Psalm 24-26

2009-01-16T08:01:00.000-08:00

Here's a classic piece of scripture from the Psalms (24:3-4):

"Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD? And who shall stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully."

I love how this scripture points to Jesus. There is no one on earth who has clean hands and a pure heart, but through Christ I can ascend the hill of the Lord and stand in His presence. Christ is my righteousness.

I sort of feel like that idea is hammering me lately. Jesus is my righteousness. I am not righteous, but I am able to stand before the Lord because Jesus is my righteousness. I'm having a hard time accepting that, because I feel so sinful and selfish. It doesn't seem possible that Jesus' righteousness could stand in place for all my sin. I need to believe this truth.

This is a prayer I have prayed countless times. Apparently David and I have something in common (25:4-5):

"Make me to know your ways, O LORD; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long."

I don't know if David has any measure of desperation here, but I definitely feel such emotions when I read this. It feels like a desperate plea to me, because if God does not teach me and guide me, then I am completely and utterly lost. David even comes back to this idea in verse 8, which is very encouraging:

"Good and upright is the LORD; therefore he instructs sinners in the way."

David hopes the Lord will teach him, and also knows the Lord is good and will therefore instruct him. Seems there's a bit of tension there.

What a refreshment it is to read the Psalms after coming off of Isaiah. There's so much judgment and prophecy in Isaiah, and the Psalms tug at my heart a whole lot more. I hopefully can intersperse some days with the Psalms amidst reading other books.

Isaiah 62-66

2009-01-12T14:19:00.001-08:00

Isaiah 62-66

62:10 sounds like a song I used to play once upon a time

:"Go through, go through the gates; prepare the way for the people; build up, build up the highway; clear it of stones; lift up a signal over the peoples."

I like this little blurb about the nature of the Lord (66:1):"Thus says the LORD:

"Heaven is my throne,
and the earth is my footstool; what is the house that you would build for me, and what is the place of my rest?"

I'm really not absorbing much today.

So I'm now finished with Isaiah. So I'm now finished with Isaiah. There were definitely some cool things in the book, but it was also a difficult read. It's hard to process chapter after chapter of woes and judgments and prophecies. It might be a good book to come back to read in smaller chunks, with the help of some good reference materials.

Isaiah 56-61

2009-01-09T08:24:00.000-08:00

Isaiah 56-61

57:16 is an encouraging reminder about who God is, about His nature:

"For I will not contend forever, nor will I always be angry; for the spirit would grow faint before me, and the breath of life that I made."

It's good to know that God is patient and loving, always returning to grace even amidst punishment and wrath. I'm thankful that Jesus has ultimately satisfied God's wrath in my life.

After reading Matthew, I'm still fresh on the ways in which the Pharisees conducted themselves, and that seems to also be represented in Isaiah 58 (3-4):

"'Why have we fasted, and you see it not? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you take no knowledge of it?' Behold, in the day of your fast you seek your own pleasure, and oppress all your workers. Behold, you fast only to quarrel and to fight and to hit with a wicked fist."

Whether OT pharisees or not, it seems like people always try to use something noble in order to gain something for themselves, of they cling to some trivial act of righteousness while ignoring their myriad of other faults, attitudes and behaviors. I know I do this. Yet, this is not what God wants from me! He wants something more (6-7):

"Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?"

God wants to use us to benefit the people in our lives, to help those who can't help themselves. God's heart is for the needy! I shouldn't fast to display my own holiness or discipline to the world, but to do something real with such an act, like using the food I would have eaten to feed someone who has no food. By doing this, God will strengthen and provide (11):

"And the LORD will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail."

For some reason, this verse makes me think of the life of Mother Teresa. Her age kept increasing, yet she seemed strong beyond her years, able to serve and minister to the poor beyond what most people would deem necessary. I think God was in her bones!

It looks like things have not changed all that much in the last couple thousand years, based on 59:4:

"No one enters suit justly; no one goes to law honestly; they rely on empty pleas, they speak lies,"

This sure sounds like the world I live in. The implication here is that filing suit or going to law is not in itself a wrong thing. It sounds like the Israelites were pursuing this avenue in dishonest or self-seeking ways.

Today's reading ends with a passage familiar to me (61:1-4):

"The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; to grant to those who mourn in Zion— to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he may be glorified. They shall build up the ancient ruins; they shall raise up the former devastations; they shall repair the ruined cities, the devastations of many generations."

Jesus has come and this passage is fulfilled, and Jesus is not yet come again and this passge is not yet completely fulfilled. I can't wait to repair the devastation of many generations and do the work of God's kingdom in a completely restored creation.

Isaiah 51-55

2009-01-08T10:00:00.000-08:00

Isaiah 51-55

Chapter 51 seems to be a call of the Lord, proclaming that the time of Israel's suffering is at an end (22):"Thus says your Lord, the LORD, your God who pleads the cause of his people:

"Behold, I have taken from your hand the cup of staggering; the bowl of my wrath you shall drink no more; and I will put it into the hand of your tormentors,"

Isreal must have really been feeling it, because the whole chapter gives a pretty vivid description of God and his power.

Chapter 53 is an incredible prophecy about Jesus. Some things that stood out to me:

"his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of the children of mankind" (52:14)

This parallels with what I read in Matthews. It's hard to think about Jesus enduring this kind of torment.
"he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him." (2)

At best, there was nothing remarkable about Jesus, nothing that would point him out as divine. Heck, maybe he was straight-up ugly, by human standards. I think at the least, though, he was just another guy, and your probably wouldn't think twice about him when you looked at him.
"But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all." (5-6)

What a powerful statement. His suffering brought us peace, despite the fact that every single person goes astray, and is sinful.

I really like Isaiah 53. It is very powerful.

I think I might have found the most incredible verse in all the Bible (55:2):

"Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food."

YES. I can definitely live this one out. In fact, I think I already do. Of course, I don't think this is really talking about just meat and potatoes, but still...

The last piece that I latched onto for today's reading was 55:10-11. It's really encouraging to me, that the truth of God's word is powerful and does not return empty:

"For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it."

God has won, and his word shall do what He purposes it to do! That takes a lot of the burden off me to "make" people believe that what God says is true. If God purposes His word to help someone believe, then it will happen!

Isaiah 45-50

2009-01-06T12:24:00.000-08:00

Isaiah 45-50

Isaiah has been a difficult book to read. Sometimes, though, I find some real gems (46:3-4):

"Listen to me, O house of Jacob, all the remnant of the house of Israel, who have been borne by me from before your birth, carried from the womb; even to your old age I am he, and to gray hairs I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save."

What an incredible proclamation God makes about his own goodness! God has made all things, and He will bear me throughout life, carry me, and save me. From womb to tomb, God will protect me and be with me. There is not a moment that goes by that God does not do these things for his people!

This is also encouraging to me (46:12-13):

"Listen to me, you stubborn of heart, you who are far from righteousness: I bring near my righteousness; it is not far off, and my salvation will not delay;"

At many times I feel this way, that I am at an opposite end from holiness and righteousness. Yet, this tells me that God brings HIS righteousness to me, and that He brings me salvation. Indeed, because Christ has come and my life is in Him, He IS my righteousness. Hundreds of years before Jesus came, God promised that He would bring salvation, and he did.

This section reminds me of Ethnos (49:13)

"Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth; break forth, O mountains, into singing! For the LORD has comforted his people and will have compassion on his afflicted."

There's been a lot of pain in my community. But I think we all need to shout praise to the Lord, because he has seen us, heard us, carried us, saved us, and comforted us. It's easy to see in the Old Testament the heart that God has for His people, and that continues until today. Again (49:15-16):

"Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands;"

It seems just about impossible for a mother to forget about her nursing child, but even if that DID happen, the Lord would still not forget his people. We are so close to His thoughts that it is as if we were engraved on His own hands!

God has an incredible love for His people. What would my life look like if I lived in light of that?

Matthew 26-28

2009-01-05T08:15:00.000-08:00

Matthew 26-28
The culmination of Jesus' ministry draws near, as he prepares to be crucified. It's kind of interesting that Jesus states that one will betray him (26:20). Yes, Judas is the betrayer, but it seems like just about all the disciples up and betray Jesus after he is arrested. At the least, they certainly don't come to his defense during his trial.

In any case, in the Matthew account, Jesus seems to name Judas as the betrayer before taking communion with his disciples (26:25). That seems a little strange. Wouldn't that case a little bit of a disturbance at the table? Wouldn't the other disciples be in an uproar at this news?

The prayer of Jesus in Gethsemane I think shows an extremely powerful picture of humanity of Jesus (26:36). He knew what his death would entail, and he knew the pain and shame he would suffer. How many times have I prayed that God would take something from me, that I would be able to avoid the pain I was feeling or knew would come? Yet, Jesus doesn't just end with such a prayer. He prays for God's will more than his own. That's probably the area I need to work on.

It's difficult for me to even read the account of Jesus' torture and crucifixation. Even after several years, The Passion put the crucifixation in a whole new light for me. I have not yet been able to watch the movie a second time, as it sits on my shelf unopened. Yet, the images and portrayal of Jesus' death are so easily accessible in my mind that it seems I just saw it yesterday. My gut clenches to think about what the God of the universe had to endure on my behalf. There is such joy that results from Jesus' rise to life and his power to grant salvation to his people, but the act of crucifixation itself is heart wrenching. It's really easy to read these passages in Matthew 27 in a casual manner, but knowning exactly what these few sentences encompass greatly reminds me why Jesus is the God that I follow. There is no other man or god in all of history that endured the most brutal event imaginable for me, my family, and my friends.

Yet, Jesus is alive and has been given all authority, as the closing chapter of Matthew shows. He has risen, and just as he was sent into the world, we are also sent into the world to make disciples. God's kingdom is established on the earth, and is also still not yet come. Jesus has not yet returned, so the "age" that Jesus promises to be with his disciples continues even until today. He is risen, alive, and with me! Now I just need to go.

Matthew 23-25

2008-10-13T09:58:00.000-07:00

Matthew 23-25

I think Jesus is about to open up another can on the Pharisees. The more I read the Gospels, the harder time I have understanding ultra-conservative or legalist positions. It's pretty clear of what Jesus thinks of those who would put regulation before people. That being said, I thought this statement was interesting (23:1):

"Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, 'The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat, so practice and observe whatever they tell you— but not what they do."

Seems here Jesus has a way to acknowledge the validity of the OT law while also condemning the Pharisaical interpretation of said law. The Pharisees understand the law and preach it, but they do not live it in the way God intends. Pride was the context of their life (23:5-8):

"They do all their deeds to be seen by others. For they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long, and they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces and being called rabbi by others."

Note: phylacteries means "either of two small, black, leather cubes containing a piece of parchment inscribed with verses". Had to look that one up.

Jesus continues to absolutely rock the Pharisees. I heard a great sermon from Rob Bell on this verse (23:23):

"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others."

The Pharisees were so meticulous that they tithed a tenth of their spices, but they missed those other minor details like JUSTICE and MERCY. Whoops. Again, though, Jesus shows that their attention detail wasn't necessarily wrong. They just should have lived out discipline amidst a love for people. Yet they didn't, and it's worth noting that because of this Jesus declares they are in dire affliction. When Jesus says "Woe to you", you'd better be paying attention, as demonstrated in 33:

"You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell?"

Tough words. Seems like this would be enough to get the Pharisees riled up enough to crucify Jesus, as he represents a direct threat to their power structure.

Chapter 24 starts delve into that surreal realm of eschatology that makes very little sense to me. I don't think now is the time to delve into this more deeply, but there are a couple things I want to latch onto:

"But the one who endures to the end will be saved." (13) - This is what matters most to me! I think I generally need to know that there will be false prophets, and that they may perform signs and wonders, but they are not Jesus. Despite the world turning end on end, Christ is what I need to build my life on, even until the worst of times.
"For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man." (27) - This is how to know when Christ is come! I've often imagined what it will look like when Jesus returns. I doubt I can really visualize it, but I think it will be something so incredible that it will leave no doubt in any person's mind. I remember watching some terrible Christian movie about the end times. It was a horrible movie, but I remember really liked the effects shot at the end of what the return of Christ could look like. I can't wait for the day when this comes to pass.

And what does it all boil down to? What matters most when the final verdict is cast? The answer is in 25:34-40:

"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.' Then the righteous will answer him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?' And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.'"

This is the life of a righteous person. It is in stark contrast to the preceding passages about the hypocricy of the Pharisees.

Judges 17-21

2008-10-06T14:17:00.000-07:00

Judges 17-21

So, there's obviously some break here, as Judges 16 was all about Samson. 17 opens with a story about Micah, and there seems to be some assumption the reader already knows what's going on. Apparently this man Micah's mother lost some silver, Micah returns it to his mother, and his mother makes a metal image out of the portion of it. Micah sets up a shrine with the image, dons some priestly garbs, and ordains his son. A Levite stops by and joins in. Where's the Kool-Aid? This sounds bad.

So, in 18 the Danites invade the land, and they take all idol and robes and such. They lure the Levite away with the promises of being a priest to a larger flock. Micah's ticked, so he gets a possee together to try to overtake the Danites, but realizes he will be defeated. The Danites go on to burn an unsuspecting city to the ground and set up shop there with the idols in tow.

The story seems to end here, and I'm pretty stinkin confused. I read this in a commentary:

"Micah and his mother were sincere in their intention to honor God. But their faith was blended with a sad amount of ignorance and delusion."

That's sad, and it's something that bothers me. How will I know if I'm being ignorant to truth? I guess I just need to keep invested in the Bible.

If that story felt weird to me, this one feels even weirder. A Levite decides to take a concubine. The concubine is unfaithful, and goes away to her father. The Levite pursues the concubine to reconcile with her. His father-in-law, the girl's father, greets him warmly and feeds and houses him for several days. Each day the Levite tries to leave with his concubine, the father-in-law convinces him to stay. The Levite finally takes leave, travels, and stops at a city for the night.

Entirely similarly to the story of Sodom and Gommora, men come to the house the Levite is staying at and demand him to come out. The Levite refuses, but instead gives them his concubine. The gang absolutely destroys the woman, and she crawls to her master's doorstep and dies. Then the Levite finds her the next morning, chops her up into 12 pieces, and sends those pieces throughout Isreal, a la Braveheart.

What. The. Heck.

I have no idea what this means. A few notes from commentary:

It was lawful for the Levite to take a concubine
The law prevented the Levite from reconciling with his wife, but he pursued her anyways
The father-in-law was overjoyed at the idea of reconciliation between the Levite and his daughter
The Levite ignored his servant's advice to stay the night among aliens instead of his own countrymen, which turned out to be a huge mistake
There was no government during this time, so the Levite resorts to drastic measure to arouse indignation among his own people

Okay, so that's a couple more details. The story continues in 20.

All of the people of Israel come out to meet with the Levite. The Levite explains the situation to them, and seems to omit the part where he freaking VOLUNTEERED his wife in place of himself. Trivial details, I guess. In any case, all the Israelites gather together and decided to light this town up. The Benjaminites refuse to give up the men who committed the crimes, so they bring about 26,000 men to challenge Israel's 400,000. The first wave of the Israelites gets slaughtered, and God tells them to fight again. Second wave is slaughtered. God tells them to try again. The Israelites set an ambush and they prevail.

