January 14 ▪ Day 14

Scripture Readings

Proverbs 4:13
Genesis 27–28
Matthew 14
Psalms 14

Verse Focus (Proverbs 4:13)

Hold on to instruction, do not let it go;
     guard it well, for it is your life.

Meditation

You’ve heard the saying, “The moment you stop learning, you die.” There are any number of variations on this quote, ranging from Albert Einstein (“Once you stop learning, you start dying”) to Michael Scott ( “The day we stop learning is the day we die”) to Tom Clancy (“Life is about learning; when you stop learning, you die.”) to Tetsuyama-san (“The day you stop learning is the day you stop living”). I’m sure there are many more permutations of this sentiment from other noteworthy writers and thinkers. Here, our proverb of the day is telling us that instruction is your life. So even the Bible equates learning with living. Guard it well, for it is your life.

Why do people say this? What makes it true? (Other than the fact that Scripture says so, I mean. 🙂 ) Is it about discovery? Our need to find something new? Does it have to do with that large portion of our brains that scientists think is unused?

To some, especially those that struggled in school (or who may still be struggling), this is an alienating premise. Does it make a difference what you’re learning? Does the average person need to understand calculus? I can’t give you the answers to those questions. However, the very fact that this saying is so prevalent tells me that people have discovered the worth of learning through bitter experience.

Personally, I think this has to do with our ability to know an infinite God. We would have no hope of understanding God or even of having a meaningful relationship with Him unless we have the capacity to grow in our knowledge and understanding. But I think it’s more than learning that’s important. It’s also being taught. We need humility in our relationships, and learning is one way we remember that we don’t have it all figured out.

Father God, help us always to hold onto instruction, especially instruction that comes from Scripture. Teach us how to guard learning; preserve our lives through your mercy and love.

So, Genesis 27 gives us the story of Isaac blessing his sons, Jacob and Esau. Again, this is a story without moral judgments, so even though Jacob is incredibly deceitful in his actions we don’t learn how we ought to respond from what the text says in this particular portion of Scripture. But we certainly do have our own reactions to the story! Don’t you feel angry at how Rebekah and Jacob are taking advantage of an old man’s blindness? The deceit and outright lying gets to me. And when Esau cries, “Do you have only one blessing?” — doesn’t that make your heart bleed? Esau is not my favorite character, but he did not deserve what happened to him — what his closest family members did to him. Oh, the betrayal!

Jacob was well-named as the “grasper.” He came out of the womb holding on to Esau’s heel. Although his name was very literal to begin with, it became a metaphorical description of his personality. But as I was reading the passage today, I recognized that we are all like Jacob. We are unworthy. We grab hold of the kingdom by grasping on to Jesus, the true heir. And, even though Rebekah schemed to help Jacob, we sometimes need help to get where we’re supposed to go.

In chapter 28, Jacob is sent away to find a wife from among their relatives in Haran. Although Rebekah’s complaining about the Hittite women at the end of chapter 27 was partially scheming for a reason to send Jacob out of harm’s way, it also reflected the truth that this family’s values were different from the values held by the people in the land where they were living. So Jacob makes the long journey to Paddam-aram.

One of the saddest bits in chapter 28 is verses 8 and 9. Esau finally recognizes that his Hittite wives are displeasing to his parents and so he goes and marries a daughter of Ishmael. Talk about missing the point! Did the family never tell the stories of Abraham and Isaac? Did Esau not hear that Isaac was born because of God’s promise? How could he think that taking a daughter from among the descendants of the slave woman would help? Yes, they were also relatives. And maybe his parents did like Mahalath more than the Hittite women. But that’s another thing — Esau took his third wife “in addition” to his Hittite wives (did he even think of separating from them?). I don’t know. I just shake my head at Esau’s cluelessness.

Perhaps Esau heard the stories but didn’t listen to them. After all, he might have been told that God had chosen Jacob over himself. So why should he pay attention to the stories of God working in the lives of his parents and grandparents?

Even though I’m puzzled at how Esau could have been so far from understanding the faith of his family, I’m not sure that Jacob was any better. As the chapter progresses, we have Jacob on this long journey to visit the relatives he’s never met. He probably felt quite alone. Perhaps he also felt very guilty for stealing the blessing from Esau. At any rate, he is by himself, somewhat at odds with his father, and definitely at odds with his twin brother, and without the direct support of his mother. And he stops the night at Luz, which is later re-named Bethel.

