The story starts out saying... in the time when kings go to war... David sent Joab out with the king's men and the whole Israelite army... So David, the king, didn't go... Lesson #1. Try not to be in the wrong place at the wrong time...
So this woman, Bathsheba, her husband is away at war. She is taking a bath and David sees her and likes what he sees. So far, she has no control over any of that. David sends for her, she purifies herself and goes with the men he has sent and he sleeps with her. Again, she has no control over this. He is the king. A woman at that time was less than a slave and had no rights whatsoever. He is not just a man. He is the king of the whole country. Now lets be a little real here, they say David was VERY easy on the eyes (eye candy they call it some places...) and I think David was a very appealing man in personality. He certainly had plently of women. Jonathan loved him. He had a heart after God's own heart. He was obviously a good man. So maybe this wasn't too hard to fall into. She was married though, so no matter what the case, it was wrong. He defiled himself. He defiled the woman. He brought sin between both of them and God. Wouldn't you just know the woman becomes pregnant. Now we don't know here if it was especially good and he kept going back or if God caused this to happen on the very first hit. So now, David needs to come up with another plan... Lesson #2. Don't make a bad situation worse.
So David, Mr. Slick, decides to call the husband back to sleep with the woman and deceive him into thinking it is the husband's child... Now let's look at all the ways that is horrific. 1. The child is the king's child and will never get any of the benefits due it. 2. The woman now has to be intimate with another man, yes, this one is her husband, but that is nasty either way to be jumping between men. 3. This man, if he really did sleep with the wife, would believe he has a child and it really is not his. 4. David, first you just had to have the woman, now you want to just throw her to the street. Obviously having no feelings whatsoever, ready to cast her off like an unwanted jacket for whoever would wear her next. (definitely annoyed with David right now)
The husband, being a man of INTEGRITY (where was David's integrity when needed???) does not even go home, feels too wrong because his soldier friends are out fighting so how would he be sleeping up under his beautiful wife... that he doesn't even know just got up off David... Ends up David sends the man to the front lines because he refused to sleep with the woman or even go home. Can we imagine how sick this woman must be feeling right about now? I'm am betting her feelings toward David are not so favorable right here. The man goes to the front lines and is killed. David then takes the woman back to the palace. Lesson #3. Two wrongs don't make a right.
Bathsheba goes to the palace, has a son to David. But God, (always fatal words) does not have a good feeling about all this. He struck the child with illness. David has asked forgiveness of the sin, this is the consequence to the sin. David acts like he is about to die, not eating and wailing in prayer, for 7 days, then the child dies. David then gets up. Lesson #4. There is always consequences to your sin.
So David then goes and comforts the wife, Bathsheba. Issues with this part. For SEVEN days you laid on the floor not caring that the wife is about to fall apart. Not only has she recently lost a husband, now she has lost a son too. ALL BECAUSE OF YOUR LUST AND SELFISHNESS.... He lays with her again (oh yeah, that is surely the right thing to do...) She gets pregnant again. Gives birth to Solomon. Wisest man ever born.Lesson #5. God is always good to us. His mercy endures forever.
Isn't God amazing the way He turns an ugly situation better? Thank God David repented. Thank God David married her and didn't just leave her to the wolves. Thank God He is willing to give her another son. This time a son of covenant and promise. God is good in spite of us....
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Mary Magdalene
This might be a controversial one...
Who really was Mary Magdalene?
Biblically... Per Luke 8:1-3 Mary was the woman that Jesus sent seven demons out of. She, along with some other women, financially supported the ministry of Jesus and the disciples. It is also stated in all four of gospels that Mary Magdalene was at the cross when Jesus was crucified. It is stated that she went to the tomb the next morning to anoint the body of Christ with oils and spices and He was gone. She is the first person He appeared to. She tried to hug Him and He told her that she couldn't touch His body because He had not yet ascended to the Father. He told her to go tell the disciples that He has risen. That is what we know from the bible that we read.
Here is where the controversy could start. This is a woman that was with Jesus and the disciples much of the time. If you look closely at the picture done of the Lord's supper, the person next to Jesus, with the red on, appears to be a woman. Of course this could be just the artist's interpretation. And from my personal viewpoint, that woman looks as though she could be pregnant. That is just my opinion. When the bible was being put together, religious leaders were very selective in what they put into our bible. Their reasons might have been pure. Part of the reason stated is so that people do not have doubt in their faith. Part of the reason may have been to lead people in the way they 'see'. There are many other ancient manuscripts that can be read and much of them agree with our bible.
Mary Magdalene wrote such a manuscript and some of it was burned so that you cannot determine what is really said. I have read what is in this manuscript, or what is left of it. Some of it is conversation between her and Jesus before He ascended. Basically in this writing all that is said that He told her was to go and teach the teachings that He had taught them. Teaching people about God and teaching that Jesus was the Messiah. Peter was angry with her and told her that Jesus would not have appeared first to a mere woman and that He would not have told her to go tell the good news because she was a woman. That right there doesn't sound all that far fetched to me.
Now there are also writings stating that Mary and Jesus were married. There is supposedly documentation of a daughter born and that Mary Magdalene and Jesus are the parents. There is no biblical basis for this story or this belief. There are churches that are said to have ancient documentation of these things. People sometimes have a hard time believing this story to be possible. Somehow they feel it would make Jesus sinful. I am not really understanding that idea. Why would Jesus being married and having a child with his wife make him sinful? I think it might be the catholics that are against this as they also feel that priests are to be celibate. (we can see where that is getting them...) I don't know if any of this is true or if it is folklore. I don't have a problem with Jesus loving a woman and marrying her. I don't have a problem with him having a child. I don't think any of those things make Him wrong or less pure. If anything, that would be a sign to me that God really does not desire for any of us to be alone. The thing that makes that story somewhat believable to me is that she was at the tomb to anoint him. It is written that in those days the only one that could have gone to the tomb would have been the next of kin. Which would be the wife. Or the mother. If she saw Jesus first, then what would have made them let her into the tomb?
The thing that bothers me is that He told her to go and tell the story. Some people feel that is a basis for women to being called into ministry/preaching. I have a problem with that. I am not telling you that I am right, only that scripture tells me that women are not to be in a position of authority. I believe there are women who are called to evangelize and to teach. I just don't hear the whole pastor thing. Again, I am not saying I am right. I am just saying this is what I read biblically. Women tend to make emotional decisions, myself included and that can sometimes cause problems if you are in a position of authority.
One thing is certain. Mary Magdalene was a servant of Jesus. She put her money where her heart was, into His ministry. There is nothing written anywhere that would lead you to believe that she was not a good woman, a Christian woman.
Who really was Mary Magdalene?
Biblically... Per Luke 8:1-3 Mary was the woman that Jesus sent seven demons out of. She, along with some other women, financially supported the ministry of Jesus and the disciples. It is also stated in all four of gospels that Mary Magdalene was at the cross when Jesus was crucified. It is stated that she went to the tomb the next morning to anoint the body of Christ with oils and spices and He was gone. She is the first person He appeared to. She tried to hug Him and He told her that she couldn't touch His body because He had not yet ascended to the Father. He told her to go tell the disciples that He has risen. That is what we know from the bible that we read.
