Tag: Jeremy Martin

Good Works

*Nehemiah 9-10

Psalm 90

*Titus 3

-Devotion by Jeremy Martin (TN)

            The restoration of a people is a beautiful thing.  When the (1st) temple was destroyed in @587/586 BC and the people were taken captive and led off to Babylonia as a result of their sins, they languished there for 70 years.  The return happened in waves: Zerubbabel went to start rebuilding the Temple (@538BC), Ezra went later and restored the law (@458BC), and then Nehemiah returned (@445BC) and rebuilt the wall, the infrastructure, and finished restoring the law to Israel (with Ezra).  Tying prophecy to history is sometimes confusing and can be very subjective depending on your interpretation and understanding.  One of the things that confused me initially is that the Jewish year has 360 days in it, our calendars today have 365 days in it.  Over time that can skew calculations, but keep in mind that the OT prophecies (as most scriptures) were written for ancient Jews.   That’s important to keep in mind, particularly to keep a correct context and exegesis when interpreting scripture: the target audience was (at least initially) the Hebrews, God’s chosen people.

            The ancient Jewish understanding of God is very clear in this exceptionally beautiful prayer of repentance by the people in Nehemiah 9.  To help give yourself that same understanding, I highly recommend that if you have a bible that translates the name of God as “THE LORD” (all capital letters), highlight that every time you come across it.  Then, somewhere on that same page write a note “YHVH”, the sacred and holy personal name of God, and highlight that.  Note that this will not be a quick task, because the personal given name of God occurs about 7000 times in the Old Testament, more if you count the abbreviated “Yah” or compound titles like “YHVH Tzevaot”.  The correct pronunciation of this is debated (The V is thought to be pronounced like a W in ancient Hebrew), but the important thing to remind yourself every time you come across it is that this is a personal name, not a title, and it’s the name God asked to be identified by (in Ex 3:15) “forever”.

            Chapter 9, v1-3 gives a very, very important description of how the people approached God, one that we should take to heart when we’ve transgressed and are seeking to return to His favor: humble yourself .  These folks fasted, humbled themselves, and confessed their sins.  They called upon God by name (v5) and blessed the name of God.  Then they pronounced this critical statement of faith that was central to the entire faith of all Jews: “You alone are Yahweh“, and followed with a list of accomplishments and deeds that God had done (v6-15).  They continue on and confess their sins (v16-31), and then while acknowledging their own guilt and the righteousness of God in punishing them for it, they ask for mercy (v32-37), and ask to enter again into a covenant with God (v 38, and then all of the specifics of the covenant are listed in Chapter 10 in it’s entirety).

            In Nehemiah c9v27 about 3/4 down the verse it says: “You gave them saviors, and they (the saviors) saved them (the Israelites).” (LSB translation).  So, who sent them saviors?  God did, we see throughout scriptures that God interacts with His creation through agents, but that even though the agent may have physically performed the task, it was God who caused it.  So who saved them? God did, again, because He sent the saviors (the judges, in this instance).  Even today, we understand that if a subordinate performs an action on behalf of their superior’s direct orders, it was actually the superior that caused the action to occur.  The Jewish folks have a legal term for this, called “shaliah” (see 1/27/26 devotion).  It’s critical to understand this concept in order not to misinterpret or misunderstand scripture.

            Here’s a good example of why: in Titus 3:4 it says “4 But when the kindness and benevolence of God our Savior appeared,” (REV) , and then down a little bit further in Titus 3:5-6 it says, “5 he saved us, not because of righteous works that we ourselves did, but on the basis of his mercy, through the washing of a new beginning and renewal by the holy spirit, 6 which he richly poured out on us through Jesus Christ our Savior” (**Note that I’d originally had the LSB pulled up, but switched to the REV for this quote because the LSB evangelical bias was showing pretty strongly: holy spirit had been capitalized, and “which” had been incorrectly translated as “whom”, attempting to nudge the readers in a specific direction of interpretation.).  In the above comparison, we see that God is stated as being our savior, and then Jesus is stated as being our savior.  Does that point to a hidden “complex” understanding of God then? 

            Certainly not.  We understand that when God sends an agent, the credit for the actions of that agent are reflected to God, since God sent them.  While we can absolutely say that Jesus (the) Christ is our Savior due to his obedient submission and sacrifice, we can also absolutely say that God is our Savior because He sent Jesus.  God initiated the action, Jesus performed the action.  Jesus himself explains this to us, saying that God sent him about 30 times in the book of John alone.  This is very clearly explained throughout scripture.  I sometimes find myself getting a bit passionate about this very simple scriptural understanding, particularly when later traditions are presented to me as biblical truths, and particularly in a “church” environment.  That can be dangerous, though.

            That same passion is probably exactly what allowed men’s hearts to be corrupted, and to torture and murder fellow believers, when they believed differently.  We see in Titus 3:8 that: “those who have put their trust in God will apply themselves to good works” and in Titus 3:9 that we should “avoid foolish speculations and genealogies and strife and fighting about the law, because they are unprofitable and pointless.”.  Our focus should be on doing good works.  We’re just humans.  Regardless of what you believe, how are you acting on that belief?  This scripture tells us that we should be more concerned about performing good works in God’s name.  I absolutely believe that scriptural truths are important, but I also don’t want to be the most correct theologically understanding guy that didn’t make it into the kingdom because I didn’t act with love towards my fellow creation.                      

            So what is the perfect balance?  It’s tricky.  We see from scripture that our priority should be to trust in God, and to focus on performing good deeds to the glory of God.  That being said, it’s also important to understand scripture properly, because “God seeks those who worship Him in spirit and truth” (John 4:23-24), and I believe it’s a very good thing to share our understanding: provided we can do it in love.  Humbly, gently, with overwhelming concern and patience, and considering others to be greater than ourselves: but also firmly, and unwaveringly, using the scripture as our foundation.  Pray to God, and He will grant you wisdom.  In the meantime, if you’re not sure on how to proceed, focusing on good works will show where your heart is to those around you.  It will take time, patience, love, and God’s wisdom to affect any changes in understanding that are deep and meaningful.  Be a light to the world around you, don’t beat up the world around you with your light, but let it shine.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS:

  1. Have you put your trust in God, or are you still trying to run things your way?
  2. What good works have you done this week?
  3. Do you plan your good works, or just wait for opportunities? Why?
  4. Which is more important to you: a correct understanding of scripture, or the correct implementation of the scriptures you understand?  Why?

PRAYER

Father God, grant me the heart to do Your will here on the earth, in a manner that pleases You.  Help me to love as deeply as You’ve loved us, and to share my faith in a manner which honors and pleases You.  Help me to be humble, and to follow Jesus’ example.  In Jesus name, Amen.

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Scriptural Paleontology or the First Church Council

1 Chronicles 4-6

Psalm 70

Galatians 2

-Devotion by Jeremy Martin (TN)

            1 Chronicles has one of the densest “who begats” sections in scripture, and roughly 10% of the entire book is devoted to genealogy.  Let’s talk about the genealogies for a second.  These are admittedly some tough chewing at times, but that’s because they are so nutrient dense.  Every single one of the names that we normally skim over is an entire novel or series of novels in it’s own right, and constitutes an entire lifetime of choices, decisions, and adventures but it’s hard to see that because all we see is a name and then it moves to the next.  I used to completely skip over these as a kid because, well, let’s be honest: not a whole lot was going on that I could see, just a lot of “and Jed begat Bob who begat Bill who begat Frank who begat…”.  I’d considered it as the literary equivalent of Ambien ™ at the time.

            That perception changed for me when I did a deep dive into the genealogy listed in Matt 1, and I started taking genealogies seriously.  Jewish folks take their genealogies very seriously, and for a very good reason, we touched on that just a little bit in yesterday’s devotion.  What I discovered, quite by accident, is that genealogies are fascinating if you start digging.  Think of every genealogy section in scripture as a dinosaur bone.  You don’t always know what it’s going to look like when you start digging it up, but it’s always amazing what you find if you’re a good scriptural paleontologist.  In fact, yesterday’s entire devotion was going to be done out of 1 Chronicles 1-3, but after I read Galatians 1 I rewrote the whole thing because it had such an important message in it. 

