Blog – Read Through the Bible

February 15 / Jeremiah 1

Jeremiah 1

Knowing something of the historical context into which a prophet speaks can greatly enhance our understanding of the prophet’s message. For Jeremiah, that historical context is the waning years of the Kingdom of Judah (aka the Southern Kingdom) as indicated by Jeremiah 1:1-3. So for your own benefit, as we begin to delve into the Book of Jeremiah, take some extra time to review that history, which can be found in II Kings 22-25 and II Chronicles 34-36. Similarly, read the introductory material in Search the Scriptures and in your study Bible or even this Wikipedia article. These are not happy years for Judah, and it is not a happy — or easy — ministry for Jeremiah, the “weeping prophet.”

Now the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
and before you were born I consecrated you;
I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”

Then I said, “Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth.”
Jeremiah 1:4–6

Today we have Jeremiah’s call as a prophet, ordained by the LORD to speak His word, not only to Judah and Israel, but to the nations. We should note that this calling is not the result of any spectacular deeds or talents of Jeremiah’s own making, for God sets him apart before he is even born. Nor is this a job that Jeremiah is seeking, for he protests (like Moses before him — Ex. 4:10) that he does not know how to speak.

Indeed it is a daunting task that the LORD sets before a young Jeremiah, but the LORD promises to be with him to deliver him:

But the LORD said to me,

“Do not say, ‘I am only a youth’;
for to all to whom I send you, you shall go,
and whatever I command you, you shall speak.
Do not be afraid of them,
for I am with you to deliver you,
declares the LORD.”
Jeremiah 1:7-8

And again:

And I, behold, I make you this day a fortified city, an iron pillar, and bronze walls, against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests, and the people of the land. They will fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you, for I am with you, declares the LORD, to deliver you.
Jeremiah 1:18–19

As we shall see, the LORD’s promise to deliver Jeremiah does not mean that Jeremiah is to have an easy time of it or that he will not suffer greatly at the hands of others, and Jeremiah must wrestle with that reality.

Although we may not be called in quite the same way as Jeremiah or bear the burden of prophesying to the nations, the LORD has a purpose for each of us and calls us to walk faithfully with Him. Do we perceive that call? Do we submit to His call? Or do we resist? Do we trust Him for our deliverance, despite the difficulty of our circumstances and the suffering we may face?

Let’s learn from Jeremiah. Let’s listen to the LORD. Let’s answer His call, follow Him, and trust in His faithfulness.

February 14 / Matthew 18:1-35

Matthew 18:1-35

Dear RTB’ers,

Woe to the world for temptations to sin! For it is necessary that temptations come, but woe to the one by whom the temptation comes! (v. 7) This verse got my attention because of how I read it in my NASB translation, where “stumbling blocks” was used instead of temptations: Woe to the world because of its stumbling blocks! For it is inevitable that stumbling blocks come; but woe to the person through whom the stumbling block comes! And I wondered if I had ever been a stumbling block to anyone? Some of my college professors (one in particular) had been stumbling blocks to me – made me wonder if I had been a serious problem for any of my students along the way?

But then I take that a step further and wonder about the positive and negative impacts any one of us might have had on anyone around us. What sort of example do we set? Carol and I are traveling this week and the next. It’s interesting to watch people at the airport, where you can often see people at their highest levels of anxiety. What is the example that they are setting for their children and others around them? Or drivers on the road, weaving in and out of traffic, who absolutely must get ahead of that next car? Or me, in everything that I do? Am I that humble person that Jesus is seeking? Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. (v. 4) No, I am not. …unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. (v. 3b) I’ve got a lot to work on.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Blessings!

See also:

February 13 / Matthew 17:14-27

Matthew 17:14-27

Dear RTB’ers,

Jesus again foretells His death and resurrection. But this time, instead of being confused Matthew writes that they were “greatly distressed”. But no doubt, they were still confused…!

Two incidents today leave me wondering about Jesus’ relationship with His Father. In the first, Jesus seems not to know His time frame here on Earth and is looking for that end: O faithless and twisted generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? (v. 17) That is, He knows that there is an end to His earthly life, but it seems that He is wanting to get it over with.

The second is this incident of Jesus paying the temple tax. How did He know that Peter could simply cast out a line and catch a fish and find the payment amount for the temple tax in its mouth? Evidently His connection to His Father was that great, that the Father could make it happen and that Jesus could see all that in advance. It leaves me bewildered and makes me wonder how closely we could hear the Father if we truly listened? After all, we have the Holy Spirit dwelling within ourselves, so why not? Why not…?

Blessings!