The Israelites seem to be remorseful about the whole situation. Even though the tribe of Benjamin was sinful and corrupt, there was still sadness over the death and war. The Lord orders the Isrealites to ransack a group who did obey the summons of the Lord. The Israelites kill the whole group except the virgin women, and give the virgins to the tribe of Benjamin as a peace offering. Then the Benjaminites go and steal some other women for their wives.

Man. I really don't understand a lot of this. Maybe all I need to know is how the chapter/book ends with a huge understandment:

"In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes."

Man is corrupt and when left to his own devices destroys and murders and rapes and committs all kinds of atrocities. There is an obvious need for a savior.

One thing that also confuses me is that the Lord has very little to say throughout these two stories. He addresses the people during battle, but there is not much from the mouth of the Lord condemning the idol worship, rape, war, poor choices, etc. I guess if there is no king or prophet in Israel, then the Lord is probably mostly silent. I don't think I understand all this, though.

Romans 15-16

2008-08-05T07:30:00.000-07:00

Romans 15-16

These chapters wrap up the book of Romans, so there doesn't seem to be a ton of teaching.

I think 16:17-18 is important:

"I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive."

I see this all the time, and I see people get sucked into it all the time. I hope I never do. I want the Gospel to remain pure in my life. I want the Bible to be the loudest and most authoritative teacher in my life. I think relativism is lot more ingrained into our culture than I previously realized. I want to hold absolutely true to the Bible. Maybe that makes me a fundamentalist or a dogmatic. I don't care. When I see the risen, glorified Christ, I want him to be pleased with my life. I'm not interested in pleasing everyone else (okay, maybe Ciara).

Romans 16:25-27:

"Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith— to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen."

Amen indeed!

Judges 12-16

2008-07-22T10:18:00.000-07:00

Judges 12-16

This judge was a busy man (12:8-9):

"After him Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel. He had thirty sons, and thirty daughters he gave in marriage outside his clan, and thirty daughters he brought in from outside for his sons."

After a bunch of small time judges, we finally get into some meat with Samson. The story starts out in typical fashion for Israel (13:1):

"And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, so the LORD gave them into the hand of the Philistines for forty years."

Samson is also of miraculous birth (13:3):

"And the angel of the LORD appeared to the woman and said to her, "Behold, you are barren and have not borne children, but you shall conceive and bear a son."

Samson is the ultimate man. Ultimate because he does manly things like rip lions to pieces, and ultimate because he does none of it on his own strength but on the Lord's. However, what in the WORLD does this verse mean (14:6)?

"Then the Spirit of the LORD rushed upon him, and although he had nothing in his hand, he tore the lion in pieces as one tears a young goat."

Okay, how in the world is this a valid analogy? Who goes around tearing young goats apart? This verse made me chuckle out loud. Some things I read in the Bible just seem humorous to me. Does Samson regularly tear young goats in two? Is that something easy to do? One commentary mentions that maybe Samson didn't literally tear the lion to bits, but strangled it and tore its throat out, which would probably be easy to do with a young goat. This is is implied by verse 8, where the carcass of the lion now holds honey. Still, this is just a funny image to me.

Samson's wife sounds like a real winner, whining and crying and bitching at him to reveal the secret of his riddle to her people, and then betraying his confidence when he finally yields and tells her (14:1-18). I'd love to do a more detailed study of the story of Samson. At first glance, it seems like an extremely bad idea for Samson to have married a Philistine, but apparently it was the Lord's doing (14:4):

"His father and mother did not know that it was from the LORD, for he was seeking an opportunity against the Philistines."

At the least, Samson killed a bunch of Philistines to hold up his end of the bargain for those who had solved the riddle.

In 14:19-20, there are some subtle things going on that are easy to skip over, that I discovered from commentary:

"In hot anger he went back to his father’s house. And Samson’s wife was given to his companion, who had been his best man."

The idea of Samson going back to his father's house was more than just a walk over to cool off. It signifies that Samson essentially seperated himself from his wife, and that she was free to marry another, which she did so to one of Samson's friends. This is important because it gives Samson a reason to exact vengeance upon the Philistines. They have wronged him, and his wife has wronged him.

Things get even worse in chapter 15. Samson's anger eases, and he goes to see his estranged wife seeking reconciliation (1). His father in law won't let Samson enter, explaining that he gave Samson's wife to the wife of Samson's companion, and instead offers Samson his younger and more beautiful daughter (2). Such marriage are immoral based on Jewish law. Now Samson is righteously pissed, and ties foxes together with torches and lets them run through the Philistine fields (3-5). The Philistines found out that Samson did it, and in retaliation burn his wife and father in law to death (6). Samson takes them down, makes an escape and hides, which brings even greater wrath down upon the Israeli people (7-10). The Israelites bring Samson to the Philistines, and Samson becomes filled with the Spirit of the Lord and proceeds to kill about a thousand guys with a friggin' donkey bone (13-16).

What a huge mess. I'd say Samson has some pretty high grievances with the Philistines. It's good to remember that all this is happening so the Lord can bring his wrath upon the heathens.

Chapter 16 tells the familiar story of Samson and Delilah. For some reason, I had not previously put together the fact that Samson had a wife before Delilah, and that the two are seperate.

Genesis 28-31

2008-07-21T08:55:00.000-07:00

Genesis 28-31

This demonstrates what we like to call "progress" (28:11):

"Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place to sleep."

Jacob makes a vow after his dream in 28:20-22:

"Then Jacob made a vow, saying, 'If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear, so that I come again to my father’s house in peace, then the LORD shall be my God, and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God’s house.'"

Are these types of statements good and correct? Why don't we make these sort of statements today? I don't hear much teaching or prayer about "If you will do this for me, God, then I will follow you". Maybe because of what God has already done through Christ?

This seems ridiculous to me (29:23-25):

"But in the evening he took his daughter Leah and brought her to Jacob, and he went in to her. (Laban gave his female servant Zilpah to his daughter Leah to be her servant.) And in the morning, behold, it was Leah!"

Dude. I mean, come on. Were there any marital ceremonies? If so, you would think Jacob would know who he was being married to. If not, then what the heck? Obviously there is something cultural going on here:

"for it is still the custom in some eastern countries for the bridegroom to go to bed first, and then the bride comes, or is brought to him in the dark, and veiled, so that he sees her not"

Okay. Maybe. But still? I mean, it seems like if there was a noticeable physical difference between Leah and Rachel, Jacob still should have known what was up.

Chapter 30 is a crazy mess of drama, with Rachel and Leah competing for Jacob's affections by trying to bear him sons, and giving Jacob their female servants to take as wives and bear children when they weren't up to the task. There's obviously a ton of jealousy, hatred, resentment, and escalation. I think God knew what he was talking about when he created marriage to be between one man and one woman. I can't imagine what a nightmare it would be to be surrounded by multiple wives bickering, fighting, gossiping, and undermining each other.

Then, chapter 30 ends with Laban once again trying to deceive Jacob, by striking a deal with him for Jacob to retain certain types of cattle, and then removing said cattle and sending them away. Jacob gets around this, but I'm getting the sense that Laban is not a very nice guy. He decieved Jacob into marrying Leah before Rachel, and Jacob has spent a ton of years working for the guy. Isn't Laban supposed to be Jacob's family? Why is Laban treating Jacob this way? Obviously, there is an element of greed, because Laban recognizes that the Lord blesses Jacob and in turn himself. Still, though, this isn't the way family should treat each other. Maybe there's a lesson here about staying away from complicated relationships between family members (i.e. involving money, loans, dual roles, etc)?

Jacob finally takes off in 31, Laban pursues him, and they come to some sort of agreement about mutual non-aggression.

Matthew 20-22

2008-05-19T09:05:00.000-07:00

Matthew 20-22

I'm not sure I understand the parable in 20:1-16. My first inclination is to agree with the workers. It doesn't seem very fair that the workers who labored an hour would be paid the same wage as the workers who labored all day. What I take from this is that God gives grace to whoever he chooses, that God's grace and favor is solely dependent upon His will and has nothing to do with what we do and do not do. If that's the point of this parable, then I'm not sure I understand why the workers are grumbling, and how that fits in. Maybe the point is that everyone got a denarius, a day's wages, and everyone was taken care of. The person who works hard and is faithful should be just as thankful as the person who receives from God by grace alone.

In 20:20-28 I think that I can get a glimpse of the way Jesus was setting the Jewish culture on its head. The Pharisees were all about piety, discipline, and hierarchy. The Pharisees believed their devotion to the law made them great, and that their devotion to purity and cleanliness made them holy. Jesus came to say that the greatest will be the least, and that those who desire greatness in the kingdom of heaven must become a servant. I don't think that the Pharisees could have comprehended this. I don't think they could have exchanged their way of life for the bonds of servanthood. In this passage, though, Jesus is using a teachable moment to show his disciples the new way to live.

I feel lost reading some of the parables in chapter 21, but the parable of the tenants is kind of funny to me. I mean, it takes a while for the Pharisees to get a clue. They seem to understand the point Jesus is making with his parables, but it's not until the end that it finally dawns on them that Jesus is speaking about them.

It's easy for me to look back at the Pharisees and be amazed at their seeming ignorance. I worry, though, about the ways I'm a Pharisee in my own life. I wonder about the ways that God is speaking to me clear as day and I'm too self-absorbed or ignorant to hear his voice. It kind of freaks me out. I don't want to be like these guys. I don't want to be hardhearted, and I don't want to miss out on things that Jesus would teach me. I wonder if it's possible to really be completely aware of who you are in light of who God is.

That thought sort of feeds into the parable of the wedding feast, in 22:1-14. God is throwing a feast, and he invites all his servants, but some refuse to show up. Not only do they refuse to show up, but they hinder others from showing up as well. This parable makes some sense to me, until I get to 11-14:

"But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment. And he said to him, 'Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?' And he was speechless. Then the king said to the attendants, 'Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' For many are called, but few are chosen."

What in the world? I don't even understand what this means. Where did wedding garments come into the picture? Why does this man need one? Why can he not explain why he does not have one? How did he get into the feast in the first place without one? Why is he tossed out when it seems there was an invitation for all to come to the feast? I don't understand.

22:29-30 is interesting:

"But Jesus answered them, 'You are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God. For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.'"

I'm about to get married, and by the grace of God I hope to live a long and happy life with my wife. I hope that I can learn how to love and care for her, and I hope that I can learn who she is. After a lifetime of that, I feel like it would be incredibly sad for those bonds to be broken. It seems weird to me that God would make marriage such a sacred bond on the earth, but then remove it for eternity. Perhaps marriage is meant to represent the relationship between us and God while on earth, and in eternity we will have that relationship with God directly? I'm sure God has a purpose to this design, but as of now it makes me sad to think that I won't always have this type of relationship with Ciara.

I have to confess that it's sometimes very difficult for me to study the Gospels. Some of the parables that Jesus teaches simply do not make sense to me. There is a huge gap of time, place, and culture between me and the teachings of Jesus, and so I'm sure that these parables don't grab me the way they would have grabbed the original hearers. I think that's probably why much more of my Biblical study has been in the Epistles. I guess I just need to settle in and try to wrap my head around what Jesus is saying.

Romans 13-14

2008-03-14T14:08:00.000-07:00

Romans 13-14

I think plenty of people would probably take issue with the beginning of Romans 13 (1):

"Let every person be subject to the governing authorities."

Some of our leaders don't seem to be too popular these days. I still am shady on how 13:1-7 works. It seems like their are some truly horrible governments and leaders on this planet. Should a person submit to those governments? There's really no qualifications given to what types of governing authorities we should submit to. Does that mean all or them, or is the assumption that we should not submit to a government that conflicts with Biblical truth? Seems David honored Saul, but Daniel broke the law (hey, that rhymed). Where's the balance?

I wonder if the law really is this simple (10):

"Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law."

I wonder if maybe God gave us the law to practically show us what it means to love someone else. Would we be capable of anything if God just said "Love people"? It seems like, if this commandment fulfills the whole law, then most of the rest of the Bible is unpacking that statement.

I think Paul speaks to things like the alcohol debate in chapter 14 (2-3):

"One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him."

I think judgments in either direction are detrimental. It's unfortunate when people outsource their personal preferences and convictions as theological principles everyone should apply and follow. However, this is held in tension with the second idea of chapter 14 (21):

"It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble."

Our personal liberties and preferences should not come at the expense of the people in our lives, because Paul stated earlier that we should love people and do them no wrong. If our personal freedoms compromise our brother's ability to live a life of righteousness, then our love for our brother trumps our freedom in Christ to engage personal liberties.

Matthew 17-19

2008-03-13T09:15:00.000-07:00

Matthew 17-19

I don't really know much about the transfiguration, I'm realizing. I don't understand the significance of it, or what part it plays in Jesus' life on earth. I don't understand the significance of Jesus talking with Moses and Elijah. However, I can only imagine the scene (17:2):

"And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light."

I've been thinking lately that the Biblical writers tried pretty hard to paint a visual image for their intended readers, but I think what they actually saw was vastly more glorious than they were able to put into actual words. I feel the same way about John's descriptions in Revelation (A sea of glass? I mean, really, what the heck does that mean?).

What's also interesting to me is that all this craziness is going on, but as usual Peter has the nerve to walk right up to Jesus and talk to him (4):

"And Peter said to Jesus, 'Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.'"

I mean, seriously? Jesus is transfigured, and he's talking with dead people, and Peter just walks right up and asks if anyone wants to have a camp-out? It says in verse 5 that Peter is still talking until God himself speaks from a cloud and puts him and the other disciples on their faces. It seems like the guy is either completely ignorant or has got some huge...well... you know.

In verse 12, Jesus confirms the significance of John the Baptist's ministry:

"But I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they pleased. So also the Son of Man will certainly suffer at their hands."

The response Jesus has in the next section is really one I don't understand. I've seen this response in a couple other places, and I don't get it. A man comes to Jesus to ask for healing for his son, who is demon possessed. The disciples were unsuccessful in casting out the demon. Here is Jesus' response (17):

"And Jesus answered, 'O faithless and twisted generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him here to me.'"

When I first read this, my initial response is that Jesus is annoyed, pestered and impatient. I get the sense of "Geeze, I'm tired of all this. Bring him over here already". If his comments are addressed to his disciples and not to the man asking for mercy, then it still seems a little bit far from the compassionate and loving Jesus I expect. I would assume that the fisherman disciples didn't cast out many demons prior to hanging out with Jesus. I'm sure I'm missing some context, but at first glance Jesus seems just a tad bit harsh.

Maybe 18:5-6 speaks to, say, a child molestor?

"Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea."

Maybe, maybe not, but I think it's pretty clear that Jesus loves and values children, so I think we should likewise value kids.

I'm really struggling with 18:35 lately:

"So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart."

I've never before been in a place where I've been hurt so deeply by someone I completely respected, looked up to, and wanted to model my own life after. I'm having a really hard time forgiving. Even more so, I'm having a really hard time finding a balance between forgiving, protecting myself, not letting myself be used or mistreated, and withholding trust until trustworthiness has been demonstrated. The fact remains, though, is that Jesus wants me to forgive my brother. I just don't know how to do it yet.

