Posted on

April 18



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Psalm 28-33

We are in the Wisdom Stream reading through the psalms. We are using the Good News Translation this week.

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Commentary by Dr. Drake Travis

28 – “give praise to the Lord for he has heard my cry for help.” is the core of this Psalm.  It is a prayer. It is thanksgiving for God answering prayer. David is urging people to be grateful and devoted to God. God saves and protects and David is blessed by this.

29 – is a very audio centered Psalm, it is filled with reminders of the sounds that God makes through what He has created: seas, thundering, echoes, lightning, trees in the wind.  Many are not drawn to God by such things, perhaps.  But David is so focused on God that any sound has David pause to reflect, “wow, listen to what God is doing now!” He has a childlike faith and wonder about him that shows up all the time in David’s life and pilgrimage.
30 – David has come through so much turmoil and brushes with death and battles and chaos and treachery.  And it all comes back to him as he has just taken Jerusalem and made it the capitol.  His palace will be there in Jerusalem.  This event happens early in II Samuel.  But the decision to settle and make this the center of the young nation – that and the dedication of David’s palace was the occasion of Psalm 30 being written.
[Don’t confuse this with the Temple – his son Solomon did that a few decades later]
31 – This issue here is prayer, trust and looking to God for protection.  It has been said of David, and for many reasons, that he learned better than probably anyone that he knew best that when God was all you had, you then realized that God is all you need. God was David’s Savior, defense, refuge, and shelter. David turned to God in the midst of any and every event or emotion he was going through.  He saw God as his caregiver.  None of the “if it’s to be, it’s up to me” touting.  David’s hymn was “I did it Thy Way” v.s. the American tune that was popular in the 1900’s.  The Lord is faithful and deserves our response of love for Him.
32 – David’s sin with Bathsheba and the full realization of the gravity that David had descended to is what prompted him to write Psalm 51.  David going through the confession process and finding restoration and relief and healing prompted him to write this one; Psalm 32.  David’s remorse had run its course and David realized the full depth and height of God’s forgiveness by now.  His joy in the Lord was returning.
33 – This is a song of joy and praise and thanksgiving that seems to ring clear up to heaven.  The joy of walking with God makes each step a wonder.  The joy of the Lord spreads to everything everywhere.  All nature and the sky too brings out the praise.  God is such a marvel!
Lord God of Heaven, you truly are good to us. You give us your righteousness and you strengthen us to live in joy and with that strength we can praise you more and more and praising you gives us joy to praise you yet more.  You a our marvelous God.  Amen.
Posted on

April 17



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I Samuel 26-31

We are in The Nation Stream today finishing the book of I Samuel. We are reading from the Good News Translation this week.

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David is such a man of upstanding character.  His years of solitude with God when he was young reflect in his behavior again and again. He is a skilled musician, a worshipper, a warrior who kills lions and bears and giants, he leads and rallies and inspires, he has cunning logic and people skills, and when he has a chance at killing someone who hates him with a vengeance … he doesn’t kill him!  Twice he opts not to kill his would-if he-could executioner. The fact that such a fighter is so gracious  and statesman-like is astonishing to anyone who understands human nature.

26 – Again, David is peering over a sleeping Saul and, with weapon in hand, he just walks away with the spear as evidence.  This is scarier than one might think.  David and friends have snuck in at night and walked through a filled camp. One man waking and shouting would have David killed without question. ‘Guts and daring’ could be added to the list of superlative traits that can be attached to David. The results following the revelation are similar. Saul talks admiringly and penitent as possible amid the embarrassment. Saul is such an obviously hollow soul. And there he is talking solicitous – surrounded by the soldiers he roused to help him go and kill a young man who could have killed him but didn’t. The difference between Israel’s current king that they chose, and the future one that God directed Samuel to anoint are as different as night and day to put it lightly.
27 – David was never again pursued by Saul after Saul was humiliated by David’s kindness a second time.  But he doesn’t know that Saul will never seek him again. Any time that Saul had ever been kind to David, it was a total lie. Saul was plotting. David, not knowing that Saul had resigned to leave David be, thought there was still a threat and he left for Philistia. He remained in that region until Saul was gone and he was enthroned king. During his years there he was a raider. Perhaps this was practice for when it was his assignment to expand the borders of Israel to the largest they would ever be. The Philistine king ended up trusting David. This is strange stuff but it is what is going on at this time.

