Tag Archives: Old Testament

Lay Your Hands

February 20, 2025 Tom Vander Well Leave a comment

The elders of the community are to lay their hands on the bull’s head before the Lord, and the bull shall be slaughtered before the Lord.
Leviticus 4:15 (NIV)

I did not grow up on a farm, but Wendy did. It’s been fun for me over the years to hear the stories of her and her six siblings and the adventures they had. There’s the story of Wendy’s dad having to sell a bull in order to have the money to buy their wedding rings. There are also the stories of her and her siblings raising livestock and showing them at the county fair, a tradition some readers may not realize is still very much alive in rural America. And of course, there are the requisite stories of the siblings first realizing as children that the hamburger they were eating was actually the cow they raised, cared for, and knew by name. That is a reality most of us never experience.

One of the things that modern readers struggle with most is the blood and guts of ancient sacrifices in Leviticus. It is so foreign to both our modern realities as well as sensibilities. In today’s chapter, the fourth of the five main offerings God is introducing to the ancient Hebrews is presented, and it’s a big one. It’s the “sin” offering. As I meditated on today’s chapter, I realized that there’s so much here that I could write a book to delve into all of it. So, I want to stick with two simple concepts.

First of all, the Great Story establishes in the very beginning that when Adam and Eve used their free will to do the one thing that was forbidden to them, it introduced a spiritual problem within humanity called sin. The spiritual problem resulted in a subsequent problem: physical death. The sacrificial system being established for the ancient Hebrews is establishing another spiritual reality: for the sin/death problem to be addressed, a substitutionary sacrifice must be offered. This is why Jesus’ death and subsequent resurrection is essential to our faith. The seeds of understanding what Jesus would ultimately do are here in today’s chapter. Without Leviticus and today’s chapter, one’s understanding of Jesus and what He did are incomplete and at risk of being grossly misunderstood.

Second of all, I find it fascinating that with each sacrificial offering, it was required for those making the sacrifice to “lay hands” on the sacrificial animal. I can’t help but think about Wendy and her siblings and the intimacy they experienced in the process of raising, caring for, and knowing the animal who would ultimately be sacrificed to put food on the family table. This was the common human experience throughout human history until the last 150 years. God insisted that there be a human connection, the laying of hands and an intimate touch, between the sinner needing forgiveness and the animal that was about to be sacrificed on his or her behalf.

For modern readers who get squeamish about the notion of animal sacrifice, I’d like to point out that every year here in America there are approximately 35 million cows systemically slaughtered so we can grab a quarter pounder at the McDonalds drive-through on a whim or pick up a wonderfully convenient, prepackaged pound of ground beef at the grocery store. Most of us never see the cows. We never raise them. We don’t care for them from birth, give them a name, feed them as calves, or transport them to their death. And yet 100,000 cows will be sacrificed today on the altar of our modern convenience and blissful human ignorance and arrogance.

If you ask me, there is something that seems innately more real and nobly human when there was an intimate connection between a human and the animal that was sacrificed, whether that be for sin or for the daily sustenance required for survival. Keep in mind that the food from most of the sacrifices in Leviticus ended up putting daily food and nourishment on the table of the entire Hebrew tribe of Levi and their families. For them, the sacrificial system was part of daily survival in the brutal reality they lived in each day.

Which leads me to where my heart and mind ended up in the quiet this morning. I was raised in the church. I learned all the stories of the Bible. I went through the classes and got my membership certificate, but it still wasn’t real for me. Then came an evening when it all became real, and I understood the reality of my own pride and willful, sinful choices. I made the mind, heart, and spirit connection between what Jesus willingly suffered on the cross and the forgiveness of my pride and willful, sinful choices. In a spiritual sense, it wasn’t until I “laid my hands” on Jesus and made that intimate connection between my sin and His sacrifice that I understood His amazing grace and my undeserved salvation.

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

These chapter-a-day blog posts are also available via podcast on all major podcast platforms including Apple, Google, and Spotify! Simply go to your podcast platform and search for “Wayfarer Tom Vander Well.” If it’s not on your platform, please let me know!

