Tag Archives: Shakespeare

Chapter-a-Day

Authority with Ink-Stained Fingers

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When [the king someday] takes the throne of his kingdom, he is to write for himself on a scroll a copy of this law, taken from that of the Levitical priests. It is to be with him, and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere the Lord his God and follow carefully all the words of this law and these decrees…
Deuteronomy 17:18-19 (NIV)

Just the other morning Wendy and I were stopped by friends who wanted to discuss a role I’d played on stage about ten years ago. It was a show that Wendy directed. It was one of my favorite roles ever, and it was fun to relive the memories with our friends.

One of the questions people repeatedly ask me when speaking of my various turns on stage is, “How do you memorize all those lines?” The truth is that the entire rehearsal process lends itself to the memory work. That said, there is a combination of both discipline and device required.

One of the mnemonic devices I use is to write my lines down. Literally, I will go through the script and transcribe my lines by hand on paper. There is a connection made between hand and brain when you write things by hand. The act of writing the words themselves allow the brain to catch things that the eyes alone don’t see on the page. The process takes time and forces the brain to consider and contemplate words, phrases, and sentences in ways that simple reading and reciting doesn’t.

In today’s chapter, Moses foreshadows a time when Israel asks for a king. Moses lays the foundation describing the person the king should be:

  • A person God chooses (God’s choice, not a human popularity contest)
  • No hoarding of horses (military might)
  • No accumulation of wives (political manipulation)
  • No stockpiling of silver and gold (economic domination)

Then Moses prescribes the most astonishing of tasks for every person appointed to the throne. Handwrite a copy of the Torah onto a single scroll – the entirety of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. Why? There is a connection between brain and hand. As you write words on paper, they penetrates the brain – they even seep into the heart.

But merely transcribing God’s Word was not the end of the prescription. The scroll is to be portable – able to fit in the king’s backpack. It is to be with him always. Having the scroll allowed the King to perpetually reference, read, meditate, and remember.

The scrolls very presence was a moral compass whispering, “Not so fast, mighty one.”

As I meditated on the chapter, two things struck me:

  • Being king requires being a student. Not delegating. Not outsourcing. Ink on fingers. Scroll on lap. Leadership begins as listening.
  • Limits are mercy. The prohibitions against excess aren’t anti-royalty; they’re anti-corruption. Torah assumes power will tempt—and lovingly cages it before it devours the soul.

The subversive whisper in today’s chapter is this: No one is above the Law—not even the one wearing the crown.

When I was discipled as a young man, the first task I was given was to memorize Joshua 1:8:

This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will achieve success. (NASB)

Notice the similarity? Meditate day and night. Let it penetrate. House it in your head and heart. Let it be an ever-present reminder, a reference, a voice of wisdom, a guardrail against foolish choices.

Which is why, my friend, I’m still here in the quiet each morning reading, meditating, writing, and hopefully letting it penetrate ever deeper. Just like an actor memorizing my lines.

After all, Shakespeare so poetically observed,

“All the world’s a stage,
And all the men and women merely players…”

On the stage of life, this Great Story between Genesis and Revelation is my script. If I’m going to play my role well, I had better know my lines—and listen for the Director’s cues.

And that reminder is a good cue with which to start this another day on this earthly journey.

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

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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!
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Chapter-a-Day

The Text is a Tool

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Then the leaders of Israel, the heads of families who were the tribal leaders in charge of those who were counted, made offerings.
Numbers 7:2 (NIV)

This summer, I’ve been overseeing a production of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream at our local community theatre. As far as I know, it’s the first production of Shakespeare in our community in over a decade. One of the things that has excited me as I’ve watched dress rehearsals over the last few days is how well the cast is doing. Made of mostly young people, not one of the cast members had ever done Shakespeare on stage before. It’s a shame that so many people are intimidated and dismissive of Shakespeare. They a missing out on some amazing things.

Throughout my life journey, I’ve had to memorize lines for a lot of different parts in different productions. You might be surprised when I tell you that Shakespeare is among the easiest to memorize. There is a cadence to the iambic pentameter in which it is written. There are often rhymes included as well. One the joys of watching the cast of A Midsummer Night’s Dream in rehearsal is that these young people not only memorized the lines, they’ve come to understand them. That’s what happens when you memorize the lines and repeat them over, and over, and over again. It begins to sink in. All sorts of fun realization and understanding is unlocked, revealing hidden mental gems like finding Easter eggs in a video game. It’s obvious to me as I watch that they have fallen in love with the characters and story they are telling. I guarantee it has transformed the way they think about Shakespeare as they experience the power and meaning of his words, his characters, and his story.

