pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

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God Is Our Hope

Reading: Isaiah 1-4

‭Isaiah 3:8-9 – “Yes, Jerusalem has stumbled and Judah has fallen… like Sodom, they display their sins in public.”

Today we begin with the prophets. Isaiah kicks off almost six weeks with the five “major” prophets. The original Isaiah ministered in the southern kingdom of Judah during the reigns of Ahaz and Hezekiah. Chapters 1-39, known as First Isaiah, were written around 700 BCE. Second and Third Isaiah pick up around 545 BCE. Today, in chapters 1-4, we find both judgment and hope. This balance is typical of the whole book of Isaiah.

Chapter 1 begins by detailing Judah’s sin and disobedience. They have turned their backs against God. They have endured beatings yet remain unfaithful. There are frequent references to Sodom and Gomorrah, two cities utterly destroyed by God because of their great sin. God is also disgusted by their sacrifices – just going through the motions! In verses 16-17 Judah is invited to change her ways, to do good instead. To do so will bring blessing. To continue walking in disobedience will bring sword and fire.

Chapter 2 begins with a hopeful vision of their possible future. This picks up again in chapter 4. Zion will be lifted up high and war will be no more. Zion will be called holy. Instruction will flow from her and nations will stream to her.

In between this hope we find the sins of Judah. The land is “filled with idols.” Pride and arrogance is rampant, especially amongst the leaders. A day is coming, says Isaiah, when all will suffer as the poor and needy currently are. God asks, “How dare you crush my people and grind the faces of the poor?” Sadly, this behavior continues today. Yet hope also persists. God is still in control. There is still a plan. God is our hope.

Prayer: Lord God, the battle continues on: obedience or disobedience, good or evil? In our lives we so need you. The powers and temptations of this world remain great. Idols and the lures of wealth and power ever pull at us. God, strengthen us with your Spirit. Hold us in your love. Amen.


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Bring Us Home

Readings: Psalms 105-107

‭Psalm 105:4-5 – “Pursue the LORD and his strength; seek his face always! Remember the wondrous works he has done.”

Psalms 105 and 106 close our Book 4 by recounting Israel’s history. The story begins with the covenant and it runs through to the oppression experienced in the Promised Land. Psalm 105 begins with the covenant made with Abraham and carried over to Isaac, Jacob, and Israel. God protected their small number, eventually sending Joseph then the whole family to Egypt, where they became numerous. After oppression there, God sent Moses and Aaron and the ten plagues. God led them out, guiding by cloud, providing food and water. Finally God gave them the Promised Land, a place where they could “keep his law and observe his instructions.”

Psalm 106 gives an accounting of the people’s struggles with obedience. It recounts the rebellions at the sea, at stops in the desert, and at the foot of Sinai, where they made the golden calf. The psalmist highlights Moses’ saving intercession. Then the psalmist speaks of more rebellion and testing, of idol worship and child sacrifice. Oppression came from an angry God. Soon so too did compassion. The Psalm closes with a plea: “Lord our God, save us! Gather us back together.” Bring us home from this place of exile.

Psalm 107 begins Book 5 with some examples of how God does just that. Gathered from the four directions, the psalmist tells of four groups or types of redeemed people. These cases are generic, allowing us many ways to see how God redeems and can redeem. God redeems those who wander, those who are in gloom and darkness, those who sin, and those who face storms. We all find ourselves in each situation at times. In those times may we remember the God who turns deserts into streams, the God who raises up the needy. May we call on this God, trusting in God’s redeeming and restoring salvation.

Prayer: Lord God, you alone can rescue and you alone can save. You desire to lead and guide us, to teach us your ways. Soften our stubborn hearts and curb our selfish desires, God, so that we can learn and obey. Correct us when we sin, comfort us when we suffer, save us from all that life can bring. Water our dryness, satisfy our hunger. Walk daily with us, O Lord. Amen.


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A Yearning for God

Readings: Psalms 79-84

Psalm 84:10 – “Better is a single day in your courtyards than a thousand days anywhere else!”

