Day 48 – November 2, 2023: Deuteronomy 29-31 and Mark 15-16 and Psalm 22

Each section that we read today has something of significance, in fact, some of our readings have more than one area of significance. Now significance is in the eye of the beholder, so it could be that what is significant to me might be trivial to you, but you get what I consider significant. Would love to hear what is significant to you. Let’s start with Deuteronomy. Look at 30:19 where God exhorts the people of Israel to choose life. This is set up with the realization that we are presented with choices in our life, we can choose to obey the Lord or we can choose to walk away from the Lord. When we walk away then we choose that which is other than life. When we obey the Lord then life will follow. It is a great phrase which should resonate with us continually. Choose life is not a slogan, it is a way of life which requires righteousness, which means choosing to act according to the will of God.

In Mark we find Jesus crucified and him being resurrected. Your translations should include a little explanation to what is generally called the short ending of Mark, which ends in vs.8 or the longer ending which ends in vs.20. The shorter ending has the resurrection and the women going out and not telling anything to anyone. The longer ending has them telling people but the disciples not believing them until Jesus comes in their midst and chastizes them. Scripture is interesting in that we don’t have a single copy of the original manuscript of any of the books of the Bible that were written. We have written copies that were passed down through the centuries. This allows for some loss in translation, which should not shock or scandalize us. The Word of God contains the inerrant truths of God even in the midst of it being passed down from generation to generation.

Psalm 22 is the source of the final words of Jesus. Look at vs.1 where you have the cry of “My God, My God why have you forsaken me?” It is a call of desperation and despair as the writer describes how the bulls of bashan are encircling him and how his body and his bones are melting away like water. Things are pretty rough for the author and there is a sense and a feeling that he has been abandoned. Yet quickly he pivots and remembers how God had delivered his ancestors and so it must be the case that one day God will come to deliver him as well. That is a great reminder that even in the midst of our anguish our hope should never, ever be lost.