Category: 2023 Bible Reading

When a Friend is Suffering

Old Testament: Job 5 & 6

Poetry: Psalm 33

New Testament: John 13

The greatest mystery in the book of Job is not why Job suffers, but why a man crippled by suffering is forced to fight a long, drawn-out theological battle with people who are supposed to be his friends. (Mike Mason, The Gospel According to Job)

Job’s friends start out pretty good. They find out about what’s happening in his life and come from far away with the intent ‘to come to show him sympathy and comfort him.’ After emotional expressions ‘they sat with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his suffering was very great.’

Sadly, after such a strong start, they end up kind of being the worst, saying things like:

Should not your piety be your confidence and your blameless ways your hope?

Blessed is the one whom God corrects; so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty.

Yikes. The guy just lost everything, his livelihood, every one of his children, and he himself is covered in ‘loathsome sores.’ It seems incredibly insensitive, but honestly, it’s a pretty typical Christian response to suffering. 

We often begin by sitting with people in their suffering. But maybe because it’s uncomfortable to stay there, or maybe because we feel an urge to ‘speak truth’ to them, we muck it all up by sermonizing. Like Job’s friends, we think we’re encouraging by offering reasonable answers to their situation.

And the thing is, what they’re saying (what we often say) isn’t necessarily wrong. Job’s friends are quoted in the New Testament. (5:13 is quoted by Paul in 1 Corinthians 3:19 and 5:17 is quoted in Hebrews 12:5). But while it may not be wrong, it is unkind, insensitive, and perhaps mis-applied.

I cringe when I hear a well-meaning believer simply quote scripture to a hurting brother or sister. Sometimes, often times, the most effective thing we can do as a spiritual friend is not to counsel, teach, direct, or judge. The book of Job would be a lot shorter if Job’s friends understood this.

We haven’t gotten to the part yet where God speaks. And that answers the question that most often causes me to open my big yap and offer up my meager two cents… but if I don’t speak truth to them, who will? Um… God, maybe?

How many people have our good intentions hurt?

C.S. Lewis wrote in A Grief Observed,

“Talk to me about the truth of religion and I’ll listen gladly. Talk to me about the duty of religion and I’ll listen submissively. But don’t come talking to me about the consolations of religion or I shall suspect that you don’t understand.”

-Susan Landry

Reflection Questions

  1. Have you ever been in a time of suffering and someone said or did something you found comforting and helpful? If so, what? (Feel free to leave a comment to share good examples and ideas with us.)
  2. Pray to be a sensitive and compassionate comforter to those in need.
sgl23bibleplanDownload

Ask the Hard Questions

Old Testament: Job 3 & 4

Poetry: Psalm 32

New Testament: John 12

The phrase ‘the patience of Job’ is really not accurate. Job persevered for sure, but not patiently. He suffered, but not silently. The book of Job is the story of a rebel.

After his suffering begins, his saintly friends take turns explaining his problems to him with good, logical, theological phrasing. I would call their monologues churchy. Job, on the other hand, goes to God with his irreverent appeal for an explanation. And that’s the real difference between Job and his friends… Job spoke to God about his suffering while his friends spoke about God to Job.

Chapter 3 begins with Job opening his mouth and cursing the day of his birth, saying, “Let the day perish on which I was born.” He goes on at length and in great detail describing that notion.

But this isn’t a typical poor me kind of complaint. His personal lament turns to a lament for all of those who suffer through life. The poorest of the poor, those who grow up with no advantages, despised, rejected, people who are just surviving.

Why is light given to him who is in misery,
    and life to the bitter in soul,
 who long for death, but it comes not,
    and dig for it more than for hidden treasures,
 who rejoice exceedingly
    and are glad when they find the grave?

Job invites us to ask the hard questions rather than to slip into the platitudes that can come too easily. Questions about the meaning of life and about God himself. And he models to us the way to find peace in our questioning…not by talking about God, but by talking to him.

