February 4: Exodus 19:16-21:21; Psalm 28; Proverbs 7:1-5; Matthew 23:13-23:39

Overview

            Exodus: God comes down on Mount Sinai to meet the people of Israel. He appears with thunder, lightning, and dark cloud along with trumpet blasts. The mountain shakes and the people tremble. God calls Moses up and tells him to go back down to warn the people not to touch the mountain. He also tells him to bring Aaron with him.

            God then gives Moses the Ten Commandments. It appears that this is while he is at the bottom of the mountain with the people. The people saw and heard nothing but lightning, thunder, a trumpet, and the mountain smoking. They tell Moses to speak with God and then relay it on to them because they are afraid they will die if God speaks to them. Moses tells them not to be afraid because God is testing them so they won’t sin. Moses draws closer and they stand far off.

            God then starts prescribing many laws. The first is about altars to offer sacrifices. The next is about Hebrew slaves. Included are regulations about what to do for various situations when a person or slave is killed or beaten.

            Psalm: David calls on the Lord to hear him. He doesn’t want to be cast away like evil doers and recounts some of their evils. He asks God to deal with them according to their evil. He praises the Lord for listening to him and reaffirms his trust in the Lord. He asks the Lord to save the people take care of them forever.

            Proverbs: Solomon again instructs his son to treasure his commandments so that he will live and keep from adultery.

            Matthew: Jesus continues hammering on the Pharisees and scribes about their hypocrisy. One huge portion is how they swear by different things. He explains that swearing by “lesser thing” is the same as swearing by the things that make them holy and untimely that means God. He points out their hypocrisy because they are precise in the way they tithe but neglect more important things in the Law like mercy and justice. They keep outward tenets of the Law but don’t consider their inward unrighteousness.

            Jesus also points out their hypocrisy in saying that they would not have killed the prophets, yet they are seeking how to stop him. They will eventually crucify Jesus.

            Jesus then laments over Jerusalem. He would love to have them all come to him, but that won’t happen until he comes again.

What Stood Out

            Exodus: “The people stood far off, while Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was” (Ex 20:21).

            Psalm: “If you be silent to me, I become like those who go down to the pit” (Ps 28:1).

            Proverbs: “Say to wisdom, ‘You are my sister,’ and call insight your intimate friend” (Prov 7:4).

            Matthew: “You travel across sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves” (Matt 23:15).

Insight

            Exodus: How often do we behave like the people of Israel? We stand off at a distance and don’t want to get too close to God. Sure, God gave them an awesome display of his glory. I would think that we would probably tremble and be afraid as well. However, there is not one mention in this reading that Moses feared God in the way the people did. He saw the burning bush and was amazed at that small show of God’s power. But he had never seen God in the thick darkness, lightning, thunder, and trumpet sound. During the plagues and the escape from the Egyptians as well as a few months in the desert, Moses drew closer to God. The people grumbled and stood a far way off. There must be a lesson there for us.

            When we stand off and let our pastor or teachers spoon-feed us from the Bible without really digging in and learning about God and getting to know him, we are just like the Israelites. Without getting into a theological debate about when and how Jesus will come back, think about this. If Jesus were to appear right now, how many would be afraid and how many would run out to meet him? Many people really don’t want Jesus to come back right now because they have some things they still want to get done. I’ve heard some people give me a list of why they wouldn’t be all that happy if Jesus came back right now. That shows they have idols that are more important than God.

            Psalm: A thought struck me seeing that David felt as if he would go down to the pit if God doesn’t hear and answer him. The descriptions in the verses that follow certainly express the feeling that without an answer from God, he is no better than the wicked. As in many of the Psalms, David snaps out of the depressing thoughts to praise God.

            What about me? If I don’t get answers to my prayers, do I feel like I’m going to die? I think many of us do feel that way. Even worse, many think that way when God doesn’t answer in the way we have specified in our prayers. To me, that isn’t what I think about when I ask God to hear me. If I thought God didn’t hear me, I would be devastated. It would prove that I was not his child. I can and do rest on the many promises that God does hear me. I don’t have to be asking for something, I just want to talk with him. When I trust in his goodness I know that not only does he hear, but when I do ask for something, he answers in what is best for me and others to bring about his glory.

