Matthew 10, 11 & 12

My mind is a jumble today, so I'm having trouble forming coherent thoughts. However, one thing that stuck out to me was this: When Jesus was talking about John the Baptist, among many other things he says that John "did not come eating and drinking, and they said he had a demon. The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they called him a glutton and a drunkard."

First of all, now Scriptural validation for my pet saying, "No matter what you do, there's always someone ready and willing to tell you you're doing it wrong."

But secondly, I know there's a whole contentious school of thought about whether or not Jesus drank actual wine or just grape juice. I was raised by juicers, but how could anyone have accused Jesus of being a "drunkard" if he only ever drank plain old grape juice? I do know people who think you're a drunkard even if you only have a glass of champagne to celebrate the New Year. It doesn't take becoming drunk to make legalists think you're an alcoholic. Jesus wouldn't have had to do more than socially nurse a goblet of wine at a wedding to set their tongues wagging.

Just my random thoughts for the day powered by pure caffeine. I'd probably do better if I had some protein before I did these. And now we're off-topic.

Isaiah 10, 11 & 12

The thing that stood out most to me is the beginning of chapter 10, where it says woe to those who enact crooked laws and pass oppressive statutes. All I can think about is first, how this is an election year, and second, how many people still to this day thing God doesn't really care about politics or the political workings of our country. God has an awful lot to say about the way societies are run, most of it very stern warnings. I can't imagine that the responsibility for making that evil decisions won't extend to those of us who elected the people that made those decisions. Just something to chew on pre-primary.

Job 8, 9 & 10

I'll be honest, when I started this one, I wasn't really excited. Job is pretty depressed at this point and It's not fun reading negativity. Not real negativity, anyway. And then another one of his friends pops up and starts saying, well, a lot of good things actually. Talking about how God is sovereign and powerful and all-knowing...and then saying, so obviously He knows you've sinned, Job, so stop pretending and just confess your sin already.

I'm sure I've mentioned this before, but if there's anything to learn from Job's friends, it's that we can take good biblical truth and absolutely ruin it by putting our own spin on it. It's like the people who use the book of Proverbs as ammo. We may be "right" in what we're saying, but not in how we're saying or how we're applying it.

And then, when this friend stops speaking, at the beginning of Chapter 10, Job gets snarky. I almost laughed out loud. "Wisdom will die with you!" Yes, obviously you know way more about my situation than I do, so please, continue telling me everything I'm doing wrong from a position of total ignorance. And he goes on to say, even fish know as much as you do on this subject. Bahaha.

At least, that's how I read it. I'm sure that's not the model way to reply to a well-meaning idiot...but it made me smile today.

Joshua 8, 9 & 10

I was wondering while I was reading, how there are so many battles in the Old Testament, and how so many people have a serious problem with it. Joshua led the Israelites, essentially razing the Middle East. Over and over it says they took a city and left no one alive. Now, when they did leave some alive, it always led to misfortune - they'd leave the women alive and then the Israelite men would get seduced into idolatry or other alternative lifestyles. So there is that. But I wonder if there isn't another layer to it.

The people who make treaties with Israel come to them and say, "We have heard about you and your God..." not because of the miracle in Egypt (primarily) or sending down manna and quail for days on end. No, it was because of their battle conquests. And that brings foreigners into the tribes and leads them to worship God.

I wonder if perhaps that's another reason God chose to lead the Israelites in battle to claim the Promised Land, rather than just striking down all the people already inhabiting it supernaturally. I wonder if it was because it gave the people a chance to make peace and form treaties rather than be annihilated, because at that time, they would recognize superior military strength as having supernatural implications that today we wouldn't.

I don't know. I don't have a conclusion. I just wonder.

Gen 8, 9 & 10

God remembered Noah.

Good thing, too. I imagine it was getting pretty stinky in there. Chapter 10 is a genealogy chapter, and I did read it. I don't know how much I got out of it, but I am glad there are other people out there who make that their focus of study, able to trace back the origins of the human race through these records.

This is also where we see God's promise manifested in the rainbow. I remember in high school one of my Sunday School teachers saying how much it saddened her to see God's promise to us, of safety and beauty, being distorted to represent something completely different. And it's true, having grown up in surrounded by that culture, I do have to make an effort to see a rainbow and remember the real meaning behind it.

This also makes me stop and think: many people, at least as children, have an inherent fear of thunderstorms. And, presumably, thunderstorms were involved in the Great Flood. Doesn't it speak to God's love for us that He made His physical reminder that He will never use a flood to destroy the earth to pop up after every storm? I mean, just having it written in the Bible would be sufficient. It is for every other one of His promises (just throwing that in there). And yet, it's like after every rain, God is telling us not to be afraid, that we don't need to worry, He still promises. I can't express it very well right now, coffee is working slow today. But I like that.

This week's memory verse:

"In the same way, let your light shine before men, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in Heaven." Matthew 5:16

Matthew 7, 8 & 9

Chapter 7 starts with the "Do not judge" passage people like to quote so frequently. But Jesus didn't say absolutely "do not judge." He said, "First remove the plank (or log, depending on your translation) from your own eye, then remove the speck from your brother's eye." The point is, do not judge without self-examination, do not judge hypocritically - not do not be discerning and call what is evil, evil.

Chapter 9 ends with the Bible telling us Jesus has compassion on the crowds because they were weary and worn out, like sheep without a shepherd. I had to think about that for a second, but what happens to sheep without a shepherd? There's no one to take care of them, no one to protect them from danger, no one to guide them to food and water. They have to struggle and fend for themselves, and sheep don't exactly have the best sense of direction, from what I understand. That's who God wants to be to us, who He is to us if we are his children. We don't have to fend for ourselves.

Lastly Jesus tells us, looking out at the weary crowd, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Pray to the Lord that he will send out workers for the harvest."

Selah.

Isaiah 7, 8 & 9

Isaiah has such beautiful figurative language. "Don't be afraid of those smoldering stubs of firebrands." I love it. Also reading chapter 9 and the Messianic prophecy, I love it. It's a little hard to follow the rest, I haven't really done a study on Isaiah, maybe ever. So I don't automatically know which prophecy refers to what period in time. That's a project for another day.

I just have to write this down somewhere. God has really been looking out for me the last few weeks. Like, when I finally get real and unburden my heart, within hours the exact encouragement I need comes seemingly out of nowhere, usually in ways the messenger has no idea about what's going on. Yahweh Who Sees sees me. That's what I've been learning.