Chapter-a-Day

A New Phase of Life

October 22, 2024 Tom Vander Well Leave a comment

“My people come to you, as they usually do, and sit before you to hear your words, but they do not put them into practice. Their mouths speak of love, but their hearts are greedy for unjust gain.”
Ezekiel 33:31 (NIV)

Wendy and I really enjoyed her sister’s visit this past week along with her wee ones. There’s nothing like a couple of toddlers to make the house an exciting place. We haven’t had the child gates up in front of the stairs since the kids moved to Des Moines in May. And of course, like a magnet, little Rosie immediately found a couple of the lower outlets that had their child safety plugs removed.

Along my life journey, I’ve observed that parenting changes. This is not because I changed, but because our daughters changed with age. There were tactics required with a toddler like Rosie who is still struggling to comprehend simple rules meant for their safety. The tactics change as children get to the age when they know the rules, they can comprehend them just fine, but they willfully choose to disobey. The tactics change yet again when a child reaches the age of accountability and they must start navigating the world making their own choices and suffering the consequences.

As I have read and studied the Great Story for over 40 years, I have observed that the Story itself is the story of God’s relationship with humanity. I often hear people struggling to understand how God related to humanity in the ancient books. Of course we do, because we live in a different age. Not only are a lot of the historical and cultural contexts lost to us, but also humanity itself has matured over time. It’s silly to think of giving our adult daughters a time-out. In the same way, I have to recognize that humanity itself was at a different age in the days of Ezekiel.

Today’s chapter marks a turning-point in Ezekiel’s life and prophetic works. Until this point, Zeke was only able to speak when God gave him a prophetic message. In today’s chapter, his tongue is freed just a word is on the way that Jerusalem had fallen and was destroyed by the Babylonians just has Zeke had been predicting. Zeke is told that his role has been like that of God’s proxy-parent. If he warns the children of their behavior and the threatens them with the consequences like a good parent, then great. If, however, like a bad parent there is no warning given for playing with fire and kids burn the house down, who’s to blame?

I have observed that fundamentalists typically cling to the tactics of the ancient prophets. They are always yelling and condemning like angry parents threatening the children with hellfire consequences of not obeying Dad “because I said so!” In doing so, they believe that they are “saving” people by urging sinners to repent of their ways, as well saving themselves by warning others just as God described to Zeke in today’s chapter.

But humanity has changed. Humanity is no longer a child. The life, teaching, death, and resurrection of Jesus was a turning point like a child entering the age of accountability.

I sometimes see our adult children making choices that I think they’ll regret. Can I ground them? Give them a time-out? Send them to their room? No, but I can lovingly warn them. I can tell them what I learned from making similar choices when I was their age. Ultimately, an adult child has to learn from the consequences of their own choices. In the same way, Jesus taught His followers that it was time to approach humanity with new tactics for a world emerging into a new phase of life. Love, humility, and servant-hearted acts of goodness are to be daily examples for all to see. It’s kindness, not condemnation, that leads others to repentance. Yes, there are love motivated warnings to give when it is necessary, and even relational consequences in extreme situations. But those are the exceptions, not the general rule. Humanity has matured, so must our love and tactics.

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

Chapter-a-Day, Uncategorized

Focus

May 31, 2024 Tom Vander Well Leave a comment

Ner was the father of Kish, Kish the father of Saul, and Saul the father of Jonathan, Malki-Shua, Abinadab and Esh-Baal.
1 Chronicles 8:33 (NIV)

I often get asked if I play golf. Our house sits nestled in a neighborhood on a golf course with the clubhouse just a couple of blocks away, so it’s a natural question for people to ask. My answer is that I’m a once-a-year charity best-ball tournament golfer. My goal in this once-a-year charity best ball tournament is to have ONE of my shots over 18 holes be the “best ball” of our foursome. If I do that. I consider it a win.

I do know a lot of people who are avid golfers, and I know it can be addicting for some people. Along my life journey, I’ve met a person or two who were obsessed. It was all they talked about and it was where all of their time and money went. I remember one person whose marriage was on the rocks because his wife considered herself a “golf widow.” Yikes!

I’ve observed along life’s road that you can tell a lot about a person by observing where they invest their time and energy, and what they like to talk about.

