Matthew 20

WEEK   20                                           Matthew 20

THURSDAY  Reflections

God isn't fair by human standards and I'm okay with that (most of the time). The parable of the vineyard workers points out how people judge God's generosity and mercy with unkindness. People get angry at God because someone who seems to have gotten an unfair advantage or didn't work as hard as they did. When we get this way, we lose out on God's blessings. If the workers really cared about their fellow workers they should have been glad to see these people get paid a day's wage and now able to meet the needs of their families. The problem was they were focused on themselves and not on the welfare of others or the goodness of the master.

 

I tie this scripture to Paul's admonition to rejoice with those who rejoice (Romans 12:15). Our focus needs to be on God's goodness, mercy, and faithfulness not on our wants. Can you rejoice when someone else is blessed and you aren't? If not you need to grow in Christ.

Mat 20:1-34
(1)  For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard.
(2)  And when he had agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard.
(3)  And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the marketplace,
(4)  And said unto them; Go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right I will give you. And they went their way.
(5)  Again he went out about the sixth and ninth hour, and did likewise.
(6)  And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle?
(7)  They say unto him, Because no man hath hired us. He saith unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard; and whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive.
(8)  So when even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the labourers, and give them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first.
(9)  And when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny.
(10)  But when the first came, they supposed that they should have received more; and they likewise received every man a penny.
(11)  And when they had received it, they murmured against the goodman of the house,
(12)  Saying, These last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden and heat of the day.
(13)  But he answered one of them, and said, Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a penny?
(14)  Take that thine is, and go thy way: I will give unto this last, even as unto thee.
(15)  Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good?
(16)  So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen.
(17)  And Jesus going up to Jerusalem took the twelve disciples apart in the way, and said unto them,
(18)  Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be betrayed unto the chief priests and unto the scribes, and they shall condemn him to death,
(19)  And shall deliver him to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify him: and the third day he shall rise again.
(20)  Then came to him the mother of Zebedee's children with her sons, worshipping him, and desiring a certain thing of him.
(21)  And he said unto her, What wilt thou? She saith unto him, Grant that these my two sons may sit, the one on thy right hand, and the other on the left, in thy kingdom.
(22)  But Jesus answered and said, Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? They say unto him, We are able.
(23)  And he saith unto them, Ye shall drink indeed of my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with: but to sit on my right hand, and on my left, is not mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of my Father.
(24)  And when the ten heard it, they were moved with indignation against the two brethren.
(25)  But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them.
(26)  But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister;
(27)  And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant:
(28)  Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.
(29)  And as they departed from Jericho, a great multitude followed him.
(30)  And, behold, two blind men sitting by the way side, when they heard that Jesus passed by, cried out, saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou Son of David.
(31)  And the multitude rebuked them, because they should hold their peace: but they cried the more, saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou Son of David.
(32)  And Jesus stood still, and called them, and said, What will ye that I shall do unto you?
(33)  They say unto him, Lord, that our eyes may be opened.
(34)  So Jesus had compassion on them, and touched their eyes: and immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed him.

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Psalm 137

WEEK  20                                           Psalm 137

WEDNESDAY  Reflections

The destruction of Jerusalem and Judah as a nation was a tragedy to the Jews. We can understand the heartbreak of seeing all they knew destroyed and seemingly washed away. After this, their captives call for the music which celebrated all that was lost. It would be like asking a mother to sing her child's favorite lullaby to the person who killed her child. 

 

When we come to the end of the Psalm for most of us our understanding turns to horror as the psalmist says the person who kills children should be happy. This is sickening to those in modern times who believe in honorable war or rules of engagement. In ancient times it was and even today in some places it is a common practice. Yet, those who came from Jerusalem saw this type of slaughter done to their own people. It can be understood that they want justice. They also understood God would allow equal retribution on Babylon for their atrocities. Seeing this as God's will they could say that the person carrying out God's will should be happy.

 

I understand this thinking but my heart is revulsed just the same. Jesus has taught us there is a better way, a way of mercy and love. I choose to embrace it.

 

Note: I place this chapter of Psalms here because we will soon meet Ezekiel who will be sitting by the rivers of Babylon. Though his story begins before the complete fall of Jerusalem perhaps it will give you the feeling of what some of those who were with him might have felt.  

Psa 137:1-9
(1)  By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion.
(2)  We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof.
(3)  For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song; and they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion.
(4)  How shall we sing the LORD'S song in a strange land?
(5)  If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning.
(6)  If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy.
(7)  Remember, O LORD, the children of Edom in the day of Jerusalem; who said, Rase it, rase it, even to the foundation thereof.
(8)  O daughter of Babylon, who art to be destroyed; happy shall he be, that rewardeth thee as thou hast served us.
(9)  Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones.

