Date | Version | Reading Plan |
---|---|---|
@July 24, 2024 | ESV (2016) | M’Cheyne Plan 2024 |
Judges 7
Judges 7:13–15 (ESV) 13 When Gideon came, behold, a man was telling a dream to his comrade. And he said, “Behold, I dreamed a dream, and behold, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the camp of Midian and came to the tent and struck it so that it fell and turned it upside down, so that the tent lay flat.” 14 And his comrade answered, “This is no other than the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel; God has given into his hand Midian and all the camp.” 15 As soon as Gideon heard the telling of the dream and its interpretation, he worshiped. And he returned to the camp of Israel and said, “Arise, for the LORD has given the host of Midian into your hand.”
When Gideon and Purah (his servant) were at the outposts of of the armed men around the camp of Midian, Gideon encountered a man who was telling a dream to his comrade. The dream was of a cake of barley that tumbled into the camp and struck down the tent and was interpreted to mean that that God had given Midian and all the camp into the hand of Israel. Upon hearing the dream and its interpretation, Gideon responded in worship and returned to the camp of Israel to announce that God had given Midian into their hand.
A couple of details seem noteworthy here. First is that while the dream of tumbling barley bread and the tent may seem a little odd, the BBC Notes provides some helpful context: “Barley bread was the food of the common farming people and represented Israel. The tent typified the armies of the Midianites.” Second is Gideon’s immediate response of worship when he heard the dream and its interpretation. The mark of a saint is the ever-presence God-centeredness. Gideon knew this event to be of God and there was no hesitation that he needed to go to Him in worship. How wonderful it would be if we proceeded in like manner. May then our intimacy with Christ and sensitivity to the Spirit’s work be such that we seize every opportunity to turn to Him in worship.
Acts 11
Acts 11:19–20 (ESV) 19 Now those who were scattered because of the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except Jews. 20 But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who on coming to Antioch spoke to the Hellenists also, preaching the Lord Jesus.
The church was spreading. Some among the them had scattered due to the persecution that arose over Stephen and were speaking only to Jews while others of Cyprus and Cyrene also preached the Lord Jesus to Hellenists upon coming to Antioch. These passages elicit for me a sense of excitement and longing for a similarly prolific spreading of the gospel in our own context. These men were actively taking the message of the Lord Jesus to different regions not as a begrudging obedience to the Great Commission but because they could not help but share the good news of salvation through Christ. Lord, help us by your Spirit to be a church so filled with gratitude and affection for you that we are compelled to take Your gospel to the nations.
Jeremiah 20
Jeremiah 20:1–4 (ESV) 20 Now Pashhur the priest, the son of Immer, who was chief officer in the house of the LORD, heard Jeremiah prophesying these things. 2 Then Pashhur beat Jeremiah the prophet, and put him in the stocks that were in the upper Benjamin Gate of the house of the LORD. 3 The next day, when Pashhur released Jeremiah from the stocks, Jeremiah said to him, “The LORD does not call your name Pashhur, but Terror on Every Side. 4 For thus says the LORD: Behold, I will make you a terror to yourself and to all your friends. They shall fall by the sword of their enemies while you look on. And I will give all Judah into the hand of the king of Babylon. He shall carry them captive to Babylon, and shall strike them down with the sword.
The day after he was released from the stocks following his beating by Pashur the priest, Jeremiah spoke to Pashur on behalf of the LORD that Pashur and all his friends would fall by the sword. The boldness and obedience to relay the words of God displayed here by Jeremiah is astonishing. He had a message to deliver and did not waver in speaking it despite opposition and affliction. Jeremiah oft expressed grievances to the Lord for this assignment, but he nevertheless spoke what he had been given by God. In Jeremiah we see the humiliation and hardship the saints are called to endure as faithful ambassadors for Christ.
Mark 6
Mark 6:22–23 (ESV) 22 For when Herodias’s daughter came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests. And the king said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it to you.” 23 And he vowed to her, “Whatever you ask me, I will give you, up to half of my kingdom.”
Herod was pleased with the dancing of Herodias’s daughter during a banquet given to his nobles and military commanders on his birthday and told her that she could ask him for anything up to half of his kingdom. In reading this, I was reminded of King Ahasuerus’s words to Esther in Est. 5:3, Est. 5:6 and Est. 7:2. According the FSB Notes, “Kings in the ancient Near East commonly made absurd statements like this on monumental occasions in a show of power.” In his echo of Ahasuerus, Herod is thus expressing pomp and pride rather than authentic generosity. The result of this we see later as Herod was “exceedingly sorry” (Mark. 6:26) for extending the offer as it led to the execution of John the Baptist.