Tag Archives: Proverbs 16:10-11

May 30, 2015 Bible Study — What Is the Truth?

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

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Proverbs 16:10-11

    I always struggle with passages, such as this one, which imply a divine right of kings. However, I realized today that when we take this one in the context of what it says, and the other passages regarding government authorities being given their authority by God, I can make sense of this one. This seems especially apparent from comparing the NLT to the NIV, “The lips of a king speak as an oracle,…”(NIV) “he must never judge unfairly.”(NLT) The king, the God appointed ruler, is obligated , has a duty, to always judge fairly. God has placed people in positions of government authority in order to judge fairly. God will hold them accountable for those times when they judge unfairly.
    To some degree, the same thing is true of our interactions with those around us in our day to day lives. God will hold us accountable if we do not deal with others in an honest and fair manner. If we are fair and honest in all of our dealings God will reward us.

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Psalm 119:113-128

    The psalmist continues with his praise of God’s word. He points out that if we choose to follow God’s commands we must fully commit to doing so. We cannot do so halfheartedly with half of our heart seeking after some other course. If we do not fully commit ourselves to following God’s instructions we will not reap the benefits. I struggle with this, not because I do not believe it to be true, but because I am weak and easily distracted. I want to continually meditate on God’s decrees, but, all too often, I go “ooh, shiny.”
    So, I make verses 124 and 125 my prayer once more:

I am your servant; deal with me in unfailing love,
and teach me your decrees.
Give discernment to me, your servant;
then I will understand your laws.

I pray also that His Spirit will enter into me, fill me to overflowing, so that the desire to sin will be driven from my mind and my body. I know that I have it not within me to keep God’s commands…but I also know that the Holy Spirit can transform me so that I can and do.

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John 18:25-19:22

    When the Jewish leaders brought Jesus before Pilate they did not answer Pilate’s question regarding what the charges were. Instead they told Pilate that they would not have brought Jesus before him if Jesus was not a criminal. Rather than dismiss the case right there, Pilate had Jesus brought before him and questioned Him. When Pilate pressured Jesus for an answer as to whether or not He was a king, Pilate was trying to get Jesus to say something, anything, that he could use to justify putting Jesus to death. Jesus knew this but would not lie. He told Pilate that His kingdom was not of this world and thus His followers would not fight to promote it.
    Jesus then has the exchange with Pilate that still is going on today. Jesus testified to the truth and those who love the truth recognize His teaching as true. When Pilate asked Jesus, “What is truth?” he was saying that he did not believe there was such a thing, or that truth was what people believed it was. We face that same debate today where people reject the idea that there is such a thing as absolute truth.

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2 Samuel 15:23-16:23

    As David fled from Jerusalem he demonstrated that he understood the lesson to be learned from the Philistine capture of the Ark. Having the Ark with him would not change whether God was on his side or not. There was no value in risking damage to the Ark by taking it to battle. God would be with those He supported whether the Ark was with them or not. And He would not offer support to those who had lost His favor, whether they had the Ark with them or not. We cannot manipulate God.

May 30, 2014 Bible Study — What Is Truth?

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

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Proverbs 16:10-11

    I like the NIV a little better here. Merchants and tradesmen who use honest measuring devices serve God. When we carefully measure so as to deliver as much as we told people they were paying for, it is as if God Himself made our tools.

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Psalm 119:113-128

    I will not let evil-doers distract me from keeping God’s commands. Those who stray from God’s commands are fooling themselves, true joy only comes from following God. I turn to God for sustenance. Let us turn to God for discernment so that we can understand His instructions. Let us live as servants of God, so that we may experience His unfailing love. As we obey His commands, He will teach us ever more how to live according to His will. His commands are more valuable than anything we can imagine or desire. They will provide us with a better life than any amount of wealth.

