A few observations.

1) We must be diligent to allow the text to address only that which it meant to address. Genesis 1 is a poetic offering of the creation account. Genesis 2 prose. We must beware of making either of these accounts say something that they did not intend to say. Much of the debate regarding the age of the earth cannot be firmly supported by the creation account in Genesis 1-2. We are wise then to be humble with our thoughts on such matters and gracious towards others who disagree.

2) The Lord gave man authority to rule. This is evident not only in his command to cultivate the earth and subdue it, but also in Adam’s naming of the animals. Every Christian ought to understand the significance of this, the earliest command. Significance of life in the home, work, relationships, and the human community. Not to mention the care of personal property. The command to subdue the earth and cultivate the potential laden in the original created order touches every single area of human life.

3) The Fall is such a horrible, cosmic event. Reading it should make us weep for what we have lost. Everything is touched by the Fall. Corrupted even. The most basic relationship between husband and wife is corrupted. So also the basic need to eat and the work necessary to enjoy the basic necessities of life. No matter what technological progress we currently enjoy, the effects of the Fall are plain.

4) Praise God for Jesus, who has come to reverse the effects of the Fall. As the second Adam, he came to deal with sin and Satan and death, once for all and to raise up a new people for the Lord who would be agents of redemption. One day He will return and make all things new…as they were always supposed to be and so much better.

Here we have Jesus, arrested because of the selfishness and jealousy and self-righteousness of those in religious power. Throughout his arrest, he was completely under control, even powerful, making those who arrested him fall to the ground. In verses 19-24, we see Jesus’ first encounter with his accusers.

They ask him about his teachings and his disciples. He tells them that he has taught openly, so that they should ask those who have heard him taught (which no doubt included many of those present). It is clear he says this with a confidence that threatens everyone else in the room. Following his initial reply, he is struck by one of the high priests officers, who says, “Is that how you answer the high priest?”

Now ask yourself: What would I do if I were in that situation? How would I respond if I was wrongly arrested and then struck for giving a very simple, calm reply?

First of all, we would not have been as calm, cool, and collected as Jesus, but let’s just say we were. How then would we respond to being struck? No doubt, we would have either responded feeling very sorry for our plight or by trying to break through our chains in order to strike back.

But look at what Jesus does?

He replies, no doubt with the same cool, calm, collectedness, and power, “If what I said is wrong, bear witness about the wrong; but if what I said is right, why do you strike me?”

Take a moment to imagine the scene. Hear how he said it. Envision their faces as this man responds to their injustice with perfect self-control and a power they have never encountered before.

I don’t know about you, but this certainly makes me want to worship Jesus Christ. Here he is in the most intense of unjust situations, indeed, the most unjust situation in the history of the world, facing his death, and he is not rattled. He is more at rest than his accusers. He is at peace. He is strong. He is powerful. He responds with conviction, but not with arrogance. He is firm, but not proud like we are apt to be when we know we are in the right.

It is no wonder why the religious leaders were threatened by this man. Jesus exposed them for who they really were. No doubt, this is why most folks run from him now. But it is so much better to see things how they really are, to deal with this Jesus, and to worship him for who he has declared and proven himself to be, the very Son of God who suffered and died and rose again on behalf of all who would believe in him.

One final thought: every single injustice done to us should be viewed in light of the injustice Jesus Christ suffered in perfect cool, calm, collectedness, and power. We can suffer injustice because he suffered injustice for us and empowers us to bear witness to his worth in our difficult times.

Note, however, how he found the power to suffer such injustice.

“But if when you do good and suffered for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly” (1 Peter 2:20-23).

Do you see the last line? He “continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.” Simply put: he trusted God. We are so wise to follow in his steps. Lord, to make it simple, help us to trust in you. Help us to humble ourselves before you like Jesus and to believe your promises. To bank our hopes for a happy future on you, no matter what may come. For the sake of your name, Lord, do it.

“Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look.”

1) This is amazing. I enjoy access to spiritual realities concerning Jesus Christ and all that God has done, is doing, and will do through Christ that prophets and angels longed to understand and look into.

This ought to create in me first, a deep humility of heart. After all, I did not choose when I would be born. Or where. Or whether or not I would be exposed to such realities (as most people on the world today are ignorant of Christ). Only God controls such things. And He was by no means obligated to give me access to such great, life-transforming truths concerning Him and His Son.

