365 Reflections

The friends of Job are horrible listeners. They blindly follow only what they assume to be true about justice. God punishes the wicked, all suffering is in response to wickedness, therefore repent and seek God's mercy. These simple ideas and conclusions are coming apart as Job continues to defend himself in the face of their attacks.  Zophar only speaks twice in this book and he's learned nothing through these events. He uses his second speech to reiterate his assumptions of the destiny of the wicked. They will suffer and they will fail.  Job 20:27–29 (ESV) The heavens will reveal his iniquity, and the earth will rise up against him. 28 The possessions of his house will be carried away, dragged off in the day of God’s wrath. 29 This is the wicked man’s portion from God, the heritage decreed for him by God.” What makes Job hard to read in this middle section is that much of what the friends say is true about the common fate of men who rebel against God. But Job is the enigma. ...

The narrative grows stranger as 2 Kings rolls on. The king of Syria is sick and he sends his commander to Elisha to ask if he will recover. The exchange between Elisha and Hazael is unique. 2 Kings 8:9–11 (ESV) So Hazael went to meet him, and took a present with him, all kinds of goods of Damascus, forty camels’ loads. When he came and stood before him, he said, “Your son Ben-hadad king of Syria has sent me to you, saying, ‘Shall I recover from this sickness?’ ” 10 And Elisha said to him, “Go, say to him, ‘You shall certainly recover,’ but the LORD has shown me that he shall certainly die.” 11 And he fixed his gaze and stared at him, until he was embarrassed. And the man of God wept. Why the doublespeak here from Elisha? Go tell the king he will recover but the Lord has shown me he will die? Strange. Why would the prophet feel it right to mislead someone? The truth is he is not misleading at all. The prophet Elisha knows what is in Hazael's thoughts. He knows this commander c...

Ancient Israel is a case study in the reality that laws, promises and blessings from God do not secure a righteous nation. They do not change the heart. Judges 19 is perhaps the Bible's darkest chapter filled with unthinkable human evil and wanton disregard for the dignity of woman. The narrator of Judges has brought us through the judges cycles one after the other and now paints the picture for the terrible realities met by a nation who left God behind and forged their own future. This chapter is a solemn reminder of how bad it can get for a country when the Lord God of Creation is disregarded. The story is about a Levite and his concubine who cheated on him and left him. That first detail is all you need to know about the spiritual life of Israel. First, a Levite was set apart for God's service. Second, marriage was between a man and woman in Israel. Third, adultery was counter to the law and punishable by death. The Levite goes to fetch her after four months away in her...

Judges 17 turns the page on righteous although flawed judges raised up by God to deliver His people from bondage. Now the narrative will describe through tragic stories the corruption of Israel's heart as a result of them turning from God over the previous century. Note the first of four phrases to be repeated until the end of Judges six verses in: Judges 17:6 (ESV) In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes. The story begins with a man who stole money from his mother and then confesses upon hearing her curse over it. Judges 17:2 (ESV) And he said to his mother, “The 1,100 pieces of silver that were taken from you, about which you uttered a curse, and also spoke it in my ears, behold, the silver is with me; I took it.” And his mother said, “Blessed be my son by the LORD.” The mother then proceeds to hire a silversmith with part of the money to fashion an idol and put it in a makeshift shrine in the house. This she does, claiming...

Luke 13:1–5 (ESV)  There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. 2 And he answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? 3 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. 4 Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? 5 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” Jesus is asked about some bad things that happen to some good people.  His answer is important, especially for us today. I've always read this passage to mean, "When bad things happen to certain people, it's not because of their sin, it's just the fallenness of Creation".   That's not what Jesus says.  Notice he doesn't say, "Do you think that these Galileans...

2 Peter 2:1–3 (ESV) But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. 2 And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. 3 And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep. False teaching IN the body is as old as the church.  Peter turns from compelling believers to trust in the written words of Prophecy to warning them against "new" and false prophecies from within their ranks ("among the people .. among you").  This has been the reality of the movement of God from the beginning.  Wherever there is a Moses, there is a Korah.  Where you have a David, there is an Absolom.   In the early times after the New Testament, a he...