January 28 ▪ Day 28

Scripture Readings

Proverbs 9:12
Isaiah 5–6
Matthew 28
Jude
Psalms 28

Verse Focus (Proverbs 9:12)

If you are wise, your wisdom will reward you;
     if you are a mocker, you alone will suffer.

Meditation

Our proverb today is perhaps a little more obscure, depending on what translation you read. There’s the NIV translation, “If you are wise, your wisdom will reward you; if you are a mocker, you alone will suffer.” However, the verse may also say something like, “If you are wise, you are wise for yourself; if you scoff, you alone will bear it (NRSV).” Some translations also interpret the mocking to be specifically of the wisdom, rather than mocking in general. So the Passion Translation says, “…to ignore the counsel of wisdom is to invite trouble into your life.”

To say that wisdom will reward you seems self-explanatory. But “you are wise for yourself”? What does that mean? So, I’ve been mulling over this proverb today. And I’ve realized, perhaps for the first time, that wisdom primarily benefits the person who is wise. Yes, there are tales of the wise person who saves a city, and we also think of getting advice from someone who is wise — but, generally speaking, the wise individual is wise for his or her own life. It’s personal. Individual. Selfish, even. If you are wise, your life is the one that is blessed. Of course, by extension, that may affect your family. But wisdom is what helps you make the right choices; it won’t help your children make the right choices unless they’ve learned to be wise themselves.

The proverb says something similar about mocking or scoffing — that the one it affects the most is yourself. This is counterintuitive, especially since mocking and scoffing is done in reaction to someone or something else. You’d think the mocking might hurt or damage whatever you are demeaning. And perhaps it does do that — but Scripture warns us that the biggest damage, in the long run, will be to the one who scoffs.

Father God, it never occurred to me before that my desire for wisdom is essentially a selfish desire. And yet, you tell us that wisdom is what we need and what we should strive to get. Perhaps because your wisdom and your truth is what transforms me into someone more able to serve and minister to others. Regardless, I do pray for you to grant me wisdom in all that I do and say — by your mercy to me in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Isaiah 5 gives us the “Song of the Unfruitful Vineyard.” Israel and Judah are likened to a vineyard that the LORD planted and cared for — and yet, instead of a good crop, the vineyard produces “wild grapes.” Verse 4 is particularly plaintive as the LORD asks, “What more was there to do for my vineyard, that I have not done in it?” I was also struck by the second half of verse 7: “He expected justice, but saw bloodshed; righteousness, but heard a cry!”

Isaiah warns us that the LORD plans to abandon his vineyard: Israel will become desolate, foreigners will invade. As Isaiah warns of the devastation and the bodies, the second half of verse 25 is haunting: “For all this,” Isaiah proclaims, “his anger is not turned away, and his hand is stretched out [to strike his people] still.”

As our reading continues in Isaiah 6, we have Isaiah’s famous vision of the LORD and the corresponding call to service. As Isaiah describes the seraphim who are before God’s throne, I began to think about the seraphim’s six wings — two to cover their faces, two to cover their feet, and two that they use to fly. And the two wings that cover their feet reminds me of Moses standing on “holy ground.” I also thought that they might need to cover their faces because God’s glory and brilliance might be more than they could bear. It’s interesting, too, how one seraph tells another one about God’s holiness. Since they are continually in God’s presence, clearly, they already know about God’s glory. So the purpose of speaking isn’t about conveying information. I interpret it that their worship compels them to speak of God’s holiness.

When Isaiah sees God and the throne and the seraphim, his first reaction is of his own unworthiness to be present. He cries, “Woe to me! I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty.” A seraph takes a live coal from the altar and touches Isaiah’s mouth and tells him that his guilt has “departed,” and his sin is “blotted out.” I like the symmetry of this action: Isaiah’s “unclean lips” are physically and symbolically cleaned by the coal from the altar.

Isaiah hears God asking whom he should send, and Isaiah’s first reaction, upon being cleansed, is to say, “Here I am. Send me!” So God gives Isaiah a message for the Israelite people. The message is familiar — earlier in the book of Matthew we heard Jesus telling us that this was the reason he spoke to the people in parables. The poem speaks of listening, but not comprehending; of looking, but not perceiving. The people will become dull and calloused; incapable of turning and being healed. Isaiah asks for how long, and the answer is of Israel’s desolation and exile — cities will be wasted, land will be desolate, and people will be scattered far away so that less than even a tenth remain.

The final phrase of the chapter is a cryptic Messianic prophecy: “The holy seed is its stump.”

As we read the final chapter in the gospel of Matthew today, we have the resurrection of Jesus and the “Great Commission.” Two women go to the tomb. There is an earthquake. An angel comes down from heaven and rolls back the stone in front of the tomb. The guards faint. The angel tells the women that Jesus has risen and that he is going to Galilee, a message that they are to pass on to the disciples. Then they see Jesus, and the message is repeated.