            Proverbs: It is amazing how many proverbs are directly related to wisdom, but that wisdom is provided to stay away from sexual sins. This must certainly tell us something about one of the biggest problems people have.

            Matthew: This reading is 99% about hypocrisy. It is easy to read all these woes and think that none of them applies to me. If so, then I am just like the Pharisee in Jesus’ parable who prayed, “I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector” (Luke 18:11). Rather, I need to look at my life to see if I’m being legalistic while ignoring mercy and justice. One of the things we are supposed to do is go and make disciples (Matt 28:19). A disciple is one who learns to imitate and do the same things as his teacher. I need to be more like Jesus so that anyone I disciple can be more like him instead of me. The last thing I want is to have a disciple become “twice as much a child of hell” as me (Matt 23:15). I need to be careful about my own hypocrisy or that’s what will happen.

            I never really understood what Jesus meant when said, “Thus you witness against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers” (Matt 23:31-32). I thought it was strange that Jesus would blame them for their ancestor’s sins. So, today, I understood. Because he knew they were going to crucify him and persecute his church, they were just like their ancestors. They were claiming to walk with God but they were about to do the very same things their ancestors did. The bottom line is that had I been there I would have been one of those helping crucify Jesus. I have to admit how much I needed saving just as much as any of them.

Application

             I need to a lot better job drawing close to the Lord. I don’t want to stand far off and I don’t want to feel like he doesn’t hear me. I don’t want to make my faith based on doing things rather than on being in Jesus’ presence.

 

February 3: Exodus 17:8-19:15; Psalm 27:7-14; Proverbs 6:27-35; Matthew 22:34-23:12

Overview

            Exodus: The Amalekites attack Israel so Moses goes up on a hill with Aaron and Hur to hold up God's staff. While the staff is up Israel prevails. When Moses gets tired, Aaron and Hur hold his arms up. Amalek is defeated.

            Moses’ father-in-law, Jethro, comes with Zipporah and Moses’ two sons. Moses greets Jethro and sits down to talk with him. Jethro observes Moses sitting in judgment of the people all the next day and advises him to get help. Moses then chooses leaders over tens, fifties, hundreds, and thousands to form a hierarchy of leadership.

            Jethro returns home and Israel moves on to Mount Sinai. God calls Moses up the mountain where he promises that Israel will be his treasured possession if they obey. Moses goes back down and relays Gods words to the people. He returns and reports what the people said. Then God tells Moses he will be coming down on the mountain in a thick cloud so the people will be able to hear what he says to Moses. He gives Moses instructions in preparation for his coming. Moses goes back down and tells the people to prepare.

            Psalm: David’s confidence in the first verses seems to take a dip in the last half of the Psalm. The tone changes as he asks God to hear his cry for help and asks that God not turn away from him because he has been seeking God’s face just as God wants. David looks to God for instruction and salvation from his enemies. He then reaffirms his faith and tells himself to wait for the Lord.

            Proverbs: Solomon outlines why getting involved with an adulteress is even worse that stealing. It’s like getting burned with hot coals. People will excuse a thief who steals because he is hungry. But A thief will have to make restitution and possibly loose all his possessions. But a man with an adulteress is going to pay with his life as well as being disgraced and losing honor. The jealous husband will not spare him.

            Matthew: The Pharisees try again to stump Jesus after the Sadducees are silenced. They ask what is the greatest commandment. Jesus replies that all the commandments can be summed up in loving God and neighbor.

            Then it is Jesus’ turn to question the Pharisees. He asks whose son is the Christ. They answer David’s. Jesus quotes, Psalm 110:1, “The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand” (Matt 22:44). He asks them how David could call his son (the Messiah) Lord. That stumps the Pharisees and they stop asking him any more questions.

            So Jesus turns to his disciples and the people and warns them about the Pharisees. While they should obey the Law that the Pharisees claim to obey, they should not do as the Pharisees do, which he lists in detail. In summary, they are all works that make themselves feel important and suppose they will please God with them. Jesus says that anyone who exalts himself will be humbled and vice versa.

