Sit down and eat

New Guest: Like this one, most posts are devotional; those related to CAR BIZ can be found by searching the blog archives for that title. You might start with 'Welcome,' the first post, dated November 12, 2008, where I introduce myself and the blog. As you read, I encourage you to record any reflections or comments you may have, for the entries here serve best as the first remarks in a conversation.

Blessings and best wishes,
Dr. Will

Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Devotions: Ps 61, 62, 68; Eccles 8:14-9:10; Gal 4:21-31; Mt 15:29-39

Lord, I’m crying out to You from the ends of the earth. Lead me, God, to the Rock Who is higher than I. You are my Refuge, a strong tower against the enemy. How I long, Father, to live in Your tabernacle, sheltered by Your holy love, singing Your praises for ever. I will abide patiently and wait upon my God. Only He is my Rock and my Savior. Let all peoples trust God at all times; He is immortal and everlasting. We mortals are a passing breath, a shimmer on the air. So put no trust in human schemes or riches. Power belongs to God alone, and He is steadfast love. Leave your future in His hands and be at peace. Scatter Your enemies, great Lord! Let them melt like wax, fade like smoke in a hurricane. And let the righteous abide in joy, exulting in our God. YHWH is Father of the orphan, Husband of the widow. He gives homes to the desolate, and sets prisoners free. Idolaters and rebels struggle in a parched land. Nature acknowledges God as her Master. Blessed is YHWH, Who daily lifts us up; He is our salvation and He delivers us from death. Ascribe all power and majesty to God and receive these good things from our Blessed One.

It’s puzzling that sometimes the righteous suffer and the wicked prosper. The community leader suggested we should do all we can to enjoy our life—eat and drink and take what goodness life offers as we work out the days God grants us under the sun. We cannot think our way through the paths of God. We are in His hands, and He can be trusted. Mortals have short lives and face sure death; all else is mystery. One fate comes to all, and all are saturated with madness and sin. But a live dog is better than a dead lion, so enjoy the life God grants. Eat your bread with savor; drink your wine with a merry heart. Wear clean clothes and stay clean. Enjoy the spouse you love all the days of your vain life which He has given you under the sun. Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might. For there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, where we’re all bound. So said the Qoheleth.

Paul continues his contrast of law and grace: Listen: if you desire to live by the law, pay attention to what it says. It is written that Abraham had two sons: one by the slave Hagar, one by Sarah, his wife, a free woman. Ishmael was born according to the flesh, and Isaac by God’s promise. This serves as an allegory for us. Hagar is from Sinai in Arabia, bearing children for slavery, corresponding to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. But the new Jerusalem above is our mother, and she is free! As it is written: ‘Rejoice, barren one; break forth and shout, you who have borne no children; for the children of the desolate one are many more than the children of her who is married.’ Brothers and sisters, we are children of promise, like Isaac. In his infancy, he was persecuted by Ishmael; so now: those borne according to the flesh persecute us who are born according to the Spirit. But hear the scripture: ‘Cast out the slave and her son; for the son of a slave will not inherit with the son of the free woman.’ Brothers and sisters, we are not children of the slave, but of the free woman!

Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, and went up a mountain and sat down there. Great crowds thronged to Him; they brought to Jesus the lame, the maimed, the blind, the dumb and many others, and put them at His feet. And Jesus healed them all. The throng was amazed, when they saw the dumb speaking, the maimed made whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And they glorified the God of Israel. Jesus called His disciples and said to them, ‘I have compassion on the crowd; they have been with Me three days now, and have nothing to eat. I Am unwilling to send them away hungry, lest they faint along the way.’ The disciples replied, ‘Where can we get bread to feed so great a crowd, here in the wilderness?’ Jesus asked, ‘How many loaves have you?’ They said, ‘Seven, and a few fish.’ Jesus commanded the crowd to be seated on the ground; He took the seven loaves and the fish, and having given thanks, He broke them and gave them to the disciples, who passed the food out to the crowds. They all ate and were satisfied, and there were seven baskets full of leftovers afterward. Those who ate numbered four thousand men, besides women and children. Jesus dismissed the crowds, got into the boat, and departed to the region of Magadan.