This section in Matthew kind of feels like a mishmash of teachings, on a variety of topics. I thought it was interesting that it seems Jesus deems divorce acceptable in the context of sexual infidelity (19:9). It seems like in the church (or maybe just at Ethnos), there is a pressure for such marriages to work through these types of issues and not end in divorce. Maybe that's a good thing, but it seems a little weird since Jesus is saying divorce is allowed when adultery is committed. I can't imagine what it would feel like to be told you need to stay in a marriage when your spouse has broken the most sacred bonds of that marriage.

Isaiah 34-44

2008-02-11T14:21:00.000-08:00

Isaiah 34-44

Well, there's a nice, cheery passage to open the reading today (34:2-4):

"For the LORD is enraged against all the nations, and furious against all their host; he has devoted them to destruction, has given them over for slaughter. Their slain shall be cast out, and the stench of their corpses shall rise; the mountains shall flow with their blood. All the host of heaven shall rot away, and the skies roll up like a scroll. All their host shall fall, as leaves fall from the vine, like leaves falling from the fig tree."

Anyone who doesn't believe that God won't condemn anyone to hell hasn't read the Old Testament. The wrath of God is a real and terrible thing. There is no one who hates sin more than God hates sin.

Being a prophet must have been a terrible job on a lot of days. I mean, stuff like this is not really beating around the bush. Sometimes people have a way with words that make things seem less abrasive or direct than they really are. Not so with God.

Isaiah 36 contains a lot of words, people, and places that don't really make sense to me. I am getting a general idea of Assyria invading Israel's lands, and then of Assyria trying to convince the Israel people that God will not deliver them, in light of the fact that no god of any land has been able to stop the Assyrian army (18). In chapter 37, God full-out rocks the Assyrians and strikes down 185,000 of them (36).

Chapter 38 opens with an illustration of the power of prayer. The story as follows (1-7):

"In those days Hezekiah became sick and was at the point of death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him, and said to him, 'Thus says the LORD: Set your house in order, for you shall die, you shall not recover.' Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD, and said, 'Please, O LORD, remember how I have walked before you in faithfulness and with a whole heart, and have done what is good in your sight.' And Hezekiah wept bitterly. Then the word of the LORD came to Isaiah: 'Go and say to Hezekiah, Thus says the LORD, the God of David your father: I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Behold, I will add fifteen years to your life. I will deliver you and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria, and will defend this city. 'This shall be the sign to you from the LORD, that the LORD will do this thing that he has promised..."

This is pretty crazy to me. It seems like, at first, God has told Hezekiah what WILL happen. There's really not room for debate, yet Hezekiah prays and the situation drastically changes. How does this fit in, when talking about God's will? It sure seem to me that God decides to do something differently after Hezekiah prayed, even though God has set his will into motion. How can I not pray more in my life?

The latter half of 41 has a solid passage on the futility of idols. I think that in the modern day, the mind is a huge idol. The passage describes how I sometimes feel about people who think they understand the world enough to say there is no God. It seems like knowledge is put in the place of God in many cases.

I'm feeling like Isaiah is not a very organized book. It feels like the chapters are very random and sporadic, and I'm having a hard time sensing any sort of pattern. I wonder if I need to study how the book was actually put together.

Job 13-16

2008-02-08T13:44:00.000-08:00

Job 13-16

Verse 4 of Job 13 opens with what I've been waiting for, as Job continues to address his friends:

"As for you, you whitewash with lies; worthless physicians are you all."

That had to be the understatement of the year for Job. And again in verse 12:

"Your maxims are proverbs of ashes; your defenses are defenses of clay."

I'm really starting to appreciate the life of Job. The guy is a Christian soldier in every respect. I can hardly believe what he says in verse 15:"

Though he slay me, I will hope in him; yet I will argue my ways to his face."

Job wants to present his blameless case to the Lord, but the first part of this verse is what strikes me. The guy has been absolutely decimated, and still his hope is in God. What an incredible testament to Job's faithfulness, even when his closest friends are telling him that he's totally screwed.

Job continues pleading his case through 13 and 14, and then in 15 Eliphaz opens his mouth again. Here's a choice line (15):

"Behold, God puts no trust in his holy ones, and the heavens are not pure in his sight;"

I'm not entirely sure what this means, but it seems pretty jacked up. God does not trust his holy ones? Is Eliphaz talking about mankind? I was under the impression that God entrusted to those who were faithful. Job had much because he was faithful and blameless in the sight of God. And the heavens are not pure in God's sight? I don't get it. I know that all of creation groans for redemption from the fall, but when I think of "the heavens", I think of places in the universe that are the most pure of anything. Places that have not been defiled by mankind, specifically. I don't know. Eliphaz seems a little wacked.

And yet, the guy just does not give it up (20-21):

"The wicked man writhes in pain all his days, through all the years that are laid up for the ruthless. Dreadful sounds are in his ears; in prosperity the destroyer will come upon him."

Again, he implies that Job is wicked, and that his pain and suffering is a direct result of his rebellion before God.

Job responds in chapter 16 (2-3):

"I have heard many such things; miserable comforters are you all. Shall windy words have an end? Or what provokes you that you answer?"

Seriously. These guys should just shut their dang pie holes.

Job again gives a quite detailed description of how the Lord has treated him (13):

"...He slashes open my kidneys and does not spare; he pours out my gall on the ground."

Yeah. That's kind of nasty.

Apparently, none of this is a "curse" on the name of the Lord by Job. He seems pretty helpless though, and I think if someone talked this way in the church today, we would say they are a faithless child. Although, there's still a ton more chapters to read in Job, so maybe Job continues to make statements that he still puts his hope in God.

Psalm 18-23

2008-02-06T12:55:00.000-08:00

Psalm 18-23

18:3 displays a common theme in the Psalms:

"I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies."

I don't know how to apply the concept of an enemy. I don't really have enemies. I suppose a case could be made that in the new covenant we now battle demons and Satan, but in the context of David's life, I have no comparison. There's no one that I think of as my enemy. Also, how does this fit with Jesus' teachings to pray for your enemies and to love your persecutors?

Much of Psalm 18 is a description of the power, majesty, and fury of the Lord. In light of such a God, this verse should terrify me (20):

"The LORD dealt with me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands he rewarded me."

In light of this, it is incredible that Christ has come to stand in my place. If the Lord dealt with me according to my righteousness, I'd be burning in hell. However, Christ stands in my place, and my righteousness is his. It's truly a miracle.

Psalm 19 opens with the reason I am very impatient with atheists (1):

"The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork."

I don't understand how someone can look at the world around us or the universe beyond and think it all happened by random chance. That seems pretty insane to me, but for some reason these individuals seem to think they are more wise and mature than someone who believes the word of God. It angers me. It angers me that people can be so incredibly prideful and blasphemous, profaning the name of the Most High God. I don't know if I understand how to love people like that, that seem to revel in defaming God's name.

There's also this raging debate about the authority of scripture, and whether it is free from error. How about 19:7?

"The law of the LORD is perfect"

I don't want to get caught up in the whole movement to debate the validity of the Bible (why isn't there debate about other books as authoritative texts?). I simply want to know more about God through his word.

19:14 is what I want to pray every day:

"Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer."

I want my life to make God my dad happy. I want to be faithful, and enduring. When I read the Bible, it affirms to me that this is the deepest desire of my heart. There is so much stuff in my life that distracts me, tempts me, and makes me think that I don't really care about God or what he has to say. When I read, though, my soul yearns to have a life that please God.

Psalm 20 opens with what I think would be a cool blessing to pray over someone (1-5):

"May the LORD answer you in the day of trouble! May the name of the God of Jacob protect you! May he send you help from the sanctuary and give you support from Zion! May he remember all your offerings and regard with favor your burnt sacrifices! Selah May he grant you your heart’s desire and fulfill all your plans! May we shout for joy over your salvation,and in the name of our God set up our banners! May the LORD fulfill all your petitions!"

Psalm 23 has that famous line line in tons of movies (4):

"Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me."

It seems like there are 4 or 5 verses out of the whole Bible that Hollywood writers alternate between. It annoys me that the Bible is so underrepresented or worse, MISrepresented in some cases. There's only so many movies I can watch about demons before throwing my hands up in disgust about the low view of Christ the movie holds.

I think I'm someone who gets annoyed with bad theology.

Judges 1-11

2008-01-04T14:18:00.000-08:00

Judges 1-11

I think I can honestly say I've never read a lick of Judges. Time to rectify that right now.

As Judges opens, we see Judah taking up the reigns after Joshua's death. I'm confused why this was necessary in a fight against the Canaanites (6):

"Adoni-bezek fled, but they pursued him and caught him and cut off his thumbs and his big toes."

That seems a little unnecessary. I must be missing something.

In chapter 1, the Israelites fail to drive all the Canaanites from the land and instead subject some of them to forced labor. The Lord declares his wrath over this act in the beginning of chapter 2, and the result is that the Israelites begin to worship Baal and other false gods in the land, turning the hand of the Lord against them. The people become greatly distressed, so the Lord raises up a number of judges. The Israelites still respond poorly to this plan (2:18-19):

"Whenever the LORD raised up judges for them, the LORD was with the judge, and he saved them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge. For the LORD was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who afflicted and oppressed them. But whenever the judge died, they turned back and were more corrupt than their fathers, going after other gods, serving them and bowing down to them. They did not drop any of their practices or their stubborn ways."

Because of this, the Lord left nations in the land of Canaan and turned his hand against Israel.

Chapter 3 begins discussion of the actual judges, and the Judges in chapters 1-11 are:

Othniel
Ehud
Shamgar
Deborah
Gideon
Jephthah

At the end of chapter 6 is the story of Gideon's fleece. Can I ask for signs and confirmation from the Lord as Gideon did? Was it wise to test the Lord and his intentions? It seems like it was, from this passage.

The story of Jephthah in chapter 11 is tragic. He promises the first thing to come out of his house upon his return as a sacrifice to the Lord if the Lord will give the Ammonites into his hand. When Jephthah returns home, his daughter is the first out of his house to meet him. It seems to me that Jephthah offers up his daughter for sacrifice, which seems entirely messed up to me. Jephthah's daughter willingly offers herself to her father so that he can complete his vow, but this seems like a pretty jacked up story. Why does the Lord seem okay with sacrificing a person here?

Genesis 20-27

2008-01-02T07:46:00.000-08:00

Genesis 20-27

Well, looks like December was pretty much a lost cause. I was sick, and there were holidays, but mostly I was just a lazy jerk.

Genesis 20 is another of those chapters where I feel like some details are missing, like I don't have the complete picture. I kind of understand why Abraham lied, but I also don't understand why there is no rebuke from the Lord for his action. It seems like lying would be seen as a lack of faith, but that's not the way it's portrayed here. Also, verse 12 is a keeper:

"Besides, she is indeed my sister, the daughter of my father though not the daughter of my mother, and she became my wife."

Um....yucky.

In chapter 22, Isaac is born to Abraham and Sarah, who are both advanced in age. It's an example of God's provision and blessing. This also creates some conflict with Abraham's other son Ishmael, who was born to him through Hagar. It's interesting to me that God decides to make a nation also from Ishmael, but it's not God's chosen nation. It's not his people, yet he still decides to show favor to Ishmael and will bless others through him.

Chapter 22 is the story of the sacrifice of Isaac. There are lots of interpretations of this story, but it seems like it boils down to 15-18:

"And the angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time from heaven and said, 'By myself I have sworn, declares the LORD, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies, and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice."

It seems pretty crazy that God would ask Abraham to kill his own son, but why does it have to be more complicated than someone obeying God no matter what the cost? God is good, and he showed his goodness by stopping Abraham from doing something that God would not be pleased with. I think Abraham understood the concept that God was God, and he was not.

Chapter 23 sees the death and burial of Sarah. It seems to me from this passage and others that Abraham had very good relations with the people who lived around him. There seems to be some level of respect between the two parties. I assume that people like the Philistines and Hittites did not worship the Lord as Abraham did, and probably had very different beliefs. Yet, the interactions between this two parties seem to be very respectful, despite the fact that Abraham previously lied to them and almost brought destruction upon them. Not only was Abraham righteous through faith, it seems he was also engaging the culture of his day.

It's really been helpful to journal through the Bible so far. It's helping me to have a greater overall understanding of the Bible, especially the OT. When Abraham makes his servant swear an oath to find a wife for his son Isaac from his own people, it reminded me that God had a plan that he started with Abraham, a plan for his people to possess the land of Canaan. By reading the OT, I can really see how God brought this plan to fruition. Also, I'm glad we don't have this custom today (9):

"So the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master and swore to him concerning this matter."

Man thigh is just nasty.

In chapter 25 we see the death of the Abraham, and verse 9 caught my eye:

"Isaac and Ishmael his sons buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, east of Mamre..."

The last we heard of Ishmael, he had been sent away and was living in the wilderness. Maybe he came back and was reconciled to Isaac? Maybe he showed up at his Dad's funeral to pay his respects? I'm not sure. I just thought it was interesting that he was mentioned here.

In chapter 26 Isaac does the same thing his father Abraham did, lying about his wife Rebekah. I have the same questions as I did earlier in this passage. Also, we begin to see the breakdown of relationships between the people of God and the people of Canaan, as Isaac becomes very rich and is asked to move away (16).

In chapter 27, Jacob tricks Isaac and steals Esau's blessing. Again, I'm not sure why this is okay, or even if it is okay. The Lord prophesied that the older would serve the younger, so it seems to be part of his plan. It just seems weird to me. In 25:35, it says that Esau and his foreign wives caused trouble for Rebekah and Jacob, so maybe that has something to do with it. I also don't understand why Jacob has to trick Isaac for his blessing when Esau previously gave Jacob his birthright.

Romans 9-12

2007-11-30T08:24:00.000-08:00

Romans 9-12

9:19-24 is difficult to think about:

"You will say to me then, 'Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?' But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, "Why have you made me like this?" Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory— even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles?"

Before this passage, Paul talks about the will of the Lord to bless and curse who he will, to harden and soften hearts as he will. It sounds to me that here Paul is saying some people are created for destruction so as to demonstrate to people created for life and mercy the riches of his glory. Are people created for destruction, and therefore really have no ability to choose Christ from the beginning? Or does God know the people who will never humble themselves in life, but by creating them anyways he knows they will be destroyed? I don't know. If God creates people he knows will choose hell over Christ, then why create them at all? Why not just create people who will want to love him? Maybe that's lame. Was there no other way to contrast God's goodness, aside from making people fit for destruction?

11:20-23 deals with the relationship between Jews and Gentiles as the people of God, but I think it can applied to today:

"So do not become proud, but fear. For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you. Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God’s kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off. And even they, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again."

Here, I think Paul is saying that people don't get a free ride, in the sense that they don't get to become adopted heirs of God and then live however they like or believe whatever they want. When the Israelites, the chosen people of God, were disobedient or unfaithful, they were judged, afflicted, and in many cases destroyed. If they were judged for the faithlessness, so will the Gentiles be judged. Yet, even here God will be gracious with the Jews if they believe in Christ, and he will once again graft them to the true vine.

