Day TWENTY-SIX - I Kings 16 - 2 Kings 4

Day 23: 2 Samuel 13 - 2 Samuel 21

Day 24: 2 Samuel 22 - 1 Kings 7

Day 25 : 1 Kings 8 - 1 Kings 15

I have gotten behind, but am trying to keep going. I skipped some days - and adjusted the plan. This week, I am back on track. 

We had an interesting discussion regarding "original sin" in a Bible Class recently. We were discussing John 9, and the blind man Jesus healed in that passage. The Pharisees were questioning the man who could now see, and they assumed he had been a sinner since birth, because he had been born blind. In my class, it seemed like the majority thought  that the Pharisees were inexplicably superstitious. However, in my reading of the Old Testament, I can understand why followers of the Law would assume a physical ailment was the consequence of sin and rejection of God's law. God gave physical consequences over and over when His people turned from Him. And, in the case of Solomon and Ahab, if a man turned back to God in the final years of his life, God pushed the consequence forward to the children. In this way, the children were born into the sin of their fathers. 

This is hard for me to swallow, but I trust God, and as I mention in almost every post: I am looking forward to and longing for scripture about Jesus!

Day TWENTY-TWO: I Samuel 28 - 1 Samuel 12

I read a passage today that I remember hearing about in a sermon on a Sunday evening when I was in college (in the very same church where I worship today, although I've been across the world and back in the meantime). The sermon was about Uzziah and Ahio, who were guiding a cart loaded with the ark of God. An ox pulling the cart stumbled; Uzziah reached out his hand and took hold of the ark, presumably to keep it from falling. We were told that God burned in anger from this act of irreverence and killed Uzziah on the spot.

The reason I remember this sermon is that it upset my friend. I remember asking him what was wrong, and he said that he was disappointed in God - that God would punish Uzziah for something that didn't seem to come from any ill motive. Uzziah may have thought he was giving reverence to God by making sure the ark didn't touch the ground. My friend was so angry about this, it was difficult for him to speak. I was puzzled that someone could find himself disappointed with God. Some of this comes from the fact that I had a peaceful, happy upbringing. I was blessed, young and naive and thankfully hadn't had life experiences that might cause me to question God. And I didn't dwell on passages like this one in 1 Samuel. I didn't understand it. But I didn't let it bother me.

Although I still don't understand stories like this, I do take note of them. I try not to gloss over it - while also refraining from drawing too many conclusions just yet. This was a different time, a different law; but the very same God I worship today. One thing I'm learning in this read through the Bible is to shy away from taking verses out of context and apply them directly to my own life. I can use the stories, and see more of who God is - that's enough for me right now.

But, let me go back to Uzziah and my friend: I admired his ability to question God's decisions. I wasn't spiritually mature enough, or maybe weathered enough to ask the same kind of questions - and had probably forgotten the story by the time the invitation song was over. My friend's sorrow over this picture of God reminds me of Job, and the kinds of sorrowful questioning he brought before God. But, I'm getting ahead of myself: I won't read about Job for another couple of weeks.