Gulf Island National Seashore. Protected and pristine.

Incredible.

Crystal clear

Spectacular

Quick trip east to Destin!

It’s called The Emerald Coast for a reason. Heart eyes.

Sugar Sand

Pensacola Lighthouse

The View from the top

History

Incredible engineering

This pelican statue is a lighthouse keeper

Beach Glory and Cheers to 20 years

Your 7 Days?

“And now plead for God’s favor. Will he be gracious to us? Since this has come from your hands, will he show any of you favor?” asks the Lord of Armies.

“I wish one of you would shut the temple doors, so that you would no longer kindle a useless fire on my altar! I am not pleased with you,” says the Lord of Armies, “and I will accept no offering from your hands.”

Malachi 1:9-10

Last time in Malachi’s prophetic burden we saw Yahweh direct His anger toward the priests offering unacceptable sacrifices on His altar. Today we continue on in this rebuke.

Let’s start with “now plead for God’s favor.” The interesting thing is plead and now both mean ask or pray. Plead is chalah -to beseech, be diseased, put to grief, be grieved, be grievous, infirmity. And now is na – I, we, pray now; a prim. particle of entreaty or exhortation, Ah, beg, implore, Oh may, please.

Yes, this makes sense to us in our language as well. Yahweh is not saying to simply pray, but to ask, “Oh please God!” It is that serious.

And what are they asking for? God’s favor – paneh (face). They should want His face to turn toward them again.

What do you think the difference is in seeking God’s face and asking for Him to move? To me it feels like relationship. Yes, I want circumstances to change, but more than that, Oh! Please! turn Your face to me. Let me see You in this, even if it’s my sin that has caused a rift in our communion. Otherwise what is the point?

“I wish one of you would shut the temple doors…” Literally translated this is “who is there even among you who would shut the doors?”

Who (mi) is there even (gam –  also, moreover, yea). This seems to be more insistent language, this time almost as if to protect God’s dignity.

Is there even anyone who will close the doors and stop this insult?

And while He never needs us to defend or protect Him, He is pointing out what needs to be stopped:

“So that you would no longer kindle a useless fire on my altar!”

The root word for the phrase kindle fire is or and it has a fascinating definition: to be or become light, bright, dawned, enlightened, illumine, kindle, make shine, resplendent.

To become light is exactly what the gospel offers us. In a world that decays with death, we get to be salt, bringing out and preserving God-flavors in this world. And in the midst of darkness, we are the light of the world. In this context, it is believers together, seeking God’s kingdom rather than our own.

And that was to be the fire kindled on the altar: illuming God’s perfect character, resplendent holiness, shining like the dawn.

Unfortunately, the fire kindled here is described as useless, technically translated “in vain.” It is chinnam: out of favor, nothing, uselessly vain, which cost me nothing, without a cause.

Want to know what I love about this word? It can also be used in the positive sense, like when David was offered a threshing floor that belonged to Araunah in order to sacrifice to God. But rather than take it freely, David insisted on paying for it. Why?

“…I insist on buying it from you for a price, for I will not offer to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.”

2 Samuel 24:24b

That phrase “cost me nothing” is also chinnam. Almost as if a sacrifice that is not a sacrifice for the offerer is useless. Pointless. Nothing. May as well shut the doors and stop.

And now for the most chilling part: When Jehovah-Sabaoth says, “I am not pleased with you.”

Pleased or pleasure is chephets – delight, pleasure, care, desirable things, matter, precious, sight. Whew, do we need the some good news after this section. And we have it: because of the Gospel, we are His beloved children.

So what does such a rough verse – “I am not pleased with you” – have to say to us today? I believe it wouldn’t be used unless stubborn unrepentance was involved by the priests. God is not pleased with my behavior, either, when that’s the case. Yes, because of Jesus’ sacrifice, I am precious and cared for, but I do not have carte blanche with sin. Particularly defiant disobedience.

But we’re not quite finished: “Nor will I accept an offering from your hands.”

Accept is ratsah (accept favorably, accomplish, set affection; specifically, to satisfy a debt), offering is minchah (gift, tribute, offering, sacrifice [bloodless and voluntary]), and hands is our familiar yad.

