Proverbs 6

There are so many good things to find in Proverbs it is a wonder. For today, I want to look at what it says about finances. The first piece of advice is to not be a cosigner for anyone. The advice is to do nearly whatever you must to get yourself out of the deal. It likens one who is in this position to a gazelle running from a hunter. It reminds the person to work hard like the ant, without having to be spurred on to do its work. It warns those who are lazy about this that poverty will overtake them like a thief. Some would separate the warning about consigning and being lazy they go together well. 

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Exodus 13

The firstborn son is considered special in ancient society and even in places around the world today. Yet, God commanded Israel that the firstborn was to be consecrated to God. This served as a reminder that God brought the Children of Israel out of Egypt. I believe God's plan was also to teach them that no one was to depend on themselves. God commanded days, years, animals, and here their firstborn to be considered God's. The one they needed to depend on was God; not themselves, their time, their property, or their children. The problem was they often didn't learn the lesson. 

Exodus 12

 

God opened the door for all to partake of the Passover in Israel. You didn't have to be born of the Children of Israel. You could be a foreigner just visiting. However, there was a catch, you had to be circumcised. In other words, you had to agree to the covenant God made to Abraham and in a few chapters agree to follow the Mosaic Law. 

Why would God do this? Part of the reason is because you shouldn't celebrate the God you refuse to serve. Another reason was to show this commitment to the God of Israel you had to be willing to suffer (and adults did) circumcision. Before we think this is another example of the God of the Old Testament being cruel, remember that Paul warned those in Corinth that some of those who took the Lord's Supper unworthily were sick and some died. I Corinthians 11: 27-30, "Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. Each one must examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep." It isn't that the God of the Old Testament is mean. It's the fact that the God of the Bible believes that one shouldn't show commitment to God if they aren't really committed. 

REJOICE!?

“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. Matthew 5:11-12

As I look around at the world today, I have to admit that I don't obey this command as I should. I am offended, angered, and fight an urge to lash out. Yet, I know it won't do any good so often I don't. However, I'm not where I should be. I should be rejoicing.  When people around me mock Christianity I should rejoice. When we are lied about we should consider it an honor. Those in authority lied and falsy accused Jesus and later His apostles so why should I think I deserve respect? 

Will I celebrate the actions or support them? No, and neither did Jesus but He also wasn't offended either. He told his disciples to just move on when rejected at a place. Jesus didn't call down fire but wept over the coming destruction of those who would kill him. Jesus loved his enemies, and so should I.

Someone may point out that Elisha cursed the young people when they mocked him. Yes, but even then Elisha didn't cause the bears to come out that was God's doing. Here Elisha was saying because of their actions evil would come upon them. If they had stopped and repented then, as I see scripture, no bears would have come out, but like most of Israel when they heard the warning of curses coming for their sins they ignored it until it was too late. This brings me back to what Jesus did, left it in the Father's hands. He could have called 12 legions of angels and didn't. I think it's good that God hasn't given me that power, because I might have and regretted it later. 

So what do we need to do? Follow Jesus. Don't be offended, rejoice, love, and pray. 

Thankfully it's not something I have to want or enjoy, but it's what I need to do.

Isaiah 30

Verses 6-18 God speaks to Egypt. This is an interesting could be considered a strange development as Egypt was the place that Israel had to be delivered from. Yet, God is saying that they aren't wanting to listen. He says that they will face judgment, and then God says He will show them compassion. What a God we serve. Could it be that God wanted Egypt to come to God even while he was delivering His people? I think He did. God isn't interested in condemning people though He will, but in saving them (2 Peter 3:9, Ezekiel 33:11, 1 Timothy 2:4). 

Job 25

This is the final argument that Job's friends make against him. Bildah now moves from general charges about Job's personal sin to a general argument against all mankind. Bibldah says that no one is born perfect or sinless. This must in his mind still Justify his charge that everything that has happened to Job is Job's fault. It reminds me of those who rather than condemning others are trying to justify themselves and say, no one is perfect so don't judge me. That argument is just as weak as this one. 