Uncomfortable? Yup. Worth it? I think Job would say so.

-Susan Landry

Reflection Questions

  1. Do you spend more time talking to God or talking about God? Which comes easier to you?
  2. Do you have a little list of hard questions you have been avoiding asking God? Talk to Him about them – and see how He answers.
sgl23bibleplanDownload

Broken Pottery

*Old Testament: Job 1 & 2

*Poetry: Psalm 31

New Testament: John 11

Be merciful to me, LORD, for I am in distress; my eyes grow weak with sorrow, my soul and body with grief. My life is consumed by anguish and my years by groaning; my strength fails because of my affliction, and my bones grow weak.

Among all my enemies I am a disgrace, and among my neighbors even more. I am dreaded by my friends—they flee when they see me on the street. 

I am forgotten as though I were dead; I have become like broken pottery. 

If I told you that the above passage was from the book of Job, you’d probably believe me. But King David wrote those words in Psalm 31. He is in distress, weak with sorrow and grief, groaning and weak in his affliction. He is shamed and disgraced by those around him, broken. The description of his anguish is amazingly similar to Job’s experience.

Interestingly, while David describes himself as ‘broken pottery,’ Job uses broken pottery to scrape his oozing boils.

loathsome sores from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. And he took a piece of broken pottery with which to scrape himself while he sat in the ashes.   Job 2:7-8

I say…Ew. But Job said,

Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away. Blessed be the name of the LORD.  Job 1:21

Would you be surprised to see that David echoes the wisdom of Job?

Blessed be the LORD, for he has wondrously shown his steadfast love to me when I was in a besieged city. I had said in my alarm, “I am cut off from your sight.” But you heard the voice of my pleas for mercy when I cried to you for help.    Psalm 31:21-22

Blessed be the name of the LORD.

I think that praise from the depths is maybe the most beautiful praise. It is certainly the most trusting. David, in his Psalm, invites us to join him in his trust, and I invite you to carry these words with you today:

Be strong, and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for the LORD!   Psalm 31:24

-Susan Landry

Reflection Questions

  1. What does it look like to wait for/on the Lord?
  2. What steps can we take to help our heart take courage when we are in the depths?
  3. What can we learn from the examples of David and Job?
sgl23bibleplanDownload

Light. Will. Come.

Old Testament: Job Intro – found below

Poetry: Psalm 30

New Testament: John 10

Sometimes things are just hard. Life is not going our way. We’re feeling burdened, overwhelmed, or just plain sad. When we are stuck in the middle of these times, it can bring relief just to see the possibility of a light at the end of our dark tunnel. We don’t even have to see the light yet. Just knowing that it’s coming can lighten our load and bring a deep breath of hope.

I was talking with a friend recently who is feeling a lot of stress at work. My friend is doing her own job as well as another person’s job. When we talked, she told me that her company had posted the other person’s job and should be hiring to fill it soon. Even though her workload hadn’t changed, in that moment she felt a subtle lifting of her burden. The relief wasn’t there yet, but just knowing that it was coming gave her hope, and a boost to continue on until the relief actually showed up and she could go back to just doing her own job.

Weeping may last for the night, but joy comes with the morning. Psalm 30:5b

Have you ever experienced insomnia? How about being up all night with a sick child (or sick self)? We’ve all been in those situations where we wish with every fiber of our being that morning would just arrive. And it does. Every single time.

Although some nights may be long and dark, joy will come again. The darkness may even get worse but God will meet you in your darkness and the light will come.

Life is not free of struggle or pain– not even for the most faithful servant of God. But in our pain and confusion, God is always with us, working for our good.

Isaiah 43:2 reminds us of that: “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.”

It would be nice, wouldn’t it, if God promised that he’d take away all of our burdens? Snap his fingers and make everything sunshine and rainbows. The reasons why he doesn’t are probably many and accurate.

