Tag Archives: Proverbs 28:3-5

Daily Bible Study

November 20, 2015 Bible Study — Where Do Wars Come From?

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

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Proverbs 28:3-5

    This proverb reminds us that the oppressors of the poor are not always the rich. The poor, also, sometimes oppress the poor and when they do it is even worse than when the rich do so.
    The way to fight the wicked is to support the rule of law. The wicked thrive and are honored when the law is arbitrary. The last of these proverbs really remind me of our society today. Many people fail to understand justice, do not know how to tell what is right, because they have become enamored of wickedness. Those who seek God instinctively understand what is right and recognize justice when they see it (and injustice when they see that as well).

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Psalm 118:19-29

    The psalmist says that if someone opens the door where the righteous can enter into the presence of the Lord, he will go in and praise the Lord. Will you do likewise? I will, for God has answered my prayers and given me victory. God has taken that which the human experts rejected and made it the key element of His work. Do people tell you that you are too small, too insignificant, too whatever, to make a difference? Do not listen to them, God has put you where you are in order to serve His purpose. He will use you to accomplish great things.

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James 4

    I was really struck by the wording of this passage in light of world events. What causes quarrels, fights, and wars? They come about as a result of the evil desires inside each and every one of us. We want what we do not have, so we scheme and kill to get it. If that means starting a war, some of us will do that as well.
    James goes on to remind us that all of this is pointless because if we asked God He would give it to us, as long as our motives are correct. If our intention is merely to satisfy our own pleasures, God will not give it to us. If, on the other hand, we want something so that we can serve Him, or meet the needs of others, He will give it to us. If we have allowed the world to convince us that we deserve something we have become idolaters. Instead of seeking things for our own pleasure and glory, let us humble ourselves and seek things for the good of others and the glory of God.

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Ezekiel 40:28-41:26

    Every time I read Ezekiel’s description of the Temple which will be built after Israel’s restoration I look for what it means for me. I am sad to say that the Holy Spirit did not inspire me with any meaning from this passage today. I have read several blogs which attempt to explain what role this Temple plays in Christian theology, but they failed to move me. The only thing about this passage which is at all striking is the possibility that there will be a time in the near future where ISIS (or some other alliance of Muslims) attacked Israel, were decisively defeated by an act of God, and the people of Israel built a Temple in Jerusalem with no need to fear international repercussions.

Daily Bible Study

November 20, 2014 Bible Study — Humble Yourselves Before God

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

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Proverbs 28:3-5

    These three proverbs all fit together in a way that many people fail to understand. Society becomes truly oppressive when the poor join with the rich in oppressing their fellows in poverty. The wicked thrive and rise to the top in a society where those who are favored follow a different set of rules from everyone else. The only way to resist the wicked is by obeying the laws that apply to everyone else, even when you can get away with not doing so. Those who are steeped in evil believe that justice is just an excuse used by those in power to get their own way. Only those who seek the Lord truly understand the meaning of justice.

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Psalm 118:19-29

    When God opens the gate where the righteous enter, will we go in? Or we be like the builders and reject the cornerstone because we think we know better than the Architect? No matter how intelligent and knowledgeable we think we are, let us recognize that God, as Creator of the Universe, has a better understanding of how we should live than we are capable of. God has made this day for us, let us rejoice in it and be glad. God is my God and I will praise Him.

