Luke 5:32 “I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”
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Jesus makes it clear that His coming was not for all mankind, just for sinners. Of course, all are sinners so what was he talking about, “I have not come to call the righteous”. Continue reading
God, you’re killing me.
Joshua 11:23
So Joshua took control of the entire land, just as the Lord had instructed Moses. He gave it to the people of Israel as their special possession, dividing the land among the tribes. So the land finally had rest from war.
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When I read of the merciless slaughter in Joshua 11, and much of the OT for that matter, I feel conflicted. A loving God clearly commanded, approved and even participated in all this gore, violence and bloodshed. How is that consistent with His nature revealed through Jesus in the NT? A passage in Joshua 11 gives insight.
The Greatest Miracle in the Bible
“So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped … the sun stopped in the middle of the sky and did not go down for about a whole day.” – Joshua 10:13
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The sun stopped for a day! This is even more miraculous than raising Jesus from the dead. For Moses he stopped some water but here, the sun stopped! Did all the stars and planets stop rotating, too? What of the tides and gravity and all the implications of this complicated cosmic system suddenly grinding to a halt. How about folks on the other side of the planet who had two nights back to back. Absolutely amazing! Why would God do such an astounding thing? Why does it get so little press coverage in the rest of the Bible? Continue reading
But he doesn’t deserve it.
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Luke 21:1-5
Jesus saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. 2 He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. 3 “I tell you the truth,” he said, “this poor widow has put in more than all the others. 4 All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.”5 Some of his disciples were remarking about how the temple was adorned with beautiful stones and with gifts dedicated to God.
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It is interesting that right after the story of this widow comments are made on the accumulated wealth of the temple. This widow gives her food money to an institution that can build gold and jewel encrusted buildings. Something does not seem right about that.
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Even when it hurts
In Joshua 9 the Gibeonites lied to Joshua to get him to promise to spare their lives. Theirs was an intentional, premeditated deception. They went to great lengths to cover the truth. In any court Joshua would not have been required to fulfill his vow because of their deceitfulness yet, he kept his word anyway. What’s that all about? Keeping your word even when you find new information, even when you find someone else was not being perfectly honest or walking in integrity. Continue reading
God is so uncivilized!
Reading about all the slaughter at Ai in Joshua 8 is hard for me to enjoy. I feel I should rejoice because “the good guys won” but I don’t get excited picturing carved up corpses of women and children with their blood draining into the streets. Theologically, I know the right answers for why this was necessary but in the sterile, nice world where I live such images are abhorrent.
It does, however, cause me to reevaluate my image of God. Jesus was a perfect reflection of God the Father (Hebrews 1:3). Jesus and the Father are in perfect sync. In other words, Jesus was in on this slaughter as much as the Father was. There is no contradiction between the two. Continue reading
Pay up!
Luke 20:21-25
Spies questioned him: “Teacher, we know that you speak and teach what is right, and that you do not show partiality but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it right for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”
(This was a trap. If He said pay the taxes many Jews would see Him as a compromiser willing to support an evil empire that cruelly subjugated them. If He said, “No”, He could face the wrath of Rome for encouraging insurrection against the empire.)
He saw through their duplicity and said to them, “Show me a denarius (a Roman coin). Whose portrait and inscription are on it?”
“Caesar’s,” they replied.
He said to them, “Then give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” Continue reading
The Seed of Sin
In Joshua 7 Achan stole just as few tiny items that belonged to the Lord and was destroyed for his thievery. He and his entire family died for a robe, a handful of silver and a pound or so of gold. And he couldn’t even enjoy them. He had it buried under his tent. His greed also resulted in 36 innocent men dying producing widows, orphans, grieving parents, family, friends and loss to a nation.
Such a huge, painful price to pay for such a small infraction. That is just not fair… but sin never is. The fruit of our sin is always so much greater than the seed of sin we sowed. And it doesn’t just impact us. Drop a pebble in a calm pond and the ripples, like sin, spread out and disturb the entire pond. Continue reading
Call me legalistic but …
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Jericho was the first of 10 cities mentioned by name that Israel conquered. In Jericho the people were not allowed to plunder any of the silver, gold, bronze or iron. These items were set apart to go into the treasury of the Lord. (Joshua 6:19) However, in each of the other nine cities the people could keep the plunder for themselves. The first 10% (1 of 10 cities) belonged to God but the people could have the other 90%. Continue reading
Crazy, Dangerous Love
Luke 10:25-29
An expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
“What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”
He answered: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.'”
“You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”
But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
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What was this expert in the law asking? Who is my neighbor? In other words, just who do I have to love? I certainly don’t want to be wasting any love on anyone I don’t have to. The law seeks to limit liability and responsibility. “According to my contract I have to do this and no more.” “Just who am I obligated to love to fulfill the command? I will love my neighbor but no one else.” Do you sense the straight jacket of legalism in this?
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