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timewithgod.blog-city.com — July 2008
Nehemiah 2 -- Rolling Up Your Sleeves
Boy, God's fingerprints were all over this story today! Nehemiah, as cup-bearer to the king, had to be highly trusted -- otherwise the king would be in constant fear of poisoning. Any show of sadness or anxiety on his part could certa
Boy, God's fingerprints were all over this story today! Nehemiah, as cup-bearer to the king, had to be highly trusted -- otherwise the king would be in constant fear of poisoning. Any show of sadness or anxiety on his part could certainly raise an alarm with the king. But here, the king shows his trust in Nehemiah by putting his personal concern for Nehemiah's well-being ahead of his own safety concerns. After sharing with the king his sadness over the condition of Jerusalem, Nehemiah was shocked to hear the king's reply: "What do you want?"
Such an open-ended invitation from a monarch doesn't happen often, and Nehemiah showed his trust and dependence on God by what he did next: "First I prayed to the God of Heaven. Then I answered the king." That's a recipe for success which we all should follow. It's striking here that Nehemiah had developed such a dependence and a personal relationship with God. After all, most Jews of his time would still be stuck in the mold of thinking that only the high priest could intercede with God.
Nehemiah dreamed big, too. He didn't simply ask the king to rebuild the Temple only, but also the palace, the city walls, and even a home for himself while overseeing the construction!
Also amazingly, the king's response showed his high esteem for Nehemiah: "How long will your trip take and when will you get back?" Not a thought about cost or any threat of a revived Jewish state! Nehemiah had to know that God was in this!
But as usual, where God is at work, Satan is there to oppose. Two traditional enemies of the Israelites were also represented in the king's palace, and they were energized by Satan to run interference.
After an uneventful trip to Jerusalem, Nehemiah felt led of God to privately inspect the walls late at night. Nothing kills a good idea faster than naysayers, and Nehemiah wanted to be prepared with answers to any objections that might come up. Had he inspected in the light of day, those in his entourage might have spoken discouraging words about the prospects for rebuilding.
One thing I noticed was that the Jewish people, including leaders and officers, were in Jerusalem, living amongst the rubble, and doing nothing about it. God sent Nehemiah from a foreign country to help them see the possibilities that God had before them, if they would just lift their eyes to Him.
Father, I didn't plan to take a vacation from my quiet times while I was away with my boys. But perhaps You used it to give me a fresh, new perspective, not to be doing anything out of force of habit. You know the tasks I've been facing at work and at home, and You've witnessed my discouragement at getting it all accomplished. I too have a lot of "rubble" to move. Thanks for giving me fresh insight courtesy of Nehemiah. Now, as he did, I pray first that You will guide and direct me to clear the rubble and get things done. Now it's time to get started!
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
Gary Ford
Nehemiah 3 & 4 -- Your Work (Or LACK Thereof) WILL Be Remembered
As with any new project, there were lots of people who climbed aboard at the start. Through Nehemiah, God made sure that everyone knew that He knew everyone who was working on the project. My commentary said, "Men and women, artisans
As with any new project, there were lots of people who climbed aboard at the start. Through Nehemiah, God made sure that everyone knew that He knew everyone who was working on the project. My commentary said, "Men and women, artisans and laborers, princes and commoners, all labored side by side ....Some who finished their assigned task took on an additional portion of the wall. God has given different work assignments to believers today. He has equipped us with various gifts and abilities appropriate to our calling, and He knows who is not really involved and who is doing double time."
On any project we're involved with today, we shouldn't worry about receiving recognition for what we're doing, because the One we're doing it for knows.
Aside from external pressure from some of Israel's enemies, "at times the immensity of the job almost crushed the Jews. The seemingly unending piles of rubble sapped their strength and drive," my commentary added.
There will probably always be those who shirk their responsibility in a project, just as some of the men of Tekoa did in 4:5. How embarrassing for them to have traded a few days of prideful behavior for an eternity of being known for that lapse. That's all the more reason to take a humble attitude on a project.
