Proverbs – When I was in high school, I spent several weeks in England, much of it in London. While I loved the British Museum and all its incredible mummies, statues and art, my absolute favorite place was Speaker’s Corner in Hyde Park. We went almost every afternoon that we were in London. It was 1980 and Jimmy Carter had just sent in the ill-fated helicopter mission to rescue the hostages in the Iranian Embassy. It fascinated us that ANYONE could bring their produce box, step up on it, and start yakking their heads off without waiting for someone else to finish, have a script, heck, even bathe before showing up. At one point, one of the speakers was thoroughly trashing the US. I couldn’t retype the names he was calling us. Blogger would ditch me. I stepped up and started yelling back.
Of course, I made no impact. He easily shot me down and kept going.
But when I read today’s proverbs, that man is who I thought of.
We try so hard to turn the thoughts and words of fools. The proverb says this is wasted energy. Only someone who is wise (who probably doesn’t need us anyway!) will listen and continue in relationship. I also think this applies to advice. The only people who will listen to advice are those who don’t need it.
OT – Acacia wood is featured prominently in the construction of the Tabernacle. This plant is thought to be the ‘burning bush’ that Moses encountered when he fled Egypt. It is a desert plant but where there is water, it does grow into a tree-like form. It is usually very fragrant. Probably a good thing since the animal blood and animal sacrifice is not the most pleasant smell.
I was also struck by 36:4-7. When has a church ever said “enough offering”?
NT – Please be warned that this video is extremely graphic. It is a medical doctor explaining the physiological effects of Jesus’ treatment after the arrest and during the crucifixion. I have to admit, I could not watch it all in one fell swoop. But I find it compelling for the simple reason that I don’t like to think about the suffering that Jesus went through for me.
Friends, we are 3/26th of the way through the Bible. I know we are in a hard place with some of our readings. Please keep going and keep praying. There are messages for us here.
Peace to you and yours.
I watched the YouTube video of Dr Acuna. I could not help but flashback to the movie The Passion of Christ. Very tough to think about especially in light of the simple fact that all of the suffering was for the things that I have done and not because of what Jesus himself had done.
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