Bible 911
Proverbs 9:11 NLT
In the United States, “911” has two meanings. First of all, it’s the number we call when we need help. Dialing 911 connects us to an operator that can dispatch medical services, firefighters, or police officers in an emergency. So when something really bad happens, yelling “Call 9-1-1!” instructs others to get help right away. Second, 9/11 refers to September 11, also known as Patriot Day, which commemorates the lives of those who died in the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001.
Since this post will be published on September 11, I thought a 911 theme would be appropriate, so I focused on 9:11 Scripture verses — that is, chapter 9 verse 11 from various books of the Bible. As I collected these verses, I began grouping them into categories, and they seemed to be conveying the following messages: Bad Things Happen, But God Is Faithful, And Better Days Are Coming!
This seems to fit both meanings of “911” pretty well. September 11 is a reminder that bad things most definitely happen in this broken world. But we can always turn to our faithful God for help when they do. When we call on Him, we find the comfort and strength we need to persevere through troubling times. But more than that, we find hope for the future.
Bad Things Happen
“All Israel broke your Instruction and turned away, ignoring your voice. Then the curse that was sworn long ago—the one written in the Instruction from Moses, God’s servant—swept over us because we sinned against God.”
Daniel 9:11 CEB
Have you ever done something stupid or careless that resulted in an injury to yourself and required a trip to the emergency room? You don’t have to answer that. But if you have, imagine how much worse it would have been if you were too ashamed to go get help. As humans, we all do stupid, careless, and sinful things. And as Daniel 9:11 reminds us, sometimes bad things happen as a result of our own sins. When they do, God wants us to go to Him for help.
ER doctors are not surprised when injured people come to them — after all, that’s why they’re there. God is not surprised by our wounds or shortcomings, either. He knows the best way to help us, so when we mess up, let’s not make things worse by hiding from God in shame or trying to fix it on our own. Facing up to our mistakes is hard, but trying to go through life without God is much, much harder. If we have accepted Christ as our Savior, then we are already forgiven. We have only to turn back to Him, confess what we have done, and let Him help us make it right.
“Here is something else I have learned:
Ecclesiastes 9:11 CEV
The fastest runners and the greatest heroes
don’t always win races and battles.
Wisdom, intelligence, and skill
don’t always make you healthy, rich, or popular.
We each have our own share of misfortune.”
We may be prepared to deal with the consequences when we sin, but sometimes bad things happen through no fault of our own. Unfortunately, this is a reality we have to face. It’s one of the first lessons we’re taught as children: Life isn’t fair. The author of Ecclesiastes, who calls himself “the Teacher,” points this out in Ecclesiastes 9:11. One of my study Bibles includes the following note about this verse:
“People don’t get what they deserve, claims the Teacher. Good people suffer while wicked people prosper. Everything seems determined only by time and chance. The Teacher’s doubts about the afterlife (see 3:20) affected all his thinking, because he saw the utter unfairness of life around him. In contrast, New Testament authors, with a solid belief in the afterlife, showed confidence that God would ultimately judge all people with fairness.”
The New Student Bible
At times we may have to endure testing to help us develop our character or prepare for something we will be called to do in the future. But there are also times when the trials we have to face are the result of others’ evil deeds. Satan is at work in the world, trying to undermine God’s plans, and often, we suffer because of it. Revelation 9:11 refers to the “angel from the bottomless pit” as “the Destroyer.”
“Their king is the angel from the bottomless pit; his name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek, Apollyon—the Destroyer.”
Revelation 9:11 NLT
When evil attacks and tries to destroy us, we may be tempted to believe that God doesn’t care. But He does. We can rest assured that God sees us and knows the unjust hardships we have to face. Jesus Himself suffered terribly even though He was completely innocent, so He understands our pain. This world is still broken, but ultimately, all will be made right. And as followers of Christ, Satan has no claim on us. Our future home in heaven is assured. In the meantime, God promises to give us the strength to persevere through any trials we are called to face.
Bad things happen…
But God Is Faithful
“And you divided the sea before them, so that they went through the midst of the sea on dry land, and you cast their pursuers into the depths, as a stone into mighty waters.”
