Ezra Trusting God

In my daily Bible reading the other day I was in Ezra 8 and found the passage beginning at verse 21 to be very interesting:

I proclaimed a fast there beside the Ahava Canal, a fast to humble ourselves before our God and pray for wise guidance for our journey—all our people and possessions. I was embarrassed to ask the king for a cavalry bodyguard to protect us from bandits on the road. We had just told the king, "Our God lovingly looks after all those who seek him, but turns away in disgust from those who leave him."

So we fasted and prayed about these concerns. And he listened.

Ezra was preparing to journey to Jerusalem with quite a group of people and items for rebuilding the temple. Ezra was not without reason to be concerned about theft because later we learn that he was carrying "25 tons of silver, 100 vessels of silver valued at three and three-quarter tons of gold, 20 gold bowls weighing eighteen and a half pounds, 2 vessels of bright red copper, as valuable as gold."

One might desire a small army to guard that much stuff nowadays as well as protecting a rather large group of people.

At first when I read this I thought Ezra had actually asked the King for help so I had to read it a few times.

Does remind me of discussions I've had in my life when I've expressed my faith that the Lord would take care of me.

Obadiah

My daily reading yesterday in the Bible was Obadiah.

It is one chapter and short on words as well as succinct on message.

It is not difficult to understand generally although there are plenty of problems in details as is pretty common.

There are two things that just really stood out for me as I read.

The stronger was the idea that failure to act was as bad as contributing to the act itself:

On that day you stood there and didn't do anything.
Strangers took your brother's army into exile.

Godless foreigners invaded and pillaged Jerusalem.
You stood there and watched.

You were as bad as they were.

You shouldn't have gloated over your brother
when he was down-and-out.

You shouldn't have laughed and joked at Judah's sons
when they were facedown in the mud.

You shouldn't have talked so big
when everything was so bad.

You shouldn't have taken advantage of my people
when their lives had fallen apart.

You of all people should not have been amused
by their troubles, their wrecked nation.

You shouldn't have taken the shirt off their back
when they were knocked flat, defenseless.

And you shouldn't have stood waiting at the outskirts
and cut off refugees,

And traitorously turned in helpless survivors
who had lost everything.

I found that passage rather appropriate to our modern world.

The second thing that jumped out at me was the idea that perceived security is not real security:

You thought you were so great,
perched high among the rocks, king of the mountain,
Thinking to yourself,
'Nobody can get to me! Nobody can touch me!'

Think again. Even if, like an eagle,
you hang out on a high cliff-face,
Even if you build your nest in the stars,
I'll bring you down to earth."

Something we should all remember.

Song of Solomon in The Message

In my daily Bible reading I am using The Message by Eugene Peterson.

What a treat the Song of Solomon is in this version! I so enjoyed reading Peterson's paraphrase and it made me think about the Song of Solomon from entirely different perspectives.

I have to say that The Message version is even more sensual than I remembered.

I am now reading in the Proverbs and find my reading to be equally happy and beneficial. What a treasure is the Proverbs. I haven't read there in a while.

At the same time though I have this friend that sends me anti-Christian stuff all the time. She knows I am a believer. I am not sure why she sends it. I've known her a long time and she is not a cruel person. In fact she's a nice person.

I think she must think the stuff is just funny and is unable to understand that the material might hurt my feelings.

I thought about asking her to remove my name from her list or maybe even complaining about what she sends me.

But I decided that we've been friends too long. Besides I think she'd never understand since she isn't a believer herself.

I think my friend is not particularly anti-Christian. Mainly I think she thinks that Christians are conservative and she's liberal. I think she is more non-religious than anything else and more understands the world in political terms.

Now the stuff she sends comes from people who are anti-Christian in particular and anti-religion in general. Generally the material makes fun of Christians and Christian belief. As I understand it I think these people would be quite happy if Christians disappeared.

I think they would not really want to kill Christians but I think it wouldn't hurt their feelings if someone else did. More than anything else I think they want to discourage people from being Christian or at least openly admitting it. They think they are doing a good thing of course.

So I can kind of understand a bit that they would produce and disseminate content that is hurtful to Christians. But why my friend would do it I really don't much understand.

