March 1 ▪ Day 60

Scripture Readings

Proverbs 12:10
Hosea 3–4
I Corinthians 11–12
Psalms 60

Verse Focus (Proverbs 12:10)

The righteous care for the needs of their animals,
     but the kindest acts of the wicked are cruel.

Meditation

Hello! Welcome to a new month. 🙂

Our proverb today, Proverbs 12:10, says, “The righteous care for the needs of their animals, but the kindest acts of the wicked are cruel.” Although we still have farmers and ranchers in the United States, they are less than 2% of the population. So, other than pets, most of us aren’t around animals much any more — not like the many generations that preceded us. But that doesn’t mean that our proverb no longer has relevance.

Yesterday, in 1 Corinthians 9, we read about how Paul interpreted an Old Testament law concerning oxen. And he pointed out that this law was written for our benefit — yes, to teach us that we should not muzzle oxen when they are treading the grain, but also so that we might learn that those who help create something have a right to expect some benefit from that creation. In the same way, this proverb speaks to us about animals. But there are additional applications for us.

Animals are some of the most vulnerable of creatures. They can communicate with us, but cannot speak in words. We may or may not understand what they want. Depending on what type of animal and where they are being kept, the animal may have no other recourse but to depend on humans for the most basic needs of life. Dogs and cats are clever, but if locked in a house they likely have no means of egress.

My point is simply that this proverb is not just about caring for animals, but is about people caring for the vulnerable in society. Of course, that includes infants, but it also includes vulnerable adults — the poor, the sick, the elderly, the mentally ill, and those who are imprisoned.

As I meditated on this proverb, I had a harder time understanding the second half of the proverb. How are the wicked cruel to their animals, I wondered? I know there are some wicked who abuse animals, but there are many that do care for their pets. So I was puzzled about this until I realized that the second half of the proverb doesn’t say anything about animals at all. It simply says that the kindest acts of the wicked are cruel.

I know what cruel means. You do, too. But sometimes it’s good to remind ourselves of the definitions of things. So I looked it up: to be cruel is to cause pain or suffering; or to willfully cause pain or suffering to others; or to lack empathy or concern for those who do suffer pain.

I think the other thing that can trip us up is how we define “wicked.” On the one hand, we know that all of us are wicked and deceitful. Without Christ, none of us seek God or seek righteousness. So, sometimes, we start defining “wicked” as those who don’t know Christ — as non-believers. But this is not how the Bible talks about the wicked. In the Psalms and Proverbs, the wicked are those who actively oppose God’s laws. They do not honor God: they steal, they murder, they deceive. Makes the proverb suddenly a lot easier to understand, doesn’t it?

Father God, thank you that your Scripture always has deeper truths for us if we look for it. Thank you, too, for the surface truths. Help us to take care of animals — those who depend on us for food and water. Help us also to do what we can for the vulnerable in society — to provide encouragement and companionship, and to care for whatever physical needs they might have. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Unless you happened to be reading the New International Version of the Bible (which is one of my favorite translations, although I love the 1978 version more), you might be a little puzzled about Hosea chapter 3. The NIV makes it clear that Hosea is seeking a reconciliation with his wife. Other translations simply say “a woman who has a lover and is an adulteress” — and you have to puzzle it out to understand that Hosea is seeking after his faithless wife.

Again, as a parable of how God loves his people, we see that Hosea still loves his wife, even though she had left him for another man. I thought it was interesting that Hosea brought his wife back to his household, but remained apart from his wife — at least for a time. That implication was more obvious to me reading the NRSV translation than it appears to be in other translations. But I remember thinking that Hosea showed more sensitivity towards his wife than I would have expected of a man bringing his wife back home. The time of abstinence was also to symbolize a time when the Israelites would be without their ruler and also without religion — I assume this prophecy refers to what will happen to the Israelites when they are taken from their land by the Assyrians, an event that is still more than 20 years away.

