Daily Scripture Meditation

In reading through the Old Testament, particularly the books of 1st and 2nd Samuel, 1st and 2nd Kings, and 1st and 2nd Chronicles; one of the first things we notice is that there is a constant fluctuation between the worship of God and the worship of idols in Israel. In many cases this change took place in rather extreme ways within a single generation. One minute there would be a good king and the people would pursue God and then the next minute that leader would be gone and it would be right back to idolatry. Now obviously we know that God preserved for himself a remnant of those who were faithful to Him (1st Kings 19:18 for example0, but have you ever wondered why the people were so quick to switch back and forth between the worship of God and the worship of idols?

2 Chronicles 15:3-4 provides an explanation that has some important truth for us today as well.

“For a long time Israel has been without the true God, without a teaching priest, and without law; but when in their trouble they turned to The Lord God of Israel, and sought Him, He was found by them.”

Like most people, Israel turned back to God when the futility of their idolatry became clear and they had no where else to turn; and God, being gracious and abounding in mercy, responded to their repentance and prayer. That they had a long tradition of idolatrous ways (as does all post-Eden humanity) partially explains there constant back and forth, but the 2nd half of verse 3 shines some additional light on the subject. They had been a long time without a teaching priest and without law.

When the law departs from a people, when the priests fail to keep in constantly before them. They have no solid foundation on which to resist idolatry and wicked behavior. There commitment to The Lord is based on emotion, and upon what they need to receive from The Lord in that hour. When a political or cultural leader stands as the driving force to follow God, then they will. When that leader is gone, they won’t anymore. Without the sound teaching of scripture to provide a moral backbone, nations flounder in idolatry and sin.

We live in a day and age where idolatry is running rampant. Obviously we don’t put our trust in little statues of made up gods anymore, but instead we have turned to insurance policies, to political leaders, to economic systems, to money, television, and others. In the midst of all this idolatry, the Church, the “kingdom of priests” has allowed herself to be silenced by the need for “tolerance”. In an age of moral relativism, holding forth a bright light of absolute truth, right and wrong, is unpopular. People are more comfortable lurking in the gray haze of “it doesn’t really matter”, “don’t judge”, and “no one is really right”.

If this is allowed to continue that the pattern from Scripture is clear, we will see a back and forth vacillation between worship of God and worship of idols based solely on emotion. As that vacillation continues idolatry will become worse, up until the point that God chooses to pour out His wrath on our nation and punish the idolatry for the sake of His name, which on our account is now slandered among the nations. Ultimately responsibility for this will fall on the Church in this nation for failing to hold up the Scriptural commands as absolute and essential.

If you don’t want the blood of others on your hands, then don’t participate in this deliberate watering down of Scripture. Cling to the whole Word and beg others to do so as well.

A Meditation On Springtime

The leaves are coming in on the fig trees as the warm spring sunshine lights upon them.

Every aspect of creation,
Each and every day,
Radiates with its own song to the creator,
It possesses a glory all its own,
And aims it at the hand that placed,
The dew upon the grass,
The leaves on the trees in spring,
The rose upon the stem,
And the murmur in the stream.

One hand has shaped,
For all mankind to see,
The world we live and walk in,
Full of grace and beauty,
The early morning song of the birds,
Is a song of love and praise,
And the wind takes up the call,
And the sun sends dancing rays,
All this for the only loving King.

Walk outside the world of men,
The concrete monuments to our own glory,
For our cities are like Babel,
Built to glorify ourselves,
We have become disconnected,
From the ties that make us human,
When we lost our connection to creation,
We lost our connection to ourselves,
For apart from the image we are made in,
We cannot be.

Turn your back to things of this world,
If only for a moment,
Listen again to that ancient song,
And join in the harmony,
Contemplate the dawn,
And the moonlight on the waterers,
Ponder the stars anew,
Find the place reserved for you,
In the ancient dance of praise,
Each day has its own glory,
Will you add or subtract from it?

Daily Scripture Meditation

1 Samuel 17: 45-47 NKJV “Then David said to the Philistine [Goliath], “You come to me with a a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of The Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel whom you have defied. This day The Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. Then all this assembly shall know that The Lord does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is Lord’s and He will give you into our hands.”

Frequently when we teach these Old Testament Bible stories, especially to children, we miss the most important part of the story. This story in particular is often used to demonstrate that God is with us or that we should have courage in facing adversity. While all of these things are true, they miss the biggest point.

David did not go after Goliath because Israel needed to be rescued, he went after Goliath because he perceived Goliath’s challenge as an affront and reproach against the name and glory of God. This zeal for the name and glory of God caused David to face down Goliath with total confidence that The Lord would deliver him into his hands, as is clear from David’s words just before he attacks Goliath.

Not only is David concerned about God’s reputation, but specifically he is concerned about God’s reputation to all the nations of the earth in demonstrating His power to save His people. The story isn’t just about God saving His people from an oppressor, it is about God’s name being glorified to the ends of the earth, which is ultimately what all of scripture is about.

The entire Bible is about God’s glory and salvation being proclaimed to all nations of the earth, make sure you don’t miss it. Look for this, the underlying theme of the whole Bible, in each and every passage you read and ask yourself two questions: 1. How does this story or teaching fit in with the big picture of God’s glory and worship going forth to every tribe, tongue, and nation? 2. What does this passage teach about my role in causing God’s glory and worship to go forth to every tribe, tongue, and nation?

Are you like David? Would you have taken an affront to God’s name and reputation seriously enough to go to battle with a giant? Or are you more worried about giving offense to the culture around you?