I will not accept affection on your voluntary offering, either. It will not accomplish a thing or satisfy a debt.

I sometimes think of parenting or elementary teaching in these contexts. Like if a child or student is asked to do something, but instead colors me a picture or cleans out their desk or empties the dishwasher. Like, thanks, but that’s not what you’ve been asked to do. I want obedience, not a “gift” that is actually what you want to do instead of obey.

Whoo, does this hit me personally this week. This idea of dancing around, doing everything but what I’ve been asked. Worried way more about my personal kingdom, my plans, than His. And all the while He waits on obedience.

Is there anything like that in your life? How about our communal life together as the Church? Anything we know that we know He’s asking us to do?

We can know if we’re treating others with contempt, Jesus wants our reconciliation over a gift at any altar. And if we’re ignoring injustice which would break Yahweh’s heart, we can know He wants action in our faith.

In this time of refining His Bride, may we throw off everything that hinders, and run our individual and collective races with perseverance and single eyes.

20 years! So, so grateful to Jesus

After seeing family and friends, we began our next stretch. Our first Thousand Trails campground in North Texas. Fabulous experience.

Right near a lake, excellent activity center, amazing pool, other families with kids!!

Not the chairs we expected though

Next stop: Louisiana

Perfect open air diner in the French Quarter:

Shrimp Po Boys!!

Best of both worlds (Cajun and Creole): Gumbalaya (Gumbo + Jambalaya). Heart eyes.

National World War II Museum. Incredible.

Model representation of the number of forces storming the beaches of Normandy on D-Day.

New friend

Love unique doors

I mean

Jackson Square

St. Louis Cathedral

Royal Street

Beignets!

Another new friend, Duke

Another RV park lake! First time paddle boarding

Sunrise Glory

Your 7 Days?

“A son honors his father, and a servant his master. But if I am a father, where is my honor?

And if I am a master, where is your fear of me?”

 says the Lord of Armies to you priests, who despise my name.

Yet you ask, “How have we despised your name?”

“By presenting defiled food on my altar.”

“How have we defiled you?” you ask.

When you say, “The Lord’s table is contemptible.”

“When you present a blind animal for sacrifice, is it not wrong?

And when you present a lame or sick animal, is it not wrong? 

Bring it to your governor! Would he be pleased with you or show you favor?” asks the Lord of Armies.

Malachi 1:6-8

Last time we saw God’s indignation toward the Edomites, and how he will use their unrepentance for His glory beyond Israel’s borders. Today we will dig more deeply into our prophetic song directed this time toward the Israelites.

“A son honors his father” is up first. I appreciate how the statement is not, “A son should honor his father,” but that he does. Honor here is kabad – to be heavy, weighty, or burdensome; be grievous, harden, honor self; [or]…in a good sense numerous, rich, honorable, abounding with, glorify, be honorable man, nobles, promote to honor.

I think this encapsulates what it means for your father to have weight in your life. Even if it is grievous or a burden, the father’s role in a son’s life is deeply consequential.

But He’s not done. Yahweh also compares servants/slaves to their masters. Servant comes from abad – to work, serve; bondage, cultivate, do the work, enslaved, holding in bondage, labor, make slaves, subject, used. This could be someone hired to work the land or someone held in bondage to slavery. I just have to be honest, this one kills me. But Jesus keeps reminding me of His sovereignty, His authority to rule, and how I am never more merciful than He is. With that in mind, we can have a discussion.

The Bible can be used to support our various positions, and I have to come to terms with how there are verses people could use to justify slavery. Last time I mentioned Hagar, the ensalved Egyptian woman whom God sought out after her horrific abuse. And the truth is, El Roi, the One Who sees her, still tells her to return to her mistress. Again, I wrestle with this. I think we should. But it doesn’t change the fact that we are not more merciful than a God Who is love.

So, in a country which began on the Doctrine of Discovery – though people had been here thousands of years – and was built on the backs of enslaved people, I have to hold in tension our collective generational sin of white supremacy, chattel slavery, and genocide with verses like these where God compares Himself to a servant’s Master.

