Strange Bedfellows – Part 1
A command came to me by the word of the Lord, “You shall eat no bread, nor drink water there; do not return by going the way which you came.” [1 Kings 13:17]
I am a creature of habit. I take the same route to work each day, shop for food at the same market, and visit the same department store for clothing and bedding and window dressing. I generally am in bed at the same time and up again at the same time each day. Yep, I am a creature of habit.
Now there is nothing immoral in being a creature of habit. In many ways it can be a good thing, a very good thing. Structure is needed in life, if we are to be all that the Lord wants us to be. Discipline is structure, and all of us need to discipline ourselves so the Lord doesn’t have to do it for us.
Still, we need to have some moderation in our habits, or else they become bad habits. We need to have some flexibility when our routine is interrupted. And when it comes to living for the Lord, routine and habit can be a dangerous thing, a very dangerous thing. Too much routine in spiritual life is no more than ritualism, religiosity, tradition. It is known as “playing church”.
We need structure because without it we don’t accomplish much. Without structure we hang out, enjoy ourselves, put off our responsibilities, and generally fail the Lord. If we don’t set aside a daily time to be with Jesus, we won’t often be with Jesus, you see. On the other hand, if we want church service to follow the same format each week, we can’t help ourselves: we wind up in a rut putting on a religious show and relegating Jesus to the outside looking in.
In the Bible verse we quoted at the start of this study, the Lord taught this truth to His people back in the day. Let me present the context to you. The twelve tribes of Israel ceased being governed by “judges” at the time of the prophet Samuel. The Israelites insisted on having a “king”, so the Lord gave them Saul, a man after the people’s own heart. Saul was what the people were looking for, but not what God wanted in a king.
After the people got a taste of what they wanted and learned what not to look for in a king, the Lord then gave them King David, a man after the Lord’s own heart. Under King David Israel became a united kingdom, rather than a collection of twelve tribes.
When David’s son Solomon became king, he began well but finished abysmally. Solomon became too big for his breeches and fell into idolatry. Consequently, upon Solomon’s death the Lord divided the kingdom between southern Judah and northern Israel.
Now that we’ve reached the divided kingdom, we can take a break and chew the cud on what we’ve learned today. But don’t forget to return same time same station tomorrow. We still have to find out what the two points of the Lord’s instructions are all about! See you then.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Genesis: Volume 1 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B...
I am a creature of habit. I take the same route to work each day, shop for food at the same market, and visit the same department store for clothing and bedding and window dressing. I generally am in bed at the same time and up again at the same time each day. Yep, I am a creature of habit.
Now there is nothing immoral in being a creature of habit. In many ways it can be a good thing, a very good thing. Structure is needed in life, if we are to be all that the Lord wants us to be. Discipline is structure, and all of us need to discipline ourselves so the Lord doesn’t have to do it for us.
Still, we need to have some moderation in our habits, or else they become bad habits. We need to have some flexibility when our routine is interrupted. And when it comes to living for the Lord, routine and habit can be a dangerous thing, a very dangerous thing. Too much routine in spiritual life is no more than ritualism, religiosity, tradition. It is known as “playing church”.
We need structure because without it we don’t accomplish much. Without structure we hang out, enjoy ourselves, put off our responsibilities, and generally fail the Lord. If we don’t set aside a daily time to be with Jesus, we won’t often be with Jesus, you see. On the other hand, if we want church service to follow the same format each week, we can’t help ourselves: we wind up in a rut putting on a religious show and relegating Jesus to the outside looking in.
In the Bible verse we quoted at the start of this study, the Lord taught this truth to His people back in the day. Let me present the context to you. The twelve tribes of Israel ceased being governed by “judges” at the time of the prophet Samuel. The Israelites insisted on having a “king”, so the Lord gave them Saul, a man after the people’s own heart. Saul was what the people were looking for, but not what God wanted in a king.
After the people got a taste of what they wanted and learned what not to look for in a king, the Lord then gave them King David, a man after the Lord’s own heart. Under King David Israel became a united kingdom, rather than a collection of twelve tribes.
When David’s son Solomon became king, he began well but finished abysmally. Solomon became too big for his breeches and fell into idolatry. Consequently, upon Solomon’s death the Lord divided the kingdom between southern Judah and northern Israel.
Now that we’ve reached the divided kingdom, we can take a break and chew the cud on what we’ve learned today. But don’t forget to return same time same station tomorrow. We still have to find out what the two points of the Lord’s instructions are all about! See you then.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Genesis: Volume 1 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B...
No comments have been added yet.
