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Anger, Exile, and Mercy

Links for today’s readings:

Nov 11  Read: 2 Kings 24 Listen: (3:21) Read: Psalms 78.1-37 Listen: (7:12)

Scripture Focus: 2 Kings 24.20

20 It was because of the Lord’s anger that all this happened to Jerusalem and Judah, and in the end he thrust them from his presence.

Reflection: Anger, Exile, and Mercy

By  John Tillman

God put his name on the people so they could “image” him to the world. He promised to bless nations through them. He put his Spirit in the mouths of their prophets, priests, kings, and poets. His presence filled their Temple with glory.

Yet, they rejected him. They chose cursing, not blessing. They blasphemed God’s name by misrepresenting him with their actions.

Instead of lifting up the poor, caring for the outcast, and welcoming the foreigner, they crushed, oppressed, and denied justice. They tortured and killed God’s messengers, preferring uncritical voices. They despised the Lord’s presence by serving other gods and idols right in the very Temple that bore God’s name. They did all this with impunity, still considering themselves righteous.

Can we see ourselves in them? How is God’s name thought of because of us? Do people call us a blessing? What would the poor, outcast, and foreigners think of God’s love for them if they based it entirely on our treatment of them? Do we represent God faithfully?

God planned good things for Israel during captivity. This is what Jeremiah 29.11 is about. In exile, God would rebuild Israel. But to be remade into God’s image they had to be stripped of all they had relied on other than God.

The beautiful walled city? Not one brick left on another.
The newly restored Temple? Stripped of valuables. Razed to the ground.
The proud kings, noble families, and wealthy leaders? Stripped. Shaved. Enslaved. Some blinded. Some maimed. Many would have been castrated and made eunuchs. 

Do we feel destroyed or stripped or exiled or shamed or humiliated? Do we see failure and unrighteousness? If so, we can still turn to God. “I have plans to prosper you and not to harm you,” says the Lord. This was not spoken to “winners.” These words are meant for those who have lost a battle, seen their Temple fall, seen their kings carried off in chains, and admitted their sinfulness and corruption.

Not all misfortunes are judgments of God for sin. But whenever we feel crushed and hopeless, God tenderly reminds us that he has not forsaken us even if we have forsaken him. Even in exile, we do not need to despair but to repent, be restored, and be a blessing where God sends us.

His anger is only for a moment. His mercy endures forever. (Psalm 30.5)

Divine Hours Prayer: The Greeting

Out of Zion, perfect in its beauty, God reveals himself in glory.
Let the heavens declare the rightness of his cause; for God himself is judge. —Psalm 50.2, 6


– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Autumn and Wintertime by Phyllis Tickle.

Read more: Balancing Justice and Mercy

Whether people die by neglect…malice…abuse of power…violence of crime or excessive punishment, we are responsible to provide justice.

Balancing Justice and Mercy
Read more: Have Mercy

Pray this pluralized version of Psalm 51 this week, confessing not only our individual sins but the sins of our communities, churches, and nations.

Have Mercy

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Lasting Revivals and Normal Idols

Links for today’s readings:

Nov 10  Read: 2 Kings 23 Listen: (7:43) Read: Psalms 77 Listen: (2:12)

Scripture Focus: 2 Kings 23.10-14

10 He desecrated Topheth, which was in the Valley of Ben Hinnom, so no one could use it to sacrifice their son or daughter in the fire to Molek. 11 He removed from the entrance to the temple of the Lord the horses that the kings of Judah had dedicated to the sun. They were in the court near the room of an official named Nathan-Melek. Josiah then burned the chariots dedicated to the sun. 

12 He pulled down the altars the kings of Judah had erected on the roof near the upper room of Ahaz, and the altars Manasseh had built in the two courts of the temple of the Lord. He removed them from there, smashed them to pieces and threw the rubble into the Kidron Valley. 13 The king also desecrated the high places that were east of Jerusalem on the south of the Hill of Corruption—the ones Solomon king of Israel had built for Ashtoreth the vile goddess of the Sidonians, for Chemosh the vile god of Moab, and for Molek the detestable god of the people of Ammon. 14 Josiah smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles and covered the sites with human bones.

