January 8 ▪ Day 8

Scripture Readings

Proverbs 3:13–14
Genesis 15–16
Matthew 8
Psalms 8

Verse Focus (Proverbs 3:13–14)

¹³Blessed are those who find wisdom,
     those who gain understanding,
¹⁴for she is more profitable than silver
     and yields better returns than gold.

Meditation

We should not be surprised to find that our verse focus today, Proverbs 3:13-14, extols the value of wisdom. This is, after all, essentially what the entire book of Proverbs is about! But think about the claim in these verses for a moment: wisdom is “more profitable” than silver and a better investment than gold. Wow!

Wealth is one of the highest values in our human society. Money, security, comfort — we all long for the things that we believe silver and gold will provide. But Scripture tells us that wisdom will benefit us more than money will. Do we believe this? Do we structure our time and our lives to ensure that we are seeking after wisdom? Or do we work hardest for our paychecks, striving to gain an economic advantage?

Father God, give me a heart that longs for wisdom. I confess I don’t always believe that wisdom is more valuable than money; I pour out my time and energy on transitory things rather than on things of eternal value. Please help me to understand the truth of these verses and to order my life so that I do seek wisdom and understanding.

In Genesis chapter 15, God re-affirms his call and covenant with Abram, re-assuring him that he will indeed have children and numerous descendants and giving him a vision of the far future. It is significant that this repetition of God’s promise comes immediately after Abram had given a tenth of everything he had to Melchizedek. I especially like how God describes himself to Abram: “I am your shield, your very great reward.”

Verse 6 is important, and we will see this discussed at more length in some of the New Testament letters. “Abram believed the LORD and he credited to him as righteousness.” Abram has not yet entered into the formal covenant with the LORD, but he receives the promises and believes God will do as He says. This faith is foundational to all that is yet to come.

Even though Abram believes God, he still asks for “proof” that God will give the land of Canaan to his descendants. He is not rebuked for asking for a sign to help him believe. Instead, the LORD tells him to offer a sacrifice, which Abram does. He ends up in a kind of trance and God makes known what will happen in the future.

I find myself rather astonished at how God foretold Abram about the Israelites going down to Egypt and being oppressed for 400 years before they would be delivered out of Egypt with great wealth. It’s not that God doesn’t know the future — He is outside of time. What puzzles me more is that this answer is so completely different than what I expected, or even perhaps different from what Abram expected when he asked how he could know that he would gain possession of the land. I suppose I would have expected some kind of confirmation like “I am God; what I purpose will stand” rather than a specific response relating to the sweep of history long after my own death.

Another small piece of the puzzle is that God says this will happen in the future because “the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.” Doesn’t that just boggle your mind? What a view of history and nations!

Genesis 16 tells us the story of Hagar and Ishmael. You might think of it as a hiccup in Abram’s faith. Ten years have passed since God called Abram to leave Haran and go to Canaan and there are still no children. So Sarai suggests that they might be able to raise a family if Abram has a child with a surrogate. (I remember being told that this was a common practice in the ancient world, but I can’t verify if that’s really true.) At any rate, Sarai has an Egyptian slave named Hagar and she has Abram sleep with Hagar. (Does it occur to you that Sarai probably obtained this slave when they were in Egypt and she had caught the eye of Pharaoh? This is just another consequence of that entire incident.)

At any rate, Hagar becomes pregnant and begins to despise Sarai for her infertility. Sarai blames Abram for this, and, with tacit approval from Abram, she begins to mistreat Hagar. So Hagar runs away.

The angel of the LORD appears to Hagar and prophesies about the son she will bear, Ishmael. Through this story we learn another name for God: the One who sees me. We see the compassion the LORD has for all people, not just those who will be involved in the promised line of succession. The angel tells Hagar to go back and submit to Sarai. So Hagar returns to Abram’s household and she gives birth to Ishmael when Abram is 86 years old.

As we continue reading in the gospel of Matthew, we move from direct teaching to a number of vignettes of Jesus in action. Our first example in chapter 8 is of the leper who comes and kneels before Jesus, humbling asking to be healed. “Lord, if you are willing,” he says. He does not demand or beg or even assume that he is worthy of being healed. But Jesus touches him and declares, “I am willing.” And Jesus heals him. He instructs the man to go fulfill the requirements of the law and sends him on his way.

