For today, One Year Bible Online links here.
I prefer the NIV translation for today’s proverb. The proverb discusses two things which cause disruption. They are, when a godless fool is eloquent and when a ruler lies. Both of these will cause problems for many. The eloquent fool will convince many to follow his foolishness. The lying ruler will bring misery to those he rules over. The proverb is related to the statement about lying rulers and is why I prefer the NIV. Those who give bribes see them as charm which will allow them to prosper in every situation. It is even true, right up until they come upon either the honest official, who will not accept the bribe, or the totally dishonest official, who will accept the bribe and not accede to the briber’s wishes (probably because they have been bribed a greater amount by someone else).
Seems to be a theme today, because I prefer the NIV for today’s psalm as well. Let us make it our goal to live in harmony with our fellow believers. Let us strive to find the areas where we agree and use those points of commonality to resolve our differences. As we find ways to resolve our disagreements and differences, God will bestow His blessings upon us.
The story of Peter and Cornelius teaches us something about how the Spirit often works to confirm the messages which He gives us. When Cornelius’ messengers gave Peter the message from Cornelius that an angel had told him to summon Peter, Peter realized that his vision was a confirmation of that message. The Spirit will usually confirm what He is telling us from a second (and sometimes third or fourth) source. I pray to God that I do not give in to my doubts when He gives me such confirmations.
Before Peter had his vision of the Spirit telling him to eat non-kosher meat he would never have dreamed of going to the house of a gentile. He perceived them as unclean and going into their house would make him unfit to be in God’s presence. The combination of Peter’s vision and Cornelius’ message teaches us that we should not consider anyone who is seeking God unclean. If God was able to cleanse us through the blood of Jesus then He is able to cleanse another, no matter how great a sinner they may have been up to that point.
Rehoboam led the people of Judah into idolatry. The people set up Asherah poles throughout the land and brought back the practice of male and female shrine prostitutes. As a result of Rehoboam’s sins God allowed King Shishak of Egypt to ransack Jerusalem. Rehoboam’s son followed in his father’s footsteps, but only ruled for three years. However, Rehoboam’s grandson, Asa, was faithful to God. Asa drove the shrine prostitutes out of the land and destroyed the idols which were worshiped along with them. He went so far as to remove his grandmother from positions of authority and destroyed the Asherah pole which she had set up. The story of Asa tells us not to set our expectations too high. Asa failed to remove the shrines from the high places throughout the land, but his heart was faithful to God throughout his life. While Asa was not completely successful in eliminating the idolatry in the land, he was dedicated to worshiping the Lord himself and in turning the people back to God. Let us not judge ourselves on our failures, but rather on our success in living each day more faithfully than the last.