Proverb 30 - Ecclesiastes - Song of Solomon 4: Two simple instructions

- She's a hard act to follow:  The Proverbs 31 woman is amazing. One thing I noticed today is that she is not insecure or stressed or guilt-ridden, like so many women. She knows who she is, why she does what she does, and she exudes confidence and quiet self-assurance. "She senses the worth of her work" (Proverbs 31:31).
- Futility:  Eugene Peterson notes that the book of Ecclesiastes, probably written by Solomon, doesn't say much about God. Instead, the writer's task "is to expose our total incapacity to find the meaning and completion of our lives on our own." And this was from the man who was the wisest, smartest, and richest man in the world.
- Profound:  "We work to feed our appetites; meanwhile our souls go hungry" (Ecclesiastes 6:7).
- God's work compared to a pregnancy:  "Just as you'll never understand the mystery of life forming in a pregnant woman, so you'll never understand the mystery at work in all that God does" (Ecc. 11:5). Some things are not meant to be understood. God's work? That's one of them.
- Two simple instructions from the wisest man who ever lived:

1. Fear God
2. Do what he tells you

- For every woman reading this:  "You're beautiful from head to toe, my dear love, beautiful beyond compare, absolutely flawless" (Song of Solomon 4:6-7).

Elena's verse of the day:  "A very little food eaten in peace is better than twice as much earned from overwork and chasing the wind" (Eccl 4:6).

Job 28 - Psalm 6: You chew on Scripture day & night

When God finally answers Job, his words are stunning--strong, powerful, beautiful. The imagery of the horse, the leviathan (a huge sea creature that belches fire), the stockpiles of hail and snow, the boundaries set for the seas, the herds of stars--wow, just wow. Stunning.
- Shut up and listen:  Job responded in two ways, first by deciding to shut up and listen (Job 40:3-5), and next by acknowledging God's sovereignty and his own weakness and limitations (Job 42:1-6). I have a lot to learn from Job about listening to God. I do think God honored Job's honesty and his questions by giving Job an audience and by responding personally.
- Job taking a stand:  When God restored Job's health, family, and possessions (two-fold), I noticed that the passage notes that Job treated his daughters (named Dove, Cinnamon, and Darkeyes) the same as his sons and gave them the same inheritance (Job 42:12-15). In a time where women were treated as property, this godly man took a stand and showed that men and women are equally valuable in God's eyes. Love this.
On to the Psalms!
- Love songs:  Like a fresh breeze come the Psalms. After eons of battles, sin, evil, and judgment come love songs and poetry written to God. Last night Jim Sweetman mentioned that the book of Psalms encompasses over 1000 years. Here are a couple of passages from the Psalms that stood out to me today:

• "You thrill to God's Word, you chew on Scripture day and night. You're a tree replanted in Eden, bearing fresh fruit every month, never dropping a leaf, always in blossom" (Psalm 1:2-3).
• "But you, God, shield me on all sides; You ground my feet, You lift my head high" (Psalm 3:3-4).

Elena's verse of the day:  "I heard about your from others; now I have seen you with my own eyes" (Job 42:5).

Deuteronomy 15 - 29: Business, honeymoons, & the ultimate consequence

- Taking care of business:  Lots of practical guidelines here for the people of Israel. We take these things for granted, but God gave much needed words of guidance and advice in a time of evil and lawlessness. Areas he covers include:

• setting up a legal system, including laws, judges, and procedures (Deut 16, 19). For example, prosecutors had to have more than one witness, and judgment could be handed down only after a thorough investigation. No twisting of the law or bribery, ever.
• checks & balances for a future monarchy (Deut 17:14-17)
• military advice (Deut 20)
• liability issues (Deut 22:6-7)
• farming (Deut 22)
• issues surrounding rape and guidelines to protect women (Deut 22)
• sanitation (Deut 23:12-14)
• a long honeymoon! Newlywed men got a year off: "He gets one year off simply to be at home making his wife happy" (Deut 24:5).
• financial matters & interest (Deut 24)
• charity (Deut 24)
• fair business practices and employment rules (Deut 24-25)
• and much more....

- All together now:  At the end of this setting out of guidelines, Moses had the people do a group verbal recitation of the rules (Deut 27).
- The ultimate consequence:  Moses warned the people that if they didn't follow God's ways, that "God will ship you back to Egypt by a road I promised you'd never see again. There you'll offer yourselves for sale, both men and women, as slaves to your enemies. And not a buyer to be found" (Deut 28:68).
- Not to worry:  If the people followed God's rules and took care of their responsibilities, Moses promised that "God will take care of the hidden things" (Deut 29:29).

Elena's verse of the day:  "The Lord must give you a change of heart before you truly understand what you have seen and heard" (Deuteronomy 29:4).

Numbers 26 - Deuteronomy 1: Women's rights, revenge, & idol destruction

- Women's rights:  Women were pretty much treated like property in Old Testament times, so I loved the fact that God granted women the right to inherit sections of the Promised Land, even though their father was dead (Numbers 27).

- Balaam was not a good guy: The Israelites exacted revenge on Midian for the whole Baal/orgy event we read about in yesterday's reading. Phinehas (the same priest who speared the Israelite who flaunted the Midianite woman and defiantly took her into his tent in front of everyone) was the priest of the 12,000-strong army which marched on Midian and killed every man, including Balaam (this blows my theory in yesterday's post that Balaam was a godly man because he blessed Israel instead of cursing them. In fact, Numbers 31:13-18 reports that the Baal orgy at Peor was under Balaam's direction, and the women were seducing the people of Israel away from God).
- Why so much killing? Numbers 32 explains that God is cleaning his enemies out of the land via the Israelites. As they advanced into the Promised Land, they were to destroy the idols, level the worship mounds, and divide up the land for the Israelite clans.
- Sermon on the plains of Moab:  Deuteronomy is a sermon by Moses to review God's plan for Israel. Can't wait to read more!

Elena's verse of the day: "The Lord has taken care of us the whole time....in the desert, just as you might carry one of your children" (Deuteronomy 1:31).