Jeremiah 6

 

In this chapter, there are two points that Jeremiah brings first: that the people have ears but don’t hear, and that they refuse to hear. Often, we would be tempted to say that these are the same things, and often they are. However, I have noticed in my life that there are people who hear a truth and reject it, but there are also people who may hear something with their ears, but something in their minds prevents them from seeing the application. It’s like the gossip that hears a message on talebearing and wishes that the hairdresser were there to hear the message. The person has ears, but they don’t hear. This inability is more frequent than we want to believe. It is the mind’s defense or the ego’s defense against having to face uncomfortable truths. This is part of the reason that the Bible warns us that we can’t trust our own hearts. It is the reason we need to submit to God and one another. Without someone or something pointing out our failings, we might not see them. What we need as Christians is to have ears that are willing to hear, even or perhaps especially when it is uncomfortable. 

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Joshua 15

 In my previous Bible Reflections work, I commented on how to find a husband for your daughter. As I read through this today, nothing else is really standing out to me. Yes, I realize these words and descriptions are important for those who make maps and study deeper into the history of the region. Today, this passage isn't moving me. However, I am reminded that just because it isn't moving me today, the information in here may help me later. 

There is also a nagging voice in my mind saying, "The Bible wasn't just written for you." This reminds me that, as exciting as the Bible is, there are parts that don't speak to me as much as others, and I need to be okay with this. I am, after all, not the center of the universe. This is just another way for the Bible to remind me of that. 

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1 Corinthians 1

 "17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with wisdom and eloquence, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power."

We could focus on the fact that Paul talked about preaching the cross, which is vital, but what I want to look at is Paul's comment that Christ didn't send him to baptize. When we read Matthew 28:19, part of what has been called the Great Commission was to baptize, so what is going on? The logic here is that baptism is a sign of conversion. It is a sign that God is doing or going to do something special in the life of this person. Paul looked at the work of an Apostle was to proclaim the truth, not seek an outward sign of conversion.  Conversion came, and Paul did baptize some, but that wasn't his purpose when he spread the gospel. 

This is where later "Missionary" (I use that word loosely) missed the mark. They were focused on baptism and even forced baptisms. They didn't preach the truth and let God change the heart. They used force and coercion to make people to become converts, but not true believers. Even today, there is a push to get "converts," baptisms, and new members, but are we missing the true calling that Paul is speaking about? I think we are. We proclaim, and God does the important work. An interesting note is that in the early centuries of the church, they didn't baptize people or allow them to take communion until they finished a long catechism process.  I wonder if we would be wise to do that today?

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Proverbs 14

The wise woman builds her house, but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down (verse 1).

The faithless will be fully repaid for their ways and the good rewarded for theirs (verse 14).

In both these verses, the person gets the reward of their labor. The good will receive good, but the one who tears down will get ruin. Yes, in life, others can change what happens to us, but ultimately, the reward we get from God will be based completely on our actions. There will be no one else to blame when we stand before God, and often even in this life. We have choices to make on how we respond to bad things that may come to us, but how we respond isn't normally anyone else's responsibility; it is ours. Choose Wisely.

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Joshua 14

 

Why was Caleb able to believe then and now that God could give the land? It was because he had a different spirit (Numbers 14:24). That spirit was, I believe, the Spirit of God in his life. He didn't see things in the natural but through the eyes of the Spirit, through the eyes of faith. It was this that gave him the promise, and it was this spirit that gave this man the victory here. 

It is the Spirit in our lives today that will give us victory. Not victory in the temporal thing, but victory in the truly important spiritual aspects of our lives. Lean into the Spirit.

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Joshua 13

 

Verse 13 names cities that will become a problem later. We aren't given the entire reason that they were not destroyed, but it could have been that they were left because there was enough room for the time, and later generations were to deal with them. What I noticed, which will be a problem, is that these pagan nations aren't just living on the nation's edge but among them. This is where Israel will begin to have trouble. They will allow pagan worship and practices in their midst. In most nations today, there is an understanding of religious freedom, but Israel was supposed to be ruled by God; therefore, pagan worship within its borders was treason. Even today, there are places, like churches, where I can't help but think that pagan practices are just as bad. 

