Contemplative Bible Reading

Jeremiah 40:2-3 (New Living Translation)

2 The captain of the guard (Nebuzaradan) called for Jeremiah and said, “The Lord your God has brought this disaster on this land, 3 just as he said he would. For these people have sinned against the Lord and disobeyed him. That is why it happened.

The Babylonians have captured Jerusalem. The people of God are completely conquered. The captain of the guard comes to a set of prisoners (there were thousands of prisoners) to find the prophet Jeremiah.

Note the words from the person who does not belong to God’s people and does not worship God. The captain of the guard knows what prophets have relayed to the people from God. He knows how the people responded to these words of God.

All this Godly wisdom from someone else. You don’t have to be a follower of God to know about God. God’s work is evident to all. And then believe. Did this captain of the guard believe or come to believe? We aren’t told here. The captain of the guard gives honor to Jeremiah and offers to bring him to Babylon and take care of him.

God, help me to learn from this outsider.

Isaiah 40:13-14 (New Living Translation)

13 Who is able to advise the Spirit of the Lord?
Who knows enough to give him advice or teach him?
14 Has the Lord ever needed anyone’s advice?
Does he need instruction about what is good?
Did someone teach him what is right
or show him the path of justice?

Take the first phrase of verse 13. Etch it in stone and put it as the cornerstone of your house Do houses have cornerstones? They should, and this should be the cornerstone.

I give the above advise to really smart people (like me). Smart? Yes. Smart enough to give God advise? No. And some day I really need to remember that.

And then we come to questions of “ethics.” God knows right from wrong. God knows justice.

Can you imagine what God thinks of our 21st-century ethics and what our society calls “right” and “wrong?” Gosh.

God, thank you for providing me a book containing wisdom and ethics.

Nehemiah 6:12 (New Living Translation)

12 I realized that God had not spoken to him, but that he had uttered this prophecy against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him.

Nehemiah is writing these words. Nehemiah and the people have finished rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem, but there is still more work to complete. Tobiah and Sanballat are enemies of the people and they are aghast that Nehemiah and the people have accomplished what they have. They are resorting to everything they can to frustrate Nehemiah.

Nehemiah goes to Shemaiah, who is a close friend and a man close to God. Shemaiah wants Nehemiah to have a special meeting in the Temple. They will lock the doors to be safe from Nehemiah’s enemies. Shemaiah tells Nehemiah that if he doesn’t hide in the temple, Nehemiah will be assassinated.

Nehemiah doesn’t agree. These words from a prophet are not from God. God is not speaking; money is speaking. Money in Shemaiah’s pocket from Tobiah and Sanballat.

Words from Godly persons are not always from God. Words from a friend who is close to God are not always from God. It is difficult to decide which is which and to whom to listen. Prayers and meditation are recommended. I need to listen to my recommendations.

Ezra 9:3-4 (New Living Translation)

3 When I heard this, I tore my cloak and my shirt, pulled hair from my head and beard, and sat down utterly shocked. 4 Then all who trembled at the words of the God of Israel came and sat with me because of this outrage committed by the returned exiles. And I sat there utterly appalled until the time of the evening sacrifice.

This describes a football fan after a referee makes a call that costs a game in the last minute. Pull your hair. Pull your beard. Sit in shock. Be utterly appalled all night.

This, however, is not football. This is disobeying God. The “sin” word comes to mind. Ezra has returned to Jerusalem for the great rebuilding project. He learns that the men from the people chosen by God have been marrying women from other peoples. Of all things, wandering down the street, ignoring woman from your own people, and … the rest is history.

Still, when was the last time I was shocked by sin and sat appalled for days, hours, or even five minutes? Why not? Am I just too accustomed to sin that it doesn’t shock me? Am I so expectant of God’s grace that I know it will be okay? Am I just too tired to “get worked up” over things? Is football and other things that are right in front of me too big in my life?

Lots of questions. Perhaps the answer is that I need God’s help. Same answer as yesterday; same answer tomorrow. God, thank you for everything. Please God, help me in my unbelief.

John 11:25 (New Living Translation)

Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying.

Jesus is speaking to Martha. This is part of the (hi)story of the death of Lazarus and when Jesus raised him after being dead four days.

While consoling Martha and before raising Lazarus, Jesus says the above almost as an aside. It was something like, “The sun will come up tomorrow.” Yet, it was one of the more profound statements ever made.

Belief in Jesus as the Christ, sent from God to take away the sins of mankind forever, means life. And this means life even after our physical body dies in this physical world.

I grew up going to church. I grew up hearing of heaven and everlasting life in heaven. It was a fact of life just as the sun rising tomorrow. Of course I took it for granted without thinking. Stop that now. Think. Consider the miracle that Jesus tells in this statement. Dying in this physical world is rough. It is really rough on those left behind to carry on without the dead. Dying in this physical world, however, is not the end. For those who believe in Jesus, they will live even after death.

That is simple. That is too much for me to understand. Yet, Jesus says it here in simple language. Please God, help me in my unbelief.

Mark 11:25 (New Living Translation)

25 But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too.

Jesus taught the followers how to pray. Here, Jesus is talking to them about the power of prayer with an example of throwing a mountain into a sea. Jesus tosses in this little thing first. Perhaps I can just ignore this one about grudges and such and pray faithfully.