Today’s chapter is, for most modern readers, a head-scratcher of aggravating proportions. It is the longest chapter in the ancient Hebrew scriptures known as the Law of Moses (the first five books, also known as The Torah or The Penteteuch). Not only is it long but it is repetitive. Leaders of all twelve Hebrew tribes bring an offering for the dedication of God’s traveling tent temple. They each bring the same offering. The same offering of the same things are recounted twelve times.

It’s chapters like today’s where many a New Year’s resolution to read the entire Bible hit the wall.

So, what’s up with this?

Two observations.

First, at the end of the last chapter, God gives Moses and Aaron a famous blessing with which to bless the Hebrew people:

The Lord bless you
    and keep you;
the Lord make his face shine on you
    and be gracious to you;
the Lord turn his face toward you
    and give you peace.

It’s known as the Aaronic blessing or benediction, and thousands of years later you’ll hear it used in countless synagogues and churches every week.

So, I have to step back and look at the larger picture of how the text is structured. Not just the text itself. God has delivered the Hebrews from slavery. He has agreed to live among them. He has given them thorough instructions for how to successfully experience life, health, and community with one another and with God. And, God has now given a perpetual blessing of protection, provision, favor, grace, and peace.

This blessing is immediately followed by the Hebrews offering gifts to God. The offerings are a response to God’s gracious and generous gifts and blessing. This chapter of offerings are a giant, national thank you card.

Which leaves me to meditate on the question, “What have I offered God for His gracious and generous gifts and blessings to me?” I suddenly think of my affluent culture in which we are so blessed with stuff we don’t need that we buy storage bins to put it on storage shelves in storage rooms. Even then we often need to rent extra storage spaces. God has been amazingly generous with me. How generous have I been with God?

The second observation has to do with the simplicity of the lesson in the repetition. This text was written in a time when only a select few people could read or write. Once again, it is the toddler stage of the development of human civilization. How is my toddler granddaughter, Sylvie, learning simple lessons? By having the same books read to her with the same text, the same rhymes over and over and over again…

Big A, little a, what begins with “a?”
Apples, ants, and animals. A, a, a.

God and the scribes of Numbers are making a point about who God is (gracious, ordered, detailed) and about the importance of how we are to respond to God (being generous with what we’ve been blessed, gratefully offering God back a portion of what we’ve been given, not just personally but corporately as God’s people). As the ancient Hebrews heard it read over, and over, and over the lesson was hopefully going to sink in. The repetition is both an object lesson and a training technique.

Which, in the quiet this morning, leads me back to Shakespeare, memorization, and understanding. One of the first disciplines I was taught as a disciple of Jesus was to memorize certain verses like a young actor learning his lines for playing the part of Puck. I’ve watched the cast unlock the understanding, meaning, and joy of Shakespeare’s words. But it had to get off the page and inside their minds and hearts to unlock its power. It is no different than what I have experienced with all of the verses and passages of God’s Words that I’ve memorized across my life journey.

The words are no longer on the page. They are in my head. They’ve penetrated my heart and soul. As I repeat the words over and over and over through the days, weeks, months, and years, they have become a part of me. In that process, something happens spiritually inside me. They start to change the way I think, the way I behave, and the way I respond to others. Because they are always there and always a part of me, they empower God’s Spirit work within me in unspeakable ways.

It’s a shame so many people are intimidated by, and dismissive of, the words of God’s Great Story. They are missing out on some amazing things. Even more amazing than Shakespeare.

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

For my local peeps, A Midsummer Night’s Dream is being performed July 24-27, 2025 at the Pella Community Center. You can get tickets online here and all the show information here.

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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!
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Chapter-a-Day

Best of 2023 # 11 Thoughts on the Prophetic

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I’m on vacation for three weeks. While I’m gone, please enjoy the top 15 posts from 2023 based on total number of page views and podcast plays. Cheers!

Thoughts on the Prophetic (CaD 2 Ki 8) – Wayfarer

Hazael said [to Elisha], “How could your servant, a mere dog, accomplish such a feat?”

“The Lord has shown me that you will become king of Aram,” answered Elisha.
2 Kings 8:13 (NIV)

In today’s chapter, there is a fascinating episode in which the servant of the king of Aram sends a man named Hazael to the prophet Elisha to ask if he will recover from his illness. Elisha informs Hazael that the king will recover but he will die. Then Elisha stares at Hazael for an uncomfortable and awkward period of time and begins to weep. Elisha then tells Hazael that he will become king of Aram and will do great harm to the kingdom of Israel.

