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.
In order to consolidate his backing from the leaders of Judah, David offers Amasa, whom Absalom had appointed commander over the army, the role of commander over David’s army, in place of Joab. As David is returning to Jerusalem, Shimei, who had cursed David when he fled Jerusalem, comes out to greet David and beg his forgiveness. Even though Abishai argues that Shimei should be executed for cursing David, David chooses to spare Shimei’s life. Jonathan’s son Mephibosheth also came down to meet David as he returned. David asked why Mephibosheth had not accompanied him when he fled. Mephibosheth answered that Ziba had not saddled his donkey, so he, being a cripple, was unable to do so.
An argument broke out between the men of Judah and the men of the rest of Israel over escorting David back to Jerusalem. It is not at all clear to me what the argument was about. However, the argument escalated until Sheba son of Bicri raised a cry of rebellion and the men of Israel started to follow him. David sends out Amasa to mobilize the army of Judah, giving him three days. Amasa takes longer than that to do so. David becomes concerned that Sheba will be able to consolidate his position and set himself up in a fortified town. So he orders Joab and Abishai to take his personal troops out after Sheba immediately. As Joab and Abishai are leading David’s personal troops out to battle Amasa meets them. Joab greets Amasa in a friendly fashion but as he gets close Joab stabs and kills him. Joab then leads the combined force to defeat Sheba son of Bicri.
At some point after Jesus appeared to the disciples in Jerusalem they returned to Galilee. Peter decides to go fishing and some of the other disciples join him. They are out all night and fail to catch anything. At dawn, the disciples see Jesus on the shore, but they cannot tell who it is. Jesus asks them if they have caught anything and they reply that they have not. Jesus tells them to throw their nets over the right hand side of the boat, when they do so they catch enough to fill the net so full they cannot pull it in. One of the disciples, probably John, realizes that it is Jesus and tells Peter. Peter jumps into the water and heads to shore. The other disciples followed in the boat. When they get to shore they discover that Jesus has some fish cooking over a fire and some bread. After breakfast, Jesus asks Peter three times if he loves Him. Peter answers in the affirmative each time.
There are several elements of this story that I find interesting. Here we have a group of experienced fishermen who spend the night fishing and fail to catch anything. As they return to shore Jesus tells them to put the net in the water one more time and they catch so many fish they cannot pull the net back into the boat. In addition, when they get to shore, Jesus already has some fish cooked up and ready to eat. I could come up with a naturalistic explanation for this, but it is, at best, improbable. I am not sure what point the writer is making with this story but I will tell you what it means to me. Jesus was demonstrating His ability to provide for His disciples needs in abundance. There is no need for us to be concerned about our needs, as long as we are following God’s will for our lives, He will provide. Another element that always strikes me is that Jesus asks Peter three times if he loves Him. Peter had denied knowing Jesus three times the night of His trial. Each time after Peter avows his love for Jesus, Jesus tells him to feed and care for His sheep. The final element is when, after Jesus has told Peter about his death, Peter asks Jesus about another disciple. Jesus’ response is to tell Peter that it is none of his business what Jesus intends for another, He is calling Peter to follow Him. We should not compare our lives to those of others. Jesus calls us each to follow Him in the way that He intends for us. It is not our concern what He has in store for others, we are called to serve Him in the way He has for us.
These psalms so clearly say things of importance that it is hard for me to comment further on them. This phrase so sums up my life experience:
I cried out to him, and he answered my prayer.”
Every day I try to remember to take my troubles to the Lord, to cry out to Him and wait for His answer to my prayers.
I don’t know if you have ever met someone with more money than sense, but I have and it certainly testifies to the truth of this proverb. The second half of this proverb also tells something of value. While it is true that there are many men in prison for crimes they did not commit, if you look at the lives they were leading before they were arrested you will discover that it is the rare person in prison who was leading a virtuous life. This does not justify people being punished for crimes they did not commit. It just tells us that if you lead a virtuous life, you are unlikely to be punished for crimes you did not commit.