The word Master here is adon – lord, husband, master, owner, to rule, sovereign. Once again, this could be a grievous burden or honoring someone over you. What it does not point to is complete indifference or apathy. Sons cannot ignore the influence of their father, for good or ill. Nor can a servant pretend they have no one over them. The weight of the position is obvious.

Adon is the root word for the name Adonai, Lord. Basically, the One to Whom we say yes no matter the question. And in a fiercely independent culture we do not like this. Well, as human beings bent on pride, we do not like this. We want to be our own boss, and it is painful when we cannot be. But, we’re just so very bad at it. And, like all things when we go against God’s design, the outcomes of bossing ourselves are destructive.

Now Yahweh turns it toward His role in His people’s lives:

“Then if I am the father, where is my honor?“

Honor here is a different form from above. It is kabowd whose definition goes straight to the positive: glorious, honorable; weight, but only figuratively in a good sense, splendor. I am your Creator. Where is my glory and honor in your lives?

I was reminded on social media what it looks like to make Jesus Lord – or the liberty of Jesus a reality – in places where it is not tolerated. I have never had my family threatened, my job lost, or my home bombed because of my dedication to Jesus or His call on my life.

And yet, that is exactly what is asked of many worldwide and here in America. Or our friend in her 30’s with stage 4 cancer and two sweet kiddos both pleading with God to let her live and daily telling Him there’s nothing that could happen that would make her love Him less.

It’s the kind of lordship that happens when we sincerely say, “Yes, Lord. You are our Master, and even if I don’t like what’s being asked, I know it can only go straight to positive glory when You’re the One asking. Because You’re incapable of evil, I trust this is for ultimate Good.” Even while we weep.

But He’s not done: “And if I am a master, where is your fear of Me?

Fear here is mora – fear, terror from yare – affright, reverence. Yes, this is reverent awe, like is often described for fearing God. But, to be honest, I think we sometimes rush over the genuine fear that’s being referred to. While I don’t want our children to live in terror of us, there is something to be said for fearing what might happen if they knowingly disobey what is clearly instructed. Not because we delight in power, but for their good.

How much more Yahweh? By the way, it’s Jehovah-Sabaoth, God of Angel Armies, Who is saying this to His People in this section.

And not just any group, but to: “you priests who despise my name.” Despise is bazah – careless, contempt, despicable, despise, disdained, think to scorn, vile person, to disesteem. Yep, not a good look for people whose job is to offer sacrifices due to God’s holiness.

And the despising has a particular focus: My name. Name is shem which can be positive or negative. But it cannot be neutral: byword, defamed, fame, famous, memorial, renown, report, repute, as a mark or memorial of individuality; by implication honor, authority, character; possibly “from sum [through the idea of conspicuous position]- to place, appoint, assign, bestowed, care, charged, formed and made, lay, ordained, pay attention, required.”

So put together, the priests in the newly-built Temple were disesteeming God’s character, His mark of individuality as Most High God alone among the “gods” of the nations. He had chosen them to show off His fame, renown, and perfect otherness to a watching world. His conspicuous position among them, not assigned by another, but innate in His Being as Creator of all.

And the very ones charged with paying attention to this were instead being careless with it.

And now we have a similar pattern as last week. When God says the priests are despising His Name, He anticipates their defense:

“And yet you say, ‘In what way have we despised your name?’

Uh oh.

His answer? “You offer on my altar food that is defiled.”

Offer here is nagash (to draw near, approach, bring offered, present, stand, touch), altar is from zabach meaning sacrifice, and defiled is gaal – defiled, stained. So the priests are offering the sacrifices as required, but when they do, they’e drawing near to God’s altar with animals which are defiled according to the law. But let’s keep going.

But you say, “In what way do we defile you?”

By saying Yahweh’s table (shulchan – table, by implication a meal) is contemptible (bazah again). Again, this picture of a God with no need for food eating a meal on which is an unacceptable sacrifice. Thus, despising Him. On we continue…

“And when you offer a blind sacrifice, is it not contemptible?”

Blind here is ivver meaning blind, literally or figuratively. And contemptible is not bazah this time, but ra’– adversity, evil. One more…

And when you offer the lame and sick, is it not evil?