I wonder if the world would be a lot different if there were no Christians?

Or maybe I didn't say anything to my friend because I lost my temper the other day.

I shouldn't have but I did. I still feel badly about it. There had been about 20 preceding incidents where I could have lost my temper and I didn't.

Funny how you can do well 20 times and then the 21st time gets you.

Just Let It Unfold

The other day I blogged about a book I had read by Dean Koontz and how I had appreciated it more since I finished it than when I was reading it. In that book the hero needs a new heart.

His girlfriend is an aspiring author who discusses the concept of subtext with him. She begs him to "just let it unfold" when he signs up on the heart transplant list. But he is very rich and begins to lose confidence in the system and decides to change to a new doctor. His old doctor is a true friend but the new doctor is one who promises results.

The new doctor does get results, too. But it turns out that the heart for the hero has been purchased and results in the death of an innocent young woman.

I have a friend right now that needs a new liver. Not too many years ago another friend needed a new heart. Regularly I read about someone who has given a kidney to someone else.

And we all know about the hope of stem cells being used to grow new organs and the resulting debate that is ongoing about the ethical implications of such technology.

At any rate the situation in that book about someone needing a new heart is all too plausible. That someone rich enough could simply buy what is needed is all too plausible as well. We know this because from time to time we read stories about an entire black market for organs.

In the case of organ transplantation there is a system in place that is meant to protect the innocent while assisting those in need.

In the book it is the man's fear that drives him to seek out a heart at all costs. His fear of death was just so great that he could not keep his promise to his girlfriend. He gained his life but lost everything else.

Jesus said something similar in Matthew 10:38-39 (The Message):

If you don't go all the way with me, through thick and thin, you don't deserve me. If your first concern is to look after yourself, you'll never find yourself. But if you forget about yourself and look to me, you'll find both yourself and me.

Fear is mostly what keeps us from faith. A lot of people would argue that it is unbelief but that's just what the absence of faith is -- not what keeps us from believing.

Many of us want to live our lives in the freedom of faith. But we just cannot make ourselves let go of whatever security we think we have. We are just too scared to let go.

In Luke 18:18 there is this story about a "rich young ruler" who comes to Jesus and says that he's followed all the commandments but wants to know what he has to do to deserve eternal life. Jesus tells him he only needs to sell everything he has and give it to the poor and then follow Jesus. The young ruler couldn't do it.

I was thinking about examples in the Bible where people decided to help God out rather than just let what God had promised unfold. There are plenty of examples.

For instance God promises Abraham and Sarah a child. But when she fails to become pregnant Sarah decides God needs a bit of assistance. And she has the power to effect something the consequences of which remain with us to this day.

Or another time Abraham says that Sarah is his sister instead of his wife because he's afraid the truth will get them all killed.

Eventually though Abraham gets it right when he takes Isaac up to the mountain to offer the sacrifice.

Yesterday my Bible reading was in Psalm 119. Verse 1:

You're blessed when you stay on course, walking steadily on the road revealed by God.

Often it is the most difficult test of faith to wait on the Lord.

Stay the course.

The General and the servant girl

I was reading the other day in 2 Kings 5. It is the most interesting story of a general named Naaman who was afflicted with leprosy. Eventually he goes to the prophet, Elisha, who by his own servant tells the general to immerse himself in the Jordan river and he will be cured.

Naaman really does not like this idea nor does he like talking to Elisha's servant instead of Elisha directly. So initially he stomps off refusing to do it. Well, his underlings persuade him to change his mind by telling him that he would do something complicated if he had been instructed to do so; therefore, why not do something simple.

I'm paraphrasing of course.

Naaman goes and dunks himself in the Jordan seven times and he is healed.

There's more, too.

Much later -- hundreds of years -- this story becomes very important in the life of Jesus, the Messiah. So it is an important story.

What really interests me is why Naaman wants to go to Elisha in the first place. That's because his wife has told him what her servant girl said. The servant girl is from Israel and was captured by Naaman's King on a previous raid.

Her name is not mentioned in the account. And she doesn't tell Naaman directly but only his wife, her mistress.

