The U.S. Constitution went into effect this day, June 21, 1788, when the ninth state ratified it. Of those who wrote the Constitution, twenty-nine were Episcopalians, nine Presbyterians, seven Congregationalists, two Lutherans, two Dutch Reformed, two Methodists, two Roman Catholics, one Quaker and one Deist - Dr. Benjamin Franklin, who stated: “We have been assured… in the Sacred Writings, that ‘except the Lord build the House, they labor in vain’… I… believe that without his concurring aid we shall succeed in this political building no better than the Builders of Babel.”

Federer, B. (2003). American minute. St. Louis, MO.: Amerisearch, Inc.

Don't question God,
for He may reply:
"If you're so anxious for answers,
come up here."
--- Author Unknown

... from here, there and everywhere

25 If you strike a scorner,
the simple will learn to act wisely;
if you reprove the intelligent,
he will understand what you mean.

Stern, D. H. (1998). Complete Jewish Bible-OE
: An English version of the Tanakh (OT) and
B'rit Hadashah (NT) (1st ed.). Clarksville, Md.: Jewish
New Testament Publications.

     In the previous chapter we have seen that the empire of David not only marked an era in the development of Israel nationally, but was also the reaching of a new stage in the preparation for the advent of the Messiah; and we saw that without this the development of prophecy would have been impossible, and the people have remained unfit for the high mission to which they were called as the witnesses to the unity of God. We have in this chapter a brief summary of the wars which raised Israel from the position of a struggling and oppressed race to the possession of widespread empire. With this narrative the first history of David ends, and in the subsequent narratives many of the events referred to here are more fully detailed, and given with additional incidents. Metheg-ammah means “the bridle of the mother-city.” We learn from the parallel place (1 Chron. 18:1) that the city of Gath is meant by this phrase. Gath was at this time the metropolis of Philistia, and had reduced the other four chief towns to a state of vassalage. Thus by taking Gath, his old city of refuge (1 Sam. 27:2), David acquired also the supremacy which she had previously exercised over the whole country, and by placing a strong garrison there, as previously the Philistines had done in the towns of Israel, he kept that martial race in awe. It denotes great progress in the arts of war that David could besiege and capture a town so strong as Gath.
     The Pulpit Commentary: 2 Samuel, ed. H. D. M. Spence-Jones, 223.

     Two out of every three Moabite prisoners of war were put to death, chosen by an unusual method of selection, not attested elsewhere. It does not follow that all David’s prisoners of war were treated in the same fashion although David’s handling of the Edomites was even more ruthless (see 1 Kings 11:15–16). 1 Chr 18:2 omits the gruesome mass execution of the Moabite captives, while G (Greek translation: as published in Septuaginta, LXX ed. A. Rahlfs, 1935. In Daniel, G includes both OG and Th, as published in J. Ziegler’s ed., 1954.) and VG (Latin Vulgate (as published in Weber’s edition) change the ratio: half were put to death and half were spared. All this may imply that the Israelite economy was not able to absorb large numbers of slaves unless the measures taken had a deterrent value. David’s harsh treatment of the Moabites is rather unexpected since his own great grandmother is said to have been a Moabitess (cf. Ruth 4:21–22); moreover, the Moabites had been helpful to David’s parents during their enforced exile (1 Sam 23:3–4). Moab became David’s vassal state and its tribute may have consisted of sheep and wool (as in 2 Kgs 3:4).
      Anderson, A. A. (2002). Vol. 11: Word Biblical Commentary : 2 Samuel. Word Biblical Commentary (131–132). Dallas: Word, Incorporated.

     David’s action contrasted to normal. Mephibosheth had good cause to be afraid of David. There is wide precedent in Mesopotamian texts for the elimination of all rival claimants to the throne when a king comes to power (compare Baasha’s murder of Jeroboam’s family in 1 Kings 15:29). Such purges also occurred years later as a form of revenge for political opposition or rebellion attempted against previous rulers. For example, Ashurbanipal mutilated, executed and fed the bodies of his grandfather’s rivals to dogs as part of his first official acts as king of Assyria. David, however, treats Mephibosheth, the only surviving male member of the royal family, as the rightful heir to Saul’s estates. His generosity is coupled with the command to eat at David’s table. In this way Mephibosheth is treated with honor, though some have noted it also keeps him under observation should he be inclined to subversion.
     Political prisoners were seldom kept in prison cells. It was more advantageous for the king to hold them in confinement within his palace or royal city, treating them to the pleasures of the “king’s table” but always keeping a close eye on their activities. Reports in ration lists from the Babylonian and Assyrian periods provide evidence of food, clothing and oil provided to “guests” of the king. Persian courts contained political detainees as well as “allies” who were kept in the king’s presence to insure a continual flow of taxes and soldiers for the army. Thus Mephibosheth, like Jehoiachin many years later (2 Kings 25:27–30), enjoyed the largesse of the king’s court but was not truly free.
     Matthews, V. H., Chavalas, M. W., & Walton, J. H. (2000). The IVP Bible background commentary : Old Testament. (2 Sa 9:7). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.

