April 16 ▪ Day 106

Scripture Readings

Proverbs 15:22
Jeremiah 41–42
Acts 3
Psalms 106

Verse Focus (Proverbs 15:22)

Plans fail for lack of counsel,
     but with many advisers they succeed.

Meditation

I love Proverbs 15:22! “Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.” Talk about wisdom! It’s not that you have to accept the advice of all these different counselors, but as you speak to different people, you will hear different perspectives. And your plans will get stronger and stronger as you consider things that might not have occurred to you.

Of course, in the very early stages of a plan, it can be discouraging to speak to different people. The obstacles will seem even higher as others point out difficulties you hadn’t considered or force you to look at problems you had been ignoring. But, of course, to be successful, your plan needs to develop some strategies for getting around these obstacles.

I also love the how the King James Version puts this proverb. It speaks of a “multitude of counselors.” Multitude is a good word. We can fool ourselves that three people are “many advisers” — but we would never say that three people are a “multitude.” But I suppose to some degree it depends on how important these plans are. If you’re just hosting dinner, three people might be a good number for a bit of brainstorming on the menu. If, on the other hand, you’re organizing a major fundraising event for a charity, you might want to have more than three counselors. Perhaps a multitude will work better in this instance. 🙂

Father God, thank you for the wisdom in this proverb. Please help us to remember to seek many counselors for the plans we make. Thank you also that you have given us the Holy Spirit to be our faithful and steadfast Counselor. Amen.

In Jeremiah 41 and 42, we continue with the history of what happened to the remnant in Judah after the governor Gedaliah was set in charge by the Babylonians. Yesterday, we learned that Gedaliah was warned about a possible assassin, Ishmael son of Nethaniah son of Elishama. Gedaliah rejected the suggestion that he send someone to kill Ishmael, dismissing the warning.

As today’s story begins, it is the seventh month. It was during the fourth month that the Babylonians breached the wall of Jerusalem, so it has been a few months since the great upheaval — and probably at least two months since Gedaliah was put in charge and everyone got set up in Mizpah. Ishmael son of Nethaniah son of Elishama — the very man Gedaliah was warned about — arrives in Mizpah along with ten men. While they are actually having a meal together, Ishamel strikes down Gedaliah. Not only do these men kill the governor, but they also kill the Judeans at Mizpah and whatever Babylonian soldiers also happened to be there. The very next day, 80 pilgrims from the former kingdom of Israel arrive at Mizpah to make offerings at the temple of the LORD. Ishmael meets them treacherously, saying, come and see what happened to the governor — but when they get into town, he slaughters almost all of them. The bodies of all the slain are thrown into a cistern. Then Ishmael and his men take captives of the people who remain in Mizpah — the king’s daughters and some of the returned exiles of Israel — and they set off to journey to Ammon.

We are told in the very first verse of chapter 41 that Ishmael was from the royal family, and he was one of Zedekiah’s trusted officers. I find it so difficult to understand why Ishmael could be so evil. To strike down Gedaliah during the act of hospitality goes against the virtue and traditions of not just Israel and Judah, but most of the cultures in the ancient near east and the middle east. Was Ishmael jealous of Gedaliah? Did he think he should have been put in charge of Judah, since he was from the royal family? And why, if he came from the royal family of Judah, did he work for the king of the Ammonites? What did he think he was accomplishing? Why work to further destroy your homeland? I’m sure Ishmael must have had reasons for what he did. I doubt I’d think they were good reasons, but it might at least make some sense of his actions! Was Ishmael simply taking out his rage against the Babylonians on his own people?

Johanan son of Kareah was the leader of those of Judah’s armed forces who had been out in the field when the Babylonians finally sacked Jerusalem. And he was the man who warned Gedaliah of Ishmael’s intent. When he learned what Ishmael had done at Mizpah, he took the armed forces and caught up with Ishmael’s small force in Gibeon. Johanan rescued the captives, but Ishmael got away. The people traveled to a spot near Bethlehem, thinking that they should head to Egypt. They were afraid of the Babylonians punishing them further because of how the governor had been killed.

In chapter 42, Johanan, the other leaders, and the people approach Jeremiah the prophet and ask him to pray for them. They ask the LORD to tell them what to do, and they actually promise, in verses 5 and 6, to obey what they hear from God through Jeremiah.

What strikes me about this story is that it takes ten days before Jeremiah hears from the LORD and has a prophecy for them. Ten days! Imagine that — how terrified they were of reprisal from the Babylonians. They had already formed the plan that it would be best to go down to Egypt, and these plans only solidified in the long wait before an answer. With Ishmael’s massacre in Mizpah, the abduction and then rescue of the people, everything had been going along at warp speed. Ten days must have seemed an interminable length of time.

