April 6 ▪ Day 96

Scripture Readings

Proverbs 14:31
Jeremiah 21–22
Galatians 1–2
Psalms 96

Verse Focus (Proverbs 14:31)

Whoever oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker,
     but whoever is kind to the needy honors God.

Meditation

Proverbs 14:31 says, “He who oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God.” I notice the word “their” — their Maker. This is plural. God is the God of the person who oppresses as much as the God of the poor. In fact, God created them both. Both are created in God’s image. And to disdain anyone is to insult God.

According to the dictionary, to oppress someone is keep that person in subservience and hardship, especially by the unjust exercise of authority. Most of us are not business owners or government leaders. So according to that definition of oppression, it’s a little hard to see how the average person would “oppress” the poor. However, oppression can also mean to discriminate against someone or to cause someone to feel distressed, anxious, or uncomfortable. And the average person does have opportunity to do this.

As James 2 describes, it is easy for us to show favoritism to someone who is well-dressed and to discriminate against someone who is not. In fact, we may be guilty of this type of oppression all the time without even really being aware of it. As a single woman, I am, of course, concerned about personal safety. But my body language is much more standoffish to someone who looks like they live on the streets than to someone who looks like a working professional. Granted, as a group, those who live on the street might be more apt to commit crimes due to drug addiction or desperation. I’m not trying to say that we shouldn’t be cautious, merely that I do discriminate based on appearances. Yet there should still be a way to be kind to the needy without endangering myself.

There are plenty of situations where the average person might oppress the poor without realizing it. As a bookseller, I may have been biased to customers who looked more wealthy. I don’t know that I did this, but I also don’t know that I didn’t do that. In customer service, sometimes it’s a toss up as to who gets helped first — but is it random, or are you favoring the one who looks more presentable?

I suppose I’m going on about this more simply because my first reaction to this proverb was to wonder what opportunity I might have to oppress the poor. However, it’s probably more beneficial to talk about the second half of the proverb — being kind to the needy. And I know I need help in this area. I need to be more intentional about being kind to the poor rather than just giving money to an organization that works with the homeless or that helps immigrants or whatever. The problem is, it takes resolve to do this. It takes forethought. It takes some consideration to figure out what I can do and how I can be helpful. Waiting to be reactive means that chances are I’ll flub up and miss the opportunity to be kind. I need to be proactive.

Father God, please help us to be kind to the poor. Please help me, in particular, to come up with some very specific ways that I can help. And open my eyes to see where I might serve you in this area. Help me also recognize when I’m discriminating against someone on the basis of perceived wealth and to change my behavior. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Jeremiah 21 and 22 relate prophecies regarding the kings of Judah in their last days. To help understand the context of these prophecies, I’ll give a little history recap. To begin with, the “Babylonian Captivity” as it is called, was not one event, but a series of events. As I mentioned before, Josiah was the last “good” king of Judah. He put in place some religious reforms and helped to spark a revival. However, he died at the age of 31 in a conflict with Egypt. After Josiah’s death, there were four more kings before the kingdom of Judah was no more.

First up was Josiah’s son Jehoahaz (also known as Shallum). He was a younger son of Josiah, but he reigned only three months. The Egyptians had won the conflict with Judah in which Josiah had died; as a result, they imposed tribute on Judah. However, Jehoahaz/Shallum apparently refused to pay. After three months, the Egyptian king — Pharaoh Neco — dethroned Jehoahaz and took him captive to Egypt, placing Jehoahaz’ older brother Jehoiakim on the throne.

Jehoiakim (also known as Eliakim) was the first sovereign of Judah placed on the throne by a foreign power. He reigned for 11 years. Jehoiakim paid the tribute to Egypt, initiating a new tax to fund it. However, Egypt’s power in Judah was short-lived because Babylon invaded them. Jehoiakim submitted to Babylon for three years, but then in 601 BC he rebelled against them and declared his independence. So the Babylonian king laid siege to Jerusalem. The intent was to capture Jehoiakim and deport him to Babylon. However, instead of getting deported, Jehoiakim died. The Biblical record of his death is not entirely clear; there are three differing traditions of how he died. The predominant version is that he was killed by his own people and his body was thrown over the wall in an effort to appease Babylon.

Jehoiakim’s 18-year-old son Jehoiachin (also known as Coniah or Jeconiah) became king next. He reigned for only 3 months and 10 days. He was also rebellious against Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar attacked Jerusalem again, and easily reconquered it. In 597 BC, Nebuchadnezzar deported everyone and everything of value — all the treasures from the palace and the temple, all the nobility and educated people, and the military. Jehoiachin/Coniah was also deported, and was imprisoned in Babylon for 37 years. When a new king came to power, Jehoiachin was released from prison and lived out the rest of his days in government service in Babylon.

After deporting Jehoiachin in 597 BC, Nebuchadnezzar placed Jehoiachin’s uncle, Zedekiah (also known as Mattaniah), as king over the remnant in Judah. Zedekiah was a brother to Jehoahaz and Jehoiakim, and a son of Josiah. He reigned for 11 years. In his ninth year as king, in 588 BC, Zedekiah severed relations with Babylon. King Nebuchadnezzar was furious, personally leading his army in a siege against Jerusalem. The siege lasted three summers, but as you know, the Babylonians won. In 586 BC, they burned the king’s palace, the temple, and many other important buildings to the ground. Anything of value remaining from the previous deportation was now also taken to Babylon. In fact, they deported the city’s entire population, plus anyone from the countryside who wanted to surrender. Only some of the poorest and most powerless people were left to work the land, so it wouldn’t become overgrown and useless. With Zedekiah’s deportation to Babylon, the kingdom of Judah finally ended.

