Man's way leads to death

Proverbs

Proverbs 16:25 says, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.”  Our judgment is fallen due to original sin, so regardless of what we do, if God isn’t in our plans, we won’t get too far.  The moral of this verse seems to be, make sure you consult God first!
This is in line with yesterday's post about committing your plans to God.  If you haven't done that already, make sure you do!

Commit to the Lord

Proverbs
Proverbs 16:3 says "Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed."
I wonder if this is a conscious commitment that you have to make every time you plan something.  I know deep down that everything I do is dependent on God, and I want Him involved in everything.  But do I have to tell Him every time I'm hoping to do something that I trust it is in His will?  I've laid my plans in His hands even before I start to make them; when I plan out specifics, should they be brought to His attention as well?
What is your approach to planning? Do you commit your plans to the Lord?  If so, how?

Receive your due

Proverbs
I can see how the wicked only receive their due on earth, as is stated in Proverbs 11:31, but it's a little more difficult to understand the first part of the verse - that the righteous also receive their due on earth.

"If the righteous receive their due on earth, how much more the ungodly and the sinner!"

I always tend to think of the righteous having to wait for the afterlife to receive their reward - store up treasures in heaven, and all that.  There are other verses that suggest that righteous people are rewarded on earth, but that seems a little hit and miss.  Lots of godly people live really great lives, but there are a lot of godly people who have a lot of hardship!  What do they think about receiving their due on earth?

Fear of God adds length to life

Key verse
2 Timothy 1:7 - For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.

Proverbs
Proverbs 10:27 says "The fear of the Lord adds length to life, but the years of the wicked are cut short."
I wonder if the author was thinking that fearing God would prolong life because then God wouldn't punish you as he would the wicked.  My first thought was the fear of the Lord would also include having common sense, a logical mind (to some extent, at least), and belief in absolutes, like absolute morality, and right and wrong.  All of those things are extremely helpful in living a successful life. 

Nehemiah

Key verse
Proverbs 9:10 - The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.


Nehemiah
Now this is interesting - Ezra wrote the book of Nehemiah (or at least presumably)!  Curious.  I thought it was Nehemiah, particularly since it is written in the first person.  Also, what a great job to have - being a cupbearer for the king.  Imagine the joys of having to taste someone's wine to make sure it wasn't poisoned....

Just a little rest, but no lying

Proverbs
A few verses from chapter 6 of Proverbs really stuck out to me.  For one, make sure you don't sit down for too long!  Check out verses 10-11: "A little sleep, a little slumber, a little fold of the hands to rest - and poverty will come on you like a bandit and scarcity like and armed man."
Apparently, I really like this passage, because as I was typing it out, I felt that it was awfully familiar to me on this blog, and I actually posted specifically on this phrase on October 1, 2010.  The verse was different - in Proverbs 24, but it was the exact same phrase.  So clearly this message is important!  I think that is because I myself am one to work hard and not take many breaks, which isn't always a good thing.

Anyway, the next passage that popped out to me was verses 16-19.  These verses give us a list of things the Lord hates.  Interestingly, lying is mentioned twice, which makes it a double sin??  I wonder, above all, does that mean the Lord does not like lying?
Well, I just read into this issue a bit further, and Gill's Exposition on the Bible makes the distinction between lying in general (the first mention) and "bearing false witness" (the second mention).  The bearing of false witness is speaking untruthfully about your neighbour, whereas lying could just mean speaking the non-truth in any situation.  Regardless, I think the point we can get from this is, always speak the truth!  It'll get you a lot farther in life.

Wisdom

Proverbs
The book of Proverbs is all about wisdom.  We are exhorted to follow after wisdom, to give all we have for understanding, and to esteem wisdom above all else.  I find this message to be particularly important in today's culture where we are continually pressured to follow after foolishness and cheap thrills.
Sometimes it may seem difficult to forsake the world's dreams and seek wisdom and understanding in God.  But I think we (who try to do so) can admit, at least deep down, that a life of wisdom is a life that is sustainable and full of integrity.  Wisdom leads inevitably to following after God because God is the author of wisdom.  From that come moral absolutes, which are far from popular in a relativistic world.  I won't get into the moral absolute vs. relativism debate here, but you should read up on it (check out Greg Koukl and Stand to Reason, for starters).  You'll see that wisdom really is the only way to go.

