Before we go on: Israel represents a person who has sinned against someone. The Gibeonites represent the person who has been sinned against.

1 There was a famine during David’s reign that lasted for three years, so David asked the Lord about it. And the Lord said, “The famine has come because Saul and his family are guilty of murdering the Gibeonites.”

Because of the wrong that was committed by Israel against the Gibeonites, which the Israelites had not atoned for, they were experiencing a time of intense hardship.

2 So the king summoned the Gibeonites. They were not part of Israel but were all that was left of the nation of the Amorites. The people of Israel had sworn not to kill them, but Saul, in his zeal for Israel and Judah, had tried to wipe them out. 3 David asked them, “What can I do for you? How can I make amends so that you will bless the Lord’s people again?”

4 “Well, money can’t settle this matter between us and the family of Saul,” the Gibeonites replied. “Neither can we demand the life of anyone in Israel.”

“What can I do then?” David asked. “Just tell me and I will do it for you.”

Israel (represented by David) asks for forgiveness and offers to atone for the sin that was committed against the Gibeonites. Note that forgiveness isn’t enough–Israel must atone for the sin in order to make things right between the two nations.

5 Then they replied, “It was Saul who planned to destroy us, to keep us from having any place at all in the territory of Israel. 6 So let seven of Saul’s sons be handed over to us, and we will execute them before the Lord at Gibeon, on the mountain of the Lord.”

The Gibeonites demand as atonement, not money, but a sacrifice that will prove to them that Israel will no longer follow in the ways of Saul, by sacrificing the descendants of Saul. The descendants of Saul represent the part of the sinner (Israel) that is most closely connected to the sin. If Israel can sacrifice them, then it is evidence that Israel will not sin in this way again.

“All right,” the king said, “I will do it.” 7 The king spared Jonathan’s son Mephibosheth, who was Saul’s grandson, because of the oath David and Jonathan had sworn before the Lord. 8 But he gave them Saul’s two sons Armoni and Mephibosheth, whose mother was Rizpah daughter of Aiah. He also gave them the five sons of Saul’s daughter Merab, the wife of Adriel son of Barzillai from Meholah. 9 The men of Gibeon executed them on the mountain before the Lord. So all seven of them died together at the beginning of the barley harvest.

So Israel offers the Gibeonites a part of Israel, to atone for the sin, and the Gibeonites take it and sacrifice it before God.

10 Then Rizpah daughter of Aiah, the mother of two of the men, spread burlap on a rock and stayed there the entire harvest season. She prevented the scavenger birds from tearing at their bodies during the day and stopped wild animals from eating them at night. 11 When David learned what Rizpah, Saul’s concubine, had done, 12 he went to the people of Jabesh-gilead and retrieved the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan. (When the Philistines had killed Saul and Jonathan on Mount Gilboa, the people of Jabesh-gilead stole their bodies from the public square of Beth-shan, where the Philistines had hung them.) 13 So David obtained the bones of Saul and Jonathan, as well as the bones of the men the Gibeonites had executed.

14 Then the king ordered that they bury the bones in the tomb of Kish, Saul’s father, at the town of Zela in the land of Benjamin. After that, God ended the famine in the land.

Rizpah represents the part of Israel most closely connected to the sacrifice. The sacrifice is very painful to her. While her sons’ bodies lie unburied, she stays for months by their sides, mourning. Not all is right with Israel during this time, and the famine continues. When David finally buries the bodies, and puts them to rest, Rizpah returns home and God ends the hardship that Israel had been going through.

So, to recap the application: When we commit a sin against someone, it is not enough to repent and ask for forgiveness. There must be an atonement. (When we fail to atone for a sin that we have committed against another, we may experience a time of hardship, just as Israel did.) Jesus has already atoned for our sins against God, but only we can atone for our sins against each other. Atonement involves showing repentance through sacrificing a part of ourselves that is connected to the sin, as evidence that we will not repeat the sin. In this way, we “make things right” with the other party, and assure them that we truly repent.

This sacrifice, as any sacrifice, should be painful. (If it isn’t, then it isn’t a sacrifice.) When we make this sacrifice, we will mourn the loss of a part of ourselves. It may take months before we can get over it. But only once we no longer mourn the loss of the sacrifice that we have made have we really, truly repented of our sin.

Request for comments! Please let me know what you think of this interpretation.

Why can’t I see your face?

You will, when you have finished My work.

How can I know who you are if I can’t see your face?