In today’s chapter, the Chronicler turns his genealogical focus on the Hebrew tribe of Benjamin. What’s odd about this is that he already listed the tribe of Benjamin in yesterday’s chapter seven (7:6-12) squeezed between the tribes of Issachar and Naphtali. Now he circles back to give a much more extensive look at Benjamin. Why?

The Chronicler is sitting in the rebuilt Jerusalem where the rebuilt Temple stands. He is among many former citizens of the southern kingdom of Judah who have returned from exile in Babylon. As he writes this retrospective history of his people, he is trying to make sense of where he and his people stand at this moment of their Great Story and their relationship with God. We learn a lot about where his mind is focused based on where he spends his genealogical time and energy.

For example, the Chronicler chose to begin his vast genealogical research focused on the tribe of Judah, even though Judah was the fourth oldest of Jacob’s sons. Judah was the largest tribe, made up the majority of the southern kingdom of Judah, and was the tribe from which King David came. He now focuses on Benjamin because when the kingdom split into the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah, the tribe of Benjamin stuck with Judah. It was from the tribe of Benjamin that Israel’s first king, Saul, emerged as well as Saul’s son Jonathan who played a large role in David’s story as David’s best friend. Many of the exiles returning from Babylon were from the tribe of Benjamin, perhaps even the Chronicler himself.

In the quiet this morning, I find myself meditating on focus. I’m not an obsessed golfer, but that’s not to say I don’t have other obsessions. I still make daily choices about where I spend my time, attention, and resources. What are they? What do they reflect about me and my life priorities?

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

Chapter-a-Day

“Everyone Has Their Shit”

May 23, 2024 Tom Vander Well 1 Comment

All these were the sons of David, besides his sons by his concubines. And Tamar was their sister.
1 Chronicles 3:9 (NIV)

Wendy and I created the lower level of our home with a British theme including a small bar that’s our homage to a British Pub. Add in all of the memorabilia from our years in theatre, and I’d like to imagine it would be at home in London’s West End. Next to the bar is a portrait of Scotland’s Robert the Bruce. In the adjoining guest room, you’ll find portraits of some of the more famous kings and queens of Britain. It’s something we’ve had a lot of fun with.

Royalty is a funny thing. Most of the European nations still acknowledge their royal families and lines of succession though they have no real political power. It’s amazing how the Royal family of Great Britain continues to attract such worldwide fascination. The travails of Harry and Megan over the past few years are a glaring case in point.

For our ancient Chronicler and all of the Hebrew people who returned from exile, it is no different. For over half a millennium their history and heritage were intertwined with the royal family and line of succession, the line of King David.

We’re in our third chapter of the Chronicler’s laying out of the historical genealogies of the Hebrew people. Get ready. There are six more chapters of it coming before we switch to the narrative. In today’s chapter, the focus is on the ever-important line of David. David was God’s appointed King and it was through David’s line that the prophets proclaimed a Messiah would be born. For the Chronicler and his people, the lineage of David was at the core of their history and identity.

Of course, anyone who’s watched Netflix’s wonderful series The Crown (which I highly recommend), knows that the story of Queen Elizabeth isn’t complete without the story of her wild sister, Margaret. Then there’s the tragedy of Diana, the whispers-turned-marriage to Camilla, and the bratty “spare” Prince Harry.

I mentioned in yesterday’s post that one of the things I look for when reading through genealogies in the Great Story is something that is out of place. One of the things I mentioned is the mention of a woman amid all of the men. We find that in today’s chapter. The Chronicler lists all of the sons of David from his various wives and concubines. At the very end of the list, he adds “And Tamar was their sister.”

David certainly had plenty of daughters to go with the sons, but only one is mentioned. Without saying another word, the Chronicler has acknowledged to all of his contemporary readers what he knows they all talk about. He’s telling us “There is a story here.” Tamar was that daughter.

For those who may not know, or may have forgotten, Tamar fell in love with her half-brother Amnon who was also the first-born and heir to David’s throne. The heir to the throne ends up raping his younger half-sister and then completely shuns her and tosses her aside. David shoves the entire event under the proverbial rug, which only serves to plant a seed of rage within the heart of Absalom, his third-born son, and Tamar’s full-blood older brother. Absalom would eventually take out his other brothers like Michael Corleone taking out the heads of the five families at the end of The Godfather, and launch a coup to steal the throne from his father. All of this gets reduced to:

“And Tamar was their sister.”

