Cain and Abel

by Shannon Tillman | Nov 21, 2024 | Bible Study

Have you ever seen something new to you, even though it has always been there? No, I am not referring to a Christmas love movie. Actually, I am thinking more of a crime scene. There are many reasons that I could never be a detective. For one, I faint at blood. Another, is that I do not pay attention to details.

A few months back, my husband and I were walking the neighborhood when I saw a solar panel fixture in the median. I said, “Look at the new solar panel light.”

He replied, “Shannon, that has always been there.” After years of walking the same route, I finally saw the solar panels. No one would hire me to investigate a crime.

I felt the same way recently when I read the Cain and Abel passage. I have heard this crime tale for years, but something struck me in a different way this time when I read again about the gruesome scene when one brother killed the other.

Genesis 4:2-16
” …Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil. In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord.  And Abel also brought an offering—fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast. Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”

The Lord tells Cain that If he does what is right, then his offering would be accepted. In other words, his offering was wrong. Throughout Scripture, we see animal sacrifices. Could it be (now this is my attempt of being a detective establishing motive, so bear with me), could it be that Cain knew that the acceptable sacrifice was a lamb? Did he know that blood had to be shed? If so, then why did he bring vegetables? Is there a possibility that Cain did not want to ask his brother for a lamb so he decided to bring vegetables instead?

Ponder this with me. I had never thought about this before, that Cain could have received a lamb from Abel or even traded vegetables to get one from him. Instead of doing this, Cain chose his own way, his own opinion, his own desire. What if the sin began because Cain refused to humble himself and admit that he had lack in his life, or that his way would not work, or he needed help or guidance from others? Unfortunately, he would rather bring an offering of his own choosing than have his brother help him.

Before we judge Cain, we should look at ourselves. Have we chosen to do what we want to do even though it was outside of God’s will? Have we “spiritualized” our actions even though the attitude is really not of God? Have we refused to humble ourselves before others to get the help we need? Have we become angry at others who truly are righteous because we do not want to face the unrighteousness in our own lives? Could it be our attitudes led to more sin because we refused opportunities of humility along the way? (Like a detective, I am asking a lot of questions!) Cain needed a lamb and refused. We, too, need a Lamb, Jesus. When we choose pride, we reject the Lord’s ways for our lives.

Cain refused to humble himself to ask for a lamb. Cain refused to humble himself when rebuked by God. Cain refused to humble himself and acknowledge his attitude against his brother was wrong. Refusing humility opened the door to shocking sin.

Genesis 4:8
“Now Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.” While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.”

Cain ignored God’s warning and murdered his brother. Cain killed his brother instead of killing the wrong desires in his own heart. Cain blamed Abel for being righteous compared to judging the unrighteousness in his own thoughts and actions. Before we congratulate ourselves for being a better person than Cain, let us read the words of Jesus:

Matthew 5:21-22
“You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.”

Been angry at anyone lately? You are subject to judgment. Called anyone names? You should stand before the court. Condemning others? That puts you in danger of being condemned. We are Cain. We have hurt our brothers and sisters due to our own pride and selfish ambition. Cain suffered consequences for his actions.

Genesis 4:9-12
“Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” “I don’t know,” he replied. “Am I my brother’s keeper?” The Lord said, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground. Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth.”

Cain never acknowledges his sin against his brother. Even after God confronts him, he still is only concerned about the punishment he received compared to the actions he had committed.

Genesis 4:13-14
“Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is more than I can bear. Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence; I will be a restless wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.”

Even though Cain never humbled himself, God still showed him mercy.

Genesis 4:15
“But the Lord said to him, “Not so; anyone who kills Cain will suffer vengeance seven times over.” Then the Lord put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him.”

Even in the light of mercy shown to him, Cain did not acknowledge his sin. Proud until the end, Cain did not even show remorse for the biggest loss of all.

Genesis 4:16
“So Cain went out from the Lord’s presence and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden.”

Cain went out from the Lord’s presence. He never acknowledged that he was bothered by the loss of God in his life. He would rather live under punishment than humble himself and receive forgiveness.

Today, we can choose a different response.

Matthew 5:23-24
“Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.”

Cain’s refusal to humble himself to acquire a lamb from his brother, Cain’s anger at the rejection of his offering, Cain’s lack of humility at God’s rebuke, began a series of events leading to crime and punishment. Cain looked at his brother instead of looking at himself. We justify punishing others instead of changing ourselves. Our lack of humility can lead to the same.