Father, help me as I work on projects at church and at work to have the kind of attitude most of these people had. When I feel discouraged because the immensity of the job starts crushing in on me, remind me of what they went through. Finally, help me not to be noted for shirking any of my responsibility.
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
Gary Ford
Nehemiah 5 & 6 -- NOT Home On The Range
God reminded me of the song "Home On The Range" and particularly the part that says: "Where seldom is heard a discouraging word..." If Nehemiah had listened to that song and desired what it says, we'd never have he
God reminded me of the song "Home On The Range" and particularly the part that says: "Where seldom is heard a discouraging word..." If Nehemiah had listened to that song and desired what it says, we'd never have heard of him. It was his endurance, longsuffering and dependence upon God that God wanted us to hear about.
Besides the constant verbal attacks by his enemies, he now finds himself having to deal with selfishness on the part of those he was trying to help. The economy of that place and time makes our current struggles in the U.S. seem like nothing. People were mortgaging their land for food and even selling their children into slavery! They couldn't simultaneously work on the wall and raise crops for food. Those who had money were charging interest to their fellow Jews at rates that violated the Mosaic law, and were also taking collateral in ways that also violated it.
Once Nehemiah called their hands on it, they agreed to stop. Nehemiah was doing his best to live out an example for them in his own life. He wasn't demanding an extravagant lifestyle for himself as governor, nor was he taxing the people to support such a lifestyle. He worked on the wall rather than simply supervising. He even shared the food allotted to him with the poor.
His enemies upped the ante by trying to ambush him, by spreading rumors that he was planning a rebellion, and by falsely prophesying against him -- even trying to get him to run into the Temple for refuge in violation of the Law!
Nehemiah's crew, with God's help, finished the entire wall in just 52 days! What an amazing feat with all of the background stuff going on!
One thing I'd noted before that my commentary reminded me about was Nehemiah's arrow prayers. You can see them in 5:19, 6:9, and 6:14. They were called arrow prayers because they were shot straight to the throneroom of heaven at a time when most Jews believed only the high priest could intercede with God:
"Remember to be kind to me, my God..."
"God, make me strong!"
"My God, remember what they have done..."
So often I find myself in the middle of circumstances and feeling the need to really talk to God and ask Him for help, but in most of those cases, there's just no time! Nehemiah's arrow prayers are just the answer. Yesterday I found myself in such a situation, having traveled to Dallas to give a deposition in a court case. As the opposing attorney began to craft his attack and maneuver his questions in an attempt to get me to misspeak under oath, I quickly shot an arrow to heaven myself, asking God to give me the words and to help me to discern the man's motives so that I would not fall into any traps he'd set.
God knows what we need before we need it, and He is more than capable of supplying what we need. It's simply up to us to ask, even with groans that words cannot describe.
Father, thank You for Your guidance yesterday. Thanks for reminding me today that things will not always be rosy, yet when they aren't, still You are Jehovah Shammah -- "The God Who Is There."
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
Gary Ford
Nehemiah 7 & 8 -- A tough one to write today
After finishing rebuilding of the walls that protected Jerusalem from attack, Nehemiah noted in verse 4: "The city was large and roomy, but there were few people in it, and the houses had not yet been rebuilt."My commentary said, &quo
After finishing rebuilding of the walls that protected Jerusalem from attack, Nehemiah noted in verse 4: "The city was large and roomy, but there were few people in it, and the houses had not yet been rebuilt."
My commentary said, "By faith Nehemiah had built the walls where they used to be, even though the enclosed area was too large for so few inhabitants." That sure sounds like a good thin, for it shows that he had vision.
I felt led to notice something else entirely, though. From everything I've read and watched, towns first sprang up in those days, and then walls were built to protect what already existed inside those walls. In Jerusalem's case, the town had been utterly destroyed. Now there were walls with nothing to protect. Of course, the people inside the walls could not shift from tents into houses once they were constructed, but Nehemiah, standing there gazing around almost reminds me of a real estate developer wishing his first lot would sell.