Here is where the controversy could start. This is a woman that was with Jesus and the disciples much of the time. If you look closely at the picture done of the Lord's supper, the person next to Jesus, with the red on, appears to be a woman. Of course this could be just the artist's interpretation. And from my personal viewpoint, that woman looks as though she could be pregnant. That is just my opinion. When the bible was being put together, religious leaders were very selective in what they put into our bible. Their reasons might have been pure. Part of the reason stated is so that people do not have doubt in their faith. Part of the reason may have been to lead people in the way they 'see'. There are many other ancient manuscripts that can be read and much of them agree with our bible.
Mary Magdalene wrote such a manuscript and some of it was burned so that you cannot determine what is really said. I have read what is in this manuscript, or what is left of it. Some of it is conversation between her and Jesus before He ascended. Basically in this writing all that is said that He told her was to go and teach the teachings that He had taught them. Teaching people about God and teaching that Jesus was the Messiah. Peter was angry with her and told her that Jesus would not have appeared first to a mere woman and that He would not have told her to go tell the good news because she was a woman. That right there doesn't sound all that far fetched to me.
Now there are also writings stating that Mary and Jesus were married. There is supposedly documentation of a daughter born and that Mary Magdalene and Jesus are the parents. There is no biblical basis for this story or this belief. There are churches that are said to have ancient documentation of these things. People sometimes have a hard time believing this story to be possible. Somehow they feel it would make Jesus sinful. I am not really understanding that idea. Why would Jesus being married and having a child with his wife make him sinful? I think it might be the catholics that are against this as they also feel that priests are to be celibate. (we can see where that is getting them...) I don't know if any of this is true or if it is folklore. I don't have a problem with Jesus loving a woman and marrying her. I don't have a problem with him having a child. I don't think any of those things make Him wrong or less pure. If anything, that would be a sign to me that God really does not desire for any of us to be alone. The thing that makes that story somewhat believable to me is that she was at the tomb to anoint him. It is written that in those days the only one that could have gone to the tomb would have been the next of kin. Which would be the wife. Or the mother. If she saw Jesus first, then what would have made them let her into the tomb?
The thing that bothers me is that He told her to go and tell the story. Some people feel that is a basis for women to being called into ministry/preaching. I have a problem with that. I am not telling you that I am right, only that scripture tells me that women are not to be in a position of authority. I believe there are women who are called to evangelize and to teach. I just don't hear the whole pastor thing. Again, I am not saying I am right. I am just saying this is what I read biblically. Women tend to make emotional decisions, myself included and that can sometimes cause problems if you are in a position of authority.
One thing is certain. Mary Magdalene was a servant of Jesus. She put her money where her heart was, into His ministry. There is nothing written anywhere that would lead you to believe that she was not a good woman, a Christian woman.
Friday, September 11, 2009
Ahab
I have been struggling with writing this one because I really don't like this man... but here we go...
Ahab was a king of Israel when the nations were split. His capitol was in Samaria. He was already disrespectful of the ways of God, then to make matters worse, he marries an EVIL woman named Jezebel. Yea, we have all heard something of Jezebel, but are not quite sure about her. I may do her next. Men, you have got to be more careful of who you choose to allow yourself to be influenced by.
The first thing the bible says is that he worshipped baal and set up altars to him. First mistake, first commandment, thou shalt have no other god's before Me. Bad beginning already. Then he sets out and rebuilds the walls of Jericho at the cost of his first born son being sacrificed at the laying of the foundation and the youngest son at the setting up of the gates.
Despite his evil ways, God still tried to get Ahab to know that He was the true God. He wanted Ahab to turn from his evil ways and serve the living God. I am not sure if God was so interested in Ahab himself, or the Israelite people in general. He could have just been faithful to the people and so Ahab received some of the blessing of that.
God decided to attack Ben-Haddad who was king of Aram at the time. He was to be put to death. Ahab decided to make a covenant with him after God had given Ahab the victory of battle. He did not kill Ben-Haddad as he was supposed to. A prophet tells Ahab that because he disobeyed the word of God that it would be Ahab's life for Ben-Haddad's. Ahab's people for Ben-Haddad's people. On top of this, he killed a man named Naboth and took his vineyard. God sent Elijah to confront him about his sin. Elijah tells Ahab, "The very spot where the dogs lapped up Naboth's blood, they'll lap up your blood—that's right, your blood.And because you've bought into the business of evil, defying God. I will most certainly bring doom upon you, make mincemeat of your descendants, kill off every sorry male wretch who's even remotely connected with the name Ahab. And I'll bring down on you the same fate that fell on Jeroboam son of Nebat and Baasha son of Ahijah—you've made me that angry by making Israel sin." As for Jezebel, God said, "Dogs will fight over the flesh of Jezebel all over Jezreel. Anyone tainted by Ahab who dies in the city will be eaten by stray dogs; corpses in the country will be eaten by carrion crows." (pretty rough, right?)
So when Ahab hears this, he becomes quiet and repentant. He becomes submissive to God and in his graciousness, God chooses to spare the doom pending until after Ahab is dead. Ahab dies in a chariot while in battle against Aram. He had been shot with an arrow. The king was brought to Samaria and there they buried him. They washed down the chariot at the pool of Samaria where the town whores bathed, and the dogs lapped up the blood, just as God's word had said.
Isn't it amazing how faithful God is to His people, even when they are evil. Not that Ahab didn't have destruction, but he was one of the most wicked kings in the history of Israel yet God tried repeatedly to get him to turn and repent of his sin. When he does show some semblance of remorse God decides to honor it and not bring doom during his lifetime. What a merciful God we serve...
Ahab was a king of Israel when the nations were split. His capitol was in Samaria. He was already disrespectful of the ways of God, then to make matters worse, he marries an EVIL woman named Jezebel. Yea, we have all heard something of Jezebel, but are not quite sure about her. I may do her next. Men, you have got to be more careful of who you choose to allow yourself to be influenced by.
The first thing the bible says is that he worshipped baal and set up altars to him. First mistake, first commandment, thou shalt have no other god's before Me. Bad beginning already. Then he sets out and rebuilds the walls of Jericho at the cost of his first born son being sacrificed at the laying of the foundation and the youngest son at the setting up of the gates.
Despite his evil ways, God still tried to get Ahab to know that He was the true God. He wanted Ahab to turn from his evil ways and serve the living God. I am not sure if God was so interested in Ahab himself, or the Israelite people in general. He could have just been faithful to the people and so Ahab received some of the blessing of that.
God decided to attack Ben-Haddad who was king of Aram at the time. He was to be put to death. Ahab decided to make a covenant with him after God had given Ahab the victory of battle. He did not kill Ben-Haddad as he was supposed to. A prophet tells Ahab that because he disobeyed the word of God that it would be Ahab's life for Ben-Haddad's. Ahab's people for Ben-Haddad's people. On top of this, he killed a man named Naboth and took his vineyard. God sent Elijah to confront him about his sin. Elijah tells Ahab, "The very spot where the dogs lapped up Naboth's blood, they'll lap up your blood—that's right, your blood.And because you've bought into the business of evil, defying God. I will most certainly bring doom upon you, make mincemeat of your descendants, kill off every sorry male wretch who's even remotely connected with the name Ahab. And I'll bring down on you the same fate that fell on Jeroboam son of Nebat and Baasha son of Ahijah—you've made me that angry by making Israel sin." As for Jezebel, God said, "Dogs will fight over the flesh of Jezebel all over Jezreel. Anyone tainted by Ahab who dies in the city will be eaten by stray dogs; corpses in the country will be eaten by carrion crows." (pretty rough, right?)
