Contemplative Bible Reading

Leviticus 6:1-7 (New Living Translation)

Then the Lord said to Moses, ² “Suppose one of you sins against your associate and is unfaithful to the Lord. Suppose you cheat in a deal involving a security deposit, or you steal or commit fraud, ³ or you find lost property and lie about it, or you lie while swearing to tell the truth, or you commit any other such sin. ⁴ If you have sinned in any of these ways, you are guilty. You must give back whatever you stole, or the money you took by extortion, or the security deposit, or the lost property you found, ⁵ or anything obtained by swearing falsely. You must make restitution by paying the full price plus an additional 20 percent to the person you have harmed. On the same day you must present a guilt offering. ⁶ As a guilt offering to the Lord, you must bring to the priest your own ram with no defects, or you may buy one of equal value. ⁷ Through this process, the priest will purify you before the Lord, making you right with him, and you will be forgiven for any of these sins you have committed.”

This was the old law. In case of harm to property, the formula for punishment was simple. Note the sentence in verse 5:

You must make restitution by paying the full price plus an additional 20 percent to the person you have harmed.

The offending person repaid the value of loss and added 20%. There were no jails and all that. Payment was made and people moved on with their lives. Perhaps we could learn from these old laws.

2 Samuel 13:3 (New Living Translation)

But Amnon had a very crafty friend…

There are some opening lines of stories that guarantee the story will not end well. This is one of those opening lines. Having a “crafty” friend is not a good thing.

It is not a surprise that this story ends poorly.

In the rest of this chapter, we learn that Amnon rapes his half-sister Tamar and his life ends when his half-brother Absalom murders him.

Lesson: avoid crafty friends.

2 Samuel 11:14-17 (New Living Translation)

¹⁴ So the next morning David wrote a letter to Joab and gave it to Uriah to deliver. ¹⁵ The letter instructed Joab, “Station Uriah on the front lines where the battle is fiercest. Then pull back so that he will be killed.” ¹⁶ So Joab assigned Uriah to a spot close to the city wall where he knew the enemy’s strongest men were fighting. ¹⁷ And when the enemy soldiers came out of the city to fight, Uriah the Hittite was killed along with several other Israelite soldiers.

I had not noticed this aspect of David killing Uriah so that David could have Bathsheba. Here we have it: Joab, commander of the army, helps David murder Uriah.

David asks Joab to put Uriah in a almost-certain-death situation, and Joab does it.

What was Joab thinking? He is killing one of his best soldiers!

One question that keeps coming to my mind is,

What did Joab owe David?

I could be completely wrong, but it seems that Joab owed David something. Joab was helping David kill someone in an effort to pay back a debt. What was the debt?

Let’s take a different perspective. Joab is a loyal soldier who follows orders no matter what they are. These people lived in a harsh time. It seems like they fought deadly battles every weekend. Death was normal to them, so what’s the big deal about one more dead soldier?

I don’t know about any explanations. I do know that Joab was as guilty in the death of Uriah as David.

Matthew 12:25-29 (New International Version)

²⁵ Jesus knew their thoughts and replied, “Any kingdom divided by civil war is doomed. A town or family splintered by feuding will fall apart. ²⁶ And if Satan is casting out Satan, he is divided and fighting against himself. His own kingdom will not survive.²⁷ And if I am empowered by Satan, what about your own exorcists? They cast out demons, too, so they will condemn you for what you have said. ²⁸ But if I am casting out demons by the Spirit of God, then the Kingdom of God has arrived among you.²⁹ For who is powerful enough to enter the house of a strong man like Satan and plunder his goods? Only someone even stronger—someone who could tie him up and then plunder his house.

Jesus is speaking to the Pharisees here. Note verse 27:

And if I am empowered by Satan, what about your own exorcists? They cast out demons, too, so they will condemn you for what you have said.

The Pharisees had their own exorcists. These exorcists cast out demons, too.

Did all these demons give up and leave earth? Are they still here? These are difficult questions for many of us as we don’t like to think about spiritual beings among us in our age of enlightenment or post-modernism or whatever age we are in this week.

Still, it happened in the time of Jesus, and Jesus was not the only one casting out demons.

1 Samuel 15:22-23 (New Living Translation)

²² But Samuel replied,

Exodus (New Living Translation)

1:22 Then Pharaoh gave this order to all his people: “Throw every newborn Hebrew boy into the Nile River. But you may let the girls live.”

2:5-9  ⁵ Soon Pharaoh’s daughter came down to bathe in the river, and her attendants walked along the riverbank. When the princess saw the basket among the reeds, she sent her maid to get it for her. ⁶ When the princess opened it, she saw the baby. The little boy was crying, and she felt sorry for him. “This must be one of the Hebrew children,” she said.

