May 21 ▪ Day 141

Scripture Readings

Proverbs 18:1
Ezekiel 33–34
John 4
Psalms 141

Verse Focus (Proverbs 18:1)

An unfriendly person pursues selfish ends
     and against all sound judgment starts quarrels.

Meditation

Proverbs 18:1 is one of those verses that may sound radically different depending on the translation you read. The NRSV translates the proverb, saying, “The one who lives alone is self-indulgent, showing contempt for all who have sound judgment.” However the NRSV also notes that the meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain. The ESV is very close to the literal Hebrew when it says, “Whoever isolates himself seeks his own desire; he breaks out against all sound judgment.” The Hebrew word being translated as “breaks out” means to break out in contention, or to rage. The CSB says, “One who isolates himself pursues selfish desires; he rebels against all sound wisdom.” The NIV says, “An unfriendly person pursues selfish ends and against all sound judgment starts quarrels.” I also like how the Good News Translation (GNT) puts the proverb: “People who do not get along with others are interested only in themselves; they will disagree with what everyone else knows is right.”

With this collection of translations, I think we get the gist of what this proverb is telling us. We are warned against the unfriendly and those who isolate themselves as they are interested in selfish things. It seems like a circular problem: one who is selfish retreats from interacting with others who might challenge that selfishness; in their isolation, the individual becomes even more selfish in their pursuits. It also makes sense to me that this person would rage against sound judgment. Wisdom often lies in fighting against our sinful nature. So someone who gives selfishness free reign is not going to like anything that suggests behaving differently.

In a roundabout way, this proverb tells us the vital role that community plays. We need one another to develop into mature and wise people. We need the concern for others, we need that interaction, and we need the rebuke and the conflict that can come when living in community.

Father God, thank you for this proverb. Remind those of us who are happy in isolation that we need community. Help us to pursue things that benefit your kingdom. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Ezekiel 33 repeats the message from the third chapter of Ezekiel about being a watchman for the nation of Israel. It contains a sobering warning for all believers. The Scripture tells us in verse 6, “If the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people and the sword comes and takes someone’s life, that person’s life will be taken because of their sin, but I will hold the watchman accountable for their blood.” The next verse is even more pointed: “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the people of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me.” The gospel is good news — we are not condemned if we believe in Jesus Christ — but if someone is condemned because we failed to give them the good news, then we are the ones held accountable.

God laments over his people. He takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked. “Turn! Turn from your evil ways!” He cries in verse 11, “Why will you die, people of Israel?”

Verse 15 strikes me. In our Christianized culture, we have devalued the meaning of repentance. We think repentance, or turning away from evil, is just a matter of a decision to no longer do bad things. But verse 15 says, “If the wicked restores the pledge, gives back what he has taken by robbery, and walks in the statutes of life, not doing injustice, he shall surely live; he shall not die.” In other words, repentance is not just about walking in the right way, it is also about making amends for what you did wrong. You must, as John the Baptist preached in Matthew 3:8, “Bring forth fruit in keeping with repentance.”

In verse 21 we learn that Ezekiel received the news of Jerusalem’s fall in “the twelfth year of our exile, in the tenth month, on the fifth day.” This is nearly a year and a half after Jerusalem fell, but it took time for the fugitive to bring the news from Judah up to the exiles in Babylon. But in keeping with the earlier prophecy, Ezekiel notes in verse 22, “So my mouth was opened, and I was no longer mute.”

His first new prophecy for the Israelites is not encouraging, however. Those who survived outside Jerusalem are confident of their possession of the land based on their ethnicity and their numbers, but God cites all the ways they break the covenant. “Shall you then possess the land?” God asks twice in verses 25 and 26. No, the land will yet become “a desolation and a waste (v. 28).”

The LORD tells Ezekiel that even though the people are consulting him to hear the words of the LORD, it is somewhat of an exercise in futility. “They hear what you say but they will not do it; for… their heart is set on their gain (v. 31).” Indeed, God says they listen to Ezekiel as they might listen to a performance by a beautiful singer. It might sound lovely, but it fails to move them. “They hear what you say, but they will not do it,” God repeats in verse 32. However, when the land does become desolate, then they will know that “a prophet has been among them (v. 33).”