So when Ahab hears this, he becomes quiet and repentant. He becomes submissive to God and in his graciousness, God chooses to spare the doom pending until after Ahab is dead. Ahab dies in a chariot while in battle against Aram. He had been shot with an arrow. The king was brought to Samaria and there they buried him. They washed down the chariot at the pool of Samaria where the town whores bathed, and the dogs lapped up the blood, just as God's word had said.
Isn't it amazing how faithful God is to His people, even when they are evil. Not that Ahab didn't have destruction, but he was one of the most wicked kings in the history of Israel yet God tried repeatedly to get him to turn and repent of his sin. When he does show some semblance of remorse God decides to honor it and not bring doom during his lifetime. What a merciful God we serve...
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Queen Vashti
Vashti was queen, wife of Xerxes... Xerxes was a generous king.. he was having a celebration... a feast and all of the officials and rulers of the time were there... at the same time, Vashti was having a similar celebration for all the women of the men...
during this celebration Xerxes decides that he wants Vashti to come and stand before the men in her royal crown so they could admire her beauty... she refused to go... now I heard someone say that they thought possibly he wanted her to come out naked, with only the crown on... I tend to disagree with that because in my own experience, men don't want any other man to ever see or think he could see what is his... so while Xerxes may have wanted the men to say that he was really lucky to have her because of her beauty, I don't think he would have wanted them to think about her in a way that might lead them to desire her for themselves... I could be wrong, but I am just saying this is what I think...
well, because she refused to go to him, he was really mad... and all these "advisors" tell him that he cannot let this go unpunished because soon all the women of the country would be rebelling against their husbands... so what they tell him to do is to take her title from her as queen and that she could never be in his presence again... and he agrees...
actually, a woman in those days could have been one of hundreds of wives... or she could have been a concubine, which is basically a slave that is set aside for the kings pleasure... so for her to even be considered the queen in the first place was a very high honor... she was obviously very beautiful, or he wouldn't have wanted to display her... he was proud of her... she must have carried herself in a very regal manner...
my personal opinion is that he loved her... because after he decreed that she could not be queen and could never be in his presence again... then he started to have second thoughts about it, started missing her.... so these advisors... then determine that he needs to get a new woman and in a hurry so he doesn't go back on his word...
all of us are beautiful in one way or another... I think that God gives all of us the ability to use something He has given us to draw others to us... for some it is physical beauty... some it may be a wonderful personality... some it may be intelligence... some it may be the ability to talk others into things... whatever your gift is, make sure that you are using it to the glory of God... not self glory...
I don't know that I think Vashti was wrong... well, that's not true... she was wrong because she had an authority figure over her and she did not submit to the authority... I think she should not have been subjected to parading herself in front of drunken men... but she didn't have a choice in the matter... she made the choice to rebel and it cost her dearly...
I think this is a story to show us that maybe the authority figure in your life might make bad choices for you... but that doesn't change the fact that he is still the authority... we like to think that we shouldn't have to listen if something is wrong... I don't see it that way... one of the good things about being a female, and having a man over you is that what he does is between him and God, not him and you... if he makes a bad choice, it is for God to fix... he stands between you and God... I would surely think you should pray and cry out to God, asking Him to open the man's eyes, but in the end, he still is the one in charge... she could have been so much more powerful in the position of queen, but instead, she allowed pride to get in the way and her position was taken from her... be careful what we allow pride to get in the way of... we may just lose our position...
during this celebration Xerxes decides that he wants Vashti to come and stand before the men in her royal crown so they could admire her beauty... she refused to go... now I heard someone say that they thought possibly he wanted her to come out naked, with only the crown on... I tend to disagree with that because in my own experience, men don't want any other man to ever see or think he could see what is his... so while Xerxes may have wanted the men to say that he was really lucky to have her because of her beauty, I don't think he would have wanted them to think about her in a way that might lead them to desire her for themselves... I could be wrong, but I am just saying this is what I think...
well, because she refused to go to him, he was really mad... and all these "advisors" tell him that he cannot let this go unpunished because soon all the women of the country would be rebelling against their husbands... so what they tell him to do is to take her title from her as queen and that she could never be in his presence again... and he agrees...
actually, a woman in those days could have been one of hundreds of wives... or she could have been a concubine, which is basically a slave that is set aside for the kings pleasure... so for her to even be considered the queen in the first place was a very high honor... she was obviously very beautiful, or he wouldn't have wanted to display her... he was proud of her... she must have carried herself in a very regal manner...
my personal opinion is that he loved her... because after he decreed that she could not be queen and could never be in his presence again... then he started to have second thoughts about it, started missing her.... so these advisors... then determine that he needs to get a new woman and in a hurry so he doesn't go back on his word...
all of us are beautiful in one way or another... I think that God gives all of us the ability to use something He has given us to draw others to us... for some it is physical beauty... some it may be a wonderful personality... some it may be intelligence... some it may be the ability to talk others into things... whatever your gift is, make sure that you are using it to the glory of God... not self glory...
I don't know that I think Vashti was wrong... well, that's not true... she was wrong because she had an authority figure over her and she did not submit to the authority... I think she should not have been subjected to parading herself in front of drunken men... but she didn't have a choice in the matter... she made the choice to rebel and it cost her dearly...
I think this is a story to show us that maybe the authority figure in your life might make bad choices for you... but that doesn't change the fact that he is still the authority... we like to think that we shouldn't have to listen if something is wrong... I don't see it that way... one of the good things about being a female, and having a man over you is that what he does is between him and God, not him and you... if he makes a bad choice, it is for God to fix... he stands between you and God... I would surely think you should pray and cry out to God, asking Him to open the man's eyes, but in the end, he still is the one in charge... she could have been so much more powerful in the position of queen, but instead, she allowed pride to get in the way and her position was taken from her... be careful what we allow pride to get in the way of... we may just lose our position...
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Ruth
Ruth was married to a man from Judah named Mahlon (I don't know why I know which one she was married to, I just do...) Mahlon's father took his mother, him and his brother from Bethlehem to Moab. There was a famine in the land, so they moved. As time went on, the two men, Mahlon and Kilion took Moabite women to marry. The father dies, then the two brothers were killed 10 years later. It doesn't say how they died. Because her family was dead, Naomi, the mother in law, decides to go back to Bethlehem where she originally was from. She releases Orpah and Ruth, the wives of the sons to go back to their own families. Orpah goes back. Ruth refuses. She tells this woman that Naomi's people are her people and Naomi's God is her God and where Naomi dies is where Ruth will die also. So they go on to Bethlehem.
