365 Reflections

In the original creation order comes out of the midst of chaos. God speaks and light shines forth, the seas are divided and land appears. On the first three days of creation God has created the frames in which all life will be experienced. Now, in the middle of the second book of the Bible, those images are going to reappear in the establishment of Israel, God's chosen. Escaping into the wilderness was step one. The people are vast and numerous. And yet God first leads them into what appears to be more chaos. Notice: Exodus 14:1–3 (ESV)  Then the LORD said to Moses, “Tell the people of Israel to turn back and encamp in front of Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, in front of Baal-zephon; you shall encamp facing it, by the sea. For Pharaoh will say of the people of Israel, ‘They are wandering in the land; the wilderness has shut them in.’ The people look chaotic, first hastily running out of Egypt, then going the long hard route toward Canaan and now here God tells...

It is clear Jacob knew where he wanted to be after his life on Earth had ended. He blesses his sons in Genesis 50 and then very descriptively tells them where his bones are to be buried. Genesis 49:29–33 (ESV)   Then he commanded them and said to them, “I am to be gathered to my people; bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite, 30 in the cave that is in the field at Machpelah, to the east of Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite to possess as a burying place. 31 There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife. There they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife, and there I buried Leah— 32 the field and the cave that is in it were bought from the Hittites.” 33 When Jacob finished commanding his sons, he drew up his feet into the bed and breathed his last and was gathered to his people. Notice how his view is to be gathered to those who had gone before him. He wanted to be in the only piece...

Sometimes it's the little things we overlook in a passage.  When Jesus is confronted with two demon possessed men in which a "legion" of demons reside, a conversation breaks out between the Lord and the demons... After finding out their name, the demons do something telling: Luke 8:31 (ESV) And they begged him not to command them to depart into the abyss. The demons begged Jesus not to depart into the abyss.  Hmmmm. I was reading Martin Lloyd Jones commentary on Ephesians 6:13.  He shared a powerful idea about the origin of evil and Satan's history.  He suggested the idea that the space between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2 is where Satan was cast out of heaven.  And that is why the Spirit is hovering over the surface of the deep - and the Earth is described as "formless and void" - being chaotic as a result of the devil being cast there from heaven.   It's a speculative view but it opens to us a reality that we should be aware of.  There...