Tag Archives: Bible Study

Chapter-a-Day

Kingdoms Fall

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Kingdoms Fall (CaD Ezk 26) – Wayfarer

… therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against you, Tyre, and I will bring many nations against you, like the sea casting up its waves.
Ezekiel 26:3 (NIV)

This past Sunday I delivered a message among my local gathering of Jesus’ followers and I voiced the fact that the entire Great Story from Genesis to Revelation is really about the conflict between God’s Kingdom and human empire.

Human history is a study in the rise and fall of human empires. Some are long-lasting like that of the Byzantine Empire which lasted of 1100 years. The rise and fall of the Third Reich in the 20th century was, by grateful comparison, a blip on the radar at 25 years.

When it comes to the ancient Hebrew prophets, it’s really about human empires, and there was a slew of them rising and falling during the period of the prophets from 875-430 B.C. When reading the prophets like Ezekiel, it helps to have some historical context to inform the reading of the text.

The Kingdom of Tyre (modern day Lebanon) was a prominent and wealthy trading port north of Israel. There were actually two cities. One was a fortified island just off the main land. The other was on the mainland itself. The Kingdom was known for their cedar forest and those cedars were exported by kings in the region for their pet building projects. Solomon used the cedars of Tyre for building his temple.

The relationship between ancient Israel and Tyre was testy. Evil Queen Jezebel was a princess of Tyre who was married to Ahab as a political alliance. She famously tried to rid Israel of the worship of Yahweh and import her native Baal worship. God raised up the prophet Elijah to oppose Jezebel and things didn’t end well for her.

Today’s chapter is the first of three prophetic messages against Tyre. In Ezekiel’s day, prophesying the fall of Tyre would probably have made his listeners laugh. Tyre seemed indestructible. First, it was a major trade port, the source of tremendous wealth, and strategic trade partner with it’s ships bringing in goods from all over the Mediterranean and northern Africa. Then, of course, was the fact that it was two cities. If you destroyed the mainland city, you still had to figure out how to lay siege to the island city.

Ezekiel prophesies that “many nations” would come against Tyre and lay siege to it. Verses 8-9 are a very succinctly detailed description of the stages of siege warfare in that day (Ezekiel and his fellow exiles were living witnesses of how it worked):

He will ravage your settlements on the mainland with the sword…

A big part of the success of siege warfare on a walled city was to starve the people inside. The army would start by getting control of the settlements around the city that helped provide crops and food inside the city. This broke off supply lines and starvation would ultimately occur within the walled city.

…he will set up siege works against you, build a ramp up to your walls and raise his shields against you.

The next phase of the siege was to get to the top of the walls to take out the city’s defenses. Defenders would stand on the wall and shoot down at the sieging army or pour boiling oil on top of them. A ramp was typically constructed leading up a section of the city wall and “siege towers” would be constructed and rolled up the ramp to get to the top of the wall and eliminate the defenders there.

He will direct the blows of his battering rams against your walls and demolish your towers with his weapons.

Once in control of the top of the wall, the siege army could concentrate on breaking down a section of wall so that the army could flood in. There were multiple ways they could accomplish this. The gates were so fortified that sometimes it was easier to ram through a weaker section or to dig a tunnel under the wall to weaken the wall and cause it to collapse.

Ezekiel’s prophecy was actually fulfilled. Nebuchadnezzar laid siege to Tyre for thirteen years. He destroyed the city on the mainland and was particularly ruthless given how long it took. Babylon didn’t have a lot of experience with naval warfare and he failed to take the island city. A hundred or so years later Alexander the Great would come through and finish the job. He was even more ruthless than Nebuchadnezzar, and historians were aghast at the slaughter. He killed 10,000 men, women, and children, sold 30,000 into slavery, and had all the young men of fighting age crucified.

In the quiet this morning, it leaves me pondering the rise and fall of empires. My friend, Chuck, was head of marketing for Billy Graham films when they made The Hiding Place. It’s the story of Corrie Ten Boom whose family helped hide Jews from the Nazis. Her whole family were sent to concentration camps. She was the only one who survived, released from the camp because of a clerical error. When Chuck asked her why she wanted to make a movie of her story she answered, “To prepare American Christians for what they are going to have to go through someday.”