I think this is a great picture of the grace of God, his unmerited favor on me and on his church. God is faithful to bring me back to himself when I repent of sin and turn toward him. That's encouraging.

The opening of chapter 12 is one of my favorite passages, yet it's one that I continually think I know something about but typically realize I'm falling pretty short of. I want my life to be characterized by sacrifice, in service to Jesus. I think I've fallen pretty far away from that in recent times. I hope God will be gracious to help me get back on the road to service.

I think there's about enough stuff in 12:9-20 to work on for my entire life.

Matthew 11-16

2007-11-28T08:01:00.000-08:00

Matthew 11-16

Chapter 11 starts out with Jesus teaching about John the Baptist, and then declares judgment on some cities for their unrepentance. This verse got my eye (11:20-22):

"Then he began to denounce the cities where most of his mighty works had been done, because they did not repent. "Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you."

I would have had no idea about the cities Jesus is talking about here, and I still pretty much have no idea. At the least, though, I recognize Tyre and Sidon from my reading of Isaiah yesterday.

11:28-30 is a passage to hold onto:

"Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."

Rest for my soul is definitely something I'm interested in. Jesus is not just rest from worry, or from stress, or from sleep deprivation. He is rest for my soul, my eternal, spiritual reality.

Through chapter 12, Jesus starts to rip into the Pharisees. This verse got my attention, when Jesus cast out a demon and addressed the thoughts of the Pharisees (12:31-32):

"Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come."

I don't understand what this means. What does it mean to blaspheme the Holy Spirit, or to say a word against it? This seems pretty important to know, since Jesus is saying such an action can never be forgiven.

12:36-37 makes me a little nervous:

"I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."

That makes me want to take 5 seconds to evaluate every thing that I say.

Chapter 13 has a number of parables, such as the mustard seed, the sower, the pearl of great price, etc. Chapter 14 has a number of miracles, such as the feeding of 5000, walking on water, healing, etc.

At the end of chapter 15, Jesus feeds another 4000 men. The disciples seem to still not understand how they will feed everyone, which makes zero sense to me because they previously saw Jesus feed the 5000. I would think that they would have a little more faith after the first miraculous feeding, but apparently that's not the case.

Chapter 16 ends with some more teaching to the disciples, Peter's confession, the coming cross, etc.

Isaiah 23-33

2007-11-27T08:06:00.000-08:00

Isaiah 23-33

Chapter 23 is an oracle about Tyre and Sidon, two countries that I know nothing about.

Chapter 24 sure is a fun, uplifting passage. In it, the writer describes the judgment that will come upon the entire earth from the Lord (24:1-3):

"Behold, the LORD will empty the earth and make it desolate, and he will twist its surface and scatter its inhabitants. And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest; as with the slave, so with his master; as with the maid, so with her mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the lender, so with the borrower; as with the creditor, so with the debtor. The earth shall be utterly empty and utterly plundered; for the LORD has spoken this word."

This sure sounds like a great time. The passage continues to describe the woe that will be visited upon the earth through the Lord's judgment. I thought this one particular woe was humorous (24:11):

"There is an outcry in the streets for lack of wine; all joy has grown dark; the gladness of the earth is banished."

Yes! The lack of wine will be part of God's judgment. I guess that means, implicitly, that wine is part of God's blessing. :)

I thought that 24:21 was a little interesting:

"On that day the LORD will punish the host of heaven, in heaven, and the kings of the earth, on the earth."

Maybe this is a verse to communicate the idea that all of creation will be judged, but I thought it was a little weird to think about the idea of the host of heaven being judged, as the people of earth are judged. I guess I've never thought before that angels and spiritual being will be judged, unless this verse is referring to Satan and his fallen angels.

Chapter 25 is a pretty large reversal, as demonstrated in the first couple verses (25:1-4):

"O LORD, you are my God; I will exalt you; I will praise your name, for you have done wonderful things, plans formed of old, faithful and sure. For you have made the city a heap, the fortified city a ruin; the foreigners’ palace is a city no more; it will never be rebuilt. Therefore strong peoples will glorify you; cities of ruthless nations will fear you. For you have been a stronghold to the poor, a stronghold to the needy in his distress..."

It's pretty surprising to see such a passage in the midst of all the judgment and destruction. It's a crazy idea that the author is saying becuase God has judged, he has demonstrated his greatness. His judgment on Israel is a great thing, because it forces people to take refuge in the Lord, and demonstrates his power and might to foreign nations. That is an incredibly heavy concept to me, to say that the Lord has done great things in his judgment, and to look around at all the destruction and praise the Lord for it. There's definitely some practical application for me there.

Chapters 26 and 27 continue to praise the Lord for what he has done. Chapters 28 and 29, however, are back onto judgment against Ephraim and Jerusalem. There's a little reprieve at the end of chapter 30, but 31 is back to the anger of the Lord against his people for their alliance with Egypt. Chapter 32 seems to sort of toe the line between judgment and warning. Chapter 33 is an appeal to the Lord for grace.

Job 9-12

2007-11-26T09:48:00.000-08:00

Job 9-12

I think Job 9 captures the nature of God well. God is unlike anything or anyone else in all of creation, and the standards I apply to other people may not apply to him. He is completely sovereign over all things. He is completely other. He blesses who he will and curses who he will, and it is all to his glory.

This trend continues into chapter 10, but Job is again pleading with the Lord to remove his afflictions, as he is blameless. Again, I think this is to be understood as Job is not sinless, but has not lived in open rebellion before the Lord. Job is a man who pursues righteousness through faith.

In chapter 11, Zophar gives some more awesome advice to Job, saying that Job's current circumstances are less than he deserves (11:6). This may be true. Each of us deserves eternal condemnation, and it is only through Christ that I can find any true grace. Yet, it seems incredibly naive/stupid/mean-spirited to say to someone who has lost everything that they should buck up because they deserve even worse. It seems to a response pretty devoid of love and compassion.

Job answers Zophar in chapter 12. Job is not a child, and is not ignorant of the "wisdom" Zophar gives him. The responses of Job really seem to contain some great theology that I want to come back to later to study in greater detail. Check out this passage (12:13-25):

"With God are wisdom and might; he has counsel and understanding. If he tears down, none can rebuild; if he shuts a man in, none can open. If he withholds the waters, they dry up; if he sends them out, they overwhelm the land. With him are strength and sound wisdom; the deceived and the deceiver are his. He leads counselors away stripped, and judges he makes fools. He looses the bonds of kings and binds a waistcloth on their hips. He leads priests away stripped and overthrows the mighty. He deprives of speech those who are trusted and takes away the discernment of the elders. He pours contempt on princes and loosens the belt of the strong. He uncovers the deeps out of darkness and brings deep darkness to light. He makes nations great, and he destroys them; he enlarges nations, and leads them away. He takes away understanding from the chiefs of the people of the earth and makes them wander in a pathless waste. They grope in the dark without light, and he makes them stagger like a drunken man."

That's some good stuff.

Psalm 12-17

2007-11-09T08:07:00.000-08:00

Psalm 12-17

Psalm 12 is very short, and I don't entirely understand it. I think the Lord is saying he will arise to save the poor and the needy, because the faithful who usually take care of them are nowhere to be found. I'm not sure if that's right, though.

Psalm 13 is a psalm that is very familiar to me because Shane & Shane wrote a song from it. The psalmist is obviously a little under the weather, as seen in verses 1 and 2:

"How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?"

Pretty powerful stuff. I like these types of Psalms, because they show the honesty in the relationship between the psalmist and God. I get a sense that the author really isn't holding anything back. Yet, even at the end of the (brief) psalm, the psalmist does not lose faith (13:5-6):

"But I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation. I will sing to the LORD, because he has dealt bountifully with me."

In every Biblical lament, there is no degradation of the worth or holiness of the Lord. The lament communicates the depth of pain, misery, torment, or trouble of the writer, but it always comes back to the goodness of the Lord. The psalmist here does not lose faith in God or his character.

Psalm 14 does not exactly bode well for humanity. The Bible makes it pretty clear what God thinks of the atheism thing (14:1):

"The fool says in his heart, 'There is no God.'"

Also, the Bible is pretty clear on the nature of man as a whole (14:2-3):

"The LORD looks down from heaven on the children of man, to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one."

I'm certainly glad that Christ came, because without him, there would be absolutely no way for me to be in the presence of the Lord...

...Which is confirmed in the following psalm (15:1-2):

"O LORD, who shall sojourn in your tent? Who shall dwell on your holy hill? He who walks blamelessly and does what is right and speaks truth in his heart;"

That's a pretty tall order, to be blameless. I don't think I can quite manage. This psalm shows why the work that Christ accomplished is so revolutionary. Somehow, when I have faith in Jesus, his blamelessness and his righteousness covers me. I put it on like a coat, and God sees Jesus in me and not my sin. Of course, since I am now seen as blameless, I am fit to dwell on the Lord's holy hill. This is some crazy stuff, and I should be excited about it every day of my life.

I've heard before that you might want to think about your position if your are working for say, a bank, or some other entity that lends money and charges interest. This might be a verse to indicate that (15:4):

"who does not put out his money at interest and does not take a bribe against the innocent."

I don't think this is support for such an argument. The context here is obviously a personal one, where the author is discussing how a person might be in the presence of the Lord. Here's what a Studylight.org commentary has to say about it:

"To the poor, in an extravagant and exorbitant way, by which he bites, devours, and destroys his little substance, and sadly afflicts and distresses him; see (Exodus 22:25) ; otherwise, to lend money on moderate interest, and according to the laws, customs, and usages of nations, and to take interest for it, is no more unlawful than to take interest for houses and land; yea, it is according to the law of common justice and equity, that if one man lends money to another to trade with, and gain by, that he should have a proportionate share in the gain of such a trade; but the design of this passage, and the law on which it is founded, is, to forbid all exactions and oppressions of the poor, and all avaricious practices, and to encourage liberality and beneficence;"

I think that makes pretty good sense.

Psalm 16 is a great encouragement (16:1-2):

"'Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge. I say to the LORD,You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you.'"

I love the way the psalmist phrases this, that he has no good apart from the Lord. I think this is true. I feel that I can accomplish no good on my own, but Christ can accomplish much in me and through me. It also ends on a high note (16:11):

"'You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.'"

This is great! God makes known to me the path of life. And in the path that he makes known is fullness of joy, and pleasures forevermore. God is good, and he is faithful, and he gives counsel to his people that allows them to live a life full of joy.

Psalm 17 is a strong psalm of the the psalmist calling the Lord to show his steadfast love through help and defense.

Joshua 21-24

2007-11-06T08:30:00.000-08:00

Joshua 21-24

Chapter 21 continues the Lord dishing out the land to various tribes.

Chapter 22 is utterly confusing to me. The eastern tribes build an altar, and apparently that's not viewed as okay by the rest of Israel. So they get ready to make war, but then the eastern tribes clarify that they did not make the altar for sacrifices but as a witness to attest their devotion to the Lord (I think). There must be some Jewish law or custom that was potentially being violated here, but I just don't get it.

Here's a commentary excerpt on 22:12, on preparing for war:

" to consult about it, and to prepare for it, which they were obliged to do by the law of God, as in the case of a city, so of a tribe drawn aside to idolatry; and which they imagined was the case of these tribes, or at least what they had done had a tendency to apostasy from the true worship of God, which they were zealous to defend at the hazard of their lives, and though it should issue in an extirpation of one or more of their tribes; "

So maybe there was an issue of suspected idolatry. It seems easier to just ask about what's going on, though, instead of preparing for war.

In chapter 23, a large span of time has passed, and Joshua has advanced greatly in years. He gives final instructions to the nation of Israel. I like 23:6:

"Therefore, be very strong to keep and to do all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, turning aside from it neither to the right hand nor to the left..."

Obviously, this passage has nothing to do with American politics, but in application it's what I think of. It's why I think aligning with the left OR the right is a mistake. I think God's call for me is to be aligned with him, and with his laws. Going to the right or left of his laws is not what he wants from me. He wants me to be dead center, with Christ as the focal point. I think, in some sense, that Joshua was warning the people of Israel to avoid the same type of thing: to not become too liberal, and to not be become to legalistic. There's a tension between the two.

23:14 is a great encouragement:

"And now I am about to go the way of all the earth, and you know in your hearts and souls, all of you, that not one word has failed of all the good things that the LORD your God promised concerning you. All have come to pass for you; not one of them has failed."

God is faithful, and he provides for his children. I think a proper response is found in 24:14-15:

"Now therefore fear the LORD and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."

What a great calling for my life, to turn away from the idols and false gods of past generations to instead serve the Lord. I think this is what God's heart is for, namely to see people renounce the idols in their lives and turn to serve him faithfully and sincerely. In light of the all that has happened in the book of Joshua, this should not be a hard thing to justify, both for Israel and for myself today. God is loving and faithful, and so I can trust that serving him sincerely and faithfully is a good thing to do.

The chapter and the book ends with the death of Joshua. It was really great to read this book. I don't think I have ever read the whole book before. While sometimes the details in the Old Testament are very foreign to me, the bigger stories of Israel are fun to read about. They demonstrate the faithfulness of God, and his might to overcome whatever stands in the way of his people. They show God to be a redeemer, and that he is greatly concerned with the salvation of his children, culminating in the life and work of Christ.

Genesis 16-19

2007-11-05T07:54:00.000-08:00

Genesis 16-19

Genesis 16 is a little weird. Sarai cannot conceive, so she gives her servant Hagar to Abram as a wife. Hagar conceives, but seems to treat Sarai in some harsh way. Hagar probably treated Sarai poorly, since she was able to conceive easily with Abram while Sarai was not. This must be one of the many benefits of polygamy, where the various wives a man has argue amongst each other. God must not have had any idea what he was doing when he created marriage between one man and one woman.

Chapter 17 starts out with God's covenant with Abraham (formerly Abram). This sees the institution of circumcision (ouch!), as a physical, outward sign of a person's belonging to the people of God. It's easy to see why many people would not want to become Jews, since everyone had to be circumcised to live among God's people (17:12-13). Also, Sarai's name is changed to Sarah, and God promises that she will bear a child (17:16), although Abraham has a little trouble believing it (17:17). After talking with God, every dude goes under the knife. That's just unfortunate. I'd say, though, that Abraham and his family were seriously committed to walking with the Lord after that.

In chapter 18, the Lord appears to Abraham again in the form of three men. He promises again a child to Abraham and Sarah, and Sarah seems to have a similar reactions as Abraham did (18:12). The Lord asks them about their doubts, and reaffirms that he is able to do what he will. Abraham then talks with the Lord about Sodom. I'm guessing he probably knew his relative Lot lived there, and didn't want him to die when the Lord wiped out the city.

In chapter 19, the Lord does just that. The men of the city want to have relations with the angels staying under Lot's roof. Lot tries to offer his two virgin daughters to the mob instead, but to no avail (19:8). I'm not entirely sure what that all means, but the situation must have been pretty severe for Lot to be willing to sacrifice his daughters.