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Jeremiah 5

 God often speaks against the leaders, both spiritual and political, but here in this chapter, God is speaking to the people. The people are rejecting God. The common people aren't innocent here; they are just as corrupt as the leaders that we read about in other places. The chapter ends with the sad words:  “A horrible and shocking thing has happened in the land: The prophets prophesy lies, the priests rule by their own authority, and my people love it this way." 

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Joshua 12

 

Here are the stats in Joshua 12. One needs to realize that Moses' role as a leader was not primarily to be a conqueror, but this chapter lists the victories God did through both Moses and Joshua. Joshua wins the conquered kings stat, but at the end of the day, we need to realize it wasn't Moses or Joshua that got the victories for Israel, it was God.

God is the one who will bring victories in our lives as well. We may not have the stats others have but if we are obedient than it doesn't matter because our team, as it were, won.

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Acts 19

 

We see God using Paul to do miracles by cloth touched by him being taken to the sick and possessed by evil spirits. This is only recorded at this time; we don't hear of this later, it's an extraordinary miracle. This is done not because Paul has some magic words or knows some secret others can't know, but by the power of the Holy Spirit. In contrast, we have seven men who think they know the magic word, and it will give them power. Paul used this same name, so what is the difference? The difference is that one is part of God's kingdom and the others aren't. A Bible, a cross, a religious talisman, or even the name of Jesus won't help you if you don't have Jesus on the inside. IT isn't the cross or even the name, it is how they have changed your soul.

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Psalm 62

 There are two things we need to remember about God that the Psalmist points out: God is all-powerful, and God is Love. We, at times, might want to doubt this because of the argument that a loving God wouldn't allow this trouble in our lives. So either God isn't loving or not powerful. However, as CS Lewis pointed out in his illustration of the children's room is a mess not because the mistress isn't powerful or loving, but because the mistress in charge wants the children to learn, and leaving the mess is sometimes the only way for children to learn. 

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Joshua 11

 At the end of the chapter, the war is over for now. No, they didn't take all of the lands, but God told them not to take more than they needed at the time, and Joshua is doing as God commanded. Joshua is doing all God commanded, but now the tribes are to do the rest of the work, clearing their own territories. This reminds me of what Jesus does for us. Jesus clears the sin problem and gives us what we need to do the rest with the power of the Spirit. The Scriptures even encourage us to seek God for help when we struggle and help from others in the family of God. Jesus has broken the back of the enemy, and now it’s our job to finish up, not so that we can earn our salvation but so that we can mature in Him and be all He wants us to be. The problem will be if we don’t do our work, and then we see what happens when we look at Israel. 

We begin to see an issue here. We see now that there are some towns the tribes aren't burning down. I note this because what starts as small matters tends to lead to greater ones. This will be true for Israel, and it's true in our lives when we allow disobedience to come in, even in small areas, we will find they grow. 

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Joshua 10

I find it interesting that the same cave that the five kings tried to hide in became their tomb. This is interesting in that the Bible says that people will cry for the rocks to fall on them to hide them from the one who is to come, Jesus (Hosea 10:8, Luke 23:30, Revelation 6:16). Just as the cave didn't protect the kings they would protect those that try to hid from God. It may be that if the rock could cry out praise to Jesus, they might cry out to those hiding, as the song says, "There's no hiding place down here."

So what does this have to do with our lives? It is a reminder that there is no place where we can hide from God, not in business, nor pleasure, nor even in denying His existence, because you may find that the place you hide may become your tomb.

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Jeremiah 4

One could say that it wasn't just the false prophets who said that Jerusalem would be safe; God said it. This is true, but the part that is often forgotten and was by Judah was that the promise of safety came only as they were in a correct relationship with God. It is like someone complaining that the seat belt and airbags were supposed to save me, and it might have if you had been driving on the road instead of off a cliff. God's promise of protection doesn't cover if you're in disobedience. 

I also notice at the beginning of this chapter that God says through Jeremiah that Israel could yet be saved. One could wonder how that could be? By this time, Israel had ceased being a nation, but there was still an opportunity for its people if they returned to God. God is gracious even when all looks lost.