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John 18:25-19:22

    When the religious leaders brought Jesus to Pilate, Pilate asked them what they charged Him with. Rather than answering his question, they replied by saying that they would not have brought Jesus to Pilate if He was not guilty of something. When the religious leaders would not tell him what they were accusing Jesus of, he questioned Jesus directly. Let us take a lesson from Jesus, when the opponents of Christianity have accused us of non-specific wrong doing, we should not testify against ourselves. When Pilate asked Jesus if He was a king, Jesus replied by asking Pilate if that was his own idea, or did someone else suggest it to him. Jesus responded that His kingdom was not of this world. He had no intention of mounting a revolution and violently overthrowing the political order of the day.
    Pilate then asked the natural question, if Jesus did not intend to overthrow the political order, why did the local political leaders desire His death? Jesus’ answer was that He came to testify to the truth. The implication here is that the powers-that-be are threatened by the truth. Pilate then stated the question so many ask when they desire to dismiss their own wrong-doing, “What is truth?” I follow Christ and believe that there is objective truth to be learned. It is not that I believe that I know that truth in its entirety, but I know that such truth exists and desire to learn it. Those who wish to justify their own actions will often deny that there is such a thing as objective truth. Let us never fall for that deception and continue to seek to know God’s Truth.

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2 Samuel 15:23-16:23

    As David fled Jerusalem ahead of his son Absalom’s army, he was cursed by Shimei, who was from the same clan as Saul. When one of David’s men sought to strike Shimei down, David prevented him. From later passages it seems that Shimei played some important role in the Kingdom of Israel. David was unwilling to damage the running of the Kingdom in order as part of his struggle for power with Absalom. He did not strike down Shimei, even though Shimei was opposing him, when doing so would not advance his position in his struggle with Absalom.

May 30, 2013 Bible Study — My Kingdom Is Not of This World

     I have been using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study for almost a year. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I started writing this blog because the only way I can get myself to read the Bible everyday is to pretend that I am teaching someone about what it says to me. 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.

Magrat hunting frogs
Magrat hunting frogs

2 Samuel 15:23-16:23

     The people of the city cried that David was fleeing. The priests and Levites accompanied David with the Ark of the Covenant. They set the Ark down at the edge of the city and Abiathar offered sacrifices as David’s people passed by. David instructed Zadok and Abiathar to take the Ark back into the city. In addition, David told them he would wait at the shallows of the Jordan River for a report from them that they could send by way of their sons. When David heard that his adviser Ahithophel was backing Absalom, David prayed to God that Ahithophel give Absalom bad advice. As David fled he was met by Hushai, another of his advisers. David told Hushai to return to Jerusalem and offer his services to Absalom. By doing so, Hushai could frustrate the advice of Ahithophel and pass on word of Absalom’s plans to Zadok and Abiathar.
     As David went he was met by Ziba, the servant of Mephibosheth. Ziba had a string of saddled donkeys and food supplies for David and his people. When David asked where Mephibosheth was, Ziba told him that he was staying in Jerusalem because he thought that the people would give him back his grandfather Saul’s kingdom. (Later, Mephibosheth gives a different account of his actions). David at this moment grants Ziba all of the property that he had previously given to Mephibosheth.
     A short while later, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, from Saul’s clan, named Shimei comes out and starts throwing stones at David and his men while cursing them. Joab’s brother Abishai complained to David about Shimei cursing David, the king, and requested permission to go over and cut off Shimei’s head. David angrily denied Abishai permission to harm Shimei, saying that since his own son was seeking his life, perhaps God had told Shimei to curse him as well. David and his people continued on. However, by the time they got to the Jordan River, they were tired and stopped to rest (as David had known would happen when he sent Abiathar and Zadok back into the city).
     Meanwhile Absalom and the army of Israel that backed him had arrived in the city of Jerusalem. Hushai immediately approached Absalom and cried out “Long live the king!” Absalom asked him why he was not with his friend David? Why he had not accompanied David? Hushai’s answer was basically that he wanted to be on the winning side and now that Absalom was winning he would advise him just as he had David in the past. Absalom then turned to Ahithophel and asked what he should do next. Ahithophel told Absalom that he should sleep with David’s concubines that he had left behind to tend the palace to make clear to the people of Israel that reconciliation was not possible between David and Absalom. Absalom took this advice, fulfilling yet another piece of Nathan’s prophecy to David.

