Bible People - Dene's Blog

On Top of the World

8/20/2015 0 Comments

Shortly after we got Chloe as a 9 week old puppy, we had a pile of dirt delivered. Eventually it became the base for our carport slab, but for several weeks it sat there as we dealt with one problem after the other, most notably eye surgeries. Chloe loved that pile of dirt. She sat on top of it every day. I suppose because she was little, it made her feel bigger, especially with an older dog who was not too friendly at the beginning.

            But she has continued to love sitting up high. We often catch her perched on the landscaping timbers surrounding our raised flower beds, surveying her domain. It may only be six inches higher than the field, but that is enough for her. Chloe will always love to be on top of her world.

            But even the highest she can sit does not help her see through the woods to the next property. All she knows of the world is our small five acres. She cannot comprehend that other dogs live in other places far, far away. Sometimes she hears the neighbor’s dogs barking across the fence, through the woods and over the creek, and she sits up to listen, but when they stop, she forgets they are even there.

            Chloe’s world is Chloe-centric. Despite the fact that we have a consciousness of others, we are much the same. What happens to us is what matters to us. How my life goes is the important thing to me. That can cause us big problems when things begin to go wrong, just as it did for Rebekah.

“Why am I even alive?” she asked God when she began to have trouble with her pregnancy. For twenty years she had been barren. It was almost cruel of God, she must have thought, to give her what she had asked for and then make it seen that he was taking it back. But God told her that she was not losing her baby. Far from it, she was carrying twins, and this pregnancy was more far reaching than just fulfilling her desire to have a child. Two nations would come from her, he said, and the older would serve the younger, Gen 25:23. Yet even with those encouraging words, Rebekah still got it wrong. She thought the prophecy was about her children themselves, not the nations that would come from them, and in her zeal to help God make it happen, she deceived her husband when the time came to bless those sons. She forgot something as basic as this—maybe blind Isaac could not see whom he was blessing, but God could. He did not need her help to accomplish his purpose, and his purpose is what mattered.

            We cannot see over the fence to know God’s purposes. What happens to me, no matter how large it is to me, may be completely insignificant in the plan of God. That does not mean He does not care about me. It does not mean He is not listening to me and answering my prayers. But it may very well mean that I will not understand the answer I get, or even like it much. Sitting on top of my little dirt pile will not give me God’s perspective. I simply trust, believe, and obey. God knows what is best. He really does sit on high. He really does see it all. That should be all that matters.

Who is like unto Jehovah our God, who has set his seat on high, who humbles himself to behold the things that are in heaven and in the earth? Psa 113:5.

Dene Ward

Lessons from Lappidoth

8/6/2015 5 Comments

            Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, she judged Israel at that time, Judg 4:1.

            Do you know anything about Lappidoth? I know he was Deborah’s husband and that is all. He is mentioned nowhere else in the entire Bible. Yet because of his amazing wife his name was written down for everyone to read for thousands of years.

            No, it was not because God ordained that a wife have no identity without her husband, as some feminists might try to argue. Have you ever googled your own name or simply looked it up in your city’s telephone directory? Somewhere in the world there is someone else with the same name as you, first and last. Imagine how many there are with just your first name. I can find six Marys in the New Testament alone.

            It was necessary to identify people in the scriptures by their parents or spouses or children in order to make it plain who was being talked about. There was at least one other Deborah in the Bible, the nurse of Rebekah, in Gen 35:8. I imagine there were many other little girls named Deborah throughout Israel, especially after the time of Judges 4. Miriam, after all, is the Hebrew for the Aramaic Mary, of whom we have so many in the first century AD. Surely the great woman judge was a worthy namesake too.

            So what is the big deal about Lappidoth? Just this—he was mentioned because of his wife, and he is respected because of his wife. Whom you marry can make or break you in your career, in your reputation in the community, and most important, as a servant of God.