Yes, Bildah is correct no one is born perfect before God. We all are born with sin, but Job as we have read in the first chapters has offered sacrifice for those sins and God said he was blameless. Of course, Bildah wasn't privy to the conversation between God and the Devil but we know and can accept it. We aren't told but perhaps Bildah is reading his own life and sinfulness into the life of Job. Whatever his reasons Job's comforters once again don't convenience Job he deserves what has happened to him as we will see. 

Acts 5

I find it humorous that when the Sadducees publicly jailed the apostles, God freed them and then had them preach in the Temple, the center of their power. It was enough to make them murderous. However, they had killed Jesus and it seemed that decision didn't stop His message, so it makes sense to me why they listened to Gamaliel’s advice. Advice that sometimes Christians need to listen to. Yes, there is a time to confront false teachings, we see Paul and the apostles doing that in the Epistles but there seems to be this human reaction to "shoot first and ask questions later." So let's learn from this sometimes the right thing to do is to wait. If it isn't from God it will eventually fail.  

Psalm 24

To the anarchist, every form of order is tyrannical and to be fought against, except one's own. I have read and heard much from people who say that God is a tyrant.  However, I have to wonder if this isn't because they are reading their own heart into the heart of God. History shows us that humanity is rarely fair or just especially when they get power. The same forces that were calling for equality now since they have power demand dominance and exercise the same abuse they claimed (and sometimes correctly) were used against them. To use an illustration from Hunger Games, they have become the capital and now want their own version of it. However, in the Scriptures, God always gave mankind a choice. The key was if you were going to follow Him there were conditions as mentioned in this chapter about having clean hands and pure hearts.  

Yet this scripture points out that God made it all so by all rights it is his. He could use force but rarely does. Oftentimes, the forces he uses are none other than the results of the bad decisions those who reject Him make.  So though some may say God has no right to expect anything from us. At the end of the day what God expects isn't following rules but a choice if we're going to follow Him or ourselves. That's pretty fair considering everything belongs to Him anyway.

As far as anyone who wants to say God throws those in hell who disobey. There is evidence that hell is less a place where God torments us and where we may be our own tormentors. That is for another post.

Exodus 11

In the middle of God's preparation for the final league and the Passover preparations that will be associated with it, there are a couple of lines where we are shown how God has elevated the people of Israel and Moses. Yes, Pharaoh is fed up with Moses but the people of Egypt and even Pharoah's advisors have a great respect for Moses. The people are ready so now when the Children of Israel ask to borrow all of their gold and silver articles, they freely give them. 

This has been called the Plundering of Egypt and in one way that is exactly what it will be. After the final plague, the people of Egypt aren't worried about getting anything back they just want Israel gone. God has uniquely made sure that Israel was paid for all their years of slavery. Scripture teaches that the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just (Proverbs 13:22 and others), and here we see that promise in action.  

Some may wonder why we don't see God doing that now. My simplified answer is that God isn't ready to take us away. Our sojourn in the Egypt of this world isn't over yet and God's final judgment hasn't fallen. The day will come. It most certainly will. 

Exodus 10

 

Come in, now get out.

Pharaoh has Moses and Arron come into his presence but just as God warned Moses Pharaoh's heart is hardened and after having them come in in verse 11 Pharaoh has them driven out. There was no waiting God told Moses to stretch out his hands and the winds began which brought the locust Moses had warned Pharaoh about. 

An interesting note is that the wind brought the locust and in the end, the wind took the locust away. 

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Isaiah 29

God doesn't care about your words or deeds if your heart isn't in it. It is like a husband or wife coming home from an affair, which the spouse knows happened, and says I love only you and brings a box of chocolates. The problem isn't with the action of bringing flowers or the words of affection, the problem is the attitude of the heart. God points out that the people have been saying the right things and doing many of the right actions but their hearts aren't in it. The people of Israel are in love with other gods. The question we have to ask ourselves is, "Where is my heart?, Do I really love and serve God?"

 

Job 24

 God's time or ours?

In the first verse, Job is asking why God hasn't set a time to give out justice. The answer is God has set a time. The problem, of course, is that it isn't when we want it to be. Job is assuming that because he doesn't see it, it's not coming. We may think we want God's judgment now but the truth may be that we may be just as lacking as the people we believe deserve it. The problem is we may not see our own issues.

 Perhaps, the wise thing to do isn't to wish for God's judgment on others but to ask him to show us our own problems so that we can stand before Him when judgment comes?

