April 15 ▪ Day 105

Scripture Readings

Proverbs 15:18
Jeremiah 39–40
Acts 2
Psalms 105

Verse Focus (Proverbs 15:18)

A hot-tempered person stirs up conflict,
     but the one who is patient calms a quarrel.

Meditation

Today’s verse focus is Proverbs 15:18. The NIV says, “A hot-tempered person stirs up conflict, but the one who is patient calms a quarrel.” I like how the verse is translated in the Christian Standard Bible (CSB) because it is very close to the original Hebrew wording. The first half of the proverb is identical to the NIV, but the second half reads, “But one slow to anger calms strife.” Does it make a difference, you might ask?

That’s what I was wondering, when I read the verse today in a different translation. That translation also said “slow to anger.” And I started wondering if patience is the same thing as being slow to anger. That’s when I decided to look up what the Hebrew says and found that it also says slow — or long — to anger.

I looked up the definition of patience to remind myself of exactly what it means. As one dictionary puts it, someone who is patient is able to accept or tolerate delays, problems, or suffering without becoming annoyed or anxious. Another dictionary is a bit more elaborate in its definitions of patience: first, bearing pains or trials calmly or without complaint; second, manifesting forbearance under provocation or strain; third, not hasty or impetuous; and fourth, steadfast despite opposition. And so I conclude that patience is not the same thing as being slow to anger. Certainly someone who is patient is also someone who is slow to anger. But someone who is slow to anger isn’t necessarily a patient person.

If you are a patient person, then the difference in wording makes absolutely no difference as far as you are concerned. But if you, like me, sometimes struggle with patience, then take heart — because you don’t have to be a fully patient person in order to be a peacemaker. All it takes is being slow to anger. (I know, I know… “All it takes…” All. But that’s the point. It’s one step at a time.)

I also like what the proverb is telling us about the nature of people with quick tempers — that these people stir up strife. It may not be their intention to do so, but that is the result of their hasty speech and angry responses. It just gives added reason to control your temper since no one likes strife.

Father God, please help us to become peacemakers. Help us to be slow to anger; enable us to calm contention by staying calm ourselves. Transform us day by day into patient people, through Jesus Christ. Amen.

In Jeremiah 39, we read Jeremiah’s account of the Fall of Jerusalem in 586 BC. The final siege of Jerusalem lasted for a year and a half. Then a breach was made in the city wall, and all the Babylonian officials came in and sat at the Middle Gate. Despite what Jeremiah had counseled Zedekiah to do, when it came down to it, the king, the nobles, and the soldiers fled the city. Even if Zedekiah had been tempted to surrender, I think he was too weak to go against what the others wanted to do. So they fled. Of course, the Babylonians gave chase, and they caught up with the Jews on the plains of Jericho. By the route the king took, Jericho was about 18 miles away — but they didn’t even make it that far.

Nebuchadnezzar took all the captives to Riblah, which was a town on the northern edge of Canaan (now in modern-day Syria). This was where his base of operations had been all during the siege. At Riblah, Nebuchadnezzar pronounced judgment on Zedekiah. He killed all of Zedekiah’s sons while Zedekiah watched, then he killed all the nobles, and then he blinded Zedekiah and put him in chains. Meanwhile, as Jeremiah had prophesied, the Babylonians sacked the city of Jerusalem. They burned the palace, they burned people’s houses, they pulled the walls down — only some very poor people were left to keep the country from being overrun by wild animals.

King Nebuchadnezzar also gave orders concerning Jeremiah, telling his commander Nebuzaradan to look for Jeremiah and to do for him whatever he requested. And so Jeremiah ended up back in Jerusalem with his own people.

Before the city fell, Jeremiah had been confined to the guards’ courtyard in the palace. While there, he received a prophecy for the Ethiopian servant who had freed him from the cistern. Because Ebed-Melech had trusted in the LORD, God told him that he would rescue him when the city fell and that he would not be handed over to those he dreaded. I find this prophecy for Ebed-Melech particularly touching. As an Ethiopian, he would have been excluded from going to the temple — yet because he feared the LORD, Ebed-Melech did what was right concerning Jeremiah. And God remembered that and honored that.

Jeremiah chapter 40 gives some more details about how Jeremiah ended up going back to Jerusalem. When Nebuzaradan went looking for Jeremiah the prophet, he found him at Ramah, where all the other captives from Jerusalem and Judea were on their way to Babylon. This gives me a new perspective on the prophecy from Jeremiah 31:15 (“A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping. Rachel is weeping for her children; she refuses to be comforted for her children, because they are no more.”). I knew it was applied to Herod’s massacre of the babies during Jesus’ time, but had been puzzled why this prophecy was associated with the fall of Jerusalem since Ramah was a town in the tribe of Benjamin, about 5 miles north of Jerusalem. (Benjamin, of course, was the youngest son of Rachel. Her older son was Joseph, whose two sons Ephraim and Manasseh became tribes in Israel.) But now that I know all the captives went through Ramah on their way north to Babylon, it makes a lot more sense as to why Rachel was weeping in Ramah for her children that are no more. As Jeremiah was there, he would have heard all the women weeping and so he personally witnessed one of the fulfillments of this prophecy.

