READING FOR JUNE 20, 2025: 1 CHRONICLES 26, EPHESIANS 5, PSALM 56: 8-13 1 CHRONICLES 26 One reason this chapter is interesting is because it starts by listing gatekeeping duties for the Korahites. They were first famous or infamous when their namesake Korah led a rebellion against Moses and Aaron: “Now Korah the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, with Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men, and they stood before Moses, together with some of the sons of Israel, 250 leaders of the congregation chosen in the assembly, men of renown. They assembled together against Moses and Aaron, and said to them, ‘You have gone far enough! For all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is in their midst; so why do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?’” (Numbers 16:1-3).
From what can be pieced together, this writer’s paternal grandfather ran an illegal still during prohibition and his maternal grandfather ran with those who were known in his day as loose women. It is not clear if they eventually came to faith in Jesus. But note that Korah’s rebelliousness did not prevent his descendants from serving God in strategic ways. As with His descendants, our past or family history doesn’t preclude us from serving the Lord. If we think about it, all of us descended from Adam and Eve who first rebelled against God. Yet because Jesus died for our sins, we qualify for service in His Kingdom if we have received Him as Lord and Savior. In fact, we are not being obedient if we are physically able but not serving the Lord in our area of giftedness.
Yorktown Methodist Church has loads of ways to serve but too few people to fill the needs. Interested in participating or leading a small group, sharing the Gospel to others, visiting shut- ins, helping to prepare meals or singing in the choir? Contact Ron Sloan rsloan1112@gmail.com or 765-400-9820 to get connected.
EPHESIANS 5 Paul tells us we should imitate God (vs.1). Seen the latest royal portraits of King Charles and Princess Kate? Like a great artist, we need to carefully study our subject, God, in all His ways in order to be a faithful likeness. Paul tells us especially to look at Jesus and how He gave Himself for us. One essential characteristic of Christ is His Holiness (vs.3-4). We should have nothing to do with sexual immorality (as the Bible defines it--not our culture), greed, or foolish talk (hmm). If we enjoy these activities on earth, it costs us eternal life later (vs .5).
Then Paul tells us to be alert to deception (vs.6). Being gullible is not being Christlike. Find out from God’s word, not social media, what pleases God and do it. Expose suspicious beliefs and actions to the light. “Your [God’s] word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Psalm 119:105).
Paul says we have a limited amount of time to form this likeness; so, learn and do God’s will:
- Don’t get drunk but be filled with the Spirit (contrasting states of altered consciousness).
- Sing and speak to each other and to God in godly poetry in our hearts.
READINGS FOR JUNE 20, 2025 CONTINUED: EPHESIANS 5, PSALM 56:8-13
- Always, always, give thanks to God in Jesus’s name. Is this how we spend our time?
- We are wasting time if we don’t do all this, and most of us have little time left to waste.
Finally, Paul tells us we most nearly imitate Christ when we are mutually subject to each other. (“the head of Christ is [Father] God” --1 Cor. 11:3). This is a particularly hard command for individualistic Americans with our revolutionary and enlightenment-influenced beginnings. The way we obey this command is based upon the position in which God has placed us:
- “Wives, subject yourselves to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church” (vs. 22-23).
- “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her” (vs.25). -
- Paul seemed aware the above points might be dismissed as culturally bound, so he tied them to the creational order that Jesus affirmed in Matt. 19 and to the church that Jesus established forever in Matt. 16.
PSALM 56:8-13 David uses two great metaphors for God’s interest in us: He saves our tears in a bottle, and He puts them in a book. The point is that God values our painful expressions and won’t forget about them. Rev. 20:15 says believers’ names are written in the Book of Life. Rev. 8:3-4 says our prayers are at the throne of God. We and our prayers will never be overlooked by our God. In Psalm 56:10, David says he praises God’s word and then he says right away again, he praises God’s word. Have we found praiseworthy value in God’s word as we have been studying it? If so, praise God for His word and obey it. David associates this praise with giving him courage in tough times. In verse 11 David foreshadows Paul’s confidence, which can be ours, too: “If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?” (Rom. 8:31-32). David is so sure of his deliverance that he is already planning his thanksgiving offering to God (vs. 12). That’s confidence in God.
