This proverb warns against getting involved with an immoral, or adulterous, woman. I cannot speak from personal experience but I am confident that its warning applies to immoral/adulterous men as well. The proverb writer warns us that initially being involved with an immoral person is sweet and gives pleasure, but in the long run they are poison. Becoming involved in an immoral relationship will bring pleasure at first, but that pleasure will turn to pain and attempts to revive the pleasure will lead to death.
This psalm was written for and about King David, but a careful reading reveals advice for any leader. If you trust in the Lord and seek to do His will, He will give you your heart’s desire. It is worth noting that your heart’s desire may be different from what you think you want. Trust in the Lord and make sure that all of your successes bring honour to Him and your successes will be without end, even your “failures” will prove to be successes.
Jesus asked His disciples the easy question, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” It is interesting that when He asked that question He used that phrase to refer to Himself. As I said, that is an easy question. It is not just the answer itself that is easy, pointing out why they are wrong is also easy. Jesus’ next question is the hard one, and the one which we are going to have to answer, sooner or later, “Who do you say I am?” I imagine a long pause while the disciples thought about their answer, none of them wanting to be the first to say it, each afraid that they are wrong. Finally, Peter blurts out the answer. I suspect that it is something none of the disciples have said previously, not even in their private conversations with each other. I imagine they have had conversations which assume the answer, but that they have each avoided saying it out right, reserving the right to say, “Oh, I was just talking hypothetically.”(although I doubt they would have used that word)
So, the question is, do we agree with Peter? Is Jesus the Anointed One, the Son of the living God? I just came to a new understanding of Jesus’ reply to Peter’s answer. I am not sure if it is correct, but I am going to share it. The rock upon which Jesus built His Church is those willing to take the risk of being the first in a group to declare their faith in Jesus. In order for a group of Christians to work together to do God’s will, one of them must be willing to be the first to declare themselves God’s servant. This is not limited to those who are the first, just those willing to be first. It is this boldness which gives the Church the ability to overcome the gates of Hell.
I have often heard people talk about Jesus’ statement here as a promise of protection. But it is not. It is a promise of victory. Gates are not used to attack people. Gates are used to stop people. We are not called to stand defensively and resist the attacks of Satan. We are called to take the battle into the heart of the enemy’s city and rescue those held captive there. When Jesus says that the gates of Hell will not overcome His Church, He is calling us to storm Hell. Are we up for that battle?
We are not called to be on the defensive. It is time to go on offense and claim the world for Christ.
When Jacob died, Joseph’s brothers were afraid that, with their father dead, Joseph would take revenge. This situation reminds us that things change and guilt will come back to haunt those we have forgiven. We need to remind them that we have forgiven them. Joseph’s statement is also one we need to remember. Those who have done us wrong may have done so with malicious intent, but, despite the pain they may have caused us, God will use their malicious acts to accomplish good in our lives.
Jacob’s descendants had it good in Egypt for a while, but times change and people forget. The people of Egypt, particularly the political leaders, became afraid of the Israelites and forgot why they had been given special treatment. I never noticed before, but the passage does NOT say that they Israelites outnumbered the Egyptians and were more powerful than they. I says that the said those things about them. We see the classic approach of the demagogue in what the Pharaoh says. He picks a group and demonizes it. Ultimately, the people of Egypt paid a heavy price for following such a demagogue. Such is the case every time.
Procrastination can lead to problems. Just as there is a time when crops must be planted in order to gain a harvest, so too must many other tasks be completed at the appropriate time or the benefits will be lost.
Not everyone who can offer us good advice will freely give it, some people do not even know that they have good advice to give us. However, the person with understanding will learn to recognize sources of hidden wisdom and find ways to get those who possess it to share.
Many people will claim to be a friend who can be relied upon, but you will never be sure who the truly reliable people are until the chips are down.
If we trust in the Lord He will give us victory. Those who oppose Him will be consumed and destroyed, but God will preserve the life of those who trust in Him.
Having established that the only route to salvation is through belief in Jesus, Paul then points out some important things. No one can believe in the Gospel unless they hear it. They cannot hear the Gospel unless someone tells preaches it to them. Finally, Paul tells us that no one will preach the Gospel to the unsaved unless someone sends them.
