I am not sure what the writer intended but the middle verse reminds us of the danger in an economy where bargaining over the price of everything is common. In such a situation we are rewarded for being dishonest. Buyers are encouraged to deceitfully downplay their interest; sellers are encouraged to deceitfully say that something is better than it is. It is better for society that things be sold at the same fair price to all who wish to buy.
The third verse reminds us that finding someone who will give us wise advice is more valuable than any treasure we can find. A short study of the professional athletes who are bankrupt a few short years after their careers ends, despite the many millions they earned over that career, shows us the truth of this.
I found my prayer for today, and one which would be good to pray each day:
Show me the right path, O Lord;
point out the road for me to follow.
Lead me by your truth and teach me,
Actually, this whole psalm is one which it would be good for me to meditate on. The Psalm begins by reminding us why we give our lives to God, why we trust in Him. No one who trusts in God will be disgraced. Instead it is those who rely on deceit who will be disgraced (note: this means that if you trust in God you need to avoid deceit).
God will show us the path we should follow. He will teach us the truth which He will use to lead us in the way we need to go. God will mercifully forget out youthful, and not so youthful, sins because He is merciful. If we keep our eyes on God we will avoid the traps which our enemies have set for us.
If we are strong in our faith we should be sensitive to those who think things we find acceptable are sins. We should strive to please our neighbors so as to build their faith. Since Christ accepted us in our sins we should strive to accept others in their sins. Of course, when Christ accepted us He also began transforming us so that we would no longer sin.
Hezekiah called for the people of Judah to celebrate the Passover, which had not been done in many years. However, not enough Levites and priests could be purified in time to hold it when the law declared that it should be held, so Hezekiah and his advisers decided to hold it a month later. In addition, Hezekiah sent messengers throughout the territories which had been the Northern Kingdom inviting the people to come celebrate the Passover.
Most of the remaining northern Israelites laughed at the messengers, but a number chose to come. As a result of the spiritual revival which occurred as a result of this celebration the people went out and destroyed the idols and pagan shrines, not only in the areas of Judah, but throughout the land which had been Israel.
So, let’s recap. Hezekiah called on the Levites and priests to purify themselves. They responded to his call and rededicated themselves to serving God. Once they had purified themselves they reached out to the people and led them back to God. All together the people, the Levites, and the priests held a celebration of God which resulted in spiritual renewal through the entire land. This is a model which we should seek to follow.
The proverb writer tells us to imitate the example of ants. They do not have a boss over them to make sure they work. Yet they labor hard when the weather allows in order to gather food and supplies for when times are more difficult. Let us learn to do the same.
The psalm contains a prayer which we can be sure has already been answered:
Show me the right path, O Lord;
point out the road for me to follow.
Lead me by your truth and teach me,…
We know that God has already done this. The only question is whether or not we have chosen to accept His teaching and to follow the path He has shown us.
I am glad that the parable of the vineyard workers is in the same days reading as Jesus’ response to the request from the mother of James and John. The latter story clarifies the meaning of the parable and the parable amplifies the meaning of Jesus’ answer. At the end of the parable Jesus tells us that the last will be first and first will be last. In the parable, those who were hired early in the day get paid last and receive no more than those hired later in the day. I have always heard this explained that those who accept Christ early in life will receive the same reward as those who accept Him late in life.
I do not think that is wrong, but, in light of what Jesus says at the end of today’s passage, I don’t think that is His primary point. To the worldly, those with power, the leaders, are those who get to satisfy their own wants and needs by telling others what to do. In the Kingdom of Heaven, the powerful, the leaders, are those who use what power they have to satisfy the needs and wants of others. If you want to be the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven, you must serve the needs of others before your own needs. The most interesting part of this is paradoxical. One of those needs that you must serve is the need to serve others.
In the plagues we read about yesterday, the passage told us that Pharaoh became stubborn after the plague was lifted and refused to let the Israelites go. In the plagues we read about today, it says that God hardened Pharaoh’s heart and he refused to let the Israelites go. This is a warning to us that each time we refuse to turn from our sins it will become harder to do so, and the consequences of not doing so will become more severe.
If we spend too much time sleeping, or in other leisure activities, we will end in poverty. Work when the opportunity presents itself and you will have plenty.
When people are haggling over the price, they will tell the seller that the goods are worthless. Once they have bought them, they will tell everyone how good they are.
We are better off receiving wise advice than money or precious metals.
Those who trust in God will not be disgraced. If they follow the path which God lays out for them, their enemies will not triumph over them. God will lead us by His truth down the road which leads us to eternal life and success (as defined by God). God will forgive our sins if we turn to Him and follow His paths. Let me keep my eyes upon the Lord, then I will not fall into the traps laid out for me.