When they get there, Ruth goes into the fields to glean (pick up scraps basically...) behind the men that are harvesting the grain. There is a man there that owns the field and he asks who Ruth is. The men that are working tell him that she is the daughter in law of Naomi. The man tells the workers to look out for her, to leave extra behind them for her to pick up. He also goes to her and tells her to stay in this field and that his workers will protect her from danger. She drops to her knees before him (there goes that bowing down to a man thing again...) and asks him why would he be so kind to her and that she is exceedingly thankful. She continues to glean in his fields. He continues to watch her and watch over her. It doesn't say that he said anything else to her, just watched over her.
So Naomi, decides to tell Ruth that Boaz (the owner of the field) is in relationship to their family and called a kinsmen redeemer. In those days, if your husband died, you were handed down to the next family member in order to keep the family name going. (yeah... pretty sick.. I know it... ) So she tells Ruth to go the the threshing floor while they are working in there, but to go at night, after everyone is asleep. To lay at this man's feet and that he would cover her. Now to anyone that doesn't know what any of that means... that is really bold... really bold... When I have read this for the last 100 years I really never understood it. But for personal reasons, I decided to go look it up. First of all, a woman should not be in the presence of a man in the middle of the night who is not her husband, basically, she was offering herself to him by even going there. THEN... to lay at his feet... turns out this meant she asked him to marry her... CAN YOU IMAGINE??? Oh I am so sure that she had NO IDEA what this meant when she did it... and when he covered her, he accepts... sheesh... But he tells her that there is another who is eligible to redeem her before him and that he would speak with that man the next day. Luckily, he was a gentleman, he realized that she was clueless about what she really did and so he didn't take her up on the offer of herself physically.... (good grief...)
So Ruth, clueless as can be, goes back to scheming Naomi and tells her what happened and Naomi, beaming says that the man will not rest until it is taken care of.
She was right, Boaz goes the very next day and asks the man who is next in line if he intends to redeem the property of Naomi's husband. Doesn't talk about the woman/women he makes this all about a business deal. What a typical man thought, right? So the other man says yes, he will take the property, then slick Boaz says.. well there is Naomi and her daughter in law involved too... So the other man decides he doesn't want to do it because it would affect his own household. So Boaz says that he will do it then.
Boaz married Ruth and they have a child named Obed. He is the grandfather of David....
What does this story say to me? God will have us do ridiculous things in order to work His will out in our lives. (it is better when we don't even know what we really did...) God will use who he chooses to use. Ruth was a Moabite. There are times when God tells the men of Israel that they cannot marry foreign women. Ruth's 1st husband died. I am sure she was heartbroken at the time, but God works ALL things for the good of those who love Him.
When they get there, Ruth goes into the fields to glean (pick up scraps basically...) behind the men that are harvesting the grain. There is a man there that owns the field and he asks who Ruth is. The men that are working tell him that she is the daughter in law of Naomi. The man tells the workers to look out for her, to leave extra behind them for her to pick up. He also goes to her and tells her to stay in this field and that his workers will protect her from danger. She drops to her knees before him (there goes that bowing down to a man thing again...) and asks him why would he be so kind to her and that she is exceedingly thankful. She continues to glean in his fields. He continues to watch her and watch over her. It doesn't say that he said anything else to her, just watched over her.
So Naomi, decides to tell Ruth that Boaz (the owner of the field) is in relationship to their family and called a kinsmen redeemer. In those days, if your husband died, you were handed down to the next family member in order to keep the family name going. (yeah... pretty sick.. I know it... ) So she tells Ruth to go the the threshing floor while they are working in there, but to go at night, after everyone is asleep. To lay at this man's feet and that he would cover her. Now to anyone that doesn't know what any of that means... that is really bold... really bold... When I have read this for the last 100 years I really never understood it. But for personal reasons, I decided to go look it up. First of all, a woman should not be in the presence of a man in the middle of the night who is not her husband, basically, she was offering herself to him by even going there. THEN... to lay at his feet... turns out this meant she asked him to marry her... CAN YOU IMAGINE??? Oh I am so sure that she had NO IDEA what this meant when she did it... and when he covered her, he accepts... sheesh... But he tells her that there is another who is eligible to redeem her before him and that he would speak with that man the next day. Luckily, he was a gentleman, he realized that she was clueless about what she really did and so he didn't take her up on the offer of herself physically.... (good grief...)
So Ruth, clueless as can be, goes back to scheming Naomi and tells her what happened and Naomi, beaming says that the man will not rest until it is taken care of.
She was right, Boaz goes the very next day and asks the man who is next in line if he intends to redeem the property of Naomi's husband. Doesn't talk about the woman/women he makes this all about a business deal. What a typical man thought, right? So the other man says yes, he will take the property, then slick Boaz says.. well there is Naomi and her daughter in law involved too... So the other man decides he doesn't want to do it because it would affect his own household. So Boaz says that he will do it then.
Boaz married Ruth and they have a child named Obed. He is the grandfather of David....
What does this story say to me? God will have us do ridiculous things in order to work His will out in our lives. (it is better when we don't even know what we really did...) God will use who he chooses to use. Ruth was a Moabite. There are times when God tells the men of Israel that they cannot marry foreign women. Ruth's 1st husband died. I am sure she was heartbroken at the time, but God works ALL things for the good of those who love Him.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Samson
Samson's mother's name is not mentioned in the bible. It says that she was barren and childless and the the angel of the LORD appeared to her and said, "You are sterile and childless, but you are going to conceive and have a son. Now see to it that you drink no wine or other fermented drink and that you do not eat anything unclean, because you will conceive and give birth to a son. No razor may be used on his head, because the boy is to be a Nazirite, set apart to God from birth, and he will begin the deliverance of Israel from the hands of the Philistines." So the husband prayed and asked God to send the angel back to teach them how to raise their son. And God in his graciousness sends the angel back so Manoah asked him, "When your words are fulfilled, what is to be the rule for the boy's life and work?" The angel of the LORD answered, "Your wife must do all that I have told her. She must not eat anything that comes from the grapevine, nor drink any wine or other fermented drink nor eat anything unclean. She must do everything I have commanded her." So not only must the boy be raised a particular way, but the mother must change the way she eats too. I found it interesting that the angel comes back and tells the husband exactly what the wife told him, but he had to hear it for himself. (men... I tell ya...)
This child was born into this world with a purpose in his life. God is still in the business of birthing children of purpose. Are the parents of the children of this day bothering to ask God how their children are to be raised? What is the rule for the child's life and work? Are we even consulting God about our children from birth at all? Or are we instead doing the best we can and only start the true praying after the problems start?
So the bible says that the woman gave birth to a son and they named him Samson and he began to feel the spirit of the Lord at an early age. Samson's gifts were the spirit of the Lord, riddles, and amazing strength. No one was stronger than Samson. But Samson had a weakness, it was foreign women. And instead of staying with the women of his own God, he had relationships with women who did not know his God. And his parents arranged a marriage for him with a woman from Philistia. Now wasn't that about amazing? The angel had told the woman before the boy was born that he would be used to destroy the Philistines... yet the father gives in and arranges a marriage with one of the very people he was born to destroy. That was just amazing to me. The marriage was actually arranged by God though and there was a fight at the wedding. Samson killed 30 men. The bride was given to the best man. Amazingly, Samson goes back to sleep with her some time later and her father had to tell him that she had been given to the best man. Samson destroys the Philistines. He rules over Israel as judge for 20 years.
