Scripture Notes: Vocations (Sirach 38-39)

Sirach was a life-long seeker of wisdom. He studied. He taught. He traveled. He meditated. He threw his whole self into the role that God had given to him, focused always on giving back to God and outward to other people. But Sirach also recognized that not everyone has the same vocation. God has given different talents and skills to different people, and everyone is valuable. Everyone must work together to make the community flourish.

In chapters 38 and 39, Sirach reflects on these various vocations. The scribe, he says, the seeker of wisdom, must have the leisure to pursue the life of the mind. But others are not so inclined. The farmers and craftsmen, the smiths and potters, they may not be devoted to learning, but they practice their crafts with great attention and devotion, striving to produce the best possible products. They carry on the ancient handiwork of God, and “keep stable the fabric of the world” (Sir 38:34). Without them, society could not function.

And without the skilled workers, scribes/scholars could not practice their own God-given vocation. Seekers of wisdom, says Sirach, study God’s revelation. They discover wisdom in the writings of the past and present. They delve deeply into proverbs and parables, teasing out the hidden mysteries of difficult dilemmas. But they do not do this only for themselves. Part of learning is teaching. Wisdom is meant to be shared. And even more, learning and wisdom must lead to prayer and repentance and worship. They must lead to an ever-closer relationship with God. This is the highest joy of a scribe, finding and loving the Source of all wisdom.

Scripture Notes: Moses’ Sin (Numbers 20)

Moses was frustrated. The people were clamoring for water again, whining and complaining that they would rather have died than experience all this misery in the wilderness. They had already forgotten all the times God had given them exactly what they needed exactly when they needed it. Food. Water. Protection. God had provided it all. And they still didn’t trust Him.

This time, God told Moses and Aaron to gather the people and tell the rock to yield water for them. By doing so, they were to, once again, reveal God’s care and His glory. But Moses did not obey God. Instead, he gave the people a tongue lashing. “Hear now, you rebels,” he proclaimed, “shall we bring forth water for you out of this rock?” Then he struck the rock twice with Aaron’s staff. Water flowed out, but so did God’s wrath on Moses and Aaron.

Why? First, Moses and Aaron didn’t follow God’s instructions. They were supposed to merely tell the rock to give water. Instead, Moses struck the rock. He had done this before, so he probably thought it appropriate. But it was not. When God says to do things a certain way, that is how they must be done.

But even more, Moses’ words show that something has gone amiss in his heart. He asked the people, “shall we bring forth water for you out of this rock?” God has slid into the background. Moses and Aaron were taking center stage. Moses was suggesting that they were the ones performing the miracle. But of course, they were not, and to even suggest it was a long way from revealing God’s care and glory.

This sin was enough for God to tell Moses and Aaron that they would not be entering the Promised Land. They would die in the wilderness.

Scripture Notes: The Fleeing Prophet (Jonah 1)

It was a call out of the blue. God told Jonah to get up and go to Nineveh, the great city of the Assyrians. Now Jonah was a prophet in the Northern Kingdom of Israel, and the Assyrians were the Israelites’ greatest enemies, a scary threat to their security and even their lives. This was the very last call Jonah ever wanted to receive.

So Jonah got up and fled, going in the exact opposite direction. He hurried to Joppa and caught a ship to Tarshish, which was likely far on the other side of the Mediterranean, even perhaps in Spain. Jonah wanted to get as far away from his mission as he possibly could. It did not work.

In his panic, Jonah forgot something important. No one can flee from God. God is everywhere. He sees and knows everything. There is no escape. And God made that very clear. He threw a storm at the ship Jonah was taking to Tarshish. While the sailors panicked and prayed to whichever “gods” they happened to worship, Jonah went down into the ship’s hold and fell asleep, completely oblivious to the danger.

The ship’s captain, however, would not let Jonah sleep. He woke him up and urged him to pray as the sailors cast lots to find out who was responsible for their imminent destruction. The lot, of course, fell to Jonah. Jonah knew full well that God was making a point directed solely toward him, so he told the sailors to throw him overboard and save themselves.

At this point, Jonah found himself getting gulped up by a very large fish and exploring the inside of said fish for three days and three nights before it spit him up on the shore. God certainly works in strange ways! But Jonah got the message loud and clear. Do not run away from God. Period. It will not work. Ever. So the fleeing prophet picked himself up, presumably cleaned himself off, and started to Nineveh, which he should have done in the first place.

Scripture Notes: Simeon (Luke 2)

Put yourself in Simeon’s place for a few minutes. You have been waiting a long time for the Messiah to come, but you know He will arrive before God calls you out of this life. The Holy Spirit has implanted that conviction in your heart. So you wait, and you watch. You are not sure what to expect exactly, but you believe that you will know it when you see it.

Then one day the Holy Spirit urges you to go to the Temple. You listen and obey, seating yourself in the outer courtyard and watching the many people who pass by on errands of their own, some for worship, others for profit. Then you see Him, and you know. At that very moment. You know.

He is so tiny. Only six weeks old. And He is sleeping in His mother’s arms as His parents walk through the courtyard on the way to make their sacrifice. Yet this is the One. Every part of your being says so, and the confirmation comes when you take the Baby into your arms and He wakes up and looks into your eyes.

