Women of the Bible: Naomi

Ruth 2:1 Naomi had a relative of her husband’s, a mighty man of wealth, of the family of Elimelech, and his name was Boaz. 2 Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, “Let me now go to the field, and glean among the ears of grain after him in whose sight I find favor.”

She said to her, “Go, my daughter.” 3 She went, and came and gleaned in the field after the reapers; and she happened to come to the portion of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech.

4 Behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem, and said to the reapers, “May Yahweh be with you.”

They answered him, “May Yahweh bless you.”

5 Then Boaz said to his servant who was set over the reapers, “Whose young lady is this?”

6 The servant who was set over the reapers answered, “It is the Moabite lady who came back with Naomi out of the country of Moab. 7 She said, ‘Please let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves.’ So she came, and has continued even from the morning until now, except that she rested a little in the house.”

8 Then Boaz said to Ruth, “Listen, my daughter. Don’t go to glean in another field, and don’t go from here, but stay here close to my maidens. 9 Let your eyes be on the field that they reap, and go after them. Haven’t I commanded the young men not to touch you? When you are thirsty, go to the vessels, and drink from that which the young men have drawn.”

10 Then she fell on her face and bowed herself to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found favor in your sight, that you should take knowledge of me, since I am a foreigner?”

11 Boaz answered her, “I have been told all about what you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband, and how you have left your father, your mother, and the land of your birth, and have come to a people that you didn’t know before. 12 May Yahweh repay your work, and a full reward be given to you from Yahweh, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge.”

13 Then she said, “Let me find favor in your sight, my lord, because you have comforted me, and because you have spoken kindly to your servant, though I am not as one of your servants.”

14 At meal time Boaz said to her, “Come here, and eat some bread, and dip your morsel in the vinegar.”

She sat beside the reapers, and they passed her parched grain. She ate, was satisfied, and left some of it. 15 When she had risen up to glean, Boaz commanded his young men, saying, “Let her glean even among the sheaves, and don’t reproach her. 16 Also pull out some for her from the bundles, and leave it. Let her glean, and don’t rebuke her.”

17 So she gleaned in the field until evening; and she beat out that which she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah[a] of barley. 18 She took it up, and went into the city. Then her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned; and she brought out and gave to her that which she had left after she had enough.

19 Her mother-in-law said to her, “Where have you gleaned today? Where have you worked? Blessed be he who noticed you.”

She told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked, “The man’s name with whom I worked today is Boaz.” 20 Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “May he be blessed by Yahweh, who has not abandoned his kindness to the living and to the dead.” Naomi said to her, “The man is a close relative to us, one of our near kinsmen.”

22 Naomi said to Ruth her daughter-in-law, “It is good, my daughter, that you go out with his maidens, and that they not meet you in any other field.” 23 So she stayed close to the maidens of Boaz, to glean to the end of barley harvest and of wheat harvest; and she lived with her mother-in-law.

3:1 Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, “My daughter, shall I not seek rest for you, that it may be well with you? 2 Now isn’t Boaz our kinsman, with whose maidens you were? Behold, he will be winnowing barley tonight on the threshing floor. 3 Therefore wash yourself, anoint yourself, get dressed, and go down to the threshing floor; but don’t make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking. 4 It shall be, when he lies down, that you shall note the place where he is lying. Then you shall go in, uncover his feet, and lay down. Then he will tell you what to do.”

5 She said to her, “All that you say, I will do.” 6 She went down to the threshing floor, and did everything that her mother-in-law told her. 7 When Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain. She came softly, uncovered his feet, and laid down. 8 At midnight, the man was startled and turned himself; and behold, a woman lay at his feet. 9 He said, “Who are you?”

16 When she came to her mother-in-law, she said, “How did it go, my daughter?”

She told her all that the man had done for her. 17 She said, “He gave me these six measures of barley; for he said, ‘Don’t go empty to your mother-in-law.’”

18 Then she said, “Wait, my daughter, until you know what will happen; for the man will not rest until he has settled this today.”

4:9 Boaz said to the elders and to all the people, “You are witnesses today, that I have bought all that was Elimelech’s, and all that was Chilion’s and Mahlon’s, from the hand of Naomi. 10 Moreover, Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of Mahlon, I have purchased to be my wife, to raise up the name of the dead on his inheritance, that the name of the dead may not be cut off from among his brothers and from the gate of his place. You are witnesses today.”

11 All the people who were in the gate, and the elders, said, “We are witnesses. May Yahweh make the woman who has come into your house like Rachel and like Leah, which both built the house of Israel; and treat you worthily in Ephrathah, and be famous in Bethlehem. 12 Let your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah, of the offspring[a] which Yahweh will give you by this young woman.”

