Contemplative Bible Reading

2 Chronicles 25:14 (New International Version)

When Amaziah returned from slaughtering the Edomites, he brought back the gods of the people of Seir. He set them up as his own gods, bowed down to them and burned sacrifices to them.

Amaziah was a King of Judah. Earlier in this chapter, we are told that he was a good king as “He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD.”

That verse ends with, “but not wholeheartedly.” Part of that “not wholeheartedly” (why don’t we use words like that anymore?) comes here in verse 14. God had just given an enemy into the hands of King Amaziah. He had killed 20,000 enemy soldiers in battle. His soldiers also carried off lots of plunder. Great success led by God.

So what did Amaziah do? He grabbed the gods of his defeated enemies, brougth them home, and worshipped them. Maybe you could grab these gods (idols is all the were, chunks of carved stone), bring them home, and grind them to a pulp to make cement or something. Bring them home and worship them?

First, this is plain stupid. These gods were no good. See the result of the battle.

Second, this is idolatry. God had just given Amaziah a great victory. Hey Amaziah, how about celebrating with a great big worship-the-one-true-God event?

What has he thinking? Evidently, not much.

We don’t do this type of stupid idolatry today, or do we?

• We defeat the addiction to smoking and instead turn to an addiction to food snacks.
• We defeat an addiction to alcohol by staying home and becoming addicted to watching TV.

The list could go on and on. We replace one idol with another.

God, help me to see idolatry in its many forms. Help me to worship You and You alone.

John 1:17 (New International Version)

For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

I hadn’t noticed this short verse of a dozen or so words before. This type of writing is called contrast or opposition. It shows one thing, then another.

Moses – a great and humble servant of God – brought the law to the people. A great law that held countless benefits to the people in their spiritual and physical lives if they obeyed it. One problem is that the people couldn’t quite obey it. Sure, part of that was willful disobedience, but part was human frailty.

Then in contrast are grace and truth. These were brought by Jesus, the son of God, the Word, the Light. If we walk with Jesus we have salvation. We don’t have to be perfect to walk with Jesus. We just have to choose to walk with Him and then do it. Jesus accepts us with our frailty. His grace erases our imperfections in His sight.

I don’t think about that grace often. It gives me a headache, a wonderful, dizzying headache that gives peace to my heart. I get a headache because as hard as I try I cannot really understand that grace.

God, despite my limited brains, I think that I understand a little of this grace idea. I understand enough to thank you for it. Help me better to show it to others.

Acts 4:25-26 (New International Version) from Psalms 2

²⁵You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David:
” ‘Why do the nations rage
and the peoples plot in vain?
²⁶The kings of the earth take their stand
and the rulers gather together
against the Lord
and against his Anointed One.

These verses are part of a prayer spoken by Peter, John, and others after Peter and John had been released arrest. These Jewish Christians were quoting from the second Psalms something prayed by David. During the time of David, kings and rulers were raging, plotting, standing, gathering and such all against the Lord.

Fast forward hundreds of years from David to the time of Peter and John and nothing new. Rulers and kings plotting and all that stuff against the Lord.

Fast forward a few dozen centuries and it isn’t hard to find the same happening today.

Don’t you think some people would get it by now? Shouldn’t some people have learned by now? Gathering against the Lord has never worked. Perhaps, just perhaps, it won’t ever work? What a waste. I am glad that such is hopeless and wasteful.

Proverbs 25:16 (New International Version)

If you find honey, eat just enough—
too much of it, and you will vomit.

This is one of those great verses in the Bible. So much of Western philosophy and practice comes from these few words.

Too much of a good thing is bad

You  eyes were bigger than your stomach

Moderation in everything

and lots more…

I can see cartoons and old kids’ shows with a character sitting on the ground, leaning back against a tree with a bulging belly. The character has a smile on his face, but then the smile turns upside down, the face turns blue or green or both, and…yes vomit follows off camera.

God blesses us with far more than we can consume or appreciate. Sometimes we try to take all of something or other in all at once. Oooops. That doesn’t work well.

God, help me to always appreciate your blessings. Help to take enjoy them in a healthy manner.

1 Peter 2:1 (New International Version)

Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind

Malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander – these are bad things. I don’t want these things in my life. Is Peter telling us, “Stop this or you will go to hell.” I don’t think so.

This is one of those “Therefore” statements. It asks me to look at the previous thoughts as the “Therefore” refers back to something. So, going back a few verses:

Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth…

Peter is writing to those who have obeyed the truth. These people are already saved; they live in Christ. Why would anyone living in Christ want to wish bad things on other people, lie, show duplicity, envy, and slander? Those things are miserable. Why do I want to be miserable?

This is another example in scripture of what I call “You can do these things if you want, but they will only make you miserable.” As a Christian, I can do these things and I don’t think they will erase salvation, but why do them? They won’t get me ahead in this life. Yuck. Who wants this?

God, help me to keep myself from inflicting misery and pain upon myself.

Proverbs 18:18 (New International Version)

Casting the lot settles disputes
and keeps strong opponents apart.

I read this week as well. It was another of those, “What does this say? This must be a misprint!” The writer of this proverb is telling me to “roll the dice” or “cut a deck of cards” to settle a dispute. That couldn’t be right, could it?