Rose bud waiting to open
Rose bud waiting to open

John 18:25-19:22

     As Jesus was taken from Annas to Caiaphas, Peter remained warming himself by the fire. One of those present asked him if he was one of Jesus’ disciples to which Peter replied, “No, I am not.” A relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off said that he was sure he had seen Peter in the garden when they arrested Jesus, but Peter once more denied any connection. At that moment the rooster crowed.
     In the early morning hours the Jewish leaders took Jesus to Pilate’s palace. However, the Jewish leaders would not go in because if they did, they would be ceremonially unclean to eat the Passover. Pilate came out to them and asked them what charges they were bringing against Jesus. Their reply was interesting. The Jewish religious leaders did not give Pilate a list of charges, they merely insisted that if Jesus was not a criminal they would not have handed Him over to Pilate. Pilate then told them that they should try Him themselves, to which they replied that they were not allowed to execute anyone. Pilate then went back inside and questioned Jesus. Pilate first asked Jesus if He was the king of the Jews, to which Jesus replied by asking Pilate if that was his question or if someone else had given it to him (suggesting to Pilate that he was being used). Pilate responds by saying that he is not a Jew and that it was Jewish leaders who had turned Jesus over to him for trial. Pilate then asks Jesus what He had done to cause them to do so.
     Jesus answered Pilate that His kingdom was not of this world, which was why His followers did not fight to keep Him from being taken prisoner by the Jewish leaders. I have always felt that Jesus was making an important point here. He did not and does not intend for His followers to take over the government. We are not to focus our efforts on the kingdoms of this world. Rather we are to focus our efforts on bringing people into the Kingdom of God. The Church is not the army of God assigned the task of conquering the kingdoms of this world and making them part of the Kingdom of God. The Church is composed of the ambassadors of God whose purpose is to communicate God’s message to the kingdoms of this world and to provide information to the citizens of this world as to how to emigrate to the Kingdom of God (and since the Kingdom of God is open to all comers to encourage people to do so).
     Pilate however missed Jesus’ point and said, “Aha, so you ARE a king?” Jesus replied to this by saying that it was Pilate who was saying that He was a king. Jesus did not deny being a king, but He made it clear that whether He was was not an important part of His ministry. What was important was the He had come to testify to the truth and that those who love the truth listened to His teaching. Pilate then demonstrates that post-modernism is also pre-modernism by asking “What is truth?” Pilate was stating a basic concept of post-modernism that truth is either relative or unknowable. As a Christian I believe that truth is both absolute and knowable. I may not know the truth, but I could know the truth. Additionally, while it is important for me to always keep in mind that what I believe to be the truth may not actually be the truth. If it turns out that what I believe to be the truth is not the truth, that does not mean that truth is unknowable, or that the truth is relative, only that I was wrong.
     Pilate brought Jesus out before the crowd of the religious leaders and their followers where he told them that he found no guilt in Jesus that justified His crucifixion. The crowd called out for His crucifixion. Once more Pilate told them that he found Jesus not guilty. The religious leaders said that by Jewish law He should die because He said that He was the Son of God. Pilate then questioned Jesus some more, but Jesus did not answer him. Finally Pilate asked Him if He realized that Pilate had the power of life and death over Him. Jesus answered Pilate that he only had power over Him because it had been given to him from above. Pilate continued to try and find a way to release Jesus, but the crowd kept getting more riotous until finally Pilate asked the crowd if they wanted him to crucify their king. The chief priests responded that they had no king but Caesar. This was a very significant statement by these religious leaders. By saying this the religious leaders were doing what Samuel accused the Jews who first demanded that he anoint a king for them before he anointed Saul. They were rejecting God as their king and embracing Caesar in his place. This was even worse than those who chose Saul, Saul at least was an Israelite.
     At this point, Pilate gave in the Jewish religious leaders and ordered Jesus crucified. However, he had the sign over His head read, in multiple languages, that Jesus was being crucified for being the King of the Jews. The religious leaders asked that Pilate change it to say that He claimed to be the King of the Jews, but Pilate refused their request, making a clear statement that anyone who was given the title King of the Jews was in rebellion against Caesar, the rightful ruler of the Jews (as the chief priests had acknowledged when they said that they had no king buy Caesar).

Azaleas by the house
Azaleas by the house

Psalm 119:113-128

     The psalmist gives us much to think on. He tells us that he hates those with divided loyalties. This phrasing reminds me of Jesus’ teaching that we cannot serve both God and Mammon. He goes on to warn that those who stray from God’s decrees are fooling themselves. I have seen this for myself, how people create complicated justifications for doing that which they know is wrong. I pray with the psalmist that God will give me discernment to understand His laws. I pray that God will use me to bring many to His salvation and I wish that all would do so. However, I must agree with the psalmist when he says:

It is time for you to act, Lord;
your law is being broken.

Another azalea by the house
Another azalea by the house

Proverbs 16:10-11

     The first proverb tells us that rulers speak with divine wisdom, but it is a betrayal of God’s honor when they pervert justice. Those who do business with honesty and fairness are serving the Lord, God does indeed judge us according to our business practices.

May 30, 2012 Bible Study

     I am using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them.

2 Samuel 15:23-16:23

     Despite David’s failings as a father, he demonstrates his skill as a general and a politician as he makes plans while he flees Jerusalem. He sends the priests back into the city with the Ark of the Covenant with instructions to send him information about Absalom’s plans. David then instructs his adviser, Hushai, to stay in the city and tells him how to convince Absalom that he has switched loyalty. David is counting on Hushai giving Absalom advice that will counter the advice he receives from Ahithophel, a former adviser to David who has switched loyalty to Absalom. As David is fled Jerusalem, Shimei, a member of the clan that King Saul came from, came out and cursed David. When Joab’s brother, and David’s cousin, Abishai wants to go kill Shimei for his actions, David tells him not to. David’s response, referring to “you sons of Zeruiah”, suggests that Joab and Abishai often had impulses that David felt a need to restrain. My reading is that Joab and Abishai were fiercely loyal to David, but their loyalty was to their cousin and clan leader, not to the king of Israel. David, on the other hand, recognized that as king of Israel there were actions he needed to take, or not take, that as leader of just his clan he would do differently. I think perhaps this situation is one of those. As leader of just one clan, in this situation, where someone is cursing you and celebrating your misfortune, it might be in your interest and that of your clan to show that doing so is not safe and have that person killed. But as king of all Israel, there is a certain amount of benefit from allowing people to express their dissatisfaction with your rule, especially when that dissatisfaction is not directed as support for your political enemies. Shimei did not express support for Absalom, merely satisfaction in seeing David forced to flee.

John 18:25-19:22

     When the Jewish religious leaders, who were also the Jewish political leaders, brought Jesus to Pilate they would not go into Pilate because that would have made them ceremonially unclean. So Pilate had to come out to them. When Pilate asked them what the charge was against Jesus, they don’t actually give him an answer. All they say is that they would not have brought Him to Pilate if He wasn’t a criminal. Pilate’s response was basically, “If you aren’t going to tell me what crime you are accusing Him of, you can take Him and punish Him according to your laws.” The Jewish leaders response was that they were not allowed to execute Him. Pilate returns to his palace and begins to question Jesus to see if He is an insurrectionist. When Pilate asks Jesus if He is a king, Jesus answers that His kingdom is not of this world. That if it was, His followers would have fought to keep Him from being arrested. I think there is no clearer teaching on the Christian approach to politics than this. Jesus did not come to institute God’s political system on this earth and His followers are not called to do so either. Jesus came to change the hearts and minds of individuals. We are not called to pass laws or build government programs. We are called to reach out as individuals to those individuals in need around us and show them God’s love, so that they may also come to understand His will for their lives. When Jesus says that He has come into the world to testify to the truth, Pilate asks Him, “What is truth?” There are many people today who ask the same question, who do not believe that truth is knowable. I believe that here and elsewhere Jesus and the Bible teaches us that truth is knowable and can be found through seeking God.
     After this Pilate brings Jesus out before the Jews and tells them that He can find no basis for executing Jesus. The Jewish leaders insist that Pilate crucify Jesus. Pilate attempts to release Jesus, but the Jewish leaders threaten to accuse him of fomenting insurrection if he does so. As part of that, the Jewish leaders declare that they have no king but Caesar. By doing so they declare that their first loyalty is not to God but to the state. This is the other side from “My kingdom is not of this world.” This is our choice. Either “We have no King but Caesar” or we worship the One who said, “My Kingdom is not of this world.” Either we count on God to make things right in this world, or we count on the state to do the same. When Pilate has Jesus crucified he has the soldiers post a sign that makes the decision of the religious leaders clear. The sign read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” Pilate is telling everyone who sees the crucifixion that the Jewish leaders have chosen Rome over an independent Jewish state.

Psalm 119:113-128

     The psalmist continues his theme of the importance of following God’s decrees. I read this psalm and it touches my heart, both to impart joy for the opportunity to study the Bible and to challenge me to do a better job of avoiding sins that God has convicted me of. It, also, challenges me to begin a program of memorization. Today. I will make an effort to come up with a plan of memorization. I had the conviction of doing this blog as my daily devotional for a long time before I mustered the discipline to actually do it. I have been blessed by the process of reading the scripture and writing my thoughts down on this blog. I regret not starting this sooner. I will not put off another blessing because I am too lazy to move forward. Today, I will strive to begin taking the actions that reflect my belief in what the psalmist writes here:

“You are my refuge and my shield;
your word is my source of hope.”

Proverbs 16:10-11

     The two proverbs today speak of God’s will for behavior in the world. The first says that those with governmental authority should judge fairly and with honesty. The second says that our dealings in the marketplace should be the same to all and they should be honest and fair. At one time, the standard in the market was that people priced what they were selling at a particular price, but everyone knew that you could get it for less than that. It was just a question of how much less. You had to haggle to get the best price. Those selling were able to make more profit from those who were less able to haggle and/or who were less well informed as the actual costs involved in obtaining the item in question. At some point, a group of merchants decided that the right thing to do was to price their goods at what they considered a fair price for the cost they expended and the effort they put out to bring the goods to market. My understanding is that these merchants were Quakers. My understanding is that it was not exactly a decision they reached as a group, but rather a decision that they reached from their study of the scripture. These merchants were more successful than other merchants, which meant that those who wished to be successful in the market needed to emulate their practices. It is my belief that this approach to selling goods and services led to the explosion of trade which led to our modern strong economies and may have played a significant role in the rise of the industrial revolution. In recent years, those who study marketing have made the “discovery” that different people are willing to pay different amounts for many goods and services. This has led them to encourage companies to set up their pricing structure to attempt to capture additional revenue from those who are willing to pay more. This sounds like good business until you consider that now rather than basing your price on a reasonable profit over and above the costs to deliver the good or service to market, you have to spend the time to discover how much different market segments are willing to pay for your good or service. In addition, as those who supply you with goods or services adopt the same practice, you must spend time and effort to determine how much they might be willing to lower the price they charge you. Now instead of just being good at delivering a particular good or service, you must also be good at negotiating prices for goods and services in order to be successful. I believe that, despite the apparent advantages of adjusting your price according to what you believe that a particular customer is willing to pay, those who follow this proverb will find greater success in the marketplace.