For today, One Year Bible Online links here.
This proverb reminds me of a business man who emphasized to his subordinates the importance of telling the truth. He did not do so on the basis of it “being the right thing to do”, even though that was why he did so. He made the point of telling them that if what they said was the truth, they would not have to worry about what they had told the customers (or others). This proverb reminds us that those who use lies and distortions to stave off trouble will, in due time, find themselves trapped by the lies they have told. The righteous need not fear such a fate because they have been honest in their dealings.
I thought at first that there was not much to say regarding this psalm when I realized there is an important point here that I can expand on slightly. The psalmist tells us that it is God alone who judges. The follow up being that it is not up to me (or to you) to judge the actions of others. No, our job is to proclaim what God has done. Perhaps if we do our job, rather than trying to do God’s job, the wicked will turn from their ways and and receive God’s forgiveness as we have.
When the 72 returned to Jesus they were excited because even evil spirits had submitted to them in His name. Jesus told them not to rejoice that evil spirits submitted to them. The important thing to do was to rejoice that our names are registered as citizens of heaven. We are not sent to seek out and confront the demon possessed and the evil in this world. We are sent to heal the sick, restore sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, to feed the hungry and clothe the naked, most importantly, to preach the Gospel. But the demon possessed and the evil in this world will seek us out and find us, just as they did Jesus. When that happens, He has given us authority to rebuke them in His name. We have no power over demons, spirits, and the powers of evil in this world, but Jesus does. He has given us the authority to speak in His name and, as long as we are serving Him, they have no choice but respond to the power He has delegated to us. However, we must never forget that it is not our power to which they submit.
I was not planning on writing on the parable of the Good Samaritan, except that I realized that Jesus conclusion to that parable echoes what I wrote (or perhaps the other way around) about yesterday’s passage from Deuteronomy. Having described the actions of the Good Samaritan, Jesus tells us to go and do likewise. Once more we receive the lesson that it is not enough to not do wrong, we must actively do right by caring for those in need, even if they might otherwise be our oppressors.
This is a difficult passage for me to find a lesson in because the commands seem (to me) to go all over the place. There are several here which fit together for a lesson I understand, but others which I do not understand. The lesson I understand: Treat the poor and the weak with justice, make provisions for them to be able to meet their needs. It is worth noting that the instructions for the latter are not pure charity. Rather, the command is to be less than completely efficient in harvesting your crops so as to give the poor and needy the opportunity to acquire what they need to survive by gathering what you missed. Even the command to pay laborers their wages each day was about not maximizing your wealth at the expense of those who had no other choices.