            Let me see if I can inspire your inner scriptural paleontologist with some interesting snippets from 1 Chronicles 1-6:

  1. In 1Chron 1:1-4 there is a direct line from Adam to the sons of Noah.  Which one of these men listed didn’t die, and purportedly has a “pseudepigriphal” (apocryphal) book that is quoted later in the New Testament but which is NOT included in the canon of the New Testament? (Hint: Gen 5:24, Jude 14-15.  Also, if you get a chance, read the book in question, it’s interesting.)
  2. In 1Chron 1:19 it states: “…the name of the one was Peleg, for in his days the earth was divided “.  What does that mean?  Is this a confirmation of the scientific theory of “Pangea”, or is it a reference to the tower of Babel? (Hint: Although also noted in Gen 11, it never clearly says why in the Bible, but a few apocryphal books including “The book of Jubilees” seem to imply the latter)
  3. In 1 Chron 2:7, when it mentions “Achar, the troubler of Israel” it seems like there’s a gap in the genealogical listings between Zimri and Carmi, who’s missing, and why is Achar called that? (Hint: he’s also known as Achan, see Joshua 7 for both answers)

            I don’t want to get too sidetracked from our devotion today, but I’ve listed the few snippets above to try and inspire you to dig scripturally every time you come across a genealogy.  You never know what you’re going to find, but there are books and books worth of stories in genealogies that we normally just brush past.  They’re fascinating, dig a little bit.

            Moving on to our Galatians 2 reading today, we see a quick snippet in v1-2 that is pretty important for a number of reasons.  In it, Paul, after being called by a revelation from Jesus, empowered by the holy spirit,  and preaching to the gentiles for 14 years, humbly goes to the “authorities” (namely, some of the original apostles), to make sure he’s acting properly.  Firstly, note that God has at this point in time already been performing miracles through Paul, and also keep in mind that prior to the events in Acts 10, the message was being delivered solely for and to the Jewish people.

            The first “Church Council” is referenced here in Galatians 2, and actually takes place back in Acts 15.  There are a number of very important things to take away from this council.  Firstly, the gospel of salvation is approved to be given to the gentiles, fulfilling many prophecies (See in particular Is 49:6).  This is huge, particularly if you’re a gentile (non-jewish person).  Secondly, the content of the meeting is absolutely screaming down history at us about what it doesn’t say, or even question. 

            Keep in mind, the Jews are fiercely monotheistic ever since the return from the Babylonian exile.  The gospel message of salvation has been being preached to the Jews by Jesus and by the apostles after Jesus was resurrected, and now is going to the gentiles for the first time.  So let’s think for a moment: the content of this first, hugely controversial, church council is (in it’s entirety) this: can the gospel of salvation be preached to the gentiles, and if so, what must they do? The entire reason for the meeting was predominantly to question whether or not gentiles should be circumcised to be considered “of the faith” (A: no, see Acts 15).

            You know what is NOT being questioned at this first church council, nor by any other church council until AD 325, hundreds of years after Jesus’ resurrection, and hundreds of years after converting many pagans and philosophers into Christianity?  “Is Jesus God?”.   It just never came up, because it’s such a foreign concept to the Jews of that time that it would never even be conceived of as a possibility.  The apostles and all of the Jewish followers of Christ at that time wrote, suffered, and often died, to tell the world and to prove that Jesus of Nazareth was the Messiah prophesied about in numerous scriptures; nothing more, and certainly nothing less.

            The Jews knew  who God was, His name occurs almost 7000 times in scripture;  Yahweh, the creator and sustainer of all life, who revealed Himself to Moses in Ex 3.  The Jews fully understood the concept of “shaliah” (see 1/27 devotion), but they could also quote the Shema (Deut 6:4-5) by heart, and had it written beside their doors, and in boxes they tied to their hands, and in boxes they tied to their foreheads because it was so important to God that he commanded them to do so.  If you have a more “complex” understanding about the nature of God than what is written, I urge you to “stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. “ (Jer 6:16).

            One thing to leave with; as obedient servants and slaves to our king, Gal 2:20 is a really good verse to memorize and keep in your defensive arsenal for when you are tempted: “I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. And the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me “ (LSB).  Remember that we were bought by our God at a price, a very high price indeed, and allow our king, the Christ, to sit upon the throne of our hearts.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

  1. Are you (even slightly) inspired to dig a little next time you see a genealogy?
  2. Why do you think Paul, after 14 years, went to check with the “authorities”?
  3. If the “authorities” had told Paul “No, you can’t preach to the gentiles” do you think he would have listened based on the rest of the chapter?  Either way, would that have been the right or the wrong call, and why?
  4. How can we get off the throne of our hearts, and put Christ there? (It’s different for each of us, your answers will be unique to you)

PRAYER

Father God, forgive me of all sin and teach me to be holy.  Circumcise my heart, father, and let me humbly serve you and bear good fruit to honor you.  Thank you for sending your light to the nations, thank you for the high price which you paid for me, please grant that I can honor you in everything I say, do, or think.  In Jesus name, amen.

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Who is Your Daddy?

*1 Chronicles 1-3

Psalm 70

*Galatians 1              

-Devotion by Jeremy Martin (TN)                      

            The opening of Galatians is one of the (many) clear examples of Paul’s personal understanding of scripture, of the nature of the Most High God and of His Messiah, Jesus.  The thing to keep in mind about Paul is that he was a “good Jewish boy” (just like Jesus was), and a Pharisee who trained under the renowned Gamaliel (and likely the “Hillel” school associated with Gamaliel) .  The Pharisees were basically just what we’d call the “church leaders” of his time.

            There were 4 predominant Jewish “philosophies” at the time, and it’s very important historically to understand them and their differences with each other in order to fully grasp what being a “Pharisee” meant.  So here they are, in no particular order:

  1. Pharisees-Devout Jews who emphasized strict adherence to the Torah and the oral law. They believed in resurrection, an afterlife, and divine providence.
  2. Sadducees: A priestly and aristocratic group who accepted only the written Torah (Pentateuch) as authoritative, rejected the oral law, and did not believe in resurrection or an afterlife.
  3. Essenes: A separatist, ascetic group that lived in communal settlements (like Qumran), practiced ritual purity, and are associated with the Dead Sea Scrolls. They believed in divine predestination and awaited a messianic figure.
  4. Fourth Philosophy: A radical political and revolutionary movement advocating armed resistance against foreign rule, particularly Roman occupation. They opposed paying taxes to Rome, viewed submission to foreign powers as idolatry, and sought a theocratic Jewish state. This group is often identified with the Zealots and Sicarii (Remember Simon the Zealot?  Yea, this is what they’re talking about: more stabby stabby, less “oh that guy was really zealous”.  Look up “sicarii” for some really cool information about these guys.)

            So here is the thing, the Pharisees were (as every branch mentioned) FIERCELY monotheistic; they believed in the one God, the God Most High, Yahweh. This particular sect was so fiercely monotheistic that they literally posted copies of The Shema (Deut 6:4-5) beside the doors to their houses, put it in little boxes and tied it to their hands, and tied them in little boxes around their foreheads to remind themselves: “Listen Israel! Yahweh God, Yahweh is one.”  It was a big deal, so big that when Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment was in Mark 12:29-31 he quoted this (also note that the scribe agreed with him, and Jesus didn’t correct him).   That’s just what every good Jewish boy knew.  As good (Judeo-)Christians, we should know it too.

            My point in bringing this up is simply this: if Paul had come to a more “complex” understanding of the nature of God and His Christ as some modern apologists have suggested it would have been a huge, earth shatteringly tremendous, shockingly big deal.  It would have come up very clearly (not inferred) in conversation, and probably more than once.  There would have been screaming bouts and yelling, probably violence.  At least something in scriptures would have documented very clearly this huge diversion from an entire nation’s historical understanding of the nature of God, but it never comes up.  