See also:

February 12 / Matthew 16:21-17:13

Matthew 16:21-17:13

Dear RTB’ers,

All four gospels have specific “turning points” in Jesus’ earthly ministry. Here’s Mark 8:31: And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again. Luke’s turning point is in 9:51, When the days drew near for Him to be taken up, He set his face to go to Jerusalem. John has his turning point in 12:23, And Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Finally, today’s first verse has Matthew’s turning point, very similar to Mark’s: From that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. (v. 16:21) This is the first note that we get from Matthew of Jesus’ death and resurrection. And, not surprisingly, in the very next verse we see that the disciples don’t get it – in this case, specifically Peter!

Then, Jesus’ Transfiguration is the first incident after his turning point in Matthew’s gospel. I think it would have been tough to be Peter. First we saw Jesus rebuking him in the previous chapter. (v. 16.23) Then Jesus takes Peter up with Him to the top of the mountain for His Transfiguration. In the midst of that glory, Peter stumbles again, wanting to build tents and hang around a while. (v. 17:4) Then on His way down Jesus tells these three disciples not to speak of this revelation until He has been raised. How could they possibly keep quiet at what they just saw!! Then He tells them again of the suffering that He must undergo: But I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they pleased. So also the Son of Man will certainly suffer at their hands. (v. 17:12) Another message of suffering, after seeing Jesus in all His glory! Yes, for Peter, confusion. For us, salvation!

Blessings!

See also:

February 11 / Matthew 16:1-20

Matthew 16:1-20

Dear RTB’ers,

I was so focused on the Canaanite woman yesterday that I failed to mention Jesus feeding the 4000, a second major multiplication of loaves and fish. Although scholars have questioned whether Jesus in fact did two major feeding miracles (or even one!), Jesus clearly speaks to the two miracles in today’s reading: Do you not remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? (vv. 9b-10) So Matthew leaves us no doubt as to the two food multiplications – and he was one of the twelve, likely one of those disciples distributing the bread! Interesting.

Peter’s confession – a powerful story, one that gives us confidence for the church of which we are members: And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. (v. 18) This church has lasted these two millennia, and will continue another two – or as many as needed until Jesus returns. It is fractured in many ways, but not broken. Our own ACNA denomination is facing some difficult leadership times, but Jesus’ church will continue!

The timeliness of the disciples’ response is intriguing to me: And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” (v. 14) What strikes me here is the mention of Jeremiah. His book is where we are headed after three more days in Matthew’s gospel. If you have a Study Bible, you might want to begin reading ahead. My own Study Bible has some two-and-a-half pages of introduction to this book! Jeremiah is my favorite of all the prophetic books.

Blessings!

February 10 / Matthew 15:21-39

Matthew 15:21-39

Dear RTB’ers,

Jesus now leaves Capernaum, leaving Galilee altogether and travels to the northwest to Tyre and Sidon, coastal cities on the Mediterranean Sea. There He meets a woman from that region who has a demon-possessed daughter. I love this story, both the attitude of this Canaanite woman and her response to Jesus’ denial to heal her daughter. First, …she came and knelt before Him, saying, “Lord, help me.” (v. 25) Matthew specifically indicates that she knelt before Him. Many people have approached Jesus for their needs, but I don’t recall anyone else simply, humbly kneeling before Him. To me, very touching. Then, when Jesus denies her request, she answers in the same context as His denial: She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” (v. 27) Taking this sentence to ourselves, can you imagine eating even the crumbs that fall from God’s table??!! What a feast that would be! And yet He is not satisfied with us getting only the crumbs – He has invited us to sit at table with Him at that very feast, the eternal banquet! (See Matthew 8:11, Revelation 19:9a.) All it takes is us kneeling before Him and asking in faith. Let’s do that.

Our dear friend, John, often adds, “One more thing…” I also have one for you, the words and music to a song that I love, “God and man at table are sat down”. Beautiful words, beautiful music! (But I’ve heard better versions of this song.) Enjoy!

Blessings!

See also:

February 9 / Matthew 15:1-20

Matthew 15:1-20

Dear RTB’ers,

Scribes and Pharisees again…: Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem… (v. 1) It is reasonable to give the scribes and Pharisees a break once in a while. Yes, they always seem to be testing Jesus, but they had a valid reason – there often appeared a number of people in Israel claiming to be the messiah and showing “signs and wonders”. The Jerusalem leaders would send out their “agents” to test out these people. Jesus’ fame had spread and He needed to be tested, according to this way of thinking. So, not unreasonable that these agents came from Jerusalem.

