Through the Bible in one year - Day 14

 

Genesis 14:21-24

And the king of Sodom said to Abram, "Give me the persons, but take the goods for yourself." But Abram said to the king of Sodom, "I have lifted my hand to the Lord, God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth, that I would not take a thread or a sandal strap or anything that is yours, lest you should say, "I have made Abram rich." I will take nothing but what the young men have eaten, and the share of the men who went with me."

In 1 Chronicles and in this Genesis passage we read of battles and the Lord working for His people – as they allow and listen to Him. David and the Philistines – in each instance recounted we see David first asking for direction, and we saw yesterday that David didn’t always think to ask or wait for answers; in this case it goes much better for him when he does.

So now with these two passages under our belts as it were, we read in the passage of Luke of the Lord working; of Christ’s authority over wind, and rain, over the seas, over unclean spirits disease and death. In each of these vignettes we see Jesus restoring individuals to their friends and family. In the case of the disciples in the boat they were afraid for their lives, and then afraid of Jesus once he calmed the storm. In the case of the demons – and the pigs the crowds were afraid for themselves and their livelihood (after all a herd of pigs – not a kosher animal-was a large monetary investment for those herdsmen), and yet what Jesus did was send the man back to his family to let everyone know what God had done for him. Crowds pressed in from all sides – this was the draw of the novel or the macabre or even the hint of danger that drew the people – and also there were those who were drawn to God, and to see him at work. The women with a flow of blood for 12 years if she were a Jew, she would have been separated from her community because of this ‘unclean’ occurrence; she would be ritually impure and what Jesus does when he cures her is to allow her to return to her family in full health and to participate in her life. I only wonder if she were Jewish because of the pigs in the passage, but even if she weren’t ritually impure and separated, she was certainly unwell and that kept her from living her life in fullness of joy.

And then we come to the little girl – who is 12 years old who has been living her life in her family for the same number of years this woman has been outcast; and now the little girl is dead, until Jesus comes along and brings her back to life and returns her to her family. In each of these stories we see Jesus acting, we see the hand of God at work, and yes people are afraid, and yes they are also drawn to him, and in each case they are left praising God. Their telling the story has allowed us to hear of it all the way to today. What will we do to tell the story of God working in our lives? That is the question today.

Psalm 13:6

I will sing to the Lord, 

because he has dealt bountifully with me.

 

Today’s readings: Psalm 13, Genesis 14, 1 Chronicles 14, Luke 8:22-56