Contemplative Bible Reading

Micah 5:10-15 (New Living Translation)

10 “In that day,” says the Lord,
“I will slaughter your horses
and destroy your chariots.
11 I will tear down your walls
and demolish your defenses.
12 I will put an end to all witchcraft,
and there will be no more fortune-tellers.
13 I will destroy all your idols and sacred pillars,
so you will never again worship the work of your own hands.
14 I will abolish your idol shrines with their Asherah poles
and destroy your pagan cities.
15 I will pour out my vengeance
on all the nations that refuse to obey me.”

Bad news, bad news, and more bad news. The LORD is going to destroy everything. Why? Idolatry, idolatry, and more idolatry. You can’t have your people worshiping sculptured rocks.

But then witchcraft and fortune-tellers are tossed in there. Why is that? That’s just silly stuff—fortune tellers and palm readers. Right? But here it is stated right next to idolatry.

I can find dozens of fortune tellers on the Internet in any city in America. We still have them. Most of us laugh and giggle when we see them. The LORD, however, was ready to tear down walls and destroy cities because of them

Perhaps we should reconsider the silliness of these things.

Psalm 96:5 (New Living Translation)

The gods of other nations are mere idols,
but the Lord made the heavens!

This is pretty simple. Jehovah (YHWH) is the creator. Other gods are things that we—the created—made up on our own.

I like to pay homage to my own creations. That makes me feel big and strong and powerful. I AM A CREATOR! LET ME SCREAM IT TO THE HEAVENS!

ooops, who created the heavens? Who created me? Well, maybe I won’t do so much screaming about the little things that I “created.” Maybe I should praise the creator— Jehovah God.

That is all pretty simple. Why is it that I want to make it much more complicated? I guess I sometimes worship the god of complexity as that makes me seem so much smarter than I really am.

God help me with my foolishness.

Psalm 1:4-5 (New Living Translation)

4 But not the wicked!
They are like worthless chaff, scattered by the wind.
5 They will be condemned at the time of judgment.
Sinners will have no place among the godly.

The wicked will be condemned. Their time is coming. Their punishment is coming.

And I know just the time that they should be punished!

Now if God would just consult with me about the right time for this to happen. I would instruct Him about this. Where is He? What time zone does He live in? He must be in another time zone because He isn’t punishing those who need punishing fast enough for me.

Woe is me. I have trouble sometimes accepting the authority of God.

Psalm 48:12-14 (New Living Translation)

12 Go, inspect the city of Jerusalem.
Walk around and count the many towers.
13 Take note of the fortified walls,
and tour all the citadels,
that you may describe them
to future generations.
14 For that is what God is like.
He is our God forever and ever,
and he will guide us until we die.

There are places in scriptures where God attempts to have man understand something about Himself. Here is one such place. God tells man to tour Jerusalem—a city built to God’s instructions. See the tall towers and strong walls. These provide better vision and welcome security.

Those are small aspects of God. He can see time from end to end. He is secure and unfailing.

I want to be with God. I want to be with One who has that perspective and that security. Some people say that God is hateful and petty, punishing me whenever it amuses Him. That is not the God described here.

Proverbs 25:21-22 (New Living Translation)

21 If your enemies are hungry, give them food to eat.
If they are thirsty, give them water to drink.
22 You will heap burning coals of shame on their heads,
and the Lord will reward you.

A conversation:

Mr. A: I hate you! You are terrible. I want you destroyed.

Mr. B: Are you tired, hungry, thirsty? Here, sit, rest. Have some water. Have some of my food. I always feel better when rested and fed.

Mr. A: but…I want to hate and despise you and see you destroyed.

Mr. B: Please, rest. Drink. Eat.

Mr. A: Well, uh,…

This isn’t very complicated, is it?

Isaiah 28:1, 7, 8 (New Living Translation)

1 What sorrow awaits the proud city of Samaria—
the glorious crown of the drunks of Israel.
It sits at the head of a fertile valley,
but its glorious beauty will fade like a flower.
It is the pride of a people
brought down by wine.

…

7 Now, however, Israel is led by drunks
who reel with wine and stagger with alcohol.
The priests and prophets stagger with alcohol
and lose themselves in wine.
They reel when they see visions
and stagger as they render decisions.
8 Their tables are covered with vomit;
filth is everywhere

What a phrase: the drunks of Israel. This is what has happened in the Northern Kingdom of God’s people.

