In that day people will throw away to the moles and bats their idols of silver and idols of gold, which they made to worship. – Isaiah 2:20

Today's Scripture Reading (March 7, 2023): Isaiah 2

Mark Twain commented, "The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why." I like the quote because it assumes that each of us has a reason for being here, something that I strongly believe, but that reason is not always readily apparent to us as we journey through life. And often, we think things are important to us that really aren't, and we have things that should be important that we do not treat as important. I know that is true in my life; I regret some things that have taken my time, while others should have received more time and effort from me than I could allocate to the task.

Maybe the tragedy of life is that while the first of Mark Twain's important days, our birth, is automatic, the second of his important days is not. And sometimes, it takes us a long time to figure out why we were born, and I believe for some of us, that day never comes. We never figure out why we are here, present in this world, and what it is that God placed inside of us that needs to be accomplished by us. Instead, we give ourselves to things that often do not deserve our attention.

In the 1970s, Larry Norman penned his apocalyptic hit "I Wish We'd All Been Ready." In the song, he writes that "a piece of bread would buy a bag of gold," a line that is supposed to come from Revelation 6:6. The idea is that when Jesus comes back, everything will be turned upside down. The things we thought were important will prove to be unimportant, and the really important things will be beyond our ability to address.

It seems that Isaiah is making a very similar prophecy here. Israel had spent their money and time worshipping idols that were far from their reason for being. And the time would come when these same idols of gold and silver would be cast away; what was once important would become the possession of the moles that rule the fields and the bats living in the caves. These animals are often seen as pests by farmers. But the real question is, when that day comes, will we be any closer to understanding what is important, and will we know our reason for being?

Our reason for being begins with the understanding that God created us and our purpose can only be found in a relationship with him. We will never know why God wanted us here unless we get that relationship straight. We will continue to spend our time and money on unimportant things that eventually will become the property of the animals of the field because they are beneath our attention.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Isaiah 3

Unless the LORD Almighty had left us some survivors, we would have become like Sodom, we would have been like Gomorrah. – Isaiah 1:9

Today's Scripture Reading (March 6, 2023): Isaiah 1

Warning: This post contains some disturbing content.

Sodom and Gomorrah were cities believed to have existed at the south end of the Dead Sea. The cities were supposed to be under God's judgment because of the rampant homosexuality that existed in the city. However, that narrative does not make much sense when compared to the biblical story. The belief comes from the narrative that the men of the city went to the house of Lot and demanded that his two male visitors, who are believed to be angels, be brought out so that they could have sex with them. We are supposed to believe that homosexuality was so rampant in the city that the men of the town needed new meat to satisfy their desires. But even if this understanding of the narrative is true, it is the rape of which the men of the town would be guilty. A companion story in Judges 19, which follows the same plot as Sodom and Gomorrah, differs only in that it does not have a supernatural, good ending. Instead of God stepping down from heaven to stop the abusive sexuality in Gibeah, the men of the town are allowed to follow their vicious path. Still, rather than having sex with a Levite, which is what the men were demanding, they raped his female concubine repeatedly until she was dead. I remain unconvinced that the rape of the concubine is any better because it happened through "natural" sexual relations between a man and a woman rather than "unnatural sexual relations" between two men.

For me, and I need to clarify that this is my opinion, the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah was a violation of hospitality. And I don't think in our mobile world, where restaurants exist on almost every busy street and motels and hotels dot our major highways and are clustered around our significant attractions, it is hard to get our heads around the need for hospitality in a world where these things didn't exist. So, in Sodom, Gomorrah, and the cities of the plain, as well as in Gibeah in Judges 19, I believe that the major sin of these cities was that instead of treating visitors as welcome guests, they used sexual abuse so that the visitor was humiliated, and would hopefully never return to the town. It was a well-established practice for treating enemy prisoners, borne out of humiliation and not sexual desire.

But whatever the sin, Sodom and Gomorrah were under God's judgment, and the cities were destroyed by fire from heaven. Some experts believe there might have been some seismic activity in the area that caused the Dead Sea to eject hot tar from the sea, destroying the cities. But again, regardless of how God did it, the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, as well as their sister cities, were so completely destroyed that we don't even know where the cities might have been. If it were not for the mentions of the city in Scripture, the cities of plain could have simply disappeared from our history with no one even knowing that they had once existed.

