Author: Dave Dishman (Page 284 of 459)

He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.

No kidding. I love the clarity of the Bible.

Jesus fasted 40 days, sat in the desert starving, and at just the right moment the devil materialized in his face.

I notice how Jesus used scripture to parry the temptations thrown at him. It is written: Man shall not live on bread alone and It is written: Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.

However, his ever resourceful opponent quoted scripture right back. For it is written…

Twisting words remains a temptation.

I grow as I approach the word of God with humility and patience and depth of view, asking the Lord to reveal his wisdom and insight. I fail altogether when I cherry-pick a verse and fire off a salvo, or tickle an ear with a tempting interpretation that’s not quite true to the text but fits my cultural leanings.

So, when considering an argument and proofing it from the scriptures, it helps me to remember that both saints and devils know their Bible verses.

Luke 4 in reading the Bible cover to cover in 2022

Photo by Hansjörg Keller

We tend to register for lots of things in life. I remember going to the post office at age 18 and registering for Selective Service, meaning I was eligible for the military draft. Never called, but it made for a thoughtful signature on the form.

We register our vehicles, we register to vote, newly engaged couples register for wedding gifts. I might register a complaint at times. And apparently I’m registered on a number of sales lists. I get marketing emails and texts and calls for phones, golf gear, auto services, travel and restaurants. It’s a bummer being on the wrong list.

In the wilderness the Lord asked Moses and Aaron to take a census of all the congregation of the people of Israel, from twenty years old and upward, by the father’s houses, all in Israel who are able to go to war.

Moses and Aaron set about registering the fighting men, eventually reaching a total of 601,730. Then a chilling reminder of an earlier registration: But among these there was not one of those listed by Moses and Aaron the priest, who had listed the people of Israel in the wilderness of Sinai. For the Lord had said of them, “They will die in the wilderness.”

The Lord kept his promise. The entire generation who rejected the Him at the edge of the promised land all those years ago died off (except Caleb and Joshua, of course), just as the Lord predicted.

Which underscores the point—it’s a bummer being on the wrong list.

Numbers 26 in reading the Bible cover to cover in 2022

Photo by Tiffany Tertipes

The angel Gabriel made what seems to me an odd comment when predicting the career of John the Baptist to his father, Zechariah:

He will go before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.

Most parents I know already turn their hearts toward their children. What might Gabriel mean?

John the Baptist spent all his public ministry turning hearts to the Lord. Right up until the day Herod displayed his head on a silver platter, John preached in spirit and power, turning the disobedient toward wisdom.

One thought reflects the idea that those Jewish ancestors who followed the Lord back in the day would be pleased with the new righteous devotion of a younger generation. Passing on a fervent faith remains a value of all followers of Christ.

Another more personal idea emerges. John worked to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. This includes his initial Jewish hearers, but expands much deeper than Zechariah could have imagined. Gabriel predicted John’s work would reverberate down centuries, include both Jews and Gentiles, and influence those following the ways of the Lord ever since.

Gabriel’s promise to a stunned and muted priest remains in place. Even today people prepared for the Lord benefit from the example of Zechariah’s son, a wild man who laid the groundwork for Jesus.

Luke 1 in reading the Bible cover to cover in 2022

Photo by Jim Wilson

Few things bring more delight to a Sunday School class of pre-teen boys than a conversation about Balaam’s ass.

You really should read the story in the King James Version. The ass plays a prominent role. Balaam saddled his ass, then rode his ass, and later smote his ass.

After a beating, the ass talked back. Am I not thine ass, upon which thou has ridden ever since I was to this day? A talking ass—who knew the Bible could be so fun? I knew it’s juvenile, but it’s hard not to grin even now.

Of course, the story gets better because an angel of the Lord stands in the road, which apparently asses can see but prophets cannot, ready to lop off their heads. Balaam’s eyes are opened and the unlikely message-bearer vindicated—his ass saved his ass.

Which brings me to my point.

As smart and wise as I consider myself, I miss things. Often big things. I ride along in my own world lacking the awareness necessary to grow and thrive and sometimes even survive. I need people speaking into my life even when—or especially when—it’s inconvenient.

Asses see angels, prophets do not. Thus endth the lesson.

Numbers 22 in reading the Bible cover to cover in 2022

Photo by Laura Gariglio