Gal 1:1-4, LSB:

1Paul,…not sent from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead…3Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ,4who gave Himself for our sins …according to the will of our God and Father, 5to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

            We see from the above that Paul believed that Jesus was The Christ (The “Messiah”, see May 8th devotional), that God raised Jesus from the dead, that Jesus gave himself for our sins, and that this sacrifice was done according to the will of our God and Father (to whom be the glory forever).  It’s pretty hard to have a “complex” reading of this, Paul delineates firmly between his God and his Messiah (as does Jesus, see John 20:17).  Almost all of Paul’s openings in his letters clearly delineate between God and His Christ, the man Jesus of Nazareth whom he believes is the Messiah (as did Jesus, see John 4:25).  All of the new testament authors (and Jesus himself) identify Jesus as the Christ, the Messiah.  It is not good to go beyond what is written (1 Cor 4:6), and that is what is written.  He is the Messiah, the son of David, the son of the living God (Matt 16:15).  He has to be, to fulfill the prophecies of the Messiah (see 2 Sam 7).

            As we can see in our 1 Chronicles 1-3 reading today, the Jewish folks have a passion for genealogy, we might view it as almost more of an obsession.  I never really understood that, but it’s simple, and very practical: the inheritance of the people was determined by ancestry.  In the book of Numbers (which has quite a bit of this type of genealogy) in chapters 34-36 it gives the breakdown of these inheritances for the Jews.  The obsession was because, simply, that determined where you lived, who you were, and what you got.  Want to be a priest in the nation of Israel?  Well, who’s your daddy? Let’s break out the genealogical scrolls and trace you backwards because if you can’t make a pretty straight genealogical line from you to Aaron, you aren’t qualified.  This concept ended up being carried over generationally, because who you were determined your inheritance.

            This type of genealogical thinking is entrenched in the Jewish mentality because of this, and that’s why 2 of the gospels make a point to break down the genealogy of Jesus in order to prove that he met the requirements of being the “Messiah” or “Christ” (Matt and Luke), but Jesus also exemplified the loving nature of God towards His creation. John the baptist (in Matt 3:9) warns the people not to think that because Abraham is “their father” that they’re safe, because it is faith that determines spiritual lineage (Rom 4:16, Gal 3:7) and not genealogy.  In John 8:44 Jesus tells some of the religious leaders that “You are of your father the devil”.  This is not to imply that their biological father was Satan, but to explain that true spiritual paternity is determined by behavior, actions, and attitude.  So with that understood, let me ask you the question: who is YOUR daddy?

            Our Father in heaven is the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.  He has given us blessings abundantly, even when we didn’t deserve them, and even when we were acting in opposition to His will.  He forgives freely to those who ask, He is faithful, He is loving, He comes running to meet us along the path when we wake up and begin to return home from our own folly.  Even when He is wronged, He stands waiting with outstretched arms for His children to return.  He is patient, He is kind, He always keeps His promises, and He will make a way for those who love and seek Him.  He LOVES YOU SO MUCH that He sent His only begotten son to die to make a way for you.

            So, again: who is your daddy?  Read the above paragraph very carefully.  If you are reflecting all of those traits, then you too are a child of the living God.  If you are not reflecting those traits listed above stop for a moment, and with fear and trembling consider your path and who your father is, and how to return to the loving arms of the God who made you.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

  1. What single thing can you do better to reflect the nature of God in your life?
  2. What flaw do you personally feel is the most detrimental to you, and how can you fix it?
  3. We are to regularly examine and test ourselves (2Cor 13:5): How do you normally do?
  4. Who is your Father, today?  What about yesterday?  Tomorrow?

PRAYER

Father God, my father, please show me what I can do better.  Please teach me Your ways, and let me humbly seek after You with all my heart.  Please forgive me when I fail You, as I so often do, and cleanse my heart of all wrongdoing and wrong thinking.  Guide me on the path that leads to Your kingdom.  Thank you for sending Your son to teach us, grant us the wisdom to listen.  In Jesus name, Amen.

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The Man of God

*2 Kings 23-25

Psalm 69

2 Corinthians 13

-Devotion by Jeremy Martin (TN)

            There is so much going on in our 2 Kings reading today that it’s unlikely that we’ll have the chance to adequately cover it all.  Of particular note, there are some hidden gems, or “easter eggs” as the kids say, strewn about that you have to be looking for carefully or you’ll miss (*An Easter egg is a message, image, or feature hidden in various forms of media).  These were some of my favorite bible books to read as a child just because there was so much excitement and adventure going on, but looking closely you’ll find that there are quite a few nuggets of wisdom, but you have to dig for them sometimes.  Some are laying right on the surface, though.

            The first part of 2Ki 23:1-25 is detailing some of the things Josiah did as king.  Keeping in mind that he was only 8 years old when he took office (2Ki 22:1), I was wondering how old he was when he realized that his father Manasseh had led the nation astray and started working to correct it.  The closest I could come in the book of 2 Kings to finding that answer is in 2Ki 23:23 where it says “But in the eighteenth year of King Josiah, this Passover was celebrated to Yahweh in Jerusalem” (LSB), for the first time since the time of the judges (back in v22).  So, is that in the 18th year of his life, or the 18th year of his reign?  I found the answer over in 2 Chronicles 34&35, which states that in the 8th year of his reign he started to seek the Lord, and that in the 18th year of his reign (after significant reforms had already been made) they celebrated the Passover for the first time since the time of the judges.  So, for you bible nerds out there, he became king at 8, was about 16 years old when he started seeking God, and was about 26 when he reinstated the Passover feast.

            Oh, and in case you were wondering if grandpa Manasseh was really such a bad guy, the biblical writers remind us again and again whose fault it is in 2Ki 23:26 and also 24:3, squarely blaming all of the misfortunes about to befall them during this time on him.  You know, in case you forgot, because apparently they did not: EVER.  Keep in mind, this is an epic time in history; the Assyrian kingdom was in decline, Egypt was still a force to be reckoned with,  and the Babylonian kingdom is on the ascension.  Up until the time of the Babylonian exile, the ancient Jews had a real problem with idolatry (you’ll recall that’s #1 in the list of ‘thou shalt not’s).  After the time of the Babylonian exile, you never hear about  idolatry again in the land of Israel (at least on a national level).   Think about that: just like when you got a spanking from your father as a child, God generally performs punitive actions to correct behavior.  This time it absolutely worked, check it out if you don’t believe me: the Israelites never again returned to idolatry once they returned from Babylon (at least on a national level).

            Here’s one “Easter egg” I found when doing a deep dive into this reading: I’d always assumed that the “idolatrous priests” (2Ki23:5) referred to, you know: priests who worshipped false idols or pagan deities.  Reading closely in v5,6,8, and 9 however we can see that some of these were kohanim, Aaronite priests of God, particularly in v9 where it states “…but they ate unleavened bread among their brothers.” (LSB).  We can infer from these passages that even if you’re the right guy, serving the right God, if you’re doing it in the wrong way or in the wrong place: you might be idolatrous.  I’ve got a note in my bible that reads: “priests of God, but serving in the wrong place?”.  Just a little food for thought, something to consider.

            Do you like finding “Easter eggs” as much as I do?  Well, lucky day, here’s another one: read carefully 2Ki 23:15-18, about the grave of the “man of God”.  This is a great story, but to get the full scope of it, after you read the above verses, you’ll need to flip backwards over to 1 Ki 13.  We sadly never get to know the name of the man of God, we do however get to learn a valuable life lesson: listen to God if He’s talking, and absolutely ignore men if they are saying something different. 

            A  quick summary of the story is as follows: God sends a man, a prophet, to deliver a message to the king, which he does.  This prophet is commanded to “eat no bread, nor drink water, nor return by the way which you came”.  Then another prophet chases after him and says “uh, so God told me you’re supposed to come eat with me”, and he does.  Then the prophet who invited the first one to eat then says “why have you rebelled against God?” and tells the guy he’s going to die, which he does shortly after he leaves (by a lion).

            Then, to add insult to injury, when the second prophet realizes that the “man of God” has been killed (and while accepting absolutely no personal responsibility in this series of events as possibly overstepping by telling the first prophet that God had told him he should eat), he has him buried and mourns him saying “alas, my brother!”.  Then, as if that wasn’t enough, this second prophet then tells his kids “When I die, bury me with that guy, because he was a prophet.” (paraphrased and summarised, but accurate, go and read it: 1 Ki 13)!?  As a result, when all the other graves are defiled later on, the second prophet who misled and (indirectly?) caused the “man of God” to be killed was also left undisturbed when Josiah left the grave alone in 2 Ki 23:18.  Ironic, isn’t it?  The moral of that story is: ignore men, listen to God.