Hazael returns to the King of Aram, murders him, and usurps the throne. I’m left wondering if Hazael’s coup was already in process when he went to see Elisha, and Elisha’s prophecy confirmed for Hazael that it was time to pull the trigger.

An interesting historical side note: An ancient Assyrian inscription records the reign of Hazael “Son of Nobody” in Aram.

What struck me as I read this story was how similar it is to one of my favorite Shakespearean plays. The tragedy of Macbeth basically follows the same plot line. It is prophesied that Macbeth, a relative nobody among the nobility of Scotland, will be king. It so happened that the King of Scotland decides to stay at Macbeth’s place for the night and his wife convinces him that they should murder the king and make the prophecy come true. I couldn’t help but wonder if Shakespeare was inspired by the story of Hazael.

By the way, things don’t work out so well for Macbeth and his wife. Hazael, on the other hand, did quite well for himself. He created a fairly impressive little regional empire in Damascus and reigned for over 40 years.

Prophecy is a fascinating element of life. As I contemplated it in the quiet this morning it struck me, from horoscopes to Nostradamus, how pervasive it is, even among otherwise nominally spiritual people.

As a disciple of Jesus, prophecy is a part of the fabric of life, and the Great Story is chock full of it. Seventeen books of the Bible are the words of the ancient prophets and the book of Revelations records the prophetic visions of John. One of the gifts the Holy Spirit bestows on individual believers is the gift of prophecy.

During my forty-plus years of being a follower of Jesus, I’ve experienced many instances of people who have told me things that have been prophesied to them or for them. In other instances, both Wendy and I have had people speak prophetic words to us. And, on a handful of occasions, I’ve been directly given specific prophetic words from God’s Spirit.

My experience with the prophetic, however, includes individuals who regularly share with me prophetic messages they’ve been given that I’ve noticed never pan out. I’ve also observed instances of individuals who, like Lady Macbeth, go to great lengths to make a prophetic message happen, usually to semi-tragic ends. False prophecy has always been a part of the prophetic experience.

I’ve also had some legitimately amazing, truly prophetic experiences.

I’ve learned along my life journey to take what I call the .38 Special approach to prophecy: “Hold on loosely, but don’t let go.” I’ve come to believe in holding the tension between being someone who frantically chases after the prophetic and those who dismiss it entirely. If a prophetic word is truly prophetic, it will come to pass. When given a prophetic word I listen. I make note of it. Then I place it on the back burner of my heart and mind, and I continue to press on as normal.

Chapter to read for the next Best of 2023: Daniel 3

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

Chapter-a-Day

Wordplay in The Word

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Wordplay in The Word (CaD Mi 1) – Wayfarer

One of the things that is lost on modern readers is the wordplay that Micah used when he wrote his messages in Hebrew. A chapter-a-day podcast from Micah 1. The text version may be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

For Samaria’s plague is incurable;
    it has spread to Judah.
It has reached the very gate of my people,
    even to Jerusalem itself.
Micah 1:9 (NIV)

Back in the day, my hometown of Des Moines had two daily newspapers. The Des Moines Register was delivered in the morning and The Des Moines Tribune was delivered in the afternoon. Ours was a Tribune household. Families were usually one or the other. On Sunday, both Register and Tribune subscribers got the “Sunday paper” which was huge. It was filled with entire sections you didn’t get on weekdays, the comics had their own section printed in color, and there were a million flier ads for all the major department stores.

The “Sunday paper” was a weekly big deal. One of the reasons was that the Sunday Register had “Jumble” word puzzles that weren’t printed in the daily Tribune. My mom loved to spend her Sunday afternoons solving the puzzle of jumbled-up letters that would make words which would then provide the clues to a final word that was the punchline to an accompanying cartoon. I grew up loving to help, and I think it planted a seed in me. I’ve always loved word puzzles, and as I grew up I gained a fondness for learning new words, the history of words, and the use of creative wordplay in writing. It’s one of the reasons I’ve always loved Shakespeare. He was a master at playing with words in creative ways.