Amos 8

WEEK  20                                               Amos 8

TUESDAY  Reflections

God warns those who are taking advantage of people yet look religious. In this chapter, there is also a warning that though people look for the word of the Lord they will not find it. I read this and think about those who are dying of lung cancer then decide to quit smoking. Yes, quitting might still be good but it is too late to make any difference in the outcome. You can't train to be a fighter five minutes before entering the ring. So Israel can't expect to get a word from God on how to avoid judgment when judgment is falling. It is too late.

 

As Isaiah 55:6 says "Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near."(NIV).

Amo 8:1-14
(1)  Thus hath the Lord GOD shewed unto me: and behold a basket of summer fruit.
(2)  And he said, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A basket of summer fruit. Then said the LORD unto me, The end is come upon my people of Israel; I will not again pass by them any more.
(3)  And the songs of the temple shall be howlings in that day, saith the Lord GOD: there shall be many dead bodies in every place; they shall cast them forth with silence.
(4)  Hear this, O ye that swallow up the needy, even to make the poor of the land to fail,
(5)  Saying, When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell corn? and the sabbath, that we may set forth wheat, making the ephah small, and the shekel great, and falsifying the balances by deceit?
(6)  That we may buy the poor for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes; yea, and sell the refuse of the wheat?
(7)  The LORD hath sworn by the excellency of Jacob, Surely I will never forget any of their works.
(8)  Shall not the land tremble for this, and every one mourn that dwelleth therein? and it shall rise up wholly as a flood; and it shall be cast out and drowned, as by the flood of Egypt.
(9)  And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord GOD, that I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in the clear day:
(10)  And I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation; and I will bring up sackcloth upon all loins, and baldness upon every head; and I will make it as the mourning of an only son, and the end thereof as a bitter day.
(11)  Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD:
(12)  And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find it.
(13)  In that day shall the fair virgins and young men faint for thirst.
(14)  They that swear by the sin of Samaria, and say, Thy god, O Dan, liveth; and, The manner of Beersheba liveth; even they shall fall, and never rise up again.

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2 Kings 5

WEEK  20                                         2 Kings 5

MONDAY  Reflections

Expectations can rob us of many a blessing. We looked at this in 2 Kings 4 and we see it here too. The only expectations that were right were those of the little Israelite servant girl and, of course, Elisha. Both of these trusted that God could do a miracle. The king of Aram expected that sending Naaman to the king of Israel would get Naaman healed, wrong.  The king of Israel thought the king of Aram was picking a fight, wrong. Naaman thought he should be healed a certain way, wrong. Gehazi thought no one would know he took a reward for God's gift, Oh so very wrong. Everyone who had wrong expectations suffered in some way, if only in getting angry. Yes, we don't see the king of Aram's response but I'm sure if he would have been there he wouldn't have been happy either. Watch out for wrong expectations.

 

There is a reason we pray, “thy will be done.” We are submitting our expectations to God. When we trust God we can rest. When we don't we will probably be disappointed. Thankfully when we, like Naaman, come to our senses God can do great things.  

