Contemplative Bible Reading

1 Kings 1:28-33 (New International Version 2011)

²⁸ Then King David said, “Call in Bathsheba.” So she came into the king’s presence and stood before him.

²⁹ The king then took an oath: “As surely as the LORD lives, who has delivered me out of every trouble, ³⁰ I will surely carry out this very day what I swore to you by the LORD, the God of Israel: Solomon your son shall be king after me, and he will sit on my throne in my place.”

³¹ Then Bathsheba bowed down with her face to the ground, prostrating herself before the king, and said, “May my lord King David live forever!”

³² King David said, “Call in Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet and Benaiah son of Jehoiada.” When they came before the king, ³³ he said to them: “Take your lord’s servants with you and have Solomon my son mount my own mule and take him down to Gihon.

David is in the last days of his reign as King of Israel. He has declared that among all his sons, Solomon will be the next king.

David calls the appropriate officials and tells them what to do. Prepare my mule? There must be something wrong here. Solomon is supposed to ride in on David’s horse or chariot or something. Mule? Is he kidding?

Nope, that is the custom. In a time of peace, a new king arrived on an animal used in time of peace. Note how in his entry into Jerusalem, Jesus rode a donkey. Only conquering kings arrived on vehicles of war.

Sometimes we become infatuated with the idea that we succeed by overcoming incredible obstacles and opposition. In truth, we had a pretty easy path. Instead of arriving in shining armor on a white horse, we would be better served by casual clothes and a mule – like Solomon and Jesus. When I read that last sentence, a humble entrance would put us in pretty good company.

Acts 12:1-5 (New International Version 2011)

¹ It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them. ² He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword. ³ When he saw that this met with approval among the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. This happened during the Festival of Unleavened Bread. ⁴ After arresting him, he put him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring him out for public trial after the Passover.

⁵ So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.

King Herod makes a move on the young church. Herod is a Jew, but he is more of a popularity-seeking politician than anything else. Herod has James killed, most likely cutting off his head with a sword. Herod “got a bump in the polls” from this. Peter is next. The only thing that gives Peter a few days of life in prison is that the Festival of Unleavened Bread or the Passover is in progress. Peter’s execution will have to wait. Herod takes no chances as he sets an around-the-clock personal guard on Peter in prison.

The church prayed for Peter. What did they pray?

• Herod would change his mind about Peter
• Peter would break out of jail
• Peter would be comfortable during his last hours of life in jail
• Peter’s execution would be quick and painless
• The church would find a way to exist without Peter

Given my experience with people (like me), my guess is the church prayed more for items on the bottom of the list instead of those at the top of the list. I mean, Herod wasn’t going to change his mind. He was headed down a political path and there was no turning back. And escape, are you kidding? Well, at least God would provide Peter with some comfort in prison and maybe a physical numbness at his death.

In researching these verses and talking to people about them, I have heard one theme many times when we as Christians pray for someone who is in a terminal condition. We pray for healing (or jail break in Peter’s case), until a point comes when healing is impossible. Then we pray for comfort for the dying and the family.

We see the impossible and we stop praying for God to make it possible.

We have to remember – God is in the impossible business.

• Cancer
• Hostage situation
• Alcoholism
• Cheating on a spouse
• Beating a spouse and children
• Dependency
• Just plain being a mean, hateful, selfish person

All seemingly impossible situations that are possible with God.

What happened to Peter? God sent an angel into the prison. The angel woke Peter and walked him out of the prison. Peter then went to a home where Christians were praying. The Christians didn’t believe it was really Peter because for Peter to be alive and out of prison was, well, you know…

Psalm 141:3-4 (New International Version 2011)

³ Set a guard over my mouth, LORD;
keep watch over the door of my lips.
⁴ Do not let my heart be drawn to what is evil
so that I take part in wicked deeds

This Psalm was written by King David. In verse 3, David asks the Lord to “watch over the door of my lips.” This request made sense. Poisoning via food or drink was a common method of killing a king at that time and for centuries to come. Kings actually had food tasters and such to detect poison.

Verse 4, however, tells me that David was not asking the Lord to protect him from poison that might enter his body from the outside. Instead, David was asking the Lord to protect his lips from evil that might come out from the inside.

This Psalm of David precedes the words of Jesus in Matthew 15:

¹⁰ Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen and understand. ¹¹ What goes into someone’s mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them.”

In health-conscious America, at least we claim to be conscious of health, we wish someone would keep the food that adds pounds to already overweight bodies out of our mouths. We, however, don’t seem to spend much time, effort, or money on keeping hateful words from swelling inside us and spewing out of our mouths.

Lord, guard my lips and stop evil from exiting them.

Acts 3:6-8 (New International Version 2011)

⁶ Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” ⁷ Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong. ⁸ He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God.

