Contemplative Bible Reading

1 Chronicles 16:24-25 (New Living Translation)

23 Let the whole earth sing to the Lord!
Each day proclaim the good news that he saves.
24 Publish his glorious deeds among the nations.
Tell everyone about the amazing things he does.

King David gives to Asaph and his fellow Levites a song of thanksgiving to the Lord. Part of this song is listed above.

Okay, I have five minutes to talk to someone. What shall I mention? I could point out their many mistakes and how they should feel ashamed of themselves. I could give a lecture on the proper forms of worship. I could give a lecture on proper attire for all situations. I could… the list goes on.

How about this one: I could tell them about God’s glorious deeds. I could proclaim the good news that God saves.

Hmm. That’s pretty simple. Hear ye, hear ye! God created it all. God gave it all to us to enjoy in the right ways God intended. Let us rejoice!

Sometimes I want to expand on the simple to my detriment and the detriment of others.

Numbers 14:44-45 (New Living Translation)

44 But the people defiantly pushed ahead toward the hill country, even though neither Moses nor the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant left the camp. 45 Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites who lived in those hills came down and attacked them and chased them back as far as Hormah.

defy: verb, openly resist or refuse to obey.

This is part of the (hi)story of the people traveling from Egypt to the land promised to them by God. They stumbled along the way. These verses are about the time when they smacked themselves in the forehead and said, “Well, of course we can take the land. God promised us.” Of course their realization was at the wrong time and for the wrong reasons.

They defied God. They openly resisted God and refused to obey God.

The results were predictable and predicted. They were routed and chased and humiliated and everything else bad. It was a costly mistake.

And this still is a mistake. I can defy God. Yes, I can. Boy, that makes me feel big and strong. Foolish. Just as a two-year-old (or 22 or 32 or 42 or…) can defy gravity and take that leap of foolishness, defying God has the same result. I may not feel the pain this minute or this day, but it will come—just as sure as jumping off the roof of the house towards that swimming pool that looks so close but isn’t—it will come.

But I defied God. I am powerful. No, I am only foolish. God, help me in my unbelief.

1 Chronicles 28:18 (King James Version)

18 And for the altar of incense refined gold by weight; and gold for the pattern of the chariot of the cherubims, that spread out their wings, and covered the ark of the covenant of the Lord.

This describes the decorations or adornments of the ark of the covenant, i.e., that box that held the covenant or agreement between God and the people. This adornment was cherubim that spread their wings over the ark of the covenant.

This phrase, “the chariot of the cherubims,” is repeated in several places in the Old Testament in various English translations. I use the King James Version above for this phrase.

These cherubims were mythological beings that could fly all through the earth. God rode on them, so the beings were God’s chariot in a manner of speech. The chariot was a vehicle of war and, therefore, showed God’s power as God flew over the earth.

Hmm, this is a lot of symbolic stuff in one little five-word phrase. God rules; accept it. The end.

Well, that gives me much to ponder in my puny mind. God, please help me in my unbelief.

Numbers 11:34 (New Living Translation)

34 So that place was called Kibroth-hattaavah (which means “graves of gluttony”) because there they buried the people who had craved meat from Egypt.

This is part of the (hi)story of the people wandering the wilderness before entering the land promised by God. As usual, they were complaining about one thing or another. This time it was food. No one was dying of starvation or suffering from malnutrition. They were, however, unhappy.

God sent them quail to eat. God sent them a lot of quail to eat. God sent them so much quail to eat that they became sick of all the quail they had to eat. In fact, many people died and were buried there because they had too much quail to eat.

The place was known as the graves of gluttony.

Now we fast forward to today. The graveyards of America and other places are full of people who died from one thing or another related to eating too much of this and that. Sigh. Do we have cemeteries of gluttony? Is this too much of a stretch to connect the two? Does this really matter to anything?

The New Testament mentions gluttony. Perhaps I should pay more attention to diet and cravings for quail and the like.

1 Chronicles 17:4 (New Living Translation)

4 Go and tell my servant David, “This is what the Lord has declared: You are not the one to build a house for me to live in.”

God is speaking to the prophet Nathan and telling Nathan what to tell David. The topic is building a Temple in Jerusalem in which to keep the Ark of the Covenant (the container of the agreement).

David was not the one to build the Temple.

Yeah but…look at all that David has done. I mean, David did a lot of the dirty work that was necessary. The people of God wouldn’t be in Jerusalem on that hill if it weren’t for David the warrior and all that. And David was a good servant, and David had a good heart, and David did this and that and the other thing as well. And David… and David… and David… and David was not the one.

David didn’t earn the right to do something for God. None of us “earn the right” to do or be or whatever with God. It is all a gift—a wonderful and magnificent gift. God doesn’t spread out the gifts equally. God gives some gifts to some folks and other gifts to other folks. God is the owner and God is the magnificent giver.

David accepted that he wasn’t to be the builder. Instead, David gathered the building materials so whoever God picked to build would have a little head start. Good attitude and good heart followed by good actions. God, help me to be so.

