Messin' with Sasquatch (1 Kings 22)

There's a series of commercials that air usually during certain sporting events hawking a brand of beef jerky. They all revolve around the theme, "Messin' with Sasquatch." Each of the episodes revolve around usually male characters trying to trick or play a practical joke on the mythical man-beast character of Sasquatch. The ads generally portray the characters as smart and fun loving and the more powerful Sasquatch as lacking intelligence or simply naive. The end results are always the same, the much stronger Sasquatch kicking the butts of the practical jokers.

I'm not really sure of the implication of the commercial to the product, but it sure reminded of the way many arrogant leaders viewed and treated God in the Old Testament. Take King Ahab for instance. Instead of humbling himself before God and fearing Him, he treated God as almost bumbling idiot. Ahab seems to think of himself as superior in intellect and sophistication to God. Although he doesn't try to pull a chair out from under God in physical sense, as portrayed in one of the commercials, Ahab does try to pull throne out from under God.

In 1st Kings 22, King Ahab invites King Jehoshaphat to go to war with him against the Areameans. Jehoshaphat agrees on conditions that the prophets guarantee victory for them. All the prophets but one, Macaiah, tell Ahab that he will have victory. Macaiah tells Ahab that if goes to war against the Areameans that he will be killed. Ahab is so angry that he has Macaiah arrested and thrown into prison and put on bread and water and then Ahab heads off to war.

To hedge his bet, Ahab disguises himself as just regular soldier and has Jehoshaphat wear his royal robes. As the battle ensues, the enemy come after whom they believe to be King Ahab. When they discover that it wasn't Ahab, the battle is enjoined. During the fighting, an arrow from the bow of an enemy archer is randomly launched. It strikes Ahab between the joints of his army. Ahab dies later that day as a result of the wound and his army is routed. Random shot? Lucky Shot? Messin' with Sasquatch.

 

Many today have the same arrogance as Ahab. They think that they can ignore the teachings of God and avoid the consequences. They think God's commands are archaic, out dated, irrelevant in today's world or society. "We are much more sophisticated today and God's teachings are old fashion." They live the way they want to live, trivializing the truths of God. They view God as almost a benevolent benefactor who is out of touch with today's world. He maybe powerful, but He's a little naive. Messin' with Sasquatch.

 

I'm not saying that God is a mean, angry, powerful pontificate ready to squash anyone who crosses him. I am saying that there are consequences to not following God's truths.  God is interested in our well being, our relationships, our marriages. He wants the best for us, for us to experience a healthy life, an abundant life. To ignore his truths, his teachings is a detriment to us and the world we live in. God's truths are TRUE! When we choose not to follow them, we crash and burn.

God, forgive my arrogance. Forgive me when I ignore or trivialize or manipulate your teachings to accommodate me. In the words of the psalmist, I love your precepts. I want to hide your truths in my heart. They are a light, a guide to my path. I want to follow your ways. Guide me today, each day.

Daily Reflections on Isa. 50:10-11 (Dark Consequences)

I'm thinking that's the world's a mess right now. I know, you're thinking, "Great insight, Dave. That's really deep. What a keen observer." Okay, I know that that isn't world breaking news. We all know that we're in a mess. And there are a lot of opinions on how we got here and how we get out. Expert testimony and analysis differs widely. But I figure the experts aren't looking to the right solution or at least the person with the right solution.

I don't claim to be an expert on any or all of the world's issues. I don't think I'm even an expert on my own life and why I do what I do. I get confused over that too. But one thing I do know for sure is that everything has its consequences. No matter what I say or do, there is consequence for that. Sir Isaac Newton said that one of the laws of nature is that for every action there is an opposite and equal reaction. That principle can easily be applied to our behavior, thoughts and actions.

Without trying to sound pessimistic, I'd say the Bible is right when it describes the world as dark or darkness. Darkness is the absence of light. If God is light, there's a lot of places where He is absent. Not by His choice, but by our exclusion of Him. Yes, God is everywhere, but He doesn't push His presence when He is uninvited. He won't intervene where He is not asked or included. He is perfectly willing to let us crash and burn on our own.

Isaiah asks the question in verse 10 of our text, "Who among you fears the Lord and obeys the word of his servant?" Good question. Fear isn't about being terrified here, it's about respect and reverence. The bottom line on dealing with darkness is simply to trust in the name of the Lord and rely on God. Trusting and relying is more than just acknowledgment. It's about being totally submissive to God's direction and truths.

However, our tendency is try to handle the dark episodes or issues or occurrences on our own. We break out our handy dandy little flashlight and try to dispel the darkness. Even with the flashlight, we can't see everything. You can still stay lost in forest with a flashlight.

Isaiah says, "Go ahead, light your torches, follow your own path, but you can't see down the road like God can. It may seem right to you now, but you're on the wrong path and that path is going to lead to greater trouble and you're really going to be in a mess." I tell people all the time that we can choose to do whatever we want, we just can choose our consequences.