Lame is pisseach, from pacach – to hop, skip over; by implication, to hesitate; also (literally) to limp, to dance. Sick is chalah – to be weak, worn; from chalal – to pierce. And evil is ra’ again.

So put all together, we have sacrifices which are blind, lame or limp, or weak and sick being offered to Yahweh. And that is a clear violation.

The Lord spoke to Moses: 

“Speak to Aaron, his sons, and all the Israelites and tell them:

Any man of the house of Israel or of the resident aliens in Israel who presents his offering — whether they present payment of vows or freewill gifts to the Lord as burnt offerings — 

must offer an unblemished male from the cattle, sheep, or goats in order for you to be accepted. 

Leviticus 22:17-19

It’s interesting to me that when we are first talking about unblemished sacrifices in the law, God begins with telling Aaron and his sons – the priests. It was not the priests who were bringing the unacceptable animals (as they had no land on which to raise them), but they were the first in line to know the requirements and instead were taking from the people animals which did not meet them.

Finally, to drill home His point, Yahweh says with sarcasm: “Then offer it to your governor. Would he be pleased with you? Or would he accept you favorably?”

Whew.

Pleased is ratsah – accept favorably, accomplish, set affection; specifically, to satisfy a debt. And in “accept you favorably,” accept is nasah (to lift, accept, advance, arise, able to, armor, suffer to bearer, up, bring forth), and you is our familiar paneh meaning face.

Even a human ruler would look at such an offering and not accept it. And he would certainly not lift your face favorably because of it. How much more a perfect God?

Verses like these cause me to remember how the details and demands of the sacrificial system were to point to the One Who alone could perfectly fulfill it. Even the strongest or clearest-eyed animal was imperfect. And even though acceptable, another would need to be offered again soon. But a perfectly satisfactory Sacrifice once for all? That’s Who we need.

But I don’t want to skip over the application of these verses for our lives. In particular, the reverence with which we are called to worship. I don’t think we can manufacture this type of acceptance of lordship. And if we’re honest, we can all think of some people, things, or circumstances in our lives where, if God called us to give them up, our hearts would break.

But the good news is He’s not asking for those things to stop mattering to us. Just walking in the direction where, over time, as we continue to say yes, He begins to matter more.

And one fine day, He matters most.

Though Edom says, “We have been devastated, but we will rebuild the ruins,”

the Lord of Armies says this:

“They may build, but I will demolish. They will be called a wicked country 

and the people the Lord has cursed forever. 

Your own eyes will see this, and you yourselves will say,

‘The Lord is great, even beyond the borders of Israel.’

Malachi 1:4-5

Last time we began the prophecy, or burden, of Malachi as our governor Nehemiah returned to his position in the king’s palace. We saw the comparison of Esau and Jacob, one loved and one hated. Today we continue with this discourse.

First we have what might at first glance seem to be a new name: Edom. But it is referring to the same people as last time, Esau and his descendants. The name Edom literally means a condiment. Interesting, huh? Some further definitions: to be red, flush, dyed, rosy; from adom (red). So probably ketchup.

“‘Edom’ was also used as the name of the place where Esau went to live, the hilly part of southwest Jordan. Esau’s name was changed to Edom when he moved to that land…after Isaac died [and he] left Canaan…

Genesis describes Esau as red in complexion, the stew that Jacob made as a red stew, and the land that Esau moved to as having red sandstone rock. Red implies passion or conflict, symbolic of the brothers and their constant fighting.”

Source of above

It’s interesting this morning’s family reading in Matthew mentioned “the blood of righteous Abel.” Yet another feuding pair of brothers prominent in God’s Word. And we as readers aren’t given all the answers. In fact, at first glance, it seems God is being flippant and acting on a whim with the two brothers’ offerings:

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.

Genesis 4:3-5

Seems rough, right? But the part we get to glimpse about the brothers’ hearts comes next:

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.”

Genesis 4:6-7

“If you do what is right…” Something was amiss in this brother’s heart. And we may know what he does next: kill his brother. Yup. Seems as if God knows more than we do.

Let’s keep that in mind as we journey through our current brothers’ story and their descendants.

