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.

     While David had moved the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem, where he had established his capital, he continued having sacrifices offered at Gibeon. Once David had established the Ark in Jerusalem, it occurred to him to build a Temple for God. But God sent him word through the prophet Nathan not to do so. God said that He has never asked for a house to be built for Him. His place of worship has been a tent since the Israelites left Egypt. God went on to tell David that He will establish a dynasty of David’s descendants. God’s message to David concluded that David’s son would build a Temple and that God would establish his throne forever. In some ways I think that this message to David is a foreshadowing of the way things are today. God does not live in a building where we go to Him to worship Him. God lives in the hearts of those who serve Him and we can worship Him wherever we are. He lives within us and travels with us no matter where we go.
     David responded to the message from God by praying and praising God. David acknowledged that God’s promise to him was an honor to him. David declared that he was no one special, but that God knew him in detail. David praised God and gave credit to God for all of his success.
     Today’s passage concludes by telling us that David defeated and conquered most of the surrounding kingdoms, becoming allies with those he did not conquer.

     After writing about the sinfulness of those who refuse to acknowledge God, Paul writes that we are just as bad. That we do the same things. If we refuse to turn from our sin, God will bring judgement upon us. On the other hand if we turn from sin and seek to do good, God will reward us. Paul tells us that those who know the Law will be judged for their failure to follow the Law. On the other hand, those who have never heard the law show that they know God’s Law by instinctively obeying it, even though they have never heard it. Paul tells us that everyone knows right from wrong, even though, as he told us in yesterday’s passage, some have chosen to cauterize that knowledge. Paul goes on to say that those who think that they are better than others because of their superior knowledge of the Law do that which violates the Law. If we present ourselves as certain that we have complete knowledge and truth, we are guilty of causing others to blaspheme when we fail to live up to God’s Law…and we will fail. This is not an instruction that we can never point out to others that they are sinning, but that we must do so with humility, acknowledging our own sinfulness.

     The psalmist tells us that the Lord is king forever and that godless nations will vanish from the land. God knows the hopes of the helpless and He will come to their rescue. When the orphan and the oppressed cry out to God, He will answer their cry and bring them Justice. I read this and think of the news that comes out of Penn State. For years, there were orphans who were powerless to defend themselves from the predation of a man who was respected in the community. Now there is justice. The powers that were at Penn State covered up his actions and allowed him to continue to prey on the weak. They did it to “protect the reputation” of their school. In particular Joe Paterno had a reputation for being the rare successful college coach who had his priorities straight. Now we know that he was even worse than his contemporaries who were known to be willing to sacrifice the well-being of their athletes in order to win. We learn that Joe Paterno was willing to sacrifice the well-being, not of those who willingly put themselves under his protection, but the fatherless. And he did it not for victory, but for “reputation”. If he had used his position to bring this evil man to justice, Joe Paterno would have been seen as being even more of a hero than he had been. Instead we discover that even the positive reputation he had was undeserved. Understand, this does not make others of us better, in light of the passage from Romans, we are all guilty. But it demonstrates that God will bring Justice and the outcome will be horrible. Joe Paterno died knowing that the reputation he had spent 40+ years building would be destroyed. If we try to sweep the abuse of the helpless under the rug, we will face similar retribution from God. Joe Paterno was not the only person who failed God’s command to defend the fatherless. He is just the biggest name. The others will also pay a price before the judgement seat of God. Those of us who stand by and watch others suffer when we could do something, even if that something is to join them in their suffering, will similarly stand condemned before God’s Judgement seat one day. Only by throwing ourselves on God’s mercy can we avoid that judgement. I should add that this story breaks my heart, both for those who suffered and because I held Joe Paterno in such high regard before this.

     Seeking wisdom is the ultimate form of self-love. We often think of narcissists as being too much in love with themselves, but in truth the behaviors we call “narcissism” is the product of a deep seated conviction that we are unlovable. Narcissists refuse to acknowledge that God made them as they are for a reason and loves them and attempt to set themselves up in the place of God. If they truly loved themselves they would seek the wisdom that comes from acknowledging God.