Contemplative Bible Reading

God sent Moses and Aaron to Egypt to bring the Israelites out of bondage. Moses didn’t want to go. He felt he didn’t speak well enough to do such an important task. At least that is the excuse he kept using.

Moses and Aaron went to Egypt and in Exodus 6:6-8 God gave Moses the message to tell the people. Moses delivered the message from God to the people. Then we have the verse below.

Exodus 6:9 (New International Version)

Moses reported this to the Israelites, but they did not listen to him because of their discouragement and cruel bondage.

The people did not listen because of their discouragement.’ These people had been enslaved by the Egyptians all their lives. Their parents had been enslaved all their lives. Their grandparents had been enslaved all their lives. And on for generations.

They were discouraged. That is a human condition common to many of us at many times. As seen here, discouragement can keep us from hearing what people are saying – even when the message is from God.

Notice when people are discouraged. Understand what that condition can do to them. Thank God for any day that is encouraging and the people and other blessings that bring encouragement.

Leviticus 23:32 (New International Version)

It is a sabbath of rest for you, and you must deny yourselves. From the evening of the ninth day of the month until the following evening you are to observe your sabbath.”

This passage struck me as strange this morning. God is proclaiming a Sabbath day, a day of rest, one in seven to rest. He is talking about rest. Peace, quiet, and rest. Yet God discusses it in terms of denying yourselves.

This is the old law that has passed away. Still I see a principle here that applies to me today. God is telling me that there is a time to rest. God is warning me that resting may not be what I want to do. I may want to be in the rat race of competition and accomplishment 7 days a week.  God asks me to deny that drive of pride and rest once in a while.

Can you imagine that a person would choose work 7 days a week and not want to rest? I can. I have seen many other people drive themselves without rest for years. Some received earthly riches for their ceaseless drive. Some didn’t. They became tired. They all died eventually.

God,  give me the peace  of mind and heart I need to rest once in a while.

Mark 6:51-52 (New International Version)

51 Then he (Jesus) climbed into the boat with them, and the wind died down. They were completely amazed, 52 for they had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened.

A little background

In Mark chapter 6, Jesus had fed 5,000 men (10,000 people?) with five loaves of bread (modern-day biscuits) and two fish. Then he had appeared to his followers walking on water. Two amazing, miraculous events!

Now on to these verses

The followers of Jesus were in a boat rowing in a strong wind. As the verses above show, when Jesus climbed into the boat his followers were amazed that the wind died.

Pause a moment – Jesus just fed 10,000 people with five biscuits. Jesus just walked across a lake on the surface of the water. Given all this, his followers were still amazed that the wind quit blowing. Were they so blind? Are we so blind today?

The words that strike me in these verses is that his followers did not understand – a function of the mind, the brain. They didn’t understand because their hearts were hard – a function of emotion, the heart.

Our hearts are connected to minds. Our emotions are connected to our thoughts.

“Calm down and think,” is an admonition I have often heard. It is one I have often said, as if we can disconnect our thoughts from our emotions. I guess we cannot.

God, allow my emotions to be open so I can think more clearly and see the miracles you perform every day.

Haggai 2:4 (New International Version)

“…Be strong all you people of the land,” declares the Lord, “and work. For I am with you,” declares the Lord almighty.

This is a great verse to remember and recite before beginning a task or some work.

be strong and work

How many places could I use this verse? Are there places that I couldn’t use this verse? Perhaps not.

This is an example of how four, one-syllable words can have great power.

Deuteronomy 16:14 (New International Version)

Be joyful at your Feast—you, your sons and daughters, your menservants and maidservants, and the Levites, the aliens, the fatherless and the widows who live in your towns.

This verse is found in a passage in which God’s people are told about the three main feasts or festivals they were to celebrate each year. God wanted the people to celebrate these feasts so that they would remember events where He played a great role in the lives of their people.

The three feasts or festivals are:

1. The Feast of Unleavened Bread,
2. the Feast of Weeks, and the
3. the Feast of Tabernacles.

The Feast of the Unleavened Bread celebrated the Passover – that miraculous ocassion when God freed the people from slavery in Egypt. The other two feasts have to do with the harvest. The people were to recognize how blessed they were to have a bountiful harvest. That meant life for another year. They were to also recognize the part that God played in their harvest. He gave them the harvest and the accompanying life to enjoy.

But why did God command the people to be joyful at your Feast? Surely joy would be part of a gathering of family, friends, and food. These feasts were to last a full week. A full week of feasting with no work. Who wouldn’t be joyful in that circumstance?

What is man that God would have to remind us to be joyful in the middle of a celebration? This reminds me of a story a preacher told of how he and his wife went on a seven-day cruise. Food everywhere, no toil, no work, a vacation paradise. Yet, there were people on the cruise ship who were angry and annoyed. Such is man.

God, help me to see and appreciate my blessings. Help me to see the festivals and feasts that I have been given almost everyday of the year. Help me to see you in these blessings and be joyful.

1 Thessalonians 5:12-15 (New International Version)

12Now we ask you, brothers, to respect those who work hard among you, who are over you in the Lord and who admonish you. 13Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other. 14And we urge you, brothers, warn those who are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone. 15Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else.

1 Thessalonians 5:12-15 (Holman Christian Standard Bible)

12 Now we ask you, brothers, to give recognition to those who labor among you and lead you in the Lord and admonish you, 13 and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves. 14 And we exhort you, brothers: warn those who are lazy, comfort the discouraged, help the weak, be patient with everyone. 15 See to it that no one repays evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good for one another and for all.