I would like to end the story there, but it is not to be so....
Samson falls in love with a woman that the Philistine rulers use to find the secret to his strength. He doesn't give in to telling her what it is right away. But as she keeps nagging him, saying that he must not love her, eventually on the 4th time.. he tells her the truth. The Philistines are in wait and they come in and she has cut his hair (the symbol of his strength) and they tie him up and gouge his eyes out and have him pushing this grinding stone. I wonder if he had known that the true source of his strength was God, not his hair, would this have turned out differently for him? Eventually his hair starts to grow back and his strength is returning with it. The Philistines were going to use him as some sort of circus act at a big feast, and he prays and asks God for strength just one more time, to destroy the Philistines. God grants his request, and he pushes down big pillars that are holding the building up and he along with many, many Philistines die.
God can make good come of any circumstance and the will of God will always be fulfilled. Even if we screw up the way that it is supposed to happen, He will still get His end result. I don't know if Samson screwed up or if things worked out exactly as God planned. The bible doesn't tell us that. It seems to me though, that if he had been obedient to the ways of God, God still would have raised him up as the ruler/judge over Israel and possibly he would have reigned even longer. Possibly he would have destroyed the Philistines in wars instead of the way it worked out. My thoughts are not the thoughts of God. I don't know which way was His planned outcome. I just know that He worked all that Samson did to still have the same ending.
This child was born into this world with a purpose in his life. God is still in the business of birthing children of purpose. Are the parents of the children of this day bothering to ask God how their children are to be raised? What is the rule for the child's life and work? Are we even consulting God about our children from birth at all? Or are we instead doing the best we can and only start the true praying after the problems start?
So the bible says that the woman gave birth to a son and they named him Samson and he began to feel the spirit of the Lord at an early age. Samson's gifts were the spirit of the Lord, riddles, and amazing strength. No one was stronger than Samson. But Samson had a weakness, it was foreign women. And instead of staying with the women of his own God, he had relationships with women who did not know his God. And his parents arranged a marriage for him with a woman from Philistia. Now wasn't that about amazing? The angel had told the woman before the boy was born that he would be used to destroy the Philistines... yet the father gives in and arranges a marriage with one of the very people he was born to destroy. That was just amazing to me. The marriage was actually arranged by God though and there was a fight at the wedding. Samson killed 30 men. The bride was given to the best man. Amazingly, Samson goes back to sleep with her some time later and her father had to tell him that she had been given to the best man. Samson destroys the Philistines. He rules over Israel as judge for 20 years.
I would like to end the story there, but it is not to be so....
Samson falls in love with a woman that the Philistine rulers use to find the secret to his strength. He doesn't give in to telling her what it is right away. But as she keeps nagging him, saying that he must not love her, eventually on the 4th time.. he tells her the truth. The Philistines are in wait and they come in and she has cut his hair (the symbol of his strength) and they tie him up and gouge his eyes out and have him pushing this grinding stone. I wonder if he had known that the true source of his strength was God, not his hair, would this have turned out differently for him? Eventually his hair starts to grow back and his strength is returning with it. The Philistines were going to use him as some sort of circus act at a big feast, and he prays and asks God for strength just one more time, to destroy the Philistines. God grants his request, and he pushes down big pillars that are holding the building up and he along with many, many Philistines die.
God can make good come of any circumstance and the will of God will always be fulfilled. Even if we screw up the way that it is supposed to happen, He will still get His end result. I don't know if Samson screwed up or if things worked out exactly as God planned. The bible doesn't tell us that. It seems to me though, that if he had been obedient to the ways of God, God still would have raised him up as the ruler/judge over Israel and possibly he would have reigned even longer. Possibly he would have destroyed the Philistines in wars instead of the way it worked out. My thoughts are not the thoughts of God. I don't know which way was His planned outcome. I just know that He worked all that Samson did to still have the same ending.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Abigail
Abigail was beautiful and intelligent. That is how she is described. Strangely, she was married to a man named Nabal and he was a fool. How often are intelligent people married to fools? More often than we care to admit I am sure.
And so it happens that during the time that David was hiding out from king Saul who was trying to kill him, David and his men protected the livestock and servants of this man named Nabal. When it was shearing time, they had big festivities and feasts. David sends a messenger to Nabal and says to him, we have protected your servants and your livestock, please send us whatever you will to provide for us. He could have demanded a specific price, but he knew that his true Provider was God above, so he said whatever you will. Nabal, fool that he was, sends the message back stating that he did not even know David and owed him nothing. Needless to say, David is surely on the way to destroy the entire house as he is a warrior.
One of Abigail's servants comes and tells her what Nabal said to David. She quickly puts together meat, wine, and bread along with blankets and other items David and his men may need and puts this on the back of donkeys and sends it ahead of her. She then gets on a donkey herself and goes to David. She did not tell her husband the fool, what she was doing. She goes out to meet David as he is on the way to destroy her entire household. She falls down on her face, bowing low before him and she tells him to place all the blame on her. She asks him to forgive her, that she was not there when his servant came to her house and that she hopes the gifts she brought will be enough for him to spare her household. David tells her to rise and that she is very much appreciated for saving him from destroying the house of Nabal. He tells her to go home, that she will receive what she asked him for, meaning her house would not be attacked.
She goes home, Nabal is drunk so she cannot tell him what she did right then, and she decides to go to bed and tell him in the morning. She wakes up, he is sober, she tells him how she saved his household. God strikes his heart and it becomes a stone in his chest, which means he went into a coma. He was in the coma for 10 days, then the Lord struck him again and he died.
This is what I find amazing about Abigail... She is in an ugly situation, her marriage was not chosen by her, her family arranged it and she is married to a fool. There is no out, no divorce, no options. So she tries to work around her situation and save her servants and the fool too. She falls down in humility before David. He had already been annointed as the king of Israel, and she gives him the respect of his future position. She talks sense into an angry man. How often will we yell back instead of trying to diffuse the situation? Obviously it is better to try to diffuse it. She did this with both David and Nabal. With David, she tried to appease him and give him more than enough to compensate for the wrong of Nabal. With Nabal, she tried to wait until the right time, then calmly tell him the truth, willing to accept the consequences of her actions. On both occasions, God stepped in and fixed the situation.
The ending of the story is that David sent his servants back to Abigail and asked her to be his wife. She tells the servants of David, that she is a servant to their master and willing to wash the feet of his servants. This is an amazing show of humility. She is willing to put herself below the place of the servant and wash their feet. She goes back and marries David. Man gave her a fool in marriage, God gave her a king.
And so it happens that during the time that David was hiding out from king Saul who was trying to kill him, David and his men protected the livestock and servants of this man named Nabal. When it was shearing time, they had big festivities and feasts. David sends a messenger to Nabal and says to him, we have protected your servants and your livestock, please send us whatever you will to provide for us. He could have demanded a specific price, but he knew that his true Provider was God above, so he said whatever you will. Nabal, fool that he was, sends the message back stating that he did not even know David and owed him nothing. Needless to say, David is surely on the way to destroy the entire house as he is a warrior.