What Stood Out

            Exodus: “You shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; 6 and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Ex 19:5).

            Psalm: “You have said, ‘Seek my face.’ My heart says to you, ‘Your face, Lord, do I seek’” (Ps 27:8).

            Proverbs: “He who commits adultery lacks sense; he who does it destroys himself” (Prov 6:32).

            Matthew: “If then David calls him [Christ] Lord, how is he his son?” (Matt 22:45).

Insight

            Exodus: I read about Jethro coming to Moses with Moses’ wife and it strikes me odd that he greets Jethro and talks with him but not one word is recorded about saying anything to Zipporah or his kids. While this may have been the custom then, I’m glad this isn’t the way we do things now. Moses’ treatment of Zipporah seems harsh. We have a better way now, “Husbands, love your wives, and do not be harsh with them” (Col 3:19).

            Jethro was the priest of Midian (Ex 3:1). During his visit with Moses, we can see that his knowledge of the Lord (Yahweh) was expanded as he announced, “Now I know that the Lord [Yahweh] is greater than all gods” (Ex 18:11). Then, when Aaron and the elders came to eat, it was Jethro who offered the burnt sacrifice to God. This shows that Jethro was indeed a priest of God and not the priest of some other God. That is important because the next thing he does is to advise Moses, the man who talks with God, about the way he is running the camp. He advises Moses to delegate responsibility over the people rather than trying to do all the judging work by himself. Moses listened to Jethro and did as he said. There are times in our lives when we need to recognize we can’t do it all on our own. We need others to help. Sometimes that person is the one who reprimands us for trying to do more than we should. We need to be careful not to take Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through him who strengthens me” out of context. Paul went on to describe how the Philippians had helped him in his ministry.

            Psalm: Even in the best of times, we can become discouraged and wonder how long it will be before we are rescued from our troubles. However, there are two things that stand out. When we seek God’s face and not just his hand, we will be blessed. When we wait for the Lord to accomplish his will, we will come out stronger when the final troubles have been resolved. That gives us courage (Ps 27:14).

            Proverbs: Don’t get sucked into adultery. While today’s culture barely acknowledges that it is wrong, a jealous spouse can cause a lot of damage. Even if there are no consequences, we are still accountable to God.

            Matthew: When we look at the Ten Commandments and other aspects of the Law, it is fairly easy to see the wisdom of loving God with all our heart and soul and mind sums up our first and primary goal. If we really love God, then all the Commandments relating to God are natural. We don’t even have to think about obeying them. The same goes for the horizontal Commandments. If we love others as much as we love ourselves then we treat people the way we should. The fact that the Pharisees didn’t have these in mind is demonstrated by their desire to trap him.

            Jesus’ ability to turn the tables on the Pharisees by questioning who David’s son was could also boggle our mind. If we don’t really believe that the Son of David, the Messiah is truly God, then we would be in the same pickle as the Pharisees. We must be firm in our convictions about the deity of Jesus. If Jesus is not true God, then his death for our sins means nothing. But Jesus is true God and so we know that his sacrifice has bought us freedom from sin.

            So, when it gets down to how we live, Jesus points to the Pharisees as the prime example of how not to approach our relationship with God or how to direct others. Outward show does not impress God. He looks at our heart. When we do things simply to get attention and exalt ourselves, God will not respond to that in a positive way. He will humble us. On the other hand, when we are humble before him, he will exalt us as Peter wrote, “Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” (1 Peter 5:5).

Application

             Doing things to impress others is always a big temptation. Even while writing this blog I’m tempted in this way. I pray that it doesn’t happen and that my personal walk with the Lord is strengthened as I do this. If you get something out of his that is a blessing, then may the Lord be glorified by it.

 

February 2: Exodus 15:19-17:7; Psalm 27:1-6; Proverbs 6:20-26; Matthew 22:1-33

Overview

            Exodus: After the congregation sings of the Lord’s conquest over the Egyptians, Miriam, Aaron’s sister leads the women in a dance and song of the conquest.

