1 Chronicles 23 – 27 is much like the first nine chapters: names. This time, not the genealogy but the organization of the temple and the military. I’m supplementing my reading by continuing through the psalms, landing on one of my favorites: Psalm 37. I encourage you to take a few minutes to read it. I’ve linked to the translation I’m using for the psalms, The Living Bible.)

There’s a lot in there. For example, perspective:

Never envy the wicked! Soon they fade away like grass and disappear. (verses 1, 2)… For the wicked shall be destroyed, but those who trust the Lord shall be given every blessing. Only a little while and the wicked shall disappear. You will look for them in vain. (verses 9, 10)…The Lord is laughing at those who plot against the godly, for he knows their judgment day is coming. (verses 12, 13)

The wicked are temporary. Good to know. Of course “temporary” could be decades…

There are also verses that in years past I might have called promises:

• Be delighted with the Lord. Then he will give you all your heart’s desires. (verse 4)
•  I have been young and now I am old. And in all my years I have never seen the Lord forsake a man who loves him; nor have I seen the children of the godly go hungry. (verse 25)

As I get older, I’m not sure we should call these promises. Verse 4 certainly didn’t seem to work for black slaves in pre-civil-war America. With respect to verse 25, an American missionary to China told me, “That might have been King David’s experience. It certainly hasn’t been mine.”

No matter, there is still a nice list of things to do (or not do): prescriptions:

• Never envy the wicked. (1)
• Trust in the Lord instead. (3)
• Be kind and good to others. (3)
• Be delighted with the Lord. (4)
• Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust him to help you do it, and he will. (5)
• Rest in the Lord; wait patiently for him to act. (7)
• Don’t be envious of evil men who prosper. (7)
• Stop your anger! Turn off your wrath. Don’t fret and worry. (8)

The bottom line?

Don’t be impatient for the Lord to act! Keep traveling steadily along his pathway and in due season he will honor you with every blessing, and you will see the wicked destroyed…Evil men shall be destroyed, and their posterity shall be cut off. (Psalm 37.34, 38, TLB)

Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door. (James 5.7 – 9, ESV)