Jeremiah tells the remnant that they should stay in Judah and not go down to Egypt. The LORD tells them not to be afraid of the king of Babylon, “for I am with you, to save you and to rescue you from his hand (v. 11).” But He warns that if they disobey and go down to Egypt after all, then it will not go well with them. They will be pursued by the sword and the famine and they will end up dying in Egypt.

Acts chapter 3 tells about one of the first miracles that Peter performs, as well as recording another sermon that he gives. As I read the story today of how Peter healed the crippled beggar, I was really struck by his initial words to the man. Peter says in verse 6, “I have no silver or gold, but what I have I give you.” When Peter says that he has no money, I think he is being quite literal. They were all ordinary fishermen until they started following Jesus. As disciples, they received support from others, but didn’t have any monetary wealth. So Peter literally has no silver or gold. But today I also saw this as a metaphor for us.

We see so many people in need around us. Even during this pandemic, record numbers of people have lost jobs and income. The need for food banks has quadrupled, and so far there’s no sign of that improving. If we had silver and gold, we’d want to throw money at these problems — buy more food, create some jobs, pay rent so that people stay housed. And these are all good things to give. But we each have something even more valuable than silver and gold. We have the gospel message. We have an introduction to the One who can solve all their problems. So why don’t we act like that? Why don’t we understand how precious the gospel is? We believe that even if the cripple hadn’t been healed, Jesus’ salvation and the work of sanctification in that man’s life would have been what he needed most. Do we believe that for the people who are suffering and in need today?

I’m not saying that we shouldn’t give generously to help those in need. Indeed, the Bible commands us to do just that. I’m simply trying to say that we already possess riches of infinite value. And we should be more aware of that in our interactions with the people that God brings into our path.

A few other verses caught my attention today. Peter tells the Israelites in Solomon’s portico that they “killed the Author of life (v. 15).” As he continues, Peter tells them in verse 17 that he knows they “acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers.” And this strikes me. As Americans, we tend to believe that ignorance excuses transgression. “He didn’t know any better,” we say about a child who misbehaves. How can someone be at fault for breaking a law they didn’t even know was a law in the first place? I didn’t see the speed limit sign. I didn’t know I wasn’t allowed to park here. Of course our legal system says that ignorance of the law is no excuse. But culturally, we still believe that it is.

As Peter preaches the gospel in this second sermon, in verses 19 and 20 he calls for the people to repent and turn to God, “so that your sins may be wiped out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.” I like that — times of refreshing. Don’t we all need that?

I also noticed something very curious about the close of Peter’s sermon. Either Luke is drawing from words Peter may have given later in life, or Peter has become a bit of a prophet. He reminds the Israelites that the promise of God is that all the families of the earth shall be blessed through one of Abraham’s descendants. He concludes that when God raised up his servant, the servant was sent “first to you (v. 26).” At this point, the disciples did not yet understand that the gospel message would be for the Gentiles, too — so Peter saying that this message is coming “first” to the Israelites is a prophecy of the later extension of the gospel to the Gentiles and to “all families of the earth.”

Psalm 106 has no inscription, but it appears to have been written after either Israel or Judah were exiled from the Promised Land. In verse 47, the psalmist prays, “Save us, O LORD our God, and gather us from among the nations, that we may give thanks to your holy name and glory in your praise.” If this was written after they were in captivity, it makes sense that the topic of this psalm would be a reflection on all the different ways that the Israelites had sinned against God. Starting from their panic at the Red Sea, the psalmist gives example after example of their lack of faith and their idolatry. I was struck by the comment about the Israelites in verse 13: “But they soon forgot what he had done and did not wait for his plan to unfold.” Is this not our problem, too?

Verse 2 asks who can declare all the praise of God. I identify with this question. I know that I struggle to recount God’s worthiness — it is one reason why I love the psalms so much!

In verse 23, the psalmist speaks of Moses who “stood in the breach” to save the Israelites from God’s wrath at them after they had made the golden calf idol. And I see that Moses foreshadows the work that Christ will do. Jesus stands in the breach for us, making us acceptable to God. Hallelujah!

Father God, thank you for sending Jesus Christ to save us from our sins. We pray that you may send us times of refreshing. Lord God, please help us to give of our silver and gold, but help us also to extend the good news to those who desperately need to hear. May we not be disobedient to your voice. Help us to always seek to do your will. In Jesus’ name, Amen.