I know where this is coming from. This parallels something in my own life right now. The walls represent the boundaries between my family and the world. And inside those walls I've been feeling empty lately. Joseph has been at pre-teen camp for 3.5 days and just got home yesterday. Upon his arrival, I was greeted with the expected pile of dirty clothes and his less-than-excited response at being back home. This is probably mostly due to the usual coming-off-a-camp-high and exhaustion which built up over those 4 days. Also, I've been to Dallas and back in less than 24 hours and that doesn't help me, and we'll be headed there and back today as well. Then last night Joseph fell and injured his foot, requiring a visit to the ER and supper didn't happen as a result until 10pm.
Tuesday will be the third anniversary of Joseph's Gotcha Day -- the day I adopted him, and I need to be up for that day. I can't seem to get there right now, and I need Your help, Father. My perspective needs to change to Yours. Help me to see him differently than I do. And in many ways, Joseph is reminding me of those in these chapters who complain about the task being too great. Help us both to get on the same page., Father. Cause the area inside our walls to be as joyful as the day I brought him home from Ukraine.
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
Gary Ford
Nehemiah 9 -- What FOLLOWS Prayer And Confession
This chapter is a recipe for national repentance, yet it serves well to lead each of us to heartfelt confession followed by obedience. My commentary says that this is true biblical praying:1) They viewed events in their lives from God'
This chapter is a recipe for national repentance, yet it serves well to lead each of us to heartfelt confession followed by obedience. My commentary says that this is true biblical praying:
1) They viewed events in their lives from God's perspective.
2) They acknowledged His faithfulness.
3) They recognized that His mercy and grace were the only reasons they could stand before Him.
4) They realized and admitted that the problem was with them, not the Lord.
5) They determined to do something about it.
Despite their repeated failures, they had decided to try again. They separated themselves and humbled themselves before God. With fasting and mourning they read the Scriptures for 3 hours! Then for 3 MORE hours they confessed and worshipped. Only after they'd proven their unworthiness did they begin the steps above.
Then came the most important part -- probably the area where their ancestors had failed most often -- obedience. Prayer and confession are important, but they are no substitutes for OBEDIENCE.
Father, as I look back on the last several years, I can see that those times when I just agreed with You weren't the times when You moved the most in my life. It took my obedience to really effect change.
I remember when I determined that You had indeed spoken to me and told me to go overseas to adopt a child. I didn't hesitate, and You blessed me beyond measure. I obeyed You. I didn't simply agree with You that international adoption was a good thing.
Now, Father, help me to obey again. Help me to accept the very best You desire for me. Change my heart, O God.
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
Gary Ford
Nehemiah 10-13 The End Was In Sight, And It Really Wasn't Good
My commentary says, "The end of Nehemiah brings OT history to a close. The books that follow Nehemiah fit chronologically before this time (except for Malachi, which is contemporary with Nehemiah). The period following Nehemiah is so
My commentary says, "The end of Nehemiah brings OT history to a close. The books that follow Nehemiah fit chronologically before this time (except for Malachi, which is contemporary with Nehemiah). The period following Nehemiah is sometimes known as "The 400 Silent Years".
I almost felt frustrated and disgusted as I read these final chapters. It almost seems that Nehemiah had to force "religion" down their throats. In chapter 10, the people seemed to go along with it all, boldly proclaiming their intentions, even saying, "We will not ignore the Temple of our God." My commentary said that this phrase "expressed the overriding concern of the postexilic Jews. Out of this genuine care for the externals of their faith would grow the corrupt pharisaical system which so violently opposed the Lord Jesus..."
Nehemiah couldn't get enough people to agree to live in Jerusalem, so he resorted to drafting them. They finally had a great dedication service for the walls and then Nehemiah, his task apparently completed, headed back to the king after 12 years.
Yet, on a return visit, he was already seeing evil and worldliness creeping in again. The high priest himself had let an Ammonite have a room in the Temple courtyard, despite God's clear command that Ammonites could never again be part of Jewish worship. He'd also allowed his grandson to marry a daughter of Sanballat, who had caused Nehemiah so much trouble in the beginning.