In Hosea chapter 4 the book turns to poetry again. The prophecy brings the charges of idolatry against Israel. I was struck by verse 7: “The more they increased, the more they sinned against me.” The NIV sees this verse as applying specifically to the priests, although from the context it could be either the priests or the people. As I was reading it, I saw the “increase” as prosperity. When life is easy, when things are prosperous, we wander.

I was also struck by verse 14. A remarkable verse! God says that He will not punish the women for adultery because the men are guilty of this, too. Far too often societies have blamed women for sexual misconduct and ignored the men who participated and may even have instigated the immorality. It is good to see that this double standard is not something that fools God.

Verse 15’s plea also caught my attention. “Do not let Judah become guilty,” says the prophet. It is an interesting prophecy in this time before the Assyrian invasion. There are many places in Scripture where Judah and Israel are both reamed for forgetting God and turning to idols, but in this instance there is a prayer to save Judah even as Israel is going its own way. This is, of course, what does happen. Israel falls in 722 BC, and Judah comes close in 701 BC. But there will still be another 100 years or more after that time before Judah too goes the same way as her sister.

1 Corinthians 11 moves to the topic of right conduct in the believers’ gatherings. The first half of the chapter is difficult for us because society has changed since Paul wrote these words. He speaks of the “natural order” that says that women should have long hair, and gives a theological basis for the practice of women covering their heads during church worship. He concludes his argument by saying that “if anyone is disposed to be contentious” — well, this is simply the way it is being done in all the assemblies of God.
However, in verse 13, Paul also says, “Judge for yourselves.” And this is where our judgment is crucial. We no longer live in a society that believes women need to have long hair. And we might also make judgments about Paul’s theological argument, too.

In verse 7, Paul states, “A man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God; but woman is the glory of man.” Certainly Judaism and Christendom has a long history of understanding women as the “glory” of men, since the creation story tells us that Eve was created out of Adam’s rib. However, Genesis 1:27 clearly states, “So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” To me, this says that women are also created in the image of God.

Of course, it’s not quite that simple. In the Hebrew, it says that God created “man,” in the image of God he created “him,” male and female he created them. Grammatically, the word being used for “man” takes a singular form. However, “adam” (the word used) can mean both the singular “man” as well as “mankind.” Considering that the verse says “male and female he created them” one would assume, that regardless of the possibility of interpreting the word as singular, clearly it means “mankind.” Thus, my argument, that women are also created in the image of God.

Again, the passage is further complicated because it can also be translated as saying that a man ought not to have long hair (not that he shouldn’t cover his head). In fact, in Judaism, men do cover their heads during prayer — that’s what the skullcap is all about (in Hebrew, the skullcap is called a “kippah,” — or a “yarmulka” in Yiddish). So you might see Paul as arguing that the women ought to do what the men are doing.

As I judge for myself (as Paul exhorts us to do), I see this passage as a cultural artifact and not something that we are to apply literally today. Not that the passage doesn’t have things for us to learn — meditating on verses 11 and 12 is surely worth spending more time on. Nevertheless, if the topic as to whether or not women should cover their heads bothers you, there are any number of interpretations of this passage on the Internet. I would encourage you to settle this in your own minds. Google is always your friend. 🙂

Paul continues chapter 11 to discuss order in celebrating the eucharist. I love his sarcasm in verse 19: “Indeed, there have to be factions among you, for only so will it become clear who among you are genuine.”

Sarcasm aside, it’s good to have the Biblical principles for celebrating the Lord’s Supper laid out for us. Verses 28 through 31 are rather startling, however. Paul admonishes us to examine ourselves before partaking of this sacrament. He says that those who have not examined themselves may be eating and drinking “judgment against themselves (v. 29).” In a rather frightening statement, Paul says in verse 30, “For this reason many of you are weak and ill, and some have died.” He continues with reassurance, however, that if we judge ourselves, we will not be judged.

The idea that we are judged here and now for treating Christ lightly or for disobeying is a little foreign to us, even though Scripture gives many examples of this. I’m so comfortable in my conviction that I have nothing to worry about until the day of judgment (which likely won’t be until long after I’m dead and gone) — and even then my hope is based on Christ’s righteousness rather than my own. So I don’t think too much about judging my own actions — not unless the Holy Spirit brings something specifically to my attention. But I think Paul’s statements here highlight the need for the spiritual practices of examen and confession. We are meant to be growing in sanctification — and you can’t do that unless you actually review what you’re doing right and what you’re doing wrong.