Today, this chapter-a-day journey begins a quick trek through the writing of the ancient prophet Micah. Micah was from a small town in Judah when ancient Israel had been divided into the two kingdoms of Israel (in the north) and Judah (in the south). It was a time of political, religious, and moral corruption, and Micah was speaking out to the people of both nations to warn them of God’s impending judgment. Micah correctly prophesied that both Israel and Judah would suffer destruction at the hands of the Assyrian Empire.

One of the things that is lost on modern readers is the wordplay that Micah used when he wrote his messages in Hebrew. Much like Shakespeare, Micah uses clever wordplay that weaves irony and sarcasm that would have made his messages memorable in their day. In today’s chapter, Micah uses the names of actual towns and cities where his audience lived and links them to sound-alike words in his message. As I mulled this over in the quiet this morning, I created a little word game for myself as I thought about some of the towns around where we live and how I might use them Micah-like:

You who live in Sully will be sullied by the rubble of your destroyed homes.

Those in Leighton will search for someone to lighten the burden of God’s judgment without success.

There will be no revenge for the people of Montezuma after the instrument of God’s wrath is finished.

The residents of Galesburg will reap the whirlwind of the Lord’s anger.

In the quiet this morning, the old Mary Poppins song came to mind with the message “A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down.” The ancient prophet’s message was harsh spiritual medicine for his audience. I have to believe that the wordplay in his writing was intended to make the message both memorable and easier to swallow. That’s not a bad reminder for me, or anyone who finds themselves having to communicate a bitter pill.

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

Chapter-a-Day

A Bit Part

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A Bit Part (CaD LK 23) – Wayfarer

Then [the criminal crucified next to Jesus] said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
Luke 23:42 (NIV)

When I was young and involved in theatre, like most people I always wanted the starring roles. I’ve been blessed to have gotten lead roles in a number of great shows. As I studied theatre and began to direct shows myself, I was always struck by individuals at auditions who made it clear that if they didn’t get the lead role, they didn’t want to be in the show. As time went on, I found this sentiment increasingly sad.

The more time I spent on stage, the more I began to realize the joy of playing a “bit” part. It requires less time learning lines, which provides more time for playing with the lines, developing the character, and experimenting with the role. I’ve always loved the process of character development. Even with small roles of only a few lines I will do an entire character study and develop a full back story for the character in order to bring that character to life for the audience. There’s a ton of fun to be had in crafting a bit character who “steals the show.” I think the best role, by far, in Hamilton is King George. He’s only on stage for a few brief moments, but he’s stolen the show every time I’ve seen it.

As I read through the Great Story, I find that my theatre experiences lead me to contemplate those who have bit parts in the narrative. In today’s chapter, Jesus is tried, sentenced, crucified, dies, and is buried. There are a host of bit players in the event. There’s the terrorist and murderer who is pardoned instead of Jesus, who had done nothing wrong. There’s the foreigner traveling to Jerusalem who is forced to carry Jesus’ cross. Luke twice references the women who had traveled with Jesus all the way from Galilee and had the courage to witness the crucifixion while most all the male disciples were hiding in fear. And, there’s Joseph, a member of the ruling council who conspired to have Jesus killed now asking for the body of Jesus and placing it in his own tomb.

All of these bit characters have a story to tell, and I can only imagine how compelling those stories might be as they unpacked the events that led them to be there at that moment on that day. I wonder how the events of that day may have changed their lives.

Of all these bit characters, it was the thief crucified next to Jesus who commanded my attention as I meditated on the chapter in the quiet this morning. First, I found it fascinating that he knew enough about Jesus to be convinced of Jesus’ innocence, and he seemed to know what Jesus taught. Was he among the curious crowds who gathered to listen to Jesus in the Temple earlier in the week? Was he convicted of his own blaring mistakes and poor life choices as he listened?

I also found it fascinating that the thief knew Jesus’ teaching enough to acknowledge that Jesus was a King with a Kingdom. Did he overhear Jesus’ conversation with Pilate when Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world”? At what point did the thief decide that Jesus was exactly who He said He was?

Finally, I love that the thief owns his own sins and the painful consequences he is experiencing. Shakespeare’s tragic thieving character, Bardolph, comes to mind when he says to Prince Harry, “When thou art King, don’t hang a thief!” The thief on the cross has no such hopes of escaping with a royal pardon. With the eyes of his spirit, the condemned man sees with perfect clarity what is happening at this moment. He and the angry criminal hanging on the other side of Jesus are getting what they deserve. They committed their crimes and they are paying for it. With the same clarity, he sees that Jesus is an innocent man suffering like a lamb being slaughtered.

At that moment, the nameless thief has one request: “Remember me.”

