Julie
There are so many things about the OT that are difficult to comprehend. I understand that all of these things are a part of life and that have been experienced throughout all of time, but I always wonder if, at the time, God ignored them or because there was no "law" yet that they were overlooked. However, he obviously takes issue with excessive and compulsive evil acts as he takes out Sodom and Gomorrah due to the evil that had overrun those cities. But he does not, or at least not yet, do anything about the incest. I would imagine that these stories are examples of how those that have been saved and taken care of do not show that they have in faith in God making sure that they will have whatever they need.
Psalm 12 points out that those in positions of power are not always Godly and not always making decisions in the best interest of the people, but we still need to trust that God has a plan and everything is working in his divine way.
Michelle
So after our conversation last night this was on my mind, and then I woke up at 5am and the first thought I had about this was that maybe God is showing us that he loves us thru our mistakes and that we can be forgiven. Maybe that is why some of these older stories are shown thru the Old Testament. (Also realized where my child got his slow processing issue from. LOL) There were not laws or commandments at this point in relation to some of the things happening (some of these things are horrible), and some of these chosen people, while they are faithful to God and believe in him, they are still just people and they are constantly making choices, some of which are not really the right ones, but that is part of our existence. We are given the choice. We must choose to follow God and believe. You can choose not to and that won't stop him from pursuing you but it is ultimately your choice. And everyday we make choices that affect our lives in a multitude of ways. There are times we feel out of control, as we discussed last night I have been having a hard time with my thoughts and words and sometimes it feels like I can't control myself. But if I choose to keep focusing on God and asking for help to be better in this area, it will eventually become easier to mind my tongue. We are not perfect people and never will be. I think these passages are just examples of this and that even the righteous are not perfect but he doesn't stray from them.
The psalm is so relatable to what is happening in the world today. I am certain there have been numerous times throughout history that it would be related to as well. I have been reading about the Tudors and the family throughout their hundreds of years of descendants, and in reading this the same theme seems to be consistent, as in the bible, someone is always trying to convert and conquer someone else. When I think about it, it's actually exhausting to think that it's gone on this long. How many hundreds of years has this been happening. Groups are constantly fighting because they disagree. You would think after all this time as a human race we would have found a way to live together despite our differences. If people would just stop trying to overtake and force others into their way. It's really sad that we can't just make peace. I understand there will always be conflicts of some sort, but there's really no need for the violence that takes place. After all these hundreds of years, can't people see it hasn't worked in the past and it won't work in the future. I could go on and on, it's just exhausting. And I understand that people have different beliefs when it comes to God too. There are ways to share your thoughts and beliefs with others without it turning to such negative actions. Anyway, this psalm made me think of times now. There is so much lying and deception. Now it does say that the Lord says "I will now arise, I will protect them from those who malign them". I believe this to be true. We just don't know how that will take place. I think people hope that it means things will change in the ways they want it to, but that may not be the case. And we have to remember that as long as we keep serving God in the ways he has instructed, we will be ok, no matter how things progress here on earth.
So I have to add a little more to this one cuz I just read something in the devotional on the section. Last night I didn't understand about why Lot's wife became a pillar of salt. In the devotional it talks of letting go of the familiar and moving on. It says "It is difficult to leave the familiar behind...Even when God himself is saying, 'It's time to move on.'". I have this problem. Letting go. This part of the devotional spoke to me. It says, "God understands that letting go of the familiar is hard. Yet he has called us to move on to new life in Jesus Christ by letting go of our old worldly lives, our old habits, our old dreams -- to boldly move forward without looking back. When you feel God's call to move, allow him to guide you." So I have been afraid of changes in my life even now. There are things that I want to do but I realized there is fear involved in doing it. Fear of success, fear of failure, and fear that it is the wrong thing and I am not really sure if it's the right direction. This makes me think that I need to stop all that and just listen. Which is really hard because I don't ever feel like he speaks to me. I don't know how to discern the voice of God from my own voice in my head. I will add this to my prayers.
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