For today, One Year Bible Online links here.
Every time I write about this, and several similar proverbs, I feel like I am sucking up to my wife. Nevertheless, I will testify to the truth of this parable. My wife is indeed a treasure and I am lucky to have found her. She is indeed evidence that I have found favor with God.
As I read this psalm I know that the psalmist is right. God will declare me righteous, not because I am innocent, but rather because of His grace. God will end the evil of the wicked. God has offered His grace to all who wish to accept it, but He will bring judgment to those who do not repent and turn to Him. God is both just and merciful. He will be my shield, and He will be yours as well if you repent of your sins and turn to Him.
The interesting lesson here is the danger of listening to experts. The ship that initially transported Paul, as a prisoner, from Caesarea experienced slow sailing, primarily due to the weather. Perhaps as a result of this, or perhaps because the original ship was not going all the way to Italy, the Roman commander decided to change ships at Myra. When they left there, the weather became worse. When they reached Fair Havens, they debated proceeding on. The captain of the ship and the ship’s owner both wanted to sail a little further to a better harbor. Paul advised against it. The Roman commander chose to side with the captain and the ship’s owner.
This story shows us that even people who should know better can allow their personal wants to cloud their judgment. I am not faulting the Roman commander for siding with the professionals. It was the professionals who should have taken Paul’s warnings under consideration and rethought their desire to reach a better harbor. Having often read this passage, I do not think that Paul’s warnings were prophetic in the sense of being inspired by the Holy Spirit. I believe that Paul had sailed on enough ships over the course of his life, and had heard enough stories about the weather, that he just believed his warnings would be the likely result of attempting to sail on. That belief was based on his experience being a passenger on many ships over the course of his life, and having heard stories about the weather that time of year. No, Paul was not an expert on sailing or on ships, but he had enough experience to make a judgment of the situation. We need to be prepared to listen to the opinions of those with experience, even when they are not experts in the field.
As I was slogging through yet another passage of genealogies I came across the verse which said that two of Ephraim’s sons were killed trying to steal livestock near Gath. According to Genesis, Ephraim never lived in the land of Canaan. For that matter, Ephraim was still a boy, or young man when Jacob died. Therefore this passage tells us something about how the Israelites lived in Egypt in the early years, and possibly reveals part of why later Pharaohs feared them. My reading of this verse is that the grandchildren and great-grandchildren of Jacob led raiding parties out of Egypt to steal livestock. In doing so, they would have learned many useful military skills.