Isaiah 36
Have you ever noticed that for everything God offers, Satan has a counterfeit? And usually, it sounds pretty good. So good that, sometimes, it can be hard to distinguish the right from the wrong. Instead of trying to decide between black and white, it’s more like trying to decide between white and off-white.
Ecclesiastes 7
A few days ago, I quoted from an article written by Aleksandar Hemon about the death of his little girl, Isabel. The paragraph I quoted began with a sentence that, at the time, I left out, but I will quote now: “One of the most despicable religious fallacies is that suffering is ennobling—that it is a step on the path to some kind of enlightenment or salvation.” Now, I don’t know about suffering being a step toward salvation, but I’m not sure I’m ready to agree that suffering is not ennobling.
Ecclesiastes 5
A few years ago, I went to see the musical Jersey Boys. It’s the story of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons, and it’s a pretty wild story! But nothing floored me more than the revelation that Frankie Valli and songwriter Bob Gaudio (who was, for a time, also one of the group’s singers) have maintained for more than 40 years a personal partnership contract sealed with a handshake.
1 Chronicles 19
When reading through the Old Testament, it’s very easy to jump to the conclusion that God is an elitist, exclusive kinda guy. After all, it seems He chose a nation (Israel) for Himself, called them out of slavery, and worked very hard to try to give them everything He could. On such a cursory reading, it could be easy to conclude that God loved and protected Israel to the exclusion of all other nations.
2 Kings 11
After King Ahaziah of Judah was killed, his mother Athaliah went nuts: "When Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she proceeded to destroy the whole royal family." (vs 1) Can you imagine this? A grandmother setting out to kill all of her grandchildren? The children of Ahaziah were heirs to the throne, but apparently, Athaliah decided that she should sit on the throne. And she did. She became the only queen of Judah.
2 Kings 7
A few years ago, our water heater unexpectedly broke, and after some consultation with a plumber, we realized that we would not only have to get a new water heater, but a water softener as well. I just hate it when that happens! If you don’t have money in savings, unexpected expenses like that can really get you down.
2 SAMUEL 8
This chapter outlines all of David’s military victories after becoming king of Israel. Incidentally, after defeating the Philistines, the Moabites, the Arameans, the Edomites, and the Ammonites, Israel had finally acquired all the territory that the Lord had promised to Abraham in Genesis 15:18-19, over 1000 years before.
JOSHUA 13
At the beginning of Joshua 13, the Lord comes to Joshua and says, "You are now very old, and there are still very large areas of land to be taken over." (vs 1) And then, He proceeds to outline exactly what areas of land are left for the Israelites to take possession of. I was struck by the specificity of it. He didn’t just say, "There’s still some land to the east over there." No, it was from this border over here to that border over there and everything below this mountain and so on.
Photo © Unsplash/Yoann Boyer
God said
I am your God, and I am with you.
Jacob replied
If God will be with me, then he will be my God.
This, this!
is the human problem—
Always adding doubt to God's steadfast recipes.
Always placing conditions on God's unconditional offers.
Always suggesting a coalitional approach to God's unilateral operations.
Photo © Unsplash/Scott Rodgerson
God
promised
Abraham
Canaan, the land,
as a gift to him and his descendants.
Years passed with no fulfillment of the vow,
but Abraham
had learned to
trust in
God.
When
Sarah
passed away,
he bought a grave,
and laid her there to rest in promised land.
Israel's first piece of Canaan was a
burial plot,
a wager
on God's
word.
*Tetractys: A poetic form consisting of at least 5 lines of 1, 2, 3, 4, and 10 syllables, respectively. Tetractys can be written with more than one verse, but each must follow suit with an inverted syllable count.
LEVITICUS 27
People who say whatever they think you want to hear. You know some of those, right? I certainly do! And boy, do they ever get on my nerves. I’d rather people just be honest about what they think and feel instead of thinking that they have to try to manipulate my moods with their words... especially when they don’t mean what they’re saying.
Forefather Abraham must have been filled with
such foreboding as the appointed blade drew near.
He could never have foreseen God's circumscriptive request...
nor foregone its fulfillment once it had been proposed.
After all, he was God's foremost friend on the planet.
Mostly, though, he didn't want God to foreclose on the covenant—
Ishmael had turned out to be the forerunner of the promise,
just a foretaste of the legitimate heir.
God was still forecasting Isaac's arrival,
so obedience was forefront on Abraham's mind.
He cut a deal, therefore, skin and all.
It's sort of cruel
to make such an outrageous promise—
innumerable children
for a man who doesn't even have one
for a man who feels the relentless beat
of a childless father's heart in his chest
to promise more daughters than dust is cruel.
It's sort of cruel
to make such an outrageous promise—
dirty diapers and sloppy kisses and giggles
for a woman whose body long ago
stopped reminding her like clockwork
of her power to deliver new life
for a woman who has felt the monthly sting of bitterness
diffuse into the dull ache of perpetual barrenness
to promise more sons than sand is cruel.
Who makes such outrageous promises, anyway?
Who messes with people like that?
And once you're settled so squarely in the realm of the inconceivable,
where does it stop?
You might as well claim the power
to muzzle hurricanes
to disembowel suffering
to dissolve brickish hearts
to bring back the dead
AS IF
the grave had a revolving door
What on earth would drive you
to guarantee the one thing that could
answer the lonely echo of a desperate soul?
What in heaven's name would possess you
to make such an outrageous promise?
It's sort of cruel, you know—
that is . . .
unless you can deliver.
Photo © Unsplash/Denys Nevozhai
You promised Abraham blessings galore,
Progeny more than the sand on the shore.
Still, he was worried he might come across
Someone with power to turn gain to loss.
So he embarked on a self-serving plan:
Impersonating an unmarried man.
I know I'm prone to a similar skew,
Trying to pull off what you said you'd do.
It shouldn't matter if life remains rough.
All of your promises should be enough.
I should be willing to stay on my knees
And let you work out your plan as you please.
Help me to trust you beyond what I see
And not to fear what the outcome will be.
Sonnet: A poem consisting of 14 lines with a particular rhyming scheme.
Photo © Unsplash/Abigail Keenan
a rainbow always appears
where the storm
meets the sun
a defiant reminder
that
pain can be beautiful
heartache can shine
suffering can glisten
sorrow can be radiant
grief can be stunning
after all
there'd be no rainbow
if there was no storm
and in this world there's never a storm without one
that's how we know
we're never alone
when we face
the howling winds
for
a rainbow always appears
where the storm
meets the Son