            How many times have you heard it said, or even said yourself, “He would make a good (elder, preacher, Bible class teacher, deacon) if not for his wife?” God made woman so man would not be alone and so he would have a suitable helper in life. David says, “[Jehovah] is our help” in Psalm 33:20, using exactly the same Hebrew word describing God as the one God used of woman in Gen 2:15. Part of the help God gives men is the women who stand beside them. There is nothing demeaning about being a tool in the hand of the Lord.

            Maybe the problem is men who do not recognize their duty to spiritually lead the family, “nourishing and cherishing” their brides, as Christ did the church. Keith is the one who taught me how to study. “And created a monster,” he always adds.

            Inevitably though, the onus falls on women who will not be led, who will not grow, who use their freewill instead to rebel against God.

            Jesus told a parable in Luke 14 about people who would not follow Him. The point of the parable was the lame excuses people will make, but I can read at least one of those excuses in a different way. When the Lord presents him an opportunity, I would hate for my husband to have to say, “I have married a wife and therefore I cannot come.”

A worthy woman who can find? For her price is far above rubies. The heart of her husband trusts in her and he shall have no lack of gain. She does him good and not evil all the days of his life. Her husband is known in the gates where he sits with the elders of the land. Grace is deceitful and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears Jehovah, she shall be praised, Prov 31:10-12, 23,30.

Dene Ward

The Enlightened Ones

6/24/2015 0 Comments

We have a tendency to think of ourselves as far more enlightened than those who lived under the Old Law, far more knowledgeable, certainly, of things like the grace of God. Nonsense. Just listen to what Daniel had to say in 9:18.   For we do not present our supplications before you for OUR righteousness, but for your great mercies’ sake. Can you think of a better definition of grace?

Those folks also understood that here and now is not what matters, it is only a temporary stop on a journey to the Eternal.

   Abraham and Sarah certainly understood that despite their relative wealth in their day and time, it was nothing to compare with what God had in store for them, even far beyond the Promised Land they wandered in. They died in faith, not having received the promises but having greeted them from afar, and having confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on this earth, Heb 11:13.

   And Moses, who could had the wealth of Egypt at his disposal, [chose] rather to share ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season, accounting the reproaches of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt, Heb 11:25,26. The “reproaches of Christ?” But he was an Old Testament character! Of course he was, but he still “got it” better than many of us on this side of Malachi.

    Even Hannah, a humble woman of Ephraim, was able to recognize in her song of thanksgiving in 1 Samuel 2, Jehovah makes poor and he makes rich, he brings low and he lifts up, he raises up the poor out of the dust, he lifts up the needy from the dunghill and makes them sit with princes and inherit the throne of glory. For the pillars of the earth are Jehovah’s and he has set the world upon them…not by his [own] might shall a man prevail. Hannah knew that the circumstances of this life were not what counted—her God was in control and He would reward her.

   We could go on and on. Ruth, who left home, family, familiar customs and language—her comfort zone, we might say today-- to go to a place where she had nothing to expect but a life of poverty and loneliness, not only as a widow, but also as an alien among God’s people. Forget for a moment what actually happened to her. She expected nothing but a hard life. Yet she thought that being able to worship and serve this Jehovah she had learned of with the people He had chosen, was worth giving up any chance at an easier life in her native land. She knew that it was not that physical land that mattered.

   So what about us “enlightened” folks? Are we willing to give up anything and everything in this world, willing to endure anything and everything, willing to be different, to think differently, to act differently from everyone else no matter how uncomfortable that may make us, because we understand the importance of the Eternal, or do the tangible things of life tether us to this side of Eternity? To which side of life are you tied today?

In this we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling. For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up in life. He who has prepared us for this very thing is God…So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body, we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him, for we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done while in the body, whether good or evil, 2 Cor 5:2, 4-10.