God, I don't know if there is more darkness in this world than ever before or not, but right now there appears to be a lot of darkness out there. What makes it seem worse is that there are a lot of people, influential people who apparently have adjusted to seeing or living in the dark themselves. Darkness has become the norm in society. That scares me a little bit and saddens me even more, because the darkness is becoming heavier, thicker, and spreading into all areas of life, including your church. I want to walk in your light. I'm extinguishing my torch, I'm turning off my flashlight and completely trusting and relying on you.

Daily Reflections on 2 Sam. 24:18-25 (Owning Up to Mistakes)

Mistakes always cost you one way or another. Sometimes there's a big payoff. Sometimes it costs us very little. Whatever the cost, there is always a lesson to be learned. The lesson is sometimes heeded and other times we have to learn it again. For some of us who take a little longer to learn, we may have to learn the lesson several times before we actually get it.

All of have made our fair share of mistakes. Yet, to be honest, it hasn't stopped us from making more mistakes. Making mistakes seems to be a part of life. And the hardest part about our mistakes is always the cost of the consequences. The problem is that we can't control the cost of our consequences. And sometimes, the consequences sadly affect other people who are innocent bystanders. It always saddens my heart to hear of someone killed by a drunk driver, especially if it was a child. The tragedy seems more than unfair to the victims.

King David, although a man after God's own heart, was far from perfect. We have a lot of fond stories of David, but his behavior wasn't always on the same page as God. In 2 Samuel 24, David, against the advice of his closest friends, decided to find out how powerful he really was by counting all his fighting men. He was flexing his muscles in the mirror to enhance his own ego. David was getting a little cocky and was more interested in his own strength, power, prestige, etc. than he was in seeking and trusting God.

After the census was taken, David realized his sin. But God brought a humbling punishment on him. He actually gave David a choice of punishments. David chose a three day plague over the land. 70,000 people died. David pleaded for forgiveness and for God to stop the death of his people. It happened that angel of the Lord was at the home of man named Araunah. So David was instructed through a prophet of God to go an build an altar to the Lord there and make a sacrifice.

David arrived at the farm of Araunah to build an altar. But Araunah wanted to supply everything for the altar and sacrifice. However, David insisted on paying him for the property and the animal to be sacrificed with these words, "I will not sacrifice to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing."

David's mistake had cost many lives. He had felt the pain of his people, owned up to the mistake, pleaded for mercy and forgiveness, and coffed up the cash to pay for his mistake. We can't escape the consequences for our mistakes. But to right ourselves with God, we must be willing to admit them in genuine remorse, recognize our humaness, humbly beg for mercy and forgiveness, and be willing to pay retribution. David wasn't able to bring back the family members of those who died in the plague. But he did step up to the plate and did his best to reduce any further suffering to his/God's kingdom.

God, your mercy is so awesome. How we need you. How I need you. I would love to minimize the mistakes I make. The only way I know to do that is to learn to trust you more. But my learning process seems to involve making more mistakes. I find myself learning the hard way. Empower me by my your spirit to seek your path, to minimize my screw ups, and to be willing to own up to the mistakes I do make.

Daily Reflections on Lev. 10:1-10 (What Makes God Mad?)

Whoosh! He's blazing. It's what happens when you tick off God. One minute they're standing there proud as peacocks. The next, they're shish kabobs without the skewer. Apparently God was dead serious about what the priests were to do and what they weren't. God gave implicit instructions how he wanted the sacrifices to be given and what was acceptable to Him. He warned them of the consequences. When Nadab and Abihu decided to freelance a little in their fancy new threads, God didn't take too kindly to their actions. You might say He was flaming mad.

If you read the text, you will see that Nadab and Abihu offered an unauthorized fire before the Lord contrary to God's command. Their arrogance cost them their lives. A fire came immediately out of the Tent of Meeting and consumed them. These two thought they were hot, but in an instant God made them hotter.

I've always wondered why God was so quick to act against these guys. It reminds me a lot of Ananias and Sapphira in the book of Acts who brought their offering to Peter, lied about it the total amount and dropped dead on the spot. No doubt the people who witnessed the events suddenly took God seriously.

As I look at both incidents, there are some similarities. It appears to me that both were trying to grab a little extra attention for themselves. Nadab and Abihu, no doubt, thought that they were privileged and my guess were showing off just a little bit. God doesn't share the stage with anyone. When He gives specific instructions, He expects them to be followed to the letter. These were crucial days for the Children of Israel. If the people were to understand and observe these new teachings, then they had to understand that God meant what He said. So God gave them an example of how serious He was about this new covenant He was establishing with them. He demonstrated that no one was immune to breaking the Law. No one would escape the consequences.

Some of us try to minimize God's truths and teachings today. However, God isn't about to alter His truths and teaching or the consequences just to satisfy our whims, desires, wants, or agendas. God allows us the choice of how we want to live, but He doesn't allow us to choose the consequences or eliminate them all together. God's truths and teachings are for our benefit, not just arbitrary rules He established to make us miserable.

God, thanks for your teaching and truths that guide my life. Countless times I've violated those truths only to discover you were right all along. I've created a lot of unnecessary pain in my own life and the lives of others because of my arrogance and free wheeling. Thanks for your forgiveness and grace, Lord, for righting my ship when I begin to list.