July 9 ▪ Day 190

Scripture Readings

Proverbs 19:3
Numbers 17–18
Matthew 9
Psalms 6

Verse Focus (Proverbs 19:3)

A person’s own folly leads to their ruin,
     yet their heart rages against the LORD.

Meditation

Our verse focus today, Proverbs 19:3, says, in the ESV, “When a man’s folly brings his way to ruin, his heart rages against the LORD.” It is ironic, and somewhat ridiculous that a person will blame God for his or her own failures, but it is also very true.

When things go wrong, we look for someone to blame. Preferably anyone other than ourselves. That’s hardwired into us as part of our sin nature. Those who are mature — those who have gained some wisdom — stop looking to blame someone else, but instead shoulder the responsibility (regardless of whether or not they actually did cause the problems). Those who have more wisdom, however, stop thinking about the situation in terms of blame. They look instead to see what they can learn from the situation. They look for what they can do to make things better.

I’ve been thinking about this proverb, wondering why people blame God for their screw-ups and mistakes. Curiously, it often seems like those most willing to blame God are those who least wanted to acknowledge Him before the ruinous turn of events. But I think it must be because part of us knows that God is the ruler of all. We know that we are God’s creations. And when things go wrong, we blame the Creator. Perhaps it’s because we’re confronted with the limits of what we can control. We may have created the mess, but it’s out of our ability to fix things. And when we recognize our creatureliness, that’s what makes us admit to the existence of the Creator — the one we’re happy to blame for all that has gone wrong.

Take note of what the proverb says, though. The fool’s heart rages against the LORD. This is not just blame-shifting, but anger and fury. This is pride — the idea that God owes you wealth and blessings and a smooth path.

Of course, the solution is the same as it always is:

• To humble yourself before the LORD.
• To open your eyes.
• To see the foolishness of your ways.
• To admit what you did was wrong.
• To ask for forgiveness.
• To plead for mercy.
• To know that you need God’s help, even though you don’t deserve it.
• To be willing to change.

Father God, please open our eyes to see what kinds of foolish things we may be doing. May we turn to you BEFORE we come to ruin. But when we do sit among the ashes of our pride, help us turn to you in true humility. Pour out your grace and your compassion. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

In Numbers 17, God decides to preempt rebellion against Aaron and the priests by making His choice very clear. He has Moses collect staffs from the leaders of each tribe, and place them in the Tabernacle before the ark. The LORD tells Moses that the staff of the man He chooses will sprout. And the next day, when Moses goes in, Aaron’s staff has not only sprouted, but has budded, blossomed, and produced almonds!

Moses places this staff in front of the ark of the testimony “as a sign for the rebels (v. 10).” The LORD tells Moses that this will put an end to the people’s grumbling. And we do not hear of further complaints. However, as the chapter ends, the people are terrified. “Behold, we perish, we are undone, we are all undone,” they cry in verse 12. They fear that they may not even come near the Tabernacle.

I have a bit of trouble understanding this reaction. They have witnessed a miracle. But it does not give them confidence or clarity or certainty — only fear. Perhaps it was like when Isaiah had a vision of the throne room in Isaiah 6. His glimpse of the LORD made him very aware of his sinfulness, and how unworthy he was to be in the LORD’s presence. Isaiah cried, “I am ruined!” So, too, the people of Israel may have had enough of a glimpse of the holiness of God through the miracle of the budded staff that it made them fear for their lives.

Numbers 18 makes the duties of the priests and Levites clear. The service of the priesthood is a gift from God to the sons of Aaron (v. 7). Likewise, the service of the Levites in the sanctuary is another gift (v. 6). Neither the priests nor the Levites will receive an inheritance in the Promised Land for the LORD Himself is their portion and their inheritance (v. 20). The priests receive parts of the sacrifices and offerings and firstfruits; those things that are devoted to the LORD also go to the priests. The Levites will receive the tithes of the Israelites, but must also tithe to the priests. The Levites are to tithe the best of what they receive; this protects them from profaning the Israelites’ contributions and incurring guilt before the LORD.

Matthew 9 begins with the story of Jesus forgiving the sins of a paralyzed man. It is a curious story, because, of course, the man wanted to be healed of his infirmity. Jesus does heal the man of his paralysis, but he begins with the spiritual before dealing with the physical. One reason Jesus does this is so that the teachers of the law will learn that “the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins (v. 6).”

The first thing we learn about God from this situation is that God may give us what we need rather than what we ask for. The second thing we learn is that what God does in response to our requests may have more to do with other people and what they need than it has to do with us.

In verse 13, Jesus says, “For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” This is one of the most remarkable things about God. He is Himself perfectly righteous. But His concern is for the lost — for those who are not righteous, for those who are apart from Him. He comes to call sinners, to call the wicked. We talk about turning back to God, and repenting. But here we find that God is the one who has taken the first step. He comes to call us first.

It is infinitely sad and also a bit ironic that the Pharisees did not realize that they also were among the lost. Their righteousness only seemed like it was radiant because they were comparing themselves to other people; had they compared their righteousness to God, they would have seen that all they had were filthy rags. But even today Jesus calls sinners to come to him.

Throughout Matthew 9 we see example after example of Jesus’ compassion. Again, this is not a new thing we are learning about God, but it something we see demonstrated in Jesus’ every interaction — as he responds to the father whose daughter has just died, as he turns to encourage the woman who had been sick for so many years, as he raises a young girl, as he heals the blind men, the man who was mute, and all the sick and afflicted in the cities and villages of the region. Compassion. It is this compassion that prompts Jesus’ command — we must pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest so that He will send out more workers into His fields.

And this is the final thing we learn about God today. He is the Lord of the harvest. He is the one who brings the crops to readiness; He is the one who sends out workers. He controls when there is reaping. He can act at any time. But is He waiting for our own hearts to be filled with compassion for the lost? Is He waiting for our prayers?

David is in distress, and in Psalm 6 he prays for God to have mercy on him. In verse 1, he prays, “Rebuke me not in your anger, nor discipline me in your wrath.” If there is one thing we have learned in reading the Old Testament, it is that God does get angry. Wickedness and repeated disobedience will bring out God’s wrath. And when we consider the sin in our lives, and the sinfulness of the world — well, there is a lot of justification for God’s anger. But we hope to learn from our mistakes. If God were to rebuke us when He is angry, would we survive His wrath? This is why David prays for God to discipline him out of His compassion and love, rather than out of His anger.

Toward the end of the psalm, in verse 9, David prays, “The LORD has heard my plea; the LORD accepts my prayer.” What gives David this confidence? According to Psalm 51:17, God will not despise “a broken and contrite heart.” And that is one of the best descriptions of the verses of this psalm. David was broken, in body and soul. He turns to God humbly and beseeches Him. And God hears his prayer.

Father God, thank you that you do not despise a broken and contrite heart. Thank you that you do deal with us mercifully. Thank you for your heart of compassion. Jesus showed compassion for our hurts and he healed us time and again. Thank you, though, that you have greater purposes in mind even when you are answering our requests. We pray for your glory to be revealed. Most especially we pray that you would raise up workers for the harvest. There are so many who are lost, so many waiting to be called. We pray for your mercy, in Jesus’ name, Amen.