Dene Ward

No Dictionary Needed

4/30/2015 0 Comments

I came across a passage a few weeks ago that suddenly spoke to me. I must have read it hundreds of times, but for the first time I really saw it.
   Lydia, in Acts 16, heard the gospel and was baptized. Paul and Silas were traveling and obviously had no place to stay so she said, If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide there. And she constrained us, vs 15.
   Lydia was a new Christian. She lived away from her hometown Thyatira. On her own she had discovered a place of prayer by the riverside where she met with other women to worship God. Now Paul and Silas have come along and taught her about the new way, which she accepted with an open heart.
   There is a lot there to be admired and spoken about, but consider something with me this morning. She had many things in her way, including this: What Paul and Silas were teaching was obviously not popular among the majority of the people who formed her customer base—they wound up in the Philippian prison as a matter of fact.
   But despite her needs as a new Christian, one in less than optimum circumstances, she begged them to let her be the one to serve. It was not, “Come show me how wonderful this new way really is by doing as much for me as possible.” Instead it was, “What can I do now that I am a Christian? If you don’t allow me to serve your needs, you must not think I am really faithful,” and with that reasoning she practically forced Paul and Silas to accept her service.
   Imagine if we all had that attitude. Imagine if, instead of complaining because “the preacher didn’t come see me in the hospital,” our attitudes were, “I am so glad to be well again so I can help those folks who need me.” Imagine if, instead of whining that “the sermon is too long and the singing is boring, and the prayers make me fall asleep,” we said, “I wonder if there is any way I can help those men who serve so well and so faithfully.” Imagine if, instead of griping about the dead church we had the bad luck to be a part of, we spent our time actively searching for those who need help, and wore ourselves out serving them. Imagine if the church were full of Lydias, instead of people like me (and you?).
   Even a new Christian with very little knowledge can do what she did. Faithfulness is not a matter of how much you know; it is a matter of trusting God in whatever circumstances you find yourself and joyfully and willingly serving others. If you have judged me faithful, allow me to serve you. When will we ever get it through our heads that James did not know any denominational theologians when he wrote,

If a brother or sister be naked and in lack of daily food, and one of you say unto them, Go in peace, be warmed and filled; and yet you give them not the things needful to the body; what does it profit? Even so faith, if it has not works, is dead in itself. Yes, a man will say, You have faith, and I have works: show me your faith apart from your works, and I by my works will show you my faith. James 2:15-18.

No, James was writing to Christians!
   It doesn’t take a great scholar to figure out the true definition of faithfulness, just a Christian who has truly been converted to the greatest Servant ever known.

Dene Ward

That Difficult Conversation

3/27/2015 0 Comments

An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels. The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain. She does him good, and not evil, all the days of her life, Prov 31:10-12.

   Bathsheba gets short shrift most of the time. Due to a lot of misunderstanding of cultural practices, she is accused of things she did not do, and blamed for things that were not her fault, but that is not what we are going to talk about today. Today we are checking in on David and Bathsheba about thirty years later. David is near death at the age of 70, and Bathsheba is around 50, or even less.*

   David has promised Solomon that he will be king, that, in fact, God Himself has chosen him to be the next king. Adonijah, as the oldest living son, has other plans. He sets about having himself crowned even as David lies on his deathbed. He isn’t being particularly secretive, but he is very careful whom he invites to the coronation. David’s mighty men are left out, as well as Zadok, who as a result of this becomes the patriarch of the new high priest line promised in 1 Samuel 2, and Nathan the prophet also.

   Nathan comes to Bathsheba. ‘Haven’t you heard?” he asks her. Then he gives her careful instruction about telling David the news, and goes along with her to verify her story. Bathsheba seems more than willing. Perhaps it is a mother looking after the welfare of her son, but for her to have this close contact with David after all these years, when none of his other wives do, tells me their relationship became the prominent one. She was the favorite, and as any wife would at this time, she made sure he was happy and had what he needed.

   The rest of the story doesn’t really matter to me today. Maybe it is because I am older now, maybe it is because I have seen so many women doing it up close and personal, but the verse above from Proverbs 31 sprang to my mind when I thought of Bathsheba’s actions. A good wife will see to her husband’s wishes, “doing him good and not evil,” even when he is no longer able to function.