God begins this part of the prophetic song with knowing the hearts of the Edomites:

Though Edom says, “We have been devastated (rashash – beat down, shatter, impoverish), but we will return and build the desolate places (chorbah – wastes, ruin, deserts)…”

More than likely this was a stiff-necked response to God-given consequences. “Okay, yeah, we’ve been beaten down but we’ll come back.”

Why do I think that? Well, God rejoices in rebuilding in other places in His Word (and not just Nehemiah!):

They will rebuild the ancient ruins;
they will restore the former devastations;
they will renew the ruined cities,
the devastations of many generations.

Isaiah 61:4

Seems as though there’s a difference between ignoring discipline and building on our own, and trusting God by joining Him in renewal and creation. So…ever been there? Determined to “pull yourself up by your own bootstraps” when what the Most High wants is repentance and dependance on Him? Me too. Let’s see what God has to say about this rebuilding.

Thus says the Lord of armies:

“They may build, but I will throw down…”

Yikes.

You may remember the name “Lord of armies” is Jehovah-sabaoth. It comes from tsaba – army, war, service. So the head military commander says the opposite.

“I (ani – myself) will throw down (haras – shatter, ruin, overthrow).”

Ooo, that “ruin” kills me. He Himself will ruin what they seek to build on their own strength. Sound familiar?

Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, 

so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.”

But the Lord came down to see…[and] said, “…Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.”

Genesis 11:4-7

So is He just mean? I think it’s helpful to remember what He seeks to ruin in our lives would ruin us if He didn’t. Whatever the Edomites are seeking to rebuild in these verses, it certainly could not be for their good or His glory. And because there’s absolutely no way we as humans are somehow more merciful than an all-knowing, all-loving God, I do not believe meanness is what’s going on here.

The prophetic song continues:

“And they shall be called the Territory of Wickedness, and against whom Yahweh will have indignation forever.”

The called in “they shall be called” is qara – proclaim, famous, renowned. And wickedness is rishah meaning wrong, especially morally. So ruinous practices which go against Yahweh will not only be private affairs. This morally wrong doing will be known by others.

There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. 

What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight,

and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs.

Luke 12:2-3

“…and against whom Yahweh will have indignation forever.”

Indignation is zaam (abhor, enrage, denounce) and forever is olam (antiquity, always, forevermore). Indeed, indignation forever. Let’s get a little bigger picture of this by looking at the next part of our prophetic burden:

“And your eyes shall see and you shall say, ‘Yahweh’s greatness extends even beyond the borders of Israel.”

The see here is raah – to see, show self, sight of others, view, behold, enjoy, have experience, gaze, take heed, be near, perceive, present, provide, regard. It may make you smile to know when Hagar named God El Roi, the God Who sees, the roi is from our raah. He is present, near, perceptive, showing regard.

Greatness is gadal (magnify, become great) and extends is our familiar al – to hover over.

The people of God, those to whom this prophecy is directed, will see how He will use the unrepentant Edom for His glory even in other places. His magnificence will hover over those of other nations, too.

There are a couple of things I remind myself of when thinking about people groups in the Word. One is how God chose the Israelites out of all the others, in the middle of a polytheistic culture, to worship Him alone. The second is how this relationship between God and man was to be a light to all the other nations.

So, if a group is consistently, and without repentance, going against God’s chosen people in ways which are morally repulsive to a God of justice, it makes sense that group would earn His indignation. We can also assume, though, that this announcing from the rooftops to others outside Edom and Israel has to do with God’s redemptive purposes.

None of us deserve to stand before a perfect God. And the mercy He offers isn’t cheap. Any God smaller than this would not be worth worshipping. May we repent of individual practices which are morally wrong, and cease to cooperate with communal ones which would earn His indignation. And, in His power, may we build what delights His heart and shows His glory beyond ourselves.

Devil’s Tower

Badlands

So fascinating

Capturing the grandeur

Regularly being told to not get so close to the edge

The family shot

The Corn Palace – completely decorated with corn!

And we were there during the local festival. LOVE carnival food.

Minneapolis!

Mall of America

Walker Art Museum and Sculpture Garden

Lovely Campsite

Puppy Walks

A surprise pretty in the parking lot

Sunrise Glory

Your 7 Days?

