Feb 26 - The Religious Woman

Feb 26

The Religious Woman

Pr 7:14 I have peace offerings with me;

this day have I payed my vows

 Here is the portion of scripture we are considering today.

Pr 7:7 And beheld among the simple ones, I discerned among the youths, a young man void of understanding, 8 Passing through the street near her corner; and he went the way to her house,

 9 In the twilight, in the evening, in the black and dark night:
 10 And, behold, there met him a woman with the attire of an harlot, and subtil of heart. 11 (She is loud and stubborn; her feet abide not in her house: 12 Now is she without, now in the streets, and lieth in wait at every corner.) 13 So she caught him, and kissed him, and with an impudent face said unto him, 
14 I have peace offerings with me; this day have I payed my vows. 15 Therefore came I forth to meet thee, diligently to seek thy face, and I have found thee.
Pr 7:18 Come, let us take our fill of love until the morning: let us solace ourselves with loves.
 19 For the goodman is not at home, he is gone a long journey:

 

In Proverbs chapter 7 we have the account of a woman and a young man. The young man is without understanding. He is beguiled by a woman seeking a lover. Perhaps you have dismissed this woman as no more than a prostitute, but she does not seek payment.  Although she is attired as a harlot yet she is not a harlot.  She is on the street after dark seeking to satisfy her lust. Her “goodman” is gone and won’t return that night. She calls her husband her “goodman”  to avoid the thought of adultery.  It is easy to dismiss her as an unfaithful wife, a bad woman, without morals, without decency, and a terrible sinner.  But she is more than that.

She is a religious woman!  She had been to the temple that very day. Her purpose in going to the temple was to pay a vow she had made. We do not know the nature of her vow but it must have been related in some way to the temple, or the Jewish laws, or connected somehow to her religious nature. It must have been more serious than to promise herself to lose a few pounds or stop eating chocolate. At some time she had made a vow. She was faithful to that vow and had been to the temple in fulfillment of the requirements of her vow.  On the way to the temple, or in a portion of the temple where women were permitted, she would have had to order an animal for her sacrifice.  

“Good morning Mrs. Goldberg. On your way to the temple I see. A lamb? Yes we can have one sent over to the temple right away. Thank you. Peace be with you. (That Mrs. Goldberg is so faithful)”

She might have seen other people she knew at the temple and exchanged pleasantries with them. She certainly would have talked to one of the priests concerning her sacrifice. And then having faithfully discharged the requirements of her vow she headed for home.

What kind of sacrifice did she bring to the temple?  There were so many different sacrifices it is hard to keep them all straight. The text tells us it was a peace offering. There were three kinds of peace offerings, each with its own stipulations.  Rather than confuse you with all those details let me just say that with many of the peace offerings the priest and temple workers got to eat a part of it after the sacrifice. The remainder went to the person who had brought the sacrifice and they had to eat it that same day, or in some cases two days. Thus she was offering the young man a nice meal of lamb chops. 

Pr 7:14 I have peace offerings with me;

this day have I payed my vows.

Our description of this lady as an immoral religious woman is still not complete. She was even worse. She was  a hypocrite!  She went to church, appeared to be a fine faithful woman and then went to violate some of the most basic of the Jewish laws. Thou shalt not commit adultery!

Did she really think going to church made everything else OK? "OK God I did one for you, now you can do one for me and forgive this sin."  Are there people today who think they can have the same arrangement with God. “OK God, I teach Sunday school, sing in the choir, give my tithe faithfully and never miss prayer meeting.  Now don’t I deserve to have a little fun in life. Besides you have promised to forgive all our sins”

Paul addressed that issue in the book of Romans. That seems like a fitting ending for today.

Ro 6:1 ¶ What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?

 Ro 6:2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?
 Ro 6:15 What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.

Feb 25 - I've Fallen and I Won't Get Up

Feb 25

I’ve Fallen and Won’t Get Up

Pr 24:16 For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again:… 

Yesterday we studied Joshua and why he so often rose early. After the first battle against the city of Ai the Israelites were defeated. Over confidence, and reliance in their own strength was part of the problem. But the main problem was someone had sinned during the battle of Jericho and God withheld his blessings until the sinner was found and judgment administered.  But Joshua did not know why they had lost the battle and he was on his face, perplexed at what had happened.

Jos 7:6  And Joshua rent his clothes, and fell to the earth upon his face before the ark of the LORD until the eventide,

The next verses contain the groanings and beseeching of Joshua.  Oh why did this happen.  Oh Lord did you bring us over here to be killed.  How awful when Israelites run from a fight. Oh dear I just don’t know what to do.   Read some of these verses in Joshua 7:6-9.

God knew what he should do. Get up! 

Jos 7:10 ¶ And the LORD said unto Joshua, Get thee up;

wherefore liest thou thus upon thy face?

Fix the problem and get moving again.

Jos 7:13  O Israel: thou canst not stand before thine enemies,

until ye take away the accursed thing from among you.

There was a problem, progress was halted, the problem was identified, fixed and they continued on.  Joshua had learned a valuable lesson. When there is failure don’t lay on your face confused. Seek God’s help to identify the problem, fix it even if it is a hard thing to do, and keep on going.

I enjoy building Oak furniture. Often people ask me where I learned to do woodworking. I usually tell them I used the “Edison Method”.  I call it the “Edison Method” because of a famous line from Edison. A reporter asked him about the development of the light bulb, and his many failures.

“Don’t you get discouraged after 5000 failures?”

Edison quickly corrected the reporter.

“I have not failed 5000 times. I know 5000 ways that won’t work”

That is about the way I learned woodworking. I know about 1000 ways that won't work.

There is nothing new here today. You have heard it before. It is Ok if you fall down. But it is not OK if you just lay there.  Or falling is not the problem, staying down is. When I was teaching adults how to operate machine tools (Lathes-Mills) and they had just done something wrong that ruined a few hours work, I would tell them “Well, you need to get back on that horse again.”  That is from the people who train people to ride horses. If a student falls off a horse the best thing to do is to get them right back on the horse.  But you knew all that, didn’t you?

So why tell you what you already knew?  Because someone may need to be reminded, or you may know someone who has just experienced some failure, some fall, some disappointment in life. They need someone to encourage them. Get up! Keep going.  After someone falls they may need a little time to shake the dust off. But they may need your help to get back up.  

Fall seven times – Stand up eight

                                                                                    Japanese Proverb

Never, never, never, never, give up!

                                                             Winston Churchill

 1Co 10:12 Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.

Feb 24 - An Early Riser

Feb 24

An Early Riser

Jos 3:1  And Joshua rose early in the morning;… 

Joshua was an early riser!  Oh dear, who wants to get up at 4 AM?  I would rather lay in bed, yawn, stretch and roll over for a couple more hours of snoozing.  Alas, the Book of Proverbs cautions against it.

Pr 6:9 How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou

arise out of thy sleep?  Yet a little sleep, a little slumber,

a little folding of the hands to sleep: So shall thy poverty

 come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man.

The book of Joshua lists at least five times when Joshua rose early. When scripture is repeated several times I begin to wonder why?  The Bible is not a book of trivia, or examples of ancient literature but the Word of God. Timothy tells us it is all profitable. So why is Joshua’s early rising worth five mentions?  One of my many blessings is a religious library with several commentaries. But, Calvin, Barnes, Matthew Henry, and several other volumes did not answer that question for me. Why did he get up so early?  Insomnia?  Wrong sleep number on his mattress? What was it?

A dear old preacher friend of mine used to say “The Bible sheds a lot of light on them commentaters” and he was right. So I decided the Bible must explain why he got up so early, and it does.

I started by reading the passages around where it mentions Joshua rose early. 