We can have a different response than Cain’s response at the altar. We can choose the path of humility and pursue reconciliation. By doing so, we place ourselves in right relationship with God and others, staying in His presence, the greatest gift of all.

Life is a Marathon

by Kevin Tillman | Nov 14, 2024 | Bible Study

Have you ever started something with full intentions only to fall short the next day? Yeah, we all have. I’ve started a new diet numerous times on a full stomach full of burgers and fries with a thought of “I’ve got to do better.” Similarly, we have those sins that just keep recurring. We say things like, “that’s it, that’s the last time .. never again.”

The Bible uses sports metaphors quite a bit, particularly we see life being compared to a race. We can sprint out of the gate with all the gusto and intentions in the world, but we must remember, it’s a long race. Life is a marathon. There will be times where we mess up, there will be times where it hurts, and yes, there will be times when we want to quit.  Let’s turn our attention to the author of Hebrews…

Hebrews 12:1c-2a

“let’s run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking only at Jesus, the originator and perfecter of the faith.

Endurance. That’s the goal. But there’s a key bit of instruction that precedes these verses.

Hebrews 12:1b

“…let’s rid ourselves of every obstacle and the sin which so easily entangles us,”

Before running with endurance, we must “rid ourselves” of the obstacles and the sin. I love how the Living Bible states this,

Hebrews 12:1b

“let us strip off anything that slows us down or holds us back, and especially those sins that wrap themselves so tightly around our feet and trip us up;”

I picture a runner starting a race with their legs tied together. I’m having elementary school day flash backs of that sack race … remember those? In order for us to even start this marathon, we must get rid of the sin. But, not just the sin, also the things that “so easily entangle us” or those things that “wrap themselves so tightly around our feet and trip us up.” What are these things? It could be a bad relationship. It could be hanging with the wrong crowd. It could be the places we frequently go to. It can be anything that is setting itself up as a hindrance in our lives. I heard a pastor say many years ago, “if you’re struggling with alcohol, don’t go to the bar to eat the peanuts.” Honestly, I don’t know that they serve peanuts at bars, but he made the point. Don’t put yourself in the situation that will cause you to fall. Just avoid it … “Rid ourselves” and “strip it off”

But what if you’ve already started the race? What if you’ve been a Christian for years, and yet you’re still struggling with some of the same weights? To use another sports metaphor, this is a good time to take a time-out. Picture yourself running a marathon, like literally running a marathon. You’re in the race, and you’re exhausted. You have weights strapped around both legs. You are carrying a 50 pound backpack. You'[re fighting with everything in you to keep going, but you’re struggling to just take the next step. Though you may not be able to relate in a literal sense, I think most of us have felt like that at times in our spiritual journey. So, take the timeout, and stop! Yes, quit running. Regroup, take a breath, access the situation, and then make necessary changes. You’re still in the race, but you are taking a breath. It’s going to be much easier to finish once you unload all of that extra weight. As a matter of fact, you’ll find it way easier! A warning though, many people won’t understand you. You’ll even get advice such as “keep running, don’t stop, don’t quit”. These people mean well. They see you as giving up, but in reality you’re actually figuring it out. This isn’t a passive time. You aren’t just standing still. You are actually being more active than before. You are deliberately removing the weights. Here’s the somewhat scary part. As you start taking stuff off, you are publicly revealing your flaws. As you stop, you are telling everyone basically, “I got issues” and “I’ve got to work on this”. This is likely why many people just continue to run with the weights, sins, and burdens of life. They’d rather have these issues forever, than to risk humiliation. Pride is a crazy thing, that makes us do crazy things!

So, what can keep us motivated during this process?

Hebrews 12:2b

“…who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Jesus focused on the “joy set before Him”, while he “endured the cross”. Make no mistake, stopping during the race to remove weights will not be easy. Some will laugh and mock. You will sacrifice reputation to some extent. Your pride will be hurt. Did I mention pride is a crazy thing? You will be embarrassed. But, if we can look to the “joy set before us” this will give us a long term perspective. If we live in the “now” we will likely never deal with our issues. But, if we can focus on the joy ahead and the reward, we can start living the life we were created to live.

The writer of Hebrews furthers this point …

Hebrews 12:3

“Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”

As we are in our timeout and actively dealing with our stuff, we are to keep our minds focused on what Jesus endured. Remembering all that he went through will give us motivation to “not grow weary and lose heart.”