Paul follows up his injunction (from yesterday’s passage) that we must not be a stumbling block for our fellow believers, by telling us that if we perceive ourselves as strong in the faith we should bear with the failings of those whose faith is weak. Let us not live our lives to please ourselves, but rather to please our fellow believers in order to build them up in their faith.
Let us ask God to give us unity with our fellow believers and let us live in harmony with them to the degree with which it is in our control. Let us accept our fellow believers, even with their failings, to the same degree which Christ accepted us with our failings. Paul finishes up by writing that he believes those he is writing to already know most, if not all, of what he is writing, but that these were points he thought were worth reminding them about. This is why it is valuable to us to read our Bibles regularly. We may know what is in the Bible well enough to teach others, but we need reminders about some of the things it says.
Hezekiah decided to celebrate Passover (the passage implies that it had not been celebrated for some time). However, he, his officials, and the community leaders of Jerusalem did not believe that they could be properly purified to celebrate it when it was supposed to be celebrated. So they decided to celebrate it one month later than called for in the Law. Hezekiah sent runners throughout the land inviting the Israelites to come to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover. He sent the runners not just throughout Judah, the land he controlled, but through all of the lands of Israel. Most of the people outside of Judah ridiculed and laughed at Hezekiah’s messengers, but some humbled themselves and went to Jerusalem for the Passover.
Many of those who came had not properly purified themselves, but Hezekiah recognized that the desire to worship God and return to following Him was more important than getting the forms right. We can learn a lot from what Hezekiah did here. First, he chose to schedule the Passover when they could get ready for it, rather than either do it poorly, or put it off another year. Second, he invited all of those who wanted to come to worship God, not just those who were “the right sort.”
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.
Pharaoh repeatedly promised to do as God commanded and then changed his mind when God made things better. A time was finally reached when Pharaoh no longer had the ability to do as God asked. There is an important lesson for us here, if we reject God’s will for our lives often enough, a time will come when we will have backed ourselves in a corner and we will find it impossible to do what God asks of us. I pray that I never let my pride back me into a corner where God has to do to me to do His will what He needed to do to Pharaoh to get Pharaoh to do His will!
Jesus compares heaven to a rich landowner who hires laborers to work in his vineyards over the course of a day. The important lesson about this story is that, whether we come to serve God early or late, He will reward us with eternity in heaven. There is another point that is not so important to the story, but of interest. The premise of the story is that a rich man has every right to do whatever he chooses with the money he had. He may do good things with it, or selfish things with it. In either case, Jesus assumes that no one else has the right to tell him what he must do with his money.
Later, the mother of James and John approached Jesus and asked Him to give them places of special prominence in His kingdom. When the other disciples heard about this request they were angry. Jesus then taught an important lesson about leadership. Those with authority in the world use that authority to be served by others. Normal human activity is to acquire a position of leadership so that one can dump all of the unpleasant tasks on someone else. Jesus tells us that if we follow His example, we will use whatever position of leadership or authority which we acquire in order to do the unpleasant tasks that no one else wants to do. True leaders sacrifice their own wants and desires in order for the members of the group they lead to enjoy it more.
Yes, I will give my life to God. I will trust Him with all that I have and all that I am. Teach me Lord to follow the path that you have laid out for me, show me Your road. Rest Your Spirit upon me so that I take the path to which you guide me. Give me the humility to walk in the ways You have chosen 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. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them.
Hezekiah decided to invite all of the people of Israel to celebrate the Passover at the restored Temple. They were unable to celebrate the Passover at the time set forth in the Law of Moses because not enough priests were able to get purified in time. So, Hezekiah, his officials and the entire community of Jerusalem decided to celebrate the Passover a month late. Hezekiah sent messengers throughout land of Israel, both the kingdom of Judah and the kingdom of Israel, asking the people to return to the Lord and come celebrate the Passover. Most of the people of the Northern Kingdom made fun of Hezekiah’s messengers. However, there were a few who responded to the message and went to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover.
The people of the Kingdom of Judah, on the other hand, responded enthusiastically. As a result, when they celebrated the Passover a large crowd had gathered in Jerusalem. Many of the people had not purified themselves properly, so the Levites sacrificed their Passover lambs for them. In particular, most of those from the Northern Kingdom had not purified themselves. Hezekiah prayed to God asking that He pardon those who had come to resume following Him without properly purifying themselves. The decision was made to allow those who were not properly purified to eat the Passover lamb anyway. The passage tells us that God honored Hezekiah’s prayer and the desire of the people to worship Him and blessed the people who came to partake in the Passover.
