Daily Lesson for April 23, 2020

Today's Daily Lesson comes from 1 Chronicles chapter 3 verses 1 through 9:

These are the sons of David who were born to him in Hebron: the firstborn Amnon, by Ahinoam the Jezreelite; the second Daniel, by Abigail the Carmelite; 2 the third Absalom, son of Maacah, daughter of King Talmai of Geshur; the fourth Adonijah, son of Haggith; 3 the fifth Shephatiah, by Abital; the sixth Ithream, by his wife Eglah; 4 six were born to him in Hebron, where he reigned for seven years and six months. And he reigned thirty-three years in Jerusalem. 5 These were born to him in Jerusalem: Shimea, Shobab, Nathan, and Solomon, four by Bath-shua, daughter of Ammiel; 6 then Ibhar, Elishama, Eliphelet, 7 Nogah, Nepheg, Japhia, 8 Elishama, Eliada, and Eliphelet, nine. 9 All these were David’s sons, besides the sons of the concubines; and Tamar was their sister.

We are reading the Bible through and today we have more genealogy. It's a slog of a read and I can't blame you if you skimmed it or even skipped it altogether.

But notice this first section about the sons of David. Nineteen sons by at least 8 wives and probably more plus who knows how many other sons by concubines.  And, of course, the daughters, except for Tamar, aren't even mentioned.

Can you see some problems coming?  Power struggles? Factions?

It's a list of names.  But it's more than a list.  The author of 1 Chronicles is telling us something.  He's foreshadowing.

David's house will be cut a hundred ways.  It will be divided.  And as Jesus said, a divided house cannot stand . . .

NOTE: We are reading the whole Bible together this year.  Tomorrow's Lesson will come from 1 Chronicles chapter 6.

Daily Lesson for April 22, 2020

Today's Daily Lesson comes from Psalm 84 verses 1 through 10:

1

How lovely is your dwelling place,

    Lord Almighty!

2

My soul yearns, even faints,

    for the courts of the Lord;

my heart and my flesh cry out

    for the living God.

3

Even the sparrow has found a home,

    and the swallow a nest for herself,

    where she may have her young—

a place near your altar,

    Lord Almighty, my King and my God.

4

Blessed are those who dwell in your house;

    they are ever praising you.[c]

5

Blessed are those whose strength is in you,

    whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.

6

As they pass through the Valley of Baka,

    they make it a place of springs;

    the autumn rains also cover it with pools.

7

They go from strength to strength,

    till each appears before God in Zion.

8

Hear my prayer, Lord God Almighty;

    listen to me, God of Jacob.

9

Look on our shield,[e] O God;

    look with favor on your anointed one.

10

Better is one day in your courts

    than a thousand elsewhere;

I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God

    than dwell in the tents of the wicked

For all who love a particular place of worship today's Psalm has something to say.

Yes; we can worship God anywhere.  The whole world is a Temple. And so is the home.  And so is the body.

But, nevertheless, there is something to be said of and for a Temple.  There is something to be said for a place.  As Wendell Berry says, "Things take place." And nothing can take the place of Temple made by hands which clutched dirt, or mixed mortar, or laid stone a hundred or a thousand years ago.

Something is indeed to be said of a Temple of Beauty which is open to and a gift from all people, rich and poor, king and pauper.

"Even the sparrow has found a home,

    and the swallow a nest for herself,

    where she may have her young—

a place near your altar,

    Lord Almighty, my King and my God."

One day the sparrow shall return to the Temple, and the swallow sing her song amidst the lofty choir.

And the song shall say: "How lovely is Thy dwelling place, O LORD!"

NOTE: We are reading the whole Bible through this year.  Tomorrow's Lesson will come from 1 Chronicles 3-5 .

Do Not Be Afraid -- And Not Foolish

As we debate the reopening of the economy, I offer Sunday's sermon which seeks to take on the matter.  The sermon title is "Do Not Be Afraid -- And Not Foolish".


Do Not Be Afraid -- And Not Foolish

Daily Lesson for April 20, 2020

Today's Daily Lesson comes from 1 Chronicles chapter 1 verses 8 through 10:

The descendants of Ham: Cush, Egypt, Put, and Canaan. 9 The descendants of Cush: Seba, Havilah, Sabta, Raama, and Sabteca. The descendants of Raamah: Sheba and Dedan. 10 Cush became the father of Nimrod; he was the first to be a mighty one on the earth.

As we are making our way through the Bible today's entire reading is a list of genealogical information.  Not exactly exciting stuff!

I once heard that President Eisenhower's pious mother made her children read the Bible, but allowed them to skip the genealogies.  I almost skipped today too.

But I did read; and I did find it interesting that in what is otherwise a matter-of-fact genealogical listing of almost strictly names, we are given a little commentary about this guy Nimrod who, according to the writer, "was the first to be a mighty one on the earth."

I don't think that is necessarily a compliment.

Nimrod was by legend the man who built the Tower of Babel, a great symbol of strength and prowess, but also a byword for a seemingly-mighty city with no moral foundation which eventually falls.

It's only one almost throw-away line in the genealogical account. But it sure is interesting commentary at the beginning of a book about a lot of mighty people building cities and empires.