In Joshua 3:1 he got up early because that was the day the children of Israel were moving from the camp in the hills to the edge of the Jordan River on their way to the Promised Land and Jericho.

In Joshua 6:12 he got up early because that was the first time they marched around the city of Jericho.

In Joshua 6:15 everybody got up early because that was the day they marched around the city 7 times.

In Joshua 7:16 Joshua got up early because he had to find who was the cause of their defeat before the city of Ai.

And in Joshua 8:10 He got up early because that was the day he led the second attack on Ai.

What is the lesson for us in all this? No, it is not that we should get up early (Whew!)  It is an even harder lesson. 

          When God told Joshua to do something, he did it. He did not drag his feet and delay. He got up and got to it. Just like we do. Or is there something that you know God wants you to do and you have delayed doing it.  Oh, maybe I shouldn’t have reminded you!

          Joshua was taking the whole nation of Israel to a river that was flooded with no way to get them across. He got up early in 3:15 to get that job done.  I might have delayed or made excuses because there wasn’t a bridge or ferry. I would have wanted more information before I herded all those people down to the river. But when God told Joshua to do something he did not make excuses about why it couldn’t be done.  When you know God wants you to do something do you ever make…Oh never mind. That’s none of my business. 

          Joshua did not let all his administrative chores distract him from doing God’s work.  He must have had lots of things calling for his attention.  Probably he cared for some of the administrivea when Moses was the leader. Now that he was the leader he did not major on the minor tasks. He focused on what he had been instructed to do. He got right to work. The 30 days of mourning for Moses were not over when he sent spies into Jericho.  

          In addition to not delaying, making excuses, or being distracted, I see some other lessons for us in these several mentions of Joshua rising early.

          In chapter 3:1 He did not have to know every detail about how God was going to help them get across a flooded river or attack a very strong walled city.  His job was not to review and approve God’s plans. His job was to obey. So he prepared the people he was responsible for and in 3 days moved thousands of men women, children, cattle and all their stuff to the river’s edge.  He got up early because it was a big job and he wasted no time with delays, excuses or distractions.

          Chapter 6 is the story of “Joshua fit the battle of Jerico, Jerico, etc” In verse 12 we find Joshua again rising early. This was the first day they were to march around the city.  God had told Joshua how the city was to be conquered.  So the nation marched around the city once in total silence except for the priests blowing their trumpets. 

          In verse 15 everyone got up early and marched around the city seven times, blew the trumpets, and when the people shouted the walls fell flat.  These were not the same people who had no faith in God when they left Egypt. All those people had died in the wilderness as they had requested. This new generation seems to be more responsive, but I can imagine some nay-sayers asking Joshua “You want us to do what?”

          After the great victory over Jericho conquering the smaller city of Ai seemed like a cake walk. The spies reported they only needed a few thousand men to take that small city. Perhaps they had assumed they had defeated Jericho by their own strength.  The result was a stunning defeat for them. What had happened? Where was God? Joshua was perplexed and lay on his face before God. God told him to get up, get to work finding the sinner who caused the defeat of Ai.

           In Josh 7:16 Joshua again rose early and started looking for the person who had sinned. Even when he had to pass judgment on one of his own he did not delay, make excuses or be distracted. They stoned the offending family and all he had.  

          And lastly when God directed him to attack Ai the second time Joshua again rose up early. Josh 8:10. This time Joshua did not delay doing again what had been a failure the first time.

          Why did Joshua get up early? To be prepared (3:1) to follow God’s instructions (6:12, 15) to investigate and carry out judgment (7:16) and to face previous failures (8:10)

Perhaps we do not need to follow Joshua’s example of getting out of bed early, but we do need to follow his example of no delay, no excuses, and no distractions in doing what we know God wants done.

Mt 26:40 And he cometh unto the disciples,

and findeth them asleep,…

Feb 23 - Teach a Man to Fish

Feb 23

Teach a Man to Fish

Pr 16:16 ¶ How much better is it to get wisdom than gold!... 