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This passage shows us that even here, under the Law, God honored those who sought Him and desired to be made right with Him. God invites us to come as we are, with our sins and imperfections. If we truly strive to follow and obey Him, He will bless us and purify us by His wondrous power. We do not need to purify ourselves before we come to God. Which is a good thing because we are not truly capable of doing so. It is only by the action of God’s Spirit and through the blood of Christ that we are able to be purified enough to approach God.
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When the people returned to their homes after the Passover, they destroyed the Asherah poles and removed the shrines and altars to pagan gods. Even the people from the Northern Kingdom did this upon their return home (although the passage suggests that many of them remained in the Kingdom of Judah). The people responded enthusiastically to Hezekiah’s religious reforms.
Hezekiah assigned the priests to work full-time offering sacrifices and leading worship in the Temple. He sent out word that the people of Jerusalem were to bring a portion of their goods to the priests and Levites so that they would not need to stop caring for the Temple to care for themselves. When the people of Israel heard of this proclamation, they began to enthusiastically bring goods for the Temple workers even though Hezekiah’s edict only extended to the people of Jerusalem.
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I am praying for a revival today like the one experienced under Hezekiah, but not only in Judah, or Israel, but throughout the entire planet. I am striving to pray every day for the Holy Spirit to rain down on the earth and open the flood gates into people’s hearts.
Another shot of the butterfly bush earning its name
Continuing on his theme from yesterday, Paul tells those of us who are strong in faith that we should bear with those who have weaker faith. In the context of yesterday’s passage, I would interpret this to mean that if we believe that some behavior is OK, but our fellow believer believes it to be a sin, we should not try to convince them to do that behavior, nor should we practice that behavior in front of them. Of course, the way Paul phrases his instruction raises the question as to who has the stronger faith? Well, the answer should be, since we should defer to those whose faith is stronger than our own on matters of faith, that if we think that someone else is mistaken in a matter of faith we must be the one whose faith is stronger and we are the one under obligation to bear with their failings of faith (of course, the same logic applies to the other party as well). Paul concludes this teaching by telling us that as followers of Christ we should live in harmony with our fellow believers. Our goal as Christians is to join together with one voice to praise God and bring glory to His name.
Paul concludes the teaching part of his letter by saying that he is confident that the readers of his letter are filled with knowledge and perfectly capable of teaching one another the Truths of God. He is merely writing to cover a few points which he considers worthy of special emphasis. He notes that his authority to make this emphasis is because God has appointed him as an apostle to the Gentiles. Paul tells us that while he is enthusiastic about what God has done through him, he does not want any special praise himself. Rather, we should praise God for what He has done.
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As I write these blogs, I try very hard to remember to give all credit to God. If by some chance, someone reading this is blessed by what I have written, then praise God. That is not of any credit to me. While I believe myself to be a moderately good writer, even that skill is merely a gift which God has given me. Indeed, I have found that when I make an effort to do something to make my blog something special are the days when I get the fewest hits. Instead, it is the days when I struggle with getting my thoughts to be coherent that are the days when God brings more people to read what I have written (not that even on the best days is my audience size anything to brag about). I would love to have a large audience for my writings, but I know full well that if that were to happen it would be because God has chosen to work through my writings in that manner, not because I am such a gifted writer.
I am tempted to take that last paragraph out because as I re-read it it sounds like I am denigrating my ability as a writer and that would be incorrect. I think that I am a talented writer (please do not tell me if you disagree…or even if you agree). My point is that no matter how talented a writer I may be, that talent itself comes from God AND I will only gather a large following for my writing if God chooses to guide people to them. All-in-all my goal with this writing is to bring glory to God and gain a more in depth understanding of the Bible by attempting to share what God reveals to me in my writing.
Another view of the butterfly on the butterfly bush
Once again the psalm starts with a statement I want to live my life by (NIV):
In you, Lord my God,
I put my trust.
I fully believe that no one who trusts in God will ever be put to shame. He will show me the path I should follow. God is a friend to those who fear Him and will guide them in the path that leads to life. He will guide me to do right as long as I remain humble and contrite, for whenever I lose my humility I sin. If I can keep my eyes on the Lord, I will not go wrong again (keeping my eyes on the Lord is a challenge for me).
Tiger Swallowtail butterfly
Those who sleep when there is work to be done will find themselves in poverty, but if we spend our time looking for the things that need to be done, we will have plenty. Someone haggling over price will talk down what they are buying, then brag about how great it is once they have bought it. Wealth is more readily found and obtained than knowledge and wisdom.