The lepers were, of course, the untouchables of Hebrew society. So to receive the gift of touch shows the depth of Jesus’ compassion. “I am willing.” This is Jesus’ heart. And this is what he might say to you today: “I am willing.” Do you need healing from a broken relationship? From past abuse or hurt? From failure and disappointment? Come to Jesus today; kneel before him and offer up whatever is broken in your life.

We have the story of the centurion’s faith. This Gentile soldier understood what it meant to be under authority. And he could see more clearly than the Jews could how Jesus was operating under the authority of a higher power. It seems so simple from his point of view. Don’t you wish you had a faith like this?

As the chapter continues we come to a third story of healing. This time, it is Peter’s mother-in-law who is ill and in bed with a fever. Verse 15 tells us that Jesus heals Peter’s mother-in-law and then “she got up and began to wait on him.” Now I don’t know about you, but I always used to feel kind of sorry for the mother-in-law. Who wants to be healed so that you can get up and start serving? Granted, I’m a very lazy person and that likely colored my perspective on this situation. But it took me a really long time to understand that Peter’s mother-in-law had a proper response to Jesus. She was grateful to be healed and grateful to give back to Jesus. And so she gave back in the way that she knew best — through hospitality and service.

Jesus heals many other people and Matthew again makes a point of telling us how this is a fulfillment of prophecy. We have stories warning that it is costly to follow Jesus; and we have a story showing us that Jesus has the kind of power that belongs to God — he can command the wind and the waves to be still.

Finally we have a story of Jesus confronting two demon-possessed men in the Gadarenes. The demons recognize who Jesus is. They ask if the Son of God has come to torment them before the appointed time. Knowing that Jesus will drive them out of the two men, the demons beg to be sent into the nearby herd of pigs. Jesus grants this request, telling them to go. The demons enter the pigs and, in a frenzy, the pigs rush downhill into the lake where they all drown. Hearing what has happened from the pig herders, the townspeople ask Jesus to leave their region.

So what are we to make of this final story? Obviously there’s amazement at this supernatural confirmation of Jesus’ divinity. And surprise that Jesus is compassionate even toward demons. Is there also surprise at the loss of the herd? The townsfolk just lost a significant part of their wealth (and I suspect that this had more to do with their asking Jesus to leave than simple fear over what Jesus had the power to do). Surely Jesus could have sent the demons straight back to hell and not let them enter any other living creatures. So why did he send them into the pigs?

I don’t know how many years and how many times I have read this story. But it only dawned on me recently: duh, they were pigs! Duh! Double duh!! Jews were forbidden to eat pigs. It’s possible that this was a completely Gentile community. But I rather suspect that these were Jews who did not live according to the law. And I think that may be why Jesus allowed the demons to go into the pigs — to teach some kind of lesson to the townsfolk. That, and of course this strange compassion Jesus had for the demons themselves. Hmmmmm.

Our final reading today is Psalm 8 — one of the most beautiful and poetic psalms ever. This was probably my first ever “favorite” psalm. (Although, of course, over the years I have developed so many favorites!) The beauty in verses 3 and 4, both in the language and the meaning, gets me every time. And this is also the heart of wonder at our relationship with God. What is humankind, that God — the one who created the universe and whose glory is seen in the heavens — why has God given us such a high position? When we look at the stars and see the magnificence of what God has created, we understand how small we really are. And that makes what He has done for mankind even more stunning. How majestic is your name in all the earth!

Father God, you have set your glory in the heavens. Your name is magnificent! I, like David, am humbled that you love me and care about even my petty concerns. I’m humbled that you choose to work through people just like me. Thank you for your everlasting faithfulness. Thank you that you have prepared good works for me to do. Please help me to have a faith like that of Abram (not the mistakes part, obviously!). Give me eyes to see you like the centurion did. Thank you that you are so compassionate and willing: willing to walk intimately with me, willing to heal me, and willing to use me in your plans for the kingdom. Please make me more like your Son Jesus, in whose name I pray. Amen.