For a description of the (Y2) reading plan, see the “About” page.
Eph. 2
What has God done for you in Christ (v 1-10)? For us? (v. 11-22) Ah – let’s talk about peace again. Like so many other concepts in the Bible – freedom, judgment, assurance of salvation, and even love – context matters. I have mentioned before that there is a difference between seeking peace and appeasement. One of these is good; the other is not. And we know that Jesus Himself said that He didn’t come to bring peace to the earth (Matt. 10:34). Yet the angels declared peace on earth at His birth. Context matters.
The angels were right to declare peace on earth at Christ’s birth because, as Paul points out here, “He Himself is our peace” (Eph. 2a;14a). So yes, peace had come to earth. But the angels also declared that peace was for “those on whom His favor rests.” (Luke 2:14b). So peace on earth but not for the whole earth. That is because, as I have said before, evil will never be at peace with God. Not because God doesn’t offer it, but because evil will never accept it.
Paul wrote to the Ephesians what true peace is all about. True peace comes from God in the person of Jesus Christ to break down human barriers and divisions. These are the things that we, in our pride, foolishly think matter. Things like race, biological sex, nationality, or position. Or in this case, circumcision; that is, Jew or Gentile. Paul said, “His purpose was to create in Himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace” (Eph. 2:15b). This is the miraculous work of Jesus. He brings together those who, by human standards, should never get along and unites them as one body in Him. He makes peace where there was hostility, love where there was hate, and unity where there was division. Amazing!
1 Kings 7-8
It took Solomon seven years to build God’s temple and thirteen years to build his house. I feel like there must be some significance in this. It’s true that Solomon spent almost twice as long on his own house as he did on God’s house, but this could have been because he prioritized the building of God’s house more than he did his own. Who knows? But the number of years strikes me.
I know seven, the years spent building the temple, is considered a sacred number; a number of God. Thirteen is seven plus six, six being the number that represents man and rebellion. It is generally associated with negative things – bad luck, rebellion, corruption and the like. And it falls short of fourteen, which is considered the number of spiritual perfection and completion. Seven years for God’s house and thirteen for man’s house – a coincidence? I wonder. It does set up a very appropriate representation of how our efforts for ourselves fall short of godliness.
Ps. 64
Do you have a complaint (problem) you’d like to voice before God? Pray it with this psalm. It is hard to look at the evil in the world today and not find yourself complaining about it. Everything seems so wrong right now! Many want to know where God is in all of it and why He doesn’t intervene. We must understand, though, that all of this evil is not happening because of God’s neglect. It is happening because of the condition of the human heart. We need to understand how bad that is in order to truly grasp both our need for God’s mercy and our gratitude for His grace. David said it well. “They plot injustice and say, ‘We have devised a perfect plan!’ Surely the human mind and heart are cunning.” (Ps. 64:6).
That is what we need to see when we look around. Then we can know, as David did, that nothing escapes God’s eye or His justice. There will come a day when “All people will fear; they will proclaim the works of God and ponder what He has done.” (Ps. 64:9). The wicked will get their due and the righteous will rejoice in the LORD.