On this marathon race of life, there are basically two ways we can be stopped. One is we are led by the Spirit for the purpose of removing the sin and entanglements. The other way is we are led by self with thoughts of “this is too hard”, so we get tired and we give up. Either way can lead to the timeout. And, honestly, God can use either way. You can either hear the Spirit of God, listen, obey, and do the hard work. Or, you can wear yourself out to the point of exhaustion, and then maybe God can work with you. Sounds a little harsh right? Well, yeah, it is … but I think we can all relate to some extent. Here’s the good news, God loves us too much to just let us keep running with all of the weight. He can first speak to us with a gentle “let’s work on this together”, or we can just run ourselves to the point of defeat, and then listen.

Hebrews 12:5b-6

“My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.”

Correction is a great thing, but we don’t like it. If we’re corrected it means we have to admit we were wrong. Have I mentioned pride is a crazy thing? By the way, we aren’t being corrected here by another fallible human being. Sometimes corrections from others are justified, and sometimes it’s just another opinion (another blog for another day). But here, this is the creator of the universe. The Creator always knows the creation better than the creation knows itself. Meaning, God understands you better than you understand yourself. Because He loves you so much, He’s going to correct your course. He’s going to call for that timeout, or He’ll allow you to wear yourself out to the point of the timeout.

As you start your healing, it will be challenging. Even though these things are weighting you down, they will seem like a part of you is being lost. Getting rid of sin and baggage is always the right thing to do, but it’s never the easy thing to do. I love the way the Living Bible phrases this …

Hebrews 12:11-12

“Being punished isn’t enjoyable while it is happening—it hurts! But afterwards we can see the result, a quiet growth in grace and character. So take a new grip with your tired hands, stand firm on your shaky legs,”

The Bible straight up tells us, this is going to hurt! You are going to go through some stuff to get to the other side. This is likely why many Christians are content to stay in their defeated lives (ouch, that was strong). It’s true. Many don’t want to put in the effort and the hard work of overcoming. They don’t want to be faced with their sins and baggage. It brings shame and guilt and regret to the surface. It expose them as being something they haven’t portrayed to others. As a side note, the Christian that stands up and says, “I have issues and I’m going to work on them” is not the hypocrite. The hypocrite is the one that continues on like there isn’t an issue. Harsh words, but pride is crazy right? Look at the results though “a quiet growth in grace and character”. Isn’t that a beautiful phrasing? I love that last part of Hebrews 12:12, “take a new grip with your tired hands, stand firm on your shaky legs”. When you start the healing, it’s going to feel different. Your balance might be off because all of that weight is being removed. But, “stand firm”, use those “shaky legs” and learn to walk in a whole new way!

This next step is so important. Let’s return to our analogy of a literal marathon. You’re at the point now of getting back up. You’ve taken the timeout. You’ve figured some stuff out. You’ve dropped all of that weight and all of the ropes tying you together. You’re getting back up, but you’re wobbly. It’s a whole new race now. Here’s what the author of Hebrews says to do next (also from the Living Bible)…

Hebrews 12:13

“and mark out a straight, smooth path for your feet so that those who follow you, though weak and lame, will not fall and hurt themselves but become strong.”

Don’t just start running. Before you get back on the course, set out a plan. What does that look like? If you’ve identified the problems and the entanglements, avoid the situations that would make you fall back into the same patterns. Yes, that may mean more hard steps. Some people may need to go bye-bye. Some things and places may need to hear an adios. The point is to have a plan. Know what you are going to do and how you are going to do it. As a side note, it’s not just leaving stuff out, it’s adding stuff in. You are replacing the toxic people with people that will help you. You are replacing the bad habits with new ones that will guide you. Some stuff out, some stuff in. Have a plan! By the way, don’t miss the “those who follow you” part of this verse. There are others watching you. There are others following you. Your steps, your plan are crucial to them, and not just you.

