is worth noting that Ahab had summoned the 400 prophets in response to Jehoshaphat saying that they should consult the Lord. Yet, when the 400 prophets had been summoned, Jehoshaphat still asked after a prophet of the Lord that they could consult. This supports the idea presented by historians that many of the followers of Baal considered Baal to be the same god as the God of Israel. However, the followers of the God of Israel did not consider Him to be the same god as Baal.
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.
Once Jacob was settled in Egypt his health began to fail. So Joseph brought his sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, to see their grandfather before he died. Jacob praised God that he had gotten to see Joseph’s sons since at one point he thought he would never see Joseph again. Overall as I read this passage it reminds me of Jacob’s great faith in God. God had made promises to him regarding the land of Canaan and now he was living in Egypt, about to die in Egypt. Yet Jacob still believed that his descendants would someday return to the land of Canaan and take control of it. He held true to that promise despite the apparent improbability of it coming true. He had before him Joseph’s two sons as evidence of God’s faithfulness. Only a few years earlier he had thought he would never see Joseph again. Now, not only had he been reunited with Joseph, but he was introduced to Joseph’s sons. I will remember the things which God has done for me that seemed like they could never happen and have faith that all of His other promises will also come true, no matter how unlikely they seem.
After a short trip to the region around Sidon Jesus returned to Galilee. Once again a crowd gathered and Jesus healed the sick among them. The crowd stayed and listened to Jesus preach for three days, by which point they had eaten all of the food they had brought with them. Jesus turned to His disciples and said that He did not want to send them away hungry. Despite having witnessed Jesus feed the 5,000 a short time before, His disciples responded by asking Him where they could get enough food to feed that many people out in the wilderness where they were. Jesus asked them how much food they had. When they told Him they had seven loaves and few fish, He told the people to sit down. Then He took the loaves and fishes, thanked God for them, broke them into pieces, and gave them to His disciples to distribute. On this occasion, 4,000 men, not counting women and children, were fed.
Later, when the disciples had forgotten to bring any bread, Jesus warned them to beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees. The disciples thought this was because they had forgotten to bring bread. Jesus then reminded them of the two crowds He had fed and wondered why they could not understand that He was not talking about bread. It is interesting that Jesus uses yeast as a metaphor for both the Kingdom of Heaven and for false teaching. I think Jesus is telling us that ideas can change us without our realizing it and we have to be careful that the ideas we let effect our lives.
I need to remember this psalm for the next time I need a toast or short speech of blessing. The first five verses are something I wish for all of my friends. Then in verse seven there is the “money” quote from this psalm (from the NIV):
Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.
What do you trust in? Do you trust in armies and weapons? Or do you have faith that God will protect you?
It is amazing how often the Bible warns us to be careful in what we say. Again and again we are told that what we say can corrupt our spirit and turn us on to paths of evil. I will fix my eyes on the Lord and dedicate my tongue to only speaking words which will glorify 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.
When Asa died his son Jehoshaphat took the throne. Jehoshaphat followed the example of his father’s early years and did not worship the Baal’s. Jehoshaphat was deeply committed to following the Lord. He removed all of the pagan shrines and Asherah poles in all of Judah. He sent kingdom officials throughout the land to teach the people from the Book of the Law. Jehoshaphat became more powerful and began receiving tribute from the surrounding peoples.
***
The mention of sending officials out to teach the people from the Book of the Law reminds me of one of the reasons that the first schools were set up for the common people in Europe and in the U.S.. Many early schools were set up to teach people to read so that they could read the Bible. It looks to me that that is what was happening here. Jehoshaphat sent his officials out to teach the people so that they could read and know God’s law for themselves.
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The passage recounts one thing that Jehoshaphat did that I will find fault with. He arranged for his son to marry the daughter of Ahab, king of Israel. In addition, Jehoshaphat allied with Ahab to go to war. Jehoshaphat was visiting Ahab when Ahab enticed him to join him in an attempt to recover the city of Ramoth-gilead. Jehoshaphat agrees, but requests that they first seek the counsel of the Lord. Ahab consents and summons 400 prophets who tell them that they will be victorious. Jehoshaphat is not satisfied and asks if there is not a prophet of the Lord there that they can ask the same question. Ahab says that there is one more man they can ask, but he hates him because he always prophecies trouble for him. Jehoshaphat tells Ahab that that is no way for a king to talk.
They summon Micaiah who comes and answers their question. The officials who went to fetch Micaiah warn him that all of the other prophets have told Ahab that he would be victorious and that he should as well. Initially, Micaiah tells Ahab to go into battle, that he will be victorious, but Ahab challenges him to tell them what God had actually said. It is not clear to me how Ahab knew that Micaiah was not giving him a true prophecy. The New Living Translation suggests that Micaiah spoke sarcastically, but no other translations echo that. Nevertheless, after being challenged by Ahab, Micaiah tells the two kings that, if they go into battle, Ahab will be killed. Despite Micaiah’s prophecy, the two kings went into battle, but Ahab disguised himself in an attempt to avoid the fate prophesied for him by Micaiah. This deception fails to save Ahab’s life and he is killed by a random arrow.
