Wednesday Bible Study: The end of all things- at last, Nehemiah

 

We come at last to the tying of the three part David study together, in the pages of a man who lived some 500 years later, Nehemiah.  Let me review what we saw in David's mistakes these last few weeks first.  The first mistakes, we learned, were about the things David needed to commit to God- and we will see that this is leading to our SERVICE to God.  Truth, Safety, Wrath (emotion that makes you go forward) and fear (emotion that makes you go backward) were the items David stumbled on here.  Then we came to a second set of mistakes that involved submitting to God- and these, we will see, take on CHARACTER.  Our "I's"- I know this, I can do this, I deserve this, I'll fix this- are in question here, so the right way of doing them is going to involve submitting to God's way of doing them.  The third set were those that he needed to act on himself and take responsibility for- and we are going to see a progression from the purely religious factors of the first group to the corporate obedience of the second, to the PERSONAL responsibility of the third.

So now, to Nehemiah 13.  He has already told how the people rejoiced at the renewing of their corporate, national, and personal faith- but in verse four, the aspect changes with but three words...

Neh 13:4  Now before this, Eliashib the priest, who was appointed over the chambers of the house of our God, and who was related to Tobiah...

"Now BEFORE this..." which indicates that before the people got to that point of renewed piety, there were some things that needed weeded out.  These things cropped up during a time Nehemiah, because of his duties to the Persian overlord, had to return to Susa for a time, and came back to find these issues (V6).  And I want to stop 3 places on each of the three things he found- the sin, his reaction, and his prayer afterwards.  Because, if we remember the FIRST chapters of Nehemiah ( or even go look now to consult the backstory), our hero never did anything- ANYTHING- without prayer.

The first thing, as v4 alluded to, is that the high priest and his family had married into the family of Tobiah, the enemy of the Jews and toady of Sanballat (his relation to the priest is explained in chapter 6).  So Eliashib the high priest of the day moved out "some old junk" from a room in the new Temple to give Tobiah a room.  What did Eliashib consider "some old junk"?

Neh 13:5  prepared for Tobiah a large chamber where they had previously put the grain offering, the frankincense, the vessels, and the tithes of grain, wine, and oil, which were given by commandment to the Levites, singers, and gatekeepers, and the contributions for the priests.

In other words, it was where they stored the means of living for the Levites who served the Temple; thus, they had no choice but to abandon the service and go back to their farms (v10).  

This was an area that was to be committed to the service of God; but an evil priest had allowed evil to subvert it.  Thus, a chain reaction started that collapsed the whole structure of service.  Now, I want to say that this whole 4 weeks directly impacts ME as I study it, because right here I have to say to myself, "What is it in MY service I have 'given a room to', and thus corrupted MY service?"  This isn't a single quick answer; this is an every day examination, that widens in scope as time goes on.

Nehemiah's reaction?  He tossed Tobiah and Eliashib, cleansed the room, restored it to its function and put men he could trust in charge of keeping it that way.  Or, repentance, restoration, and reinforcements.  The last is very important, and one I really need the help in.

So then the second thing that happens in Nehemiah 13 is the case, just like with David, of "doing what I want to..."

Neh 13:15  In those days I saw in Judah people treading winepresses on the Sabbath, and bringing in heaps of grain and loading them on donkeys, and also wine, grapes, figs, and all kinds of loads, which they brought into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. And I warned them on the day when they sold food.
Neh 13:16  Tyrians also, who lived in the city, brought in fish and all kinds of goods and sold them on the Sabbath to the people of Judah, in Jerusalem itself!

We have a two headed problem here.  First, they were doing what was unlawful; second they were encouraged in this by a pagan group- a colony from Tyre- living with them.  This is the warning about "being too closely yoked with unbelievers" all over again.  We think we can handle it in our own strength, and being fallen man, we can't.  But if we look closely here, there is also another dynamic:

Neh 13:17  Then I confronted the nobles of Judah and said to them, "What is this evil thing that you are doing, profaning the Sabbath day?

In the first crime, he had to confront the priest- the religious authority.  This time, he confronts the Nobles- the secular authority.  When we get to the third part of this, he'll confront the people themselves.

And he does more than just confront them. 

Neh 13:19  As soon as it began to grow dark at the gates of Jerusalem before the Sabbath, I commanded that the doors should be shut and gave orders that they should not be opened until after the Sabbath. And I stationed some of my servants at the gates, that no load might be brought in on the Sabbath day.
Neh 13:20  Then the merchants and sellers of all kinds of wares lodged outside Jerusalem once or twice.
Neh 13:21  But I warned them and said to them, "Why do you lodge outside the wall? If you do so again, I will lay hands on you." From that time on they did not come on the Sabbath.