Nehemiah 9:11 ESV
When we read Scripture, we discover a faithful God who protects His children. In Nehemiah 9:11, the Israelites recall how God miraculously rescued them from the Egyptians by parting the Red Sea. In Genesis 9:11, after rescuing Noah and his family from the flood, God establishes His everlasting covenant with all life on the earth. As The New Student Bible explains, “Throughout the Bible, God makes covenant agreements with the people he loves. . . . While later covenants applied specifically to the Israelites, this one extended — and still extends — to every living creature.”
“I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be destroyed by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.”
Genesis 9:11 NIV
A common motto we see on police vehicles is “to protect and to serve.” This is a common theme in Scripture as well. God the Father protects us. And God the Son came to serve: “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45 NIV). In Zechariah 9:11 we read about another covenant.
“I have delivered you from death in a waterless pit because of the covenant I made with you, sealed with blood.”
Zechariah 9:11 TLB
The Literary Study Bible describes the prophecy in Zechariah 9:9-17 as “the triumphant arrival of Zion’s gentle king to save his precious people.” This gentle king is Jesus Christ, and He came not only to serve, but to save us from death by dying in our place: “. . . the imagery and vocabulary bring to mind the blessings of the messianic kingdom that Christ brought during his life, death, and resurrection and, further, the coming glory of eternity . . . ” (Literary Study Bible). God is our faithful protector. He promised He would deliver us from death, and He did: He sent His Son to save us. Because of Christ’s sacrifice, anyone who chooses to follow Him will live forever with Him in heaven.
My husband is a police officer in our city. He is called “to protect and serve,” and his patrol vehicle does indeed declare this in large blue letters. But in smaller print, a little further down, it also proclaims: “In God We Trust.” I think this is very fitting for the rest of us as well. We, too, are called to protect and serve others. But we can’t do this job effectively if we don’t trust God. He gives us the strength to overcome the pain and evil we witness in the world. He fills us with hope despite the hard circumstances we face. And He gives us the confidence to believe that He has a plan to use all things for good.
Bad things happen, but God is faithful…
And Better Days Are Coming!
“The Lord says, ‘A day is coming when I will restore the kingdom of David, which is like a house fallen into ruins. I will repair its walls and restore it. I will rebuild it and make it as it was long ago.'”
Amos 9:11 GNT
The photo above shows the Tribute in Light in New York City. It was created in remembrance of 9/11 to represent the Twin Towers. At the end of this post, I have included a 20-year time-lapse video showing the progress made so far in the rebuilding of the World Trade Center. At the beginning of it we see the devastation caused by the attacks on September 11, 2001. But as the years go by, we see the rubble cleared away and new skyscrapers being constructed. God does the same thing with our lives. When we feel like everything is crumbling around us, God promises that He will restore us. But He may do so in ways we don’t expect.
Amos 9:11 compares the kingdom of David to a house which has fallen into ruins. It also contains a promise that the Lord will rebuild it. The Chronological Life Application Study Bible explains that “This was a promise to both Israel and Judah; it would not be fulfilled by an earthly, political ruler but by the Messiah, who would renew the spiritual Kingdom and rule forever.” Jesus was the promised Messiah, but He didn’t fulfill this role in the way that most anticipated. Even the disciples had trouble understanding what He came to do.
“Then they asked him, ‘Why do the teachers of religious law insist that Elijah must return before the Messiah comes?'”
Mark 9:11 NLT
In Mark 9:11 the disciples are confused about an Old Testament prophecy (see Malachi 4:5-6) stating that Elijah would come before the Messiah. But Jesus told them that Elijah had already come.
“When Jesus said that Elijah had already come, he was speaking of John the Baptist (Matt 17:11-13), who had fulfilled the role prophesied for Elijah. . . . It was difficult for the disciples to grasp the idea that their Messiah would have to suffer. The Jews who studied the Old Testament prophecies expected the Messiah to be a great king like David, who would overthrow the enemy, Rome. Their vision was limited to their own time and experience. They did not understand that the values of God’s eternal Kingdom were different from the values of the world. They wanted relief from their present problems, but deliverance from sin is far more important than deliverance from physical suffering or political oppression. Our understanding and appreciation of Jesus must go beyond what he can do for us here and now.”
Chronological Life Application Study Bible
The ancient Jews longed to be delivered from their present problems, but Jesus came to deliver them, and us, from much more than that: He came to save us all from sin and death. Even when the towers of this world have all crumbled to ruins, as followers of Christ we are promised an eternal home with Him in paradise. Hebrews 9:11 promises us that Christ has entered “that greater, more perfect Tabernacle in heaven” and, in doing so, has secured a place there for us forever.