Well, believe it or not, we’ve come to the most likely timeline of our next prophet of the Ezra/Nehemiah series. He’s the final prophet of the Old Testament, as well. It’s Malachi, and most scholars believe he prophesied between chapter 12 and 13 of Nehemiah (Source).

So we’ll take a little break from that book of the Bible, and dive into some the troubles that cropped up when our governor left Jerusalem and the people for Babylon.

“But while all this was going on, I was not in Jerusalem,

for in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon I had returned to the king.”

(Nehemiah 13:6)

What is all “this” that was “going on?” We’re about to find out:

A prophecy: 

The word of the Lord to Israel through Malachi.

“I have loved you,” says the Lord.

“But you ask, ‘How have you loved us?’

“Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?” declares the Lord. “Yet I have loved Jacob, but Esau I have hated, 

and I have turned his hill country into a wasteland and left his inheritance to the desert jackals.”

Malachi 1:1-3

Well, a nice and light way to begin the book.

Interestingly, the word for prophecy is massa‘, meaning burden, load, lifting, prophecy, song. I think I have always viewed the prophets as enjoying blasting the people not following God’s law. But to view it as a burden? I can see it.

No one likes being told they’re wrong, and to be the one to deliver the message would be a load. I wonder if it felt like a weight lifting off their shoulders when they obeyed and told?

Either way, this burden was the word (dabar) of Yahweh. You could be stoned, by the way, if you were a false prophet, if what you predicted did not come true. Or – even more terrifying – you would have to answer to God for saying, “Thus says the LORD,” if he hadn’t.

In short, this is nothing to play games with.

This word of Yah was by Malachi: by is our familiar word yad – hand, the open one, indicating power, means, direction. And Malachi means “My messenger” from malak – messenger, angel, ambassador, envoy. So, as usual in God’s word, we see the interplay of the Most High and people both choosing, acting, in motion.

I like this word picture of Malachi opening his hand and, by the power of God’s Spirit, passing on a message from God, come what may. But let’s look at some details of the prophet’s song.

“I have loved you,” says Yahweh.

It’s a positive beginning. Love here is aheb – friend, lover, dearly loved, show love, beloved, affection. Makes me think of “Dearly Beloved, we are gathered here today…” And I can think of multiple verses throughout the Old and New Testament when the Spirit compares His love to God’s people in all these ways.

Unfortunately, the people’s response is not great. “And yet you say, ‘In what way have you loved us?'”

In what way here is mah, meaning what? how? So God begins with I have dearly loved, showed tender affection to you, but you ask, “How?”

Yikes. Like, what’s going on here? How long had it been since chapter 12’s dedication ceremony? Was Nehemiah gone a long time? Was it just that after the momentum of building and rebuilding and dedicating, the people found themselves right back into negative patterns?

We’ll find out. But in the meantime, if we’re ever tempted to think in our hearts, “How?” to Him when He says He loves us, let’s be brave enough to openly converse about our bitterness, hurt, fear, anger, envy or pride. And let Him remind us all the ways He’s shown us affection.

Now for the tricky part: “Was not Esau Jacbo’s brother?”says Yahweh.

Some of us might know Jacob’s name means heel-grabber/deceiver from their twin birth story. The name Jacob comes from aqeb – heel, footprint, hind part. And Esau comes from asah – to press or squeeze

So, right from the start, some rough names. And a tough pregnancy, as Rebekah inquired of the LORD:

Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife, because she was childless.

The Lord answered his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant.

The babies jostled each other within her, and she said, “Why is this happening to me?” So she went to inquire of the Lord.

The Lord said to her,

“Two nations are in your womb,
    and two peoples from within you will be separated;
one people will be stronger than the other,
    and the older will serve the younger.”

Surely this was different than ordinary baby flutter kicks? (The Hebrew word used is ratsats which means “crush, break, bruise, oppress, crack in pieces. Whoa.) But to know from the start that you have two nations within your womb would be heavy. Huh…back to burden again. This prophecy was surely that for a mother’s heart.

But it also speaks to God’s all-knowing. Because His character is perfect love and justice combined, and He is not cruel, this is surely a foretelling of what will happen. But even with the knowledge He always knows more than us, the next section of our Malachi verses are hard to hear.

