Tag Archives: Proverbs 22:2-4

August 26, 2015 Bible Study — Thanking God For Our Suffering

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

DSCN9286

Proverbs 22:2-4

    No matter how different we are from each other we all have at least one thing in common. We owe our existence to God. Since God has made us all, I cannot consider myself better than someone else, nor can I consider them to be better than me.

DSCN9318

Psalm 40:11-17

    This psalm is a great prayer for times of trouble. Those who search for God will indeed be filled with joy. If we remember that, when it comes to God, we are indeed poor and needy. We desperately need His love and care.

DSCN9328

2 Corinthians 1:1-11

    Paul expresses an attitude towards suffering that we should strive to make our own. First, he is grateful for his suffering because God comforted him while he was going through it, teaching him how to comfort others as they suffer. Let us patiently endure the suffering we experience, so that we can be an example to others. God will offer us comfort as we go through these things. Additionally, Paul was grateful for his suffering because it taught him not to rely on himself, but rather to fully rely on God. Let us work to fully rely on God, recognizing how our troubles force us to give up our pretensions at being able to control our lives. Let us learn to be thankful to God for our suffering.

DSCN9329

Job 20-22

    Zophar told Job that the wicked always suffer in this life, or if they do not, their children will. This is certainly something we would like to believe, but it is not always true. Job points this out, that we do not always see the wicked suffer. Often times, as far as we can tell, the wicked are rewarded for their wickedness. The wicked are even sometimes honored in death.
    All of which leads Eliphaz to offer a list of sins which he is sure that Job has committed one or more of. Job’s friends refuse to consider the possibility that his suffering might serve some purpose other than punishing him.

August 26, 2014 Bible Study — God Will Comfort Us In Our Troubles

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

DSCN6358

Proverbs 22:2-4

    No matter if we are rich or poor, God is our Creator. None of us can claim to have made ourselves, we are what God made us to be. If we are rich, let us use our riches to help those who are not. If we are poor, let us remember that the rich are no less God’s creatures than we.
    It is not cowardice, but wisdom, to take steps to mitigate risks. Only fools ignore the dangers and continue without altering their path. They will suffer the consequences.
    Those who fear the Lord are humble because they recognize that God is the source of all that is good.

DSCN6355

Psalm 40:11-17

    Without God’s help our sins will overwhelm us. We need God’s grace and power to turn aside from our sins. However, those who seek God will rejoice and be glad as His power allows them to overcome sin and live righteously. If we yield to God’s power, those who wish to see us fail will be shamed.

DSCN6356

2 Corinthians 1:1-11

    We will experience troubles and difficulties as we seek to follow God’s will. If we suffer for following Christ, suffering some of the same pain which He experienced, we will also experience the comfort and joy which He experienced. The troubles we experience, and the comfort God provides us from those troubles, allow us to comfort others who experience troubles. There will be times when the difficulties we face are greater than we can bear. When that happens we must turn our lives and troubles over to God, becoming fully dependent on Him. God will deliver us from troubles which are beyond our ability to cope, showing us that the tasks He sets before us can only be accomplished through His power, not by our own human strength.

DSCN6357

Job 20-22:30

    Job’s friends became so caught up in convincing him that his suffering was a result of his sins that they forgot that the purpose of their visit was to bring him comfort. This is all too often a human failing. We become more interested in winning the argument than accomplishing the purpose that led us to make our original point. Let us keep our eye on the prize and remember that God will offer comfort in times of trouble to anyone who turns to Him. Let us do likewise.

August 26, 2013 Bible Study — F.R.O.G., Fully Rely On God

     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.

DSCN3713

Job 20-22:30

     Zophar responds to Job once more and makes the claim that the success of the wicked and the godless is only temporary. Job replies that such is not always the case. He says that sometimes the wicked grow old and powerful. All too often, no one will dare to criticize them openly, or pay them back for the evil they have done. It is then Eliphaz’s turn to respond to Job again. Eliphaz then lists the sins which he thinks Job must be guilty of since he is suffering as he is. It is worth noting that Eliphaz does not have any evidence other than Job’s suffering for Job’s sin, but he is convinced of it nonetheless.

***

     Zophar here goes to far. He is convinced that Job is guilty of all sorts of terrible sins, not because he has seen Job commit any such sin, or heard someone accuse him of them, but because Job has suffered great misfortune. We should not make the same mistake of assuming that someone has done wrong in the absence of evidence. The George Zimmerman-Trayvon Martin case is a classic example of this. Many people concluded that since he ended up shooting an unarmed seventeen year old, George Zimmerman must have done something wrong. As a Christian, I would never want to be in the position where I might even be tempted to take someone else’s life, let alone actually do so, but our society says there are circumstances where such action is justified. There is no evidence that George Zimmerman was not in such a circumstance, and some evidence that he was. There are gaps in the evidence in which things could have happened that make what George Zimmerman did wrong, but we do not have evidence that those things happened. My point is that we should not conclude that George Zimmerman did wrong according to our society’s standards just because we do not like the results of what happened that night.
     I am using this as an example. We have a tendency to do similar things in our every day lives. We look at the outcome of an event we know nothing about and conclude that one party did wrong without knowing the facts. In most cases we may be correct that one of the parties did wrong, but we do not have any way to know which one that was. We should not place the blame for what went wrong on either one without evidence that they were in the wrong (and that the other party was not equally in the wrong).

DSCN3715

2 Corinthians 1:1-11

     Paul begins his second letter to the Corinthians by speaking of the troubles he had in the province of Asia. He tells them that things were so bad that he expected to die. But as a result, he stopped relying on his own ability and came to rely fully on God. God was faithful and rescued them from their troubles. Paul tells us that when we face troubles, God will comfort us. Indeed part of the reason we face trouble is so that we can offer the comfort God gave us to others who face trouble. If continue to rely on God, God will continue to rescue us from the troubles we face. He points out that God can and will rescue us from death, because God raises from the dead and if we rely fully on Him, He will raise us from the dead/

DSCN3722

Psalm 40:11-17

     This psalm fits well with the passage from 2 Corinthians. The psalmist tells us that troubles surround him and he cannot see his way out. From that position he calls on the Lord to rescue him. He is confident that God will do so and is prepared. even in the midst of his troubles, to declare, “The Lord is great!”

DSCN3731

Proverbs 22:2-4

     The writer tells us that if we are wealthy we should not think ourselves better than the poor, and that if we are poor we should not think ourselves less than the wealthy, because we are all of us God’s creation, made for His purpose.
     The prudent prepare for danger and go forward. They do not fear to act because bad things might happen. They merely prepare the best they can and go on. The foolish never look ahead and suffer the consequences.
     The path to genuine wealth and honor is humility and fear of the Lord.

***

August 26, 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.

Job 20-22:30

     Now Zophar gives his second response to Job. Zophar restates the argument made by Bildad. He claims that the wicked inevitably face trials and disaster. Zophar says that the wicked will face suffering and deprivation in this life. Job replies that such is not the case, that sometimes the wicked prosper their entire lives. He says that the wicked never seem to suffer for their sins. Job asks who can confront God over this apparent injustice since God sits in judgement of even the most powerful.
     Eliphaz replies to Job yet again. This time Eliphaz makes the argument outright. He says that Job is suffering therefore he must have sinned. Eliphaz speculates that Job was guilty of a series of sins. Eliphaz tells Job that if he turns away from these sins (the only evidence he has that Job has committed them is that Job is suffering), God will take that suffering from him. This is a classic example of something we should not do. We should not cast judgement on people based on what is happening to them. We should judge people based on what they do, not on their circumstances in life. You should judge them on their actual actions, not the appearance. You should not judge a fellow Christian because you saw his car in a strip club parking lot. You should go to him and find out why his car was in the parking lot. Perhaps it broke down and that was the closest place to get it off of the road.

2 Corinthians 1:1-11

     Today I begin reading 2 Corinthians. Paul starts off this letter by offering praise and thanks to God for the comfort He has given to him in the suffering he has experienced. Paul says that God comforts us so that we can offer comfort to others. Paul goes on to tell the Corinthians that he, and those with him, had experienced troubles beyond their ability to endure. Things got so bad that they expected to die. As a result of these troubles they stopped relying on themselves and they began to fully (and only) rely on God. Paul tells the Corinthians that God did rescue them from death and expresses his confidence that God will continue to do so. Paul, also, emphasizes the importance of praying for those who are facing troubles. He tells us that such is a help to those enduring trials.
     The contrast here between how Paul views suffering and the ways that Job’s friends viewed it is stark. Paul tells us that as we face trials, God will give us comfort and the strength to face them. We can then take that comfort and share it with others who experience suffering and trials. Reading this now seems so appropriate. A couple that grew up in the congregation I am part of recently experienced the death of their daughter. They had left our congregation 10-15 years ago to go into prison ministry. I know that this situation must be breaking their hearts, yet I also know that they are comforted by the outpouring of prayers that they are receiving from all over. I do not know how, but I know that God will offer them comfort in this situation and that they will use this comfort in their ministry to those who are facing their own trials.

Psalm 40:11-17

     It has not been often that I have seen a thread run through the passages I read each day, but today there is indeed such a thread. We have the passage from Job where Job and his friends struggle with finding the meaning of suffering. Then we have the passage from 2 Corinthians where Paul tells us that God will comfort us in times of trouble if we fully rely on Him. Now we have the psalmist crying out to God in the midst of his troubles. He declares that those who seek the Lord should rejoice and be glad in God’s mercy. We should shout out our praise of God for all to hear. We must acknowledge our need and accept that only through the hand of God can we be helped and saved.

Proverbs 22:2-4

     Well, the thread does not quite continue into today’s proverbs. We are all God’s creations. This means that we should reject attempts to dehumanize others, whether they be rich or poor. We should make plans to deal with future dangers to the best of our abilities. If we are humble and fear the Lord, He will provide for our needs and more.