Ryan: There are simply too many good thoughts in these Proverbs to pick out just one to talk about (kinda like Lays Potato Chips), so I thought I’d talk about the Proverbs from a global perspective. As you read through the Proverbs, you are constantly reminded of exceptions–”When a man’s ways are pleasing to the Lord, he makes even his enemies live at peace with him” (Prov. 16:7). Obviously, this isn’t a hard and fast guarantee or else Jesus would not have had any enemies. The Proverbs are not true 100% of the time–they are not “promises” of God. They are general rules, life principles to live by. It’s important to remember that while we have free will to make good and bad decisions, God’s Will (the “big picture” type of will) takes precedence over even our own choices. For example, Jesus had to die for our sins, so having him live his life with zero enemies or conflict and dying at a nice old age around 100 would not have allowed him to be our atoning sacrifice. There are times when even righteous men have to endure suffering or fools win out over wise men simply so that God’s Will continues on unbroken. You just have to have faith whenever one of these proverbs does not seem to be true that God has a really good reason for it.

Samantha: I was the only one In my kindergarten class who could read, which brought many rewards like one-on-one time with the teacher and being the narrator in the school production of The Little Red Hen. On one fall day I was sitting at the “special table” by the teacher’s desk coloring away on an activity sheet when I realized that I hadn’t yet read the instructions on the page. I was supposed to do something with consonants, but it was too late–I had already colored over the instructions. Rats! I knew I was going to be in trouble, but I hoped that teacher would show me mercy and give me a new page. I took the paper to the teacher, who took one look at it and told me that because I had not followed directions I had to go sit back with the other kids, no more special activities for me. I was absolutely devastated and sobbed the rest of the morning. I will always remember that day, and the resentment and heartbreak I felt because I knew what I should have done and didn’t do it. Losing those privileges hurt me enough to make me understand the value of following instructions. “Listen to advice and accept instruction, and in the end you will be wise” (Proverbs 19:20).

Ryan: We read today of an event that I have already referenced several times in which Solomon asks for (and is granted) wisdom beyond that of other men (1 Kings 3:12). What I did not remember before reading this story today was that God indicated that because Solomon asked for wisdom, and not riches or fame or the death of an enemy, God chose to not only bless him with wisdom, but also with the riches and honor for which he did not ask. (I always knew that King Solomon was rich and famous, but I always just figured that was a result of the wisdom.) The LORD knows our hearts, and he knows what we will ask him for before we even ask him for it. He also knows why we are asking for it, something that often times we do not even know ourselves. When we pray for things for ourselves, God knows two things we don’t: he knows our true motives for asking, and he knows whether or not we would be able to handle whatever it is we have asked him for. He then takes the answers to those two questions, runs it through his filter of “If it is in the LORD’s will”, and then he issues his decision on his time. So the next time you think that God didn’t answer your prayer because it wasn’t in His will, ask yourself whether your motives were pure and if you truly could handle the outcome if your prayer had been answered the way you hoped.

Samantha: Twice now we’ve seen a person run to the altar of sacrifice in the tabernacle and grab on to the horns on the corners of the altar. First, Adonijah in 1 Kings 1:50 and then Joab in 1 Kings 2:28. Every article inside the tabernacle is oozing with symbolism, but for now I’ll contain my shiny object syndrome and focus on the horns. In addition to being the cord tie-down spot for the sacrifices (think roasting pig, only instead of a pole through it, its limbs tied to the four corners of the altar), the horns were also a place of refuge or asylum. Exodus 21:12-14 indicates that if a person accidentally murdered another, he could go and touch the horns to receive mercy. If the person were guilty of premeditation then he was to be taken and put to death. In both cases in 1 Kings we see that the men were both guilty (for different reasons) and were put to death. I found a fantastic sermon by Charles Spurgeon, delivered on March 23, 1884, entitled, “The Horns of the Altar.” His sermon is on how Joab thought he could get mercy by holding the horns on the altar, but how his life wasn’t right so it didn’t do him any good. Then the sermon goes on to give examples of things we hold on to but won’t do us any good. It finishes by saying that we need to cling to the spiritual altar of Jesus instead, and let go of all other false hopes. It is an excellent sermon to read–powerful, convicting, and right on the mark. Go read it. 5 minutes tops. Go. Thank me later.

For a fun read, check out The Brick Testament‘s incarnation of the story of Solomon and the prostitutes.

Ryan: Tomorrow, May 12, is my father’s birthday. (And, now that Mother’s Day has passed, we’re approaching the season for Father’s Day, too.) It’s hard for a son not to think about his father when he reads the words that David son of Jesse spoke from his deathbed to King Solomon:

“‘I am about to go the way of all the earth,’ he said. ‘So be strong, show yourself a man, and observe what the LORD your God requires: Walk in his ways, keep his decrees and commands, his laws and requirements, as written in the Law of Moses, so that you may prosper in all you do and wherever you go…’” (1 Kings 2:2-3).

I’m sure it was very heartening for David to watch his son on the throne through the eyes of God in Heaven. King Solomon had his share of failures, just as his father before him, but overall was a very successful king and well-liked. Solomon went down in the history books as the wisest man who ever lived, and the man responsible for building the first Temple of God in Jerusalem. It’s very difficult, living in the American mentality of “go it alone” and “do whatever makes you happy,” to think about to what lengths men would go to in order to please their fathers. In that vein, I pray that I have made my father proud of the man I have become. Happy Birthday, Dad!

Samantha: Ryan mentioned Father’s Day, so I’ll mention Mother’s Day and what a treat it must have been for Bathsheba to see her son Solomon crowned king after David! I never really thought much about Bathsheba until I read Francine River’s Lineage of Grace #4: Unspoken. Bathsheba is a woman in the line of Jesus, and her life is an excellent example of God’s redemption and grace. The book of course fills in historical details and narrative around the Biblical account and you really get a deep look into her character and what life could have been like for her. Talk about The Scarlet Letter–she definitely wore that her entire life. Everyone knew what happened, and by law she should have died as a consequence of her sin with David. No doubt the other wives of David scorned her and she probably lived a very lonely and isolated life in the palace. The fact that her son, Solomon, was the only one of David’s sons to be worthy to lead Israel speaks to her character and trust in the Lord. This book is emotional and gives you an entirely different (and real-life!) perspective on sin, grace, and redemption.

Ryan: Today marks the beginning of a couple of days of “Messianic psalms.” These are psalms that reference the Messiah, either directly or indirectly. Psalm 22, specifically, is full of “prophecies” that are very plainly seen in the life of Jesus. Let’s recount a few: the opening sentence, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” was spoken by Jesus just before he died. “Scorned by men and despised by the people. All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads” (see Matthew 27:39). “I am poured out like water” (see John 4:14 & John 19:34). “They have pierced my hands and my feet” (see John 20:27). “They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing” (see Matthew 27:35). “The poor will eat and be satisfied” (see Matthew 14:20). A few more verses aren’t fulfilled in the written word, but in our daily life: “Posterity will serve him; future generations will be told about the LORD. They will proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn–for he has done it.” Being that here we are about 3,000 years after this psalm was written and we’re writing a blog post on the Internet that is available to billions of souls worldwide, I’d say this psalm’s closing line is quite accurate.

Samantha: I’ve never been in a war, but I was in a fist fight in 5th grade (I won.). The image in Psalm 27 of an entire army coming at you, weapons drawn, is very intimidating. When I read the psalm I pictured myself standing in an open field, unarmed, watching my impending doom approach. Yikes! But the psalm says, “Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then will I be confident” (Psalm 27:3). Standing there, knowing what is coming (think Braveheart), and yet being completely calm and confident that the Lord will be there to save you–that seems so difficult! To me, sometimes it is easier to give in to panic and worry over something that is tangible, that you can see, rather than to have faith that God, who is unseen, will come through for you. But when I remember that God is the creator of the universe, my worries seem silly and insignificant. After all, “The LORD is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid?” (Psalm 27:1).

With apologies to Tristan & Leslie:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70csu2Z51sM

Ryan: As we are  slowly wrapping up the book of Psalms, it is fitting that one of the last psalms we read is Psalm 111, which includes the very famous line, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.” The next major character we will be reading about (May 11!) is Solomon, David’s son, future king of Israel who is responsible for building the first temple in Jerusalem. Solomon, like his father, was God-fearing (though he made his share of mistakes, as do we all); he prayed for wisdom through discernment: “give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong” (1 Kings 3:9). The prayer so pleased God that He granted Solomon his prayer and blessed Solomon with such wisdom that he is often called the wisest man who ever lived. We all should take our cue from Psalm 111 (and Solomon) and lean not on our own understanding, but begin to fear the LORD so that we may be blessed with wisdom and discernment.

Samantha: I have a new favorite Bible verse after doing the Beth Moore Psalms of Ascent study: “If you, O LORD, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand?” (Psalm 130:3). That really puts me back in my place! It makes me think of all the stupid, heartless, careless, mean things I’ve done to others; I don’t deserve God’s mercy one bit. The pages of records of my sins would stack up taller than me! And yet despite this, he still chooses to forgive me. God has taken my stack of records, shredded them, and destroyed them so that they no longer exist. “But with you there is forgiveness; therefore you are feared” (Psalm 130:4). 

Ryan: Psalm 136 is a song (or “poem” as the heading in our chronological Bible calls it) that is written in “call-and-response” form. Call and response is one of the oldest forms of music known to man. It involves a leader issuing the “call” and the congregation responding, often with the same phrase, as is the case with “His love endures forever.” I’m confident that many of the psalms we’ve already ready would likely have been sung in this manner, but none of them are so obviously written with that purpose in mind. Call and response singing (often called antiphon, Greek for “opposite voice”) is still the most common form for the Eastern and Greek Orthodox churches, is used substantially in African Christian music (and folk music, for that matter), and responsorial readings (spoken) are still very common among the Catholic and Protestant churches. Many of the restoration churches have moved away from them, not because they are unbiblical in any way, but more as just another way to differentiate  themselves. In my opinion, if the restoration churches really wanted to restore the church back to its first-century self, they would include more call-and-response, because I guarantee the early church employed this technique extensively. Stay tuned below for a beautiful performance of an a cappella performance of a Russian hymn, His Love Endures Forever, that employs some call-and-response.

Samantha: Psalm 124 is part of the psalms of ascent that were sung on the way up the steps of the temple. Everyone would have sung it together, led by the priests. The psalm starts out “If the LORD had not been on our side—let Israel say—” (Psalm 124:1). The part “let Israel say” is where the priests are trying to get everyone to sing along together. It is like at a music concert where the lead singer instructs the audience “everybody now!” Then the verses are about all the ways that we could have been lost: swallowed alive, swept away by flood waters, trapped like a bird in a fowler’s snare. The more you talk about the worst case scenarios, the more thankful you are at how you were saved! For those of us who are “lifers” at church, we don’t always appreciate grace to its fullest because we’ve always grown up knowing God and knowing the right ways to follow him. For those who came to the Gospel later in life–especially those people who have dark pasts and made bad mistakes–they understand grace on a deeper level because they’ve seen the worst scenario and can now compare it to the glorious salvation that God provided them. 

Ryan: How cool is it that the longest chapter in the entire Bible is all about how wonderful is the word of God? If you search Psalm 119 in the King James Version for “Thy Word,” you’ll learn that the phrase occurs 39 times, or in approximately 22% of all the 176 verses in that chapter. Some highlights: “I rejoice at thy word, as one that findeth great spoil” (Psalm 119:162 KJV), “Your word is very pure; Therefore Your servant loves it” (Psalm 119:140 NJKV), and of course, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path” (Psalm 119:105 KJV). There is a hymn that we sing today that was originally written by Michael W. Smith and Amy Grant that is based on that passage. An interesting sidebar of commonality with yesterday’s post: during some of the “darkest” times in my life, my cassette tapes of Amy Grant always found their way into my rotation, in between the “gangsta” rap and Seattle grunge alternative punk rock. It is truly amazing what power the Word of God has over all who hear it. Even those who try to reject it (as I did) are influenced by the grace, love, and forgiveness that is contained in the Word of the LORD, often without even realizing it.

