Contemplative Bible Reading

Matthew 13:1-2 (New Living Translation)

Later that same day Jesus left the house and sat beside the lake. 2 A large crowd soon gathered around him, so he got into a boat. Then he sat there and taught as the people stood on the shore.

Jesus often sat when he spoke to crowds. In these verses we read about Jesus sitting beside the lake to talk, then he sat in a boat to talk.

With all our public address technology we have today, I rarely see anyone sit to talk to crowds. Perhaps I am reading too much into this stand or sit thing.

Luke 7:1-5 (New Living Translation)

When Jesus had finished saying all this to the people, he returned to Capernaum. 2 At that time the highly valued slave of a Roman officer was sick and near death. 3 When the officer heard about Jesus, he sent some respected Jewish elders to ask him to come and heal his slave. 4 So they earnestly begged Jesus to help the man. “If anyone deserves your help, he does,” they said, 5 “for he loves the Jewish people and even built a synagogue for us.”

An officer in the hated Roman army had a sick child. This officer believed that Jesus would heal the child.

How to approach Jesus? He sent respected Jewish Elders to Jesus.

The respect by everyone in this (hi)story astounds me. This Gentile respected the abilities that Jesus showed. He respected the love that Jesus showed.

This Gentile also respected social customs

This Gentile also respected Jewish Elders.

Jesus respected the Jewish Elders.

The Jewish Elders respected the Roman officer.

The result? Good, Godly miracles. Praise God.

See what can happen when people respect one another?

Matthew 5:17-19 (New Living Translation)

17 “Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose. 18 I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not even the smallest detail of God’s law will disappear until its purpose is achieved. 19 So if you ignore the least commandment and teach others to do the same, you will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. But anyone who obeys God’s laws and teaches them will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven.

This is Jesus speaking during the Sermon on the Mount(ainside). Jesus came to accomplish the purpose of the Old Law—the bring us closer to God the Creator.

Jesus is talking to mostly Jews about the Old Jewish Law. Their ancestors got a big fat F in their attempt to abide by the Old Law. Jesus is telling the people of His day that the Old Law was not at fault. The Old Law showed the way to God.

Obey the old precepts. Teach them.

No, I am not advocating Temple sacrifices. I am advocating sacrificial living like Jesus showed.

Ezekiel 29:17-21 (New Living Translation)

17 On April 26, the first day of the new year, during the twenty-seventh year of King Jehoiachin’s captivity, this message came to me from the Lord: 18 “Son of man, the army of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon fought so hard against Tyre that the warriors’ heads were rubbed bare and their shoulders were raw and blistered. Yet Nebuchadnezzar and his army won no plunder to compensate them for all their work. 19 Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. He will carry off its wealth, plundering everything it has so he can pay his army. 20 Yes, I have given him the land of Egypt as a reward for his work, says the Sovereign Lord, because he was working for me when he destroyed Tyre.

This is odd. The LORD tells the prophet Ezekiel that King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon was working for the LORD when Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Tyre. There was no looting on that occasion. King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and his troops were disappointed. Still, they had done the LORD’s work, so now, the LORD would pay them for their work. They payment was that the LORD gave Egypt to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.

I doubt that King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, his troops, and certainly not the people of Egypt understood this payment-for-services-rendered arrangement. With the hindsight of history and the prophet’s records, it sort of makes sense to me now.

Fast forward to today: who is working for the LORD in the world? What services are they rendering? How is the LORD paying them?

It is easy to write that King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, Tyre, Egypt, and all the other stuff were ancient history and that the LORD no longer works in these ways. I, however, have not found the verses in the Bible that indicate that the LORD no longer works on earth in ways we don’t understand. I do find verses that indicate the LORD’s ways are far beyond my ways.

Sometimes it seems that all this would be easier to understand if the LORD weren’t so much bigger than me.

Jeremiah 10:23-24 (New Living Translation)

23 I know, Lord, that our lives are not our own.
We are not able to plan our own course.
24 So correct me, Lord, but please be gentle.
Do not correct me in anger, for I would die.

This is a prayer of Jeremiah. This should be my prayer today, everyday.

There have been many songs written about the foolishness of man’s plans. Yes, they are foolish.

