Contrasting Saul and Jonathan

Returning again to 1 Samuel, chapter 13 finds Saul preparing to attack the Philistines. Samuel, who at that time served as Israel's chief priest, had commanded Saul to wait for Samuel's arrival, so that Samuel could present a sacrificial offering to God before battle.

With the Philistine army mobilizing, and with his own troops' grumblings, Saul became impatient with waiting for Samuel's arrival and proceeded to offer his own sacrifice. (Israelite law separated the duties of kings and priests, so Saul's actions were illegal.)

Needless to say, Samuel wasn't pleased when he finally arrived, (1 Samuel 13:13, ESV),

You have done foolishly. You have not kept the command of the Lord your God, with which he commanded you.

Now compare Saul's actions to those of his son, Jonathan. In chapter 14, Jonathan leads Israel to military victory, and he does so by placing his faith and trust in God, (1 Samuel 14:6, ESV),

It may be that the Lord will work for us, for nothing can hinder the Lord from saving by many or by few.

So on one hand, Saul lost trust in God and took matters into his own hands, which started his long downward spiral in fortunes. On the other hand, Jonathan placed his full faith and trust in God, and came out victorious.

Unfortunately, I think we more often resemble Saul than Jonathan. We grow impatient with situations in life, and we craft schemes -- including schemes that run counter to God's will -- in order to achieve our goals.

Today, let us pray that our faith can more closely resemble Jonathan's.

Gideon Refuses Credit

Judges chapters 6-8 tell the story of Gideon, who, with an army of only 300 men, leads the Israelites to a military victory over the feared Mideonites. Of course, in ancient times victorious military leaders, especially those who overcame seemingly insurmountable odds, were praised with near god-like adoration. The Israelites evidently felt similarly toward Gideon, (Judges 8:22, ESV),

Then the men of Israel said to Gideon, “Rule over us, you and your son and your grandson also, for you have saved us from the hand of Midian.”

It would have been very tempting to accept such accolades! Yet, Gideon correctly recognized that the victory came not from his own cleverness; rather, it came from God's infinite power. Accordingly, Gideon responded (Judges 8:23, ESV),

I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you; the Lord will rule over you.

What an amazing example of humility! In our prayers, let us follow Gideon's example. Whatever comforts, luxuries, possessions, accomplishments, or enjoyments we might have, let us recognize those as coming from God, and praise him accordingly.

Persistence in Prayer

Chapter 18 of Luke begins (ESV),

And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart.

Jesus then proceeds to tell the parable of the "Persistent Widow." The parable involves a widow who continually requests justice from a local public official. For a while, the official refuses her requests, but finally he says to himself (verse 5, ESV)

Because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.

Jesus summarizes the parable by saying (verses 7 and 8, ESV),

Will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily.

So Jesus, himself, is telling us to stay persistent in prayer. Don't give up. God certainly hears us, and we will answer our prayers according to his will.

The Rotting of Earthly Treasure

Let's turn to Exodus 16, which finds the Israelites grumbling in the desert for food. Hearing their grumbles, God rains down a bread-like substance, known as "manna."

God announces that manna will appear on the ground each morning. But there is a specific instruction (Exodus 16:19, NIV),

No one is to keep any of it until morning.

That is, the Israelites are to collect whatever they need for that day, and nothing more. God then will provide more manna the following morning. However, (Exodus 16:20, NIV),

Some of them paid no attention to Moses; they kept part of it until morning, but it was full of maggots and began to smell. So Moses was angry with them.

In the same way the Israelites were forbidden from taking manna into the following day, we cannot bring earthly treasure with us into the next life. So, a question to reflect upon: Do we, in our day-to-day actions, emphasize earthly treasures more than heavenly spiritual treasures? If so, let's use our prayers today to refocus on God.

Being Content

Proverbs 30:8 (ESV) says,

Give me neither poverty nor riches;
feed me with the food that is needful for me.

The point is, we should not place our focus on earthly possessions, successes, and social standings. Rather we just need enough to stay alive, in order to accomplish our one daily job: Exalt God.

Paul says something similar in his first letter to Timothy (6:6,8, ESV),

Godliness with contentment is great gain ... If we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.