My experience in the Church is that we seem to have a pretty good understanding of the need for Christians to preach the Gospel to the unsaved. We often have a much less developed understanding of how to do so, but we understand the need. However, I am not so sure we pay enough attention to the final piece of Paul’s message here. Do we seek out those among us who have the gift of preaching the Gospel to the unsaved and commission them to go and preach? I know that when someone feels the call to go and preach to the unsaved, we support them. But, do we find those who have not realized their gifts, or are unsure of their calling, and encourage them to make use of the gifts that we see in them?
Paul and Barnabas did not decide to go out on their fist missionary journey. The Church in Antioch sent out on that journey. If we go back a little further, it was not Saul who decided he should go to Antioch to help build up the Church there. Barnabas went and brought Saul to Antioch because he recognized that Saul had gifts which the Church in Antioch needed. How will the unsaved be saved if we do not send those God has given the gift to preach the Gospel to them?
I commented yesterday that Jehoshaphat’s alliance with Ahab led to problems later. Today, we have mentioned that when Jehoshaphat returned from going to war with Ahab a prophet confronted him. The prophet told Jehoshaphat that God was angry with him for allying himself with someone who was wicked. Despite being angry with Jehoshaphat over his alliance with Ahab, God was pleased with the way he ruled his own kingdom.
Jehoshaphat traveled throughout his kingdom, encouraging the people to faithfully follow the Lord. He appointed judges to judge the various disputes. He instructed the judges to act in an honest manner and to make their judgements in fear of the Lord. Jehoshaphat further instructed the judges to encourage the people to follow God’s laws and not to sin.
The surrounding nations allied together to make war against Jehoshaphat and the kingdom of Judah. Jehoshaphat was frightened by the size of the army mustered against him. Rather than follow his father’s example and seek an alliance with another nation to defeat his enemies, Jehoshaphat turned to God for guidance. He called on the people of Judah to fast and pray to God. He asked them to come to Jerusalem for a gathering before the Lord. There in front of the gathered people of Judah, Jehoshaphat cried out to God and admitted that he did not know what to do. God sent His Spirit on to one of the men so gathered to prophecy that the army should march forth to meet the enemy, but that they would not need to fight.
The next morning Jehoshaphat led the army out to battle. He told them that despite the fact that they were facing an overwhelming force, they should believe God’s prophets and trust in Him. He then led the army in songs of praise as they marched into battle. At the same time, that the army of Judah began singing praise to God, the armies of the nations gathered against them turned on one another. By the time the army of Judah arrived at the battlefield, the opposing armies had wiped each other out. Jehoshaphat won a great victory without having to enter into battle at all. As a result of this victory, Jehoshaphat had peace for the rest of his life.
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 due time, Jacob died. When that happened, Joseph had the body embalmed according to the Egyptian practice. After a period of mourning in Egypt, Joseph and his brothers took Jacob’s body back to the land of Canaan and buried it there. They were accompanied by a large number of Egyptian officials. When they returned to Egypt, Joseph’s brothers feared that he would exact revenge on them now that their father was dead. Joseph reassured them with a response that we should all keep in mind when dealing with those who we believe have done us wrong. He asked them a rhetorical question about whether he was in the place of God. It is God’s place to punish those who have done wrong, not ours. Joseph also pointed out that while they intended him harm, God used their actions to bring about good. God used their actions in attempting to harm Joseph to put Joseph in a position where he could save the lives of many people. Can we see how God used the hurt others intended to cause us to lead us to a place where good happened? Are we willing to allow God to create good from the harm others inflict on us?
I always find this first part of Exodus fascinating for the hints it gives us about when it took place. First, after the death of Jacob’s sons, his descendants became numerous and powerful in Egypt. This has suggested to me a connection to the Hyksos “invasion” of Egypt since I first heard about it (the Hyksos were a Semitic people who occupied a portion of north-eastern Egypt for a few hundred years). Then the passage tells us that a new Pharaoh arose who did not know Joseph or his brothers. This Pharaoh felt threatened by the Israelites and enslaved them. Again, I see a potential for connecting this story to history here, as this seems like something that might have been recorded. The final interesting thing to me is the name which Pharaoh’s daughter gives to Moses, “Moses”. What is interesting about this is that vowels in ancient written Hebrew were often inferred. That means that “Moses” would have been written similar to the way in which the ending of the name “Ramses” would have been written. “Ramses” means, more or less, “the son of Ra”. Which suggests to me that “Moses” meant “the son of ___”. Considering that the Israelites had a long tradition of considering it blasphemy to speak the name of God suggests to me that perhaps part of the origin of the name “Moses” was from the daughter of Pharaoh naming him “the son of *god*”(where the god in question was a member of the Egyptian pantheon). This is just food for thought.