Chuck told me this when I was in high school. It’s seemed crazy back then. After the last eight years or so, I’m not so sure. I am pretty sure that it’s much like the people of Ezekiel’s day thinking he was crazy to predict the fall of Tyre. History teaches me that kingdoms rise and kingdoms fall. Sometimes the fall is sudden and unexpected. Who knows what the future holds. I prefer to know and trust Who holds the future.

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

Chapter-a-Day

“…the More They Stay the Same.”

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“…the More They Stay the Same” (CaD Ezk 25) – Wayfarer

For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because you have clapped your hands and stamped your feet, rejoicing with all the malice of your heart against the land of Israel, therefore I will stretch out my hand against you and give you as plunder to the nations.
Ezekiel 25:6-7 (NIV)

Sometimes on this chapter-a-day journey there are moments of synchronicity. Today is one of those days.

Today marks the one-year anniversary of the Hamas’ massacre in southern Israel. The horrific acts of that day included rape, the murder of infants, children, and women, decapitation, and the mutilation of the living and the dead. It was the worst terrorist act ever perpetrated against the modern state of Israel and the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust.

What has been fascinating to watch over the past year is not just the diminishment of the event and its atrocities but the schadenfreude and rejoicing on a grand scale. The depth and scale of anti-semitism that remains in this world has come to light.

In today’s chapter, God’s prophetic messages through Ezekiel make a clear and dramatic shift. After 24 chapters of prophetic warnings to His own people, God now turns his lens onto the surrounding nations. In Biblical numerology, seven is a number that designates “completeness” (e.g. Seven days of creation). Today’s chapter begins a series of seven prophetic messages to seven different neighbors of ancient Israel. The seventh message has seven parts to it.

The four nations mentioned in today’s chapter are Ammon, Moab, Edom, and Philistia. All of them were longtime enemies whose lands bordered and surrounded Israel. God cries out against them because they rejoiced in Israels downfall, they refused to help refugees fleeing the Babylonian and Assyrian massacres, and used the opportunity to carry out vengeance.

In the quiet this morning, I can’t help but be a bit awed by the sheer irony of it. Prophecies uttered some 2,500 years ago feel eerily like they are addressing current events. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

When I visited Israel, during the second intifada, I had the unique experience of having two guides. One was Jewish woman named Devorah. One was Arab man named George. They were both amazing, wonderful individuals with very different perspectives about almost everything. Despite their profound disagreements (they argued in Hebrew), they loved and respected one another. They were both followers of Jesus. In the time I spent with them, I realized that, for the two of them, Jesus’ command to love your enemies and bless those who curse you came with a lot more baggage than I will ever know. That baggage is thousands of years old, and it is still with us.

I find myself grieving the massacre of October 7th this morning, the hostages that remain to this day, and the timeless conflict from which it sprang. I have no profound answers to this historic hatred which is rooted in the depths of the Great Story. I’m simply reminded that Jesus calls me to be an agent of love, mercy, grace, peace, and truth. Not just with my allies, but also my enemies.

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

Book Summary List, Chapter-a-Day

Romans (Jul-Aug 2024)

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Each photo below corresponds to a chapter-a-day post for the book of Romans published by Tom Vander Well in July and August 2024. Click on the photo linked to each chapter to read the post.

Romans 1: The One Thing

Romans 2: Kindness, Not Condemnation

Romans 3: Rules and Rifts

Romans 4: The Difference

Romans 5: The Need for Struggle

Romans 6: Water

Romans 7: From Rules to Raspberries

Romans 8: The Gospel According to Harry Potter

Roman 9: A Confession

Romans 10: God’s Righteousness vs. Self-Righteousness

Romans 11: Big Brother Mentality

Romans 12: Responding and Reacting

Romans 13: The Law of Love

Romans 14: Honoring Our Differences

Romans 15: Intentions & Realities

Romans 16: Send Phoebe

You’re all caught up! Posts will be added here as they are published. Click on the image below for easy access to other recent posts indexed by book.

