AI Rainbow in the Clouds by Crystal A Murray (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)
If you know any artists or writers or creators of any type, you know they can be temperamental about your reactions to their creations. I don’t watch any of those chef programs, but the previews seem to show some real volatility in recipe creators/cooks who don’t get things their way or get the reactions they hoped for. But I think we come by it honestly from being made in the image of a Creator who puts His whole heart into everything He creates.
I’m up to Day 3 in my Bible study, so the last 2 days included Genesis 4 through Genesis 11. Mankind rejected the Light and Love God gifted him in exchange for what sounded to them like a good idea. Back in Genesis 3, Eve is shown looking at the tree while thinking how it… A: Looked good for food (lust of the flesh), B: Was delightful to look at (lust of the eyes), and C: Was desirable for obtaining wisdom (pride of life). Those three sin-inducing thoughts are at the root of every temptation or sin we face.
So, they did things the human way and rejected God’s way which led to a rejection of the gifts He wanted to shower on them, such as the ability to eat from the ”Tree of Life” and live forever. It was only God’s mercy that sent them away from the tree rather than leaving them in eternal bondage to their sin.
Then came Noah, the grandson of Methuselah, who found grace in the eyes of The Lord and was rescued with his family from a flood meant to wash away all that had destroyed God’s beautiful creations. As I wrote my study comments, I used a crying emoji, and it suddenly made me think of all the flood waters as God’s tears. Can you imagine that much heartache?
But, after it was all said and done, God ached for the many lost people (and critters) washed away and buried with no chance of salvation. He placed the scientific phenomena of a colorful spectrum in the Creation sequence, so water now reflects His desire to rescue mankind with a hope of redemption and restoration.
And now, for a little fun, here’s a video by my favorite Christian parody band, ApologetiX, with their song Noah Man to the tune of Nowhere Man by ”The Beatles”.
Forgiven [ Redeemed [ Restored [ Reborn [ & Set Free by Flickr User ashley.adcox, CC License = Attribution, Noncommercial, No Derivative Works Click image to open a new tab/window to view the original image with a wonderful testimony about God helping this girl overcome depression and changing her life, and to access the user’s full photo stream at Flickr.
“Sin doesn’t only break God’s laws, it also breaks His heart.” That is one of my favorite quotes on my Pinterest board about truth. It’s like the chorus in that older Ray Boltz hymn (video at bottom) that says,
Does He still
feel the nails
every time I fail?
Can He hear the crowd crucify again?
Am I causing Him pain;
Then I know I’ve got to change.
I just can’t bear the thought of hurting Him.
In today’s reading, we will find God commissioning Moses to write a song for Him. His reason for wanting it written will show His broken heart. I’m going to link to Deuteronomy 31:19 through Deuteronomy 31:23 because that covers the subject completely. However, for some reason, the way the verses are divided had the reader ending yesterday with one line about the song and ending today with half a sentence and at a comma. Still, if you want to see the exact daily portion, look at Deuteronomy 31:20-24.
The reading, including the last sentence from yesterday, begins with God telling Moses and Joshua to write a song and teach it also to the children of Israel. God says He wants Israel to learn it by heart, so it can be a witness from Him and against them when they violate the covenant. He says that when Israel comes to her inheritance and has eaten her fill, grown fat, and turned to other gods while hating Him, the descendants will still be singing the song and not have forgotten it. God tells Moses that He knows how Israel thinks now, and that her thoughts were the same even before He brought forth the promise of the new land.
So Moses writes a song the very same day, and he teaches it to Israel that very day. At the same time, The Lord commissions Joshua, the son of Nun, to be strong and courageous as he brings Israel to The Promised Land. He reminds Joshua once again that He (God) will be with him (Joshua) as he leads the people to their inheritance.