Though there is much complaining about God not responding it is interesting that at the end of this section, Job says that though some appear to be secure God will bring them down. Here I see Job still showing his trust in God though he has questioned why things happen the way they do.

Acts 4

 "Should we obey you or God?"

The answer seems obvious, we obey God. However, the problem comes out when there are conflicting answers when both parties claim to be listening to God. Normally the Sanhedrin could have just said we hear from God through the Scriptures. The problem with this claim was the healing which they could not deny and more importantly to them, the people couldn't deny. The miracle was a sign that God was working and to top it off the Apostles were quoting the very scriptures they claimed to follow. So what do they do? Here, they passed the buck by making a threat and hoping the Apostles would just go away. The Apostles had all heard from Jesus and so knew they were right in sharing the truth of Jesus and they did.

What does this have to do with us today? The problem I see is that there are many people out there claiming to hear from God. This verse could be used to justify that they should listen to what they think rather than anyone else. However, this verse isn't claiming that we need to follow the inner voice that we think is God. It is saying that we should obey God. When judging what to follow we need to see if what we think we hear is actually from God. I won't list everything or all proofs, books have been written on the subject and this is just a small post. 

First, is what we are hearing in context with Scripture. If it doesn't line up with scripture, then you can easily dismiss it. Also, how has the church in general, throughout history, looked at this issue? Does what you think you are hearing or what others are claiming line up with the character of God? Character doesn't mean that God may have commanded something like it. Wiping out an entire village was something God commanded but there were reasons, but it wasn't something that his character would have enjoyed (like a cop shooting a shooter to save lives). Finally, what do other spiritual leaders you know say. This final one can be tricky because we can find "spiritual leaders" to say anything we like (the quotes here indicate that they may be called that but not really it). 

Once the command/will of God is determined then the chose is clear though it may not be easy. Actually obeying God is rarely easy but then doing anything that makes a difference or calls for excellence never is easy. 

Psalm 23

 

There are times when we look at this Psalm and get a picture of ease. I know, I have. Green pastures, Still waters, eating at a table, these all are pictures of ease so isn't Christianity a life where we will be at ease all the time according to this Psalm? 

NO!

Look again, I see a shepherd (someone else owns me), a valley of death (maybe we are passing through but why not avoid it?), a rod (correction?), a staff (what? I can't go my own way), enemies in front of us (just wipe them out, why not), goodness and mercy following (sorry, I want them with me always) and speaking of following I will dwell in the house of the Lord (why not my own place now?). 

Now that I look at this Psalm, this isn't a paradise where everything always goes well. It is a promise of a Good Shepherd who will ultimately give us what we need, with his peace and presence now. This looks a lot more like what Jesus promised. Jesus promised suffering, enemies, and death but with it his presence, peace, love, and a better world to come. 

Exodus 9

 

It has been said that foxhole prayers rarely leave the foxhole. This is so true. People in a place of danger, like hiding in a foxhole during a battle, will cry out to God but once things clear up, they return to doing things they always did. This is what happened during the plague of hail. Pharoah cried out for deliverance but once it was received he returned to being stubborn. This is a lesson to us as to what not to do. Don't promise God something in a time of distress you wouldn't give up when times were good. 

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Exodus 8

 Q: When do you want the miracle?

A: Tomorrow.

When I see this conversation lived out in verses 9-10, I always ask myself, Why? Why wait? If I see something I would like to have done especially if people are suffering then I want it as soon as possible. Pharoah didn't. Pharoah wanted God to bring deliverance from the frogs tomorrow. My only guess is that if something happened immediately then he couldn't deny it, but by putting the miracle off for a day maybe he could tell himself it wasn't God it was just time for the frogs to die? I don't know but then how often do humans do things that don't make sense when it comes to dealing with God. More often than we may think. 

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Isaiah 28

 God teaches each person the right way (vs 26-29). God knows the difference and knows that some need a gentler hand and others need a stronger one. Like different grains, people need to be trained with different methods. God it is said knows what each person or group needs for them to become what they need to be. There have been times I personally thought, I don't need to learn this or there has to be an easier way, only to see later that for me it needed to be that way. I needed to learn the hard way sometimes but thankfully not all the time. God is the great teacher and sometimes the lesson is for us and sometimes for those around us but God always uses the correct method.  