But to take Jesus to task for His disciples simply not washing their hands before they ate??!! That seems a bit unreasonable! Maybe challenge Him on bigger items, like casting out demons (from a few days ago). Charlatans could easily bring in a friend with a fake demon-possession and heal him. That item is worthy of a test. But challenging Him on their own traditions…! Isaiah nailed it – “…teaching as doctrines the commandments of men…” (v. 9b, quoting Isaiah 29:13). And then Jesus’ calling them out offends them! Then the disciples came and said to Him, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?” (v. 12) I’m sorry, but putting myself into this story, I think that I would just be standing around and chuckling to myself! Until I realized that He was also speaking to me: But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. (v. 18) I remember stories from “back in the day” of parents washing their children’s mouths out with soap after they heard or learned of some vulgarity spoken by their child. Bad parenting or not, the sad thing is that those parents should have listened to Jesus and found a way to “wash their child’s heart”, not their mouth.

Could someone please lend me a bar of heart-soap?

Blessings!

February 8 / Matthew 14:13-36

Matthew 14:13-36

Dear RTB’ers,

Two incidents today, one for the crowd (Feeding the 5000) and one for the disciples (Walking on Water). The Feeding of the 5000 was more interesting to me when I watched it on The Chosen. There the crowd was compliant and the disciples were confused. But they all did what Jesus asked and it turned out well for everyone. More interesting seeing it than just reading it…!

Jesus walking on the water seems to be more about Peter (and us!) than about Jesus. Yes, it is a noteworthy miracle, with millions of unbelievers trying to explain it away, but as we saw when Jesus calmed the storm, there’s no reason why the water would not have obeyed their Maker and kept Him up. Jesus rising from the dead puts His personal stamp on any other miracle that He performed. But Peter… Belief, then fear. Belief in Jesus calling to him and keeping his eyes on Jesus, then fear when he took his eyes off Jesus: He [Jesus] said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” (vv. 29-30) The lesson is there for all of us – to just keep our eyes on Jesus and not be troubled by events around us. It’s a simple task, but seemingly so difficult to follow. Help me, Lord!! Or quoting Peter, “Lord, save me.”

Blessings!

See also:

February 7 / Matthew 13:53-14:12

Matthew 13:53-14:12

Dear RTB’ers,

Today, two very personal narratives from Jesus’ earthly life. First is His homecoming at Nazareth: And they took offense at Him. (v. 13:57a) The previous verses highlight the city’s knowledge of His family and His background. No doubt the Nazarenes had heard of the mighty works that Jesus had done throughout Galilee. So were the townspeople jealous or angry that He did not do the same there? And He did not do many mighty works there, because of their unbelief. (v. 13:58) Many of us who have moved on from our hometowns have probably felt similar reactions from our hometown family and friends when we returned. But Jesus took it in stride, responding: A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household. (v. 13:57b) Somewhat similar to “turn the other cheek…”

Second, John the Baptist beheaded… This incident always strikes me hard; a few years ago I came to the realization of Jesus’ true feelings when He heard of this incident. Here’s tomorrow’s first verse: Now when Jesus heard this, He withdrew from there in a boat to a desolate place by Himself. (v. 14:13a) With this verse and others in Mark and Luke I began to sense the full weight of grief that Jesus felt upon hearing this news of His cousin’s murder. He had to get away by Himself – and even though the crowds followed He did not reject them, but instead …He had compassion on them and healed their sick. (v. 14:14b) My Study Bible noted how John was right to challenge Herod – and he paid for it with his life. His is a good example for us to follow in standing up for what is right.

A couple of hard times in Jesus’ earthly life…

Blessings!

See also:

February 6 / Matthew 13:24-52

Matthew 13:24-52

Dear RTB’ers,

Today, six more parables, all “kingdom of heaven” parables. I find three major conclusions in these six parables. First, in this world the good and the bad exist together (the wheat and the tares; the net of mixed fish). It is not our business to deal with the bad or judge them; God will deal with them at the final judgment. The second is about the enormously high value of the kingdom of heaven (the hidden treasure; the pearl of great price). We should be willing to give up all that we have to attain to the kingdom of heaven. Note that we should not interpret this as a suggestion that the kingdom of heaven can be “bought” – neither with our wealth nor with our efforts! The third is about the growth of the kingdom (the mustard seed and the leaven). A small beginning can lead to huge growth. We could also take it further and apply it to our own personal lives.

Although we have good lessons in all these parables, one “add-on” verse jumped out at me: And He said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.” (v. 52) I have mentioned scribes and Pharisees three or four times in the last week. There was only one occasion where my comment was positive, the one where the scribe said that he would follow Jesus anywhere (v. 8:19). I see today’s verse 52 as Jesus suggesting that a number of scribes (and Pharisees?) could end up following Him, and that they had much to offer, both in explaining Old Testament scriptures (possibly in a new light) and in helping people to understand whatever Jesus was teaching, in part His connection to those Old Testament scriptures. To that end, we can point to the apostle Paul, who did that very thing – a well-trained Pharisee who continues to teach us today!

Blessings!

See also: