Tag Archives: 11/24/12 Bible Study

November 24, 2014 Bible Study — Submit To Government Authority

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

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Proverbs 28:12-13

    Everyone cheers when good people succeed, but when the wicked become powerful people go into hiding and attempt to avoid being noticed. If most people seek to avoid drawing attention to themselves, it tells you that those with power are wicked. When people cheer for the successes of those in power, you know that those people are leading in a godly way. Usually our leaders are somewhere in between and we see the behavior of the people being somewhere in between as well.
    Those who hide their sins will find them being revealed at inopportune times, or otherwise interfering with their success. Those who admit to their sins and turn from them will receive forgiveness and be able to move beyond them.

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Psalm 119:49-64

    The arrogant will mock us for relying on God’s promises, but they are our only true hope. It is easy to become angry at those who reject God’s directions on how to lead a good life. They fail to see the connection between that rejection and the problems they seek to solve. The solution to most of the problems we see in this world is following God’s direction. It is by obeying God’s commands and instructions that we will find our way to dealing with the problems which life presents us.

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1 Peter 2:11-3:7

    Peter reinforces his teaching that we are to live as foreigners among unbelievers. He instructs us to live such good lives that, even if they accuse us of wrongdoing, the unbelievers around us will honour God for our behavior. We need to examine our lives to be careful not to do anything which will bring dishonour to God’s name. This includes recognizing that the government, and its officials, have authority over us. Let us strive to be respectful of everyone, especially those with government authority, and live good lives, so that those who accuse us of wrongdoing look foolish.
    Peter makes clear how we are to judge our response to government commands. He tells us that we are to love everyone and respect the Church, the family of believers. We are to fear God and respect the government. This means that we should NOT fear the government. When the government instructs us to do that which violates God’s commands, we should respectfully decline. Another point worth making, Peter tells us to submit to government authority. Elsewhere we are told that all government authority comes from God. Therefore, the government does not have the authority to tell us to do anything which is counter to God’s commands.
    Peter goes on to tell slaves to submit to their masters, even if their masters are bad masters. This instruction contains the same limitation as the previous instruction to submit to government authority. He then tells wives to submit to their husbands. Further, they should seek to have beauty that comes from being a good, loving person, not that which comes from adornment (or cosmetic surgery). Wives are told to submit to their husbands, even if they are not godly men. That is both easier and harder than following his instructions for husbands.
    Peter tells husbands that they are to honour their wives and respect them. My wife may be weaker than I, but she is just as much God’s child as I am. And when I say weaker, I mean that literally. She cannot pick up as heavy an object as I can (or perform other feats of strength as easily as I can). The reason that the instruction given wives is easier is because it is easier to interpret what it means for a wife to submit to her husband than to interpret what it means for a husband to honour his wife. On the other hand, honouring your wife will probably not involve submitting to emotional or physical suffering at their hands. I will say that if your wife suffers emotional or physical suffering at your hands, you have FAILED to honour her.
    There is one last point I would like to make here. It is instructive that Peter has no instructions for how masters should treat their slaves. This leads me to the conclusion that Peter could see no way to be faithful to God and hold a fellow human being as a possession.

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Ezekiel 47-48:35

    Ezekiel describes a river which flowed out from the presence of God. This river got deeper as it flowed away from the Temple. It starts out as shallow stream, but becomes a deep flowing river. This river is a river of life. It brings life everywhere it flows. It even converts the Dead Sea from a place where no fish live to a place that abounds with life. Life will abound wherever the water of this river flows. I believe that Ezekiel was talking about how life will flourish in the restored Israel as a result of their faithfulness. However, it also tells us how the love of God works in the world around us when we faithfully follow Christ and express God’s love of those around us.

November 24, 2012 Bible Study

     I am using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I have found that by writing this daily blog of what I see when I read these scriptures, I get more out of them. I hope that by posting these ruminations others may get some benefit as well. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them. I hope that the Spirit is moving in others through these posts as the Spirit has definitely been convicting me.

God’s Paint-By-Numbers Green Lane Edition #288

Ezekiel 47-48:35

     Ezekiel next described a river that flowed out from the Temple that got deeper as if got further from the Temple. He said that life would flourish wherever this river flows. The river would flow into the Dead Sea making it fresh and full of fish. He tells us that the marshes and swamps around the Dead Sea will still be salty. Many trees will grow alongside this river and life will flourish wherever it flows. The trees that grow along the river will never lose their leaves and they will always be full of fruit.
     This passage is part of several in the Bible which talk about the River of Life that flows forth from God. I do not know if Ezekiel was talking about a metaphorical river here or if he was describing something that will actually happen where enough water is washing down into the Dead Sea for it to become a fresh water lake. Today however I will treat it as being metaphorical (because I think the metaphor has value). The Dead Sea supports no animal life of any kind (fish, reptile, amphibian or mammal). Yet Ezekiel tells us that when the River of God starts flowing into it from Jerusalem it will come to life and support an abundance of fish and other sources of food. This is a great metaphor for the impact of Jesus on people’s lives. Areas of their self that have been dead come to life. And as we drink from the River of Life it gets deeper because God comes to live within us and we become a source for that River as well. Let us drink deeply from the River of Life and invite God into our hearts so that His water can flow out from us to refresh those around us.

Deep Creek Lake

1 Peter 2:11-3:7

     Since we are temporary residents and foreigners in this world we should be careful not to give in to the desire to be part of this world. We should be careful to live properly and honorably among our unbelieving neighbors so that even when they accuse of us wrongdoing they will see our honorable behavior and give glory to God. Peter is not satisfied to tell us to live honorable lives. He follows it up by giving us instructions on how to do so. He tells us that we should respect all human authority. That while Christ has set us free we should not use that freedom as an excuse to do evil. He tells us that in our work we should accept the authority of those over us and treat them with respect, even if their behavior is not worthy of respect. We should do what we know is right and patiently endure unjust treatment. When we suffer for being good we should endure it patiently because this pleases God.
     He goes on to tell wives that they should accept their husband’s authority. He says that they should do this so that even if their husband refuses to accept the Gospel, he may be won over by their pure and reverent life. Further Peter tells women that they should not be concerned with external beauty–fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry, and beautiful clothes. Instead they should focus on the beauty that comes from within, the beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit that never fades. Then he says the part that so many overlook in their outrage over this. Husbands are to give honor to their wives in the same way that wives are to accept their husband’s authority. Peter tells husbands that their wife is their equal and that they should treat her as such. He tells us that not doing so will hinder our prayers. An important point in this is that the instruction to the husband is not conditional upon the wife accepting the husband’s authority just as the instruction to the wife is not conditional upon the husband giving honor to the wife. We are each accountable for fulfilling our side of the bargain, irrespective of whether our spouse is fulfilling their side.

Another View of Deep Creek Lake

Psalm 119:49-64

     God’s promise to me provides me with comfort whenever I face trials and troubles. I will follow the Lord’s instructions even in the face of mocking by those who do not believe. O Lord I strive to follow the psalmist’s example and spend my life following Your commands. Do not let evil people entice me into disobeying your commands. Teach me Your decrees Lord, so that I may gain wisdom.

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Proverbs 28:12-13

     Everyone is happy to see the success of those who serve the Lord, but when the wicked rise to power people hide in fear. When we succumb to sin, we are better served to confess those sins and turn from them than to attempt to conceal them from others. All too often I have struggled with situations because I tried to cover up my failings and sins, when if I had openly confessed my failure I could have resolved the problem and put it behind me.