28 – Meanwhile Saul makes his final pathetic error and it turns out to be what seals his doom. He goes to see a witch. He is terrified because warriors of Philistia have gathered against him. Samuel is gone, God isn’t answering and he is wondering what is next. He knew witchcraft was wrong and had expelled them from the country. Yet Saul himself goes to see one. It’s a fatal transgression and he will end up being killed in a day for his disobedience.  Saul never was one to obey the Lord.

29 – And back among the Philistines, David is endeared to Achish the Philistine king by now. Achish wants David to go with him to the next battle. He practically sees David as a token of good fortune and could use him. This is all convenient in Achish’s mind, but the other Philistine Kings don’t really know David except that he is an Israelite in hiding and therefore they don’t trust him. The issue of loyalty is an undying matter for all time isn’t it? David and Achish talk and realize it’s the better part of wisdom for David to return back to the coast of Philistia and sit this one out.
30 – David returned home after his conversation two days prior with Achish and his refuge town of Ziklag had been razed to the ground. Everything was stolen, all people had been kidnapped, possessions gone, anything left was burned. There was panic and grief among his 600 men who were planning to kill him.  It was the worst day of David’s life and y’might want to read the book by this similar title. David went straight to God as he had spent his whole life training himself to do and v. 6 says, “…but the Lord his God gave him great courage.”  David acts properly and quickly and recovers everything.  He again is humble and gracious amid great victory – and he shares all that is recovered from the Amalekites who had plundered his residence of Ziklag.  Keep in mind these are the Amalekites of whom Saul was ordered to rid from the earth – but as has been well established, Saul just can’t seem to obey.
31 – Saul is drawn into his final battle. Think: Who killed Saul? God? Philistines? The Philistines did wound him physically to the point of no return. But it was Saul’s disobedience and refusal to be anchored in God his savior – that’s what wounded him. And it was only a matter of time to where Saul killed himself. God brought him up and provided for him over and over. God spared him via David’s graciousness. Saul just outright could not do what he was told to do. He would not stand in for God and be a responsible King. Saul only looked out for himself and sought legitimacy through man’s approval.  We need to come to the end of observing Saul’s life and ask, “where does disobedience take us.”
Dear Holy Spirit, may we be shepherded by you and be found with a soul that is yielded and listening to you for our next step and our every move.  Amen.
Posted on

April 16



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Exodus 8-11

We are in The World Stream reading through the plagues on Egypt. We are reading from the Good News Translation this week.

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Commentary by Dr. Drake Travis

“Lord God, we want to be on your side. It is clear that there are those who are for you and those who are against you.  The resolve is contrasting and stark. The results of obeying you v.s. fighting you are again, contrasting and stark. It reminds of the lyric of the old hymn, “Savior, we are thine.”   May it be so.   Amen”

The Reading today covers plagues 2-9. We saw the Nile turning to blood and will read of the death of all the firstborn next week (1 and 10).  It is the bulk of the showdown with the Pharaoh today. The plagues we read about today are frogs, gnats, flies, plague on cattle, boils, hail, locusts, darkness. God used so many plagues and persisted through all ten of them for He wanted to fully prove the haplessness of the gods of Egypt.  In last week’s reading, the Nile turning to blood, this was God showing supremacy over the Egyptian gods; Khnum- guardian of the Nile, Hopi- spirit of the Nile, and Osiris- the giver of life, whose bloodstream was the Nile. The Egyptians even today confess that the Nile is their life. No Nile => no Egypt.