There is a well-known proverb that says “Give a man a fish and he eats for a day. Teach him how to fish and he eats everyday”  That is what Proverbs 16:16 is teaching.  People who get a lot of money but no brains start doing the stupid things we see young celebrities do.  How is it possible that someone who is 15 or 16 can be a millionaire?  It seems to happen all the time. Soon they start doing outrageous things because they are surrounded by people who will do their bidding for a price. They begin to think they can do whatever amuses them with impunity. Too bad they didn’t get wisdom before they got gold!

I heard a wise man say that he was richer than Rockefeller because Rockefeller wanted just a little more while the wise man said he was satisfied with what he had.  That is because wealth is a relative thing.  

How often have you heard someone say “I would be happy if I just had what he pays in taxes”?

Pr 3:13 ¶ Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding

When the US military found Saddam Hussein he was sitting in a hole under a building with a suitcase full of money. He wasn’t smiling and did not appear to be happy even though he was rich!

There is an interesting example of that in the Gospels.  Mark was a young man without much wealth. When he uses the word money in Mark 6:8 it comes from a word that means copper (or brass).  When Mark thought of money he thought of copper. But Luke was a physician and had more than Mark. When Luke thought of money he thought of silver (Luke 3:9) and when Matthew, the tax collector thought of money he included Gold!

Mt 10:9 Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purses,

But I have failed to answer the question in the verse we are meditating on. 

Pr 16:16 ¶ How much better is it to get wisdom than gold!

 and to get understanding rather to be chosen than silver!

How would you answer that question?  How much better is wisdom than gold?  If you are thinking you would skip the wisdom and take the gold do not forget “A fool and his money are soon parted”.  Your choice of gold over wisdom would result in your ending up with neither wealth nor wisdom.  But if we choose wisdom instead of gold does that mean we wind up wise and broke?  No, if we choose wisdom, Godly wisdom, we will be given such wealth as God knows we need or can handle.

I once heard a preacher admit “God will never let me become rich because He knows I would run off and leave Him!”  If a person is broke because they have done a poor job of handling what God has given them why would they think God would give them more?  Or perhaps they are in need because God has them in the school house of learning to trust him (wisdom!)   

Do not confuse education with wisdom. Our universities are filled with some of the best educated men in the world, yet many of them have no interest in Godly things, and are spiritually fools. Worse than just ignoring God they teach that which is contrary to God and His word.  Remember education is learning facts, not wisdom.

But we need money to live on! Yes certainly there is no need for us to follow Francis of Assisi and strip naked in the public square and denounce possessions.  The verse is not saying wisdom OR gold.  It is asking which is better, wisdom, and the ability to handle whatever God blesses us with or should we seek gold first?  We have all heard about the people who win millions in a lottery and in a few years are broke again. They had gotten oodles of money without a noodle of wisdom. 

The book of proverbs answers the question, which should we seek first, wisdom or gold?

Pr 4:7 Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom:

and with all thy getting get understanding.

Anyone with a lick of sense will answer it is better to get wisdom than gold.  Most of us think we have enough wisdom to handle more money.  But the wisdom we are discussing is wisdom beyond just the ability to handle money.  Wisdom does not start in Econ 101, or advanced bookkeeping class.

. Pr 9:10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom:

and the knowledge of the holy is understanding  

There is a process to gaining this heavenly wisdom.  It starts by obeying Gods word.

Ps 111:10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom:

a good understanding have all they that do his commandments:

OK, you already knew all these things. You understand wisdom comes from God, and you have obtained it. Now you just need some more money. Not so fast!  There is a little check list that will help you determine how much wisdom you have and how much more there is for you to acquire. The check list is found in the book of James.

Jas 3:17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.

May I remind you the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance:  Now go back and slowly review all the parts that make up Wisdom from above.  How did you do with this wisdom check list?       