Mercy, not vengeance

Key verses

Hebrews 12:28-29 - Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our “God is a consuming fire.”

Proverbs
29:15 and 17 - Too many people leave their kids to their own devices or expect video games and tv to educate them.  Let's get back to family time and actually imparting personal/social skills and moral values to our kids so that our society doesn't continue to spiral out of control!

IsaiahThe Lord states in Isaiah 59:21 that the words he will impart to his people will not depart from their mouths, or from the mouths of their children forever.  I thought this was kind of strange, because it seemed like that meant that God's word would remain silent forever.  However, depart here doesn't seem to mean that they will not speak, but rather that God's word will always remain with them and when they do speak, it will be God speaking through them.  We have a promise from God, then, that his Spirit will be in us and his words will always be in our mouths, ready to be proclaimed to whomever we meet, forever.
"Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you." (60:1) Out of the online commentaries I have looked at, only one suggests in passing that this salvation may be from Babylonian rule, but even that theologian concludes, with the others, that this passage is referring to Christ coming to save his people.  Just as in Isaiah 9, where the people walking in darkness saw a great light, Isaiah 60 proclaims the coming salvation and great light of Christ.

Luke
I wonder what it was about the breaking of the bread that made these two men on the road to Emmaus realize that it was Jesus with whom they were talking?

Hebrews
Abel's blood cried out for vengeance against Cain.  Jesus' blood cries out to God for mercy so that we don't have to die.  Let us try to mirror that approach, and extend mercy and grace to our neighbours today, rather than vengeance and annoyance.

God is watching

Key verses

Proverbs 29:7 - The righteous care about justice for the poor, but the wicked have no such concern.

Hebrews 12:2 - Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Isaiah
56:1-2 - These two verses caught my attention.  I read them, and thought, 'that's kind of neat'.  To have the righteous die in order to be saved from evil sounds comforting.  This isn't always the case though, and I found out through Barnes' Notes on the Bible that Isaiah was likely talking about the massive slaughter of most of the devout Jews by Manasseh, the king of Israel at that time.  None of their fellow country men paid any attention to this wholesale killing, suggesting that those who merely watched and said nothing were okay with what was going on.  In the end, those who were still alive would eventually be conquered by an invading nation, but the righteous who had already been killed escaped this later terror.  I came away from studying that passage with the renewed sense that studying commentaries are important so we can see where the author is coming from (in this case, Isaiah).
58:4-6 - This passage reminds me of the Pharisees, who claim to follow the letter of the law, but completely miss the spirit or intent of the law.  Many of the Jews in Isaiah's time were following the law, taking pride in the fact that they fasted so often, and yet completely ignored the downtrodden and poor among them.  We aren't supposed to fast in order to draw the attention to ourselves.  Fasting should turn our attention away from us, toward God and toward our neighbours.  If fasting is making us self-centred, then we shouldn't be doing it.

Luke
Luke 24:26 makes reading the Old Testament on its own without our "Jesus-coloured" glasses a bit more difficult.  By "Jesus-coloured" glasses I mean that we are living in the year of our Lord, we have seen the coming of the Messiah and believe all the prophecies that were proclaimed about him.  Jesus himself told these two men on the road to Emmaus that the prophets spoke about himself.  However, if we are to understand the Old Testament as its authors understood it, we have to take a few steps back in history.  Clearly, there are references to Christ in the Old Testament, but where do we draw the line?  Many of the prophecies were not meant for our day, or for the early Christian church, but spoke to the ancient Israelites in their time.  Let's remember to use a bit of caution when interpreting the scriptures.

Hebrews
We are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses!  I saw that and thought, 'that's kind of creepy'.  When you think about lots of invisible people watching you do your daily tasks, that can be encouraging or well... creepy.  Then I realized that, wait a minute, God is always watching me.  If I should care about anyone seeing what I do, it should be God.  But it is so easy to not pay him any mind, and continue doing what I do without a thought of what God is thinking about me.  Life application for this passage for today?  Remember that God is always watching!