So Moses is not only God’s scribe, he’s also God’s lyricist. Unfortunately, the lyrics God wants Moses to write will carry a painful message to all those who stand against God in spite of how good He has been to them. Most of us want to hear nothing but hope and mercy and love, but there are times when it takes a song for people to truly understand heartbreak. Country music has always been very good at that in the form of what they always called tearjerkers. I’ve always liked those types of songs (think Dolly Parton’s Me and Little Andy, or Red Sovine’s Roses for Mama) even though they provoke sadness. Sometimes, a little sadness can help us look at where we stand; be it in gratefulness or in self-examination.
You know, it’s easy to think of people and their needs when they’re brought before us. It seems the news and other television shows are always interviewing someone who talks about what they or someone else does or doesn’t deserve. Oh, but what would happen if we all began to think of what God does or doesn’t deserve? He deserves our trust. He deserves our devotion. He deserves our praise. But He doesn’t deserve to have a broken heart or to need a song written about it. What do you think God deserves from you?
Here’s the video of Does He Still Feel the Nails (with lyrics)…
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.
When God Writes a Heartbreak Song
Forgiven [ Redeemed [ Restored [ Reborn [ & Set Free by Flickr User ashley.adcox, CC License = Attribution, Noncommercial, No Derivative Works
Click image to open a new tab/window to view the original image with a wonderful testimony about God helping this girl overcome depression and changing her life, and to access the user’s full photo stream at Flickr.
In today’s reading, we will find God commissioning Moses to write a song for Him. His reason for wanting it written will show His broken heart. I’m going to link to Deuteronomy 31:19 through Deuteronomy 31:23 because that covers the subject completely. However, for some reason, the way the verses are divided had the reader ending yesterday with one line about the song and ending today with half a sentence and at a comma. Still, if you want to see the exact daily portion, look at Deuteronomy 31:20-24.
The reading, including the last sentence from yesterday, begins with God telling Moses and Joshua to write a song and teach it also to the children of Israel. God says He wants Israel to learn it by heart, so it can be a witness from Him and against them when they violate the covenant. He says that when Israel comes to her inheritance and has eaten her fill, grown fat, and turned to other gods while hating Him, the descendants will still be singing the song and not have forgotten it. God tells Moses that He knows how Israel thinks now, and that her thoughts were the same even before He brought forth the promise of the new land.
So Moses writes a song the very same day, and he teaches it to Israel that very day. At the same time, The Lord commissions Joshua, the son of Nun, to be strong and courageous as he brings Israel to The Promised Land. He reminds Joshua once again that He (God) will be with him (Joshua) as he leads the people to their inheritance.
So Moses is not only God’s scribe, he’s also God’s lyricist. Unfortunately, the lyrics God wants Moses to write will carry a painful message to all those who stand against God in spite of how good He has been to them. Most of us want to hear nothing but hope and mercy and love, but there are times when it takes a song for people to truly understand heartbreak. Country music has always been very good at that in the form of what they always called tearjerkers. I’ve always liked those types of songs (think Dolly Parton’s Me and Little Andy, or Red Sovine’s Roses for Mama) even though they provoke sadness. Sometimes, a little sadness can help us look at where we stand; be it in gratefulness or in self-examination.
You know, it’s easy to think of people and their needs when they’re brought before us. It seems the news and other television shows are always interviewing someone who talks about what they or someone else does or doesn’t deserve. Oh, but what would happen if we all began to think of what God does or doesn’t deserve? He deserves our trust. He deserves our devotion. He deserves our praise. But He doesn’t deserve to have a broken heart or to need a song written about it. What do you think God deserves from you?
Here’s the video of Does He Still Feel the Nails (with lyrics)…
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September 18, 2014 Posted by Crystal A Murray (aka CrystalWriter) | Bible Study, Nonfiction, Torah Commentary | Bible Commentary, Bible study, broken heart, Complete Jewish Bible, Deuteronomy, God's heart, heartbreak, Israel, Moses, Scripture, sin, tearjerker, Torah commentary, Torah Portions | Leave a comment