Chapter-a-Day

Inspire, But Remember

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Inspire, But Remember – Wayfarer

David also said to Solomon his son, “Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you until all the work for the service of the temple of the Lord is finished.”
1 Chronicles 28:20 (NIV)

Along my life journey, I’ve observed that both politicians and pundits like to connect Presidents with their predecessors. I’ve seen it on both sides. Dan Quayle famously got in trouble by trying to wear the mantel of John Kennedy in a debate with Lloyd Bentsen. I’ve observed that pro-government candidates often reference FDR or have the connection applied to them. Andrew Jackson is mentioned consistently in reference to our current populist candidate. I’m just pointing out that it’s a thing.

In today’s chapter, the Chronicler tells of David passing the plans for the Temple to his son, Solomon, and tasks the crown prince with carrying out the work. There are two fascinating observations on which I meditated in the quiet this morning.

The first observation is that the Chronicler, once again, chooses to present David in an idyllic fashion. It’s a very different retelling than is recorded in the Samuel account. There is no mention of David being infirm and bedridden in his old age. Nor is there any mention of the machinations and intrigue within the Royal family and court concerning succession. He also fails to mention the political rumblings and dissent within the Kingdom. The Chronicler chooses to simply tell of an event at which David clearly communicates that Solomon is his God-ordained successor and the son chosen by God to carry out the plans God had given him for the construction of the Temple.

The second observation is that the Chronicler, much like a modern-day pundit viewing a President as the 2nd coming of one of their predecessors, is silently presenting David to his readers as the 2nd coming of Moses. Moses received the Law and plans for the original traveling tent Temple (called the Tabernacle) from God on Mount Sinai. Moses was not allowed to go into the Promised Land, but gave the task to Joshua with the command to “Be strong and courageous.” Here David claims to have received the plans for the Temple from God. He is not allowed to build the Temple but gives the task to Solomon with the command to “Be strong and courageous.”

The Chronicler is writing roughly 600 years after the events of today’s chapter and 1000 years after Moses. As we near the end of David’s story, I observe that the Chronicler has been very consistent in his treatment of David’s story. Throughout, he has stuck to presenting the most positive aspects of David and his reign. His motivation is to provide his people with the inspiration to see themselves in the same Great Story carrying on the same great task with strength and courage. The truth is that I commonly observe the same thing being done with both the Great Story and general history today.

In the quiet this morning, I find myself reminded of the sage of Ecclesiastes who tells us there’s a time and purpose for everything under heaven. There are times when I need an inspirational reminder of historical people and events. There are also times when I need to be reminded that history is never as idyllic as it is often presented.

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

Chapter-a-Day

A Life in One Phrase

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A Life in One Phrase (CaD 1 Chr 26) – Wayfarer

The lot for the East Gate fell to Shelemiah. Then lots were cast for his son Zechariah, a wise counselor, and the lot for the North Gate fell to him.
1 Chronicles 26:14 (NIV)

Over the years, I have dug into my family’s history. Working on a family tree, you deal with a lot of names that have little or no meaning. They are just names without context, kind of like reading through the list of Hebrew names compiled by the Chronicler in today’s chapter.

I have found it interesting, however, that certain individuals in my family have a reputation that has always been passed down with the name. Typically, I’ve noticed that what gets remembered is not the good things.

“He was a drunk.”
“No one had a good word to say about him.”
“She was always mean.”

One of my great-grandfathers, William, was one of multiple ancestors whose name was rarely mentioned without being followed by the fact that he was a drunk. When I inherited my mother’s collection of family photos and ephemera, I found a book that my great-aunt had written about his life. It would seem that she personally took it upon herself to learn her father’s story to try and understand the man with whom she never had much of a relationship.

