Contemplative Bible Reading

Genesis 35:5-6 (New Living Translation)

4 So they gave Jacob all their pagan idols and earrings, and he buried them under the great tree near Shechem. 5 As they set out, a terror from God spread over the people in all the towns of that area, so no one attacked Jacob’s family.

This is part of the (hi)story of the travels of Jacob. At this point, Jacob gathers all the idols in their many forms and buries them. He leave them behind. This is quite a buried treasure for someone to find.

After that, Jacob and his great family sets out on a journey through hostile territory. No reason to fear, for God spreads a terror over all the people in that area. The people were so terrified that no one attacked Jacob’s family.

Note, because they were travelling, lived in tents, and made camp every night, the had no defensive positions. They had no walls or strong buildings in which to sit and defend themselves. They were exposed at all times. They were “easy pickings” for those who would harm them and steal their possessions.

Yet, none of that happened. God’s terror kept everyone away. Maybe we don’t call it a “terror” these days, but I believe God does this today. God causes people who have the power to attack, kill, and steal to not do those those things. Some people travel safely through unsafe territories. There is no natural explanation for such. It is the supernatural work of God in the lives of people. Even those, and especially those, people who have no regard for God.

Genesis 28:16-17 (New Living Translation)

16 Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I wasn’t even aware of it!” 17 But he was also afraid and said, “What an awesome place this is! It is none other than the house of God, the very gateway to heaven!”

The is part of the (hi)story of Jacob and his journey to find a wife. Jacob camps for the night at a place called Bethel. Those who study the geography of the time feel Bethel is just north of Jerusalem. Jacob dreams of a stairway to heaven with Jehovah God standing at the top of the stairway and speaking to him.

The verses above discuss what happens to Jacob when he awakes in the morning. There is much in a couple of sentences. I would expect no less from a person who just had such a dream—imagine speaking with God in a dream.

Jacob calls this place, Bethel, “the house of God, the very gateway to heaven.”

Consider this literally. There is a place named Bethel that is the gateway to heaven. You can enter heaven at that place by walking up a stairway. Surely this is all fantasy, the stuff of dreams and such. But is it? Is there a place where I can open the gate and climb the stairs to heaven.

The text God has given us is an amazing one. There is so much in it that I do not understand. Perhaps one day. Praise be to God.

Luke 24:2-4 (New Living Translation)

2 There was a man there whose arms and legs were swollen. 3 Jesus asked the Pharisees and experts in religious law, “Is it permitted in the law to heal people on the Sabbath day, or not?” 4 When they refused to answer, Jesus touched the sick man and healed him and sent him away.

Here is an example of how Jesus often taught. First was the test or the exam. After that, came the lectures or talks. We mostly do this the other way around in our education system. Perhaps we are backwards?

It is the Sabbath and Jesus is at a dinner. A horribly sick person was sat next to Jesus. This person looked awful. Really. If this person were in the coffee shop I am in now as I type these words, people would move away and leave the place.

It was no accident that such an unsightly and unhealthy person was placed next to Jesus on the Sabbath day. This was a trap.

Jesus healed the person. What a wonderful blessing.

The next sentences contain the lecture. They are about humility and serving those who are lesser than myself. That is what Jesus did. He stooped down and served the sick person.

Jesus goes on to talk about not putting yourself in a seat of honor. Instead, take the lower seat like a servant. Invite the poor to your banquet. The rich can pay you back, the poor cannot. Just as the sick person could not pay Jesus for the miracle.

Jesus continues the lecture with a story about a banquet. The rich passed. The banquet holder invited the poor. Stoop down. Serve the poor.

It is all about serving those whom society disdains. It is all about love and service.

Okay, I got it. Uh, do I do it? Not well enough. Please God, help me in my unbelief.

Genesis 27:27-29 (New Living Translation)

27 So Jacob went over and kissed him. And when Isaac caught the smell of his clothes, he was finally convinced, and he blessed his son. He said, “Ah! The smell of my son is like the smell of the outdoors, which the Lord has blessed!

28 “From the dew of heaven
and the richness of the earth,
may God always give you abundant harvests of grain
and bountiful new wine.
29 May many nations become your servants,
and may they bow down to you.
May you be the master over your brothers,
and may your mother’s sons bow down to you.
All who curse you will be cursed,
and all who bless you will be blessed.”

These are the words Jacob spoke to bless his younger son Isaac instead of his older son Esau. Seems pretty simple. Who would get all riled up over these words? Yet, Isaac and his mother lied, cheated, and stole to receive these words (more on that some other day).

These words, however, meant something. Words used to mean something to some people in some places. People listened and took words to heart. People changed their lives by hearing words. It was simple yet profound.

Take a lesson from this? Look at a person, pause, breathe, think, and say a few words like, “You are created by God and put in this place at this time for a reason. May God guide you and bless you. May you listen to God and bless others with the blessings of God.”

Genesis 22:18 (New Living Translation)

18 And through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed—all because you have obeyed me.

An angel is talking to Abraham. Abraham had just followed God’s instructions to take his miracle son Isaac to a remote place and literally sacrifice the boy. Abraham showed faith—showed that he could live by believing things he could not see and that belief led him to obey God.

One result of Abraham’s obedience is stated above by the angel: Abraham’s descendants would bless all the nations of the earth. Huh? How? What?