There is a lot of stuff in this passage, but in the middle Jesus says something that I want to emphasize today. Jesus tells us that if we want to be His followers, we must deny ourselves and take up our cross and follow Him. To those who heard Him say this it would have drawn a very clear picture. If you wanted to follow Jesus, you had to be prepared to suffer the most horrific death which anyone to date had been able to design. His listeners would all have known exactly what it meant to “take up your cross”. It meant something completely different from when we today say something like, “Well, that is just my cross to bear.”
Then Jesus gets to the part I really want to focus on. He tells us that if we focus our effort on saving our life, we will lose our very souls, but if we are willing to sacrifice our life in order to follow Jesus we will find it. He follows this up by asking us what good it does to gain the whole world if we sacrifice our very essence to gain it? When I read this it makes me think several thoughts. The first is rather obvious, Jesus was teaching us that in order to truly follow Him, we needed to be willing to surrender our very lives. This is the only route to the eternal happiness and life which God promises us. However, there is even more here. We cannot find peace or happiness if we spend every scrap of our energy fighting for those things. We can only gain life, peace, and happiness by being willing to surrender them in order to serve God.
I am not quite sure what to make of this psalm today. However, I will take this from the first verse. I will rejoice in God’s strength because my strength is insufficient for the tasks I face. And I will take joy in the victories which God gives me because the only victories which I have are those which are gifts from God. I recognize that I do not win through my skill or strength. I obtain victory only when God gives it to me.
Those who are immoral offer what seems sweet and delicious, but once it is consumed it becomes bitter and noxious. Following an immoral person will lead one straight to death. The pleasures received will be short-lived followed by pain and suffering. Those who are immoral live pointless lives that wander hither and yon. If you want to live a life with meaning that makes a difference, you must avoid them like the plague which they are.
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 Jehoshaphat returned from visiting King Ahab (where he had joined King Ahab in going into the battle where Ahab was killed) a prophet confronted him for befriending Ahab. The prophet told him that God was angry with him for aiding the wicked king Ahab, but happy about his destruction of Asherah poles and commitment to seeking the Lord.
The passage tells us that Jehoshaphat went out among the people all throughout the land he controlled, encouraging them to be faithful to God. While doing this he appointed judges throughout the land, setting up a system of appeals. He instructed the judges to think carefully before pronouncing judgment and to remember that they were to please God with their judgments, not people. They were to pass judgment in fear of the Lord, with faithfulness and integrity.
Sometime after this, three of Judah’s neighboring countries allied together against Jehoshaphat and gathered their armies to attack him. Jehoshaphat sent out word to the whole nation for a fast seeking God’s guidance and help against these enemies. He called an assembly of the people and led them in a prayer requesting the Lord’s aid against their enemies. When Jehoshaphat finished praying a prophet received word from the Lord that they were to assemble their fighting force and march forth to meet the enemy armies. The prophet told them where they would find the enemy, but told them that they would not need to fight. God would defeat the enemy for them.
The following morning Jehoshaphat led the army out to battle. He instructed the men to have faith in God and believe the message from His prophets. He then appointed singers to lead them in songs of praise as they marched. While the army of Judah sang praises to God and marched to battle, their enemies had a falling out and began fighting among themselves. By the time the army of Judah arrived at the point where they planned to take their defensive position, the three armies had destroyed each other. Jehoshaphat and his men plundered the dead of the enemy armies. It took them three days to gather all of the plunder. When word spread of what happened the other neighboring kingdoms were afraid to make war against Jehoshaphat.
Today’s passage is one of the great calls to missionary work. Paul says (my paraphrase), “How can they call on God if they don’t believe in Him? How can they believe in Him, if they haven’t heard about Him? How can they hear about Him unless somebody tells them? And how will anyone go and tell them about Him, unless we send them?” So, this is not just about those who are missionaries, but also about the congregations which send them out to be missionaries as well. In other words, we have an obligation not just to preach the Gospel to the unbelievers but also to commission and send others to preach to the unbelievers. To those who welcome the good news of God’s Salvation, those who bring the message are to be praised.