***
One thing I find interesting about this passage is that Jehoshaphat recognized that the 400 prophets summoned by Ahab were not prophets of God. The passage does not tell us that they were not, yet after they had prophesied, Jehoshaphat requested that they ask for a prophet of the Lord. I think that the reason that the passage does not clearly say the 400 prophets were not prophets of the Lord has to do with the way that Baal worshipers viewed Baal. Looking at the information on Baal worship, it appears to me that Baal worshipers thought that Baal was the same god as the one worshiped by Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. They claimed that they were worshiping the same god, just as Muslims claim to be worshiping the God that Jews and Christians worship.
Magrat stalks her prey
Paul continues his discussion of salvation by talking about how God has now made those who were not His people (Gentiles, non-Jews) into His people. He shows us that God had declared that He was going to do this through His prophets. Paul then discusses how Isaiah had prophesied that only a portion of the large numbers of the Israelites would be saved.
What conclusion can we reach from this? Those who did not try to be righteous gained it through faith. While those who tried everything in their power to be righteous failed to obtain it. Why did it happen this way? Because those who were seeking righteousness were continuing to follow in the original sin, they were trying to get right with God by their own efforts, rather than trusting in God. They were trying to be equal with God. They sought to come to God with their own righteousness and Paul tells us that the only way to be able to do that is to never do anything wrong…and only God is capable of that.
Paul tells us that the only way to be made right with God is to accept the righteousness that God is offering to us. Here Paul tells us the key to being saved. “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” The NIV uses the word “declare” rather than the word “confess”. In both cases there is the implication of both being willing to publicly acknowledge that you believe that Jesus is Lord and that you are willing to actually obey Him as Lord. That conclusion also follows from the second part of Paul’s formula for determining salvation, “believe in your heart…”. If you believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead it means that you will realize that He is the one with the ultimate power of life and death over you and act accordingly.
This psalm is a great blessing to say for those on whom we wish good things. I will wish this on all of those reading this.
May he grant your heart’s desires
and make all your plans succeed.
I will further tell you that the way to make this blessing come true for you is to seek to do God’s will with all of your strength, all of your heart, and all of your mind.
Magrat attempts to look dignified
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.
Word came to Joseph that his father had fallen ill. Joseph went to see his father and took his two sons with him. Jacob tells Joseph that Joseph’s two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh will be counted as Jacob’s sons. It gave Jacob great joy that after believing he would never see his son Joseph again he now saw not only Joseph but Joseph’s sons. Jacob then asked Joseph to bring his boys close so that he could bless them. Joseph directed Ephraim, the younger of the two, to Jacob’s left hand and Manasseh, the elder, to Jacob’s right. Jacob, however, crossed his arms to place his right hand on Ephraim and his left on Manasseh. When Joseph “corrected” him by telling him that Ephraim was the younger, Jacob told Joseph that he was aware of which boy was which, but, while Manasseh’s descendants would become a great people, the descendants of Ephraim would be even greater. After this Jacob calls together all of his sons and makes predictions about their futures, and that of their descendants, based on their behaviors. After making these prophecies, Jacob tells his sons that he will soon die. He instructed his sons to bury him in the cave where Abraham had buried Sarah and was himself buried.
At one point Jesus was teaching on a mountainside. Great crowds came to Him bringing those suffering from many afflictions and laid them at His feet. Jesus healed them all. The people were amazed and praised God. After three days, Jesus called his disciples to Him and said that He did not want to send the crowds away hungry. The disciples questioned where they could find enough bread to feed that many people in such a remote location. Jesus then asked them how much food they had. They replied that they had seven loaves and a few fish. Jesus had the crowd sit down and then took the loaves and the fish. He blessed the food and broke it up and gave it to the disciples to distribute to the people. Everyone ate and was satisfied. Afterward, the disciples gathered seven baskets of leftovers. The number of those who ate was 4,000 men, plus women and children.
There are a couple of factors about this story that strike me. The first is that it was not very long before this that Jesus had fed 5,000 men plus women and children from just a few loaves and a few fish, now the disciples once again cannot perceive how they could feed all of these people. The second thing has to do with something I mentioned on Tuesday. The idea that in first century Palestine the relationship between a disciple and a rabbi was one where the disciple strove to learn how to be like the rabbi and do the things the rabbi did, while the rabbi strove to teach the disciple how to accomplish those goals. So, when I read this story I see Jesus offering His disciples the opportunity to do what He had done. In the feeding of the 5,000 Jesus offered the disciples the opportunity to call on the power of God to feed the people, but they did not understand what He was getting at, so He demonstrated what power was theirs to command. I think that He expected them to not understand on that occasion. However, this time I think that Jesus was hoping that the disciples would understand what He was asking of them and that they, or at least one of them, would take the initiative. I think that we often disappoint Jesus in exactly the same way. I know that I do. Do we really believe that we can be like Jesus? And do the things that He did (and does)? I believe that God will perform miracles through me, but I do not have faith that God will perform miracles through me. I fervently pray to God that He help my unbelief.