What he does promise us, though, is that not only will he be with us in the dark times (and as someone who is still afraid of the dark, that is no small gift) but he promises us that light will come. Let me say that again for those who need to let that sink in…

Light. Will. Come.

But even more than THAT, God doesn’t simply promise to give us peace at the end of the long, dark night. He offers dancing. Dancing!

You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing your praises and not be silent. LORD my God, I will praise you forever. Psalm 30:11

Thanks, God. Thanks for being so kind to a dummy like me who, even though I know the morning always comes, still doubts…still fears in the darkness. And yes, thank you for asking, you may have this dance.

-Susan Landry

Reflection Questions

  1. Read Psalm 30 looking for how God is described and what He is doing/has done. Now re-read it and find how the Psalmist is responding. What image of God do you have after reading Psalm 30? What is your response?
  2. What is the darkest night/hardest struggle you have encountered so far? Are you still in it right now or have you already experienced some light/joy/and perhaps even dancing? How did you see God during the dark mourning – and also in the light morning?
  3. Who do you know who is stuck in a dark night right now and could benefit from hearing that the light is coming? How can you use God’s promises, His Word, and perhaps even this devotion to be an encouragement to this person? What/who can you also be praying for?
  4. After reading the Job Introduction below, how does it apply to today’s devotion?

Job Introduction

The Book of Job is about a righteous man named Job who remained faithful to God despite God allowing Satan to take everything from him except his life.  We don’t know who wrote this book, or even exactly when it took place.  Given Job’s age (he lived 140 years after the events recorded in the book), it’s likely Job lived around the time of Abraham, or possibly earlier.

In the first two chapters, we get a glimpse of one reason bad things happen to godly people – Job seemed to be a pawn in a cosmic battle to test Job’s integrity.  

Job had 3 “friends” who came to comfort him, but they were really more torment.  They consistently accused Job of hidden sins – otherwise, God wouldn’t be punishing him they said.  But Job consistently maintained his innocence.

Despite Job’s intense suffering, he maintained his belief in the resurrection, as is recorded in Job 19:25-27, “I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth.  And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see him, with my own eyes – I, and not another.  How my heart yearns within me!”  (This is one of my favorite passages in the Bible.)

In the end, God Himself confronted Job, and eventually blessed Job with twice as many possessions at the end of his life as he had before his downfall – including 10 more children.

This is a good example to show us that we don’t need to understand why bad things are happening, we must just remain faithful, no matter what.  Job also shows us that we can be honest with God when we are suffering and when we don’t understand why things are happening.

Finally, no matter what happens to you, may you, with Job, be able to say, “I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth.  And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see him, with my own eyes – I, and not another.  How my heart yearns within me!”

-Steve Mattison

sgl23bibleplanDownload

He Sees

You Can, Too.

Old Testament: Esther 8-10

Poetry: Psalm 29

*New Testament: John 9

John 9 recounts a story of Jesus healing a man born blind, and how those in his community respond to his being healed. Through this account, we see not only the heart that Jesus had, but also areas for our own spiritual growth.

As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. 9:1

From the start, we can find assurance in the notion that Jesus notices the least of us. We’re later told that this man had been a beggar. He may have been begging as Jesus and the disciples passed by. For anyone who feels overlooked at times, isn’t it comforting to know that Jesus notices us?

So he went and washed and came back seeing. 9:7b

We also see in this man how obedience and faith work together. Believing that Jesus could heal him would not have sealed the deal, action was required. Results are nice. And most often they don’t come without some action on our part. This man could not have been healed without Jesus intervening. But even with Jesus’ intervention, his healing required his own participation.

Some of the Pharisees near him heard these things, and said to him, “Are we also blind?” Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, ‘We see,’ your guilt remains.  9:40

Self-righteousness blinds us. And these blind spots are roadblocks on our journey to spiritual maturity.