⁷ Then the baby’s sister approached the princess. “Should I go and find one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?” she asked.

⁸ “Yes, do!” the princess replied. So the girl went and called the baby’s mother.

⁹ “Take this baby and nurse him for me,” the princess told the baby’s mother. “I will pay you for your help.” So the woman took her baby home and nursed him.

Let us now consider the rebellious and yet righteous spirit of Pharaoh’s daughter.

Note 1:22 – There is no gray area here. Drown the Hebrew boy babies. That is pretty straightforward.

Now what does Pharaoh’s daughter do? Rebel. She found a Hebrew baby boy. What did she do with the baby? She saved it. She let him live. You cannot disobey any more clearly than that.

Why don’t we sing the praises of Pharaoh’s daughter? If anyone in Egypt deserves praise, she does.

James 2:1-4 (New Living Translation)

My dear brothers and sisters, how can you claim to have faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ if you favor some people over others?

² For example, suppose someone comes into your meeting dressed in fancy clothes and expensive jewelry, and another comes in who is poor and dressed in dirty clothes. ³ If you give special attention and a good seat to the rich person, but you say to the poor one, “You can stand over there, or else sit on the floor”—well, ⁴ doesn’t this discrimination show that your judgments are guided by evil motives?

James is writing to condemn favoritism. He provides his audience with an example of showing favorites. The example is about a rich person and a poor person.

The example tells us what was valued by the readers – riches. Consider today, the year 2012, and an audience of people in their 20s. I wouldn’t write

suppose someone comes into your meeting dressed in a three-piece suit, and another comes in who is dressed in jeans

That doesn’t speak to people in their 20s. If anything, it is backwards.

The writing of James tells us that his readers valued riches. That is why James pokes them with this example of favoring a rich person over a poor person.

What example would James use for me and my friends to poke us in the eye about favoritism?

1 Samuel 3:17-18 (New Living Translation)

¹⁷ “What did the Lord say to you? Tell me everything. And may God strike you and even kill you if you hide anything from me!”¹⁸ So Samuel told Eli everything; he didn’t hold anything back. “It is the Lord’s will,” Eli replied. “Let him do what he thinks best.”

Sometimes even the most mature of us say the stupidest things. Here is Eli. He is old, experienced, and while a lousy father, he is a devout servant of the LORD. Samuel relays to Eli what the LORD intends to do.

And what does Eli say? “Well, if the LORD wants to do that, I’ll let him.”

I’ll let him? Is he kidding. I’ll let him. When does God need our permission? When does God need us to move aside so He can do what He wants?

The arrogance is unbelievable. I guess it is much like I see around me, and sometimes in me, every day.

Numbers 35:33 (New Living Translation)

This will ensure that the land where you live will not be polluted, for murder pollutes the land. And no sacrifice except the execution of the murderer can purify the land from murder.

Murder reaches farther than the death of one person. As this verse tells us, it pollutes the land.

What does that mean? A polluted land

• is ugly
• doesn’t produce crops well
• isn’t good for livestock
• has bad drinking water
• is ripe for the spread of disease
• spreads discouragement among the population

I could go on. I am sure the readers could add to the list as well. A murder is more than the death of one person. It is a drain on all persons. It truly pollutes the land.

Now consider a few other sins. Let’s just consider some simple ones, like those found in the Ten Commandments.

• Dishonoring parents
• Dishonoring God
• Dishonoring your spouse
• Stealing possessions
• Lying

It seems that these sins spread farther than a single person as well. They pollute the land as well.

God didn’t give us these “commands” to kill our fun. He gave them to us so we could live happy lives in a pleasant land. We “break” the commands at our own peril, but we seem to break them over and over.

Judges 10:15 (New Living Translation)

But the Israelites pleaded with the LORD and said, “We have sinned. Punish us as you see fit, only rescue us today from our enemies.”

People are short sighted – all of us. But really, consider the above verse.

The Israelites were being tormented by their enemies. This torment was a result of disobeying the LORD. The Israelites knew all this. What was their request of the LORD?

We will take

punishment from the LORD

instead of

punishment from our earthly enemies.

Consider that one for a while. Punishment from an all powerful God who has a completely different concept of time and space and everything else instead of punishment from the next door neighbors.

How stupid can you be?

Well, pretty stupid. Also, pretty short sighted. These people could see their next door neighbors, but couldn’t see the LORD.

Also consider that these people were people – just like me. Am I this short sighted?