In the quiet this morning, my mind wandered to a couple of conversations I’ve had in the past few weeks. In each case, I was speaking with individuals I have known for over 30 years. I first met each of these people when they were in high school, though there’s no relationship between the two. They are of different ages and from completely different places in life. The connection is that each of them is in the midst of unbelievably difficult circumstances concerning one of their children. The circumstances are completely different but each case is beyond anything I have personally encountered. I can hardly even imagine what these people are going through.

But you’d never know.

In one of these conversations, as I dug into the difficulties they were living with daily, my friend said, “You know, everyone has their shit. It just looks different. Yet, with each person, it’s their shit in their life and they are having to work through it and deal with it and learn from it.” And, this observation stuck with me. I’ve been chewing on it and meditating on the truth of it.

What my friend was getting at is that each person has their own messy, struggling, difficult, tragic, and even shameful story. We are fallen people living in a fallen world. Yet we project to strangers, acquaintances, friends, and even family that things are “normal” and “good.” Nothing to see here. “And Tamar was their sister.”

Over the past few weeks, I’ve found myself considering those with whom I interact. What is this person’s story? What are they dealing with in life about which I have no clue? The lady behind the counter has a company name tag that says, “Karen. I’m here to help.” It could just as easily say, “Tamar. I’m just the sister.”

I’m reminded of Jesus’ scandalous conversation with the Samaritan woman, a stranger who happened to come to draw water while He was sitting there. He ends up telling the woman, “You’ve been married five times, and you’ve not bothered to get married to the man you’re living with.” It’s easy to read that as subtle condemnation, but there’s no hint or evidence of Jesus condemning her in any way. I think it was really about Jesus saying “I see you. I see the story behind the ‘Hello, my name is Mara’ way in which you’re going about the daily chore of drawing water for you and your husband.”

I confess to you that God’s Spirit has long been working on me to be more considerate. Today’s chapter compels me to consider that every individual I interact with has more going on in life than I can possibly know, and respond accordingly.

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

Chapter-a-Day

A Fresh Revisiting of the Story

May 21, 2024 Tom Vander Well Leave a comment

“Adam, Seth, Enosh…”
1 Chronicles 1:1 (NIV)

I remember one of my first reports in school was to write about a President, and my report was on Ulysses S. Grant. Few people know that this was not his name. His given name was Hiram Ulysses Grant. When he was registered at West Point a clerical error listed him as Ulysses S. Grant. Rather than go to the trouble to have it corrected, he just went with the flow.

My study of the famous Civil War general and 18th President back then portrayed Grant as arguably the worst President in history. I remember being rather shocked by this revelation and by the fact that seemingly no scholar had anything good to say about him or his presidency.

Last year I read Ron Chernow’s recent biography of Grant and was fascinated to find a very different take on the man than what I had read when I studied him in my youth. It’s fascinating how our perceptions of past leaders can change with time along with the experiences of history.

One of the things I’ve heard casual critics bemoan about the Bible is the repetition. For example, today our chapter-a-day journey wades into the book of 1 Chronicles, which is largely the same story we read in the books of Samuel and Kings. I get it. To the casual reader, the repetition seems unnecessary. But is it? Sometimes a historian revisits history from a different place in time and finds a fresh perspective and lessons that are needed in that place at that particular moment in history.

The author of Chronicles is writing at a tenuous moment in history. The nations of Israel and Judah were defeated and taken into exile in Assyria and Babylon. Years later, a remnant of exiles returned to rebuild Jerusalem and the Temple under the Persian Empire which ruled the entire region. In the quiet this morning, I tried to place myself in the sandals of those who have returned to rebuild. Everything has changed.

They once had their own nation, then two nations, that are no more. There is no Hebrew king. There is no heir of David on a throne. What does it mean to be God’s people now? Does God even have a plan for His people? Do their faith and their traditions mean anything anymore or was it all a mirage?