13 So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife; and he went in to her, and Yahweh enabled her to conceive, and she bore a son. 14 The women said to Naomi, “Blessed be Yahweh, who has not left you today without a near kinsman. Let his name be famous in Israel. 15 He shall be to you a restorer of life and sustain you in your old age; for your daughter-in-law, who loves you, who is better to you than seven sons, has given birth to him.” 16 Naomi took the child, laid him in her bosom, and became nurse to him. 17 The women, her neighbors, gave him a name, saying, “A son is born to Naomi”. They named him Obed. He is the father of Jesse, the father of David. 

I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day, by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

 I heard the bells on Christmas Day

Their old, familiar carols play,
and wild and sweet
The words repeat
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along
The unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Till ringing, singing on its way,
The world revolved from night to day,
A voice, a chime,
A chant sublime
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Then from each black, accursed mouth
The cannon thundered in the South,
And with the sound
The carols drowned
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

It was as if an earthquake rent
The hearth-stones of a continent,
And made forlorn
The households born
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And in despair I bowed my head;
"There is no peace on earth," I said;
"For hate is strong,
And mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!"

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
"God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
The Wrong shall fail,
The Right prevail,
With peace on earth, good-will to men."

-Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, public domain. Source: Wikipedia.

The Art of Divine Contentment: An Exposition of Philippians 4:11 by Thomas Watson. Excerpt 45

Watson continues discussing reasons to be contented, or "contentation," as he puts it.

The consideration that all God’s providences, how cross or bloody soever, shall do a believer good; “and we know that all things work together for good to them that love God.” (Ro. 8. 28) Not only all good things, but all evil things work for good; and shall we be discontented at that which works for our good? Suppose our troubles are twisted together, and sadly accented: what if sickness, poverty, reproach, law-suits, &c, do unite and muster their forces against us? all shall work for good; our maladies shall be our medicines; and shall we repine at which shall undoubtedly do us good? “Unto the upright there ariseth light in darkness.” (Ps. 112. 4) Affliction may be baptized Marah; it is bitter, but physical. Because this is so full of comfort, and may be a most excellent catholicon* against discontent, I shall a little expatiate.

It will be inquired how the evils of affliction work for good? Several ways.

First, They are disciplinary; they teach us. The Psalmist having very elegantly described the church’s trouble, (Ps. 74) prefixed this title to the psalm, Maschil, which signifies a psalm giving instruction; that which seals up instruction, works for good. God puts us sometimes under the black rod; but it is a rod of discipline; “hear ye the rod, and who hath appointed it.” (Mi. 6. 9) God makes our adversity our university. Affliction is a preacher; “blow the trumpet in Tekoa:” (Je. 6. 1) the trumpet was to preach to the people; “be thou instructed, O Jerusalem.” (Je. 6. 8) Sometimes God speaks to the minister to lift up his voice like a trumpet, (Is. 58. 1) and here he speaks to the trumpet to lift up its voice like a minister. Afflictions teach us humility. Commonly prosperous, and proud, corrections are God’s corrosives to eat out the proud flesh. Jesus Christ is the lily of the valleys, (Can. 2. 1) he dwells in an humble heart: God brings us into the valley of tears, that He may bring us into the valley of humility; “remembering my affliction and my misery, the wormwood and the gall; my soul hath them still in remembrance, and is humbled in me. (La. 3. 19,20) When men are grown high, God hath no better way with them, than to brew them a cup of wormwood.
Afflictions are compared to thorns, (Ho. 2. 6) God’s thorns are to prick the bladder of pride. Suppose a man run at another with a sword to kill him; accidentally, it only lets out his imposthume* of pride; this doth him good: God’s sword is to let out the imposthume of pride; and shall that which makes us humble, make us discontented? Afflictions teach us repentance; “thou hast chastised me, and I was chastised: I repented, and after I was instructed, I smote upon my thigh.” (Je. 31. 18,19) Repentance is the precious fruit that grows upon the cross. When the fire is put under the still, the water drops from the roses; fiery afflictions make the waters of repentance drop and distil from the eyes; and is here any cause of discontent?
Afflictions teach us to pray better, “they poured out a prayer when Thy chastening was upon them;” (Is. 26. 16) before, they would say a prayer; now they poured out a prayer. Jonah was asleep in the ship, but awake and at prayer in the whale’s belly. When God puts under the fire-brands of affliction, now our hearts boil over the more; God loves to have his children possessed with a spirit prayer. Never did David, the sweet singer of Israel, tune his harp more melodiously, never did he pray better, than when he was upon the waters. Thus afflictions do in discipline; and shall we be discontent at that which is for our good?

*I am not sure of the meaning of these words. Sorry.

This list is to be continued in succeeding posts.

Thomas Watson lived from 1620-1686, in England. He wrote several books which survive. This blog, God willing, will post excerpts from his The Art of Divine Contentment: An Exposition of Philippians 4:11, over a number of weeks, on Sundays.

My source for the text is here, and I thank the Christian Classics Ethereal Library for making this text (and many others) available. The previous excerpt is here.
  
Philippians 4:11 Not that I speak because of lack, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content in it. (World English Bible, public domain.)     

The Art of Divine Contentment: An Exposition of Philippians 4:11 by Thomas Watson. Excerpt 41

Watson continues discussing reasons to be contented, or "contentation," as he puts it.