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James 4:1-17

    At first reading this passage seems to support those who preach “prosperity gospel”. James says that the source of all conflict is because we want things and do not have them. As a result we scheme and kill to get those things we desire. He goes on to tell us that the reason we do not have what we desire is because we do not ask God for what we desire. This sounds like standard “prosperity gospel” (which is not real Gospel at all).
    However, James does not stop there. He goes on to tell us that even when we do ask, we do not receive because we ask with the wrong motives. When we ask God for things in order to spend them on our own pleasures, God will not give us what we ask for. When we desire things in order to use them for our own pleasure, we are seeking to befriend the world. If we are friends of this world, we are enemies of God.
    So, rather than seeking things to use for our own pleasure we should humble ourselves before God. Part of doing this is seeking to spend what God has given us in serving Him. We need to faithfully desire to please God rather than ourselves. The next sentence seems to be a change of theme, but I think I see how it fits in with what went before.
    James said that we have conflict when we seek that which we do not have in order to spend it on our own desires. Now he tells us that the way to deal with temptation and sin is to resist the devil. If we resist temptation and those who encourage us to fall into it, they will flee from us. He is not really saying that those who encourage us to sin will flee from us when we resist temptation, although many of them will do so (with flee perhaps not being the word that would first come to mind). He says that if we resist the devil, he will flee from us. By which I take him to mean that if we resist the temptation to sin, we will find that the opportunity to succumb to that temptation will pass…and the more we resist the temptation, the fewer opportunities we will have to succumb to it in the future.
    There is one final point James makes in this passage. If we know what we ought to do and do not do it, it is just as much a sin as doing what we know we ought not do. It is not enough to not do wrong. In addition, we must do what is right.

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Ezekiel 40:28-41:26

    Ezekiel goes into great detail describing what the Temple in the restored Jerusalem will look like and its dimensions. I have read this passage many times, but it carries no special meaning for me. I have heard sermons preached on this passage and I admire preachers and teachers who see deep meaning in what Ezekiel describes here. However, it is not something that I see when I read this (although occasionally I will see what someone else sees when they talk about this passage).

Daily Bible Study

November 20, 2013 Bible Study — What Causes Fights?

     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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Ezekiel 40:28-41:26

     At the end of yesterday’s passage, Ezekiel was taken in a vision to the top of a very high mountain in the land of Israel. On the south side of the mountain there were buildings arranged in a way that looked like a city. In the vision he was met at the gate by a man with a face like glowing bronze who was holding a measuring string and a measuring rod. This man led him into a new Temple and measured its walls and rooms. Ezekiel described the measurements of the Temple, its walls, its rooms, and the various outbuildings associated with it.
     As I read the passage today, I struggled to understand what God wanted me to understand out of this passage. Then something struck me. Ezekiel was describing an empty building in an empty city. This was a Temple and a city not built by human hands. Rather it was a city and Temple built by God that was waiting for the people of God to come into it to worship and fellowship with God. The Temple was waiting for Christ to come as our high priest and open it up for us by sacrificing Himself for our sins.

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James 4:1-17

     James wrote here about the root cause of so much that is wrong in this world. He said that we fight, quarrel, and kill because we desire what we do not have. Further we do not have because we do not ask God for it. He then points out that even when we do ask, we do not get because we ask for things in order to use them for our own pleasure. While James was writing to Christians, this applies to everyone.
     He goes on to warn us that being friendly to the world, which we exhibit by desiring worldly pleasures rather than godly service, is antithetical to friendship with God. If we submit ourselves to God and resist the devil, the devil will flee from us. All too often we get this exactly backwards. We submit to the devil and resist God. I will strive to humbly do as God wills me to do. Humility means that I will not speak out against my fellow believer, nor will I judge the decisions which they choose to make.
     One of the most important points James makes is at the end of today’s passage. He tells us that if we know what we ought to do and do not do it, it is as much sin as doing that which we know we ought not to do. A sin of omission is just as great as any sin of commission.

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Psalm 118:19-29

     Part of this psalm was quoted by Jesus to the Pharisees and as a result is often interpreted as a prophecy of His coming. I will not question that interpretation. However, as I read it today it struck me as having much more meaning than that. First the part which Jesus quoted:

The stone that the builders rejected
has now become the cornerstone.
This is the Lord’s doing,
and it is wonderful to see.