Disaster has come upon Israel. Psalm 79 details how the temple was defiled, the walls were ruined, and the people were killed. The psalmist asks, “How long will you rage?” That is a question we all ask during extended seasons in the dark valleys. The psalmist begs for deliverance – and for vengeance. God pay them back. And remember us, the sheep of your own pasture.

Psalm 80 continues this plea. The psalmist reminds God that Israel is the vibe that God brought out of Egypt and planted in Zion. The vibe is now chopped down and burned. O God, attend to your vine. Be with us God and we will not turn away. Psalm 81 functions as a response from God. It begins with a call to praise God but quickly God begins to speak (through the psalmist’s words.) These words begin with a remembrance of the exile from Egypt. God warned them about idols but the people didn’t listen. God laments, only if they could “walk in my ways.” God would then subdue their enemies and feed Israel the finest wheat and honey. If only we would turn from our idols… then God would give us hope, peace, joy, grace…

Psalm 82 gives us a peak into ancient thought. In the divine council God questions how justice is (or isn’t) being administered. It seems that the “lesser beings” are not properly caring for the poor… God removes their immortality and steps in as the judge.

A call for God’s actions fills Psalm 83. The enemies have gathered and threatened Israel. The psalmist calls for God to act, to make the enemy “like tumbleweeds.” Then all will know that God alone rules over the whole earth. At times in our lives we can pray these prayers. We just want God to remove that which is causing us pain.

Our readings close with Psalm 84. These are beautiful words about being in God’s home. It begins with a yearning to be with God. The psalmist declares, “Better is a single day in your courtyards than a thousand days anywhere else!” Oh to be in God’s presence. Oh to experience God’s favor and glory. Oh to trust in the Lord our God. Oh we yearn to have God’s presence all around us. May it be so.

Prayer: Lord God, you are the Lord of all creation. You are our good shepherd who watches over us, leads us, provides for us. When we stray, pull us back into the fold, back into the presence that is better than life itself. Thank you, God. Amen.


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Good, Evil, Good, Evil…

Readings: 2nd Chronicles 25, 2nd Chronicles 26, 2nd Chronicles 27, 2nd Chronicles 28

2nd Chronicles 25:15 – “Why do you seek the gods of this people? They couldn’t even deliver their own people from you!”

Amaziah begins today’s readings about the kings of Judah. He did what was right in God’s eyes – mostly. In verse 2 we read, “but not with all his heart.” I think this is typical of most Christians today, myself included. We want to and try to follow God faithfully and obediently but the flesh inside each of us rises to the top now and then. This seems to be a part of being human.

Amaziah leads and administers well. He has successes. Then he decides to worship false gods. A prophet comes to him and asks, “Why do you seek the gods of this people? They couldn’t even deliver their own people from you!” Great questions. He gets angry at the prophet. In arrogance and foolishness he challenges King Joash of Israel. Judah and Amaziah are soundly defeated, humiliated, and looted. Amaziah is killed by his own people. Uzziah succeeds him. As long as the prophet Hezekiah is instructing him, Uzziah is faithful and has success. He becomes powerful and wealthy and famous. Arrogance sets in and he begins to worship false gods. The priest Azariah confronts Uzziah burning incense in the temple. Uzziah gets angry and God gives him a skin disease. Uzziah lives isolated the rest of his life. His son Jotham runs the kingdom.

Jotham becomes king next and does right by God. He rebuilds and wins battles. Ahaz succeeds him as king after 16 years. Ahaz is thoroughly evil. He worships Baal. He burns his sons alive in the altar of a pagan god. He suffers massive defeats. Israel shows great mercy and faithfulness, caring for and returning prisoners taken in battle. Even this faithful act does not change Ahaz’s evil heart. He instead aligns himself with Assyria, inviting disaster upon Judah. His reign ends by closing up the temple and the destruction of the temple equipment – by Ahaz. He is not buried with the other kings.

Prayer: Lord God, lessons learned: faithful -> good things… disobedient -> bad things. These are connections we know and understand. Yet we can struggle to be faithful and obedient. Lord, help us in our daily walks of faith. Strengthen us in our moments of weakness and temptation. Help us through. Amen.


