READING FOR JUNE 23, 2025: 1 CHRONICLES 27, EPHESIANS 6, PSALM 57 1 CHRONICLES 27 If, as most all scholars believe, Ezra is the Chronicler, then chapters such as this have application that is obvious. As the returning Babylonian exiles were repopulating Judah, it would be instructive to know how the greatest king of Israel organized his military and government. A large military and bureaucracy can be bloated and inefficient, but a well-organized government is essential and ordained by God, Himself: “Every person is to be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. Therefore, whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves” (Rom. 13:1-2). We obey God when we obey, financially support, pray for, and serve our government.
Whenever a new American president assumes office, there is a great deal of interest about who the new cabinet officials and military leadership will be. Of course, David was an ancient theocratic monarch, but Ezra must have believed there were some principles that still applied centuries later. Perhaps there might be some that still merit consideration for our pluralistic and polarized democracy even in 2025.
The military concept that David employed has some similarities to our national guard. Each tribe sponsored its own unit of 24,000 men. They were on active duty only for one month of the year on a rotational basis. But they would always be ready if a national threat developed in between their rotations. This allowed for the regular economy to continue, family relationships to be strengthened, and a shared ownership in the national defense. Leaders of each unit were men of merit from each of the tribes, so they were likely a unified fighting division. Good idea? Each tribe had a chief administrator appointed from within the tribe. For reasons unexplained, the tribes of Gad and Asher are not included in this list. Some unbelieving scholars might point to this as proof that the Bible contains errors. Scholars who actually believe the Bible suggest that likely Ezra did not have access to all the surviving documents, so he left off these two tribes rather than to invent leaders for them. In other words, this would point to Ezra’s concern for the historical accuracy of his account. This writer supports this view.
Remember when David was the youngest of Jesse’s eight sons watching his father’s sheep while his older brothers were paraded before Judge Samuel as king candidates. David’s prospects were low at that moment. Now as king he needed responsible leaders to watch over each of his following holdings: personal storehouses, agricultural workers, vineyards, wine cellars, olive and sycamore groves, stores of oil, cattle, camels, donkeys, sheep, and property. To David’s credit, there is no indication that this extreme wealth caused him to lose his devotion to and dependance upon God. Most of us could not handle this kind of prosperity. Here is a wise prayer for us: “Give me neither poverty nor riches; Feed me with the food that is my portion, so that I will not be full and deny You and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’ And that I will not become impoverished and steal and profane the name of my God” (Prov. 30:7-9).
EPHESIANS 6 The chapter break occurs in the middle of a listing of how we as believers should be mutually subject to one another. In chapter five Paul said 1) wives should subject themselves to their husbands and 2) husbands should love their wives as Christ loves the church. Now he writes children should obey their parents, which he connects to one of the ten commandments. This also implies parents should give direction to children which in turn can be obeyed—not taking a hands-off approach. It is remarkable in this period of ancient history that Paul commands fathers to be sensitive to the child’s feelings. This has a shockingly current sensibility as opposed to how we often view antiquity. Also, very much worth mentioning is that fathers, not
READING FOR JUNE 23, 2025 CONTINUED: EPHESIANS 6, PSALM 57 mothers, are charged with instructing children in the Lord. Paul uses the word for mother, μητέρα, just two verses earlier. It is used in various forms 83 times in the New Testament, but not here! FATHERS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE SPIRITUAL INSTRUCTION OF THE CHILDREN. FATHERS, HOW ARE WE DOING IN THE HOME AND THE CHURCH TEACHING OUR CHILDREN ABOUT THE GOSPEL?
Most scholars teach Paul’s comments about masters and slaves are applicable today to bosses and employees. This is appropriate, but a few words might be needed about Paul’s treatment of slavery. In 1 Timothy 1:10, Paul forbade a practice essential for the continuance of slavery: slave trading. Note this excerpt from an April 2024 article in Christianity Today:“As British scholar F. F. Bruce put it in his biography of Paul, the Letter of Philemon ‘brings us into an atmosphere in which the institution [of slavery] could only wilt and die.’ It’s hard to imagine a time when bondservice was such a given that not a single writer of the era would directly challenge it. But perhaps more than any ancient writer, Paul salted the soil of slavery. When we ignore the memory of the early church, we ignore that Paul was possibly the least likely person to condone slavery. His parents were slaves. He may have been one as well.”
What does Paul mean when he says we are fighting the following? “Against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Eph. 6:12). To get at these concepts, consider what each armor piece protects against: 1. Belt of truth protects against falsehood. “I hate and loathe falsehood, but I love Your Law (Psalm 119:163). Falsehood appears to be that which contradicts or distorts God’s word. STUDY THE BIBLE.
2. Breastplate of righteousness against unrighteousness. “The unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God ...the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor those habitually drunk, nor verbal abusers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.” (1 Cor. 6:9-10). Paul says we don’t fight against people who practice these behaviors but against powers promoting such unrighteousness. We show love to all and pray they come to faith!
3. Sandals of peace against enmity with God. “Having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” Rom 5:1. Sharing our faith defeats the forces keeping people at war.
4. Shield of faith against unbelief. “Take care... that there will not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God. But encourage one another every day” (Heb.3:12).
5. Helmet of salvation against rejecting the Gospel. “For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Cor.1:18). Teach the cross. 6. Sword of the Spirit against the Bible being irrelevant. “You have been born again not of seed which is perishable, but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God” (1 Pet. 1:23). This is an area where Satan has made enormous inroads. If the Bible is subject to our own cultural norms, it can never teach us God’s truth. Cultural norms become our real God. THIS IS HAPPENING!
PSALM 57 Many people say the Bible should not be taken literally. That’s true when the genre is poetry or apocalyptic prophecy. It is not true when Jesus tells us to pray for our enemies or to teach others to obey His commands. Consider the genre, but don’t not take the Bible literally just because we really don’t like what it is saying. In this Psalm, David is not literally in the shadow of God’s wings. No one is literally trampling him. No one literally has swords for teeth or has dug a hole for him. Certainly, David does not literally cause the dawn to wake up. Yet all this is powerfully true and expresses more vividly than literal facts the depth of David’s faith in a glorious God who will lovingly protect him (and us) from very real danger.