Samantha: Psalm 119 is certainly the acrostic of all acrostics! I’m not much of a creative writer (as demonstrated by my factual–and mostly dry–blog posts), but I am good at finding patterns and formulas. Reading the Hebrew-English version at Mechon-Mamre is really neat because you can see that every line of this psalm starts with each successive  letter of the alphabet. The entire psalm is built around a central theme of, “Blessed are they who keep his statutes and seek him with all their heart” (Psalm 119:2). Just thinking through how the psalm is constructed amazes me: the longest chapter in God’s word is organized overall by the alphabet, where the stanzas of each section start with that section’s letter, and then multiple verses inside the section are written about the same topic/theme but in different ways. If I were writing this psalm I would have had it nailed in one sentence, but that would be boring and missing the point. Psalms are expressive ways that make you think deeply about how a topic makes you feel, and I was moved at how God’s word is living and active and how this psalm is applicable to us today even though it was written 3,000 years ago. Therefore, “My heart is set on keeping [his] decrees to the very end” (Psalm 119:112).

Ryan: Alfred Lord Tennyson wrote, “‘Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.” Gimli (Lord of the Rings) said, “I have looked last upon that which is fairest. Henceforth I will call nothing fair unless it be her gift to me.” And the Sons of Korah write in Psalm 84, “Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.” The running theme here is that when you encounter the epitome of something, all else is pale in comparison. We can get a glimpse of what it’s like to spend one day in the court of the LORD our God by reading the awesome book of Revelation, as John was given only the images he needed relate to the churches to whom the letter is addressed. And as for an application for our daily lives, for you Christians who have felt and witnessed the power, glory, and majesty of God, how can you ever give that up for the fleeting things of this world that “though in the morning it springs up new, by evening it is dry and withered” (Psalm 90:6)?

Samantha: One of my favorite ways to worship God is to sing to him when I’m by myself. Sure, singing a capella in a congregation of 700 is amazing, but I have to admit that when I sing in church I’m not really worshiping. Likewise, when I sing a solo or sing with a group, my training as an instrumentalist kicks in and I only think about the music and performing. The only way I can truly worship God in song is when I’ve let go of the sheet music, the rhythms, performance anxiety, and the people around me. It is then that I can let my true emotions out, which is normally hard for me to do! The car is a great place to sing, although one time I must have been a little loud, judging by the strange looks a pedestrian gave me. There have been many times where something great happened that day and I sang praise all the way home. There was a time I was in so much pain that I sang-shouted at God all the way home. “I sing for joy at the works of your hands” (Psalm 92). When I can spot God in everyday life, I’m filled with praise, awe, and joy at what our God has done, and it makes my heart want to sing! (Can you spot the songs I’ve referenced in this post?)

Ryan: Having spent many years of my life as an agnostic, one of the things I struggle with is reading/listening to/watching atheists argue their side of the existence of God debate. I struggle with it for two reasons: first, a larger percentage (in my experience) of atheists think more logically and at a deeper level than most Christians. Second, I struggle with it because it would be so easy to slip back into that lifestyle. Atheists love to point fingers and tell Christians that they are dumb, non-thinking people who just go along with whatever they are told. Psalm 73 paints the atheist this way: “They scoff, and speak with malice…Their mouths lay claim to heaven, and their tongues take possession of the earth” (Psalm 73:8-9). Having been on both sides of this debate, I’m here to say that believing and following God is hundredfold harder than not. It’s hard to listen to people who believe differently than you ridicule you for your beliefs when you did nothing to them. It’s hard to resist the desires of the flesh while the world around you indulges. And it’s hard to worship our Father in heaven while the loudest voices you hear every day are telling you He doesn’t exist. “But as for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Sovereign LORD my refuge; I will tell of all your deeds” (Psalm 73:28).

Samantha: I really loved the flow and timing of Psalm 73. Asaph starts off the psalm by describing what could have been our culture, where the wicked are rewarded, live prosperous, healthy lives, and are carefree. I could sympathize with him when he talked about how he felt his righteousness was in vain. Back in my high school years, it was sometimes hard for me to see the “rich kids” wearing the latest fashions, driving shiny sports cars, and going on lavish vacations, when I had second-hand clothing, drove a car almost as old as me, and had never been on a vacation. Those kids had everything life could offer, they even went to church, and yet at the time they lived very sinful lives. I felt like I was all alone in my efforts to follow God, and it was hard to reconcile how those students were prosperous and I wasn’t. Just like Asaph said in the psalm, “When I tried to understand all this, it was oppressive to me till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny” (Psalm 73:16-17). Knowing the end of the story, how good always triumphs over evil, makes all the difference in how you respond to situations like my high school experience. Rather than feeling like your faith is in vain, remember that, “Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart” (Psalm 73:1).

Ryan: Psalm 144 ends with, “Blessed are the people of whom this is true; blessed are the people whose God is the LORD.” The Jews have a strong tradition in issuing blessings. In Fiddler on the Roof, when someone asks the rabbi if there is a blessing for a sewing machine, the rabbi replies, “There’s a blessing for everything!” According to Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus, the Jews developed the tradition in order to heed the words of Moses, “you shall bless the LORD your God for the good land which He has given you” (Deut. 8:10 NASB). While Christians often ask for a blessing at a meal, Jews will issue a blessing, “Blessed is he who brings forth bread from the earth.” These little short prayers, if you will, are called berakhah, and faithful Jews will fill their day with them, from the moment they wake up to the moment they close their eyes to sleep, often issuing dozens if not hundreds of them each day. Ann Spangler writes, “When you start to make a habit of blessing God, you will discover that daily life can begin to feel like Christmas morning” (Sitting, p. 99).

Samantha: In our reading today we covered Psalm 120 and Psalm 121, both labeled as psalms of ascent. Two summers ago I had the privilege of studying all the psalms of ascent (Psalm 120-134) in the Beth Moore study,  Stepping Up: A Journey Through the Psalms of Ascent. These psalms were pilgrim songs, sung by the Jews on their way to Jerusalem to celebrate the feasts. Many pilgrims traveled several days to get to Jerusalem, over rocky hills, and often at the mercy of bandits (think Good Samaritan). Psalm 121 would be very comforting to me along the journey, knowing that God will “not let your foot slip” or that “he who watches over you will not slumber” (Psalm 121:3). The journey is never easy, but God is there constantly to help you through it. When you falter, he is right there to steady you. When you sleep, he keeps watch. I will definitely sleep better tonight knowing that no matter what is out there, the God of the Universe is protecting me!

Ryan: H.C. Leupold referred to Psalm 88 as “the gloomiest psalm found in the Scriptures” (Truth for Today Commentary: Psalms 51-89, p. 661). I would have to agree with that statement. It was so depressing to read that I had to include the clip from Monty Python and the Holy Grail where God refers to “those miserable psalms” (see below). It lacks that thread of hope that David always wove in through all of his songs and prayers. This psalm is written from the perspective of one who has yet to obtain a reprieve from a very difficult situation afflicting him. Whether the author himself was going through such a time when he wrote it is unknown, but he definitely has been through a similar situation at some point, as have most of us. We have all had a time in our lives when it seems like God is not listening to our prayers, or that he simply doesn’t care about us and there is no end in sight to the pain we are enduring. It’s extremely difficult to maintain our hope during those times, but remember that even Jesus felt once in his life like God had forsaken him, and yet just three days later, he conquered the immutable boundary we call death.

Samantha: Today’s reading made me think of songs that we sing in church in this generation. After every couple verses I would say, “that verse is in this song” or “I just sang along to that in the car”. Several songs (psalms) that stood out to me were On Eagles’ Wings (Psalm 91), Come Let Us Worship & Bow Down and the Chris Tomlin version Come Let Us Worship (Psalm 95:6-7), and the Sons of Korah version Come Let Us Sing (Psalm 95:6-11). These are just the songs I found on YouTube–there are many more out there. I am amazed that poetry written three thousand years ago is still popular today, just with updated music!

Ryan: Paul wrote to the church in Ephesus, “through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence” (Ephesians 3:12). I take that to mean, in one sense, that with the greater faith that we have, the more confidence we can approach God in our prayers. If that is true, then David’s faith must be out of this world. I think to the prayers that I often pray (”if it be Your will…,” “please, LORD…,” “I’d love it if…,” etc.) and how weak, or timid, they are in terms of the language I use. I then think of the words that David offers up: “Rescue me…,” “Deliver me…,” “Do not forsake me…,” etc. These are bold, direct imperative commands, as opposed to my grammatically conditional prayers. I understand cognitively what Paul told the Ephesians, but David “gets it” in his heart. We should all take a lesson from the man “after God’s own heart” and realize that we are not small, insignificant beings unworthy of God’s time and attention, but rather, his “valued possession” (Exo. 19:5) worthy to bring to him direct requests and commands.

Samantha: David is in anguish in many of these psalms. He’s been chased, falsely accused, plotted against, and scorned. Any normal person might cave in under such pressure, but David retains hope by recalling the Lord’s power and might over all the evil in the world:

“I will remember the deeds of the LORD; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago. I will meditate on all your works and consider all your mighty deeds. Your ways, O God, are holy. What god is so great as our God? You are the God who performs miracles; you display your power among the peoples. With your mighty arm you redeemed your people, the descendants of Jacob and Joseph” (Psalm 77:11-15).

The God we worship today in 2010 is the very same God that parted the Red Sea, the same God who forgave David, and the same God who created the earth. Wow! It is easy for earthly things to distract us and make us feel overwhelmed (Satan is good at his job!), but following David’s example of dwelling on God’s mighty deeds will quickly put things back in perspective.

Ryan: I am very curious about how old David was when he wrote most of these songs and poems. I remember being a teenager, filled with angst, and coming up with poetry that I couldn’t even dream of today. Your emotions are at such at heightened state at that age that often they bubble over and the only way to express them is through song. Just yesterday, a former student wrote on Facebook, “I finished my poem. I really don’t mean for them to come out as kind of sad as they do it just happens.” To that, I replied with the quote from Jesus, “For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matthew 12:34). At the time he was speaking, Jesus was referring to the evil things that the Pharisees would say. However, the converse is also true: he continues, “The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him” (Matthew 12:35). So how do we know that David was a man after God’s own heart? Because we can see the overflow of his heart through his many Psalms. The wonderful praise and heartfelt petitions come straight from David’s heart and reveal his truest nature, just as did the poems and songs we wrote as teenagers.

Samantha: Another Jesus moment in the Psalms today! Remember the story of Jesus going to the temple in Jerusalem for Passover and then clearing the moneychangers out of the temple in John 2? The disciples watched Jesus do this, and they “remembered that it is written: “Zeal for your house will consume me” (John 2:17). Talk about letting the word dwell in you, that you can recall an appropriate scripture at any moment (Col. 3:16)! The verse they thought of comes straight from our reading today in Psalm 69. In this psalm David talks about the evil that is committed against him even though he is blameless, and how God will provide salvation. Like the psalm from Day 110, take a few minutes to go back and re-read Psalm 69 from Jesus’ and his disciple’s perspective.

Ryan: I doubt there’s anything that can be said about Psalm 23 (“The LORD is my shepherd…”) that hasn’t been said already, so I don’t think my adding one more paragraph will help. Instead, I’d like to pull one verse out of today’s reading to discuss: “I love the house where you live, O LORD, the place where your glory dwells” (Psalm 26:8). Of course, in David’s time, the “house” where God lived was the tabernacle, and soon to be the temple. But it was indeed a specific place where one could go and worship. Today, each believer is the house where God lives, and His glory dwells in us. Paul wrote in his first letter to the sinful Corinthian church, “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is sacred, and you are that temple” (1 Corinthians 3:16-17, emphasis added). So my question to you is, do you love the house where God lives? In an age and nation that not only permits, but often celebrates obesity, substance abuse, body modification, and sexual impurity, I’m terribly afraid that the house where God lives is under siege. Let us all work together to clean and rebuild the temple of the LORD our God.

Samantha: I almost jumped out of my skin when David said “Into your hands I commit my spirit” (Psalm 31:5). Sound familiar? The only other place that phrase occurs in the Bible is when Jesus says it right before he dies (Luke 23:46). Jews had the Scriptures memorized backwards and forwards, and how much more did Jesus know them! They applied them to every part of their lives, and this psalm that David writes is no exception. The picture is of a righteous person being overtaken by their enemies and how God will rescue, redeem, and deliver them. I went back and re-read Psalm 31 from the perspective of Jesus as he was hanging there on the cross, and I highly recommend you do the same! It is astounding (and so like the Holy Spirit!) how the words of David were so applicable to Jesus’ situation over 1,000 years after the psalm was written. They are just as appropriate to us today; this set of psalms is for anyone who is feeling cornered, betrayed, forgotten, overwhelmed, or defeated. No matter your situation, God will deliver those who love him. “Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the LORD” (Psalm 31:24).