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Fully Poured Out

Readings: 2nd Kings 22, 2nd Kings 23, 2nd Kings 24, 2nd Kings 25

2nd Kings 25:21 – “So Judah was exiled from its land.”

Photo credit: Mukund Nair

Today’s reading begins with Josiah. While repairing the temple, the instruction scroll is found. Hearing its words, Josiah rips his clothing in anguish and sends folks to inquire of the Lord. He recognizes how far Judah (and Israel) had wandered from the Lord. Disaster is coming soon, says the Lord. And yet Josiah sets out to love God with all his heart, being, and strength. The covenant is restored. All of the shrines, altars, temples, poles… are removed. They celebrate the Passover. And Josiah dies in a battle with Pharaoh Neco.

Jehoahaz’s short reign in followed by Jehoachin. Fulfilling God’s word to Josiah… King Nebuchadnezzar and Babylon’s army arrives. In addition, raiding parties from many local tribes damage Judah. After three months, Jehoachin surrenders. All of the temple and palace treasures are hauled off, the temple items are cut up, and most of the people are taken into exile. A handful plus the poor are left behind to manage the crops. Newly renamed Zedekiah is left to rule. After 11 years, he rebels against Babylon. A new siege leads to a severe famine in Jerusalem. Zedekiah tries to escape but is caught. He watched his sons die and then is blinded, chained, and hauled off to exile in Babylon.

Guard commander Nebuzaradan oversees the burning of the temple, palace, and homes of Jerusalem. He oversees the Chaldeans tearing down the entire wall. The poor are left to farm the land. In 25:21 we read, “So Judah was exiled from its land.” All is in ruins. God’s anger has been fully poured out.

2nd Kings closes with a small happy note. After 37 years in prison in exile, Jehoachin is paroled by new king Awil-merodach. He allows Jehoachin to eat at his table.

Prayer: Lord God, perhaps the high point in Judah since the days of David and Solomon are followed by the great fall of Judah and the ruin of Jerusalem. This brings with it feelings associated with Holy Saturday. Today is a solemn day of final introspection and reflection as we close the season of Lent. It is much like the time in exile will be. Lead and guide us, O Lord, meld and mold us, remake us even, so that we can walk faithfully in ways. Amen.


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Cycles

Readings: Judges 1, Judges 2, Judges 3:1-6

Judges 2:18 – “So the LORD would raise up leaders for them, and the LORD would be with the leader, and he would rescue Israel.”

Today we turn to the book of Judges. This book falls in between Moses and Joshua and the beginning of the monarchy with Saul and then David. The Israelites are living in the Promised Land. Judges opens with the Israelites asking who will go up to fight the Canaanites. There are still a lot of non-Israelites living in the land. Judah, along with Simeon, fight and have success. But soon we read about the Kenites who went up to live with the Amalekites and again and again we read “didn’t drive out.”

Chapter 1 ends with decreases in success and outright failure against the inhabitants of the land. Chapter 2 opens with the Lord’s messenger calling out the people’s disobedience. The messenger declares that God will not drive them out so that they and their gods “will be a trap for you.” We then have a flashback to the time of Joshua. This serves as a lean in to the reality that the next generation, this current generation, did not know the Lord. This generation worships Baal and other local gods. Defeat and distress soon follow.

In verse 18 we read, “So the LORD would raise up leaders for them, and the LORD would be with the leader, and he would rescue Israel.” God responds to their cries. In the next verse, however, we read, “When the leader died they would once again act in ways that weren’t as good as their ancestors.” God would become angry and the cycle would begin anew. After a list of the nations God left as “a test for Israel” we read, “The Israelites intermarried with them and served their gods.” So it will be in Judges. And so it is in our lives.

Prayer: Lord God, help us to see the cycles that we too repeat. In seeing, help us to learn and grow in our faith so that we can lessen sin’s grip on our lives. Strengthen and encourage us, O God, empowering us with your Holy Spirit. Amen.


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Simple, Challenging, Difficult

Readings: Deuteronomy 9, Deuteronomy 10, Deuteronomy 11, Deuteronomy 12

Deuteronomy 10:12-13 – “Revere the LORD… by walking in all his ways, by loving him, by serving the LORD… with all your heart and being… by keeping the LORD’s commandments.”