However, not everyone welcomes the good news of God’s Salvation. While faith comes from hearing the Gospel, not everyone who hears it accepts it. Paul here speaks about how many of the Jews rejected God’s salvation. He points out that Jews have been rejecting God’s commands and His messengers for their entire history. However, he is quick to point out that it has never been all Jews, that God has always had those that he reserved for Himself. The salvation of these Jews comes purely by God’s free and undeserved grace. Paul tells us that because the Jews rejected God’s salvation, God aroused their jealousy by extending it to Gentiles. He wanted them to claim His salvation for themselves by accepting His free gift. Paul tells us that the Gentiles were enriched by the Jews rejection of God’s salvation, but the entire world will be even more blessed when the Jews turn to God and accept His salvation.
Overall this is a Messianic prophecy, but there are some things that apply not just to Christ here.
You have endowed him with eternal blessings
and given him the joy of your presence.
For the king trusts in the Lord.
The unfailing love of the Most High will keep him from stumbling.
This reflects Christ, but it could certainly be changed slightly and read to apply to us as well.
***
I read it today like this:
You have endowed me with eternal blessings
and given me the joy of your presence.
For I trust in the Lord.
The unfailing love of the Most High will keep me from stumbling.
For this is certainly true, God has given me eternal blessings. He has given me the joy of His presence and His unfailing love keeps me from stumbling as long as I trust in Him.
Reading Phillies conference on the mound
There is a time to plow and plant if we want to eat at the time of harvest. Sometimes it takes effort on our part to gain the advice we need from those who have it to give. Am I willing to be that faithful friend who is so hard to find?
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.
Over the last few days I have observed that someone is working their way through my January Bible Studies. I would appreciate it if you would give me some feedback on what you think of my posts. If you know me personally and would rather not post on the comments, I would be perfectly happy with comments received in another manner (email, facebook, in person, etc). I welcome comments from anyone else who would like to comment. I am striving to improve these in any way that I can that will serve the will of God.
When Jacob died, Joseph mourned him fervently. Joseph had his father embalmed according to the Egyptian practice. Joseph requested permission from Pharaoh to take Jacob’s body to the land of Canaan for burial, as Jacob had requested (and made his some swear to do). The Pharaoh granted Joseph permission to do this. Not only did Pharaoh grant Joseph permission but his entire court accompanied Joseph and his brothers on the trip to bury Jacob. Reading the passage and comparing it to Egyptian burial practices suggests that Jacob was buried according to Egyptian burial practices including full mummification. I believe that the way that Joseph and his brothers conducted the burial of Jacob served as a witness to the people of Egypt concerning following the will of God.
After Jacob’s burial Joseph’s brothers were afraid that now that their father had died Joseph would seek revenge on them for what they had done to them. So they sent a message to him claiming that Jacob had left instructions asking that Joseph forgive his brothers the sins and wrongs that they had committed against them. When Joseph received this message he wept. His brothers then came to him in person and threw themselves at his feet begging his forgiveness and offering themselves as his slaves. Joseph responded by telling them that despite their intentions to harm him, God had used their actions to bring about His great plan for the salvation of all of them. Joseph told them that he would not put himself in the position of God and attempt to gain revenge against them. Indeed, he told them, he would provide for them and their children. Joseph spoke kindly to his brothers and reassured them that he carried no grudge from their mistreatment of him as a child.
In time, Joseph and his brothers and those who knew them died. However, the Israelites multiplied and became numerous. A new king arose in Egypt who had no memory of the role Joseph had played in Egypt. This new king viewed the Israelites as a threat. The Pharaoh enslaved the people of Israel and treated them poorly, but they nevertheless thrived and multiplied even faster. The Pharaoh then ordered the midwives of the Hebrews to kill the baby boys when they delivered them, but let the girls live. The midwives refused to do as the Pharaoh commanded. When Pharaoh confronted them about it, they told him that the Hebrew women gave birth before the midwives got there. This led Pharaoh to be more open about it and issue a proclamation telling all of his people to throw any newborn Hebrew boy into the Nile, while allowing the girls to live.