The Holy Spirit opens your mouth, and you speak words of prophecy, declaring that this little One is the salvation of the world, the light of revelation for the Gentiles, the glory of Israel. You rejoice in the very depths of your being as you say this. Yet there is a darker side, too. The Child you are holding, you continue, “is set for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is spoken against.” Not everyone will come to Him. Not everyone will follow Him. Some will rise up against Him, and His mother’s soul will be pierced by a sword. Yet He will bring truth. He will reveal what has been hidden all these centuries. He is the Savior.

As you hand the Baby back to His mother, you are content. You can indeed depart in peace when God calls you, for your own eyes have seen His Messiah, His promise, and you are confident in God’s perfect plan.

Scripture Notes – A Bad Mistake (Leviticus 10)

Nadab and Abihu, sons of Moses’ brother Aaron, have just been consecrated as priests along with their father (the high priest) and brothers. They are set aside for God’s work, to be holy, to enter into God’s presence, to obey God’s will, and to teach the people of Israel about God and His plan for them. God, through Moses, has given the priests detailed instructions for proper worship and sacrifice. He has told them exactly what He wants from them now that He is dwelling among His people in the Tabernacle.

So what do Nadab and Abihu do first thing? They decide to innovate. They take unholy fire with incense before God. They disregard God’s instructions and do their own thing. Apparently, they think that they know better than God, that their ways are better than what He has laid out for them.  And this badly mistaken attitude gets Nadab and Abihu killed. Instead of God’s fire consuming the incense, it consumes them. They die instantly before God.     

We might shudder at this a bit, thinking God is being harsh. But what He is really doing is showing the extreme gravity of disobedience. Nadab and Abihu’s bad mistake was much more than a mistake. It was a deliberate sin, an act of free will that chose to disregard what God had specifically commanded. Nadab and Abihu deserved punishment, and their father and brothers had to learn a hard lesson from it.

We must remember, too, that God does not give us commands and regulations simply because He is arbitrary. What He commands us to do or not do is for our own good. It is closely intertwined with our nature, who we are as human beings. God created us. He knows us better than we know ourselves. So when He gives us an order, it is because we truly need it to be in a right relationship with Him and to fulfill the purpose He has for us. Therefore, we must obey and follow God’s ways rather than our own.

Scripture Notes: A Lenten Psalm (Psalm 22)

As we enter into Lent this coming week, we may wish to select a passage from Scripture to hold before our eyes throughout this penitential season, to reflect on, to sink deep into. We should allow God to speak to us through His Word, opening our hearts to listen to Him and responding with prayer and love. One good possibility for Lenten meditation may be Psalm 22, the very psalm that Jesus begins to recite as He hangs on the cross.

“My God, why hast Thou forsaken me?” the psalm begins, and the psalmist continues to pour out his heart and express his pain. Yet at the same time, he trusts in God. He looks to the past, knowing that God has never failed His people. He casts himself upon God even when everything is at its worst. He knows that God is his help and will not actually abandon him no matter what his situation looks like. And he believes with all his heart that God will deliver him and the people.

God “has not despised or abhorred the affliction of the afflicted;” the psalmist declares, “and He has not hid His face from him, but has heard, when he cried to Him.” Indeed, God remains with us, hearing us and loving us. But we must remain with God, listening to Him and loving Him. Perhaps this should be our Lenten vow.

Scripture Notes: Joseph the Dreamer (Genesis 37)

The Patriarchs were so very human. There is always a temptation to put these great men on a pedestal, and indeed they were great, but they were also messy. They had a fallen human nature just like us. And they made wrong decisions. And they sinned. And they had to deal with the consequences of their choices and repent of their sins and reach out for God’s mercy, just like we do. They are models of intimacy with God, yes, but sometimes they are also examples of what not to do.

In Genesis 37, the adolescent Joseph has two prophetic dreams. In the first one, he is out in the field with his brothers, binding sheaves, and he sees his own sheaf stand up tall while his brothers’ sheaves bow down to it. In the second one, he sees the sun and the moon and eleven stars all bowing down to him. These are pretty spectacular dreams even though Joseph really has no idea what they actually mean.

Just having them, though, makes Joseph quite proud of himself, and he runs off to tell his brothers all about them. The young man apparently thinks that his brothers will be pleased to hear the news, and if so, he is deceiving himself badly. On the other hand, perhaps Joseph simply wants to get in a dig at his older brothers, kind of an adolescent “Ha, ha, guys! See what I dreamed!” He is already his father’s favorite son, and his brothers are already jealous, so needless to say, Joseph’s dreams do nothing to endear him to them.  

In fact, the brothers get so angry and envious that they decide to get rid of this kid once and for all. Reuben stops them from killing Joseph outright, suggesting they just throw him in a pit in the wilderness (and meaning to come back for him later). But when Reuben steps away for a while, Judah comes up with the plan to sell Joseph to a nearby caravan. So off goes Joseph to Egypt!  

God has a hand in all of this, of course, and later Joseph recognizes God’s plan for him and realizes what his dreams really mean. He has to grow up quickly, and he is still far from perfect. But he does end up saving his entire family (and much of the world along with) from famine through his wisdom and courage.