Faith!

Key verses
Proverbs 27:17 - As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.

Hebrews 11:1 - Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

Luke
I like the imagery God uses even at the death of Jesus. Luke 23:45 says the curtain of the temple was torn in two.  The curtain that separated us from God in the temple was destroyed, and now we can meet with God whenever and wherever we want!  Jesus truly opened the way.

Hebrews
Those people of faith mentioned in Hebrews 11 all died and did not receive what was promised to them (v. 13).  That's faith!  Sticking with it and believing that God is going to come through, regardless of what you personally experience.  I'm fairly impatient, so I definitely have a lesson to learn here.  God's in control - he knows what he's doing.  Why don't I just let him do it, and align myself with him, rather than try and push my own agenda at him and hope that he'll do that instead?  We can think we know what's best, but in the end, only God sees the whole picture.

Confidence of Faith

Key verse
Luke 23:43 - Jesus answered him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in Paradise."

Hebrews 10:31 - It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

Proverbs
Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth (27:1).  This verse has me thinking about hope.  I want to hope for things that will happen tomorrow, and talk about them with my friends and family.  What does boasting about it mean?  Taking pride in what will happen, believing that I can bring it about, rather than relying on God to bring about what I'm hoping for.

Isaiah
This passage ties right into Proverbs 27:1.  God is in control, so there is no way we can take pride in what happens, thinking that we have brought it about.  God is in all things and has power over all things.  He will bring down anyone he needs to and raise up anyone he wants.

Hebrews
Encourage one another daily.  This is such a great goal, and one that I aspire to, and yet do I do this?  I get so caught up in my own life that I end up completely ignoring the people that I want to be in community with, like fellow church-goers, immediate family members, friends.
Verse 35 speaks about confidence, having confidence of faith.  I believe I have faith, but there's always doubt because I wonder what I would do if I were in the situation of some of these biblical characters who were persecuted and robbed because of their faith.  Would I stand strong? This is always the question.  So far, I have not been able to irrevocably say yes, I would.  There's always doubt that I am too weak.  I know with God all things are possible, and God works through my weakness, so am I doubting that God would work through me?  I believe that God would become my strength.  I have to forget my doubts, lay them aside, and walk forward in the truth that God is my rock and my salvation.

Wisdom

Wisdom.  Proverbs has been speaking about how important wisdom is and that we should seek it, and that the wise will prosper.  It's not an easy thing to be wise.  Today I will be praying that God gives me wisdom for all of life's circumstances.

Salvation by death from death

Key verse
Hebrews 9:26 - "But now he [Christ] has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself."

Isaiah
"Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.  When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.  When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.  For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior." (43:1-3)

When I first read this passage, I was encouraged by God's salvation.  Then I read it again, and realized that God's salvation comes when we need saving.  Ultimately, we need saving from sin, which he has done for us.  Beyond that, we need saving when we are walking through those trials of life.  We will see terrible times in our day - that's the reality of sin's effect on our world.  Even amidst the suffering, however, God will give us the strength to withstand the evil and be saved.

Proverbs

Verses 4 and 5 of chapter 26 require some thinking in order to make sense of them.  After reading a few things from Clarke's commentary, I have discovered that you have to look at each verse a little differently.  In the first case, you don't want to answer a fool according to his folly in the sense that you don't want to stoop to his level of not making sense, because then you won't make any sense yourself.  However, you do want to use his folly (v. 5) to point out his illogical thinking so that he will hopefully see that he doesn't make any sense.

Hebrews

How did blood and death come to be the means by which we are saved?  What was it about the tree of good and evil that made death the only means to overcome death?  That is, in the Old Testament, other animals had to die to save the Jews from an eternal death, and now Christ had to die in the place of those animals to save all of humankind.  Is this an answerable question, or is it just the way things are?

A little rest...

Key verse
Proverbs 24:33-34 - "A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest - and poverty will come on you like a bandit and scarcity like an armed man."