What’s fascinating is that I find very relevant and contemporary sentiments in these questions at this moment in history. I hear voices in our culture disparaging Christianity in total and arguing that the world would have been better without it. Current generations have deconstructed their faith and are now trying to find their way through the rubble. We live in a time when technology and information are bringing more wholesale change at a more rapid rate than at any time in human history.

Does my faith mean anything in this time and place? What is God doing? Is God even a part of the equation? If so, what am I to make of it all?

It’s in asking these questions that we go back to the Story itself to seek answers. We start at the beginning and look at the Story with a fresh perspective. That’s what the author of Chronicles has done. He is writing hundreds of years after the books of Samuel and Kings were written. From his precarious moment on history’s timeline, he is revisiting the entire story from all the sources at his disposal to share with his generation.

And so, he goes back to the beginning. He starts with a genealogy. Here is the cast of the Story, of history. A man had a family. The family became clans. Clans became tribes. Tribes became nations. Nations became Empires. But it started with family. My family. Our family.

In the quiet this morning, I feel the call of the Chronicler to join him in revisiting the story once again. Eyes open. Heart open. God, give me a fresh perspective to help guide me through this current stretch of my journey.

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

Chapter-a-Day

Purpose & Timing

March 21, 2024 Tom Vander Well 1 Comment

When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.
Acts 2:1 (NIV)

One of the things I’ve observed throughout the Great Story is the fact that God does things with both purpose and timing. The purpose and timing happening in today’s chapter can easily go unnoticed by the modern and casual reader.

In reading and meditating on the first two chapters of Acts, I couldn’t help but notice a pattern:

Before His ministry began, Jesus spent 40 days of preparation fasting, and praying. He was then baptized by John, the Holy Spirit descended on Him, and His ministry was effectively launched.

Before their ministry began, Jesus’ disciples spent 40 days of preparation. According to their own testimony, the risen Jesus appeared to them during this period and taught them. They were then baptized in the Holy Spirit and their ministry was effectively launched. (FYI: At this point, the disciples [“follower”] became known as apostles [“sent”]).

But that’s just the top layer. The pattern gets even deeper and better, because the events of Jesus’ crucifixion, resurrection, and the outpouring of Holy Spirit are purposefully timed. They correlate to events and festivals God established through Moses back in Exodus and Leviticus at the time God established His law. What God was doing through Moses and the Law are linked to what God was doing through Jesus and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

The Passover festival was a celebration of God’s deliverance of His people in the final climactic plague on the Egyptians that led to the end of their slavery and the beginning of their freedom. In that plague, death came to the first-born male of every household unless the blood of a sacrificial lamb was spread across the door. The spirit of death “passed over” the households whose doors were covered in the blood of the lamb.

Jesus’ death and subsequent resurrection at the time of the Passover festival marked God’s deliverance for any who believes, leading to the end of slavery to sin and the beginning of spiritual freedom. Jesus became the sacrificial lamb, His blood poured out for all. His victory over death and resurrection made it possible for death to pass over any and all who would believe.

Pentecost was another ancient Hebrew festival, known as the Festival of Weeks. The first fruits of the harvest were celebrated and brought to the Temple as offerings. It was also traditionally commemorated as the day when God gave Moses the Law back in the book of Exodus.

So on the day of commemoration of God giving the Law through Moses, God gave the Holy Spirit to all believers. In His Message on the Mountain, Jesus said, “I didn’t come to abolish the Law (of Moses) and the Prophets, but to fulfill them.” The outpouring of the Holy Spirit was this fulfillment. To the believers in Corinth Paul wrote: “You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.” (emphasis added).

In kicking off the harvest celebration by the bringing of first-fruit offerings, Jesus has all of the disciples, the first fruits of His early ministry. As He once told them, “I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.” With the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and the launched ministry of taking Jesus’ Message to the world, it is a celebration of a spiritual harvest of souls reaping eternal life.

In the quiet this morning, I find myself comforted in the reminder that God works with purpose and timing. I believe this is not only true in the events described in today’s chapter, but in my life, as well. There was a lot that the Apostles still didn’t see or understand about what was happening. In the same way, I often find myself on life’s road without clarity or understanding of what God is doing or where I’m clearly being led. Nevertheless, I know God works with purpose and timing, and I will continue to trust that today as I press on in the journey.

