Category: Bible Insights

Reflections and meditations about the Bible by Peter DeHaan, PhD.

Another Way to Give to God

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date March 15, 2016

What are the Ramifications When We are Kind to the Poor?

The book of Proverbs, most of which is written by King Solomon, reels off a list of pithy one-liners. Such is the passage for today’s reading.

One that captured my attention is “Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord,” (Proverbs 19:17).

We know we should help the poor, and sometimes we do. When we wisely give to them—be it through our time, our possessions, or our money—we benefit them.

We also gain because we do so as an act of obedience and an expression of love. And when we are generous in the name of Jesus, he is subtly celebrated. But there is one more thing.

According to Solomon when we give to the poor, we effectively extend a loan to God. In essence, giving to the poor is giving to God. But Solomon calls it a loan.

Does that mean that God then owes us? Don’t go there, because we already owe him so much more than we can ever repay.

Jesus also encourages us to help the poor. In the parable of the sheep and the goats, the king (emblematic of God) says to his righteous followers: “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me,” (Matthew 25:40).

Giving to the poor is giving to God

[Read through the Bible with us this year. Today’s reading is Proverbs 18-21, and today’s post focuses on Proverbs 19:17.]

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.

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Tags give, Jesus, money

Bible Insights

Should We Confess the Sins of Our Nation?

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date February 23, 2016
2 Comments on Should We Confess the Sins of Our Nation?

Daniel Reads the Scriptures, Fasts, and Prays, Confessing the Sins of His People

When I think of praying, confessing my faults to God is not the first thing that comes to mind. And when I am convicted of the need to admit to an errant act or a missed opportunity, I don’t linger there.

I make it quick and then move on to more pleasant communication with my Maker, Savior, and Guide.

Basking in the spiritual reality of the almighty God is where I want to be. Acknowledging my faults to him is not nearly so much fun.

Personal confession is hard enough; corporate confession—admitting the faults of our community—is barely comprehensible to me. Yet that is exactly what Daniel does.

Daniel studies the prophecies in scripture. He sees that his people are receiving punishment for turning away from God. He reads the foretelling that their exile will last seventy years. That time is almost up.

Yet instead of thanking God that the allotted season of deportation is about over, Daniel is driven to contrition and fasting. He confesses the sins of his forefathers and countrymen.

It’s as if he takes the sins of the nation upon his shoulders and confesses them to God:

“We have sinned.”
“We have been wicked.”
“We have turned away.”
“We have not listened.”
“We have not obeyed.”
“We have rebelled.”
…and on he goes.

Mixed in with his confession for his people is praise and affirmation to God.

In this Daniel, for whom the Bible records no sin, takes on the collective “we” to confess his nation’s faults. He doesn’t need to do this, but he does. Maybe we should do the same for our country.

Maybe it’s time to confess the wrongs of our nation.

[Read through the Bible with us this year. Today’s reading is Daniel 7-9, and today’s post is on Daniel 9:4-19.]

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Tags fasting, pray, sin

Bible Insights

Are God’s Angels Preparing Your Way?

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date January 26, 2016

God Sends an Angel to Guard and Guide His People into the Promised Land

I’ve read the book of Exodus a dozen or so times, but I never remember reading today’s passage. I’m sure it was there, but it never clicked with me until now.

The Israelites have left Egypt. They wander around in the desert as God prepares them for what is to come.

In the midst of his instructions God promises to send an angel to his people. The angel will protect them and guide them to the Promised Land. God adds that the people must listen to the angel and do as he says.

If they resist the angel, he will hold it against them, because God is with the angel.

How amazing is that? The people will have a supernatural being to guard and guide them. (If only they had been better followers.)

While this promise is just to the Israelites at that time, God is able to do the same for us today. And it’s not unreasonable to consider that he will.

In fact, there have been times of desperation when, not knowing what to do, I called for God to send angels to fight for me in the spiritual realm.

I believe he did. Relief came quickly.

We don’t normally think too much about angels in our experiences today. But maybe we should. While we would be remiss to think too highly of angels, we are equally in error to dismiss them.

Do you think angels are active today? Have you ever had any angelic encounters?

[Read through the Bible with us this year. Today’s reading is Exodus 23-25, and today’s post is on Exodus 23:20-23.]

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Tags angel, promised land, supernatural

Bible Insights

Is it Ever Okay to Lie?

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date January 19, 2016

Telling the Truth May Not Be Absolute

The descendants of Jacob (Israel) are enslaved in Egypt. They are prolific and their captors fear their growing numbers.