Romans 7-8

2007-11-02T07:35:00.001-07:00

Romans 7-8

In 7:4, Paul states that I am dead to the law through the death of Christ, and that I belong to Christ because of his resurrection. The law does not apply to a dead person (7:1), in the same way that the law of marriage is broken when the spouse dies (7:2). Paul makes an interesting statement, in that the law aroused my sinful passions before I knew Christ (7:5).

Starting with 7:7, though, Paul says the idea of the law being sin is preposterous. Rather, the law gives knowledge of good and evil, and sin twists those ideas into something destructive (7:10). The law itself is holy and good (7:12), but sin twists what is good (7:11). The law itself did not bring death, but sin did (7:13).

7:14-25 is very encouraging to me. Paul is describing exactly the sort of emotional and spiritual roller coaster I sometimes find myself on. It's good to know that someone that lived 2000 years ago struggled with some of the same things I struggle with. I guess people aren't all that different. There is a war in me, and there are times when I want to please God in my mind but I can't seem to do it (7:18).

Chapter 8 opens with another "therefore". In light of what Paul just finished saying, we come to find that there is no condemnation through Christ (8:1). The law is insufficient to save, only sufficient to identify sin from righteousness. Jesus did what the law could not do (8:3), for he came in the flesh and condemned in the flesh by living a sinless life, in order that the requirements of the law might be fulfilled (8:4). The mind that is set in the flesh cannot please God (8:8), but the mind that is set on the Spirit reaps life and peace (8:6), through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit (8:9). The result of this is that even my physical body will have life (8:11), and I am now a child of God (8:14) and an heir of God with Christ (8:17). I'm not entirely sure what it means to be an heir. Obviously, I am a created being and not worthy of the same glory that Christ is worthy of. Yet, there is something incredibly powerful and exciting here. In some measure, I get to share in the inheritance that is due to Christ for his death and life.

In light of all this, my present sufferings should seem a little less significant (8:18). Not only do I eagerly wait for the fullness of salvation (8:23), but creation itself also groans to be fully redeemed (8:20). I am saved in this hope of adoption and regeneration (8:24), and I can wait for it with patience because I have not fully seen my future glorification in Christ (8:25).

Just as we hope for something we cannot see, we also do not even really know how to pray or what to pray for (8:26) . The theological answer Paul gives for this is one of my favorite passages in scripture (8:26-28):

"Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God."

This is an incredible truth. I don't entirely understand how God can pray to himself for me, but I will definitely take it. I can only imagine what the Spirit of the Lord prays for me. I can only imagine the prayers lifted up to God as his own Spirit intercedes for my benefit. 8:28 is another great verse:

"And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose."

This is a verse to remember in the midst of suffering. It shows the fundamental goodness of God. Despite whatever life throws my way, I can remember that God has a plan, and that his plan is one that works all things work together for good.

Because of God giving up even his own son for me, and because of my shared inheritance in Christ, and because Christ is even now interceding for me (8:34), there is nothing,

"neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." (38-39).

God love his children, and nothing will ever change that.

Matthew 8-10

2007-10-29T07:20:00.000-07:00

Matthew 8-10

In chapter 8, after concluding the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus begins to heal many people. He heals a leper, and then he heals the servant of a centurion, sick at his house. The centurion shows his faith by knowing that the Lord need not come to his home but can heal from afar. It is said that Jesus "marveled" (ESV) at the man for his faith (8:10). The Greek word used is "Thaumazo", which means to wonder at or to be had in admiration. I've never really thought of God ever being all that impressed by a person's faith, whether big or small. A person will always carry some measure of a lack of faith. Yet, here Jesus marvels at the centurion's faith.

8:11-12 was also a little interesting/confusing:

"'I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'"

Jesus says this when talking to the centurion. A commentary takes this to mean a contrasting picture between Jews and Gentiles. The Gentiles will hear the Gospel and come to believe, becoming adopted children of God. Meanwhile, many Jews, who have historically been the one people of God, will be unwilling to believe in Christ, and will be cast out.

8:14 is really interesting, because Jesus goes to the house of Peter to heal Peter's mother-in-law, which means that Peter was married. I typically have not thought of the disciples having wives and families. I always picture a bunch of single guys traveling with Jesus, able to drop everything in their lives to follow him. It looks like at least some of the disciples had families. Did they leave their families? Did their families accompany them and Christ? Was the ministry of Christ local enough that the disciples could go to their families at times? Were the disciples required to leave their families for three years? I wish I knew more of these kinds of details. The answers to these types of questions would be valuable when considering mentoring and discipleship.

8:28 begins a section on two demon-possessed men. These types of passages are going to be interesting to look at, because I'm currently plowing through a book on demon possession. The author of that book would say that the phrase "demon-possessed" is mistranslated here, and the Greek word used here (Daimonizomai) does not imply possession or ownership. Rather, it means to be under the influence, power, or control of a demon. In this case, as will be shown in other Gospels, the demons were so numerous in this person/persons that they had to be cast into a herd of 2000 pigs. When the people of the city beg Jesus to leave (8:34), it probably had to do with the fact that a ridiculous number of pigs died and pigs were an important part of the local economy.

9:9 sees the calling of Matthew, which is kind of fun. Matthews was a tax collector, and after Jesus called him to follow, it sounds like Matthew brought a bunch of his tax friends over to eat and hang out with Jesus. Of course, the Pharisees do not understand how a man such as Jesus could with sinners. Sometimes, this is what Christian sub-culture feels like. Yet, the life of Jesus clearly shows that I should love people that are sinful.

In 9:32, another Jesus casts out more demons, and in this case the word "demon-oppressed" is used of the man, in the ESV. The same Greek word is being translated, so I'm not sure why the ESV translates the word differently here, but it seems a little more accurate.

A majority of the chapter 10 deals with the disciples, with Jesus empowering them and sending them out to do ministry among the Jews specifically. He also counsels them, encouraging them to take heart during the coming persecution.

Isaiah 18-22

2007-10-25T10:37:00.000-07:00

Isaiah 18-22

Chapter 18 is an oracle concerning Cush.

Chapter 19 is an oracle concerning Egypt. I think this prophecy shows that the Lord does not always come to bring blessing. This passage describes how the Lord will come to Egypt, and will cause confusion and civil war among the nation. The people will not be fruitful, and the counsel of the "wise" will lead to more confusion. It's not entirely clear to me at first reading why the Lord is so angry with Egypt, but maybe it has to do with 19:1:

"Behold, the LORD is riding on a swift cloud and comes to Egypt; and the idols of Egypt will tremble at his presence, and the heart of the Egyptians will melt within them."

The Lord is a jealous God, and the worship of idols angers him. Whether or not there are other things going with Egypt that arouse his anger I'm not sure of, but at the least Egypt is involved with idol worship.

19:16 begins to shed light on the purposes of the Lord, as it seems that some of the Egyptians will begin to fear the Lord, and he will rescue them from their afflictions. Israel seems to be an integral part of this, as by living in Egypt and Assyria they become a blessing in the midst of them (19:24).

Okay, chapter 20 is just a little off the beaten path. The Lord commands Isaiah to disrobe and take off his sandals. That's a little different, but okay. The next verse is what grabs me (20:3):

"Then the LORD said, 'As my servant Isaiah has walked naked and barefoot for three years as a sign and a portent against Egypt and Cush, so shall the king of Assyria lead away the Egyptian captives and the Cushite exiles, both the young and the old, naked and barefoot, with buttocks uncovered, the nakedness of Egypt.'"

Hold up. THREE YEARS? Am I reading this right? Isaiah walked around in his birthday suit for three whole years? Is this literally for three years, as in 24/7? In public? Weird stuff. As the chapter goes on, I think the idea is that this represents that the things the Israelites hoped in (Cush) and fled to for help (Egyptians) are empty and worthless, when they should have had faith in the Lord to provide rescue. That's my first shot, from first glance. I definitely don't know enough about the context of Isaiah, and I need to be content with that during this first, survey-type read of the Bible. It just seems pretty crazy that Isaiah walked around naked.

The commentary on Studylight seems to indicate that "naked" might have meant with just the upper garment removed, and that the three years might not be tied to how long Isaiah did this. It's all a little confusing. If he only had his shirt off, then this seems to not jive with what the captives had to do, in that they were specifically required to have buttocks uncovered. Not sure.

Chapter 21 is even more confusing, with a number of prophetic words about a number of nations. I'm sure this made perfect sense to the original people writing/reading/hearing it, but a lot of it is lost on me.

Chapter 22 is an oracle concerning Israel. A lot of it sounds like typical Israel: the Lord wants one thing, and the people do another, so the Lord pours out his anger upon them. Seems like they would get it at some point. Disobedience = judgment. I wonder why it was so hard for these people to get it. I wonder why it's so hard for me to get it.

Job 7-8

2007-10-16T06:56:00.000-07:00

Job 7-8

You really feel for Job in chapter 7 (as if you didn't already). I think that Job is really not a picture of someone I would think of as faithful. During suffering, the Christian is typically encouraged to be joyful through it. I don't really see much of that with Job. I see him calling it like it is: his life is miserable. He asks and ponders why the Lord has turned his back on him (7:19). There's not a point in this chapter where Job is cursing the Lord, but he is definitely mired in grief.

Pain is real. I think, sometimes, Christians expect other Christians to keep a smile on their face no matter what circumstances come their way. God is good, so everything is great! While God is good, pain is also a reality. It seems like there should be a balance here. Job certainly is aware of his circumstances and is readily complaining about them (19:11). The word "complain" carries a negative connotation in my mind. Yet, Job states:

"Therefore I will not restrain my mouth; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul."

That's a pretty strong statement. I think I have a tendency to be annoyed with people who are complaining or whining, regardless of their circumstances. I believe that my God is big enough for any problems in this world. Maybe, though, I should reconsider my position. Maybe it's okay to complain, as long as that complaining does not question the worth of God.

Job's second friend, Bildad, speaks in chapter 8. He's again got some lovely advice for Job: he should repent of his unrighteousness so that God can bless him anew. How often is this advice given? How often are hurting people told that they are encountering hardship because of their sinful lifestyles? Job, according to the book, was blameless. He was walking with God and living for him. We see that God allows Satan to afflict Job as a way to test him, and as a way to prove Job's faithfulness. There was nothing in the beginning of the book about the Lord needing to punish Job for sinfulness in his life.

Job's friend doesn't have very good advice for him, it seems. He even says that Job's children died because they were sinful before the Lord (8:4). It's true that no one is without sin, but there's no indication that they were committed to evil.

Psalms 9-11

2007-10-10T08:07:00.000-07:00

Psalms 9-11

Psalm 9 is definitely an encouraging Psalm, primarily concerned with issues of justice, in my opinion. The first part I really like is 9:7-8:

"But the LORD sits enthroned forever; he has established his throne for justice, and he judges the world with righteousness; he judges the peoples with uprightness."

I think that is a pretty cool phrase, where it says that God has "established his throne FOR [emphasis added] justice". God is a God of justice, and he cares deeply for the hurting and downtrodden of the world. Because he is about justice, he also judges righteously. He will give justice to everyone. If the very throne of God himself is established for the cause of justice, shouldn't my life also be concerned with issues of justice?

9:10 is also a great truth to lean on:

"And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek you."

I need to get these truths about God stuck in my skull. It's important to know that when I seek God with my life, he will not forsake me. He is faithful. Not only is this truth relevant to me, it's relevant to culture. It's relevant to those who this Psalm seems to address: the poor and needy. For them, a word of truth is that God has not forgotten them, and he will show himself to be faithful. If I am doing my job and the church is doing its job, we can act out this promise by being Christ to those who have little. If the mystery of God is that it's now Christ in me (Colossians 1:27), then I am the agent of God to show his faithfulness to people.

Psalm 10 is a pretty strong contrast. A good chunk of the chapter is devoted to a description of evil doers, and in light of the previous Psalm, they seem incredibly evil. They wait and try to trap the poor and abuse them (10:9). Psalm 9 clearly shows God's heart for justice, so the person described here seems especially vile to me. God's people are called to love those who need justice, while some in the world seem to want to prey upon them. This makes me think of the idea of the rich getting richer, and the poor getting poorer, in places like the US. It makes me think of tribal conflicts in Africa. There are many examples of this in the world.

The first verse that caught my eye is 10:4:

"In the pride of his face the wicked does not seek him; all his thoughts are, 'There is no God.'"

I think about how this applies to some people I know in my life. It seems like at times people come to a point where their whole world view becomes shaped around the idea of God not existing. The Bible calls this what it is: pride. It's prideful and arrogant, through incredibly finite human knowledge and wisdom, to say that there is no God. This is a lesson for me, first. I want my attitude to one of humility before God. He is God, and I am not.

The Psalmist appeals to the Lord for help in 10:12-14:

"Arise, O LORD; O God, lift up your hand; forget not the afflicted. Why does the wicked renounce God and say in his heart, 'You will not call to account'? But you do see, for you note mischief and vexation, that you may take it into your hands; to you the helpless commits himself; you have been the helper of the fatherless."

God knows, and is aware of all things. Pride again plays a huge part here, as those who do evil think in their pride that God is blind to their transgressions. Yet, he's not. We will all be held accountable for our choices.

Psalm 11 is short but uplifting. 11:5 is an interesting one:

"The LORD tests the righteous, but his soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence."

I wonder if this is applicable to the Just War debate. I wouldn't say that most people enjoy violence. Can you really engage in violence and not in some way enjoy it, or at least enjoy the spoils of it? I'm not sure about that.

Also, 11:5 talks about what the Lord hates. Just because God is a good Father and loves his children does not mean that he is incapable of hate. I just think God hates the things that are truly deserving of such a strong emotion.

Joshua 16-20

2007-10-08T08:07:00.000-07:00

Joshua 16-20

Joshua 16 is a brief chapter that details the boundary lines of the allotment given to the people of Jacob. Chapter 17 details the allotment of the people of Manasseh, and also the allotment of the people of Joseph.

Chapter 18 starts out with Joshua requesting descriptions of the land, and then casts lots before God to divvy it up between the tribes of Israel. The only other place that I know of in the Bible where the casting of lots is used is in Acts, when a replacement is chosen for Judas Iscariot after the ascension of Christ. It seems like the random casting of lots is used for fairly significant decisions. It will be interesting to see where else in the Bible the casting of lots is used. The rest of Chapter 18 details the allotment of Benjamin.

Chapter 19 details the inheritances of the remaining tribes of Israel.

Chapter 20 is pretty interesting. In it, the Lord commands Joshua to set up cities of refuge throughout the land. The idea is that if a person is guilty of manslaughter, a death that is unknowingly or unintentionally caused, that person can flee and escape to one of the cities of refuge. I believe in OT law, it was lawful for a person to avenge a manslaughter by taking the life of the person who committed the act. Here the Lord provides a place for the accused to seek safety, judgment, and await the time he or she can return to his or her own land.

I'm not sure what this symbolizes or represents, but it's interesting. It seems like an act of grace to me, as the Lord is providing a way for some people to not receive what they deserve (according to the law). It sort of makes sense to me, because true manslaughter is not murder, being accidental or unintentional.

Genesis 12-15

2007-10-02T07:19:00.000-07:00

Genesis 12-15

This passage opens with Abram on the scene, and God's call on his life. This is pretty weighty (12:2-3):

"And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."

