The Field is the World (Matt. 13:38)

  July 9 : Today’s reading has me thinking about the judgment of nations in Matthew 25:31-46. If it’s true on an individual level that those who offend little ones who believe in Jesus would be better off if drowned in the sea, (Matthew 18:6), what of the fate of national leadership that offends many, persuading them to become atheistic or idolatrous? That’s exactly what our nation’s leadership is doing right now: dredging up grievances in order to cause division so that they may gain greater power. The worst part of it is that in our form of government it is the people who will be held responsible, for we elect such leaders. It shows how easily we are deceived by smooth words. 2 Kings 7-8 : The Northern Kingdom has lost its way so badly that they won’t even listen to a miracle-working prophet of God. Are we in similar straits today? Although no one works miracles, I think anyone could see that everyone was better off when more were closer to the Lord. I wonder if Elijah thought hi...

  July 8: Even in the worst of the divided kingdom, worshipers were being called out of the nations and washed clean as a little child. Even in the Roman occupation and corruption of 1st Century Judaism, christ was raising the dead and calling witnesses who would go to the nations. If the rod of the wicked does rest for a time over the righteous, what are the righteous to do? Luke 12:31-48 give us great guidance: seek God’s Kingdom, and put no trust in this world but make heaven our treasure; be watching for His return; know and do His will. 2 Kings 5-6 : When Jesus referenced this story about Elisha and Naaman, the people in Nazareth erupted in fury and tried to throw him down a hill. Why? It it is a wonderful story about repentance: Naaman’s greatness and pride almost kept him from the healing he needed, but he was persuaded to submit and truly repent and be converted, confessing, “I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel” (2 Kings 5:15). If it truly was God’s...

  July 7 : Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life. The miracle Elisha performed for the Shunnamite in raising her dead son was just a shadow of what Jesus would do for Lazarus. Did his pacing and praying in the room prepared for him give him any insight into the coming of Messiah? 2 Kings 3-4 : I wonder why Jehoshaphat joined in a league with Jehoram so quickly after having nearly been killed in battle against Syria with Ahab? (1 Kings 22) It was so similar, that Jehoshaphat called for a prophet of the Lord, (2 Kings 3:11, cf., 1 Kings 22:7) This time, Elisha prophesies victory and gives them instruction about how to treat the Moabites. (In Deuteronomy 20:19, God instructs Israel not to cut down good fruit trees when conducting a siege, but this is not a siege.) Psalm 124 : This is said to be a Psalm of David. I wonder if he was young or old when he wrote this? The leader of the mighty men confesses that unless the Lord had been on their side, they’d have been swallowed up when men...

  July 6: Walt once said this generation we’re living in hears the Lord’s love as hatred. Does telling the truth make enemies? (Galatians 4:16) It certainly does, although it’s not aimed at that. We’re in a generation that refuses to see love in truth unless it compromises by affirming that which cannot be righteously affirmed. Instead, we have to stand like Elijah in the face of threat, tell the truth like Jesus despite opposition, and seek God’s defense from the proud who hold us in contempt. 2 Kings 1-2 : Is this not the return of the Elijah that was established on a rock in 1 Kings 18? The King of Israel worships Baal-zebub. He sends fifty soldiers after Elijah, but God destroys two garrisons of them. Psalm 123 : Have mercy upon us, O LORD, for we are exceedingly filled with contempt. I have to say, there have been times I’ve read such things in the Psalms with distance, with abstraction, but now I can definitely feel it. Are sincere followers of Christ not treated with contem...