I wasn’t sure if the Babylonians were aware of Jeremiah’s prophecies, but chapter 40 seems to confirm that they were since — not only had Nebuchadnezzar commanded that Jeremiah be released in chapter 39 — but Nebuzaradan also mentions that the LORD had brought this disaster on the people because of their disobedience. Of course, Nebuzaradan may not have meant quite the same thing that Jeremiah did when he spoke of their disobedience. I recall reading somewhere that, when Nebuchadnezzar had installed Zedekiah as king of Judah, he had extracted from Zedekiah a binding oath to the LORD that Judah would remain in submission to the Babylonian Empire (the oath was meant to restrain Zedekiah since the previous two kings had rebelled against the Babylonians). As far as I know, this bit of information isn’t from the Biblical record, so I hadn’t mentioned it previously. But if true, then Nebuzaradan may have been thinking of Zedekiah breaking that oath when he said that the LORD was punishing them for their disobedience.

When he releases Jeremiah, Nebuzaradan offers him several options about where to go, but strongly hints that he would prefer Jeremiah to go back and stay with Gedaliah, the governor that Babylon had installed to rule now that Zedekiah had been removed from power. So Jeremiah returns to stay with Gedaliah, whose base of operations — now that the city of Jerusalem has become unlivable — is Mizpah, a city in Benjamin. Its exact location is not known (there are two possible sites), but it was perhaps 5 to 8 miles north or northwest of Jerusalem.

Mizpah becomes a new gathering place. The Judean armies that had been out in the field return there, and some Israelites who had previously been exiled to some of the surrounding countries also return. Gedaliah encourages the people to submit to Babylon, telling them not to be afraid. The governor is warned that one of the army commanders has been sent to assassinate him by the king of the Ammonites, but Gedaliah dismisses that as a lie.

Acts 2 begins with the Day of Pentecost. The people are gathered together and there is a sound of a great rushing wind that fills the house. What look like tongues of fire separate and come to rest on each person there. They are filled with the Holy Spirit and begin to speak in different languages. Nearby witnesses were astounded at hearing all these different languages. But some of the people “sneered (v.3)” at them, saying the disciples had too much wine.

As I read the chapter today, I am struck by this word “sneered.” The people filled with such contempt for the disciples don’t really have a valid explanation for what is happening — the excuse of “too much wine” doesn’t explain how the disciples are able to speak in so many different languages. But I don’t think they care about the truth at all — they just want to ridicule and diminish the disciples.

Peter addresses the crowd, giving the first gospel sermon now that Christ has ascended. He says that what is happening is a fulfillment of the prophecy from Joel chapter 2, where God promises to pour out His Spirit on all people. He also quotes from Psalm 16 and Psalm 110, calling David a prophet.

After hearing Peter’s message, many in the crowd are cut to the heart — they ask what they should do. The response is the same as what John the Baptist preached and what Jesus said in his earliest sermons. Now Peter says to them in verse 38, “Repent and be baptized.” And God added about 3,000 believers to their number on the Day of Pentecost.

So now that they have repented and have been baptized, what do they do? Verse 42 tells us, “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer.” As the chapter concludes, we are told that, “day by day,” as the disciples “spent much time together in the temple” with “glad and generous hearts,” the Lord also added to their numbers “day by day.” With the repetition of “day by day” (or “every day” as some translations say), there appears to be a correlation between the disciples’ actions and the number being saved. Temple worship, fellowship, thanksgiving and praise are the key ingredients on the part of the disciples — but, of course, it is the LORD Himself who calls and saves.

As I read this description of the early church, I was struck by how they spent “much time” together in the temple. Some was worship, I’m sure, and some was teaching and learning. But how can you compare an hour on Sundays, perhaps two hours on a weekday evening to the “much time” that the disciples spent together in the early church? No wonder our churches languish, if the only time we spend together in fellowship adds up to just a few hours a week! I know there are committed believers in our churches who also spend hours each day seeking the LORD and that is certainly commendable — but private time with God is not a substitute for fellowship. We need one another in the body of Christ. We need to be worshiping together and studying together. The longer the pandemic keeps us apart, the more clear this truth becomes.

Psalm 105 celebrates God’s faithfulness to His people. The psalmist begins by telling us to give thanks to God and to proclaim His deeds. And this is what the psalm does — starting with God’s covenant promise to Abraham, the psalmist tells of how the LORD shepherded his people through the land of Canaan, down to Egypt, and back out again. The psalmist details a number of the plagues and speaks of the Israelites’ time wandering through the wilderness. It is quite the record of faithfulness when it is all laid out like this (and this is only the first part of the story of Israel).

Verse 3 is always a favorite: “Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice.” But today it was verse 4b that caught my eye: “Seek his presence continually.” May the LORD grant us the ability to do so, by the power of the Holy Spirit!

Father God, thank you for the gift of your Holy Spirit. Thank you calling our names and for adding us to the number of the saints. May we rejoice in you, seek you always, and speak of your faithfulness to all. Through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.