He set a guard on the gates, and he warned the outsiders to get lost!  And this is how we fight David's second group of mistakes- put a gate and a guard on our hearts, and get rid of the influences that tempt us to open those gates.

The third sin was one the people themselves were committing:

Neh 13:23  In those days also I saw the Jews who had married women of Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab.
Neh 13:24  And half of their children spoke the language of Ashdod, and they could not speak the language of Judah, but only the language of each people.
Neh 13:25  And I confronted them and cursed them and beat some of them and pulled out their hair. And I made them take oath in the name of God, saying, "You shall not give your daughters to their sons, or take their daughters for your sons or for yourselves.

The people were letting foreign influences corrupt them to the point that their children were becoming indistinguishable from the pagans.  They were about to lose themselves in the society around them.  Plucking their beards ("...and pulled out their hair...") was the highest form of humiliation Nehemiah could put on them- until it grew back, they were excluded from the service altogether.  In our day, we might call it "excommunication".  The lesson here is simple:  There are things you CAN NOT DO and still say you serve God.  No matter how much you say, "But this is what I am, I was born this way."  Believe that if you want, but don't kid yourself that God respects your 'service'.

Now, you will notice I haven't got to the prayers of Nehemiah yet.  This is our close.  After he cleansed the service, he prayed this...

Neh 13:14  Remember me, O my God, concerning this, and do not wipe out my good deeds that I have done for the house of my God and for his service.

And after slamming the gates shut on the Sabbath, he prayed...

Neh 13:22  Then I commanded the Levites that they should purify themselves and come and guard the gates, to keep the Sabbath day holy. Remember this also in my favor, O my God, and spare me according to the greatness of your steadfast love.

And at the very end of the chapter, he prayed...

Neh 13:31  and I provided for the wood offering at appointed times, and for the firstfruits. Remember me, O my God, for good. 

 

One of the commentators mentions that some, including some rabbis, considered these the prayers of a man who thought his actions lifted him above the rabble.  But that is misreading it completely.  You need to see this prayer as explained by Matthew Henry:

He here refers to God, not in pride, but with a humble appeal concerning his honest intention in what he had done. He prays, “Remember me;” not, Reward me. “Wipe not out my good deeds;” not, Publish them, or record them. Yet he was rewarded, and his good deeds recorded. God does more than we are able to ask.

Nehemiah was an example both of humility and zealousness for the Lord.  And in this chapter, God takes the lessons learned from David's failures and gives us examples on how to do them right.  My prayer is that I learn from them both and begin committing, submitting, and accepting responsibility in the way God wants me to.

How about that "Almost End of the Year" post?

                                   
 

 

Of course, in typical 2020 fashion, I saved this picture three times and couldn't get it to come up 3 times before I realized the "s" I was typing was supposed to be a "5"...

But anyhoo, something caught my eye and told me, "do the end of the year post.  And actually, it came up as I noted that someone this very week had looked at my very FIRST year-end post from back in 2010!  Among the stats I recorded were my 260 posts and 3,015 pageviews.  If I matched that every year, I would have had 2,860 posts- I actually am doing # 2,818, so I must have slacked off- and 33,165 pageviews by now- but, somebody out there must have liked me because I actually have around 12 1/3 times that!

Back then, my readership was from 1- USA, 2- Denmark, 3- Germany, 4- the UK, and 5- Russia.  Since then, the USA naturally still holds top spot, but Denmark dropped off the map, Russia pulled into second, Germany slipped to #4, France appeared at #3, the UK dropped to 8th and the Ukraine slid into #5.  Only thing that tells me for sure is that Russia and the Ukraine have a heated rivalry in spam creation...   Still, for this year alone, they must be slacking as Hong Kong and Romania are 2-3 right now...

So I went through and gathered my top ten posts of the year, and thought I'd post links to them if you feel nostalgic...

10 (tie)- Time Machine #606  , January 10th.  Carl Douglas being called racist for Kung Fu Fighting leads to Elvis accused of incest on Kissin' Cousins, while CW McCall's Convoy wins POTM.

(tie)- That dreaded "at home with Misty" post  ,October 19th.  A description of what is a fairly typical night with me and doggie...

7 (Tie)- M10 and T20, and some other stuff, January 3rd.  The week's M10 plus the year's top 20, with Brooke Annibale's Collided at the top.

