May 2, 2012

The Older Women Must Teach the Young Women

Mother, daughter, and baby

In many ways, our society’s norms and values are quite different from those found in the Bible, particularly in regard to the role and responsibilities of women. Paul instructed Titus to teach the older women about what they were to teach to the younger women. These lessons are still needed today.

“Older women likewise are to be… teaching what is good, so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored” (Titus 2:3-5).

Paul mentioned seven lessons the older women were to teach to the younger women. Let us consider each one briefly.
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April 19, 2012

"They Shall Share Alike" (4/19)

Thought from today’s Bible reading from 1 Samuel 28-31; Psalm 18.

When David pursued the Amalekites, he left “two hundred who were too exhausted” and carried on with the remaining four hundred men who were with him (1 Samuel 30:10). After they were victorious, they returned to the men who had been left behind.

“When David came to the two hundred men who were too exhausted to follow David, who had also been left at the brook Besor, and they went out to meet David and to meet the people who were with him, then David approached the people and greeted them. Then all the wicked and worthless men among those who went with David said, ‘Because they did not go with us, we will not give them any of the spoil that we have recovered, except to every man his wife and his children, that they may lead them away and depart.’

“Then David said, ‘You must not do so, my brothers, with what the Lord has given us, who has kept us and delivered into our hand the band that came against us. And who will listen to you in this matter? For as his share is who goes down to the battle, so shall his share be who stays by the baggage; they shall share alike’” (1 Samuel 30:21-24).

On one hand, it is not hard to see where these wicked men were coming from. The two hundred men did not fight; therefore, they should not share in the spoil. But David said they would all share in the spoil. Why? Notice again what David said:
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April 7, 2012

The Character of Ruth (4/7)

Thought from today’s Bible reading from Ruth 1-4.

“So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife, and he went in to her. And the Lord enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son” (Ruth 4:13).

“So they named him Obed. He is the father of Jesse, the father of David” (Ruth 4:17).

Ruth was a Moabite woman who had married one of the children of Israel (Ruth 1:2-4). Yet after her husband died (Ruth 1:5), she was not only welcomed by God, but gave birth to David’s grandfather, Obed. More importantly, she was part of the genealogy of Christ (Matthew 1:5).
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March 27, 2012

"Why Have You Given Me Only One Lot?" (3/27)

Thought from today’s Bible reading from Joshua 16-18.

As the territory in Canaan was being divided among the tribes, those who descended from Joseph complained that their allotment was insufficient for their people.

“Then the sons of Joseph spoke to Joshua, saying, ‘Why have you given me only one lot and one portion for an inheritance, since I am a numerous people whom the Lord has thus far blessed?’ Joshua said to them, ‘If you are a numerous people, go up to the forest and clear a place for yourself there in the land of the Perizzites and of the Rephaim, since the hill country of Ephraim is too narrow for you.’

“The sons of Joseph said, ‘The hill country is not enough for us, and all the Canaanites who live in the valley land have chariots of iron, both those who are in Beth-shean and its towns and those who are in the valley of Jezreel.’ Joshua spoke to the house of Joseph, to Ephraim and Manasseh, saying, ‘You are a numerous people and have great power; you shall not have one lot only, but the hill country shall be yours. For though it is a forest, you shall clear it, and to its farthest borders it shall be yours; for you shall drive out the Canaanites, even though they have chariots of iron and though they are strong’” (Joshua 17:14-18).

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March 26, 2012

Caleb’s Inheritance (3/26)

Thought from today’s Bible reading from Joshua 12-15.

Caleb was one of the twelve spies who believed the Israelites could conquer the land of Canaan because God was with them. Though he and Joshua were unable to convince the people, he was promised an inheritance in the land. After the land was divided among the tribes, Caleb asked Joshua to grant him what he was promised.

“You know the word which the Lord spoke to Moses the man of God concerning you and me in Kadesh-barnea. I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from Kadesh-barnea to spy out the land, and I brought word back to him as it was in my heart. Nevertheless my brethren who went up with me made the heart of the people melt with fear; but I followed the Lord my God fully. So Moses swore on that day, saying, ‘Surely the land on which your foot has trodden will be an inheritance to you and your children forever, because you have followed the Lord my God fully.’

“Now behold, the Lord has let me live, just as He spoke, these forty-five years, from the time that the Lord spoke this word to Moses, when Israel walked in the wilderness; and now behold, I am eighty-five years old today. […] Now then, give me this hill country about which the Lord spoke on that day, for you heard on that day that Anakim were there, with great fortified cities; perhaps the Lord will be with me, and I will drive them out as the Lord has spoken” (Joshua 14:6-12).

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March 16, 2012

You Shall Not Neglect the Levite (3/16)

Thought from today’s Bible reading from Deuteronomy 14-16.

“Also you shall not neglect the Levite who is in your town, for he has no portion or inheritance among you” (Deuteronomy 14:27).

The tribe of Levi was unique in the nation of Israel. Unlike the other tribes, the Levites did not receive a possession when the promised land was divided among the tribes. The reason for this had to do with the specific duty God gave to the Levites.

“To the sons of Levi, behold, I have given all the tithe in Israel for an inheritance, in return for their service which they perform, the service of the tent of meeting. […] Only the Levites shall perform the service of the tent of meeting, and they shall bear their iniquity; it shall be a perpetual statute throughout your generations, and among the sons of Israel they shall have no inheritance. For the tithe of the sons of Israel, which they offer as an offering to the Lord, I have given to the Levites for an inheritance; therefore I have said concerning them, ‘They shall have no inheritance among the sons of Israel’” (Numbers 18:21-24).

The Levites were devoted to a spiritual work. Therefore, God made this provision for them. Though they had no inheritance in the land, they would receive their livelihood from the tithes given by the people.
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February 28, 2012

"We Used to Eat Free in Egypt" (2/28)

Thought from today’s Bible reading from Numbers 11-13.

“The rabble who were among them had greedy desires; and also the sons of Israel wept again and said, ‘Who will give us meat to eat? We remember the fish which we used to eat free in Egypt, the cucumbers and the melons and the leeks and the onions and the garlic, but now our appetite is gone. There is nothing at all to look at except this manna’” (Numbers 11:4-6).

The complaints of the children of Israel were a frequent occurrence in the wilderness. It is amazing that those who had seen the power of God first-hand would so quickly lose faith in Him.

Yet we see something about human nature here. Many people want someone to regularly provide for them, even if there are strings attached. They want consistency in their lives, even if their circumstances are not ideal. They do not desire true freedom, for this requires contentment, diligence, personal responsibility, and a trust in the providence of God.
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