7th. excellency. Contentment hath this excellency, it is the best commentator upon providence; it makes a fair interpretation of all God’s dealings. Let the providence of God be never so dark or bloody, contentment doth construe them ever in the best sense. I may say of it, as the apostle of charity, “it thinketh no evil.” (1 Cor. 13. 5) Sickness (saith contentment) is God’s furnace to refine his gold, and make it sparkle the more: the prison is an oratory, or house of prayer. What if God melts away the creature from it? he saw perhaps my heart grew so much in love with it; had I been long in that fat pasture I should have surfeited, and the better my estate had been, the worse my soul would have been. God is wise; he hath done this either to prevent some sin or to exercise some grace. What a blessed frame of heart is this! A contented Christian is an advocate for God against unbelief and impatience: whereas discontent takes every thing from God in the worst sense; it doth implead and censure God: this evil I feel is but a symptom of greater evil: God is about to undo me: the Lord hath brought us hither into the wilderness to slay us. The contented soul takes all well; and when his condition is ever so bad, he can say, “truly God is good.” (Ps. 73. 1)

Thomas Watson lived from 1620-1686, in England. He wrote several books which survive. This blog, God willing, will post excerpts from his The Art of Divine Contentment: An Exposition of Philippians 4:11, over a number of weeks, on Sundays.

My source for the text is here, and I thank the Christian Classics Ethereal Library for making this text (and many others) available. The previous excerpt is here.
  
Philippians 4:11 Not that I speak because of lack, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content in it. (World English Bible, public domain.)  

Impressions, by Martin Wells Knapp, 52

In a previous excerpt, Knapp stated that there are four features of "impressions" from God. These are Scriptural; Right (consistent with good morals); Providential (in harmony with God's will); and Reasonable. His discussion of the result of living by "Convictions from Above" continues:

They Readily Adjust Themselves to God's Providential Dealings. People who are not thus led, like Saul of Tarsus before his conversion, are ever "kicking against the pricks" of opposing providences. Those who are walking in the light of the interpretations which the Spirit gives them, hear God's voice in all His providential dealings with them. Hence when fortune fades, or health fails, or friends betray, or enemies slander, or plans perish, or loved ones die; though pained, yet in perfect peace they can say:

"Yet still I whisper, 'as God will,'
And in His hottest fire hold still."

Even when God by His providences performs some painful amputation, they can say "He doeth all things well," for they know that He is leading, that the pain is needful for their discipline, and that "all things" are being made to work together for their good.

When called to suffer they have learned:

(a). To hold still in the furnace. That uneasiness hinders the process and mars the work.

(b). Not to question the Refiner too much. He understands His business.

(C). That the purgation, though painful, is worth infinitely more than it costs.

(d). To accept God's discipline without continually making suggestions to Him.

The Spirit of God will never lead people to do what the providences of God make it impossible for them to do. I have known people who were strong in their expressions that it was God's will that they should do certain things, when he was continually and emphatically saying NO to them by His providences.

Excerpted from Impressions, by Martin Wells Knapp. Original publication date, 1892. Public domain. My source is here. The previous post in the series is here.

Impressions, by Martin Wells Knapp, 24

In the previous excerpt, Knapp states that there are four features of "impressions" from God. These are Scriptural; Right (consistent with good morals); Providential (in harmony with God's will); and Reasonable. He continues:

1. Scriptural. Impressions from above are always in harmony with the teachings of the Word. Other impressions may wrest isolated passages to their support, but God's guidance is in harmony with the whole blessed Book. It never leads a person to do contrary to its teachings or to influence others to such a course. On every doubtful point the question, "What does the Bible teach?" should lead to search until that knowledge is gained, and then it should be acted upon. While it is a book of general principles, it also covers almost every practical point that ever occurs in human life.

Multitudes of impressions from below die of fright at their own images when they are compelled to look in the mirror of God's Word. The Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God, will pierce the thickest armor in which Satan can mail his deceptive suggestions. Then let every doubtful impression first of all be rigidly examined under the focalized light of all that the Scripture teaches in regard to it.

Jesus himself thus appealed to the Word when tempted by Satan, and victorious are all His followers who walk in His steps.

In regard to every doubtful impression ask: "Is it Scriptural?" If it is not, then it should be transported as a felon to eternal exile in the Siberia of doomed impressions.

2. Right. God speaks through the voice of man's moral convictions. The rule of right and wrong in moral matters is universal. Even cannibals know that it is wrong to steal and lie and kill, "which show the work of the law written in their own hearts."

Impressions which are from God are always right. They may be contrary to our feelings, our prejudices and our natural inclinations, but they are always right. They will stand all tests, and their rightfulness soon becomes a conviction which can not be shaken.

The voices of Scripture and of right always agree, but many who have not all the light of Scripture are convinced by the voice of this monitor within which way the path of duty lies. This voice brands as from below any impression which would lead to a wrong act.