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Joshua 9

We see two reactions to the conquest of the promised land. The first was war just fight them. This was not a winning strategy as long as Israel was serving God. The second was deceit. This is the one the Gibeonites used, and though it saved their lives, it put them in constant slavery. Again, I point out that the one correct reaction was never tried, the surrender of their lives to follow the God of Israel. I believe this could have been an option, but no one, it seemed, wanted to chance the gods they followed to serve the living God.  

It was good to see that the people were not happy with their leaders, but I don't see that they made any changes in their leadership, which causes me to wonder if they were as disgruntled as they should have been?

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2 Thessalonians 3

 

Paul's prayer for the church was that the Lord would direct their hearts into God's love and Christ's perseverance(vs 5). Love and perseverance (knowing how to suffer), one of these is not like the other. We like one and we avoid the other, or at least the suffering part, and we should. We should want to grow in love, and we shouldn't put ourselves needlessly in places where we suffer, but suffering is part of life. The key is, as Peter taught, that we shouldn't suffer for doing wrong (1 Peter 4:15). We need help when suffering, and God will help us, but suffering causes pain even if we can persevere.

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Psalm 61

 

David speaks of an inheritance to those who fear God. He also speaks of living forever in the sanctuary of the Lord. There is no clear doctrine of eternity in the Old Testament, but words like this are a reminder that the Jews had an understanding that there was something more than this world to look forward to. It is clearer in the New Testament, but even there, God has left a mystery. I believe part of this is because though life after death brings hope, it is the life we live here that is going to set our destiny for eternity, and we need to focus on today.

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Joshua 8

 In this chapter, we see a great military strategy. However, why did God have everyone go? The town wasn't any larger than the first time, and now the sin had been removed from Israel. Consider that though the town wasn't any larger, the impact on Israel in that they had a defeat did affect the entire nation. Now the entire army would be a part of a victory. There is also that since AI had a victory, their forces would be fighting with more confidence, and a confident enemy can be harder to fight. God created a plan that armies have used to this day. When it was done, Joshua made sure the people remembered it was God who gave them the victory. 

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Joshua 7

 

This chapter can be a reminder that we face consequences because of the actions of others. However, it is also a reminder that there are times in our lives when there is something hidden in us: a secret sin or some other disobedience that is causing our troubles. It isn't that God can't help, but he won't because of our sin. This isn't God being mean. God is gracious many times despite our sins, but there comes a time when God says, "You have to deal with this." God had shown himself mighty to Israel, and therefore, Achan had no excuse for not trusting God. There comes a place when God has shown us mercy and accepts us to deal with our issues. God wants us to grow up. There comes a time when the parent says, "You have to clean yourself up," or else the child won't be able to function as an adult. God also wants us to grow up, and if we don't deal with the sin, then God teaches us the hard way.

A side note on Achan: Achan buried the treasure in his tent. It is logical to assume that everyone in his family knew he did this, and they said nothing. Therefore, it may be logical that though they didn't steal the treasure from God, they were accessories after the fact, which even in our system of law makes them guilty.

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Jeremiah 3

 In verse 5, there is an idea in Judah that God will always let them return and just let their past misdeeds go. There is truth in this, but the problem is that they aren't leaving their misdeeds. They are trusting that, because they can always return that they can continue in sin. God isn't pleased and says that even Israel wasn't as bad as Judah is now. Israel, the northern kingdom, which never had a good king, is counted as better off. Yes, there is an opportunity for the sinner to be forgiven, but that is if they repent, which means changing direction. Judah at this time didn't want to.

God promises Israel who he says he will bring them back to him that he will give them shepherds after His own heart. This is a great promise for a people who never had a king like that. God will give them a chance to be saved. God is merciful.

Joshua 6

 The Bible says no one went in or out because of Israel. If you knew an overpowering enemy was coming, why not get out of the way? Why not do what people do even today and leave? Why not, if you knew God was stronger, convert? Surrender? Only one nation came close, which we will see later, and they were not destroyed. The rest knew God was going to win and did nothing. We can't answer because we don't know, we weren't there, and we have no record. We can only wonder.