            Now remember as we continue on, Manasseh was a really bad guy.  So bad that even when Josiah did what was right in God’s eyes, God’s promise to Josiah was not that he would relent from His (righteous) wrath on the nation, but that Josiah would die before it happened so that he “would not see all the evil which I will bring on this place” (LSB, 2 Ki 22:20).  This happens in 2Ki 23:29, when Pharaoh Neco (AKA Necho II, @610-595 BC) puts him to death at Megiddo.  Does the name of that place sound familiar?  It should, in Rev 16:16 the “final battle” prophesied is to take place in what is translated as “Armegeddon”, which is literally “Har Megiddo”,  or the “hill” of Megiddo (an ancient city).  Same place (insert dramatic sound effect here). 

            In 2 Ki 24, we see the beginning of the rise of Nebuchadnezzar and the ascension of the kingdom of Babylon.  Later on in this chapter (v10) Judah goes into exile, and then in chapter 25 we see the fall of the last stronghold in Judah, Jerusalem.  It is notably at this point that the temple is burned, Solomon’s temple, one of the grandest architectural structures of the time.  The people had begun to think of themselves as untouchable, since they had the temple in their midst, even though idolatry was running rampant (See Jer 7:4 for the popular view of “the temple” at this time).  This effectively ended the “First Temple” period, considered to be the “golden age” of Jewish prosperity and centralized worship.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

  1. Can you think of a time in your life when it felt like God was punishing you?  Upon reflection and with the passing of time, were you able to see the lesson that was being taught? (I sure did.)
  2. Has there ever been a time in your life when even if you were trying to do the right thing, you realized you were in the wrong place?  Reflect on this quietly for a few moments, I can think of at least 3 personally (and I wasn’t even always trying to do the right thing).  How could you have had a better outcome?
  3. Why are we inclined to listen to men over God, sometimes?

PRAYER

Father God, please place me in the right spot.  Purify my heart, and give me strength so that when I am there, I can do your will.  Please let my ears hear Your whispering over the shouting of men, and guide my feet onto the path that leads directly to Your kingdom.  Thank you most of all for sending Jesus to teach us and to be a role model.  In his name we pray, Amen.

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Tingling Ears

*2 Kings 21-22

Psalm 69

2 Corinthians 12

-Devotion by Jeremy Martin (TN)

            Today, we’re going to first examine an inconvenient truth, and then together examine a template for navigating back onto the proper path when we get lost.  First, the inconvenient truth: just because you come from good stock doesn’t mean you’re good.  I can speak for this directly first hand because while my parents were absolutely wonderful, fantastic, God-fearing, loving, and wise people; I took a hard turn off the proper path in my youth and kept running in that direction for most of my life (See 2/6 devotional for details).  So here’s the thing, and I want you to memorize this because it’s really important: there is no corporate entry into the kingdom of God.

            To elaborate on that statement: we are each held accountable for our own actions.  Many of you know Dr. Joe Martin, my father.  Understand well that in the day of judgment, when I am standing before the throne that if my defense of my actions is “But wait…You know Joe? He’s my dad, so…you know, *wink wink* I’ll just go ahead in and pick out one of the rooms…” I’m pretty sure the response would be along the lines of “Joe? Oh yea, we know him well, he’s a great guy.  Let’s talk about YOU for a moment though…“.  When you read that above bit of farce, you’ll probably chuckle a little bit, but stop for a moment and think about it seriously and with some trembling because there is no corporate entry into the kingdom of God. 

            Even if you go to an awesome church that not only feeds the homeless regularly but gives  solid scriptural truths that are deeply insightful and applicable, even if your pastor is spirit filled and heals the sick with a touch and a prayer, even if there’s a lady in your church who you KNOW is an active and living prophet of the Most High God: what does that have to do with you?  There is no corporate entry into the kingdom of God, you’re not going to slide into the kingdom on their coat tails.  Some of the ancient Jewish folks were thinking exactly in that manner, when John the baptist explained to them in Matt 3:9  “and do not suppose that you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father’; for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham.” (LSB).  We will each be judged according to our own actions: by our faith, by our love, and by our fruit.  I pray to God that each of our names is found in the book of Life but understand fully that if it is, it’s not because of who you’re related to or which church you went to.  There is no corporate entry into the kingdom of God.

            For a good case in point of this very topic, let’s take a hard look at Manasseh and check off some of the boxes.  Manasseh was not only a Jewish lad (check), but the son of Hezekiah (check) who is probably the most attested biblical figure in history (counting not only scripture but extra-biblical accounts of his reign).  We know that God loved Hezekiah, just go back and read 2Ki 18-20, he’s blessed and highly favored.  So Manasseh should have been an easy pick for being awesome, but that’s not at all what happened.  We see in 2Ki 21:1-3 that Manasseh became king when he was 12, ruled for 55 years, and “did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh” (LSB).  Keep in mind that dad (Hezekiah), did a lot of really good stuff: he tore down the false gods and altars, redirected the people to worship God, and humbly sought after and clung to the God who had rescued his fathers.

            Manasseh, conversely, sounds like a bit of a jerk.  All of the good things his father had done, he undid.  In 2Ki 21:5-9 it gives an excruciatingly painful laundry list of offenses that Manasseh did, including setting up false idols in the actual temple, sacrificing his own son to a pagan deity, and then leading the entire nation astray to do more evil than the nations before.  In v16 it says that in addition to all of this, he “shed very much innocent blood”. 

            At this point, God has had enough, and I’d like you to listen to the wording of 2 Ki 21:12: “therefore thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, ‘Behold, I am bringing such calamity on Jerusalem and Judah, that whoever hears of it, both his ears will tingle.’ ” (LSB).  This should be terrifying, these are not the words of one who is ‘a little upset’, but a potential extinction level event of anger from the Most High God.  We can see from this example that it doesn’t matter who you’re related to or what group you belong to, but rather your own path, in the eyes of God.

            Now let’s look at how to navigate back onto the proper path, if we ever get lost or go astray.  Enter Josiah (2 Ki 22).  Keep in mind that he’s the third generation in a line of truly terrible and evil kings, who “did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh” (see 2Ki 21 for details on Manasseh and Amon, grandpa and dad respectively).  He’s just a kid when he takes office, 8 years old, but right away he starts back toward the right path.  He sends Shaphan to the temple and makes arrangements for it’s restoration (2 Ki 22 3-7).  Remember that wild idolatry and debauchery has been going on for two full generations, the temple itself has been defiled, and the people have been going in the wrong direction for 57 years.

            Now it came about as the temple was being cleaned out and restored, that Hilkiah the high priest found the book of the law.  It had been lost for a long time.  Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, and Shaphan took the book back and read it to King Josiah (2 Ki 22:8-10).  Pay close attention here, because this is the turning point: “Now it happened that when the king heard the words of the book of the law, he tore his clothes” (2Ki 22:11, LSB).  In ancient Israel, this is how people exhibited deep regret or sorrow publicly.  He sent people to “inquire of Yahweh” and seek what might be done (2Ki 22:12-20).  He basically humbled himself, and sought the will of God.

            God’s response to this honest sorrow and humility defines our template for returning: “because your heart was soft and you humbled yourself before Yahweh when you heard what I spoke against this place and against it’s inhabitants that they should become an object of horror, and a curse, and you have torn your clothes and wept before me, I truly have heard you“, declares Yahweh.” (2Ki22:18), and He then relents.

            According to the above template, I would suggest the following if your path has led you astray:  First, find the book of the law (the Bible), and read it.  Then, when you have realized how far off path you have become, inquire of God.  Repent,  soften you heart, and weep before God.  Clean out the temple (you are the temple 1 Cor 3:16), remove the idols (anything can be an idol) you’ve placed there, and do the work to restore God’s temple.  Clean it out, purify it, and rededicate it to God.  If you do this with honesty and dedication, God will truly hear you (See Jer 29:13 for verification).