Have you ever been reading when the light outside is growing dim? You don’t need the lights inside the house on yet and so they are not on. But an hour later, the room is getting darker and darker and you do not even realize it. Someone may come in and ask if you need the light on. Suddenly you look around and realize how dark it is. You didn’t know you needed the light, you hadn’t recognized you were in the dark. This is the problem Jesus is identifying. The light of the world is here for those that know they need it/him. But many think they can see when actually they are sitting in the dark.

And if, when reading that, your mind immediately went to ‘those people’ who are in the dark…you’re missing the point. You’re ‘those people.’ We’re all ‘those people.’

What a great place to start today… asking for him to reveal blind spots we may have, trusting that he sees and cares for us, with a willingness to act on what he reveals in us.

-Susan Landry

Reflection Questions

  1. How do faith and obedience work together? Why are both required? Do you feel stronger in one than the other? How can you work on growing the other?
  2. When have you found yourself sitting in the dark? How can you draw closer to the light of the world to take advantage of the light he gives?
  3. After reading John 9 how would you describe Jesus.
sgl23bibleplanDownload

Discerning

When and Where God Just Wants You to Stand

*Old Testament: Esther 5-7

Poetry: Psalm 28

New Testament: John 8

Esther’s boldness is often written about… If I perish, I perish.

Kind of melodramatic.

The real story here, although not presented with as much flourish, is Esther’s discernment. When Mordecai tells her what she needs to do, she doesn’t just swoon the ‘if I perish’ line and exit stage left to appeal to the king. She asks for time to pray and fast herself, and asks for others to join her.

Go, gather all the Jews to be found in Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf, and do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my young women will also fast as you do. Then I will go to the king…   4:16

After this, Esther still doesn’t march into the king’s presence and boldly present her ask. What she does is be intentional with each and every action and word. She chooses what to wear, and she puts herself in the right place. And she stands there.

Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court of the king’s palace.  5:1

Even after the king receives her and asks for her request, all but assuring her that the answer will be yes, she continues to act with discernment.

And the king said to her, “What is it, Queen Esther? What is your request? It shall be given you, even to the half of my kingdom.” And Esther said, “If it please the king, let the king and Haman come today to a feast that I have prepared for the king.”   5:3-4

At the feast, the king repeats his promise to give her what she desires, but still she doesn’t ask. We can’t really explain why she does what she does, but what can explain it is that she is being led by a wise and knowing God because she has taken the time to listen to him.

And as they were drinking wine after the feast, the king said to Esther, “What is your wish? It shall be granted you. And what is your request? Even to the half of my kingdom, it shall be fulfilled.” Then Esther answered, “My wish and my request is: If I have found favor in the sight of the king, and if it please the king to grant my wish and fulfill my request, let the king and Haman come to the feast that I will prepare for them, and tomorrow I will do as the king has said.”   5:6-8

And then this happens…

On that night the king could not sleep.  6:1

A-ha! His sleepless night led to him doing a little light reading which opened a door for God to speak directly into him. God didn’t put Esther in this place so she could convince the king, he put her there simply to ask. And she did, the next day…

And on the second day, as they were drinking wine after the feast, the king again said to Esther, “What is your wish, Queen Esther? It shall be granted you. And what is your request? Even to the half of my kingdom, it shall be fulfilled.”Then Queen Esther answered, “If I have found favor in your sight, O king, and if it please the king, let my life be granted me for my wish, and my people for my request. For we have been sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be killed, and to be annihilated. If we had been sold merely as slaves, men and women, I would have been silent, for our affliction is not to be compared with the loss to the king.” Then King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther, “Who is he, and where is he, who has dared to do this?” And Esther said, “A foe and enemy! This wicked Haman!”   7:1-6

Far too often, I think we inflate just how much God needs us. He truly does the heavy lifting far more effectively than we can. Our job is to learn to tune in to when it’s time to speak and when it’s time to put on the royal robes and just stand.

How often do we think we’re helping God, or are certain that we’re on the path to do the most good (both positive intentions, by the way) but we’re not doing an awful lot of praying or fasting before we move, speak, or bulldoze ahead?

