2 Kings 5-6; Psalm 125; John 11

 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 purpose that the nations “come and see” Israel to find a relationship with Him, Elisha’s fame accomplished that with Naaman the Syrian. Jesus was pointing to the fact that this was a clear example of a prophet being rejected for following exactly the course laid out for him by God. The people reacted because it was a reproach to them in two ways: that they really were rejecting Jesus for being faithful to His mission, and that His story showed a gentile submitting and becoming a faithful follower.

Psalm 125: In this Psalm, my heart seized upon v. 3: “the rod of the wicked shall not rest upon the lot of the righteous; lest the righteous put forth their hands unto iniquity.” “Rest upon” is translated “remain over” or “settle upon” in some translations. Can I claim this promise? How long before it is fulfilled? It’s true that the influence of the wicked causes the righteous to sin in various ways: reacting with the kind of bitterness and anger that does not fulfill the righteousness of God, refraining from doing good that has been twisted and usurped by a government obsessed with confiscating and redistributing earned wealth, giving in to temptation that pours forth from every media outlet or allowing love to grow cold from the constant lawlessness. May the people awaken to righteousness and overthrow corruption by the wisdom and power of God.

John 11:21-57: I’ve heard and read this story since early childhood, of course, so it’s very familiar. But it’s still astonishing to think: what kind of madness must a person have, to be told Jesus has raised a man from literal death, only to then decide to try to kill Him? Truly sin and rebellion lead inevitably to death (Romans 8:6) and it takes being raised to a new life to deliver us from the stink of it. 

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