March 15 ▪ Day 74

Scripture Readings

Proverbs 13:11
Exodus 17–18
Luke 3
Psalms 74

Verse Focus (Proverbs 13:11)

Dishonest money dwindles away,
     but whoever gathers money little by little makes it grow.

Meditation

Today’s proverb says, “Dishonest money dwindles away, but whoever gathers money little by little makes it grow.” “Dishonest money” is also translated as “Wealth hastily gotten,” “wealth from vanity,” and “wealth gained by fraud.” The “hastily gotten” comes from the Vulgate, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures. The actual Hebrew, however, uses a word that means breath or vapor — thus, metaphorically, vanity. Wealth from vanity, again metaphorically, is wealth obtained through deceit or dishonesty.

Many translations don’t go quite so far as to call it dishonest money. The New Living Translations says, “Wealth from get-rich-quick schemes quickly disappears; wealth from hard work grows over time.” The Good News Translation says, “The more easily you get your wealth, the sooner you will lose it. The harder it is to earn, the more you will have.”

We know the value of hard work, and prudent finances. But what makes dishonest money dwindle away? Simply easy come, easy go? Or are there other principles at work? One would assume that God is not being honored with this dishonest wealth, so He does not bless it, either. And what about the money that wasn’t earned by fraud — say, sweepstakes winnings? Is it really just of function of how much we value it? If we worked hard for it, we value it — but if we inherited the money or won it somehow, we don’t appreciate its worth?

I suppose it’s probably a combination of all of these things. This has made me think about my possessions, too. The word in the Hebrew proverb actually says “wealth,” not money. So what I own is also part of what this proverb is talking about. And I do value the clothes and the items I bought by my own labor, when money was tight, more than I value some items that had been originally purchased on credit. So this proverb makes me re-evaluate my buying habits and my financial attitudes.

Father God, please help us to gather wealth by labor, little by little, and not fall prey to get-rich-quick schemes or to the temptation to make money in a less-than-honest manner. We dislike having to struggle financially, but it is that very struggle that teaches us to value what we get and to take better care of our possessions. May I always honor you with the wealth you have given me, in Jesus’ name, Amen.

In Exodus 17, we see that quarreling and complaining continues to be the Israelites’ response to difficulties. They camp at Rephidim, but have no water. This sparks a minor crisis as Moses cries out to the LORD for help. It is somewhat unclear whether Moses is succumbing to complaining himself and is exaggerating their ire, or whether he is being factual in saying that the Israelites are nearly ready to stone him. Regardless, the LORD provides a solution — Moses strikes a particular rock with the staff and they all get the water they need.

Next, however, the Israelites do face battle. Not against the Egyptians — that threat is gone. The current threat is from Amalek, that is, from the nation that is descended from Esau’s grandson Amalek. I didn’t recall this until I looked it up, but Amalek was the child born to Esau’s son Eliphaz and Timna, the daughter of a prominent Canaanite family (Genesis 36:12). So although the Israelites and the Amalekites are distant relatives, there was surely more of Canaanite culture in Esau’s branch.

At any rate, Moses has Joshua lead the battle against Amalek, while Moses holds up the “staff of God” on a hill overlooking the fight. When Moses held up the staff, the Israelites won, but if he got tired and the staff was lowered, then Amalek won. So Aaron and Hur help Moses to hold the staff high. The Israelites fight until sunset, defeating the Amalekites. The LORD tells Moses to write this down in a book — surely the beginning of Moses’ writing the Pentateuch! He also declares that He “will utterly blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven (v. 17).” Moses then builds an altar that he names, The LORD is my banner.

Although this is a straightforward enough historical account, there are many spiritual and metaphorical implications that we can draw from this story. In fact, this incident sparked one of the names by which we remember God — The LORD is my banner, Jehovah Nissi. With this name, we remember God’s protection and His deliverance. We celebrate His victory, and how He has covered us with His love. Also key to this name is the idea of publicly claiming God’s protection — after all, banners are large displays that announce and celebrate.