When does God want you to work on the Sabbath? Easy when He tells you to, but is that what is happening? The concept we see here wasn't that they were working, but God was going to do the real work, so in reality, they weren't disobeying.

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2 Thessalonians 2

The Bible says here that God will send them delusions so they will believe a lie. How can a loving God do this? In other places, God seems to push those who want to sin deeper into their own deception. Why would God do this? First, we need to realize that these people God is talking about are like those in Romans 1:18-32; they want to believe a lie. They have rejected light and have embraced darkness. God sends them as the Greek (the original language )would translate a "working of error" or "energy of delusion." God gives them what they want. These aren't people who are good but are what God would call reprobate, or apostate. The world might look at them and say they're good people, but God knows the heart. God is passing judgment. 

So why? Could it be that by believing the lie and going all in, as it were, this will show others the error of their ways? I have heard reports that the acts of radical Islam have caused many in that faith to question it and come to faith in Jesus. The barbarity of Hitler's eugenics program changed most of the world's thoughts on that subject. The abuses in the church show how bad people with absolute power can be. These people who have been given over want to go this way, and God says okay, but then he exposes the sin as what it is. 

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Psalm 58

 I like how the New Living Translation says verse 1, “Justice- do you know the meaning of the word?. The truth is in ourselves, we don’t. Every step towards justice and equity in the world finds injustice and inequity being lived out. Does this mean we shouldn’t strive for it-No? No. What it does mean is that as humans, we can’t get it right. We think we know what justice is, but we often fall far short. This is why we need God. We need him to show us when we are wrong and what we can try to do to make it right. As is said in proverbs, a righteous person falls seven times and gets up, so when we find we have done wrong,g get up and try again. 

Joshua 5

The children of Israel crossed the Jordan in enemy territory, as it were, so what does Joshua do? Completely incapacitates the army. If we remember back in Genesis 34, the sons of Jacob were able to take over an entire town because the men were recently circumcised. Now, on the edge of battle, Jacob does this. Why? My answer is because it is better to be physically weakened and obedient to God than physically strong and disobedient. It is far safer, as Jesus put it in Matthew 10:28b, "be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell."

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Joshua 4

 

Everything changes when God gets involved. Joshua had been picked as leader, but it was with the crossing of the Jordan River that God gave Joshua the respect in the eyes of the people that they had for Moses. This crossing, a true miracle, caused the people to fear God again in a new way and to spread fear among the enemies of Israel. Joshua had a position, Israel had an army, but now God, by his action, elevated those things into a place where they could do something that would otherwise be impossible.

I have heard it said that God only gives you the supernatural grace/power you need when you need it. As one pastor said, you don't need martyr's grace until you are a martyr. You don't need a supernatural grace or power to do something you have the strength to do. The downside to this is that you may wait to act until you get some power, but it isn't coming because you have what you need. We need to pray, but there is quite often just a need to do or to at least try. 

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Jeremiah 2

 In verse four, God asks a rhetorical question, which I will translate into “Where did I blow it that you had to look elsewhere for help?” Later, God asks again, and I will translate, “You weren’t slaves, so how did you become one?.” The answers are that God didn’t mess up; they did. 

Later, God points out that Israel claims they are faithful, but their actions prove otherwise. He goes on to compare their actions to a she-camel in heat. Once confronted, Israel says, “It’s hopeless for I love foreign gods and I have to go after them.” They were saying, well, as it were, I’m born this way, I can’t help it. They weren’t God brought them out of Egypt and showed them with mighty deeds just how good he is. The problem is that this is what they want. Unfortunately, things haven’t changed much.  

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Joshua 3

 

Joshua is democratic in this chapter. Joshua, instead of just choosing twelve guys, like he chose the two spies, asked the twelve tribes to pick a man each for them. Their role will be seen in the next chapter, but what I see is that there are times when God and God's leaders choose, and there are times when God or God's leaders say, You choose. I'm sure that I could try and guess why this time was okay for the tribes to choose and the other time it wasn't, but really, we aren't told. This reminds me that there are times I understand what God is doing and He makes it clear, and there are times He doesn't say. We need to be okay with this and enjoy the times God says, You choose. 

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