March 11th One Year Bible Readings

~ Click here to read today's Scripture on BibleGateway.com ~
Numbers 15:17-16:40 ~ Mark 15:1-47 ~ Psalm 54:1-7 ~ Proverbs 11:5-6
~ Click here to listen to today's Scripture on BibleOnRadio.com ~

Old Testament - Today in Numbers chapter 15 we read about unintentional and intentional sins.  Verse 30 stood out to me - "But those who brazenly violate the LORD's will, whether native Israelites or foreigners, blaspheme the LORD." I have thought about this in my life in the past... and thought about that old phrase, "ignorance is bliss."  While this phrase may seem true at first glance - ignorance is bliss - it's obviously not "True" at all.  It is so much better to know godly Truth, than to be ignorant.  However... once we know godly Truth, what if we then consciously go against that Truth?  What if we "brazenly violate God's will"?  I'll admit - I have done this certainly.  I have consciously sinned.  And it eats me up inside when I do.  Not because I expect myself to be perfect - but because I am simply sinning against God, whom I love so much.  And I know better.  I guess this verse today reminded me that once we know Truth - and as we continue to grow in our knowledge of Truth and the Bible - we really should be much more intentional in how we live.  We know what godly living looks like.  We should not go back to our old ways of thinking or our old habits.  We know better.  And we most certainly should not think that "ignorance is bliss."  It isn't.  Ala the Matrix - we've taken the red pill - we've gone down the rabbit hole - we are now on the only True Adventure that matters - we cannot go back to "ignorance is bliss" - nor should we want to...

"Trial By Fire" - ever hear this term?  I think this term may have gotten its genesis here in Numbers chapter 16.  Korah's rebellion caused Moses to explain how this true trial by fire would go down in verses 4 through 7 - ""Tomorrow morning the LORD will show us who belongs to him and who is holy. The LORD will allow those who are chosen to enter his holy presence. You, Korah, and all your followers must do this: Take incense burners, and burn incense in them tomorrow before the LORD. Then we will see whom the LORD chooses as his holy one."  A trial by fire indeed occurs subsequently in this chapter.  Here's how Boticelli depicts this scene of scripture in the Sistine Chapel in Rome (note that Michelangelo did the ceiling of the Sistine - whereas other artists did the walls - I just learned this just now!) -

Verses 12 & 13 stood out as completely strange, as these 2 men had somehow now thought that instead of being a prison, Egypt was now in their minds a paradise?....  "Then Moses summoned Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, but they replied, "We refuse to come! Isn't it enough that you brought us out of Egypt, a land flowing with milk and honey, to kill us here in this wilderness, and that you now treat us like your subjects?"   I wonder if we do this in our lives?  Think that things that used to be so bad for us are now somehow good?  I know I've done this.  I've left situations or relationships or bad habits - knowing they were simply bad for me - and then later down the road I've sometimes thought to myself, "ahh... I miss xyz or doing xyz... I should go back to that."  And I do.  And I regret it all over once again.  There is a somewhat obscure R.E.M. song that goes "Don't go back to Rockville - and waste another year."  I think of this song on occasion when I am tempted to go back to something I know I shouldn't go back to - I sing to myself, "don't go back to Rockville."  Perhaps Dathan and Abiram should have been singing to themselves - "don't go back to Egypt - and waste another year..."  What about you?  Is there an Egypt / Rockville or two in your life that you've left behind?  Are you ever tempted to go back?  Do you sometimes even think you might have been wrong about how bad things were back then.... that it might have really been a land flowing with milk and honey even!   Well, I know we'll all have our moments of going backwards.... but I pray we see the True land of milk and honey in front of us that is only available through a relationship with Jesus and God - and that we won't go back to our "Egypts"...

New Testament - It is interesting in the One Year Bible how we go through the 4 Gospels one after another in the beginning portion of the year.  In some ways it may seem repetitive - but I think repetitive is good when we're talking about the story of Jesus...  we really cannot hear and meditate upon this story enough.  Also, what I like is the nuances of each Gospel - or maybe things that are indeed in a few of the Gospels that somehow just stand out to me in some new way in one of the Gospels.  Today is one of those days where something jumped out at me that I have not really noticed before - and that is Pilate in verses 9 & 10 - ""Should I give you the King of the Jews?" Pilate asked. (For he realized by now that the leading priests had arrested Jesus out of envy.)"  It's interesting that Pilate used the term King of the Jews here - and again later in the narrative - and that he also had this term nailed to the cross.  And the question I have is this - did Pilate do this simply to try and irritate the leading priests?  I think this is probably the case.  But, I'm looking forward to some further study on this. 