Absalom's Monument - Source: Wikipedia

Ryan: I always feel terrible when I laugh, accidentally or not, at another’s misfortune. Having said that, the scene we read today where Absalom’s hair gets caught in the tree, causing him to be “left hanging in midair, while the mule he was riding kept on going” has to be the absolute funniest thing we have encountered so far in the Bible. This was a story I did not remember reading before today, and so was totally taken by surprise. And to read such a tale in the Bible, which we always perceive as stoic and dry, made it all the funnier. Sadly, the humor of the situation quickly fades thanks to the viciousness of Joab and his men. As if getting humiliated by getting your enormous afro (don’t forget his hair weighed about five pounds, according to 2 Samuel 14:26) caught in the tree wasn’t enough, poor Absalom was slaughtered while he was defenseless. While his death may have been warranted, David still mourned for his lost son, even if he was his enemy in battle.

Samantha: You know how sometimes when we’re in a hurry we use phrases like “so and so said that” or “and such.” Usually the person we’re talking to can figure out what we me mean by the context, but if you’re reading those phrases in writing it can be a little ambiguous. I laughed when we read the account of the battle plans today: “Hushai told Zadok and Abiathar, the priests, ‘Ahithophel has advised Absalom and the elders of Israel to do such and such, but I have advised them to do so and so.’” Ha! Was the scribe in that much of a hurry when he recorded this? What is “so and so”? That seems, um, sort of an important piece of information to have. Then, as the men deliver these “such and such” battle plans to David they say, “Set out and cross the river at once; Ahithophel has advised such and such against you” (2 Sam. 17:15, 21). Clearly the message made it through, but we’ll never know if it was because David was clairvoyant or the messengers really did give the details. 

Ryan: It seems like for “godly” men, these guys we’re reading about lately sure do a lot of scheming. I feel like we’ve already mentioned this recently, but if these men spent even half as much time consulting God through prayers, meditations, petitions, etc., as they did in plotting and scheming, things would go so much better. Try this for an exercise: count up how many times you’ve read in the past week or so that someone consulted the LORD’s advice, or bowed in prayer before the LORD, or even cast lots to discover His will. Now count up how many times someone has gone to battle, or killed someone, or tried to kill someone, or thought about killing someone. Which one of those numbers is higher? Now try this exercise: count up how many times you’ve made decisions in the past week without consulting God, or how many times you’ve taken credit you’ve done something without acknowledging the gifts with which the LORD has blessed you. So which group do you belong to?

Samantha: I felt sad for David today as he left Jerusalem a temporarily-overthrown king. It was bad enough that his own son staged a coup, but as David was traveling he was heckled by a member of Saul’s family. The heckling included insults, stone throwing, and showers of dirt (really?). David instructed his guards to “Leave him alone; let him curse, for the LORD has told him to. It may be that the LORD will see my distress and repay me with good for the cursing I am receiving today” (2 Sam. 16:11-12). This reaction immediately made me think of Jesus’ teaching in the Beatitudes: “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matt. 5:11-12). To many people this seems completely backwards–how can you rejoice in persecution? It’s all in your perspective; the apostle Paul explained how God was able to work through his weaknesses and use it to spread the Gospel. “That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Cor. 12:10). Yes, it hurts to have insults (or rocks!) hurled at you, but take them in stride because the Lord will see your distress and reward you.

As an extra treat, here is Samantha and Ryan singing A Shield About Me (from Psalm 3) as part of an acapella quartet:

Ryan: I don’t think anyone could ever accuse David of being an “armchair” Jew. He’s not one to sit back and let others do the worshiping while he sits in his pew and enjoys the view. The song that we got to read today that was recorded in 2 Samuel 22 comes straight from David’s heart, and it’s an outpouring that is unparalleled in today’s contemporary Christian music. The music we hear today–while uplifting, encouraging, and memorable in its own right–is often theologically shallow, and rarely contains more than 2 short verses and a chorus that is repeated ad nauseum. David’s song has ten long verses, filled with praise, thanksgiving, and history. I doubt that this song we read would be a top-40 hit today, but then again, I seriously doubt that any of today’s top 40 hits will be quoted 3,000 years from now either.

Samantha: Many people read about poor Uzzah and are angry with God and don’t understand why he was struck dead–after all, he was only trying to help. After studying about the tabernacle, the ark, and how holy God is, it should make perfect sense why Uzzah received the punishment he did. God was very specific on how the ark was to be transported; rings were constructed so that acacia wood poles could be used to carry it (Exodus 25:10-15). David and the Levites simply did not inquire of the Lord to learn the proper way to move the ark–they just did what they thought was best, regardless of the instructions. David took a shortcut by placing it on a cart instead of having Levites carry it. Uzzah’s death caused David to go back to the word of the Lord and read the instructions before finally moving the ark to Jerusalem (1 Chronicles 15). Today we have the benefit of having God’s word written down and easily accessible, and yet we (individually and collectively) still take shortcuts and try to obey and worship God our own way, regardless of the instructions. God may not strike us down like he did Uzzah, but we need to be on our guard because ignorance of the law is not an excuse.

Ryan: Just because someone sounds like he is a godly person, does not necessarily mean that he is a godly person. We see a great example of this in 1 Samuel 23:19-25 out of today’s daily Bible reading. The Ziphites go to Saul and essentially “rat out” David’s hiding location in Horesh, in exchange for good treatment. I seriously doubt that God would be in the least bit pleased by that action, but Saul replies, “The LORD bless you for your concern for me” (1 Samuel 23:21). I’m sure that all the people around Saul–and Saul himself–all believed they were in the right. And Saul sure sounded the part, as well; he offered blessings and curses all in the name of God. Godly men don’t issue orders to kill priests of the LORD, and godly men don’t pursue an innocent man in order to kill him out of jealousy. We encounter people like this all the time, people who use the name of God in order to further their own agenda: Shepherds who scam their flock out of their money; preachers who break the law in order to raise more capital for the building fund, etc. It pains me to have to say this, but be warned: not everyone who says, “The LORD bless you,” necessarily cares one iota about either your well being or the will of the Father.

Samantha: I think it took a lot of courage for David to not kill Saul when he had the perfect opportunity. Instead of giving into fear and selfishness, David took a completely different turn. “He said to his men, ‘The LORD forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the LORD’s anointed, or lift my hand against him; for he is the anointed of the LORD.’” (1 Sam. 24:6). When we are in a difficult situation it can be really hard to take a step back and look at the big picture. If David had only thought of himself and how much he would like to stop being hunted by Saul, then he likely would have killed Saul when he had the chance. Instead, David listened to his conscience (read: Holy Spirit) and he was able to think beyond just the circumstances of his immediate situation.

Ryan: Once each year, Samantha and I devote 12 hours (usually over the course of three different Saturdays) to the re-watching of The Lord of the Rings trilogy (extended editions). [I'm sure you've notice more than one reference to LotR if you've been following this blog very long.] In the third film, The Return of the King, Aragorn takes possession of the sword of Isildur, and in doing so, stakes his claim on the throne of Gondor. That scene played out in my head as we read through the scene in 1 Samuel 21:7-9 when David is staying in Nob. He asks the priest, Ahimelech if there were any swords or spears to be had, and Ahimelech responds, “The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed in the Valley of Elah, is here; it is wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod.” To this, David replies, “There is none like it.” In my opinion, there are many parallels to be explored here, most of which were likely not accidents on J.R.R. Tolkien’s part. For me, this is truly the beginning of David’s reign as king, as immediately after this, he amasses about four hundred men to follow him instead of Saul, and claiming Goliath’s sword as his own is tremendously symbolic of the power from the Lord that has come upon him.

Samantha: I am really thankful that David took the time to write down his songs. Rarely do we get to a glimpse of the internal feelings of a Bible character in the first person. With these psalms you see his perspective on situations, feel his anguish, rejoice in his successes, or cry with him in grief. It is easy to relate to David because he is so open about his thoughts and he shares how he talked to, pleaded with, and praised the Lord.

Ryan: Who doesn’t know the story of David and Goliath? And what could I possibly write about that hasn’t already been written before? Even people who have next to no Bible knowledge whatsoever are very familiar with David and Goliath. So what makes this one story so great that it crosses into the human collective consciousness? It is the account of the ultimate underdog–a nine-foot tall seasoned warrior is bested by a young shepherd with no armor and only a slingshot and a stone for a weapon. At some point in our lives, we all feel like “a David”, who is underexperienced and undergeared, so pretty much 100% of the human population can identify with David in this story. [There was also a movie a couple years ago called Facing the Giants, that drew heavily on this emotion as source.] The only thing that we can do  when we are in that situation is the exact same thing that David did: put our faith in God and God alone to save us. “All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD’s, and he will give all of you into our hands” (1 Samuel 17:47).

Samantha: In the Digging for the Truth episode called The Search for King David (iTunes link), Josh Bernstein looks at the story of David and Goliath and how a mere slingshot brought down the giant. An expert is brought in to demonstrate how to use a slingshot like David’s and shows the audience how even a little skill with this weapon can be deadly. The boy David no doubt practiced with his slingshot and honed his skill, which came in handy when he had to fight off the lion and bear attacking his sheep (1 Sam. 17:34-37). I always like to think that every experience we have in life prepares us for the next thing–to me this is the case with David and his slingshot. God provided the experiences and training necessary for David to be successful!

“David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him. Reaching into his bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown on the ground. So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed him” (1 Sam. 17:48-50).

[Side note: this is also a great physics lesson in conservation of energy: "If you were David, how would you maximize the kinetic energy and speed of the stone? Would you use a heavy or a light stone, and strong or weak elastic bands?" I think I would have understood physics better if we had gotten to play with slingshots in our lab!]

Ryan: Today’s five chapters of reading provides enough material to spend at least a week’s worth of blog posts discussing. I’d like to look briefly at 1 Samuel 4:3-5. The Israelites, following a devastating defeat at the hand of the Philistines, have an “Aha!” moment and realize that the reason they were defeated was because they did not have the Ark of the Covenant going before them in battle (or so they believed). They went to Shiloh, got the ark, went back to battle and not only lost the battle again, but also lost possession of the ark. So what happened? The Israelites had been victorious in countless battles when the ark was going before them, why didn’t it work this time? I believe it was because the Israelites were trying to use the ark as a trinket–a sort of “good luck charm”–without having the faith necessary to back it up. In all those previous battles, it wasn’t the ark that won the battles, but the LORD. “For the LORD your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory” (Deut. 20:4). I believe we do the exact same thing today; we will wear a crucifix necklace or put a “Jesus fish” (Ichthys) on the back of our car and think that we are protected. Like the Israelites, no trinket or good luck charm will help us. Only through a faith in our LORD will we be saved: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith…” (Ephesians 2:8).

Samantha: I was amazed at the Philistines’ reaction to the Israelites bringing the Ark to battle. “When they learned that the ark of the LORD had come into the camp, the Philistines were afraid. ‘A god has come into the camp,’ they said. ‘We’re in trouble! Nothing like this has happened before. Woe to us! Who will deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods? They are the gods who struck the Egyptians with all kinds of plagues in the desert’” (1 Sam. 5:6-8). It has been about 350 years since the plagues, and yet the Philistines knew what God had done to the Egyptians and feared the same would happen to them. What does that say about our God when even our enemies know of his deeds and fear him? What does that say about us who constantly doubt and disbelieve his promises to us?

Ryan: “If a man sins against another man, God may mediate for him; but if a man sins against the LORD, who will intercede for him?” (1 Samuel 2:25). Who indeed? Through all the many laws and decrees that we spent weeks poring through in Deuteronomy, Leviticus and Numbers, there were all sorts of offerings that could be made if one sinned against other men, or even against the will of God, but I don’t really remember any offerings that could be made on behalf of the priest himself if he defiantly went against God’s rules for serving at the tabernacle. Eli’s sons were “treating the LORD’s offering with contempt” (1 Samuel 2:17), which goes beyond some of the more “simple” sins. It would be good for any Levitical priest to remember the examples made of Nadab and Abihu, or Korah and his followers. God has little to no patience for His priests in regard to disobedience. But, as I mentioned a couple days ago, all of us today are priests, so what do WE do when we sin against God? Who will intercede for us? There is only one who is able; there is only one who is worthy. “Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for [the priests]” (Hebrews 7:25).

