Judges
I think today's reading Judges (particularly chapter 11) gives us a pretty clear message on vows. Don't make them too lightly! Jephthah, a warrior from Gilead of the Israelites, made a vow that if God was with him in battle and he returned home in victory, he would sacrifice as a burnt offering the first thing he laid eyes on when he got home.
Lo and behold, his daughter, his only child, is the first thing to come out of his home. Did he offer her as a burnt offering to the Lord? Some say yes, he did sacrifice her. More likely, he dedicated her to the Lord's service and she never married. Regardless, he was not prepared to make this sacrifice. Fortunately, he upheld his oath that he had made to the Lord, and therefore upheld his honour and the name of the Lord.
Lesson to learn? As I mentioned, when making an oath, or vowing to do something, carry through on your promise, and realize when you're making it that a vow is not a fleeting fantasy.
Showing posts with label oaths/vows. Show all posts
Showing posts with label oaths/vows. Show all posts
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Prayer
Key verses
Ecclesiastes 5:2 - God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few.
John 2:19 - Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days."
Ecclesiastes
Solomon's statement in 5:2 remind me of Jesus' own words when he was teaching others how to pray. We should not babble on 'like the pagans', taking pride in our eloquence, but rather come humbly before God, knowing that he already knows and understands what you haven't completely thought out for yourself yet. Yet another likeness to the New Testament are the phrases on vows, which are like oaths. If we vow by God that we will do something, and then don't do it, we don't give God the honour he deserves.
Jeremiah
Jeremiah sure was a persevering individual! He even prayed for the people of Judah even though God told him not to bother, because destruction was going to come (see 14:11).
Ecclesiastes 5:2 - God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few.
John 2:19 - Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days."
Ecclesiastes
Solomon's statement in 5:2 remind me of Jesus' own words when he was teaching others how to pray. We should not babble on 'like the pagans', taking pride in our eloquence, but rather come humbly before God, knowing that he already knows and understands what you haven't completely thought out for yourself yet. Yet another likeness to the New Testament are the phrases on vows, which are like oaths. If we vow by God that we will do something, and then don't do it, we don't give God the honour he deserves.
Jeremiah
Jeremiah sure was a persevering individual! He even prayed for the people of Judah even though God told him not to bother, because destruction was going to come (see 14:11).
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
God is faithful
Proverbs
Possession of land was quite important in those days, as the writer warned against changing the boundary markers of your neighbour in this chapter and in chapter 22.
Luke
I hate doing things I don't want to do. I go about them with a sense of dread, or slight animosity toward either the deed or those I'm doing it for. And yet, look at Jesus - he sure doesn't want to have to die such a violent death, but he goes willingly. He heals those who stand against him so that they can continue in their task (see 22:51). I could certainly use more of this attitude in my life.
Hebrews
God swore by his own name, thereby invoking the power of that name. If we swear by something, we are taking on the qualities of whatever or whoever we swear by. Lest the person or object lose its special qualities, Jesus warned his followers to simply let their 'yes' be 'yes'. If we swear by God that we will do something, and then we don't do it, we taint the name of God. But when God swears by his own name, he is doubly showing us that he will do what he says. First, he will do it regardless because he is God and what he says, he does. Second, he will do it because he swore by himself, thereby calling on his qualities, one of which is that he always does what he says. Thus, we have a firm hope that Christ will intervene on our behalf, because he has promised us.
*This section is based off an article in the Archaeological Study Bible.
Here is Psalm 110 again, quoted in Hebrews. Since we now know that Psalm 110 is a conversation between God and Jesus, we can see that Jesus was definitely the one being referred to as a priest in the order of Melchizedek. And who was Melchizedek? There is much conjecture, but I am satisfied with saying he was a foreign king that no one knew much about, so therefore 'has no beginning and no end', just like Christ, and so Melchizedek is a handy symbol from the Old Testament to use as a Christ-like figure.
Possession of land was quite important in those days, as the writer warned against changing the boundary markers of your neighbour in this chapter and in chapter 22.
Luke
I hate doing things I don't want to do. I go about them with a sense of dread, or slight animosity toward either the deed or those I'm doing it for. And yet, look at Jesus - he sure doesn't want to have to die such a violent death, but he goes willingly. He heals those who stand against him so that they can continue in their task (see 22:51). I could certainly use more of this attitude in my life.
Hebrews
God swore by his own name, thereby invoking the power of that name. If we swear by something, we are taking on the qualities of whatever or whoever we swear by. Lest the person or object lose its special qualities, Jesus warned his followers to simply let their 'yes' be 'yes'. If we swear by God that we will do something, and then we don't do it, we taint the name of God. But when God swears by his own name, he is doubly showing us that he will do what he says. First, he will do it regardless because he is God and what he says, he does. Second, he will do it because he swore by himself, thereby calling on his qualities, one of which is that he always does what he says. Thus, we have a firm hope that Christ will intervene on our behalf, because he has promised us.
*This section is based off an article in the Archaeological Study Bible.
Here is Psalm 110 again, quoted in Hebrews. Since we now know that Psalm 110 is a conversation between God and Jesus, we can see that Jesus was definitely the one being referred to as a priest in the order of Melchizedek. And who was Melchizedek? There is much conjecture, but I am satisfied with saying he was a foreign king that no one knew much about, so therefore 'has no beginning and no end', just like Christ, and so Melchizedek is a handy symbol from the Old Testament to use as a Christ-like figure.
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