God does not prohibit the drinking of wine. God does prohibit being drunk. These people in these verses were drunk much of the time. Their tables are covered with drunk-induced vomit.

They are pathetic excuses of persons.

Doom is coming. There is no escape when the people choose to be led by drunks, when the people allow their leaders to be drunks.

Hosea 8:7 (New Living Translation)

“They have planted the wind
and will harvest the whirlwind…

This phrase is often quoted in the circles of the Internet that I frequent. The application is simple:

The people have not been living as God instructed them to live. The awful result is coming.

We often see God’s instructions and recommendations as laws. Laws are bad for us. Well, we often see bad laws, but those bad laws are created by human legislatures, not God. The “laws” of God are instructions for a good life. We bend the instructions, and the whirlwind comes.

Today, I just go in the house and shut the door when the wind blows. Except when the wind is a hurricane, and then there is nothing to do but get in the car and drive far away.

God wants us to be happy. God wants us to have a good life. Really. Follow the instructions. Sometimes we have to do things that aren’t much fun in the short term, but stay with it.

Isaiah 8:19-20  (New Living Translation)

19 Someone may say to you, “Let’s ask the mediums and those who consult the spirits of the dead. With their whisperings and mutterings, they will tell us what to do.” But shouldn’t people ask God for guidance? Should the living seek guidance from the dead?

These verses seem silly. Of course you don’t consult the spirits of the dead. Of course you go to God for guidance. Who would do something so stupid?

Where do we go for guidance today? The Wall Street Journal? CNN? The RSS reader?

Are we so much wiser than those who Isaiah rebuked? ooops.

Amos 5:18-20 (New Living Translation)

18 What sorrow awaits you who say,
“If only the day of the Lord were here!”
You have no idea what you are wishing for.
That day will bring darkness, not light.
19 In that day you will be like a man who runs from a lion—
only to meet a bear.
Escaping from the bear, he leans his hand against a wall in his house—
and he’s bitten by a snake.
20 Yes, the day of the Lord will be dark and hopeless,
without a ray of joy or hope.

The prophet Amos is telling his people what is to come. The people are hoping for “the day of the LORD.” Surely, they think, that day will be good as it will bring a better future.

Amos tells them otherwise. Note verse 19 as a bad day will go from to to worse to worse(r). After escaping wild animals to the shelter of a house, the man will lean on the wall and be bit by a snake.

A comic tragedy.

What’s the point? There are several and several more possibilities. One point is that we assume we are right, and one day the LORD will show up and make things right for us and bad for everyone else. ooops, sometimes we are the one who will be punished when the LORD arrives. Another point, we just think things are bad now. Why do we think that? Why don’t we recognize the blessings of today and thank the LORD for them?

2 Chronicles 17:7-10 (New Living Translation)

7 In the third year of his reign Jehoshaphat sent his officials to teach in all the towns of Judah. These officials included Ben-hail, Obadiah, Zechariah, Nethanel, and Micaiah. 8 He sent Levites along with them, including Shemaiah, Nethaniah, Zebadiah, Asahel, Shemiramoth, Jehonathan, Adonijah, Tobijah, and Tob-adonijah. He also sent out the priests Elishama and Jehoram. 9 They took copies of the Book of the Law of the Lord and traveled around through all the towns of Judah, teaching the people.

10 Then the fear of the Lord fell over all the surrounding kingdoms so that none of them wanted to declare war on Jehoshaphat.

King Jehoshaphat had a problem—enemies all about him.

Solution? Send in the teachers.

Result? None of the surrounding kingdoms wanted to declare war.

Okay, let’s back up a minute. First, this is stupid. Teaching from a book of regulations cannot do you any good when you are surrounded by military enemies. There must be something wrong with what is recorded in this, er, well, it is the Bible, so it’s probably, well definitely true.

Second, well, they were teaching from a book given to them by God. So, uh, maybe there was a point here.

Today? Do we have to go there or here? Would perhaps a revival of teaching, reading, learning from the Bible do something good for a nation? Might the result put fear into the hearts of enemies?

I think it is worth trying.