Chapter 9 begins with a reminder – keep the credit where the credit is due. God is the consuming fire… It is the other nation’s wickedness, not Israel’s goodness, that is driving God’s actions. Moses then reviews the whole golden bull calf incident as a case in point. He reminds Israel that they did not trust and did not obey. He reminds them that they were rebellious. And Moses reminds them of how he interceded to save them.

In the middle of chapter 10 we find a great question. After reviewing all that God has done for Israel, the question is this: “What does the Lord ask of you?” Moses says, “Only this: to revere the LORD… by walking in all his ways, by loving him, by serving the LORD… with all your heart and being,and by keeping the LORD’s commandments.” Show God with all that you are that God is all you are. Now, the people are not there yet. Just as we aren’t there yet. So Moses implores them to “circumcise” their hearts, to cut away what makes them stubborn, disobedient, rebellious. This is the spirit of the season of Lent, which we are invited to enter today, beginning the process of aligning our hearts more closely with God’s heart.

Moses then reviews (again) God’s mighty acts in the exodus story. It is because of these things that the people should choose obedience to the commandments. And so that God will bring rain, abundant crops… Here we find another “watch yourself.” Don’t be like the Canaanites… To counter what will be a temptation, place God’s commands on hands and foreheads, on doorframes and city gates. Remind yourself over and over of God’s ways. Keep them ever before you, literally.

Chapter 12 calls for Israel to set up a central place of worship. God warns them of the distraction that idol worship will be. Accordingly they are to completely destroy all aspects of Canaanite worship. God then makes an allowance for the slaughter of animals away from what will become Jerusalem. The prohibition against consuming blood remains. We also find two more “watch yourself” statements. Don’t forget the Levites and don’t follow or seek Canaanite religion. Do good and be blessed. Disobey and be cursed. It’s generally simple. It’s also challenging and difficult.

Prayer: Lord God, you call Israel to you and to you alone. You tell them to keep away from the trappings of the world. You desire to be our all in all too. So strengthen and encourage us to walk faithfully and obediently. Guide us in the ways that we should go. Amen.


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Total, Complete, Unfailing Love

Readings: Deuteronomy 5, Deuteronomy 6, Deuteronomy 7, Deuteronomy 8

Deuteronomy 6:5 – “Love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your being, and all your strength.”

Our readings today begin with Moses’ call to remember what God said on Mount Horeb. He then reviews this by reiterating the Ten Commandments. Moses is doing so because he will spend most of the next 20 chapters unpacking these ten rules to live by. From here Moses moves to “the great commandment” in chapter 6. In verse 5 we read it: “Love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your being, and all your strength.” In many ways this sums up the first four of the 10 Commandments. Moses goes on to show just how all-encompassing this command is to be for faithful living. Tell your children, talk about it all the time, write it on the places that you’ll see often – make this the central tenet of your faith and your life.

This is then followed up with a warning against arrogance. All the cities and houses, all the wells and orchards – you didn’t do this. God gave it to you. A similar warning comes in chapter 8 too. God must have known we’d struggle with pride, ego, vanity… Love God, not self.

Moses/God commands the Israelites to teach their children their communal history and then to teach them the Law. Begin with the why and then move to the how to live faithfully in response to God’s love and care and provision. We shift next to how to deal with foreign worship. First, don’t enter into covenants with and don’t intermarry with the Canaanites. Destroy their idols, altars, poles, and sacred stones. The Lord is the only true God. Remember and live this and God will bless them in every way possible. In every way.

Chapter 8 is a reminder chapter, a why chapter. Remember God gave you manna and taught you that you don’t live by physical bread alone. Remember that God trooped you through the desert for 40 years and that your clothes didn’t wear out. Remember all that has happened to you as you stand on the edge of the Promised Land. This remembering will allow Israel to move forward in obedience and faithfulness. May we too remember often what the Lord our God has done for us. And may it lead us forward in obedience and faithfulness.