Reflection: Lasting Revivals and Normal Idols

By John Tillman

Around the world, Christians, including myself, pray for a revival like Josiah’s in our countries. But there’s a problem…

Josiah forcefully and radically changed Israel and Judah’s religious landscape. He tore down the infrastructure of temples, altars, and idols. He put out of work or killed the personnel of priests, prostitutes, and workers. He restored true worship for the first time in generations.

Josiah’s reforms were a massive change for the nations of Israel and Judah. These changes would have affected the job market, the economy, housing, and agriculture. Josiah cleansed Israel and Judah from top to bottom, but the next generation went bottom up. The changes didn’t stick. Why?

Josiah tore down the altars on the hillsides, but he couldn’t touch the ones in their hearts. He burned and ground the symbols of false gods into dust, but he couldn’t grind down the people’s habitual addiction to their images. He destroyed temples of gold and silver, but he couldn’t melt from their minds people’s comfortable familiarity with idolatry.

We need revival deeper than Josiah’s. If we want lasting faith in the next generation and a revival beyond a few changes to architecture, we need to base it on something other than force and power. We don’t need a strong man enforcing showy spirituality, religious observance, and moral behaviors.

Rather than dictatorial destruction, we need grassroots growth. Rather than pharisaical enforcement, we need Christlike engagement. We also need to clean our own houses first and do so with honesty.

It’s easy to be judgmental of ancient people’s idols. They seem so simplistic, terrifying, or just weird. “Storm gods, sex gods, and chaos monsters, oh my. How could they believe this?” But these gods were normal to the culture. Engaging with these idols was practical SOP that promised financial ROI.

When we look for idols in our lives, we shouldn’t look for weird things. We should look for normal things. The idols of a culture don’t always dress up in flamboyant costumes. They often hide in normality and ubiquity.

The idols we find in our lives are unlikely to appear as mystical beings or golden statues or be found in shrines and altars on hillsides. But they might resemble institutions, brands, or revered leaders. They might hide among private shrines of belief, our pet sins, and our longings for comfort, safety, and control.

Lasting revivals start small. May one start now.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Refrain for the Morning Lessons

“Because the needy are oppressed, and the poor cry out in misery, I will rise up,” says the Lord, “And give them the help they long for.” — Psalm 12.5


– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Autumn and Wintertime by Phyllis Tickle.

Read more about Rumors or Repentance

When someone critiques you and calls you to repent, what will you do? Will you dismiss them with a rumor… with violence…or will you listen…?

Rumors or Repentance
Read more about The Cost of Repentance

Josiah is known for religious reforms…a leader who not only recognized sin but called it out, determined to live differently, and worked to get rid of it.

The Cost of Repentance

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Losing Cynicism in the Sanctuary

Links for today’s readings:

Nov 7   Read: 2 Kings 20 Listen: (3:39) Read: Psalms 73 Listen: (2:56)

Links for this weekend’s readings:

Nov 8   Read: 2 Kings 21 Listen: (4:06) Read: Psalms 74 Listen: (2:34)
Nov 9   Read: 2 Kings 22 Listen: (3:45) Read: Psalms 75-76 Listen: (2:33)

Scripture Focus: Psalm 73.1-3; 16-17

1 Surely God is good to Israel, 

    to those who are pure in heart. 

2 But as for me, my feet had almost slipped; 

    I had nearly lost my foothold. 

3 For I envied the arrogant 

    when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. 

16 When I tried to understand all this, 

     it troubled me deeply 

17 till I entered the sanctuary of God; 

     then I understood their final destiny.

Reflection: Losing Cynicism in the Sanctuary

By John Tillman

Psalm 73 begins with its conclusion: Surely God is good to the pure in heart. But the psalmist goes through disillusionment and cynicism before getting there.

The psalmist is distressed by disparity, to the point of despair. The wicked grow rich, healthy, wealthy, and (at least in their own eyes) wise. He begins to think God uncaring and unjust, sinking in a spiral of cynicism. He describes this as a trap he almost “slips” and falls into.