I believe verse 12 asks us to recognize, respect, and honor the Elders of a congregation. (Other words for Elder include Presbyter, Pastor, and Shepherd.) The Elders labor among us and lead us in the Lord or spiritually.

This now brings us to the concept of admonish. I turn to an on-line dictionary for help with this rarely used word.

ad·mon·ish /æd?m?n??/ Pronunciation Key – Show Spelled Pronunciation[ad-mon-ish]

–verb (used with object)

1. to caution, advise, or counsel against something.

2. to reprove or scold, esp. in a mild and good-willed manner: The teacher admonished him about excessive noise.

3. to admonish them about their obligations.

Definition 2. is often used – that of scolding or correcting a person. While Elders in a church may have to correct a person spiritually, I find that more often they act per definition 1. and warn the congregation of potential dangers. This goes with the thoughts of verse 14.

Verse 13 asks us to be at peace. Do we disagree? That is okay. Do we quarrel? That is okay to a point. Do we fight constantly? Now I think we cross the line and stop living at peace.

Do we constantly nag one another? Do we weekly find something to complain about? I think these also cross the line as they preclude peace of mind in the church. How often do I find fault? Weekly? Monthly? Yearly? Is it so often that others don’t have peace of mind?

Now to verse 14, the one that caught my attention today. There is so much in these four simple exhortations or encouragements.

(1) Warn those who are lazy. Other versions  use the words disorderly, unruly, disruptive, idle. The sense is that a person is not doing what they should be doing (working for the Lord, working to support their family). Instead their inactivity disrupts the church. Warn these people. Let them know that bad consequences could come from their actions and lack of actions.

(2) Comfort the discouraged. On any day, there are discouraged people among us.  We will have our turn. Comfort rather than criticize. What if there discouragement lapses into long-term idleness? The previous phrase gives us the answer.

(3) Help the weak.

(4) Be patient with everyone.

Now this gets hard. We are to warn the lazy, but help the weak. How do we tell the difference? How much patience should we have as we comfort and help and warn? I don’t know the answer. These somewhat opposing phrases make this a hard teaching to swallow at times.

May God grant us wisdom and love as we work through these in our daily lives.

Micah 6:8 (New International Version)

He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

This is one of those verses that strike me as something I could use every day of my life. If I could just get these three things right, the rest would be alright.

[edit]

act justly
All my actions everyday should be just. I don’t cheat anyone – not just money but everything. I give people the time, love, and attention I should. That includes myself. I give myself what I should.

[edit]

love mercy
Loving mercy means two things to me at this time. (1) I love and appreciate the mercy God has shown me. I acknowledge it and thank God for it. (2) I love mercy so much that I spread it. God has given me plenty – more than I need – so I share the abundance that I have.

[edit]

walk humbly with God
This means I should be with God everyday. We should be walking together all the time. Then there is he concept of humility. Being with God is a powerful situation. Can I handle that power? Will it go to my head? Will I share the love and wonder of walking with God with others?

2 Kings 7:9 (New International Version)

9 Then they said to each other, “We’re not doing right. This is a day of good news and we are keeping it to ourselves.

Some background: The city was under siege and had been for months. People in the city were starving. Some lepers figured that they had nothing to lose, so they left the city and went out to see if the attacking army would feed them. The lepers found that the attacking army had gone, leaving behind food, clothing, and all sorts of valuables.

The lepers ate to their satisfaction, before realizing what is shown of verse 9 above. They had good news and they should be sharing it with others. They went back into the city and gladly told everyone of their good news.

Strange as it may seem, it is often hard to share good news with other people. Many people won’t accept good news.

“There is no free lunch.”

“That sounds too good to be true.”

and

“What’s the catch?”

Another thing that hinders people hearing good news is their past.

Some people have been hurt so bad that they cannot hear anything good.

The grammar in that statement isn’t exactly correct, but I have seen the statement in practice. Some people have been bruised and battered – not physically but emotionally and spiritually. People in their lives have been cruel to them to the point where they do not accept that someone would want to share good news.

What the lepers said thousands of years ago holds true today. As Christians we have good news, and it is not right for us not to share it.

2 Chronicles 19:11 (New International Version)

11 “Amariah the chief priest will be over you in any matter concerning the LORD, and Zebadiah son of Ishmael, the leader of the tribe of Judah, will be over you in any matter concerning the king, and the Levites will serve as officials before you. Act with courage, and may the LORD be with those who do well.”

In this verse, Jehoshaphat king of Judah has returned safely to his palace. He is appointing Judges to make decisions on contentious matters for the people. A daunting task for both Jehoshaphat and the Judges.

I focused on the phrase act with courage. The Judges were not to be afraid of their judgments. They were not to take them lightly, or as a joke. But, they were not to be so mesmerized by the seriousness of the task that they could not decide.

In my profession, this is called analysis paralysis. The tendency to think about something so long and so hard that judgment never comes or is delayed to a time when it is meaningless.

There is a place for delaying decisions to the proper time.

There is a place for deciding today. Sometimes – many times – that takes courage, the courage to act.

Psalm 17:3 (New International Version)

3 Though you probe my heart and examine me at night,
though you test me, you will find nothing;
I have resolved that my mouth will not sin.

I’ve never been one for New Year’s resolutions. It just seemed like another day to me.

I’ve never been one for resolutions. They just seemed like declaring something that I should be doing anyways, so why declare or resolve? Just do it.

But this verse struck me when I read it recently (sometime in January 2008). Perhaps because my mouth has brought me trouble in the past. Not so much a coarse or foul mouth, but I have said things that I regretted later, things that hurt other people instead of encouraged them.

I like this verse. It is one that I will try to remember and to live. My prayer is that

my mouth will not sin.