Tag: Leadership Should Avoid Excess and, Instead, Serve Others - Proverbs 31

Proverbs 31:1-9

The Words of King Lemuel

The words of King Lemuel. An oracle that his mother taught him:

What are you doing, my son? What are you doing, son of my womb?

What are you doing, son of my vows?

Do not give your strength to women,

your ways to those who destroy kings.

It is not for kings, O Lemuel,

it is not for kings to drink wine,

or for rulers to take strong drink,

lest they drink and forget what has been decreed

and pervert the rights of all the afflicted.

Give strong drink to the one who is perishing,

and wine to those in bitter distress;

let them drink and forget their poverty

and remember their misery no more.

Open your mouth for the mute,

for the rights of all who are destitute.

Open your mouth, judge righteously,

defend the rights of the poor and needy.

Tag: Leadership Should Avoid Excess and, Instead, Serve Others

The above proverbs are, as stated, the words of the Queen Mother to her son Lemuel (the term could be another name for Solomon, or simple mean, “one dedicated to God for service).  Whatever the relationship between the Queen and her son, it is clear she takes the role of royalty and leadership seriously.   In essence, the Queen is giving this young leader four areas to consider:

1.  Don’t be swayed in excess by woman and sexual desires.   As a woman, she even goes to the length to say that giving yourself to women is, in essence, giving away your “strength.”    She is warning him of the destruction that awaits him in the harem of life.  

2. Don’t be enticed by excess with alcohol.   Drinking in excess, she warns, is NOT for those in leadership.   She sees the consumption of alcohol, especially strong drink NOT for those who are leading, but for those who are in trouble and ready to perish.   She even goes to the extent to say that drinking is a good way for the depressed to forget their depression.   But, she warns, this is NOT how leaders respond.   

3. She invites him to give strong drink to others in their time of need for it.  This seems to indicate she believes the king is to be servant oriented and be prepared to give of his resources to those who are hurting.  The implication is that the king would have to recognize those who are hurting and depressed.   This means a leader has to be with his/her people to see their needs and to know their struggles.   

4. She goes on to say that the leader is to “be a voice” for those who can not speak.  This very much fits the role of government outlined in Romans 13 but the Apostle Paul.   The poor and needy need a voice.   The leader is not to listen to just those who feed him/her, promote him/her, or reward him/her.   The leader is to look out for the poor and needy and be their voice.  

Leadership has a role and the Queen Mother speaks her mind to her son.  Note, also, the predominant nature of the woman here, over the young leader.   Scripture, especially the book of Proverbs, speaks highly of woman in regard to leadership and instruction.   Even though the land might have been controlled by men, God uses the voice of a woman to speak the truth needed to be heard by the young man.   This is a great truth to hold to and recognize.  

Tag: The Lying Tongue Will Be Judged - Psalms 120-121

Psalms 120:3-4

What shall be given to you,

and what more shall be done to you,

you deceitful tongue?

A warrior's sharp arrows,

with glowing coals of the broom tree!

Tag: Lying Lips are Dealt With!

Deceit and lies are an abomination to God:

Proverbs 6:16-17

There are six things that the Lord hates,

seven that are an abomination to him:

haughty eyes, a lying tongue, ... 

In Psalm 120 we see a prayer of a worshipper who has been lied to.  Note what He prays for:

Psalms 120:2

Deliver me, O Lord,

from lying lips,

from a deceitful tongue.

Yet, he knows the lying tongue will not stop without discipline from God.  That is when he continues his prayer by asking for “sharp arrows and glowing coals” to be brought down on the lier.   Note some other passages that invoke similar thoughts:

Psalms 140:10-11

As for the head of those who surround me,

let the mischief of their lips overwhelm them!

Let burning coals fall upon them!

Let them be cast into fire,

into miry pits, no more to rise!

Let not the slanderer be established in the land;

let evil hunt down the violent man speedily!

However, this is God’s work, not our work.  Our work, during these times when the enemy is hurting us, is as equally documented in Scripture:

Proverbs 25:21-22

If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat,

and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink,

for you will heap burning coals on his head,

and the Lord will reward you.