And Isaiah makes the point that the same could have happened in Israel. The only reason why the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah are remembered is that, unlike what happened at Sodom and Gomorrah, God left a few people, a remnant, that would keep the memory of the tribes of Jacob alive for generations to come.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Isaiah 2

 

 

Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years. Unlike David his father, he did not do what was right in the eyes of the LORD his God. – 2 Kings 16:2

Today's Scripture Reading (March 5, 2023): 2 Kings 16

The "Manifesto of Race" or "Charter of Race" was published on July 14, 1938, by Benito Mussolini's Fascist Party^. The "Manifesto" was anti-Semitic in nature, stripping Jews of their Italian citizenship and, with it, any position in the government or the professional positions which many Jews had previously held. Depending on how you look at the events leading up to the release of "Manifesto," it could be considered both a surprise and a very predictable event. As far as the surprise is concerned, Mussolini had never shown any interest in racial politics. But the "Manifesto" was predictable because it helped cement relationships between Mussolini's Italy and Hitler's Germany. Hitler had privately confessed to looking up to the Fascist Leader, but throughout most of his career, Mussolini had absolutely no interest in the German dictator. However, by the late 1930s, things were changing. Hitler's star was definitely on the rise, and Mussolini decided to try to hitch a ride. And so, the "Manifesto" was intended to show solidarity with the cause of Germany. Historians have looked at the document as evidence of the extent of influence that Hitler held over Mussolini. But it was more likely evidence of Mussolini's thirst for power, a thirst so strong that Mussolini was willing to change even his own strongly held beliefs.

King Ahaz of Judah had no positive attributes. If Jotham was the perfect king, his son Ahaz was his negative image. While Jotham had chased after the things of God, Ahaz had become a student of the religions of the countries surrounding Judah. But he not only became an expert on their beliefs and gods, but he also became a follower of them. Ahaz was an imitator of the nations around him. He was a man without restraint; he believed every myth with which he came into contact.

Even in rough times, Ahaz refused to follow God. Until the last beat of his heart, Ahaz believed that the gods of other nations would come to his rescue. His heart was never attracted to the God his father had faithfully served. While other kings had returned to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in times of tragedy, even in trouble, Ahaz's heart increased in rebellion against God.

But maybe the saddest part of the story is that Ahaz found himself following the gods of a nation that no longer even existed. Ahaz followed the gods of Israel. But Israel had already been destroyed, and her gods had done nothing to save her. Still, Ahaz seemed willing to follow Judah's sister nation into obscurity.

Late in his life, Mussolini is reported to have confessed that he wished his "Manifesto of Race" had never been written. For Ahaz, that was a level of awareness he had never mastered. While Hitler's star had been on the rise when the "Manifesto" was published, Mussolini was also able to recognize when Hitler was in deep decline. While by that time, it was too late to change his own path, it was not too late to admit regret. But, to the very end, Ahab was convinced that the god who had failed Israel had the power to save him.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Isaiah 1

See Also 2 Chronicles 28:22

 

He burned sacrifices in the Valley of Ben Hinnom and sacrificed his children in the fire, engaging in the detestable practices of the nations the LORD had driven out before the Israelites. – 2 Chronicles 28:3

Today's Scripture Reading (March 4, 2023): 2 Chronicles 28

"Let us sacrifice our today so that our children can have a better tomorrow." The words belong to A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, the eleventh President of India. A follower of Islam, Kalam was the great unifier of India's diverse cultures. His plea was that his people would learn to live together in peace and prosperity, bringing a better tomorrow for the future of India. One of the reasons for his policies and personal habits of unification was so that the India of tomorrow would be one from which the children of the nation would benefit. With unification comes strength. The only thing that division ever brings is weakness. It is a lesson Muhammad taught in the early days of Islam. But it is also a lesson that followers have not always appreciated.  

The building of a better tomorrow is something that I feel my generation has not done well, often because we do not want to make the necessary sacrifices. We want things easy now. The national debt that the West is handing to our kids is obscene. The reality is that the money will have to be repaid at some point, maybe not in our time, but in the time of our children or grandchildren. Kalam's plea of sacrifice to build a better world for our kids seems to have fallen on deaf ears. Instead of sacrificing today so our children can have a better tomorrow, we appear to want to sacrifice tomorrow (and our kids) so that we can have a better today. That scares me.