There is something I find so purely humble and gut-wrenching honest in this ask. He accepts his fate and embraces the certainty that he deserves the eternal punishment to which he knows he is headed. I’m reminded of Jesus’ parable of the rich man and the poor beggar Lazarus. The rich man languishes in Hades and looks across the spiritual chasm to see Lazarus in heaven. This is the reality the thief fully expects. He will be in eternal anguish as across the great spiritual divide Jesus takes up His throne in His eternal Kingdom. He accepts this fate.

“Please. Just think of me. That’s all I ask.”

How magnificent, how beautiful, that in this grand, climactic, spiritual moment in the history of all creation, one undeserved, poor thief finds a mustard seed of faith and the grace that flows freely from it.

When, as an actor, I make an entrance to play a bit character on stage, I am that person in that moment. In the quiet this morning, I find myself similarly hanging on my cross next to Jesus. I know my sins. I know what I deserve. I know that Jesus does not deserve what I deserve. In the quiet, it is my soul whispering, “Remember me.”

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

Chapter-a-Day

Wisdom & Foolishness

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Wisdom and Foolishness (CaD Job 28) – Wayfarer

Where then does wisdom come from?
    Where does understanding dwell?
Job 28:20 (NIV)

Wisdom and foolishness.

The ancients pondered these contrasting character qualities long and hard. So much thought and contemplation were given to them that there is a whole genre of ancient writing known as Wisdom Literature. Job is a classic of the Wisdom genre.

Shakespeare used the motifs of wisdom and foolishness to great effect. He often portrayed his rich and powerful characters with fatal, foolish flaws while reserving some of the most wise insights to characters who were classic fools.

I don’t find that contemporary culture thinks much about wisdom and foolishness in the classic sense. We think about fame and fortune. We value success and popularity. We strive for appearances and for avoiding failure that would result in social humiliation. Being wise is considered an honorable trait, of course. No one pursues foolishness. Yet, the world by-and-large doesn’t dwell on attaining wisdom or understanding foolishness. I went to the Amazon’s book section and did a search for “wisdom.” Pretty much every book that shows up is rooted and cloaked in Judeo-Christian or other ancient spiritual traditions. There are some “it” Christian authors. There are some more modern thinkers like Tolstoy and T.E. Lawrence. There’s not a single “it” influencer in popular culture on the cover of a book hawking the virtues of wisdom or the hidden traps of foolishness. No Oprah. Not even a Kardashian.

One of the keys to unpacking the book of Job is to understand that the author constructed it using different elements. Job’s and his friends have conversed in three rounds of back and forth discourses and ended in a stalemate. The ancient Hebrew writer now inserts a classic Hebrew wisdom poem before entering the second major section of the book in which there will be a trinity of monologues from Job, his friend Eli, and finally, God.

The ancient Hebrews liked to construct poetry and songs in such a way that the center of the text contains the central theme. Today’s chapter serves that function. The heart of the Job story is about gaining wisdom, and the author explains that wisdom can’t be mined by human means, nor can it be bought and sold like a commodity. Wisdom is found in the fear of the Lord and the shunning of evil. Embedded in this conclusion is both a nod back to the beginning of the story in which three times Job is described as a man who “feared the Lord” and “shunned evil” (1:1, 1:8, 2:3). It is also a foreshadowing of the final climax of the story in which God will have the final word.

In the quiet this morning, I found myself contemplating who I’ve encountered along my life journey whom I would consider wise, and those I’ve known who I would label a fool. As I contemplated this, it struck me that not one wise person I know was perfect. In fact, one of the life lessons I’ve gained from being associated with the wise is the necessary disappointment of learning that even the wise make foolish mistakes and have blind spots. I’ve come to believe that this is the true lesson of Solomon. As I tried to think of a fool I know who became wise, I had to think hard. In the few individuals that came to mind, there was always an epiphany event that preceded the life change. There was a gracious God moment, even if they weren’t otherwise religious, in which they walked away from their foolish path and pursued a path of wisdom.

And, that’s exactly the conclusion of the author’s wisdom poem. To “shun evil” I’ve learned that there is a divine grace woven with corresponding human will that is required. But it’s the divine grace that is the source, both the beginning and the end of wisdom and everything in between. It’s this humble acknowledgment repeatedly embraced that forms the path to wisdom.