Samantha: Only a few times in my life have I been so upset that I felt sick to my stomach; I have never been bullied to the point where I stopped eating. I can’t begin to imagine the heartache, bitterness, and depression Hannah must have felt as a result being bullied year after year, especially for something over which she had no control. I thought it was noteworthy that she immediately felt better only after she completely poured her heart out to God. After her prayer, “Eli answered, ‘Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him.’ She said, ‘May your servant find favor in your eyes.’ Then she went her way and ate something, and her face was no longer downcast” (1 Samuel 1:17-18). The Lord has a way of filling our hearts with peace when we turn our cares over to him. Ecclesiastes says, “Go, eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine with a joyful heart, for it is now that God favors what you do” (Ecc. 9:7). Hannah was able to eat because she had released her heartache, bitterness, and depression by trusting in God. “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13).

"Death of Samson" by Gustave Doré

Judges 13-16

Ryan: The story of Samson here in the middle of Judges is like a nice little mini-novel (or novella, if you will), not unlike that of Joseph. Growing up, the only thing I knew about Samson was that he torn down some huge stone pillars and that he loved some girl named Delilah and there was some opera about it (see below). Of course children in Sunday school always learn about the donkey’s jawbone and the hair cutting, but I knew nothing of all that. I didn’t know about one of the coolest scenes in the Bible involving an angel (Judges 13:15-23). I didn’t know about Samson’s first wife or how she died. I didn’t know about how he killed a lion and then ate some honey from a honeycomb bees had started in the lions carcass (disgusting!). I didn’t know about the riddles and rhymes throughout the story (my favorite is in Judges 14:18). I didn’t know about how he tied three hundred foxes’ tails together in pairs and had them drag torches through the Philistines’ crops (one of the funniest scenes in the Bible so far, after Aaron’s “and out popped this calf!” line). And I didn’t know about how despite the fact that Delilah tried to deceive him four times, Samson relented and actually told her his secret (bright). So after reading this as an adult, what did I learn from the story of Samson? God uses some of the most colorful characters to accomplish His will. If he can use someone like Samson, he could certainly use me.

Samantha: I’ve always thought that Samson’s Incredible Hulk strength was awesome, but I was really put-off by the gore-filled kill fest (who kills 1,000 men with the jawbone of a donkey??). Reading the story again today gave me a new perspective on this story and why it is included in God’s word. For one, Samson was set apart before birth by God himself–an angel was sent to tell his parents that Samson would be a Nazarite, dedicated to the Lord. There was clearly a purpose to his life: “His parents did not know that this was from the LORD, who was seeking an occasion to confront the Philistines” (Judges 14:4). The Israelites were oppressed by the ruthless Philistines and God used Samson to free them (good thing it was Samson–he had the perfect personality to be confrontational!). While the death, lies, and betrayal in Samson’s story may seem out of character for a “man of God,” he fulfilled the purpose God had for him. We know this because he is mentioned in the faith chapter in Hebrews: “Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised” (Hebrews 11:32-33).

Ryan: If there’s one thing we’ve learned from reading these Old Testament books is that it’s human nature to want to worship something. For some reason, people just can’t stand to worship a God who is unseen (though He’s definitely more “seen” in the Old Testament days than He is today!), so they have to create objects to worship. We saw this at the base of Mt. Sinai when Aaron “accidentally” made a golden calf for the Israelites to worship, and we see it in today’s daily Bible reading, when Gideon creates a golden ephod out of the spoils collected from their kills of the Midianites (Judges 8:24-27). At this point, the “real” ephod is still with the Tabernacle, which is currently at Shiloh, if I’m not mistaken. Shiloh and Orphah are only about 38 miles apart (a two-day trip by camel), so it’s not like it would be a horrible ordeal to make the journey to the Tabernacle. But instead, Gideon and his sons are “ensnared” by this new golden ephod which the entire family worshipped. If this golden ephod were wearable (my theory is that it was fashioned like a chain-mail ephod), it would be very easy to believe that Gideon and his sons would all fight over who got to wear the ephod that day. Sadly, we do this very thing today as well; we are just as guilty of this defiance as the Israelites. Before you argue with me, let me give you three very real examples–the television, the car, the computer. I would be willing to bet that all of you can think of at least one example in which one (or all) of those things became a snare to your family at one point.

Samantha: I’m dismayed at how easily the Israelites seem to abandon the one true God in favor of inanimate idols. I read a few articles that emphasized that pagan myths were as common in the culture of their day as advertisements are to us today–both lead God’s people astray. Not having science to explain the natural world, people back then needed a way to deal with the world around them, to come to terms with death or to explain seasons. For example, people often explained the seasons using myths like the Sumerian goddess Inanna’s Descent into the Underworld, whose cult is referenced in Ezekiel 8:14. The problem is that the Israelites (at this point in our reading) still think that they can believe these pagan myths and still follow God at the same time. For us today, this is the same as letting a little sin into your life thinking that just a little sin will be ok. 

Ryan: Gideon is one of the great Bible characters that are easier to relate to–he’s just a God-fearing believer in a pagan world who struggles with his own faith. Three times in Judges 6 Gideon asked for a sign from God. All three times, God obliged with a response. God knew that receiving these signs was what it was going to take to get Gideon to do what He needed him to do. Three lessons I learned from this part of Gideon’s story: first, that it’s okay to question God and ask Him for confirmation/affirmation of our course of action. Second, God will make sure that we have what we need in order to do His will. Lastly, God is patient, loving, and forgiving. If He were not, He would not have been so willing to entertain Gideon’s requests, and would have at best found someone else to take Gideon’s place, and at worst, struck Gideon dead instantly for questioning the Almighty. There are many other lessons to draw from the account of Gideon, such as God using the weak to shame the strong, and that God only needs a spark to reignite His people’s love for Him.

Samantha: Now we’ve officially entered the Israelite cycle: obedience, falling away, captivity, repentance, back to obedience. In my brain I have always associated Israel’s falling away with them completely forgetting how to serve God. I have always assumed that because the majority of Israelites were doing evil (serving false gods) that it meant everyone had stopped sacrificing and serving God. I was amazed to read that when the angel of the Lord visited Gideon that he asked the angel to wait while he went and prepared a young goat and unleavened bread as a sacrifice to God (Judges 6:19-24). He remembered how to sacrifice! It is easy to generalize and say that because most people have fallen away it means that no one is left that remembers or serves the Lord. We need to remember that our Lord always leaves a remnant to serve him. I know we’re not there yet, but remember Elijah’s comment that he was the only one left who served God? Even though he felt that way, the Lord said there were 7,000 others who were still faithful to Him (1 Kings 19:9-18, Romans 11). Even when you feel like you’re the only one left, rest assured that you’re not alone.

Ryan: When I was a young boy, one set of grandparents always gave me a U.S. Savings Bond for Christmas. As you might expect a young child to feel, it was always a feeling of, <sarcasm>”Oh yea… a savings bond,”</sarcasm>. Since then, of course, those savings bonds have been very valuable to me and lasted way longer than any toy or even article of clothing I may have received. As we were reading through the exhaustive list of property boundaries and town and village allotments for all the tribes of Israel, I couldn’t help but think the Levites were sitting there thinking, <sarcasm>”Oh yea… we get to work at the Tabernacle as our inheritance,” </sarcasm>. All of their brothers got land, and lots of it. The Levites received the Lord as their inheritance (Joshua 13:33). Now that–in modern days–all that land has been conquered many times over and the Israelites (as a spiritual nation, anyways) no longer lay claim to any of it, now who do you think got the better end of the deal? When we feel like we’re getting the short end of the stick, so to speak, always remember the words of the Lord: “My grace is all you need” (2 Corinthians 12:9 NLT).

Source: eBibleTeacher.com

Samantha: For those of us who live in Wichita, we have a pretty good idea of the names and locations of the surrounding towns; most of us can locate Goddard, Derby, Valley Center, or Wellington. When it comes to Bible cities it is not as easy to picture them because most of us have not been to the holy land. That’s where maps like Google Earth or Bible Geocoding come in handy–they at least give us a general idea of the main cities, landmarks, and water features. Combining the map and the Bible’s specific descriptions of the areas we can map out where the tribes of Israel settled. On the map it is easy to spot the three tribes that settled east of the Jordan River (Joshua 13) and see that the tribe of Judah includes the town of Jerusalem.

Ryan: Whenever you’re leaving a job/city/church, you always have a feeling of concern about who is going to take your place, and whether they will be able to do “as good of a job” as you did. I’m sure Moses felt a little bit of that when God was showing Moses the promised land from atop Mt. Nebo. I think today’s Daily Bible Reading definitely proves that Joshua was the right man to take Moses’ place as leader of the Israelites. We read in Joshua 12 that Moses defeated two kings, while Joshua defeated thirty one. Now obviously, it wasn’t Moses’ job to defeat kings and conquer the promised land, so I’m not trying to hold that over him. All I’d like to point out is that Moses was a great spiritual leader, and Joshua is a powerful military leader. God puts into place the leaders he needs to do the exact job he wants done exactly when he wants it done. As we will learn (when we get there) from the book of Romans, “all authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God” (Romans 13:1 NLT). So, that feeling I mentioned earlier? It is in reality a lack of faith that God has a plan for your job/city/church without you in it and that He can execute His plan faithfully.

Samantha: Today we read about Joshua’s conquests of the land of 31 different kings in Canaan. One of those towns, Hazor, is giving us clues about life 1,000 years before Moses, during the conquest, during the reign of Solomon, and of the time periods up to the current date. The archaeological remains of Hazor (pronounced Hahtzor) were discovered in 1875 and has since become the largest archaeological site in Israel. In 2005 it was named a UNESCO World Heritage site. The Hebrew University of Jerusalem has a great site on the current Hazor excavations, and the PBS show NOVA has a great video online showing the excavations at Hazor and what they’ve found so far. Biblical Archaeological Review also has some good articles on discoveries at the site. It amazes me that a thriving city older than Moses is still evident today and that archaeologists can dig down layer by layer to discover elements of life during each period to see the charred layer from when Joshua had the city burned, and dig down to the layers with 45-foot high walls and a municipal water system.

Ryan: Today, I’m not going to write about something that was in our Daily Bible Reading, but rather, I am going to write about something that was conspicuously not in our Daily Bible Reading. Having just finished reading about the life of Moses and the Israelites’ wandering in the desert, it’s still fresh in my mind how many times the Israelites complained to Moses and wailed at their (perceived) impending doom whenever Moses told them what God’s plan was. When we read the account of Joshua and the capture of Jericho, however, no complaining or questioning is recorded. No “God wants us to march where?” or “We do this for how many days?” or “How is shouting going to help anything?” No, with the obvious unfortunate exception of Achen, it seemed that the people followed God’s plan and did so without complaining. (I say it seemed that way because it’s entirely possible that there was some grumbling, but for whatever reason the Holy Spirit chose not to include it in the account.) I guess we’ll chock that one up to “new leader euphoria.”

Samantha: It seems to me that the battle of Jericho was more psychological than physical combat. From both the warrior and terrified city perspectives I imagine that everyone was prepared to rush immediately into battle; Jericho was “tightly closed up” in fear of their impending doom (Josh. 6:1). But instead God instructs the Israelite army to march once around the city each day for six days and then attack on day seven. No doubt that on the first day the Israelites marched around the city the people of Jericho were prepared for the worst. But when the Israelites didn’t attack them they probably felt a bit bewildered and confused. Maybe they thought that Israel had sized them up and decided that Jericho was too much for them. I’m sure they were surprised on day two when Israel marched around the city again, expecting them to attack. They didn’t on that day, or on days three, four, five, or six. That’s almost an entire week of just marching once around the city once per day. It sounds like The Boy Who Cried Wolf; after a while Jericho got used to it and stopped paying attention, thinking that Israel might never attack. It was probably a huge scare on day seven when the trumpets (bugles) started blaring and the army and priests shouting!