The story was heartbreaking. His mother had been hired out to a family on a farm miles away from her home when she was just a young girl. She was treated like a slave. One of the sons seduced her and promised her the moon to have his way with her, but broke every promise. When she wound up pregnant she was dismissed and destitute. Her sister, married off to a well-to-do businessman, finally took her in with the condition she was to stay out of sight and no one would ever know they were sisters. An unwanted pregnancy of an illicit affair to a man who wanted nothing to do with the destitute young mother and her offspring. Welcome to the world, little man.

William’s life was tragic from the beginning. Despite his best efforts, tragedy seemed to follow him like a stray dog. He certainly made a number of mistakes in life that compounded his troubles, but I certainly began to understand why he learned to drown his sorrows. Perhaps the crowning tragedy of his life was that a rather complex and compelling life story was reduced to a simple “He was a drunk” to all of his descendants.

In today’s chapter, the Chronicler lists all of the families in the ancient Hebrew tribe of Levi who were assigned to be gatekeepers and treasurers in Solomon’s Temple. As I read through the long string of rather meaningless names, I was struck when the Chronicler mentioned a gatekeeper named Zechariah and then followed the name with “a wise counselor.” He didn’t mention any positive or negative character qualities about any of the other names. What made Zechariah such a “wise counselor” that the Chronicler was compelled to mention it? How cool to think that Zac, an otherwise forgettable ancient gatekeeper, had a reputation for giving wise advice that would be remembered for over 3000 years.

In the quiet this morning, I find myself asking a simple question: When my great-grandchildren see a photo of me and ask, “Who’s that dad?” What words will follow “Oh, that’s your great-grandfather Tom. He….” What will my descendants remember about me? Into what short phrase will my life be reduced by those who knew me?

Every day I contribute to the reputation by which I will be remembered.

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

Chapter-a-Day

Authority

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Authority (CaD 1 Chr 23) – Wayfarer

[David] also gathered together all the leaders of Israel, as well as the priests and Levites.
1 Chronicles 23:2 (NIV)

Authority. Who has the authority? From family systems to federal governments, our lives are governed by various authorities. As a disciple of Jesus, I consider God as my ultimate authority and am taught to follow Jesus’ example in being respectfully subject to the civic authorities over me.

In today’s chapter, the Chronicler continues to describe King David’s preparations for the Temple that his son, Solomon, would build. He begins by counting all of the descendants of the tribe of Levi and arranging them as to what the clans will do in service once the Temple is built.

A couple of thoughts.

First, when the people of Israel first asked for a King, God told Samuel that it was because they had rejected Him as their king. In essence, God recognized that they wanted a centralized human authority to lead them. When the people chose Saul, a tall, strapping, and handsome man, the results were disastrous. When God had Samuel anoint the king He chose to lead, it was a shepherd boy, the runt of his father’s litter, best known for being a gifted musician and songwriter. Of course, God’s choice grew up to be Israel’s greatest King.

The monarchy would ultimately lead to division, rebellion, secession, and bloody civil wars. God was not wrong in His prescient words to Samuel for how the monarchy would ultimately play out. David’s son Solomon was, at best, duplicitous in his commitment to God. After Solomon, the majority of Kings in David’s line served other gods, and all 19 of the kings of the northern tribes with faithless. David stands out, not only for being God’s anointed but also for his example of submitting himself to God’s authority.

And that’s what the Chronicler is focused on for the sake of himself and his contemporary readers. They are rebuilding the same Temple that David prepared for. They will have to arrange for Levites and priests to carry out sacrifices, offerings, and rituals that have not been performed for nearly 100 years. And, they have no king. They are now a vassal state of the Persian empire and will remain so. As the Chronicler and his colleagues prepare to restore the Temple and the worship system, he’s looking for an authoritative source to lay the groundwork for how it should be done. There is no better example than the one king known as a “man after God’s own heart” and the one king who submitted himself to God’s authority more than any other.

As I meditate on these things in the quiet this morning, I find myself thinking about the positions of leadership I have as a father, grandfather, employer, teacher, and Board member. I can, like so many of Israel’s ancient kings, divorce my civic life from my spiritual life. I can also follow David’s example in understanding that if God is my ultimate authority, then everything I do in my human positions of authority and leadership should be subject to how God expects me to think, speak, and act for the good of others in any system I lead.