Through twists, turns, victory, defeat, exile, return, being conquered and occupied, kicked to the dust, raised to glory, and all that stuff, the savior of mankind would come through Abraham’s descendants. That savior would not come at a peak of glory, but during a time of when the people were dominated by an occupying and evil-filled empire. And that savior would do nothing to the empire.

That savior, however, would save mankind from its disobedience. The great obedience of an old man on a desolate hillside with no human witnesses would lead to the cure of all disobedience of all time. Thanks be to God.

Deuteronomy 30:6 (New Living Translation)

6 “The Lord your God will change your heart and the hearts of all your descendants, so that you will love him with all your heart and soul and so you may live!

Jehovah God is talking to the people about the laws and the results of obedience and disobedience. There are many ways to describe this sentence.

One thing to note is that God can change the hearts of people today and for generations to follow. God can arrange people so that they love one another instead of hate one another. God can arrange people to love books more than television or taking walks more than playing football or… well, whatever. And I wonder, “Who cares about books and television and walking and football?”

Those are little things that don’t matter. Yes, they are little things and no, they do matter. Human history is full of little things that had influence far greater than can be explained. Some college student put a book of faces on a website so that students could giggle and judge appearances. Silly college stunt. Oh, that became that gazillion dollar thing called Facebook. Did God cause our hearts to love that? Maybe not, but it is one of those silly little things that had far greater influence than it should have.

Back to God changing hearts. The decision to love, hate, or ignore is odd. I don’t understand it. Why would anyone love macaroni and cheese? (I don’t) Why would one group of people cling to the Bible, read it daily, and find guidance in an old book like that? What pricked their hearts? I guess the question is, “Who pricked their hearts?” Perhaps it was God who changed their hearts. That happens from time to time and place to place.

Deuteronomy 28:20 (New Living Translation)

20 The Lord himself will send on you curses, confusion, and frustration in everything you do, until at last you are completely destroyed for doing evil and abandoning me.

God is warning the people through Moses. There are curses to come for those who disobey the law God has decreed. The above sentence is from a summary of the curses. Note how confusion and frustration are right up their with curses. Confusion is pretty important.

Can’t think straight? Can’t quite seem to “get it?” Something is wrong, but you can’t “put your finger on it?” Confusion.

Our society talks much about mental illness these days. Is that another term for confusion? I don’t want to imply that mental illness is a punishment for sin. There are many of us on many days when confusion reigns. I hate those days. I live in a sin-filled world. Confusion often replaces clarity. The greater accomplishments of mankind are often thwarted by confusion. Any wonder why?

Deuteronomy 13:10 (New Living Translation)

10 Stone the guilty ones to death because they have tried to draw you away from the Lord your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of slavery.

Moses is passing the law from God to the people. Earlier, Moses warned of people who would say, “Come, let us worship other gods.” In other words, let’s worship rocks and sticks and rivers and mountains and such. Let’s worship idols. They aren’t real, they have no power, but they have appeal to those who want to assign supernatural power to just about anything.

What to do with such idolators? Stone the guilty ones to death. Put them in the middle of a circle. Everyone surrounding them would throw rocks at them until they died. This was cruel and unusual punishment done in public with the complete participation of the public. This was horrible. This was a punishment and a warning to anyone else who might do likewise.

Serious? You’re darn right it is serious. God didn’t want the people worship sticks and stones and stuff. I often hear people today talking about “worshiping money” or “worshiping jobs” and such. I disagree with describing a preference for some things as idolatry. Idolatry was serious. The punishment was serious.

Romans 8:10 (New Living Translation)

10 And Christ lives within you, so even though your body will die because of sin, the Spirit gives you life because you have been made right with God.

Why does a human body die? I have heard medical doctors say that they really don’t know a reason. I have hear from people who study aging, and they are unsure of why the human body ages to death.

Oh, here is the answer: your body will die because of sin.

It seems that I used to hear this type of thing said at funerals of my childhood. Nowadays, funerals are “celebrations of life” and such. No slight on these celebrations, but it is easy to forget that we die because of sin. Because of my sin or sin in general? Probably, yes to both.

This isn’t positive, is it? I mean, sort of a sad statement to make on a sad day, a funeral. Well, so be it. Our bodies age and die because of sin.

Numbers 16:12-13 (New Living Translation)

12 Then Moses summoned Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, but they replied, “We refuse to come before you! 13 Isn’t it enough that you brought us out of Egypt, a land flowing with milk and honey, to kill us here in this wilderness, and that you now treat us like your subjects?

This is yet another story during the time in the exodus that some of the people griped, grumbled, and rebelled against Moses and God. Moses, trying humbly to quiet the grumbling, calls for some of the grumblimg to meet him. The grumblers refused the invitation.

On top of everything, the grumblers called Egypt, “a land flowing with milk and honey.”

I have read some commentators say that this was sarcasm. Egypt did not flow with milk and honey. The grumblers used these words as that is what they heard about the land promised to them.

I find no reason to conclude it is sarcasm. I think they remembered Egypt as a good land. Perhaps they were treated harshly, but the land itself was a good place for agriculture. Is there any reason to believe that the promised land was the only good land on earth?

“Let us go back,” was the cry to Moses. I don’t find anyone stopping them. But if you are a grumbler, you don’t have to act rationally.