But there is more than one trap. The psalmist says the arrogant rich are also “on slippery ground.” (Psalm 73.18-20) Wealth that works like a charm in this life is, for many, a curse and a trap. (Proverbs 17.8)

We can be snared by both traps. Wealthy as we are, we may think that other wealthier ones are guilty of greed as we hoard our own resources. Poor as we are, we can be in denial of the blessings that God has given us and guilty of the same selfishness as the wealthy. All of us can be guilty of taking rest, ease, and luxury at the expense of others. How can we escape these traps of hubris, greed, jealousy, and despair? 

The psalmist loses cynicism in the sanctuary of the Lord. It is there he sees that all humanity’s unpaid debts to each other are ringing up interest in the Lord’s accounts and we will not avoid his justice. 

We mistake wealth in this world that will pass away as being more desirable than wealth in God’s kingdom that will not pass away. Tricks of perspective can make large things seem small and small things seem large. 

For the rich and the poor, worship of God is the doorway through which we see with a different perspective. This is why James speaks so harshly about treating the rich and poor equitably in God’s house. (James 2.1-13) This is why Jesus was zealous for God’s house, expelling the money changers. (John 2.13-17; Mark 11.15-17; Matthew 21.12-14)

God intends our worship to reflect heaven, not earth.

It will be in worship that we gain a better perspective to help us see things rightly. 
May the Holy Spirit confront us about equity and justice. 
May we question our justice, not God’s. Are we being prudent or greedy? Are we being responsible or cruel?

May moments of worship overwhelm our cynicism and reveal a perspective of eternity.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Refrain for the Morning Lessons

Keep watch over my life, for I am faithful; save your servant whose trust is in you. — Psalm 86.2


– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Autumn and Wintertime by Phyllis Tickle.

Read more: Greed and Envy

The trap the psalmist escapes is to mistake stored up justice for absence of justice.

Greed and Envy
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A “Righteous” Government?

Links for today’s readings:

Nov 6  Read: 2 Kings 19 Listen: (6:11) Read: Psalms 72 Listen: (2:21)

Scripture Focus: Psalm 72.1-4

Of Solomon.

1 Endow the king with your justice, O God,

   the royal son with your righteousness. 

2 May he judge your people in righteousness,

   your afflicted ones with justice. 

3 May the mountains bring prosperity to the people,

   the hills the fruit of righteousness. 

4 May he defend the afflicted among the people

   and save the children of the needy;

   may he crush the oppressor.

Reflection: A “Righteous” Government?

By John Tillman

What would a “righteous” government look like?

Remember, the Bible is not intended to dictate modern political policy. Beware anyone who tells you that it does. However, today’s psalm gives us an important picture of what characterizes a rule of righteousness and justice.

Psalm 72 is called “The Royal Psalm” because it describes a king of righteousness and justice. The “Of Solomon” is ambiguous. The Hebrew translated “of” could also mean “to” or “for.” The psalm ends saying, “this concludes the prayers of David.” Whether written by David for Solomon, by Solomon expressing his father’s prayers, or by some other author, the psalm speaks of David’s longing for a truly righteous rule, guided and blessed by Yahweh.

David alternates between asking God to bless the king’s reign and describing the purposes or results of that reign.

He asks for wealth and prosperity. (v. 3, 7, 10, 16) 
He asks for a long life and a long, stable reign. (v 5, 15, 17) 
He asks for a peaceful rule in which enemies are subdued, territory is secure, and all nations turn toward them with respect, gifts, and service. (v. 8-11, 15) 

Why?

So the needy and afflicted can be saved from oppression. (v. 2, 4, 6, 12-14)
So the Lord’s name would be praised over the whole world and all nations, not just Israel, would be blessed and call him blessed. (v. 11, 15, 17-19)

The Bible gives us moral principles, not political policies. What principles do you see in this picture of a righteous government? A righteous government creates prosperity that does not leave the poor in want. A righteous government creates stability and safety without resorting to brutality or oppression. A righteous government creates peace that blesses other nations and will be blessed by them in return.