(tie)- Politics blows, February 11th.  My musings on the SM-world of politics and the divided world we live in.

(tie)- A to Z Mashup a Day Early, March 31st.  My usual shortened version of the Annual A to Z blogging challenge, this year's topic "animals through the years", part one...

5 (Tie)- Martin World News, January 20th.  This post contained the faux pas by the Myanmar official press in translating Chinese President Xi's name as "Mr Shithole".  The view count goes up every time I use the Xi-as- Pooh pictures...

(tie)- Vacation Tuesday and Wednesday ,May 14th.  The highlight here was Misty's christening of Mrs Bobby G's lake cottage...

           

 

 

 

 4- Martin World News, April 13th.  Featuring Czech nudists busted for not wearing masks in public, the great China/Thailand insult battle, and of course, Xi the Pooh.

3- Misty's first Happy Boofus Day, and the perils of voting revisited , September 22.  Misty gets a lake trip and a Culvers' stop, and I review the fringe candidates for POTUS on the Indiana ballot.

2- See Her While You Can, January 2nd.  One of Misty's first walks around the 'hood.

And the #1 post by almost 30 views, though I don't know why...

Time Machine #624, May 15th.  Bellbottom won't let 3 Dog Night on the show due to drug use, Sass Jordan debuts High Road Easy, the Chi-Lites win POTM with Oh, Girl.  But no Xi the Pooh pictures.  Go figure.

Frankly, the last 2 years have been equally disastrous around here.  But God has provided, and kept most of the family safe.  My prayer is that He won't have to work so hard next year...

Sunday Message- Meditations on Cain and Abel

 

This morning I started with the thought, "Each of us is both Cain and Abel in our human forms".  Here are some things to consider along that path.

1- We have a part that is quiet and obedient. We have, unfortunately because of sin, a part that is boisterous, easy to anger, proud and willing to act on it, refusing to take responsibility.  Some of us are more Abel, some more Cain.

2- Even notice how it always seems to be more comfortable to say, Cain and Abel, rather than Abel and Cain.  Our flesh tries to put the Cain part first.

3- Notice this verse:

Gen 4:4  and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the LORD had regard for Abel and his offering...

"...and of their fat portions..." a long time back, we learned that, according to the Law, the fat was sacred to the Lord and reserved for Him only.  Ignoring this led to the destruction of Eli's evil sons.  But how did Abel know this long before Moses?  Because of his obedience, the Lord shared these things with him.  We have to assume that, like Paul millennia later, God gave special, personal instruction to Abel.  Apparently Cain didn't get the memo.

4- And why would that be? Well, let's look at Cain's attitude towards God's instructions:

Gen 4:6  The LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen?
Gen 4:7  If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it."

But he didn't. He killed his brother in the very next verse.  Had he obeyed what God taught him, he would have been accepted.  But he ignored it, he "knew better".

5- In the future, Abel's name would be only brought up a couple of times, mostly for being 'righteous'.  And from the mouth of Jesus, that is great renown.  Cain, is brought up as well, but as the "don't be a..." poster child.  And what of Cain?  He was cursed, down through the ages.  Jewish tradition has him old and blind, hiding in a bush when he's accidentally slain by his Great X 3 grandson Lamech or one of his children.  And then Lamech took the curse upon himself:

Gen 4:23  Lamech said to his wives: "Adah and Zillah, hear my voice; you wives of Lamech, listen to what I say: I have killed a man for wounding me, a young man for striking me.
Gen 4:24  If Cain's revenge is sevenfold, then Lamech's is seventy-sevenfold." 

6- Which leads to my next thought.  Evil spreads- it spread through Lamech and his sons.  Note this passage:

Gen 4:19  And Lamech took two wives. The name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah.
Gen 4:20  Adah bore Jabal; he was the father of those who dwell in tents and have livestock.
Gen 4:21  His brother's name was Jubal; he was the father of all those who play the lyre and pipe.
Gen 4:22  Zillah also bore Tubal-cain; he was the forger of all instruments of bronze and iron. The sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah.

Again to Jewish legend, these skills were taught the boys by the Watchers, the fallen angels referenced in Gen 6:1-4.  But these, according to legend also taught magic, astrology, divination, tattoos, weather forecasting, jewelry and makeup, and a lot of other things that mankind was not so well off to know.

On the other hand, Abel's obedience and righteousness followed one straight path, starting with younger brother Seth and running through Great X 6 grandson Noah.  One straight path of obedience and righteousness.