Maybe God’s thinking, ‘It’s great that you’re willing to perish, but all I really need you to do is just stand there today.’

-Susan Landry

Reflection Questions

  1. Have you tried praying and fasting before making a large decision or bold action? If so, did you find it beneficial? Whether you have done it before or not, what might God want you to spend time praying and fasting about?
  2. Can you think of a time you may have been to0 quick to act – not acting within God’s perfect timing?
  3. When have you seen examples of God’s perfect timing?

sgl23bibleplanDownload

Ego Problems

New Testament: Esther 3 & 4

Poetry: Psalm 27

New Testament: John 7

And all the king’s servants who were at the king’s gate bowed down and paid homage to Haman, for the king had so commanded concerning him. But Mordecai did not bow down or pay homage.   Esther 3:2

When I read this description, it reminds me of a scene from a movie. In The Avengers, Loki tells a group of people outside an opera house to kneel before him. There’s one old man in the crowd who stands when Loki says to the people,

“In the end, you will always kneel.”

“Not to men like you,” the gray-haired man says.

Loki responds arrogantly, “There are no men like me.”

“There are always men like you.”

Turns out, he was right! There have always been men like Loki, people who are consumed with pride, hungry for power and so murderous in their pursuit of it that they are willing to wipe out a population of people. Genocides in Rwanda, Bosnia…the Holocaust. These modern tragedies, though horrendous, are not new.

Haman, from our passage in Esther, was so like Loki that he set out to destroy not only Mordecai, but his entire people.

Letters were sent by couriers to all the king’s provinces with instruction to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate all Jews, young and old, women and children, in one day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar, and to plunder their goods.  Esther 3:13

I don’t watch scary movies…but isn’t that kind of the plot of The Purge?

Haman was clearly a petty man. Willing to murder an entire race because one man didn’t give him the respect he felt he deserved.

…when Haman saw that Mordecai did not bow down or pay homage to him, Haman was filled with fury. Esther 3:5

Most of us won’t commit genocide over a slight. Most of us won’t even get filled with fury when we don’t get the recognition we deserve. But we may become filled with jealousy, or bitterness, or discouragement. Ego can take a lot of different forms.

Haman based his worth in his status, and it was easily dismantled when that status was challenged. Like Haman, we can find our worth in the wrong place. Our successes or wins, being right, our appearance, finances, being liked, our intellect… really any number of things. And when that worth is dismantled (as it will surely be) we can go the way of Haman and act out to try and earn what we have lost, or we may simply feel worthless.

I don’t think we’re any more aware of doing this than Haman was. We are deceived, and we experience the results of our deceit, causing us to react. Maybe instead of trying to change our reactions, we would be better served to dig a little deeper and expose where it is we believe our value is based. Awareness may not eliminate our bent, but shining a light on deceit is the first step in seeing the truth.

-Susan Landry

Reflection Questions:

  1. How would you describe Haman? How would you describe Mordecai? How are you like, and unlike, each of these characters?
  2. How are you most likely to react when your ego is damaged?
  3. Where do you find your worth? Is it serving you well? Are there adjustments to be made? What does God say makes you valuable?
sgl23bibleplanDownload

I Knew You Were Trouble When You Walked In

Old Testament: Esther 1 & 2

Poetry: Psalm 26

New Testament: John 6

I wanted to focus on Esther chapters 1-2 today, since that section makes us think about some important and difficult things. If you’re not an adult, you will be soon, and reading the bible as an adult means you notice things that your younger, more innocent self didn’t notice. And once you notice things, you can’t un-notice them. Instead, you will have to think about them and try to sort them out. You could call them the “seriously-why-is-this-in-the-bible” moments, and the bible offers so many of them. I’ve found that you really get the value out of them if you awkwardly lean into them rather than ignore them. So let’s get uncomfortable for a few minutes.