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

Examine yourself deeply and honestly, because we all probably have some:  What idols have you built inside the temple of your heart, and why?

Considering the above question, what is the best way to remove them? Being honest, do you want to remove them?  Why or why not?

How often do we honestly inquire of God His will, as opposed to handing him a list of our demands when we pray?

PRAYER

Heavenly Father, thank you for all of the blessings you’ve given to us.  Thank you for sending your son to instruct us.  Please forgive us of the many times we fall short, and help us to become servants who please their master.  Lead us and guide us, Father, and teach us the way you would have us go.  In Jesus name, amen.

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In which the reward for humbly trusting in God is clearly revealed, even against and despite seemingly overwhelming odds, and we consider the power of the Most High God.

*2 Kings 19-20

*Psalm 68

2 Corinthians 11

– Devotion by Jeremy Martin

            The beginning of our 2Ki 19-20 reading today finds our hero Hezekiah fiercely beset  by a vastly superior armed force.  Please take a moment to read 2Ki 18:13-37 to refresh yourself of the specifics.  If you recall, back in chapter 17, Judah’s sister nation Israel has already been taken captive previously and forced into exile.  In 2Ki 18: 1-13, we see that Hezekiah the king of Judah was spared this fate because he trusted God, he clung to God, he didn’t turn away from following God and obeying His commandments.  So he’s still in power but right now there’s a massive army surrounding him that has already conquered everyone else around, gathered en masse outside the gates hurling taunts at the city, and they seem prepared to hurl much more dangerous bits as well. 

            First, let’s get an idea of the scale of things.  This large, technologically advanced force was at the time part of the most dominant military power in the near east.  Aggadah literature describes the army as composed of “45,000 ‘princes’ in golden chariots, 80,000 armored warriors, 60,000 swordsmen, and numerous cavalry”, in the rabbinic tradition.  So far in the campaign, Sennacherib has conquered 46 other fortified cities. This estimate of forces is also backed scripturally and apocryphally in 2 Ki 9:35, Judith 14:11-12, and Is 37:36.  Conversely, the population of Jerusalem  (per wikipedia) during Hezekiah’s time was a whopping “up to about 25000” people, total. 

            So on one hand you’ve got a city with (around) 25,000 men, women, and children in it, and on the other hand an advanced army of armored warriors and cavalry numbering well over 185,000 (not counting camp followers).  Things are looking, not to put too fine a point on things, “bad” for our heroes.  With this picture in mind, now add the leader of these forces shouting up to the nervous inhabitants the taunting insults detailed in  2Ki 18:13-37. We would probably be hearing a much different historical account if not for a couple tiny little details: firstly, the commander shouting up at the walls insulted God.  Secondly, Hezekiah was a man who trusted God, who clung to God, who loved God and God loved him back.

            It should be noted that according to the events listed in 2Ki 19:2-8 that it appears as if God miraculously diverts the first attempted attack and causes the army to go home, but that then after an unspecified (but probably short) time has passed, the commander sends threatening letters back to Hezekiah and heads back with his troops to “finish business”.

            At this point, Hezekiah “tore his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth, and entered the House of Yahweh” (19:1, LSB) and then prayed one of the most beautiful and humble prayers in scripture.  Beginning in 2Ki 19: 14-19 (LSB translation): “Then Hezekiah took the letter from the hand of the messengers and read it, and he went up to the house of Yahweh and spread it out before Yahweh…and said “O Yahweh, the God of Israel, who is enthroned above the cherubim, You are the God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth.  You have made heaven and earth.  Incline Your ear, O Yahweh, and hear; open Your eyes, O Yahweh, and see; and listen to the words of Sennacherib, who sent them to reproach the living God.  Truly, O Yahweh, the kings of Assyria have laid waste the nations and their lands and have put their gods into the fire, for they were not gods but the work of men’s hands, wood and stone.  So they have destroyed them.  But now, O Yahweh our God, I pray, save us from his hand that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You alone, O Yahweh, are God“.

            In our reading today of Ps 68, we see in v17 that “The chariots of God are myriads, thousands upon thousands…” (LSB).  Rev 5:11 states that (concerning angels)  “the numbering of them was myriads upon myriads, and thousands of thousands“.  We don’t really have an accurate number of how many angels serve God, but a very conservative guesstimate would be “lots and lots”.  If today’s reading of 2Ki 19:35 has been transmitted and understood accurately, God sent 1 (one) of these innumerable angels to the enemy camp and that angel killed 185,000 men.  Pause, digest, consider.  One angel, and he wiped out almost an entire army, the most powerful of the time.  One angel out a large force of angels (out of Millions?  Billions?  we really have no idea, just “myriads upon myriads”).  Just one angel.

            **An interesting side note is that Hezekiah is described as “the best-attested figure in biblical history,” due to the extensive documentation of his reign in biblical texts and external sources (notably Assyrian inscriptions), per Wikipedia.  This entire story is documented both biblically and through a number of extra-biblical sources.  There’s a wonderfully deep hole full of information on that you can fall down into if you’re interested in that sort of thing.  I did, but for our intents and purposes it is only important to note that although in agreement in general about the number of men killed, some of the sources do give different accounts of the manner that the men actually died (but in all fairness it never said how the angel of Yahweh killed them, just that he had).   

            This bible story has always fascinated me.  What a fantastic, miraculous, wonderful thing.  It happened so long ago though, and that sort of thing doesn’t happen these days, right?  Wrong.  Reports from the Yom Kippur war in 1973 describe an incident on the Golan Heights where a Syrian tank commander reportedly told Israeli interrogators that his forces were halted by a vision of a whole host of white angels standing on the missile line, accompanied by a white hand from heaven commanding them to stop.  This encounter allegedly occurred during the “Valley of Tears” battle, where a small Israeli force held off a much larger Syrian advance. According to the account, the Syrian commander said he could not proceed due to the supernatural presence, which instilled fear and caused his troops to retreat. This story is cited in multiple sources, including religious and historical commentary, as a supernatural turning point in the war.  Look it up.

            As humans, our senses are finite and limited.  God is not.  In 2 Ki 6:16-17 we see another example of this when Elisha tells his servant not to worry, that those with them outnumbered those that were against them, and then “Elisha prayed and said, “O Yahweh, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.” And Yahweh opened the eyes of the young man and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around …” (LSB).  We often forget that our God, the God Most High, the Creator of the heavens and the earth is the most powerful being that exists.  Myriads upon myriads of beings far more powerful than humans serve him currently, and just one of His angels can wipe out an entire army.  This is not a weak king; this is the creator, ruler, and owner of the universe who will bring about his willed purpose no matter what, and He is awesome.  This makes it all the more humbling when we realize how ferociously He loves you, and all that He has done for YOU specifically, and what price He paid for your redemption.  A very high price indeed. 

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

  1. Do you constantly keep in the forefront of your mind the incredible, unstoppable power of the Most High God, or have you allowed yourself to be deceived by your limited senses?
  2. Have you considered how silly pride is on our part, when we consider the magnititude of God?
  3. Have you seen, or felt,  divine intervention directly in your life?  When?
  4. Why do we worry, when we consider all of the above?

PRAYER

Lord God Most High, Mighty God, I humble myself before You.  Forgive me, teach me, and open my eyes so that I can see.  Open my ears so that I can hear You.  Circumcise my heart and teach me to love you as fiercely as you have loved me, in Jesus name, Amen.

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In which the rebellious children of Israel sin against God, and receive instruction as a result.

*2 Kings 17-18

Psalm 68

2 Corinthians 10

-Devotion by Jeremy Martin (TN)

            In the beginning of today’s reading we are in an extremely tumultuous time in the history of Israel.  The kingdoms of Israel and Judah have split apart from each other and throughout the books of Kings they give a recounting of each nation separately.  Starting out today in 2 Kings 17, we begin in the nation of Israel, and in verse 6 we see that “the king of Assyria captured Samaria and took Israel away into exile”.  I’m sure some of the people back then were asking the age old question, “why would God let something like this happen?!”.  Well, as we read on, we’re told exactly why, and if we’re being honest we can probably apply that same answer to when this question is asked even now.