7- God let Cain LIVE.  He even gave him the chance to confess, to change his ways.  But instead, he lived a miserable life, and according to the Jews, died a miserable death.

8- So we all have Abel and Cain in us.  Up to us, though whether we walk that righteous path or spread evil; there is no middle ground here.

The slightly late M10 update

 

So here I am with that M10 update, and because I was late about getting to it, I decided to throw a bit of trivia in with it.  Now, most of you realize I keep track of the M10 on a 10 points for #1, 9 for #2, etc., basis.  Well, this morning I decided to work on, accomplish, and share with you what song that got no higher than a certain position had the highest score.  So as I go through, I'll first give you this week's song at the position, then I will give the song that had the most points that never got higher than that position.  Confused?  You'll get it as we go.  BONUS ONE of this week's song is on BOTH charts- unfortunately not at the same position, though it would have been LAST week!  So here we go...

10- On the M10 this week- and the all time leader that peaked at #5-

The Ron Keel Band's Ghost Riders In The Sky- dropping 5 spots this week, its 7th, and with 37 points to be the biggest #5 by a wide margin!

The biggest song to peak at #10-

Pure Bathing Culture's Veil- the only song to spend 3 weeks at #10!

9- Here we have this week's lone debut- introducing Molly Parden...

And the highest charting #9 belongs to... 

Jimmy Ruffin's Farewell Is A Lonely Sound!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

8- This week, Jeff Tweedy moves up two with Gwendolyn;  the biggest ever at #8...

Ironically also a Jeff- Jeff Lynne's ELO with Time Of Our Life!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

7- Yuno spends week #9 down a spot to #7 with No Going Back;  and the biggest #7...

The Explorer's Club with Roses And Rainbows!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

6- M.A.G.S. drops from #2 this week with his former #1 Smile; the biggest #6 ever was a surpriser for me...

Tangerine with Wild At Heart!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mind you, not disappointed- anything that gets the Justad sisters into the NEXT (2021) Beauty Contest is fine with me!

5-  You already know the biggest #5; this week's belongs to Saintseneca, up 3 with Ladder To The Sun...

4- Also up 3 is Pale Waves with Change... the biggest ever #4 belongs to..

Phantogram with Saturday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

3- Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit moves up 1 with Dreamsicle, currently my biggest earworm!  The biggest ever #3 belongs to...

 

The Monkees with You Bring The Summer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2- Purr shifts back into the #2 slot with Avenue Bliss; the biggest ever at #2 belongs to...

Nada Surf's Believe You're Mine!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And the biggest #1s? Well, this week, once again...

Matthew Sweet's At A Loss!

And no surprise, the biggest all time on the M10....

And there you go!  Be here Christmas Eve for the big party!

Wednesday Bible Study: A word from David, part three

 

You see the trend here?  In the first four mistakes, it was like David was looking away from God and saying, "Who can do this?"  In this set, he's looking God in the face and saying, "I can do this."  How did that work out for him?  (from last week)

One of the wonderful things in the Bible is how God can teach forwards and backwards.  Forwards in this study, you can watch David go from "Who will do this" to "I can do this" to this week where his sins tell him "let them do this".  But from this end, you can also see that God is teaching us in the opposite direction- from "you have a responsibility for consequences" to "you won't succeed until you submit it to God", to "Let me progress by committing this to God".  Or at least you can once I tell you the third bank of David's mistakes.

GROUP THREE: Sins of personal responsibility

 

Sin 9- Let them take care of it

 

 2Sa 13:6  So Amnon lay down and pretended to be ill. And when the king came to see him, Amnon said to the king, "Please let my sister Tamar come and make a couple of cakes in my sight, that I may eat from her hand."
2Sa 13:7  Then David sent home to Tamar, saying, "Go to your brother Amnon's house and prepare food for him."

As we begin this story, it's a tale of a man not knowing what's going on with his own house.  Of course, with that many wives and that many kids, and a kingdom besides, how could he? (Stay tuned, I'll get to that!)  So son Amnon falls in lust with stepsister Tamar.  And since Amnon wasn't close to David, he didn't go to him with the problem.  No, he went to no-account buddy Jonadab, who concocts a plan, not to win her love but to rape her.  David's 'hands-off' approach to his children's lives allows him to get manipulated in the plan.  Tamar gets raped, Amnon decides he's done with her, and Tamar's full brother Absalom swears revenge.  And what does David do to head things off?