“Yet Jacob I have loved and Esau I have hated…”

Hated here is sane – detest, enemy, turn against, foe, to be hateful, odious, utterly. So…hate is a pretty good translation.

We can review the story of Jacob tricking his brother into giving him his first-born birthright, and sneaking around to get his father’s blessing, to remind us of how he lived up to his deceiver name. So this isn’t about one brother being a sinner and the other not. Just like everyone else.

But at some point Jacob faced God. Wrestled with Him even. God is not petty or vindictive and is righteous in all His ways and loving toward all He has made. He is the same God in this prophecy as the One being described as patient with us, not wanting anyone to perish but all to come to repentance. He says, “Repent and live!“

So, in the dance of God’s actions and peoples’, there must be something Esau and those after him did not choose. And God foreknew it.

Unfortunately, the hate description gets even more intense next: “and have laid waste his mountains.” Laid is sum (to put, place, set, appoint, bring, call a name, care, cast in, change, charge) waste is shemamah (devastation, horror, utterly desolate), and mountains is har (hill, mountain, hill country).

“I have appointed devastation to his land.”

Still it continues: “And his heritage for the jackals of the wilderness.” Heritage is nachalah (possession, property, portion, heirloom), jackals is tannah (dragon) and wilderness is midbar (desert, south, speech, mouth).

“His inheritance will be food for the desert dragon, the jackal.”

We’ve talked before on here about hyenas and their less-than-savory role in the Word of God. Jackals are not much different:

“Spiritually speaking, the jackal represents one whose worldly cunning and indifference to the plight of others, is salient. The jackal waits, and watches, and when the time is opportune and the risk slight, he pounces; his aim is survival – at any cost.”

They will be given over to the sword and become food for jackals. (Psalm 63:10)

(Source)

What a devastating way to live. And a horrible way to have Yahweh describe your inheritance – your land, possessions, family now, future generations. By His appointment have it all devastated and pounced upon by opportunistic predators.

Because none of us are victims in a Greek-god-like, narcissistic higher power making choices by the whim of their emotions, this does not have to scare us. We get to choose, and He stands waiting in sincere love to any who turn to Him.

But we also never, ever dare to use verses such as these to somehow justify our own hate of particular people, people groups, lands, or nations. To somehow twist God’s righteousness into a means of sin on a personal and societal level is to answer to Him Who takes injustice toward others personally.

So let’s take the first section of Malachi to heart by being in awe of His power, seeking godly sorrow over any sin, and turning to Him – wrestling even – to receive His love.

This afternoon, for various reasons, I find myself alone in an RV kitchen. It’s quite lovely. One of my favorite ways to both relax and express creativity is to put on good music (or a show I’ve already seen), open a good drink (Limoncello La Criox, anyone?), and cook alone in the kitchen. It’s even more delicious in a small RV home to be completely alone.

So, while I wait on onions to fully carmelize (because youngest asked for French Onion Beef Sliders…I told him I’d allow it), I’m writing out my thoughts. And if there’s one thing we’re doing on this trip so far, it’s continuing to eat good. Which makes sense as food is our collective love language. Funny enough, the only budget item we’re doing well in is groceries. We’ve only eaten out once a week so far, which is insane for us. Just please don’t ask how our gas budget is going.

I’m finding joy in simple things during our time: watching people walk their dogs on whichever campground we find ourselves, just completely giving in on letting the dog sleep in our bed, seeing our boys find delight in each other as their only friend these days.

Observing our teenager look more and more to his dad’s opinions on stuff like a Fantasy League or workout idea. And watching all three of them sit on the couch, folded out to a bed, and reminisce over old Spiderman movies. Like, Toby McGuire era. And wondering if the couch can handle one more set of broadened shoulders. Or if I can.

Thinking through how to listen to Homer’s Odyssey before the freshman is supposed to read it, and watching Dan begin every lesson with the 6th grader with the standard they’re working on. Seeing the beauty in the sights and enjoying straight-forward campgrounds that provide few sights, but meet our stay-over needs.

And an empty kitchen/living room in which to cook and type out my thoughts. Because one day I’ll want to look back and remember the tiny kitchen, the leaks in the faucet, and how we were each other’s companions for a block of time.

