When my boys were little and I let them watch action movies, they always asked, Dad, who are our enemies? Which was hard to answer, since I didn’t want to create animosity against any certain people group in their young hearts. But they ached to go out in the yard and attack someone. So I answered, bad guys are our enemies, which satisfied a six and four-year old. They picked up sticks and started whacking, and I sat back, satisfied with my good parenting (their mother was away the entire time).

David suffered from his enemies. He wrote: The enemy pursues me, he crushes me to the ground; he makes me dwell in the darkness like those long dead.

In his anxiety David cried out for relief: Answer me quickly, Lord; my spirit fails. Do not hide your face from me or I will be like those who go down to the pit.

David faced enemies both from abroad and within his own household. Real people gunning for him in the streets.

Which makes me wonder—who are my enemies?

No physical people that I can think of. Certainly the rulers, the authorities, the powers of this dark world and spiritual forces of evil, as Paul points out in his letter to the Ephesian church.

Enemies of the mental and emotional variety also surface. Worries about finances or retirement. Desires for more, wanting things I don’t have. Hoping to get noticed. Frustrations brought on reading about national and global situations.

Enemies twist and manipulate. I forget the blessings—my wife, my children, my grandchild, family and friends, a warm house, solid finances, good health and a myriad more. Enemies deceive and cover up.

David prayed: Rescue me from my enemies, Lord, for I hide myself in you. Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground…In your unfailing love, silence my enemies; destroy all my foes, for I am your servant.

When overwhelmed in the night, or struggling during the day, you and I can pray like David. When our enemies show no sign of relenting, it’s time to ask for relief—Lord, silence my enemies, destroy the foes in my mind, teach me to do your will, and lead me by your Holy Spirit.

Amen.

Psalm 143 in Through the Bible in 2024

Photo by David Werbrouck

Easter morning arrived with blinding flashes and roiling ground for the soldiers guarding the tomb of Jesus:

After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.

The angel’s appearance stunned the guards into a frozen, catatonic state. Lying on the ground in suspended animation, did the guards hear the words the angel spoke to the women who came to care for the body of Jesus?

The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said.

Later the guards took a large bribe to lie about what happened. But I wonder how they fared as time went on? They knew what they experienced. They also heard of Jesus’s appearance after the resurrection, and surely noticed the boldness of his followers. Did any of the these guards eventually decide to follow Jesus, fully embracing the miracle they witnessed?

The first believers to grasp the reality of the resurrection were these faithful women. However, the first people to have their lives literally upended by the resurrection were those guards.

Certainly the first, but definitely not the last.

He Is Risen!

Matthew 28 in Through the Bible in 2024

Rembrandt: The Resurrection, 1639

I read of people who push back against the broad teachings of the Christian scriptures. Folks claim the Old Testament is antiquated, and Paul is out of touch. But these same commentators claim to like Jesus with his words of peace and love.

But it doesn’t take much of Jesus to upend this view. Notice some of his teachings recorded in one chapter of the Bible, Luke 16:

No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of others, but God knows your hearts. What people value highly is detestable in God’s sight.

It is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for the least stroke of a pen to drop out of the Law.

Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery, and the man who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

In Hades, where he was in torment…

If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.

In a few lines Jesus condemns the love of money, upholds the Old Testament law, inveighs against divorce and adultery, confirms the reality of hell and presents as fact those who reject him will find themselves there.

It’s possible to use Jesus to as a cover for living on our terms. But when I actually read what Jesus said and engage with his words, I find nowhere to hide.

Don’t get caught up in this popular swindle. Some words of Jesus indeed bring peace, but others bite and sting. If you’re not wrestling with both, you’re not getting the full measure of Jesus.

Luke 16 in Through the Bible in 2024

Photo by Annie Spratt

It seems an odd detail thrown into the account of Joshua leading the armies of Israel and conquering the promised land. Joshua took city after city, destroying one, but leaving the rest intact:

Yet Israel did not burn any of the cities built on their mounds—expect Hazor, which Joshua burned.

What’s the significance of these mounds? Were these burial places or sites of hidden treasure? The answer (after a bit of sleuthing) is much more simple and practical. Substitute hill for mound and Joshua’s strategy becomes clear.

These cities stood atop hills, natural positions of defense. The Lord promised the Israelites they would live in cities they did not build. These strongholds among the hills fulfilled that promise.

I find it fascinating that the Lord not only provided towns and villages in the valleys, but places of safety in case of future conflict. The Lord could have met his pledge with scattered cabins and tiny homes. But cities of strength—the best locations for living—filled the real estate portfolio he opened to the children of Israel.

God is better than we realize—trust in him. Like the Lord leading his children to the mounds, his goodness often comes in ways we fail to imagine.

Joshua 11 in Through the Bible in 2024

Photo by Kai Pilger