The story obviously is not about the servant girl but somehow I have become fixated on her. I keep thinking about her.

For one thing she must have been an exceptional woman because Naaman immediately took the advice upon hearing it. I wouldn't take advice from someone I didn't have a lot of respect for.

I wonder how she felt about being captured and removed from her home and family and life? I wonder if she was resentful or angry or depressed or all the emotions I can imagine myself feeling.

I wonder why she cared so much for Naaman? I wonder if it was because of his wife or the man himself or was it just something in the heart of this unnamed, young girl?

I wonder if she knew the Lord? And if she did I wonder if she felt herself called into His service? Was she at peace because she felt that calling even though she was a enslaved in a strange land?

I wonder if she was rewarded by the general when he returned home? I wonder how she felt when she found out he had been healed?

I wonder if she had any idea that her remark would play such an important part in world history? It was not a very significant statement really.

Makes me wonder about my own statements and my own life.

Last Words -- King David's -- Mine

In my Bible reading the other day I came near the end of 2 Samuel at Chapter 23. It begins "These are David's last words" followed by them of course.

My mind fell off the mountain of Biblical thought I was climbing. (I only climb rather small ones now.) It (my mind) began to think about what my last words would be if I were called upon to write them down. It sounds like my mind has a mind of its own doesn't it, entirely separate from my will? Sometimes I think it does, too, because I try to corral it and it just seems unmanageable at times.

That might have been an instance just now.

If my mind weren't connected to my mouth these episodes might be less stressful.

I think it is not the very last words of David but more likely the last written words. Probably it is like when several of us have stopped blogging and written our final posts on those blogs. Except they didn't exactly have blogging back then in David's time. And it was final before death. And he knew it. I am pretty sure I would stop blogging at least a few days in advance of my final breath.

That made me wonder about that time when I know that my life is concluding here on Earth. If I do know which is certainly not assured.

What would I say?

Partly it depends upon how long before my demise. And partly how I feel.

Of course unlike David I am not a king.

But I am the first son of my family. We do have a family business that will hopefully continue beyond my death. If I knew I were nearing death I think I would like to pass along a few things to my brother and my son especially about the family business. I would want my daughter and her husband and my grandchildren to know these things as well but I would be especially concerned about my son and brother because the mantle of leadership would fall more heavily on their shoulders.

That's what King David's "last words" seem like to me, too. His family business was being king. So I think as much as anything this is a little note for Solomon who would be King after David.

I think the actual message starts at verse 2. And I think that part is where David declares that he was called by God into his position. He makes the point that it was not just his calling but his family's calling. That's an important part.

Because of God's calling there are benefits to the family. But there are responsibilities, too.

I want my family to know that very same thing and to remember it and to honor and revere God.

Verse 3 also stakes out the high standard of righteous conduct and living and worship that David desires for his descendants. And that begins with reverence. I would encourage that, too.

Verse 4 is a reminder that God is the great provider. We need that reminder every day.

Verse 5 attests to the utter dependence we have on God for our salvation and our lives. David's family is certainly a good negative example in a lot of ways. But it is good to remember that we are all sinners. Some of us are bigger sinners than others but not by so much really. If we're getting through it will not be by our own efforts. If all my own children and grandchildren learn just that single fact I would be delighted.

Verse 6-7 is a warning to watch the relationships you make. That's a good one. It is really easy to fall in with bad companions especially for leaders who have lonely jobs just by nature of the position.

Then the rest of David's last words has to do with his mighty men. These were his trusted comrades, his loyal to the bone friends. These were people that could be depended upon. Leaders have to have those they trust and those who prove trustworthy. David names a few and tells why they are so trusted by him. I know some people like that and I think that's advice I could pass along as well.

That's how I see it at least.

Making Sense of The Bible

The Bible makes sense to me now but that was not always the case.

That statement requires some explanation. Because it did make some sense to me even when I was a very young child but still old enough to read for myself. That is the sense that I understood most of the words I read and even understood some of the stories.

