Thu, 20 April, 2006: Today’s Bible readings.

Leviticus 24:17-22

¹⁷ “Whoever takes a human life shall surely be put to death. ¹⁸ Whoever takes an animal’s life shall make it good, life for life. ¹⁹ If anyone injures his neighbor, as he has done it shall be done to him, ²⁰ fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth; whatever injury he has given a person shall be given to him. ²¹ Whoever kills an animal shall make it good, and whoever kills a person shall be put to death. ²² You shall have the same rule for the sojourner and for the native, for I am the LORD your God.”

We often hear the Biblical concept of an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth denigrated with the statement that if we follow it, we will all be blind and toothless. It is a clever response, but it completely misses the point. This is not about retribution, but about appropriate punishment.

What do we learn from this?

The punishment should fit the crime. The concept of an eye for an eye is one of limiting punishment to what is appropriate given the scale of the crime. You don’t kill someone for an infraction that cost another their eye. If you kill their animal, you replace the animal. You don’t have to buy them a house.

One other point: it is the responsibility of the government to punish people for their criminal actions. It is not the responsibility of the individual. I personally do not inflict an eye for an eye. I don’t go around retaliating in kind for every perceived slight. I don’t take the law into my own hands and personally administer this principle. It is the role of the state to enforce justice. If someone breaks the law and harms me, the government should try the case, and if the person is found guilty, the punishment should fit the crime. That is the concept of an eye for an eye.

Where is Christ in this passage?

In God’s economy, the punishment matches the crime. To an all holy God, sin must be punished, and that appropriate punishment is eternal damnation. But thankfully, Jesus Christ has taken that punishment upon Himself for all those who come to Him in faith. He has born the full wrath of God against those sins, and they are paid in full. So all who come to Him in faith are justified while God remains just in punishing sin with the appropriate punishment.

Wed, 19 April, 2006: Today’s Bible readings.

2 Timothy 2:1-7

¹ You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, ² and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. ³ Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. ⁴ No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. ⁵ An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. ⁶ It is the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops. ⁷ Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.

How does the gospel spread? How do we have the same faith as Paul? Why hasn’t Christianity died out and been forgotten over the thousands of years?

Paul tells us. It is handed down from one to another. What you learn, you pass on to others who will in their turn pass it on. Specifically, Christianity hasn’t died out over time because faithful preachers have continued to teach and train other preachers.

What do we learn from this?

Paul taught Timothy to seek out and train faithful men who would carry on the faith. Each generation has its teachers who must faithfully carry on the truth of the gospel, bringing the gospel to their generation and training up the next generation of teachers. It is a never ending cycle of faith. God has ordained it to be this way, and we have our role to play in it.

We are not all teachers. God has not gifted all in this way. But we are all to listen to our teachers, and learn from them, as they faithfully expound the scriptures.

Notice, faithful teachers don’t teach us clever things they have found out on their own. They are not to be inventive with their theology. Paul tells us that the faithful teachers will teach what has been taught to them. They teach what Paul taught Timothy who taught it to another, who taught it to another, down through the ages.

Where is Christ in this passage?

The content of Paul’s message that he handed on to Timothy is Jesus Christ crucified for the sins of His people. As we read Paul, we realize how central Jesus Christ is to everything He teaches, and therefore it should be central to everything our pastor teaches us today.

Tue, 18 April, 2006: Today’s Bible readings.

Ecclesiastes 5:1-3

¹ Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. To draw near to listen is better than to offer the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they are doing evil. ² Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth. Therefore let your words be few. ³ For a dream comes with much business, and a fool’s voice with many words.

We seem to think we are special, and that God should be impressed with us. When we come to God’s house, we want to offer what pleases ourselves, and we aren’t concerned about what pleases God. But the preacher warns us that when we come to God’s house, we should be slow to speak and quick to listen.

What do we learn from this?

The most profitable thing we can do when we enter God’s house is to listen to His word. He speaks to us in His word. If we are so preoccupied with ourselves, we will not hear from God.