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

Chapter-a-Day

Shooting the Messenger

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Shooting the Messenger (CaD Jer 4) – Wayfarer

Circumcise yourselves to the Lord,
    circumcise your hearts…
Jeremiah 4:4a (NIV)

“Yet the first bringer of unwelcome news
Hath but a losing office…”
Shakespeare, Henry IV (Part 2)

As Wendy and I drove down to the lake yesterday, I listened to the Cubs’ Spring Training game against the A’s. The regular season starts next week and this is the time of year when baseball prophets and prognosticators predict which teams will contend for the postseason and World Series this year. Like most fans, I like to hear “experts” giving me hope for a winning season and the potential of watching my team play in October. I equally despise hearing “experts” giving doomsday predictions of another season of being the doormat of our division rivals no matter how accurate they might be. I shut them off. I tune them out. I refuse to listen. And, if I’m honest, I don’t like them very much.

No one likes the bearer of bad news. “Shooting the messenger” is a commonly used metaphor. It is rooted in sentiments by Plutarch and Sophocles. Shakespeare used it in two of his plays.

The ancient Hebrew prophets were not particularly popular in their day. You’ll find that Jeremiah will face a fair amount of persecution as we trek through his writings and story. His prophetic prognostications are almost always bad news. Even Jesus lamented, “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you…” (Luke 13:34). The Hebrews gained a reputation for “shooting the messenger” when it came to the doomsday prophets God sent their way.

Get ready. Jeremiah has a lot of doom and gloom to proclaim, starting with today’s chapter.

Among the things I find most fascinating about the ancient Hebrew prophets is the way they connect to one another, and the way they foreshadow what’s to come in the Great Story in ways they could never have known.

In our recent chapter-a-day trek through Daniel, we read one of Daniel’s visions in which the coming succession of empires was represented by different beasts. The Neo-Babylonian empire that had taken Daniel into captivity was represented metaphorically as a lion (Daniel 7:1-4). In today’s doomsday message for the people of Judah, Jerry writes:

A lion has come out of his lair;
    a destroyer of nations has set out.
He has left his place
    to lay waste your land.

The lion in Jeremiah’s prophetic poem is the same lion in Daniel’s vision. Jeremiah is recording the message in today’s chapter sometime around 620 BC. The events he’s accurately described will tragically take place 40-50 years later. Of course, no one wants to hear this.

When Jerry tells the people of Judah and Jerusalem to “circumcise your hearts,” he is foreshadowing a tectonic shift that Jesus would usher in some 600 years later. The Hebrews of Jerry’s day thought they were in good standing with God simply because they were “God’s people” as evidenced by their heritage, DNA, and traditional physical signs such as circumcising males. But this was exactly the point God is making through prophet Jerry. Just being a member of the tribe was never the point. It is from the heart that our motives give birth to action. Having a circumcised penis is simply a physical sign. God is looking for a spiritual sign, a circumcised heart. Jesus said as much:

“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Matthew 6:21 (NIV)

“Don’t you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them. For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.” Matthew 15:17-19 (NIV)

Just as Jeremiah was persecuted for his words, Jesus would be persecuted and executed for His.

The apostle Paul would make this same argument in his letter to Jesus’ followers in Rome:

“A person is not a Jew who is one only outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. No, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a person’s praise is not from other people, but from God.“
Romans 2:28-29 (NIV)

Just as Jeremiah and Jesus were persecuted for their words, Paul would be persecuted and executed for his.

I promise to have mercy on those prophets who are predicting another losing season for the Cubs. They could well be right. In the same vein, I ask mercy, dear reader, for anything I write that you don’t like. “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.”

Please don’t shoot the messenger! 😜

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

Chapter-a-Day

Thoughts on the Prophetic

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Thoughts on the Prophetic (CaD 2 Ki 8) – Wayfarer

Hazael said [to Elisha], “How could your servant, a mere dog, accomplish such a feat?”

“The Lord has shown me that you will become king of Aram,” answered Elisha.
2 Kings 8:13 (NIV)

In today’s chapter, there is a fascinating episode in which the servant of the king of Aram sends a man named Hazael to the prophet Elisha to ask if he will recover from his illness. Elisha informs Hazael that the king will recover but he will die. Then Elisha stares at Hazael for an uncomfortable and awkward period of time and begins to weep. Elisha then tells Hazael that he will become king of Aram and will do great harm to the kingdom of Israel.

Hazael returns to the King of Aram, murders him, and usurps the throne. I’m left wondering if Hazael’s coup was already in process when he went to see Elisha, and Elisha’s prophecy confirmed for Hazael that it was time to pull the trigger.