                         The ministry of the interior

     But ye are … a royal priesthood. --- 1 Peter 2:9.

     By what right do we become “a royal priesthood”? By the right of the Atonement. Are we prepared to leave ourselves resolutely alone and to launch out into the priestly work of prayer? The continual grubbing on the inside to see whether we are what we ought to be, generates a self-centred, morbid type of Christianity, not the robust, simple life of the child of God. Until we get into a right relationship to God, it is a case of hanging on by the skin of our teeth, and we say—‘What a wonderful victory I have got!’ There is nothing indicative of the miracle of Redemption in that. Launch out in reckless belief that the Redemption is complete, and then bother no more about yourself, but begin to do as Jesus Christ said—pray for the friend who comes to you at midnight, pray for the saints, pray for all men. Pray on the realization that you are only perfect in Christ Jesus, not on this plea—‘O Lord, I have done my best, please hear me.’

     How long is it going to take God to free us from the morbid habit of thinking about ourselves? We must get sick unto death of ourselves, until there is no longer any surprise at anything God can tell us about ourselves. We cannot touch the depths of meanness in ourselves. There is only one place where we are right, and that is in Christ Jesus. When we are there, we have to pour out for all we are worth in the ministry of the interior.

Chambers, O. (1993). My Utmost for His Highest

We were a people taut for war; the hills
Were no harder, the thin grass
Clothed them more warmly than the coarse
Shirts our small bones.
We fought, and were always in retreat,
Like snow thawing upon the slopes
Of Mynydd Mawr; and yet the stranger
Never found our ultimate stand
In the thick woods, declaiming verse
To the sharp prompting of the harp.
Our kings died, or they were slain
By the old treachery at the ford.
Our bards perished, driven from the halls
Of nobles by the thorn and bramble.
We were a people bred on legends,
Warming our hands at the red past.
The great were ashamed of our loose rags
Clinging stubbornly to the proud tree
Of blood and birth, our lean bellies
And mud houses were a proof
Of our ineptitude for life.
We were a people wasting ourselves
In fruitless battles for our masters,
In lands to which we had no claim,
With men for whom we felt no hatred.
We were a people, and are so yet.
When we have finished quarrelling for crumbs
Under the table, or gnawing the bones
Of a dead culture, we will arise
And greet each other in a new dawn.


R.S. Thomas

     Through the book Schindler's List by Thomas Keneally and the film of the same title by Steven Spielberg, the whole world has come to learn the story of Oskar Schindler. Schindler was a German Catholic industrialist who ran a factory, manufacturing enamel kitchenware products. During the Second World War, he employed mainly Jewish workers, and in doing so, protected them from deportation and death. Eventually, he ran an armaments production plant in Brunnlitz. To staff his company, he transferred eight hundred Jewish men from the Gross Rosen concentration camp and three hundred Jewish women from Auschwitz. Due to his tireless efforts, more than one thousand Jews who otherwise would have been exterminated survived the Holocaust.

     In Yad Vashem, Israel’s memorial to the Six Million, Schindler is honored as a “Righteous Gentile.” This leads us to the question asked by Rabbis Yehudah and Neḥemiah with regard to Noah: Who exactly is worthy of the title “righteous person”? Schindler did not lead the life of a saint. He was a notorious womanizer, shamelessly keeping mistresses and openly conducting adulterous affairs. He loved the “good life,” indulging himself with the best food and liquor, partying and gambling on a regular basis. Even after the war, he squandered whatever money and jewelry he owned on selfish pleasures.

     There can be no doubt about the incredible feats he performed during the war—risking his riches and his life to save eleven hundred Jews. But what were his motivations? Was he a pious man interested in saving innocent souls from death at the hands of the Nazis? Did he save his workers so that he could benefit monetarily from their slave labor? Or was he involved merely for the thrill of trying to beat the SS in an elaborate game of power and manipulation? We will never know for certain.

     Rabbi Yehudah would probably see the similarities between an Oskar Schindler and the biblical character of Noah: both were deeply flawed individuals who lived during times of great evil. (Remember that after Noah comes out of the ark, he gets drunk, and then is involved in some dark sexual episode.) From an objective point of view, neither man could be considered a saint. Yet each, in his own way, stood out from his own time and place and went down in history with the title “righteous person.”

     Many of Schindler’s activities might make us blush, and we will never be sure of his ultimate motivations; nevertheless, his notoriety and legendary status are most definitely well deserved. This becomes clear when we realize how many of his contemporaries were among the murderers, and how many more of them were among the bystanders who said and did nothing. We tend to hold on to the bottles of wine that have turned sour when we realize that all the others have gone bad and turned into vinegar.