2Sa 13:19  And Tamar put ashes on her head and tore the long robe that she wore. And she laid her hand on her head and went away, crying aloud as she went.
2Sa 13:20  And her brother Absalom said to her, "Has Amnon your brother been with you? Now hold your peace, my sister. He is your brother; do not take this to heart." So Tamar lived, a desolate woman, in her brother Absalom's house.
2Sa 13:21  When King David heard of all these things, he was very angry.

"He was very angry"- see sin #3 from the first post.  But... he DID nothing.  And because he didn't ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY AND GET INVOLVED, Amnon ended up dead, Tamar a virtual prisoner in her brother's house, and brother Absalom?  Well...

Sin 10- Let Joab handle it

 

It was up to Joab's scheming to bring the fleeing Absalom and the bitter David back together; it was up to Joab to stop Absalom's revolution, which David allowed to grow right under his nose until it exploded in shame on him; and it was up to Joab to end the revolt with Absalom's death.  But not only that...

2Sa 19:1  It was told Joab, "Behold, the king is weeping and mourning for Absalom."
2Sa 19:2  So the victory that day was turned into mourning for all the people, for the people heard that day, "The king is grieving for his son."
2Sa 19:3  And the people stole into the city that day as people steal in who are ashamed when they flee in battle.
2Sa 19:4  The king covered his face, and the king cried with a loud voice, "O my son Absalom, O Absalom, my son, my son!"
2Sa 19:5  Then Joab came into the house to the king and said, "You have today covered with shame the faces of all your servants, who have this day saved your life and the lives of your sons and your daughters and the lives of your wives and your concubines,
2Sa 19:6  because you love those who hate you and hate those who love you. For you have made it clear today that commanders and servants are nothing to you, for today I know that if Absalom were alive and all of us were dead today, then you would be pleased.
2Sa 19:7  Now therefore arise, go out and speak kindly to your servants, for I swear by the LORD, if you do not go, not a man will stay with you this night, and this will be worse for you than all the evil that has come upon you from your youth until now."

His grief- which was totally hypocritical, because there would never have been a revolt had he put that much into the relationship with his son in life- was about to lose him everything- if not for Joab.  He couldn't ACCEPT FACING THE CONSEQUENCES of his actions, and it had just about cost him everything.

Sin 11- Let the people handle it

 

As the dust settles, God is displeased with the people; however, He knows it's David's faulty leadership that is the cause of their unfaithfulness.  So He allows a plan of Satan's, to cause David to sin by taking a census.  David finally repents- a bit late- but again there are those nasty consequences, and God gives David a choice:

2Sa 24:11  And when David arose in the morning, the word of the LORD came to the prophet Gad, David's seer, saying,
2Sa 24:12  "Go and say to David, 'Thus says the LORD, Three things I offer you. Choose one of them, that I may do it to you.'"
2Sa 24:13  So Gad came to David and told him, and said to him, "Shall three years of famine come to you in your land? Or will you flee three months before your foes while they pursue you? Or shall there be three days' pestilence in your land? Now consider, and decide what answer I shall return to him who sent me."
2Sa 24:14  Then David said to Gad, "I am in great distress. Let us fall into the hand of the LORD, for his mercy is great; but let me not fall into the hand of man."

Notice it wasn't "Let ME fall into the hand of the Lord", but "Let US..." and so for a sin that David committed, God unleashed a plague that killed 70,000 people in 3 DAYS.

2Sa 24:17  Then David spoke to the LORD when he saw the angel who was striking the people, and said, "Behold, I have sinned, and I have done wickedly. But these sheep, what have they done? Please let your hand be against me and against my father's house."

Nice of you to think of that after 8% of the people you had counted DIED.  Which would have been avoided if he would have TAKEN PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY FOR HIS SIN.

Sin 12- Let the future take care of it

 

There were several people who offended his kingly dignity over the years to whom he showed mercy... but never forgave as he should have.  But HE didn't take revenge on them, no not him...

1Ki 2:5  "Moreover, you also know what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, how he dealt with the two commanders of the armies of Israel, Abner the son of Ner, and Amasa the son of Jether, whom he killed, avenging in time of peace for blood that had been shed in war, and putting the blood of war on the belt around his waist and on the sandals on his feet.
1Ki 2:6  Act therefore according to your wisdom, but do not let his gray head go down to Sheol in peace...

1Ki 2:8  ...And there is also with you Shimei the son of Gera, the Benjaminite from Bahurim, who cursed me with a grievous curse on the day when I went to Mahanaim. But when he came down to meet me at the Jordan, I swore to him by the LORD, saying, 'I will not put you to death with the sword.'
1Ki 2:9  Now therefore do not hold him guiltless, for you are a wise man. You will know what you ought to do to him, and you shall bring his gray head down with blood to Sheol."