Ryan: As the Israelites crossed the Jordan, they took twelve stones and set them up as a memorial, “to serve as a sign…when your children ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord” (Josh. 4:6-7). I’d like to share an example of one of our Sisters, Carla M., who used to attend the same congregation that Samantha and I do. At any point in her life when she has actively felt the hand of the Lord working in her life, she immediately finds a small, unique rock nearby. She takes that home and adds it to her collection. She then can tell her family exactly what God did for her, and that rock is her reminder of that event. I was told that she has literally dozens of rocks in her collection, and she can tell you exactly what each event means to her. In my opinion, this is a great example of using the Old Testament as our teacher, and applying what we learn from it to our daily lives. Carla and her family are a living testament to what God does in the lives of active Christians.

Samantha: I vividly remember being in Bible class when I was four years old and hanging the scarlet cord out of the window of a model two-story handmade wooden house (there were even wheat stalks on the roof!). I remember learning about the two spies and the woman that hid them on her rooftop, but is wasn’t until I read Francine River’s novella, Unashamed, that I actually thought about that woman and her perspective on life. In the book of Joshua, Rahab seems to come out of nowhere. A Canaanite prostitute who knew about the Lord and who wanted to serve the Lord was very rare at that time. She risked her own life to save the two spies because she knew that the Lord had already handed over their land to the Israelites, and she wanted to be a part of it. Unashamed will give you a new perspective on this woman, who is later grafted into the line of Jesus.

Ryan: There’s a very interesting dichotomy in today’s reading if you were paying attention. At first, God says, “Be strong and courageous…The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you or forsake you. Do not be afraid” (Deut. 31:7-8). But then, almost the entire chapter of Deuteronomy 32 is devoted to God explaining how they (the Israelites) were going to mess up and how He would punish them and “hide [His] face from them” (Deut. 32:20). This is seemingly incongruous behavior on God’s part, but mostly due to our misunderstanding of what it means to “forsake.” The act of forsaking something is permanent–the end, forever. In ancient times, it usually meant death (Jesus exclaimed, “My God, why hast thou forsaken me?” Matthew 27:46 KJV). Contrary to that, the act of “hiding” something is usually temporary, and also implies that something or someone is in the process of or in need of seeking the hidden thing. To put it in parenting terms, we all know what Hide-and-Seek is, and the child understands (when old enough) that you’re playing a game, and that you’re not gone forever, just hiding. However, when a mother puts her baby in a bassinet on the steps to Notre Dame, she’s not coming back…ever. That mother has forsaken her child. So, while it is true that God will never forsake us permanently, He will (and has) occasionally hide His face from us in order to create in us that desire to seek Him.

Samantha: There was a point, when my arthritis was at its worst, that I stopped reading God’s word. Instead of depending on it to help me to my feet emotionally, I stopped. I stayed in my “pit” for a few years before coming out (and most people had no idea because I was good at hiding it). Knowing that there would be times when the Israelites would face trials and fall away, Moses encouraged the people to, “Take to heart all the words I have solemnly declared to you this day…they are not just idle words for you—they are your life” (Deut. 32:46-47). Looking back from my perspective now I realize what a huge missed opportunity that was for me. After doing a few Beth Moore studies and now this daily Bible reading I’ve experienced how the words in this book aren’t just historical records–they are living words that can bring even the most hurt soul back to life. When you realize that God speaks to you through His word in the Bible and through the Word, His son Jesus, you’re given a completely different perspective on this life, why we’re here, and why our lives are meaningful. “For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12). God will heal you if you let Him, through His word.

Ryan: Under the heading, “Laws against false spiritualists,” there was an interesting passage about prophets whose prophecies come true but then suggest following “other gods”. It reads,

“If a prophet…announces to you a miraculous sign or wonder, and if the sign or wonder of which he has spoken takes place, and he says, ‘Let us follow other gods’…you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer. The Lord your God is testing you” (Deut. 13:1-3).

This passage lends a deeper understanding of the position of the Pharisees of Jesus’ time. If you were a Pharisee or teacher of the Law, you would know these laws inside and out. A verse like this would be ever-present in your mind. So here is Jesus, performing all kinds of signs and wonders, and saying, “follow me.” Is it really any wonder at all that they did not trust him? I’m terribly afraid that I myself would have sided with the Pharisees on this particular topic. (Granted, they were way off base on most other issues.) What do you think? If a parent tells you to not accept candy from strangers and get in their car, but then turns around and sends someone to get you who offers you candy and asks you to get in the car, would you do it? Would YOU believe the stranger if he said your parents sent him?

Samantha: Growing up on a farm, planting and harvest times were always the most stressful for our family. The weather was always unpredictable, the equipment unreliable, and more land than my Dad and Grandpa could manage. They both would be up before dawn, and not return until it had been dark for several hours. This would happen every day, seven days a week. On Sundays, Grandpa would go to church while Dad kept working, and then Grandpa would come home from church and go out to the fields to work with him. Today we read that, “Six days you shall labor, but on the seventh day you shall rest; even during the plowing season and harvest you must rest” (Exodus 34:21). Had we lived during Moses’ time, we would not have been allowed to continue working on the Sabbath. In farming, you have to work when the weather permits, or else the harvest or planting doesn’t get done. For the Israelites to stop farming required total reliance on God the provider (Jehovah-Jireh). Having a day of rest is a big stress reliever, and so is knowing that God will care for you, even if you are not working for 15% of your week. God knows that farming is dependent on the weather, and yet He still asks you to not work one day out of seven; don’t you think that He who controls the weather will tend your fields while you’re resting?

Deuteronomy 18:9-14 (Lev. 19:26, Lev. 19:31, Lev. 20:6-8), Ex. 22:18, Lev. 20:27, Deut. 13:1-5, Deut. 18:15-22, Deut. 5:11, Ex. 22:28, Lev. 24:10-16, Lev. 24:23, Ex. 22:29-30, Ex. 34:19-20, Ex. 22:29, Ex. 23:19 (Ex. 34:26), Deut. 15:19-23, Deut. 18:1-8, Deut. 14:22-29, Deut. 26:1-15, Lev. 19:23-25, Deut. 5:12-15 (Ex. 23:12, Ex. 35:1-2, Lev. 19:3), Ex. 31:16-17, Lev. 19:30 (Lev. 26:2), Lev. 23:1-3, Ex. 35:3, Ex. 34:21, Ex. 31:12-15, Num. 15:32-36

Ryan: I have heard it said that 95% of the stuff we worry about either: 1) has already happened, 2) will never happen, or 3) will happen but we have absolutely no control over the situation (i.e. death, et al.). The remaining 5% are legitimate worries (but of course, Jesus told us not to worry, but to hand them over to God, so really, by eliminating the 95% that are irrelevant, God is less inundated with inane worries). In the beginning of chapter 14 of Numbers,   the Israelites began to “grumble” about the land they were about to inherit being filled with giants and fortresses, saying “If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this desert! Why is the Lord bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword?” (Numbers 14:2-3). Now, as far as we’ve been told, no one has died by the sword since leaving Egypt, except for the three thousand that the Levites struck down for worshipping the golden calf at Mount Sinai. In fact, if memory serves, all of the deaths so far have been because someone disobeyed God or showed contempt for him. It’s easy for us armchair quarterbacks to say what we would have done in the Israelites’ situation, but I think by this time, I’d be more worried about not doing what God said rather than doing it. Ironically, in this case, their worry turned out to be a self-fulfilling prophecy, even in the words of the Lord: “I will do to you the very things I heard you say: In this desert your bodies will fall” (14:28-29a). “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?” (Jesus, in Matthew 6:27).

Samantha: I can’t wait to meet Caleb. After Daniel, he’s my favorite Old Testament person (mostly thanks to The Warrior). God himself said that Caleb “has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly” (14:24). Caleb stood up for what he knew to be right, even when the majority stood opposed to him. I can hardly imagine how utterly heartbroken, dismayed, and bewildered he and Joshua must have felt hearing his fellow spies give a bad report and the rumor-like bad news spreading through all the people. Caleb had seen God’s wonders and miraculous signs–he knew that God would be with them. I bet the sound of the people chattering and complaining was deafening, but Caleb didn’t back down; he silenced the people and tried to persuade them of the right thing to do (13:30). They didn’t listen, but Caleb still stood firmly in his beliefs. We can too, if we rely wholeheartedly on God–the same God who parted the Red Sea, who guided the people by cloud and fire through the desert, and who eventually brought his people into the land he had promised to their ancestors. God is faithful and will not let us down! Why is it so easy to give way to fear? Maybe a better question is: why are so few people like Caleb?

Ryan: Having come to a firm belief in God in my adult years, I always love reading accounts of people who resist God time after time, and then finally relent and acknowledge the fact that God exists, and that He wants to be involved in their lives. It happens many times in the Bible; the instances that come to mind are the centurion who crucified Jesus (Matt. 27:54), Saul on the road to Damascus (Acts 9), and even the people of Ninevah who were prophesied to by Jonah (Jonah 3:5). Here in the early part of Exodus, we see Pharaoh’s “magicians” replicate the staves turning into snakes, the plague of turning water to blood, and the plague of frogs. However, when they unsuccessfully try to replicate the plague of gnats, they realize that it truly is the hand of God that is responsible (8:19). There is a world out there filled with people who know about God, but are resisting him at every step. There will come a time when every single one of them will acknowledge that God reigns. The only question is, will it only be after the first or second plague, or will they wait until the death of the firstborn?

Samantha: Reading about the plague of gnats I was reminded of the day I went to my high school biology class right after someone in the genetics class the hour before dropped their fruit fly jar. Needless to say, class was dismissed until all fruit flies were captured. In that situation, we were able to just leave the room and go somewhere else. That is not the case in my current office space. No, I’m not breeding fruit flies, but my palm plant is harboring gnats. I’ve tried cleaning the leaves and stems with Ivory soap, setting out a bowl of lemon juice with soap mixed in, and other home remedies. They have worked for the most part, but there are still a few lingering gnats. They particularly like the air space around my face (or the faces of those who step into my office), and will circle just out of reach. Occasionally I’ll catch them with a quick clasp of my hand, a few have been inhaled, and one swallowed. Even just having one gnat in the vicinity annoys me to no end. That said, I cannot even fathom what the Egyptians and Israelites felt like with an entire plague of gnats! Exodus 8:17 says that, “All the dust throughout the land of Egypt became gnats.” They were everywhere, and I imagine they were so thick that it was like having dense fog hanging in the air. No doubt Pharaoh was even more annoyed that his own magicians couldn’t replicate the plague like they had the previous ones; even the magicians were convinced that the gnats were “the finger of God” (8:19).

Ryan: My how times have changed. We know that God never really approved of men having multiple wives, but He never really said “no” either (until Jesus came along). It is so bizarre to me to think about having multiple wives, even if it were permissible. Even more than that, though, is the thought of my multiple wives having their own maidservants. It is inconceivable to me that my wife would come to me and insist that I sleep with her maidservant, or to hear that my wives have done their own bartering and trading in order to see who gets to sleep with me that night. It is clear to see why Jesus reaffirmed God’s original intentions for marriage (Mark 10:6-9) when we read about the rivalries that are created among wives for the love of their husband. Being competitive and jealous over a second spouse is the opposite of love, but it would be nigh impossible for one woman to show love and encouragement to another woman who has the love of her husband. When Genesis 1 told us that God made man in his own likeness, “male and female he created them” (v. 27), it is obvious to see that both men and women each contain some of the traits of the almighty creator. When God commands that we have no other gods before Him because He is a jealous God (Exodus 20:3-5), all we have to do is to look at the relationship between Rachel and Leah to see why.

Samantha: It looks like deceitfulness runs in the family. Is it poetic justice that Jacob the deceiver was in turn deceived by his own uncle? Jacob worked for seven years for Rachel only to discover after the wedding night bliss that it was Leah. I laughed out loud at the narrative: “When morning came, there was Leah!” (29:25). Surprise! I read from several sources that Jewish weddings started to incorporate a tradition called Badekin, where the groom studies the bride’s face and then places the veil on her just before the ceremony starts, to ensure the groom won’t be tricked like Jacob.

