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...

June 30 : Even the simple can be made wise by opening God’s Word to them. (Ps 19:7; 119:130 ) Unfortunately, Solomon seems to have neglected this in the case of Rehoboam. The Pharisees thought of themselves of people who knew the Law, and yet, they were even worse off, in that they obscured it to themselves through their tradition. Am I doing anything like this? In what ways do my ignorance and tradition obscure my understanding and keep me and my son from wisdom? 1 Kings 11-12 : What was Solomon’s reaction to God’s third speech to him in 1 Kings 11:11-13? Does his banishment of Jeroboam (1 Kings 11:40) indicate that he connected the two? What instructions did he give to Rehoboam, the man who was the answer to his worry in Ecclesiastes 2:19? There doesn’t seem to be any record of this.  (Or are we to assume all of the “my son” instructions in Proverbs and Ecclesiastes  apply  to Rehoboam?)  With 700 wives, how many sons did he have? Did he appoint Rehoboam? Or was R...

June 29 : Again in these three readings I see the paradox between the will to awaken and the need to be awakened by God. Solomon had so much leverage at his disposal, every advantage of having seen the outcome of David’s faithfulness; yet his life became a downward slide despite his wisdom. It’s not just the power to see what is right or the power to do what is right that is needed, but the will, which is also part of God’s work within us. (Philippians 2:13) 1 Kings 9-10 : These two chapters continue the magnificence of Solomon’s kingdom. His annual income was the equivalent of 1.4 billion in today’s dollars. Israel enjoyed peace and wealth. Like people who follow England’s royal family, they were probably pleased that Solomon’s throne was so unique and spoke of such wealth and power. The grandeur of the Temple spoke of the high regard for God, and Solomon’s prayer was being answered in that people from other nations sought the Lord because of the fame of Solomon and his kingdom. God e...

  June 28 : What if David and his descendants had fully seized upon the Davidic Covenant and made Zion the shining city on a hill that it was supposed to be? Could it have been possible that, as Solomon had longed to happen, ALL the people of the earth could've been drawn to know the God of Israel? How would Messiah have come to holy "one-world Israel?" With full knowledge of Who He was, would they have willingly sacrificed Him, knowing it was the only way everyone could be saved? It seems like the dispensations and covenants are all designed to teach us about our fallenness, but is there not an ideal for each? At any rate, we're so well-provisioned for bridging from felt needs to real needs with the narratives, the songs, the parables, and clear teachings of God's Word. 1 Kings 8 : Eleven times, "toward" appears in this passage. Solomon stretches his hands toward heaven, asks God to take notice of him and the Temple, to listen to his prayer toward thi...

June 27 : In Matthew 18:7 Jesus says, "Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh!" It then goes on to speak of things that cause offenses as if they are our own hand, foot or eye. I see a potential double application in the way it's done: the offenses most often come from our own walk, our own hands or our own temptations, and we'd do better to excise them than indulge them. The church is also a body with many members; and offenses come through those members, even to little ones. It'd be better if we were thrown in the ocean that for us to do so. Far better for Solomon, for instance, to live more modestly. Far better for us to take no offense than to endure greater affliction due to our own susceptibility. 1 Kings 6-7: In the transition from 1 Kings 6 to 1 Kings 7, is there an implication in the statement that Solomon's own house took him 13 years to build? With all the op...

June 26 : The quality of faith is a tremendously winsome one in another person. It causes us to have an attitude of abundance, which allows others to trust us and see us as established by God. When we're territorial or adversarial, selfishly-ambitious, we're suspect. Self-release and trust in the Lord at the risk of status and reputation has the opposite effect. 1 Kings 4-5 : Does 1 Kings 5 hint at the difference Solomon's wisdom has made in his kingdom's foreign policy? Solomon says God has given him "rest on every side" in contrast to the wars which were about David on every side (vv. 3-4). Yes, it is God's gift, but was it God's gift through Solomon's statesmanship? His magnanimity to Hiram seems to imply shrewdness in dealing with other nations. Does not some of the competition and mistrust among nations have to do with concern that an unstable and/or untrustworthy government is in place? One way God established Solomon was to cause surroundi...

