11 the Israelites did what
was evil in the sight of the Lord. They served the Baals, 12 and abandoned the Lord,
the God of their ancestors, the one who had brought them out of the land of
Egypt. They followed other gods, the gods of the peoples around them, and bowed
down to them, and provoked the Lord.
13 Because they had abandoned the Lord and served Baal and the
Astartes, 14 the anger of the Lord flared up against Israel, and he
delivered them into the power of plunderers who despoiled them. This seems to illustrate three principles: (1) Life is much
harder when we deviate from the direction God gives us/try to live without God;
(2) God uses the pain that results from that to
bring us back to Him, in a way similar to that described in C. S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain; (3) The fact that
God used that pain to bring the people back to Him is an illustration of the
dynamic(s) noted in Genesis
50:20 and Hebrews
12:5-13. He sold them into
the power of the enemies around them, and they were no longer able to withstand
their enemies. 15 Whenever they marched
out, the hand of the Lord turned against them, as the Lord had said, and as the
Lord had sworn to them; and they were in great distress. 16 But the
Lord raised up judges to save them from the power of their plunderers; God reached
out to save His people even in the midst of their sin. This seems to be a manifestation
of the dynamic described in Romans
5:8. 17 but they did not listen
to their judges either, for they prostituted themselves by following other
gods, bowing down to them. They were quick to stray from the way their
ancestors had taken, who obeyed the commandments of the Lord; but these did
not. 18 When the Lord raised up
judges for them, he would be with the judge and save them from the power of
their enemies as long as the judge lived. The Lord would change his mind when
they groaned in their affliction under their oppressors. 19 But when the judge died,
they would again do worse than their ancestors, following other gods, serving
and bowing down to them, relinquishing none of their evil practices or stubborn
ways.
34 They did not destroy the
peoples
as the Lord had commanded them,
35 But
mingled with the nations
and imitated their ways. 36 They served their idols
and were ensnared by them. 37 They sacrificed to
demons
their own sons and daughters,
39 They
defiled themselves by their actions,
became adulterers by their conduct. 40 So the Lord grew angry
with his people,
abhorred his own
heritage.
43 Many times did he rescue them,
but they kept
rebelling and scheming
and were brought low by
their own guilt. 44 Still God had regard for their affliction
when he heard their wailing. God reached
out to save His people even in the midst of their sin. This seems to be a
manifestation of the dynamic described in Romans
5:8.
3 “Blessed are the poor in
spirit,
for theirs is the
kingdom of heaven.
6 Jesus said to them,
“Look out, and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” 7 They concluded among themselves, saying,
“It is because we have brought no bread.” 8 When Jesus became aware of this he said, “You of little
faith, why do you conclude among yourselves that it is because you have no
bread? 9 Do you not yet
understand, and do you not remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and
how many wicker baskets you took up? 10 Or the seven loaves for
the four thousand, and how many baskets you took up? 11 How do you not
comprehend that I was not speaking to you about bread? Beware of the leaven of
the Pharisees and Sadducees.” 12 Then they understood
that he was not telling them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the
teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees. This, along
with the Judges 2:11-19 reading above, seems to
illustrate an inherent aspect of the human condition since the fall: we cannot
grasp what God wants us to get without His help. The Israelites in the Judges reading couldn’t seem to get what
God was trying to communicate to them through the dramatic events of the exodus
and the conquest of the land. The
disciples in this reading couldn’t grasp what God himself (in the form of
Jesus) was telling them, even after all that Jesus had done in their midst. We
have the same problem today when we live without listening to the Holy Spirit.
So how do we deal with this? By constantly reminding our selves
that we can’t “get it” by our selves and in fact regularly get it wrong, by
constantly asking for the Holy Spirit’s instruction, and being
open to Godly instruction.
13 When Jesus went into the
region of Caesarea Philippi he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the
Son of Man is?” 14 They replied, “Some say
John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
15 He said to them, “But
who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter said in
reply, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” 17 Jesus said to him in
reply, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not
revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. See the
comment after v. 12 above. 18 And so I say to you, you
are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the
netherworld shall not prevail against it. 19 I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever
you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth
shall be loosed in heaven.” 20 Then he strictly ordered
his disciples to tell no one that he was the Messiah.
21 From that time on, Jesus
began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer greatly
from the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the
third day be raised. 22 Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, “God forbid,
Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you.” See the
comment after v. 12 above
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