365 Reflections

Josiah exemplifies for us a resolute desire to rid the land of Israel from all vestiges of evil practice. When the writer of 2 Kings unpacks for us the several stage process of his purification of Israel, we find out just how long-standing and involved the idolatry of Israel was. 2 Kings 23:4–5 (ESV) And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest and the priests of the second order and the keepers of the threshold to bring out of the temple of the LORD all the vessels made for Baal, for Asherah, and for all the host of heaven. He burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron and carried their ashes to Bethel. 5 And he deposed the priests whom the kings of Judah had ordained to make offerings in the high places at the cities of Judah and around Jerusalem; those also who burned incense to Baal, to the sun and the moon and the constellations and all the host of the heavens. Josiah's reforms begin with the priests - those who led the false worship of Judah. This is importan...

Joshua 16:10 (ESV) However, they did not drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer, so the Canaanites have lived in the midst of Ephraim to this day but have been made to do forced labor. Joshua 17:13 (ESV) Now when the people of Israel grew strong, they put the Canaanites to forced labor, but did not utterly drive them out. The people of Israel were not supposed to let the inhabitants of Canaan live. They were allowed to subject any external nation that attacked them into forced labor but all those inside the borders of the land were not supposed to live. Sadly, the tribes started following the example set by Joshua in Joshua 10 concerning the Gibeonites and make slaves of the foreign nations among them. Of course, this applies to our spiritual life. We cannot compromise with sin. We must not allow sin to live in our mortal bodies. Romans 6:11-14 (ESV) Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your ...

The episode of Balaam has proven one thing to Israel - they cannot be cursed. Balaam tried hard to resist God but was stopped and instead followed God and blessed Israel several times. God's people cannot be cursed by the forces of this world. What a privilege. However, there is something that Balaam's people do to Israel. More specifically, it is something Israel allows to be done to them. They conform to the sexual promiscuity of Moab. Numbers 25:1–3 (ESV) While Israel lived in Shittim, the people began to whore with the daughters of Moab. 2 These invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods. 3 So Israel yoked himself to Baal of Peor. And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel. This is a sad episode. As Israel is protected by God on the mountain as blessed by Balaam, they follow the foreign gods of the Moabites. Numbers 31 gives us more information: Numbers 31:16 (NLT) “These are the very ones who fo...

Leviticus 15 would cause anyone fits to see why it matters but it does in so many ways. It is about the bodily discharge of both males and females as well as sexual intercourse in relation to worship and faith. We MUST understand the original context in which these laws are handed down. We must also understand the purpose of God in using these regulations to preserve for Himself an ancient people who are still around to this day. First the strange laws: Leviticus 15:1–2 (ESV) The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 2 “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When any man has a discharge from his body, his discharge is unclean. Leviticus 15:10 (ESV) And whoever touches anything that was under him shall be unclean until the evening. And whoever carries such things shall wash his clothes and bathe himself in water and be unclean until the evening. Leviticus 15:16 (ESV) “If a man has an emission of semen, he shall bathe his whole body in water and be unclean until t...

Long before we needed to do it, before we understood the benefits, before anyone would ever focus on personal hygiene to the extreme that we do so today - God said - "Wash or die!" Exodus 30:17–21 (ESV) The Lord said to Moses, 18 “You shall also make a basin of bronze, with its stand of bronze, for washing . You shall put it between the tent of meeting and the altar, and you shall put water in it, 19 with which Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet. 20 When they go into the tent of meeting, or when they come near the altar to minister, to burn a food offering to the Lord , they shall wash with water, so that they may not die. 21 They shall wash their hands and their feet, so that they may not die . It shall be a statute forever to them, even to him and to his offspring throughout their generations.” Two years ago during a 4th of July cookout I didn't wash my hands while I prepared meat to barbecue. Two trips to two different doctor...

Genesis 35:5–7 (ESV)   And as they journeyed, a terror from God fell upon the cities that were around them, so that they did not pursue the sons of Jacob. 6 And Jacob came to Luz (that is, Bethel), which is in the land of Canaan, he and all the people who were with him, 7 and there he built an altar and called the place El-bethel, because there God had revealed himself to him when he fled from his brother. I love this verse in Genesis 35. Jacob is leaving the disgrace of Shechem and no longer trusting in his business acumen. He's going back to the place where God originally met with him. He's going where God wanted him to go in the first place while still living with Laban. He's going back to the wonderful house of God.  And God is surrounding him with protection! Don't you love it? "a terror from God fell upon the cities... so they did not pursue" him. God had his back. Why? Look at what he does  just before this moment: Genesis 35:2–4 (ESV) S...