Though it’s not confirmed, many scholars believe that the apostle Paul wrote the book of Hebrews. Here are some of Paul’s last words of his life, in a letter he wrote to Timothy…

II Timothy 4:7

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”

He finished the race. That’s our goal, to finish, and to finish strong. I love how Paul said he “fought the good fight”. Don’t miss that, Paul likened life to a fight. It’s not all rainbows and unicorns right? It’s hard. We are screwups that get it wrong quite often. Remember, pride is crazy! it’s a fight. My mind is just now drifting to Rocky III. Rocky is fighting Clubber Lane (Mr. T). Rocky is getting killed in the ring. He’s taking shot after shot after shot. But then, somewhere in those middle rounds, Rocky starts taunting Clubber Lane … “you ain’t so bad, you ain’t so bad”. Rocky then starts dodging the incoming shots. Rocky is being rejuvenated. He realized that the worst he opponent had wasn’t enough to knock him out. He regains his stamina and he goes on to get the knockout .. By the way, sorry for the spoiler alert, but I think a 40 year old movie is past that point. It’s a fight for sure, but a fight we can and will win if we keep our eyes in the right direction, get rid of all the junk, accept correction, and have a plan.

My final encouragement is to do one of two things. Either take a timeout and fix the stuff, or get back up and get in the race.  Either way, remember … Life’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon.

Ahab in Our Homes

by Shannon Tillman | Nov 7, 2024 | Bible Study

I hate confrontation. Actually, I tried to write I “dislike” confrontation but did not
think that word was strong enough to explain my emotions. I hate it.
Unfortunately, I have made many compromises in my life in attempts to avoid it.
I have also suffered drastic consequences for not speaking up when I should have
done so. Unfortunately, I can relate to Israel’s most evil king, a man named
Ahab. He also did not speak up or do the right thing when it was in his power to
act.

Ahab was a military expert but a failed husband and father. Despite miraculous
military conquests enabled by the Lord, Israel’s king, Ahab, continued to allow his
wife, the infamous Jezebel, to expand her evil religious domain in Israel. Not only
did Ahab not confront her, he eventually joined her wickedness as she expanded
demon worship throughout the kingdom. Although Ahab would receive counsel
from God’s prophets, he ultimately allowed the choices of Jezebel to prevail.

1 Kings 16:29-33
In the thirty-eighth year of Asa king of Judah, Ahab son of Omri became king of
Israel, and he reigned in Samaria over Israel twenty-two years. Ahab son of Omri
did more evil in the eyes of the Lord than any of those before him. He not only
considered it trivial to commit the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, but he also
married Jezebel daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and began to serve
Baal and worship him. He set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal that he
built in Samaria.   Ahab also made an Asherah pole and did more to arouse the
anger of the Lord, the God of Israel, than did all the kings of Israel before him.

Although the king would worship Baal, Ahab wanted the Lord to help during
military battles.

1 Kings 20:1, 10, 13, 21
Now Ben-Hadad king of Aram mustered his entire army. Accompanied by thirty-
two kings with their horses and chariots, he went up and besieged Samaria and
attacked it… Then Ben-Hadad sent another message to Ahab: “May the gods deal with me, be
it ever so severely, if enough dust remains in Samaria to give each of my men a
handful.”… Meanwhile a prophet came to Ahab king of Israel and announced, “This is what
the Lord says: ‘Do you see this vast army? I will give it into your hand today, and
then you will know that I am the Lord.’”… The king of Israel advanced and overpowered the horses and chariots and inflicted
heavy losses on the Arameans.

Although the Lord proved time and again that He was God alone, Ahab wavered
between victory on the battlefield and defeat at home. Ahab did not care about
the spirituality of his family. As long as Ahab had kingdom victories, he did not
exert energy to ensure spiritual victories in his family. His wife and children could
serve idols as long as his “ministry”, his work, his fights were won.

I feel like this too often defines Christian families. We neglect obvious issues in
the home. Sometimes, more energy is expended to address “kingdom” issues
instead of dealing with problems in our families. We are conquering the world in
God’s name while avoiding confrontation in the family. If those like Ahab do care,
then they are not willing to risk the argument that would ensue by confronting
and tearing down the idols in the home. We are so bold for the kingdom, yet so
weak in our homes.

I knew of a minister whose children were evidently wounded from problems in
the home. When the situation was addressed, most church members ignored the
issue, deciding to look the other way. A growing church was more important than
broken children. The minister rejected help and turned the loving confrontation
into a violent attack on those who spoke up. The dysfunction continued. Ahabs
and Jezebels continue today. They have kingdom victories while idols in the home
destroy the families. The church celebrates the victory and looks away at the
evident dysfunction, issues, in other words sin, to the detriment of the children.

Deciding to not deal with idols, with strongholds, with sins in one generation can
lead to devastating consequences later on. One of the daughters of Ahab
murdered others in order to gain the throne in Judah:

2 Kings 11:1

When Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she proceeded
to destroy the whole royal family.