When we come to God’s house, it isn’t about us. It isn’t about what we like or what we want. It isn’t about what we can do for God. We get the focus all wrong when we come to God thinking it is about us. Worship is about God. It is about hearing from God and acknowledging what He has done for us. It is about praising Him for His great mercy.

So don’t come to God with many words. Come to hear from Him and to praise Him, as He has commanded, and in the way He has commanded. Meet with Him, listen to His word, and praise Him, but not as a fool with many words.

Where is Christ in this passage?

When we gather together in God’s house, we gather to hear about what God has done for us in Jesus Christ. We come to hear the gospel proclaimed again. We come to hear how God offers salvation to all those who come to Him through faith in Jesus Christ. Even after we are initially saved in response to the gospel, we continue to grow as God grants us faith through the continued hearing of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Mon, 17 April, 2006: Today’s Bible readings.

Psalm 27:1-6

¹ The LORD is my light and my salvation;
whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the stronghold of my life;
of whom shall I be afraid?

² When evildoers assail me
to eat up my flesh,
my adversaries and foes,
it is they who stumble and fall.

³ Though an army encamp against me,
my heart shall not fear;
though war arise against me,
yet I will be confident.

⁴ One thing have I asked of the LORD,
that will I seek after:
that I may dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD
and to inquire in his temple.

⁵ For he will hide me in his shelter
in the day of trouble;
he will conceal me under the cover of his tent;
he will lift me high upon a rock.

⁶ And now my head shall be lifted up
above my enemies all around me,
and I will offer in his tent
sacrifices with shouts of joy;
I will sing and make melody to the LORD.

We do not know the circumstances when David wrote this Psalm, but clearly David was facing a deadly enemy. How does he cope with the tension and fear? How can he continue to go from one life threatening situation to another? What keeps David going despite all the trouble, hardship and warfare? David tells us in this Psalm. In dealing with these foes, he encourages himself by thinking of God.

We see in this Psalm, David contemplates God’s protection. After thinking of God, he states that he will not fear and he will be confident in God. Then he states that he desires to be in the house of the LORD, and worship.

What do we learn from this?

In my time, I have seen many people who pull back from the church in their times of trouble. They will stop coming to church, and they will withdraw from their church family. I’ve never really understood that reaction to hardships, and I don’t think David would have understood it either.

The attitude David expresses here is a much more healthy reaction to the troubles of life. When we are facing some trial, we should bring it to God in prayer and trust in Him. Think about His care and protection of you in the past, and be confident in Him, even in the midst of your current circumstances.

As you turn your thinking out from yourself and begin to contemplate God, and how you need not fear as you trust in Him, it will change your attitude from one of fear and withdrawl to one of confidence and worship. Instead of wanting to flee from God and His people, you will want to join with them to praise the God who loves you and has complete control of your circumstances.

If you follow this like a checklist, does it mean all your troubles will go away? No. According to God’s will, we often have to go through difficult times, and the circumstances don’t automatically change just because we contemplate God and worship Him. But our attitude toward the circumstances changes. We don’t have to fear. We can be confident in God and enjoy worshipping in His presence with His people.

Where is Christ in this passage?

David desired to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of his life. He was not a Levite, and so he could not perform their duties around the tabernacle, yet he desired to spend his time with God’s people at God’s house.

He was speaking in temporal terms (he wanted to be in God’s house all the days of his life), yet because David was trusting in God’s provision for his eternal salvation, David will dwell in God’s presence eternally. Jesus Christ provided the way for David, and for all of those who come to Him in faith, to be free from the guilt of their sins, and to spend eternity in the house of the Lord.

Sun, 16 April, 2006: Today’s Bible readings.

Leviticus 20:1-5

¹ The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Say to the people of Israel, Any one of the people of Israel or of the strangers who sojourn in Israel who gives any of his children to Molech shall surely be put to death. The people of the land shall stone him with stones. ³ I myself will set my face against that man and will cut him off from among his people, because he has given one of his children to Molech, to make my sanctuary unclean and to profane my holy name. ⁴ And if the people of the land do at all close their eyes to that man when he gives one of his children to Molech, and do not put him to death, ⁵ then I will set my face against that man and against his clan and will cut them off from among their people, him and all who follow him in whoring after Molech.