“So Christ has now become the High Priest over all the good things that have come. He has entered that greater, more perfect Tabernacle in heaven, which was not made by human hands and is not part of this created world.”
Hebrews 9:11 NLT
Bad things happen, but God is faithful, and better days are coming!…
So Let’s Stay Faithful to Him
When tragedy occurs, it’s natural to ask why. We want answers. We want to understand how a loving God could allow such things to happen. Well, I guess the short answer is that evil, heartache, pain, and death are the unfortunate consequences of humanity choosing to let sin enter the world. But that’s kind of a cold and overly simplistic answer. The truth is that there are some things we will never understand this side of heaven. God’s ways and thoughts are far above our own.
But what I do know is this: God loves us, and He is still in charge. He has a plan. And, while there are some things we cannot know, there are many that we can. God reveals more and more to us as we seek Him. So let’s dig in to His Word and reach out to Him in prayer every day. I think you’ll be surprised at how much He does reveal. You may even find wisdom that “will multiply your days and add years to your life” (Proverbs 9:11 NLT).
“Wisdom begins with knowing God. He gives insight into living because he created life. To know God you must not just know the facts about him; you must have a personal relationship with him. Do you really want to be wise? Get to know God better and better.”
Chronological Life Application Study Bible
No matter what, let’s always remember: Bad things happen, but God is faithful, and better days are coming! So let’s stay faithful to Him. And let’s reach out to those who may feel lost or hopeless. Like the Teacher in Ecclesiastes, those with doubts about the afterlife may look around and conclude that everything is meaningless. It’s up to us to share the Good News and let them know that it’s not. Let’s give them the hope we’ve found in Christ and tell them what He’s done for us.
Sing praises to the Lord, who lives in Zion!
Psalm 9:11 CEB
Proclaim his mighty acts among all people!
This week’s Scripture passages include more wisdom from 9:11 verses in the Bible. Even when we can’t see God working, we can always trust that He is. Jesus invites us to come to Him when we need help or healing, and He calls us to help others. I don’t want to end this post without expressing my gratitude for those who willingly put their lives on the line every day to do just that: To those of you who respond when the 911 calls come in, thank you. You are appreciated more than you know.
And to all who stand in the gap, to all who have lost love ones to tragedy, to all who persevere when life gets hard, this is my prayer for you:
“May the Lord bless you and take care of you;
Numbers 6:24-26 GNT
May the Lord be kind and gracious to you;
May the Lord look on you with favor and give you peace.”
References:
- Chronological Life Application Study Bible, New Living Translation. Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. 2012.
- Literary Study Bible, English Standard Version. Crossway, 2019.
- The New Student Bible, New International Version. Zondervan Publishing House, 1992.
- “Official 20 Year Time-Lapse – Rebuilding the World Trade Center.” YouTube, uploaded by EarthCam, 8 September 2021, https://youtu.be/nLqFZNfTmU4.
Images:
- Fire Truck featured image by AmySue: https://www.pexels.com/photo/emergency-number-on-firetruck-4990743/
- Ambulance image by RODNAE Productions: https://www.pexels.com/photo/blue-and-yellow-ambulance-6519909/
- Emergency Sign image by Robert Linder on Unsplash
- Police Car image by cottonbro: https://www.pexels.com/photo/police-logo-painted-on-the-police-car-doors-10466275/
- New York City 9/11 Tribute in Light image by Lerone Pieters on Unsplash
- Rose at 9/11 Memorial in NYC image by Josh McCausland on Unsplash
- In God We Trust image by my husband
About The Author
Christa
My vision for Wondertakings was to create a devotional blog for "nerdy" Christians like me. I do believe, as Socrates said, that wisdom begins in wonder. So I love to read or watch anything that inspires wonder and figure out what I can learn from it. I view it all through a Christian lens. I believe that God can and does speak through many sources in many ways, even if those speaking are not aware of it. I am not an expert in theology or religious studies. My goal with this blog is simply to share what I've learned as a fellow student and sinner in the Christian walk. My hope and my prayer is that by doing so I may be able to help someone else. In Deuteronomy 5:33 (NLT), we are told: "Stay on the path that the Lord your God has commanded you to follow. Then you will live long and prosperous lives. . . ." So in the words of Moses (and Spock), live long and prosper, my friends!