Millions of impressions, if compelled to answer the simple question: "Are you right?" will blush and hesitate and squirm, and finally in confusion retire.

3. Providential. God often speaks to His children through His providences. "In examining the Scriptures upon this matter," writes Dr. G. D. Watson, "we find that the peculiar sphere of the Father's leading is providence; the peculiar sphere of Christ's guidance is the written Word, and the peculiar sphere of the Spirit's guidance is direct conviction and illumination upon the heart and spiritual senses.

"The providence of God touches at every point our physical being and wants, and appeals to our common sense. The Logos, the Word of God takes hold of our immortal nature and appeals to our faith; the Holy Spirit operates immediately on our heart and mind, giving us such impellings and restrainings, such premonitions or drawings as compose the living, practical filling up of the outline of guidance."

The open door of providential opportunity awaits every person who follows impressions from above.

"I will go before thee," declares Jehovah, to all who follow Him, "and make the crooked places straight; I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron." Impressions from above find "crooked places" divinely straightened, gates of brass divinely broken, and bars of iron divinely sundered.

The providential openings which thus ever welcome those divinely led are marvelous. God never impresses a Noah to build an ark, or a Solomon a temple, but that means, material and men await their appropriating faith. He never impresses a Philip to go preach to an individual, but that he prepares the person for Philip's preaching. He never says to an imprisoned Peter "Arise up quickly," but that Peter will find chains providentially broken, and gates providentially burst.

The Peters that are mourning because they can not, on account of providential interpositions, do what they claim God is impressing them to, are not being influenced by impressions from above. This third door to the secret chamber of certainty, in regard to being divinely led, always flies open as by magic before the face of him whom God is guiding.

God never prompts to do impossibilities, therefore His leadings can always be followed. He who is impressed to do something which in the nature of the case he can not do, may be sure that the leading is from some other source than above. If the way will not open for us to put our impressions in practice, and providential indications are all to the contrary, it is well to bury them. They may die hard, but death should be their doom.

Excerpted from Impressions, by Martin Wells Knapp. Original publication date, 1892. Public domain. My source is here. The previous post in the series is here.

Excerpts from Impressions, by Martin Wells Knapp, 7

Providences. The events of the moment are also often the wire on which good impressions come. God the Father delights through them to speak to His children. Opportunities to do good speak constantly with voices clear and strong. A death, an accident, a providential meeting, and kindred circumstances, often impress with a sense of duty, and thus all things are made to work together for our good.

Over these and other wires which are laid between soul center and the divine mind, impressions are constantly coming.

2. Impressions from Below. To drown good impressions Satan has set up his kingdom, and exerts all of his ingenuity. He, too, has laid his telegraph lines and artfully operates them.

Satanic agency is a subject concerning which little is said, and yet by its subtle might millions have been and are being drawn into sin, despair and final ruin, and millions more have been perplexed, and God's life plan for them greatly hindered or completely thwarted. God's Word repeatedly recognizes the personality, ability, rank, influence and plans of the devil. He loves to deceive people into the belief that he does not exist, as he knows people will not be on their guard against a foe in whose being they do not believe. Any who have been thus misled by him should be awakened by the manifold declarations of the Word as to His personality, power and plans. It is divinely revealed that he was cast out of heaven; cast down to hell; the author of the fall; that he tempted Jesus; perverts the Scripture; opposes God's work; works lying wonders; appears as an angel of light; that he blinds, deceives, ensnares, and troubles the wicked; that he tempts, and that he afflicts and resists the saints. The Word also tells of Christ's victory over him by resisting his
temptations, casting out his subordinates, destroying his works, rescuing his victims, defeating his conspiracy, conquering death, and banishing him and his followers forever from the presence of God and the glory of His power.

From Impressions, by Martin Wells Knapp. Original publication date, 1892. Public domain. My source is here. The previous post in the series is here.

Things that the Bible tells us are God's will

We are told that we should pray according to God's will, and that He will answer if we are doing so. What, then, is God's will? What are the things that are in God's will? Here's the result of a search for the phrase "will of God," using the English Standard Version for the search. The results are quoted from the public domain World English Bible. There are, no doubt, other things that are also in God's will, but which do not have that phrase associated with them, in the Bible. And, of course, there are situations which are not in the Bible at all where we can be pretty sure of God's will, but the list is just as indicated, with some annotation.

It is God's will that some Christians be called to special service:
2 Corinthians 1:1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus through the will of God, and Timothy our brother, to the assembly of God which is at Corinth, with all the saints who are in the whole of Achaia:

1 Corinthians 1:1a Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God

Ephesians 1:1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus through the will of God, to the saints who are at Ephesus, and the faithful in Christ Jesus:

Colossians 1:1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus through the will of God,

2 Timothy 1:1a Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God,

It is God's will that Christians live godly, holy, sanctified lives, and it is appropriate to pray that other Christians do this:
Romans 12:2 Don’t be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what is the good, well-pleasing, and perfect will of God.