We can't take this verse out of context because God has decreed for us a day of rest, and we should not feel guilty taking it.  But when hard work is needed, let's get to it.

Being faithful

Key verse
Hebrews 7:25 - "Therefore he [Jesus] is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them."

Luke
I'd like to think that if someone accused me of being a follower of Jesus, I would say yes.  And I truly think I would, at least in today's society.  However, if I put myself in Peter's shoes, what would I do?  He clearly thought he would stay with Jesus to the end, and in once sense he did, after he got over this initial bout of fear.  But at this critical period of Jesus' life, Peter abandons him.  Perhaps Peter feared being caught and killed, or was it simply that he simply didn't want to be associated with someone who was no longer popular with the people.  Regardless, I think there are a few lessons here.  One is, while it is great to have second chances, as Peter did (we'll read about this later), it's so much more fulfilling to get things right the first time.  The second lesson is to not make rash promises.  We discussed this in Hebrews a couple days ago.  If we decide we'll do something, let's just do it, in spite of the costs.

Proverbs
A house is built through wisdom, and made full with knowledge (24:3-4).  This verse struck me, but now that I try to think about it more deeply, I'm at a loss for what to say.  I'm trying to picture this in my mind... To me, a house is built through love and made full with that same love.  Rooms are filled with memories of the relationships that took place in those rooms.  Wisdom helps in keeping those relationships strong, and so through that, wisdom builds the home.

Isaiah
Be our strength every morning, our salvation in time of distress (33:2).  It's one thing to say that this verse is comforting, but it is another to actually accept the truth of it.  Do I think of God every morning and knowingly, willingly, place my trust in him, that he will be my strength for the day?  More often, I get up and decide how I will go about my day.  I need to take more time to place it in God's hands, because the only way I'll make it through the day with anything to show for it is through God.  Moreover, when I am worried, distressed, or anxious, I need to give this to God and allow him to be my salvation.  I need to let him come and wash over me with his peace.  I need to take hold of his gift of love and realize that he is indeed all I need.   When I ask for his strength and salvation, I need to truly accept it and live in that new reality.

God is faithful

Proverbs
Possession of land was quite important in those days, as the writer warned against changing the boundary markers of your neighbour in this chapter and in chapter 22.

Luke
I hate doing things I don't want to do.  I go about them with a sense of dread, or slight animosity toward either the deed or those I'm doing it for.  And yet, look at Jesus - he sure doesn't want to have to die such a violent death, but he goes willingly.  He heals those who stand against him so that they can continue in their task (see 22:51).  I could certainly use more of this attitude in my life.

Hebrews
God swore by his own name, thereby invoking the power of that name.  If we swear by something, we are taking on the qualities of whatever or whoever we swear by.  Lest the person or object lose its special qualities, Jesus warned his followers to simply let their 'yes' be 'yes'.  If we swear by God that we will do something, and then we don't do it, we taint the name of God.  But when God swears by his own name, he is doubly showing us that he will do what he says.  First, he will do it regardless because he is God and what he says, he does.  Second, he will do it because he swore by himself, thereby calling on his qualities, one of which is that he always does what he says.  Thus, we have a firm hope that Christ will intervene on our behalf, because he has promised us.
*This section is based off an article in the Archaeological Study Bible.

Here is Psalm 110 again, quoted in Hebrews.  Since we now know that Psalm 110 is a conversation between God and Jesus, we can see that Jesus was definitely the one being referred to as a priest in the order of Melchizedek.  And who was Melchizedek?  There is much conjecture, but I am satisfied with saying he was a foreign king that no one knew much about, so therefore 'has no beginning and no end', just like Christ, and so Melchizedek is a handy symbol from the Old Testament to use as a Christ-like figure.

Excuses, excuses

Proverbs 

Proverbs 22:13 - The sluggard says, "There is a lion outside!" or, "I will be murdered in the streets!"

