Tag Archives: spirituality

Nehemiah, chapters 5-8

“Do not feel sad, for the joy of Jehovah is your stronghold.”
~Nehemiah 8:10

This verse has personally been one of the cornerstones of my faith.
But why did the audience feel sad to begin with?
“All the people were weeping as they heard the words of the Law,” (Neh. 8:9).
It was the month of Ethanim (mid-September to mid-October), the start of the Jewish agricultural year, a month that marks many biblical historically relevant events.
It was a month of festivals.
This day started out with special trumpet blasts announcing a holy convention (Lev. 23:24).
The Jews in Jerusalem had but a few days earlier, against all odds, completed rebuilding the city walls (Neh. 6:15).
True worship was finally and officially ready to go fully back into effect.
When the scribe Ezra read the book of the law, and the Levites explained it, the people took it to heart (Neh. 8:2,3,7,8).
They understood what Jehovah was trying to tell them.
They were compelled to tears of sadness because of the errors of their ways.
But understanding God’s word was reason to rejoice, not cry.
The Levites helped them to correct their attitude, “so all the people went away to eat and to drink and to send out portions of food and to carry on a great rejoicing, for they understood the words that had been made known to them,” (Neh. 8:12).
When I personally experience sadness, do I make Jehovah’s joy my stronghold?
Understanding his word and serving him are not small reasons to rejoice in.
It is a beautiful privilege to form part of God’s people.
There is no better place to seek refuge than in the stronghold of the “happy God,” (1 Tim. 1:11; Ps. 16:11).

2 Chronicles, chapters 20-24

“So they buried [Jehoiada] in the City of David along with the kings, because he had done good in Israel with respect to the true God […]”
~ 2 Chronicles 24:16

Jehoiada was the high priest of Judah who had hidden his nephew from being murdered for six years.
After officially proclaiming his young nephew, Jehoash, king, Jehoiada went on to rid the land of the apostate worship of Baal (2 Chron. chapter 23).
For his zealous service toward Jehovah’s worship, he was given the honor of a king’s burial.
This is in stark contrast to the end of King Jehoash’s life.
Influenced by his comrades, Jehoash ended up promoting pagan worship, to the point that he murdered a prophet.
This prophet was Zechariah, the late Jehoiada’s son (2 Chron. 24:17-22).
For his sins, Jehoash was denied a king’s burial by his own people (2 Chron. 24:25).
These two men were ultimately defined by their actions and not by their titles.
Therefor, what we do is more important than who we are.
One cannot justify inaction or poor decision making by blaming family or one’s position in society.

2 Chronicles, chapters 6-9

Solomon also brought Pharaoh’s daughter up from the City of David to the house that he had built for her, for he said: “Although she is my wife, she should not dwell in the house of King David of Israel, for the places to which the Ark of Jehovah has come are holy.”
~2 Chronicles 8:11

At the beginning of his reign, King Solomon had a clear view of how to keep true worship uncontaminated from false religion.
He understood that his wife’s traditions were not just incompatible with Mosaic Law, but they diametrically opposed it.
At the risk of offending her, he removed her from within the Holy City and built her a separate house next to his own.
We should also hold true worship in high esteem and avoid contaminating it with antibiblical traditions, even when this may stress close relationships (Matt. 10:36,37; 2 Co. 6:14).

1 Chronicles, chapters 26-29

The chief of the third group assigned to serve during the third month was Benaiah the son of Jehoiada the chief priest, and 24,000 were in his division.
~1 Chronicles 27:5

The reader may recall from previous passages the story of Benaiah and his loyalty toward King David’s reign (2Sa 23:20-23; 1Ki 1:8, 2:29).
He was one of David’s few confidants who did not betray him even after his death.
What I had not personally reflected upon was his family’s namesake.
His father was “the leader of the sons of Aaron,” that is to say, the Levite priests (1Ch 12:27).
Benaiah did not live off of his father’s spiritual reputation.
He made his own name before God and followed his own career in sacred service, unrelated to priestly duties.
What this teaches me is that even if my mother or father or grandparents are well known in the community for their ministry work, I still need to make my own name before God as an individual.
It is not enough to inherit values; they must also be put to good use.