One of Abigail's servants comes and tells her what Nabal said to David. She quickly puts together meat, wine, and bread along with blankets and other items David and his men may need and puts this on the back of donkeys and sends it ahead of her. She then gets on a donkey herself and goes to David. She did not tell her husband the fool, what she was doing. She goes out to meet David as he is on the way to destroy her entire household. She falls down on her face, bowing low before him and she tells him to place all the blame on her. She asks him to forgive her, that she was not there when his servant came to her house and that she hopes the gifts she brought will be enough for him to spare her household. David tells her to rise and that she is very much appreciated for saving him from destroying the house of Nabal. He tells her to go home, that she will receive what she asked him for, meaning her house would not be attacked.
She goes home, Nabal is drunk so she cannot tell him what she did right then, and she decides to go to bed and tell him in the morning. She wakes up, he is sober, she tells him how she saved his household. God strikes his heart and it becomes a stone in his chest, which means he went into a coma. He was in the coma for 10 days, then the Lord struck him again and he died.
This is what I find amazing about Abigail... She is in an ugly situation, her marriage was not chosen by her, her family arranged it and she is married to a fool. There is no out, no divorce, no options. So she tries to work around her situation and save her servants and the fool too. She falls down in humility before David. He had already been annointed as the king of Israel, and she gives him the respect of his future position. She talks sense into an angry man. How often will we yell back instead of trying to diffuse the situation? Obviously it is better to try to diffuse it. She did this with both David and Nabal. With David, she tried to appease him and give him more than enough to compensate for the wrong of Nabal. With Nabal, she tried to wait until the right time, then calmly tell him the truth, willing to accept the consequences of her actions. On both occasions, God stepped in and fixed the situation.
The ending of the story is that David sent his servants back to Abigail and asked her to be his wife. She tells the servants of David, that she is a servant to their master and willing to wash the feet of his servants. This is an amazing show of humility. She is willing to put herself below the place of the servant and wash their feet. She goes back and marries David. Man gave her a fool in marriage, God gave her a king.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Hannah
1 Samuel 1:20 So in the course of time Hannah conceived and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, saying, "Because I asked the LORD for him." 24 After he was weaned, she took the boy with her, young as he was, along with a three-year-old bull, an ephah of flour and a skin of wine, and brought him to the house of the LORD at Shiloh. 25 When they had slaughtered the bull, they brought the boy to Eli, 26 and she said to him, "As surely as you live, my lord, I am the woman who stood here beside you praying to the LORD. 27 I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him. 28 So now I give him to the LORD. For his whole life he will be given over to the LORD." And he worshiped the LORD there.
Hannah's husband had 2 wives. Hannah and Peninnah. We cannot imagine such a thing. We could kill a man that cheats, much less one that we had to share on a regular basis, although many women do just that. That is surely another story for another day. Peninnah is mean and she is having babies and that is supposed to be the worth of a woman in those days. So Peninnah is pretty much letting Hannah know that she is worth nothing.
Hannah goes to God and begs for a child stating that if God gives her a child, she will give the child back to God. And she really does. After the child is weaned.... no one is really too sure exactly what that means. The child may have been weaned as we think of it, possibly as small as 3-4 years old. He may have been any age under the age of 12. Apparently at the age of 13 a Jewish son is considered a man (anyone who has a son can testify that it is NOT the truth... anyone who has had a man under 40 can probably testify to it too....) so he would have been younger than that.
So when the child is weaned, she takes him to the temple and leaves him there. Let's really look at this. She did not live in the city where she left her child. She only went there once a year to sacrifice at the temple. Can you imagine? She sees her son only once a year and she brings him a coat she has made with her hands every year.
1 Samuel 2:21 And the LORD was gracious to Hannah; she conceived and gave birth to three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile, the boy Samuel grew up in the presence of the LORD.
God was gracious to Hannah and gave her 5 other children, but I promise you, as a mother, they did not replace the one she gave back to God.. I see a couple of amazing things about this woman. First being that her commitment to God was out of this world. Anyone who has carried a child in their own body and gives birth in pain can understand how unreal the idea of giving your child away would be. Even if it were in commitment to the child, such as an unwed or teenage mother. Or in commitment to God, as this woman did. I do not know that I would have been strong enough to carry out the vow she made to God. She stayed commited to the child, continuing to care for his needs throughout his life. Because of her commitment to God, one of the greatest prophets ever born was able to be the man he was called to be. Many times as a parent, we try to hold on to our child because of what we want for them, instead of what God has for them. We do an extreme disservice to God and to the kingdom when we do this. There are women today that have only been born in order to give birth to and raise a man or woman of God. If we are not true to our purpose with our children, how can the kingdom of God be furthered?
My daughter leaves for college in just a few days. While part of me is very proud of her and glad that she is moving forward, another part of me is distraught. My daughter was given a vision of her purpose when she was yet a young girl. And she has been walking toward it ever since. I went past her bedroom this morning and she has started packing. Much of her belongings are now packed and ready to be moved. As a mother I grieve for the child I am giving to the world. As a woman of God I rejoice for the woman I have had a part in raising.
Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
What are you doing to train up a child? If you do not have your own child, you surely have the ability to affect another's child in a positive manner. You will be blessed for your act of love toward a child. It takes a village to raise a child. Not just one parent, not just two. Stand up this day and sow into the life of a child. You will not know for years to come, just who that child will be.... but you will know that you have made a difference....
Hannah's husband had 2 wives. Hannah and Peninnah. We cannot imagine such a thing. We could kill a man that cheats, much less one that we had to share on a regular basis, although many women do just that. That is surely another story for another day. Peninnah is mean and she is having babies and that is supposed to be the worth of a woman in those days. So Peninnah is pretty much letting Hannah know that she is worth nothing.
Hannah goes to God and begs for a child stating that if God gives her a child, she will give the child back to God. And she really does. After the child is weaned.... no one is really too sure exactly what that means. The child may have been weaned as we think of it, possibly as small as 3-4 years old. He may have been any age under the age of 12. Apparently at the age of 13 a Jewish son is considered a man (anyone who has a son can testify that it is NOT the truth... anyone who has had a man under 40 can probably testify to it too....) so he would have been younger than that.
So when the child is weaned, she takes him to the temple and leaves him there. Let's really look at this. She did not live in the city where she left her child. She only went there once a year to sacrifice at the temple. Can you imagine? She sees her son only once a year and she brings him a coat she has made with her hands every year.
1 Samuel 2:21 And the LORD was gracious to Hannah; she conceived and gave birth to three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile, the boy Samuel grew up in the presence of the LORD.