This chapter is a very difficult passage. It is full of death sentences for different offenses. It starts with the portion of the chapter for today’s meditation, where we are told that Theocratic Israel was to execute anyone who killed his child as an offering to the false god Molech. It goes on to require capital punishment for homosexuality, adultery, and other sexual acts. The chapter closes with the command for capital punishment for a medium or wizard.

In passing, it is important to understand why capital punishment is not still in force for these offenses. These rules being laid out in this passage were the civil law for Israel under Moses. God directly gave the rules that governed the nation of Israel. This was a literal Theocracy. God ruled the nation. Thus, God set the penalties for the violations of His rules.

We do not live under a Theocracy. God does not directly set the laws and punishments for us. We live under our own local and national government, and these governments set the laws and the punishments. As individuals in the state, we can’t be a law unto ourselves and try to enforce the Old Testament Theocratic law on the people around us. We can’t be vigilantes and personally make and enforce our own civic laws and punishments that supercede the laws of the state. Thus, these civil laws are for a government that no longer exists (Theocratic Israel at the time of Moses), and they are no longer in effect. We, as private individuals, have no right or call to try to enforce them.

Now to the passage at hand. God commanded that the Israelites must not be like the people around them who killed their own children as an act of worship for the pagan god Molech.

What do we learn from this?

God commands that people not kill their children. This is offensive to Him, and He states that His curse is upon those who do so, even if they commit these murders in the name of worship.

It is hard to believe that there was a time when people would kill their children in the name of worship of some god. How could they do something so obviously wrong and evil? What could posses them to kill the most precious thing they possessed? How could they kill the most vulnerable ones they were responsible to protect? What madness could cause parents to kill their child?

Thankfully, modern mankind has matured beyond this primitive and evil process, and we no longer kill our children.

Or, have we not progressed at all? Aren’t we just as bad as they were, since more than a million unborn babies are killed every year in the United States? Isn’t abortion our modern equivalent of this Old Testament abomination of parents killing their children?

What a horrible thing it is to kill the most helpless among us. God tells Moses that He knows when the people do this, and He is angry. God promises to set His face against a society that will kill their children. What a horrible thing it is to be under God’s anger.

If abortion is in any way a parallel to child sacrifice (and I think it is), then we as a society are in deep trouble. God will set His face against us.

Where is Christ in this passage?

Jesus tells us in the New Testament that He is the one to whom the Father has entrusted judgment at the last day. He will judge everyone who stands before Him. In our passage, God tells the people of Israel that if they tolerate people killing their children, God would judge them. He has set His face against them. God might choose to act in time to punish the people, but He will act in eternity. They will be judged at the end of time, when they stand before Jesus Christ to be judged for their actions, including how they treated their children..

Anyone whose guilt for sin is not paid by Jesus Christ at the cross will be judged for their sins. They will pay the penalty themselves eternally in hell. But those who have come to Jesus Christ in faith, trusting Him to forgive them of their sins will find forgiveness. So come to Him in faith, seeking to turn away from your sin because you know how much God hates sin. Come to Him trusting in His provision for your salvation. No matter what your sin is, Jesus Christ promises to meet you with forgiveness if you come to Him trusting Him only for forgiveness and salvation.

Sat, 15 April, 2006: Today’s Bible readings.

1 Timothy 4:1-4

¹ Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, ² through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared, ³ who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. ⁴ For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, ⁵ for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer.

The Old Testament has explicit rules about the food and drink. There are rules about what a person has to do to remain ceremonially clean and what would makes him unclean. And there are rules about how to be cleansed from the ceremonial uncleanness.

Paul here tells Timothy about these ceremonial laws.

What do we learn from this?

These laws have been fulfilled with Christ’s first advent, and we no longer are required to keep the ceremonial law.

