February 2nd One Year Bible Readings

~ Click on this link for today's readings ~
Exodus 15:19-17:7 ~ Matthew 22:1-33
Psalm 27:1-26 ~ Proverbs 6:20-26

Old Testament - Today in Exodus chapter 15 we read about the prophet Miriam!  You'll recall from Exodus chapter 2 that Miriam watched Pharaoh's daughter draw Moses from the Nile when he was a baby and Miriam wisely suggested that she find a Hebrew nurse for the baby (Moses' mom).  We'll read about Miriam again in Numbers chapter 12 with a very interesting interaction with Aaron, Moses & God - you can read about it now at this link.  Other female prophets we will read about in Bible include Deborah (Judges 4:4), Isaiah's wife (Isaiah 8:3), Huldah (2 Kings 22:14), Noadiah (Nehemiah 6:14), Anna (Luke 2:36) and Philips daughters (Acts 21:9).  Below is an image of Miriam's song:

Verse 26 stood out to me in this chapter: "If you will listen carefully to the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in his sight, obeying his commands and laws, then I will not make you suffer the diseases I sent on the Egyptians; for I am the LORD who heals you."  It seems to me that here the Israelites are getting a foreshadowing of the Laws to come.  "Listen to God - do what is right in his sight.  And you will not suffer.  I will heal you."  We'll dive more into this when we get to the Laws - but, I'll say this now and repeat it often - I do believe that the Laws for the Israelites, as we even see in this verse, were born out of compassion from God.  God wanted to preserve and care and heal his people - and imagine living in a desert for 40 years, coming out of slavery...  the laws were beneficial for your very well being and life!

Today in Exodus chapter 16 we read about Manna and Quail from heaven.   Verses 29 & 30 were powerful for me today, as God speaks about the Sabbath: ""Do they not realize that I have given them the seventh day, the Sabbath, as a day of rest? That is why I give you twice as much food on the sixth day, so there will be enough for two days. On the Sabbath day you must stay in your places. Do not pick up food from the ground on that day." So the people rested on the seventh day."   You will probably read on this blog over and over and over again about the Sabbath...  I am a huge fan of the concept!  And such a poor practitioner of it...  I honestly think the Sabbath is one of the most compassionate things God ever created for us.  And, don't get me wrong - my personal view is not legalistic in the sense of the Sabbath....  But....  personally, I think the Sabbath is just such a blessing of a gift to us.  And I think we - I - us - humans - often do such a bad job of really taking a Sabbath.  Really taking 1 day a week to really rest and relax and be with God.  Recently I read in our local newspaper about a Hasidic Jewish rapper who came through our town on tour - yes, seriously, there is a Hasidic Jewish rapper who is getting hugely popular nationally.  Anyhow, the article - in our secular newspaper - wrote about how this rapper will not perform on Fridays or Saturdays in observance of the Jewish Sabbath Law - and Hasidic Jews strongly observe most all of the Laws still today (I believe...  except for animal sacrifices - simply because there is not the Temple in Jerusalem today for the sacrifices).  Anyhow - I'm going off on some tangents here - but, the point is, that when I read about how this guy will not perform shows on the 2 best money-making nights of the week for concerts, because of his observance of the Sabbath - I dare say his love of God and his appreciation of the Sabbath - it really struck me.  And it really reminded me of how really really bad I am at truly resting and being with God 1 day a week.  And I'm not feeling guilty about this per se...  but maybe I am feeling convicted... :)   Basically - I am feeling that God is really calling me to slow down and simply rest and be with him 1 day a week.  A Sabbath. 

Verse 31 quick comment - "In time, the food became known as manna. It was white like coriander seed, and it tasted like honey cakes."  I love that manna means "What is it?"!  That is awesome...  I think you'll notice throughout our Bible readings this year that names can often be very descriptive of locations, happenings, personalities - and can even be simple questions like "What is it??" Great commentary on Exodus chapter 16 entitled "Boot Camp and "C" Rations" :) is online at bible.org at this link.  Below is "The Gathering of Manna" from 1614 by the Italian painter Guido Reni:

New Testament - Today we read in Matthew chapter 22 the Parable of the Wedding Banquet. This parable has always been so convicting to me personally. It's basically about a king preparing an amazing feast at a wedding banquet, and inviting a ton of people to come to the feast. But - the people don't accept the invitation! They are "too busy" – taking care of their fields and their businesses. And I think about this parable in my own life. Am I sometimes "too busy" to accept Jesus' invitation to be with him? Am I sometimes too focused on my work or my social life or other distractions? Do I get myself so "distracted" that I don't spend time with Jesus? And in doing this, am I missing out on an amazing spiritual feast? How about you? Do you believe that Jesus is inviting you to spend more time with him? Are you "too busy" to do so? Do you believe that spending time with Jesus will actually be an amazing spiritual feast for your soul? Will you accept Jesus' invitation to the wedding banquet?