1 Thessalonians 4:3 For this is the will of God: your sanctification, that you abstain from sexual immorality, 4 that each one of you know how to possess himself of his own vessel in sanctification and honor, 5 not in the passion of lust, even as the Gentiles who don’t know God;

Colossians 4:12 Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, salutes you, always striving for you in his prayers, that you may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God. 

1 Peter 4:1 Forasmuch then as Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind; for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin;  that you no longer should live the rest of your time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God.

It is God's will that Christians do God's will. The last entry in this group indicates that we can receive divine help:
Mark 3:35 For whoever does the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother.

Ephesians 6:5 Servants, be obedient to thosing to the flesh are your masters, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as to Christ; 6 not in the way of service only when eyes are on you, as men pleasers; but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart;

1 John 2:17 The world is passing away with its lusts, but he who does God’s will remains forever. 


1 Peter 2:15 For this is the will of God, that by well-doing you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish men:

2 Corinthians 8:3 For according to their power, I testify, yes and beyond their power, they gave of their own accord, 4 begging us with much entreaty to receive this grace and the fellowship in the service to the saints. 5 This was not as we had hoped, but first they gave their own selves to the Lord, and to us through the will of God.

Romans 8:27 He who searches the hearts knows what is on the Spirit’s mind, because he makes intercession for the saints according to God. [other versions use something like "according to the will of God"]

It is God's will that we be thankful for what God does:
1 Thessalonians 5:18 In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus toward you.

It is God's will that we be redeemed:
Hebrews 10:36 For you need endurance so that, having done the will of God, you may receive the promise.

You may be interested in this post on what the New Testament Christians prayed for. Thanks for reading!

I'm thankful for money

I’m thankful for money. The Bible warns me that I shouldn’t love it – I must not make the pursuit of money the center of my life – but it doesn’t say that I can’t use it. The Bible has a lot to say about helping those who have less than I do. I don’t know why I have enough to satisfy my needs, and some of my wants, when some people don’t. It isn’t because I deserve it, and it could all be gone in minutes. But God has provided for me, and I have responsibility, according to the Bible, to pay taxes, to pay my debts, to take care of my family, and to cheerfully support God’s Kingdom work. As one of my Facebook Friends said, during the month of November, “and God provides.” He does, and I am undeserving, and grateful.

Thanks for reading! Don't try to pay me.

Prayer and Trouble, Part 4, by E. M. Bounds

Three words practically the same in the processes of Divine discipline are found, temptation, trial and trouble, and yet there is a difference between them. Temptation is really a solicitation to evil arising from the devil or born in the carnal nature of man. Trial is testing. It is that which proves us, tests us, and makes us stronger and better when we submit to the trial and work together with God in it “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.” [James 1:2-3]

Peter speaks along the same line:
“Wherein ye greatly rejoice, now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations; that the trial of your faith being much more precious than that of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise, and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ.” [1 Peter 1:6-7]

The third word is trouble itself, which covers all the painful, sorrowing, and grievous events of life. And yet temptations and trials might really become troubles. So that all evil days in life might well be classed under the head of the “time of trouble.” And such days of trouble are the lot of all men. Enough to know that trouble, no matter from what source it comes; becomes in God’s hand His own agent to accomplish His gracious work concerning those who submit patiently to Him, who recognise Him in prayer, and who work together
with God.

Let us settle down at once to the idea that trouble arises not by chance, and neither occurs by what men call accident. “Although affliction cometh not forth of the dust, neither doth trouble spring out of the ground, yet man is born unto trouble as the sparks fly upward.” [Job 5:6-7] Trouble naturally belongs to God’s moral government, and is one of His invaluable agents in governing the world.

When we realise this, we can the better understand much that is recorded in the Scriptures, and can have a clearer conception of God’s dealings with His ancient Israel. In God’s dealings with them, we find what is called a history of Divine Providence, and providence always embraces trouble. No one can understand the story of Joseph and his old father Jacob unless he takes into the account trouble and its varied offices. - From The Essentials of Prayer, by E. M. Bounds.

Although E. M. Bounds died in 1913, this book was first published in 1925, by an admirer of the author's life. Bounds was known for praying from four until seven each morning.

This post is one of a series, taken from The Essentials of Prayer, by Bounds. Found through the Christian Classics Ethereal Library, here. The Essentials of Prayer is in the public domain. The previous post in the entire series on the book is here. Thanks for reading. Read this book, and, more importantly, practice, prayer.

Prayer and Trouble, Part 2, by E. M. Bounds

What an infinite variety there is in the troubles of life! How diversified the experiences of men in the school of trouble! No two people have the same troubles under like environments. God deals with no two of His children in the same way. And as God varies His treatment of His children, so trouble is varied. God does not repeat Himself. He does not run in a rut. He has not one pattern for every child. Each trouble is proportioned to each child. Each one is dealt with according to his own peculiar case.