Levites had left Jerusalem and returned to their farms because offerings had dropped. Gentile merchants were making the Sabbath into market day, and the Jews were buying. Nehemiah had to order the city gates shut when Sabbath began so that the practice wouldn't continue. He also dissolved marriages to foreigners which were forbidden by law but already happening again. Nehemiah found himself forcing Jews to make promises to God. He even pulled out the hair of some people while trying to get them to comply. It just doesn't sound like they possessed the will to obey. And that's key. It's almost impossible to legislate morality. People's hearts have to be in it.
After that, God didn't seem to speak to the Jews again for 400 years.
Father, help me to remember that, unless a person is drawn to You and willingly accepts the yoke of Christ, real change will not occur. It's all talk and no walk. Help me to pray for heart-felt change.
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
Gary Ford
1 Chronicles 1 and History In The Making
I've heard it said that the only way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time. And 1st Chronicles looks like an elephant! The introductions to it in my Bible and my commentary say that, despite the endless lists of genealogies, it'
I've heard it said that the only way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time. And 1st Chronicles looks like an elephant! The introductions to it in my Bible and my commentary say that, despite the endless lists of genealogies, it's important to know that it actually concentrates much more on the spiritual rather than the historical as the books of Samuel and Kings do.
As I began reading, I was so tempted to fire up my FamilyTreeMaker software and map it all out. I've yet to even see a huge family tree of Biblical characters, even though I imagine that someone has done this. The writer follows only the main line from Adam to Noah, probably because the Jews trying to "recollect" as a nation following the exile all knew that Noah was the choke-point in the family tree, since like Adam all were descended from him.
What was amazing were all of the place names I've read throughout the Bible that show up here as people's names! Like Cush, Mizraim (Egypt), Havilah, Canaan, Sidon, and Aram. They reflect the dispersion of the human race following the flood.
The current Middle East tensions have their roots in verses 29-37, and the old enemies of Israel -- Edom, Midian, and Moab -- even rear their heads here.
1st Chronicles is God painting a map of the Middle East over the millennia, and we can watch as the colors blend and change, seeing how siblings and sin greatly impacted that part of the world down to today.
Father, I want my family to be a choke-point -- a spot in the family tree where people can clearly see that this was a family where You were actively at work, and I pray that someday my descendants can look back and say that great-great-great-granddad Gary was faithful in listening to God, traveling to a far country as Abram did, starting a new family that God put together and blessed.
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
Proud father of Josh Ford, adopted 4/8/2003 from Matviivka, Ukraine
AND Joseph Ford, adopted 7/15/2005 from Snezhnoe, Ukraine
Gary Ford
Proud father of Josh Ford, adopted 4/8/2003 from Matviivka, Ukraine
AND Joseph Ford, adopted 7/15/2005 from Snezhnoe, Ukraine
1 Chronicles 2 -- Who's On First?
There's a bit of soap opera for everyone in Judah's family tree, and some of the descriptions get so confusing that I had to try and map it all out. There's a son killed by God for being wicked, the royal line down to David, David&#
There's a bit of soap opera for everyone in Judah's family tree, and some of the descriptions get so confusing that I had to try and map it all out. There's a son killed by God for being wicked, the royal line down to David, David's sister marrying an Arab! (Ishmaelite), a link back to Gilead, a man with possibly 17 sons by 4 wives/slave women, the namesake for Bethlehem, and a daughter marrying an Egyptian servant to have a son for her father.
All of this to be found in the branches of the family tree of Jesus. We can't pick our relatives, our ancestors, or our descendants, and we can't do much of anything to control them, either. Good, bad, or ugly, God sets us in the middle of them all, wanting us to be a light to them.
Father, bless my family line. Keep it pure and holy. Let none of my descendants do anything to cause harm to Your name.