In verse 21 we read Jesus' famous line ""give to Caesar what belongs to him. But everything that belongs to God must be given to God."  What you may not realize about the preceding verses is that the Pharisees and the supporters of Herod were trying to trap Jesus.  Per Tyndale's commentary, The Pharisees, a religious group, opposed the Roman occupation of Palestine.  The followers of Herod - or Herodians - were a political party that supported the policies of Rome and Herod Antipas.  Normally these 2 groups did not get along at all - but they united here to try to trap Jesus.  If Jesus had said it was right to pay taxes to Caesar, the Pharisees would say he is opposed to God.  And if Jesus had said the taxes should not be paid, the Herodians would have had him arrested.  Jesus answer amazed them both...   Below is an image of the Denarius (Roman coin) of Tiberius Caesar. Tiberius (42 B.C. - A.D. 37) became Roman Emperor in A.D. 14. This would have been the picture on the coin shown to Jesus, when he asked in verse 20: "Whose picture and title are stamped on it?"

Psalms - Psalm 27 verse 13 is so beautiful - "Yet I am confident that I will see the LORD's goodness while I am here in the land of the living." Do you have this same confidence?  What are some examples of how you have seen God's goodness here in the land of the living?  What are some examples of how you are sharing God's goodness with others here in the land of the living?

Proverbs - Proverbs chapter 6 verse 23 should make each of us rejoice in this amazing blessing of reading - and learning! - from the One Year Bible here in 2007!  "For these commands and this teaching are a lamp to light the way ahead of you. The correction of discipline is the way to life."  Are you learning as you have read the Bible this past month?  Is reading the Bible each day changing your relationship with God?  Is it changing your behavior in any way?  Is reading the Bible a lamp to light the way ahead of you?  Will reading the Bible each day change the way you live the rest of your life?  Do you believe that the correction of discipline is the way to life?  Will you embrace and pray for and accept God's holy and divine correction of discipline in your life this year?

Comments from You and Questions of the Day:  Based on God's words about the Sabbath in our Exodus readings today, do you take a Sabbath?  What do you do - or not do - on the Sabbath?  Does it bless the other 6 days of your week?  How long have you been in the habit of taking a Sabbath?  Is it hard to get in the habit?  Any other "tricks of the trade" you can share with all of us about taking a Sabbath?  Please post up any wisdom you can share about your Sabbath habits in the Comments section below!  Thanks!   You can change our weekly habits here with your Comments!  :)  Also, what verses or insights stand out to you in today's readings?  Please post up by clicking on the "Comments" link below!

God bless,
Mike

Comments

[Jit]

Why doesn't God condemn slavery per se?
This has been troubling me since reading about how both Egyptians and Israelites had slaves and yet God showed favour to only one. Could it be that God does not interfere in man's affairs, allowing us to conduct our business within the rules he has set for us. However God will intervene when His plan of salvation is thwarted

[Anka]

In the beginning,God created day,night,separated the seas etc...and said they were good.He blessed the living things,the only day He blessed was the Shabbat,the 7th day.Before fully joining a messianic congregation,I struggled with keeping any day for God,much less the 7th day.Then slowly I began to realise that God didn't give the laws to punish Israel but to bless them and separate them from the nations that bowed to other gods.I realised that out of the 7days God created,he only named one.I also realise that keeping the Shabbat or not does not affect your salvation.We are saved by grace and not by keeping the law.
With this in mind,keeping a day apart for God seemed like entering a blessing.If my team's on call,I will go to work.I set aside that day to fellowship with my brothers and sisters in the Lord,rest,I'd avoid shopping,doing business basically stuff that celebrates me rather than God.
I don't think I'm any better than anyone who choses to keep anyother day/none at all...our relationship with God is personal,we can show others Jesus in our lives by the fruit of the Spirit...being legalistic about keeping the law may not draw anyone to God.
Tricks of the trade....well none,as the Spirit leads each one..at a point I realised I was keeping celebrating God on the Shabbat without even purposing in my heart to...friday evening was fellowship,saturday morning,bible study....right after bible school a group of us visited a young lady who tried to commit suicide and ended up paralized,by the time I got home,it was saturday evening...so it is God who works in each of us to will and do of His good pleasure.....
God bless you all

[John]

Mike,

Only within the last 2 or 3 years of my life have I really observed a Sabbath Rest on Sundays... It has been a tremendous Blessing to my life...