Athaliah expanded her control by force. Her mother, Jezebel, murdered as well in
order to get what she wanted. When we do not deal with our sins, it can lead to
brutal sins in the next generation.

We must take drastic action in our lives for the sake of future generations. We
need to stand in authority, cast out family idols, and lead our family in the
worship of the Lord. But to do this, we must evaluate ourselves, to ask the Lord
to show us what we value more than Him. Whatever or whoever is placed first in
our lives is an idol. That idol cannot be dealt with gently but must be cast down.
Radical effort is necessary for radical change. Future generations will be blessed
by the effort exerted to restore the Lord as the King of your house.

Touching the Prayers of Jesus

by Shannon Tillman | Oct 31, 2024 | Bible Study

She was alone. Her disease process had caused her excruciating pain. The pain
of her body, however, did not compare to the loneliness of her soul. She had been
forced into isolation. The laws of her day condemned her as “unclean”. Anyone who
came into contact with her would be contaminated and considered “unclean” as well.
The woman had not been allowed on the temple grounds for over a decade. She felt far
from God, an outcast from His Presence. She suffered physically, emotionally,
relationally, and spiritually.

The woman had suffered financially as well. She had lost everything in desperate
hopes for healing, but none came. For she had…

been subject to bleeding for twelve years.26 She had suffered a great deal under the care
of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew
worse. (Mark 5:25b-26)

She heard about a Teacher who had been healing others. But how could she a
woman, an unclean one at that, get near him? He could possibly shame her in front of
everyone. But she had endured so much pain and longed desperately for healing, not
only for her body, but for relationships, for contact, for love, for God.

A messianic prophesy from the book of Malachi spoke a word of promise. Could
it help her?

But to you who fear My name
The Sun of Righteousness shall arise
With healing in His wings;
(Malachi 4:2a)

The rabbis of the day proclaimed that when the Messiah came, He would be able
to heal through His wings. These “wings” were the tassels on the prayer shawl worn by
Jewish men. The woman believed that if she could touch the wings, the hem of His
garment, she would be healed.

With great risk she set out. She knew that if discovered, she could be punished
severely. The crowd may become angry, for touching her would make them unclean.
What if the leaders publicly flogged her? She understood the risk, but she knew it was
her only chance for healing, for change, for life. Despite the potential consequences,
she decided to go to the Healing Teacher. She quickly hid herself among the people in
the crowd following Him.

27 When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his
cloak,
28 because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” (Mark 5:27-
28)

The cross-reference of the story in the book of Luke specifies the part of the cloak
touched by the woman.

43 And a woman who had a hemorrhage for twelve years, and could not be healed by
anyone,
44 came up behind Him and touched the fringe of His cloak… (Luke 8:43-44a)

The woman reached out and by faith touched the “wing” of the Messiah.

29 Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her
suffering.

30 At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around

in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?”
31 “You see the people crowding against you,” his disciples answered, “and yet you can
ask, ‘Who touched me?’”
32 But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it.

33 Then the woman, knowing
what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him
the whole truth.

34 He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and

be freed from your suffering.” (Mark 5:29-34)

This woman experienced physical, emotional, social, and spiritual healing in one
encounter with Jesus! By faith, she reached out and touched the edge of His garment.
This would have been the fringe on His prayer shawl. She touched the prayers of Jesus
and her life was changed.

The power of Jesus healed her body immediately. Yet, He wanted to restore her
in other ways as well. It is not enough to be physically whole but remain emotionally
broken. He would not move further until she came to Him. The crowd wanted to move
on, but Jesus waited patiently for this precious woman to reveal herself, to become
vulnerable in front of Him. When she did, Jesus began healing the woman’s soul. Jesus
called the lonely, isolated woman “Daughter”, restoring her into relationship with God
and others. The woman, who would have been considered under a curse because of
her disease, finds herself commended by Jesus as a woman of great faith. After years of
emotional turmoil, she is commissioned to go forth in a life of peace. Because of her
encounter with Jesus, she received instant deliverance from all of her suffering. Her
spiritual, physical, emotional, and relational strains dissipated in a moment. Jesus
healed His daughter in every way.

This woman experienced healing because she had put herself at risk, stepped out
in faith, and touched the fringe of His garment. Her desperation drove her to Jesus, and

Jesus freed her from all of her painful circumstances that had made her desperate.
Jesus heals, delivers, restores, and tenderly cares for His daughters.

