For a description of the (Y2) reading plan, see the “About” page.
Matt. 23
Is there anywhere you are not “practicing what you preach?” Or doing good things to be seen by others? Or seeking to exalt yourself? This chapter is a doozie! There is so much we can learn from Jesus’ harsh words to the Jewish leaders if we can drop our pride to hear them. This whole chapter reinforces to me my thought from yesterday’s wedding banquet parable. The Jewish leaders were clothed in their own righteousness. While this may have looked good by human standards, their rags were not fit for the wedding banquet of Christ.
This chapter also reinforces the thought from yesterday’s reading in Deuteronomy about the first fruits. Jesus said to the leaders, “You hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices – mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law – justice, mercy and faithfulness.” (Matt. 23:23a). They did not give out of all that God had given them. Nor did they give for the right reasons. They sought to honor themselves rather than honoring God by honoring others. They used God’s laws for their own glory and power – the exact opposite of the law’s intended purpose.
Before we point fingers, though, we need to understand that these leaders were the personification of human nature. They are to us the example of human ‘righteousness’, which isn’t righteous at all. We are, by default, clothed in the same rags, and unless we replace those rags with the righteousness of Christ we will no more than they “escape being condemned to hell”. (Matt. 23:33b).
Deut. 27-28
I notice that when God instructed His people to make an altar to him (outside of the main altar in the tabernacle or temple), they were to use only uncut stones, not altered by their own man-made tools. Making an altar seems quite different than making an idol, so I find this requirement interesting. I see it as a representation of how our own efforts have no place in God’s plan for our redemption. It also suggests to me that idols are not always obvious. Anything to which we give credit for any kind of righteousness becomes an idol to us. That’s an over simplified statement, but the bottom line is that we either worship and serve God or we worship and serve some kind of idol, even if that idol is our own self.
Ps. 39
Pray the prayer in v. 4-5. Does this inspire any visions of what you want to do with your life? This Psalm is like most poetry – the meaning is vague and hard to grasp. The facts that the original language doesn’t speak to my heart and translations can never convey exactly the same message don’t help. But, like most poetry, it invokes a feeling of something in me. Perhaps that feeling even shifts a bit from time to time, depending on what’s on my heart and mind.
So this morning this Psalm tells me that I can’t keep myself pure by isolating myself and not engaging with this world God placed me in. And it tells me that there is no security in whatever wealth I might collect here. It tells me that my life is short – a mere breath. That truth reminds me that the only place I can put my hope is in God. The way to enjoy this brief life is to yield to Him. Then I can be a conduit for His love and can stand for His truth as I engage with the world around me. And I can trade a wealth that is nothing for treasure that will never fade.