Today's Reading
Happy St. Patrick's Day! Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, was used of God to shake up that nation as well as the traditional Catholic church. He did so by going into communities and building compounds within them. In those compounds they practiced their faith as it had been taught by Jesus. Living there was a commitment to love and serve your neighbors, speak truthfully, and share with each other. A person could stay as long as they lived by the covenant. Many moved in who didn't believe in Christ and became Christians because of the way the Christians treated each other. Once a group was established, a few young families would move to a neighboring community and start the process over.
Numbers. This book began with a tabulation of the forces of Israel. Another is recorded here. Remember, these were just the men who were prepared for war. The actual number of people was much larger.
Luke. People like Anna don't make sense in human economy. She stayed in the Temple, worshiping God with fasting a prayer day and night -- for years! She didn't teach, minister to the sick, or do other acts of ministry service we might expect. She ministered to the Lord. I believe that God always has some people like Anna in the world and they are vital! Jesus amazed the religious leaders at 12 years old, but it wasn't because Jesus automatically had all the knowledge of God. Otherwise, today's passage wouldn't tell us that He continued to grow in wisdom.
Psalm 60 makes me think of times in my life when the battle is hard and seems never-ending. On the one hand, I experience God's provision and victory. On the other, I often feel alone and have to walk on by faith. I read this the morning after spending much of the night in spiritual battle recently and it fed my soul.
Proverbs reminds us today not to co-sign for someone else -- unless we have the means to repay their debt (and the willingness).
Whether or not you're wearing green today, share you thoughts with us!
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Just an interesting note about the counting of people: I just finished filling out our 2010 census last night.
ReplyDeleteHappy St. Patrick's day to you also Sam,though as to the green, I have never figured out whether my smidgen of Irish ancestry was Catholic or Protestant - wonder if I should wear both green and orange, eh?
ReplyDeleteNumbers - 26:33(One of Hepher’s descendants, Zelophehad, had no sons, but his daughters’ names were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.)
26:46 Asher also had a daughter named Serah.
Sam, If this was a tabulation of fighting troops, why would the above daughters of Hepher and Asher also be named?
Luke - Just a trivia question; I wonder if Anna was a descendant of Asher's daughter Serah (mentioned in today's Numbers' passage?
Psalms - I, like David in verse 1, have wondered in recent times if God has indeed "rejected us", with all the turmoil in our world today. Except I fear it is "us" who have rejected God first.
LOL, Ranelle!
ReplyDeleteLJ, your mention of Zelophedad's daughters notes their placement in this list of fighting troops. In the New Living Translation, the verse is in parentheses. The daughters are mentioned elsewhere in the matter of claiming their father's rightful inheritance of land. I believe that they are listed here as a reminder that they were to receive land.
As to Serah, I looked her up on biblegateway.com. Here are the results: http://www.biblegateway.com/quicksearch/?quicksearch=serah&x=19&y=11
Interesting trivia, LJ. Great insight on the Psalms passage. Thanks!
I loved Luke today. It gave my mommy heart the warm fuzzies. Anna is such a beautiful picture of devotion to God. Funny that I have never noticed her before, even though I've read Luke many times. As I read the story of 12 year old Jesus in the temple, I found myself viewing it through Mary's eyes. I thought about all of the different things she must have felt; fear when she couldn't find him, anger that he had wandered off, and finally joy at who he had become at his young age.
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