So the disciples go to Galilee. You know, it never occurred to me until recently to wonder why they were going to Galilee. They were in Jerusalem, and that was where the temple was and where the festivals took place. Where Christ was crucified. So why were they leaving? I think, for the simple reason, that Jesus’ family was in Galilee. His first concern upon rising from the dead was to go reassure his family. Also, his ministry was based in Galilee and there were probably many people and “loose ends” for Jesus to attend to before he went back to the Father.

Verse 17 says, “When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted.” Is this a reference to the doubting Thomas story that we read in another gospel? Or does it mean that some doubted — even though he had risen from the dead — that Jesus was the Messiah? Or doubted that Jesus was really Jesus? A curious comment. Especially interesting because there is no further explanation. I think, in part, we are meant to understand more than just this particular story: we are meant to understand that when people see Jesus, some will worship, and some will doubt.

The gospel concludes with Jesus giving the disciples what is known as the Great Commission: All authority belongs to Jesus, therefore the disciples must go make more disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything Jesus has commanded. His final words: a distillation of what he deems is most important for us to remember. And then, the last verse. Interestingly, the chapter ends — not with Jesus’ ascension — but with his promise to be with us always. Amen to that!

Today happens to be one of those days when we have an extra chapter to read (a function of the fact that — oddly enough 🙂 — the number of chapters in the Bible do not evenly divide themselves by the number of days in a year). And so we get the book of Jude, one of the shortest books in the Bible. Not the shortest, but close.

The authorship of the book of Jude is not entirely certain, although Christian tradition is that this book was written by a brother of Jesus. The book itself tells us it has been written by “Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James.” This is referring to James, the church leader in Jerusalem, and author of the book of James, who was well-understood to be Jesus’ brother. Jude was less well-known by the church at large. Some scholars have suggested that perhaps this was Jude the Apostle (not Judas Iscariot), but this interpretation has no explanation for why the author would mention being a brother of James.

It is interesting to note, however, that neither James or Jude directly claim to be a sibling of Christ. They both merely state that they are his servants.

Jude is a pretty interesting book. Some have questioned its place in the New Testament canon, especially since it references some stories in Jewish texts that did not make it into the Old Testament canon. However, the early church clearly believed in its canonical authority. Scholars also believe that the book of 2 Peter was written as a confirmation of the book of Jude.

So what is the book about? It was written to tell people to “contend for the faith” because of “intruders” in the church. These are ungodly people and false teachers who have slipped in amongst the congregations. The letter is quite expansive in its description of these people — people who love money (“rushed for profit into Balaam’s error”), who are grumblers and faultfinders, who follow their own desires and who cause divisions. I was especially struck by verse 10, when Jude says, “These people slander whatever they do not understand.”

I have two favorite verses from Jude that continue to be favorites year in and year out. The first is verse 22: “Be merciful to those who doubt.” In college, I knew someone who became a believer, but who then fell away under enormous pressure from her family. Unfortunately, many individuals in my college Christian Fellowship were very harsh and unsympathetic in their reaction to her doubts, even though they themselves had never experienced the kind of persecution that that young believer had faced. This verse from Jude was one the Lord gave me then, and it has remained a special verse to me ever since.

I also really love the closing benediction in Jude: “To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy.” I love that! What a wonderful picture of our relationship with God. The One who can keep us from falling. Amen!

In Psalm 28, another psalm of David, we have a prayer calling out to God for help. It starts in the present tense. To you I call. But it mentions what will happen in the future should God fail to answer: “I shall be like those who go down to the Pit (v. 1).” The petition continues, mentioning, as an example, those “who speak peace with their neighbors while mischief is in their hearts (v. 3b).” Isn’t that a perfect description for some of the wicked? They’re not all obvious felons and murderers. Many are right in our own communities, hiding in plain sight.

In verse 6, the psalm pivots. The verbs change to past tense. The LORD has heard my prayer so that I am helped. Therefore — present tense again — my heart exults and I give thanks. The psalm concludes with its own benediction: “The LORD is the strength of his people… save your people, and bless your heritage; be their shepherd, and carry them forever.” And a third amen to that as well!

Father God, I’m so thankful that you are our strength and our help. Thank you that you shepherd us and bless us, and carry us and keep us from falling. Thank you for your mercy. Please help me also to be merciful to those who struggle to believe. Thank you that Jesus rose from the dead. Thank you that he is with us always. Always. What a wonderful promise! Thank you. Thank you for the atoning sacrifice, for taking my guilt away and cleansing my sin in Christ Jesus. Please use me to help establish your kingdom. As Isaiah cried, Here I am; send me. Amen.