Trouble is God’s servant, doing His will unless He is defeated in the execution of that will. Trouble is under the control of Almighty God, and is one of His most efficient agents in fulfilling His purposes and in perfecting His saints. God’s hand is in every trouble which breaks into the lives of men. Not that He directly and arbitrarily orders every unpleasant experience of life. Not that He is personally responsible for every painful and afflicting thing which comes into the lives of His people. But no trouble is ever turned loose in this world
and comes into the life of saint or sinner, but comes with Divine permission, and is allowed to exist and do its painful work with God’s hand in it or on it, carrying out His gracious designs of redemption.

All things are under Divine control. Trouble is neither above God nor beyond His control. It is not something in life independent of God. No matter from what source it springs nor whence it arises, God is sufficiently wise and able to lay His hand upon it without assuming responsibility for its origin, and work it into His plans and purposes concerning the highest welfare of His saints. This is the explanation of that gracious statement in Romans, so often quoted, but the depth of whose meaning has rarely been sounded, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God.” [Romans 8:28] - From The Essentials of Prayer, by E. M. Bounds.

Although E. M. Bounds died in 1913, this book was first published in 1925, by an admirer of the author's life. Bounds was known for praying from four until seven each morning.

This post is one of a series, taken from The Essentials of Prayer, by Bounds. Found through the Christian Classics Ethereal Library, here. The Essentials of Prayer is in the public domain. The previous post in the entire series on the book is here. Thanks for reading. Read this book, and, more importantly, practice, prayer.

The Fellowship of the Ring, by J. R. R. Tolkien

I have read Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings novels several times, the first being over five decades ago. (The Wikipedia page on Tolkien is here, on The Fellowship of the Ring, the book, here, and on the recent movie derived from the book, here.) I decided that it was time to not only re-read these books, but to blog about them. This post is on the first of the three books.

My first impression was that providence, or destiny, or divine guidance, is an important part of this book. Here's a statement by Gandalf: 'Behind that there was something else at work, beyond any design of the Ring-maker. I can put it no plainer than by saying that Bilbo was meant to find the Ring, and not by its maker. In which case you also were meant to have it. . . .' (p. 65 -- the book I am using is J. R. R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring: Being the First Part of The Lord of the Rings. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1963. The book uses single quote marks, and I am quoting them, too.)

And: 'Such questions cannot be answered,' said Gandalf. 'You may be sure that it was not for any merit that others do not possess: nor for power or wisdom, at any rate. But you have been chosen, and you must therefore use such strength and heart and wits as you have.' (to Frodo, again about the fact that Frodo has found himself in possession of the Ring, left him by his uncle Bilbo, p. 70)

On page 94, the elf, Gildor Inglorion, tells Frodo that his group of elves has not met Frodo by chance. On page 137, Tom Bombadil tells Frodo much the same thing. Gildor and his elves seem to have scared the Black Riders away from Frodo and his companions, and Bombadil rescued them from Old Man Willow. On page 255, Elrond tells those who have come to Rivendell with Frodo, and the others who are there, including Boromir, Gimli and Legolas, that they are not there by accident. On page 423, Frodo tells Sam that the two of them are "meant to go together" in carrying the ring on. In no case, in the entire trilogy, is the nature of the guidance specified, but Tolkien clearly wants us to know that it is there. (There is an on-line Encyclopedia of Arda, which has hundreds of entries on characters and aspects of Tolkien's work. I have not linked to individual entries, except for this sample -- Gildor Inglorion.)

The most important passage in the entire trilogy is this:

At last with an effort he spoke, and wondered to hear his own words, as if some other will was using his small voice.

'I will take the Ring,' he said, 'though I do not know the way.' (284. Frodo, to the Council of Elrond.)

Besides the matter of providence, three other aspects of Fellowship should be mentioned. One of them is the matter of choice. As quoted immediately above, Frodo chooses to take the Ring. But this is not the only important choice made by characters. Sam, Pippin and Merry choose to go with Frodo. Bilbo chooses to give the Ring to Frodo, although he needs help in doing this. Elrond, Gandalf, and Aragorn choose not to take the Ring. Most notably, Galadriel also chooses not to do so. (See a quotation of her speech, in this post. That speech is repeated, almost verbatim, in Peter Jackson's movie based on this book.)

A second aspect is the matter of time, in Lothlórien, and for the Elves. The Elves are immortal, and many of them, such as Galadriel, have lived for thousands of years. But time seems to run differently in their realms than in the realms outside of their most important influence.

The book, A Question of Time: J. R. R. Tolkien's Road to Faërie, Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press, 1997, by Verlyn Flieger, deals with the importance of time to Tolkien's narrative. Part of Tolkien's use of time is as a way of escape. This is clearest in the episode in Lórien:
" . . . Frodo felt that he was in a timeless land that did not fade or change or fall into forgetfulness. When he had gone and passed again into the outer world, still Frodo the wanderer from the Shire would walk there . . ." (pp. 365-6)

The third aspect, and I hate to do this, is to question the presence of Tom Bombadil in the book. I'm not sure that he was needed. Jackson's movie ignores him, and that episode.