   And the only way we can do that, ladies, is to ask what he wants. If you haven’t, you need to sit down together and ask him those tough questions. If you have a will, and you should, that will help, but perhaps he has other things, not valuable things, but things he cherishes, that he would like to go to someone in particular. Find out and write it down. Perhaps he wants a certain man to preach his funeral. Find out who. Perhaps he wants certain songs to be sung. Find out which ones.

   Then there are the really difficult decisions. Does he want to be an organ donor? Does he have a living will? If he is very ill already, does he have a DNR? If he were to reach the point that he no longer knows anyone, how does he want to be cared for?

   Life has a way of stealing a man’s identity and our society’s ridicule of the elderly doesn’t help a bit. The doctor may tell him he can no longer drive. Be careful what you say to others in his hearing. You may not think it a big deal, but for some men driving represents more than just going somewhere. God has programmed into our men the need to provide and protect, and in a society where we no longer face angry natives on the warpath and food is always just around the corner at Publix, he has few ways of doing that. Driving may be one of them. Don’t steal his manhood with your comments about this or anything else he can no longer do.

   We could go on and on with this, but I imagine you have gotten my point. Because of the emotions involved these things are difficult to talk about, even when we have absolute faith in the reward God promises. Some men will refuse, but do what you can. Listen to him when he talks to others and make a note in your mind of what he says if you can’t get him to say it to you, but do your best to know what he wants and then do those things for him when he is lying there completely unable, just as David was.

   An aside here—there are some things a man has no business telling his wife to do. He should not tell you to never remarry. Especially if you are young, which is a whole lot older than it used to be to me, Paul himself says you should remarry (1 Tim 5:14). Death breaks the marriage bond (Rom 7), and he no longer has that hold on you. And of course, anything sinful you can rightly ignore.

   Back to our point—please do this today. Do not use your youthful age as an excuse. One inch either way and a bullet would have made me a widow at 42. Then there was the stroke Keith had when I was 49. I can tell you sad tales of people who have succumbed to disease even earlier than that. These days women usually outlive their men, especially if they are several years younger, as I am. It is only sensible to be ready. How can you possibly “do him good and not evil” when you don’t know what good he wants?

   And then do this for him too. Sometimes we women do go first. Tell him what you want. If you start the ball rolling, maybe it will come more easily for him. Once you both have it down, you can rest easy, and on the day when one or the other of you finally do go to that promised rest, the one you leave behind can rest too.

The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty; yet their span is but toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away…So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom, Psalm 90:10,12

*To read my take on Bathsheba, go over to the right sidebar and click on Bible People. Scroll down several articles and a couple of pages to find “A Case of Mistaken Identity.”

