Personal News/Praise Report!

Thank you for all your help, thoughts, prayers, and support through my job search. Thanks to your help, I will be starting Monday, May 23 at palmOne as an Engineering Program Manager. As an EPM I will be responsible for the successful coordination and project management of anything from a software component to an entire device release.

For those who don’t know, palmOne, inc. is the mobile computing device company which makes the Treo, Tungsten and Zire product lines. These all run the Palm OS software produced by my former employer, PalmSource, inc. (Both these companies used to be combined as Palm, Inc until a couple of years ago.)

I’m very excited about this new opportunity! And I’m going to miss spending so much time around my family. Since we are homeschooling our kids, I was able to be with them every day. It was a great time in our lives. I'm sure God will continue to give us more adventures!
- posted by Jor @ 6:33 PM -

 
2 Sam 24 He tested David by telling him , "Go and take a census of Israel and Judah"
1 Chr 21 Now Satan entered the scene and seduced David into taking a census of Israel.

I find it interesting, but not troubling, that in the 2 Samuel version God is responsible, and in the 2 Chronicles version Satan is mentioned as the instigator. Ultimately, God is the great instigator, the first cause. He is sovereign. In the 2 Sam passage, it is prefaced by "Once again God's anger blazed out against Israel."

God's anger, Satan's seduction, David's sin, God's punishment, David's repentence. And in all this the first passage says that God "tested" David.

I was watching my son use the typing tutor on the computer. He said, "I hope I pass this test". The program was measuring his performance against a pre-programmed standard. If he was fast and accurate enough, it would teach him new keys, if not, he'd get more practice on the same keys until he could "pass the test". The designers intent was to give Matt the most appropriate tasks next so he could learn to type. There was no moral assessment.

I believe that God, though he was angry with Israel, was still acting out of love for David in testing him. David was an experienced military commander by this time. He wasn't the same man that stepped out before Goliath with a sling and 5 smooth stones declaring that the Lord would win the battle. David needed to learn where he had developed a reliance on his military competence rather than God's faithfulness. His general knew what was wrong: "May your GOD multiply people by the hundreds right before the eyes of my master the king, but why on earth would you do a thing like this?"

This is not an issue of deprecating our skill vs our faith. We're clearly called to use our talents for the Kingdom. However, it was clear in the history of Israel that God had established the military success of the Israelites as a place where He showed His glory, His might, and His favor. David made the mistake of trying to take that function over and use his skill where God was clearly claiming the glory. It was a gift from God that David was corrected. And God redeemed the situation by making the site where His compassion halted the angel of death the site of His temple in Jerusalem.

Even God's anger at our sin, results in His gifts to us. God disciplines us as sons. (Even in the Old Testament!)
- posted by Jor @ 6:30 PM -