365 Reflections

Some have a serious problem with God's actions and judgment in the Old Testament. The reason is that they do not bother to read it closely enough. Consider what Hosea says about the Tribe of Ephraim (a synonym for the Northern Kingdom in many cases) at the peak of her idolatry and immoral behavior.  Hosea 13:1–2 (ESV) When Ephraim spoke, there was trembling; he was exalted in Israel, but he incurred guilt through Baal and died. 2 And now they sin more and more, and make for themselves metal images, idols skillfully made of their silver, all of them the work of craftsmen. It is said of them, “Those who offer human sacrifice kiss calves!” They were in the human-killing business. Should God let it continue? Should God not put a stop to it? Honest engagement with the Bible demands an understanding of the evil humans are capable of before we put God on trial for how He chooses to handle it.  Now look at verse one. For there we find the root of the evil.  Hosea 13:1 (ESV) he w...

How often do we forget what God has done for us? Think of this: what is the Bible but a collection of God's acts among His people from times past and a guarantee of God's acts on behalf of His people in times to come? Thus, Hosea outlines that Israel's forgetfulness led to their idolatry and shame.  Hosea 11:1–2 (ESV) When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. 2 The more they were called, the more they went away; they kept sacrificing to the Baals and burning offerings to idols. God called Israel out of Egypt. God made a way for them to respond by delivering them through His mighty power. The call and the deliverance work together. What a picture of salvation! Who enables the response to His call but the One who calls! How can anyone respond to the Lord's Word without the Lord making the way for them to do so? The problem with Israel is that the deliverance did not lead to lasting obedience. The more they called, the more they drifted, forg...

In Ezekiel 29, the prophet is in full force calling out the nations around Israel who disparaged or harmed them during their slide into abandoning God. Here, the target is Egypt.  Ezekiel 29:1–3 (ESV) In the tenth year, in the tenth month, on the twelfth day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me: 2 “Son of man, set your face against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and prophesy against him and against all Egypt; 3 speak, and say, Thus says the Lord GOD: “Behold, I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great dragon that lies in the midst of his streams, that says, ‘My Nile is my own; I made it for myself.’ Egypt had a long relationship with Israel. It was her captivity, her incubator as she grew, and eventually the first triumph upon her birth at the Red Sea. But there was always a forlorn desire in some to return or to trust this former captor when facing challenges from other nations. Some people can leave Egypt without letting Egypt leave them.  Many of Israel's pagan kin...

Idols are like flies - they multiply and overwhelm you. Israel was warned consistently both before they entered the promised land and after they took occupancy and lived among the judges and also throughout the monarchy that idolatry would be their downfall. They never could change it. And Jeremiah prophesied at a time when idolatry was overrunning the nation. Jeremiah 11:13 (ESV) Look now, people of Judah; you have as many gods as you have towns. You have as many altars of shame—altars for burning incense to your god Baal—as there are streets in Jerusalem. God calls them to look. Perhaps they did not notice. Their idols were abundant. As many towns and streets in the land - so they had idols. I tend to think this is a cultural reality. Every town has a particular idol in the world. Whether that be sports, money, gambling, celebrity, or fame, I believe idolatry is regional as it is national. The point is - the human race can make a "god" out of almost anything.  God then tel...

Many people think the Bible's prohibition in the Old Testament of Israel intermarrying with other nations is a proof text prohibiting interracial marriage in our day. Nothing could be further from the truth. The prohibition in the Old Testament against intermarriage with the pagan nations around Israel was a prohibition against inter-FAITH marriage. For when two people from different religions wed, they inevitably sway to one faith or another. And the Lord God knew the pull of seeking to please those surrounding nations who had been long established in the land was very strong for his people. He knew their hearts would be drawn away to serve their gods. Such is the case under the reign of Solomon's son. It doesn't take long for the southern kingdom to quickly degeneration into a people very much like the pagans they were supposed to drive out. Rehoboam leads Israel into blatant rebellion: 1 Kings 14:22–24 (ESV) And Judah did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, and t...

David's life begins to spiral downward after the Bathsheba moment. The seeds of these disasters are found in Amnon's lust for and rape of his half-sister Tamar. This produces a vengeful attitude in Absalom and he bides his time for the opportunity to avenge his sister's mistreatment. Absalom waits two years for vengeance. He then calls for the family to gather at his place for a special feast. He invites David and then specifically invites Absalom. 2 Samuel 13:25–27 (ESV) But the king said to Absalom, “No, my son, let us not all go, lest we be burdensome to you.” He pressed him, but he would not go but gave him his blessing. 26 Then Absalom said, “If not, please let my brother Amnon go with us.” And the king said to him, “Why should he go with you?” 27 But Absalom pressed him until he let Amnon and all the king’s sons go with him. We note here David's reluctant attitude to speak bluntly and authoritatively to his children. This is a problem for David. Firs...

