An Opening

Mark 2: 3-5- Some men came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”

Finally, I’ve reached the verse that’s been on my mind. 

Why, if this guy was in obvious need, did these four guys not get an open path through the crowd?  Was it because the entire crowd was selfish and wanted their own needs met?

And why did these guys dig through the roof to lower the man in front of Jesus?  It says they actually made the opening by digging. 

I know some folks who are in great need, and seem to be “paralyzed” when it comes to realizing their need and being able to do anything about it.  We can pray for them, talk to them, try to persuade them, and even counsel these people, but their sin, their mental state, or their background has shut down their ability to comprehend their need, much less get help.

I’m not sure what it looks like, but I’m thinking some of us need to literally carry these people to Jesus, through the crowd, atop a roof, and lower them down at his feet.

Sort of like a rescue operation.  Or do we wait until they fall off and get trampled on by the crowd?

I’m still thinking about this one…

Proclaim It

Matthew 10: What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs.

Jesus is talking in this verse. 

So when’s the last time Jesus whispered in your ear? Or spoke to you in the dark?

I mostly hear his whispers when I’m praying intimately to him, just me and Jesus, in the safety of my home, down on my knees…alone.  And yet, he tells me here to proclaim from the roofs what I hear.  I’m guess my neighbors and friends need to hear about his love, because that’s what I hear most when I’m alone with him.

I’m going to take this literally and think of when Jesus speaks to me when I don’t know the way to go – when I’m in “the dark.”   And it’s in those times that I hear the comforting words of truth about who he is – the way, the truth, the life – and I find peace in knowing he’s there even when I can’t see.  So I’m supposed to speak that truth when the morning comes.  You know, “weeping may last for a night, but joy comes with the morning light.”

Roofs are high, they provide a good vantage point, and sound can echo down to the people below.

What are you proclaiming from your house?  

No Place

Zephaniah 4: I will destroy every remnant of Baal worship in this place,
    the very names of the idolatrous priests—those who bow down on the roofs
    to worship the starry host…

In prior chapters, we read of the people building idols on their roofs to false gods and this aroused God’s anger.  Remember, one of the 10 Commandments is to have no others gods before the one true God.  And yet, these people were worshiping God’s creation rather than the Creator.

Anytime we start putting our adoration on things other than God himself, we invite trouble into our homes.  If atop that which covers us (the roof – the Lord and his protection – our husbands) we start to set things “above” that covering and bow down or adore “idols,” we are not only causing a roof leak, but perhaps an entire cave-in!

We belong to God and he is jealous over us because he bought us with a price – his son Jesus.  

There is NO place for worship atop our homes for anyone other than our Lord and Savior.  

Anything else has to go.

Don't Go There

Isaiah 22: What troubles you now, that you have all gone up on the roofs,

….but you did not look to the One who made it, or have regard for the One who planned it long ago.

All the leaders had fled to the roofs in this story, to a place of refuge and hope atop their homes.  And why had they fled there?  Later in the chapter, we read of how these people had fortified their cities and made every provision for their preservation but did not acknowledge God or have regard for Him in all of their busyness.

When we are troubled, where do we run to find refuge?  Atop the things that we have made with our hands?  Or do we run to Jesus, the strong tower?

When we forget to acknowledge God in all of our provision and preparation for longevity of life, we will find ourselves at some point fleeing all that our hands have created in hopes of finding refuge somewhere…

There is no other name but the name of Jesus and no other refuge except safe in His arms.

Lord, forgive us for placing our hope and trust in the things we’ve made. 

Quarrelsome Simile

Proverbs 27: 15, 16 A quarrelsome wife is like the dripping of a leaky roof in a rainstorm; restraining her is like restraining the wind or grasping oil with the hand.

Ouch.  This verse and its similes are painful, aren’t they?  When we quarrel and stir up division, we cause holes in our covering that allows the rain inside our homes – and that makes for a soggy, messy house where mold begins to grow. 

But this verse even goes further with the comparison.  Stopping a wife who is already quarreling is near impossible, for who can restrain the wind?  And who can grasp something that is oily?

I only know one person that can restrain the wind and that’s Jesus.  He was in a boat when a storm arose and he spoke to the winds and said, “Peace, be still.”  The winds died down, and everyone on the boat made it safely to shore.

Once we start our quarreling,we tend to get on a roll and we see our husbands with accusing eyes and our hearts become cold, and our disdain gathers momentum like the blowing wind.  Not a good picture, is it?

Jesus really is the only one who can meet our needs and he never intended our husbands to be a substitute.  If we can truly learn the pattern of turning to Him when our husbands disappoint us, he will calm the raging storm within us and tame our tongue before it whips out like an oily, slimy viper.

Have you seen Wolverine yet?  The viper character in the movie is a woman with a snakelike tongue and she weakens every man on which she blows or touches. 

She eventually meets her demise.  Enough said.

The Corner

Another verse on a quarrelsome wife!

Better to live on a corner of the roof than share a house with a quarrelsome wife. (Proverbs 25:24)

Remember, the roofs of houses in bible days were used as extra rooms, places to look over the city, a spot of refuge, etc.  In this verse we see that it’s better for those living in the house to retreat to the roof to live, rather than live under the roof with a quarrelsome wife.

There are plenty of verses that speak to the husbands in the bible and their duties and care for the wife.  But three times in Proverbs (we’ll look at the third tomorrow) we read of a quarrelsome wife.

Television, books, and chatter at the water cooler include conversations about the  nagging of wives – which indeed leads to quarrels.  We often find fault with our husbands, mainly when we compare him to our “idea” of what a husband should be.  And in reality, all of our nagging and quarreling never changes him for the good; instead it sends him into retreat mode.

The only thing that does our husband good is to honor him and pray for him, and allow God to deal with him.  If we can learn this “oh-so-important” skill in a marriage, we will be happy, and our husbands will be disciplined by the Lord – who changes things. 

I don’t want to send my husband to the roof to get away from me, I want him sharing my house with me.

Support Beams

Proverbs 19:13 - A foolish child is a father’s ruin, and a quarrelsome wife is like the constant dripping of a leaky roof.

I've been writing in the past days about the covering and protection that roofs provide to a home.  And in this verse we see that the roof has a leak.

It’s interesting to me that the protecting and covering of the home are provided by the husband through God, and yet it’s the wife that can cause this covering to spring a leak. 

I’ve been quarrelsome myself at times.  I don’t think this means having an argument once in a while, but rather being prone to or characterized by quarreling.  In other words, this wife stirs up arguments as part of her day to day life.  I picture it as blowing hot air out of her mouth so much that it melts the roof and causes a leak.  She wears her husband down through belittling, accusing, despising, and poking so that his covering over her is less than adequate.

We all have our place in the running of our home, and if each does his/her part it runs well.  But even if our husband doesn’t do his part of covering us well, it does no good to quarrel him into doing it.

If a quarrelsome wife is like dripping on a roof, then I think a praying wife would be like adding support beams under the roof. 

Something to think about.