Tag Archives: Proverbs 4:14-19

January 23, 2015 Bible Study — Blind Guides Leading The Blind

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

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Proverbs 4:14-19

    Do not follow the example of the wicked. They are constantly seeking new ways to do evil. As a result, their path is in complete darkness so that they do not know what they are tripping over. The righteous on the other hand can easily see the obstacles in their way and go around them.

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Psalm 19:1-14

    Every time I look up at the stars at night, or at a beautiful sunrise/sunset, I am reminded of the glory of God. I feel sorry for those who think those things came about by happenstance for no particular reason.
    Further into the psalm the psalmist reminds us of the value of God’s commands. His instructions will refresh our souls when we feel parched and depressed. Even those who are simple minded and slow can learn wisdom by following God’s laws.

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Matthew 15:1-28

    When the Pharisees and teachers of the law confronted Jesus because He did not teach His disciples to keep their traditions, He responded by pointing out that they used their traditions to teach their disciples to not keep God’s law. I started to write my thoughts four times before I was satisfied with where I was going. It is more important to please God than it is to keep traditions. We should review traditions on a regular basis in order to be sure that they are consistent with God’s commands. It is too easy for us to warp a tradition to serve our own selfish purposes rather than helping people to keep God’s commands.
    Most traditions start out as a way to help people keep God’s commands, but over time people tend to forget the reasons why a tradition was started. When that happens one of two things results. Some people keep the tradition in a way which violates its original purpose. Other people stop doing the good thing the tradition was intended to encourage as well as the tradition itself. In both cases they are the blind leading the blind. They do not know why something was done and as result they either blindly follow it without accomplishing the purpose for which it was designed, or blindly dismiss it without replacing it with another method of accomplishing the purpose for which it was designed. If we wish to avoid being blind guides, we need to make sure that we do not follow man-made ideas as if they were commands from God, much less teach them.

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Genesis 46-47:31

    There is a lesson in this passage that we often overlook. Because the people of Egypt had not themselves prepared for the coming famine during the times of plenty, they became dependent on the government (Pharaoh). As a result of this dependency, the government became the owner of all of the land and means of production. Once the people lost their land and other means of production, they lost their freedom. When times are good, we must save and store so that when times are bad we do not become dependent on others.

January 23, 2014 Bible Study — The Heavens Proclaim the Glory of 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. In order to make that possible I read the passages and write my thoughts a day, or more. in advance. My work schedule has recently changed, meaning that I may not have time every day to complete these. As a result, I am trying to get several days ahead. I hope this does not negatively impact the quality of these posts (if that is possible). 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 46-47:31

     In this passage we have an example of what happens when people become dependent on the government for getting through the difficult times. During the years of plenty the government collected food from the people and stored it against the times of famine. Then during the times of famine the government (Pharaoh, through Joseph) sold the food back to the people. When the people ran out of money, they gave up all of their possessions until they were basically slaves of the government. In time of plenty the people did not prepare themselves for the coming time of famine. The government in the person of Joseph did not do anything wrong here. The error was on the part of the people. Let us remember to gather resources in times of plenty so that we have enough for ourselves and to help those in need in times of hardship.

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Matthew 15:1-28

     Some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus. They asked Him why His disciples did not follow the traditions handed down, and embellished, by generations of teachers of the law. The implication being that if Jesus was a true teacher of the law He would teach His disciples to follow the same traditions they taught. Jesus replied by confronting them with the fact that their traditions allowed for someone to be counted as “righteous” because they followed the tradition in a way that broke God’s actual commandments. He then turned to the crowd and taught them that one’s righteousness is not determined by what one eats or drinks, but rather by what one says and does.
     Jesus does not reject the idea of tradition here. What He is saying is that it is important to judge tradition against what God commands us to do. Jesus is telling us to focus on what is important and everything else will follow. I think this fits in well with what Paul says in1 Corinthians 13. There Paul points out that no matter what great feats of faith we exhibit, if we do not love our fellow man, we have done nothing of value. Elsewhere Jesus tells us that all of God’s commands are merely ways of carrying out the two most important commands: love God with all that we have, and love our neighbor as we love ourselves. Let us examine every tradition to see how it can help us to carry out those two commands and if a particular tradition gets in the way of doing so, discard it. On the other hand, if we cannot see any way those following a tradition fail to carry out those two commands, let us not condemn them, nor the traditions which they value.

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Psalm 19:1-14

     The psalmist points out that the skies proclaim the glory of God without ever speaking a word. We should live our lives in such a manner that those who observe us have no choice but to recognize our message and glorify God. This does not mean that we should not speak, because words are necessary. But we should live our lives so that even those who cannot hear, or understand, our words will glorify God. Yes, I will make the final verse of this psalm my prayer:

May the words of my mouth
and the meditation of my heart
be pleasing to you,
O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

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Proverbs 4:14-19

     I will strive to make my life the opposite of what the writer says is that of the wicked. I dedicate myself to finding some good deed to do each day, so that I may say that I cannot sleep until I have done something good for someone. that I cannot rest until I have removed a stumbling block from someone’s path.