Nope. Wrong, Here it is in black and white or whatever color your computer screen or iPhone shows this, “First forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against.”

Grudges? Me? Yes, me. Lots of ’em. There must be something amiss in the translation. Forgive grudges as the first step in prayer?

In other places, the Bible mentions “a clean heart” and “a pure heart.” Grudges are in the heart or the seat of emotion. If I have grudges, wait, fix that, WHEN I have grudges, they soil me heart. I have to sweep them out with the broom of forgiveness. Hmm, I like that phrase, “The broom of forgiveness.” Let’s see if I can use that broom instead of just liking the phrase.

I need to forgive and rid my heart of grudges. Please God, help me in my unbelief.

Luke 2:8-14 (King James Version)

The most-heard sermon of all time was delivered by an 8-year-old boy voicing a cartoon in 1965. Christopher Shea spoke the words below in A Charlie Brown Christmas. That sermon has been heard by millions or hundreds of millions of persons in the sixty years since. It isn’t a long sermon. It is a profound sermon about God coming to man to set men free from sin and death.

Here is the sermon:

8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.

12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

Matthew 11:20 (New Living Translation)

20 Then Jesus began to denounce the towns where he had done so many of his miracles, because they hadn’t repented of their sins and turned to God.

Folks don’t like this verse. I don’t “like” this verse and the ensuing discourse from Jesus. Jesus denounced people for not repenting and turning to God. These people had seen miracles performed by Jesus. There was no doubt. This was not trickery or hearsay or any type of trick photography or deepfake or the like.

There was no doubt and no repentance. “Good riddance to these people,” was pretty much what Jesus said.

But what about… Nope. But what about… Nope to that as well. Jesus denounced them. Jesus publicly declared their wrong actions.

Were these people dammed? No. They still could repent. Were these people hopeless? No. They still had a chance to believe and hope in Jesus. So why did Jesus… Why not? Jesus spoke the truth. Jesus truthfully described what happened. But wasn’t that sort of mean of Jesus to… “Mean” is a subjective term. The Bible says much about discipline and teaching. Jesus was disciplining and teaching.

Sometimes I don’t like what I read about Jesus. Sometimes I am just flat out wrong. Please God, help me in my unbelief.

2 Chronicles 14:12-13 (New English Translation)

12 The Lord struck down the Cushites before Asa and Judah. The Cushites fled, 13 and Asa and his army chased them as far as Gerar. The Cushites were wiped out; they were shattered before the Lord and his army. The men of Judah carried off a huge amount of plunder.

This is part of the (hi)story of Asa, King of Judah. Asa had raised an army of 580,000 men. That makes it a little larger than the United States Army of 2023. That is a large army in times when just feeding such a bunch was a great feat.

Asa faced an invading force from Ethiopia (called Cush and the Cushites in the above verses). The Ethiopian army totaled 1,000,000 (a million) men. That is a really big bunch of mouths to feed as they walk from Ethiopia up to the land of Judah.

Asa’s response? Prayer, “Help us, O Lord our God, for we rely on you and have marched on your behalf against this huge army.”

The result? Asa’s generals and men defeated… NOPE, “The Lord struck down the Cushites before Asa and Judah.”

The victory belonged to Jehovah God, the Creator. Different English translation use different words to describe the result. The translation quoted above indicates that all million of the invaders died or were rendered helpless.

In a practical matter, what do you do with all the dead bodies? In a spiritual matter, how do you praise and thank God for deliverance?

Translate to me today? How do I thank God for rescuing me, a pitiful little sinner with more problems that I can count yet having more blessings than I can count? That pretty much describes my life. Pitiful yet blessed.

Job 36:2 (New Living Translation)

Let me go on, and I will show you the truth.
For I have not finished defending God!

This is part of the back-and-forth among Job and his close friends as they discuss the plight of Job and his misery. And, let’s not forget, Job had been struck with big calamities. And, let’s not forget, Job’s friends were friends. While some of their arguments and advice were poor, they were present when Job needed someone to be present. They sat around a cold camp fire with him for a week.

Elihu is speaking now. Part of this monologue is his attempts to defend God and God’s actions toward Job.

Let’s pause a moment to consider the “defending God” part. Does God need Elihu, me, or any other well-meaning person’s defense? Uh, well, gosh, nope, not at all.

If I am defending God, I am helping God, and God needs my help because I am superior to God, and … I think we are going in the wrong direction here. This train of thought shows that perhaps I am not thinking at all.

And perhaps that is what had stricken Job and his friends as well. Disasters, like those that struck Job, jumble our emotions and cloud our thinking. None of the folks in this long conversation were emotionally stable and thinking clearly. That, more than anything else, explains to me why such bad advice and responses were going back and forth.

Fatigue wins in this weak, imperfect physical world in which we live in physical bodies. It’s just too much for us. We should nap more and talk less. I guess that is the point of this little blog post. Rest before work. Recreation, recreating with the energy given us by God, before deep discussion. We as Christians, have much to share with an unbelieving world. Let’s try to share the best of rest, not the fatigue.