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.
Today’s passage starts off with a change in tone. Up until now, it has read that Pharaoh hardened his heart and refused to let the people of Israel go to worship their God. Today’s passage starts with God telling Moses that He has hardened Pharaoh’s heart. Pharaoh’s officials tell him that he must let the people of Israel go and worship their God. One of the things I have not touched on in these devotions has been that Moses was asking Pharaoh to allow the Israelites to take a three day trip into the desert to offer a sacrifice to God and Pharaoh was categorically refusing. In today’s passage Pharaoh asks Moses who would be going on this religious retreat. Moses’ answer is “all of the Israelite people, men, women and children, and all of their flocks. Pharaoh responds by saying that he would approve a religious retreat of just the men because the only reason for the women and children (and the flocks) to go would be because they were planning on attacking the Egyptians (or some other mischief against the Egyptians).
God instructed Moses to stretch out his hand over Egypt and summon locust swarms over the entire land. Moses did this and the locusts ate every bit of greenery left on any of the plants in Egypt. Pharaoh begged Moses to pray to God that God remove the locusts from the land. Moses did so and a wind arose and blew the locusts out of the land. However, God hardened Pharaoh’s heart(note that this time Pharaoh did not harden his own heart, God did it for him this time) and he did not let the people go. This was followed by a plague of darkness over the land, after which Pharaoh was willing to let all of the people go as long as they left their flocks. Moses rejected this on the basis that they needed to take something to sacrifice to God and would not know what they needed until they got there. Pharaoh told Moses to get out of his sight and if he ever returned Pharaoh would have him executed.
Moses accepted Pharaoh’s exile, but before he left Moses told Pharaoh that God was going to bring one more plague against Egypt. God would pass through Egypt and every firstborn son in the land of Egypt would die, from the nobles to the slaves, even including the livestock. However, the people of Israel would be exempted from this plague. God then gave Moses instructions for the people of Israel establishing the Passover meal. They were to eat it in haste, prepared to flee. On the night designated for them to observe this, God would pass through the land striking the firstborn of both people and animals in all of the land of Egypt, except in those households that were marked according to His instruction. Every time I read this, I wonder, how many people who considered themselves Egyptian, and had been considered Egyptian by their neighbors joined in this first Passover celebration? As the plagues came down on Egypt one by one and the Israelites were, for the most part, spared, how many Egyptians circumcised their sons? Probably not many, but there were probably a few who saw the power of God and wanted to join with His people.
The one point I wanted to make about this was that I don’t want to ever get to the point where God starts hardening my heart as He did to Pharaoh. Pharaoh time after time promised that if God would relieve the misery he was suffering, he would do God’s will, only to renege once the suffering had stopped. Eventually God started hardening Pharaoh’s heart rather than wait for Pharaoh to do so himself.
In today’s parable Jesus tells a story about a man who hires day laborers. He hires some first thing in the morning, agreeing to pay them a standard day’s wages. Later he goes out and hires some more, agreeing to pay them what is “right”. He does this several more times throughout the day, hiring some late in the day shortly before the workers wrapped up for the day. Once the workers were done for the day, he had them line up to be paid, with those hired last going first. He paid these men a full day’s wages. Those who had been hired first thing in the morning expected to be paid more, when he paid them only the agreed upon amount they grumbled. Doesn’t that sound exactly like the way we would react? The employer asked the grumbling workers how he had wronged them? He had paid them the amount that was agreed upon. What business of theirs was it if he chose to pay the others the same amount? It was his money to do with as he chose. He then tells His disciples that the last will be first and the first will be last, continuing the them from yesterday’s passage.
There are so many lessons in that parable. There are the two obvious ones. The first shall be last and God will reward even those who come to Him late in life with the same reward He offers those who choose Him early in life (although I believe there is also the reward of serving God, which the latter will have more opportunity to do). But there is also the lesson of not begrudging others their good fortune. Why do we feel envious and resentful when others receive good things? Finally there is the idea that the vineyard owner was not obligated to be “fair” in the way he distributed his wealth.
Jesus predicts His death for at least the third time in today’s passage. Despite the fact that Jesus had predicted His death multiple times, the disciples were still caught off guard when it actually happened. It’s as if they didn’t want to believe He meant what He said about His death. /s How often do we misinterpret something in Scripture because we don’t want to believe what it says? Often times we don’t even realize we are doing it.
