For a description of the (Y2) reading plan, see the “About” page.
Matt. 6
What do you worry about? What does Jesus say to you about that? It seems that Matthew laid out the order of his book very intentionally! He started out by showing, backed up by scripture, who Jesus is – the promised Messiah. Then there was the testing in the wilderness. There Jesus resisted the devil’s temptations by keeping His focus on God rather than on self. Matthew followed that story with this Sermon on the Mount. Very clever. As I am reading it, I see that the entire sermon is instruction on that very thing – living a God-focused rather than self-focused life. That is what it means to live like Christ!
Specifically, in this chapter, Jesus talks about doing your acts of service and worship for God’s glory, not your own. If you are concerned with others knowing and seeing what you do or with receiving accolades for it, then your motives are not in the right place. You may well receive those accolades, but it will mean nothing to God. Then He talks about how you view your wealth and provisions. Are you worried about the here and now or is your concern with God’s kingdom? In Matthew 6:22, where it talks about your eyes being healthy or unhealthy, the NIV notes that the Greek word used there implies generosity versus stinginess. So when we look at our possessions, whether excess wealth or daily needs, in a self-serving way, it reveals the darkness – the absence of God – in our hearts.
Num. 29-30
What do you learn here about vows? Compare this with Matthew 5:33-37. “When a man makes a vow to the LORD or takes an oath to obligate himself by a pledge, he must not break his word but must do everything he said.” (Num. 30:2). Whenever I read such commands about vows in the Bible, I think about the third of the Ten Commandments. That would be the one about misusing or taking the name of the LORD in vain. This seems to me to be what that commandment is about. Don’t get me wrong. Flippantly tossing God’s name around as if it was just another word hardly shows the reverence His name deserves. It just seems like there is more to it than that.
I’m not sure I completely grasp the cultural concept of taking oaths in Bible times. However, this verse is one of many indications that it is a very serious thing. There are also verses such as Deuteronomy 10:20 where God commands His people to take their oaths in His name because He is their God. So I come to the conclusion that pledging something to God or in God’s name and then not following that up fits the very definition of misusing God’s name. Hence this command in Numbers 30.
Going back to the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew where Jesus address this particular command, He says that it is better not to take an oath at all. “All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.” (Matt. 5:37). Given the context of this sermon as we have been thinking on it the past couple of days, I want to suggest that taking such oaths equates to a form of boasting. Hence, if we are to boast at all, it should be in God alone. However, to use such a boast as some kind of pledge and not follow through is to dishonor God’s name. But boasting in such a way generally comes from a place of pride in the first place. So far better to check the ego at the door and simply say what you mean.