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Job 23

 

When I read Job's words I can't help but think of what seems its opposite in Psalm 139. 

JOB:

If I go east, He is not there, 

and if I go west, I cannot find Him.

When He is at work in the north, I cannot behold Him;

when He turns to the south, I cannot see Him.

Psalmist:

Where can I go to escape Your Spirit?

Where can I flee from Your presence?

If I ascend to the heavens, You are there;

if I make my bed in Sheol, You are there.

If I rise on the wings of the dawn,

if I settle by the farthest sea,

even there Your hand will guide me;

Your right hand will hold me fast.

If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me,

and the light become night around me”—

even the darkness is not dark to You,

but the night shines like the day,

for darkness is as light to You.

 To Job, it seems that he can't find God but the truth is God is there. Job doesn't realize it or feel as if God is there, but that doesn't change the truth. Just because we, like Job, don't feel God's presence or see Him working doesn't mean that he isn't there. All it means is we don't see Him. We might be in the dark, but God isn't. The beautiful thing about Job is even though he doesn't see God and in fact fears God, Job still trusts Him.  

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Acts 3

 So why did God raise up Jesus? According to Peter in his sermon in this chapter, it was to turn us from our wickedness or as some translations say from our sinful ways. The people had wanted deliverance from their oppressors but what they and most today don't realize is that the greatest oppressor we have in our lives is our own evil ways. It is the broken human spirit that is our greatest oppressor, not an outside person or the society around us. This is why Jesus came to save us from ourselves. 

Yes, there is a place for Christians to work for justice, but if we don't work at changing hearts with Jesus then we will only create a different type of oppression. Also if we only worry about trying to change the hearts of others and not let Jesus change us then we have failed. There have been a great many people who have taught, fought, and given freedom to others only die without it themselves. There have been others who have fought to bring freedom only to impose a different type of slavery. At the end of the day the only freedom that really last is what Jesus brings inside the hearts of those who surrender to him. He gives freedom from our own brokenness. 

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Psalm 22

 

God has done it. This is the resounding victory chant at the end of the chapter. However, it isn't pretty during most of this chapter. The beginning sees the psalmist crying out and in the middle surrounded by enemies. Yet, still, God does his work. This chapter is a picture of Jesus and what I notice is though God does make it all right in the end the method we know God uses goes through death. Jesus was raised from the dead but he still had to face the torture and the grave. God delivered Jesus as he will us but often it is through a door we may not want to face. Ultimately everyone will face death some quietly, some without pain, and others like Jesus in great pain. God's path to victory isn't always, in fact it is rarely, the path we would choose but if God is on our side we will win.

The truth about life is that it is hard for everyone. The pagan, the Christian, and the atheist will all face difficulties and death. The difference for the Christian is that we have hope that God will like he did with Jesus, turn our defeats into victories. For the Christian death isn't the end but only a door to something far better. 

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Exodus 7

 There are two ways I have found that people look at the beginning of this chapter where God tells Moses that Moses will be made like a God to Pharaoh. The first is that Moses is going to be seen as a god, in the same way Pharaoh was thought of as a god by the people of Egypt. The second is that Moses would be seen as God's ambassador to Pharaoh. This second one is more palatable to those who can't see God lifting up someone to the place only He is to be in even if it's in the eyes of a heathen king. Either way, God is telling Moses that Pharaoh is not greater than you and eventually Pharaoh will see Moses as greater than himself. I appreciate that God is reminding Moses that he has nothing to fear.  

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Exodus 6

Exodus 6: 9-12 Moses reported this to the Israelites, but they did not listen to him because of their discouragement and harsh labor. Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go, tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the Israelites go out of his country.” But Moses said to the Lord, “If the Israelites will not listen to me, why would Pharaoh listen to me, since I speak with faltering lips.

"One of these things is not like the other" goes the old saying. We see that here in this section of Scripture. Moses goes to God to say that since Israel didn't listen Pharoah won't because of his faltering speech. However, the reason Israel did not listen had nothing to do with Moses' speech. It was Israel's discouragement that kept them from hearing Moses not his way of speaking.  The connection that Moses is making is a false one. However, he is bringing it to God as if it is perfectly logical. It isn't but then how often do we use false logic to keep us from doing what is right? 