Today’s passage ends with the story of the mother of James and John coming to Jesus and asking Him to promise to seat her two sons on either side of Him when He comes into His kingdom. Jesus asks the brothers if they can face the trials He is about to face. They answer in the affirmative. Jesus tells them that they will indeed face a similar fate, but He cannot promise them those places of honor because those places are reserved for those whom the Father has already chosen. The other disciples were offended that the two brothers had the audacity to get their mother to ask for that honor. Jesus calls them together and gives them a lesson that sums up the points that were being made in the stories over the last several passages. Jesus tells the disciples that the important people of this world lord it over others, giving orders and being served, but that is not how it works in the kingdom of heaven. It is those who serve who are important in the kingdom of heaven. If you want to be someone in the kingdom of heaven, you must do what others tell you and serve their needs. This is a tough lesson for us as humans, even when we get it, we often mess it up. There have been a couple times when I have been part of a Church body where several people were competing to be serve others more than anybody else. We should strive to serve others, but sometimes the way we can best serve others is by letting them serve us.
Noel Santiago Talking About God Doing Something New
I strive to follow the example of the psalmist and put my trust in God. If I follow the path that He teaches me, He will not let me be put to shame and will not let my enemies triumph over me. If I humble myself before God and acknowledge that His ways are correct, even when I do not understand why, He will instruct me in the actions I should choose and forgive my many sins. It is very hard to trust God, I so very often think I see an easier way, but I have learned that in the long run it is always better to do things the righteous way (although even knowing better I still all too often choose the wrong way).
In today’s passage the writer recommends that we observe the ways of the ant. The fact that it gathers food and provisions all summer and into the harvest even though it has no ruler should be a lesson to us to prepare for the future when we may no longer be able to supply our needs.
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.
After completing the re-dedication of the Temple, Hezekiah sent out couriers to all of Judah and Israel, inviting the people to a Passover celebration. In addition to the lands that he controlled, he sent the couriers into the lands of the Northern Tribes to those who remained after the Assyrians took many of them into captivity. This was not the correct time for the Passover, but Hezekiah and his advisers decided to hold it at this time because it had not been celebrated in a long time, except by a few individuals. Hezekiah gave the couriers a message that emphasized the importance and benefits of returning to following God’s commands. For the most part the people of the towns and villages of the Northern Tribes ridiculed the couriers. Nevertheless, some men from those territories came to the Passover celebration. On the other hand, the people of the lands of Judah were unified in their positive response to Hezekiah’s messengers.
When the crowds started arriving in Jerusalem, they cleared away the pagan altars that Hezekiah’s father had constructed in Jerusalem. After the Passover celebration, the people went throughout the land and destroyed the pagan altars and objects of pagan worship. In many ways this reminds me of a modern revival meeting. The people gathered for a multiple day event of worship and praise. When the event was over, they were galvanized to a new commitment to faithfully following God. They went out and destroyed those things in their daily lives that tempted them to sin. In addition, the people began giving free will offerings to the service of God. Hezekiah strove to follow God’s laws and commands and the people followed his lead. We should be praying today that leaders such as Hezekiah rise up within the Church and lead a similar revival among us.
In yesterday’s passage, Paul told us not to argue about “disputable matters”, such as what it is appropriate to eat, or what days we should worship on. Today he begins by telling us that those of us who are strong in our faith must be considerate of those who are weak in their faith. This means whichever side of the debate you are on, he is talking to you, because obviously, at least on the point of debate, you will think your faith stronger than that of the person whom you are disagreeing with. Therefore, Paul is putting the obligation on you to build the other person up. We should strive to live in harmony with one another in order to give glory to God.
Paul tells his audience that he is confident that for the most part they already know what he is writing. He tells them that he knows full well that most of what he is writing is just a reminder for them. Paul concludes this section by telling them that he has striven to preach the Gospel to those who have never heard it before, rather than preach where someone has already started a church. This is the reason he has not yet been to Rome. First, because he had been busy preaching in towns closer to him that had not yet heard the Gospel. Second, because someone else had already preached the Gospel in Rome.
If we trust in God, we will not be disgraced. We will not be disgraced because we will look to God to discern what path we should follow. If we look to God with humility, He will lead us down the path we should follow. Even when we go astray, if we turn back to Him, He will show us the path we should choose. We do not need to be constantly looking around for traps and pitfalls, because God will rescue us from them. If we keep our eyes on God, then just like Peter, we will be able to walk over top of danger/water without fear, but if we take our eyes off of Him to look at the dangers, we will sink beneath the waves. Although even then, when we cry out to God, He will save us.
If you work hard and take advantage of opportunities when they present themselves, you will have enough to eat. Wisdom is more valuable than wealth. If we strive after wisdom, we will have sufficient resources to live comfortably. If we strive after wealth and miss wisdom, wealth is liable to slip away as well.