In Paul’s day, there were people who taught that Christians still needed to observe the laws of ceremonial cleanliness. (Paul also mentions that they forbid their followers to marry. Apparently, even in the early church, there was the idea that a person could demonstrate their spiritual superiority by not marrying. But Paul insists that Timothy not tolerate such teaching. There is a lesson here for the Roman Catholic Church and the way they mandate celibacy for their clergy. Paul does not allow that kind of teaching.)

Food does not make us unclean. We can enjoy ham if we want. But as we enjoy the food that God has graciously given us, we should give Him thanks for His wonderful provision.

Where is Christ in this passage?

For a while, God had His people live under the ceremonial law in order to show their separation from the nations around them. They were a distinct people nationally, and to worship God, you had to join with Israel and follow these ceremonial laws.

But after Christ came, the gospel went out beyond Israel. And because of Jesus Christ’s work in completely obeying the law on our behalf, the ceremonial law was fulfilled. As Paul (and Jesus before him) teaches, we are now free from the ceremonial law. But we aren’t free from thanking God for all He has done for us.

So enjoy your ham sandwich. But remember to thank God for it, and all the other things with which He has blessed you.

Fri, 14 April, 2006: Today’s Bible readings.

Ecclesiastes 1:12-14

¹² I the Preacher have been king over Israel in Jerusalem. ¹³ And I applied my heart to seek and to search out by wisdom all that is done under heaven. It is an unhappy business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. ¹⁴ I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind.

Solomon writes the book of Ecclesiastes from the experience he had indulging his own desires and passions. He dispassionately analyzes his life at the end, and realizes that living apart from God is meaningless.

What do we learn from this?

Solomon speaks of life “under the sun”, i.e. life without concern for God. He tried living for his own pleasure, and in his wisdom, he comes to the conclusion that it is an unhappy business, it is vanity and a striving after wind.

We think that living for our own pleasure leads to ultimate enjoyment, while living in submission to God will stifle all our enjoyment. Solomon apparently thought so as well. But he found out otherwise, and he shares his experience with us so that we don’t have to try the experiment ourselves. We can all benefit from listening to what Solomon, by the leading of the Holy Spirit, has recorded here.

Living life for all the pleasure you can get from the moment is vanity because you will soon grow weary of the pleasure, and you have nothing left. You have forfeited your future for the a fleeting pleasure. That is vain. That is like chasing the wind.

What’s the point of life without God? The longer you live, the more guilt you accrue before God. You are only storing up more punishment for yourself. Your life has been meaningless and your future is hopeless suffering.

Where is Christ in this passage?

Living is all vanity when we live “under the sun”. It is all meaningless if we live life apart from faith in Jesus Christ. It is only as we come to God by faith in Jesus Christ that life ceases to be meaningless. We find meaning in life through the relationship we have with God through Jesus Christ.

Thu, 13 April, 2006: Today’s Bible readings.

Psalm 20:1-3

¹ May the LORD answer you in the day of trouble!
May the name of the God of Jacob protect you!
² May he send you help from the sanctuary
and give you support from Zion!
³ May he remember all your offerings
and regard with favor your burnt sacrifices! Selah

In this psalm, David apparently is preparing for battle, and he encourages himself and the people in God’s faithfulness and protection.

What do we learn from this?

David desires God’s answer to prayer in the day of trouble. When he is facing difficulties, he comes to God in prayer. He has made his plans for the coming battle (verse 4), so David doesn’t ignore the important preparations that he must make for success. But he also brings his petitions to God, seeking God’s protection and salvation in his endeavors.

David encourages us to work and pray. These are not in opposition to each other. We are to do both. We prepare for the tasks we undertake. We think them through, and plan them out. We arrange for the necessary provisions and we get the required training. We do our best to be ready for whatever we are tasked to do. But that is not all. We also pray for God’s success upon our work, and seek to do His bidding in a way that is pleasing to Him. We don’t rely upon God to accomplish our tasks for us as we simply pray without working, nor do we attempt to do it on our own without His assistance by not praying. We do both as we seek God’s blessing upon our efforts.

Where is Christ in this passage?