  June 25: Even at the height of Israel’s glory, there was so much carnality. The Pharisees wanted to be seen as a contrast to carnality. They believed the right things and purported to do the right things: yet their bankruptcy was sealed when they rejected Jesus, the embodiment of what their Scriptures declared. How are believers in today’s more morally compromised age to be better prepared to see what God is doing? Only through maintaining an ongoing connection to the Mind of Christ, who loves us and wants to show us what He is doing. The Psalms are worship, so they reveal Him in ideal form. Dwelling on His perfections is one way of avoiding any thought of our own. 1 Corinthians 14:20 tells us, “Brethren, be not children in understanding: howbeit in malice be ye children, but in understanding be men.” Although children have their own form of malice, it takes sophisticated pharisaism to rationalize such direct opposition to the Christ of Scripture while utilizing the Scriptures to...

 June 24 : How we need the work of the Spirit in our lives! Like our surface understanding of the Old Testament narratives, without God arresting us, giving us insight and empowering us, we can oversimplify events in our own life, at once setting ourselves up for disappointment with a too-optimistic expectation of “victory unto victory” or a too-hopeless picture of unrecoverable failure. Our limited knowledge of the Northern Kingdom makes it difficult to picture faithfulness among them: Idolatrous calf-worship at the extremities of the land, all wicked kings, rebellion and captivity. Yet it was the Northern Kingdom about which God said, “I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him.” (1 Kings 19:18) Hopeless as any situation may sound, God can make a way. 1 Kings 1 : David is in sharp decline as 1 Kings begins, and we see something of the intrigue going on in his kingdom as a result. Was Adonijah tr...

  June 23 : It’s ironic that the Old Testament accounts of God look so vengeful to people today and their own ways so enlightened and merciful. The truth is that we’re living in a time of greatly reduced sympathy for others. The rule of man apart from God’s input ends up endorsing selfishness and hedonism. These pursuits don’t end in happiness for the pursuer and inevitably result in a wake of wounded people following a person, as they take advantage of one another. 2 Samuel 24 : Does 1 Chronicles 27:23 give more insight into exactly what sin David committed in numbering the people? Was he “checking up on God” to see how well He was keeping what David saw as His end of the bargain? Joab seems to understand that his heart isn’t in the right place, (2 Samuel 24:3). Yet even in this incidence of impulsiveness, David changes course and acts wisely again in confessing and repenting and throwing himself on God’s mercy. Psalm 119:17-32 : How does God’s Word “transform” us “by the renewi...

 June 22 : We’d all like to be admired, and thought to be a better person than we are. But what is most important? That God gave us promises we can claim; we can only claim them if we hear His voice and look deep down inside ourselves and admit, yes, I’ve been a sheep that has gone astray; that describes me. And then, in faith, seek His certain promises for that. This becomes a sure and certain hope, an anchor for the soul, (Hebrews 6:19), a foundation for one’s life, (Matthew 7:24), that God loved the world so much, including me, that He sent His only begotten Son to be lifted up like the serpent in the wilderness, so that whoever believes on Him will not perish but have everlasting life.  2 Samuel 23 : Who wrote these last words of David? Was it Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud? (2 Samuel 20:24) There’s a great deal of awe aroused at the recounting of the exploits of the heroes who walked with David; but what is in the first person? What did David want to be remembered for? Th...

June 21: Although the sin which so easily besets me and weighs me down grieves me, I am assured by such unconditional promises as John 3:15-18. At the same time, I’m greatly troubled about those who are so unable to forgive themselves that they end up constructing anti-biblical frameworks to blame God for their sin, or worse, redefine their sin to claim it is acceptable to God despite his explicit condemnation of it. In simple form, we have the rebellion of Cain after being discovered: am I my brother’s keeper? My depravity is more than I can bear. What had been God’s counsel? “If thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.” Through these besetting sins, satan means to master us; we must learn to subdue them instead. 2 Samuel 22 : This chapter parallels Psalm 18. Verses 21-25 (Psalm 18:20-24) are jarring, given what we’ve just gone through with David and his family. He claims his righteousness and cleanness were the reaso...

June 20 : "For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.” (Romans 15:4) We learn as much, maybe more, from the mistakes and missteps of others in Scripture as from their heroic successes. The Bible thankfully shows its characters warts and all, which makes the Lamb of God, without spot or blemish, shine that much more brightly. 2 Samuel 21 : In this passage, David has to deal with the fallout from Saul having attacked the Gibeonites, (an Amorite tribe) , breaking the treaty Joshua and the Israelite elders made with them in Joshua 9. In that passage, the text's editorial comment is that they sought not the Lord's counsel. (Joshua 9:14) What if they had? There wouldn't have been this famine in David's time, there wouldn't have been a gentile tribe living in  Israel. Going back further, the events at the conclusion of the book of Judges might have have shaken out ...