1 Chronicles, chapters 1-4

“O that you would bless me and enlarge my territory and let your hand be with me and preserve me from calamity, so that it may bring no harm to me!”
~1 Chronicles 4:10

Jabez is a lesser known Bible personality.
This is the only passage in the Scriptures that makes reference to him.
Upon beginning to read Chronicles, it may seem like a restatement of genealogies and some passages appear to be copied straight out of other books.
However, the writer Ezra, who was both scribe and priest, referenced some seventeen to twenty scrolls of his day that are not currently in existence.
That is why the book of Chronicles provides details essential to developing a fuller faith in Jehovah God and the Bible as a whole (“Chronicles, The Books of.” Watchtower Online Library, Christian Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses, June 2015. Web 12 Oct. 2015).
Returning to the story of Jabez, Jehovah heard his prayer and “brought about what he had asked for.”
From this, we gather that to be outstanding in God’s eyes, we do not need to go out and perform great deeds that change the course of history.
Jabez put his faith in Jehovah, not so much in himself, and that distinguished him enough for God to include his account in the Holy Scriptures.

2 Kings, chapters 19-22

“Go, inquire of Jehovah in my behalf, in behalf of the people, and in behalf of all Judah concerning the words of this book that has been found […]”
~2 Kings 22:13

Josiah was a 26 year old king who had an earnest interest in doing things God’s way (2 Ki. 22:2).

When his scribe, Shaphan, brought him the book of the Law (evidently the original book written by the hand of Moses), he formed a committee to find out what God’s words meant in terms of Judah’s future (De. 31:9).

The committee, despite being made up of prominent men, did not visit any well-known male prophets of the time, despite their vicinity (Jeremiah, Nahum and Zephaniah).

Instead, the committee inquired of the prophetess Huldah. (2 Ki. 22:14).

Huldah’s insight into the reading of the prophecies was never questioned but rather, taken as God’s word (2 Ki. 22:20-23:3).

King Josiah’s humility was hence blessed as he was spared seeing Jerusalem’s destruction or having it collapse under his reign (2 Ki. 22:18-20).

How do I react when given sound advice by a spiritually mature woman?

Do I think she is overstepping her role in the congregation by personally giving me suggestions that typically only congregation elders or overseers give?

When a person delivers God’s message to me, it should not matter that they are male or female, so long as it is God’s word that they are relating.

Other women who prophesied on behalf of Jehovah:

2 Kings, chapters 16-18

When he saw the altar that was in Damascus, King Ahaz sent Urijah the priest a plan of the altar, showing its pattern and how it was made. Urijah the priest built an altar according to all the directions that King Ahaz had sent […].
~2 Kings 16:10,11

Urijah knew that the original plans for the first altar had been given from Jehovah to David.
David’s son, Solomon, had carried out the blueprints precisely as indicated (2 Chron. 3:1; 4:1).
Urijah, however, allowed King Ahaz to overstep his authority and alter Jehovah’s instructions.

King Ahaz was an apostate.
“He did not do what was right in the eyes of Jehovah his God as David his forefather had done. […] He even made his own son pass through the fire,” (2 Ki. 16:2,3).

When King Ahaz returned from his trip, “he moved the copper altar that was before Jehovah from its place in front of the house, from between his own altar and the house of Jehovah, and he put it at the north side of his own altar. […] Urijah the priest did everything that King Ahaz had commanded” (2 Ki. 16:14,16).

When the congregation hands us instructions regarding our worship, do we see their divine origin, or do we consider them to be mere suggestions?
Do we alter Jehovah’s instructions because they do not appeal to us or because we think we can come up with a better form of worship?
And to what extent do we allow others to dissuade us from doing what we know Jehovah asks of us?