            The people journey into the wilderness for three days and find only bitter water at Marah. They grumble against Moses. The Lord has Moses throw a log into the water and it is purified for drinking. The Lord test them telling them that he will not bring any of the diseases on them that he brought on the Egyptians if they will listen to him and keep his commandments.

            They continue on to Elim and on into the wilderness of Sin for a month. Then they grumble against Moses and Aaron wishing the Lord had killed them in Egypt where they had plenty to eat. The Lord tells Moses and Aaron that he will feed them with bread from heaven in the morning and quail in the evening. The quail were so many they covered he whole camp.

            There were regulations for gathering the bread from heaven, which they called manna. It came with the dew and melted away when the sun got hot, so they had to gather in the morning six days of the week. They could not keep any for the next day except for the Sabbath because they were not permitted to work on the Sabbath. If they kept any for other days, it would have worms and stink in the morning. When they gathered a lot or a little, they always had just the right amount. They could boil it or bake it. It looked like white coriander seeds but tasted like wafers made with honey. They ate this for forty years until they came to the border of Canaan (Ex 16:35).

            They moved on to Rephidim but there was no water. The people grumbled again, claiming Moses took them out of Egypt only to kill them with thirst. So the Lord told Moses to strike a rock and water came out for them all. The called it Massah and Meribah because of the quarrelling and testing the Lord.

            Psalm 27: David praises God for taking care of him when he is attacked by enemies. Because of his trust, he is not afraid of them, knowing God will take care of him so that he will be able to worship and praise God in his sanctuary. His one prayer is to dwell in the house of the Lord all his life. He is confident that God will answer that prayer.

            Proverbs: Solomon advises his son to keep his words and his mother’s teaching. The words and teaching lead, watch over, are a light, and reprove and discipline. By them, he is able to avoid the snare of an adulteress.

            Matthew: Jesus tells another parable about he kingdom of heaven. This one is about a king who has a wedding feast for his son. The original guests refuse to come or were too busy. Some even beat and killed the servants who went to invite them. The king killed them and burned their city. He then sent servants to invite anyone they could find, good or bad. One man came but didn’t wear wedding garments. He was tied up and tossed into outer darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. Many are invited but few chosen (Matt 22:14).

            The Pharisees wanted to trap Jesus so they asked him if it was legal to pay taxes. Jesus knowing their duplicity asks for a coin. The coin has Caesar’s image on it so he tells them to give to Caesar what belongs to him and to God the things that belong to God (Matt 22:21).

            Next, the Sadducees come trying to trick him. They use the Law about a brother being required to marry his brother’s wife if the brother doesn’t have any heirs when he dies. They present a case where a woman is married to seven brothers and all die. They ask who she will be married to in the resurrection. Jesus tells them they don’t know Scripture or God’s power since there is no marriage in heaven. We will be like angels. Also they don’t know about resurrection because God is the God of the living, not dead, based on the present tense of the words from “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob” (Ex 3:6).

What Stood Out

            Exodus: “Behold, I am about to rain bread from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day's portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law or not” (Ex 16:4).

            Psalm: “One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple” (Ps 27:4).

            Proverbs: “For the price of a prostitute is only a loaf of bread, but a married woman hunts down a precious life” (Prov 6:26).

            Matthew: “For many are called, but few are chosen” (Matt 22:14).

Insight

            Exodus: The reoccurring theme in this passage is the people grumbling against Moses and therefore, against God. God starts out by telling them he will test them. Each time they have difficulties, they grumble. They had seen the miracles in Egypt but don’t have enough faith to ask God to take care of them in the desert. We often do the same thing. When things are going good, we don’t take the time to really understand who God is and how he has taken care of us. When tough times come, we fall back on our own resources or grumble to or about God. Let’s face it. Grumbling isn’t just a negative outlook on life, it is a sin. When we grumble about our circumstances, we are maligning God’s sovereignty and calling him impotent. He is omnipotent not impotent. He is in control of the universe and it all hangs together by his powerful word (Heb 1:3).