These verses are found in the (hi)story of Peter and John healing the man born lame. Looking back through the contemplations I have written from the book of Acts, I see three or four from this (hi)story. That means I like this (hi)story and the things I learn from how Peter and John conducted themselves.

Today’s post emphasizes what Peter did in verse 7:

Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong.

The man was lame; he survived by sitting in the dust all day and begging. I doubt that his hands were clean and I am almost certain that no one had one of those bottles of sanitizing gel. The guy was filthy. Who knows what diseases he had on his hands.

Nevertheless, Peter reached down and took the man’s hand.

I cannot overemphasize what it means to touch someone, especially to take someone by the hand. I have to move close to a person to take their hand:

• close enough for them to harm me if that is what they intend
• close enough for them to fall on me if they are without strength
• close enough for them to give me their diseases if they have them
• close enough for all sorts of bad things to happen by intent or merely circumstance

When I move close to a person to take their hand, I am inviting many possible bad things. I am also inviting the person into my life so that I can serve him, work with him, and show him what Jesus and His direct followers would have done.

I thank God for all the people He has sent into my life who have come close enough to take my hand and show me the way when I would have otherwise gone done a wrong path.

Jedges 16:20-22 (New International Version 2011)

²⁰ Then she called, “Samson, the Philistines are upon you!”

He awoke from his sleep and thought, “I’ll go out as before and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the LORD had left him.

²¹ Then the Philistines seized him, gouged out his eyes and took him down to Gaza. Binding him with bronze shackles, they set him to grinding grain in the prison. ²² But the hair on his head began to grow again after it had been shaved.

These verses are from the (hi)story of Samson. He has just had his head shaved while he was asleep. He wakens and is ready to fight. He, however, did not realize what happened to his hair while he was asleep. As verse 20 states,

But he did not know that the LORD had left him.

It seems that Samson would have realized that his hair was gone. I mean, he had a lot of hair. It probably weighed several pounds, but now he had nothing. He lost several pounds from the top of his head.

Perhaps the above statement from verse 20 is to be taken literally and not as a figure of speech. Samson understood that his hair was gone, but did not understand that the Lord had left him. Even though he believed his hair was the source of his strength, he realized that the Lord was the true source of his strength.

How often to we believe that one thing is a source of power or of something we want, when something else is the true source? Is a good breakfast the true source of a good day of learning in school? Perhaps a desire to learn is the true source, and the good breakfast, well that is merely physical thing that we can touch with our hands and proclaim, “Aha! This is it!”

Is daily Bible reading the source of a Godly life? What about people who can’t read? Are they doomed to an ungodly life? I’ve met people who couldn’t read, and yet they led Godly lives in Christ. Perhaps, as much benefit that comes from Bible reading, there is something more important. Another example, so I don’t become accused of degrading Bible reading, is the joy that comes from singing in church assemblies. Yet there are joyous people who cannot sing and cannot hear singing. So, maybe the source of joy is something else.

2 Samuel 6:12-15 (New International Version 2011)

¹² Now King David was told, “The LORD has blessed the household of Obed-Edom and everything he has, because of the ark of God.” So David went to bring up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the City of David with rejoicing. ¹³ When those who were carrying the ark of the LORD had taken six steps, he sacrificed a bull and a fattened calf. ¹⁴ Wearing a linen ephod, David was dancing before the LORD with all his might, ¹⁵ while he and all Israel were bringing up the ark of the LORD with shouts and the sound of trumpets.

David is bringing the Ark of the Covenant into Jerusalem for the first time. This is a celebration – a B I G celebration. As we see in verse 14,

David was dancing before the LORD with all his might

What kind of “dancing” was that? The waltz? The tango? Break dancing? Disco? And what does it mean to “dance before the Lord?”

Through the centuries, most forms of public dancing were done to illustrate physical prowess and health to attract a mate for breeding. Basically, “Look at me. I am healthy. I can produce healthy children.” See, as one example, this article on the subject. I don’t think David was doing that kind of dance. However, since I wasn’t there at the time, that is my belief and is not based on fact.

I believe that dancing is one of those things that followers of the Lord did in the Bible in a certain manner so that it was for the Lord and blessed by the Lord. Centuries of malpractice by people changed dance into something completely different. I doubt the Lord would be honored with go-go dancing young women on little platforms. I believe that dancing, like casting lots, has been ruined by people who don’t worship the Lord.

Perhaps somewhere today there are Christians who know how to “dance before the Lord” in a way to honor the Lord. If those people exist, I would like to meet them.

Exodus 33:14-16 (New International Version 2011)

¹⁴ The LORD replied, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”

¹⁵ Then Moses said to him, “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. ¹⁶ How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?”

Moses is speaking to the Lord. Times are tough, the people are grumbling, and Moses doesn’t know if  he can keep dragging a couple million people around with him. Moses makes a request:

Be with us, go with us when you send us.