Don't you just love this?  Solomon has to build the Temple, because David "was a man of blood", but David commands him  to put the blood DAVID should have shed- if it had to be shed- on his hands with his dying words?  "You will know what do do, for you are a wise man..."  Also known as, "You take care of it, since I painted myself into a corner and don't know how to get out of it."

Does it strike you, as it does me, that David, a man who found God's favor by constantly coming before Him, made all of his mistakes by NOT coming to Him?  And that is our overall lesson here- coming to Jesus with EVERYTHING.  Some things that require our involvement, some that require our submission, and some that we need to bring into commitment to him.  David sinned in "asking the questions": who will do it; shouldn't I do it; and can't someone else do it.  Our job is to put all these with the right answer.  And next time, we will at last see how Nehemiah knew how to answer these questions and get them right.

Time Machine co-ordinates VICXLXI654121176

 

FROM THIS WEEK'S STAFF MEETING:

So let's put the schedule down on paper for the holidays, shall we?

Nardole: Very well, sir.  Let me get my day planner up...

Elvis:  Say, didja ever notice that "Nardole" is scrambled for "Leonard"?

Bellbottom:  Could we PLEASE show some decorum?

E:  I put up the wreaths on the door, what more do you want?

I hope you weren't expecting an intelligent answer, Horace... anyway, so we are OFF next week, except for an M10 update... Thursday Christmas Eve will be the big Christmas party, along with the Beauty Contest... New Years Day will be the M10 top 20 for the year... and the 8th we'll be back to 1956... Everything check?

N:  The dates seem in order, sir...

E:  We've got green lights from all the Christmas guests, we're a go for Christmas eve!

B:  All pending litigation has been settled at this point, and the contracts are all in good order!

So it looks like this holiday we'll have fairly smooth sailing, Lord willing!  What about today's show?  Do we have KC and the Sunshine Band?

N:  Uhm... I thought I was supposed to get Casey Stengal...

That was a joke, you idiot?  Didn't you hear us laughing?

E: Hah hah! Chill, boss... we's just joshin' you.  I told 'im to pretend...

N:  You didn't SAY, pretend...

E:  Noodle, tell me yer kidding...

N:  Uhm...

Okay, while we get this worked out, let's play the first of 3 M10 debuts this week!  At #10 is the lead singer of Wilco, Jeff Tweedy, and his latest...

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Hi, Skipper!  How are you today?

"My health is good enough about the shoulders."*

(Note:  Anything in quotation marks are actual quotes.)

Good, good.  I suppose you're a bit confused why you're here...

"There comes a time in every man's life, and I've had plenty of them."

Around here, you get used to those moments.  So what's we're going to do is talk about music... you have any interest in music, Casey?

"What do you think, I was born old?"

No, sir! So we basically have a 'hit parade', I suppose you'd call it, and this week we had 49 stations give us 17 different #1 songs...

Seventeen?  I like that, it's a nice round number.

Er, yes, and what I'm going to do is give you the top five vote getters to read off.

"Nobody ever had too many of them." Of course, I'm usually talkin' about pitchers when I say that... or maybe baseballs.

Before we start, I should let everybody know that one song ran away with things, getting well over half the vote- and the rest of the finalists are "anybody that got more than one vote".  So, Skipper, here's the list...

I don't know any of these fellas!

Well, we're a few years beyond your time, sir...

" I'll never make the mistake of being seventy again."

Anyway, you can just read the names off...

Say, this Rod Stewart fella got most of the votes!  Say, is he any relation to that Marlin Stuart I had back in '54?  He went 3-0, but if we couldn't hit, he'd have been 0-10!

Um, I tend to doubt it... and, well, you just gave away the winner.  Rod Stewart chalked up 53 % of the vote with Tonight's The Night...  So I guess now we'll have to have people guess the best loser!

Gee, I'm sorry... I ain't used to winners anymore, with the Mets.  Why, we were so bad, "Lyndon B. Johnson wanted to see poverty, so he came to see my team."

It's okay, Casey.  I'll get you dialed in here while the audience listens to the next M10 debut.  From their 2018 lp Pillar of Na, here's Saintseneca at #8....

2018??? Where the hell are we??

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So, just read these here names, right?

Yep, easy as that.

I used to have some players that could mess this up.  There was this one kid, "couldn't hit the ground if he fell out of an airplane."