January 23, 2013 Bible Study — The Blind Leading The Blind

     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.

Sword And Dagger Fencing
Sword And Dagger Fencing

Genesis 46-47:31

     When Jacob and his entire household, including the households of his sons, arrived in Egypt Joseph went to meet them in the region of Goshen. Jacob was overjoyed to be reunited with Joseph and expressed that now that he had seen Joseph once more he was ready to die. Joseph instructed his brothers that when they went in to see Pharaoh they should tell him that they were shepherds because the people of Egypt detested shepherds. Joseph’s brothers followed Joseph’s advice and the Pharaoh allowed/encouraged them to settle in the land of Goshen (depending on how one reads the passage and understand the political situation in Egypt, this could be seen as anything from giving them permission to settle there to an order to settle there and nowhere else). When the Pharaoh asked Jacob how old he was Jacob told Pharaoh that he was 130 years old and gave Pharaoh a blessing.
      The passage tells us that the famine continued after this. When the people of Egypt ran out of money they approached Joseph and asked him to give them food so that they would not die. Joseph replied by telling them that he would give them food in exchange for their livestock. Joseph supplied them with enough food for a year in exchange for all of their livestock. The following year the people again approached Joseph for food. This time they offered themselves and their land in exchange for food. Joseph agreed to this and supplied them with food. Joseph bought all of the land and people of Egypt for Pharaoh, except for the priests, who received a stipend from Pharaoh (in other words, they were government employees). The passage tells us that Joseph reduced the people of Egypt to servitude. Once Joseph has done this he gave them grain to plant what had been their fields. In return he required them to surrender one fifth of what they produced to Pharaoh. So, Joseph arranged for the people of Egypt to sell themselves into servitude to the government of Egypt and as a result of the people and everything they had belonging to Pharaoh he imposed a 20% tax in exchange for allowing them to make use of those things.

Picture On A Snowy Day
Picture On A Snowy Day

Matthew 15:1-28

     Some Pharisees and religious teachers arrived from Jerusalem to ask Jesus why He did not teach His disciples to follow the traditions of the elders, such as ceremonial hand-washing before eating. Jesus replied by asking them why they followed traditions that allowed them to break direct commandments from God. He gave the example of a tradition that allowed an adult child to dedicate their possessions to God and not use them to help their parents thus violating the command to “Honor your father and mother.” Jesus called them hypocrites for putting their own teachings above the commands of God. He quotes Isaiah as saying that they honor God with their lips, but their hearts are far from God. They worship God in vain because they follow mere human teachings rather than the commands of God. Jesus then explains that one is not defiled by what one eats, but rather by what one says. Jesus’ disciples asked Him if He realized that the Pharisees were offended by what He had said. Jesus told them not to worry about the opinions of those who did not faithfully teach God’s word. He told them that the Pharisees were blind guides. If a blind man allows a blind man to be his guide, both will fall into a pit. The disciples then asked Jesus to explain the parable. Jesus explained that what we eat goes into our mouth through our stomach and out of our bodies, while what we say reflects what we think and who we are. From our inner being come evil thoughts and it is those thoughts which defile us.
     Jesus left that area and withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. While He was there a Canaanite from that region came to Him and cried out asking Him to heal her daughter. Jesus initially ignored her. Finally, His disciples asked Him to send her away. Jesus replied that He was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel. The woman came right up to Him and knelt at His feet. From this position she begged for His help. He responded that it was not right to take the children’s food and toss it to the dogs. She answered that even the dogs are allowed to eat the food that falls from the table. Jesus replied to this commending her faith and telling her that her request was granted. Her daughter was healed at that moment. Jesus’ reply to the woman was a strong insult. The woman accepted Jesus’ insult and acknowledged that she was not deserving of His care. She knew that she had no right to His healing, but threw herself on His mercy and love. There are three reasons this woman received from God what she sought. She was persistent even when Jesus appeared to ignore her. She had faith that Jesus could give her what she desired. She recognized that she was no deserving of this gift.

You Need To Get Closer Than That
You Need To Get Closer Than That

Psalm 19:1-14

     The psalmist tells us that if we look to the skies we will see the glory of God. Whether we look during the day or during the night, we cannot help but feel the majesty of God. The law of God is perfect. His commands are trustworthy and right, following them will teach us wisdom and bring us joy. God’s word is more valuable than anything we can own. I will not allow sin to rule over me by choosing actions which I know to be sin and I will beg God to forgive me for those sins I do not realize I have committed.

Another Picture On A Snowy Day
Another Picture On A Snowy Day

Proverbs 4:14-19

     Do not follow the paths that the wicked walk. They walk in darkness and stumble over obstacles that they never see. Those who choose wickedness never see the obstacles between them and their goals until they bump into them. The righteous are like someone who walks in the light, they are able to see the things between them and their goals and navigate around them.