But I did not have any kind of large view of the entirety of The Bible. It seemed disjointed to me with very little continuity of thought and characters. While some of the stories were compelling, many were also terrible and downright discouraging. The teaching itself in Sunday school added to the sense of discontinuity because I never understood the context if it was even presented. The sermons I heard mostly consisted of a reading of a verse of Scripture from the Old Testament and then a verse from the New Testament followed by a speech that to me seemed disconnected from either of the passages.

The God of the Old Testament seemed angry and often petty and rather human like to me. The Jesus of the New Testament was attractive in a way but seemed to be talking about a world that was so ideal as to be impossible. And the Gospels as far as I could tell dwelt on one thing whereas the letters told an entirely different story.

Large parts of the Bible were boring to me as well. It was certainly not something I enjoyed reading for sure.

Now, though, I love to read the Bible. I find a wonderful sense of continuity from front to back. I find all sorts of new nuggets here and there on my reading journeys. That's how it seems to me when I read the Bible now: a journey or, better, an exploration of new and unknown places. Like the Starship "Enterprise" boldly going where I haven't been before.

So what changed?

In my own journey of faith there was a time when I was searching for answers about suffering. I was led to the Book of Job which I obsessively read for about a month. One day as I was nearing the end of the book once again I was reading Job 42:5-6:

"I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear;
But now my eye sees You;
Therefore I retract,
And I repent in dust and ashes."

In an instant I realized that I was like Job. I had heard about God but I did not know Him. I had not seen Him. And in that same instant as though I had been sitting in a pitch black room and someone turned on the lights I could suddenly see this entirely different reality.

It was obvious that it was not a new reality but had been there all along. It was just different to me in that I had not ever experienced it before. I call it the Kingdom of God.

Experiencing that new reality made everything different not the least of which was me. Not the outside me but the inside me. My core was changed. My personality and my body all were the same but my spirit was different and there was something new as well.

I had this voracious hunger for God's Word then. It was like being famished except I needed the Scripture and not food. And I began reading as fast as I could. I began with John. I do not know why but that's where I started. I devoured it and wanted more and more. I believed what I was reading was true. That was a huge change because before I did not. It began to make more sense but there was plenty that I still did not understand.

I began to read a lot of other books about Theology and religion. Along the way I stumbled upon a religious philosophy called "Dispensationalism." It is a rather complete Theological system of itself that I found to be fascinating and helpful.

The most helpful thing for me was the idea that God deals with humankind in dispensations or administrations and that the rules of governance from one administration to another do not overlap. An example is the garden of Eden where Adam and Eve lived. There was one rule that God gave and it was quite simple. But that administration ended with man's failure to obey God and removal from the garden. Today God deals with man in an entirely different way.

It would be just as wrong for me to expect Adam and Eve to know anything about God's dealing with man today as it would be for me to refrain from eating the fruit of a certain tree.

This rather simple concept of time and context literally changed the way I read and studied Scripture. That's when I began to glimpse the beautiful and complex continuity of thought that ran throughout the Scripture. I was amazed when I began to unravel it.

I don't want to give the idea that I have arrived at some magic place where I now know and understand everything. Quite the contrary is true in fact. The more I learn and know the more I find I do not understand.

Except for one thing which continually comes into focus more clearly all the time. That's the love of God. It is as though I first glimpsed it through a telescope while I was far away from the source. Over time I have moved ever closer to the source and that love of God that I first so faintly glimpsed is now burning ever brighter and hotter and more intense than ever I could have imagined. And yet it remains a ways off.

That's the story about how the Bible began to make sense to me.

Thoughts on King Saul - Part 2

I don't know how many times I've read 1 Samuel but several. No matter how many times I read the Bible I find new things. Now some of that is just me because I can read most any book and forget it pretty quickly. Hopefully some of it is spiritual growth or I like to think so anyway.

The first thing that Saul did that displeased God was not waiting on Samuel to offer the sacrifice prior to battle. The account relates Saul's reason for doing it. His soldiers were abandoning him the longer they had to wait. So Saul decided he should go ahead himself and get things moving before everyone deserted him. He didn't have that many soldiers in the first place and he was facing a much larger force. I write all that just to indicate that I can understand his thinking.

At first I thought that Saul offering the sacrifice didn't seem like as big a deal to me as it apparently did to God. That really puzzled me and I have to think about things that puzzle me.