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

Chapter-a-Day

Inspired by the Past

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Inspired by the Past (1 Chr 22) – Wayfarer

“Now devote your heart and soul to seeking the Lord your God. Begin to build the sanctuary of the Lord God…”
1 Chronicles 22:19a (NIV)

As a baseball fan, I have been enjoying the outpouring of honor for Willie Mays the past few days. Not only was Mays possibly the greatest all-around player ever, but he is among the last players who transitioned from the Negro Leagues to the Major Leagues after Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier. He is one of the greats.

“We were playing for generations of players who were held back. We had a lot to play for, not just [for] us,” Mays told John Shea, co-author of Mays’ memoir 24.

One of the things that I love about history is its power to inspire, and there is plenty of inspiration in a man like Mays who was not only a great ball player, but a stellar human being who helped move history forward out of the sickness of segregation.

As I mentioned in yesterday’s post/podcast, we have entered a new phase of 1 Chronicles. Once again, I found it important this morning to place myself in the sandals of the Chronicler and the people to whom he is writing his history of King David and the Kingdom of Israel. His generation has returned to the rubble of Jerusalem left by the Babylonian army almost a century before. Their generation has been given the monumental task of turning the debris into a new Temple.

How does he inspire them? With the history of their larger-than-life hero King David. King David’s greatest desire was to build the temple, but God made it clear that it would be his son, Solomon, who would do the job. So, David made all of the preparations he could, and in today’s chapter, he passes the responsibility to his son with history’s version of an inspirational locker room speech.

I think it’s important to note that all of these details are not found in the earlier historical account in Samuel. This is the Chronicler’s unique addition to the story. When he writes of David urging his son to succeed in completing his life’s greatest ambition he knows that he is writing to the “sons of David” who have the same task before them hundreds of years later. He is using history to inspire.

In the quiet this morning, I’m reminded that everyone has a natural bent with regard to time. My bent is to look to the past for its lessons and inspiration. Wendy’s bent, on the other hand, is to always be looking to the future so that she can plan and execute that plan well. Still, others have a bent to living in the moment and focus on the present realities. There is no right or wrong. It’s not an either-or, but a yes-and. I have learned along the journey that we all need to learn from and appreciate those who have a different bent. And from time to time everyone needs the pasto to inspire us. The Chronicler certainly understood this.

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

Chapter-a-Day

Empire & Security

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Empire and Security (CaD 1 Chr 19) – Wayfarer

So David said to Joab and the commanders of the troops, “Go and count the Israelites from Beersheba to Dan. Then report back to me so that I may know how many there are.”
1 Chronicles 21:2 (NIV)

Earlier this month my older brothers celebrated that momentous birthday number 65. For a long time, the idea of retirement was out there somewhere. With my brothers turning 65, the reality of being retirement age is suddenly a fixed spot on the seven-year horizon.

Today’s chapter got me thinking about retirement planning. The chapter is fascinating for both its content and placement in the larger story. The Chronicler has painted an idyllic picture of King David through the first 20 chapters, both as priest-king and warrior-king. So it’s surprising for the author to present David making an actual mistake. It is, however, an important piece of the story the Chronicler wants to emphasize.

Having established David as a King who put God first, and a victorious warrior, the Chronicler is now going to go back in time. We are entering an entirely new section of the Chronicler’s account that is focused on the building of Solomon’s Temple. To understand how God established the place where the Temple would be built, the Chronicler must go back to the days before David had brought the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem. The location where David pitched the temporary tent-temple and where the permanent Temple would someday be built was established by God as part of the consequences of David’s mistake. David demanded that a census be taken of all the fighting men in the Kingdom.