Dene Ward

Let's Pretend

3/5/2015 0 Comments

Let’s play a game. Consider the elders in your church--if you have none, then the men who do the majority of the work. Pretend the government has carted them off to prison, and just this morning you find out one has been executed. Not only is the populace not upset about it, they are clamoring for the execution of the other man too. It quickly becomes clear that none of you is safe. You keep your doors locked and the curtains drawn. Even a knock causes your stomach to lurch and your heart to pound as you carefully peek through the drawn blinds.
   Your home is large, in the middle of town, just a short walk from the jail. It is not exactly difficult to find. Would you allow the brethren to meet there to pray? Would you have the courage to draw attention to yourself with the long line of cars parked on the street, and the constant coming and going during a time when finding an excuse to arrest and murder people of your persuasion is the latest fad?
   Or how about this scenario--you are an outsider where you live, an out-of-towner who owns her own business and depends upon the good will of the citizens there to keep you afloat financially. Since it is a small, family-run business it would not take much to ruin you. Yet you have come across a faith that makes wonderful sense and you believe it whole-heartedly. Still, the men who have taught you, a couple of well-known preachers of this belief, have been arrested. The whole city thinks of them as troublemakers. Only yours and one other family has actually “signed on.”
   Are you willing to take them into your home? To insist that they take advantage of your hospitality, and even make a place for them when they escape from prison? What about your family if you are thrown into prison for “aiding and abetting?” What about your business when people find out you are backing these scalawags?
   Mary of Jerusalem, the mother of John Mark (Acts 12), and Lydia, a native of Thyatira living in Philippi (Acts 16), did these things—women, mind you, who were not afraid to act and support regardless of what it might have cost them. They did not sit back waiting for men to do the scary stuff—they put their necks on the line, along with the necks of their families, and the good of their livelihoods and homes. They could have lost everything. Yet this is all reported so matter-of-factly that you wonder if they took more than a second to make the decisions they did.
   What about us? The time may come when who we are and who we associate with could cost us reputations, jobs, homes, even our lives. Take a minute to “pretend” with real people’s names, with real thought about what it might cost. Could we do as well as they did? Will we do as well as they did?
   I worry that too many of us find excuses that have to do with “propriety.” “How will we ever reach anyone if people think we approve of actions like that?” we rationalize. At what point will it ever look appropriate to support someone the world labels a troublemaker simply because he teaches the truth?
   We use the word “stewardship” as our alibi. “Why, if we go out of business, we will have less contact with the community and be unable to influence them,” we say to justify ourselves. .At what point will it ever be good stewardship of our wealth to put our financial future on the line in support of the truth and those who preach it?
   So take a moment today and play the game, “Let’s pretend…” Remember the example these faithful women have set, and others like them through the centuries. Make sure that when the time comes, we don’t look for excuses. Instead, we make our pretensions real, regardless the cost.

Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God, Phil 1:27,28.

Dene Ward

For help with this blog, click on FAQ and Tutorial on the left sidebar.

Being Also Joint Heirs of the Grace of Life

3/3/2015 2 Comments

If husbands and wives are supposed to be partners on this journey to Heaven, we sometimes have a funny way of showing it.

   One of the most amazing examples Sarah set is not one we often talk about, and when we do, we miss what to me is the most important part. Peter tells us in 1 Pet 3:6 that she called her husband “lord.” Today that might translate better “sir,” but notice the only example Peter had of this: Gen 18:12, where she is in a tent, away from the three “men” and talking “within herself.” When she realizes these men heard her when they normally should not have been able to, she realizes who they are and becomes afraid. Do you get it? When she called him “lord,” she was not speaking to Abraham, but about him to herself, behind his back, so to speak, where he could not have heard her if he had wanted to.

   Now here is the point ladies, how do we speak about our husbands when they are not around? Can my neighbors list his faults by now as well as I can? Can my children? Can my co-workers relate every mistake he’s ever made because I make sure I talk about them? Does anyone who has anything to do with me wonder why I married such a jerk in the first place because that is the impression I have given them about this man I claim to love? I have seen women, as the Proverb writer warns, tear down their houses with their own hands, or in this case, their own mouths.

   Do we even stop to consider the pictures others must have of our marriages by the things they see and hear? No one should ever have to endure the embarrassment of standing in my kitchen while I berate my husband in front of them. Do I ridicule and complain about his efforts to support me as well as the gifts he gives me? Do I constantly correct every little detail—even those that do not make a whit’s worth of difference—when he tries to tell a story? Do my friends know that I secretly do things he disapproves of? We are not the daughters of Sarah when we act this way.

    But Peter does not let the husbands off the hook either. In the same chapter, he tells them to dwell with your wives according to knowledge, giving honor to the woman… v 7. There is nothing honorable about the label, “my old lady.” And here is a clue for you: women do not generally appreciate male humor. It is one thing to be able to laugh at yourself, but another thing entirely to have someone constantly make a laughingstock of you. If she asks you not to tell a certain story yet again, or call her by a certain nickname in front of people, then don’t—not if you honor her.

