Author: Dave Dishman (Page 272 of 475)

Matthew served as a tax-collector, which meant he paid attention to details. In chapter eight of his gospel, Matthew tracked Jesus as he traveled and healed at a feverish pace (pardon the pun).

Jesus spoke and healed a centurion’s servant. Jesus rebuked a raging storm. With the word Go! Jesus forced legions of demons out of those they terrorized.

Jesus touched a man consumed with leprosy and immediately the disease fled.

Jesus touched the hand of Peter’s mother-in-law and immediately her fever disappeared.

I pause and wonder if anyone in the entourage balked at Jesus holding the hand of Peter’s mother-in-law shortly after he touched a leper? After all, leprosy spread by touch. Lepers lived away from everyone else, banished to their own colonies. Did anyone worry that Jesus might be spreading the dreaded disease?

Not that I can tell. The absolute command Jesus possessed over this fallen world shocked those who followed him. Diseases died at his touch and fevers ran away. In fact, after Jesus held her hand Peter’s mother-in-law hopped up and made dinner.

Jesus didn’t heal like a cup of chicken soup—Jesus transformed. Jesus brought the unexpected and unexplained wherever he went.

The good news? Jesus still transforms (though not in the ways we expect). Perhaps you need his word or his touch. It’s available when we ask, when we come humbly with our need.

Matthew 8 in reading the Bible cover to cover in 2022

Photo by Stacey Doyle

I never tire of reading the fascinating endings people in the Bible encountered. Queen Jezebel met a particularly grisly end—tossed from an upstairs window, trampled by horses and left for the dogs to eat.

Her death fulfilled this prophecy spoken by Elijah years earlier: Dogs will devour Jezebel’s flesh. Jezebel’s body will be like dung on the ground…so that no one will be able to say, “This is Jezebel.”

Jezebel ended up as stinking piles of dog sh*t discharged around town, just like the Lord promised. Be careful where you walk—don’t step in Jezebel!

Now that’s a bad end.

Jezebel murdered the prophets of Yahweh and introduced the nationwide worship of Baal and Asherah. Think of her as a person who, along with her husband Ahab, turned the hearts of millions of people from the one true God to a pack of devils. Few in the Bible, and even the history of the world, match her evil.

The infinitely creative God made a seriously nasty object lesson out of Jezebel. I learn from her story that turning people away from the Lord toward the father of lies carries massive consequences. Sadly, some engage in the same work today.

Remember, God is not mocked. Pray for their change of heart before they meet a fate similar to Jezebel’s.

2 Kings 9 in reading the Bible cover to cover in 2022

The Death of Jezebel by Gustave Doré, 1866

Few kings took power like Jehoram. In his first act he put all of his brothers to the sword. Jehoram canceled the lives of possible rivals to his throne, along with any hope of a long and prosperous reign.

Elijah delivered a message from the Lord to the black-hearted king which included disaster on the nation as well as a lingering disease of the bowels for Jehoram, progressing until his intestines oozed from his body (maybe colorectal cancer?).

Invaders soon sacked Judah and carried off all the wealth of the nation. Jehoram died in great pain in the midst of his ravaged people. The chronicler states he passed away to no one’s regret.

Jehoram knew of the faith of the kings proceeding him to the throne. He heard the stories of David and his devotion to the Lord. The prophet Elijah lived close at hand, a man who spoke messages from God. But Jehoram instead took up with false prophets and lying gods, snubbing his nose at Jehovah.

Consequences follow those who flaunt the Lord (and unfortunately innocent people around them)—either in this life or in the next.

2 Chronicles 21 in reading the Bible cover to cover in 2022

Photo by Blogging Guide

I often discuss matters of scripture with friends. Occasionally one expresses a perspective common these days, believing certain parts of the Bible found in the New Testament, but shunting aside the Old. They accept the words of Jesus, but everything else descends in various levels of suspicion.

Jesus poked holes in this logic: Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, nor the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.

Not one iota of the law given to Moses will disappear—not a jot or tittle as the King James Version puts it. It’s foolish to accept the words of Jesus while ignoring the Old Testament, when Jesus clearly pointed us to the wisdom and direction found there.

Most people who claim to believe Jesus but not the rest of the Bible simply don’t know much about Jesus. They see Jesus as a great moral teacher while failing to consider his actual teachings. You cannot follow Jesus and ignore the Law of Moses.

It requires reading and study and effort to dive into the Bible and gain greater depths of understanding. Plus, we need the illumination of the Holy Spirit as we do so. Those who jabber on about their biblical knowledge without doing the hard work live only in the shallows.

I hope to move into deeper waters.

Matthew 5 in reading the Bible cover to cover in 2022

Photo by Aaron Burden