The context is that King Ahasuerus is on the hunt for a new queen after removing Queen Vashti from her position for not obeying his command. He orders that beautiful young virgins be gathered up (by force) from his entire kingdom, and he would pick his favorite to be queen. This is basically an ancient version of “The Bachelor,” but the women had no say in whether they would participate or not. After going through a year-long intense beauty regimen (like a spa day, but for a year), each woman would have her turn to spend the night with the king. The morning after, she would be moved to a harem of concubines, to be called upon whenever the king wanted.

It is more than clear that when the women have their night with the king, his expectation is a sexual encounter. Given that the women have no say in this, they are essentially prisoners, and that makes the king, well, a serial rapist. Like so many kings we have heard about, this king is a tyrant and is abusive of his power. He is accountable to nobody, does what he wants, and treats people like things for his own gain. In this case, being a candidate for queen is not a privilege, it is a terrifying situation. Each of the women now belong to the king forever whether they like it or not. Not cooperating would probably mean death for them.

It is sometimes difficult to know what to do with an unpleasant passage such as this. It’s not the kind of thing that causes you to feel inspired or connected to God, but we’re able to learn something from it.

Beware of power. The king is a great example of how having power can corrupt you. When there are no checks or balances, and your word is the law of the land, you can have whatever you desire, even if your desires turn dark. Unfortunately, the church is not immune to this danger. There is something that tends to happen when a church becomes a mega-church and the pastor attains celebrity status. Narcissism takes over, and some pastors or leaders commit terrible abuses of people. We need to put systems of accountability in place to help prevent this. Also, we need to lean on the example of leadership that Jesus gave us. It was never about using power for his own advantage, but about serving people (see Philippians 2:5-8).

Do not take advantage of people. At one point in time it may have been culturally acceptable to own people as property. That time is long gone. There is a reason why the practice of slavery is illegal in every country of the world. Treating anyone like they are property or like they are worth less than you violates their status as the image of God. It is easy to love things and use people. Do the opposite. Love people and use things.

Real-life ethics are hard. The right path through our circumstances is not always clear. Esther faces some tricky ethical dilemmas in this story. Should she cooperate with the king, or should she risk harm or death and resist him? What would be more right? Should she tell the king about the plot to assassinate him? After all, allowing him to be assassinated could be a quick solution to some of her problems, but on the other hand, it could invite equal or worse troubles. Esther opts for the long game, telling the king of the assassination plot, which shows her loyalty and gains the king’s trust. Having the king’s trust proves to be crucial later on in the story.

There is hope. Esther is not in a great situation, but (spoiler alert) we know from the rest of her story that God is able to use her in powerful ways to bring about something good. This doesn’t mean that God causes the bad circumstances we find ourselves in, but he is always working to make the best of them. Partner with God in that mission.

-Jay Laurent

Hi, I’m Jay. I’m a nerd by trade and passion. I enjoy consuming, playing, and creating music whenever I can. I’m a big fan of books and coffee, especially together. My wife, Lauren, and I live in Illinois, and love to play board games, watch shows or movies, or go on a good hike together.

Reflection Questions:

1. What power do you have? What can you do to put checks on it so that you won’t abuse it?

2. What troubles are you going through? How might God be working in your life through (or despite) them? Who is God shaping you to be on the other side of them?

sgl23bibleplanDownload

Missing the Forest for the Trees

Old Testament: Esther Intro below

Poetry: Psalm 25

New Testament: John 5

We saw in John 4 yesterday how Jesus challenged and expanded the boundaries of who can experience the living water, and where worship can happen. Now in John 5, we see him challenging the existing notions of when God should be experienced.

We think of the temple as sacred space, meaning it was a special place where God’s presence lived in a special way. What the temple was to physical space, the Sabbath was to time. The Sabbath is sacred time, like the temple in day form. It was a special day of rest set aside to focus on God, which invited his presence. 

