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Luke 11
Why can you be confident asking God for your needs? The traditional understanding of Jesus’ parable of the midnight friend suggests that Jesus is telling us to be persistent in prayer. But something about that didn’t sit right with me this morning. With anything more than a casual gloss over, using that interpretation here sounds like we are intended to annoy God to death until we get what we need. To me, this does not align with what the Bible teaches about God’s character. Nor does it fit with having a humble attitude toward Him. Furthermore, it does not seem to fit with the rest of Jesus’ words in this passage. That leads me to think that there would have been a cultural understanding on the part of Jesus’ listeners that we have since lost.
From what I understand of Arab culture, hospitality is a BIG thing. I suspect this perspective would apply to Jesus and his audience as well. In light of that, Jesus’ initial question comes across to me as rhetorical. Much the same as his questions at the end of this particular lesson on prayer. It seems to me that the idea of a neighbor NOT responding to this urgent hospitality need, even in the middle of the night, would be unthinkable to the listening crowd. That assumption sets a much different tone.
I read a lengthy paper discussing the interpretation of this parable. One idea from that article is that the word translated as things such as “importunity” and “shameless audacity” should really be applied to the sleeping neighbor and not the friend in need, as is generally done. Additionally, the NIV translation includes a note suggesting an alternate interpretation here of “yet to preserve his good name”. Now that gives me a fit, both with what the Bible teaches of God and with what Jesus stated at the end of this particular passage. Applying these ideas gives me a different interpretation of Jesus’ message. In a nutshell, it would be, “If your neighbor gives you what you need in order to avoid being tagged as the unthinkably inhospitable one, how much more will God give you what you need because of His good name?”
Bottom line is, when Jesus taught His disciples about prayer, He didn’t just teach them what to pray. He also taught them how to pray it. We are to pray with confidence, knowing that God is good. We can trust that He will answer the “what” that Jesus taught us to pray. God will faithfully give His Holy Spirit to all who truly ask for it.
Gen. 21-22
How was God faithful to Abraham and Sarah and Isaac; and how was He faithful to Hagar and her son? I wonder if the well of water that saved Hagar and Ishmael was placed there by God when Hagar needed it or if it was there the whole time and she just didn’t see it? It certainly isn’t beyond God to make a well suddenly appear in the middle of a desert. But the text says, “Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water.” (Gen. 21:19a). That makes me think of how often God gives us exactly what we need but we simply fail to see it. I suppose Jesus is the ultimate example of that situation.
I also noticed that it was God who called out to Hagar rather than the other way around. He called to her because He heard her son crying. But why not call out to Ishmael directly? This wasn’t the first time God ‘found’ Hagar in the desert. The first time she was pregnant with Ishmael and God made her a promise. In response, Hagar named God “the One who sees me” (Gen. 16:13b). So as I see it, God was not simply faithful to meet Hagar’s needs and to fulfill His promise (no small thing in itself). He was also caring enough to remind Hagar of His promise and to reinforce to her that He was still the God she once knew Him to be. God sees me, too. May He open my eyes to see that He faithfully cares for me.
Pr. 1
What is Solomon’s purpose in writing Proverbs? What does it mean to fear the Lord? The Bible Project’s video on Proverbs points out that it is not a book of promises but, rather, a book of probabilities. I like that. The book teaches the most likely outcomes for two contrasting ways of living. On the surface, it is contrasting the ways of the wise and the ways of the foolish. But underneath that top layer, the contrast is between those who fear God, which is wisdom, and those who go their own way, which is foolishness.
So on the surface, for the here and now, the book is indeed about probabilities. Things generally, but do not always, go well in this life for the wise and poorly for the foolish. Ultimately, however, how we live our lives in the here and now has a very guaranteed and permanent impact. Though we may not see it now, the way of the wise – those who fear and follow God – will always lead to life. Conversely, the way of the fool – the one who goes his own way – will always lead to death. And that is a promise you can bet your life on.