If you know My Son, you know Me.

What work of yours should I be doing?

Seek my face.

How can that be my work if I won’t see your face until I’ve finished my work?

Your work is to seek My face, not find it.

What about those who don’t know you?

I am the Shepherd. They are My sheep, and so are you. Follow Me, and I will take care of the rest.

I want to do what I want.

I want you to want Me.

I want to be me.

I want that, too; that’s why I made you.

But I’m not like you.

Yes you are. Find yourself.

I am myself. How do I become not me?

The you I made is at war with the you the world has made.

How do I defeat him?

I am your ally. Hear me cheering you on.

How do I hear you?

Listen.

Again, dense with meaning. I am ashamed, because just doing this simple exercise makes me feel like I’ve never really listened to God. I can hear Him so clearly when I am listening. Only listening to him for five minutes out of the day seems wrong. But it’s a step forward, I suppose.

I am not the me that wants my own way. I am not he, and he is not me.

This week, Ernie gave me some homework: Talk to God three times this week, for 5 minutes each, and write down what He says. Well, I had a conversation with God. I attempted as much as possible to write down exactly the first thing that came to my mind, without editing at all. So, I will leave you now with Conversation #1:

God who are you?

I am the Father.

Whose father are you?

Yours.

What do you want from me?

Love.

Why can’t I give it?

Because you fail to see me.

How can I see you?

Take off the blindfolds.

What are the blindfolds?

Yourself.

How do I take off myself?

By dying.

You mean, kill myself?

NO! Allow yourself to die.

I feel like a lot was said. I’m looking forward to the next one tomorrow.

“The smile of God is the goal of your life.”
Rick Warren, pg. 69

How to please God: love Him, trust Him, obey Him, thank Him, use your abilities.

Love Him

The reason we were created is so that God could have a relationship with us, and us with Him.

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment.”
Matthew 22:37-38 (NIV)

Trust Him

With love comes trust, also known as faith. God expects us to trust Him completely–what is sometimes called blind love. We should follow Him blindly, trusting that He wants what is best for us.

“Without faith it is impossible to please God.”
Hebrews 11:6 (NIV)

Obey Him

If we love and trust Him, then we should obey Him as well. He has told us that following His Word is what is best for us, and that obeying Him is the way that we can show Him our love.

“If you love me, you will obey what I command.”
John 14:15 (NIV)

Thank Him

Since God loves us and has given us so much to be thankful for, we should be grateful to Him. Since we love Him, we should praise Him for the wonderful things He has done. God enjoys our thanks and praise, the same way that we enjoy the thanks and praise of others.

“I will praise God’s name in song
and glorify him with thanksgiving.
This will please the LORD.”
Psalm 69:30-31 (NIV)

Use Your Abilities

God is pleased when we use the abilities that He has given us. He made us the way we are for a reason! We are designed specifically to fulfill a purpose in His plan. We should enjoy the things God has given us, and use them, thanking God as we do. In this way, we glorify Him by fulfilling His design.

“The Lord directs the steps of the godly.
He delights in every detail of their lives.”
Psalm 37:23 (NLT)

That last one is one of my favorites. God made me to enjoy playing video games and programming! And He made me good at both! It is good to remember that I can do these things as worship to God, and that I need not think of them as outside of my relationship with Him. Because they aren’t! He gave these things to me to use and enjoy.

God, thank you so much for everything You’ve given to me! Help me to be properly grateful to you for everything You’ve done for me. Draw me ever inward to a closer relationship with You, and purify me day-in and day-out as I struggle to trust and obey You. Help me not to be a slave to sin, but to You! And help me to make everything I do a living sacrifice and praise to You.

Amen.

“For the LORD taketh pleasure in his people.”
Psalm 149:4a (KJV)

Okay, so I took a short break. But that’s all it was! This thing ain’t over yet. However, I think I am going to have to severely shorten these if I am going to be able to stay motivated. It takes me a long time to write anything (because I get distracted so easily), and spending an hour-and-a-half each night writing a blog is just a little too much. Hope you guys don’t mind!

This chapter is the first in the section on worship, entitled “You Were Planned for God’s Pleasure.” Rick Warren defines worship as “bringing pleasure to God,” which is a good way to think about it. Key points include:

Worship isn’t for you.

Saying that you “got a lot out of the worship ceremony” is beside the point. What did God get out of it? If you’re trying to get something out of it for yourself, rather than trying to please God, you’re doing it wrong.