If you get to Wisdom class before me, save me a seat near the front.

FEb 22 I Don't Understand

Feb 22

I Don’t Understand 

Ac 8:30 … Understandest thou what thou readest?

Lu 24:45 Then opened he their understanding,

 

Philip was a man who understood obedience.  God told him to get over to the road that goes south out of Jerusalem. That was sort of an odd thing to tell Philip to do since there are few people living along that road through the desert.  But Philip responded and met a man who was reading the book of Isaiah. Philip asked him if he understood and the man admitted he did not and needed someone to explain it to him.  The result of Philip’s prompt obedience was the man received Christ.

(Note: This is one of the places where the King James Bible includes 8:37 and most modern translations omit it. More on this important subject at another time)

Philip had obeyed even though he did not understand why God wanted him out in the desert. Too often we want to know all the details about what God is doing in our lives before we will agree to do it.  I guess we just want to know if what God is doing makes any sense and meets with our approval. Some people may want to know what God is trying to do because they know a better way to do it.

Understanding what God is doing and what His word says can be a challenge. There are some things that we will not understand on this side of glory. Your children may not understand why you want them to follow certain rules. They may not appreciate what you did until they are parents. So we, as children of God also do not understand. Some things are beyond our comprehension.  We are obedient to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit and leave the results to God. We are not called to be successful but faithful.

There are, however,  many things we should understand. They are within our comprehension. We just need to go to the right place to get the information which will lead to our understanding. 

Little Tommy ran in and asked his mother “Where did I come from?”  She carefully explained the process of procreation to her son.  Tommy rather impatiently said” Oh Mom, I know all about that. But where did I come from? Johnny next door came from Chicago. Where did I come from?”

My favorite example of how we can understand something is found in Luke 24:45. Two people were walking from Jerusalem to Emmaus. The risen Christ joins them and asks what they were talking about. (24:17)  They recount the recent events in Jerusalem regarding the crucifixion and the empty tomb.  Christ then joins in their conversation about the events in Jerusalem during the last week. He has an explanation for what has happened.

Lu 24:27 And beginning at Moses and all the

prophets,he expounded unto them in all the

scriptures the things concerning himself.

When they arrived at their home they invited Christ in for supper. When he broke the bread and blessed it they realized it was Christ.  At that point he vanished and the two headed for town to meet with the eleven, where Christ reappears. They are all afraid, confused, and do not understand what is happening.  Christ again explains from the scriptures that He is the promised one.

Lu 24:44 …that all things must be fulfilled,

which were written in the law of Moses, and in

the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.

Christ helped them to understand the scriptures they had studied as Jews.  The passages were familiar to them, perhaps even memorized by some, but without the understanding. 

Lu 24:45 Then opened he their understanding,

that they might understand the scriptures,

That is the key to understanding the Bible. Having our understanding opened.  But how do we do that?  Reading the King James Bible won’t do it. Reading modern translations won’t do it. Nor will a library of study books, or a preacher, or TV evangelist.  The two on the way to Emmaus are our example of how to have our understanding opened.

They walked with Christ.  If we are not walking with Christ there is no reason for the Holy Spirit to aid us in understanding additional spiritual truths.   

They talked with Christ.  Today prayer is our method of talking with the heavenly Father, through Christ. I have learned some great lessons about myself during prayer.  I once asked God “If you can show me where I have wronged a certain person I will go to them and ask forgiveness”  Now how long do you think it took for that prayer to be answered?  That’s right!  The answer came before I finished praying. It did not take me long to go to the man and ask forgiveness    

Thirdly they listened as He spoke.  The result was their eyes were opened and they knew Him. If we just take time to quiet our heart and mind and listen the Holy Spirit can speak to us. (Yes you should stop texting while you wait!) 

One additional thing that they did. Once they had gained some new understanding, they acted on it. When you are given the understanding of the scriptures you should apply it.  That is how we continue to gain understanding.  Do you think God will continue to teach you when you do not put into practice what he has revealed to you?

