February 9 ▪ Day 40

Scripture Readings

Proverbs 10:27
Isaiah 29–30
Mark 1
Psalms 40

Verse Focus (Proverbs 10:27)

The fear of the LORD adds length to life,
     but the years of the wicked are cut short.

Meditation

Today’s proverb is a short but sweet promise. As the NRSV puts Proverbs 10:27, “The fear of the LORD prolongs life, but the years of the wicked will be short.” As if we needed another reason to fear the LORD! We already know that the fear of the LORD brings wisdom, understanding, health, prosperity and protection — now we can add more years of life to the list. All in all, fearing the LORD seems like a pretty sweet deal!

Of course, there is the issue of whether or not this is an ironclad “promise” or just the way things usually work for the righteous. In fact, some of the psalms seem to question the issue of whether or not the wicked really do get judged for their deeds. In Psalm 73, the psalmist looks at the wicked and sees a trouble-free life of prosperity, causing him to question whether living a righteous life is actually worth it. He eventually comes to understand that the wicked do come to an abrupt end. The psalmist sees how his mind had become darkened by envying the wicked, and as his faith is restored he realizes that God is the the most valuable thing in his life. But the point is valid. We don’t always see this proverb happening in real life. For every gang-banger who dies an early death, there is another crooked politician or wicked drug kingpin who seems to live on top of the world.

It comes down to whether or not you believe God and His word. Do you believe that fearing the LORD will add length to your life? Do you believe that the years of the wicked are cut short? If you doubt these facts, you will be able to find evidence of this doubt in the world around us. If you believe this Scripture, you may not see the “evidence,” but faith will testify that just because you didn’t see it doesn’t mean that God didn’t lengthen or shorten a particular individual’s life. It may sound like I’m advocating blind faith. I’m not. I’m simply asking you if you’ve found God to be faithful to His word. And if He’s faithful, then we can also have faith in the truth of today’s proverb.

Father God, I thank you that your Scripture does prove true time and time again. I thank you that truthfulness and faithfulness is part of your very nature. I’m also grateful that when I do have doubts, I can come to you with them. I pray for your to continue strengthening my faith each and every day, through Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.

Isaiah 29 cries woe to “Ariel,” the city where David dwelt. By this we are to understand that the prophet is speaking of Jerusalem. Why Isaiah uses a poetic name for Jerusalem isn’t entirely clear, although the use of such names is quite common in prophecy (e.g., “Rahab” will often refer to Egypt, as it does in the next chapter). “Ariel” means “lion of God,” but it also has meanings associated with men of valor and an altar-hearth.

The prophecy tells us that Jerusalem will be besieged. Isaiah had this vision circa 725 BC. In 701 BC, Jerusalem was threatened by the Assyrians, led by King Sennacherib. However, the siege didn’t occur as God miraculously rescued Jerusalem. 137 years later, though, the prophecy is fulfilled when Jerusalem is besieged by the Babylonians. This time, Jerusalem eventually falls and the residents of Judah are deported from the Promised Land.

In verse 10, Isaiah speaks of how the LORD has hidden this prophecy from Jerusalem’s priests and Levites: “For the LORD has poured out upon you a spirit of deep sleep; he has closed your eyes, you prophets, and covered your heads, you seers.” One of the reasons why God is preventing them from understanding is because they are only offering lip-service to God; their hearts are far from him. Further, in verse 13, Isaiah says, “their worship of me is a human commandment learned by rote” — I am reminded of the “precept upon precept, line upon line” that Isaiah spoke of in the previous chapter.

Isaiah rebukes the Israelites for turning things upside down. Shall that which is formed accuse its Creator of having no understanding (v. 16)?

But then, as often happens in prophecy, there is light and hope given for the future beyond the coming siege. Verse 18 says, “On that day the deaf shall hear the words of a scroll, and out of their gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind shall see.” The chapter ends by saying that Jacob will no longer be ashamed; “those who err in spirit will come to understanding, and those who grumble will accept instruction.”

Isaiah chapter 30 speaks of the futility of relying upon Egypt for help against the Assyrians or other foes. The prophet says those who “seek shelter in the shadow of Egypt” (v. 2) will come to shame and humiliation. There is an odd little “oracle concerning the animals of Negeb” — through a land of dangerous animals, other animals carry the treasures “to a people that cannot profit them.” Again, the prophet tells them that they cannot rely on Egypt.

I was struck particularly by verse 8. Isaiah is told to record the prophecy so that it may be a “witness forever” to the time to come. This is precisely what it is for us today.

The second half of Isaiah 29 has a number of verse gems that have meant a lot to me over the years. Verse 15 says, “For thus said the LORD GOD, the Holy One of Israel: In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.” The Israelites refused to do this, but it remains as wisdom for us today. Verse 18 is also a treasure. The LORD “waits to be gracious” to us. Spend some time meditating, too, on verse 20.

Verse 21 says, “And when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left, your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, ‛This is the way; walk in it.’ ” This is the promise we cling to — how we long to hear the Holy Spirit giving us clear directions! The thing that I eventually realized, though, is that the voice is coming from behind you. That means you actually have to move forward and take steps on the path before you will receive correction or confirmation. This is contrary to what we want. We want to be told the correct path before we even start walking! But God doesn’t usually lead us that way. Instead, He wants us to be actively pursuing the dreams and goals He gives us. It is only in this active pursuit that we will receive the direction and confirmation we so desperately desire.