Numbers 11:1 (New Living Translation)

Soon the people began to complain about their hardship, and the Lord heard everything they said. Then the Lord’s anger blazed against them, and he sent a fire to rage among them, and he destroyed some of the people in the outskirts of the camp.

This is part of the (hi)story of the people wandering the wilderness on their way to the land promised to them by Jehovah God. They complained, and God heard everything they said.

This probably came as a surprise to some. They didn’t go to the tent of meeting or any special place. They didn’t hold any special ceremony. They didn’t use any special language. They didn’t appoint any special spokesmen.

They complained; God heard them.

That’s how it works with an all-knowing, all-present, all-seeing, all-hearing God. I speak; God hears. I even think; God hears. There is no hiding from God.

And that is a blessing. I think; God hears. God is with me all the time. Thank you God.

Leviticus 16:20-22 (New Living Translation)

20 “When Aaron has finished purifying the Most Holy Place and the Tabernacle and the altar, he must present the live goat. 21 He will lay both of his hands on the goat’s head and confess over it all the wickedness, rebellion, and sins of the people of Israel. In this way, he will transfer the people’s sins to the head of the goat. Then a man specially chosen for the task will drive the goat into the wilderness. 22 As the goat goes into the wilderness, it will carry all the people’s sins upon itself into a desolate land.

I love this passage. Transfer all the bad of a people to the head of a goat. Drive the goat into the wilderness of no return. The goat carries away all the bad. Gone. Poof.

I once used this as the basis for a short story called “In a Puff of Smoke.” Transfer all the bad to something. Blow away, bury, banish the goat, whatever, and all the bad goes away.

God’s amazing grace saves me. I understand it. Some days my brain isn’t working as well as it should. Some days this spiritual concept doesn’t register with me. Such are the failings of the flesh. Rats!

On some of those days, it helps to jot a few words on a piece of paper, wad up the paper, and toss it into a trash can. Gone are the bad into a trashcan. Some days I write a blog post of a Facebook post. Look at it a moment and delete it. Gone are the bad to wherever things deleted from a computer screen go.

It is okay to put the bad in my life today onto the head of a goat and chase the goat out into the wilderness of no return. Please God, help me in my unbelief.

1 Timothy 6:10 (New Living Translation)

10 For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.

This is a well-known verse. The King James Version has the shorter, “for the love of money is the root of all evil.”

Let’s step back a moment into the financial realm of the 21st century. Money is a medium of exchange. We don’t carry gold coins in a sack. We have spreadsheets and bank accounts and cashless stores. I move “money” from my checking account through my credit card to my iPhone to Starbucks…or something like that.

Money is worthless. It does, however, bring me goods and services (a cup of coffee with a smile and free WiFi). I can allow my life to be ruled by the pleasures of goods and services. Craving them can pierce myself with many sorrows.

Money? Who cares? The goods and services I can have in exchange? Those are the stuff of ruin, if I love and crave them too much.

Leviticus 18:3 (New Living Translation)

3 So do not act like the people in Egypt, where you used to live, or like the people of Canaan, where I am taking you. You must not imitate their way of life.

God is speaking to the people through Moses. What follows is a list of basic, practical things that people do that God abhors. People back in Egypt did these things. People in the land of Canaan do these things. God’s people, however, were different. They were chosen. They were not to do these things. Don’t imitate these other peoples.

Read on in this chapter of Leviticus. Most of these practices are about sexual relations with a close relative. Those relations cause envy, hatred, strife, murder, and all sorts of things that destroy the lives of people. The short-term pleasure of some sex for one person is nothing compared to the long-term pain that will come to many persons. Don’t engage in it.

But, but , but…nothing. Don’t engage in it. It will destroy you and many others.

Such commands from God are typical. Yes, it is humanly possible to do this or that or the other thing. Yes, it might be “fun” for a little while. No, it isn’t good for you. God created mankind. God knows mankind. God does not want to see the creation destroy itself. God created us for a much better purpose than self-destruction.

Please God, help me in my unbelief.

John 10:10 (New Living Translation)

10 The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.

Jesus is speaking here. This is part of the tale of the good shepherd and the sheep. The purpose of the thieves is to steal sheep, kill them, and destroy everything. The purpose of Jesus is to give the sheep, i.e., me a rich and satisfying life.

Jesus was and is not a killjoy, i.e., someone whose sole purpose is to make the lives of persons miserable. Instead, the purpose of Jesus is to give us all a rich and satisfying life.

Why do we reject a person who wants us all to have a rich and satisfying life? I can understand how some persons place themselves between a person and Jesus. “You have to satisfy me before I will let you see Jesus!” No. Nope. Not possible.

If someone tells you that you have to go through them to find Jesus, go around that person. Wish them well, but go around them. They don’t represent Jesus.

God, please help me in my unbelief. Please help me go straight to Jesus for the rich and satisfying life. And God, please keep me from blocking another person’s way to Jesus in any and all ways. Don’t let me cause someone to move an inch to approach Jesus.