There was a saying, popularized when I was a kid, "Don't be a nimrod."  Some say it got famous when Bugs Bunny called Elmer Fudd a "nimrod".  And like Elmer Fudd, legend says the Biblical Nimrod was a hunter -- though more mighty than Elmer.  And then the 1990s rock band Green Day released an album titled "Nimrod", whose cover showed a couple of white-middle-aged politician-like white men in suits whose faces are painted over with the word "nimrod."  It seems to be commentary on so-called respectability and power.

So does the genealogy.  And its message is the same: "Don't be a Nimrod."

Or, in other words, don't try to build a nation on might alone.

Note: We are reading the whole Bible together this year.  Tomorrow's Lesson will be from Psalms 45-45, 49, 84-85, and 87.

Daily Lesson for April 20, 2020

Today's Daily Lesson comes from 2 Samuel chapter 2 verses 24 through 28:

24 But Joab and Abishai pursued Abner. As the sun was going down they came to the hill of Ammah, which lies before Giah on the way to the wilderness of Gibeon. 25 The Benjaminites rallied around Abner and formed a single band; they took their stand on the top of a hill. 26 Then Abner called to Joab, “Is the sword to keep devouring forever? Do you not know that the end will be bitter? How long will it be before you order your people to turn from the pursuit of their kinsmen?”

The Lesson today comes from the aftermath of the death of Saul and the ensuing struggle between the House of Saul and the House of David. The future of Israel is in the balance, as civil war pits tribe against tribe and clan against clan, and the House of David is increasingly propped up by strong men like Joab, insistent on strong-armed tactics and brutality.

Then these haunting words from Abner, the uncle of Saul and the chief military man among the House of Saul, and a man destined to die at the hand of Joab before another chapter is out:

"Is the sword to keep devouring forever? Do you not know that the end will be bitter?"

These are words to ponder deeply now for us as fellow-countrymen and women. We too see the strife and bitterness at the heart of the struggle for the future of America. Will we keep devouring one another? Do we not know that the end will be bitter?

In the immortal Texas movie "Lonesome Dove" Gus McCrae says, "You ride with outlaws, you die with outlaws." And you do.

Or sometimes worse -- and as in the case with David --you live with them.

NOTE: We are reading the Bible together this year.  Tomorrow's Lesson comes from 1 Chronicles chapters 1-2.

Daily Lesson for April 17, 2020

Today’s Daily Lesson comes from 73 verses 1 through 3:


Truly God is good to the upright,
    to those who are pure in heart.
2
But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled;
    my steps had nearly slipped.
3
For I was envious of the arrogant;
    I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

Yesterday we saw how David’s anger could get the best of him. Tired, frustrated, and embittered at King Saul’s recklessness, he failed to see how his own behavior could become like the King’s.

Today we have a prayer with deep insight into one’s own frustrations, and motivations. It recognizes jealousy, and envy, and their destructive ways upon the heart.

It is a Psalm of Asaph, not David.

Quakers have a saying, “If in fighting the beast you become a beast, then the beast has won.” There is much to against now. The arrogant and the wicked are still among us. But if fighting them we become like them then arrogance and wickedness has won.

Now is the time for introspection, for checking our own hearts, and for purification. We cannot let the Beast win — either in the world, or in ourselves.

Note: We are reading the whole Bible through this year. Tomorrow’s lesson comes from 1 Samuel 28-31 and Psalm 18.

Daily Lesson for April 15, 2020

TodaysDaily Lesson comes from Psalm 140:

1
Deliver me, O Lord, from evildoers;
    protect me from those who are violent,
2
who plan evil things in their minds
    and stir up wars continually.
3
They make their tongue sharp as a snake’s,
    and under their lips is the venom of vipers. Selah
4
Guard me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked;
    protect me from the violent
    who have planned my downfall.
5
The arrogant have hidden a trap for me,
    and with cords they have spread a net,
    along the road they have set snares for me.
Selah
6
I say to the Lord, “You are my God;
    give ear, O Lord, to the voice of my supplications.”
7
O Lord, my Lord, my strong deliverer,
    you have covered my head in the day of battle.
8
Do not grant, O Lord, the desires of the wicked;
    do not further their evil plot.
Selah

Today’s Psalm is a Psalm of David, written about the time David, a prayer for deliverance from enemies.

The madman Saul is still on the throne. His henchmen have betrayed David. David is on the run There is no clear path forward. The plots of the evil have not yet been foiled.

Yet David is still alive. He’s walking day by day. He looks every morning for God to be his guide.

There is a curious word in this Psalm which I wonder if you noticed. The word is “Selah”.  No one quite knows what it means. Some suppose it is musical instruction. Along those lines, it has been suggested it is a kind of breath mark — an instruction on how and when and a reminder to take a breath.

Breath, my friends. Don’t forget to breath. The madness and uncertainty may still yet be with us. And viper may still have its poison. But we still have our breath; and we have our prayer that God will guide us and in the end deliver us from all evil.

Selah


NOTE: We are reading the Bible all the way through this year. Tomorrow’s Lesson will come from Samuel chapters 25-27.