Taking Responsibility

Judah had many years earlier gone along with his brothers in the cover-up of Joseph’s disappearance, allowing his father to believe that Joseph had been killed. Now, in the previous chapter, and in this one also, we see Judah taking full responsibility for his youngest brother, Benjamin.

He had told his father that if he did not return with Benjamin, then he, Judah, would forever carry the blame.

Radical Call

In these few verses we have a powerful and sobering narrative. The words and works of Jesus are affirmations that the promised kingdom has arrived. Resistance to the message of the kingdom has serious consequences. Those in the crowds did not like what they were hearing and they “demonized” the messengers. Jesus now zeroes in on more egregious examples of this resistance to the good news that the kingdom has come.

Evading Responsibility

This scene is filled with tension. Jesus has been brought to Pilate for sentencing since the Jewish leaders could not pronounce the death penalty. Pilate is curious because this message from his wife that she has had a dream and urges him to absolve himself from this case because the prisoner is an innocent men (19).Pilate has come to this conclusion himself and has tried to substitute another prisoner Barabbas but the leaders will have none of this.

Pass it Forward

This passage is filled with attention to transition. This is the moment where Moses passes the mantle of leadership to Joshua. This is the moment that Israel finally enters the promised land. This is the beginning of the work to clear the land, and they will need strength and courage for that task.

This is the beginning of a new kind of rest as they begin to enjoy the provisions of the promised land.

Waiting for the Master

If this life is the final offer, then my quest should be to experience it all and not hold back. I should take from others anything I find useful, and taste all that tempts my palate. If this world is a house where there is no master, no one can stop me from laying claim to the position.

Sadly not a single one of us has the grace required of a true master. When we take on the role we are more likely to mistreat others, be reckless with the land and slide into gluttony of all sorts.

So You Want To Be A Leader

We can all think of someone in a position of authority who made a bad decision with disastrous results.

That is David in our text today. David asks some of his leaders to count the people of Israel. It takes 9 months and twenty days. You have to honour the commitment of David’s followers and his leadership in persuading them to do something they did not see any value in doing.

Don’t Blame the Messenger

Recently, I received a letter from a rather worried teenage girl. She told me that she was trying very hard to tell her non-Christian friends about Christ. But, her friends had still not become Christians. She asked me, what she was doing wrong. What if her friends ended up in hell because of her?

This parable warns us against placing all of the responsibility for someone else’s salvation onto the shoulders of the messenger.

We Are Not Pawns of the King

If the book of Kings teaches us anything about leadership, it is that as goes the leader so goes the apprentice. Hence we read statements like:

“Azariah obeyed the Lord by doing right, as his father Amaziah had done.” (2 Kings 15:3)

“Like his ancestors, Zechariah disobeyed the Lord by following the evil ways of Jeroboam son of Nebat, who had caused the Israelites to sin.” (2 Kings 15:9)

Don’t Underestimate Yourself

Read Reflect It easy to say, “What can one person do?” Or, “With such odds stacked against me, how can I change my circumstances?” We settle into fatalistic thinking, which usually breeds cynicism. It is hardly a joyful way to live. Today’s proverbs challenge helpless resignation. Can we change all that is wrong with the […]

Vision and Expectations

Isaiah now turns to prophesying about Jerusalem and Judah. He refers to these areas as the “Valley of Vision”. They were in fact the areas where the Lord himself was known. The people in these areas knew God by name and had heard the prophets’ visions.

Despite knowing God, they had neglected to follow him.