  July 5 : I think it's common to wonder why God allows evil to assume control. Two out of three of these situations are representative of corrupt rule. Ahab is Israel's worst king, and the Herodians, Sadducees, Pharisees, Scribes and other religious leaders at the time of Christ were corrupt religious leaders. Psalm 122 seems to be a Psalm of David, and it's probable that that's why this doesn't have a dark cast like the 1 Kings passage. Of course, Jesus' teaching in John 10 so completely overwhelms the opposition of the questioners that what they say is basically given to us to give us a background to the Good Shepherd. And overall, is that not the role of evil rule? Israel finally learned to despise idolatry in their captivity to Idolatrous Babylon. Wicked people gain leadership, and people suffer. It causes us to realize the inevitable outcome of our sin. 1 Kings 21-22 : I think the question about Ahab is not why did God send Elijah to prophesy his death, ...

July 4 : Do I think I would, by natural means, make better decisions than Elijah or the Pharisees? Not at all; I try to look at myself with as skeptical an eye as we’re supposed to look at all men, even those in the Biblical accounts. But if I am to learn as I should from these stories, I should pay careful attention to God’s response to every person, recognize both courage and weakness, blindness and sight, in myself and others, and to be grateful for God’s willingness to help and strengthen, preserve and provide opportunity to testify for my limited time here. 1 Kings 19-20 : If not for Elijah’s weakness in Horeb, would he have had a longer ministry? Was the revelation of the anointing of Hazael, Jehu and Elisha a judgment against Ben Hadad, Ahab and Elijah or a consolation to a prophet who was pressed beyond strength? There’s yet more for Elijah to do, so I don’t think it’s really a judgment, for, if it was, I think it would be swift and decisive. I think that showing Elijah a pee...

July 3 : 1 Peter 4:10-11 urges us to steward our gifts well, speaking according to the strength God supplies, speaking the utterances of God. Elijah makes a great example, and the blind man healed at Siloam is an example of growth in stewardship, as he first testifies: that Jesus is a prophet, (John 9:17), then is pushed to call Him a sinner and refuses, saying he only knows he was blind and now he sees, (John 9:25). As the religious leaders continue to push him, he begins to realize: if this man were not of God, He could do nothing. (John 9:33) Finally when Jesus fully reveals Who He is to him, he believes and worships Him. (John 9:38) He knows he’s facing expulsion, yet he declares the truth that he knows boldly. We must do the same, no matter the consequences. 1 Kings 17-18 : You have to wonder: did Elijah not doubt at all? He was boldly sarcastic with the prophets of Ba’al. He set up an “impossible” altar to set ablaze. He stood alone against the 850 pagan prophets and challenged...

July 2 : Even in the Old Covenant, which more directly associates material prosperity, power and blessing with obedience, it’s not so simple as to immediately result from a shallow turning. Rehoboam was chastened, but never seems to have repented. Abijam rallied but overall was said to have walked in Rehoboam’s sins. David had a perfect heart but experienced all kinds of wars and troubles. The practical walk of a faithful believer in a morally tangled world is difficult in any era. It’s why the Psalmist continues to reaffirm his commitment to the laws, the statutes, the commandments of the Lord. It’s why Christ continues to tie any new revelation to the existing revelation of God, making His hearers responsible for careful reasoning on the Scriptures they had. We need both the Word and the Spirit in our day to be interpreters of both God’s revelation and the significance of our own times and their points of alienation from Him. 1 Kings 15-16 : Almost immediately the contrast between th...

July 1 : God’s lovingkindness to humanity is expressed in so many was that we’re prone to miss. Are His words always, “peace, goodwill to men?” Not at all, and that wouldn’t be lovingkindness in the idolatrous kingdom of Israel. If America ever splits due to a civil war, it would hardly be loving of God’s people to entirely separate and cut off communication from a newly established, totalitarian, progressive state. Likewise, after centuries of a theocracy, God’s prophet’s mission to Jeroboam was not just one of wrath but mercy in warning them that their course was contrary to Him. Likewise, Jesus represents God’s peace and good will to men in bodily form, but He was there to correct their misunderstandings about the nature of their relationship with God. In a similar way, that’s the mission of the church: we must correct the misunderstanding that God is tolerant of sin, and compel them to avail themselves of the escape He has provided through Jesus. 1 Kings 13-14 : I have so many qu...