God was gracious to Hannah and gave her 5 other children, but I promise you, as a mother, they did not replace the one she gave back to God.. I see a couple of amazing things about this woman. First being that her commitment to God was out of this world. Anyone who has carried a child in their own body and gives birth in pain can understand how unreal the idea of giving your child away would be. Even if it were in commitment to the child, such as an unwed or teenage mother. Or in commitment to God, as this woman did. I do not know that I would have been strong enough to carry out the vow she made to God. She stayed commited to the child, continuing to care for his needs throughout his life. Because of her commitment to God, one of the greatest prophets ever born was able to be the man he was called to be. Many times as a parent, we try to hold on to our child because of what we want for them, instead of what God has for them. We do an extreme disservice to God and to the kingdom when we do this. There are women today that have only been born in order to give birth to and raise a man or woman of God. If we are not true to our purpose with our children, how can the kingdom of God be furthered?
My daughter leaves for college in just a few days. While part of me is very proud of her and glad that she is moving forward, another part of me is distraught. My daughter was given a vision of her purpose when she was yet a young girl. And she has been walking toward it ever since. I went past her bedroom this morning and she has started packing. Much of her belongings are now packed and ready to be moved. As a mother I grieve for the child I am giving to the world. As a woman of God I rejoice for the woman I have had a part in raising.
Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
What are you doing to train up a child? If you do not have your own child, you surely have the ability to affect another's child in a positive manner. You will be blessed for your act of love toward a child. It takes a village to raise a child. Not just one parent, not just two. Stand up this day and sow into the life of a child. You will not know for years to come, just who that child will be.... but you will know that you have made a difference....
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Enoch
Genesis 5: 21 When Enoch had lived 65 years, he became the father of Methuselah. 22 And after he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters. 23 Altogether, Enoch lived 365 years. 24 Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.
Hebrews 11:5 By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God.
Jude 1:14Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men: "See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones 15to judge everyone, and to convict all the ungodly of all the ungodly acts they have done in the ungodly way, and of all the harsh words ungodly sinners have spoken against him."
This is the 7th man from Adam.... the bible tells us that "he walked with God for 300 years". Can you imagine literally walking with God? Adam walked with God in the garden in the cool of the day. I would LOVE to be chosen to walk with God physically. We can walk with Him in spirit, that is all I know about.
There are only 2 people in the entire bible that did not experience death. Enoch and Elijah. Enoch was no more and Elijah was caught up. God must have really had special relationship with them for them to be spared from death.
I guess all we can do is to daily try to walk closer to God than the day before. Dying to our own thoughts and desires continually. In order to have a righteous walk before God.
The scripture from Jude is important because it tells us that the ungodly will be judged for the things they say against God. The things that we say out of our mouths are very important. We should be cautious to say only what is necessary. This is surely a lesson I am learning the hard way.
I find it amazing that God chose particular people for particular reasons to be entered into the bible... of course there are actually many other manuscripts that people don't know about because as they were putting the bible together, for one reason or another, certain men did not want some things included... Enoch wrote a book... the book of Enoch.. I have read this book and it tells much about what you see in heaven... the things that are written by Jude about Enoch come from that book..
Hebrews 11:5 By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God.
Jude 1:14Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men: "See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones 15to judge everyone, and to convict all the ungodly of all the ungodly acts they have done in the ungodly way, and of all the harsh words ungodly sinners have spoken against him."
This is the 7th man from Adam.... the bible tells us that "he walked with God for 300 years". Can you imagine literally walking with God? Adam walked with God in the garden in the cool of the day. I would LOVE to be chosen to walk with God physically. We can walk with Him in spirit, that is all I know about.
There are only 2 people in the entire bible that did not experience death. Enoch and Elijah. Enoch was no more and Elijah was caught up. God must have really had special relationship with them for them to be spared from death.
I guess all we can do is to daily try to walk closer to God than the day before. Dying to our own thoughts and desires continually. In order to have a righteous walk before God.
The scripture from Jude is important because it tells us that the ungodly will be judged for the things they say against God. The things that we say out of our mouths are very important. We should be cautious to say only what is necessary. This is surely a lesson I am learning the hard way.
I find it amazing that God chose particular people for particular reasons to be entered into the bible... of course there are actually many other manuscripts that people don't know about because as they were putting the bible together, for one reason or another, certain men did not want some things included... Enoch wrote a book... the book of Enoch.. I have read this book and it tells much about what you see in heaven... the things that are written by Jude about Enoch come from that book..
Monday, July 27, 2009
Cain
Adam and Eve gave birth to a child and Eve says, with the help of the Lord I have brought forth a man... I had a son and I didn't think I had given birth to a man... I think that is significant that she realized he was a man from birth...
So in the course of time... Cain gave an offering to God from the soil and Abel from the flocks... and God rejected Cain's offering but received Abel's offering. That had always bothered me until a short time ago when my pastor stated that Abel's offering was from the "first fruits" and Cain's was not. Meaning, that Cain gave what was left over and Abel gave before he worried about what he needed for himself or his family. Wow... How often do we do that? How often do we pay our bills and after that is done, decide what we can give God.... Or worse yet, we pay our bills, buy what we want, and after all that is done, decide if we will give God anything.... Yet we expect so much from Him... even if it were not material things, we expect peace and health and mercy and grace, yet struggle with giving offerings to the God who gives all... sheesh... we are about a sickening lot of people...
So, when God does not look at what Cain gave with favor, Cain is mad and his face is downcast and God says to him... Then the LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it."
Sin is crouching at your door and it desires to have you... but you must master it.... How often do we realize that sin is really crouching at our door? How often do we realize it desires to have us? How often do we do what is right in order to be accepted?
Then Cain calls Abel out in the field and kills him... When God asks where Abel is, smart alec that Cain is, he says am I my brother's keeper... Can you imagine speaking to God in such a way??? Whew... So God says that The LORD said, "What have you done? Listen! Your brother's blood cries out to me from the ground. Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand. When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth." Cain said to the LORD, "My punishment is more than I can bear. Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence; I will be a restless wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me." But the LORD said to him, "Not so; if anyone kills Cain, he will suffer vengeance seven times over." Then the LORD put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him. So Cain went out from the LORD's presence and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden.
How very like us... Cain kills Abel, then thinks it is unfair that someone might kill him... What in the world? The worst part of all this to me would be to have been driven from the presence of the Lord. Can you imagine? Just on days that God is far from us or silent, we struggle... but to literally be driven from the presence of the Lord... But just like God... He didn't give up on Cain... He continued to help him... to prosper him... to love him... Cain lay with his wife, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Enoch. Cain was then building a city, and he named it after his son Enoch.
Before we are driven from the presence of God... We need to recognize Him in all His glory and majesty and honor and give to God the first fruits of our labor...
So in the course of time... Cain gave an offering to God from the soil and Abel from the flocks... and God rejected Cain's offering but received Abel's offering. That had always bothered me until a short time ago when my pastor stated that Abel's offering was from the "first fruits" and Cain's was not. Meaning, that Cain gave what was left over and Abel gave before he worried about what he needed for himself or his family. Wow... How often do we do that? How often do we pay our bills and after that is done, decide what we can give God.... Or worse yet, we pay our bills, buy what we want, and after all that is done, decide if we will give God anything.... Yet we expect so much from Him... even if it were not material things, we expect peace and health and mercy and grace, yet struggle with giving offerings to the God who gives all... sheesh... we are about a sickening lot of people...
So, when God does not look at what Cain gave with favor, Cain is mad and his face is downcast and God says to him... Then the LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it."