I don’t want to miss any of it.

I have mentioned recently that turning a blind eye to injustice that doesn’t seem to affect our daily lives is contradictory to walking with a Just God. So, in the spirit of putting in front of myself things I might not otherwise think about, I’m doing a post of political concepts I’m learning.

I had heard about Sharon Says So from people in my life, and seen her on Instagram. However, two weeks ago was the first time I had listened to her podcast. She is a former high school government and law teacher who uses her platform to remind listeners where we’ve been and the importance of democracy.

1. From this podcast episode, I heard about how in a 2010 court decision, the Supreme Court interpreted corporations as having first amendment rights just like individual citizens. While I don’t understand all of the ramifications of that, I do know it has increased the amount of money from anonymous sources being spent on political elections. Not a good thing. (You can listen to this on your preferred podcast medium. Just search up the episode number.)

2. I recently learned so much more about Gerrymandering in this podcast episode, including why it was first called that (it involves a salamander), and how those with detailed information on voters can outline precincts, thereby affecting election results. But it also introduces a meaningful way all citizens of every political persuasion could impact the integrity of our democracy, ensuring those who represent us are genuinely by the people and for the people.

Even if you don’t think you’ll agree with everything in these podcasts, I encourage you to listen!

So, we’re currently pulled over off the interstate in an RV in Wyoming waiting out some rain. Seems like as good a time as any to start chronicling our adventures on the road, yes?

Perhaps we should start at the beginning. About 2 and a half years ago, a family in our church had decided to take an RV to California to help with the fires there (the hubs is a lineman). We stood in Panera listening to the wife explain how, since they homeschool, they all agreed to throw in and move there. When we got in the car, Dan asked me what I thought about that. Would I want to ever pack up and just go? Travel again like when we were first married? It was intriguing, but not exactly doable. Yet.

Fast forward about a year. Every other month or so, Dan would bring up the travel idea. What did I think (I loved it) and would it be good with the boys? The fact that the idea still hadn’t fallen by the wayside kept me locked in; could this be how God was leading us?

Not long after this the world shut down for Covid. It was almost like a trial run: could we be together (and with almost no one else) and thrive? Homeschool and do house projects and cook together happily? While it was a difficult time, it was also precious. Extra board games, movie nights, and dinner around the table pretty much daily.

Things started back up and, along with the usual struggles that come along in education, we dealt with masks and changing policies and learning loss in our respective school buildings (just like everyone else.) The idea of spending intentional time became even more appealing, and we realized in the next year, Caden would be finishing middle school, and Caleb elementary. It was almost “now or never.”

So we made a plan: finish the current school year, work like crazy completing some improvements in our house, do the boys’ final year in elementary/middle school, and give it a go.

And here we are. We sold our house June 30th. We stayed with friends in July while organizing and continuing to downsize in our RV. We did summer camp and swam, hung out with family and said “see you soon” to friends.

And we’ve been on the road 2 weeks now, starting with friends in Colorado, then Wyoming, and on to South Dakota. And to be honest?

It’s hard. Things have broken, windows have leaked in the rain, drains have backed up, levels have broken down, and we’ve irritated one another and complained about different things.

But we’ve also had 100 times more discussions, read the Gospels together almost every morning, and apologized a zillion times. We’ve taken family jogs, plotted out destinations, and compromised in more ways than we might’ve had to do in a 2,000 square foot home. We’re getting to use our teaching experience to teach our own boys and see awe-inspiring beauty.

We realize we’re in a privileged position. We don’t want to take it for granted or fritter away the time, but use it for Good. In fact, I’ve got 3 “W’s” to explain why we’re doing this (and remind ourselves when it gets challenging):

1. Wonder – to behold the beauty of creation and different cultures

2. Word – we want to take in God’s Word in intentional ways as a family

3. Why – when we return, it will inevitably get busy again. But we’d like to use this time to refine our family “why.” This book was recommended as a resource for that years ago, and this one is a favorite (affiliate link FYI). Saying yes to only the things that fall in line with our family purpose.

We hope you’ll join us in our adventure. He is unspeakably worth it.