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

Chapter-a-Day

Shift in the Story

December 13, 2023 Tom Vander Well 1 Comment

While he was speaking, a cloud appeared and covered them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud.
Luke 9:34 (NIV)

I have a friend whose story intersected with mine in college. As happens, our paths on life’s journey took us in different directions. A few years ago, our paths brought us back together. My friend is going through a particularly painful chapter of his personal story. As we have talked over the last few years, my friend regularly mentions one of our college professors. This professor meant a lot to him, and he always expresses how he would love to connect and what an encouragement it would be to him.

Yesterday, that very professor posted a comment on my blog and said that one of my blog posts unexpectedly “popped up” and prompted him to send a “remember me?” comment to the blog post.

Hmmmm.

In yesterday’s post/podcast, I talked about stories. My story. Your story. How my story has intersected with countless other people and their stories. They become part of my story and I become part of theirs whether it is for a moment, a season, a few different seasons, or the whole earthy journey.

I believe that every person’s story, and our respective intersections with each other’s stories, are ultimately about our respective intersections with the Great Story that God is authoring in the grand scheme. I believe they are all connected in ways we can’t humanly fathom.

The further I get in my spiritual journey, the more I recognize that everything is connected.

Today’s chapter marks a definitive shift in Luke’s version of the Jesus Story. We’re less than halfway through, but having given a broad brush summary of Jesus’ first two years of ministry he’s going to shift to the climactic final months. Here’s how the good doctor clues us in:

First, Jesus asks The Twelve who they think He is. Peter says he thinks Jesus is God’s Messiah. Jesus warns them to keep this to themselves and immediately tells them what is going to happen: He will be handed over to the religious institution, be killed, and rise from the dead. (vs 18-27)

A second time Jesus tells The Twelve that He will be “delivered into the hands of men.” (vs 43-45)

Dr. Luke then states that as these events approached Jesus “resolutely set out for Jerusalem” where all these things would take place. (vs 51)

Smack dab in the middle of this setup (vs 28-36) is one of the funkiest episodes of the Story, also referenced by both Matthew and Mark in their versions.

Jesus takes Peter, James, and John up to the top of a mountain. The three amigos start to nod off, and when they wake up Jesus is standing there shining like the sun talking to two others talking to Him. The two others turn out to be Moses and Elijah and they are talking to Jesus about His “departure.” Then a thick cloud appears and the boys are freaking out. The cloud is so thick they can’t see anything and a voice from the cloud says, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen; Listen to Him.”

What most casual readers miss is that this entire episode is rooted in the ancient story of the Exodus (you can read it in Exodus 20), when God delivers the Hebrews from slavery in Egypt and makes a covenant with them, that they will be His people and He will be their God. Everything in the Great Story is connected. If I don’t learn the whole Story, I’ll always miss the connections. Let me break it down:

Moses was the appointed deliverer of the Hebrews from slavery in Egypt, just as Jesus is about to be the deliverer of all humanity from slavery to sin. Both episodes happen on mountains, Moses on Mount Sinai, Jesus on an undisclosed mountain (probably Mount Hermon). In both cases, a cloud covers the mountain and God speaks from within the cloud. Moses (the Lawgiver) and Elijah (representing the Prophets) speak to Jesus about his impending “departure” (literally, the Greek word “exodos”) from this earth to establish a new “covenant” in which all who believe are His people, and He our God.

Everything in today’s chapter is a foreshadowing of the rest of the story. The mysterious mountaintop miracle connects what’s happening to Jesus’ story to what God was doing thousands of years earlier. The events are connected. It’s all part of one big story.

As I sit in the quiet this morning, I’m simply resting in the connections and flow of this Great Story. Daily circumstances so easily take up so much of my mindshare and they demand so much of my emotional reserves. It’s easy to forget the bigger picture. These momentary circumstances are connected to a larger story – my story – which is connected to other peoples’ stories – which is connected to the Great Story. If I lose sight of this, the daily circumstances easily become overwhelming, meaningless, futile even. Jesus reminds me that I need to shift focus and pull back on the camera to see the larger story.

And, I need to trust the Story.

I’m looking forward to connecting my dear friend with his beloved professor today.