Ryan: Whenever I read the Old Testament, I am always struck by how people respond to God or His presence versus in today’s American society. For example, when Rebekah told her brother Laban about her encounter with Abraham’s servant, Laban refers to the servant as “you who are blessed by the Lord,” and invites him into the house (v. 31). Later, when the family agrees to allow Rebekah to go and marry the servant’s master sight-unseen, the servant then bowed down to the ground before the Lord (v. 52). In today’s society, if a stranger showed up and said, “Hey, I prayed to God that if a girl came out and offered me a drink, then I am to take her to the next state and have her marry my friend,” those people would not only look at you funny, but possibly even call the cops on you. They definitely would not think you were sent from God and would also not think to kindly about Christians in general. We have come very far from being a “God-fearing” nation, and have turned into simply a “fearing” nation.

Samantha: When Abraham’s servant arrives at the spring he asks that God give him a sign to recognize the woman He had chosen to marry Isaac (v.12-14). While offering a drink of water was a common courtesy, a woman who offers to fetch water for a stranger’s camels is going way above and beyond what is expected (v.19-20). One camel can drink up to 50 gallons, and the servant had 10 camels. That’s a potential 500 gallons of water that Rebekah had to draw out of the well. I don’t know for sure, but I picture her jug holding 10 gallons. That would take her 50 trips, or 5 jugs per camel! This wasn’t a task for the faint of heart. What I also find interesting is that the servant didn’t prompt her to water the camels–he only asked for a drink (v.17). The fact that she offered and then completed the strenuous task left no doubt that she was the one for Isaac.

Ryan: I think one of the hardest things about being a Christian is the fact that I always feel like there are judging eyes watching me all the time. I feel remorseful when I do not display the love of Christ in my actions because I know that I am not being the “light” that we are called to be. In a similar manner, I do get frustrated when I see other Christians who make the rest of us look bad. In today’s reading, we see Abraham–who is “a prophet” (20:7) and “a friend of God” (James 2:23)–displaying less godly behavior than a Philistine. Abraham not only lied about his relationship with Sarah, but also instructed her to lie as well. When Abimelech confronted Abraham about his deception, Abraham made excuses (“I thought you would kill me,” and “she really is my sister”) instead of apologizing profusely and making a peace offering. No, to add insult to injury, Abimelech extended the hand of forgiveness and gave Abraham sheep, cattle, and slaves. When non-Christians and non-theists display a more Christ-like attitude than we ourselves do, we should be driven face down on the ground in humility and make a peace offering twice as great as our original sin (Exodus 22).

Samantha: Hagar and Ishmael started their journey south west toward Egypt (presumably) through the desert of Beersheba with some food and a skin of water. I’m not sure what time of year they went, but judging by their near-death experience I would assume summer, when the temperatures in Beersheba can reach 110 degrees Fahrenheit. Running out of water in the desert is a death sentence, unless you can find a well or follow the animals to one (like my Bible class did). The human body only has to lose a quart or two in the desert heat before it starts to lose efficiency and/or consciousness, and clearly they didn’t have enough water to keep hydrated. What surprises me is that Hagar had experienced God’s aid once, interestingly at a well. You would think that the woman who named God “El Roi,” the God who sees (Genesis 16:13), would cry out to Him and ask for help again. God does see (hear) and revealed a well of water for them to quench their thirst. Since they’re near Beersheba, I wonder if it was the very same well that Abraham had dug in 21:25-34?

Ryan: God is immutable and yet mutable. Genesis 18 recounts the first time (recorded) when someone intercedes on behalf of sinning people instead of cheering while God smites the wicked (a lesson to be learned there for modern Christians). God was all ready to destroy Sodom & Gomorrah before Abraham interceded and got the Lord to agree to not destroy it if He found 50 righteous people there (18:26). Of course, Abraham was most concerned with saving his nephew, Lot, and his family, but I do not doubt that he was also concerned with anyone else who might be innocent of the atrocities committed there. Abraham was even able to talk God down to ten righteous people to spare the city (he should have been a used car salesman), which still would have been enough to save Lot’s family and even future sons-in-law. In the end, though, there were not ten righteous people to be found, and God followed through with His initial plan. Even though Abraham was not able to spare the entire cities, it is truly amazing that God listened to his council enough to even entertain the idea. That is why we teach that, if it is within God’s will, you can ask Him to move mountains (Matthew 21:21).

Samantha: One of my favorite shows on the History Channel was Digging for the Truth. This show took a scientific approach to uncovering facts of archaeological myths and mysteries. The Indiana Jones-like host would travel around the world to work with archaeologists, historians, and Bible scholars as he gathered evidence and artificats about the topic of the episode. Topics included everything from the pyramids to Easter Island to the Maya; there were also several episodes on Biblical topics, including an episode on Sodom and Gomorrah. What I really enjoyed about the episode on Sodom and Gomorrah was seeing the modern day ruins in Jordan of Bab edh-Dhra and Numeira, charred remains of what could have been the actual cities God destroyed in our reading today. That area today is a barren wasteland full of sulfur, which they showed how to turn into brimstone–it’s quite flammable! There are also lots of salt deposits, being by the Dead Sea, and there is even one particular pillar that all the local children call “Lot’s Wife.” What a stark contrast to our reading from January 4th; when Abraham and Lot parted ways, Lot “saw that the whole plain of the Jordan was well watered, like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, toward Zoar. (This was before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah)” (Genesis 13:10). Today it exists as a warning to us to believe and obey God, otherwise Jesus tells us that “it will be more bearable for Sodom on the day of judgment than for you” (Matthew 11:24).

Ryan: Have you ever tried to assemble something (i.e., a bicycle, cheap furniture, etc.) with a spouse/friend/parent while trying to follow limited or poor instructions? I don’t know about you, but almost every time I have done this, it almost always ends up with a big disagreement and sometimes even some raised voices, and always frustrations. The inability to communicate definitely limits how much we are able to achieve and how quickly. Would technological advancements like medicine, radio, and air/space travel have happened hundreds or even thousands of years earlier had God not forced us to separate and use different languages? Even the Lord himself said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them” (Genesis 11:6). So why did God do this? In my opinion, so that men would be forced to rely on God and trust in Him, instead of relying on themselves. As Proverbs 3:5 instructs us, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.”

Samantha: In yesterday’s reading Noah’s son Ham showed a clear lack of respect (and maturity) and received a curse as punishment. What I didn’t realize until today was that Noah didn’t curse Ham, he cursed Ham’s son, Canaan! He effectively cursed the entire line of Ham’s descendants.  Moving on to today’s reading we see that Ham’s descendants are the very same dreaded enemies of the Israelites throughout the Old Testament: the idolatrous Canaanites that Joshua had to drive out of the Promised Land, the Philistines that taunted the Israelites until a future King David used a sling shot to defeat their giant, the Babylonians who besieged Jerusalem and took Daniel captive, etc. Even in today’s time we see the affects of that curse as the Israelies battle the Palestinians. Oh, how one thoughtless decision can have far-reaching consequences.

Ryan: Like most men, what strikes me most about the story of Noah and the flood has to be figuring out the logistics. According to the dimensions for the ark given by God in Genesis 6:15, the ark would have been roughly 1.5 million cubic feet in volume. To put that in perspective, that’s less than 25% of the new Intrust Bank Arena in Wichita. In other words, you could fit more than four of Noah’s arks inside our new tiny small-town arena that was too puny to win the bid for the men’s NCAA tournament. The only light (and air) source inside this 1.5 million cubic foot, three-story wooden box filled with thousands of animals was a small slit in the wood 18 inches from the top of the ark. Oh, and by the way, they were on this boat for over a year! Not exactly my idea of a pleasure cruise.

Samantha: My mom and Ryan’s mom are great at knitting, and I’ve enjoyed watching their projects start from a ball of yarn and become beautiful scarves, afghans, and more. I am easily impressed because I’ve tried knitting and I am terrible–I’ll get one row done only to find I can’t count or I missed a loop or two, which makes me very upset because then I have to take it apart and start over. “Why does my dishrag look like Swiss cheese?? Argh! I give up!” I wonder if that’s how God felt when he saw “how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become” (v. 5). God had made a beautiful creation, but because sin found its way in, mankind was missing a few loops and had some holes. Clearly frustrated and saddened, God said “I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth–men and animals…for I am grieved that I have made them” (v. 7). Unraveling the stitches, our merciful God kept the original (cast on) row, that he would later use to start mankind over again. Noah and his family were righteous before God and were given the privilege to re-fill the earth. (P.S. – you can now eat meat, 9:3)

Gone with the pretense of pleading with His people for repentance, God is headed all-out for destruction of Jerusalem. The faithful–ones who hear Jeremiah’s message–are asked to flee from the city and sound the alarm (v. 1). (“Raise the signal over Beth Hakkerem!” Beth Hakkerem, according to the Archeological Study Bible, is identified as Ramat Rahel, “a fire-signal point 2 miles south of Jerusalem” (p. 1195). This calls up the image of the signal fires near the end of the Lord of the Rings: Return of the King where a sequence of fires is used for communication across great distances.)

Jeremiah laments over the fact that his warning will fall on deaf ears. “The word of the LORD is offensive to them; they find no pleasure in it,” (v. 10). Oh, that times would have changed. Today, the words of the Lord are just as offensive to most people in America. Public prayer and Bible education are all but eradicated today, and the very people who accuse Christians of being “intolerant” refuse to tolerate a prayer or a lesson from the Bible. Paul encountered this very atmosphere when establishing the church in Corinth. He writes to them, “Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles,” (1 Corinthians 1:22-23). The “gentiles” of the modern era equally see the power of a crucified savior as foolishness, and are setting the stage for the fall of a modern-day Jerusalem.

God compares his people to silver ore and calls Jeremiah to be a “tester of metals,” (v. 27). The silver ore, He says, has been corrupted with bronze and iron, which do not slough off when put through the fire. Because you cannot get rid of the imperfections in the ore, the silver is then rejected; for no matter how many times you try to refine it, the corruption can not be “purged” (v. 30). The people of this time were most likely very familiar with the process of refining silver, as the Chaldeans are attributed with developing the first sophisticated refining process of extracting silver from silver-lead ores (The Silver Institute). The area between the Tigris and Euphrates is apparently very rich in silver ores; these Chaldeans (also known as the Neo-Babylonian empire) are the very people that God is describing as descending from the North to destroy Jerusalem.

Key Verse: Jeremiah 6:27 – “I have made you a tester of metals and my people the ore, that you may observe and test their ways.” (NIV)

Application for Men: Our job is far easier than that of Jeremiah. While he was charged with testing the metal of all of God’s people in Jerusalem, we have but one metal to test–our own. Our faith, refined by the fire of our trials and temptations, must be presented to God without blemish. But how do we do that, when we just learned that these imperfections remain in the ore even through subsequent refining? We must add a purifying compound. Only the blood of Jesus Christ can remove the imperfections from our faith, so that we may be wholly blameless in God’s eyes. All Christians, therefore, must be put through the fires of life to test that metal. These trials, according to the author of 1 Peter, “have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed,” (1 Peter 1:7).

Discussion Questions:

1. Describe the difference between “testing the metal” of others and testing your own. Which is easier and why?
2. What discourse do we have today with those whose “ears are closed so they cannot hear”? How is that different from the Jerusalem of Jeremiah’s time?
3. What are the imperfections in your faith? How can you address those imperfections to ensure they are covered by the grace of Christ?

Image from: www.hardwaresource.com

Six days later, Jesus takes Peter, James, and John with him up to the top of a mountain, where his appearance changes and Moses and Elijah appear to speak with him. Matthew says his face shined like the sun, and his “clothes became as white as the light” (v. 2). Peter offers to build shelters for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah, but God interrupts him and says, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!” (see also Matthew 3:17, and January 3). As does everyone else when they hear the voice of God, the apostles fall to the ground in fear. However, Jesus’ business with Moses and Elijah must have been finished already, because when he tells his apostles to look up, the other two men were gone. Having just seen Elijah, the apostles were confused because the rabbis were teaching that Elijah still has yet to come back (v. 10). Jesus tells them that he already has come — in the form of John the Baptist — but the rabbis did not recognize him as being Elijah. The same fate will befall the Son of Man, Jesus says (v. 12).

After they return to town, a man brings his demon-possessed boy to Jesus. He had already taken the boy to Jesus’ apostles, but they had been unsuccessful in removing the demon. Jesus is again visibly frustrated with his apostles’ lack of faith and understanding, and casts out the demon himself (v. 17-18). He then tells his apostles the now famous line, “if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move” (v. 20). Wanting to give his apostles a sense of urgency, Jesus again tells them that he will soon be handed over to the authorities who will kill him, but he will be brought back to life on the third day (v. 22-23).