The Sabbath was important to the Jews, so they did their best to follow the laws in scripture concerning it. With all the right intentions, they developed traditional rules about what could be done on the Sabbath that were more strict than what was stated in scripture. This way, they wouldn’t even come close to breaking the laws. It was like driving 30 MPH in a 55 MPH zone so you don’t get pulled over for speeding.

There is a difference between following the letter of the law and following the spirit of the law. The letter of the law in a 55 MPH zone means if you go over 55 MPH, you might get pulled over and probably have to pay a fine. But what is the spirit of the speed limit? One goal is safety. If a lot of people are driving too fast, chances for fatal accidents increase (speed kills). If you are driving 30 in a 55, you are well within the letter of the law, but you are actually not following the spirit of the law, since you are not helping the safety situation. Other drivers will have to slam on their brakes to not hit you, or they will have to pass you and risk a collision with a car coming the other way. In being too preoccupied with the letter of the law, you have violated the spirit of the law.

By healing the man on the Sabbath, Jesus attracts some unwanted criticism. First, the man is criticized for carrying his mat away, as Jesus told him to do. This was apparently against some of the rules about how much weight could be carried or how far something could be carried on the Sabbath. Then the religious leaders criticize Jesus for doing a healing on the Sabbath, since healing qualifies as some form of work in the rule book. They probably just wanted to find any way possible to be critical. 

How does Jesus respond? From verse 17: “My Father is still working [on the Sabbath], and I also am working.” Doesn’t this challenge the traditional wisdom about the Sabbath? If God rested on the seventh day, we observe that pattern and do the same each week. But Jesus is claiming here that God works even on the Sabbath, and maybe even that he has never stopped working. Jesus is all about the business of his Father, so if the Father is working on the Sabbath, so will Jesus.

A large point of the law about the Sabbath is to carve out time to foster a connection with God. By focusing on the technicalities, the religious leaders were missing the point completely, for had their standards been followed, it would have resulted in less connection with God. The man wouldn’t have been healed, and wouldn’t have had the amazing experience that brought him to know Jesus and by proxy, the Father. By maximizing connection to God, Jesus had actually followed the spirit of the law, even though he may not have been within the letter of it.

I think what God wants us to know through this story is that he values compassion and mercy above legalism. I am reminded of what Jesus says in Matthew 9:13 (in reference to Hosea 6:6): “Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.” Our God is a God of genuine love and kindness, and he wants us to mirror that, not just perform the outward ritual.

-Jay Laurent

Reflection Questions:

1. Can you think of a time when obsessing over the rules made you miss the big picture?

2. It’s a busy world. Do you carve out any time to connect with God?

3. If you do, what are some of your favorite ways of connecting?

Esther Introduction

The Book of Esther tells the story of how a Jewish orphan girl became the queen of Persia and saved the Jews from Haman’s plot to kill them all.  The feast of Purim, still celebrated today, celebrates that deliverance.  We don’t know who wrote the book of Esther, but it may have been her cousin, Mordecai (who also raised her after she became an orphan).

The book of Esther is the only book in the Bible that has no direct reference to God, and is only one of two (the other is Ruth) named after a woman.

One of the most well-known verses is Esther 4:13, “For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish.  And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this.”

Bonus trivia:  The longest verse in the Bible is Esther 8:9.

This book is a great example of the positive difference one person can make when acting courageously despite fear.  What difference can you make – with God’s help?

-Steve Mattison

sgl23bibleplanDownload

Reach

Old Testament: Nehemiah 11-13

Poetry: Psalm 24

New Testament: John 4

Tribalism is one of those coins with two sides. It has aided in our survival as a species, yet it influences us to do things that are very unhelpful in the modern world. It is beneficial or even necessary to belong to a tribe. We need things like community, cohesion, protection, sharing of resources, cooperation, and a sense of identity and belonging. But a tribal mentality views anyone on the outside as a threat to all of those good things, often leading to polarization, discrimination, racism, or even violent conflict. 