Our lives are not our own.

Isaiah 62:6 (New Living Translation)

O Jerusalem, I have posted watchmen on your walls;
they will pray day and night, continually.
Take no rest, all you who pray to the Lord.

The LORD YHWH appointed watchmen for Jerusalem. Everyone knows the job of a watchman—to watch. Right?

The LORD seems a bit confused here as the LORD wants the watchmen to pray day and night. There must be some mistake here, right? I mean, if they are praying, they aren’t watching. Right?

Perhaps this is yet another reminder of what God wants us to do. Look to God, pray. Spiritual watching might be is more important.

Isaiah 58:6-7 (New Living Translation)

6 “No, this is the kind of fasting I want:
Free those who are wrongly imprisoned;
lighten the burden of those who work for you.
Let the oppressed go free,
and remove the chains that bind people.
7 Share your food with the hungry,
and give shelter to the homeless.
Give clothes to those who need them,
and do not hide from relatives who need your help.

fast: verb—to eat no food for a period of time

That is the specific, well known definition of fasting. In general, however, fasting is the act of going without something for a period of time. The theme of sacrifice is in fasting. I relinquish something of value to me.

This passage in Isaiah emphasizes the general thought of fasting.

• Do for those less fortunate.
• Free the wrongly imprisoned
• Lighten burdens
• Free the oppressed
• Remove chains
• Share food
• Provide shelter
• Clothe the needy
• Be available to help

I guess we call this charity today. I guess we pay taxes so the government can do these things—sort of, I mean isn’t that the purpose of social programs?

Perhaps God wants me to do these things directly. Perhaps I should get to it.

Isaiah 56:3-5 (New Living Translation)

3 “Don’t let foreigners who commit themselves to the Lord say,
‘The Lord will never let me be part of his people.’
And don’t let the eunuchs say,
‘I’m a dried-up tree with no children and no future.’
4 For this is what the Lord says:
I will bless those eunuchs
who keep my Sabbath days holy
and who choose to do what pleases me
and commit their lives to me.
5 I will give them—within the walls of my house—
a memorial and a name
far greater than sons and daughters could give.
For the name I give them is an everlasting one.
It will never disappear!

In the ancient world, in the world of the Jews, few people were more despised than eunuchs. Eunuchs were barred from some place and some practices under the old law. Yet here, we have a different world described for eunuchs and other foreigners, a.k.a., Gentiles.

The LORD welcomes the eunuchs and promises them something that the world cannot give, that is physically impossible: a name that will last through the ages.

Eunuchs could not procreate. No one would carry their name to the next generations. Their line was dead. Yet here, the LORD gives them an everlasting line.

So what? So God provides for broken people what no one can provide. Broken people aren’t always welcomed by good, church-going Christians. I mean, they are broken, something is wrong with them, and everyone can see that something is wrong with them.

Can we come to see as the LORD sees? Can we come to see into the future? Can we come to see past the present?

Isaiah 56:1a (New Living Translation)

This is what the Lord says:

“Be just and fair to all.
Do what is right and good,

This is a simple statement from the LORD to His people. This is how to live.

Be and do. That is all. Why can’t we seem to get this right?

Ezekiel 33:27-28  (New Living Translation)

27 “Say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: As surely as I live, those living in the ruins will die by the sword. And I will send wild animals to eat those living in the open fields. Those hiding in the forts and caves will die of disease. 28 I will completely destroy the land and demolish her pride. Her arrogant power will come to an end. The mountains of Israel will be so desolate that no one will even travel through them.

Death by war; death by wild animals, and death by disease.

Desolate landscape that frightens away those who only want to pass through.

This sounds like The Walking Dead, The Hunger Games, and anything else on the list of dystopian future fiction that is so popular today. Except this passage is history. This actually happened. That land “flowing with milk and honey” became a wasteland and much of it today still looks that way.

The destruction of the land is physical—we can see it.

What about the demolishing of pride? We can’t see that as easily, but if the first threat was accomplished the second was probably accomplished as well.

God the creator doesn’t fool around. Under the good news, we have many promises. We also have a few things like this passage. Do we doubt that “a loving God” would carry through with those not-so-nice promises? We shouldn’t.