They return to Capernaum, and the collector of the temple tax asks Peter, “Doesn’t your teacher pay the temple tax?” (v. 24), who then replies basically by saying, “of course he does!” Jesus later reminds Peter that He is the Son of God, and as His Son, He ought to be exempt from temple tax. However, just to avoid conflict, he tells Peter to go catch a fish and that in the mouth of the first fish he catches will be a coin big enough to cover both his and Peter’s temple tax (v. 27).

Key Verse: Matthew 17:20 – He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” (TNIV)

Seed Thought: Unfortunately for us, Jesus was talking specifically to his apostles when he said this famous line. Only Jesus, God, and the Holy Spirit have this kind of power that can move mountains; this power was also “on loan” to the apostles for the purpose of starting Christ’s Church, however. The good news, though, is that now that Jesus is back sitting at God’s right hand, we can ask Him through prayer that He move the mountain for us. If we have faith even as small as a mustard seed, and if — and this is the most important part — God feels that it is in His best interest to do so, He will move the mountain. Just as our faith alone can not move a mountain, faith alone is not our salvation. God’s grace allows us to be saved when we choose to be buried with Christ in baptism.

We jump now to the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, where Jesus is in the vicinity of Tyre and Sidon (whether this story happens chronologically after the previous stories is difficult to tell, since Matthew often does not remain strict in a chronological presentation). A woman is following Jesus, begging for him to heal her daughter who is possessed by a demon. After he doesn’t respond right away, his disciples suggest that they send her away. He says, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel,” (v. 24), and this woman was a Gentile; however, he speaks with her anyways. When the woman again asks that Jesus heal her daughter, he responds with a fairly harsh comment: “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs” (v. 26), meaning that he ought not be healing Gentiles when there are Jews that still need saving. According to David L. Roper (2003), he says this specifically to elicit the response that he gets from the woman. She says, “True, but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table” (v. 27). From that, Jesus commends her for her faith and heals her daughter. He purposely provoked her so that he could show his disciples the level of this Gentile’s faith, probably with the intention of showing them why they must eventually preach to the Gentiles as well.

Apparently not having found the peace and quiet Jesus was hoping for in Tyre, he heads back to Galilee (about 34 miles, as the crow flies; remember that they are probably on foot). He goes up onto a mountain and throngs of people follow him. He heals more sick people, mute people, crippled people, and blind people, and Jesus begins to feel sorry for them because they’d been up there for a long time with no food (three days!). He tells his disciples that he doesn’t want to send the people away hungry, and the disciples–who apparently have forgotten about how they fed 5,000 men plus their families not long before–commented that they didn’t have much food and they were so far away from a town that it would be difficult to get food for the huge crowd (about 4,000 men, plus women and children). So Jesus takes the food they have (seven loaves of bread and a few fish) and gives thanks for it as he did before and gives it to the disciples who in turn feed the people with it. Like before, they had seven baskets of food left over after everyone was “satisfied” (v. 37). He sends the crowd away and goes by boat to Magadan (Google Earth bookmark), where he is again greeted by the ubiquitous Pharisees.

Key Verse: Matthew 15:28 – “Then Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.’ And her daughter was healed from that very hour.” (TNIV)

Seed Thought: We are told throughout the New Testament both by Jesus and his apostles that the power of faith can move mountains. By faith, lepers were cleansed, paralytics walked, and the blind saw. By faith, Peter was able to walk on water, over 10,000 people were fed with just a dozen loaves of bread and a few fish, and people were raised from the dead. Our faith today also has power over death–if we believe in Jesus Christ and follow His example we too will be raised from the dead.

Today’s scripture reading is one of the most visually recognizable passages, especially from the New Testament. If you ask a bunch of people to name some of the miracles that Jesus performed, usually walking on water is listed right up there near the top of the list. Being that he’s the Son of God, I don’t think walking on water is that miraculous for him. What was miraculous was Peter walking on the water–let’s look at the passage:

Jesus sent his disciples out on the sea in a boat while he went into the mountains to pray. When he came down from the mountain, it was just before dawn and there was a storm that was hindering the boat from coming back to shore. Jesus walked on the water out to the boat, but the disciples got scared when they saw him from a distance–they thought it was a ghost (who else can walk on water, right?). But Jesus called to them and told them not to be afraid, and Peter was still slightly skeptical. He told Jesus, “Lord, if it’s you, tell me to come to you on the water” (v. 28). Jesus responded with just one word: “Come.” So Peter gets out of the boat and begins to walk on the water toward Jesus. He walks for a ways, but just before he gets to Jesus, the waves start coming up higher and he gets scared and starts to sink. Jesus grabs his hand and issues the now-famous line, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” (v. 31). They both go back to the boat and climb aboard, after which the winds die down and the sea returns to being calm. The disciples all worshiped him for being the Son of God.

They returned to the shore at Gennesaret and people brought sick people to him to be healed. All of those sick who touched Jesus’ cloak were healed.

Key Verse: Matthew 14:29 – “‘Come,’ he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus.” (TNIV)

Seed Thought: Most people, when discussing this passage, remark that the important part is that Peter stepped out on the water by faith. In my perception, though, Jesus didn’t tell Peter to step out on the water, he just said, “Come.” I believe that Jesus just wants us to draw closer to Him. By getting into a closer, more trusting relationship with Jesus, doing things like walking on water will be made possible to us through Him. In other words, when we are faced with large, faith-challenging decisions, we don’t need to step out on the water in faith; we just need to draw closer to Jesus in faith. He will then take care of the small details like the walking on water part.

Jesus tells his disciples four more parables, all about the kingdom of heaven. He begins by comparing the kingdom to a mustard seed (v. 31-32). The mustard seed was probably about the smallest seed that the people of this region ever used, but of course it grows into a very large plant. Likewise, according to Jesus, the kingdom will start out small (which it does) and grow to be very large (currently estimated at about 2.1 billion people in 2001, Wikipedia). Similarly, he compares the kingdom of heaven to leavening (yeast), with which one uses only a tiny amount to make a very large loaf of bread grow (v. 33).

Having assumed incorrectly that his disciples understood the parable of the wheat and the weeds (which we read yesterday), Jesus’ disciples approach him and ask him what that one meant. Since we already looked at the meaning yesterday, we won’t beat a dead horse…just read yesterday’s post.

Next, Jesus shows how valuable the kingdom is to God. He uses two illustrations–one, a treasure that a man finds in a field and sells everything he has to buy the field (v. 44); the other, a jeweler who finds the most valuable pearl and sells all he has to buy it (v. 45). Here, the treasure and pearl represent us–the kingdom of heaven (Christians). Jesus is saying that God/Son will sacrifice anything to purchase our souls because we are that valuable to Him.

On the flip side of that coin, however, Jesus tells one more parable. The kingdom of heaven is represented by a large catch of fish. The fisherman is God, who pulls up the net with all the fish, and keeps all the good fish while throwing all the bad fish into the garbage. Similarly, all of the “good people” God will keep for himself, while throwing all the “bad people” into the fire (v. 49-50).

Finally, when Jesus returned home, he went and preached in the synagogue. However, the people there were skeptical of his abilities because they assumed he was a man like any other, since he had ordinary parents and siblings and was just a humble carpenter’s son. The Jewish people were (are) expecting an earthly king who will rule on earth, not a heavenly king who builds his kingdom of people. Jesus commented that they did not believe because they were too familiar with him and his family.

Key Verse: Matthew 13:44 – “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.” (TNIV)

Seed Thought: We already looked at the meaning of this passage, but let’s look at it another way–instead of the kingdom of heaven, let’s say, “the promise of heaven” or “the hope of heaven.” Now, in the revised verse, we (Christians) are the man and we should want to sacrifice all that we have to hold on to that promise. There should be nothing more precious to us that the hope of eternal life with God our Father, and that hope should direct all of our relationships with other people.

One of Jesus’ strengths as a teacher is his masterful use of the parable. Now, the American Heritage dictionary defines a parable simply as “A simple story illustrating a moral or religious lesson” (parable). However, the Greek found in the bible, παραβολη, means a much more specific type of lesson–a metaphor, juxtaposition, or comparison (“parabole”) where we get our word for “parabola.” One of the main reasons he uses parables, as he tells his apostles, is because the people have not been given “the secrets of the kingdom” as the apostles themselves had (v. 10-11). Knowing how corrupt people’s hearts had become over the many centuries, Jesus knew he had to find better ways of reaching the people other than just straight preaching. The condition of the people’s hearts was prophesied by Isaiah (Isa. 6:9-10), as Jesus quotes in v. 14-15.

The first of the two parables is one of the more famous (especially within the church): the parable of the sower. There was a farmer who went out and sowed seed in his fields. The seed fell on four different types of soil–the path, which was hard-packed and trodden under foot (v. 4); the “rocky places,” where there was only little shallow patches of dirt between the rocks (v. 5); the thorns, where the seed would have to fight to live (v. 7); and finally, good healthy soil (v. 8). The seed that fell on the path was quickly eaten by the birds; the seed in the rocky places got scorched by the sun and withered because it couldn’t grow good roots; the seed in the thorns got choked out; but the seed in the good soil grew a bountiful crop 100, 60, or 30 times greater than what was sown there.

Jesus explained the meaning of the parable to his apostles: the path represents those who hear the word but don’t understand, and Satan snatches up the seed (v. 19); the rocky places represent the people who hear the word and joyfully receive it, but lose their zeal quickly when they face hard times (v. 20-21); the thorny places represent those who hear the word, but allow the problems of the world like materialism and pride choke it out (v. 22); and the good soil represents those who hear the word, understand it, and follow the will of God to produce much fruit (v. 23).

Jesus then tells another short parable about a farmer, this time one who went out and sowed lots of good seed into good soil. However, when he and his family were asleep, his enemy went out and sowed lots of seed for weeds. When the seed started to sprout, the servants were surprised to see all the weeds and asked their master where all the weeds came from, and whether they should pull them up. The farmer replied, no, do not pull them up–when it is time for harvest, I will tell the harvesters to first bind up all the weeds and throw them into the fire, and then proceed to harvest the good grain (v. 24-30).

Jesus doesn’t take the time to explain this parable (I guess he assumes that his apostles will understand this one). However, its meaning is probably even more obvious than the parable of the sower. The farmer represents God and the good seed represents mankind (at least at first). The enemy is Satan, who spreads lots of evil (the weeds) through mankind. However, God won’t do anything about the weeds yet. When it is time, all the weeds (evil people) will be gathered and thrown into the fire (quite literally–the lake of fire, as described in Revelation) and the rest of the good people will be gathered to heaven.

Key Verse: Matthew 13:9 – “Whoever has ears, let them hear.” (TNIV)

Seed Thought (no pun intended): I could not choose just one key verse out of this passage, because each of the soil types are the key verses that people need to learn. So, I pray that anyone who reads this blog will listen to the words that Jesus preached and figure out what type of soil they are right now. Are you the path, where the seed is quickly removed? Are you in the rocks, where you believe during good times, but turn your back on God when the heat is turned up? Are you amongst the thorns, letting worldliness choke out your love for God? Or are you currently producing good fruit, living the Word and doing God’s will?

Jesus and his disciples were out in a corn field on the Sabbath day when some of them got hungry and began to eat straight from the stalks! Apparently, some Pharisees were again following them around and got upset that the disciples were breaking the law of the Sabbath (v. 2). In response, Jesus whips out one of his favorite verses–Hosea 6:6–and says that they would not have condemned his disciples if they understood the meaning of “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” He also references a story about King David when he and his companions “broke the law” and ate sanctified bread (v. 3-4); and he also references a part of the law that permits priests that are “on duty” to work in the temple on the Sabbath (v. 5).

This time, Jesus thought he’d follow the Pharisees around a little bit (see how you like it!) and ended up at their synagogue. There was a man with a deformed hand, and the Pharisees tried to trap Jesus, asking him if it was lawful to heal a man on the Sabbath. Instead of directly answering yes or no, Jesus compares men to sheep and asks the Pharisees, “If you had a sheep that fell into a well on the Sabbath, wouldn’t you work to pull it out? Of course you would.” (v. 11, NLT). Since men are more valuable to God than sheep, Jesus argues, then it is quite within the law to help another man (“love thy neighbor”) on the Sabbath. Jesus then turned and healed the man’s hand. At this, the Pharisees left to try to devise a scheme to get Jesus killed.