It was into this that Moses was born. When he was born, his mother saw that he was a strong and fine son. She hid him as long as she could (about three months). When she could no longer hide him she took a papyrus basket and coated it with tar so that it was waterproof. She then placed the babe in it and placed it among the reeds along the Nile. Her daughter, the baby’s sister, watched from a distance to see what happened. Pharaoh’s daughter went down to the Nile to bathe, along with her attendants. She saw the basket and sent one of her slaves to fetch it. Pharaoh’s daughter opened the basket and saw the baby, which was crying. Pharaoh’s daughter realized at once that this was one of the Hebrew babies, but she felt sorry for him. Moses’ sister approached Pharaoh’s daughter and asked her if she should fetch one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for her. Pharaoh’s daughter told her to do so. Moses’ sister got her mother and brought her to Pharaoh’s daughter. Pharaoh’s daughter instructed Moses’ mother to nurse him for her, paying her for the service. When Moses grew older, his mother took him to Pharaoh’s daughter who raised him as her son and gave him his name.
Reading this today I noticed something I never saw before. Let’s look at the situation. Pharaoh’s daughter sees a basket in the river and being curious sends a slave to retrieve it. She opens the basket and discovers a crying baby in it, a baby she immediately recognizes as being a Hebrew baby. How did she know it was a Hebrew baby? Well, it is unlikely that at three months of age a Hebrew baby would look much different from an Egyptian baby. So, the most likely reason she knew it was a Hebrew baby is because she knew her father’s order that Hebrew babies be thrown into the Nile. No sooner does she open the basket than a young Hebrew girl approaches and offers to go get a Hebrew woman to nurse the baby. Now, what are the chances that there would be a random Hebrew girl close by when she opened the basket? One that not only knew a Hebrew woman who was nursing, and thus could nurse this baby, but was willing to approach Pharaoh’s daughter and offer to find such a woman? None of these things are conclusive, but it seems likely that Pharaoh’s daughter was fully aware that the “wet-nurse” she got for the baby she found was the baby’s actual mother.
Jesus asks His disciples who people think that He is. They answer Him that some people think He is John the Baptist reincarnated, others think He is Elijah or one of the other prophets. Then Jesus asks them who they think He is. I can imagine them looking at each other, a little nervous about answering the question, then finally Simon Peter blurting out that Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of God. Jesus replied that this was not something Peter was able to figure out based on human knowledge but rather was something revealed to him by God. Jesus then confirms Simon Peter’s nickname as Peter, the rock. It is not clear to me whether Simon was known as Peter before this or if this is the origin of his nickname. The author of this Gospel refers to Simon Peter as such from the very beginning, although the author of the Gospel of Mark says that Jesus gave Simon the name Peter. I am not sure that it makes much difference whether Simon was always called Peter or if he was first called that here. Jesus then goes on to say that He will build His church (or assembly) on this rock. Jesus said that the gates of the kingdom of death would not overcome His assembly. This is an interesting construction. When I was growing up whenever I heard someone speak about this passage, it was used to support the idea that the attacks of evil could never destroy the Church, the Body of Christ. At some point in my late 20s/early 30s I read this passage and realized there was another message here (since then I have heard others teach this same message). Gates are not used to attack. Gates are used to stop people (usually members of an enemy military) from entering some place. That put a different complexion on what Jesus meant here. All of a sudden I saw that Jesus was saying that nothing, not even the gates of the kingdom of death, could stand in the way to prevent His Church (His assembly) from accomplishing the goals which God set for It.
Jesus went on to say that He was giving “you” the keys to the kingdom of heaven. That whatever “you” bound on earth would be bound in heaven and whatever “you” loose on earth would be loosed in heaven. I do not know Greek. However several sources I found indicated that the “you” used in reference to the keys to heaven is singular and the “you” used in reference to binding and loosing is plural. I believe it was on the basis of this passage that the Jerusalem Council we are told of in Acts 15 decided to tell Gentile believers that they did not need to be circumcised. It was not Peter who crafted this decision, but rather James who spoke up and offered his judgment, which was then adopted by the assembly (or church).
Starting after Peter’s declaration that Jesus was God’s Anointed One, the saving Messiah for whom the Jewish people were waiting, Jesus began to teach His disciples that He must suffer and die at the hands of the religious leaders. Peter took Jesus aside and began to rebuke Him for being negative and depressed, telling Him that this would never happen to Him. I can just picture Peter, thinking that Jesus was suffering from depression due to all of the opposition He was receiving, taking Jesus aside and telling Him, “Buck up! Stop letting these people get you down. They aren’t going to be able to kill you. You’re the Messiah.” Imagine Peter’s surprise when Jesus responded to his pep talk by calling Peter Satan and telling him that he was not paying attention to God’s concerns, but only to human concerns. It was only a few days prior that Jesus had commended Peter for receiving insight from God. Jesus then turned to all of the disciples and told them that they needed to take up their crosses and follow Him. This would have had a very specific meaning to people in the first century. They would all have been familiar with the line of condemned prisoners carrying their crosses to the place of execution. Jesus was not talking about bearing some generic burden. He was talking about carrying the cause of our death. If we try to avoid death we will lose our very souls. On the other hand, if we are willing to sacrifice our lives and our very being in order to be like Christ and serve God, we will find a life that is more joyous and abundant than anything we can imagine.