Talk about being an overachiever. From this passage and the chapter before it, there's really not any indication why God chose to enact this promise through Abram. When I was reading According to Plan, one idea that was interesting to me is that in the Bible God chooses to bless who he will, when he will, and how he will. There doesn't have to be any rhyme or reason. From first glance at the text, that appears to be the case here. God simply chose Abram as the one who would receive his blessing and who would bless others in turn.

Nevertheless, Abram is faithful from the start, and moves all his family and possessions to the land of Canaan (12:4-5). One thing that occurs to me is that Abram/Abraham really was a person of incredible faith. The Lord says that Abram and his people will inherit Canaan (12:7). With the reading that I'm also doing in Joshua, it's incredible to see how that promise is fulfilled. God took one man and his family and turned that into an entire nation that conquered kingdom after kingdom. It's interesting to see the seeds planted for what I'm reading in Joshua.

12:10-20 is still confusing to me. It appears that Abram still wasn't a perfect man, and was scared about loosing his own hide, so he pretended to be Sarai's brother instead of her husband. Studylight.org comments that in Egyptian culture marriage was held in high regard, but the Egyptians were also very lustful. They would rather commit murder than adultery, so they would kill Abram to allow a lawful marriage to his wife. Abram's plan spares his life, yet it probably placed his wife in great risk. Even Abram was not a perfect man. It shows that even in Old Testament times, the favor of God was not necessarily based upon good or bad choices, but upon God's desire to show favor, and upon the faith of those he loves. God initiates it all.

The passage ends with a bunch of fighting by a bunch of random kings, of which I lose track of easily for all the unique names. Lot and his family are caught up in the middle of this and are captured, but Abram and his men rescue them. Then God makes a covenant with Abram that his descendants will possess the land.

Romans 5-6

2007-10-01T07:23:00.000-07:00

Romans 5-6

Chapter 5 starts out with a "Therefore", so I know that what Paul is about to say depends on what Paul just finished saying, which in this case is the depravity of man followed by justification not by the law but through faith. Because of this, I am able to have peace with God through Christ (5:1). This is a pretty powerful statement, since I have a picture of the wrath of God from preceding chapters.

5:3 is one of my favorite verses in the Bible. I think it's a verse that practically gives a reason to rejoice in my sufferings. I don't know if there's really any other way to receive depth of character except by suffering. I think I can read the Bible and take steps of faith that will deepen my character, but there's something about walking through fire and coming out on the other side that builds character and integrity into a person.

5:6-8 is important to me. I think that if I was more focused on the fact that Christ died for me while I was still wholly sinful, I might stand in his grace more (5:2). I think I spend most of my time thinking about how I need to live for Christ, but I spend very little time realizing the fact that God initiates everything. He gave me life and breath, he set me free from condemnation, he clothed me in his son, and he loved me before I loved him. It's all initiated by God. The crazy thing about this is that if God, in my depravity, became man and laid down his life so that I might live, there is even more power and glory given to me in his resurrection (5:10).

I think parallel between Adam and Christ in 5:12-21 is cool. It makes sense that since sin entered the world through one man, one perfect man could take all the world's sin and provide a way to have peace with God. Sin abounded, but through Christ grace has abounded all the more (5:20). This could be twisted to say that sin should increase so that the grace of Christ would increase all the more, but Paul clearly states this to be false (6:2). Because of Christ's sacrifice I am dead to sin, and my old self has been crucified with him (6:6). One who is dead is free from the law and free from sin, so because my old nature was buried with Christ (6:4) I am now also free from sin (6:7). Because of this, I must present my body, my talents, my passions, my desires, my very life to God for his use and his glory (6:12-13), not continuing to live in sin in the vain hope that more grace may abound. As Christ now lives to the Lord, so should I also live for him (6:11).

I have exchanged one slavery for another, the slavery of sin for the slavery of righteousness (6:15-18). I think I have typically interpreted this verse to mean that I need to train my mind and body to consistently make good choices. While I want to make good choices, I don't know if I can interpret this verse in the same way after reading the previous passages in Romans. It seems clear to me that my life in Christ is far less about me and more about Christ and what he's done. I stand in his grace and I have peace with God the Father through him. How can I be a slave to righteousness on my own, then? If I think about that empirically, it's obvious that I'm incapable of being a slave to righteousness. My life does not demonstrate that. Maybe being a slave to righteousness has less to do with my choices and more about being clothed and rooted in Christ. Maybe I'm a slave to righteousness by the fact that Christ justified me and gave me salvation. There are no stipulations or qualifications to these verses. Paul doesn't say "you're a slave to righteousness when you're perfect and not making God angry with your poor choices". He simply says that because I have died and risen with Christ I am a slave to righteousness and not to sin. It's a fact. The good news about this slavery is that my wage is eternal life (6:23).

(Interesting side note: why does Paul talk about wages in the context of slavery? That seems to clash with historical definitions of slavery, especially in the US.)

How does this change the way I view myself, the way I view God, and the way I live my life?

Matthew 5-7

2007-09-28T07:03:00.000-07:00

Matthew 5-7

I don't have much to write today, because I feel it would do a disservice to the pasasge. There is so much packed into these 3 chapters. I'm going to file this away for later, after I've read the Bible cover to cover. I think it'd be pretty cool to do an in-depth study on the Sermon on the Mount. There's just so much here that I don't even know how to begin a brief overview.

I get the feeling that we're only getting the highlights of Jesus' teachings that day, because there are so many topics covered. Even on just a casual reading I can see some themes playing across all the things Jesus touches on, but it still feels like there might have been even more to what Jesus taught that day.

In any event, the result of Christ's teachings is that people were in awe (7:28).

Isaiah 12-17

2007-09-27T07:07:00.001-07:00

Isaiah 12-17

I like chapter 12. It's a strong praise of God, and speaks truth about him. It's encouraging to me, and I need some encouragement right now. I feel like this method of Biblical intake on this blog has really worked for me, and has helped me to be much more disciplined about being rooted in scripture. Yet, I feel like some people have discouraged me in this. It sucks that this discouragement makes me feel bad about the way I'm trying to seek the Lord. I guess I'm going to just try to press on.

Chapter 12 starts out with the words "You will say in that day", so this passage seems to be prophetic. I really like verses 1 and 2:

"You will say in that day: 'I will give thanks to you, O LORD, for though you were angry with me, your anger turned away, that you might comfort me. Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the LORD GOD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation.'"

This is encouraging to me. The idea of God turning from his anger to comfort his people is encouraging. There were so many times that the Israelites angered the Lord with their actions, but there's always going to be a time when the Lord turns from anger.

5-6 is what I want my worship to look like:

"Sing praises to the LORD, for he has done gloriously; let this be made known in all the earth. Shout, and sing for joy, O inhabitant of Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel."

I think this is where my heart should be on Sundays. This is what I want to see for the Ethnos community. I think that when the body gathers our musical worship should be loud and unashamed. I think that on Sunday my worship should attempt to be as big as my God is. He's worthy of it. I especially like that last part, because when we gather and worship Christ is in our midst. The work of salvation that he wrought on the cross is worthy of shouts of praise!

Chapter 13 is pretty intense. I think that this passage concerns the fall of Babylon, or from what I understand, Assyria. I thought at first that this was a judgment against Israel, but I think it's against Babylon. I haven't read very many of the judgments found in the OT, but even in the ones I have I'm finding it difficult to understand the line of reasoning people take by saying "Well, if God is love, why does he allow [insert example]". God is also a judge as opposed to a loving father, as demonstrated in 11-16:

"I will punish the world for its evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; I will put an end to the pomp of the arrogant, and lay low the pompous pride of the ruthless. I will make people more rare than fine gold, and mankind than the gold of Ophir. Therefore I will make the heavens tremble, and the earth will be shaken out of its place, at the wrath of the LORD of hosts in the day of his fierce anger. And like a hunted gazelle, or like sheep with none to gather them, each will turn to his own people, and each will flee to his own land. Whoever is found will be thrust through, and whoever is caught will fall by the sword. Their infants will be dashed in pieces before their eyes; their houses will be plundered and their wives ravished."

That's pretty hardcore. There's obviously an element to God's character that is about judgment and justice. It doesn't abate in chapter 14, as 14 :23 demonstrates: "...I will sweep it with the broom of destruction".

I really like 14:32: "What will one answer the messengers of the nation? 'The LORD has founded Zion, and in her the afflicted of his people find refuge.'" That seems like a pretty cool way to think about Church, since now the people of God are not just Israel but the bride of Christ. I think the church should be a place of refuge, of life giving, and of restoration.

In 14:28, Philistine nations become the target of the Lord's oracles, then Moab in chapter 15, and then finally Damascus in 17.

Job 5-6

2007-09-25T06:44:00.000-07:00

Job 5-6

Reading Job is a challenge. It's very wordy, and it's difficult to understand what's really going on. For instance, in chapter 5 Eliphaz continues his speech, and at first glance it seems to me that he speaks a lot of truth. He counsels Job in a way that I would counsel someone who was hurting. I'd say to lean on God (5:8). I'd try to remind the person of the greatness of God and that he is fit to save (5:10-15). I might even go so far as to say that God disciplines those he loves and uses it to bring a deeper character (5:17-27). Yet, there's something about this counsel that draws a very strong response from Job.

Chapter 6 is Job's response, and it seems pretty harsh. He criticizes his friends for deserting him and playing with his emotions (6:15-21). He implores his friends to stop beating around the bush and to speak honestly with him, to tell him where he went wrong that he should receive the wrath of the Lord (6:24).

Note: I'm finding it helpful to also read these passages in The Message.

I guess I need to somehow try to put myself in Job's shoes. His entire family, the group of people most precious to him on earth, is dead. All of his servants and the people who helped to run his life are dead. Every single material possession that he owned has been destroyed. He has no family, and no home. His health has also deteriorated and he is probably in great physical pain. Anyone who might even have a sliver of a chance of helping him has headed for the hills. He is utterly alone, in immense emotional grief and physical suffering, and has nothing to his name. He feels that God has abandoned him, or worse yet, is pouring out the fullness of his wrath upon him. There is no further depth to which he could slide, because he seeks, hopes, and looks for death and death escapes him. He has reached the utter pinnacle of human suffering. This has all happened after a lifetime of honoring and worshiping the Lord and living in faith before him.

So, in that context, I wonder how this advice sounds:

"Don't worry, God is awesome!"

"God has done good things before, so you'll be through this in just a day or two!"

"You know, God disciplines and it's good, so be happy for all your suffering!"

Does that advice seem a little trite? I don't think this advice is untrue, but maybe this advice has been extremely poorly chosen. Job is at the utter depth of despair and loneliness. I don't think someone in that position wants to be told "Cheer up, God's giving you a spanking!" He wants someone to love him. He wants to feel like someone cares. He wants to know that there are people out there who give a rip about him and will hurt with him. Also, this advice seems just a tad condescending. Does Job not know the Lord? Has he not lived righteously before him? He probably has a pretty good idea of who God is since before this mess he was faithful to him. Probably, Job knows all this advice, so instead of needing counsel he needs to know why God is pointing his heavenly shotgun at Job and firing away. Job knows God, and in light of that knowledge there is only one explanation: God is on the attack (6:4).

I read up on some commentary on these two chapters, and here are some additional insights that are helpful:

Job 5:2 - Eliphaz's speech includes a description of those who God punishes, the fool and the unwise. Job's friend is implying that Job was just such a person. It's more of a "Well, God punishes evil, and you're being punished, so...maybe you should connect the dots." He assumes that it is just for Job to receive such a judgment, because obviously he deserved it for some reason. This clarifies Job's response a little, where he asks his friends to be honest and tell him how he has sinned before the Lord.
6:15 - Some strong commentary on Job's friends: "...and this their relation to him is an aggravation of their perfidy and treachery, unfaithfulness and deceit, by which is meant their balking and disappointing him in his expectations; when they came to visit him as friends, he might reasonably expect they came to condole and sympathize with him, and comfort him; but, instead of this they reproached him and grieved him, and were miserable comforters of him..."
6:25 - This an interesting point. It seems that Job acknowledges the validity of his friends words. He acknowledges that the things they say about God are indeed true. He recognizes that the words such as they are speaking carry weight and power. Yet, his friends were unjust in their application. Job didn't need reproval. He didn't need to be called out on some sin. He was not the fool headed for destruction. He lived an upright life. What he needed was consolation and empathy, of which he has thus far received none.

Well, I think the moral of this story is pretty clear: If the life of your friend is falling apart, don't jump the gun and explain his or her suffering as obviously the result of a sinful lifestyle. This seems like common sense to me, but it seems Job's friends were a little slow on the uptake.

I think this passage illustrates the power that words have. I need to be careful with the words that I use and how I direct them at people. James seems to agree (James 3:5-10).

Psalm 6-8

2007-09-24T07:36:00.000-07:00

Psalm 6-8

Psalm 6 is a pretty strong cry for relief, a pleading for the Lord to turn from anger and wrath. I was reading in a Matt Redman book recently that a true lament never questions the worth of God. I think there's a healthy way to lament, grieve, and cry out, and there's a very unhealthy way to do that. Even in the midst of pain, David has faith in the Lord that God hears the cries of his people (6:8-10). It's for the Lord's sake that David wants his life restored (6:4). I can be confident as David was confident that the Lord hears my prayers (6:9), even amidst trial.

Psalm 7 is another cry for rescue. I think 7:11 is interesting: "God is a righteous judge, and a God who feels indignation every day." I think sometimes I wonder why evil people seem to prosper alongside righteous people. How can there be a God when evil people do evil deeds and still come out on top? Yet, I think this verse is telling me that nothing escapes the eyes of the Lord. He sees all and he knows all, and he is grieved at the actions of people who do not love him. 7:12-16 shows the consequences of this, as the Lord is storing up his wrath and preparing to go to war against those who are unfaithful. Those who have led lives of hurtful deeds will themselves receive hurt (7:15-16). I definitely do not think I'd want to be on the opposing side when the Lord declares war.

This psalm of David is just a little different. I definitely don't spend any time praying for the anger of the Lord to blossom, but that is just what David does here (7:6). Should I be praying for the wrath of the Lord to burn against the unrighteous? Should the church? How does this idea reconcile with Jesus' call to love your enemies, and to pray for those who persecute you (Matt 5:44, Luke 6:27, Luke 6:35)? It seems like at some point we will be crying out for the Lord to take vengeance against the world. Indeed, the martyrs are already doing this (Rev 6:9-10). Yet, are we called to do that now? I'm not sure how this Psalm and the words of Christ fit together.

Psalm 8 is a shorter psalm. Having a huge interest in astronomy, 8:3-4 is of interest to me. I think there are very few things in creation that communicate the power and majesty of God like the things that exist in the heavens. 8:6-8 is also interesting. I think that people who fight so strongly for the rights of animals need to take a look at some of the verses in the Bible. It's clear from scripture that all things on the earth are under the dominion of man. I think it's easy to take this to an extreme, and I think it is easily abused, but there is this idea of a created order as found in scripture. Man and animals are not on the same order of creation. While there are huge aspects of stewardship that play into this, I don't think I'm in support of placing the rights of animals on the same level as the rights of humans.