   I have seen too many a man use up the prime of a woman’s life, then somehow think he has “outgrown” her. More likely, his head has outgrown him. But one of the most common complaints I hear is, “She let herself go.” That always translates to gaining some weight. Do you know how she gained that weight? Fixing you the meat and potatoes meals you insist on and carrying your children. Excuse me if the brag that you can still wear the same size jeans as you did in high school does not impress me—the only reason you can do that is you are fastening them six inches lower! No wonder Malachi called such treatment “treachery” Mal 2:15.

      What in the world do we think we are telling people about our marriages and about ourselves when we engage in such insults? After all, we do not live in a culture of arranged marriages—we chose our partners. In actuality, we are insulting ourselves.

   Peter tells husbands that their treatment of their wives will affect whether their prayers are heard. I have no difficulty believing the same is true for a wife’s treatment of her husband. I don’t know about you, but I need God to hear my prayers. I ask for forgiveness regularly and it’s the only way I know I can get it. How about you?

For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother and shall cleave to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. This mystery is great…nevertheless do each one of you love his own wife even as himself, and let the wife see that she reverence her husband. Eph 5:31-33

Dene Ward

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Skimming the Genealogies

2/25/2015 2 Comments

I know you do it. Even when you are participating in one of those “read the Bible through in a year” programs you do it. Who in the world wants to read through So-and-so-jah begat So-and-so-iah verse after verse until you can hardly see straight? But you need to do it once in awhile.

   That’s how you find out that Samuel was not a hypocrite for condemning Saul’s sacrifice when he made sacrifices several times himself—his father may have been an Ephraimite, but he was a Levite living in Ephraim.

   That’s how you find out that Joab was David’s nephew, the son of his sister Zeruiah, which probably accounts for why he put up with so much from the rascal.

   That’s how you find out that David’s counselor Ahithophel, was Bathsheba’s grandfather, which puts a new spin on that story, and probably explains why he put his lot in with Absalom when he rebelled. And all that is just the beginning of the amazing things you can discover when you read genealogies in the Bible.

   We also tend to overlook things like Deborah’s song of praise in Judges 5. It’s just a poem, right? We already read the important part in chapter 4. Read chapter 5 some time. You will discover exactly how God helped his people overcome Sisera’s army—he sent a storm that bogged down their chariots in the mud. Foot soldiers do much better than chariots in a storm. You will discover that the elders of Israel were applauded for a change—they actually did their jobs and did them willingly. You will find out that several tribes did not help with the fighting and were roundly condemned for it. You will find God’s opinion of Jael’s actions—no more arguing after He inspires Deborah to say, “Blessed above women shall Jael be.”

   And here’s one I found recently—the conversation and ensuing verses in 2 Samuel 12 after Nathan uttered those scalding words, “Thou art the man,” which is where we usually stop reading.

   Verse 9—“You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword.” David may have only ordered Uriah’s death, but God considered it exactly the same as doing the deed itself.

   Verse 13—“The Lord has put away your sin. You shall not die.” Understand this--there was no sacrifice for adultery and murder because the sinners were summarily stoned. That is what David expected, and the punishment God put aside. Read Psalm 51 now. David’s forgiveness happened immediately after his confession and repentance (v 12), but he repeatedly asks for it in the psalm which was written sometime later. He understood the grace of God like never before. Now that is godly repentance.

   Verse 15—“And the Lord afflicted the child.” We keep trying to find ways out of statements like this, but they keep popping up. Remember this: God is in control. He knows what He is doing. There is a reason this child could not live, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t continue to live. More on this in a minute.

   Verse 20—After the child died, David “went into the house of the Lord and worshiped.” Why? We could come up with a ton of reasons. Ultimately I think he was showing his acceptance of God’s will, and sincere appreciation for the mercy he knew he did not deserve. What do you think? This one can keep a class going for several minutes worth of discussion, and a whole lot of soul-searching. Would your first inclination after a tragedy—and punishment--be to worship God?