I try not to be legalistic about it, but do try and intentionally keep Sunday for REST...RECREATION...WORSHIP...FAMILY...

GOD knew what HE was doing when HE asked us to set aside a day to do above kinda things... Now we must answer are we ready to follow?

[luciano Del Monte]

I build in sabbath by following this simple plan--I divert daily, I withdraw weekly, and I abandon annually.

Divert daily--every day I seek to build in some sabbath moments. For me that means taking a prayer walk with my open bible and conversing with the Lord over my one year bible readings. Living in Canada, where it's cold, I enjoy being with the Lord in the frosty air, walking on snow packed trails.

Withdraw weekly--each week I try to take a full 24 hour period of doing 'nothing' related to my work.

Abandon annually--we build in the traditional vacation at the lake, but each morning I invest at least two hours sitting by the beach, journaling my prayers, taking extra time to read the Word and do unrushed meditation and reading of spiritual literature.

Sabbath is a gift to us that we need to unwrap.

[Karen]

I have a difficult time taking a Sabbath. I can't do it on Sundays since I work Sundays. I'll try to aim for one of my days off from work (Tues, Wed, or Thurs.) but with my mom needing me on a constant basis, it is not easy for me to take a Sabbath.

[Gina]

Hey Ya'll, sorry I've been away from commenting...but I'm still reading. I've had the awesome privilge of being a part of ABC's Extreme Makeover Home Edition here in Myrtle Beach. I've seen God move in amazing ways through this experience and I'm very humbled to have been a small part of it. If God leads you...please say a prayer for the family as they move into their new home this weekend. The episode will air on March 25. Thanks!

Okay.......

I totally agree with you regarding the Sabbath. I love how you also do not get legalistic about it. I believe the Sabbath is 1 day set apart to rest in God. I do not believe that day must be a specific day as that is not possible for some of us - I know when I worked in retail, my sabbath would have had to be Wednesday as that was my day off. Anyways - I also agree with your convictions about it...I don't do it enough! But when I do, my Sabbath is usually Sunday. I love to cozy up with a blanket and my bible on Sunday evenings after church and spending time with friends during the day. Mark 2:27 says "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath." - And in my study notes it says something that really stuck out for me..."We need to remember to not make the sabbath law more important than the sabbath rest"! That is an awesome statement!.

The verse that stood out for me in Psalms is 14 "Wait for the Lord, be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord". This is hope for me, again, as we jsut heard that my husband did not get a certain job that he applied for - one that would keep him home from his work travels. We were disappointed but my husband is wise and he said to me "God is in control". And so we continue to wait for God to open another door. I also like verse 8 - "my heart says of you "seek his face!" - your face Lord, I will seek" - I am reminded to seek His face - not His hand.

[Bill]

QUESTIONS OF THE DAY:

“ Based on God's words about the Sabbath in our Exodus readings today, do you take a Sabbath? What do you do - or not do - on the Sabbath? Does it bless the other 6 days of your week? How long have you been in the habit of taking a Sabbath? Is it hard to get in the habit? Any other "tricks of the trade" you can share with all of us about taking a Sabbath?…”

Yes, but I don’t call it “the Sabbath.” To me it’s “ the Lord’s Day” which I observe on Sunday, the first day of the week, based on Acts 20:7 and 1 Corinthians 16:2. Some teach that the Roman emperopr Constantine, who converted to Christianity, changed the holy day to Sunday but I think the Church was already practicing that in the apostolic era at least 250 years before that. The main reason, in my view, why the early Church switched to Sunday is because the Jews persecuted the early Jewish believers in the synagogues and in the Temple on the Sabbath Day. Would you want to go there knowing you were not welcome? The Apostle Paul still went to the synagogues on the Sabbath Day to preach to the Jews but from the Scriptures it appears that the churches by then were coming together on Sunday. My sister is a Seventh Day Adventist who believes in keeping the Sabbath on Saturday as do the Jews and they teach falsely that this is the prophesied Mark of the Beast spoken of in the Book of Revelation.

“Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days:”

- Colossians 2:16 ( KJV )

As an act of worship, I don’t think it matters so much what day of the week we keep holy day but what is important is the principle of it and the spirit of the law in keeping the Sabbath. Therefore, it is not a day to do your own pleasure but rather to delight yourself in the Lord, according to Isaiah 58:13. Therefore, I try to keep the day holy by not doing such things as attending sports events, going to the mall or to the movies. That means if someone offered me a ticket to see the Chicago Bears play in the Super Bowl in Miami this Sunday, for example, I would have to turn it down based on that principle because I couldn’t go without violating my conscience and breaking a vow I made to the Lord concerning not to attend sports events on Sunday several years ago. At the time I did that I was not attending church regularly but I was going to a lot of professional baseball games on Sundays. The Holy Spirit really convicted me about that. If other believers want to do that then I won’t judge them for it but that is just my personal conviction.

As a day of rest, yes, it certainly makes a big difference to have a day off of work to refresh ourselves which is one reason why God gave it to man ( Mark 10:27 ). It makes us happier and more productive employees. In this country many of us have been blessed with both Saturday and Sunday off. What working person doesn’t look forward to the weekend? We have always placed a high value on it but as the nation becomes more and more secularized the Sabbath is beginning to be deemed less and less important in our society. Today there is no respect to God’s holy day and eventually the fruit of that will be no respect given by companies and businesses for working class people’s need for a day off. In fact, I think we already seeing that. Keeping the Sabbath Day holy is one of the Ten Commandments so it cannot be ignored.

"Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it."

- Exodus 20:8 ( KJV )

[Bill]

EXODUS 15:19-17:7
Miriam leading the women in worship with timbrels and dancing ( 15:20 ) reminds me of going to a charismatic church with a Christian friend not long after I became a believer. That is the way they worshipped at his church. I thought it was very strange at the time and I was somewhat intimidated by it because I had never seen that done in any other church I had visited before. However, it was a form of worship in ancient Israel and still is among messianic Jewish believers and some charismatic Christians today.

The key to enjoying good health is obedience to God’s commandments ( 15:26 ). So then, we see disease, plagues and sickness linked to sin.

If I learned anything in these chapters it is that God is not pleased by murmuring or complaining ( 16:8,12 ). My wife reminds me of that all the time, lol.

God miraculously provided the need of the Israelites for water ( 15:22-25; 17:1-7 ) and food ( 16:2-21 ) in the wilderness of Sin even though their faith in His ability to provide for them was weak. One of the wonderful and amazing things about God is that He remains faithful even when we are not.

The manna which came down upon the earth from Heaven ( 16:4-15 ) was, of course, a foreshadow of the coming of Jesus Christ. As Jesus Himself said:
“ …Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world. …I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.”
- John 6:32-33, 35 ( KJV )

MATTHEW 22:1-33
The parable of the king who prepared a wedding for his son ( vv.1-14 ) is an illustration of an event still yet to come which is known as the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. The king is God the Father and Jesus is the Son. The Bride, though not mentioned by name here, is the Church. Invitations were first given out by the prophets of Israel to that nation but the people persecuted and killed them ( 22:6 ) for which God judged the nation ( 22:7 ). So God sent abroad other servants who are the apostles and evangelists to other nations with the gospel message ( 22:8-10 ). When the invitations are given some will accept and some will refuse the invitation offering lame excuses ( 22:5 ). Some will try to attend without a “wedding garment “ ( 22:12 ) which is salvation through the righteousness of God imputed to us by faith in His Son, Jesus Christ. They will instead come in their own self-righteousness which is as “filthy rags” ( Isaiah 64:6 ) in God the Father’s sight but God will separate them from the guests and He will send them away to await the final judgment ( 22:13 ).

“ I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for HE HATH CLOTHED ME WITH THE GARMENTS OF SALVATION, HE HATH COVERED ME WITH THE ROBE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.”
- Isaiah 61:10 ( KJV )

“ And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great. 6And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for THE MARRIAGE OF THE LAMB is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be ARRAYED IN FINE LINEN, CLEAN AND WHITE: FOR THE LINEN IS THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF SAINTS. And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are THEY WHICH ARE CALLED UNTO THE MARRIAGE SUPPER OF THE LAMB. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.”
- Revelation 19:5-9 ( KJV )

PSALM 27:1-14
This world is an evil place but faith in the Lord will help us to see His goodness in the midst of it ( v.13 ). He will strengthen our faith in times of trouble and when our enemies rise up against us ( v.12 ) he will take away our fears ( v.1 ).

PROVERBS 6:20-26
How important it is for parents to be godly and to teach their children the Word of God (v.20 ). In doing so their kids will be better prepared to face the spiritual darkness of this world for God’s Word will be a light to them ( v.23 ). It will teach them godly morals so that they will not be so easily seduced by sexual temptation and walk after their own lusts ( vv. 24-26 ).