Joshua 11-15

2007-09-22T09:32:00.000-07:00

Joshua 11-15

After the alliance in the last passage of Joshua, this one opens with an even bigger one, as the remaining kingdoms in Canaan unite against the Israelites (11:1-5). Yet, they were all delivered into Israel's hands through the power of the Lord, and Joshua killed all their kings and armies, and plundered all their cities (11:10-15). It must have been an incredible display of God's might, as the Israelites were vastly outnumbered (11:4). The rest of chapter 11 is a brief summary of the long era of war. God hardened the hearts of Israel's enemies, so that they were utterly destroyed (11:20). Then, at last, some of the land was finally at peace, even though more of the land awaited to be conquered (13:1-7).

Chapter 12 lists the kingdoms conquered by the Israelites so far. It's quite a list, and an incredible display of God's might. I think it might be interesting to do a study of OT warfare. It seems to me that it would have been impossible strategically for the Israelites to defeat all these armies. I wish I had a better understanding of what God had brought them through, and of how much they had to rely on God for victory.

Chapter 13 and some of 14 is a description of how the conquered land was divided among the tribes of Israel. I think it's interesting what the tribe of Levi, the priests of Israel, received as their inheritance (13:33): "But to the tribe of Levi Moses gave no inheritance; the LORD God of Israel is their inheritance, just as he said to them." While this may seem lame, I think inheriting the glory of God is a tad bit better than getting a chunk of land.

The passage ends with dividing of the land. The land has a rest from war at this point, but there is still much to do, especially with the Philistine nations.

Genesis 8-11

2007-09-21T07:54:00.000-07:00

Genesis 8-11

The last passage in Genesis ended with the power and fury of the Flood. In light of that, I like how 8:1 begins: "But God remembered Noah..." Even though Noah was in the midst of the storm, God was faithful to him and to his family. God remembered the man who was described as the only blameless person on the entire earth, even as he poured out his wrath. Even in the midst of judgment, God remembers and cares for his children.

What is Noah's response to all of this? It's found in 8:20: "Then Noah built an altar to the LORD and took some of every clean animal and some of every clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar." Noah's response to God's goodness is worship. His response is to build an altar to mark a spot where he declares his devotion to the Lord anew. I need to take more time to place markers in my life that declare my commitment to be a passionate follower of Christ. My response to who the Lord is and what he's done needs to be worship and sacrifice. It's this act, this pleasing aroma to the Lord, that leads to God's new promise to never flood the world again. It's interesting to me that Noah's worship is what leads to this declaration from the Lord (8:21).

9:8 starts the discussion of God's new covenant with Noah to never flood the earth again, and the rainbow as the symbol and reminder of this covenant. I know that rainbows are created by sun shining through water droplets in the earth's atmosphere. I think, though, the next time I see a rainbow, I'm going to try to remember the covenant that God made with all people and all creatures to never flood the earth again. It's a covenant that still stands today.

9:20-27 is completely confusing to me. I don't understand it. Maybe I'll come back to it later. I guess the point is that Shem and Japheth kept their honor of their father even in his drunkeness while Ham did not. That doesn't make sense to me, though, because how else would Ham have known his father was unclothed unless he saw it? Maybe everyone knew what was going on and he barged on in anyways? I read a couple commentaries on Studylight.org, and one interesting point is that Ham must have acted in some way so unfavorable that he brought a curse down upon himself and his future generations. There was obviously something to that. The passage isn't exactly specific, but it warranted a pretty severe punishment.

It's also interesting to note that earlier Noah was declared blameless, but here we see him drunk, passed out, and naked. There are some theories that argue that this was the first cultivation of wine, so Noah was unaware of the affect it would have on his body. If this is true, then fine. If not, then I think it illustrates a far weightier point, that being that Noah was declared blameless through faith and not by his deeds. He was still a man and able to sin. Yet, he was devoted to the Lord.

Most of the rest of the passage is details about the descendants of Noah and his family. I'm not entirely sure how Noah's family repopulated the whole earth without some measure of inbreeding. Not a thought so cheerful to think about. These passages are broken up by the story of the Tower of Babel. A quick, obvious note about that: God hates pride.

It's pretty crazy how quickly man reverts to a life of sin and bondage, through Noah's son Ham. Even after surviving an incredible flood of an entire planet and hearing a new covenant from the Lord, there is still an overwhelming, base desire in the character of man to reject God and his decrees. From the very first chapters of the Bible, there is almost an audible groan and cry for a Redeemer.

Romans 3-4

2007-09-20T07:56:00.000-07:00

Romans 3-4

I think this is the point where Romans starts to get into some seriously heavy stuff. Reading the book of Romans is a challenge for me. I find that I'm rereading things fairly often.

3:3 discusses the faithfulness of God, and how God remains faithful despite the Israelite's faithlessness. A logical conclusion would be that God should not inflict his wrath on those who are unfaithful, but in 3:6 Paul rejects this idea. One of God's roles is judge of the world, so he could not do that if he withheld his wrath in full. 3:8 begins to introduce the heresy that people should do evil so that good may abound, since God is the master craftsman when taking broken things and using them to glorify himself. Talk about an utter perversion of God's grace! I think Paul writes more about this later in the book.

I thought that opening passage on God's wrath was pretty bleak, but it gets worse. Not only are there those who excel in evil, but 3:11-18 indicates that no one is worthy and no one seeks the face of God. All have turned aside and not even a single person does any good in the world. It feels to me like Paul is building towards something. I think he's building a case for the depravity of man. Furthermore, in 3:19-20, Paul states that the law speaks to those under it and holds them accountable to the Lord. Yet, the law itself is condemnation because it gives those under it the knowledge of sin. Those under the law can choose to disobey the law, thereby giving them knowledge of what is sinful and what is not. No one can be justified to God in such a system. Maybe ignorance really is bliss?

The crux comes in 3:21, where Paul states that the righteousness of God has manifested apart from the law through Christ, even though the law and prophets bear witness to the work of Christ. This upholds the law (3:31). All have sinned, and so through Christ we receive righteousness as grace and as a gift (3:23-24). I think if I stopped here and worked on this, my life would be much more fulfilling. How often do I force myself into a position that I need to live well for grace to continue to be present? Paul states here that the righteousness we receive through Christ is a gift. It is unmerited and undeserved. All I have to do is say "yes, I want that", and have faith that it is truth. It seems like a simple task, and yet it seems like I get so hung up on it.

The example that Paul gives to illustrate a gospel of faith rather than a gospel of works is that of Abraham, whose faithfulness to the Lord was accredited to him as righteousness. Abraham was faithful, so he received righteousness as his due. Yet this happened before he had been circumcised, i.e. before he had fallen under the Jewish law (4:10). He received circumcision as a seal and proof that he had remained faithful before knowing the law (4:11), thereby securing him as the father of those who would believe apart from the law. Yet, Abraham was also circumcised in light of his faithfulness to God, making him the father of those who fall under the law (4:12). I think what Paul's getting at here is that Abraham was singularly representative of having faith in the Lord from two different perspectives: those under the law, and those not under the law. If both are justified by faith, then really how is the law able to justify, since the one who did not know the law was also justified through faith? The Lord shows favor in who he will and blesses who he will, and it's not through upholding the law, but through faith, as summarized in 4:13.

4:14-16 definitely made me stop and do a double-take. Here it is:

"For if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. For the law brings wrath, but where there is no law there is no transgression. That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring—not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham..."

This is rocking my world. I think it's intellectually difficult but possible to accept the fact that grace is a gift. I think it's much harder to realize that this effectively means there is no law. If grace and salvation truly is a gift, and it truly is undeserved, unmerited favor, then it's like there was no law to begin with. If there's no law, then there are no law-breakers. How incredible is this?! The work of Christ is so all-encompassing that it's like I'm back before the Fall, before a law was necessary. How can grace be anything but a gift? I could never live my life in a way that effectively eliminates the law. It's only Christ who did so! When I accept grace through faith, my life becomes his life!

Dang.

I just read this morning in a Matt Redman book that the unquenchable worshipper can always find a reason to worship. Based on Romans 4, I'd say he's pretty much right.

Also, I like the description of God in 4:17: "who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist." God is a God of incredible things that shouldn't happen or exist, and yet they do, because he does.

Matthew 3-4

2007-09-19T07:50:00.000-07:00

Matthew 3-4

John the Baptist's message in 3:2 is just as applicable today as when he said it: "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand". The kingdom of God is now, today! I've been thinking a lot lately about kingdom values and a kingdom perspective, as opposed to other perspectives I could have. While Christ has not returned and there is still a part of the kingdom yet to be revealed, the kingdom is also now because Christ has died and risen again. Therefore, I need to repent! I need to turn from sin to Christ, because now is the time of his reign.

I'd say that John the Baptist had a pretty important job, that of prophesying the coming of Christ, and baptizing people in his name. He seemed to have a pretty simple life, as in 3:4: "Now John wore a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey." I wonder how I could simplify my life a little more...

3:10 demonstrates to me that it was widely known that the Pharisees and Jewish leaders were not the most honorable people. It's obvious that Jesus knew the true motivations of their hearts, as he frequently judged them. Here, though, John also knows their true character, so it seems to me that there was at least some general knowledge of their misdeeds.

I'm not sure about the passage of time here, but the baptism of Jesus is interesting to me. The Pharisees come to John's baptism, and are rebuked by him. In 3:13 it says "Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John...". That sounds to me like the Pharisees are still there, when Jesus is baptized. Maybe there's some general passage of time, but if not, then the Pharisees witnessed the event that happened immediately after Jesus' baptism, in 3:16-17:

"And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, 'This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.'"

It kind of sounds to me like the Pharisees stuck around for this. If so, then they knew from the beginning who Christ was. I wish I know more about the passage of time here. It would clear things up. It seems like it is possible that the Pharisees witnessed this event, though. The Greek word for "Then" is "Tote", which translates to "at that time". Hmmm...

4:2 is kind of funny to me: "And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry". Dang straight he was hungry! I think you can assume Christ was drinking water through this time, since there are plenty of places in the Bible that are very specific about the type of fasting being done. Plus, unless this was a supernatural fast, the body can only survive for short periods of time without water. It's interesting that Jesus was tempted after going into the wilderness to fast and, I'd assume, to pray and spend time with God. That seems like a weird time to be tempted. I usually think of time with God as a safe haven and as reprieve from the temptations of life.

Then again, Christ resisted temptation from the devil (4:11). Straight up, face to face, and he remained faultless. Now that Christ has died and risen and is now living in me, then I guess that means I can resist the temptations of the devil. Straight up, face to face. That's pretty hardcore. Why I am I so easily swayed? I need to remember this truth more often in my life.

I've always been told and taught that Jesus never had a home, but was constantly on the move. That may be true, but then I'm not sure how that reconciles with 4:13: "And leaving Nazareth he went and lived in Capernaum by the sea...". The transliterated word is "Katoikeo", which means to dwell, settle, or inhabit. It seems like, at least for some period of time as Jesus was starting his ministry, he lived in Capernaum.

The passage closes with Jesus calling the first disciples and beginning his ministry of preaching, teaching and healing.

Isaiah 7-11

2007-09-18T07:41:00.000-07:00

Isaiah 7-11

7:14 has a prophecy about Christ, in that the virgin will bear a son and he will be called Immanuel.

I think that 8:3 illustrates how the passage of time is sometimes interesting in the Old Testament. In one sentence, a woman conceives and bears a son. Unless human birth was vastly different in the OT, this still took 9 months. Yet, the author writes as if it happened instantaneously. There's a lot of history to cover in the OT, so it makes sense that things would move fairly quickly, chronologically. Yet, it's still a little weird. My tendency is to gloss over such statements without thinking about their proper context.

8:12-15 seems to be especially applicable to this day and age, at least at face value. I like this passage a lot:

"Do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, and do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread. But the LORD of hosts, him you shall honor as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. And he will become a sanctuary and a stone of offense and a rock of stumbling to both houses of Israel, a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem."

I think this is cool. There's a lot of fear in our world today. Sometimes I wonder why there is so much fear over terrorism. I think it's the responsibility of government to protect itself and its people, but in the end it seems like all the work is pointless. God is really in control, and it's at his whim that things happen or do not happen. Physical death may be a scary thing at times, but shouldn't we be more fearful of the state of our souls, or other's souls? My time on earth is a splinter in comparison to my time in eternity. I think I need to exchange my unhealthy fear of evil for a healthy fear of the Lord. In the end, God is my sanctuary and my strong tower, and that defense is far and above greater than any man could devise on his own.

10:5-11 is pretty interesting to me. Here God is shown as commanding and directing the Assyrian nation to enact his punishment and wrath on Israel. 10:10 states that the Lord used this nation even though their idols were greater than those of Israel. God used a nation of greater evil as the instrument of his wrath against his own people. Again, this passage is telling me that God is completely serious about the obedience of his people. At the same time, Assyria is ignorant of the Lord and prideful of their power and wealth, and so the Lord's judgment is also for them. How would a situation like this play out today, if at all? What nations has the Lord used in recent times for his purposes?

Job 3-4

2007-09-17T07:29:00.000-07:00

Job 3-4

In chapters 1 and 2, Job loses his family, his possessions, and his health. He is in utter despair, yet he enters into worship in what I think is one of the most powerful moments in all of scripture. It's at this point that Job's three friends come to be with him in his grief.

I'm having a hard time with this passage. I'm not pulling a lot out of it. I think it might be difficult to read Job in this format, because the book is an ongoing conversation. I think it is interesting that Job curses the day he was born, but he does not take his life into his own hands. I think that a lot of people in Job's position would simply give up on life. While Job may wish that the day of his birth had never happened, he still does not end his life. Indeed, he seems to seek death, yet it eludes him (3:21).

The first friend of Job, Eliphaz, opens the conversation. He seems to indicate that Job was someone who was a friend to others. He was someone who provided counsel and support to those in need. Now it was his turn to be ministered to (4:1-5). I think it's interesting how it is so easy for me to give wise counsel to others yet there are so many times when I don't listen to my own advice. I'm not sure how I can proclaim to someone else the greatness and goodness of God if I don't lean on that in my own hardships.

The last half of chapter 4 is pretty confusing to me, but I think one of the main ideas is that life is fragile, and that people are as dust before the Lord. My life is the blink of an eye in the face of eternity, and I'm never really going to be that smart or that popular or that important, in the grand scheme of things. I think it's Christ in me who is important.

This was a confusing passage.

Psalm 3-5

2007-09-14T07:23:00.000-07:00

Psalm 3-5

I love the Psalms. There are some pretty cool things found in the Psalms. It shows how some people in Biblical history have communicated with God, and those people communicated with God with far more emotion and passion than I do on a regular basis. There's joy, praise, anger, sorrow, confusion, desperation, and more. There have also been some really cool passages that I've read in Eugene Peterson's The Message translation.

