For today, One Year Bible Online links here.
Controlling one’s temper is a sign of wisdom. Those who are sensible do not let anger control their actions. We should have respect for those who are willing to overlook slights and wrongs.
The wicked may be attacking those who seek to do right and the basis of law and order may have been undermined, but God is still in control. He will protect those who turn to Him. He will punish the wicked. God loves justice and will see that both the righteous and the wicked receive it.
It doesn’t matter if you were born and raised in a good, Christian family. Or if you go to Church every Sunday. If you do not do God’s will, you will be condemned alongside those who have never heard His word. It is not enough to know God’s word, we need to be transformed by His Spirit. We need to seek God’s praise, not that of our fellow man.
The fact that some who claim to be followers of Christ do wrong does not diminish the righteousness of God. Rather it highlights God’s righteousness and shows it in stark contrast to human sinfulness. However, that does not justify our sinfulness. The fact that God will receive glory for His willingness to forgive our sins does not give us an excuse to sin even more.
Hanun, the king of the Ammonites, treated David’s messengers as spies and enemies, instead of as the gesture of good will which they were intended to be. As a result, he started a war with David which he could not, and did not, win. He compounded his mistake by seeking allies to fight against David’s forces, rather than begging forgiveness. The end result of this was the complete destruction of his kingdom and nation. It is all too easy to misconstrue a well-meant act as an insult, or part of a plot against us and offend those who wished to be our friends. When we realize we have done so, let us beg the offended party for forgiveness, rather than prepare to attack them.
When David had completed two successful wars, one against the Ammonites a second against the Philistines, he decided to take a census of how many fighting men there were in Israel. It is not clear why taking the census was a sin. I have always felt that the sin was because David was attempting to determine how large an army he could field, rather than trusting God to supply him with sufficient men to accomplish whatever task God set for him. There is certainly some truth to that idea. This morning I came across a reference which pointed out that when God told Moses to take a census He, also told him that each person was to pay a ransom to God at the same time (something which David did not do). In a way, Moses census was taken by collecting that “ransom”.