As Jeremiah 21 begins, King Zedekiah — the very last king of Judah — sends to get a prophecy from Jeremiah. He is hopeful that the LORD will rescue them from Babylon. As you can see from the quick recap I just gave, Babylon had already invaded Judah and had already conquered them 16 years earlier. But Zedekiah is hopeful that his rebellion will succeed. Jeremiah, of course, prophesies that the LORD intends to give them all into the hand of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. He further encourages people to go out and surrender to the Babylonians; if they do so, they will save their lives. He gives a further prophecy specifically to the royal house of David, a warning to govern with justice and righteousness or else they will suffer God’s wrath.

As Jeremiah 22 begins, the LORD directs Jeremiah to go to king and prophesy. If the kings do what is right, there will continue to be kings from the house of David. But if they do not heed the LORD, their house will become a “desolation (v. 5).”

In verse 11 there is a prophecy for Jehoahaz, also known as Shallum, the first king of the final four. He had been deposed by Pharaoh Neco and taken down to Egypt. In this prophecy, the LORD says that he will never return to Judah. The prophecy is also a warning for others of the royal house to do what is right — they are not made king to live in grand houses, but to execute justice and righteousness.

Verses 18 and 19 are a prophecy for Jehoiakim, the second king of the final four. Verse 19 says, “With the burial of a donkey he shall be buried — dragged off and thrown out beyond the gates of Jerusalem.” This is understood by some scholars to reference the king’s body being thrown over the wall and being discarded by the Babylonians who were in siege of Jerusalem.

Starting at verse 24, there is a final prophecy for King Coniah — that is Jehoiachin, who reigned for only a few months. As verse 30 states, “Record this man as childless, a man who shall not succeed in his days; for none of his offspring shall succeed in sitting on the throne of David, and ruling again in Judah.”

Today we begin reading Paul’s letter to the Galatians. Galatia was a Roman province located in Asia Minor (now an area in central Turkey). Paul made stops in Galatia on each of his three missionary journeys. After the initial founding of the church in Galatia, some “agitators” came in to challenge Paul’s authority as well as the teachings of the gospel. Scholars don’t know exactly when this letter was written, although it was likely before his incarceration. Since much of the subject matter deals with the controversy regarding circumcision that was dealt with at the Council of Jerusalem in about 50 AD, there are theories on both sides as to whether or not this letter was written in advance of the council or afterward.

As Paul begins this letter, his first point is that his authority is derived directly from God. In his salutation in verse 1 as well as in verse 12, Paul points out that his message did not come from human origin; rather, Paul received the gospel by special revelation from Jesus Christ himself. He did meet with and consult with the apostles in Jerusalem some years later; thus Paul’s gospel message was authenticated and approved by the church leaders as well.

As Paul describes his background in this letter, I was struck by a word in verse 14: “I advanced in Judaism beyond many among my people of the same age, for I was far more zealous for the traditions of my ancestors.” Traditions. This is key — it wasn’t that Paul was zealous for the law, but he was zealous of the traditions of the Israelites. Traditions of interpretation, traditions of practice. In other words, extra-Biblical ideas had become very important to him.

This is a danger for Christians today, as well. The church has a long history, and there are many traditions that have developed over the past 2,000 years. The Catholic church believes their faith rests on both Scripture and tradition; Protestant churches believe in sola scriptura (or “by Scripture alone,” as we might say in English) — the theological doctrine that Scripture is the sole source of authority for Christian faith and practice. As a good Protestant, this is my belief, too — that Scripture is the authority for our faith. I do believe that traditions are important, but, just like with the Pharisees, sometimes the traditions can nullify the meaning and intent of the Scriptures. And in cases where the Scripture says something different than the church’s traditions, I’m going to go with Scripture.

In Galatians 2, Paul describes meeting with church leaders in Jerusalem and the agreement they reached that Paul’s mission was to the Gentiles just as Peter’s mission was to the Jews. Later on, however, Paul came into conflict with Peter as he confronted him with “hypocrisy (v. 13).” Although Peter had been the first to offer the gospel to the Gentiles, he had become influenced by those of the circumcision sect and had drawn back from associating with the Gentile believers. Paul makes some very powerful arguments. In verse 16, he says, “We know that a person is justified not by the works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ… because no one will be justified by the works of the law.”

Paul concludes his argument by saying in verse 21, “I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!” This is the message of the entire book of Galatians, in a nutshell. We are all sinful people, and apart from God because of the heart’s deceitfulness. However, we become righteous by the grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ — we become new creations: healed spiritually, so that we might now have access to our holy God. As we walk in faith, our bodies and minds are transformed into reflecting Christ’s righteousness.

Psalm 96 is a beautiful psalm of praise to God. The psalmist exhorts us to sing a new song, to “proclaim his salvation day after day (v. 2).” We should declare his glory and sing God’s praises because He is most worthy.

Verse 12 is one that I highlight frequently: “Let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them; let all the trees of the forest sing for joy.”

Worship the LORD, and rejoice, for He is coming to judge the earth. I note that there is no fear of judgment for the psalmist. He is secure in God’s salvation, and rejoices to see God come — for when He judges the earth all things will be set right.

Father God, I thank you that because of Jesus Christ I also have no fear of condemnation. I look forward to the day when you will set all things right — when you rule in justice, and righteousness and peace is the order of the land.

Thank you for all you have created, and for the beauty of this earth. I pray for you to create a clean heart in me and to fill me with your Holy Spirit. May I be your servant while we live in this in-between world. In Jesus’ name, Amen.