The story of Jacob’s Ladder is perhaps the first time that Jacob has personally encountered the God of Abraham. God extends the covenant promise to Jacob as well, telling him that he will have many descendants who will inherit the very land he is lying on. What’s interesting about this particular encounter is that God does not ask anything of Jacob. Instead, He promises that He will be with Jacob. “Know that I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” (v. 15)

I think about God’s compassion to Jacob: how cut off and alone Jacob must have been feeling on that journey — and so this is what God addresses in his message. He doesn’t ask Jacob to serve Him; He simply promises to bless and protect him.

Jacob wakes up from this dream, profoundly affected by his encounter with God. He makes an altar and he vows that if God goes with him and provides for him and lets him return to his family in peace, then God will be his God. Jacob promises that the pillar of his altar will be a house for God. Furthermore, Jacob vows to give a tenth of all he receives to God. This is noteworthy because here Jacob freely vows to give God the very things that He had refrained from asking of Jacob.

In Matthew chapter 14 we learn how John the Baptist was killed. Imprisoned for reminding King Herod of what the law said, John the Baptist was killed because Herod made an oath and did not want to go back on his word in front of his guests. Verse 5 tells us that Herod had been wanting to kill John the Baptist, but he held off because John was considered a prophet. But then verse 9 tells us that Herod was “grieved” by the request of Herodias’ daughter.

I think Herod really did not want to kill John. Herod was certainly angry at John the Baptist, and although he wasn’t ready to repent, he too believed that John was a prophet. That is why hearing of Jesus’ miracles convinces Herod that John the Baptist has been raised from the dead. (Perhaps Herod just hoped that John the Baptist had been raised from the dead, because if so then Herod’s actions in killing him wouldn’t be so devastating.)

Jesus is clearly distressed on learning of his cousin’s death. Immediately after hearing the news, Jesus withdraws. He takes a boat to go to a remote place, intending to find somewhere to be alone. But the crowds follow him, and instead of finding that place to be alone, there is a huge crowd waiting for him as soon as he comes to shore. But Jesus has compassion on them and he starts healing their sick. When the day draws to a close, the disciples urge Jesus to send the crowd away so that they can find food (they are, after all, in a remote place). Instead, we have the miracle of the feeding of the 5,000.

I don’t know how many times I’ve read this chapter. But I think I was always overwhelmed by the miracles. It’s only been recently that I’ve been able to see what that day must have been like from Jesus’ perspective. It reminds me of the children’s book title, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. Of course, it wasn’t really a terrible day for Jesus. In fact, it was one of the most productive days in his ministry. But I see our God of compassion in Jesus’ actions. Putting aside his own need to grieve in solitude, he instead ministered to thousands of people. I’m particularly astonished at his capacity to expend energy on a day when he was so wounded — but maybe it was the same for Jesus as it is for us: when we have no capacity ourselves, it can make it easier for God the Father to work through us.

Jesus finally gets a bit of time for privacy after everyone has been fed. He sends the disciples on ahead in the boat, and he dismisses the crowds. Later on that night, he joins the disciples by walking on the water. And we get the famous story of Peter also walking on the water — until he looked at the waves instead of Jesus. Such an important reminder for us to keep our eyes on Jesus instead of on the storms around us! Once we shift focus, that’s when doubt can creep in.

Jesus’ terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day is the one that finally convinces all the disciples that he is the Son of God.

Psalm 14 is often quoted because here we have the full description of man’s sinfulness. Paul quotes from it in Romans. “There is no one who does good, not even one.” What can we say in response to such bleakness? Only what the psalmist prays as he concludes: for God to send deliverance and redeem the captives.

This is yet another psalm of David’s as we learn from the notation at the top of the psalm. There’s another note, too. The NIV translates it as “For the director of music.” NKJV says “To the Chief Musician.” Another translation says, “For the choir director.” But the translation I happened to be reading this morning, the New Revised Standard Version, translated it as “To the leader.” So I’ve been thinking about that. To the leader. The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” And it strikes me that our leaders need to know and understand about man’s sinfulness. If we don’t understand the human condition, how can we actually lead?

You know, I learned something new today. I discovered that Psalm 14 is nearly identical to Psalm 53. The words are such familiar ones, I hadn’t realized that they were occurring twice in the Bible. I’m not sure what’s going on with that or what the differences are all about, but I have about 40 more days to figure it out before we read Psalm 53 together. 🙂

Father God, thank you for what your Word teaches us today. I am grieved about the sinfulness of humankind. And grieved over my own sinfulness. “No one who does good.” We are all, like Jacob, deceitful and grasping. But you let us grab hold of you. You show us compassion and freely promise to be with us and to protect us. Thank you for sending your Son, Jesus, to save us. Thank you for Jesus’ compassion, how he put the needs of others before the needs of his own humanity. We are humbled and grateful for your love. Enable us to be transformed — change us from Jacob into Israel. In Jesus’ name, Amen.