Worship is more than music.

Everything you do can and should be worship for God. “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.” (1 Corinthians 10:31; KJV) Worship should extend to every part of your life, in every second that you draw breath, regardless of what you’re doing. The worship service before church is just a small part of that.

Worship means being in love with God.

And expressing that love through your thoughts and actions. We should be so in love with God that we can’t help but think about Him constantly and try to make Him happy with everything we do.

God, help me to treat my whole life as worship, seeking to please You, out of the love that I have for you. When I sing praises to You, help me to really be praising You, rather than selfishly seeking the good feeling that I feel when I do. I love you, and I will strive to glorify You in all I do.

Amen.

Okay, so maybe I really am shooting for Easter now. We’ll see?

“It’s all for him.”

Oh! Well, that’s all I need to know, I guess. Good blog, everyone! See you tomorrow! …But seriously, folks.

This, of course, is one of the tenets of the Christian faith: that we exist in order to bring glory to God. So then, what is God’s glory, and how can I bring it? To Him? Bring more of it to Him? Or whatever? I obviously could have worded that better. We’re on a time frame, people, no editing allowed. I’m gonna get this done by 11pm.

So, Rick’s answer to the first question is that God’s glory is who He is. Or maybe the expression of who He is. His nature and character, et cetera. And I guess I can buy that. He doesn’t quote any scripture to back that up, but it kind of makes sense. My first instinct would be to use the usual definition of glory, even here: His awesomeness, His power, His majesty, His radiance. But how does one express those things? Rick’s general answer might be, “by acting according to His nature.” (Of course he gives five specific answers in a moment.) Again, my first instinct would be to say something along the lines of, “by testifying to his power, majesty, radiance, etc.” But that is probably too narrow–being children of God, we testify to His glory when we act in accordance with His character. Actions speak louder than words, after all.

In answering the how question, Rick quotes Jesus from John 17:4:

“I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do.” (NIV)

In other words, we bring glory to God when we fulfill our purpose. (But I thought our purpose was to bring glory to God? Ow, my head.) But then he gets more specific. According to Mr. Warren, we bring God glory by:

Worshiping him.

By loving Him, enjoying His presence, sacrificing ourselves for Him. This one is my favorite. There is nothing better than enjoying the presence of God. But I still have a lot of room to grow when it comes to sacrificing myself for Him. I am very jealous of my time. God, help me to sacrifice my time as an act of worship for You. Help me to see every thing that I do as sacrificial worship for Your glory.

Loving other believers.

We are all brothers and sisters in Christ, and members of His body. To love each other is to love God. This one is difficult for me, because I am not quite sure what it means. He touches on being a servant later, but without service, what is love? I love all of my brothers in sisters in Christ, but do I really love them? Enough to lay down my life for them? This is something to think about, when I am fellowshipping with other believers.

Becoming like Christ.

Becoming “spiritually mature” in God, by “becoming like Jesus in the way we think, feel, and act.” WWJD? And think, and feel. That’s actually a good point–I think that people spend a disproportionate amount of time thinking about how Jesus would act, and not as much thinking about what He would think and feel. Those are, after all, just as important as what He did. I guess it’s just natural for us as humans to focus on the visible rather than the invisible. It goes without saying that, in all three areas, I could use some improvement. It will be helpful to think of aligning my thoughts and feelings (in addition to my actions) with Christ’s.

Serving others with our gifts.

I don’t have a servant’s heart. Well, okay, I take that back. I have a hard time serving when it involves a lot of physical effort, but if it’s on the computer? No problem. I think mostly this has to do with 1) being lazy, 2) being lazy, and 3) being very selfish with my time. Maybe I need to think of this in different terms, though. I love serving when it involves my gifts (those being singing and programming). I am not amenable to serving when it involves labor. Is that bad? Sometimes I feel guilty about this, and I want someone to tell me that it’s okay.

Telling others about him.

This is the easy answer, right? It’s the one I came up with by default. And one of the ones that I am worst at. I get so embarrassed to claim my God and mention Him in everyday conversation. This is something I am improving on, but I have a long road ahead of me. God, make me not ashamed to shout Your name and sing Your praise, no matter where I am or who is watching.

So, there you have it. Those are the five things I have to do. Worship God, love others, think/feel/act like Christ, serve others (with my gifts), and tell others about God. Think I can do it?

And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Macbeth, Act V, Scene 5

(I’m gonna see how many times I can quote from that soliloquy in this series.)