God doesn't point out Moses' faulty logic he deals with Moses' complaint by giving him a helper, his brother, to speak for him. How merciful of God. 

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Isaiah 27

 In verse four it speaks of the day to come that God will have no anger towards his people. Throughout the Old Testament, we see God angry at his people because of their disobedience and the wicked in particular. God is going to know in this time not going to have any anger. The problems/sin in His people will be gone and now the blessing that God prepared for man in the garden of Eden will be lived out. What a day that will be, as the song says. 

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Job 22

 At the beginning of this chapter, Eliphaz asks Job if God needs a person. Though this is given as a rhetorical no, I have to wonder if he is wrong. Yes in the Psalm the Psalmist asks what is man that God would be mindful of him but then goes on and says that God has decorated man with glory and honor. Jesus gave his life to save mankind. God does many a wonderous work just to save a single person which Jesus illustrates in the parable of the lost sheep. 

In the purest sense. Eliphaz is correct. God doesn't need people. He doesn't need to have them be righteous to uplift Him in any way. He definitely doesn't need us to give out judgment. The amazing thing is that God wants us. He is pleased when we live right and he does promise Hid faithful that they will help Him judge and rule.   

I have been saying that most of what Job's friends say is true but applied incorrectly. Here however I have got to say that No, Eliphaz you got it wrong. 

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Acts 2

 What did the early church do? In verse 42 it sums up that they learned doctrine, had fellowship, took communion (breaking of bread), and prayed. Nowhere in the rest of Scripture do we hear that these four things are not important. In fact, these four things are spoken of often. If ever a person claims to be a Christian stops participating in these four things then I believe there is a spiritual problem in their life. It is interesting that though two of these can be done on our own, prayer and doctrine, the early church did these activities as a group. Nowhere do we get the idea of solo Christianity in the New Testament. This is one of the reasons John Wesley believed in social holiness. We need each other if we are going to be all God wants us to be. 

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Psalm 21

 Here in this chapter as is mentioned and in other places it says that God will wipe out the descendants of the wicked. If for anyone who reads the Bible, knows God promises not to hold the sins of the fathers against their children. So what's going on here. 

In the pure sense of the word a descendant is the biological child of the parent. However in the past and still in many places today a descendant is not just the biological child but the one who carries on the actions and attitudes of the parent. In fact, in many cultures when a child deviates from the actions and beliefs of the parent the child is considered no longer part of the family. Considering this a descendant of the wicked is one that continues to carry on the wickedness of their parents. They continue to cause trouble and continue to bring evil into the world. God is saying that those descendants in other words those who continue to do those things will be stopped. God is saying wicked this will not continue forever. God isn't saying that genocide is the right attitude but that those who live wickedly like those who came before them will be dealt with. 

When looked at this way, what is promised is Hope. It is the hope of a better day where the wicked will not continue. When we get to the Gospels we'll see God will wipe out the descendants of evildoer, in a different way by changing them and making them children of God. He will make them his descendants and no longer the descendants of evildoers.

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Exodus 5

It isn't clear if that was his intent but Pharoah's command to take away the straw brought division between Moses and his people. I believe that was his plan but this reaction is common. Bring division between the people and their leader and you have probably ended that leader's influence. The lesson I want to learn from this is don't complain against the leader if they are taking you where you ought to go. Change is difficult and if the leader God has given is leading it then there will probably be times that are harder at least at the beginning.

 I like something Benson Commentary on the Old and New Testaments says about the Israelites' complaint against Moses. It pointed out that the one called by God should expect not just complaints from enemies but from "unthinking friends."

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Exodus 4

 For one to be a part of the tribe of Israel at this time was circumcision for the man. The sons of Abraham understood this and used it to enact a plan of revenge. This practice was passed down through the Abraham family and was most probably known by Moses as well. How could God send him to be His lawgiver when he wasn't even obeying this command. The reason some scholars believe this happened at this time was because it was the eighth day after his second son was born. Whatever the reason God relented bringing death to Moses when the child was circumcised. 

For most modern readers, it seems that there should be more explanation. However, for the Israelites who understood the importance of this act, it would have been very clear. Moses was going forth to try and lead Israel without making his child part of Israel.