Weep at the Word

Reading the Law - Artist unknown

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Nehemiah 7-9; Psalm 50

TO CHEW ON: "And Nehemiah, who was the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, 'This day is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn nor weep.' For all the people wept, when they heard the words of the law." Nehemiah 8:9

If you are familiar with Moses' law—that part of the Bible we find in sections of Exodus and Leviticus—you may well be surprised to see people weeping when it is read. Why would they weep on hearing a bunch of rules?

On thinking about it, I can come up with several reasons;

• It may have been the emotion they felt as they again connected with their religious and cultural roots. It seems that these people were unschooled in the law. We can assume that because of the way they needed a lot of explanation when it was read (Nehemiah 8:7). Even so, they probably had glimmerings of it, passed down through generations. But on this momentous day, as they respectfully stood for its reading, they were hearing the real thing for the first time in their lives. No wonder they got choked up.

• They were saddened by how far they had strayed from the law's requirements. But their teachers urged them—don't look at yourselves; focus on God. Make this day holy or separate to God. Let the joy of who God is and what He is doing now, energize you (Nehemiah 8:9-10).

• They were under conviction and their tears were evidence that God was at work in their lives. I love how this incident is the climax of their wall-repair project—an experience that had been both exhilarating and stressful. But they had completed it

Fresh from the victory of re-establishing the integrity of their city, they were primed for the victory of returning to God in spirit. Their sensitivity to God's will and eagerness to obey is on display as they jumped to obey the instructions to keep the Feast of Booths—something that had apparently not been done since the time of Joshua (Nehemiah 8:13-18).

What is our reaction to God's word? We have not only the Law, but the stories, the prophets, the New Testament, much of it plain and easy to understand.

• Do we respect it (to the extent of willingly standing for its reading when our pastors instruct us to, of course) as these people did?
• Do we hear it with the sense that it applies to us personally?
• Do we focus on how badly we've messed up, or on God and His goodness to us, His plan of salvation, and the hopeful outlook that trust in Him brings?
• Are we quick to change our ways when we see where we have been disobedient?

May our lives be evidence of us going from one obedience to the next (like these people did), as we let the hammer / fire / lamp / sword of God's word do its work.

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for Your word which tells me about You and educates me in Your ways. May I take it as personally as these people who, on hearing, wept, repented, and obeyed. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 50


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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Don't be a no-show

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Luke 14:15-35

TO CHEW ON: "'But they all, with one accord, began to make excuses…'" Luke 14:18

Have you ever made a meal for guests who never showed up? I have. I can understand the strong feelings of the man in Jesus' parable.

Apparently the custom at that time was to invite guests beforehand and then send notice that the meal was ready. So we can surmise that all these no-shows had previously said "Yes" to the host's invitation. But now that the meal was ready, it was inconvenient for each to come. One by one they gave their trivial excuses about why they wouldn't be there.

Of course the point of Jesus' parable wasn't to comment on social rudeness but to teach a spiritual lesson. My Bible commenter explains:

"Israel had accepted God's invitation to the kingdom given through the prophets. The arrival of Jesus signals the arrival of the kingdom, but in its rejection of Him, the nation is declining God's offer of grace. However, God's purpose will not be thwarted, so He will send His gracious invitation to the Gentiles" - J. Lyle Story, New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 1417.

Paul writes about this inclusion of the Gentiles in Romans 9-11. He quotes Hosea as proof that the Gentiles are in on God's invitation:

"'I will call them My people who were not My people
and her beloved who was not beloved …
There they shall be called sons of the living God - Romans 9:25,26, quoting Hosea 2:3 & 1:10.

And he later makes this sweeping statement:

"For whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved" - Romans 10:13 quoting Joel 2:32.

So the invitation to God's salvation banquet is meant for all of us. In His parable Jesus makes a point of naming who will be invited to replace those excuse-makers: the rejects of the city—the poor, maimed, lame and blind—and when there is still more room, those non-citizens from the "highways and hedges," the Gentiles.

Jesus' invitation to come to Him is still open to all. If you haven't accepted it, do it today and be one of those who fill up His house, not one of whom the host says: "'None of those … shall taste my supper.'"


PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for this invitation to Your banquet of grace. May all of us find ourselves at that heavenly celebration. Amen. 


MORE: Bible Feasts:

• Wisdom's feast: Proverbs 9:2.

• God's international feast - Isaiah 25:6.

• Jesus' parable feasts - Matthew 22:4; Luke 14:16 (our reading).

• Jesus' last supper with His disciples - Mark 14:22.

• Marriage Supper of the Lamb - Revelation 19:9.

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The Holy Bible, New King James Version Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. - Used with permission.

Purim

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Esther 9:20-10:3

TO CHEW ON:

"And Mordecai wrote these things and sent letters to all the Jews, near and far, who were in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, to establish among them that they should celebrate yearly the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the month of Adar, as the days on which the Jews had rest from their enemies, as the month which was turned from sorrow to joy for them, and from mourning to a holiday; that they should make them days of feasting and joy, of sending presents to one another and gifts to the poor." - Esther 9:20-22

Every time I log onto Facebook I get a little reminder of whom among my friends is celebrating a birthday on this day. Sending people greets and having parties on birthdays is one way we celebrate individuals in our culture.