To curb their population explosion the king of Egypt commands the midwives, Shiphrah and Puah, to kill every baby Hebrew boy as he is born.

They do not. They fear God more than the Egyptian king.

The king confronts them. This may seem like a great time for them to boldly stand up to the king, proclaim their fear of God, and be ready to die for their faith. Many others in the Bible do this. Daniel and Esther come to mind.

This would be a great time for Shiphrah and Puah to proclaim God to the king. Perhaps their likely execution will rally their people. Their martyrdom could spark a revolution.

They might inspire the Hebrews to rise up and ultimately escape. But they don’t do this. Instead they lie.

They claim they don’t arrive in time, that the Hebrew women give birth too quickly. Therefore they are unable to do what the king commanded.

How does God react? He does not criticize them for lying. He does not punish them for missing this opportunity to confront the tyranny of their oppressors. Instead he rewards them for their reverence to him: he blesses them with families of their own.

Apparently it was okay for them to lie.

[Read through the Bible with us this year. Today’s reading is Exodus 1-3, and today’s post is on Exodus 1:15-22.]

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Tags blessing, fear God, Moses

Bible Insights

God Seldom Reveals the Big Picture to Us, Just the Next Step

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date January 5, 2016

God first comes to Abraham when he is still known as Abram. God tells him to leave all he knows and to go—somewhere—to a place God will later show him.

The final destination is apparently on a need-to-know basis and Abram doesn’t need to know.

If it were me, I’d want some details. Where are you sending me, God? Why? What is your end game? How long will I be gone? What should I pack? What preparations should I make? Am I coming back?

Then I’d do some research, check with others, and spend a lot of time thinking about it. And I’d pray, too. God would likely need to tell me a couple times before I obeyed.

I like to see the big picture, but God doesn’t seem to work that way—at least with me.

Though God promises to make Abram into a great nation, this is not conditional on Abram’s obedience. In this case God’s promise is unconditional.

Again, if it were me, I’d be tempted to ask God to make me into a great nation right where I was, without the ambiguous travel command into the unknown.

Yet Abram goes. This is his first recorded act of faith. It isn’t until he reaches Canaan that God reveals more. He promises to give that land to Abram’s descendants. That is God’s big picture, or at least a wider view of it.

Abram has to move out in faith and go to where God leads him. Only then does God give him more information.

I guess that’s why it’s called faith.

[Read through the Bible with us this year. Today’s reading is Genesis 12-14, and today’s post is on Genesis 12:1-7.]

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Tags Abraham, faith, obey God

Bible Insights

Where Do You Stand on the Judgement Versus Mercy Debate?

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date December 29, 2015

If you’ve been reading along in our New Testament reading plan, you’ve just finished the book of Titus and will wrap up your Bible reading for the year with the short book of Philemon.

Congratulations for finishing! (Next year let’s read the entire Bible together. Look for posts here each Tuesday that align with the reading plan.)

The book of Philemon is actually a letter Paul writes to Philemon. In it Paul advocates for mercy instead of judgement for their mutual colleague, Onesimus.

Onesimus deserves a stern dose of justice for running away, but Paul pleads for mercy instead.

This sounds a lot like Jesus and us. Our misdeeds demand judgement but Jesus offers mercy to everyone, but only those who follow Jesus can actually receive his mercy and grace.

God’s Law demands justice, but his love gives grace. Jesus makes the difference.

The Bible doesn’t say if Philemon extends Onesimus the mercy he doesn’t deserve or demands the justice that he does, but I think Philemon sets aside judgement and justice to present mercy and grace—just like Jesus does for us.

Thank God for Jesus, for mercy, and for grace!

What do you think Philemon did after reading Paul’s letter? How would you have treated Onesimus?

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Tags grace, justice, love, mercy

Bible Insights

Why We Shouldn’t Argue Over Theology

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date December 22, 2015
2 Comments on Why We Shouldn’t Argue Over Theology

When Paul writes to his protégé Timothy, he instructs Timothy to warn the people not to quarrel over words. Isn’t that what most theological debate is, people arguing about words?

People who claim to follow Jesus end up arguing about the meaning of certain words.

They build their own theology around their understanding of these words and then reject everyone who thinks otherwise.

This is the primary reason why the world has 42,000 Protestant denominations.

People who should know better quarrel over words and then storm off in a huff to form a new denomination of people who think just like they do.