            Since grumbling is a sin, there is only one thing that we can do with it. We must repent. Yesterday, we saw that all sins are an abomination to God. We must view grumbling with the same seriousness as we believe is the most heinous crime. If we don’t, it becomes acceptable and we will never be free from it. We must see it as an affront to God’s goodness.

            Psalm: What do we fear? David could have feared his enemies but he didn’t. The only reason he didn’t was because of his trust in the Lord to answer his prayer. He wanted to be with the Lord all his life. When trouble came he knew he would be able to go back to the tabernacle and view the beauty of the Lord and worship him. Do we have the same confidence that when trouble comes, the ending will be glorious? Do we have confidence that if we die, it is only the beginning of something better? David’s world revolved around the physical blessing for Israel and his life. We are promised trouble and distress but our world should revolve around being with the Lord in eternity. If we are confident in God, we can also say, “Whom shall I fear?” (Ps 27:1).

            Proverbs: The advice given to the son by father and mother is like the Word of God. We need to keep it close so that it will lead us and teach us. It will take care of us when tempted by the “evil woman” (Prov 6:24). That applies to all sorts of evil as well. But there is a strange passage here that compares a prostitute to an adulteress. While I’m sure it isn’t recommending a single man engage a prostitute, it does recognize that adultery destroys a life. Tomorrow’s reading will explain why.

            Matthew: The parable about the wedding feast for the king’s son is a very comprehensive image for the kingdom of God.

·         The king represents God

·         The feast represents the wedding supper of the Lamb at the end of the age.

·         Those invited represents the nation of Israel specifically and everyone else who rejects Jesus in general.

·         The reasons for rejection represent the reason that we don’t respond to salvation. It can be anything from apathy about God to being too busy with worldly passions.

·         The servants represent the prophets of the Old Testament as well as anyone who engages in evangelism. The latter should be all of us.

·         The harsh treatment of the servants represents persecution of God’s people through the ages, both before and after Christ.

·         The destruction of first invitees and their city represents the destruction of Jerusalem.

·         The servants going out to the roads to invite people represent the change in emphasis from Jewish evangelism to Gentiles. This is the times of the Gentiles (Luke 21:24).

·         The man without wedding garments represents all who have trusted in their own works for salvation and not on the gift of God.

·         The punishment of the man represents eternal punishment in hell.

            When we look at this parable, it becomes obvious that the Pharisees knew where they fit. It should also be evident where we fit. We can be too busy or simply violently opposed to the things of the Lord. We will be in the same situation as those who don’t get near the feast but are killed. The one who shows up without wedding clothes is the most dangerous position to have. Too many people in churches and other religions think they will be in heaven after they die because they are good enough. No, we all need to come to Jesus in faith and repentance trusting in his death for our sins and not our own works to earn salvation.

            Taxes, is this incident in Jesus’ life about paying taxes? No, it isn’t. The Pharisees thought they could trap Jesus because their law made it an offence to pay taxes to the Gentile rulers. If Jesus said yes, then they could blame him for siding with the Gentile rulers. If he said no, they could report him to the Gentile rulers. They thought they were cleaver. But Jesus is telling them and every one of us that we need to have our hearts in the right place, which is seeking his kingdom before everything else (Matt 6:33).

            The Sadducees didn’t believe in spirits, resurrection from the dead and a few other things. They were the secularized Jews of the day. So their trying to trap Jesus was different. They wanted to get Jesus stuck in a paradox between marriage and a resurrection trying to show that resurrection is absurd. We learn two very important truths in this passage. The first is that our heavenly existence isn’t based on marriages. That blows away the foundation of several cults in existence today as well as then. The second is that people who die are now alive and with the Lord. Then there is the truth that God’s word is accurate right down to the tense of the verbs. Jesus uses the fact that God refers to himself in the present tense as being the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to indicate that they are still alive. That also means that God is eternal because he is alive beyond their life spans on earth.