Psalm 66:16–19 (ESV)   Come and hear, all you who fear God, and I will tell what he has done for my soul. 17 I cried to him with my mouth, and high praise was on my tongue. 18 If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened. 19 But truly God has listened; he has attended to the voice of my prayer. The Psalmist has a lesson for us. God has acted on his behalf. He prayed and praised God and God answered. But he didn't just pray, he confessed his sin .  The Word for "cherished" here can be "to see" as in we see a sin in our lives and we are unwilling to confess and forsake it.   We must not let sin stop God's activity in our lives. God's desire is to prosper and bless us. Sin is the stopper should we chose to hold on to it. Proverbs 28:13 (ESV) Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy. The people of Israel were stopped dead in their tr...

Revelation 19:6–8 (ESV)   Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. 7 Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; 8 it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure”— for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. Did you notice what happened in this verse? The voice commands rejoicing and glorification to the LORD for something the Bride did. Does that make sense? Absolutely. Because we know apart from Him we can do nothing. On the surface, it seems John is saying our righteous acts have made us worthy to partake in the new culminated life in Christ at the end of the age. But of course, he is not. The Bride (the body of Christ) makes herself ready because it was granted her to do so. Our...

Is it for a better sense of self? A richer, fuller experience in life to live without regret? Is it for the sake of neighbors and friends? To be upstanding in the community? Is it for your own personal conscience to be freed from the disparaging nature of sin? What is your motivation for holiness? I'm afraid we often have the wrong one, which usually leads us to a self-righteous Pharisaical hypocrisy where in "everything we do is done for men to see." Paul, on the other hand, calls the believers of Corinth to come out from the idolatry of the unbelievers in 2 Corinthians 6:14 (ESV), saying "Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?" Then he tells us why we should seek holiness, or separateness from the worldly influence of people apart from God... 2 Corinthians 7:1 (ESV) Since we have these promises , beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from ever...

1 Corinthians 5:6–7 (ESV) Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? 7 Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Paul is going to take a serious problem head on in 1 Corinthians 5. A man is sleeping with his father's wife. A sin so grievous, even the pagans are ashamed. This, in a culture were prostitution was more than legal and sexual immorality was common and accepted by all. To top it off, the Corinthians were proud about themselves while this was going on! Paul's question in verse 2 is probing, "Ought you not rather to mourn?" Why should they be mourning while only one man is committing this sin? Because "a little leaven leavens the whole lump." In the Old Testament, when Passover came around, they had to completely clean their entire homes of all traces of leaven. It could not be found. The bread f...

2 Timothy 2:20–21 (ESV) Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable. 21 Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work. The ball is in our court.  I think we can forget about that at times.  God does sanctify us but we have the responsibility to take part in that process as well.  The word "if" here is a big one.  If you cleanse yourself from the things of this world, then you will be useful to the master.  So many see Christianity as a free ride to heaven.  It's more than getting to heaven.  It's about life here as God intended.  And there are people in the great house of God who have yet to experience God's best because they never clean their life. Paul is talking to Timothy, a preacher.  He's sayin...

I have never really stopped to picture the event of the Triumphal Entry.  I read Philip Yancey's description of how it would have been pale in comparison to a Roman Centurion and it legion... but still, look at what happened: Someone no one knows gave their donkey and her colt to two strangers without hesitation. The people took their cloaks - a very valuable item in those days and laid them on the ground and used them for a make-shift saddle for Him.  Think about it, picture it.  Amazing. The people cried out "Hosanna to the Son of David!" The children sang all the way to the temple. The people of the city were stirred. Wow! The crowds cried, "Hosanna" which means, "Lord save us!"  A cry for help in Hebrew.  They cried to be released from the vile Roman army and  its massive legions.  They cried to be freed once again from subjugation to a God-less nation.  They cried to see the conquest of David's kingdom once again. And the first thi...