AI (Wombo) Fearful or Formidable by Crystal A Murray (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)
As soon as I started reading Proverbs Chapter 28, the first verse reminded me of a verse in The Torah (in Leviticus) about people being afraid of the sound of a skittering leaf. And another in Joshua supports the part of the verse about boldness. I’ll post all three together…
Proverbs 28:1 WEBUS [1] The wicked flee when no one pursues; but the righteous are as bold as a lion.
Leviticus 26:36 WEBUS [36] “‘As for those of you who are left, I will send a faintness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies. The sound of a driven leaf will put them to flight; and they shall flee, as one flees from the sword. They will fall when no one pursues.
Joshua 1:9 WEBUS [9] Haven’t I commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Don’t be afraid. Don’t be dismayed, for Yahweh your God is with you wherever you go.”
There are more verses with similar messages, and they all point to the same basic idea: Life without The Lord is also without strength, promise, hope, or real peace. Life withThe Lord includes these things and so much more. And while many pursue their own temporary pleasures, when that season passes, they’re left with an emptiness that echoes so loud, it creates heart-pounding fear. In writing about the difference without and with God, Paul said this to the converted (Messianic) Hebrews…
Hebrews 11:24-26 BSB [24] By faith Moses, when he was grown, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. [25] He chose to suffer oppression with God’s people rather than to experience the fleeting enjoyment of sin. [26] He valued disgrace for Christ above the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking ahead to his reward.
And if you want to do an even deeper dive into this first verse, I’ve just learned tonight how many fantastic study tools are available at the Bible Hub website. https://biblehub.com/proverbs/28-1.htm will take you to multiple translations of verse 1, and when you scroll down, you’ll find commentaries, teaching points, Bible study questions, and more. But be careful because all the study info includes sources to even more study info, and you could be reading for a long time if you love God’s Word. The link I provide with each post at the top has a lot of study on the whole chapter as well.
The rest of this chapter talks about riches, power, and poverty. It’s all good advice, and its messages have proven true in the test of time, especially where it speaks of how leadership (good and bad) affects a community. Like verse 4 that says (my paraphrase) those who leave lawfulness behind end up praising the wicked, but the law abiding end up in arguments with the wicked. Yes, it is normal to find contention with those who refuse to give God the honor He deserves. And it’s much better to stand boldly for God’s ways than to end up like the person in verse 9…
Proverbs 28:9 WEBUS [9] He who turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is an abomination.
While I spent a good portion of time following verses and word studies, I also spent my fair share of time playing with different filters on the prompt for today’s picture. So now, just for fun, I’ll end with the adorable image I got using the knitting filter.
AI (Wombo) Knitted Fear vs Boldness by Crystal A Murray (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)
Ready or Not by Flickr User Greg Westfall, CC License = Attribution Click image to open a new tab to access original image and user’s photo stream on Flickr.
So, if you’re one of those who stays up late, you might be wondering why you didn’t see the blog before midnight. First, I was out at a wonderful planning meeting for the next year in our Christian writer’s group, Louisville Christian Writers. Well, the meeting didn’t go that long, but it was followed by the kind of fellowship that makes you wonder why everyone doesn’t get how great it is to be a Christian. But then, it’s those times when we visit with friends who cherish the presence of God the way we do that help us get through those times that make it a bit harder to be a Christian.
Anyway, I’m going to change the time of this to show a post by 11:59pm on January 11th, just so it will archive correctly. But so it doesn’t look like a lie, here’s my confession. After getting home at 5 til midnight, I forgot for about 20 minutes. Then I was like “EEK, I forgot!” and quickly plugged in and started my laptop only to have it get part way and refuse to totally boot about three times. I finally got it going, and since then I have struggled with the picture to go with it. I wanted to use something about being battle ready, but no pics or videos really fit what today’s reading from Exodus 13:17 through Exodus 14:8 was really saying.
As our newest portion begins (Parashah 16, Hebrew B’shallach meaning After he had let go), God is leading the newly delivered Israelites away from the land of the Philistines because He thinks they may see war and turn around to go back to Egypt. Combining this with a few verses later where the Scripture says the people of Israel went up from Egypt fully armed, and then the last verse of today’s reading that says they went out boldly, I was thinking, “Boy, there are a lot of messages just in this.” But the one that really strikes me is that when God saves and delivers us, He gives us a full armor and His Spirit gives us the tools we need for boldness. Many people even start out going boldly to others to share what they have gained and from what they’ve been set free. Still, when we see things get tough, signs of war like God knew the Israelites would see in the land of the Philistines, do we consider going back into bondage just so we won’t have to fight?
As the reading progresses, we have Moses keeping his promise to carry the bones of Joseph, and we are told of the pillars of cloud and fire that follow Israel by day and by night to guide and protect them. And then God tells Israel to repent–literally. He tells them to turn around and backtrack, to go the opposite way they were traveling. But God does it for a purpose. He wants Pharaoh to think the children of Israel are lost and wandering in the desert so Pharaoh will come after them. And He plans to use that against Pharaoh and his armies to show Egypt that He, Yahveh, is truly the Lord.