[Jenny]

Last sunday night the Pastor was discussing the children in the wilderness, how they murmured against God and the great price they paid for it. God will not bless that. He had longed to bless the Israelites but they just complained, grumbled and forgot how bad they had it in Egypt....they looked back on it as if it were the 'good old days'...which was delusional, they were miserable in Egypt! But they forgot.... Sounds like us maybe...God calls us out of the world and we are saved and grateful..then we see the road getting rough. we may second guess our discussion or have the enemy plant seeds of doubt. We may look back on our days in the world, our old life stlye, in fondness. Many are tempted to go back, many do. We forgot what the Lord delivered us from! Very dangerous thing to do...like Lots wife, she looked back on the 'world' (Soddom) and turned to salt. May I never look back into the world and want to be back there. I want to stay far from it! I dont want to look back and think I was having a good time cause i was miserable. God saved me from all that and is taking me to the Promised Land! Lets not be grumblers along the way, just praise Him, thank Him, bless Him! He is soooo good. I love the Psalms...v 4 is part of a song we sing at church =). Also, love matthew. Jesus' answers are always amazing, of course, cause He is God!

Matt 22: 14"For many are invited, but few are chosen.".. This kinda sound like its getting into the predestination thing we talked about. Hmm...I'll let that one alone. That's for God to know and not for me to even try and attempt to figure out!
Of course the earth is full of the goodness of the Lord. We have that verse on a picture in our house and catch myself reading it often. Not only is His goodness in creation which testifies of Him, the beauty He made in nature, all the creatures He made, all this is enough, but the love He pours on us. The mercy! The grace!! How about the love He manifests through others, to us and from us. That is soooo God! I was NOT a loving person B.C. The fact He changed me in such a radical way testifies to His goodness. Everything He is good!

Ever since i returned to the Lord 10 yrs ago...i have pretty much never had a day off until about 3-4 months ago. I worked a lot, every sat/sunday, evening and either worked or went to school or something pretty much every day. of course i maintained church on sunday mornings and wednesday nights wen i didnt work, but never a full day. well about 3 months ago, the Lord allowed me to no longer work sundays, so i church morning n night. Night church is amazing!!!! Honestly, its one of the biggest blessings of my life. Its just straight through the word and the worship is amazing...there is nowhere on earth i rather be! So i guess you can say its a sabbath. I dont really think, oh i must take a sabbath. It sounds 'religous', the sabbath was always kind of old testament to me. i just know i want to know the Lord more n go to church n worship n be with other believers, and please Him. So i have a day to just rest in the Lord, yes. haha, i just dont call it anything accept i look forward to it, my day with the Lord. if other things come up, i'll say no, i'm going to church thanks. But yes, it has changed me, God just heaps blessings and blessings on me for it!

[Mae]

Matthew 22:29-30 stood out for me "Jesus replied, “Your mistake is that you don’t know the Scriptures, and you don’t know the power of God. For when the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage. In this respect they will be like the angels in heaven". ~ I like to think about how it's going to be like when we're in heaven. I know Gina and I will be neighbours, since we live sooooo far away from eachother now, we'll be living very close to eachother in heaven, right Gina? There's a lot of Scriptures people don't know, they have no idea what God's power can do. They should read Revelations and watch/or read Left Behind ...

Psalm 27:3 "Though a mighty army surrounds me, my heart will not be afraid. Even if I am attacked, I will remain confident". ~ I get a lot of things to hear about 'the reborn me'. It truly feels sometimes lik an attack from a mighty army LOL Even though they won't attack me personally, you know, face to face. Nope ... I will hear things from somebody else. But still, it does feel like an attack. On top of that satan tries to get his ways with me ... But I don't care. I'm confident in what I do. I'm confident that God will let me know what to do. Earlier this week I had a good laugh about the old satan, I mean, he's defeated already, so ... why even bother, you big dummy!!! He's trying to fight in a game he already lost! I mean, isn't that just funny? He's so pathetic! And I will NOT give in to someone THAT pathetic! I have faith in the Lord and I know He'll always has my back, whatever may happen to me!

Proverbs 6:23 "For their command is a lamp and their instruction a light; their corrective discipline is the way to life". ~ Thinking about Jaden of course. Even though he's only 4 years old, I can tell by the look in his eyes that he really does know wrong from right already. He started his 'innocent(???)' little lies not to long ago ... I was shocked! I wondered, when do I need to have Jaden saved? Now? Later? I don't want to wait too long. Am I being paranoid now? Seriously, I'm actually asking YOU!!! LOL