Maybe we are a step better than Ahaz, but only a step. The practice that the Chronicler refers to here is worshiping the god (or perhaps better phrased, the demon) Moloch. The worship of Moloch included building a large brass idol representing the god, often seen with the head of a bull. The hands of Moloch were outstretched, and the priests would build a fire at the base of the idol. Of course, a fire at the bottom of a brass idol means the whole idol would soon be red hot. When the statue was suitably heated, the father would place his infant son in the outstretched hands of the god. The child would scream as he was slowly burned to death. To hide the screams, the priests would bang loudly on drums so that the father could not hear the cries of his child.

The first-century historian Plutarch wrote that –

... with full knowledge and understanding they themselves offered up their own children, and those who had no children would buy little ones from poor people and cut their throats as if they were so many lambs or young birds; meanwhile the mother stood by without a tear or moan; but should she utter a single moan or let fall a single tear, she had to forfeit the money, and her child was sacrificed nevertheless; and the whole area before the statue was filled with a loud noise of flutes and drums [so that] the cries of wailing should not reach the ears of the people.

The children were sacrificed in a perversion of Kalam's desire so that the adults could enjoy a better today.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: 2 Kings 16

See Also 2 Kings 16:3

 

Jotham rebuilt the Upper Gate of the temple of the LORD and did extensive work on the wall at the hill of Ophel. – 2 Chronicles 27:3

Today's Scripture Reading (March 3, 2023): 2 Chronicles 27

It is a sad event for me every time I hear about buildings that have been destroyed and left in ruin. And that sadness is multiplied if the building is of historical significance. So many important buildings and historical sites have been lost during my lifetime because of war or terrorist attacks. With every act of violence, we lose important parts of our history. Too often, we are too willing to destroy something just because it has no meaning to us but is important to someone else. I hate what that says about us as a race, that maybe we just have no respect for the past and the places from which we have come.

But it is even sadder if the building happens to be a church. I am not saying that every church needs to be an architectural marvel. That is not my point or concern. But I believe every church building should look like it is loved and that someone cares for it. I say that, knowing that my church needs some significant care. And while I don't think a church building is the most important thing, I do believe that caring for the building is a sign of the health of our faith. A church might be built simply, I know mine is, but if God is important to us, then we will keep it in good shape.

Jotham rebuilds the Upper Gate of the Temple. It is a good sign for the spirituality of the nation. Not all the Kings of Judah had cared for the Temple, and many seemed content to ignore the central element of Judaism spirituality, but Jotham was not among them. For Jotham, the Temple was important, and he would do what he could to ensure he repaired the Upper Gate. But maybe even more importantly, Jotham restored the corridor that led from the King's Palace to the Temple. Jotham wanted to keep the lines of communication open between the Temple and the Palace, something that many Kings did not think was important. "He wished free access from his own house to that of the Lord. He would strengthen the link between the two houses – keep his line of communication open (to use a military figure) with the source of his supplies of strength and wisdom. This is one of the secrets of his prosperity and power" (Christopher Knapp)

But Jotham understood the purpose of the link better than his father Uzziah had. Uzziah took the connection between the Palace and Temple to mean that the King had the power and privilege to act as a priest. Jotham understood that that was not true. He wanted to keep close contact with the priests of the Temple, but he understood where his place was in the system. And Jotham would be careful not to overstep and commit the same sins as his father.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: 2 Chronicles 28

When Ephraim spoke, people trembled; he was exalted in Israel. But he became guilty of Baal worship and died. – Hosea 13:1

Today's Scripture Reading (March 2, 2023): Hosea 13 & 14

The World Map has changed greatly during my lifetime. The large National Geographic Map of the World that hung in my bedroom as a child looked significantly different from the current rendition of that same map, especially in Africa, Eastern Europe, and Asia. In some cases, only the names have changed. But for other nations, the borders have also been drastically redrawn or cut into two. I had a conversation with a friend recently, and I admitted that, when I was younger, I could not see a path that might allow Germany to be reunited. The geopolitical differences between a Soviet-dominated East Germany and an American-dominated West Germany appeared too vast to be mended. And yet that is precisely what happened. The Germanic tribes roamed the land since before the time of Christ, but the unification of these tribes into a single German Confederation took place in 1815. But what was united in 1815 was torn apart in 1945 following Germany's defeat in World War II. And it stayed that way until, almost miraculously, the Berlin Wall fell, and the nation, which had been two for four and a half decades, became one in 1990.

