Psalm 45; 1 Samuel 25:1-22; Acts 14:1-18; Mark 4:21-34
The recurring theme seems to be that David faces opposition constantly while he continues to act honorably towards all. He and his men have taken nothing from Nabal and have, in fact, provided protection to his shepherds and the others and have simply asked for provision during a feast time, a reasonable and biblical request. Nabal, however, seems to have chosen to side with Saul as his comments re David, the son of Jesse, who he insinuates is like a slave running away from his master, make clear. Abigail, the wife of Nabal, hears what her husband has said and done and rushes to make things right with David. The hired men who speak to Abigail about Nabal seem to have no problem speaking ill of their master to his wife. Apparently this was already an unhappy marriage.
The kingdom of God is a mystery in many ways. We know that the Spirit is the causative agent for growth yet we in some ways cooperate with the Lord and He uses our efforts to produce something good. We like to measure things by size and Jesus says here that we cannot apply such standards to determine value. The mustard seed is a tiny thing and yet from it grows a tree that can provide shelter for the birds. Our work is simply to make known the Good News of life in Christ Jesus and to allow Him to use that for His glory. Too often we hide this from the world for fear of rejection or that someone will think we are simple. Paul says to get over it, they will think we are foolish but that doesn’t mean anything for the wisdom of the world indeed looks on the wisdom of God as foolishness. We are to share it anyway and the great mystery is that this foolishness can indeed become great wisdom and produce a bountiful harvest. In all things we are to trust in the Lord.
Paul and Barnabas get a mixed reception in Iconium and then are greeted as gods in Lystra. The Jews of Iconium roused up opposition to the apostles and were able to convince some of the Gentiles to oppose them also. On what basis would the Jews and Gentiles agree against Paul’s message, particularly when it was accompanied by power and signs? Surely it was on the grounds of folly, a crucified man was Paul’s Lord, this man was resurrected from the dead and now was in heaven with the one true God. It is an implausible message but it has the benefit of being true. What the people of Lystra see in the healing of the man through Paul is that these men are surely gods come to earth as there is no other plausible explanation for what has happened. Paul never allowed himself to give up when he met opposition and he never took credit when he had success, he simply kept doing what he had been given to do, preach the Gospel, and left the results to the Lord.
Be Thou my battle Shield, Sword for the fight;
Be Thou my Dignity, Thou my Delight;
Thou my soul’s Shelter, Thou my high Tower:
Raise Thou me heavenward, O Power of my power.
No comments:
Post a Comment