1 Corinthians 12 covers the topic of spiritual gifts. Key is verse 7: “To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.” Gifts are given to us not to benefit ourselves, but to benefit those around us. (Although, yes, they do tend to benefit ourselves too.)

Paul’s discussion of the body of Christ is always worth reading and reviewing. Today, as I read verse 22 where Paul says that those who are “weaker are indispensable,” I started thinking of someone I know who really struggles in the Christian life. She always seems to be worried and has had any number of difficulties — with family, with finances, with work. Lately, it’s even occurred to me that she seems like some of the people in the New Testament who were plagued with demons. (Not that we view life that way much anymore.) But she seems so tortured, and doesn’t seem to be able to grab hold of the peace available to us in Christ Jesus. Now, however, as I think about this woman, I hear Paul telling me that she is “indispensable.” It’s clear she needs the body of Christ. But we need her, too. I need her. And this changes my perspective some — it helps me to have more patience and a renewed compassion. As Paul reminds us in verse 26, “If one member suffers, all suffer together with it.”

My last comment on 1 Corinthians 12 concerns verse 31. “But strive for the greater gifts,” says Paul. I think we tend to assume that we got our spiritual gifts at birth — or re-birth — and then that’s it. But here it’s obvious Paul is telling us that we can receive spiritual gifts at any time in our life. And, further, it is to some degree our desire for these gifts that will affect whether or not we receive them. Have you thought about asking for more gifts?

Or are you not even sure what your gifts are? It is my own experience that we feel most unsure about our spiritual gifts when we are not using them (or feel like we’re not using them). In fact, not using your gifts will lead you to question whether or not you’ve even received any gifts. But I think — deep down — we do know what our gifts are. I also believe that there are more gifts than the ones specified in this particular chapter.

Before I started writing this devotional book, it was always in the back of my mind that this was something I wanted to do. But for various reasons it was always something that I put off. When I lost my job, however, it gave me time to think and pray about my gifts and to consider what was really important. And I went through a period of searching and praying about my spiritual gifts. But the gifts I had earlier this summer are the same gifts I feel like I’m using now — an ability to write, to communicate, to encourage. Nothing changed except that I started using those gifts and so I no longer feel uncertain about what my gifts are.

At any rate, I want to encourage you to ask for spiritual gifts. Sure, some of them we got at birth. But God can always give us more. Paul exhorts us to “strive for the greater gifts.” Let us do that!

Psalm 60 has a rather elaborate inscription compared to many. The psalm was written “for instruction.” You’d think that this must be a famous war incident from the way it is referred to. But there is only a very generic description of David fighting against Edom in 1 Samuel 8, and a passing reference to what Joab did in 1 Kings 11:15. Even though we don’t have too much detail about the historical incident that sparked the writing of the psalm, clearly the Israelites had experienced some adversity before they gained a victory.

David writes of God being “angry” with his people. Verse 2 says, “You have shaken the land and torn it open; mend its fractures, for it is quaking.” This is how I have often felt about the pandemic and how it has affected not only our country, but the world. Verse 3 continues, “You have shown your people desperate times; you have given us wine that makes us stagger.”

Despite how desperate the situation seems, David’s summary in verse 11 is always apt: “human help is worthless.” The psalm concludes with faith in God as the one who will “tread down our foes.”

Father God, thank you that you allow us to go through hard circumstances to teach us — not only about our own insufficiency — but about you and your faithfulness. And you are faithful. You show us steadfast love. Thank you.

Thank you for Paul’s word to examine ourselves. Please help us to take the time to prayerfully review our lives, confess our sins, and be healed by your grace.

Thank you also that you created us as the body of Christ. Thank you for all our members — those that are weak and indispensable, and those that help us renew our strength. Thank you for the spiritual gifts you have given us. May we each use our gifts to build up the body of Christ. We pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.