In addition to this new way of understanding who God is, Amalek and the Amalekites also take on a significance greater than that of just being the first enemies that Israel fought. In Jewish tradition, they become a symbol for evil and a metaphor for atheism and the rejection of God. Indeed, even the enemy Haman who tried to destroy all the Jews (as described in the Book of Esther and as celebrated in the festival of Purim) is considered to be an Amalekite. The Scripture labels him an “Agagite” — in other words, a descendant of Agag, which was a recurring name or title for the kings in Amalek (similar to how Abimelek was the name for kings of Philistia). In this manner, Amalek and the Amalekites, the historical enemies of Israel, also become the archetype of evil.

I’m not sure whether God’s declaration that he will wipe out “the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven” should be interpreted literally or symbolically. Or both. However, it is interesting to note that there is no archaeological evidence of the existence of Amalek and the Amalekites, apart from the Biblical accounts. Again, this has lead some scholars to believe that the nation never existed. As believers, do we interpret this lack of archaeological evidence as one of the fulfillments of this prophecy?

As we start Exodus 18, there’s a little surprise in verse 2. We have a reference to “after Moses had sent away his wife Zipporah.” What? When did this happen? Did you do a double-take, too? In fact, Exodus does not tell us about Moses sending away his wife — presumably for her safety — but we can assume that it must have happened soon after the circumcision incident where she called Moses a “bridegroom of blood.” This assumption comes mostly from the lack of references to Zipporah during the stories of Moses’ confrontations with Pharaoh and the ten plagues.

So Moses’ father-in-law Jethro comes to them in the wilderness, bringing along Moses’ wife Zipporah and their two sons, Gershom and Eliezer. Jethro, as you recall, was a priest of Midian. And when he hears Moses’ stories of how God delivered the Israelites, he rejoices. In verse 11, he says, “Now I know that the LORD is greater than all gods.” I’m not sure whether he’s making a statement of his own longstanding faith in the LORD, as proven true by what He did in Egypt, or whether Jethro is coming to a new realization about the LORD being higher than any other gods. The Scripture doesn’t really tell us much about Jethro as a priest, whether he served God in particular or whether he was just generally religious. (Jewish traditions are also divided on what they believe about Jethro’s faith in the God of Abraham.)

Regardless of what we come to believe about Jethro’s priesthood, he does offer “a burnt offering and other sacrifices (v. 12)” to God. So, Moses, Aaron, and the “elders of Israel” share in the sacrificial meal that Jethro offers to the LORD. This is the first mention of offerings and sacrifices for this generation of Israel. It is very possible that Jethro’s practices as priest may have influenced Moses and Aaron and the priesthood to come.

Additionally, Jethro gives Moses some crucial advice — he needs to delegate, especially concerning judicial matters. The very fact that Moses took this advice seems to indicate Scripture’s approval of Jethro as a priest and as a wise man.

I was particularly struck today by Jethro’s comment to Moses in verse 18. He said, “For the task is too heavy for you; you cannot do it alone.” I felt the Holy Spirit telling me to pay attention to this. Too often we fail to recognize one of the purposes of the Church: that of working together and sharing responsibility. Perhaps it’s our American culture — we take pride in our independence. But even in godly endeavors we can take on more than we should as individuals. That’s why we need the body of Christ. Like Paul on his missionary journeys, even if only a few people are doing the “work,” so much of it depends upon the prayers of many. That’s how I feel about these devotional meditations. I may be the one doing the writing; however, I will not succeed without the prayers and the support of the larger body of Christ.

Some of you know that I’ve been struggling recently with some health issues. I’m not seriously ill, but I’ve been unwell enough that it has impacted my writing and so I have lost whatever small lead I had at the beginning of the year. On top of that, there are personal concerns related to employment and finances that need to be resolved. This devotional project gives me a lot of satisfaction and I’m enjoying the writing — in fact, I finally feel like I’m doing what I’m supposed to be doing. But in the balancing act between purpose and obligation, I also have to question if my priorities are the priorities God wants me to have. Obviously, I have been praying for wisdom. Did verse 18 strike a chord with me simply because I feel stressed? Or because God is really telling me that the task is “too heavy” for me? I don’t think it’s the latter case, but until I’ve prayed about it longer I’m not going to dismiss it out of hand.