Application

             It’s too easy to grumble. What about that tailgater who is scaring me? His headlights look like they are stuck on my back window. If I’m trusting the God of the universe then I don’t need to be afraid. I don’t need to swear and curse the tailgater. Or how about that person in front of me that is going so slow that I’ll never get to wherever I’m going on time. Riding that person’s bumper is a form of grumbling also. It is putting my need ahead of his and it is grumbling against God because he is in control of even the tailgater behind or the turtle in front. Of course, this applies to every little thing that happens that irritates me.

February 1: Exodus 13:17-15:18; Psalm 26; Proverbs 6:16-19; Matthew 21:23-46

Overview

            Exodus: After the Israelites left Egypt, God had them move back and forth so that Pharaoh would think they were wondering. Pharaoh and his servants change their minds and pursue Israel. When Israel sees Pharaoh with all his chariots and army coming, they are frightened blaming Moses for taking them into the desert to die. Moses tells the people not to fear for God will fight their battle. The Lord had gone before them as a pillar of cloud by day and pillar of fire at night. The Lord moves between Israel and Pharaoh’s army then tells Moses to stretch out his staff over the sea. The Lord parts the waters and dries up the ground so that the people can pass to the other side. The Egyptians pursue but God bogs down their chariots then brings the water back over them so they all drown.

            Moses and the people celebrate with a song that records God’s triumph over Egypt. They exalt God and praise him. The song also reveals that the surrounding nations will become aware of everything going on and will be in terror. They believe God will bring them into the promised land and exclaim that the Lord will reign forever.

            Psalm 26: David asks God to vindicate him and test his heart and mind. He recounts his own goodness and innocence. He speaks of his love for God’s tabernacle. So he asks not to be wiped out with sinners because he walks in integrity. Yet he asks to be redeemed.

            Proverbs: This is a list of seven things God considers abominations.

            Matthew: Jesus returns to the temple the day after cleaning it out and begins to teach. The chief priests and elders come to him and asking by what authority he did this. Jesus says he will tell them if they will tell where received his John’s authority. They don’t want to admit John was a prophet so they say they don’t know and Jesus refuses to answer their question.

            Jesus then tells a parable about two sons who were told to work in the vineyard. One says he won’t but later does. The other says he will but doesn’t. Jesus uses it to explain that sinners are entering the kingdom of God before the chief priests and elders because sinners listened to John but chief priests and elders have not.

            He tells another parable about a man who leased his vineyard to tenants while he went away. When his servants come to get some of the fruit, they are beaten, stoned, or killed. He sends his son and they kill him expecting to inherit the vineyard. Jesus asks what will happen to the tenants and the chief priests and elders answer that the tenants will be killed and the vineyard will be leased to those who will give the owner fruit.

            Jesus quotes Psalm 118:22-23 about the stone the builders rejected. The explanation of the parable is that the kingdom of God will be taken away from the chief priests and elders and given people who will produce fruit. He then refers to himself as being the stone.

            The chief priests and Pharisees hear it, they knew he was talking about them but they won’t arrest him because they fear the people.

What Stood Out

            Exodus: “At the blast of your nostrils the waters piled up; the floods stood up in a heap;

the deeps congealed in the heart of the sea” (Ex 15:8).

            Psalm: “Prove me, O Lord, and try me; test my heart and my mind” (Ps 26:2).

            Proverbs: “There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him” (Prov 6:16).

            Matthew: “Which of the two [sons who were told to work in the vineyard] did the will of his father?” (Matt 21:31).

Insight

            Exodus: Many people do not believe the miracles of the Bible. When it comes to Israel crossing the Red Sea, they make up all sorts of stories about how it was a low tide and the wind has been known to do the same thing in other areas. However, I would like to point out that these natural solutions are invented only because people are just like Pharaoh. They are hardhearted. They believe what they want in spite of the clear evidence in the Bible that this had to be the hand of God. Several key verses in this account disprove all of the natural explanations.

1.      The sea parted when Moses lifted up his staff (Ex 14:21). The wind didn’t blow until Moses obeyed God.

2.      The wind could have dried out the ground but it’s unlikely dry enough for two million people to walk on it. The land is described as dry land (Ex 14:22).

3.      The water was deep. It is described as a wall on either side (Ex 14:22, 29). It would take a hurricane force wind to do that. How would they be able to walk through the midst of the sea with that kind of wind?