But, anyway, you people choose from these here songs...

The Spinners, Rubber Band Man, #4 on Cashbox's chart.  Say, is Rubber Band Man the song or the singer?

The Sylvers at #17 with Hot Line.  Must be about the Russkies.

Leo Sayer, You Make Me Feel Like Dancing at #5.  Boy, that's how Mick- Mickey Mantle- used ta make me feel. "He should lead the league in everything!"

And Boston- back in my day, that was a town, I even played there at the end.  We weren't much better than the Mets back then. "Well, that's baseball. Rags to riches one day and riches to rags the next." This Boston, though, has More Than A Feeling at #16, on the way down.  That it?

That's it, Skip.  Thanks for being such a good sport!  And now, let's hit that last debut at #7.  This is a band who has almost snuck in a couple of times before, and now has finally made it.  Introducing to you, Pale Waves...

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Overseas If You Please...

Tonight's The Night also was tops in Canada this week; Australia and New Zealand were still in the throes of ABBA-mania, and Money Money Money- which was close to a year away from hitting here- topped their charts.  South Africa was topped by Dutch country band Pussycat- fronted by the Kowalczyk sisters- with a tune called Mississippi.  And I really took a liking to the band at the top of the UK chart.  Two bands walk into a bar, like the same kind of music, and become one band, that's Showaddywaddy and their hit Under The Moon Of Love.

The Big mover is ...well, I apparently forgot to do it!  Let me put 'er in reverse for a sec... Ah, it was Stevie Wonder with I Wish, up 18 from 46-28.

And now, special guest Joe Piscopo with his unique version of our 'cut for time' 6D:

M*A*S*H pilot!  Lieutenant Dish- 

Wow, now in Beauty Contest! Sang for Brasil '66 after Lani Hall...

Wow!  Her too!  Her solo lp Sun Down Lady!  Song called Sun Down- changed lyrics!  America covered it, Toni Tennille Laughs!  "Sounds like they're singing about Muskrats!"  Original lyrics by Willis Allan Ramsey, original title, Muskrat Candlelight!  Captain and Tennille, original lyrics, new title- Muskrat Love!  Number two, no votes, so sad!  Thankyouverymuch!

Thanks, Joe- I couldn't have done it without you!

Now, the rest of the M10:

9- Acres Wild makes it to week #8 with Mirrorball Stars slipping one spot.

6- So does Yuno, with No Going Back falling from 4.

5- Breaking the pattern ever so slightly, Ron Keel holds a third week at 5 with Ghost Riders.

4- A second three-notch gain for Jason Isbell and Dreamsicle.

3- Slipping one spot, Purr and Avenue Bliss.

2- Ditto for former top dog M.A.G.S. and Smile.

Which means our new #1 this week....

...Matthew Sweet and At A Loss!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And now- who finished second?

The Sylvers got 4%...

The Spinners and Leo Sayer got 6.1%...

Which means Boston took second place, 22 votes back, with 8.1%!

And, which means HOPEfully Rod Stewart- not "that Stuart kid" Casey had in 1954, not Martha Stewart, not even Jimmy Stewart, but Rod Stewart, at an appropriate age (AKA not 11 years old), will be our guest when the regularly scheduled madness returns after the new year!

Wednesday Bible Study: And now a word from David, part two

 

....Now Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spoke to the men. And Eliab's anger was kindled against David, and he said, "Why have you come down? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your presumption and the evil of your heart, for you have come down to see the battle."  1 Samuel 17:28

Today we hit the second part of the Mistakes of David.  Last time, we learned that Eliab's words were a prophecy of the things that David would mess up throughout his life, and we learned the first four of them we found were failing to commit to God his truth, safety, wrath, and fear.  This time, we start by looking at the things he failed to SUBMIT to God.   Bear in mind though, that despite making these mistakes even up to his last words, his HEART was with God, and his mind was set on service to God.  But like all men, David had his down moments...

GROUP 2:  Things he failed to SUBMIT to God

 

Sin 5- I know what I'm doing

 

David went to all his advisers, and it was unanimous among them that the time was right to bring the Ark of the Covenant back to Jerusalem from where it had sat since the Philistines sent it back to Israel.  But if you had read the Books of the Law- which David had NOT- you'd know that there were very specific instructions on how to carry the Ark...

Exo 25:13  You shall make poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold.
Exo 25:14  And you shall put the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark to carry the ark by them.
Exo 25:15  The poles shall remain in the rings of the ark; they shall not be taken from it.