Bible.org's commentary on Mark chapter 15 is at this link.

Psalms - I like Psalm 54 verse 4 a lot - "But God is my helper. The Lord is the one who keeps me alive!"  Is this true in your life?  Is God the one who keeps you alive?  Or are you trying to lean on other things as your source of life?  I believe it is such a blessing to surrender more and more to God until we get to the point where truly this true for us - God is the one - and only - who keeps us alive.  I am not saying I am there yet - but I'm trying to get there.  I'm trying to surrender more and more each day to God and to Jesus - all that I am - all that I am living for.  I pray that in your life and in mine God will be the one who keeps us alive!

Proverbs - Proverbs chapter 11 verse 5 stands out at me today, mostly because I've caught myself telling a couple of "white lies" recently.... and I so regret that I did so!  There was no value in them....  I want honesty and not lies to come out of my mouth!  "The godly are directed by their honesty."

Worship God: Per my reflections in Numbers above, and somewhat related to that old R.E.M. song, here is Sara Groves' great song "Painting Pictures of Egypt."

Have you been painting pictures of Egypt?  Click here for the Promised Land!

Please join us in memorizing and meditating on a verse of Scripture this week: "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!" Philippians 4:4 NIV

Comments from You & Questions of the Day:  Based on our Proverb today, how about you?  Are you directed by honesty?  Do you place honestly as a major guiding principle in your life?  Do you ever catch yourself telling white lies?  Do you confess these to God and to others?  Do you think we should we confess white lies? Why or why not?  Also, what verses or insights stand out to you in today's readings?  Please post up by clicking on the "Comments" link below!

Love, Trust and Obey Jesus,
Mike

Comments

[Art]

It's *amazing* to think of Psalm 54 representing not only David's experience, but also Jesus' during his Passion (e.g., as we read today in Mark 15).

In particular, Psalm 54:3: "Strangers are attacking me; ruthless men seek my life -- men without regard for God.", followed by v.6 as Christ goes willingly to the cross: "I will sacrifice a freewill offering to you; I will praise your name, O LORD..."

Wow. Just wow. Imagine those words coming from the Son who was with God from the beginning!

And that's not to mention how this all dovetails neatly with today's Proverbs reading when one thinks about those hurling insults at Jesus as he suffered. In doing so, they brought themselves and not Jesus down to ruin.

[CJ]

I have to admit that passages like today's make me wonder. I know people who do not think the Bible is the literal word of God, that it's been tainted by men and thus is not inerrant, that men project onto God their own beliefs, etc. in the Bible. The passage today about God telling them to kill the guy who broke the Sabbath is one of those tough passages. Is this just an unpleasant aspect of God that we must just accept? It seems so harsh & unfair. Or is there maybe more to the story or context than we get in the passage? Does anyone have any thoughts on this or other tough passages?

[Art]

Yeah, I had trouble with that one too, CJ. I think it's natural to take anything we read -- in the Bible or elsewhere -- and try to fit it into a context we know, even if it's not the same.

It's much harder, even reading from the beginning, as we are, to really get oneself into the context of that time and that place and those people and see it from God's perspective.

The best I've been able to do is this:

God, as the author of life, has a very different relationship with death and killing than we do. For all we know, he killed someone physically, as in this passage, then attached Christ's forgiveness to them and restored them to everlasting life. Or not. We just can't know.

But we do know that he's capable of doing that, and that He is merciful and just. If we say: "well, He's merciful and just except for here and here and over there", then what we're doing is setting ourselves up as the arbiters of what is just and -- while I know I can't understand God's ways fully -- I do know that my being judge of such things is a really bad idea.

It's also true that we treat children very differently from adolescents and different still from when they become adults. When my kids were young, there were times when I had to yell ("stop! don't go into that road!") or get physical ("don't put your hand on that hot stove!", "do not pull the cat's tail!"... slap; grab) in order to protect and love them.

I did not need to employ such tactics as they matured and became wiser. Looking at the story of the Bible, it's not the case that humanity got any less evil, but perhaps God's plan for making his historical points has gotten subtler. I just don't know.

One final thing is that we tend, in the 21st century, to interpret everything, including justice as applying first and last to the individual. The idea of doing something for the good of society has gotten a bad rap because those purporting to dish it out do not bring divine power and perspective to the job.

Anyway, just my thoughts...