So today, as we pray, let us thank God for sending us the basic necessities to stay alive: food, clothing, and shelter. Anything we have above and beyond that, we must recognize those as rich blessings from God, and give him due praise.

Pray a Random Psalm

I've posted previously about the Psalms. Today, pick a random Psalm, sit down and read it, and then reflect on its message.

But how do we choose a "random" Psalm? If you have an iPhone, try the following:

1) Open the default calculator app, and turn the phone sideways to access the calculator's scientific functions.
2) Press "Rand," which draws a random numbers between 0 and 1.
3) Multiply that number by 150.
4) Add 1 to that number.
5) Now round down. (So if the number on the screen is 75.67, round down to 75.)

You've just randomly selected a number between 1-150. So that's your random Psalm! Read that Psalm two or three times throughout the day, each time reflecting on its message. Then repeat the process the next day. I believe the Psalms are a gift to us, and this is one way to enjoy them.

(If you don't have an iPhone, the website https://www.random.org/ allows one to choose random numbers between 1-150.)

God's States his Will to Cain

Genesis 4 tells the story of Cain and Abel. Although much can be learned from that famous account, I am particularly struck by God's simple statement of his will to Cain.

First, some background. At the beginning of the story, Cain and Abel both bring offerings to God. For reasons not explicitly stated, God accepts Abel's offering, but rejects Cain's. Perhaps Cain's offering was of low quality. Or perhaps Cain gave his offering grudgingly, rather than through joyful praise of God. Whatever the reason, the situation greatly angered Cain.

God then says to Cain (Genesis 4:6-7, ESV),

Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.

This same message applies to every one of us, every day of our lives. We must "do well," which means keeping his commandments and defeating sin.

Bible Translations

A person of faith should always have a Bible nearby. But with a myriad of options, which translation should one choose? People tend to have strong feelings about Bible translations, but those debates rarely involve substantive differences in theology. Importantly, almost all commonly-read translations convey the same message of God. My view is that one should choose a translation that one enjoys. After all, if it's a pleasure to read, you'll read it more often!

Here, I list seven popular English-language translations. My advice is to pick one and go with it! (Note: there are plenty of other popular translations not listed here. Most English-language translations can be read and compared for free at biblegateway.com, or on the freely-available smartphone app published by lifechurch.tv.)

• King James Version (KJV)

From a literary view, the KJV is, simply put, a masterpiece. Each verse flows with elegance and authority. From a spiritual view, the KJV has the benefit of being a literal translation, meaning that it faithfully reproduces the original Greek, Aramaic, and Hebrew documents. KJV loyalists also argue that, compared to modern translations, it uses superior source documents for its New Testament. (Since I don't speak ancient Greek, I won't wade into that debate!)

The major drawback of the KJV is that, unless you grew up with it, its 17th century language can make for a cumbersome read. So my advice is this: Unless you're already familiar with KJV parlance, opt for one of the other translations listed below. But do yourself a favor: Consult the KJV from time to time.

• New King James Version (NKJV)

The NKJV maintains the same sentence structure as the KJV, but updates some of the language. For example, the archaic pronouns (e.g, "thee," "thou," "ye") are updated, and words whose definitions have changed are modified accordingly.

• English Standard Version (ESV)

Published in 2001, the ESV has quickly become a favorite of many Bible readers. It's the version from which I often quote on this blog. In addition to its literal translation philosophy, a huge advantage of the ESV is that digital versions are available for free. Here is the Kindle version, and here is an audio version. Also, the official ESV smartphone app is one of the best Bible apps out there.

• New International Version (NIV)

Arguably the most popular modern translation, the NIV is (slightly) less literal than the ESV, but it's somewhat easier to read. For many people, this is their Bible of choice. (If you seek a free Kindle Bible that has a similar feel to the NIV, check out the New English Translation (NET).)

• New Living Translation (NLT)

The NLT aims for readability. While less literal than some of the other options listed here, it's still pretty literal.

• New American Bible (NAB)

The NAB (along with its Revised Edition) is to Catholics what the ESV is to protestants: a highly literal translation written in modern English. Although the Catholic Church does not have one "official" Bible, the NAB is the closest thing in the English-speaking world.

• Good News Bible (GNB)

Similar to the NLT, the GNB aims for readability. It's a popular choice among Catholics.