In a modern context, it seems silly to think that taking a census is a big deal. The national census is part of the flow of life here in the States every decade. For the ancient Hebrews, the reason for taking a census of fighting men was only necessary if and when there was an imminent military threat. There was no threat, so the only motivations David had for doing so was either insecurity (e.g. “I don’t trust God to provide what we need if we’re attacked, so I’m going to make sure.”) or simple hubris (e.g. “Look at the empire I’ve built and the size of the army I can muster!”). Either way, something was not right spiritually in the act.

The consequences of David’s mistake led to David meeting the Angel of the Lord on the threshing floor of a man named Araunah. God tells David to purchase the land, build an altar there, and offer sacrifices. When David did so, the sacrifices were accepted with heavenly fire, thus establishing that this is where the Temple would be built.

As I meditated on the chapter this morning, two prevailing thoughts rose up in my spirit.

First, I find that there is a difference between wisely managing my finances and possessions and building a personal empire. In many ways, the entire Great Story from Genesis to Revelation is about the conflict between human empire and God’s Kingdom. As I read about David taking stock of his empire this morning, I thought of Jesus’ parable of the rich man who built larger and more storage units for all of his wealth and possessions, “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’” (Luke 12:13-21)

Human empire exists at multiple levels in life from national, to corporate, to vocational, to familial, and even to personal. If my life is spent building an empire then something is spiritually askew.

The second thought is simply the question, “Where is my security?” Is it in my 401K? Again, it is a wise thing to plan and save for the third phase of life, but I never want to confuse that with my faith and trust in “my God who supplies all of my needs through the riches of His glory in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19)

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

Chapter-a-Day

Insult and Injury

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Insult and Injury (CaD 1 Chr 19) – Wayfarer

In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, Joab led out the armed forces. He laid waste the land of the Ammonites and went to Rabbah and besieged it, but David remained in Jerusalem. Joab attacked Rabbah and left it in ruins.
1 Chronicles 20:1 (NIV)

Today’s short chapter continues the Chronicler’s overview of King David’s military exploits, but it’s also a continuation of the story in yesterday’s chapter when the newly crowned Ammonite King humiliated King David’s entourage by shaving their beards off and cutting holes in the backsides so they returned with their butts exposed for all to see. David’s army attacked the Ammonites and their mercenary allies, the Arameans. While the attack was technically a win, most of the Ammonites fled into their walled city and escaped. But David considered the job undone.

Warfare in ancient times was typically dependent on the weather and the seasons. The first attack on the Ammonites must have been late in the season because David’s army withdrew back to Jerusalem. When the following spring arrived, they returned to the land of the Ammonites and laid siege to the city of Rabbah. This time, they were successful in deposing the King who had humiliated David’s men.

In the quiet this morning, I thought about the King of the Ammonites’ foolish act on the advice of his commanders (be careful whose advice you heed). I thought about the anger he roused within David. David told his men to stay away until their beards grew back so they would not be humiliated in front of their family, friends, and community. That means during the season the army was on stand down and they were waiting for spring the absence of these men was a constant reminder of the insult. When their beards finally grew back and they returned, it was yet another reminder of the Ammonites’ offense. The King of the Ammonites had ensured that David’s anger would fester and the insult would be perpetually remembered.

As I meditated on these things, I was reminded of Jesus words:

“This is how I want you to conduct yourself in these matters. If you enter your place of worship and, about to make an offering, you suddenly remember a grudge a friend has against you, abandon your offering, leave immediately, go to this friend and make things right. Then and only then, come back and work things out with God.

“Or say you’re out on the street and an old enemy accosts you. Don’t lose a minute. Make the first move; make things right with him. After all, if you leave the first move to him, knowing his track record, you’re likely to end up in court, maybe even jail. If that happens, you won’t get out without a stiff fine.”
Matthew 5:23-26 (MSG)

Of course, Jesus was talking about interpersonal relationships and not international diplomacy. Nevertheless, the King of the Ammonites is a great object lesson of the principle. When David’s army returned in the spring, the King did not send his army out to face them in the field. Perhaps the same commanders who advised the King to insult David now advised him to keep them and their army safely sequestered inside the walls of the city. In doing so, the Ammonite King abandoned his own people in the lands and villages around the city sacrificing his own people to David’s army who easily captured and plundered them. In the end, the King paid dearly for a proud and foolish insult.