2 Samuel 13:1–2 (ESV) Now Absalom, David’s son, had a beautiful sister, whose name was Tamar. And after a time Amnon, David’s son, loved her. 2 And Amnon was so tormented that he made himself ill because of his sister Tamar, for she was a virgin, and it seemed impossible to Amnon to do anything to her. Notice the language of idolatry. Nothing is wrong with beautiful women but Amnon is both tormented and heartsick that he cannot have his beautiful sister. Idolatry is evident when our desires affect our emotions and well-being. That's because idolatry turns something good into something ultimate. It becomes the only thing we can think about. We see that Amnon's desires affected him enough to be noticeable to others.  2 Samuel 13:3-4 (ESV) But Amnon had a friend, whose name was Jonadab, the son of Shimeah, David’s brother. And Jonadab was a very crafty man. 4 And he said to him, “O son of the king, why are you so haggard morning after morning? Will you not tell me?” Amn...

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...

Things are getting worse for Israel in the book of Judges. We have these stories preserved for us so that we do not follow the ways they took. Consider: 1 Corinthians 10:6 (ESV) Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did. The people of Israel once again serve the baals and ashtorehs of Canaan. These gods represented a plentiful harvest and fruitfulness in sex. It's amazing how we serve money and sex the same exact way thousands of years later just as they did!  When Israel feels the sting of the nations pressing in around them, they again cry out to God: Judges 10:10 (ESV) And the people of Israel cried out to the LORD, saying, “We have sinned against you, because we have forsaken our God and have served the Baals.” What's interesting is how God perceives insincerity in their cry for help. Because He turns up the heat in His response. Before Gideon was called, a prophet was sent to remind the people of Israe...

Judges 6:25–27 (ESV)   That night the Lord said to him, “Take your father’s bull, and the second bull seven years old, and pull down the altar of Baal that your father has, and cut down the Asherah that is beside it 26 and build an altar to the Lord your God on the top of the stronghold here, with stones laid in due order. Then take the second bull and offer it as a burnt offering with the wood of the Asherah that you shall cut down.” 27 So Gideon took ten men of his servants and did as the Lord had told him. But because he was too afraid of his family and the men of the town to do it by day, he did it by night. Gideon has seen the face of God and not died. He has heard God call him to save Israel out of the hand of Midian. He has thrown up the common excuses we all make when it comes to doing something great for God, and now the Lord tells him to take down the altar of Baal his father set up and build an altar to the Lord.  Why is this important? Because...

Deuteronomy 28 is hard to read. God outlines all the curses for disobedience to the law according to the covenant He has made with Israel. If they are to be His people, He is to come first for their lives. Deviating from his direction will only lead to disaster and pain. In the middle of a long list of curses that would come upon them is a hint at what causes people to crumble in their quest for the "good life" without God. Deuteronomy 28:47 (ESV)   Because you did not serve the Lord your God with joyfulness and gladness of heart, because of the abundance of all things, Did you see it? They did not serve the Lord with JOYFULNESS and GLADNESS. And why did they not serve Him with joyfulness and gladness? Because of their "ABUNDANCE of ALL THINGS." I'm firmly convinced of this: It is far more dangerous to be rich than poor. Poverty is visible and challenging. It is demoralizing and terrible in so many respects. We must never belittle the struggle of those...

Deuteronomy 13:6–9 (ESV) “If your brother, the son of your mother, or your son or your daughter or the wife you embrace or your friend who is as your own soul entices you secretly, saying, ‘Let us go and serve other gods,’ which neither you nor your fathers have known, 7 some of the gods of the peoples who are around you, whether near you or far off from you, from the one end of the earth to the other, 8 you shall not yield to him or listen to him, nor shall your eye pity him, nor shall you spare him, nor shall you conceal him. 9 But you shall kill him. Your hand shall be first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hand of all the people. This passage sounds a lot like the words of Jesus who said: Luke 14:26–27 (ESV) “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. 27 Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple....

The Sabbath regulation is one of the key repeated themes in the book of Exodus. From the moment of their deliverance, God reveals the Sabbath in providing bread for 6 days and not the seventh in Exodus 16. Then the 4th Commandment pertains to keeping the day of rest as holy to the Lord. The command is repeated after the specifications are laid out for building the tabernacle to Moses on the mountain of God in Exodus 31. In Exodus 34, God speaks of the Sabbath shortly after the Golden Calf incident and the re-affirmation of His Covenant with Israel. Now again, here in the beginning of Exodus 35, the Sabbath is commanded! This time reinforced by Moses himself. Exodus 35:1–3 (ESV) Moses assembled all the congregation of the people of Israel and said to them, “These are the things that the Lord has commanded you to do. 2 Six days work shall be done, but on the seventh day you shall have a Sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the Lord . Whoever does any work on it shall be put to death. ...