We turn now to the Gospel of Mark. Christian tradition has it that this was written by the “John Mark” (also called simply “Mark”) mentioned in Acts — he was a relative of Barnabus, and he was young. He apparently abandoned the missionary journey that Paul and Barnabus were on, causing a rift between the two men. Barnabus wanted to give Mark a second chance, but Paul did not. So they ended up going separate ways. (The rift was later mended, however.) If you remember the story of a young man fleeing naked when Jesus was arrested, that is also purported to be Mark, the author of this gospel.

Mark is the shortest of the four canonical gospels. Scholars also believe it was the first gospel written, dating from about 35 years or so after the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The action of the gospel moves very quickly — a story that occurred in chapter 4 of Matthew happens in the first quarter of chapter 1 of Mark. The speed of the storyline gives a sense of immediacy and urgency to the gospel message.

In chapter 1 we read of the Biblical prophecy of Jesus and John the Baptist, we learn of John baptizing in the desert, of Jesus being baptized and the voice from heaven that testified about him, Jesus being tested in the wilderness, then Jesus’ early preaching and the calling of several disciples, along with a number of miracles. Many of these stories were told in more detail in Matthew.

As I read the chapter today, these are the things that stood out to me. The first surprise came from the story of Christ being tempted in the wilderness. Verse 13 says, “He was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him.” I hadn’t remembered that angels attended Jesus after he was tested. Matthew tells us this, too, but my attention was on other things when I read this story in Matthew. I imagine that it was the angels that gave Jesus food and water after all that fasting, and who helped him to regain his strength for the days ahead.

Verse 14 mentions that Jesus began his preaching “after John was arrested.” Again, this was a detail that completely passed me by in my reading of the other gospel. John was meant to prepare the way for Jesus, and he did that. When it was time for Jesus to preach, however, John was completely removed from the picture.

I noticed how quickly Simon Peter and Andrew responded to Jesus’ call to discipleship. They left their nets “immediately.” Likewise, as soon as Jesus sees the sons of Zebedee, James and John, he “immediately” calls them to come and they leave the boat and their father behind.

In verse 22, Mark tells us that the people of the synagogue marveled at Jesus because he taught as one “with authority.” Someone once told me that it was Jesus’ style of teaching that was so different. According to rabbinic tradition, a teacher would cite all the various rabbis who had taught a particular message or interpretation from the Scripture. In all of Jesus’ recorded preaching, we do not once hear him referring to another rabbi’s teaching — he basically uses his own authority to interpret the Word. The person who told me this story thought that this was why the people marveled at Jesus’ teaching and said that he taught “with authority.”

I like this story of rabbinic traditions, but I don’t think that is why the people marveled at Jesus’ “authority.” I think the people could hear the truth when Jesus spoke. I think he possessed a certainty and a charisma that the people responded to — they recognized that he did have authority, even though they didn’t understand why.

Verse 34 tells us that when Jesus cast demons out of people, he would not let the demons speak “because they knew him.” I don’t think I’d want demons revealing my true identity — even if they were compelled to tell the truth, you’d doubt what they said simply because of what they were. Also, I always thought that Jesus wanted people to come to a recognition of the truth through observation of his character and actions.

In the final story of Jesus healing the leper, however, Jesus also cautions the leper not to say anything to anyone, but simply to go and be pronounced clean by the priests. Instead, however, the leper tells everyone how he got healed. And the result, as we are told in verse 45b, is that Jesus is no longer able to come into a town openly. Instead, the people must come out to him. This gives me an insight as to why Jesus commanded the demons not to speak and why he told those he cured to also keep quiet — because their speaking would hamper his effectiveness in ministry.

My final comment on Mark chapter 1 concerns verse 35. One of those long-time gems, and an inspiration for me in my own spiritual journey. Scripture says, “In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed.” You get the sense from Mark that this is a regular practice for Jesus. Maybe not every single day, but frequently. If Jesus can get up while it is still very early, then I can set my alarm clock a bit earlier too so that I also will have time to pray before I have other responsibilities to attend to.

Psalm 40 is yet another beautiful song — thanksgiving for deliverance and a prayer for help. In verse 3, the psalmist says that God “put a new song in my mouth.” It strikes me that this is always what God does for us. He gives us something new to sing about — usually praise for His deliverance of us. Verse 5 speaks of how God has “multiplied” the good deeds and good thoughts He has for us. They are “more than can be counted.” The psalmist’s words create a resonance to God’s promise to multiply Abraham’s descendants to the point that they cannot be counted — again, reminding us of God’s faithfulness.

Smack in the middle of this psalm, we have a Messianic prophecy of significant import. Verses 6 through 8 say, “Sacrifice and offering you do not desire, but you have given me an open ear. Burnt offering and sin offering you have not required. Then I said, ‛Here I am; in the scroll of the book it is written of me. I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart.’ ” These verses will be expounded upon at length in Hebrews 10.

Even though Martin Luther said that every psalm is about Jesus, I only see these verses in the middle as directly referring to Jesus. The rest of the psalm it could be me speaking.

I especially like how the psalm ends. The psalmist says, “As for me, I am poor and needy.” This is our true state always. Circumstances may highlight the recognition of our poverty and need, but this is how we are apart from God. Fortunately, God does take heed of us. So we can confidently cry, “You are my help and my deliverer; do not delay, O my God.”

Father God, I thank you that you are my help and my deliverer. Thank you that you plan good things for me. Thank you that you give me a new song to sing and that you multiply your blessings. Open my eyes to learn about you. Let me rest quietly in your strength. I pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.