March 10

Proverb 11:4
I read the proverb “wealth is worthless in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death” did my usual head bob as in ‘yes, yes, that is so true. Let’s move on.” But then I got to thinking about it. For one thing, why would righteousness deliver you from death? Plenty of really good, loving people are killed every day. I am listening to The Winds of War by Herman Wouk and having already read the book several times, I know what is going to happen. I know people I care about are going to the concentration camps and they are going to die. Being good didn’t save them or any of the other devout 6 millions. And what about those nuns that were killed after being kidnapped and raped? Weren’t they righteous? The surviving one said they were. She said they absolved their killers of the sin of killing them as it was happening. Didn’t save them.
That must not be what the proverb means.
So I went back to the first part of the couplet. Remember that Hebrew poetry and epigrams are frequently in direct contradiction with one another as a means to illuminate.
Maybe the key is ‘day of wrath’. If Solomon or one of his advisors wrote these proverbs, the day of wrath would have been a military take over. Maybe even a coup. So during a military takeover, your money will not save you but being good, will. And if this is true, why? Would people be more likely to help you and your family during a military crisis if you had been good to them or theirs? Possibly.
I still do not think I understand what the proverb means.
Maybe the direct contradiction has to do with worthless wealth vs. righteousness. Maybe this is the OT version of ‘money won’t buy you love’?
Righteousness means living within the accordance of God’s will. Inability to sin. Morally upright. Is wealthy person incapable of being righteous?
I am still perplexed. On the surface, this one seems logical. Maybe it is that I, a wealthy person, do not want it to be true? But I am fully aware of how very far from the mark I am on righteousness. But when I think of people like Truett Cathy or Dorothy Day, Bill Gates, among the wealthiest people in the world, I think of them as righteous. I really do.
Let me know what you think.

OT – Numbers 14:1-15:16
This is the infamous passage where the entire crew is set to wandering for 40 years to wait out the death of the above 20 year olds. Maybe this is not a problem for God but always, when I am punishing Matthew and Cole, I have to wonder, how much this is going to cost me in time and effort. In God’s case, He had to stick it out over the tent for those 40 years and listen to all their boo-hoos. And did you notice! Those bozos didn’t make it one week before they were going full throttle ahead and trying to enter the promised land on their own. This is after watching all the spies drop dead from plague because they spread ill rumors. Rashi says that while the Israelites were wandering in the desert, there was not illness except illness brought on by being out of sync (like Miriam yesterday) with God. No normal measles, mumps or colds. The children of Israel were divinely protected on this journey. Except when they were bad. Then, they died of the diseases like wildfire.

NT – Mark 14:53-72
Even to the end, Mark’s Jesus is secretive, non-disclosure. He will not give up his identity to his adversaries. And did you notice, the girl called Jesus a Nazarene but Peter was a Galilean. (vs. 67-70).

Friends, at this time of the year, so many things are happening in our lives. If you need to miss a day from the reading, go with God. But come right back to it and pick up where we are. Don’t give up. We have so much fascinating material ahead of us.
And I would love it if you would pass along this blog to others who might like to join us.