Luke chapter 3 introduces the ministry of John the Baptist. We learn of his purpose and his teaching, as well as some of his comments about the Messiah. He baptizes Jesus. Then the chapter gives us a genealogy of Jesus — somewhat different than the genealogy that Matthew gave us. Some say that one is the ancestry of Joseph and the other is the ancestry of Mary. This is the most common explanation you will hear for these differences and it is definitely one possibility. I believe there may be other factors and variables as well, but until I make a detailed study of each lineage I’m not prepared to comment further.

I am always struck by John the Baptist’s cry to “bear fruits worthy of repentance (v. 8).” But today I also noted his remark about God being able to raise up children of Abraham from the stones. As unimaginable as stones becoming the chosen people might have seemed, it surely would have been easier for the Jews to believe that over the possibility that God could raise up children of Abraham from the Gentiles! I was also struck by John’s advice to the soldiers: “Be satisfied with your wages.” This is advice about repentance that could apply to any worker in America! I feel the sting of conviction myself in this remark.

But what most stood out in this chapter today was verses 16 and 17. John says that the Messiah “will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” He continues, saying, “His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” I have wondered about verse 16 before. “Baptism of fire” is used colloquially to describe an extremely difficult transition, such as a soldier’s first time in battle or a new employee inheriting his predecessor’s mess. But scholars disagree whether or not the “fire” in verse 16 refers to something separate from the Holy Spirit, or whether it is simply another way of describing the Holy Spirit (especially when you consider that at Pentecost, as Luke described it, the Holy Spirit manifested as tongues of fire that settled on the believers). I have always interpreted the baptism of fire referred to here as trials that cause growth. But today I understood the baptism of fire in connection with the next verse — with the winnowing and the burning of the chaff. I didn’t realize that these trials were the very process by which the Messiah winnows the people. It seems obvious now that I write this, but it wasn’t how I was thinking about trials and tribulations.

Yesterday I mentioned that we would be reading a series of psalms attributed to Asaph. Scholars have different opinions as to what that means. Some see these psalms as all the work of one man — the one David appointed to temple service. Others think it simply means that the psalm was written by one of the temple singers — an Asaphite, rather than Asaph himself. Others promote the view that “Asaph” referred to a style of performance, rather than to authorship. Why do I mention this? Because of the topic of today’s psalm. It clearly seems to be a reference to the destruction of the temple prior to the Babylonian captivity. However, Asaph lived hundreds of years before that happened. Perhaps this psalm was written after the fall of Jerusalem by a former temple singer. Or, perhaps, this psalm may be prophecy.

Psalm 74 is a lament, a prayer for — as the editors of the NRSV put it — “help in time of national humiliation.” The very first verse asks God why He has cast off his people “forever.” Why is God so angry with them? The psalmist describes the ruins of the sanctuary and the desecration of its craftsmanship. The synagogues have also been burned.

Verse 9 despairs, “There is no longer any prophet, and there is no one among us who knows how long.”

At verse 12, the psalm shifts from asking “why” to remembering God’s greatness. I love verse 16: “Yours is the day, yours also the night; you established the moon and the sun.” However, instead of asking God to remember His people, the psalm ends with the plea for God to “rise up” and remember these adversaries.

Father God, the psalm today is disturbing. Even though you sent prophets to warn the people that destruction would come if they did not mend their ways, it still came as a terrible blow to your people. Some were faithful; some were not. I’m sure the majority did not understand. Please help us to hear you better than your people did before the Babylonian captivity. We also are in danger of your judgment — our nation is very much like how Isaiah described Ephraim. Please send your Holy Spirit to revive us and turn our hearts back to you.

May we not test you like the Israelites did in the wilderness. May we become a people of gratitude. Thank you that you are the LORD my banner. Thank you for sending Jesus to us. We pray in his name, Amen.