It was a joy to re-read this book. It is readable, and at times inspiring. Thanks for reading.

Intelligent Design and Providence: Oliver Barclay

The Biologos Foundation recently posted a paper by Oliver Barclay. Barclay has been active in a UK organization which considers questions of science and faith, apparently for many years.

In his paper, Barclay considers the position, mostly implied, of the Intelligent Design movement on God's providence in nature. He finds ID to have a belief that is potentially dangerous. What is that belief?

ID usually makes no direct claim that the natural world is entirely designed, but only that some features of it, for example, certain enzymes, were so designed, or that the Cambrian Explosion resulted from intervention by a designer. (ID also claims that it would have been impossible for these features or phenomena to have arrived by natural selection. The ID movement generally does not claim that the designer was the Judeo-Christian God.)

What's wrong with that? What's wrong, as Barclay points out, is that ID thus relegates the activity of the designer to the spectacular, the unusual, the inexplicable. The Bible indicates, as Barclay says, that God is involved in the world around us all the time. (He does not use Colossians 1:15-18, which also makes this point, but he uses other scripture.) God is the Provider, and we, and earthworms and petunias, are here because God sustains and protects us, through His providence. So the ID view tends to limit God, and does not express the Biblical truth of God's constant involvement in the world.

The ID view, says Barclay, is also a variety of the "god-of-the-gaps" idea, which is that God must have been responsible for events we can't explain. If we can't explain the origin of, say, color vision, by natural means, then God must have intervened to bring about color vision. The problem with that idea is that it tends to reduce God, or make Him irrelevant, if we subsequently discover a gradual evolutionary pathway to color vision. God was involved, whether or not we think we understand how He did something!

Much of Barclay's article is quotations of relevant scripture. That, and his ideas, make the article worth reading.

Thanks for reading.

Two thoughts on the story of Moses

Exodus 2:1 Now a man from the house of Levi went and took as his wife a Levite woman. 2 The woman conceived and bore a son, and when she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him three months. 3 When she could hide him no longer, she took for him a basket made of bulrushes and daubed it with bitumen and pitch. She put the child in it and placed it among the reeds by the river bank. 4 And his sister stood at a distance to know what would be done to him. 5 Now the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river, while her young women walked beside the river. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her servant woman, and she took it. 6 When she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the baby was crying. She took pity on him and said, “This is one of the Hebrews' children.” 7 Then his sister said to Pharaoh's daughter, “Shall I go and call you a nurse from the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?” 8 And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, “Go.” So the girl went and called the child's mother. 9 And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, “Take this child away and nurse him for me, and I will give you your wages.” So the woman took the child and nursed him. 10 When the child grew up, she brought him to Pharaoh's daughter, and he became her son. She named him Moses, “Because,” she said, “I drew him out of the water.” (ESV)

A familiar story. My two thoughts are these:
First, Miriam must have been quick-witted, and God-directed, when she suggested that she would find a wet-nurse for Pharaoh's daughter. I have trouble believing that her mother foresaw this turn of events, and told her what to say in advance, if it happened. I have no trouble believing that God guided Miriam in this case.

Second, the Bible here reads as if Moses was an Egyptian name. I checked, and, apparently, that is true. (See link at the beginning of this paragraph.) So the most important of the descendants of Abraham (until Christ) had an Egyptian name? Remarkable!

Thanks for reading.

Do Your best for us!

I frequently pray, over all kinds of situations, "Do Your best for us," or "Do Your best for them," according to the situation.

One of my brothers challenged me on that recently. He asked, more or less, "Doesn't God always do His best? Why should we have to ask Him to do that?"

He had a point. But, on reflection, I think I meant something different, certainly after that conversation, and perhaps before it. Yes, God does His best. But what I hope I am, and was, trying to say is that we don't know what is best, and that I am asking God to do His best, no matter what I want Him to do, because I could be wrong about what is really best for the situation. In other words, for me, asking God to do His best is very close to asking that His will be done, which, of course, has scriptural precendent.

God, of course, is perfectly capable of understanding what I say, or think, and also understanding what I mean. Do Your best for me, please, O Lord!

Fire at McDonald Hall, Southern Wesleyan University (Used to be Central Wesleyan College) in 1962, 47 years ago today

My wife and I attended the annual employees' Christmas dinner at Southern Wesleyan University recently. (See also Wikipedia article on the institution, here.) I no longer teach there, being retired, but retired employees and their spouses are invited to this event.

I first came to the campus on Labor Day weekend in 1964, under contract to teach science at what was then Central Wesleyan College. At that time, the largest, and newest, building on the campus was Stuart-Bennett hall, a girls' dormitory. The main reason that I applied to CWC was that I was a Wesleyan Methodist (Now The Wesleyan Church), and this institution, like three others in the US, was a college operated by my denomination, and I wanted to serve my Lord through my church. One thing that brought CWC to my mind when I was finishing my graduate work, and looking for the next phase of my life, was that, on the night of December 7, 1962, this small institution had made national headlines. McDonald Hall, the girl's dormitory, burned to the ground that night, and two girls died. I heard about this on the radio in Madison, Wisconsin. Hearing about this event made an impression on me, and that was one of the reasons I applied for a job there.