An interesting historical side note: An ancient Assyrian inscription records the reign of Hazael “Son of Nobody” in Aram.

What struck me as I read this story was how similar it is to one of my favorite Shakespearean plays. The tragedy of Macbeth basically follows the same plot line. It is prophesied that Macbeth, a relative nobody among the nobility of Scotland, will be king. It so happened that the King of Scotland decides to stay at Macbeth’s place for the night and his wife convinces him that they should murder the king and make the prophecy come true. I couldn’t help but wonder if Shakespeare was inspired by the story of Hazael.

By the way, things don’t work out so well for Macbeth and his wife. Hazael, on the other hand, did quite well for himself. He created a fairly impressive little regional empire in Damascus and reigned for over 40 years.

Prophecy is a fascinating element of life. As I contemplated it in the quiet this morning it struck me, from horoscopes to Nostradamus, how pervasive it is, even among otherwise nominally spiritual people.

As a disciple of Jesus, prophecy is a part of the fabric of life, and the Great Story is chock full of it. Seventeen books of the Bible are the words of the ancient prophets and the book of Revelations records the prophetic visions of John. One of the gifts the Holy Spirit bestows on individual believers is the gift of prophecy.

During my forty-plus years of being a follower of Jesus, I’ve experienced many instances of people who have told me things that have been prophesied to them or for them. In other instances, both Wendy and I have had people speak prophetic words to us. And, on a handful of occasions, I’ve been directly given specific prophetic words from God’s Spirit.

My experience with the prophetic, however, includes individuals who regularly share with me prophetic messages they’ve been given that I’ve noticed never pan out. I’ve also observed instances of individuals who, like Lady Macbeth, go to great lengths to make a prophetic message happen, usually to semi-tragic ends. False prophecy has always been a part of the prophetic experience.

I’ve also had some legitimately amazing, truly prophetic experiences.

I’ve learned along my life journey to take what I call the .38 Special approach to prophecy: “Hold on loosely, but don’t let go.” I’ve come to believe in holding the tension between being someone who frantically chases after the prophetic and those who dismiss it entirely. If a prophetic word is truly prophetic, it will come to pass. When given a prophetic word I listen. I make note of it. Then I place it on the back burner of my heart and mind, and I continue to press on as normal.

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

Chapter-a-Day

Great Stories, My Story

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But Absalom said, “Summon also Hushai the Arkite, so we can hear what he has to say as well.” 2 Samuel 17:5 (NIV)

It is said that one of the aspects of great stories is their timelessness. When I studied theatre in college there were entire sections of study devoted to Greek tragedies like Antigone and Oedipus Rex and, of course, the works of William Shakespeare. It was the late 20th century and in many classes, I spent more time studying plays and stories that were hundreds and thousands of years old than contemporary works.

As I read ancient stories like the story of David we’re wading through now, I can’t help but hear echoes of other timeless stories and make connections between them. Power plays for the throne (Game of Thrones), tragic human failure (Anakin Skywalker), and the intrigue of family rivalries (Succession) are the stuff of which classic stories are made. Today as I was reading the chapter, I thought of The Godfather films and the saga of the Corleone family; A timeless classic in its own right. As they led their mafia family, Vito and Michael Corleone always tried to have a guy, loyal to the family, on the inside of a rival family or faction. Luca Brasi dies while trying to convince the Tataglias that he wants to betray Don Corleone. Michael sends his brother Fredo to Las Vegas which not only serves to get Fredo out of his sight but also plants his own brother inside of an operation he doesn’t trust.

A few chapters ago, amidst the chaos of Absalom’s coup, the last thing that King David did before fleeing the palace was to plant his man, Hushai, inside Absalom’s inner circle. It proved to be a cunning move. Absalom took the bait hook, line, and sinker. In today’s chapter, David’s scheme comes to fruition and Hushai sets the hook which will be the undoing of Absalom. Absalom was a cunning young man and had planned his moves against his brothers and father well. In the end, however, he underestimated all the wisdom and experience his father had gathered while running for his life in enemy territory for many years. In addition, Absalom’s self-seeking motivation was about anger, vengeance, hatred, and personal power. The repentant David may have been facing the tragic consequences of his own blind spots and failings, but at the core of his being his heart was still humble before God.