Sin is crouching at your door and it desires to have you... but you must master it.... How often do we realize that sin is really crouching at our door? How often do we realize it desires to have us? How often do we do what is right in order to be accepted?
Then Cain calls Abel out in the field and kills him... When God asks where Abel is, smart alec that Cain is, he says am I my brother's keeper... Can you imagine speaking to God in such a way??? Whew... So God says that The LORD said, "What have you done? Listen! Your brother's blood cries out to me from the ground. Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand. When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth." Cain said to the LORD, "My punishment is more than I can bear. Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence; I will be a restless wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me." But the LORD said to him, "Not so; if anyone kills Cain, he will suffer vengeance seven times over." Then the LORD put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him. So Cain went out from the LORD's presence and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden.
How very like us... Cain kills Abel, then thinks it is unfair that someone might kill him... What in the world? The worst part of all this to me would be to have been driven from the presence of the Lord. Can you imagine? Just on days that God is far from us or silent, we struggle... but to literally be driven from the presence of the Lord... But just like God... He didn't give up on Cain... He continued to help him... to prosper him... to love him... Cain lay with his wife, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Enoch. Cain was then building a city, and he named it after his son Enoch.
Before we are driven from the presence of God... We need to recognize Him in all His glory and majesty and honor and give to God the first fruits of our labor...
Friday, July 24, 2009
Rahab
Rahab was a prostitute... many times we try to clean up what someone was in the past... the bible does not try to pretend she was anything other than a prostitute...
what would we say about a prostitute? we would in our righteous self say that she is filthy and nasty and does the unmentionable things that real women will not do... whatever... my perception of a prostitute is someone who is very skilled at a trade... and lets put it out there... women get mad worrying that their skills are not comparable... that is why she has to be looked at as so dirty... but what I really see a prostitute as is someone that a man can be free with... he can be open and honest with her and know that she has been so judged in her life that she would not judge him... they say that many times men pay women (prostitutes) just to talk... isn't that a sad situation if he has a wife that he cannot tell her his innermost thoughts... how do you become a wife that your husband can't talk to?...
back to Rahab... so the spies of Israel are hidden by Rahab the prostitute.. and they promise her their lives for her families lives... they spare her family because she spared them... one of the amazing things of the story is the fact that God spoke to her, even though she was not an Israelite... she states that she knew that God had given the land to them and that God had opened the Red Sea and that all the people of her country were afraid of them because of who their God was... we tend to think that God only speaks to the saved and that is not true... He speaks to whomever He chooses....
so as the story goes on... that the Israelites overcome the city and kill everyone in it with the exception of Rahab and her family and over time.. Rahab is given in marriage to Salmon... one of the men who had been at her house as a spy... and she is one of the few women that is listed in the geneology of not only David... but Jesus...
how often do we judge people not by their heart, but by their appearance or their past.... and the bible tells us that God looks not upon the countenance of a man... but upon the spirit within him... I can't tell you how thankful I am that God is willing to overlook who we were and who we still are and focus on our spirit and who He sees us as in the future...
02.22.11 I read back over this.. and while I agree with what I wrote.. I am amazed at how God has transformed my mind over this period of 2 1/2 years... thank you Lord!!
what would we say about a prostitute? we would in our righteous self say that she is filthy and nasty and does the unmentionable things that real women will not do... whatever... my perception of a prostitute is someone who is very skilled at a trade... and lets put it out there... women get mad worrying that their skills are not comparable... that is why she has to be looked at as so dirty... but what I really see a prostitute as is someone that a man can be free with... he can be open and honest with her and know that she has been so judged in her life that she would not judge him... they say that many times men pay women (prostitutes) just to talk... isn't that a sad situation if he has a wife that he cannot tell her his innermost thoughts... how do you become a wife that your husband can't talk to?...
back to Rahab... so the spies of Israel are hidden by Rahab the prostitute.. and they promise her their lives for her families lives... they spare her family because she spared them... one of the amazing things of the story is the fact that God spoke to her, even though she was not an Israelite... she states that she knew that God had given the land to them and that God had opened the Red Sea and that all the people of her country were afraid of them because of who their God was... we tend to think that God only speaks to the saved and that is not true... He speaks to whomever He chooses....
so as the story goes on... that the Israelites overcome the city and kill everyone in it with the exception of Rahab and her family and over time.. Rahab is given in marriage to Salmon... one of the men who had been at her house as a spy... and she is one of the few women that is listed in the geneology of not only David... but Jesus...
how often do we judge people not by their heart, but by their appearance or their past.... and the bible tells us that God looks not upon the countenance of a man... but upon the spirit within him... I can't tell you how thankful I am that God is willing to overlook who we were and who we still are and focus on our spirit and who He sees us as in the future...
02.22.11 I read back over this.. and while I agree with what I wrote.. I am amazed at how God has transformed my mind over this period of 2 1/2 years... thank you Lord!!
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Eve
Can you imagine being Eve? The first woman created. No question of who she is created for. No question of who her husband should be or if she has made a mistake. The mother of all mankind. One thing for sure, she couldn't look at anyone else's husband and wonder why hers didn't act like that.
I guess the thing we attribute most to Eve is the fall. But the bible says she was deceived. She was deceived while Adam sinned openly, meaning he had knowledge of it. How many times have you been deceived? She had children. She had heartache from them. One of her sons killed his brother. The first murder. But God gave her another son. Genesis 4:25 Adam lay with his wife again, and she gave birth to a son and named him Seth, saying, "God has granted me another child in place of Abel, since Cain killed him." 26 Seth also had a son, and he named him Enosh. At that time men began to call on the name of the LORD.
The bible says at that time men began to call on the name of the Lord. In other words, they started preaching the words of God. Eve had relationship with God. She had relationship with her husband and she had relationship with her children.
So to me, although we can see that Eve was not perfect and that we have all suffered because of her deception, she was still a good woman. After her sin, she got back up and lived. She did not dwell on her wrong doing. She asked forgiveness and turned from the sin. Maybe instead of remembering Eve for the fall, we should remember her as the mother of mankind, the example of a wife she was. I know that I do not want to be remembered for my sins.
I guess the thing we attribute most to Eve is the fall. But the bible says she was deceived. She was deceived while Adam sinned openly, meaning he had knowledge of it. How many times have you been deceived? She had children. She had heartache from them. One of her sons killed his brother. The first murder. But God gave her another son. Genesis 4:25 Adam lay with his wife again, and she gave birth to a son and named him Seth, saying, "God has granted me another child in place of Abel, since Cain killed him." 26 Seth also had a son, and he named him Enosh. At that time men began to call on the name of the LORD.
The bible says at that time men began to call on the name of the Lord. In other words, they started preaching the words of God. Eve had relationship with God. She had relationship with her husband and she had relationship with her children.
So to me, although we can see that Eve was not perfect and that we have all suffered because of her deception, she was still a good woman. After her sin, she got back up and lived. She did not dwell on her wrong doing. She asked forgiveness and turned from the sin. Maybe instead of remembering Eve for the fall, we should remember her as the mother of mankind, the example of a wife she was. I know that I do not want to be remembered for my sins.
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