Pharaoh fell for the trap and began to question why they were so stupid as to let their slaves go. Actually, it says Pharaoh and his servants had a change of heart. Yeah, I guess as soon as they had to make their own cup of coffee, they were reconsidering the loss of all those obedient and subservient people. So Pharaoh prepared 600 of his chariots and his people plus all the other chariots in Egypt along with their commanders. And God made Pharaoh hard-hearted so he pursued Israel.
And so we come to an end with Israel leaving Egypt boldly but God knowing their hearts might shrink if they see war, so we can’t be sure if they were ready. And then we see Pharaoh following after Israel, also boldly, but for stupid reasons. And we know Pharaoh isn’t ready for what is to come, but he doesn’t know that yet. Ready or not, God’s got a plan, and He’s got a place within it for whosoever will make themselves ready to follow Him. Will that be you?
Crystal is, like her name, multi-faceted. She can even write about herself in third person and only feel a little awkward about it. 🙂 She loves to write; she loves kaleidoscopes, fractals, and all things colorful; she loves her husband, her family, and her feline furkids; and mostly she loves Yahveh Almighty, her Creator. She believes her creative mind is in her DNA from Him, and she believes He sees His creations as she sees the images inside a kaleidoscope–all different yet all beautiful and most beautiful when light (His light) shines through them.
Crystal Writes A Blog 
Ready or Not (Ready)
Ready or Not by Flickr User Greg Westfall, CC License = Attribution
Click image to open a new tab to access original image and user’s photo stream on Flickr.
So, if you’re one of those who stays up late, you might be wondering why you didn’t see the blog before midnight. First, I was out at a wonderful planning meeting for the next year in our Christian writer’s group, Louisville Christian Writers. Well, the meeting didn’t go that long, but it was followed by the kind of fellowship that makes you wonder why everyone doesn’t get how great it is to be a Christian. But then, it’s those times when we visit with friends who cherish the presence of God the way we do that help us get through those times that make it a bit harder to be a Christian.
Anyway, I’m going to change the time of this to show a post by 11:59pm on January 11th, just so it will archive correctly. But so it doesn’t look like a lie, here’s my confession. After getting home at 5 til midnight, I forgot for about 20 minutes. Then I was like “EEK, I forgot!” and quickly plugged in and started my laptop only to have it get part way and refuse to totally boot about three times. I finally got it going, and since then I have struggled with the picture to go with it. I wanted to use something about being battle ready, but no pics or videos really fit what today’s reading from Exodus 13:17 through Exodus 14:8 was really saying.
As our newest portion begins (Parashah 16, Hebrew B’shallach meaning After he had let go), God is leading the newly delivered Israelites away from the land of the Philistines because He thinks they may see war and turn around to go back to Egypt. Combining this with a few verses later where the Scripture says the people of Israel went up from Egypt fully armed, and then the last verse of today’s reading that says they went out boldly, I was thinking, “Boy, there are a lot of messages just in this.” But the one that really strikes me is that when God saves and delivers us, He gives us a full armor and His Spirit gives us the tools we need for boldness. Many people even start out going boldly to others to share what they have gained and from what they’ve been set free. Still, when we see things get tough, signs of war like God knew the Israelites would see in the land of the Philistines, do we consider going back into bondage just so we won’t have to fight?
As the reading progresses, we have Moses keeping his promise to carry the bones of Joseph, and we are told of the pillars of cloud and fire that follow Israel by day and by night to guide and protect them. And then God tells Israel to repent–literally. He tells them to turn around and backtrack, to go the opposite way they were traveling. But God does it for a purpose. He wants Pharaoh to think the children of Israel are lost and wandering in the desert so Pharaoh will come after them. And He plans to use that against Pharaoh and his armies to show Egypt that He, Yahveh, is truly the Lord.
Pharaoh fell for the trap and began to question why they were so stupid as to let their slaves go. Actually, it says Pharaoh and his servants had a change of heart. Yeah, I guess as soon as they had to make their own cup of coffee, they were reconsidering the loss of all those obedient and subservient people. So Pharaoh prepared 600 of his chariots and his people plus all the other chariots in Egypt along with their commanders. And God made Pharaoh hard-hearted so he pursued Israel.
And so we come to an end with Israel leaving Egypt boldly but God knowing their hearts might shrink if they see war, so we can’t be sure if they were ready. And then we see Pharaoh following after Israel, also boldly, but for stupid reasons. And we know Pharaoh isn’t ready for what is to come, but he doesn’t know that yet. Ready or not, God’s got a plan, and He’s got a place within it for whosoever will make themselves ready to follow Him. Will that be you?
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January 11, 2014 Posted by Crystal A Murray (aka CrystalWriter) | Bible Study, Nonfiction, Torah Commentary | Adonai, Almighty, armed, Bible, Bible Gateway, Bible reading, Bible study, boldness, bondage, Complete Jewish Bible, Creator, crystalwriter, deliverance, Egypt, Exodus, fear, follow, God, Holy Bible, Israel, Lord, Moses, Old Covenant, Old Testament, Parashah, Pharaoh, Portions, ready, Scripture, The Complete Jewish Bible, Torah, Torah commentary, Torah Portions, Torah Reading, trick, war, Word, Word of God, Word of the Lord, www.biblegateway.com, Yahveh, Yahweh | Leave a comment