I think the thing is that if you really know that God is on your side then you do not require an army greater than one. In other words God plus one is about the same as God plus a thousand or God plus a million or even God plus a quadrillion.

So I've concluded that Saul did not really see God for Who He is because Saul thought he needed a human army and as big as he could get.

That view of God has to come from the inside -- the heart we usually say. It's one thing to have thoughts and theories about God. It is entirely another thing to "know" God emotionally, viscerally.

Another thing is that Saul apparently thought God did not keep His word. It does not take much Scripture reading to realize that God takes His Word very seriously.

What Saul did was extremely disrespectful to God.

Thoughts on King Saul - Part 1

My Bible reading has been in 1 Samuel recently.

The people of the nation of Israel want to be like the other nations and have a monarchy form of government. God tells them that's a bad idea and even provides reasons why. They ignore God's advice. So He chooses Saul to be the king.

Really I think this is so revealing about both God and man.

Why do we have this desire to be like everyone else?

Also, on the human side I find it amazing that we treat God's advice with such arrogant disdain. I guess it isn't just God's advice either. We all joke about how our parents get smarter the older we get.

On the God side it is amazing to me that He is so respectful of us. And that's especially true given the disdain we exhibit. If it were me in the same place I would be inclined to slap people upside the head.

Next I find it interesting that sometimes God gives us what we want even when what we want is not a very good idea.

I think that's an extreme case of "be careful what you ask for because you might get it."

I know doggone well that I've prayed for things that I didn't get and later figured out I owed God a great big thank you. And, yes, there are some answers I've received that I was so happy to get that turned out to be undesirable.

I admit that I find the story of Saul to be puzzling but I think I am beginning to grasp a few things.

Ruth

It was kind of a relief to leave Judges and read Ruth.

Judges has a few bright spots but overall it makes me sad. People are so mean to each other and mostly the leaders are shining examples of what not to do.

Ruth comes along set in the same time period. It is this well-known story of a young woman named Ruth who is loyal both to her mother-in-law, Naomi, and and to their God. The women both suffer terrible loss and are nearly at the point of starving. Then a man, Boaz, also faithful to God steps in to help and he and Ruth end up as lovers in a happy ending.

Most of the time people talk about Ruth's loyalty to and love for her mother-in-law, Naomi. Certainly I admired that part this time around myself. It is such a prominent part of the story and so beautiful and emotionally uplifting that it overshadows the tragedies and pain and deprivation.

But this time around I was struck by a couple of new things.

One thing is how hard Naomi's life has been. First she and her husband and sons leave their home because of famine and travel to Moab. There her husband dies and her sons marry and then they die. That's when she decides to go home.

When she gets home the town's people come out and say "Is this our Naomi?" She says don't call me that but call me "bitter" because God has been hard on me. Naomi means delight or pleasure or something along those lines.

Names and their meanings are important in Ruth and further emphasize the key points the narrative makes.

I thought to myself that if some of my Christian friends and acquaintances heard her say that she'd get in trouble with them pretty quickly. They'd jump right in and tell her that God doesn't cause any bad stuff and she'd better straighten up her act and not say that.

But really the more I think about it the more I think this is part of Naomi's resolute faith in God. Naomi is faithful herself. Even after what has happened to her she clings to her God even in the midst of another crisis. It is easy to think of her as being bitter after learning her history and then reading what she says about her name.

But I think it might just be that she recognizes the bitter circumstances of her life rather than being bitter. Because to me she does not seem personally bitter really. Either way though it is certainly understandable if she felt some bitterness especially so soon after her son's deaths.

Like most of us her life had not been all bad. It is easy for me to construct in my mind a happy family life in Moab. The book is short but covers quite a bit of time. Certainly she had the love of Ruth in her life. Who would not want to experience such self-sacrificing dedication and love? I wondered to myself if that single aspect was enough to keep her going at this point in her life.

A lot of us, maybe most, maybe all of us will eventually experience sadness and grief and loss to the point of wondering if we can really make it.