So, I went back to the “new” source I discovered this week, the Online Parallel Bible. All the different translations seemed to say the same thing:

GOD’S WORD® Translation (©1995)
Flipping a coin ends quarrels and settles [issues] between powerful people.

King James Bible
The lot causeth contentions to cease, and parteth between the mighty.

Not getting anywhere here. What is the deal? At the bottom of the page comes some insight:

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

18:17. It is well to listen to our enemies, that we may form a better judgment of ourselves. 18. It was customary sometimes to refer matters to God, by casting lots, with solemn prayer. The profaning the lot, by using it in matters of diversion, or coveting what belongs to others, forms an objection to this now.

Oh, maybe this is it. In “ancient” times people would caste lots (flip a coin, roll the dice) to refer matters to God. A long time of solemn prayer would precede this casting of the lot. They were trusting in God to show them the decision He wanted. The Apostles did this in Acts 1 to choose a replacement for Judas.

²³So they proposed two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias. ²⁴Then they prayed, “Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen ²⁵to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs.” ²⁶Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles.

Note Henry’s Commentary on this. At some point in human history, this Godly practice was turned into a diversion or type of entertainment. This was profaning God, but it exists with us today.

Proverbs 20:30 (New International Version)

Blows and wounds cleanse away evil,
and beatings purge the inmost being.

I read this passage just this week. Something must be wrong here, this must be a misprint. If nothing else, this passage can easily be misapplied. I mean look at it, if someone is sinning you take a baseball bat and beat the sin out of them. Right? That is what this says. Doesn’t it?

Time to do some research or study or something. I find a new resource for study and learned something as well.

The “new” resource for study is the Online Parallel Bible. This is similar to BibleGateway, but shows many translations of one verse on the screen as well as some commentary from older (out of copyright) texts. So, from the online parallel Bible I found this:

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

20:30. Severe rebukes sometimes do a great deal of good. But such is the corruption of nature, that men are loth to be rebuked for their sins. If God uses severe afflictions, to purify our hearts and fit us for his service, we have cause to be very thankful.

The key phrase for me is But such is the corruption of nature. I don’t think God made us so that someone could beat sin out of us, but in the corruption of the world by sin such is our condition at times. It is hard for me to realize this, but sin is that bad. Sin has the ability to ruin just about everything that is good in God’s creation. Sin even leads people to try to beat themselves into avoidance of sin. Strange.

God, thank you for rescuing me from sin through the blood of Jesus. Help me to daily recognize the power and evil of sin.

Song of Solomon 1:16 (New International Version)

How handsome you are, my lover!
Oh, how charming!
And our bed is verdant.

Verdant. People don’t use words like “verdant” anymore. I had to learn what this meant.

Some definitions:

Lacking experience or sophistication

Naïve

Unripe in knowledge or judgment

Unsophisticated

Raw

Green

As a verdant youth

Who wants to be “verdant?” Who wants to be naïve, unsophisticated, and – oh my gosh – unripe?

Well, none of those things describe me…and that is probably a bad thing. I wouldn’t mind being “raw and green as a verdant youth.” There is some appeal for me to be young, unknowing, and with so much to learn in front of me.

Then there is:

Luke 18:16-17 (American Standard Version)

But Jesus called them unto him, saying, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for to such belongeth the kingdom of God. Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall in no wise enter therein.

The appeal of verdant continues to grow.

Romans 14:10 (New International Version)

You, then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat.

This verse begins with two questions that simply irritate me. Why would someone judge his brother? Why would someone look down on his brother? Don’t we have enough trouble in our own lives? Don’t we have enough to do? Don’t we have enough worries of our own?

This reason behind the judging and “looking down on” are simple enough. It is like living on a seesaw:

You go down when the other person goes up.

You go up when the other person goes down.

Hey, this second part seems a lot better than the first. Going up by…putting the other person down. When you are up, you are “looking down on” the other person.

Seems an easy way to get up in life. Judge someone – judges are in high position – “better than” others. Look down on someone – that means you are above them.

This seesaw model of life appeals to our pride, our desire to be better (than others).

When was the last time you played on a seesaw? You were probably a child at the time. Yeah, seesaws are for children. Adults are supposed to have moved past seesaws.

God, help me to be an adult. Help me to leave the seesaw behind.

Ephesians 2:19-22 (New International Version)

¹⁹Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household, ²⁰built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. ²¹In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. ²²And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

Who were you? What was your past? What is the history of your family?

The answers may be interesting, enlightening, or terribly embarrassing. If you are a Christian, the answers don’t really matter much, because we are now something different. Look at the phrases from the Ephesians to see who we are now:

1. fellow citizens with God’s people

2. members of God’s household

3. resting on the shoulders of the apostles and prophets

4. resting on the cornerstone of Jesus Himself

5. rising to become a holy temple in the Lord

6. a place in which God lives by His Spirit

I’m impressed by all that. That is all a gift, a pretty big gift, nothing to laugh at or toss aside.

God, help me to realize who I am now. Help to understand the gift I have from you. Help me to share the news of this wonderful gift.