Solomon’s kingdom, with its forced labor, promiscuous sexuality, flaunting of wealth, and growing idolatry, failed to live up to David’s vision. Many who try to build God’s kingdom on earth resort to Solomon’s corrupt methods. We should also remember that, theologically, this psalm is a prophecy about Jesus. Christ’s kingdom is the only one that could live up to David’s dreams.

We should not fall into the trap of thinking we can build a perfect government. However, we can and should dream of and work for a government that better reflects our principles.

When governments stray from principles of righteousness and justice, our prophetic role demands we speak up. Don’t stop dreaming and don’t stop “prophesying.” Endow us with your justice, O God!

Divine Hours Prayer: A Reading

Jesus went on to say, “What is the kingdom of God like? What shall I compare it with? It is like a mustard seed which a man took and threw into his garden: it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air sheltered in its branches.” — Luke 13.18-19


– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Autumn and Wintertime by Phyllis Tickle.

Read more: Rulers with Borrowed Scepters

From Joseph’s beneficent Pharaoh to Moses’s genocidal Pharaoh, rulers are highly variable…None can be trusted to deliver us.

Rulers with Borrowed Scepters
Listen To: Apotheosis of Politics

Jesus is indeed a “foreign god” to us. (Acts 17.18) His kingdom is opposed to, not aligned with, any human government or party.

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Always the Rock of Refuge

Links for today’s readings:

Nov 5  Read: 2 Kings 18 Listen: (6:52)  Read: Psalms 70-71 Listen: (3:29)

Scripture Focus: Psalm 71:3a, 14

3 Be my rock of refuge,
    to which I can always go…
14 As for me, I will always have hope;
    I will praise you more and more.

Reflection: Always the Rock of Refuge

By Erin Newton

I remember sitting in the NICU with my twins hoping against the continual onslaught of bad news. Hope was hard to grasp; anxiety became a constant companion. I assumed that I would always feel that way.

Always. There is a constant and enduring essence to the word “always.” It is expected. It is reliable. For me, it was constant dread, then I latched onto Psalm 71 for dear life.

I needed a rock of refuge on day 1 of the NICU. I needed refuge on day 30, day 75, day 150 and on that last day, number 241. I read this psalm every day. It was my chant as I walked into the hospital. It was the prayer when I called each morning. It was the thought that helped me drift off to sleep.

I went to that rock of refuge again and again. And from that continual, enduring, and reliable source of refuge, I found hope.

Our story is a happy one. Just this week we celebrated the twins’ ninth birthday. Anxiety, doubt, and fear would have me think that maybe the Psalm 71 chant somehow guaranteed a positive outcome. But that’s not how Scripture and meditation work. It is not some magical spell (despite how much my dread wanted a solution). Prayers anchor our hearts against the ebb and flow of life.

For me, anxiety and fear continue to cling to the edges of my mind. I was right; I do always feel this way. I haven’t been freed of pain and suffering. New crises emerge. But what has changed is my relationship with that rock of refuge. I know he is reliable. I know he’s an open door for me any day or night. I know I can reach him with a faint whisper. I know I can reach him with a heartfelt scream.

While pain and suffering (and anxiety and dread) are always with me, so is hope. Verse 20 reminds us of the reality of life: “Though you have made me see troubles, many and bitter, you will restore my life again; from the depths of the earth you will again bring me up.”

Our life is restored when we learn that we can run back to God, our rock of refuge. Maybe we stumble and crawl, but this return to the rock is a defiant effort against darkness. God, our rock is always there, even in the depths.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Request for Presence

Our soul waits for the Lord; he is our help and our shield.
Indeed, our heart rejoices in him, for in his holy Name we put our trust.
Let your loving-kindness, O Lord, be upon us, as we have put our trust in you. — Psalm 33.20-22


– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Autumn and Wintertime by Phyllis Tickle

Read more: Embracing Uncertainty

Anxiety was always part of my life, so adding it to my faith was natural…I assumed my doubt meant my faith was in jeopardy.

Embracing Uncertainty — Readers’ Choice
Read more: Discipline for the Anxious

The psalmist writes of being “too troubled to speak,” yet he cries to God. He writes of insomnia, yet he rests in God.

Discipline for the Anxious