We also celebrate special days: love on Valentine's Day, all things Irish on St. Patrick's Day, Mothers and Fathers on their respective days, our country on our national holiday...

God is a great believer in celebrations. The Old Testament is full of parties (called "Feasts") that He instituted for the Israelites to celebrate. In some ways they were a lot like our holidays. The Israelites were to take time off work and they often ate special food.

But these feasts were also different. Most of our celebrations are only a day or a weekend long. Some of the Israelites' feasts lasted a whole week or longer. And while our celebrations are often all about us–what gifts we’ll get, what we’ll eat, how much fun we’ll have–the Israelites’ holidays helped them focus on God.

Some of them, like the Passover, helped them remember how God had helped in the past. Others, like the Feast of First fruits, were times they gave God the first things they harvested. The Feast of Purim (instituted by Mordecai here) reminded them of the miraculous turn of events that began when Queen Esther took her life in her hands to approach the king and beg for the life of her people.

In addition to helping the people remember what God had done, celebrations were also one way the Israelites were to fulfill God's command to teach His ways to their children. Moses instructed them on this in Deuteronomy 6. Not only were parents to explain God's laws to their children in the course of everyday life (Deuteronomy 6:6-9) but they were also to explain God's miracle interventions in the context of His testimonies, statutes and judgements (which included observing the special feasts - Deuteronomy 6:20-22).

Perhaps it wouldn't be a bad idea to add some spiritual celebrations to our secular ones—having  parties, for example, commemorating the day we were born again, the day we were baptized, or the day God answered a significant prayer for us or our family. Because we also need to keep these memories strong and pass the stories on to our kids!

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for reasons to celebrate and times of celebration. Help me to take time to recall and retell the stories of how You have worked in my life and the life of my family. Amen.

MORE: Purim

The Jewish people still celebrate the Feast of Purim. Here are some things they do on that day:



1. They read the story of Esther from the Hegillah (the Scroll). They cheer whenever Esther’s name is mentioned, boo at Haman’s name and wave graggers or noisemakers. They also act out the story in plays.





2. They wear costumes, disguises and masks to remind them of how Esther had to hide the fact that she was Jewish.



3. They send gifts to each other and the poor. They also invite people to join them in a special Purim meal.



4. They make special food. One treat is called Hamantaschen (Haman’s Hat). It is a three-cornered pastry filled with poppy seeds or prunes.

(Adapted from the Bible Drive-Thru devotion "From Sadness to Celebration")

The Feast of Purim is celebrated on the 14th of Adar (Hebrew calendar), which changes from year to year on the secular calendar. 

Dates of Purim: 

2015 - March 3 & 4; 

2016 - March 23 & 24; 

2017 - March 9 & 12.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Keeping feasts

Feast of Tabernacles - still celebrated today

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Exodus 23:1-19

TO CHEW ON: "Three times you shall keep a feast to Me in the year."  Exodus 23:14



What did it mean to "keep a feast"? My Bible has a word meaning article about that.

[To keep a feast, chagag: To celebrate, keep a feast, be festive, dance, assemble for rejoicing. This verb occurs 15 times. It is translated as 'Dancing' in 1 Samuel 30:16 and 'kept a pilgrim feast' in Psalm 42:4. An important derivative is chag, 'feast,' especially referring to the seven feasts God gave Israel. … The OT abounds in feasts and celebrations ordained by God and resulting in human happiness" - Dick Mills, Word Wealth, New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 106.]

The three feasts mentioned in our reading combined the natural, the historical, and the spiritual in celebration.

The Feast of Unleavened Bread commemorated the Israelites coming out of Egypt and slavery. It was mainly of historical and spiritual significance.

The Feast of Harvest (also called the Feast of Weeks or the Day of Pentecost) was held in the third month (our May to June) 50 days after the Feast of Unleavened Bread. It commemorated the early harvest. (For us, of course, the Day of Pentecost also has significance as the day the Holy Spirit fell on the church - Acts 2:1).

The Feast of Ingathering (also called the Feast of Tabernacles or Booths) happened in the autumn of the year (our September to October) and commemorated the end of the harvest as well as their years of tent living in the wilderness, reminding them of how God had kept them through that time.

Notice how God's directive continues: "… keep a feast to Me …"

These feasts were to celebrate God—His goodness, faithfulness, generosity, grace—more than to entertain and please the people, though they did that too.

I think about our big celebrations—Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas—and how we tend to focus most of the attention on ourselves: the candy, the food, the presents, and the folk characters  that we've connected with these days (the Easter Bunny, Santa Claus). Yes, somewhere in there we give God a quick wave and prayer of thanks. But our celebrations are not primarily to "Me."

Perhaps we can change this, for ourselves and our families at least, so that our "feasts" focus first on God and then on our festivities with each other. Any practical ideas of how we could do this?

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for the balance between work and play that You mandate here. Thank You, too, for this model of regular remembering. Help me to give much space in my life to celebrating You. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.