Ezekiel 34 contains a prophecy against “the shepherds of Israel (v. 2).” The condemnation in verse 3 is harsh: “You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat ones, but you do not feed the sheep.” The next verse is something of a revelation to me as the Scripture spells out what exactly it means by not feeding the sheep. Verse 4 says, “The weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed, the injured you have not bound up, the strayed you have not brought back, the lost you have not sought, and with force and harshness you have ruled them.” And suddenly I understand, as surely Peter understood, what Jesus meant by asking Peter to feed his sheep. Jesus meant for Peter to feed the sheep by strengthening the weak, healing the sick, binding up the injured, bringing back those who stray, and finding the lost. Jesus and Peter would both have been familiar with Ezekiel’s writings and they would understand all that was implied by the command in John 21:17 to “Feed my sheep.”

The rest of Ezekiel 34 gives Messianic prophecy as it talks about how God Himself will rescue the sheep. He will gather them and feed them. But He says that he will “judge between sheep and sheep (v. 22).” He criticizes the sheep that drink from clear water only to muddy the rest with their feet. And God says, in verse 16, “The fat and the strong I will destroy.”

After He judges the sheep, however, God will set up His servant David to rule over them and He will establish a covenant of peace. There will be “showers of blessing (v. 26).” And, like in the Exodus, verse 27 promises, “They shall know that I am the LORD, when I break the bars of their yoke, and deliver them from the hand of those who enslaved them.”

In John chapter 4 Jesus speaks with the Samaritan woman at the well. This is a story that is only told in the gospel of John. I find it significant that this first revelation of Jesus as the Messiah comes to a woman, and to a foreigner (v. 26). It reminds me of how a woman was the first witness to Jesus’ resurrection (John 20). And it foreshadows how the gospel will soon be given to the Gentiles as well.

I am struck by verse 35. Jesus tells us, “Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest.” We need the Holy Spirit to open our eyes so that we may see what God is doing in the world. He has already sent people to sow for His kingdom; He now calls us to reap. Do you see the harvest? Or do you need the Holy Spirit to open your eyes?

As the chapter closes, we read of Jesus healing the son of an official. John tells us in verse 54, “This was now the second sign that Jesus did when he had come from Judea to Galilee.” In many ways, it is a peculiar story. An official has a son who is gravely ill. He travels from Judea to Galilee to find Jesus. And when he finds Jesus, the man begs Jesus to “come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death (v. 47).” And what is Jesus’ response to this? Jesus tells him, “Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.” The man asks again for Jesus to come down — presumably to Judea — to heal his son. Jesus tells him to go; his son will live. And the man takes Jesus at his word. He goes on his way. Later, the official finds out that his son was healed at the exact hour that Jesus told him the boy would live. So the official believes, along with all his household.

So what about this is the sign? That it was a healing? That the miracle occurred at a distance? Or was it that the official chose to believe Christ even though he could not see any signs or wonders? Did the official feel convicted by Jesus’ words that people will not believe unless they see signs and wonders? Indeed, did hearing that statement cause the official to resolve to trust Jesus even without a sign?

As I ponder this passage, I wonder what this means for us today. We do not see many signs and wonders around us — not like in New Testament times, anyway. Do we hold our faith hostage to the “evidence” of such miracles? Do we refuse to believe unless we can see something that is clearly supernatural? Or is our faith a choice? Must we first choose to believe before our eyes will be opened?

In Psalm 141 David prays earnestly that God will protect him from doing wrong. “Do not let my heart incline to any evil,” he says in verse 4. The next verse stands out to me. “Let a righteous man strike me,” says David, “it is a kindness; let him rebuke me — it is oil for my head; let my head not refuse it.” With my recent insight into Psalm 133, I realize that David is saying that a rebuke actually consecrates him and makes him ready for service. David also prays for protection from the wicked. The psalm closes with David’s prayer in verse 10, “Let the wicked fall into their own nets, while I pass by safely.”

Father God, we also pray for protection both from sin and from sinners. Help us to accept the rebukes of the righteous. Give us the faith that we need to trust Jesus. When you judge between sheep and sheep, let us be among those you save. May we walk by your Spirit. May we do the things you call us to do — whether that is sowing or reaping for your kingdom. Thank you for your everlasting love for us in Christ Jesus. Amen.