22 January 2016

Scriptures:

• Psalm 21
• Genesis 21:1-21
• 1 Chronicles 25
• Luke 13:10-35

Observations:

In the first stanza of the psalm, we see David praising God for the blessings and aid he has given to him as king. In the second, David is praising God for the punishment of his (the Lord's) enemies.

In Genesis, we see the intended fruit of God's promise - Isaac is born. Following that, we see strife again between Sarah and Hagar to the point where Sarah is urging Abraham to cast Hagar and Ishmael out again. God speaks to Abraham, reassuring him that they would be okay and that, though Isaac is the intended child, he will make a great nation of Ishmael as well, because he is Abraham's son. In the wilderness, then, Hagar finds herself running out of water, lamenting the impending death of her son, when an angel from God reminds her of God's promise and shows her a well. Ishmael grew up to be a strong man, good with a bow we're told, and that he was married to an Egyptian woman. Lastly, we see Abraham's reputation and merciful dealing in his treaty with Abimelech regarding the well at Beersheba.

The 1 Chronicles passage continues the detailing of the Levites, specifically the musicians. We see the prescriptions of who is performing what roles as well as an annotation of lot-taking (thought I do not know what the lot-taking was for). Matthew Henry interprets the lot-taking as the organisation of shifts - who is on duty when.

In Luke, we see a handful of situations. First, Jesus heals a woman with a disfigurement or disability (it looks like some kind of anatomic dysfunction of the spine). The healing itself is rather commonplace for Christ, but it sparked an outrage from a number of the religious leaders, because it happened to be the Sabbath, an argument which Jesus met by showing the leaders their own hypocrisy. Second, Jesus makes two comparisons to the kingdom of heaven. First of the two, he compares it to a mustard seed, which, though small, grows into a large plant, big enough to serve as home for birds. In a similar way, the knowledge and faith in God is a small seed planted within us, but, when cared for and allowed to grow, it expands and branches out, impacting all areas of a person's life and extending shelter/affecting others. Second of the two, Jesus compares the kingdom of God to yeast - a small, single-celled organism whose presence changes the entire nature and flavour of dough and its resultant bread. Next, Jesus responds to a follower's question on the number of saved souls by comparing the kingdom of God to a narrow door - not all will manage to come in - and one that will be open only for a finite time, leaving all others removed from the presence of God, in punishment. This segment has imagery very similar to Matthew 25:31-46, except where the evidence of salvation in Matthew is having served God, the evidence in Luke is having entered through the narrow door, which many seek and few find. Fourth, we see Jesus speaking a lament for Jerusalem over the role it would play during his next and final visit and its lack of willingness to come to God, preferring to remain in its slavish obedience to the Law.

Application:

Do not underestimate faith.

For the first time, I have a better understanding of Jesus' two parables on the kingdom of God. 

I also understand the blindness of the world. The narrow door is not an indication of Christ's meanness, but of man's blindness.

Let Christ's seed, the kingdom of God grow in you, permeating throughout your being, that every thought, every action, every word, every aspect of your body, heart, mind, and soul is infiltrated and held captive by Christ, because we are to be Christ - Christian means little Christ and we are often described as the hands and feet of Christ. Our role is to guide others towards that narrow door, to bring light to their darkness and sight to their blindness.

That is why the church spread under persecution. That is why the pharisees did not understand. Christ demands a surrender of self and an urgency of purpose that defies all man-made stricture and human reason.