Insightful Musings on theScriptures
by
Raymond P. Sparre
Northwest University class of '67
Hello, dear ones.
Rain is beating on the roof of this pole barn where my little 12’x24’ cubby hole/studio is located in the NW corner. Becki has gone to her water aerobics class. When she returns home in a few minutes I guess I’ll go with her to a restaurant to join in a little eating and socializing with the gang of her fellow water exercisers.
I was able to pull off some exercise in the snow again. The ski conditions sounded pretty good up on the mountain—so I took off in that direction around 9:30am. I put in a little over 2 hours on skis. Nice. I picked up a hitch-hiker at the turnoff up to Timberline. He was my first captive audience to hear me expound on the reasonableness of seeking God. People on the chairlift are also captive audiences. Fun.
Becki is here. I need to run. Blessings.
Love, Dad/Ray.
The psalmist represents God as speaking in verses 7 through 15. That speech contains a sharp rebuke to His people Israel. In my own words, I hear the LORD basically saying, “I’m not irritated with you because you don’t have enough religion—as though you needed more religious form and ceremony. I’m irritated because you are lacking of the proper heart-level motivation for it all—very lacking of HEARTS AFTER GOD.”
I’m reminded of a similar reprimand leveled at Israel through the medium of Isaiah. Rather than cite the whole passage, I’ll just quote one verse as an example: “’The multitude of your sacrifices — what are they to me?’ says the Lord. ‘I have more than enough of burnt offerings, of rams and the fat of fattened animals; I have no pleasure in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats’” (Isaiah 1:11).
There is a word of warning here for all of us. By now we should recognize how easy it is to be involved in all manner of religious and churchy stuff as a show—without proper motivation—without a healthy “fear of the LORD.” That’s the idea that can be extracted from Proverbs 19:23: “The fear of the LORD leads to life: Then one rests content, untouched by trouble.” Why? Because “the fear of the LORD” (a HEART AFTER GOD) is the essential quality of heart that opens the way to relationship with the Most High. “The salvation of the righteous comes from the Lord; he is their stronghold in time of trouble. The Lord helps them and delivers them; he delivers them from the wicked and saves them, because they take refuge in him” (Psalms 37:39-40).