ch. 8 – Today the Frogs plague was a direct insult to the god Heqt [“h-e-q-t”]. Frogs come up out of the Nile for the next seven-day long plague. Egyptians worshiped frogs. Their croaking each spring as the Nile began to recede signified it was time to plant crops. Since the events each year were coincidental, this led to frogs being worshiped. It was springtime and just as rabbits in spring were revered in Rome (thus the persistence of the “Easter bunny”  with seculars hoping it overshadows the import of the Easter Holiday itself), so too frogs were worshiped and even associated with fertility.   So God had frogs even cover their beds. “So you still want to worship frogs, eh?” God seems to be asking this of the Egyptians.  The magicians were able to bring up some frogs. Was that supposed to impress someone?  You can make the plague worse, ok, but can you make it better?  Note that Pharaoh asked Moses to pray to God to remove the frogs … tomorrow.  Maybe if he had another day, he could solve the problem via his magicians. ?
The gnats (mosquitos?) plague is not a direct insult of a god for none were associated with gnats, but it is the first plague that comes without a warning preceding it where Moses and Pharaoh talk first. Did Pharaoh deserve a warning? He had just lied to God/Moses/Aaron… Notice that God had told both Abraham and Jacob that their offspring would be innumerable; like the sand. Well the gnats here are going to be that thick, that innumberable, and plague starts when Moses strikes the ground.  Think of trying to get a night’s sleep, especially when camping, and there is even one gnat buzzing around your ears. Alone it will keep you awake. Well the Egyptians were immersed in trillions of them.  And the magicians confess that it’s God’s doing.
The flies strike next. It is going to be so bad that Moses goes to warn Pharaoh this time. We read “flies” but these are not what we think. We envision ‘house-flies’. These are/were what are referred to as ‘dog-flies’. Many have heard of ‘horse-flies’. Those things bite and leave a mark!  The kind they had in Egypt were as angry as hornets. They dive and bite/sting. That is why the Israelites in Goshen are protected. The plague soon brings Egypt to ruin and it’s understandable. Biologically, the Frogs, gnats, and flies happening in succession are linked matters but that can be discussed elsewhere.
9 – The plague on the cattle is a direct assault on Egypt’s well being and economy and religion. They loved cows. It was entrenched in their minds. (Even Israelites falter in this come Exodus 32 when they make golden calves as idols). hundreds of millions in India worship cows to this day. “Hathor” was the Egyptian mother goddess in shape of a cow, and Apis (ah-PEACE) was the bull-god. He personified “Ptah” ; a creator-god who gave fertility.  The Egyptians worshiped cattle –> and God struck the cattle. Don’t anyone get mad at God, it was Pharaoh who wouldn’t bend here. All the animals in Egypt that belonged to the Egyptians died. The Israelites suffered no loss here.
-Soon the boils come on the bodies of the Egyptian people and the animals. They had to have acquired more from neighboring countries and from Israelites since their’s had all just died. So they have new cattle, they’ve just recovered from the biting flies and now ALL cows and people get boils.  Perhaps the fly bites are medically linked to getting the boils but it is bad and painful and the magicians would have conjured something except that they are covered with boils too. It is a national mess that is disgusting and beyond. “Imhotep” their impotent god of medicine was proving to be of no use and no contest against the God whom Moses served.
-there is no recovery spoken of from the boils and soon the warning of hail coming is delivered to Pharaoh. Egypt had the sky goddess; Nut {“newt”}, Isis; the goddess of life, and Seth; the protector of crops.  These gods would prove useless like the others.  The warning is given because anything that is left out; slave or animal is going to get pelted to death. Some listen, some don’t. The horror of the magnitude of the hail storm drives Pharaoh to a confession to Moses but there is not repentance.
10 – The Locust plague is again a clear statement against the gods Isis and Seth. This time God was determined to finish the contest with all the gods of Egypt. Pharaoh was beyond repenting. God would see to it that the oppressors of Israel were devastated.  Pharaoh tries some half measures to negotiate but is stubborn to the bone in the end, again. But it’s God’s doing and the locusts come and devour everything green that was left in the land from the hail storm. A vast cloud of them swarmed in. Some historians and entymologists (buggie-dudes) said that at night the locusts would rest on the ground in the dark and be 4-5″ inches deep squishing under feet.  Pharaoh is crushed and comes to ask for prayer
but he won’t let the Israelites depart.  The loss of labor of millions would be even worse to him.
The darkness, plague 9, came without warning as did the plagues of boils and gnats. The Egyptian sun gods, Re, Aten, Atum, and Horus were all shown as empty idols. The god Horus is still used as the logo on EgyptAir lines today. He is the falcon head.  Well darkness descended and it is a spooky darkness. It’s a different type of horror than what the others had brought on. There was no darkness over the Israelites. They had asked to go worship for three days. Pharaoh had said “no” too many times before, so they got darkness for three days.  Pharaoh is unbending.
11 – Moses, under God’s instruction, goes to Pharaoh and spells out in detail the 10th plague. It will be horrifying and be the greatest blow ever dealt to Egypt in its history. It will affect Pharaoh; the personified god of Egypt. This one will also strike the palace and will leave every home in the country with a lifeless hole in their soul. Pharaoh has been warned thoroughly, and as God has it, Pharaoh will not let the Israelites go.  They better brace themselves.