Our method for putting coals on the heads of our enemies is to do kindness to them.   God is the one who takes care of the lying tongue, ultimately.  He is the more offended One.  God is the God of Truth.  Therefore lying is the ultimate sin against God.  Like in the above prayer of Psalms, we need to release those who deceive us to God for His ultimate judgment.  

Tag: God Stirs Up the Wicked - 2 Chronicles 21-24

2 Chronicles 21:16-17

And the Lord stirred up against Jehoram the anger of the Philistines and of the Arabians who are near the Ethiopians. And they came up against Judah and invaded it and carried away all the possessions they found that belonged to the king's house, and also his sons and his wives, so that no son was left to him except Jehoahaz, his youngest son.

Tag:  God Stirs Up the Wicked

Before we can understand the above verse and the tag for this devotional, we ought to read a verse from the prophet Isaiah:

Isaiah 45:7

I form light and create darkness,

I make well-being and create calamity,

I am the Lord, who does all these things.

Or, these verses from the story of Job:

Job 1:12-15

And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your hand. Only against him do not stretch out your hand.” So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.  Now there was a day when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother's house, and there came a messenger to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys feeding beside them, and the Sabeans fell upon them and took them and struck down the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.”

God created calamity on Jehoram because, as the king of Israel, he acted in evil.  God used the evilness that was in the hearts of Philistines and the Arabians to cause them to act agains Jehoram and Judah.   Just like God allowed the Sabeans to attack Job’s family at the bequest of Satan, God will allow evil in this world to accomplish His purpose.   For this to happen God simply has to remove His common grace to all mankind.  When God removes His common grace the evilness in man’s life takes over and seeks to murder, kills and destroy.   God allows this wickedness to take place to discipline His children and to bring them back to himself ... as in the above text.   God allows sin to work for Him.  He does not create sin, but He does use sin to created the calamity necessary to accomplish His will.   He does this by simply removing His protective grace and allowing sin to do what it does: Kill!!

Tag: Only God Can Give Us Shock and Awe - Deuteronomy 1-3

Deuteronomy 2:25

This day I will begin to put the dread and fear of you on the peoples who are under the whole heaven, who shall hear the report of you and shall tremble and be in anguish because of you.’

Tag:  Only God Can Give Us Shock and Awe

The above verse comes at the end of God’s instruction to the nation of Israel in regard to their going up against the king and land of one of their many enemies.   God is telling them that they have nothing to fear because He has and will go before them.   God will put fear into the hearts of man for the people of God.  God must do this. We can't by our own strength.  Only God can and does put others in fear of Himself and in fear of believers.   

Believers might think their abilities bring about respect and fear, but, in reality only God can do that.  When the disciples began to spread the Gospel in the early church, it was God who went before them to put fear on the religious leaders.  The religious leaders did not actually fear the Apostles, however.  They feared the people.   God used the act of peer pressure to cause the religious leaders to fear the disciples.   God can use whatever means is necessary, but when we realize that God gives before us, we have confidence and power that ONLY He can provide.   

Tag: Redemption is Secured and Secure! - Hebrews 8-10

Hebrews 9:11-12

(Redemption Through the Blood of Christ)

But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption.

Tag: Redemption is Secured and Secure!!

When Christ laid down His life for those who would call on His name for their salvation, He did so to the point of “securing” our eternal redemption.  The word for “secure” in the above passage is:

heurisko (εὑρίσκω) denotes “to find”; in the middle voice, “to find for oneself, to procure, get, obtain,” with the suggestion of accomplishing the end which had been in view; so in Heb. 9:12, “having obtained (eternal redemption).” (Vine)

The work Christ did was so that we could “find” and/or “obtain” a secure redemption.   We can’t secure it ourselves.   This entire section of Hebrews is to compare the sacrificial system of the Old Testament, that was not meant to “secure” an eternal redemption, with the once for all sacrifice of Christ.  The priest of the Old Testament would have to make offering after offering for their sins and the sins of the people.   But, with Christ, we have a once-for-all sacrifice and our eternal redemption is secured and secure in His work, not our own.   We can rejoice in the fact that Christ did the work and there is an eternal benefit for all those who put their complete trust in Him!!  What a great through to rejoice over.  