   Verse 22—“Who knows whether the Lord will be gracious and allow the child to live?” First, this proves David’s faith in prayer. He knew it was possible for God to change His mind simply because one of His children asked Him to. Second, it shows that faith does not mean you know you will get what you prayed for. Who knows? David asked. No one does, except God. Faith knows He is able to grant your petition, not that He will.

   Verse 23—“I will go to him.” David believed in the innocence of his child. He did not believe that child was born with Adam’s sin hanging over his head, totally depraved and unable to get out of it without the direct operation of the Holy Spirit or some rite involving water. His child was clean and innocent and he looked forward to seeing him again because he was also sure of his forgiveness.

   Whoa! Did you know all that was there? I didn’t either, and this was at least the tenth time I have studied this story in depth (I thought).   What else are we missing?

   The next time you do your Bible reading, think about what you are reading, even if it’s just a list of names or a poem or directions for how to build something. God put what we needed to know in His Word. Don’t you go deciding that you don’t need to know some of it.

…from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work, 2 Tim 3:15-17 .

Dene Ward

For help with this blog, click on FAQ and Tutorial on the left sidebar.

It's All About Me

2/2/2015 0 Comments

I have studied Abigail for a few decades now but, just like always, I noticed something new this time through.
   Most everyone knows the story: a bad man married to a good woman, a woman who dares to stand against him and do right. But let’s speculate a little—and it really isn’t much speculation at all.
   1 Sam 25:4 calls Nabal “a churlish and evil” man, or, in the ESV, “harsh and badly behaved.” That is not the half of it. Look at the way those two words were translated in other places. “Churlish” is also “obstinate, hard, heavy, rough, stubborn, and cruel.” “Evil” is “grievous, hurtful, and wicked.” This man wasn’t just a grouch, he was mean and cruel, and it came from a wicked heart.
   Now imagine a “beautiful and discerning woman” married to such a man. It almost had to be an arranged marriage—she certainly didn’t fall in love with him. Since he is extremely rich and she is still in prime childbearing age (we find out later), he is probably older than she. This is also a time when no one would have said anything about physical abuse. As you keep reading in chapter 25, the man’s servants are clearly terrified of him. I do not doubt for a moment that they had all suffered physical punishments from him, probably many unjust. I wouldn’t even be surprised if Abigail hadn’t suffered the same. God’s Law protected women from men in every way possible, but for a man like this the Law meant nothing.
   So along comes David’s army, men who had protected Nabal’s servants from passing raiders by the way, which means his livestock--his wealth--were also protected, and David is now in need of provisions for several hundred men. Surely this “very rich” man who was already in the middle of a celebration time when the food would be plenteous, v 4, 8, could spare some for them.
   David carefully instructed his men exactly how to approach Nabal. If you have one of the newer translations you will miss this. ESV says they “greeted” him, v 5. But that word is one that means far more than saying hello. It can also be translated salute, praise, thank, congratulate, even kneel. All those words involve respect and honor. Yet Nabal drives them off with exactly the opposite attitudes—disrespect, dishonor, and ingratitude for their service to him. “Who is this David?” he asks, accusing him of rebellion (v 10, 11), though Abigail knew exactly who he was (v 28, 30), the anointed of God.
   Abigail knows nothing about this event, but Nabal’s servants know plenty about her. They come running, afraid for their lives for the way their master has treated a warrior and his army. And Abigail saves the day, gathering up as much as she can and sending it on to David, riding up herself to reason with him and beg for their lives. When she asks David to remember her, she isn’t asking him to save her from her lot in life. She goes back to the man and the responsibilities she sees as hers.
   Now think about this. What would happen today if something similar occurred to a beautiful young woman, stuck in a loveless marriage to a horrible man, a cruel man who probably beat his servants and maybe her as well? Do you think she would have had any concern for anyone else?
   Abigail was not so wound up in her own misery that she couldn’t see the misery of others. She probably cared for the servants her husband abused. She didn’t whine about not deserving this kind of life. She didn’t expect everyone to wait on her hand and foot or bend over backwards for her because she was mistreated, nor did she fall into a useless heap of flesh because life was “unfair.” She just “dealt with it.” Instead of being a drama queen focused only on her own problems, she looked for ways to help others as the opportunity arose. She did not allow her misery to blind her to the needs of others.
   We could talk about her “going behind her husband’s back,” but let’s quickly notice this—she saved his life too, at least until God came into the picture and took it Himself. “Looking to the good of others,” we call that nowadays and label it the highest form of love. Abigail did this for everyone, including the undeserving, and regardless of who did and did not do it for her.
   Abigail understood this, and so should we: it’s not about me, it’s about Him.