Katz, M., & Schwartz, G. Searching for Meaning in Midrash: Lessons for Everyday Living Philadelphia, PA: The Jewish Publication Society.

     In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. --- Romans 8:37

     What does the Cross tell about the fact of suffering? Classic Sermons on Suffering (Kregel Classic Sermons Series)

It tells you that God is in it with you. When I grasp that the sufferer hanging there is God incarnate, then my heart answers those who speak of a remote, spectator God, “You are wrong! In every pang that rends the heart of man, woman, or little child, God has a share.”

     What is the Christian answer to the mystery of suffering? Not an explanation but a reinforcing presence—Christ to stand beside you through the darkness, Christ’s companionship to make the dark experience sacred. “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.”

     How different suffering becomes to those who have seen that vision! It is not just that God knows and sympathizes with you in your troubles. He is in you. And therefore your sufferings are his suffering, your sorrow his sorrow. Now that is true of all God’s creatures. Just think what God’s burden of suffering must be when the pains of all the world are in his heart! No one who has once grasped this will ever again rail at providence for being unkind. All our accusations and complainings are silenced before the agony of God.

     But remember this: if God shares your suffering, it is also true that you share his redemptive activity and his victory. “By his wounds we are healed.” Thus, suffering gives you a chance to cooperate with God. Every soul that takes its personal griefs and troubles and offers these up on the altar alongside the sacrifice of Jesus is sharing constructively in that eternal passion of God. It is as though God said, in the day of darkness, “Here, my child, is something you can do for me!”

     The real healers of human wounds are those whose own peace has been bought at a price, behind whose understanding and compassion there lies some memory of a valley of shadow, a lonely way, a wrestling in the dark.

     If from one soul’s hurt and conflict, the balm of healing and of peace can thus be distilled out for others, if pain can be transmuted into power, if, under Christ, our sacrifices can be made creative and redemptive—shall we still rail at life when it grows hard, and brood its cruelty and injustice? “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, that Christ’s power may rest on me” (2 Cor. 12:9).

--- James S. Stewart

Wallis, D. (2001). Take Heart: Daily Devotions with the Church's Great Preachers

     Those who consider the Book of Jonah an allegory or a parable should note that 2 Kings 14:25 identifies Jonah as a real person, a Jewish prophet from Gath Hepher in Zebulun who ministered in the Northern Kingdom of Israel during the reign of Jeroboam II (793–753 B.C.) . They should also note that our Lord considered Jonah a historic person and pointed to him as a type of His own death, burial, and resurrection (Matt. 12:41; Luke 11:32).

     The reign of Jeroboam II was a time of great prosperity in Israel; the nation regained lost territory and expanded both its boundaries and influence. But it was a time of moral and spiritual decay as the nation rapidly moved away from God and into idolatry. Jonah’s contemporaries Hosea and Amos both courageously denounced the wickedness of the rulers, priests, and people. It’s worth noting that Hosea and Amos also showed God’s concern for other nations, which is one of the major themes of Jonah.

     While Jonah had a ministry to Nineveh, a leading city in Assyria, he also had a ministry to Israel through this little book. He discovered God’s compassion for those outside Israel, even those who were their enemies. God had called His people to be a blessing to the Gentiles (Gen. 12:1–3), but, like Jonah, the Jews refused to obey. And, like Jonah, they had to be disciplined; for Assyria would conquer Israel and Babylon would take Judah into captivity. Jonah’s book magnifies the sovereignty of God as well as the love and mercy of God. Jehovah is the “God of the second chance,” even for rebellious prophets!

     A Suggested Outline of the Book of Jonah

     Key idea: Obeying God’s will brings blessings to us and to others through us; disobedience brings discipline.

     Jonah 2:9

I. God’s patience with Jonah—1:1–17

1. Jonah’s disobedience — 1:1–3
2. Jonah’s indifference — 1:4–10
3. Jonah’s impenitence — 1:11–17

II. God’s mercy toward Jonah—2:1–10

1. He hears his prayer — 2:1–2
2. He disciplines him — 2:3
3. He honors his faith — 2:4–7
4. He accepts his confession — 2:8–9
5. He restores his ministry — 2:10

III. God’s power through Jonah—3:1–10

1. The gracious Lord — 3:1–2
2. The obedient servant — 3:3–4
3. The repentant people — 3:5–9
4. The postponed judgment — 3:10

IV. God’s ministry to Jonah—4:1–11

1. God hears him — 4:1–4
2. God comforts him — 4:5–8
3. God teaches him — 4:9–11)

W. W. Wiersbe, (1996) Be Amazed (Minor Prophets): Restoring an Attitude of Wonder and Worship (The BE Series Commentary)