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
Gary Ford
1 Chronicles 3 -- Getting Your NAME Wrong?
What was it like to be a second son? Joseph might tell me that it's not fair, because he wants to do the same stuff that Josh gets to do, when Josh gets to do it. For example, Josh got a cell phone at age 12, when Joseph was 10, and J
What was it like to be a second son? Joseph might tell me that it's not fair, because he wants to do the same stuff that Josh gets to do, when Josh gets to do it. For example, Josh got a cell phone at age 12, when Joseph was 10, and Joseph felt terribly slighted. Josh and I also have memories of places we went together before I adopted Joseph, and Joseph feels left out when we talk about them.
I think of Caleb and Jackson, the oldest two boys of our friends, and I marvel at the personality differences of biological sons. I see the same assuredness of the firstborn in Caleb that I see in Josh, but since Joseph was a firstborn adopted as a secondborn, I don't get to see the independence and nonchalance, with a twist of spunkiness, that I see in Jackson.
Maybe that's what drew me to something in verse 1. David's second son was Daniel, it said. I didn't remember that! I turned back to 2 Samuel 3:3. There, he was called Chileab (Kileab in some Bibles). My lack of knowledge of Hebrew names hindered me. Would this second son have felt slighted because they didn't get his name right in one of these verses, or would he have been thrilled that one verse used his given name while another used his nickname?
God kept poking at me to find out, so I went to my Bible software and found that the name Daniel meant "God has judged me" (David against Nabal, this boy's mother's first husband who was against David). That was a good name. But Matthew Henry says that David's enemies were claiming that Daniel was Nabal's son and not David's. As the boy grew up, however, "he became, in his countenance and features, extremely like David and resembled him more that any of his children" and for this reason he was given the name "Chileab" which means "like his father" or "the father's picture".
Unfortunately, there's only that one reference to him in the Bible. We don't really know what happened to him or what his life was like. Yet we have his name which tells us a lot about him. I think he'd have been proud.
Father, I'm amazed at how You drew me to one word today and made me search it out, for it has huge meaning to me. I was born as Gary, but my goal over my lifetime is to grow to be more like You every day. What an honor it would be for someone to someday look at me and call me Chileab -- the picture of my Father God.
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
Gary Ford
1 Chronicles 4 -- The Risk Of Being Nameless
This chapter holds the currently-famous prayer of Jabez, in case you want to reread it.As I was working to make sense of several "truncated" genealogies, I got stuck on one in particular -- "Ishbah was the father of Eshtemoa"
This chapter holds the currently-famous prayer of Jabez, in case you want to reread it.
As I was working to make sense of several "truncated" genealogies, I got stuck on one in particular -- "Ishbah was the father of Eshtemoa" and a few sentences later, "The sons of Hodiah's wife were Eshtemoa and the father of Keilah."
So Ishbah was also called Hodiah... no big deal. But did you catch the unnamed person in the second verse who was apparently disclaimed in the first? Keilah's father.
There's a dynamic here that might be important. Ishbah/Hodiah's granddad was a Pharaoh! Ishbah's dad was Mered, and it says, "Mered married Bithiah, the daughter of the king of Egypt." Interestingly enough, Bithiah means "daughter of Jehovah" according to my commentary. God had told the Israelites not to go back to Egypt. He didn't want them associating with them anymore. Who knows if Bithiah left her home and traveled to Israel.
But what about her grandson -- Eshtemoa's unnamed/disclaimed son? There's no telling what he did, but it was evidently enough to keep him out of the Bible.
Father God, as much as I love you and worship You, I still find myself struggling at times as Paul did with this body of flesh. I wonder why I do the things I know I shouldn't do and why I don't do the things I should. I don't even want to have to accept that this is going to be a lifetime struggle. Paul didn't want to either. I don't want my relationship with You and my witness for You to ever suffer, much less to find myself as this one man did -- disclaimed as a son in one verse and kept nameless in another. Please strengthen me and even remove from my life anything that does not conform to You. I want to be a man that they would write about, as Philips, Craig, and Dean once sang.
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
Gary Ford
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