Exodus 32:1 (ESV)   When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered themselves together to Aaron and said to him, “Up, make us gods who shall go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.” There are times when God and His work in our lives seems distant. Moses has been on the mountain with God for 40 days. The people grow anxious as if God and Moses are out of touch with their situation. When we get to places like this, we must be on our guard. God has not forgotten us, He's actually preparing us for His ultimate purpose. But we need to be patient in the process.  The Golden Calf story illustrates what happens to us when God puts the brakes on our lives and seems distant.  It is interesting that this terrible sin follows the section where God instructs Moses concerning the temple and its instruments, fills a man with the Spirit to build the te...

Exodus 20:4–5 (ESV)   “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 5 You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, The second commandment deals with graven images. Some would call this idolatry but the specifics of the command make it clear fashioning an idol to represent the true God is in mind here. God is saying to His people "I AM" in this command which means He IS Who He is and that is always the same. Therefore any representation of Him fashioned by mankind is always null and void of the true reality.  You cannot make God want you want Him to be. No, we may not carve statues out of wood and rock today as we have become civilized, but we do redefine God according to our own whi...

Exodus 8:8 (ESV)  Then Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron and said, “Plead with the LORD to take away the frogs from me and from my people, and I will let the people go to sacrifice to the LORD.” Pharaoh feins belief here for the sake of relief. He even uses the name of God, "The Lord" and asks Moses to pray to Him on his behalf. He even makes a deal with God, "If God will, then I will..."  It is the sign of a hardened heart that only goes to God when things are not what he/she wants them to be. It is also not the life of faith we are called to embrace. We do not make deals with God or silly promises to God that will only be fulfilled after God has shown up how we want. Pharaoh is case in point that those who put such expectations on God are not at all serving Him, they are serving their own desires. Even after the plague is removed it tells us: Exodus 8:15 (ESV) But when Pharaoh saw that there was a respite, he hardened his heart and would not listen to them, as...

Psalm 119:96 (NLT) Even perfection has its limits, but your commands have no limit. This is a profound verse. The Psalmist picks up the Theme of Ecclesiastes here to plainly state: no matter how far in life you get, without God's Truth, you're empty. Even perfection has it's limits. Wow. How many celebrities do we have to see kill themselves before we realize the truth of this statement? How many more suicides of those who seem to have made it? We have a celebrity in the Bible who tried everything. His name was Solomon. He tried to appease every appetite of his heart and concluded it was all vanity. The system of this world sells us on what will "make us happier, better, more secure." And we chase like everyone else. And no matter how far we get, we are trained by a constant barrage of commercialization that something else will make our lives better.  Paul said,  1 Timothy 6:6 (NLT)  true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth. To be ...

The one proof of God from the Bible we do not discuss is actually something many regard as reason for disbelief. We don't see Him. The Hebrew scriptures are clear: You do not make an image of Jehovah. Why? Because NO IMAGE we could make would do Him justice. The religions of the ancient world worshipped scads of images. Paul is vexed by them in Athens in Acts 17. They even had an image to the "unknown" god just in case they missed one. There is something inherent to the human heart regarding idolatry. We want to create God according to our own likeness and image. Israel struggled with this temptation from day one. They made a golden calf as Moses was getting the second commandment from the finger of God on tablets of stone! Remember that Aaron did not call them to worship some false deity but rather called the people to regard the calf as an image of the God who brought them out of Egypt. The human heart loves to recreate God according to our own ideas. So today...

It's always amazing how good things can so easily become ultimate things. There were those in the church at Corinth who felt strong enough as Christians to indulge in whatever meat was available. Just like today there are many Christians who can do some things other Christians couldn't handle due to their past addictions. But Paul warns the strong. He tells them not to get overconfident. He shows them how Israel is a great example. That thought they walked through water and were led by the cloud and saw the miracles of Moses - even still - they soon forsook God and worshipped idols soon after. The point? Idolatry is crafty. Even after you've been saved. If we have moved on from drugs, materialism, addiction, lust and other famous sins, once saved our heart goes to work fashioning newer, "more acceptable" idols for our post-conversion life. Pride, arrogance, "super" Christianity that begins to think I can do it on my own! We never come to a place whe...