Contemplative Bible Reading

Ecclesiastes 8:17 (New Living Translation)

17 I realized that no one can discover everything God is doing under the sun. Not even the wisest people discover everything, no matter what they claim.

There is much about God that I do not understand. That is part of God being God and me not being God. Why doesn’t God heal this person? Why doesn’t God cause a leader’s heart to end a war? It is a blessing that God gives us the mind to have these questions (another topic for another day).

And here we have it right in front of us in an ancient text. No one can discover everything God is doing here on earth. “No one” excludes me, too.

But I am a good guy. I am a good Christian. Surely, God will reveal to me… Nope. God will reveal to me some things. God will reveal to me the things I can handle rightly. God will withhold those things that are just too much for me. And God will choose correctly, no matter how much that frustrates me.

Please God, help me in my unbelief.

Genesis 30:27-28 (Christian Standard Bible)

27 But Laban said to him, “If I have found favor with you, stay. I have learned by divination that the Lord has blessed me because of you.” 28 Then Laban said, “Name your wages, and I will pay them.”

This is part of the (hi)story of Jacob as he lived in the land of his father-in-law Laban. Jacob wants to take his wives—the two daughters of Laban—his children, and all his livestock (worth lots of money), and return to the land of his birth. Laban is resistant to Jacob leaving.

The text tells us that Laban realizes that he has been blessed by Jehovah—the God of the family of Abraham. The source of this realization is divination. This is obtaining knowledge by supernatural means. In this case, somehow God told Laban. And Laban recognized that it was God telling him this. (Some English translations omit the phrase “learned by divination.”)

Laban is not in the line of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Still, God spoke to Laban in some way. Still, Laban recognized that it was God.

At sometimes in some circumstances God speaks directly to some people. I believe that happened in biblical times and I believe it still happens today. That is right in front of us in the Bible. If someone tells me, “I got a message from God.” I should not deny that. Whether I accept it fully is another matter, but it could be true. If the “message from God” contradicts what the Bible clearly teaches, I don’t accept it. Let’s keep open hearts and minds and listen to the heartfelt experiences of others.

It was miraculous that God spoke to Laban. It was miraculous that Laban recognized the message from God. I was a good thing for Laban that he listened.

Proverbs 6:12-13 (New Living Translation)

12 What are worthless and wicked people like?
They are constant liars,
13 signaling their deceit with a wink of the eye,
a nudge of the foot, or the wiggle of fingers.

Yikes! Here is a description of worthless and wicked people. First and foremost, they are constant liars. For some reason, they can’t tell the truth. Why not? I suppose there are a thousand reasons for each lie told by each “worthless and wicked” person. I don’t understand all the reasons.

Let’s simply start with, “You can tell the truth.”

We use the phrase, “I’ll be honest with you…” when we mean something like, “I’ll be candid with you.” I usually don’t explain all there is about this to people, but I will try to explain it to you. What is happening behind the scenes is such and such. This causes us to do such and such and that appears to be some other thing. So, out of fear or embarrassment or (and here is where all the thousand reasons appear), we don’t quite tell the truth.

Well, we can tell the truth. Let’s just do that. Let’s not be confused with “worthless and wicked” persons. Tell the truth. “This is what is happening. We mean well and our results don’t always match our intentions. Please be patient with us.”

Genesis 18:18-19 (New Living Translation)

18 “For Abraham will certainly become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed through him. 19 I have singled him out so that he will direct his sons and their families to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just. Then I will do for Abraham all that I have promised.”

As a child, I often heard the phrase, “God’s chosen people.” This referred to how God chose Abraham’s descendants or Israel (another name for Abraham’s grandson Jacob) for a special purpose. The special purpose from Abraham’s descendants is stated simply in these verses:

…keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just.

God gave “the way of the Lord” directly to Abraham on Mt. Sinai. Do these things (paraphrasing God, which is often done with peril) and you will be doing what is right and just. The world needs an example of what is right and just. And God chose Abraham’s family to show everyone what is right and just.

History shows that there are plenty of folks who don’t like “right and just.” They prefer other things. That hasn’t changed much. I have been blessed in that there were always plenty of folks around me who knew what was right and just and attempted to do that in their lives. Many of these folks failed on many days, but they attempted to do right and just. I have failed on many days, but I am attempting to do right and just.

Please God, help me in my unbelief.

1 Samuel 16:14 (New Living Translation)

14 Now the Spirit of the Lord had left Saul, and the Lord sent a tormenting spirit that filled him with depression and fear.

Here is the moment when King Saul’s life led to God favoring David instead. This is a horrible tragedy in the life of King Saul.

First, the Spirit of the LORD leaves Saul. Horrible. What a cavity that leaves in a person.

Second, the LORD sends a tormenting spirit in to Saul. Many translations use the words “evil spirit” in this place. I like “tormenting spirit” as that tells me the result of this spirit. Saul is tormented day and night. How awful.

This spirit fills Saul with depression and fear. Let us not extend this too far. I know persons today who are diagnosed with depression. They are not happy. Are they tormented by a spirit sent from God? I don’t know, but I should not assume they are.

Let us return to Saul. His life is miserable from this moment forward. His life ends on the battlefield as he literally falls on his own sword. Helpless. Hopeless. Tormented.

And this came from God. God torments persons? Why? This is life when we turn away from God—when we reject God. Instead of God living in us, we have a void, a cavity or canyon in our center. I don’t understand how all that works. I see that it is horrible. I see it in persons around me.

Please God, allow each person to permit Your spirit into their lives. Keep us from the torment suffered by Saul.

Genesis 18:13-15 (New Living Translation)

13 Then the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh? Why did she say, ‘Can an old woman like me have a baby?’ 14 Is anything too hard for the Lord? I will return about this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.”