The psalmist tells us that the king who relies on the Lord and follows His ways will receive his heart’s desire and be victorious in all his battles. This is true not only of kings but also of ordinary people. Those who love the Lord and seek His ways will receive their heart’s desire, while those who oppose the Lord will not succeed.
The writer warns us against getting involved in sexually immoral relationships. Those who crave adulterous relationships are smooth talkers and speak with honeyed words, but they wander aimlessly through life on a path that leads to death.
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 was a king who traveled among his people. One of the things he did was to appoint judges throughout the land to hear cases concerning the Law of the Lord and civil disputes. He even set up an appellate process with the high priest having final say in religious cases and a civil authority having final say in civil disputes. He instructed the judges to make their judgements in fear of the Lord, warning them not to pervert justice, show favoritism, or take bribes.
At some point after this, several of the neighboring kingdoms joined forces to attack Judah. Jehoshaphat ordered a nationwide fast. In response many of the people of Judah came to Jerusalem with their families. Jehoshaphat calls in the Lord for rescue from the attacking armies. The Spirit of the Lord came upon one of the men in the gathering and he prophesied that they should go out against the enemy army, but that they would not need to fight it. The following morning the army of Judah marched forth, singing praises to God. While they were on their way to confront the enemy armies, the three armies began fighting each other. By the time the army of Judah reached the battlefield, the enemy armies had completely killed each other. They found so much plunder among the dead of the enemy armies that it took them three days to gather it all. After this battle, all of the neighboring kingdoms were afraid to attack Jehoshaphat.
Paul begins today’s passage with an important logical progression. He has just finished telling us that all anyone must do to be saved is call on God for salvation. Here he tells us that in order for people to call upon God for salvation they must first believe in Him. Then he tells us that in order for people to believe in God they must first be told about Him. He finishes this by saying that in order for someone to go to tell people about God and his salvation they must be sent. This tells us that we as a Church should not be waiting for people to feel the call from God to go out on missions and then supporting them. We should be calling people, sending them out on missions and supporting them. There is nothing wrong with the first, except that it is not as good as the second. While we should be sending people out to missions, we must not let the better be the enemy of the good. (It is good that people go out on missions. It would be better if they were sent out on missions.) When I found the clip art for this passage I had one thought, no, we cannot change the world. However, God can change the world through us, if we let Him propel our feet to take us to the place where He wishes us to bring His message.
Paul tells us that salvation comes from faith and faith comes from hearing the word. However, he tells us that not everyone who hears the Gospel will accept it. He further tells us in particular that many of the Jews have rejected the Gospel. He tells us that some Jews have listened to the Gospel and received salvation. He tells us that it is like when Elijah was depressed and cried out to God that he was the only one left, God told Elijah that He had 7,000 others that had remained faithful. This is something that we must remember when we begin to think that everyone around us is hostile to faith in God. There are more around us who are faithful to God than we might think.
Paul concludes today’s passage by telling us that it was God’s plan that many of the Jews would reject the Gospel, so that the Gospel might get preached to the Gentiles. That through the rejection of the Gospel by the Jews, the world was blessed. However, Paul tells us that the Jews are God’s special people and He wants them to turn to Him. He tells us that if the Jews turn to God and accept His salvation, this will bring an even greater blessing to the world.
The psalmist tells us that those who trust in the Lord will be kept from stumbling by God’s unfailing love. He also tells us that the wicked plot against God’s plans. However, their plots will fail and when God turns His attention to them, they will run and attempt to hide.
Today we are told that we must take action when the time is right. If we put off action, it may be too late and we will go hungry. The second proverb tells us that sometimes people who know how to deal with our problems are reluctant to give us advice, but if we are wise we will find a way to draw that advice out of them. The third proverb tells us that many people will claim to be our true friends, but it is very hard to find one who is truly reliable.