[Doing] nothing through faction or through vainglory, but in lowliness of mind each counting other better than himself; not looking each of you to his own things, but each of you also to the things of others, Phil 2:3,4.

Dene Ward

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Genes

12/16/2014 0 Comments

When I became a grandmother we had to jump through all the insurance hoops to make sure that Silas had not inherited more than my neonatal milk allergy. I look into those big blue eyes that sparkle so when he smiles, trying to convince myself that they look more like his grandfather’s than mine. Even if they looked exactly like mine, odds are he did not inherit the condition. He may be 100 times more likely to have it than any other baby, but that still makes it a one in a million chance. It happened that way with his uncle. The minute they put him in my arms and I saw his eyes my heart froze, but seven months later we knew he had only inherited the look, not the problem. Still, I would feel horrible if I passed this on to poor little Silas, or now Judah.
   There are worse things to pass on to one’s children and grandchildren. And [Jehoram] walked in the way of the kings of Israel, as did the house of Ahab; for he had the daughter of Ahab to wife: and he did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah... [Ahaziah] also walked in the ways of the house of Ahab; for his mother was his counselor to do wickedly… And Joram said, Make ready. And they made ready his chariot. And Joram king of Israel…went out to meet Jehu…And…he said, Is it peace, Jehu? And he answered, What peace, so long as the whoredoms of your mother Jezebel…are so many? 2 Chron 21:6; 22:3; 2 Kgs 9:21.
   Are you familiar with this narrative in the Bible? Start in 1 Kings 16 and read through chapter 11 of 2 Kings some night when you want a really good story. It is a little of everything: a family saga; an action-adventure story; a political thriller. It has a villainess of unspeakable cruelty, an underground movement, a mole in the hierarchy, and a hero who saves the day. All of this was brought about by the evil influence Ahab and Jezebel had on their children and grandchildren.
   Perhaps the worst of the bunch was Athaliah, their daughter, who reached the point that she could order the murder of “all the seed royal,” among them her own grandchildren. I have always thought this woman’s crimes especially heinous but now, having held a grandchild in my arms, I know she must have reached a level of moral depravity nearly unheard of, at least among God’s people. That is what her parents passed on to her, for the next generation always sees our inconsistencies, the line we will not cross because of the inhibiting baggage we have brought to the table. They see that inconsistency and erase the line, taking what we have taught them to its logical end.
   I cannot control whether Silas and Judah will inherit my physical condition; but I can control my influence on their spiritual conditions. I can set an example of faith that will reinforce theirs in moments of trial. I can set an example of endurance to bolster their ability to overcome. I can show them how a mature Christian behaves, even when people are less than accommodating. Those things I can do, if I will.
   Having children is great motivation to be and do better. Because the end may be in sight and priorities have become clearer, having grandchildren should be the best motivation yet.

I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers in a pure conscience, how unceasing is my remembrance of you in my supplications, night and day longing to see you, remembering your tears, that I may be filled with joy; having been reminded of the unfeigned faith that is in you; which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois, and your mother Eunice; and, I am persuaded, in you also, 2 Tim 1:3-5.

Dene Ward