Another thing I thought about was how our circumstances just force us into certain courses of action. If there had been no famine then Naomi might have not left Israel. And if she hadn't gone to Moab she wouldn't have met Ruth. And if her sons and husbands had lived there might not have been a Boaz. And if there had been no Boaz then there would have been no Jesus.

I can look at my own life and see how things worked out like that for me. Yes there were painful things but those very things ended up being good things because without that past I would not have this present.

This present is the foundation of the future. That is true for everyone of course but if the future is in the Hands of God there is a certain peace that comes from knowing that and thinking back on how the past became the present.

I think there is so much more to Ruth that I could stay a while and ponder it more and think about the names and the people and the times. I think I could spend a little time alongside Ruth as she works so hard picking up the barley grains in the field. Or maybe spend a bit more time with Boaz in the gates of the town. But my schedule makes me leave it too soon.

Still it has been wonderful to linger there in the story a bit and learn more of these people.

It was equally pleasant the last time I read it and I suspect it will be again if I am blessed with another opportunity.

Whose side are you on?

Joshua 5:13-15 - The Message

13 And then this, while Joshua was there near Jericho: He looked up and saw right in front of him a man standing, holding his drawn sword. Joshua stepped up to him and said, "Whose side are you on—ours or our enemies'?"

14 He said, "Neither. I'm commander of God's army. I've just arrived." Joshua fell, face to the ground, and worshiped. He asked, "What orders does my Master have for his servant?"

15 God's army commander ordered Joshua, "Take your sandals off your feet. The place you are standing is holy."

Joshua did it.

I've been reading in Joshua lately. This passage jumped out at me.

Many scholars believe this is a Christophany, an early appearance of Christ before the incarnation.

But what strikes me is that He says He is on neither side.

That should be very sobering for all of us because it is so easy for us to think of things in terms of "our side" and "the other side" and to assume that The Lord will be on ours. That's how Joshua was thinking apparently. And I'm not criticizing him either because that's how I usually think myself.

Joshua definitely got the response right though.

I want to ask that same question: What orders does my Master have for me and then I want to carry them out.

Thoughts on Deuteronomy

I've been reading in Deuteronomy since the first of March.

Usually I read on my iPhone using the Mantis Bible application and Peterson's The Message Bible version.

A couple of things have stood out for me so far that I thought it might be worth a blog entry.

Deuteronomy 9 is where I find the first thing I want to mention (emphasis mine):

But when God pushes them out ahead of you, don't start thinking to yourselves, "It's because of all the good I've done that God has brought me in here to dispossess these nations."

That's a little something that all of us who believe in Jesus Christ should keep in mind. It is easy to lose that perspective though. We have something good happen to us and it is really easy to take the credit for it.

I am certain I've read this passage many times before but that admonition really leaps out at me this time around.

Deuteronomy 15 is the second thing:

At the end of every seventh year, cancel all debts. This is the procedure: Everyone who has lent money to a neighbor writes it off. You must not press your neighbor or his brother for payment: All-Debts-Are-Canceled—God says so. You may collect payment from foreigners, but whatever you have lent to your fellow Israelite you must write off.

There must be no poor people among you because God is going to bless you lavishly in this land that God, your God, is giving you as an inheritance, your very own land. But only if you listen obediently to the Voice of God.

Certainly I knew about this passage but it surely stood out this time around.

Just in case someone thought about not loaning money towards the end of the 7 years that issue was raised along with others in following verses:

When you happen on someone who's in trouble or needs help among your people with whom you live in this land that God, your God, is giving you, don't look the other way pretending you don't see him. Don't keep a tight grip on your purse. No. Look at him, open your purse, lend whatever and as much as he needs. Don't count the cost. Don't listen to that selfish voice saying, "It's almost the seventh year, the year of All-Debts-Are-Canceled," and turn aside and leave your needy neighbor in the lurch, refusing to help him. He'll call God's attention to you and your blatant sin.

Give freely and spontaneously. Don't have a stingy heart. The way you handle matters like this triggers God, your God's, blessing in everything you do, all your work and ventures. There are always going to be poor and needy people among you. So I command you: Always be generous, open purse and hands, give to your neighbors in trouble, your poor and hurting neighbors.

I thought it was interesting.