This also ought to create in me a deep sense of awe at the truths I so readily take for granted. Everyday, I should remind myself that the gospel I know and am able to share with others was not known for years throughout human history. It is a gospel that will forever make us and all the angels marvel. The comfort and joy and security I have in Christ is never to be taken for granted. I should stand daily in awe of the central realities concerning Jesus that shape my life.

2) I should be as diligent to search out the riches of Christ as the prophets were, for I have more material to enlighten my understanding and change my life. Matthew - Revelation. These books none of the prophets of old enjoyed. And yet here they are sitting on my shelf in numerous different translations! Bible study tools and books galore are mine. If I want to learn, there is nothing stopping me. Yet I am so slow to search out such realities. I lack diligence in pursuing greater understanding into truths that shape all of human history and mine life. This is to my shame.

If angles longed to look into the realities that we as Christians, so readily enjoy and am capable of enjoying more, we ought to be more diligent in seeking greater understanding. Sure, not every Christian will be a teacher, but at the same time, every Christian should be in diligent pursuit of greater understanding. One of the primary pursuits of every Christian should be knowing his Bible (and thus, his God and Savior) very well.

Ponder the path of your feet;
then all your ways will be sure.

How simple, yet how rare! And how often would we keep ourselves from trouble by simply pondering the path of our feet? By carefully reflecting upon our decisions?

The wise in heart are those who ponder. Who reflect. Or who as the Hebrew word alludes to, ‘make level’ the path of their feet. They do not act rashly, but patiently. Meditatively. Their actions flow from an inner rest of soul. So they can act decisively and with confidence. For they have taken the time to reflect. They have made their way level so that they can take their next step with confidence.

One point to make plain would be that our pondering is at its best when it is done in the presence of the Lord. Privately in particular. Quietly. With an open Bible and a prayerful and Christ-centered heart.

How well do we ponder? Are we reflective? Or do we simply act? Are we are people who are always on the go? Or are we wise enough to wait and ponder in order to assure our steps?

Continually in the Psalms we are called to the ‘Praise the Lord.’ Indeed, everyone in heaven and earth (animals and nature included) is called to do so in many a Psalm. But the Psalmist never simply call us to praise Him without giving us ample reason to do so.

It seems wise then, to meditate heavily on the reasons the Bible gives for why we should praise the Lord. For if we begin there (and remain there), praise, it seems, is inevitable. It’s a must when we come to understand who He is and all that He has done. Praise is always a response. Thank God that He has given us so much to respond to!

So if we are struggling to praise the Lord, we must be sure not to focus too much on praising Him. We are better to reflect on who He is and what He has done. For as long as we have those things clearly in mind, praise will soon come.

For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

1) Every affliction is light and momentary in light of eternity. Life is so short that both the big things and the small things in life are as nothing in light of the life to come. From screaming kids to life-threatening cancer. It’s all light and momentary if we are seeing clearly. It doesn’t mean they are both equal, especially now. It just means that when viewed in light of eternity, they are a whole lot more equal that we might initially think.

2) These light momentary afflictions only work to prepare for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison as we look no to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. That’s a clear condition. In order to be prepared, we need to develop a focus on that which is unseen and eternal. We are so easily caught up in the here and now. We desperately need to do all we can to fix our minds on that which is above, that which lasts, that which eternally matters.

This takes diligence and discipline and a heavy dose of God’s grace. But by His grace, it can be done. It has been done. It is being done by many throughout the world. No doubt it is a fight. But it is a fight that we can win because of Jesus. What is the central focus of my life? Where do me thoughts naturally wander to when they have time to wander? When any sort of difficulty comes, what am I more apt to focus on: the difficulty itself or to things unseen?

How much is an eternal weight of glory worth to us? We can tell by how we respond to the various light and momentary afflictions of life. O we do so well to fight for a focus on things unseen!

A few things to make us marvel in this chapter:

1) Man’s sinfulness and stupidity as seen in Solomon.

Here is a man who received untold blessing from the hand of the Lord and personal encouragement and exhortation from Him as well. Yet his heart strayed from a single-hearted devotion to the Lord. He ended up worshiping all sorts of gods. No doubt the worship of such false deities led him to do things that are horrible even to mention. Solomon was far gone and thus, serves as great evidence from the sinfulness and stupidity of man in general. For if we think we would be different from Solomon apart from a great work of God’s grace, we are fooling ourselves.

2) The fact that God raised up enemies for Solomon before Solomon was even on his throne.