We favor people in our in-group, often at the expense of the outsider. We believe our group is better than other groups and that we have the correct deities or religious practices, and that they do not. Any outside influences or new ideas might be a threat to our way of life, so naturally we want to put up a protective hedge and resist any change. We are stuck in a paradox where we need tribalism and at the same time need to get rid of it. Is it possible to keep the good parts of it and jettison the bad?

Tribalism is in the backdrop of John chapter 4. There was a longstanding tension between the Jews and the Samaritans, mostly over religious practices. They shared many beliefs, but disagreed on some things, most notably about where worship should happen. The Jewish tribe insisted that worship should happen at the temple, while the Samaritan tribe insisted it should happen on a mountain. Each tribe believed the other was not worshiping correctly and perceived the other as some kind of threat to the integrity of proper worship. This all sounds completely insane to us, but we’ve all heard stories of church splits that happened over something ridiculously miniscule.

By talking to the Samaritan woman, Jesus broke down the tribal barrier that existed between them. He showed that having the conversation with her was more important than obeying the cultural pressure to not have the conversation. He showed her that she had value and was not a threat to him. This living water Jesus is talking about apparently knows no tribal or cultural boundaries. 

Whatever ancestral disagreement they had about where worship should take place was not going to be relevant anymore. He tells her that the time is coming when worship will take place neither on the mountain nor in the temple, but true worshipers will worship in spirit and truth. In other words, it’s not going to matter where we worship anymore. It’s all going to be about the heart that the worship comes from.

There is another part of the conversation that deserves some consideration. Verses 16-18 are usually interpreted as Jesus gently calling the woman out for her sin of adultery or promiscuity. That may be. I’ve heard another interpretation that I think changes the mood of the passage. 

Women at this time in history don’t have the same kinds of rights that women have now. It was a highly patriarchal society that had not elevated the status of women very far above property. The right or ability to divorce belonged to men, or if a woman was able to initiate one, it would be with great difficulty. Given the context, when we learn that she has had five husbands, we shouldn’t assume she was responsible for the mess. It is more likely that her previous husbands had exploited their right to divorce, with the result being that she had been abused and passed around like property. And it’s not likely that the man she is with now is going to offer any improvement for the abusive cycle she is in. So when Jesus tells her that he knows about her situation, it is not to condemn her of sin, but to offer his acknowledgment of and empathy for what she has been through. 

Is that the “correct” interpretation? I’m not in a place to claim that, but I do feel this offers a refreshing angle on the passage.

From another part of the reading today, there is something in Nehemiah 13:23-27 that collides with our discussions of tribalism and of divorce. Nehemiah has discovered that many of the Jewish men have married foreign wives. This is considered a problem because it was against the law of Moses for the Israelites to intermarry with the surrounding nations. Solomon was guilty of this also, and it was a big part of his downfall. The intermarriage allows other religious ideas to creep into the tribe, and it likely leads the men astray to worship other gods. To protect the purity and identity of the community, Nehemiah orders that the foreign wives (and their children?) be sent away. I can appreciate the need to protect the tribe, and the desire to uphold the law. But on the other hand, Nehemiah’s hardline response to the problem always strikes me as overly harsh. Breaking up families is not a good thing, and what’s the fate of the people who are sent away? It makes me wonder how Jesus would have dealt with it.

From John 4, we begin to see how Jesus challenged the tribal constructs. He reached out to an outsider and heralded a time when the tribal God of Israel would no longer be just for Israel, but for all peoples and nations. In order to connect with the one true God, we no longer need to be in this place or that, or have a certain racial or cultural identity, or be in the right in-crowd. We only need to be in Spirit and Truth. By example, Jesus is inviting us to suspend some of the deepest instincts of our tribalism and embrace a spirit of inclusion.

-Jay Laurent

Reflection Questions:

1. What tribes do you belong to?

2. Do you recognize any tribal instincts in yourself? When are they helpful? When are they not helpful?

3. Who is an outsider to you, and what would it take to just have a conversation with them?

sgl23bibleplanDownload