But whenever a nation is artificially divided, or even artificially stitched together, I think there is always a nostalgic hope that one day the country will revert to what seems to be the natural state of things before someone stuck their nose into things and changed it to fit some foreign schemes or goals. And it is a question that I have, and I do not know the answer to this, regarding the struggles that are taking place in Africa. Is it possible that the conflicts existing on that continent result from European interference that changed the borders, and even the names, of the countries to fit their needs instead of the needs of the people who inhabit the land?

And I wonder if the same situation might have existed in Israel and Judah after the nation's division in 931 B.C.E. Was there ever a time when the north and south nostalgically looked back at the years when they were one nation, just the descendants of Jacob against the world? If there was any nostalgia in the Kingdoms, Hosea seems to become just one more prophet telling the nations that reunification would not happen. Once again, Hosea personifies the tribe of Ephraim, telling the Northern Kingdom that while Judah and the surrounding countries may have trembled before the power of Israel, they would be defeated and fall. The Kingdom that had exalted the tribe of Ephraim to the point where the Northern Kingdom became identified by just the name of just one of the ten tribes would soon end. Ephraim had led the nation in the worship of Baal. As a result, Ephraim would die, and their death would be accompanied by the death of the Kingdom that had exalted them. And with their death, so would any dreams of reuniting the nation.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: 2 Chronicles 27

I led them with cords of human kindness, with ties of love. To them I was like one who lifts a little child to the cheek, and I bent down to feed them. - Hosea 11:4

Today's Scripture Reading (March 1, 2023): Hosea 11 & 12

I have frequently told a story that occurred early on in my career. I was the youth Pastor of the church, and one morning the children's Pastor needed to talk to me about something. She pulled me over to the side, and we discussed a shared challenge. But then she commented, "I don't know how you do it. I could never work with teens. Children are so much easier." I remember smiling at my colleague and telling her, "I feel the same way about you. I get teens, but children are a little out of my league. I am very happy to let you handle the children while you leave me with the teens." It has always been an example of how God equips us differently. We are not supposed to be carbon copies of each other; our differences are important, and together, we make up the church.

As I said, I have told this story a few times. Later in my career, by this time I had become the Lead Pastor of a church, I was coming off a day where I had been busy with meetings and was still at the church in the early evening. The church's Children's Department was holding a celebration, so children and volunteers filled the various rooms of the church. With no secretary in the office, I was left handling the phones. And a phone call came in for the Children's Pastor, who happened to be with a group of Kindergarten Kids in a room in the basement. I went to tell her to come to the phone and offered to stay with the kids. She gave me a bit of a funny look and then consented and went to answer the phone, leaving me with the children. She wasn't the same Children's Pastor who had had that discussion with me years earlier. But apparently, she had heard the tale.

She came back to the classroom about fifteen minutes later. It must have been quite a scene. The Pastor, dressed in a suit and tie, sitting on the floor reliving his childhood, playing with a group of five-year-olds. Years later, I heard her retell the story to a group of children's workers. She told her listeners that she had been called away for a phone call, and she left her group of treasures in the presence of a Pastor who admits he doesn't do children's ministry. She was a little nervous leaving the children in his inexperienced hands, but when she returned, she found him on the floor, talking with them at their level, doing everything that a seasoned children's worker would do.

It was a great compliment. But I also recognize that playing with children significantly differs from trying to teach them something. Playing with them is on my level; many friends continuously tell me I am still a kid.

Hosea's image in this verse is of a parent or another loving adult caring for children. Chords of human kindness indicate the cords or strings with which a parent would allow their children a little independence. They would often tie them with ropes to the adult, giving the child some freedom as they learn to walk while at the same time keeping them safe and secure. Lifting a little child to their cheek or bending down to feed them illustrates a parent getting down on the child's level. The image Hosea wants Israel to understand was that God had done precisely these things. God had tried to keep them safe, tying them to the Temple that represented his presence on earth, but they had cut the cord and wandered off to other gods and altars. God had gotten down on their level to lead them, but they had rejected that leadership. God had been a good parent, yet his children rejected him anyway. They had wandered away from their parent to confront the world alone. And Dad was calling them back, but his children were turning a deaf ear to his pleas, just like so many human children, deciding that they knew better than Dad on how to live in this world.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Hosea 13 & 14