Num 4:15  And when Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, as the camp sets out, after that the sons of Kohath shall come to carry these, but they must not touch the holy things, lest they die. These are the things of the tent of meeting that the sons of Kohath are to carry.

But David?  He just brought it back on the ox-cart that the Philistines put it on.  And so the inevitable happened. 

2Sa 6:6  And when they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah put out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled.
2Sa 6:7  And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Uzzah, and God struck him down there because of his error, and he died there beside the ark of God.
2Sa 6:8  And David was angry because the LORD had burst forth against Uzzah. And that place is called Perez-uzzah, to this day.
2Sa 6:9  And David was afraid of the LORD that day, and he said, "How can the ark of the LORD come to me?"

David failed to check with God through the Word on what to do, and as a result, he had more blood on his hands- that's why he was angry.  Later on, after he messed up, he submitted to God that he didn't know what he was doing, and as a result....

1Ch 15:12  and said to them, "You are the heads of the fathers' houses of the Levites. Consecrate yourselves, you and your brothers, so that you may bring up the ark of the LORD, the God of Israel, to the place that I have prepared for it.
1Ch 15:13  Because you did not carry it the first time, the LORD our God broke out against us, because we did not seek him according to the rule."

"We" meaning HE.  Because David gathered the people together to assent to moving the Ark the first time, and they followed his lead.  He however didn't submit KNOWLEDGE to God, and sinned in his ignorance.

Sins 6-8, the Bathsheba Case

Sin 6- I can do what I want

 2Sa 11:1  In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel. And they ravaged the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem.
2Sa 11:2  It happened, late one afternoon...

"...It happened late one afternoon..." and why did it happen?  Because David was NOT where he should have been.  That 'but' was a biiiig one. When you put yourself in the roadway of temptation, you have to expect something will happen.  "I'm a Christian, I am under God's protection" doesn't cut it, believe me.  In this case, of all the times he SUBMITTED HIS OBEDIENCE to God, this time he didn't.  You see the trend here?  In the first four mistakes, it was like David was looking away from God and saying, "Who can do this?"  In this set, he's looking God in the face and saying, "I can do this."  How did that work out for him?

Sin 7- I deserve whatever I can get

 

2Sa 11:3  And David sent and inquired about the woman. And one said, "Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?"
2Sa 11:4  So David sent messengers and took her, and she came to him, and he lay with her. (Now she had been purifying herself from her uncleanness.) Then she returned to her house.
 

No moral dilemma here for David- he was king, he sent servants she obeyed, he got what he desired.  The thing was, this one 'little thing' was about to become the thing that would haunt all of David's days...

1Ki 15:4  Nevertheless, for David's sake the LORD his God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem, setting up his son after him, and establishing Jerusalem,
1Ki 15:5  because David did what was right in the eyes of the LORD and did not turn aside from anything that he commanded him all the days of his life, except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite.

This was said some 55 years after David's death.  All because he didn't SUBMIT HIS DESIRES. And what about Uriah?

Sin 8- I'll clean it up

 2Sa 11:5  And the woman conceived, and she sent and told David, "I am pregnant."

You know the story here.  David tries every trick in the book to get Uriah to have sex with his wife before it would be apparent that Uriah was NOT the father.  But Uriah was an honorable man, and as long as the army was fighting his battles, he would not give in to HIS desires, as David had.  So instead of David SUBMITTING HIS SIN and asking for help, he had Uriah killed.  Result?

Psa 32:3  For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long.
Psa 32:4  For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. Selah 

 

And still, he was foolish and prideful enough, and so determined not to let anyone know- even God, who already knew- what he did, it took the prophet Nathan tricking him to get him to admit it.  

Stop and think about this.  Eve did what she wanted, and as a result, "Ye shall surely die".  In what David didn't submit, Uzzah, Uriah, and his child with Bathsheba- along with those who would die in Absalom's rebellion- it was a bloody trail.  Most times when we see this verse:

1Ch 22:7  David said to Solomon, "My son, I had it in my heart to build a house to the name of the LORD my God.
1Ch 22:8  But the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 'You have shed much blood and have waged great wars. You shall not build a house to my name, because you have shed so much blood before me on the earth.

You think only of the blood of the wars.  But consider God mentioned 'shedding blood' AND 'waging war'. Could this be a reminder that he was disqualified for this honor, over and above the wars he waged, BECAUSE of Uzzah and Uriah and the others?  Lesson to us is, God is forgiving- but even forgiven actions have consequences.