Knowing what the Pharisees were doing, Jesus left that area but he continued going about healing the sick and casting out demons. Matthew points out that once again, prophecy has been fulfilled: this time from Isaiah 42:1-4, where Isaiah is talking about God’s “servant,” or, the one who does His will.

We wrap up today’s scripture with a cliffhanger–Jesus heals a man who is blind and mute, causing astonished on-lookers to ponder if Jesus is the “Son of David,” meaning the prophesied Messiah (v. 22-23). We’ll find out tomorrow what the Pharisees thought of that question.

Key Verse: Matthew 12:23 – “All the people were astonished and said, ‘Could this be the Son of David?’” (TNIV)

Seed Thought: The Jews in the first century had it easy–they could see Jesus in the flesh. They could see him walking on water, or making blind men see, or making paralyzed men walk. We do not have that luxury today, so we must put faith in Christ. It is not, however, a blind faith. The Scriptures are full of the miraculous things that Jesus said and did; it is full of proof that Jesus is indeed the Son of God. We have it a lot easier today than we sometimes think we do. We get to see Jesus every single day–through the inspired Word of God.

After the sermon on the mount, Jesus had many followers (literally as well as figuratively) who recognized his authority and power. Since Jesus was coming from the hillside and was returning to the city, the lepers were probably the first people that he encountered on the trip, since they were kept outside the city, away from the rest of the citizens. A man with leprosy approached him and asked to be healed, if Jesus was willing to heal him (v. 2). Jesus heals the man, but tells him not to tell anyone, but to go straight to the priests and show them that he was healed. During this time, a leper had to prove to the priests that he was healed before he would be allowed to live in the city again (and this almost never happened).

Next, as he nears the city walls, a guard centurion approaches Jesus and asks that his servant be healed (v. 5-6). Jesus first suggests that he go to the centurion’s home, but the guard says that he is not worthy to have Jesus in his home and suggests instead that Jesus just heal him from a distance (v. 8). Now, for verse 9, the key to understanding this verse is reading it in the New American Standard Bible. At first, I did not understand what the point was that this guy was telling Jesus that he is in command of soldiers who will obey is every command, and then Jesus, for whatever reason, was amazed by the guy’s comment. The NASB translates the first part of the verse as “For I also am a man under authority” (emphasis added), meaning that he recognized that even though he had authority to command men, Jesus had authority over sickness and even space itself, since he knew Jesus could heal his servant from a distance. So it was at this that Jesus was amazed, and commended the guy for his faith in front of the large crowd that was around (v. 10). Jesus tells the centurion that his servant is now healed, since he believed he would be.

Jesus finally makes it back into the city (so many interruptions!) and goes into Peter’s house, only to find that Peter’s mother-in-law is sick in bed. Jesus heals her and then she gets up and starts attending to them (v. 14-15). For the rest of the night, demon-possessed people and sick people were brought before Jesus, who of course healed all of them. According to Matthew, this was done in order to fulfill a prophecy about the Messiah found in Isaiah 53:4 – “Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering.”

Key Verse: Matthew 8:11 – “I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.” (TNIV)

Seed Thought: When Jesus establishes his kingdom, it is no longer true that the Jews are God’s “chosen people.” The salvation that Jesus offers is available to all people, of every race and gender, from every part of the world. Since we are now saved by God’s grace and our faith in that grace, anyone who chooses to follow Christ will be at the wedding feast in heaven.

Today’s edition of the sermon of the mount includes two main topics: “treasures in heaven” and “do not worry.” After throwing out (or at least radically altering) a lot of the old law, Jesus starts telling his audience about some more practical things for them to consider.

First, Jesus says, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth” (v. 19) since they are susceptible to destruction. Rather, He says, “store up for yourselves treasures in heaven” (v. 20). Part of the reasoning here is the old saying, “you can’t take it with you”–your earthly treasures will only benefit you on earth, and even then, only in a worldly sense. The main issue at hand, however, is found in verse 21 – “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” In other words, if your “treasure” is your job, then your heart is in your job, not in Christ. Your “treasure” is whatever you value most. Even things like your family, if they are put higher in your priority than your eternal soul, can hinder your relationship with God.

Basically, according to Jesus, it is impossible to love both God and money. He says, “No one can serve two masters” (v. 24). Either you will love money and hate God, or you will love God and hate money (and wealth). This lesson is applicable to almost anything that our modern lives afford us–God must be the first and foremost love in our life, before any luxury.

Next, Jesus describes to his audience how silly it is for people to worry about things–even food and clothing! According to Jesus, God knows our every need, and as long as we seek His kingdom first, all of our needs will be provided (v. 33). He draws comparisons between us and the birds: the birds don’t farm or store up food in warehouses and yet God provides them with food and shelter; why wouldn’t he do the same for us (v. 26)? Also, if the grass (which is here today and burned up tomorrow) is taken care, why would we not be (v. 30)?

All by itself, this lesson about not worrying about food and clothing seems a little odd, but it echoes back to the first part about our earthly treasures. The more time we spend “worrying about,” or acquiring, food and clothing for ourselves, the less time we spend developing our relationship with God. Just like we can not serve both God and money, we can not serve God if we are continually concerned with providing for ourselves, when it’s obvious that God will do it for us.

Key Verse: Matthew 6:34 – “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (TNIV)

Seed Thought: The key to living a stress-less life begins in a thorough understanding and following of the principles taught in the Bible. The Bible is full of helpful ideas on how to avoid stress: don’t worry about food and clothing (Matthew 6), be content with what you have (1 Timothy 6), “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13, NKJV), and many more. If you browse the self-help section of any of your favorite book stores on stress, you’ll find dozens if not hundreds of books trying to teach you to lower your stress level. However, all you need is one good Bible and Christ the Lord in your corner.

Jesus continues his sermon on the hillside in today’s lesson with three more rules that have gotten the Pharisees into trouble: giving to the needy, prayer, and fasting. All three of these things have a common thread–at least among the religious rulers of the time–of making sure we do these things with the right spirit (attitude) and for the right reason.

First, in giving to the needy, we are to do it secretly–not to be seen by others (v. 2). The Pharisees were known for making their charitable acts known by lots of fanfare (sometimes literally, probably) so that others could see how righteous they are. To emphasize how secretive we are to be about it, Jesus says do it in such a way so that the left hand does not know what the right hand is doing (v. 3).

Likewise, prayer should also be done in private (v. 6). They are to be kept short and to the point (v. 7). Prayer should not be done for the purpose of showing off to others–it is our primary (only?) method of communication to God. Many people use these verses to say that public prayers are wrong. However, these people obviously don’t read a little bit further, because in verses 9-13 (KJV), Jesus gives what is called the model prayer, or “The Lord’s Prayer.” If praying in public was in and of itself wrong, then Jesus would not have done it. We must judge what is in our hearts as to the reason we are praying in public.

Finally, when we fast, we are also not to “let on” that we are fasting. Don’t make a big deal of it, Jesus says; make yourself look and act normal (v. 17). Again, the reasoning is so that we receive our reward from God, not from men. Though most non-denominational Christians don’t fast today, there is nothing Biblically wrong with doing it. Fasting or not fasting is inconsequential–what matters is our purpose in fasting (1 Corinthians 7:19). God judges what is done in public and private, which means he also judges what is done outwardly and what is thought.

Key Verse: Matthew 6:9 – “This, then, is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name….’” (TNIV)

Seed Thought: First and foremost, when we pray, we must remember that we are talking to the Almighty Creator of the earth. He is worthy to be addressed with the utmost reverence and humility. God already knows what we need or want and whether or not He will give it to us. The purpose that we bring it to Him in prayer is that He sees that we are humbled before the throne. We must bend our knees (at least spiritually, if not literally) to His will before he will reward us. Through the model prayer, Jesus teaches us four things that we must pray for continuously: that His will be accomplished through us, that we receive our basic needs (not wants), that our sins be forgiven, and that we are kept safe from the testing of our faith.

In this chapter, John relays Jesus’ messages to 4 of the 7 churches: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamon, and Thyatira. According to Roper (2002), each letter does four things: it looks back to the first chapter, it looks around at the conditions of the church at that time, and it looks forward to the rest of the book of Revelation–and to the coming judgment (106). Essentially, each of these four letters begins with a quick establishment of the speaker and His authority, then continues with a commendation for what the church is doing well and what they are doing wrong, and concludes with a exhortation to obey His will and fix their problems or suffer eternal punishment.

The first church, Ephesus, had “lost [their] first love,” (v. 4). Their first love, of course, referring to their faith in Jesus and their zeal to follow Christ and spread his teachings. They had become a strong and large congregation with lots of activities. They were a disciplined church, not allowing in any false teaching (v. 6), but Jesus was warning them to return to their faith soon before judgment would be brought upon them (v. 5).

The second church, Smyrna, was about to suffer terrible persecution. Jesus describes them of being impoverished, but quickly reminds them that earthly wealth is not as important as spiritual wealth (v. 9). Several of the church members were to be imprisoned and probably put to death for “blasphemy” according to “some which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan.” Jesus pleads with them to be faithful even if it means their death and promises them that those who do will be given a crown of life.

Pergamon, the third church, is one of the more well-known of these four. Pergamon was Satan’s throne–a city corrupt with sin. The church at Pergamon was struggling to resist all of the evil that surrounded them, however, some false teachers had found their way in and were beginning to rupture the church. The Gnostic movement was in its infancy at this time, at the Nicolaitans were some of the founding members. To the members that persevere and overcome these false teachers, Jesus promises a “white stone” available only to those who receive Christ into their lives.

Finally, Thyatira, a church famous for only one of its members–Jezebel. Unfortunately, it sounds like other than Jezebel, the church had a lot going for it — “I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first” (v. 19). Jezebel called herself a “prophetess” but taught wickedness and committed adultery. Jesus promises that Jezebel, her children, and all that commit adultery with her will be put to death (sounds like no hope of redemption for them). However, he says that “the rest of you” will receive no other troubles. That’s a nice promise.

There are some who suggest that Jezebel is not a real person, rather only a metaphor for the troublesome trade unions that were in control in Thyatira. While there is historical evidence to support this, it would be a departure from the language of the other six letters. Of course, we can’t know beyond a shadow of a doubt until we get to heaven and we can ask Jesus himself.

Key Verse: Revelation 2:10b – “Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life.”

Seed Thought: Through all four letters in the second chapter of Revelation, one message is ultimately clear: if we stay faithful to Christ and overcome temptation, we will be brought to Heaven and spared the “hurt of the second death” (v. 11). It is because of these promises found at the end of each of the letters that Christians should find great joy and hope from the book of Revelation. We should also, however, find great urgency in seeking and saving those who do not yet have that promise.

So today is Acts 27–the story of Paul setting of on his journey to Rome by boat. This takes places after Paul’s third missionary journey. Paul is a prisoner of King Agrippa and he is commanded to stand trial before Caesar in Rome. He boards the ship with a guard, who later passes him off to a different ship that is headed to Rome. The Bible mentions that this guard showed mercy to Paul and allowed him to talk to his friends who took care of him.

On the new ship there were a total of 276 people aboard and it appears that Paul was still being treated as a prisoner. Along the way, Paul told the guards–in the immortal words of Star Wars–”I’ve got a baaaad feeling about this.” Of course, not long after his warning, the ship became near inoperable and they drifted for about 2 weeks, during which time they dumped cargo and riggings and just about anything else that wasn’t nailed down.

During this episode at sea, God sent an angel to Paul one night to tell him not to worry because he and everyone else on the boat would not be harmed, because it was his destiny that he be brought before Caesar. Paul relays the message to the crew and basically says, “told ya so!” But then he also tells them that they will not be injured, only the boat will be lost.

Shortly after that, the ship ran aground (quasi-on purpose) on the island of Malta. The soldiers wanted to execute all of the prisoners, but the guard that was with Paul persuaded them not to. He ordered everyone off the ship, whether by swimming or floating on a piece of wreckage. As the angel foretold, none of the 276 passengers died.

Key Verse: Acts 27:25–”So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me.” (TNIV)

Seed Thought: We have been told by the Holy Spirit what our future holds through the inspired scriptures. We can keep up our own courage, because we have faith that everything will happen just as He has told us.