Don’t they read what Paul wrote? He says quarreling over words “is of no value” and “only ruins those who listen” (2 Timothy 2:14).

Later on he says to not “have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments,” which only “produce quarrels” (2 Timothy 2:23).

This isn’t the first time Paul tells this to Timothy. In Paul’s first letter of instruction he talks about false teachers and their “unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words.”

The result is “envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions” (1 Timothy 6:4).

So we must stop fighting over words. The Bible says to. Nothing good ever comes of it.

Isn’t quarreling about words the source of our theological debates and divisions? We need to stop arguing about theology and instead unite to tell the world about Jesus.

Can you think of a theological debate that wasn’t a quarrel over words? How should we treat those we disagree with?

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Tags denominations, Paul, theology, Timothy, unity

Bible Insights

Train With Purpose

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date December 15, 2015

Pursuing the Best in What We Do

In Paul’s letter of advice to his young protégé Timothy, he acknowledges the value of physical training. Even better is training to live a godly life.

Physical training has some value, but godliness has even more, both in this life and the life to come, in the physical world and also in the spiritual world.

He contrasts physical training, which is good, to spiritual training, which is better. How often do we pursue things that are good, while pushing aside things that are better, God’s things? The best things.

Even when it comes to our faith, there are good things we can to with our time, money, and attention and there are better things we can do. May we live wisely and always focus on the best.

In other letters Paul uses the metaphor of a runner to teach about life. As people who follow Jesus we should train for our race and run our race with the purpose. We want to finish, win, and earn a prize for how well we run.

We don’t want to be disqualified; we don’t want to quit before we reach the finish line. Coasting through the race—or through life—isn’t an option.

We must press forward with the end in mind. To do these things, we train with purpose. Our eternal future is at stake. We run to win.

[1 Timothy 4:7-8, 1 Corinthians 9:24, Galatians 2:2, Galatians 5:7, Hebrews 12:1]

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Tags eternal life, Paul

Bible Insights

What Do People Remember About You?

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date December 1, 2015

Faith, Hope, and Love

When Paul writes to the church in Thessalonica he professes three things he recalls about them.

He remembers them and their characteristics before God, presumably as he prays, offering thanksgiving to God for their lives and the examples they provide.

Three things stand out as the testimony of the Thessalonian church, their witness to the world around them:

Faithful Work

Their faith in God produces their work. They don’t work for the sake of working or do things just to do things. They work with intentionality because of their faith.

They couple actions with belief, with their actions springing forth from their spiritual moorings.

Loving Labor

Their love for others prompts them to help others. They don’t love in name only or in theory, they show their love by their deeds. For them love is a verb.

Because of their love, they toil for others, laboring for the benefit of those around them.

Enduring Hope

They persevere because of Jesus, through their hope in him and the promises he offers. This hope inspires their endurance; it motivates them to persist regardless of the situation or circumstances. Their hope propels them forward.

When Paul thinks about this church, this is how he remembers them. He recalls their faith, their love, and their hope.

In another letter Paul upholds all three of these ideals and then adds that the greatest of them is love.

(1 Thessalonians 1:3, 1 Corinthians 13:13)

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Tags faith, hope, love, Paul, Thanksgiving, witness

Bible Insights

How Often Do You Give Thanks to God?

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date November 24, 2015

When Paul writes to the church in the city of Colossi, he says he always gives God thanks when he prays for them. He doesn’t just give God thanks for them occasionally but always.

This is because of their faith in Jesus and their love for all God’s people—not some of them or the ones they agree with, but all of God’s people.

Their faith and love stems from the hope they have in heaven because of Jesus (Colossians 1:3-5).

This is one of many of Paul’s references to prayers of thanksgiving he makes for other servants and followers of Jesus. See Ephesians 1:16, Philippians 1:3-4, 1 Thessalonians 1:2, and Philemon 1:4.

This gives me pause. Is my life one that would cause someone to give thanks to God? I fear not. Furthermore, when have I given thanks to God for the example of someone else’s life?

Implicitly, perhaps, but I doubt if I’ve ever done so explicitly.

I’m not sure which bothers me more: my failure in producing God-honoring actions or my forgetfulness in praying God-honoring thanks.

In even more general terms, how often do I thank God overall? Sometimes I remember to thank him for his blessings and provisions.

Sometimes I remember to thank him for answered prayer. But it is much easier to persist in making requests, than to persist in giving thanks.

Happy Thanksgiving!

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Tags Paul, pray, thank God, Thanksgiving