How sad is it when we get to such a state that the excuses we make up are hardly plausible?  And yet, we have the ability and oftentimes the desire to make up such excuses to avoid something we really don't want to do, whether or not we are lazy.  Matthew Henry made an insightful comment on this verse:

          "The slothful man talks of a lion without, but considers not his real danger from the devil, that roaring lion within, and from his own slothfulness, which kills him."

Luke

Jesus' speech on benefactors may not have caught my eye if I had not read a sidebar in my bible that discussed the cultural trend of benefactors in Ancient Roman society.  Apparently, there was a cultural role that some wealthy individuals could pursue - that of benefactor.  These benefactors would use their wealth to gain the popularity of the common people so that they could remain in public office.  They were generous only to serve their own ends.  Jesus is calling us to be generous and kind to others to bring glory to God.  We are not to draw attention to ourselves, and if we do, we should pass the glory on to God, with whom it rightfully belongs in the first place.

 

Hebrews

The phrase used in 5:9 "once made perfect", which is in reference to Jesus, caught me off-guard because I thought, wasn't Jesus always perfect?  After looking into this phrase even further, I realized that what this meant was that after Jesus died and came back to life, he was the perfect Saviour in that he conquered death for us and now we no longer have to die for our sin.  Hallelujah!

Are we ready to be used of God?

Key verse

Luke 22:19 - “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.”

 

Proverbs

"The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but victory rests with the LORD." (21:31).  God is in control!  However, we have to see both sides of this verse.  On the one hand, we can't do anything because it is God who wins the battle for us.  On the other hand, we have to make sure we're ready for God to use us.

Isaiah

20:3 - "Then the Lord said, “Just as my servant Isaiah has gone stripped and barefoot for three years, as a sign and portent against Egypt and Cush, . . . ."  Is this insanity or devotion?  I certainly wouldn't want to be such a sign for God, walking around stripped and barefoot for three years.  Does God really require such obedience from us?

Hebrews

"For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account." (Heb 4:12-13)

As I work my way through the bible, I hope to experience the "activeness" of God's word.  Through his word, I hope that I can understand God better and also understand myself and my motivations so that I can better serve him.

Prayer works

Key verses

Hebrews 4:7 (b) - Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts."

Proverbs 21:16 - "A man who strays from the path of understanding comes to rest in the company of the dead." (A call to keep reading and thinking!)

Isaiah

Isaiah 14:27 says "For the LORD Almighty has purposed, and who can thwart him? His hand is stretched out, and who can turn it back?"  To that, I say, the prayers of his people can turn it back.  For example, see Abraham's conversation with God concerning Sodom and Gomorrah, where Lot, Abraham's nephew, lived.  Abraham managed to get God to agree to not destroy the cities if there were 10 righteous people present, and he whittled that down from 50.  So our persistent cries to God can change his mind.  Prayer is powerful!

Hebrews

If life seems to be too much for you, take heart.  Jesus will provide us with a rest greater than Sunday (or the weekend), or even of entering into a paradise here on earth as the Israelites did under Joshua.  Is this truly what this passage is talking about, or is it just talking about how, even though Christ has come, we still have the observance of the "Sabbath"?  I think it does seem to speak to more than just the one day a week, but the language structure to me is a little convoluted.

Luke

Isnt' it amazing?  Jesus knows exactly what you need!  Don't be afraid to ask for it.

Stick with it

Late post tonight!

Key verse

Isaiah 12:2 - "Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid.  The Lord, the Lord, is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation."

Proverbs

"Blows and wounds cleanse away evil and beatings purge the inmost being." (Proverbs 20:30)  Is this true or is this figurative?  I'm leaning toward the latter because I can't see it being true.

Luke/Hebrews

It's understandable that Jesus' followers thought the end was near.  He kept talking about how the kingdom of God was at hand, and the signs of the end of the age would come.  "... this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened." (Luke 21:32)  If they were to be on guard, how much more should we, two thousand years later!  And yet we continually make plans as though we have our entire lives ahead of us.  We've got one foot here in the earthly kingdom and one in God's kingdom.  A great way to apply at least part of today's reading to our lives would be to make sure we are staying true to God, and making sure we don't fall away, like both Luke and Hebrews were saying.