There's also cool little nuggets found in the Psalms that communicate truths about God. I think that I have sort of grabbed on to these statements, as a way to assure myself of who God is. I love that about the Psalms, because it's a place in scripture where I can really stand on who God is. I can know certain things about him. For example, in 3:5 David talks about sleeping, and then awaking because of the fact that God sustained him through the night. I think it shows the personal, loving nature of God, who watches over, protects, and sustains his children while they sleep, a state of pretty high vulnerability. Every day that I wake up is another day of God's grace, because he has sustained my life another day and another night.

3:3 is another nugget, where the Psalmist states that God is his glory. On Studylight, glory in the original language is Kabowd, which means things such as abundance, riches, dignity, reputation, severance, and splendor. God was David's riches, his dignity, his reputation, and his splendor. What would my worship look like if it was more like David's?

4:3 is a another statement to stand in. The Lord sets the godly apart for himself, and he hears me when I call. That's a profound statement. Because of God's word, I can be assured that God hears me when I call out, when I pray, and when I seek him. He's listening. It's small nuggets of truth like that that I can remember when I feel like God is not listening to me, when I feel like he's disinterested or not around. He listens, and he hears.

4:8 is also about sleep, saying that the Lord alone is responsible for our lying down in safety. God is control, and it's at his whim whether we are safe or in danger.

In 5:4, the Psalmist says that evil cannot dwell with the Lord. I've heard the statement a lot that God cannot be in the presence of evil. Here's some support for that. This also translates to us as seen in the following verses, as the Lord hates and cannot be in the presence of the boastful, evildoers, liars, deceivers, and bloodthirsty men. How great then is our salvations in Christ! Without Christ, we could not be in the presence of God due to his very nature being completely contrary to ours! Yet, we are fit to be in the presence of God, because we are clothed in Christ.

I need to be more aware of my salvation, and Christ's work on the cross. If I realized what Christ has done, I would have so much more joy in my life. Yet, I'm more concerned with the latest crisis than what God has done for me through his son. I am in Christ and faultless to stand before the throne of the living God. That's something to be excited about.

Joshua 6-10

2007-09-13T07:42:00.000-07:00

Joshua 6-10

Joshua 6 is all about the Israelite's conquest of Jericho. What an awesome sight it must have been! I bet the citizens of Jericho thought the Israelites were out of their mind, marching around their huge walls blowing horns. It doesn't really seem like very good strategy. Also, was this a leisurely walk? Or were the Israelites under constant assault from from ranged weapons?

6:17 is an interesting verse. It says that just about everything in the city is devoted to the Lord fro the explicit purpose of being destroyed. That phrase just kind of caught me, "devoted to the Lord for destruction". I'm not sure if that's ever going to be applicable in my life, but it sure makes me think about some of the ways I put God into a box. Devoting something to the Lord for destruction doesn't seem like something we really hear about much.

Also, 6:21 is a hard verse. The Israelites are ordered to kill all in the city: men and women, young and old, even animals. That sure clashes with our concept of moral warfare. We typically restrict our battles to between combatants, and killing civilians is viewed as a tyrannical act. Yet, this is what God commanded the Israelites to do. I'm not sure if there will ever be a time when this is required again, at least not before Christ's return, but it's just interesting to consider. While most people argue that warfare in the Old Testament is not applicable to today, the Bible also says that all scripture is useful for teaching (2 Timothy 3:16). War is a reality, and there's got to be something we can learn about it based on the Old Testament as well as the New.

Chapter 7 is pretty wild, and I don't really understand it. Of all the nation of Israel that attacks Jericho, one man defies the Lord's instructions to not keep any spoils, and this one man's sin leads to a military defeat for Israel. Joshua communes with the Lord, discovers the problem and the man who made it (Achan), and then proceeds to stone and burn Achan and all his family and possessions.

It seems to me that this demonstrates, if anything, how sin collectively affects the body of Christ. It reduces the overall moral character of a community. I'm not sure how in the however thousands or millions of Israelites only one single man gave in to the temptation to keep the spoils of Jericho, but this one man brought ruin upon the entire nation. That's a pretty heavy idea. God is incredibly serious about sin and about our obedience to him. I think we should probably take a step back and re-evalute how our decisions affect the people around us, whether we see it or not.

Despite the sin of the Israelites, in chapter 8 God uses the defeat of the Israelites as a means of strategy. The Israelites feign a defeat as before, but this draws the army of Ai out of the city so that the hidden rearguard of the Israelite army can capture the city when it is unguarded. After the city is taken, the army of Ai is caught in a pincer position between the two halves of the Israelite army. It seems like God redeemed the previous defeat and made it into something useful, into something that yet again displayed his glory.

I would not want to be one of the people living in Canaan at this time. They must have been doing some pretty messed up stuff for the anger of the Lord to burn so strongly against them. Again in Ai, every single person is killed, and the King of Ai is hung on a tree for a day and then his body is left at the front gate under a pile of stones. God is using Israel as his instrument of wrath against the peoples of Canaan.

In chapter 9 we see the effect of Israel becoming a legitimate military power. Some of the groups in the lands start to unite together against Israel, while others attempt to deceive the Israelites and live among them so that they will not be killed. There is great fear in the land of Canaan because of what the Israelites have been doing through the Lord.

The last two chapters of the passage detail Joshua's conquest of the Amorites and Southern Canaan. There is more of the same, with the Israelites capturing city after and city and utterly destroying all of them.

I think God is serious about sin, and I think he's serious about his glory.

Genesis 4-7

2007-09-12T07:45:00.000-07:00

Genesis 4-7

In the first part of Chapter 4 is the story of the first murder. It's not entirely clear, based on the text, why the Lord was pleased with Abel's offering but not with Cain's. There was obviously something about the way Abel offered to the Lord as opposed to Cain. In the ESV, it is stated that Abel brought his firstborn portion, while no mention of this is applied to Cain. In any case, it leads to jealousy on the part of Cain, who ends up murdering his brother.

It's interesting to me that God still seems concerned about saving Cain in some fashion. He punishes Cain by making him a wanderer in foreign lands, but at the same time curses anyone who should take Cain's life. I wonder if this had to do with the fact that the world would have potentially been unpopulated, and God needed even Cain to continue to bear children (and I use the term "needed" extremely loosely). Even from the beginning of the entire Bible we see God putting things in place to ensure the saving of his people.

In 4:25, Eve bears another child, and she declares this child was given to her because Cain killed Abel. Obviously, Cain's act was public knowledge. I wonder what the response of Adam and Eve to Cain would have looked like. Did they find out after Cain had left for Nod? It seems like there is an air of deception and secrecy in Cain's actions, based on 4:8. Yet, Eve is aware of Cain's actions.

Chapter 5 is another genealogy list. I'm not sure what to pull from sections like this, or how they are useful. It's crazy to think about how long these people lived.

Genesis 6:1-4 has always been a pretty confusing and convoluted passage to me. I read a couple commentaries on this section. I think the general idea is that those who followed the Lord began to intermarry with the women in the excommunicated race of Cain, despite the Lord's wishes. This led to some probably pretty horrible deeds of "renown", contributing to the rise of wickedness in mankind that culminated in the flood. That makes sense to me, but the wording of this passage is still weird.

It seems that this intermarrying brought about the corruption of the God's people, so much so that the entire earth was filled with evil and God desired to destroy man. If Noah truly was the only man on earth who sought the Lord (6:7-8), then it must have been a truly terrible place. The strong bonds formed between God's people and the race of Cain through marriage eventually overtook all the earth so that no one was left who was worthy to save, except for Noah, who was blameless in his generation (6:9). This passage gives a strong example of why Christians should not be unequally yoked with non-believers (2 Corinthians 6:14).

The flood is described in 7:17-24. I'm sitting here trying to imagine the power and fury of the flood. Noah had to bring birds onto the ark, because the flood was so incredible that the tallest mountains on earth were submerged. It makes sense, because it would seem that birds can't survive at that altitude. The earth became an oceanic planet for 150 days. No doubt every living thing was killed. I mean, that almost seems like a little overkill. I doubt that people at that time in history had the ability to scale the world's tallest mountains. Yet, the wrath of God was poured out upon the earth, utterly obliterating everything in its path, its power and fury beyond our expectations.

I don't know how Noah responded to all this, but I think that I might have been just a tad freaked out. I have an irrational fear of tidal waves. The idea of being in a boat on the open sea in the midst of storms and huge waves freaks me out. I can't imagine that the earth filling up with water was like plugging a kitchen sink and letting the water level rise. I think it was probably vastly more furious. It must have been an awesome/terrifying moment for Noah and his family. Terrifying in seeing the wrath of the Lord displayed, yet awesome in the fact that Noah and his family were protected by the Lord. It doesn't seem right to me to think that Noah would have been vainly trying to keep the ark afloat. I picture it more as the one sane place in a world full of terror.

Romans 1-2

2007-09-11T07:31:00.000-07:00

Romans 1-2

One thing that I learned in the mentor training study is that Paul is a very encouraging person (1:8). He starts most, if not all, of his letters telling his recipients that he thanks God for them. I think that encouragement is a weakness of the modern/post-modern church. Has anyone from my community ever told me that they thank God because of me? I don't think so. Have I ever told someone in my community that I thank God because of them? I don't think so. I think that encouragement is incredibly necessary, and yet it is done so little.

Paul longs to visit the church in Rome, and he longs to be mutually encouraged (1:12). I think that this was made real to me when Samson, from Mali, visited Ethnos and shared his testimony. I think that him and us were both mutually encouraged to hear about his life and church halfway around the world.

In his introductions, Paul makes clear his grounding in the gospel, and also how he bears no shame because of it (1:16). Why should he? The gospel is "the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes". The gospel is the power of God! The message of Jesus and what he's done carries weight and significance. I've been wondering, this week specifically, why I sometimes shy away from my faith around nonbelievers. I need to do the opposite and proclaim the gospel boldly in my life. I think a verse like this can change my perspective on why I should.

1:18-1:32 is a hard passage to swallow. We don't always want to talk about the wrath of God, or the judgment of God, yet those are two true aspects of his character. It feels like Paul is setting the stage for the rest of Romans. Can we truly understand grace and salvation if we don't understand what we are being saved from? I think if I understood the wrath of God more fully, I'd be much more joyful about salvation. Some general notes from this section:

The wrath of God is against all of unrighteous humanity
People are unrighteous and suppress the truth about God from themselves
The truth about God is clearly displayed in the works of creation, so that no one can claim they did not know about God
As people reject God and his ways, they continually become of clouded mind and thought
As people reject God, they become even more prideful and claim wisdom, yet have exchanged wisdom for foolishness
As people reject God and their hearts desire things not of God, God gives them over to their dark passions and perversions
People spiral more and more out of control, commit ever escalating acts of evil, and approve of others who do the same

I think we need to swallow all of this down. The wrath of God burns against humanity, because people who have not been redeemed by Christ are evil by nature. It's not until we know Christ that our nature changes. Because God is completely holy and completely just, he has no choice but to judge such a people.

I think the cycle that Paul writes about here is interesting, wherein people start to reject God and then begin to lack the ability to perceive and understand truth. That sort of starts this snowball effect, where clouded thinking encourages more perverse behavior which encourages more perverse thinking, etc. I've see this in people in my life. I've seen this in my life at times, where I'm not living in a way that God would have me, and my mind gets tossed about. It's when I'm grounded in prayer and in the Word that I am able to most fully discern truth from deception.

A note: it's clear from 1:26 and 1:27 that God abhors homosexuality. It's a fact. That's a pretty loaded statement in our PC-conscious culture. It's offensive to say that the homosexual lifestyle is not right, not correct, not moral, and not good. Yet, homosexuality is clearly detestable to the Lord. In light of this verse, I am simply baffled every time I hear a news story about some church denomination debating about whether they should let practicing homosexuals become pastors. It utterly floors me. I think God is in love with homosexuals, the same way he loves prostitutes, businessmen, painters, porn stars, and presidents. Yet, God absolutely hates sin, and in this passage homosexual relationships are specifically mentioned as a pretty severe perversion of human existence.

This passage freaks me out. The wrath of God freaks me out. I think you're really in trouble once you get to a point where this passage doesn't scare you anymore, or the wrath of God doesn't seem all that bad.

2:1 starts off with a "Therefore". I'm going to keep track of these therefore's, because it means that Paul is using something previously stated as a foundation for his next statement. In this case, because the judgment of God burns against all unrighteousness, there is no basis for judgment against those who commit such offenses by those who also commit the same offenses.

While 2:6-11 is pretty thick, the idea seems pretty basic. For those who seek the favor of the Lord, they will receive eternal life. For those who seek selfishnesses, they will receive the wrath of God in full. There's already this idea of the "truth" of God, and the contrast between those who obey it and those who do not.

2:12-29 is a contrast between Jew and Gentile, or those who have the law of God as defined in the Old Testament and those who do not. I think this passage is really showing the law as insufficient. Those who don't have the law can still follow it, and those who have it can still break it. You can almost remove it from the equation. The law is not a means of salvation, because once you've broken it, your spiritual existence is in jeopardy (2:25). You can't really judge those who don't have the law or those who don't follow it, because most likely you are doing the same things in turn.

If Romans ended here, things would look pretty bleak. We can start to understand the wrath of God and the futility of the law to prevent it. Fortunately, Paul has much more to say, as will be seen the coming weeks.

Matthew 1-2

2007-09-10T11:49:00.000-07:00

Matthew 1-2

The genealogy of Jesus is what immediately grabbed me about this passage. I feel like the idea of a genealogy has little or no bearing or application on my life. I know my relatives back to my grandparent's generation, and barely a handful of those further back. This section is obviously intended for Jewish readers, as Gentiles would not relate at all to those people listed. I think it's cool to have a record of the lineage of Christ, though. The Jews seem to have a real sense of history and connection with the past.

1:19 was interesting to me. I didn't quite understand why Joseph divorcing Mary quietly would be accredited to him as righteousness. I tried to put this into a modern day perspective. Joseph and Mary were engaged, and then Mary comes and tells him that she's pregnant. Since they're not married, I'm betting that Joseph thought that Mary had slept with another man. He probably would have been within his right to make a public spectacle of the scandal, but he instead was determined to end the relationship quietly out of respect and compassion for Mary.

This seems like a contrary idea to typical culture. I think that when people are hurt or wronged they feel it is within their right to return pain with pain, or humiliation, embarrassment, etc. Yet, it seems to me that Joseph was determined to honor Mary even in the context of her "sin". In any case, Mary conceived, miraculously, through the Holy Spirit, so it becomes a non-issue.

In 1:21, Joseph is given the instruction to name his son Jesus. For whatever reason, I don't know if I've ever looked up what Jesus' name means. Studylight.org translates Jesus as meaning "Jehovah is Salvation". I wonder if Jesus was a common name during New Testament times, or if Jesus was a name that immediately set Christ apart. Was it a name that people would immediately recognize as being significant? Or was Jesus the John or Mike of his time?

I think that by Chapter 2 it's already pretty obvious that there is a great aspect of spiritual warfare wrapped up in the ministry of Christ. Herod is plotting, scheming and lying his way into an opportunity to kill Christ. The Magi are warned off through a dream. Then we see Herod escalating the situation by trying to kill everyone, and then Joseph is guided to flee his home and country. Even from birth, there is controversy, scandal, and struggle surrounding the life of Jesus.