Today’s chapter is entitled “Life Is a Temporary Assignment,” and it completes the list of three metaphors begun in chapter five with life is a test and life is a trust. Here are some of the key takeaways about our lives on earth:

Our stay on earth is short.

When you compare the length of the time we’ll spend on earth to that in Heaven, it is, mathematically, zero (lim t_e / t_h, where t_e is a constant, as t_h → ∞). That doesn’t mean that what we do here isn’t important! In fact, this incredibly short time is the only time that we will be able to spread God’s kingdom to everyone on earth, so we must make the best use of it that we can. However, what it does mean is that you shouldn’t get caught up in all of the things, events, and ideas of this world. That’s because…

Only eternal things are important.

If we’re only going to be here for no amount of time, then nothing that won’t last beyond the boundaries of this world can possibly be important, in the long run (and I do mean long run). Anything that is simply material will cease to be when God destroys this world. In addition, any status you may enjoy on earth that is temporary means nothing. No amount of fame or popularity here on earth will last beyond its time. All of that trivia you’ve gathered about your favorite television show, movie star, or rock band? Truly trivial. When the end of days comes, all of these things will be swept away. Only things that are tied up in God will survive–permanence comes from Him, and Him alone.

Earth is not our home.

Earth is all we’ve ever known. God created it for us, we were born into it, and we will die here as well. But we will not stay dead! Death for us is simply a trip–it is going home, to our real family, where we truly belong. Earth is not our real home. It’s no wonder that we always feel so discontent with life; that it should be better; that we wish things were different. That’s because earth is simply a shadow of things to come! God always wanted us to be in a perfect place, with Him, and we will be.

We are here as temporary ambassadors for God.

But while we’re here on earth, we have a job to do. We are foreign emissaries for God’s kingdom. The world is at war with the nation of God, and we have been sent into the world as messengers of His love. We must be in the world, and be able to operate within the parameters of the culture we live in, in order to properly mediate for God’s kingdom. However, we must not, as ambassadors, forsake our homeland and become one with the enemy. We must not, to use Warren’s words, “fall in love” with the things of this world, preferring them to the things of Heaven. We have been sent on a mission, and when it is complete, we must give a report of what we have accomplished. Let’s not move in, as it were, into the enemy’s home and call it our own. We must be ever thinking of our mission and mindful of the day when it will be over.

I spend so much of my time on temporary things. Things that will have no lasting impact. Things that are, in the grand scheme, worth less than nothing.

God, help me to be ever vigilant for your return, and to spend my short time on earth working for your kingdom, so that I may be able to give good account for myself when you return.

Amen.

One sentence summary: Most of us base our lives on faulty life metaphors, but in God’s view, life is a test and a trust.

First: life as a test. Looking at hardships in life as tests from God seems to me to be a very healthy viewpoint. Even now, just thinking on things that have happened to me in the past year, it makes everything much clearer. And I think a piece that Mr. Warren misses here is that God isn’t just testing us. He is also teaching us. God doesn’t want us to fail, but if we do, there is a lesson in it. And the next time that we are faced with a similar test, we will be better prepared. We will be better members of Christ’s body. This is how God is continually purifying us.

Second: life as a trust. I actually used this metaphor a few posts back, when I alluded to the parable of the talents. Rick Warren focuses a lot on how God entrusts us with physical things we own: money, houses, “stuff.” And yes, we are God’s stewards of the earth and everything in it, but I think that is actually the lesser part. More importantly, we are stewards of an immense power–the greatest power ever bestowed on any created being: free will. And the spirits that drive it. Each of us is a uniquely created being with particular character traits, talents, gifts, and a will that ties them all together. And what we do with that is the ultimate test. We are entrusted to bring forth fruit from this gift that God has given us–to make His name known throughout the earth. But maybe I have blurred the lines to much between trust and test by bringing will into it. I don’t know, I’m not a theologian.

I had a vision while reading the end of this chapter, where Mr. Warren is talking about giving an account at the end of days to the Lord. I saw myself sitting on Father’s lap as we watch my whole life on a little TV set. And every time it came to a part where I did something good, He would pat my back lovingly and say “Well done.” And any time my TV-self would screw up, I would hide my head in shame, and He would get a pained look on his face as the moment passed.

It struck me pretty heavily.

God, I love you. Help me not to cause you any more pain. Give me the strength to pass the test.

Amen.