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| Cherry tree blossoms near Mt. Celo Church |
Meditating on God's Word / Applying it to My Life
Manipulation / Truth and Sincerity – Judges 9 and 10 –
Abimelech, the son of the maidservant of
Gideon, usurps control of Shechem by devious, murderous
manipulation. Gideon had told the people
that neither he nor his son would rule over the people – that the LORD would
rule over them. Abimelech goes to his
mother’s people to pay and support him in his rule. He hires “worthless and reckless men.” He kills the other 70 sons of his
father. Yet, the youngest – Jotham –
hides and stands against his half-brother, reminding the people of the risk of
life that his father undertook to save them all. Jotham calls down a curse on Shechem – if
they have not acted in sincerity and truth.
My Lessons / Applications:
Not once does Abimeleck seek God’s advice,
blessing or help. He uses, instead, the world’s methods of garnering control – a
divide and conquer mentality, aligning himself with wicked men, destroying
others for greed and self-promotion. He
did not seek God, but God... intervened in opposition to Abimelech by sending a
spirit of ill will between Abimelech and the men of Shechem. The methods: secrecy….lying in wait…lying. The
consequences: Others arise and come
against Abimelech using his same methods…they end up destroying each
other. All the men coming against
Abimelch can’t destroy him, but a single woman does. “Thus
God repaid the wickedness of Abimelech, which he had done to his father by
killing his 70 brothers. And all the
evil of the men of Shechem God returned on their own heads and on them came the
curse of Jotham the son of Jerubaal (Gideon). God's intervention is not immediate. Destruction, defeat, and death followed a momentary victory.
Manipulation / Truth and Sincerity – Luke 16 – This is another
greatly debated passage. Why is Jesus
seeming to praise the unjust steward's manipulation, lies, dishonesty and deceit? I have heard several teachings on this
passage and still have not walked away with the confirmation of the Spirit
within me of what I had heard. Most say that Jesus is emphasizing that the wicked, pagan world is
much more effective in getting the results needed, in being resourceful, that we should learn to be equally resourceful and determined in spiritual matters.
A Quandary: Honestly, I do not see this when using Scripture to interpret Scripture. Being shrewd? Discerning, yes. I can see that our dealing with ungodly mammon (money) is less important than dealing with spiritual truths. That handling money well (doing the lesser) qualifies us for handling the greater (spiritual truths)...but then this from Jesus...for what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination to God." I still cannot understand this last comment from Jesus in light of the unjust steward parable.
Again on "Death"/ Heaven and Hell / Miracles: Luke 16: 19-29. In the parable, there is communication and sight between those in heaven and hell, but a gulf that cannot be crossed. Circumstances have been reversed. The poor and downtrodden man is now elevated in the heavenly realm while the wealthy earthly oppressor now finds himself in hell. The latter seems to excuse himself on the basis of having arrived in hell from lack of illumination from God - not enough miracles to convince him. If so, he would have believed. "Send the poor man back to my relatives to warn them!" The answer: "If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead." Charles Stanley nails this in his commentary, "Jesus performed all kinds of miracles... They did not make anyone believe... He even raised another man from the dead... and His enemies still crucified Him."
My Lessons / Applications: There may be teachings I do not fully understand; there are things not revealed to us (Deut. 29:29), but what have I done with what God HAS revealed to me, what He has given me to understand and apply to a godly life that glorifies Him? Why do we so readily accept what the world says about things of which the majority of us has little or no understanding, yet we are so unwilling to accept spiritual teachings of a Savior we know and love, who gave His life for us? Is it the teaching that gives us pause or fear that it has been manipulated by men for their own purposes, as has been done with so much in our world? Do we rely on the Holy Spirit to reconcile this for us, to give us understanding as we are ready? J.I. Packer has some further comments on Scriptural passages that are unclear: J.I Packer, The Interpretation of Scripture
The Bible is the greatest of all books; to study
it the noblest of all pursuits; to understand it, the highest of all goals. -
Charles C. Ryrie
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