2Ki 5:1-27
(1)  Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honourable, because by him the LORD had given deliverance unto Syria: he was also a mighty man in valour, but he was a leper.
(2)  And the Syrians had gone out by companies, and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maid; and she waited on Naaman's wife.
(3)  And she said unto her mistress, Would God my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria! for he would recover him of his leprosy.
(4)  And one went in, and told his lord, saying, Thus and thus said the maid that is of the land of Israel.
(5)  And the king of Syria said, Go to, go, and I will send a letter unto the king of Israel. And he departed, and took with him ten talents of silver, and six thousand pieces of gold, and ten changes of raiment.
(6)  And he brought the letter to the king of Israel, saying, Now when this letter is come unto thee, behold, I have therewith sent Naaman my servant to thee, that thou mayest recover him of his leprosy.
(7)  And it came to pass, when the king of Israel had read the letter, that he rent his clothes, and said, Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man doth send unto me to recover a man of his leprosy? wherefore consider, I pray you, and see how he seeketh a quarrel against me.
(8)  And it was so, when Elisha the man of God had heard that the king of Israel had rent his clothes, that he sent to the king, saying, Wherefore hast thou rent thy clothes? let him come now to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel.
(9)  So Naaman came with his horses and with his chariot, and stood at the door of the house of Elisha.
(10)  And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean.
(11)  But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the LORD his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper.
(12)  Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage.
(13)  And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean?
(14)  Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God: and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.
(15)  And he returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and came, and stood before him: and he said, Behold, now I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel: now therefore, I pray thee, take a blessing of thy servant.
(16)  But he said, As the LORD liveth, before whom I stand, I will receive none. And he urged him to take it; but he refused.
(17)  And Naaman said, Shall there not then, I pray thee, be given to thy servant two mules' burden of earth? for thy servant will henceforth offer neither burnt offering nor sacrifice unto other gods, but unto the LORD.
(18)  In this thing the LORD pardon thy servant, that when my master goeth into the house of Rimmon to worship there, and he leaneth on my hand, and I bow myself in the house of Rimmon: when I bow down myself in the house of Rimmon, the LORD pardon thy servant in this thing.
(19)  And he said unto him, Go in peace. So he departed from him a little way.
(20)  But Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said, Behold, my master hath spared Naaman this Syrian, in not receiving at his hands that which he brought: but, as the LORD liveth, I will run after him, and take somewhat of him.
(21)  So Gehazi followed after Naaman. And when Naaman saw him running after him, he lighted down from the chariot to meet him, and said, Is all well?
(22)  And he said, All is well. My master hath sent me, saying, Behold, even now there be come to me from mount Ephraim two young men of the sons of the prophets: give them, I pray thee, a talent of silver, and two changes of garments.
(23)  And Naaman said, Be content, take two talents. And he urged him, and bound two talents of silver in two bags, with two changes of garments, and laid them upon two of his servants; and they bare them before him.
(24)  And when he came to the tower, he took them from their hand, and bestowed them in the house: and he let the men go, and they departed.
(25)  But he went in, and stood before his master. And Elisha said unto him, Whence comest thou, Gehazi? And he said, Thy servant went no whither.
(26)  And he said unto him, Went not mine heart with thee, when the man turned again from his chariot to meet thee? Is it a time to receive money, and to receive garments, and oliveyards, and vineyards, and sheep, and oxen, and menservants, and maidservants?
(27)  The leprosy therefore of Naaman shall cleave unto thee, and unto thy seed for ever. And he went out from his presence a leper as white as snow.

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Lamentations 5

WEEK  19                                      Lamentations 5

SATURDAY  Reflections

I suggest you listen to Lamentations 5. Don't just read it. Picture what the author is saying. For me, these last lamentations give the clearest picture. As it ends they ask the question, “God is still angry?.” This to me is not an accusation against God but more of a question of self-examination.

 

The author admits they had sinned as a people. Now perhaps he is asking is there something else we are doing wrong? It is the question we all should ask when bad things happen, "Do I deserve this?" We may not want to admit it but yes we did sometimes and we still might. It's like the man who had a heart attack because he didn't do what the doctor said and is now still not obeying his doctor. Or maybe it is the person who was innocent but now refuses to forgive. They were innocent but their current issues are a result of their actions in response to what has happened. Maybe we need to ask, God are you still angry with us?

Lam 5:1-22
(1)  Remember, O LORD, what is come upon us: consider, and behold our reproach.
(2)  Our inheritance is turned to strangers, our houses to aliens.
(3)  We are orphans and fatherless, our mothers are as widows.
(4)  We have drunken our water for money; our wood is sold unto us.
(5)  Our necks are under persecution: we labour, and have no rest.
(6)  We have given the hand to the Egyptians, and to the Assyrians, to be satisfied with bread.
(7)  Our fathers have sinned, and are not; and we have borne their iniquities.
(8)  Servants have ruled over us: there is none that doth deliver us out of their hand.
(9)  We gat our bread with the peril of our lives because of the sword of the wilderness.
(10)  Our skin was black like an oven because of the terrible famine.
(11)  They ravished the women in Zion, and the maids in the cities of Judah.
(12)  Princes are hanged up by their hand: the faces of elders were not honoured.
(13)  They took the young men to grind, and the children fell under the wood.
(14)  The elders have ceased from the gate, the young men from their musick.
(15)  The joy of our heart is ceased; our dance is turned into mourning.
(16)  The crown is fallen from our head: woe unto us, that we have sinned!
(17)  For this our heart is faint; for these things our eyes are dim.
(18)  Because of the mountain of Zion, which is desolate, the foxes walk upon it.
(19)  Thou, O LORD, remainest for ever; thy throne from generation to generation.
(20)  Wherefore dost thou forget us for ever, and forsake us so long time?
(21)  Turn thou us unto thee, O LORD, and we shall be turned; renew our days as of old.
(22)  But thou hast utterly rejected us; thou art very wroth against us.

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