15 Sarah was afraid, so she denied it, saying, “I didn’t laugh.”

But the Lord said, “No, you did laugh.”

God is chatting with Abraham and his wife Sarah. Let that sink in for a moment before reading further.

Abraham and Sarah are old—90+ years old. God tells them that Sarah will have a baby this year. Understandably, Sarah laughs or scoffs at this idea.

God asks, “Why did Sarah laugh? Why did Sarah doubt the power of God to produce a baby?”

Sarah denies her understandable, perfectly reasonably laugh. I mean, how many times have you seen a 90-year-old woman have a baby? Well, they are talking to God, and we know what God can do or at least we think we can imagine what God can do.

Now we go back to consider this. Abraham and Sarah are chatting with God. They are talking directly to God. Really? How often does that happen? And Sarah thinks she can hide her laugh from God. Hide her laugh from God? Really? Where did she get that idea? Her reaction to God’s promise is reasonable. Her reaction to God’s knowledge of her laugh is just plain silly. She flips from reason to silliness in a second.

Sigh. We can shake our heads at Sarah. How could she possibly think she can hide her laugh from God? God knows all. Especially here where God is right in front of them.

And yet, I think I can limit what God knows about me. I think God only knows what I tell God directly. How silly is that? How foolish is that? I can tell God, “I didn’t laugh. I didn’t do that or this or some other thing.”

Oh foolish me. Please God, help me in my unbelief.

Psalm 24:3-6 (New Living Translation)

3 Who may climb the mountain of the Lord?
Who may stand in his holy place?
4 Only those whose hands and hearts are pure,
who do not worship idols
and never tell lies.
5 They will receive the Lord’s blessing
and have a right relationship with God their savior.
6 Such people may seek you
and worship in your presence, O God of Jacob.

There are many things in this section of a Psalm. Who may stand in the presence of God in His holy place? Those with

1. pure hands and hearts,
2. who do not worship idols, and
3. who never tell lies.

Okay…well, wait. How did number 3. get in the list? Okay, I don’t lie. Well, I guess we have to decide what counts as a lie. I mean I don’t tell everyone everything. That would take a lot of time, so I kind of combine events and people and all to make the point and… That’s just exaggerating or “fibbing” or something, right?

Sigh. “Never tell lies.” I guess that is pretty clear. I don’t need to fiddle around here and find ways to make it into something complicated and nuanced or whatever.

Simply tell the truth. Okay, I can summarize things and ask the other person if they want me to go into all the details. Let’s be honest. Let’s be clear. Let’s keep our hearts pure and live in the presence of God.

Job 17:3 (New Living Translation)

You must defend my innocence, O God,
since no one else will stand up for me.

Job is speaking to his friends. He is literally sick and tired of it all. He is frustrated, but what he says is often correct.

“Please God,” cries Job. “God alone cares for those who follow God. Please take care of me.”

When it all boils down to nothing but what is left at the bottom of the pan when all the water boils away, God is the source of all I have. I look to God, not to myself or my friends and family. I look to God. Please God, defend me. Please God, help me. Please God, help me to understand that you are here with me. I am not alone. Everything may be bad, but I can lean on you for whatever it is I need. And what I need may be just one more breath or just one more beat of my heart. Then we move on to something else.

That wasn’t easy for Job to say in his circumstances. That isn’t easy for each of us to say in our circumstances here and there, now and then. Still, it is true. Still, we pray that God gives us the wherewithal to call on God when we struggle with life and our own unbelief.

Job 1:18-19 (New Living Translation)

18 While he was still speaking, another messenger arrived with this news: “Your sons and daughters were feasting in their oldest brother’s home. 19 Suddenly, a powerful wind swept in from the wilderness and hit the house on all sides. The house collapsed, and all your children are dead. I am the only one who escaped to tell you.”

This is from early in the (hi)story of Job. Satan is taking away all the wonderful things God gave to Job—with God’s permission. One calamity after another occurs. Here, a messenger arrives and tells Job how all his children are killed in a wind storm.

The wind hit the house on all sides and it collapsed on Job’s children.

Consider the quickly rising waters of the tidal surge in a hurricane. There is no water in the house, but water is pressing against all sides from the outside. It appears that the house implodes from the force of a vacuum, but it is merely crushed by the weight of water on all sides.

The same thing happened here from the wind storm. But how does wind hit a house from all sides all at once? How do we have storm winds from the north, south, east, and west all at the same time? That doesn’t happen. That was a dastardly miracle—a supernatural act performed by Satan.

Let us dislike Satan. Let us also fear Satan.

I don’t like this lesson—Satan has supernatural powers. Satan can do things that go beyond the physical laws of nature. Let us understand and fear that. In our post-post-post modern world, let us acknowledge that there are things we cannot explain with the physical laws of nature. Miracles from God bless us. Supernatural acts by Satan curse us.

Ephesians 1:18 (New Living Translation)

I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance.

Paul is writing a letter to Christians in Ephesus. Paul describes his prayers for those Christians.

• Turn on the lights! (the really bright LED lights that are so bright you can’t look at them)
• Enlighten the hearts
• Bring understanding (not how Paul always seems to tie feeling of the heart with understanding of the brain)

God has given the believers a confident hope. Hoping is different from wishing. I wish for tasty banana splits that have zero calories. I won’t ever get those. I hope for warm weather in June. I have an expectation of that. Hope means a desire with an expectation.

God gives us a confident hope. We want to know God. We hope to know God. God tells us that, “Yes, you will know me.”

There are few “ifs,” “ands,” or “buts.” Seek God. We will know Him. What a great promise.