While my wife and I were on the way to the evening event, I began to think a little about the history of this Christmas meal. The annual Christmas Dinner began, I was told soon after I began to work at CWC, after the fire. The reason for it was that the college wanted to thank the community for their support. Before the fire, CWC wasn't well known, even in the small town of Central, South Carolina. The College pretty much kept to itself. The fire awakened the community, and there were many gestures of support. The College community reciprocated, as they had not before. Since that time, the Christmas Dinner has evolved into a meal to thank the employees, partly, of course, because the fire was so long ago, and also because there are now so many employees that it is impossible to feed them and community representatives at the same time. SWU has other ways of thanking the community, such as a Donors' Banquet.

I also thought about those who worked at CWC during the fire. There are three people who were employees at that time who are still alive -- all of them, like me, retired. I spoke to all three of them in the course of the Dinner. I spoke to two of them about the fire. One of them told me that she was so traumatized by this tragedy that she didn't snap out of it until a few days later, when she and her family attended the annual performance of Messiah at Furman University, which is in the next county. (Christmas traditions change at other institutions, too. Furman no longer holds this performance.) She said that she went to sleep during the performance, and, when she awoke, she was much better.

The other employee, who was Dean of Students during the fire, told me a couple of more dramatic and remarkable things. He had actually gone into the building, with at least one other employee, to try to get anyone out that he could. While he was in there, he said, he was pretty sure that two girls were dead -- they were -- and was complaining to God about how He could let such a thing happen. He said that he had seldom heard God speak to him, but, on this occasion, he did. God told him, he said, to "Shut up. I'll take care of this." And, as we agreed, He had.

The other thing that he told me was one example of how the community helped. He said that, at that time, there was an important apparel manufacturer with a plant near the town, but he hadn't even realized this fact. After the fire, the plant manager sent over a truck full of women's clothes. Of course, the girls in the dormitory had lost all of their clothing except what they had on at the time. This was one example -- there were many others, many lost even to memory by now -- of how the community rallied behind CWC.

God's care was evident materially. Although two girls were lost, the College was able to rally, and seek community and government assistance as they never had before. By the time I came, less than two years later, there was a new dormitory, named for the two young women who died in the fire. (A few years later, that three-story building had two more stories added. It is still a dormitory.) There was a new fine arts building, named for the parents of a wealthy resident of Central, who had donated a significant portion of the funds needed, in their honor. The college was beginning to think about getting accredited, and building some more buildings. Enrollment was increasing. It was about 200 when I came, and is well over ten times that many, including students at other campuses in South Carolina.

The two of us, talking together, agreed that, if the fire hadn't happened, it is very possible that CWC would have soon gone out of existence, and there would be no Southern Wesleyan University today. God used this terrible tragedy for good.

Thanks for reading.

No Old Navy or Shoe Carnival.

Deuteronomy 29:5 I have led you forty years in the wilderness. Your clothes have not worn out on you, and your sandals have not worn off your feet. (ESV)

Not only could they not go get new clothes and shoes, but they didn't have to. Could I live like that? I don't know. I get tired of some of my garments, and my wife gets tired of some of them before I do. (They also wear out, or don't fit any more.)

God clearly performed many miracles during the trek through the desert by the Israelites. I recently referred to one of them, namely a long fast by Moses.

God can supply our need! Thanks for reading.

God's care for the tribes East of Jordan

Numbers 32:16 Then they came near to him and said, “We will build sheepfolds here for our livestock, and cities for our little ones, 17 but we will take up arms, ready to go before the people of Israel, until we have brought them to their place. And our little ones shall live in the fortified cities because of the inhabitants of the land. 18 We will not return to our homes until each of the people of Israel has gained his inheritance. (ESV)

These are spokesmen for the tribe of Reuben, Gad, and part of the tribe of Manasseh, speaking to Joshua. They are volunteering to go and fight on the West side of the Jordan, while leaving their wives, their flocks, their children, and most of their possessions on the East side, in the land they have chosen for themselves, until the rest of the tribes have conquered the peoples inhabiting their inheritances. That's a remarkable statement they have made. God's provision for their wives, children, and flocks is even more remarkable. The wives and children must have done the work of caring for the animals, and God must have protected them from attack by enemies.

In Joshua 22, these fighters finally returned home, after they had helped subdue 31 different kingdoms. This commentary, by Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown, says that these conquests took seven years! Even allowing for the possibility that some or all of these men from the two and a half tribes may have gone back for brief periods from time to time, that was remarkable commitment on their part, and remarkable provision by God. (The seven years probably comes from Joshua 14, where Caleb, gives Joshua a chronology, in a speech.)

I noticed this passage as a consequence of following the ESV on-line Bible reading for a day in March. Thanks for reading.