In the third act of Francis Ford Coppola’s Godfather epic, Michael Corleone’s son confronts his father about the “bad memories” he has of his family and childhood. “Every family has bad memories,” Michael replies. And, so they do. Another appeal of great stories is the connections we make to our own lives and experiences. We are all part of the human experience. Even in my own family, there are true tales of tragedy and intrigue. Times change, but people are people, and our common human flaws source similar tales in our own lives and families. We each play our part in the story. We are each a cog in our family’s system. The cool thing is that we get to choose our character and influence the story with our daily choices of words, relationships, and deeds.

How will I choose to influence my story, and my family’s story, today?

 A Note to Readers
I’m taking a blogging sabbatical and will be re-publishing my chapter-a-day thoughts on David’s continued story in 2 Samuel while I’m taking a little time off in order to focus on a few other priorities. Thanks for reading.
Today’s post was originally published in May 2014.

The featured image on today’s post created with Wonder A.I.

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

Chapter-a-Day

Who’s the Villain?

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Who's the Villain (CaD 1 Sam 26) – Wayfarer

Now let my lord the king listen to his servant’s words. If the Lord has incited you against me, then may he accept an offering. If, however, people have done it, may they be cursed before the Lord! They have driven me today from my share in the Lord’s inheritance and have said, ‘Go, serve other gods.’
1 Samuel 26:19 (NIV)

This past week Wendy and I have been working remotely from the lake. We finished watching all of the Marvel movies in their chronological order within the Marvel Universe which was a lot of fun. I’d forgotten how good Avengers Endgame was as all the Avengers arrived to defeat the evil Thanos and his minions.

Great stories need great villains. Thanos hadn’t arrived on the scene when the American Film Institute celebrated its 100th anniversary by listing the 100 top movie heroes and villains. I wonder where they’d have put Thanos in the list. Here are their top five:

  1. Hannibal Lecter, Silence of the Lambs
  2. Norman Bates, Psycho
  3. Darth Vader, Star Wars
  4. Wicked Witch of the West, Wizard of Oz
  5. Nurse Ratched, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest

One of my favorite villains, whom I believe is one of the greatest villains of all time, comes from Shakespeare’s world. In Othello, the title character’s best friend is a man named Iago. What Othello doesn’t know is that Iago is not his friend, but his enemy (ever know anyone like that?). Slowly and methodically, with manipulative and conniving whispers, Iago drives Othello to madness. Iago convinces Othello that his beloved Desdemona is cheating on him, and eventually Othello murders his innocent girlfriend in a jealous rage.

I thought of Othello as I read today’s chapter. Once again, Saul and his army are hunting David in the wilderness, even after David had spared Saul’s life just two chapters ago. Saul had repented of his foolish, mad envy of David. Now Saul is doing it again, and I had to ask myself “Why?”

Saul’s madness is certainly evident throughout the David vs. Saul saga, but I pondered the idea that it might be more than that. Then I remembered a little tidbit the author of 1 Samuel shared back in chapter 22:

And Saul was seated, spear in hand, under the tamarisk tree on the hill at Gibeah, with all his officials standing at his side. He said to them, “Listen, men of Benjamin…”

Saul was from the tribe of Benjamin, and “all his officials” were from the tribe of Benjamin, as well. They are Saul’s officials from Saul’s tribe, and as the king’s officials, they enjoy feasting on the king’s gravy train. If David, from the tribe of Judah, becomes king. What do you think will happen to their privilege and power? What might David do to them if and when he becomes king, knowing they were Saul’s henchmen?

David has thought about this, too. What’s driving Saul’s repeated homicidal attempts on David’s life might not only be Saul but from his officials who have everything to lose should David come to power. Could it be Saul’s entourage who are whispering Iago-like in Saul’s ear?

In today’s chapter, David once more confronts Saul with the fact that he could have killed the king and didn’t. David doesn’t address Saul, however. He addresses Saul’s general, Abner. David calls into question the motives of Saul’s advisors and officials: “If, however, people have done it, may they be cursed before the Lord!“

In the quiet this morning, I find myself pondering friendships. I have had an Iago or two in my life and wondered in hindsight how I could have been so foolish as to listen to their whispers and how I could have missed the signs of their true motives. I also find myself grateful for true friends who have walked the journey with me for years, who have been through the worst of life with me, and who have always had my back.

This is another thing David is forging in his wilderness experience. He is creating a brotherhood of men who have no other reason to be with David but loyalty. They are forging relationships through the worst of times which will translate into advisors who will be loyal to him when the best of times come and he ascends the throne.

It is a blessing to have friends and companions who are motivated only by the desire of wanting God’s best for you.

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