David desires that God will remember all your offerings. Not that you earn God’s favor by making the offerings. Rather, may God remember the substitute who has borne your sin and who makes you right before God. May God not impute your guilt to you, so that God will look on you with favor. As you are seeking God’s blessing upon your efforts, it is essential that the guilt of your sins be removed, otherwise you will be under God’s curse.

Immediately we realize that this points us to Jesus Christ and His act as our substitute. The desire for God to remember our offerings and burnt sacrifices is a desire for God to remember what Jesus Christ has done to justify all those who come to Him in faith. David is recalling God’s work of salvation and claiming God’s covenant promises of salvation for His people of faith. It is by Jesus Christ only that any of His people can look for God’s blessing and protection.

Wed, 12 April, 2006: Today’s Bible readings.

Leviticus 16:1-5

¹ The LORD spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they drew near before the LORD and died, ² and the LORD said to Moses, “Tell Aaron your brother not to come at any time into the Holy Place inside the veil, before the mercy seat that is on the ark, so that he may not die. For I will appear in the cloud over the mercy seat. ³ But in this way Aaron shall come into the Holy Place: with a bull from the herd for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering. ⁴ He shall put on the holy linen coat and shall have the linen undergarment on his body, and he shall tie the linen sash around his waist, and wear the linen turban; these are the holy garments. He shall bathe his body in water and then put them on. ⁵ And he shall take from the congregation of the people of Israel two male goats for a sin offering, and one ram for a burnt offering.

I can approach God in whatever way I want, right? As long as I’m giving God my best, shouldn’t that please Him?

Although that is the common attitude within the church today, as we see from today’s passage in Leviticus, the Biblical answer to those questions is: No and No.

What do we learn from this?

We can’t approach God however we choose. We don’t get to make the rules for worship. We can’t do whatever we like, what ever pleases us, or whatever we think will work best. We must come to God on His terms, in the way He has proscribed, and not in the way that we think best.

God clearly laid out the instructions on when and how Aaron and his sons could enter the most holy place. Notice the reminder of Nadab and Abihu who died just a few chapters before when they violated God’s instructions on how to approach Him in worship. This is a serious issue, and we can’t take it lightly. We can only worship Him in the ways that He has ordered. We must not do anything less than He commands, but we dare not do more.

This means we need to search the scriptures, and seriously consider everything we do in worship. We can’t take anything for granted. If there isn’t a Biblical warrent for it in worship, we should not be doing it. Period. End of discussion. This might mean a radically different worship from what we might be used to, but in order to be obedient to God, we must worship Him as He commands, and not as we desire.

Where is Christ in this passage?

This chapter explains how the high priest was to prepare to enter the most holy place. There were numerous animals killed, and a goat released to the wilderness after sins were confessed over it. All of this confessing of sins and death of animals as substitutes points us to Jesus Christ. The only way we can enter into God’s presence is by our faith in Jesus Christ who died as our substitute. As the animals had to die before the high priest could enter the most holy place, so Jesus Christ had to die in our place in order for us to be acceptable to God and to be able to enter into His presence.

Tue, 11 April, 2006: Today’s Bible readings.

2 Thessalonians 3:1-5

¹ Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored, as happened among you, ² and that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men. For not all have faith. ³ But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one. ⁴ And we have confidence in the Lord about you, that you are doing and will do the things that we command. ⁵ May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ.

As we come to the end of his second letter to the Thessalonians, the apostle Paul asks them to pray for him.

What do we learn from this?

We should pray for our spiritual leaders, and for those who are taking the gospel out into the world. They need our support in this way. We should pray for their protection and for God’s blessing upon His word as He uses them. We should pray for their encouragement, and for their welfare. If Paul needed that kind of spiritual support, our spiritual leaders do too.

Where is Christ in this passage?

We should pray for pastors, missionaries, and others who are taking the gospel into the world, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored. They are taking the word of our Lord Jesus Christ to those who need to hear. They are representing our Lord Jesus Christ, and so we pray for Him to work through them to further His kingdom.