Tag Archives: Proverbs 1:10-19

January 3, 2015 Bible Study — Who Are Today’s Pharisees and Sadducees?

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

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Proverbs 1:10-19

    The writer warns us against those who see easy money in taking advantage of the innocent or unwary. They may seem like easy prey, but not everyone who appears to be unwary is the easy mark they appear. Those who seek to ambush the unwary will, sooner or later, find themselves caught in the trap they laid for others.

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Psalm 3:1-8

    Our enemies may say that God will not rescue us, but we can sleep safely in the knowledge that He will indeed do so. I will put my trust in God and seek to allow His Spirit to guide my actions. Then I will be confident that He will rescue me from all dangers.

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Matthew 3:7-4:11

    When the religious leaders came to where John was baptizing, perhaps to be baptized (the text is unclear), John called them out. They had not come in response to his message. Rather they had come in order to feel superior to those they felt needed to heed his message. They did not need to repent, they were teachers of the law. John was having none of it. They were not better than anyone else and their heritage would not save them.
    When we read this we often think of the Pharisees and the Sadducees as the hypocritically religious. That is not wrong, but there are others who are not traditionally religious who fall into the same category. The Pharisees and the Sadducees thought they were better than everyone else. They felt that the “common people” should listen to them and run their lives according to the rules which they, the Pharisees and Sadducees, laid down. But those rules did not really apply to them. Oh, it was important to put on the appearance of obeying the rules, but they did not have to actually follow them, just appear to do so.
    You can spend a lot of time trying to figure out who the Pharisees and Sadducees of today are. I will tell you the only important question to ask yourself: Am I a Pharisee or a Sadducee? If your response to that question is, “Oh no, I am much better than they were.” you are one of them. If on the other hand, you read the passages and either wish you had it that together (even with the condemnation they receive), or worry that you are one of them, you are, at least, on the path to NOT being one of them. I talk with someone from time to time who spends a lot of time identifying who the modern Pharisees are, the thing is, it is always some group with which he disagrees. When he does that, I always get the feeling that he is being one of them.

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Genesis 5-7:24

    We have here the account of Noah building the Ark to prepare for the flood and then of the flood itself. I remember that as I was growing up, and since, hearing Noah described as a man who stood up in the face of ridicule for following God. As I read this passage today I realized that there is nothing in this story to make us think that anyone took any particular note of what he was doing. I actually think it likely that Noah was off somewhere away from everyone else, except for his family. How else was he able to get two of every type of wild animal. In addition, if he was around other people, they would want to know what he was doing. When he told them, most of them would have laughed at him, but some would have wanted to stop him and made efforts to destroy the Ark before it was completed.

January 3, 2014 Bible Study — Don’t Wait For the Rain to Start

     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. In order to make that possible I read the passages and write my thoughts a day in advance. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them.

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Genesis 5-7:24

     The passage gives an account of the line of descent from Adam to Noah. Then it tells us that the people of the earth had become consistently evil. However, it tells us that out of everyone on the face of the earth, Noah had found favor with God. Noah walked faithfully with God. It repeats that the people of the earth were corrupt in God’s eyes and condemns them for violence. God instructs Noah to build a large boat and to bring mating pairs of every kind of animal on to the boat, because He is going to cause the earth to flood, killing every living thing on the face of the earth. In addition, God instructs Noah to bring on board sufficient food for his family and all of the animals.
     When all was ready, God told Noah to get everything on to the boat he had built. As soon as Noah had done so the rain began. It rained for 40 days and 40 nights, until the entire planet was covered in water. The only people who survived were Noah, his wife, his sons, and their wives. In this story, Noah walked with God. He faithfully served God and sought to do what was righteous, even when everyone around him was doing wrong. He did not use the “everyone else is doing it” excuse. He did what was right anyway. Another thing that is worth noting is that when God told him to build a boat and gather the animals, he did so. He did not hem and haw and wait for the rain to start. He did what God told him to do.

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Matthew 3:7-4:11

     John was baptizing at the Jordan. The religious and political leaders of the day came to where he was baptizing. These were the leaders of both sides of the political spectrum, the equivalent of the Republicans and the Democrats (you can argue about which is which, it doesn’t really matter). John condemns them as vipers attempting to flee the coming wrath. John tells them that it is not enough to come and listen to his preaching, pretending to agree with him. They need to change their behavior. He confronts them for their self-righteousness, for their confidence in their credentials. God is perfectly capable of turning the very stones into people with exactly the same credentials they have. It does not matter who we are, or what our intentions are, what matters is the results of our actions. Do we make the world a better, or worse, place by what we do?
     When Jesus approached John the Baptist requesting baptism, John told Him that John needed to be baptized Jesus, not the other way around. However, Jesus replied that John should baptize Him because that was what was proper. I think this is the refutation of those who argue that they do not need to be baptized (for the purposes of this, I will state that I do not consider infant baptism to be baptism). Perhaps not, but if Jesus found it necessary to be baptized, how can any one of us think that we do not need to be?
     The passage then tells us about Jesus being led into the desert by the Holy Spirit, where He was tempted by Satan. The interesting thing about all three of these temptations is that they were temptations to acquire power to force change on the world. Jesus rejected them all as not being God’s plan. I went into greater detail last year on my thoughts on this.

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Psalm 3:1-8

     I desire to have the confidence the psalmist expresses in this psalm. Despite having many enemies who are convinced that God will not defend him, the psalmist continued to trust in the Lord. He did not worry, he did not fret, rather he went to sleep as he needed and awoke in the morning untouched by his enemies. I will not be afraid, no matter what enemies, no matter what troubles, I face. I know that victory comes from the Lord, He will protect me.