At some point the Pharisees and the Sadducees came to Jesus and asked Him to show them a sign from heaven. Jesus replied to them that they knew how to interpret the signs of the weather, but were unable to read the signs of the times. He then calls them a wicked and adulterous generation and tells them that the only sign they will be given is the sign of Jonah. He then left them and went away. As they were crossing the lake the disciples had forgotten to bring bread with them. Jesus warned the disciples to be on guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees. The disciples thought He said that because they forgot to bring bread. Jesus berated them for being caught up in worry about forgetting to bring bread. He reminded them of feeding the 5,000 with five loaves of bread and feeding the 4,000 with seven loaves of bread and how in both cases there was more left over than what they started with. It was only then that they realized that He was not talking about bread when He warned against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees. This is a reminder how a seemingly minor error can spread through our whole belief system to corrupt the entire thing. It is also interesting that Jesus referred to the yeast of both the Pharisees (who were the legalistic religious conservatives) and of the Sadducees (who were the tolerant religious liberals) as the same thing.
I will echo the psalmist’s heartfelt wish that God rescue you in your times of distress. I pray that God will send you help and grant you the desires of your heart. I will celebrate your victory with you. I love the way NIV words the beginning of verse 6, “Now this I know”. Such an emphatic statement. There are things I hope for and that I think are true. But, this I know. God does give victory to those He has chosen, who follow His ways. Some may trust in strength, weapons and training, but I will trust in the name of God.
Snow–Hey You Try Coming Up With Four Captions A Day
The writer warns us to be careful what we allow into our hearts, because everything we do flows from what we value. Further we should watch our language because how we choose to express our thoughts shapes the way we think. Plan our actions carefully so as not to succumb to the temptation to deal with obstacles by doing wrong and thus be sidetracked off of the path of righteousness.
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.
Jehoshaphat succeeded his father Asa on the throne of Judah. Jehoshaphat was deeply committed to following God’s commands and he became a strong and wealthy king. Jehoshaphat sent teachers to the various towns of Judah to teach the people. Along with the teachers, Jehoshaphat sent Levites with copies of the Book of the Law to teach the way of the Lord. Jehoshaphat formed an alliance with Ahab by marrying his son to Ahab’s daughter. Jehoshaphat went on a state visit to Ahab. Ahab threw him a great feast and during the feast requests that Jehoshaphat join him in retaking a city. Jehoshaphat agrees but says that they should find out what the Lord says first. Ahab summons 400 prophets who all testify that God will give them victory. Jehoshaphat responds by asking for a prophet of the Lord of whom to ask the same question. This always struck me as odd until I noticed that 400 was the same number as the number of prophets of Baal that Elijah confronted on Mt. Carmel. When I noticed that I realized that these were 400 prophets of Baal. The phrasing of this passage suggests that Ahab and others in the region considered Baal and Yahweh interchangeable. However, the passage also shows us that the followers of God did not and that people like Ahab knew this but would try to pass off Baal as the same as Yahweh anyway. This in my mind is similar to Muslims claiming that they worship the same God as Christians. I believe that Christians will recognize that the characteristics of Allah, as understood by Muslims, is significantly different from the characteristics of the God that Christians worship. Muslims proclaim that they worship the same god as Christians, but the god they worship has different characteristics than the God that Christians worship.
Ahab admitted that there is a prophet of God in the land, but said that he hated him because he always said things that Ahab didn’t like. Jehoshaphat tells Ahab that kings should not talk like that. So Ahab summons Micaiah, the prophet. When the officials summon Micaiah, they tell him that the other prophets are prophesying victory and he should do the same. When Micaiah comes before Ahab, he tells him that he will be victorious in a sarcastic voice, making it clear that he is only telling him what he has been told by court officials to say. Ahab insists that Micaiah tell him what God said. Micaiah then tells him that God told him that if Ahab goes to war, he will be killed. Ahab goes to war anyway and is killed.
Paul wrote that God had foretold salvation for the Gentiles when He spoke through the prophets that those who had been told they were not His people would be called the children of God. On the other hand, He had also foretold that many of the Jews would reject His offered salvation when He said through the prophets that only a remnant would be saved. Paul tells us that the Gentiles, who had not been trying to meet God’s standards, were made right with God because they accepted God’s gift by faith. On the other hand, the people of Israel, who attempted to get right with God by keeping the law, were not made right with God because they refused to accept God’s way and attempted to accomplish it on their own merits. Paul goes on to tell us that this is true of everyone. No one can become right with God on their own merits. The only way to become right with God is to confess with your mouth and believe in your heart that Jesus is Lord and God raised Him from the dead.
The psalmist tells us that some boast of military might and worldly power. He tells us that those fall down and collapse. But we should boast in the name of the Lord and rely on Him. If we do so, God will raise us up and help us to stand firm. We will raise a victory banner in the name of the Lord.
This proverb tells us that it is dangerous to arouse the anger of those with political power and that the honorable avoid a fight whenever they can. Only fools insist on quarreling.