            In 2Ki 17: 7-18, it explains: “Now this happened because the sons of Israel had sinned against Yahweh their God (v7)…And the sons of Israel did things secretly which were not right against Yahweh their God (v9)…and they did evil things provoking Yahweh to anger (v10b)…So Yahweh was very angry with Israel and caused them to depart from His presence…(v18a)” (The LSB translation is used throughout this devotional, unless otherwise noted).  In between the lines of the above, scriptures give a pretty long laundry list of their offenses as well, including some pretty pronounced idolatry (which you may recall as being the first of the “Thou shalt not”s listed in Exodus 20, so… probably a pretty big deal).  They forsook the commandments of Yahweh (v16), sacrificed their children to other gods (passed through the fire refers to human sacrifice to a specific pagan god), and practiced sorcery (v17), among other things.

            Can you imagine the pain, as a Father, of your children acting in this manner towards you?  Especially considering that He had done so much for them, and saved them miraculously from their oppression in Egypt, feeding and caring for them as they went, performing miracles and signs and wonders.  Over and over.  I can imagine it, I’m a father now.  I was also that wicked, rebellious child who acted the same way towards my own father when I was younger.  I’m sorry Dad, and I’m sorry Father God.  My dad was a rock, he was faithful and true even when I wasn’t, and kept on loving me.  Just like my heavenly Father.  What can I say, words alone cannot express my sorrow or regret.  I hang my head in shame and weep, I repent of my foolishness; but just like my dad, my heavenly Father came running towards me when I began to come home.  It is heartbreakingly humbling, and still brings me to tears.

            All of this rebellion was in spite of the fact that our loving Father, the most merciful, the most gracious, continued to reach out to his children Israel.  In 2Ki 17:13-15 we see that even though Israel continued to be wicked and rebellious toward Yahweh God, He continues to reach out to them and warn them”by the hand of all of His prophets and every seer, saying “Turn from your evil ways and keep My commandments…“”, “However, they did not listen, but stiffened their neck like their fathers, who did not believe in Yahweh their God…”.  How much foolishness can be tolerated, though?  We see in v18 God has finally had enough, and “kicks them out of the house” essentially. 

            In 2Ki 17: 24-28 there’s a great little sub-plot to the main story. When God kicks the Israelites out, the king of assyria moves some new tenants in.  I absolutely love the very tongue-in-cheek start of v25: “Now it happened at the beginning of their settlement there, that they did not fear Yahweh…” (LSB), and then, lions.  Eventually an Israelite priest was sent back to teach the new residents “how they should fear Yahweh“(v28b) but the lions had already given them a pretty good start, it sounds like.  God is holy, and  freely (and sometimes painfully) offers instruction to His children when they forget Him.  I like the phrasing of Ps 50:22 on this topic, it’s (not) subtle.

Meanwhile, back in the nation of Judah…A king is born who pleases God

            Enter Hezekiah, king of Judah, who “did what was right in the sight of Yahweh” (2Ki 18:3).  It goes on in the reading to list some of the good that he did, including a very interesting note in v4b, “…And he broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the sons of Israel were burning incense to it: and it was called Nehushtan“.  Wait, what?!  Stop for a moment and go read Nu 21: 4-9, it’s one of those little sub plots that passes by so quick that if you’re not paying attention, you’ll miss it entirely.  Then read that (2Ki 18:4) again.

            Here’s what to extrapolate from this: anything can become an idol to us, if we let it.  The bronze snake which once was a tool for salvation to the Israelites became an idol, an implement of destruction instead which led many astray.  I’m sure it even seemed right at the time.  Shema (Listen up, pay attention), ecclesia (church)!  Our prayers, our rituals, our practices, our doctrines, our holy days, our fasts, our scriptural readings, even the things which may have once saved us, all of these things are just tools to help us attain our true purpose: the unconditional and overwhelming love towards the Father that He deserves.   Use the tools you have to fulfill your purpose, but do not let them become the purpose.

            Here are some phrases that are used to describe Hezekiah: “He trusted in Yahweh…(v5), So he clung to Yahweh; he did not turn away from following Him, but kept His commandments…(v6), And Yahweh was with him…(v7)”.  This trust and seeking after God is what saves him, coming up in the next chapter, because God loves him back.  If you read 2Ki 18:13-37 you can see the situation setting itself up.  I don’t want to give any spoiler alerts from tomorrow’s reading, but in the next chapter is one of the most beautiful and humble prayers in the Bible (2Ki 19:15-19) and (spoiler alert) God saves him, and (spoiler alert) again in the next chapter.  The reason that God intervenes on his behalf is because he trusted in God.  He clung to God.  He didn’t turn away, but kept the commandments of God.  This is the description of a man trying to love God with his whole heart, as stated in Deut 6:4-5 and quoted in Matt 12:29-32 as the primary of all the commandments.

            We have one job: to love the Father with everything we’ve got.  When we do this, and understand, then we will also love our neighbor (our fellow creation) as ourself.  Everything else will follow.  We will trust Him.  We will cling to Him.  We will follow and obey Him.  If the things that you are doing are helping you to achieve that goal, God is good, give glory to God! If not, consider your ways and where they are leading.  We often in our arrogance and pride remove God from throne of our heart and sit there in His place.  That’s not your spot (as I often tell my giant dogs when they try to sit on the couch).  He has shown you, O man, what is good… (Mic 6:8).  He has “spread out My hands all day long to a rebellious people, Who walk in the way which is not good, following their own thoughts” (Is 65:2).  Isn’t it time, like a small child wanting to be held, to hold out our hands toward our Father, and cling to Him?

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

What are some practical steps we can take to trust God more, and ourselves less?

What things can we do differently to please our Father?

Is there an idol in your heart that you have clung to?

If yes to the above, what is it, and why have you kept clinging to it?

PRAYER

Father God, please forgive me for my many shortcomings.  Help to trust in You completely, to cling to You above all else, and to model the love that You have shown me to all of Your creation in order to honor You.  May the lips of all of Your creation offer You the praise You deserve.  Please instruct me, discipline me when I err, and guide me along the path that leads to Your kingdom.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.   

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Politics, Salvation, and Tzedakah

*2 Kings 15-16

*Psalm 67

*2 Corinthians 9

-Devotion by Jeremy Martin (TN) 

            The books of Kings read like a fast paced ancient soap opera, with lots of betrayals, fighting, and excitement.  In the short span of these two chapters in 2 Kings from today’s reading we see 9 different shifts of political power, including 1 guy that only lasted a month in the job (1Ki 15:13-14). There’s a LOT going on here.  These books let us know right off if we like a guy or if we don’t, as one of the first lines describing every ruler who takes power in either Israel or Judah (this was the time of the split kingdoms) says something along the lines of “…And he did what was right in the sight of Yahweh” or “…And he did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh” (LSB translation used for both quotes).  These books were always very interesting to me as a kid, because of all the excitement going on.

            Our modern politics get a little exciting too, occasionally.  I remember during the last American election it seemed like there was a very strong delineation in ideological beliefs, with some folks heavily leaning in one direction and some folks leaning heavily in the other.  I’m going to share my favorite verse on politics because I think it’s important to keep in mind what kingdom we aspire to be citizens of.  This is a good one to memorize, it’s found in Isaiah 8:11-13 and states:

            “11For thus Yahweh spoke to me with a strong hand and disciplined me not to walk           

              in the way of this people, saying,

       12“You are not to say, ‘It is a conspiracy!’

In regard to all that this people call a conspiracy;

And you are not to fear what they fear, and you shall not tremble.

       13It is Yahweh of hosts whom you should regard as holy.

And He shall be your fear,

And He shall be your cause of trembling.” (LSB Translation)

            Focus on the important things, in other words.  So sure, things might be getting exciting in the local political arena.   There may be mud slinging, drama, excitement, slander, conspiracies, etc going on, but what we need to remember politically is that God’s got this.  All these things will happen according to God’s will, and God’s plan, and we know according to scripture that it’s going to get a lot worse before it gets better.  Don’t get too caught up in it.  I’m not saying don’t vote, or care, I’m saying our focus needs to be on God.  It does not behoove us as followers of Christ to focus overmuch in the politics of this kingdom, but rather to focus on seeking first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness. 