When we come to the end of ourselves, we must extend our faith to touch the
prayers that Jesus prays on our behalf.

34
… Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the
right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. (Romans 8:34b)

Jesus prays for you. You can come to Him by faith and receive His tender ministry
toward you. Do not look at your “uncleanness”. Do not focus on your “issues”. You do
not need to hold back. Instead, you can reach out to Him, for Jesus cannot be
blemished by you. Instead, Jesus releases His wholeness, His answers, His prayers into
your life. Jesus restores you back into full fellowship with God and with others. He will
free you from your suffering.

Stones Left Behind

by Shannon Tillman | Oct 24, 2024 | Bible Study

I live a life of embarrassing moments. Whenever we share stories, mine usually
win. I live awkward. That may be why I relate to the awkward situation we find in
John 8 where a woman is held up to shame by a crowd but Jesus restores and
transforms her.

John 8:2
2 At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered
around him, and he sat down to teach them.

Imagine a huge crowd of people. Most likely the tallest person in the group is
standing right in front of you blocking your view. (At least, that seems to be what
always happens to me.) Some of the group is able to hear and see clearly. Others
are straining to see and hear Jesus. Suddenly, people break through the crowd.

John 8:3
3  The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in
adultery. They made her stand before the group

Think about the humiliation, the embarrassment. We do not know if she was
dressed or how well she was dressed. She may have had just a blanket draped
around her. She had been ripped out of a personal situation. In front of the
crowd, in front of Jesus, she is forced to stand before them in her sin, in her guilt.
Before all these people, she is exposed physically, relationally, and emotionally.

Here this woman stands before them guilty and probably angry for she stood
alone. Where was the man she had been with moments before? By Jewish law,
he was guilty as well. Had he betrayed her? Was this a set-up, a plot using her in
an attempt to trap Jesus? We do not know. All we know is that she stood alone,
in front of a crowd in her shame. Moments later she finds out why.

John 8:4-6a
4  and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery.  5  In the
Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?”  6  They
were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.

These men were not concerned about the law. They just wanted to trap Jesus.
She knew now that she was being used. Her life to them was meaningless, she
was only a pawn in their game.

How often do we use others? We may try to justify it and say, “I’ve never had
anyone’s life threatened like these Pharisees are doing to this woman.” But have
you used anyone for your own personal gain? Have you had secret motives
behind your actions or words? At times, we have all been deceptive. Who do we
hurt in the process? The innocent, maybe even the guilty. This woman was guilty
but that did not justify the Pharisees actions. There have been people in our lives
that have been guilty but we are still accountable to what we do to them. God
never called us to revenge. He will handle judgment. He called us to love and
forgive others.

The author of love is faced with a question. “Should we stone this woman or
not?”

John 8:6b
But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger.

If my life was in someone’s hands, I sure would want him to say something! This
would not be the lawyer I would be asking for in my defense. Jesus stays silent.
The crowd stares. His finger marks on the stony ground.

We do not know why Jesus did this. We are not told what He wrote. Some in the
crowd probably thought it was a strange reaction. But I like to imagine that Jesus
did this to lessen the embarrassment of the woman. He took the focus off of her
and put it on Himself. Is this not what He did for us on the cross? He took the
sins off of us and took them upon Himself. He took the shame and
embarrassment that we deserved. Jesus shows compassion to us even though we
are guilty and deserve punishment.

John 8:7a
7  When they kept on questioning him…

The Pharisees kept pestering Him. No one else said a word. There was a huge
crowd around. I am sure others saw how wrong this was. They knew this woman
was being used, yet no one said anything.

How often do we stand by while injustice takes place? We never raise our voices
in defense, while people around us are being hurt.

As a counselor I have seen and heard many upsetting things. The one that breaks
my heart more than others is when I hear about children who have been abused
and you hear about neighbors who knew but did nothing. I have heard the
phrase “I didn’t think it was my place to get involved.” How often do we
Christians say that? We sit back and do not get involved and then we wonder
why our nation is falling apart. We are called to be the salt and light of this earth.
The unsaved will act unsaved. That is all they can do. We have to be different.
We are not part of the crowd. We should be leading them. We are the only ones
who know the Way. Who is the Way? Jesus. We have to lead people to Him. We
cannot look like the world. If people do not recognize us as being a Christian,
then what good are we in advancing Christ’s kingdom?