Tag; Obedience to the Faith - Acts 5-6

Acts 6:7

And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.

Tag: Obedience to the Faith

There are two aspects of this verse that are important.  The first is the fact that this verse follows the story of the Apostles feeding and caring for the widows, a people group often rejected in this society.   The Apostles recognized the need to care for the physical needs of the world around them.  

They met the physical needs, but that emphasis didn't prevent the teaching of the Word.  In fact, when they met needs, religious leaders came to Christ.  Grace and mercy in our lives demonstrated to those in need will explode the gospel.

This brings us to the other key thought in the above verse.  Notice that as the writer explains that religious leaders came to Christ, uses the phrase that they “became obedient to the faith.”   When we typically think of faith, we don’t think “obedience” - we think belief.   But, as James tells us, faith without works is not faith at all.   Notice these verses about being “obedient” to the faith:

Romans 1:3-5

... concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations,

2 Thessalonians 1:7-8

and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.

Hebrews 5:9

And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him,

In these verses it is clear that to come to Christ you must be “obedient to the faith” of Christ.  What are you obeying, however?   Since, in order to be saved, you have to believe in the historical resurrection of Jesus Christ, obedience to the faith would be to do just that ... believe in the resurrection of Christ ... to do that is to obey Christ who stated we must believe in Him and His words and works to be saved.  When we fail to put complete trust in Him we are not obeying in faith.   

When the Gospel spread during the beginning of the early church people believed the Gospel message ... they believed that the Historical Jesus did, indeed, raise from the dead for the forgiveness of sins and the saving of the soul. 

Tag: God’s Word is True (Jesus is True) - Micah

Micah 1:1

The word of the Lord that came to Micah of Moresheth in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem. 

Tag: God’s Word is True

To believe in Christ for your salvation, you have to believe God’s Word is true.   In order for God’s Word to be true, all parts of it has to be true.  The Gospel is based upon the historical account that Jesus lived, died and rose from the dead. If non of that is true, than we are all left to our own philosophies and die a death that leaves nothing left.   The fact that the Bible says Jesus rose from the dead and was seen by over 500 people after his death, is an historical event the Bible claims true.   So, all parts of the Bible have to be true for us to be saved.  

In the above text we might not think there is much meat for spiritual food.   However, the “prophets” all speak to things that “will happen” in the future.  If ONLY one thing they prophecy to happens does NOT come true, the entire Bible loses its credibility. 

The book of Micah is a great testing ground for the prophets since it has so many “predictions” and “prophecies” about the immediate future of Judah and far reaching “prophecies” about the Messiah, Jesus.  Notice the following:

Note this comment from the commentary, “The Universal Bible Dictionary,” edited by A.R. Buckland and A.L. Williams: “Micah foretells in clear terms the invasion of Shalmaneser and Sennacherib (1:6-16) … the utter destruction of Jerusalem (3:12). Just as clearly he foretells the deliverance of Israel (2:12, 4:10, 5:8); the birthplace of the Messiah (5:2); the promulgation of His Gospel from Mount Zion, and its results; the exaltation of His Kingdom over all nations.”

Here is a prophet that predicted that Jesus would be born in Bethlehem 800 years prior to Jesus’ birth. In fact, the prophets as a whole, predicted over 300 prophecies.  Note one blog’s statement:

“The Old Testament, written hundreds of years before Jesus’ birth, contains over 300 prophecies that Jesus fulfilled through His life, death and resurrection.  Mathematically speaking, the odds of anyone fulfilling this amount of prophecy are staggering. Mathematicians put it this way:  1 person fulfilling 8 prophecies: 1 in 100,000,000,000,000,000: 1 person fulfilling 48 prophecies: 1 chance in 10 to the 157th power 1 person fulfilling 300+ prophecies: Only Jesus!”

When we read a book like Micah and see that this prophet foretold key elements of Jesus birth, life and death, we can rest assured that our salvation is not based upon myth, mysticism, philosophy, or psychological gymnastics.   Our faith is based upon the historical Jesus who, as the Bible records, died, was buried and rose from the dead to save us from our sins.