            I did want to briefly point out a verse in our Psalms reading today, because it’s just so cool.  I have mentioned this in passing before, but the name of Jesus (Yehushua, or Yeshua for short) means literally “salvation” or “Yahweh saves”.  So when we get to our reading  in Ps 67:2 today it says “That Your way may be known on the earth, Your salvation (יְשׁוּעָתֶֽךָ׃ , “Yeshuateka”) among all the nations.”.  It literally is telling us that God’s Yeshua will be known among all the nations.  Read that in context with the entire chapter.  This is the ultimate foreshadowing.  Pretty cool, isn’t it?!  For a similar use of Yeshua in prophetic foreshadowing also check out Isaiah 49:6.  He reveals to us His plans in advance, it’s pretty awesome.

            We’re going to really focus in on our 2 Corinthians 9 reading today and being a good steward of the blessings that God’s given you, because it very much highlights a concept that is critical but largely ignored in the Christian community, and I firmly believe that it is a necessary information/practice (based on a number of scriptures) to enter into God’s kingdom, so please take note!  This is probably going to be a new word for you, but what I’m talking about is Tzedakah.  A (bad) translation of Tzedakah would be “Charity”, but that doesn’t come even close to covering the full flavor or meaning of the term.  Here’s (some of) what Wikipedia says about it (and I encourage you to look this up yourself as well, there are even some Youtube videos on the subject):

WIKIPEDIA: “…Tzedakah (Tzedaka) refers to the religious obligation to do what is right and just, which Judaism emphasizes as an important part of living a spiritual life. Unlike voluntary philanthropy, tzedakah is seen as a religious obligation that must be performed regardless of one’s financial standing, and so is mandatory even for those of limited financial means.  Tzedakah is considered to be one of the three main acts that can positively influence an unfavorable heavenly decree.

The word tzedakah is based on the Hebrew (צדק‎,Tzedeq), meaning

“righteousness, fairness,or justice

            The concept of tzedaka is completely intertwined with the concepts of righteousness, equity, mercy, and justice: so much so that you can almost substitute each word with one of the others listed above when you see any of them in the scriptures, if tzedeq is the root word (it usually is).  There are hundreds of instances like this in scripture, but most of the time we translate it into english as “Righteousness”, or “Justice” and completely ignore the deeper spiritual aspect of “Mercy”, but they are all inseparably intertwined!  Charity isn’t what it’s talking about, specifically.  I’ll try to elaborate a little for a better understanding.

            God has given you an abundance of gifts.  He has given these gifts to each of us in varying degrees, but all blessings have come from God (James 1:17).  You didn’t earn that, God gave it to you. Everything and everyone on this earth belongs to God, and He has chosen to share some with you (Ps 24:1).  Now if you think that God gave you that blessing so you could hoard it up and lord it over your fellow creation (like most of us tend to think nowadays) you would be 100% wrong: He gave us gifts so that we could share them and by so doing honor our God. 

            Jesus himself actually commands us to “give to any who ask” in Matt 5:42.  This is not  about charity, this is about radical generosity as a proof of your faith, rooted in the trust of God’s provison and a desire to honor Him and reflect His unconditional love to the rest of your fellow creation.  This is an opportunity to model a working faith and trust in our God.  This is not an option.  See James 5:1-5, and begin to understand in no uncertain terms that this is a command by God.  It is God’s expectation of you that when your cup runneth over, you splash it around, in other words.  As an indication of importance, each of our other sister religions, our fellow “Children of the Book” (consisting of Jews, Christians, and Muslims), each have a word and a religious requirement to do this.  Oddly, we don’t.  Please, do not let the money you’ve kept in your pockets weigh you down so much that you can’t enter into the kingdom of Heaven.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

  1. Which kingdom are you more focused on, the one you’re living in, or the one coming?  Follow up question: How’s that working out for you?
  2. Do you currently practice tzedakah (even if you didn’t know the word, before)? Why?
  3. How can we do better?

PRAYER

Father God, from Your generous hand has come all of our many blessings, which we have not deserved or earned.   Father, forgive us the times when we have been selfish, and help us to change our hearts to become better servants and an example of Your love to those around us, to everyone we know and to everyone we meet.  In Jesus name, Amen.

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The Temple of God

2 Samuel 17-18

Psalm 56

*1 Corinthians 3

-Devotion by Jeremy Martin (TN)

            In today’s 1 Corinthian 3 reading, there is a beautiful imagery and phrasing that really helps to understand many things.  There was a devotion recently about “The Temple” (March 28) that gave some interesting facts about the importance of the Temple to the Jews, and some historical information that helped give context to some scriptures, but it didn’t really talk much about the layout and function of the temple itself.  Today, we’ll partially correct that (with the understanding that due to brevity and space limitations, we’ll probably not ever get a full and deep understanding without branching off and digging vigorously).

            So as far as the Temple, here’s how it was laid out.  The whole complex in it’s entirety was about 500 x 500 cubits (that’d be about 750′ or 229(ish) meters per side) encompassed by a stone wall and then separated into distinct “courts” by a stone retaining wall (called the “soreg”).  This fence separated the sacred inner areas from the Court of the Gentiles, beyond which Gentiles and the ceremonially unclean were forbidden to enter.  Inside the soreg, the layout progressed through increasingly sacred zones:  the Court of the Women: (the outermost court accessible to Jewish worshippers, featuring four corner chambers for storage and ritual purification). Then the Court of the Israelites: (a strip for men, separated from the priests’ area by slats, containing the Altar of Burnt Offering and the Laver for ritual washing).  Then the Court of the Priests: (the innermost courtyard where priests conducted sacrifices, containing the Hall of the Priests and the Chamber of the Hearth).

            The temple building itself, known as the Hekal, sat at the western end of the complex and consisted of the Vestibule, the Holy Place (housing the Menorah, Table of Showbread, and Altar of Incense), and the Holy of Holies (or, the Sanctuary). Unlike the First Temple, the Holy of Holies in the Second Temple was empty of the Ark of the Covenant, containing only the exposed foundation stone, and was separated from the Holy Place by two curtains rather than a solid wall (those were the curtains that were torn from top to bottom when Jesus was crucified, and were about 30′ tall). Whenever God’s presence was in the Temple, He was always in the Sanctuary or “Holy of Holies”.   That was a long way to go to get here, but the point I was working at is: God was in the Sanctuary (the Holy of Holies), which was separated in layers going from the most sacred (closest to God) and working out to the least sacred (furthest from God).

            In our reading of 1 Corinthians 3 today, after being told to make sure that our foundation in building is Jesus, the Christ, Paul goes on to say (in 1 Cor 3:16): “Do you not know that you are a temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” (NASB).  The translation here doesn’t do it justice, because the literal translation would read “that part of the temple where God himself resides”: the sanctuary, or “Holy of Holies”.   Think about that for a moment, and then allow me a moment to wax poetically.

            When God removed the temple, he replaced the temple of stone with a temple of flesh.  YOUR flesh, if you are submitting to God’s authority.  I speak often of “letting God sit on the throne of your heart” and this gives it an entirely new and deeper meaning to me, if I am the Sanctuary of God: of course he should, because that’s where God lives when he comes to the temple.  WE are the temple.

            In 1st Peter 2:4-5 we are described as “living stones” being formed into a spiritual house (or, temple).  This tracks perfectly with what Paul is telling us here.  To take that a little further, when we go through trials and tests, that is God smoothing the edges of His stones so they’ll fit better.  Whenever we are tested in the fire, that is the kiln of God, strengthening us to make His temple stronger.  We are just pieces of the master building that God is currently constructing, of which Jesus is the cornerstone, and the spirit of God is dwelling in each of us.  When it is completed, and joined together and solid, imagine what a beautiful temple God will have.

            There are some warnings and considerations though, think it through.  God is a master builder, He will try to smooth our edges so we fit in properly, and strengthen us in the kiln, but if we are not fit to build with structurally we will be discarded.  Good builders don’t use sub par materials, it puts the whole structure at risk.  This is clearly told to us in the parable of the vine in John 15 where the vines that do not bear fruit are thrown into the fire and burned up.

