Author: Dave Dishman (Page 3 of 350)

You wouldn’t think a hot-blooded killer would be immortalized in the Psalms. But one writer, recounting the history of Israel and the ways they disobeyed the Lord, added this story:

They yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor and ate sacrifices offered to lifeless gods; they aroused the Lord’s anger by their wicked deeds, and a plague broke out among them. But Phinehas stood up and intervened, and the plague was checked. This was credited to him as righteousness for endless generations to come.

Phinehas intervened and stopped the plague by killing an Israelite man and his Midianite lover. Despite God’s stark warnings against sexual acts with the locals, this couple paraded arm in arm in front of Moses and all the people who were begging God to stop a deadly illness sweeping the camp.

The paramours, either oblivious or brazen or stupid, found a tent and closed the flap. A moment later Phinehas stepped in and drove a spear into both of them, right through the Israelite man and into the woman’s stomach, killing them both.

I am not making this up. The Bible contains some crazy stories, and a priest harpooning two people having sex in order to quell the Lord’s anger is one of the craziest.

Sounds like harsh justice, but what does this story tell us about the Lord? At that time in history, Israel enjoyed a special relationship with God. A chosen nation, the Lord protected them with a cloud by day and fire by night. He delivered them from Egypt, parted the Red Sea, and even fed them with manna from heaven.

God stayed very, very close, and God is very, very holy.

To thumb one’s nose at God in that situation resulted in dire repercussions. Don’t forget that people were suffering and dying all around. Justice was served by those two perishing instead of thousands more.

Still, it’s hard to wrap my mind around this vignette. But it reminds me that God is holy, and he does not look away from those who flaunt his ways or harm his people.

Psalm 106 & Numbers 25 in Through the Bible in 2024

The picture is from a 9th-century manuscript depicting Phinehas killing Zimri and Cozbi

The ash outside my window sprouted new leaves over the last couple of weeks. As the leaves enlarge, my view of dog walkers headed up the street to the park slowly disappears. Spring brings a fresh perspective on a tired view through an empty tree.

An ancient writer, thought to be David, wrote a few lines bringing a fresh perspective into a tired world:

For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; he is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the nations are idols, but the Lord made the heavens.

David contrasts the idols of those nations surrounding him, pieces of wood and stone, to the Living God. The Lord created with a word the very materials craftsmen scrounged to form those idols. A ludicrous juxtaposition, this ridiculous difference between the Creator and the created. A vast gulf separates the two and David acknowledged the difference.

I enjoy the creation in the spring, when flowers pop and trees bud. David’s words remind me to especially enjoy the Creator of the creation, who is great and most worthy of praise.

Psalm 96 in Through the Bible in 2024

Photo by Bob Chisholm

The Human Flourishing Program at Harvard University studies and promotes how people thrive. Major pathways highlighted by their work include family and friendship, religious community, meaningful work and forgiveness. I found it fascinating to read their conclusions, especially as they reinforce biblical views on flourishing.

Along with forgiveness and family, stories of friendship and meaningful work fill the Scriptures. In several places Paul mentions those traveling with him on his missionary journeys, including this list of colleagues alongside him in Greece:

Paul was accompanied by Sopater son of Pyrrhus from Berea, Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica, Gaius from Derbe, Timothy also, and Tychicus and Trophimus from the province of Asia.

Never working alone, Paul surrounded himself with mature (or maturing) believers. This band included Timothy, a future pastor; Tychicus, the courier of Paul’s letters to various churches; and Aristarchus, who faced the mob alongside Paul in Ephesus.

Paul exemplified the value of running with good people. God designed our lives to be lived with others. I need them and they need me. A good church, a small group Bible study, or a prayer circle all buoy my walk with Jesus. But it gets better—commit to a community of like-minded believers and set out on a path to flourishing. I see that in my life and in the lives of many others.

The Harvard study confirms the value of counting Jesus followers as my friends. I’m surprised, but not surprised, by their findings. God laid out his plan for human flourishing long ago in the Scriptures. Current academic research simply adds an encouraging verification to his ancient ways.

Acts 20 in Through the Bible in 2024

Photo by Small Group Network

Sometimes you move forward because there ain’t no going back. Famously Hernán Cortés, the Spanish conquistador, burned his ships so that his men would have to conquer the Aztec Empire or die. Not sure everyone initially agreed with the plan, but once the boats lit up they reached consensus.

A large number of men and women came to faith in Jesus during Paul’s stay in Ephesus. These new converts took stock of their lives and made dramatic changes: A number who had practiced sorcery brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly. When they calculated the value of the scrolls, the total came to fifty thousand drachmas.

That sounds impressive, and when you do the math all those drachmas equate to roughly $15 million U.S. dollars today.

What moved these former practitioners of the dark arts to burn their highly valuable books? The fear of God and the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul’s powerful preaching coupled with extraordinary miracles swept the region. Due to the bonfire the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power.

Former priests of other gods and worshippers of devils publicly acknowledged their new found faith in Jesus, and in order not to return to old ways they burned their sources of temptation. A decision to follow Jesus brings a change in lifestyle, in priorities, and in where we place our trust.

There’s only enough room for Jesus on the throne of our lives, and if you need to burn some boats to clear space, then light the match.

Acts 19 in Through the Bible in 2024

Photo by Jonny Caspari