4.      The water returned when Moses again stretched out his staff (Ex 14:26-27). Again, this is no coincidence.

5.      The waters were so deep that it covered the chariots and horsemen (Ex 14:28, 15:4-5). They are described as sinking (Ex 15:10).

6.      The waters are described as piling up and congealing (Ex 15:8). The NIV says, “The surging waters stood firm like a wall” (Ex 15:8 NIV 1984).

            The overwhelming evidence from this is that it was God’s work. It is not hard to understand that God did it when you also look back at the plagues of Egypt. It takes a hard heart to relegate this to nature.

            Beside the physical evidence, God also reveals his purpose in these miracles. He is glorified to all (Ex 15:11-12). His unfailing love is shown to his people (Ex 15:13). The nations will be in fear of him (Ex 15:14-16) and his reign will be known to last forever (Ex 15:18).

            We should all fall down and worship the Lord who has done all this.

            Psalm: This is a strange Psalm because it paints David to be a very self-righteous person. Yes, he asks God to test him but throughout, he describes all of his uprightness and steadfastness. I can only conclude that he wrote this long before his affair with Bathsheba and murder of her husband, Uriah. While we should ask God to test us and prove us, we should not become so blinded to our sin that we congratulate ourselves that are on the right path. Paul refers back to events in the Old Testament and tells us that these were written for our instruction. He then warns us, “Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall” (1 Cor 10:12).

            Proverbs: All sin is an abomination to God. However, he lists seven in these verses. Sure, we would agree with murder as an abomination and most of us would include unborn babies. We don’t always see lying as an abomination, especially those little “white” lies. Look up abomination in a concordance and see how often it is used with God’s feelings about specific sins. Things show up like homosexuality (Lev 18:22, 20:13), worshiping other gods (Deut 7:25), offering blemished sacrifices (Deut 17:1), and occult activities (Deut 18:12). When it gets right down to it, any of us who are not forgiven and have received a new heart are an abomination because Proverbs 11:20 says, “Those of crooked heart are an abomination to the Lord.” There is no way out of it. All sin is an abomination to the Lord.

            Matthew: I always enjoy the way Jesus turns the tables on the Pharisees and others who are trying to trap him. The chief priests and elders won’t answer Jesus so Jesus says he won’t answer them. But his two parables that follow really are an answer.

            I’ve heard people say that delayed obedience is still disobedience. I wouldn’t doubt that every pastor has said it at least once in a sermon. I agree that when we delay doing what we are called to do, it is disobedience. However, Jesus was not looking at the path of resistance but the end of the journey when he ask his question about who obeyed the father who asked his sons to work in the vineyard. One said he would and didn’t. That was obviously disobedience. The other said he wouldn’t but later went and worked. That was called obedience. The chief priest rightly answered that the one who actually worked did the father’s will. Jesus uses this to explain that it isn’t those who do lip service who are obedient but those who actually repent and do the work. That is why sinners enter the kingdom of God and the self-righteous don’t. They don’t obey. Technically, when someone delays, they are in the process of disobedience, but once they obey they have crossed over into obedience. When it comes to salvation, then in God’s sight, it is full and complete obedience.

            Jesus uses this to convict the chief priest and Pharisees who say they are obeying God but are not. He goes on to drill deeper into their sinful attitudes with the parable of the rented vineyard. We always look at this and say, “Whew, I’m glad that I’m not in their shoes.” But we certainly can be. If we are not producing fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22-23), then we are exactly the same as the chief priest and Pharisees. We are like the tenants that have received all the goodness of this life but have kept the Son of God out. What is the end of those who believe they are in the kingdom of God but don’t act like it? “He will put those wretches to a miserable death and let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons” (Matt 21:41). Remember delayed obedience when it comes to salvation is the same as obedience. It’s never too late to repent and live a transformed life in Jesus if we’re still alive.

Application

             It’s easy for me to be like David in the Psalm. I ask God to search me and test me, but the reality is that my hidden sins are just that, hidden. So I trust that they will come out and I’ll obey and repent as they are exposed.