Things don’t change much over a few thousand years. We should daily make this same request.

2 Chronicles 20:20-21 (New International Version 2011)

²⁰ Early in the morning they left for the Desert of Tekoa. As they set out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me, Judah and people of Jerusalem! Have faith in the LORD your God and you will be upheld; have faith in his prophets and you will be successful.” ²¹ After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the LORD and to praise him for the splendor of his holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying:

“Give thanks to the LORD,
for his love endures forever.”

Jehoshaphat, King of Judah, is about to lead his army into a desperate battle. The armies of three kingdoms (Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir or Edom) have joined together to fight Judah. This does not look good for Jehoshaphat and his army.

What does Jehoshaphat do? He appoints men to sing to the LORD and he puts the singers at the head of the army. That doesn’t seem very bright. I wouldn’t want to have been one of the singers. I mean, I am a singer, why am I at the front of the army? It seems that those in the front will be the first to be killed.

The result of the battle is more bizarre than formation used by Jehoshaphat.

²² As they began to sing and praise, the LORD set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated. ²³ The Ammonites and Moabites rose up against the men from Mount Seir to destroy and annihilate them. After they finished slaughtering the men from Seir, they helped to destroy one another.

²⁴ When the men of Judah came to the place that overlooks the desert and looked toward the vast army, they saw only dead bodies lying on the ground; no one had escaped.

The LORD caused the three enemy armies to turn against one another. The three armies killed each other. When the men of Judah arrived, with the singers in the front, they found dead bodies. No one was left alive to fight against them.

Perhaps putting singers in the front is a good military formation. I tend to doubt that. I don’t doubt the effectiveness of trusting in the LORD.

This was a big crisis facing Jehoshaphat, and he trusted in the LORD. Do I trust in the LORD when I face a big crisis? How about when I face a little problem? Do I know the difference between big and little problems? Perhaps trusting in the LORD at all times is the best approach. I strive for that approach, but maybe don’t always reach it.

Psalms 7:14 (New International Version 2011)

Whoever is pregnant with evil
conceives trouble and gives birth to disillusionment.

What a marvelous phrase. Evil leads to trouble which leads to disillusionment.

Perhaps that is the foundation of all evil, of all rebellion against God – disillusionment. We are tricked, fooled, we don’t see what is present. Instead we something that comes of evil, but it doesn’t look like evil. It looks good to us. We walk in, stumble, and fall.

There is no hope for us without the grace of God. Let us be thankful for that grace every day of our lives.

Joshua 18:3-7 (New International Version 2011)

³ So Joshua said to the Israelites: “How long will you wait before you begin to take possession of the land that the LORD, the God of your ancestors, has given you? ⁴ Appoint three men from each tribe. I will send them out to make a survey of the land and to write a description of it, according to the inheritance of each. Then they will return to me. ⁵ You are to divide the land into seven parts. Judah is to remain in its territory on the south and the tribes of Joseph in their territory on the north. ⁶ After you have written descriptions of the seven parts of the land, bring them here to me and I will cast lots for you in the presence of the LORD our God. ⁷ The Levites, however, do not get a portion among you, because the priestly service of the LORD is their inheritance. And Gad, Reuben and the half-tribe of Manasseh have already received their inheritance on the east side of the Jordan. Moses the servant of the LORD gave it to them.”

Joshua has led God’s people into the promised land. Some of the tribes have occupied the territory designated for them, but others have not. In the verses above, Joshua instructs these remaining tribes how they will be given land. The process is:

1. survey the land
2. write a description of the land
3. divide the land into seven parts
4. I will cast lots to see who has which piece of land

This all makes sense until we reach step 4 (given in verse 6):

I will cast lots for you in the presence of the LORD our God

Cast lots? Roll the dice? This is a pretty important thing they are doing here. They are dividing the land among the tribes. Land – for eternity. No trading land later as this is it. Roll the dice? (I almost titled this post “Casting Lots for Lots,” but that was too cute, even for me.)

This does not make any sense to Christians in the 21st century. Gambling is wrong, right? Relying on fortune is wrong, right? We are to rely on the LORD.

Casting lots is something God’s people did for centuries and they did it even in the New Testament. Why don’t we do it today? One time I found an explanation that seemed to make sense. Casting lots before God was what God’s people did. Over the centuries, people used this practice for many other things. With time, people distorted the practice in games of chance. With more time, people shaved the dice a bit here and there to sway the chance in their favor, i.e., they cheated other people. Cheating often leads to disagreements, one thing leads to another, and pretty soon you have a fist fight, a knife fight, a gun fight, and Christians will no longer have anything to do with casting lots.

I believe it is wrong that we allow the world and the worldly to take from  us practices that God had His people use. Should we cast lots today? Why not? We have been shown how to do it in a manner that pleases the LORD.