I heard about a minister in Haiti. He asked the congregation who had been
witnessing to the lost about Christ. He finally said if you are not witnessing to
people then you might as well leave the church because you are taking up space.

Ouch. Harsh words. Real truth. Christians, we need to speak up.

That day only one Person spoke up. Jesus was the One who came to this
woman’s rescues. The crowd was silent; all eyes were on Jesus.

John 8:7b-9
…he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be
the first to throw a stone at her.”  8  Again he stooped down and wrote on the
ground.
9  At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first,
until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there.

Everyone left, the Pharisees and the crowd had gone. All that remained was Jesus,
the woman, and the stones. The stones, which were the evidence of her judgment, were lying on the ground in the sand. The punishment she deserved
never transpired because of Christ’s intervention. The punishment you and I
deserve did not transpire because of Christ’s intervention on the cross. He came
between this woman, and our lives, and the sentence of capital punishment
looming over us.

John 8:10-11a
10  Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one
condemned you?”
11  “No one, sir,” she said.

Jesus came not to condemn, but to save. That was His purpose. He still does that
for us today. We can be saved from our sin by believing in Him.

Once we come to know Him as Lord and Savior, should we stay the way we were
before we knew Him?

John 8:11b
“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of
sin.”

He tells us to go and leave the sin. He saves us first and the He transforms us into
His beautiful image. Too often people believe the lie that they have to get their
lives right before coming to God. That is not how it works. We are all sinners.
We cannot come to God any other way. Come as you are. Experience His love
and mercy. He wants to give to you. You will never be the same. He has saved
you from so much, all you will want to do is live for Him. He saved your life. Now,
He will help you live it.

Where do you see yourself in this story? Are you like the:

• The Pharisee: judging others even though we are all sinners.
• The Crowd: Staying silent and allowing the world to rule instead of standing up for
  what is right, no matter the cost.
• The Woman: Facing the sins you have committed; your life feels exposed. Jesus does
  not want to condemn you; He wants to change you.

There were a lot of people there that day, yet only one remained with Jesus. The
person judged as the “worst” sinner, was the only one saved. Everyone else left
Him. Stones marked their departure. Only she had her life changed. Others
threw shame at her but Jesus restored her dignity. They left stones behind, but
she left her old life behind. She was transformed. Jesus willingly does that for
each of us. May we be changed even today.

Jonah’s Messy Detour

by Shannon Tillman | Sep 26, 2024 | Bible Study

I do not have a sense of direction. I have found myself lost in my own
neighborhood! I thank the Lord for GPS often. I need specific navigation in my
life. The GPS helps me find my way home. The Lord is the ultimate navigator.
Even when we choose to go our own way, He knows how to bring us back, often
with a creative and even disgusting flair, as we will see in the case of Jonah.

Jonah 1:1-2
The word of the LORD came to Jonah son of Amittai:  2  “Go to the great city of
Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.”

God has a plan for all of our lives. He shows us the steps of the plan along the
way. Just like Jonah, God gives us assignments. We have a choice on how to
respond. We can either accept or reject the assignment. Jonah decided to reject
it.

Jonah 1:3a
3  But Jonah ran away from the LORD and headed for Tarshish.

We know we cannot run away from God. He is everywhere. That is like
pretending you are the invisible man. Imagine if we walked around and said, “you
can’t see me!” People would think we were crazy! (It would be funny to watch,
though!) Yet, like Jonah, we attempt to run away from God. We do things and
think we can get away with them. We never confess it to God; we just pretend
that it did not happen. God sees it. He knows what we have done. He knows
when we get off course.

That is where we find Jonah. He is way off course. He decided to travel to
Tarshish, a city in the opposite direction of Nineveh. God had called him this way,
Jonah decided to go that way. There is God’s way and then there is our way,
which are opposite directions. When we choose our way, there is always a price
to pay.

Jonah 1:3b

He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying
the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the LORD.

Jonah paid money to run away from God on a boat. Sin costs. It always does.
Maybe it costs us our integrity, time, family, money, friends. Is the sin worth the
cost?

Sin always cost our relationship with God. The amazing thing about God is that
He comes after us. He disciplines us in His love. He does this in order to reconcile
us back to Him. God does amazing things to get our attention.

Jonah 1:4
4  Then the LORD sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that
the ship threatened to break up.