Urijah does not stand out in the Bible account as being a faithful priest.
He contributed to the demise of pure worship in his day.

1 Kings, chapters 7 & 8

King Solomon described Jehovah’s kindness in the context of a deep prayer:

“Whatever prayer, whatever request for favor may be […] (for each one knows the plague of his own heart) […], then may you hear from the heavens, your dwelling place, and may you forgive and take action; and reward each one according to all his ways, for you know his heart (you alone truly know every human heart), so that they may fear you […]” (1 Ki. 8:38-40).

Fearing God in our hearts does not mean we dread God or that we flee from him.

Fear of God implies fear of letting him down, fear of disrespecting him.

Whether or not a person is sincere in their service toward God can only be judged by God himself.

One is assured, however, that regardless of what we do, God pays to each his own.

Imagine someone in a dire situation.

He calls out to God, but God sees that he is insincere.

God does not forgive him.

Not even Jehovah God, the God of all love, kindness and forgiveness, forgives him, because that person is insincere and God can see through his facade.

That would be truly dreadful.

It is different, though, when one serves God.

If you sincerely strive to do what is good because you fear displeasing God, or if you sincerely repent, you can rest assured that Jehovah will listen to your prayer and bless you according to your ways, sooner or later (Ps. 145:16; Rev. 21:3-5).

“O Jehovah the God of Israel, there is no God like you in the heavens above or on the earth beneath, keeping the covenant and showing loyal love to your servants who are walking before you with all their heart,” (1 Ki. 8:23).

2 Samuel, chapters 22-24

“For you are my lamp, O Jehovah;
It is Jehovah who lights up my darknes.”
~2 Samuel 22:29

Ever feel lost in life?
Like you have no idea what direction to steer yourself in?
God promises to light our path so we know what direction to head in.
He does this when we draw close to him in prayer and when we base our decisions on his guiding principles found in his word (Ps. 5:1,2; 119:105; Isa. 30:21).
When we let God influence our decision making, we can have the same confidence as the Psalmist:

Jehovah is my light and my salvation. Whom should I fear? Jehovah is the stronghold of my life. Whom should I dread? (Ps. 27:1).

We will experience clarity and peace of mind that only comes as a result of doing God’s will (Ps. 97:11).

1 Samuel, chapters 23-25

[…] David’s servants came to Abigail at Carmel and said to her: “David has sent us to you to take you as his wife.” She immediately rose up and bowed with her face to the ground and said: “Here is your slave as a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my lord.” Then Abigail quickly rose up and rode on her donkey with five of her female servants walking behind her; she accompanied the messengers of David and became his wife.
~1 Samuel 25:40-42

Abigail was a “discerning and beautiful” woman (1 Sam. 25:3).

On top of that, she was humble and hard-working.
Despite being the recent widow of a very wealthy man, she did not think she was above her servants in the sense that she would leave them all the dirty work (1 Sam. 25:2, 36-39).

At the time David proposed, he was not yet ruling as king.
He was dwelling in caves (1 Sam. 25:4).
Also, after being deprived of his first wife by his father-in-law, David had already taken on a second wife- making Abigail his third wife (1 Sam. 25:43,44).

This makes Abigail’s answer to his marriage proposal seem all the more selfless.

Abigail considered it a great honor to become David’s wife because she put faith in Jehovah’s words that David would one day be king (1 Sam. 25:30,31).

When I put myself in Abigail’s shoes- how she had just gotten out of a terrible marriage, how she was willing to leave her ranch estate for David- a man who lived like a fugitive, a man who a few days earlier had gone to take vengeance against her own household, a man who was not going to focus on her primarily, a man that had not even gone to propose in person!
I would not have reacted the way she did.
That is why I marvel at her faith and her self-sacrificing personality.