As I read this it struck me that it is talking about how we humans so often reject some person, or action, or thing that God intends as the key element of His work in this world. But God’s will will not be thwarted and He will make that item the cornerstone and give it a place of honor in His work. We may be convinced that we know better, that this “stone” is inadequate for the place of honor, but God will not listen to us. He will do what He will do and when we see what He has done, it is wonderful. No matter what we think of them, the one who comes in the name of the Lord will be blessed.

     THIS is the day which the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad in it. Won’t you please join me in doing so?

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Proverbs 28:3-5

     All too often we forget that the poor are sometimes the source of oppression of the poor. It is wrong to think that the poor are any less guilty of wickedness than the wealthy. The key to overcoming wickedness is fidelity to the law and to justice. The wicked are empowered when people reject lawful behavior, but struggle when people embrace lawful behavior. The wicked may speak of justice and fairness, but all they understand is power. On the other hand, those who seek God understand justice and integrate it into their plans, even when they do not speak of it.

Daily Bible Study

November 20, 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 am back to a routine. It is not the same as my old routine, but I think it will work out well. I hope that the Spirit is moving in others through these posts as the Spirit has definitely been convicting me.

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Ezekiel 40:28-41:26

     In today’s passage Ezekiel further describes the rebuilt Temple he sees in his vision. He gives detailed measurements and descriptions of the furnishings and decorations. I am sure there is deep spiritual significance to all of this for some, but none that the Spirit is revealing to me today.

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James 4:1-17

     James diagnoses what causes quarrels and fights within the Church (and among humans in general). He tells us that it results from our evil desires. He does not stop there. He goes on to define evil desires. He tells us that evil desires are desires for things purely for our own pleasure. We are jealous of what others have and we cannot get it, so we fight to take it away from them (sound familiar?). We do not have what we want because we do not ask God for it. This is starting to sound like “prosperity gospel”. But then James hits us with this, even when we do ask for it, we ask only for that which gives us pleasure, rather than for that which will make us better servants of God. I know that I am guilty of this. Even worse (or at least, just as bad), I ask for things to further serve God, then, all to often, I use them for my pleasure.
     In either case, doing this is an indication that we are valuing this world more than we are valuing God, which is a form of idolatry. Our loyalty is divided between God and the world and God desires our undivided loyalty. If we humble ourselves before God and resist the temptation from the devil, the devil, and temptation, will flee from us. We should have sorrow and grief for the sins we have committed where we have indulged our own pleasures rather than helping those in need. I need to recognize how often I have failed to do that which the Spirit has convicted me that I ought to do. Failing to do that which you know that you ought to do is just as much of a sin as doing that which you know that you ought not do.
     Finally, there are two other points James makes in this passage. We are not to slander one another. We should not attempt to judge another person’s motives. We should obey God’s instructions as best we understand them, not try to find reasons why they do not apply to us. We should focus on doing God’s will as the Spirit has guided us rather than on whether someone else is doing wrong. The other point he brings up is that we should remember that all of our plans are conditional on the will of God. We should not boast about what we are going to do because perhaps God has other plans for us. We should do today the things that we know are God’s will, not put them off until tomorrow. Additionally, we should understand that as noble as our plans may be, God may have other plans for us that will preclude us completing those plans.

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Psalm 118:19-29

     When the gates which lead to the presence of the Lord are opened I will enter in. We as humans have little understanding of God’s plans. Human builders rejected as unfit the stone which God selected as the cornerstone of the building. The results of God’s plans are wonderful. This day has come about because the Lord has made His plans and caused them to come to pass despite human thoughts and actions. Let us call on the Lord to bring us salvation and success. The Lord is my God and I will praise Him. He brings me victory. I trust Him because I know that He is faithful.

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Proverbs 28:3-5

     When the poor oppress the poor it is even more destructive than when the rich do so. Those who reject the law empower the wicked. The way to fight the wicked is to strengthen the law. The law is not something that changes from person to person. Evil people do not understand justice, let alone strive for it.