Sometimes we get mad at God for sending the storm, yet we don’t see Him doing
this in love. Why did He send the storm? We ran away. Cause and Effect. We
cannot blame God for what we have done. Instead, we can make a better
decision in the storm.

Jonah 1:5a
5  All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god. And they threw the
cargo into the sea to lighten the ship.

Innocent people suffered because of Jonah’s sin. The same is true for us. All sin
has consequences, often hurting others. We do not live life in a vacuum. Before
you sin, think about who may be affected by it. There may be people who are
complete strangers to you that feel the impact of the consequences. These
sailors cried out due to fear of the storm while Jonah soundly slept.

Jonah 1:5b
But Jonah had gone below deck, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep.

Have you ever noticed how sin can physically take a toll on you? We spend so
much energy fighting against what is right that we become tired. We work in our own power, not in God’s limitless strength. That leaves us ineffective for the
Lord’s work. The sailors decide to wake Jonah up to help them.

Jonah 1:6-7
6  The captain went to him and said, “How can you sleep? Get up and call on your
god! Maybe he will take notice of us so that we will not perish.”
7  Then the sailors said to each other, “Come, let us cast lots to find out who is
responsible for this calamity.” They cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah.

The group tried to figure out who caused this terrible storm. Jonah, knowing his
guilt, just shrugged his shoulders with the rest of them saying, “I don’t know.”
When the lot fell on him, he finally fessed up. “Oh, yea, I sinned against God.”

When I was a little girl, I would sneak the cheddar popcorn salt and eat it straight
from the container. (I love anything salty!) One day, my sister asked me if I had
been eating the cheddar salt. I blatantly told her “No”. She told me to go look in
the mirror. I had orange cheddar salt all over my face! I had been caught.

Jonah was caught as well. The sailors asked him about his guilt. The sailors did
not know God; this was their first impression of a prophet of God. Have we ever
considered the impressions we make on non-Christians as they look at our lives?

Jonah 1:8-13
8  So they asked him, “Tell us, who is responsible for making all this trouble for us?
What kind of work do you do? Where do you come from? What is your country?
From what people are you?”
9  He answered, “I am a Hebrew and I worship the LORD, the God of heaven, who
made the sea and the dry land.”
10  This terrified them and they asked, “What have you done?” (They knew he was
running away from the LORD, because he had already told them so.)
11  The sea was getting rougher and rougher. So they asked him, “What should we
do to you to make the sea calm down for us?” 12  “Pick me up and throw me into the sea,” he replied, “and it will become calm. I
know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you.”
13  Instead, the men did their best to row back to land. But they could not, for the
sea grew even wilder than before.

These unbelievers did all they could to save Jonah! They risked their lives to save
the one. What a sharp contrast to Jonah who refused to go to the city of Ninevah
because he wanted the 120,000 people there to die! But God does not want any
to perish. He is concerned for the majority as well as the individual. The Lord
worked this situation for good, despite Jonah’s disobedience.

Jonah 1:14
14  Then they cried out to the LORD, “Please, LORD, do not let us die for taking this
man’s life. Do not hold us accountable for killing an innocent man, for you, LORD,
have done as you pleased.”  15  Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and
the raging sea grew calm.  16  At this the men greatly feared the LORD, and they
offered a sacrifice to the LORD and made vows to him.

The sailors came to know God. The Lord brings people to Himself, despite what
we may do to interfere. I am thankful that the final responsibility is His not mine.
I want to obey His calling in my life but I have often run the wrong way. God does
not need me, but He allows me to be a part of His plan. I want to obey the offer.
God called Jonah; he rejected the offer.

Jonah 1:17
17  Now the LORD provided a huge fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly
of the fish three days and three nights.

God attempted to get Jonah’s attention in the storm. Now, the Lord goes to more
drastic measures. He does the same for each of us. Is God trying to get our
attention? We need to talk to Him now while in the storm before the fish comes!

Thankfully, God accepts our cry for mercy wherever we may be and whatever we
may have done. Jonah prayed to the Lord from the fish and God heard his cry.

Jonah 2:10

10  And the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.

God rescued Jonah from the fish and reinstated his call to Ninevah. A rough start
but at least he was now heading in the right direction, obeying the call of the
Lord. I, too, have had stinky messes to contend with because I chose the wrong
way. But I am thankful to the Lord, who gets us back on the right path. Today, let
us just choose His way and avoid the messy detour!