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Proverbs 1:10-19

     The writer warns us against giving in to peer pressure to sin. When we find those we call friends suggesting that we do wicked things in order to prosper from others losses, we need to find ourselves new friends. Stay away from those who want to ambush the innocent for fun. They may do well for a short time, but before long they will end up the victims of the violence they thought to inflict on others.

January 3, 2013 Bible Study — Responding To God’s Call

     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.
     

Snow to End The Year
Snow to End The Year

Genesis 5-7:24

     Today’s passage begins with an account of the line of descent from Adam to Noah. The passage then tells us that mankind multiplied on the earth and “the sons of God” saw that human women were beautiful and took some of them as wives. The meaning of the term translated as “sons of God” is not clear, but from context and similar phrases in other texts it means some sort of heavenly or divine being. The result of these relationships was giants and other mighty men of renown. The account tells us that human wickedness became so prevalent that God regretted that He has made mankind. However, God was pleased with Noah.
     God informs Noah that He is going to destroy all living creatures because they have filled the earth with violence. God instructs Noah to build a large boat and to take on board with him a pair of every kind of animal plus enough food to feed himself, his family and the animals. We are told that Noah followed these instructions. He went onto the boat with his wife, his sons and their wives and a pair of every kind of animal and bird (seven pairs of every kind of animal that was good to eat and of every kind of bird). It rained for forty days and forty nights. The account tells us that the waters rose to more than twenty-two feet above the highest peaks. The flood waters covered the earth for 150 days.
     The important phrase from this passage is this, “So Noah did…” Over the last few weeks I have been coming across passages where God speaks to someone and then we are told that they did what God had told them. When God speaks to us we are to listen and then we are to act. God asked Noah to do something that had to be out of his comfort zone. God will often ask us to do things that are outside of our comfort zone. However, there is an important lesson here. God asked Noah to do something outside of his comfort zone, but when he did it God used it to save Noah from the terrible destruction that came upon all of those around him. The same is true of us, God will ask us to act outside of our comfort zone, but if we are faithful and do as He asks He will use those actions to protect us from difficulty that is coming our way.

Out In The Snow
Out In The Snow

Matthew 3:7-4:11

     When John the Baptist was preaching and baptizing many of the “righteous” came out to be baptized by him. John the Baptist referred to them as a brood of vipers. He asked them who had warned them to flee God’s coming wrath, then he told them that it is not enough to show up at the events that people go to to get right with God. It is not enough to go to Creation Festival every year (or whatever the current “godly” get-together is). Your actions day-to-day need to reflect that you regret your sins and have turned away from them. You need to act every day in a way that gives glory to God. You cannot rely on your background or what credentials you have or who you are. None of those things obligates God to you, God can create someone who meets all of those criteria any time He wants. If you do not produce good fruits, you will be thrown into the fire.
     Sometime after this, Jesus comes to John to be baptized. John’s response is that he should be baptized by Jesus. Jesus tells John that it is important that John baptize Him. These two pieces go together. John told the Pharisees, the “righteous” people, that following the forms is not enough. Jesus tells John that nevertheless we should follow the forms. The message here is that being baptized, going to church, doing all the things that people see as religious will not save you from God’s judgment. Nevertheless we should still do those things so that people will know that we are trying to serve God. Doing the things that people perceive as what “righteous” people do does not save us, but that does not mean that they are worthless. They can serve to tell others that we expect to be held accountable for our actions.
     Matthew then tells us that Jesus went out into the wilderness and fasted for forty days and forty nights. During this time He faced several temptations. The first temptation was to turn rocks into food. Jesus’ response is that meeting our spiritual needs is more important than meeting our physical needs. The second temptation is to throw Himself off of the top of the Temple in order to show that God will miraculously rescue Him. Jesus’ response is that we should not attempt to force God’s hand. The third temptation is to do whatever it takes to gain political power. Jesus’ response is that we are to worship and serve only God. These three temptations represent the three ways we are tempted to take shortcuts to make the world a better place. If we meet people’s physical needs they will follow us and give us power, but that comes at the price of getting the people to take care of themselves and look out for those less fortunate than themselves. The second temptation is to claim God’s favor and demand people’s allegiance based on being God’s elect. That comes at the price of showing people how to think for themselves and turns God into our servant rather than we being God’s servants. The final temptation is to acquire political power by whatever means necessary in order to do good once we have it. This comes at the price of making what we think is right more important than doing what God says is right. The summation of these three temptations is that it is not enough to be seeking God’s ends, we must use God’s means to get there. The ends does NOT justify the means. Or to put it another way, you cannot achieve good ends using evil tools.

Waiting For The Birds To Return
Waiting For The Birds To Return

Psalm 3:1-8

     Today’s psalm continues the theme I have seen so far in today’s passages. From the story of Noah, we learned that when God calls us to action, we should take action. From the story of Jesus’ temptations we learned that we should not try to take shortcuts to do what God asks us to do. Now in this psalm we learn that no matter how many people oppose us in doing what God has asked us to do we can have faith that God will make it happen. If we follow the path that God directs us on, He will give us the victory.

Winter Wonderland
Winter Wonderland

Proverbs 1:10-19

     Today’s proverbs warn us against being enticed by those who tell us that easy riches can be had by doing evil. It may seem easy, but in the end those whose greed drives them to do wrong end up suffering for it.