The Word for today:
1 Kings 22
Micaiah is an absolutely wonderful character! He is cut from the very same cloth as Elijah--standing alone, facing down hundreds of prophets by himself. His sharp irony and caustic satire cut through the fog of lies that every other so-called prophet is spewing.
But we don't hear much about Micaiah. Why?
I think it's because we pay too much attention to the traditions of men. Everyone hears about certain Bible characters. You know the list.
But what about Micaiah? He is complex, fearless, with a personality and a style of speaking unlike anyone in the Bible.
But have Max Lucado, Dr. David Jeremiah, John Eldredge, Beth Moore, Chip Ingram--and whoever else happens to be on the top ten Christian bestseller list at a given moment--have any of them featured Micaiah? I honestly don't know.
But I know he has a place in my favorite Book. And I know he rubs people the wrong way because he won't compromise. I know that one of the political sycophants who called himself a prophet punched him in the face for telling the truth. I know that didn't faze Micaiah in the least.
I know he has a place in my heart. I find courage in his uncompromised word of the LORD. I take delight in his cutting-edge personality.
Others come to mind--big in my Bible but left off the bestseller book list--as I write this. In 2 Chronicles 20, a soaring faith is voiced by and through a man named Jahaziel (1), who rallied a nation in biblical times and has rallied individual souls ever since. I know a hundred people who can quote his faith-building lines in scripture. But no one--and I'm including myself--knows his name without looking it up.
Pastor Joe joins us regularly on this blog and possesses a rare devotion--an absolute love affair--with the Word of God. Together, a month or so ago when we were blogging our way through 2 Samuel, we were taken away--captivated--by the story of Mephibosheth (2). He is not a minor character by any means, but he is so much a picture of you and me and our relationship with our gracious God that he should be at the tip of every Bible student's tongue.
As you read, make your own list of Bible friends. Look for characters who don't seem to be on everyone else's list. Make the soaring faith of Jahaziel, the razor-sharp truth of Micaiah, and the glad-to-be-alive-in-the-King's-house gratitude of Mephibosheth part of your Bible--the Bible you carry in your heart.
Make your Bible your Bible by adopting a stray character or two today. Then draw from their inspiring faith, or their simple gratitude, or their fearless purpose.
(1) 2 Chronicles 20:14-17; (2) see 2 Samuel 4:4 and 2 Samuel chapter 9.
1 Kings 22
Micaiah is an absolutely wonderful character! He is cut from the very same cloth as Elijah--standing alone, facing down hundreds of prophets by himself. His sharp irony and caustic satire cut through the fog of lies that every other so-called prophet is spewing.
But we don't hear much about Micaiah. Why?
I think it's because we pay too much attention to the traditions of men. Everyone hears about certain Bible characters. You know the list.
But what about Micaiah? He is complex, fearless, with a personality and a style of speaking unlike anyone in the Bible.
But have Max Lucado, Dr. David Jeremiah, John Eldredge, Beth Moore, Chip Ingram--and whoever else happens to be on the top ten Christian bestseller list at a given moment--have any of them featured Micaiah? I honestly don't know.
But I know he has a place in my favorite Book. And I know he rubs people the wrong way because he won't compromise. I know that one of the political sycophants who called himself a prophet punched him in the face for telling the truth. I know that didn't faze Micaiah in the least.
I know he has a place in my heart. I find courage in his uncompromised word of the LORD. I take delight in his cutting-edge personality.
Others come to mind--big in my Bible but left off the bestseller book list--as I write this. In 2 Chronicles 20, a soaring faith is voiced by and through a man named Jahaziel (1), who rallied a nation in biblical times and has rallied individual souls ever since. I know a hundred people who can quote his faith-building lines in scripture. But no one--and I'm including myself--knows his name without looking it up.
Pastor Joe joins us regularly on this blog and possesses a rare devotion--an absolute love affair--with the Word of God. Together, a month or so ago when we were blogging our way through 2 Samuel, we were taken away--captivated--by the story of Mephibosheth (2). He is not a minor character by any means, but he is so much a picture of you and me and our relationship with our gracious God that he should be at the tip of every Bible student's tongue.
As you read, make your own list of Bible friends. Look for characters who don't seem to be on everyone else's list. Make the soaring faith of Jahaziel, the razor-sharp truth of Micaiah, and the glad-to-be-alive-in-the-King's-house gratitude of Mephibosheth part of your Bible--the Bible you carry in your heart.
Make your Bible your Bible by adopting a stray character or two today. Then draw from their inspiring faith, or their simple gratitude, or their fearless purpose.
(1) 2 Chronicles 20:14-17; (2) see 2 Samuel 4:4 and 2 Samuel chapter 9.
Adopting a stray Bible character or two or three now that's a cool idea...I'll have to think long and hard to come up with that list! The names are so foreign and hard to pronounce ... especially in the OT - and I must confess I've spent most of my life skimming/skipping {sorry Franklyn - I'm working on not skipping anymore!} over those names not really spending the time necessary to get to know their hearts. Maybe it'll have to wait until I'm retired for this project/challenge - it sounds like it'll take a while. But for now, I'll work on getting re-aquainted with some of these new friends...
ReplyDeleteTo my long-time friend---
ReplyDeleteThe best part is when new friends turn into long-time friends! (Notice I didn't say "old friends"--we'll have none of that around here!)
How about John Graf centering most of his message around Obed-Edom yesterday? Now THERE'S an obscure Bible character who never even SAID anything, yet he was pretty dang important...
ReplyDeleteObed-Edom! Whodathunkit?! That was great.
ReplyDelete