            If we allow God to sit in the Sanctuary of our heart, and His spirit to dwell within us, we will be found worthy, strong and able to bear a load.  With God leading us, we will endure and persevere as the rough edges are smoothed and we are chiselled into the shape of His desiring.  With the spirit of God dwelling inside us, the heat of the furnace will only strengthen us.  If the Lord wills it, we will at the end of  days be found to be pleasing and strong stones, built and mortared firmly together as a dwelling place for the Most High God, and built upon the strong cornerstone of His anointed king, Yeshua (Jesus).  The imagery is so beautiful to me, I pray that I may not be found wanting and that I may honor the unwarranted favor which I’ve been shown.  I pray the same for you.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

Did you ever understand that when we had trials, God was shaping us? (See James 1:2-4)

What rough edges do you have left to smooth?

What particular fires are you going through now that will strengthen you?

How can we all grow stronger, and more suited to become the Temple that God desires?

PRAYER

Father God, break me, mold me, form me, fill me.  Help me to become the thing which You wish me to be, to become a servant who is pleasing to You, and to fully submit to and appreciate the efforts and purpose to which I am being formed.  Please grant me your wisdom and strength, so that the fires of life do not break me, but strengthen me.  Forgive me when I fail you, and please teach me to be better at doing Your will.  Thank you for everything You have done for me, may the lips of all of Your creation offer You praise.  In Jesus name, Amen.

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The Spirit of a Man

*2 Samuel 15-16

*Psalm 56

*1 Corinthians 2

-Devotion by Jeremy Martin (TN)

            In our 2 Samuel 15-16 reading today, we see the prophecies of Nathan (2 Sam 12)  in response to David’s worst sin back a few chapters (in 2 Sam 11) being fulfilled.  David’s own son rebels and David and his household have to flee.  If you read closely in the scriptures here, you can pick out the intrigue and political strategies of the day, and then Absalom moves in to Jerusalem, and takes his father’s own concubines on the roof of his house, in the sight of all Israel (2 Sam 16:22).  This is in direct fulfillment of the prophecy in 2 Sam 12:11-12, when God promises “Indeed, you have done this thing secretly, but I will do it before all of Israel…“. 

            As David is fleeing, a fellow named Shimei comes out “cursing continuously” and throwing stones at the group.  This sounds quirky and odd until you read on and understand that David’s Mighty Men were with him, the elite group of fighters who were the ancient equivalent of the special forces, and then it starts to sound almost suicidal.  These guys were “the best of the best”, and many of them attained their position specifically by performing insanely brave and heroic acts against overwhelming odds (and surviving).  Tired of life, much?  This sounds like a great idea to fix that.

            Some of his mighty men predictably ask to go take Shimei’s head (2 Sam 16:9), but David replies “Hey, maybe God told him to curse me and if He did, who could say differently?  Let him curse me, maybe God will have mercy” (Paraphrased, but accurately represented from 2 Sam 16:10-12).  I really think that this humble acceptance of God’s sovereignty is what sets David apart, and why God favored him so much.  He acknowledged his sin, acknowledged that almighty God had authority, and accepted that God’s punishment to him would be just. 

            This humble acceptance of God’s sovereignty is also beautifully echoed in our reading of Psalms 56 particularly in v3 and 4 where it states: “When I am afraid, I will trust in You.  In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid.  What can mere man do to me?“.  There’s a great song called “You Are My Hiding Place” written by Michael J. Ledner and later sung by a group named “Selah” that this Psalm evokes in my mind, and I’ve sung it before when I was feeling alone and scared, you should take a moment to look it up if you’re not familiar.  It actually combined verses from Ps 32, Ps 56, and 2 Cor 12 and is a hauntingly beautiful song.

            In our reading in 1 Corinthians 2 today there’s a concept that’s pretty important, and understanding it fully helps us to understand and interpret scripture better.  The word for “spirit” in Hebrew is “ruach” (roo-ah-ck, with the k being a glottal “kh”) and this term carries a broad range of meanings, primarily translating to wind, breath, or spirit depending on the context, and is used about 400 times in the Old Testament.   In Greek, the word for spirit is “pneuma”, and much like in the Hebrew, this term carries a broad range of meanings including wind, breath, and the vital principle that animates the body. 

            Interestingly, in Greek the word for spirit is inherently neutral gender (so if you read He in the New Testament when speaking of the spirit, that is a biased translation: it could also read she or it, and more accurately, it).  In Hebrew, the word for spirit is inherently female, but you shouldn’t get too caught up in that because the grammatical gender is distinct from personal or essential gender, so it doesn’t really imply femininity, it’s like in America when we say “She’s a grand old flag” we’re not implying that our flags are women.

            Any time you see spirit capitalized in your bible, that’s also an interpretational bias because Hebrew doesn’t have capital (or lowercase) letters and the New Testament (in Greek) was WRITTENINALLCAPITALLETTERSWITHOUTSPACESORPUNCTUATION (like that, which made translation into English a hoot, I have no doubt).  This is information that’s important if you want to do an accurate job of being a textual critic which is “a scholar who examines ancient manuscripts, translations, and citations to reconstruct the original wording of a text” and not just somebody who’s critical of books like it sounds.  English was NOT the original language that our scriptures were written in and as a result of some inherent bias on the part of  translators through the centuries, sometimes liberties have been taken.

            Very late in the 4th century, it became habitual to start capitilizing spirit in certain contexts when translating, and even assigning an autonomous personality to it.  We can see pretty plainly in our reading today that this is most likely inaccurate.  In 1 Cor 2:11 it says “For who among men knows the depths of a man except the spirit of a man which is in him?  Even so the depths of God no one knows except the Spirit of God.” (LSB).  By the way, do you see the capital S in spirit right there?  That is a translationally inaccurate bias in my version.

            The spirit here is not a seperate entity, but an integral part of the person.  You can’t really separate the two, the one just is part of the other.  It’s…life, or breath, or wind, or “the Force”, or whatever you want to call it: not an autonomous creepy thing that lives inside you, but a description of the part of YOU that isn’t quite physical.  It states in the above scripture that the spirit of God is the same, it’s not a seperate entity from God, it’s an inseparable part of Him.  We are told in John 4:24 that God is spirit.  Do we understand it completely?  Probably not, but not understanding something doesn’t give license to start assigning roles to it.  I don’t get quantum physics, but I don’t start calling it Susan either, that’s just silly.  I’ve been told that the “spirit of God” is just “God in action”, and that may be.  Regardless of your understanding though, it shows clearly in 1 Cor 2:11 that God’s spirit is not a separate individual but His own spirit, just like a man’s spirit is his.

             It is the spirit of God that animates and sustains all life, according to Job 34:14-15. The very breath that we have, the ruach that gives us life, God breathed in to the first man upon creation.  When the spirit of God comes upon a man in power, that man can then do miraculous things;  prophecies, speaking in tongues, healing.  To attain a deeper immersion in the spirit of God should be the goal of every one who seeks to please God, and we know that it is one of the requirements to be a believer according to Acts 2: 38.  It should be our goal, second only to the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, because when we receive the spirit of God we are aligned with God, and alignment with God brings LIFE and citizenship in the Kingdom.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

  1. When you are afraid, do you trust in God or allow your fear to direct you?
  2. How many times in your recollection has God been not only just but merciful towards you?
  3. What instances of the holy spirit have you personally experienced? (these can range from simple to miraculous, but try to remember all of them that you’ve experienced)
  4. How can we align our spirit with God’s spirit, how can we receive the gift of the holy spirit in more fullness?

PRAYER

Father God, Lord God Most High, please lead us.  Grant us Your spirit to teach us, to whisper in our ears when we should take a certain path, to warn us when we are in error, and to lead us to You.  Father fogive us when we fall short, and lift us up again with Your mighty hand, and bring us to You.  Have mercy, Father.  Thank you for all of the blessings that You have given, for life, breath, and all things.  I am alive today because of the breath You breathed in to me.  Thank you, in Jesus name, Amen.

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