If you notice in verse 9-40, various enemies are mentioned. Each of them, with the exception of Jeroboam, were enemies of Solomon’s because of something David did during his day. So we know that the Lord knew exactly what Solomon would do and used the desires of wicked men and David’s mistakes to raise up enemies for Solomon.

The case of Jeroboam is interesting to note as well, because from the narrative, it doesn’t seem like Jeroboam was anti-Solomon until the prophet sort of placed him at odds with the king. Jeroboam is certainly a clear case of God Himself obviously raising up an enemy for Solomon, for the Lord sent His prophet to Jeroboam in order to make his future plain.

Immediately after the defeat of Jericho, Joshua sends out spies to the land of Ai, and subsequently, a small army of soldiers. But they are surprisingly defeated. So Joshua comes before the Lord and addresses Him with these words:

“Alas, O Lord God, why have you brought this people over the Jordan at all, to give us into the hands of the Amorites, to destroy us? Would that we had been content to dwell beyond the Jordan! O Lord, what can I say, when Israel has turned their backs before their enemies! For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land will hear of it and will surround us and cut off our name from the earth. And what will you do for your great name?”

Notice a few things:

First, notice that Joshua seems to instinctively assume that there is some sort of problem in God, not in him or them. That is, rather than coming before the Lord and humbly asking what the problem is with him or the people, Joshua comes before Him and asks what is going on with Him!

Lest we jump all over his case and get down on Joshua, this simply shows how human he was, for we are all inclined to do the very same thing. If God doesn’t seem to fulfill His promise to us, we are oftentimes inclined to believe that there is a problem with God, not us. We should instead, come before Him humbly, asking Him for insight into what is going on, rather than jumping to conclusions that end up far from the truth.

Second, notice that Joshua instinctively runs with this negative result of the war with Ai to the point where the people are wiped from the face of the earth. That is, this one incident leads him to believe that all is lost.

Now, I realize that the situation the people were in was rather perilous. For they were trying to take over a vast amount of land already inhabited. However, when the odds are against us in anything, we must never forget ‘the God factor.’ If God is for us, who can be against us? So if we are thinking clearly, let us come before the Lord with the incident itself and not jump to conclusions that will not occur.

Third, notice that Joshua asks the Lord, “What will you do for your great name?” This is wisdom. Here is what motivates God. His name. His fame. His glory. This is what gives power to Joshua’s prayer and to ours. Petitioning the Lord to act for the sake of His name.

Fourth, notice the Lord’s response to Joshua in verse 10.

“The Lord said to Joshua, ‘Get up! Why have you fallen on your face? Israel has sinned; they have transgressed my covenant that I commanded them; they have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen and lied and put them among their own belongings. Therefore the people of Israel cannot stand before their enemies. They turn their backs before their enemies, because they have become devoted for destruction. I will be with you no more, unless you destroy the devoted things from among you. Get up!…”

No doubt our God is patient with us, but like a good parent, He also isn’t shy about rebuking us and setting our thoughts upon the right track. In this instance, the Lord speaks plainly with Joshua, confronting his foolish thinking and unbelief. He is still gracious with Joshua, but He is also quite firm, for Joshua’s good and the good of the people.

Fifth and finally, notice that Joshua gains clarity after coming to the Lord. Even if he didn’t come with a whole lot of wisdom, at least he left with a whole lot of wisdom. We are wise to follow in his steps.

“So when Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, ‘I am innocent of this man’s blood; see to it yourselves.’ And all the people answered, ‘His blood be on us and on our children!’ Then he released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, delivered him to be crucified.”

A few lessons…

1) “So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin” (James 4:17)

Pilate seeks to clear himself of injustice with words and a symbolic washing. But his indecisiveness was a decision for injustice itself. He knew why the leaders had come. He realized that Jesus was innocent. But he gave way to the crowd. He protected his own temporal status and in turn, lost his soul. And, no doubt, his temporal position was soon to give way as well. For anytime you seek to maintain power by appeasing the crowd, you inevitably face a day when the crowd can no longer be appeased.

2) Let us beware of speaking for our children.

The Jewish people present at the ‘trial’ of Jesus cry out, “His blood be on us and on our children!” So sure were they are their righteous stance, that they put the lives of their children on the altar of injustice and sin. Let us beware. For in 70 A.D. Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans. And anyone who believes the Scriptures cannot doubt that such a judgment came from the hand of the Lord. The legacy of those who crucified Jesus did not end well.