Prayer: Lord God, what rich and deep and powerful reminders today of your total and complete and unfailing love and care for your people. At times you are the shield about us and at times you are the love that enfolds us. What an awesome God we love and serve. All the power and glory are yours! Amen.


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The Closing Chapters

Readings: Numbers 32, Numbers 33, Numbers 34, Numbers 35, Numbers 36

Numbers 33:53 – “But if you don’t drive out the inhabitants of the land before you, then those you allow to remain will prick your eyes and be thorns in your side.”

Photo credit: Marek Piwnicki

Our last day in Numbers begins with the tribes of Reuben and Gad requesting the recently conquered lands east of the Jordan as their inheritance. They have very large herds and this land has great pasture land. Their willingness to go before the other tribes in the conquest of Canaan seals the deal.

Chapter 33 is mostly a flashback – it recounts the trip from Egypt to the edge of the Promised Land. The chapter closes with instructions about driving out the inhabitants of the land. Idols and shrines are to be destroyed. There is a warning too: if you don’t drive out the inhabitants, they will become “thorns in your sides.” This will be lived out again and again as we journey through the rest of the Old Testament.

Chapter 34 establishes the boundaries of the land that the tribes will inherit and appoints a leader from each tribe to oversee this process with Eleazar and Joshua. Then in chapter 35 cities and pasture land is prescribed for the Levites. Six of these 48 cities will be refuge cities. They are places that someone accused of murder can safely reside in until trial. The person can remain there, if found innocent, until the death of the high priest. All of this works to prevent revenge being taken.

Numbers closes with how land inherited by daughters will stay in tribal possession. These women must marry from within their own tribes. Tomorrow we turn to Deuteronomy, where Moses gives “the second Law.”

Prayer: Lord God, thank you for your continued good care of Israel. We see your goodness and your order revealed. We see your sense of justice and fairness being shown. We ask that these traits would continue to be a part of our lives and our faith as well. Thank you, O God. Amen.


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God Is…

Readings: Exodus 31, Exodus 32, Exodus 33, Exodus 34

Exodus 34:6-7 – “The LORD! A God who is compassionate and merciful, very patient, full of great loyalty and faithfulness… forgiving.”

Photo credit: Diego Gennaro

Chapter 31 begins with the appointment of two skilled artisans to oversee the building of the tabernacle. This is followed up by a reiteration of the Sabbath guidelines. God’s point: even the building of God’s home is not to be used as an excuse to break the Sabbath. All of our excuses pale by comparison.

The story of the gold bull calf fills chapter 32. The people go astray and Aaron goes along. Moses has been gone a long time. The people forget who and what God has been and done. An idol is made and is worshipped. God is ready to “devour” them in fury, but Moses intercedes, reminding God of their history. God’s anger relents. Moses and Joshua return to camp. Moses becomes furious, smashing the covenant tablets. He destroys the bull calf and forces the Israelites to drink its ash mixed in water. Moses then rallies the Levites. About 3,000 are killed by the sword. A plague then follows.

As chapter 33 begins, God refuses to go with these stubborn people. Moses sets up a tent outside of the camp, symbolic of real separation that their sin has created. God meets with Moses in the tent. The people are faithful, paying close attention. Moses again intercedes for the people, laying his relationship with God on the line. God relents. Moses is then allowed to see God’s glory. Passing by Moses, God declares that God is “compassionate and merciful, very patient, full of great loyalty and faithfulness… forgiving.”

God then renews the covenant with the people. God warns the people about making a covenant with those that God will drive out. God instructs them to purge the land of the idols and altars that are there. They are warned about marrying the locals. God then reiterates much of the material from the first covenant. This time Moses comes down with a face aglow – reflecting God’s glory.

In today’s return to a story format we can again see ourselves – at times as the sinful, idol-worshipping Israelites and at times as Moses as he pleads with God. We can see ourselves as the Israelites eagerly watching for God and as the people who need warnings about the pagan culture around us. Through it all, though, both then and now, God remains compassionate and merciful, patient and forgiving. Thanks be to God.

Prayer: Lord God, how true and faithful you are. What a long, patient walk you have been on with your children. I am awed by your love. Amen.