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

Book Summary List, Chapter-a-Day

Joel (June 2023)

June 30, 2023 Tom Vander Well Leave a comment

Below you’ll find a list of chapter-a-day posts on the book of Joel written and published by Tom Vander Well in June 2023. Click on the image to be directed to that post.

Chapter-a-Day

Finding the Thread

June 22, 2023 Tom Vander Well Leave a comment

Do we not all have one Father? Did not one God create us? Why do we profane the covenant of our ancestors by being unfaithful to one another?
Malachi 2:10 (NIV)

Over the past couple months, I gave three “whiteboard” messages among my local gathering of Jesus’ followers. We were going through the metaphorical “I am” statements Jesus made as recorded by John in his biography of Jesus. I used the same approach in each of the three messages, which was to unpack the fact that in proclaiming the metaphor for Himself (e.g. “I am the bread of life,” “I am the gate,” “I am the resurrection and the life” – each links to YouTube of the corresponding message), Jesus was connecting to spiritual themes throughout the Great Story from Genesis to Revelation.

One the pieces of repeated feedback I’ve received from people with regard to these messages was that they’d never seen the connections or recognized the metaphorical thread that ran throughout the Story. I get it. I’ve observed it to be very common for individuals to simply look at a verse or a chapter with a myopic magnifying glass. It is not necessarily a bad thing, but when that is the only way one views it, they effectively look at every verse or chapter with blinders on. The context of the larger whole is never seen or understood.

That’s why I continue in my chapter-a-day journey, even through what most people would consider the “boring” texts. I have found the text to be “boring” only if I expect it to read the same way as the biographies of Jesus or one of Paul’s letters. The text of the prophets expects something different from me in the way I read, study, and think. One of those expectations is for me to see the connections; To see the thread of consistent message running through them.

For example, I recognized in today’s chapter a message thread running through the messages of Jeremiah, Malachi, and Jesus. In today’s chapter, Malachi specifically addresses the priests and religious leaders. It’s the same group of people Jeremiah confronted for being “shepherds” who only led the people astray with their heartless corruption. It was the reason God sent His people into exile, hoping they would learn the lesson, repent, and return with a different attitude. They obviously didn’t, because Malachi addresses the same lot and accuses them of being hypocrites and bad examples who effectively were the same covenant breakers that Jeremiah prophesied about 150 years before. It is the same lot for whom Jesus saved his most scathing rebuke and condemnation.

But the thread doesn’t end there, and this is most critical to understand.

After Jesus’ resurrection and ascension, the entire paradigm changed. No longer was the priesthood confined to a small group of people with certain strands of genetic DNA or with institutionally educated and approved “ministry” professionals. Every follower of Jesus, indwelled with the Holy Spirit, becomes what Peter called “a royal priesthood.” Every follower of Jesus is essentially a priest, a conduit through whom others are to find Jesus by the examples we set in our lives, words, relationships, and actions. The institutional church has never truly embraced this. Human institutions, by their very nature, consolidate power among a few in order to control the many.

This means that the same lot that Jeremiah addressed, the same lot that Malachi addressed, and the same lot that Jesus addressed is now….me.

Jesus said, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” In other words, Jesus expected all of his followers to live by our loving example towards others. It’s the same message Malachi addresses to the priests. The way they were treating their own people profaned God’s established covenant relationship (see yesterday’s post).

In the quiet this morning, if I truly understand that I am now part of the “royal priesthood of all believers” then I can’t help but feel the sting of Malachi’s prophetic rebuke. In the realm of the Spirit and the Kingdom of God, I am just as much a priest as the Levites Malachi is addressing. The expectations of being a loving example of Father God is as much on me as it was on them, if not more so.

And so I enter another day of the journey, endeavoring to be a living example of Jesus’ servant-hearted love in my peace, joy, patience, kindness, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control.

Pray for me.

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

Book Summary List, Chapter-a-Day

1 Kings (Nov 2022-Jan 2023)

April 1, 2023 Tom Vander Well 1 Comment

Each photo below corresponds to a chapter-a-day post for the book of 2 Kings published by Tom Vander Well from Nov 2022-Feb 2023. Click on the photo linked to each chapter to read the post.