I’m reminded this morning that following Jesus’ teaching means treating others, even enemies, with humility, patience, kindness, gentleness, and self-control. Sometimes that’s hard, but I find that it avoids escalation of the conflict and the consequences that brings. I’m also reminded of the importance of initiating peacemaking when I’ve knowingly offended someone else. Ignoring it allows for anger and resentment to fester, and the consequences could very well be regrettable.

Just ask the King of the Ammonites.

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

Chapter-a-Day

Rivals, Defeat, and Shame

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Rivals, Defeat, and Shame (CaD 1 Chr 19) – Wayfarer

So Hanun [the Ammonite] seized David’s envoys, shaved them, cut off their garments at the buttocks, and sent them away.
1 Chronicles 19:4 (NIV)

Yesterday, Wendy and I purchased tickets for our annual pilgrimage to the “mother ship,” U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, to cheer on the Minnesota Vikings. We kind of enjoy being fans, having a team to root for, and riding the ups and downs that come with it. Almost every team to whom we are loyal are “good” teams who rarely break through and win “the big one.” C’est la vie.

Every one of “our” teams has an archrival. It’s the nature of sports. When Wendy and I go to the lake in the heart of Cardinals country, we get a lot of ribbing for wearing our Cubs gear. Our neighbors used to fly their Cardinals’ flag just for us. One summer we happened to be at the lake when the Cubs beat the Cardinals, so I blasted the Cubs’ victory song Go Cubs Go at full volume on our deck knowing that the water of the cove would carry the sound a long way. Rivalry is part of the fun of being a fan.

I remember years ago hearing that as the annual game against the archrival approached, a team’s coach made the players sit and watch the previous match-up which was an agonizing, humiliating defeat. The coach made the players watch it in its entirety. It motivated them to step up and they turned the tables on their rivals that year.

In ancient times, kingdoms also had rivals, but with bloody, dangerous, and life-threatening consequences. When reading through the history of the ancient Hebrews and the wars they fought to survive, the same enemy names pop up over and over and over again: Philistines, Edomites, Arameans, and Ammonites to name a few.

The author of Chronicles is scratching out his version of that history with his stylus on papyrus around 400 B.C. His generation is desperately trying to restore and rebuild the city of Jerusalem, which has been lying in rubble for decades. Their people had been scattered and taken into exile in Babylon and Assyria. At the point in time he is writing, they are history’s version of what sports would call “cellar dwellers” or “bottom feeders.” The “glory days” are far behind them.

Guess who doesn’t want to see them successfully rebuild?

It’s their rivals. In Nehemiah’s account of the rebuilding of Jerusalem, he tells of the Ammonites being among those who antagonized the Hebews and their rebuilding of the walls.

In today’s chapter, King David sends a delegation to the newly crowned prince of the Ammonites with his condolences on the death of his father, the King. It was a gesture of goodwill. Instead of accepting it, the new King shaves the heads of the Hebrew delegation (to be shaved was culturally shaming at that time) and cut their garments so the men’s butts were publicly exposed (also extremely shaming and humiliating). David responds by attacking the Ammonites and their allies, successfully defeating them.

In the quiet this morning, I considered what it must have been like for the Chronicler and his readers to read these historical accounts of the Ammonites’ antagonism and dishonor of David, and David’s victorious response. I wondered if reading about this past humiliation inspired the Chronicler and his contemporaries to be diligent in their defense of Jerusalem and their stand against their antagonistic rivals.

We mostly talk about shame in negative terms these days, and for those like me who are susceptible to shame’s toxicity, it can have devastating, negative effects on one’s heart, mind, and life. But there is also such a thing as good shame when a humiliating defeat or failure inspires me to make a positive change to ensure I never experience that humiliation, failure, or defeat again. It’s possible for a healthy memory of failure’s sting to motivate thoughts and actions that will avoid any future recurrences.

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.