 

Spiritual things cannot be understood by anyone who does not have Christ as their personal Savior. If you do not know Christ you cannot understand the Bible. If you do not walk with Christ you will stop any further instruction and understanding of what you should be doing until you come back to walking the talk.  When Christ left he sent the Holy Spirit to guide us. If we do not pray to God and listen to the Holy Spirit we will not have any basis for understanding the Scriptures and God’s purpose in our lives.   

Finally, it all takes time. There are no short cuts. God is not in a hurry. Be obedient to what God has revealed to you and more will be given as you grow and learn. Just don’t be in a hurry. And whatever you do don’t pray for patience or you will get triplets!  May God bless you as you seek greater understanding of his Word and will.  

Ps 119:169  …O LORD: give me

understanding according to thy word.

Feb 21 - The Eye of God

Feb 21

The Eye Of God 

Ps 32:8 …I will guide thee with mine eye. 

When I read this part of verse 8 my first thought was “How can you guide anyone with your eye?”  It only took a few seconds before I remembered as a rambunctious kid running through the house with some of my cousins. During one of the stampedes through the living room I noticed my mother was watching me. Now lots of times a kid says “Hey, watch me.”  As they do something to get parental attention.  But this was not one of those times.  What I saw was enough to make me stop running immediately. It was “The Look!” 

Nearly everyone can relate to “The Look”.  My mother had a special way of looking at me, head tilted slightly down, eyes glaring over the top of her glasses with no trace of a smile on her face. She was guiding me with her eyes. The guidance was very clear, even if unspoken. “Young man, you stop running and fooling around this instant … or else!” 

All through life we encounter “the Look”.  Teachers had a look in the classroom that attentive kids grasped and avoided the wrath to come.  The principal had a different look. Usually not as mean looking, but more frightening.  (Oh dear I am writing an autobiography of a bad kid!)

But I think you get the point. There are many kinds of looks. Not all of them are bad. There is the “May I help you?” look from behind the meat counter in a grocery store.  Many of the looks people give us are visual clues to alter our behavior, sometimes to laugh, other times to cringe.  

Just imagine what went through Peter’s mind when he received a look from Christ. 

Lu 22:60 …And immediately, while he yet spake, the cock crew.

61 And the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter.  

Christ did not speak to Peter, he only looked at him, and Peter went out and wept bitterly. What a powerful look. Peter had been standing by the enemy’s fire, cursing and swearing in denial, but that look drove him out where he wept.

But the question remains, how can God guide us with His eyes.

First of all knowing the seeing eye of God is upon us wherever we go and whatever we do is an encouragement to do right.

 Pr 5:21 For the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD, and he pondereth all his goings.

When we knew our parents were watching we remembered what they had told us we could and could not do. So we strive to do what pleases God, because His eye is on us.  

De 13:18 When thou shalt hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, to keep all his commandments which I command thee this day,

to do that which is right in the eyes of the LORD thy God. 

A second way that God guides us with His eye is He can see what direction we are headed and what lies on our path ahead.  The trials of life we encounter are either to convince us to change our course, or prepare us for the victories that will make us stronger.  

Ps 37:23 The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way.

Pr 16:9 ¶ A man's heart deviseth his way:

but the LORD directeth his steps. 

Lastly God can see what is in the heart of man. He prepares pathways according to what is needed for a pure heart.  Even a king is subject to having his heart altered. 

Pr 21:1 ¶ The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD,

as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.

May we be mindful that we are never out of God’s sight. We sometimes take our eyes off Him, and wander, but he never forsakes us. We are always under His watchful eye and care. Oh that we could see ourselves as God sees us. We would quickly understand why we sometimes need difficulties, problems, frustrations, to turn our hearts and eyes back to the God who never slumbers nor sleeps.  

 

For His eye is on the sparrow,

and I know he watches me!